bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Molecular characterization of a virulence-associated epitope on the lipopolysaccharide ofLegionella pneumophilaserogroup 1
Authors: Helbig J. H. , Lück P. C. , Knirel Y. A. , Witzleb W. , Zähringer U. 
Published: May 2009

SummaryFor identification of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-associated epitopes ofLegionella pneumophilaserogroup 1, LPS of strain Philadelphia 1 was investigated using monoclonal antibodies (MAbs). The O-specific chain of LPS is a homopolymer of 5-acetamidino-7-acetamido-8-O-acetyl-3,5,7,9-tetradeoxy-D-glycero-L-galacto-nonulosonic acid. At least four immunoaccessible epitopes were recognized by different MAbs on the intact LPS. AfterO-deacetylation of LPS, the reactivity of one of the MAbs (MAb 3/1) was lost, indicating thus that the corresponding epitope is associated with the 8-O-acetyl group. Since the reactivity pattern of the MAb 3/1 is identical with those of the MAb 2 which was considered as a virulence marker for serogroup 1, this epitope may be involved in mediating virulence inL. pneumophila. Four MAbs specific to strains of serogroup 1 other than the monoclonal subtype Philadelphia recognized epitopes on theO-deacetylated LPS of strain Philadelphia 1 and, therefore, the virulence-associated epitope blocks recognition of the immunodeterminants that are accessible on the intact LPS of the strains lacking this epitope.
Interpretation of serological surveillance data for measles using mathematical models: implications for vaccine strategy
Authors: Gay N. J. , Hesketh L. M. , Morgan-Capner P. , Miller E. 
Published: May 2009

SummarySerological surveillance of measles immunity has been carried out in England since 1986/7. Results from sera collected in 1989–91 revealed that the proportion of school age children who were susceptible to measles was increasing, following the introduction of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccination programme in October 1988. Mathematical models are used to interpret these data and determine whether this increasing susceptibility is sufficient to allow a resurgence of disease from the low levels achieved by 1993. The models summarize serological profiles by a single parameter, the reproduction number R, which quantifies the level of herd immunity in the population. Results showed that there was cause for concern over the levels of susceptibility to measles, with an epidemic of over 100000 cases likely in 1995/6. These predictions are consistent with trends in the incidence and age distribution of measles and have enabled the planning of a major vaccination campaign.
Serological evidence for the reservoir hosts of cowpox virus in British wildlife
Authors: Crouch A. C. , Baxby D. , McCracken C. M. , Gaskell R. M. , Bennett M. 
Published: May 2009

SummaryThe reservoir host of cowpox virus in Western Europe is not known, but epidemiological evidence from human and feline infections indicates that the virus is probably endemic in small wild rodents. Therefore, serum and tissue samples were collected from a variety of wild British mammals and some birds, and tested for evidence of Orthopoxvirus infection. Antibody reacting with cowpox virus was detected in 9/44 (20%) bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus), 8/24 (33%) field voles (Microtus agrestis), 17/86 (20%) wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus) and 1/44 house mice (Mus musculus), but in no other animal species tested. Although virus was not isolated from any animal, this serological survey, together with other evidence, suggests that bank and field voles and wood mice are the main reservoir hosts of cowpox virus in Great Britain.
An outbreak of cryptosporidiosis in South London: what value the p value ?
Authors: Maguire H. C. , Holmes E. , Hollyer J. , Strangeways J. E. M. , Foster P. , Holliman R. E. , Stanwell-Smith R. 
Published: May 2009

SummaryAn outbreak of cryptosporidiosis which affected 44 people in January and February 1991 was identified through local surveillance at a South London Public Health Laboratory. Preliminary enquiries revealed that more than half the patients were adult and that there were no common factors other than geographical association. A case-control study showed a significant association between illness and consumption of tap water supplied by a particular water company, as well as a dose response effect. There were no apparent breaches or irregularities in the water distribution system and no indication of a problem through routine monitoring indices. This incident demonstrates the problems of establishing the source of cryptosporidiosis outbreaks in the absence of evidence of environmental abnormality, as well as possibly indicating that water conforming to current treatment standards may occasionally contain sufficient numbers of Cryptosporidium oocysts to cause sporadic cases or clusters.
Poliomyelitis in the Netherlands: a review of population immunity and exposure between the epidemics in 1978 and 1992
Authors: Rümke H. C. , Oostvogel P. M. , Van Steenis G. , Van Loon A. M. 
Published: May 2009

