bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Need for uniqueness in older women: an exploratory look
Authors: Armstrong Myrna L. , Saunders Jana C. , Owen Donna C. , Roberts Alden E. , Koch Jerome R. 
Published: July 2009

Problem.  Information about older women dwells on age‐related illness and disabilities yet, other empowering traits could be promoting positive forces.Aim.  While everyone desires some distinctiveness, this study explores higher levels of the motivational construct need for uniqueness (NU) in older women. NU concepts are: 1) perceived feelings of being or thinking different, 2) outspoken social behaviour, and 3) creative consumer consumption.Design.  An exploratory, descriptive cross‐sectional study provided quantitative data and focus groups generated qualitative data.Major results.  Significant differences in all three NU concepts were evident between 87 (42%) with no/weak NU and 122 (58%) who ‘preferred to be different from other people’. Focus groups provided examples over their lifetime within the context of their societal expectations.Relevance to clinical practice.  The nurse’s strategy to partner with older women to individualize their care and teaching will be important in maintaining their well‐being. Examining their decision‐making with how they respond to perceived feelings of being or thinking different (such as taking risks), how outspoken are they, and their patterns of consumer consumption are a few questions that could be asked to examine an older woman’s NU. Further research examining specific health care decisions in those with NU will also be needed to note their responses toward future self‐care activities.
Intraoperative use of a reflective blanket (Sirius®rescue sheet) for temperature management in dogs less than 10 kg
Authors: Tünsmeyer J. , Bojarski I. , Nolte I. , Kramer S. 
Published: July 2009

Objectives:To compare the effects of the Sirius®rescue sheet with gel padsversusgel pads alone on intraoperative body temperature in dogs less than 10 kg.Methods:Forty small breed dogs undergoing elective surgical procedures were randomly assigned to two groups. One group was intraoperatively laid on warmed gel pads, and the other group was additionally wrapped in a Sirius®rescue sheet. Oesophageal body temperature was determined every 10 minutes and compared between groups. Temperature of gel pads was measured preoperatively and postoperatively to compare heat loss of the gel pads between groups.Results:The body temperature of dogs wrapped with the Sirius®rescue sheet increased intraoperatively. In dogs just lying on warmed gel pads, a decrease in mean body temperature was revealed and mean body temperatures differed between groups after 40 minutes. Extent of heat loss from the gel pads did not differ between the groups.ClinicalSignificance:The Sirius®rescue sheet, used in addition to warmed gel pads, led to higher intraoperative body temperatures in small breed dogs undergoing surgical procedures to the extremities and the head. The cost‐effectiveness and ease of handling make this a useful addition to clinical practice.
Diagnostic accuracy of positive contrast computed tomography arthrography for the detection of injuries to the medial meniscus in dogs with naturally occurring cranial cruciate ligament insufficiency
Authors: Tivers M. S. , Mahoney P. N. , Baines E. A. , Corr S. A. 
Published: July 2009

Objective: To assess the usefulness of computed tomography arthrography of the stifle in diagnosing meniscal tears in dogs with cranial cruciate ligament insufficiency. Methods: A prospective clinical study was performed. Dogs were included if they had evidence of cranial cruciate ligament insufficiency or persistent or recurrent lameness following surgery for cranial cruciate ligament insufficiency. Dogs were sedated for a computed tomography scan of the affected stifle, orientated in the dorsal plane. A survey computed tomography scan was followed by a computed tomography arthrogram. A stifle arthrotomy was performed, and the surgical findings were recorded. The computed tomography scans were reviewed by three blinded reviewers, and the results were compared to the surgical findings. Results: Twenty‐one computed tomography arthrograms from 20 dogs were included. At surgery, damage to the medial meniscus was identified in 14 stifles. Initial interpretation of computed tomography arthrography images was 57 to 64 per cent sensitive and 71 to 100 per cent specific for diagnosing medial meniscal injuries. Interpretation of the images on retrospective analysis was 71 per cent sensitive and 100 per cent specific, with an accuracy of 0·857. Clinical Significance: The accuracy of stifle computed tomography arthrography for the diagnosis of tears to the medial meniscus was found to be good. It is a minimally invasive and repeatable technique, which does not require general anaesthesia or specialist training to obtain the images. The ability to reliably diagnose meniscal injury without the need for surgery may be advantageous, particularly in dogs which had previously had surgery for cranial cruciate ligament insufficiency.
Metabolic Capacity of
Sinorhizobium
(
Ensifer
)
meliloti
Strains as Determined by Phenotype MicroArray Analysis
Authors: Biondi Emanuele G. , Tatti Enrico , Comparini Diego , Giuntini Elisa , Mocali Stefano , Giovannetti Luciana , Bazzicalupo Marco , Mengoni Alessio , Viti Carlo 
Published: June 2009

