bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Biochemical and functional alterations in macrophages after thermal injury
Authors: Loose L D , Megirian R , Turinsky J
Published: January 2020

Biochemical and functional measurements of rat pulmonary alveolar macrophages were measured 4 h after 1 10-s, 26 to 28% total body surface area, full-thickness scald burn induced under ether anesthesia. Both phagocytic activity and capacity were significantly decreased to a comparable extent, whereas microbicidal activity was increased almost twofold in macrophages from the burned animals. Concurrent with the decreased phagocytic function was a marked impairment in chemotaxis and random migration of these cells when zymosan-activated serum was used as the chemoattractant. When biochemical parameters were examined, it was demonstrated that, on a per-cell but not total-protein basis, alveolar macrophages from burned animals had elevated levels of RNA, total protein beta-glucuronidase, acid phosphatase, and 5'-nucleotidase. These results raise the possibility that the increased pneumonitis in burned individuals may be due to more complex macrophage dysfunctions than impaired microbicidal activity, as was once thought. Alternatively, the biochemical and functional changes observed may be a reflection of a new population of macrophages appearing in the lungs after thermal injury.
Critical role of germ tube formation in the pathogenesis of candidal vaginitis
Authors: Sobel J D , Muller G , Buckley H R
Published: January 2020

A variant strain of Candida albicans incapable of hyphal production at 37 degrees C was used to study the role of germ tube formation in the pathogenesis of experimental vaginal candidiasis in rats. No difference was observed in the in vitro adherence at 25 degrees C of blastoconidia of the variant strain to vaginal epithelial cells when compared with the parent wild-type, germ tube-producing strain and multiple clinical isolates of C. albicans. However, after exposure to conditions favoring germ tube production, the adherence of the variant strain to epithelial cells was significantly less than that of germinated strains (P less than 0.01). In vivo animal studies revealed that the variant strain was less likely to result in vaginal colonization and infection than the wild-type strain and the other clinical isolates. Furthermore, infection, when established, was milder, often transient, and with significantly lower titers of cultured vaginal microorganisms obtained by lavage. Electron microscopic studies confirmed the failure of the variant strain to produce hyphae in vivo. The capacity of C. albicans to produce hyphae appears to be an important but nonessential virulence factor in the pathogenesis of candidal vaginitis.
Bactericidal and cytotoxic effects of hypothiocyanite-hydrogen peroxide mixtures
Authors: Carlsson J , Edlund M B , Hänström L
Published: January 2020

Lactoperoxidase catalyzes the oxidation of thiocyanate by hydrogen peroxide into hypothiocyanite, a reaction which can protect bacterial and mammalian cells from killing by hydrogen peroxide. The present study demonstrates, however, that lactoperoxidase in the presence of thiocyanate can actually potentiate the bactericidal and cytotoxic effects of hydrogen peroxide under specific conditions, such as when hydrogen peroxide is present in the reaction mixtures in excess of thiocyanate. The toxic agent was also formed in the absence of lactoperoxidase in a reaction between hypothiocyanite and hydrogen peroxide. Sulfate, sulfite, cyanate, carbonate, and ammonia, which have been postulated to be formed in the chemical oxidation of hypothiocyanite by hydrogen peroxide, were not bactericidal and did not potentiate the bactericidal effect of hydrogen peroxide. Cyanosulfurous acid, the only other postulated product of the chemical oxidation of hypothiocyanite by hydrogen peroxide, may be the killing agent.
Ultrastructural study of adherence to and penetration of cultured cells by two invasive Escherichia coli strains isolated from infants with enteritis
Authors: Knutton S , Williams P H , Lloyd D R , Candy D C , McNeish A S
Published: January 2020

The adherence of invasive Escherichia coli strains 444-3 and 469-3 to human erythrocytes and to cultured HeLa and HEp-2 cells has been examined by electron microscopy. Bacteria elaborating type 1 fimbriae, glycocalyces , and nonfimbrial mannose-resistant hemagglutinins specific for human erythrocytes were identified in cultures of both strains, and each of these different bacterial surface components appeared to be involved in attachment of 444-3 and 469-3 to cultured epithelial cells or human erythrocytes (or to both). Both strains, which were isolated from infants with dysentery-like illness, penetrated cultured epithelial cells and existed within membrane-bounded intracellular vesicles. Mutants of 444-3 and 469-3 selected for deficiency in mannose-resistant hemagglutination did not adhere to or penetrate cultured cells. These ultrastructural studies demonstrate the complexity of the bacterial surface and show that E. coli strains 444-3 and 469-3 can elaborate several different adhesions , each of which could function to promote attachment to host intestinal epithelial cells. Mucosal invasion may also be an important virulence property of these strains.
Immunologically related ketodeoxyoctonate-containing structures in Chlamydia trachomatis, Re mutants of Salmonella species, and Acinetobacter calcoaceticus var. anitratus
Authors: Nurminen M , Wahlström E , Kleemola M , Leinonen M , Saikku P , Mäkelä P H
Published: January 2020