SummaryAn overview of serologieal and virological studies on poliomyelitis in the Netherlands between two epidemics in 1978 and 1992 is given. Three unvaccinated patients acquired poliomyelitis abroad. In the Netherlands vaccination coverage with quadruple DPT–IPV vaccine is very high. The strong immunogenicity of inactivated poliovirus vaccine was confirmed in a cohort of children, reflected in age-stratified antibody profiles of the population. Adults born in the pre vaccination era appeared in general protected, but 10–25% of persons born between 1930 and 1945 lacked neutralizing antibodies. Revaccination induced a booster type of antibody response in 75–90% of such persons, indicating immunological memory and protection.Virological studies on adopted children from other countries, patients with indications for viral examination, and river waters showed that the Netherlands was regularly exposed to polio virus (PV), without signs of indigenous transmission. Persons found to carry PV or their close contacts had travelled to a PV endemic country. Most of 557 isolates were vaccine-derived, only 8% were wild type viruses. Despite their presence, up to 1992 the well-known susceptibles for PV in the Netherlands were shielded by the herd immunity of the Dutch population.
Laboratory rearedAmblyomma hebraeumandAmblyomma variegatumticks differ in their susceptibility to infection withCowdria ruminantium
Authors: Mahan S. M. , Peter T. F. , Semu S. M. , Simbi B. H. , Norval R. A. I. , Barbet A. F. 
Published: May 2009

SummaryThe susceptibility of laboratory reared ZimbabweanAmblyomma hebraeumandA. variegatumticks to infection with geographically distinctCowdria ruminantiumstrains was investigated by feeding both species simultaneously on individual sheep infected with one of the four strains (Crystal Springs [Zimbabwe], Ball 3 [South Africa]. Gardel [Guadeloupe] and Nigeria [Nigeria]).A. hebraeumticks demonstrated a high susceptibility to infection with all fourC. ruminantiumstrains. In comparison.A. variegatumwere less susceptible to infection with the Crystal Springs and Ball 3 strains (P< 0·001), but showed a similar susceptibility to the Gardel and Nigeria strains. The differences in susceptibility ofA. variegatumto infection with the four strains ofC. ruminantiumcorrelated with the origin of these strains. The consistently higher susceptibility ofA. hebraeumticks to infection with geographically differentC. ruminantiumstrains may be one explanation for the observation that heartwater is a more serious problem whereA. hebraeiunis the vector of the disease.
An epidemiological study ofVibrio choleraeO1 in the Australian environment based on rRNA gene polymorphisms
Authors: Desmarchelier P. M. , Wong F. Y. K. , Mallard K. 
Published: May 2009

SummarySince 1977,Vibrio choleraeO1 has been isolated from the Australian aquatic environment and periodically cholera cases have occurred following exposure to these environments. To study the relationships between clinical isolates and environmental isolates from rivers and aquatic life, widely distributed throughout the country, a wide range of molecular typing methods were employed. In this paper we report the analysis of the 180 Australian isolates (10 clinical and 170 environmental) using ribotyping. Seven ribotype patterns were observed among the Australian inaba isolates, 2 of which included all clinical inaba isolates and 84% environmental inaba isolates collected from 9 rivers and creeks in eastern Australia during an 8-year period. Isolates from epidemiologically related clinical cases, asymptomatic household contacts and sewage were indistinguishable. The ogawa isolates were more diverse, with 9 ribotypes observed among 24 isolates from 8 rivers during the same period. Ribotype patterns were not shared between the serotypes with the exception of one ogawa isolate which could be distinguished using PFGE. Ribotyping has been useful in confirming an association between epidemiologically related clinical isolates and the aquatic environment and the persistence of several clones of the O1 serovar in the Australian environment during an 8-year period.
Isolation of enterotoxigenicEscherichia colifrom British troops in Saudi Arabia
Authors: Willshaw G. A. , Cheasty T. , Rowe B. , Smith H. R. , Faithfull-Davies D. N. , Brooks T. G. J. 
Published: May 2009