ABSTRACT

Sinorhizobium meliloti
is a soil bacterium that fixes atmospheric nitrogen in plant roots. The high genetic diversity of its natural populations has been the subject of extensive analysis. Recent genomic studies of several isolates revealed a high content of variable genes, suggesting a correspondingly large phenotypic differentiation among strains of
S. meliloti
. Here, using the Phenotype MicroArray (PM) system, hundreds of different growth conditions were tested in order to compare the metabolic capabilities of the laboratory reference strain Rm1021 with those of four natural
S. meliloti
isolates previously analyzed by comparative genomic hybridization (CGH). The results of PM analysis showed that most phenotypic differences involved carbon source utilization and tolerance to osmolytes and pH, while fewer differences were scored for nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur source utilization. Only the variability of the tested strain in tolerance to sodium nitrite and ammonium sulfate of pH 8 was hypothesized to be associated with the genetic polymorphisms detected by CGH analysis. Colony and cell morphologies and the ability to nodulate
Medicago truncatula
plants were also compared, revealing further phenotypic diversity. Overall, our results suggest that the study of functional (phenotypic) variability of
S. meliloti
populations is an important and complementary step in the investigation of genetic polymorphism of rhizobia and may help to elucidate rhizobial evolutionary dynamics, including adaptation to diverse environments.
Evaluation of Different Methods for Extracting Extracellular DNA from the Biofilm Matrix
Authors: Wu Jianfeng , Xi Chuanwu 
Published: June 2009

ABSTRACT

The occurrence of high concentrations of extracellular DNA (eDNA) in the extracellular matrices of biofilms plays an important role in biofilm formation and development and possibly in horizontal gene transfer through natural transformation. Studies have been conducted to characterize the nature of eDNA and its potential function in biofilm development, but it is difficult to extract eDNA from the extracellular matrices of biofilms without any contamination from genomic DNA released by cell lysis during the extraction process. In this report, we compared several different extraction methods in order to obtain highly pure eDNA from different biofilm samples. After different extraction methods were explored, it was concluded that using chemical treatment or enzymatic treatment of biofilm samples may obtain larger amounts of eDNA than using the simple filtration method. There was no detectable cell lysis when the enzymatic treatment methods were used, but substantial cell lysis was observed when the chemical treatment methods were used. These data suggest that eDNA may bind to other extracellular polymers in the biofilm matrix and that enzymatic treatment methods are effective and favorable for extracting eDNA from biofilm samples. Moreover, randomly amplified polymorphic DNA analysis of eDNA in
Acinetobacter
sp. biofilms and
Acinetobacter
sp. genomic DNA and DNA sequencing analysis revealed that eDNA originated from genomic DNA but was not structurally identical to the genomic DNA.
Monochloramine Disinfection Kinetics of
Nitrosomonas europaea
by Propidium Monoazide Quantitative PCR and Live/Dead BacLight Methods
Authors: Wahman David G. , Wulfeck-Kleier Karen A. , Pressman Jonathan G. 
Published: June 2009