The lipopolysaccharides (LPS) of Chlamydia trachomatis, Acinetobacter calcoaceticus var. anitratus, and Re mutants of Salmonella sp. were shown to share related immunodeterminants , as demonstrated by double immunodiffusion and immunoblotting from sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis gels. The cross-reactive material in the extracellular slime of A. calcoaceticus var. anitratus was shown to be released LPS. The Acinetobacter LPS was found to separate in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis into three fractions. The cross-reactive component was the fraction migrating fastest, at a rate identical to Re-type LPS of Salmonella sp. The Acinetobacter LPS could be used as antigen in complement fixation assays performed on paired sera of patients with chlamydial pneumonia; it gave results identical to those of the chlamydial complement fixation glycolipid antigen conventionally used in such assays in 9 of 10 patients.
Clinical isolates of Streptococcus mutans serotype c with altered colony morphology due to fructan synthesis
Authors: Okahashi N , Asakawa H , Koga T , Masuda N , Hamada S
Published: January 2020

Streptococcus mutans MT6801 , MT6861 , and MT6879 , which form large mucoid colonies on mitis salivarius agar, were isolated from a mother and her two daughters. These isolates were identified as serotype c by immunodiffusion with serotype-specific antisera. The large colonies formed on sucrose-containing agar were found to contain water-soluble fructan . The cell-free fructosyltransferase ( FTase ) activity of the strains which formed large colonies was five to eight times higher than that of serotype c S. mutans which produced small, rough colonies typical of this serotype. Furthermore, greater quantities of fructan were synthesized from sucrose by growing cells of MT6801 when compared with MT8148 , a typical serotype c S. mutans. Glucosyltransferase and FTase could be isolated by chromatofocusing from culture supernatants of MT6801 and MT8148 . The FTase activity of both strains was eluted at pH 4.5, and glucosyltransferase was released by elution with an NaCl linear gradient. The eluted FTase activity of MT6801 was significantly higher than that of MT8148 . Strains MT6861 and MT6879 were also found to possess a similar property in terms of FTase activity. These results suggest that formation of large mucoid colonies by these strains is a consequence of high FTase activity.
Isotype of protective anti-Salmonella antibodies in experimental mouse salmonellosis
Authors: Saxén H , Mäkelä O , Svenson S B
Published: January 2020

Mice and a rabbit were immunized with heat-killed Salmonella typhimurium bacteria or with an O-4,12 antigen-specific octasaccharide-protein conjugate. Immunoglobulin isotypes of the antisera were tested for their capacity to protect mice against experimental salmonellosis. Antibodies of immunoglobulin M + A isotypes were more protective than the immunoglobulin G antibodies in each of the two pools of mouse sera. The same protective pattern was also seen with a rabbit antiserum elicited by the artificial octasaccharide-protein conjugate, i.e., with antibodies with the exclusive specificity for the O-4,12 antigen determinants of S. typhimurium.
Biochemical analysis of DA strain of Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus obtained directly from acutely infected mouse brain
Authors: Roos R P , Whitelaw P J
Published: January 2020

Growth and neurovirulence of a number of neurotropic viruses show pronounced differences after passage in cell culture compared with continued in vivo passage in the central nervous system. The DA strain of Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus provides a model for studying these issues since DA virus grown in mouse brain produces acute neuronal disease in weanling mice, but tissue culture-passed DA virus does not. In addition, DA virus grown in mouse brain has a greater 50% mouse lethal dose/50% tissue culture infective dose ratio than tissue culture-passed DA virus. Comparison of these viruses required the analysis of virus purified directly from infected mouse brain, without tissue culture passage. Capsid proteins from DA virus grown in mouse brain were resolved on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels and shown to have the same profile as tissue culture-passed DA virus. Viral RNAs were the same size, with no evidence of defective interfering particle production. Two-dimensional gels of in vitro-labeled RNase T1-digested RNA showed that virus variants were more apparent during acute in vivo passage. These genomic differences may be critical in determining the biological behavior of the virus.
Influence of adhesins on the interaction of Escherichia coli with human phagocytes
Authors: Svanborg Edén C , Bjursten L M , Hull R , Hull S , Magnusson K E , Moldovano Z , Leffler H
Published: January 2020

The fitness between bacterial adhesins and target cell receptors, determining bacterial adherence to epithelial cells in urinary tract infections, was shown to influence also the interaction with human polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNL). Two sets of homogenic strains, constructed to express either, both, or none of the globotetraosylceramide-sensitive (GS) adhesins specific for globoseries glycolipid receptors or the mannose-sensitive (MS) adhesins inhibited by alpha-methyl mannoside were compared regarding charge, hydrophobicity, and binding to PMNL. The mutants of a hydrophilic pyelonephritis strain required MS adhesins for binding to and activation of the PMNL. Removal of the MS adhesins from the mutant carrying both MS and GS adhesins abolished chemiluminescence and binding. A pronounced chemiluminescence reaction was induced by the hydrophobic strain without GS or MS adhesins . Transformants of this strain expressing the MS adhesin bound to and activated the PMNL. Poor binding and activation were found with mutants and transformants carrying only the GS adhesins . The improved reactivity after coating of the PMNL with the appropriate receptor glycolipid supported the previously reported absence of globoseries glycolipids in those cells as the reason for the refractoriness to bacteria with GS adhesins . The mechanism of binding, which improves epithelial cell adhesion, may prevent binding to PMNL, thus improving the survival of Escherichia coli in the kidney.
Phenotypic variation and modulation in Bordetella bronchiseptica
Authors: Peppler M S , Schrumpf M E
Published: January 2020