SummarySpecimens from 181 patients with diarrhoea were examined by a Military General Hospital in a 3-month period during deployment of troops to Saudi Arabia in 1990/1. DNA probes for heat labile (LT) and heat stable (ST) enterotoxin genes identified enterotoxigenicEscherichia coli(ETEC) in 47 of the specimens (26%) and 49 ETEC strains were isolated. The majority (55%) belonged to a novel ETEC serotype having the O-antigen 159 and a flagellar antigen designated as a provisional new type. They produced ST and the coli surface associated antigen (CS)6. Strains of serotype O6:H16 represented 22% of the ETEC examined. They produced ST, LT and CSS together with either CS1 or CS2. The remaining ETEC belonged to seven O:H serotypes. Overall, ST was the only enterotoxin gene identified in 73% of the ETEC and 67% of the strains expressed CS6 in the absence of other colonization antigens. Resistance to three or more antibiotics was observed in 53% of the ETEC, including most of the O159 strains.
Adhesion ofAeromonassp. to cell lines used as models for intestinal adhesion
Authors: Kirov S. M. , Hayward L. J. , Nerrie M. A. 
Published: May 2009

SummaryAdhesion to HEp-2 cells has been shown to correlate with enteropathogenicity forAeromonasspecies. Such adhesion is thought to reflect the ability of strains to adhere to human intestinal enterocytes, although HEp-2 cells are not of intestinal origin. In this study strains ofAeromonas veroniibiotype sobria isolated from various sources were investigated in parallel assays for their ability to adhere to HEp-2 cells and to an intestinal cell line (Caco-2). Quantitative assays showed identical adhesion values were obtained with both cell lines. Adhesion was best when bacteria were grown at 22 °C compared with 37 °C and 7 °C. Some environmental isolates showed greater adhesion when grown at 7 °C than when grown at 37 °C. Filamentous structures on these strains are also optimally expressed under the above conditions (reported elsewhere). Mechanical shearing or trypsin treatment to remove surface structures from several adhesive strains grown at 22 °C decreased adhesion to cell lines by 50–80% providing further indirect evidence that filamentous adhesins may play a role in cell adhesion for thisAeromonasspecies.
Faecal contamination on children's hands and environmental surfaces in primary schools in Leeds
Authors: Kaltenthaler E. C. , Elsworth A. M. , Schweiger M. S. , Mara D. D. , Brauxholtz D. A. 
Published: May 2009

SummaryGastro-intestinal diseases continue to be a major health problem in primary schools in the UK. This study, which took place in 20 primary schools in the Leeds area, investigated the presence of faecal indicator bacteria on children's hands and environmental surfaces. Faecal streptococci were used as an indicator of faecal contamination.A handwashing knowledge score was developed for each child. Those children with good hygiene knowledge had less faecal contamination on their hands (relative risk: 1·4. 95% CI = 1·09–1·81,P =0·005). Those schools with higher hand counts were more likely to have had a reported outbreak of gastroenteritis in the past. Values of the Townsend Deprivation Index, an indicator of deprivation, were compared with the hand results and those schools in high deprivation areas had higher hand counts. Of the swabs taken from surfaces in the toilet areas and classrooms, the carpets in the classrooms were the most frequently contaminated surfaces.
Characteristics of gonococci isolated from men with urethritis in Dubai
Authors: Al-Hattawi K. , Ison C. A. 
Published: May 2009

SummaryNeisseria gonorrhoeae were collected from men attending out-patient clinics in Dubai. The susceptibility to a range of therapeutic antibiotics and their auxotype and serotype was determined. The plasmid content of all penicillinase-producing strains was also analysed. Thirty-six strains of N. gonorrhoeae were isolated from specimens collected from 79 patients over a 24-day period. Of the 36 isolates, 9 (25%) were penicillinase-producing N. gonorrhoeae (PPNG) and 15 (42%) were chromosomally resistant N. gonorrhoeae (CMRNG). CMRNG exhibited higher levels of resistance to cefuroxime, chloramphenicol, tetracycline and erythromycin than PPNG. All isolates were susceptible to ceftriaxone and spectinomycin. Three (8%) isolates showed reduced susceptibility (MIC, ≥ 0·25 mg/1) to ciprofloxacin. Six isolates of PPNG carried the 4·4 MD and three the 3·2 MD penicillinase encoding plasmid. The total gonococcal population was phenotypically diverse, with 12 serovars, 6 auxotypes and 21 A/S classes. Gonorrhoea was found to be a major cause of urethritis in Dubai and the strains exhibited high levels of resistance to penicillin.
Nutritional status and delayed mortality following early exposure to measles
Authors: Aaby P. , Andersen M. , Knudsen K. 
Published: May 2009