ABSTRACT

Monochloramine disinfection kinetics were determined for the pure-culture ammonia-oxidizing bacterium
Nitrosomonas europaea
(ATCC 19718) by two culture-independent methods, namely, Live/Dead BacLight (LD) and propidium monoazide quantitative PCR (PMA-qPCR). Both methods were first verified with mixtures of heat-killed (nonviable) and non-heat-killed (viable) cells before a series of batch disinfection experiments with stationary-phase cultures (batch grown for 7 days) at pH 8.0, 25°C, and 5, 10, and 20 mg Cl
2
/liter monochloramine. Two data sets were generated based on the viability method used, either (i) LD or (ii) PMA-qPCR. These two data sets were used to estimate kinetic parameters for the delayed Chick-Watson disinfection model through a Bayesian analysis implemented in WinBUGS. This analysis provided parameter estimates of 490 mg Cl
2
-min/liter for the lag coefficient (
b
) and 1.6 × 10
−3
to 4.0 × 10
−3
liter/mg Cl
2
-min for the Chick-Watson disinfection rate constant (
k
). While estimates of
b
were similar for both data sets, the LD data set resulted in a greater
k
estimate than that obtained with the PMA-qPCR data set, implying that the PMA-qPCR viability measure was more conservative than LD. For
N. europaea
, the lag phase was not previously reported for culture-independent methods and may have implications for nitrification in drinking water distribution systems. This is the first published application of a PMA-qPCR method for disinfection kinetic model parameter estimation as well as its application to
N. europaea
or monochloramine. Ultimately, this PMA-qPCR method will allow evaluation of monochloramine disinfection kinetics for mixed-culture bacteria in drinking water distribution systems.
Dead-End Hollow-Fiber Ultrafiltration for Recovery of Diverse Microbes from Water
Authors: Smith Carmela M. , Hill Vincent R. 
Published: June 2009

ABSTRACT

Dead-end ultrafiltration (DEUF) is an alternative approach to tangential-flow hollow-fiber ultrafiltration that can be readily employed under field conditions to recover microbes from water. The hydraulics of DEUF and microbe recovery for a new DEUF method were investigated using 100-liter tap water samples. Pressure, flow rate, and temperature were investigated using four hollow-fiber ultrafilter types. Based on hydraulic performance, the Asahi Kasei REXEED 25S ultrafilter was selected for microbe recovery experiments. Microbe recovery experiments were performed using MS2 bacteriophage,
Enterococcus faecalis
,
Clostridium perfringens
spores, and
Cryptosporidium parvum
oocysts. Microbes were recovered from ultrafilters by backflushing using a surfactant solution. Average flow rates were 2.1 liters/min for 100-liter water samples having turbidities of 0.28 to 4.3 nephelometric turbidity units (NTU), and no evidence of appreciable filter clogging was observed. The DEUF average recovery efficiencies for each study analyte in tap water were as follows: for
E. faecalis
, 93% ± 16%; for MS2, 57% ± 7.7%; for
C. perfringens
spores, 94% ± 22%; and for
C. parvum
, 87% ± 18%. Average microbe recoveries for tap water amended with surface water (average turbidity = 4.3 NTU) were as follows: for
E. faecalis
, 78% ± 12%; for MS2, 73% ± 13%; for
C. perfringens
, 57% ± 21%; and for
C. parvum
, 83% ± 21%. These data demonstrate that DEUF is an effective method for recovering diverse microbes from water and should be a useful tool for field-based environmental investigations.
Adsorption ofMycobacterium aviumsubsp.paratuberculosisto Soil Particles
Authors: Dhand Navneet K. , Toribio Jenny-Ann L. M. L. , Whittington Richard J. 
Published: June 2009