Most of the isolates of Bordetella bronchiseptica obtained by this laboratory possessed a characteristic colonial morphology when grown on Bordet- Gengou agar (BGA) at 37 degrees C. The colonies appeared domed (Dom+) with a smooth colonial surface (Scs+) and a clear zone of hemolysis ( Hly +). From these Dom+ Scs+ Hly + BGA colony types arose flat (Dom-), smooth colonial surface (Scs+) and nonhemolytic ( Hly -) variants at frequencies of 10(-2) to 10(-3). Isogenic pairs of Dom+ Scs+ Hly + and Dom- Scs+ Hly - BGA phenotype variants (BGA-PVs) were picked from 11 strains of B. bronchiseptica, and their whole cell lysates were compared with each other by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Characteristic SDS-PAGE profiles were observed for each of the Dom+ Scs+ Hly + and Dom- Scs+ Hly - BGA-PVs with regard to (i) surface-exposed proteins, based on autoradiographs of 125I- Iodogen -labeled organisms, (ii) polypeptide differences, based on gels stained with Coomassie brilliant blue R-250, and (iii) lipopolysaccharide differences based on gels stained with silver after oxidation with periodic acid. SDS-PAGE profiles were then used to monitor the phenotypes expressed by Dom+ Scs+ Hly + and Dom- Scs+ Hly - BGA-PVs transferred and grown on brucella agar, Trypticase soy agar, and nutrient agar. When grown on non-BGA media, the Dom+ Scs+ Hly + BGA-PVs from six of eight strains showed SDS-PAGE profiles identical to those of Dom- Scs+ Hly - BGA-PVs. This phenotypic change was reversible even after 15 subcultures on the non-BGA media, since Dom+ Scs+ Hly + organisms passed back onto BGA expressed both Dom+ Scs+ Hly + colonial morphology and Dom+ Scs+ Hly + SDS-PAGE profiles. The influence of cultural conditions on maintenance of virulence is discussed.
Growth-inhibitory and bactericidal effects of human parotid salivary histidine-rich polypeptides on Streptococcus mutans
Authors: MacKay B J , Denepitiya L , Iacono V J , Krost S B , Pollock J J
Published: January 2020

Growth inhibition and cell viability assays demonstrate that the histidine-rich polypeptides isolated from human parotid saliva are bacteriostatic and bactericidal for strains of Streptococcus mutans belonging to the serotype b and c classifications. Both inhibition of growth and cell division are enhanced by preincubation of bacteria with these polypeptides in low-ionic-strength buffers of acidic and neutral pH before dilution into enriched growth media. With prior exposure at pH 6.8, inhibition by these polypeptides of the serotype c strains, S. mutans GS5 and SB, as well as the serotype b strain, S. mutans BHT, is reversible over time under the experimental conditions selected. With similar exposure at pH 5.2, however, irreversible damage is manifested by complete inhibition of both growth and cell viability. At concentrations of 250 micrograms of the mixture of histidine-rich polypeptides per 5 X 10(5) bacterial cells per ml in the acidic preincubation buffer, bacterial lethality is maintained for a period of 48 h in the enriched growth media. At a 50-micrograms/ml concentration of these salivary agents, approximately 80% killing of S. mutans SB is noted after a 24-h incubation; however, surviving bacteria multiply and reach turbidities of untreated control cells when examined at the 48-h growth point. Similarly, hen egg white lysozyme is also found to be bactericidal for these microorganisms when preincubation is carried out under acidic conditions. However, in contrast to the histidine-rich polypeptides, lysozyme under these experimental conditions does not inhibit growth of S. mutans SB at neutral pH, although it does inhibit growth of both S. mutans BHT and S. mutans GS5 at this pH. Preexposure of S. mutans SB to the peptides in buffer at ionic strengths of 0.025 to 0.125, followed by either viability assays under nongrowing conditions or growth inhibition studies, suggests that there is very little effect of ionic strength on the antibacterial function of these peptides. In contrast to the inhibition of viability noted under growing conditions, lower concentrations of the histidine-rich polypeptides were required to elicit immediate cell death under nongrowing conditions.
Serum antibody responses to the outer membrane proteins of Bordetella pertussis
Authors: Redhead K
Published: January 2020

The serum antibody responses to the outer membrane proteins, purified filamentous hemagglutinin, and leukocytosis-promoting factor of Bordetella pertussis were examined in mice and children immunized with pertussis whole-cell vaccine. It was found that, although there were many similarities in the responses of mice and children, there were important differences. Sera from vaccinated mice reacted strongly with purified filamentous hemagglutinin and gave weak or undetectable responses to the components of purified leukocytosis-promoting factor. The converse was found with sera from vaccinated children. Antibodies to leukocytosis-promoting factor may thus be of importance in protecting children against pertussis, although they appear to play no role in the active mouse protection test for vaccine efficacy. These results cast doubt on the value of the mouse as an animal model for the potency testing of extracted acellular pertussis vaccines.
Role of macrophages in malaria: O2 metabolite production and phagocytosis by splenic macrophages during lethal Plasmodium berghei and self-limiting Plasmodium yoelii infection in mice
Authors: Brinkmann V , Kaufmann S H , Simon M M , Fischer H
Published: January 2020