SummaryCommunity studies in Guinea-Bissau have found that exposure to measles prior to 6 months of age is associated with delayed mortality later in childhood. In an attempt to understand the underlying mechanism, we examined the role of pre-exposure nutritional status and the impact of exposure to measles on growth and subsequent mortality in these outbreaks. Though exposed children were lighter than controls, there was no association between pre-exposure weight-for-age and subsequent mortality adjusting for age. Although exposure was strongly associated with excess mortality, it did not have a negative impact on growth. Adjustment for state of nutrition did not alter the mortality ratio (MR) between 6 and 59 months of age for exposed children and controls; exposed children examined anthropometrically between 6–17 months had a MR of 3·70 compared with controls. This trend was the same for anthropometric measurements obtained at 18–59 months of age. Among the controls, there was a significant association between weight-for-age and subsequent mortality to the age of 5 years. However, for exposed children there was no association; the relation between weight-for-age and subsequent mortality was significantly different for exposed children compared with controls (tests for interaction between exposure and anthropometric measurements at 6–17 months:P= 0·05). Growth faltering as a consequence of early exposure to measles does not explain the marked excess mortality among these children. Further studies of the process underlying delayed mortality after early exposure to measles are warranted.
Bacteriophage 604: a marker phage for multi-resistantStaphylococcus aureusin Australia
Authors: Inglis B. , Heding I. , Merrylees M. , Stewart P. R. 
Published: May 2009

SUMMARYOf 28 multi-resistant isolates ofStaphylococcus aureuscollected during 1986 from hospitals in major cities around Australia, 27 were found to contain the same prophage (denoted phage 604). Hospital isolates carrying three or fewer resistance markers, and community isolates carrying one or no resistance markers, did not carry this prophage. Phage 604 does not confer antibiotic resistance on its lysogens, nor does it increase virulence in chick embryo assays. Phage 604 appears to be a correlate of antibiotic multi-resistance inS. aureusin Australia, and may provide a molecular marker for incipiently epidemic strains of this bacterium in Australian hospitals.
Plasmid profile typing can be used to subdivide phage-type 49 ofSalmonella typhimuriumin outbreak investigations
Authors: Threlfall E. J. , Frost J. A. , Ward L. R. , Rowe B. 
Published: May 2009

SUMMARYPlasmid profile typing has been used to subdivide phage-type 49 ofSalmonella typhimurium, the most common phage type in humans in England and Wales since 1985. Twenty profile patterns have been identified in 350 strains examined.Four profile patterns have been identified in 143 isolates from patients infected in 33 epidemiologically unrelated incidents and two patterns have predominated, ST49:62 and ST49:62,1. These patterns were also common amongstS. typhimuriumphage-type 49 isolated from cattle and poultry; however ST49:62 was more common in bovines whereas ST49:62,1 predominated in poultry.S. typhimuriumphage-type 49 with a different profile pattern, ST49:62, 3, was responsible for a large outbreak in London in 1988 which was traced to mayonnaise made from eggs supplied by one producer. Plasmid profile typing can now be regarded as a method of supplementing phage typing in investigating outbreaks caused by this organism.
Environmental sanitation, food and water contamination and diarrhoea in rural Bangladesh
Authors: Henry F. J. , Huttly S. R. A. , Patwary Y. , Aziz K. M. A. 
Published: May 2009

SUMMARYThis study examined the role of food and water contamination in a health impact evaluation of a water and sanitation intervention project. Although lower diarrhoea rates were found in the improved area no consistent difference in food and water contamination was observed between areas. Furthermore, no relationship was found between contamination and diarrhoea in either area, even after controlling for the nutritional status of children. These results imply that other vehicles of transmission might be more important than food and water in diarrhoeal transmission. The focus of interventions should therefore be on changing behaviours to improve overall hygiene.
Surgical repair in neonatal life of cardiac haemangiomas diagnosed prenatally
Authors: Sharma Jayendra , Hirata Yasutaka , Mosca Ralph S. 
Published: May 2009