The role of splenic macrophages in resistance to lethal Plasmodium berghei or self-limiting Plasmodium yoelii was studied by testing their rate of phagocytosis and their production of O2 metabolites (H2O2 and O2-) upon nonspecific stimulation with zymosan. It was found that, compared with P. berghei, infection of mice with P. yoelii resulted in an earlier appearance and in higher numbers of adherent cells in the spleen. Furthermore, the capacity of macrophages to generate O2 metabolites was significantly higher in P. yoelii- than in P. berghei-infected mice. This difference in the production of O2 metabolites was more pronounced when calculated on a per spleen basis. On the other hand, phagocytosis by macrophages was similar in both types of infection. The data suggest that lethal and nonlethal malaria species differ in their capacity to induce the production of O2 metabolites by macrophages, thereby influencing the final course of disease.
Predisposing factors in Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia: effects of tetracycline, protein malnutrition, and corticosteroids on hosts
Authors: Walzer P D , LaBine M , Redington T J , Cushion M T
Published: January 2020

Components of the immunosuppressive regimen used to reactivate latent Pneumocystis carinii infection were analyzed for their effects on the growth, nutrition, and lymphoid system of hosts. Rats that were administered either tetracycline or a low-protein (8%) diet alone for 7 weeks developed few abnormalities, but animals on the combined regimen developed lower body and lymphoid organ weights, lower serum albumin levels, and fewer circulating lymphocytes. Rats that were administered corticosteroids and tetracycline experienced severe wasting, debilitation, and generalized lymphocyte depletion; the low-protein diet increased the magnitude of these changes. Alterations in the frequency of occurrence of specific lymphocyte subsets occurred only in rats given corticosteroids and consisted mainly of a greater decline in peripheral blood T helper cells than in T suppressor cells. The data suggest that long-term tetracycline administration and a low-protein diet have a variety of adverse effects on the host which enhance the immunosuppressive properties of corticosteroids.
Longitudinal investigation of bacteriology of human fissure decay: epidemiological studies in molars shortly after eruption
Authors: Loesche W J , Eklund S , Earnest R , Burt B
Published: January 2020

In the present investigation, the proportions of Streptococcus mutans, lactobacilli, Streptococcus sanguis, veillonellae, and an unidentified actinomyces-like organism in dental plaque on occlusal fissures of first mandibular molars were monitored at 6-month intervals over a 3-year period in 368 children who were initially in grades 1 or 2. Teeth destined to become decayed exhibited a significant increase in the proportions of S. mutans from 6 to 24 months before the diagnosis of dental decay. Lactobacilli were sporadically detected but when present were associated with dental decay. Children whose teeth exhibited the greatest number of decayed surfaces had, at all time periods, significantly higher proportions of S. mutans than did children who were caries free. Many teeth had high proportions of S. mutans at their entry into the study. About 10% of the monitored teeth erupted during the period of observation, and in these teeth both S. mutans and lactobacilli could be significantly associated with decay. In these newly erupted teeth S. mutans outnumbered lactobacilli by ca. 20 to 1. S. sanguis, veillonellae, and the unidentified actinomyces-like organism could not be associated with the development of decay. These findings strongly implicate S. mutans and possibly lactobacilli as dental pathogens and suggest that if decay is to be controlled by strategies based upon a S. mutans infection, then the various tactics used probably will have to be performed on primary teeth, as these teeth are the most likely sources of infection for the permanent teeth.
Production and partial characterization of a Vibrio fluvialis cytotoxin
Authors: Wall V W , Kreger A S , Richardson S H
Published: January 2020

Conditions are described for the production of an extracellular cytotoxin or CHO cell-killing factor by Vibrio fluvialis, a recently recognized enteric pathogen. The cell-killing factor was ammonium sulfate precipitable, heat labile, and inactivated by proteases, and had an isoelectric point (estimated by sucrose density gradient electrofocusing) and an apparent molecular weight (estimated by gel filtration) of ca. 4.8 and 12,200, respectively. The culture supernatant fluids also possessed hemolytic and phospholipase A2 activities; however, they were separable from cell-killing factor activity by gel filtration. The substance(s) possessing the hemolytic and phospholipase activities coeluted when fractionated by gel filtration with Sephacryl S-200 (apparent molecular weight of ca. 34,500) and had isoelectric points of ca. 4.4 and 4.5, respectively.
Characterization of Haemophilus influenzae type b fimbriae
Authors: Stull T L , Mendelman P M , Haas J E , Schoenborn M A , Mack K D , Smith A L
Published: January 2020

We confirmed that the fimbriae of Haemophilus influenzae type b conferred hemagglutinating activity (HA) towards human erythrocytes, and erythrocytes of certain other species. Most (17/25) cerebrospinal fluid isolates lacked detectable HA on direct testing, but selective enrichment for fimbriation (f+) indicated that 22 of 25 strains could produce these surface structures. HA was unchanged from pH 4.5 to 9.5 and was not inhibited by mannose or certain other simple sugars. The HA titer of a suspension of three f+ strains was slightly decreased at 50 degrees C; HA was lost by heating at 60 degrees C for 3 min. Growth on a variety of solid and liquid media and under differing degrees of oxygenation did not change the HA titer of a suspension of three f+ strains. Fimbriation was not lost on repeated subculture. Wild-type fimbriated strains, and those derived by transformation, did not contain detectable plasmid DNA. Transformation of a strain lacking fimbriae to f+ was associated with the appearance of an outer membrane protein of 24 kilodaltons. This protein was purified from one strain to homogeneity on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis by selective detergent solubilization and ammonium sulfate fractionation. Colonization capacity was equivalent with an isogenic untypable strain lacking or possessing fimbriae. Fimbriae of type b H. influenzae possess characteristics similar to those structures on other gram-negative bacteria; their role in cell physiology or pathogenesis of invasive disease is unknown.
Immunological relationship between anionic antimicrobial proteins from caries-free individuals and known salivary antimicrobial factors
Authors: Obenauf S D , Fisher R H , Cowman R A , Fitzgerald R J
Published: January 2020

We examined whether the anionic inhibitory proteins identified in mixed saliva from certain caries-free individuals are fragments or degradation products of recognized salivary antimicrobial factors. In the experiments reported here, the anionic inhibitory proteins did not produce precipitin reactions with antisera to any of the established salivary antimicrobial factors examined. Additionally, native, heat-treated, or urea-denatured known salivary antimicrobial factors did not react with the antiserum to the anionic inhibitory proteins. However, the antiserum to the anionic inhibitory proteins was found to be reactive with a protein concentrate from mixed saliva or from separate submandibular and parotid secretions from a number of different donors, as well as with a purified protein fraction containing the homologous anionic inhibitory proteins. These findings suggest that the anionic inhibitory proteins represent intact and unique salivary proteins and not the degradation fragments of salivary antimicrobial protein factors within the oral environment.
Association of hydroxamate siderophore (aerobactin) with Escherichia coli isolated from patients with bacteremia
Authors: Montgomerie J Z , Bindereif A , Neilands J B , Kalmanson G M , Guze L B
Published: January 2020

Clinical isolates of Escherichia coli were examined for the presence of hydroxamate siderophore (aerobactin). The incidence of aerobactin-positive strains of E. coli from the blood was greater than the incidence of these strains isolated from other sites. The presence of aerobactin and the virulence of strains of E. coli in urinary tract infection were also examined in mice. The presence of aerobactin in the strains of E. coli correlated with virulence as measured by proportion of deaths but not with renal infection. These results suggest that the presence of aerobactin may be a significant factor in the invasion of the blood stream.
Passive transfer of tuberculin sensitivity from anergic mice
Authors: Orme I M , Collins F M
Published: January 2020

Mice heavily infected with Mycobacterium bovis BCG rapidly became anergic to cutaneous injection with tuberculin. Evidence is presented suggesting that this anergy reflects an adaptive physiological change within the host in which antigen-reactive Thy-1.2+ cells become sequestered in central lymphoid tissues, with a concomitant reduction in the circulating pool. No evidence could be provided to support the suggestion that anergy was a consequence of an acquired immunosuppressive mechanism.
Interaction of Mycoplasma pneumoniae with erythrocyte glycolipids of I and i antigen types
Authors: Loomes L M , Uemura K , Feizi T
Published: January 2020

The role of sialoglycolipids (gangliosides) as receptors for the human pathogen Mycoplasma pneumoniae was investigated by using purified gangliosides of known carbohydrate structures as inhibitors of the binding of 51Cr-labeled erythrocytes to sheet cultures of M. pneumoniae. We found that sialoglycolipids with long carbohydrate backbones of the poly-N-acetyllactosamine type were more potent inhibitors of M. pneumoniae binding than those with short carbohydrate chains. This is in accord with earlier inhibition data for glycoproteins and oligosaccharides. Thus, the inhibitory activity of a fraction of bovine erythrocyte gangliosides containing long backbone structures of I antigen type was approximately 200 times greater than that of the short chain gangliosides GM3 and GT1b. The binding of M. pneumoniae to erythrocytes of I and i antigen types was found to be comparable, indicating that M. pneumoniae in its adhesive specificity may not distinguish between the branched carbohydrate backbones of I type and the linear structures of i type. Thus, the production of autoantibodies to the backbone structures of I type rather than i type after infection with this agent may simply reflect a greater abundance of branched carbohydrate receptors of I type on the surface of host cells with which the mycoplasma forms immunogenic complexes.
Decomplementation antigen, a possible determinant of staphylococcal pathogenicity
Authors: Bhakdi S , Muhly M
Published: January 2020

We report the existence of an extracellular staphylococcal product, designated staphylococcal decomplementation antigen (DA), that causes rapid consumption of early-reacting complement components up to and including C5 in human serum. Complement activation occurs as a consequence of immune complex formation between DA and specific human immunoglobulin G antibodies and proceeds primarily via the classical pathway. The terminal components C7, C8, and C9 are not consumed during the process. Levels of DA production do not correlate with the expression of classical pathogenic factors, such as coagulase, clumping factor, protein A, or alpha-toxin. DA is a nondialyzable macromolecule eluting in a molecular-weight region of 70,000 to 120,000 on Sephacryl S-300 and displaying an apparent sedimentation coefficient of 3 to 4 S on sucrose density gradients. The molecule is remarkably stable and resists destruction upon boiling for 30 min or by treatment with pronase, lysostaphin, DNase, or RNase. We anticipate that DA protects staphylococci from complement attack through induction of abortive, complement-consuming reactions in the fluid phase.
Construction of a conjugative plasmid with potential use in vaccines against heat-labile enterotoxin
Authors: Chen T M , Mazaitis A J , Maas W K
Published: January 2020