AbstractAlthough cardiac tumours are rare, such tumours are increasingly being diagnosed with increasing frequency and great accuracy by antenatal ultrasound. Cardiac haemangiomas account for less than one-twentieth of all primary cardiac tumours, with most being diagnosed in the neonatal period. We report 3 instances of successful neonatal resection of cardiac haemangioma subsequent to prenatal diagnosis. Such diagnosis is important in perinatal management, since early surgical intervention provides a good prognosis.
Conrad and the American Empire
Authors: Candreva Debra 
Published: May 2009

Joseph Conrad offers some of the most notoriously contested writing on imperialism in nineteenth-century literature. In this article, I use two of his stories (“An Outpost of Progress” andHeart of Darkness) to argue that his critique of imperialism is as relevant today as it was in his own time.Conrad's critique of imperialism is twofold. First and most simply, he condemns it as an economically exploitative endeavor. Second, and more importantly, he rejects the “idealistic” claim often invoked to justify imperialism as the bearer of progress, enlightenment, and other supposedly universal liberal values. This second critique causes Conrad the most difficulty, largely because his rejection of idealism is only partial. I argue that the most controversial aspects of his work are manifestations of a philosophical struggle between universalistic idealism on the one hand, and relativistic skepticism on the other. In this, Conrad contends with a problem that historically has challenged both liberalism and its conservative critics alike. Moreover, it continues to challenge both perspectives today, particularly in the debate over so-called American imperialism.
Dilemmas of cultural legality: a comment on Roger Cotterrell’s ‘The struggle for law’ and a criticism of the House of Lords’ opinions in Begum
Authors: Mikhail John 
Published: May 2009

In Orientalism, Edward Said’s seminal critique of Western discourse on the Arab and Islamic world, Said begins with an epigram from Karl Marx: ’They cannot represent themselves; they must be represented‘ (Said, 1979, p. xiii, quoting Karl Marx, The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte). Said then argues that Marx’s statement captures a basic reality about Western representations of ’Oriental‘ societies, which is that they often rest on a pattern of cultural hegemony. The dominance of European colonial powers, primarily Great Britain and France, over their subjugated populations is what allowed the latter to be depicted in a way that reinforced ‘the idea of European [superiority] in comparison with. . .non-European peoples and cultures’ (p. 7). For example, in Gustave Flaubert’s popular novels, ‘Flaubert’s encounter with an Egyptian courtesan produced a. . .model of the Oriental woman. . .[who] never spoke of herself. . .[and] never represented her emotions, presence or history. He spoke for and represented her. . .telling his readers in what way she was typically Oriental’ (p. 6, emphasis original). Moreover, Flaubert’s superiority in relation to her ‘was not an isolated instance. It fairly stands for the pattern of relative strength between East and West, and the discourse about the Orient that it enabled’ (p. 6).
AMPKα1 regulates the antioxidant status of vascular endothelial cells
Authors: Colombo Sergio L. , Moncada Salvador 
Published: May 2009

AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase) is a key regulator of cellular energy because of its capacity to detect changes in the concentration of AMP. Recent evidence, however, indicates the existence of alternative mechanisms of activation of this protein. Mitochondrial ROS (reactive oxygen species), generated as a result of the interaction between nitric oxide and mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase, activate AMPKα1 in HUVECs (human umbilical-vein endothelial cells) at a low oxygen concentration (i.e. 3%). This activation is independent of changes in AMP. In the present study we show, using HUVECs in which AMPKα1 has been silenced, that this protein is responsible for the expression of genes involved in antioxidant defence, such as manganese superoxide dismutase, catalase, γ-glutamylcysteine synthase and thioredoxin. Furthermore, peroxisome proliferator-activated-coactivator-1, cAMP-response-element-binding protein and Foxo3a (forkhead transcription factor 3a) are involved in this signalling pathway. In addition, we show that silencing AMPKα1 in cells results in a reduced mitochondrial and eNOS (endothelial NO synthase) content, reduced cell proliferation, increased accumulation of ROS and apoptosis. Thus AMPKα1 in HUVECs regulates both their mitochondrial content and their antioxidant defences. Pharmacological activation of AMPKα1 in the vascular endothelium may be beneficial in conditions such as metabolic syndrome, Type 2 diabetes and atherosclerosis, not only because of its bioenergetic effects but also because of its ability to counteract oxidative stress.