A conjugative plasmid with potential usefulness for vaccine strains was constructed. In the first step, a 5.9-kilobase DNA segment containing the two loci for the A and B subunits of heat-labile enterotoxin with a mutation in the gene for the A subunit was joined to the cloning vehicle pGA22, generating the nonconjugative plasmid pPMC4 with genes for resistance to tetracycline and chloramphenicol. In the second step, a segment of pPMC4 containing the genes for the A and B subunits, the gene for chloramphenicol resistance, and the replication genes of pGA22 was ligated to the genes for conjugal transfer of the F plasmid, generating the 54.9-kb plasmid pPMC5. Eleven porcine Escherichia coli isolates were tested as recipients for pPMC4 and pPMC5. For pPMC4, transformation and mobilization with a conjugative R plasmid were used to effect plasmid transfer. Only 1 of the 11 strains acted as a recipient in transformation. Mobilization with the R plasmid occurred with two strains, but the plasmids were altered during transfer. In contrast, pPMC5 was transferred with high frequency and unaltered to 9 of the 11 E. coli strains. Transconjugants from these nine matings produced high titers of the B subunit and no active heat-labile enterotoxin. Plasmid pPMC5 was stable in three porcine E. coli strains tested; plasmid pPMC4 was somewhat less stable in these strains. The method we describe for the construction of conjugative chimeric plasmids offers an opportunity for introducing genes with potential for immunization into bacterial strains that are suitable for colonizing the appropriate host sites.
Notas ecocríticas sobre A Dríade e outros contos arbóreos de Andersen
Authors: Eggensperger Klaus
Published: January 2020

O ensaio apresenta o conto Dryaden / The Dryad de H. C. Andersen junto com referências a outros contos de fadas andersenianos, onde uma árvore tem um papel central dentro da narrativa. A partir de uma abordagem ecocrítica destaca-se a postura crítica do conto em relação ao triunfo da modernidade na Europa do século XIX.
Fadas em ação: uma breve análise da narrativa “O corvo”, de Ana de Castro Osório
Authors: Araújo Priscila Clementino Bezerra de , Santos Rita De Cássia Silva Dionísio
Published: January 2020

OSÓRIO, Ana de Castro. O Corvo. In: Contos Tradicionais Portugueses para as Crianças. Lisboa: Instituto Piaget, 1997.
Revolutionary Textiles: A Philosophical Inquiry on Electronic and Reactive Textiles
Authors: Heinzel Tincuta , Hinestroza Juan P.
Published: January 2020

Often qualified as “revolutionary,” electronic and reactive textiles are promising to bring wide-reaching changes to our existence: from the way we dress to the way we communicate, from the way we sense and are sensed to the way we build and use textiles as substrates for new applications. From a philosophical perspective, this article explores the revolutionary character of electronic and reactive textiles—in other words, what about them is “revolutionary?” Corollary questions include, “What do electronic and reactive textiles revolutionize?” and “What is it to revolutionize?” or more precisely, “What exactly is expected to be revolutionized when it comes to textiles?” The article emphasizes that with electronic and reactive textiles we are confronted with a new understanding of matter (and implicitly with new ways to manipulate and use it). The article also addresses the ways digitization not only affects the constitution of new objects (interactive objects/devices) but also produces changes in the industrial forms of production. Last but not least, we argue that the innovation aspects related to the development of new materials and their forms of production have to be addressed on different scales, by following trans-disciplinary approaches within a deliberate framework of philosophical questioning.
Taxonomy of the plant bug tribe Saturniomirini (Insecta: Heteroptera: Miridae) from Australia and Papua New Guinea: a phylogenetic analysis, and the description of one new genus and ten new species
Authors: Chan Cynthia , Cassis Gerasimos
Published: January 2020

The mirid tribe Saturniomirini is redescribed, based on material from Australia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. One new genus and ten new species of Saturniomirini are described: Kallosmiris
gen. n., Kallosmiris avena
sp. n.
, Kallosmiris geminus
sp. n., Kallosmiris solis
sp. n., Cheesmaniella australiensis
sp. n., Garainamiris ganymedis
sp. n., Trilaccus forrestae
sp. n., Trilaccus luteoscutellatus
sp. n., Trilaccus mica
sp. n., Trilaccus mimeticus
sp. n. and Trilaccus stewartensis
sp. n., Cheesmaniella (Cheesmaniella australiensis
sp. n.) and Garainamiris (Garainamiris ganymedis
sp. n.) are recorded from Australia for the first time. All existing Saturniomirini genera, including their type species and previously described species are redescribed as follows: Cheesmaniella
Carvalho, 1984, Garainamiris
Carvalho, 1981, Imogen
Kirkaldy, 1905, Saturniomiris
Kirkaldy, 1902, Synthlipsis
Kirkaldy, 1908 and Trilaccus Horváth, 1902. Four previously described species (Garainamiris antennatus
Carvalho, 1981, Synthlipsis ternatensis (Distant, 1904), Trilaccus marginatus (Distant, 1904) and Trilaccus perversus (Reuter, 1905)) were not examined directly but photographs of types were available for observation. A dichotomous key to Saturniomirini taxa, colour habitus photographs, scanning electron micrographs, illustrations of male genitalia and distribution maps are provided. A phylogenetic analysis of morphological data was conducted, resulting in the Saturniomirini and all included genera recovered as monophyletic taxa.
Older Adults Show Less Flexible Spatial Cue Use When Navigating in a Virtual Reality Environment Compared With Younger Adults
Authors: Kimura Kazushige , Reichert James F , Kelly Debbie M , Moussavi Zahra
Published: January 2020

Daily life requires accurate navigation, and thus better understanding of aging on navigational abilities is critical. Importantly, the use of spatial properties by older and younger adults remains unclear. During this study, younger and older human adults were presented with a virtual environment in which they had to navigate a series of hallways. The hallways provided 2 general types of spatial information: geometric, which included distance and directional turns along a learned route, and featural, which included landmarks situated along the route. To investigate how participants used these different cue types, geometric and/or landmark information was manipulated during testing trials. Data from 40 younger (20 women) and 40 older (20 women) adults were analyzed. Our findings suggest that (1) both younger and older adults relied mostly on landmarks to find their way, and (2) younger adults were better able to adapt to spatial changes to the environment compared with older adults.
Beyond the NCCN Risk Factors in Colon Cancer: An Evaluation in a Swedish Population-Based Cohort
Authors: Osterman Erik , Mezheyeuski Artur , Sjöblom Tobias , Glimelius Bengt
Published: January 2020

Background

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether pT3–4 and pN-subclassifications, lymph-node ratio (LNR), tumour deposits, pre- and postoperative carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), and C-reactive protein (CRP)—all parameters commonly collected in clinical management—add information about recurrence risk against a background of routine clinicopathological parameters as defined by the NCCN.

Methods

The prospective cohort consisted of all 416 patients diagnosed with colon cancer stage I–III in Uppsala County between 2010 and 2015. Cox proportional hazard models were used to calculate hazard ratios for time to recurrence and overall survival. The results were compared with the entire Swedish population concerning parameters recorded in the national quality registry, SCRCR, during the same time period.

Results

The Uppsala cohort was representative of the entire Swedish cohort. In unadjusted analyses, pT3-subclassification, pN-subclassification, LNR, tumour deposits, elevated postoperative CEA, and preoperative CRP correlated with recurrence. After adjusting for T-, N-stage, and NCCN risk factors, pN-subclassification, sidedness, and elevated postoperative CEA levels correlated with recurrence. Survival correlated with parameters associated with recurrence, LNR, and elevated postoperative CRP.

Conclusions

Additional information on recurrence risk is available from several routinely recorded parameters, but most of the risk is predicted by the commonly used clinicopathological parameters.
Changes in Hypertension Diagnostic Criteria Enhance Early Identification of at Risk College Students
Authors: Wilson Oliver W. A. , Kamara Kadiatu , Papalia Zack , Bopp Melissa , Bopp Christopher M.
Published: January 2020

The revised (ACC/AHA) hypertension diagnostic criteria were intended to facilitate early identification and intervention among those with hypertension to improve patient health and lessen burden on the healthcare system. The purpose of this study was to examine fitness, anthropometric, and blood profile differences between college students who were or were not reclassified as hypertensive using the revised hypertension diagnostic criteria. Students completed an objective fitness assessment between September 2015 and April 2018. A total of 2724 students (71% men; 21 ± 1 yr) who were classified as prehypertensive under the old (JCN7) diagnostic criteria were included in the analyses. Men reclassified as having stage 1 hypertension using the ACC/AHA diagnostic criteria had a significantly higher body mass index (26.48 vs 25.66 kg·m−2, P < 0.001), and body fat percentage (17.30% vs 16.15%, P < 0.001), abdominal girth (33.58 vs 32.81 in. P < 0.001), and lower predicted aerobic fitness (36.20 vs 37.63 mL·kg−1⋅min−1, P < 0.001) compared with those who remained classified as prehypertensive (i.e., elevated). Women reclassified as having stage 1 hypertension using the ACC/AHA diagnostic criteria had a significantly higher body mass index (25.28 vs 24.46 kg·m−2, P = 0.015), and body fat percentage (28.63% vs 27.26%, P = 0.005), abdominal girth (30.10 vs 29.38 in. P = 0.011), and lower predicted aerobic fitness (34.07 vs 35.19 mL·kg−1⋅min−1, P = 0.031) compared with those who remained classified as prehypertensive. Blood profiles did not differ between those who were and those who were not reclassified as hypertensive for either sex. The odds of being reclassified varied from 3% to 7% based on the increase of a unit in each body composition variable and predicted aerobic fitness for both sexes. HDL was only predictive among men, and LDL was only predictive among women. The change in hypertension diagnostic criteria had the intended impact, as an increased number of college students with poorer fitness and less favorable anthropometric profiles were diagnosed as having hypertension.
The development of sports trauma management in the UK
Authors: Hackney Roger
Published: January 2020

A first-hand account of the changing perspectives of sports medicine over time.
Listening to core surgical trainees who drop out
Authors: Hampton T , Dawes S , Sharma A , Waghorn A
Published: January 2020

What can we learn from surgeons who leave?
Machine learning holography for 3D particle field imaging
Authors: Shao Siyao , Mallery Kevin , Kumar S. Santosh , Hong Jiarong
Published: January 2020

We propose a new learning-based approach for 3D particle field imaging using holography. Our approach uses a U-net architecture incorporating residual connections, Swish activation, hologram preprocessing, and transfer learning to cope with challenges arising in particle holograms where accurate measurement of individual particles is crucial. Assessments on both synthetic and experimental holograms demonstrate a significant improvement in particle extraction rate, localization accuracy and speed compared to prior methods over a wide range of particle concentrations, including highly dense concentrations where other methods are unsuitable. Our approach can be potentially extended to other types of computational imaging tasks with similar features.
Broadband indium tin oxide nanowire arrays as saturable absorbers for solid-state lasers
Authors: Feng Xiaoyue , Liu Jingjing , Yang Wen , Yu Xiuru , Jiang Shouzhen , Ning Tingyin , Liu Jie
Published: January 2020

Indium Tin Oxide nanowire arrays (ITO-NWAs), as epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) materials, exhibit a fast response time and a low saturable absorption intensity, which make them promising photoelectric materials. In this study, ITO-NWAs were successfully fabricated using a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method, and the saturable absorption properties of this material were characterized in the near-infrared region. Further, passively Q-switched all-solid-state lasers were realized at wavelengths of 1.0, 1.3, and 2.0 µm using the as-prepared saturable absorber (SA). To the best of our knowledge, we present the first application of ITO-NWAs in all-solid-state lasers. The results reveal that ITO-NWAs may be applied as an SA while developing Q-switched lasers and that they exhibit a broad application prospect as broadband saturable absorption materials.
The President's dilemma: The Portuguese semi-presidential system in times of crisis (2011–16)
Authors: Freire André , Santana-Pereira José
Published: January 2020

Economic crises and foreign interventions cause political actors to face a dilemma between responsiveness towards their electorate and responsibility vis-à-vis international institutions. In this article, we analyse how a seldom studied political actor in international affairs (the Head of State in a semi-presidential regime) dealt with this dilemma. We focus on Aníbal Cavaco Silva's (former president of the Portuguese Republic) discourse, and use of veto and constitutionality examination request powers in the 2011–16 mandate, and on his attitudes regarding the access to power of pro- and anti-austerity political forces in the aftermath of the 2015 legislative elections. We conclude that the Head of State was more concerned with international responsibility than with domestic responsibility and responsiveness, especially at the behavioural level, although he occasionally acted in ways that toned down this feature of his presidential mandate. We therefore suggest that in times of severe crisis the political conditions that usually partly explain variations in the use of the presidential powers in semi-presidential regimes interact with short-term factors related to the crisis that can reduce or even cancel out their effects.
Blood Wedding in (re)translation
Authors: González Bermúdez Patricia
Published: January 2020

This article is a comparative study of four different translations into English of Federico García Lorca's play Bodas de sangre (1933) carried out in the United Kingdom and Ireland throughout the 1990s. Since the publication of Antoine Berman's seminal article on 'retranslation', this theoretical concept has provided a fecund framework for descriptive translation studies, illuminating the variety of solutions translators provide when confronted with the same original text. This article furthers that body of scholarship while simultaneously providing new angles on Lorca's dramatic work. The comparative approach to several English translations of this classic work concentrates on two key scenes of the play and discusses the linguistic, pragmatic and theatrical adequacy of each translation.
Cinema and the political in Kerala: On Mukhamukham and Amma Ariyan
Authors: Joseph Jenson
Published: January 2020

This article contrasts two seminal Malayalam films from the 1980s to understand the fraught relations between the Left politics and cinema in Kerala. The first part of the article argues that Mukhamukham ('Face to face', 1984) is a film in which its auteur director Adoor Gopalakrishnan identifies the Left political discourse and the medium of cinema as two powerful-popular epistemic tools at disposal in the region, but ultimately elevating cinema's resources as superior in taking us closer to truth. In the second part, I look at John Abraham's iconic Amma Ariyan ('Report to mother', 1986), to argue that the film came to be accepted widely and undisputedly as a political film mainly due to its (symbolic) privileging of the energies of collective affect – inalienable to both the Left politics and cinema – over contemplation and endevours of distanced intellectual knowledge production.
Women vs modernity in Rajinikanth's Tamil-language films: The mother, the good woman, the modern virgin and the angry feminist
Authors: Sathiyaseelan Sinduja
Published: January 2020

This article presents criticism on Tamil-language films starring the iconic Indian actor Rajinikanth, focusing on the development of female characters as battlegrounds between tradition and modernity. Within the framework of Rajinikanth films as nationalistic projects in which the gendered portrayals of characters are tied up with notions of patriotism and duty, female characters in Rajinikanth films almost always conform to four stereotypes: the goddess mother, the traditional good woman, the modern virgin, and the angry modern feminist. Using close reading and a broad chronological survey of Rajinikanth's filmography, this article highlights the modern virgin stereotype as a mediating force between tradition and modernity, and argues that the predictable reconstitution of modern virgins into traditional good wives betrays growing fears of modernity and globalization within Tamil culture.