ABSTRACTAttachment ofMycobacterium aviumsubsp.paratuberculosisto soil particles could increase their availability to farm animals, as well as influence the transportation ofM. aviumsubsp.paratuberculosisto water sources. To investigate the possibility of such attachment, we passed a known quantity ofM. aviumsubsp.paratuberculosisthrough chromatography columns packed with clay soil, sandy soil, pure silica, clay-silica mixture, or clay-silica complexes and measured the organisms recovered in the eluent using culture or quantitative PCR. Experiments were repeated using buffer at a range of pH levels with pure silica to investigate the effect of pH onM. aviumsubsp.paratuberculosisattachment. Linear mixed-model analyses were conducted to compare the proportional recovery ofM. aviumsubsp.paratuberculosisin the eluent between different substrates and pH levels. Of the organisms added to the columns, 83 to 100% were estimated to be retained in the columns after adjustment for those retained in empty control columns. The proportions recovered were significantly different across different substrates, with the retention being significantly greater (P< 0.05) in pure substrates (silica and clay-silica complexes) than in soil substrates (clay soil and sandy soil). However, there were no significant differences in the retention ofM. aviumsubsp.paratuberculosisbetween silica and clay-silica complexes or between clay soil and sandy soil. The proportion retained decreased with increasing pH in one of the experiments, indicating greater adsorption ofM. aviumsubsp.paratuberculosisto soil particles at an acidic pH (P< 0.05). The results suggest that under experimental conditionsM. aviumsubsp.paratuberculosisadsorbs to a range of soil particles, and this attachment is influenced by soil pH.
Comparison of Species Richness Estimates Obtained Using Nearly Complete Fragments and Simulated Pyrosequencing-Generated Fragments in 16S rRNA Gene-Based Environmental Surveys
Authors: Youssef Noha , Sheik Cody S. , Krumholz Lee R. , Najar Fares Z. , Roe Bruce A. , Elshahed Mostafa S. 
Published: June 2009

ABSTRACT
Pyrosequencing-based 16S rRNA gene surveys are increasingly utilized to study highly diverse bacterial communities, with special emphasis on utilizing the large number of sequences obtained (tens to hundreds of thousands) for species richness estimation. However, it is not yet clear how the number of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and, hence, species richness estimates determined using shorter fragments at different taxonomic cutoffs correlates with the number of OTUs assigned using longer, nearly complete 16S rRNA gene fragments. We constructed a 16S rRNA clone library from an undisturbed tallgrass prairie soil (1,132 clones) and used it to compare species richness estimates obtained using eight pyrosequencing candidate fragments (99 to 361 bp in length) and the nearly full-length fragment. Fragments encompassing the V1 and V2 (V1+V2) region and the V6 region (generated using primer pairs 8F-338R and 967F-1046R) overestimated species richness; fragments encompassing the V3, V7, and V7+V8 hypervariable regions (generated using primer pairs 338F-530R, 1046F-1220R, and 1046F-1392R) underestimated species richness; and fragments encompassing the V4, V5+V6, and V6+V7 regions (generated using primer pairs 530F-805R, 805F-1046R, and 967F-1220R) provided estimates comparable to those obtained with the nearly full-length fragment. These patterns were observed regardless of the alignment method utilized or the parameter used to gauge comparative levels of species richness (number of OTUs observed, slope of scatter plots of pairwise distance values for short and nearly complete fragments, and nonparametric and parametric species richness estimates). Similar results were obtained when analyzing three other datasets derived from soil, adult Zebrafish gut, and basaltic formations in the East Pacific Rise. Regression analysis indicated that these observed discrepancies in species richness estimates within various regions could readily be explained by the proportions of hypervariable, variable, and conserved base pairs within an examined fragment.
Culture-Independent Characterization of Archaeal Biodiversity in Swine Confinement Building Bioaerosols
Authors: Nehmé Benjamin , Gilbert Yan , Létourneau Valérie , Forster Robert J. , Veillette Marc , Villemur Richard , Duchaine Caroline 
Published: June 2009

ABSTRACT

It was previously demonstrated that microbial communities of pig manure were composed of both bacteria and archaea. Recent studies have shown that bacteria are aerosolized from pig manure, but none have ever focused on the airborne archaeal burden. We sought here to develop and apply molecular ecology approaches to thoroughly characterize airborne archaea from swine confinement buildings (SCBs). Eight swine operations were visited, twice in winter and once during summer. Institute of Occupational Medicine cassettes loaded with 25-mm gelatin filters were used to capture the inhalable microbial biomass. The total genomic DNA was extracted and used as a template for PCR amplification of the archaeal 16S rRNA gene. High concentrations of archaea were found in SCB bioaerosols, being as high as 10
8
16S rRNA gene copies per cubic meter of air. Construction and sequencing of 16S rRNA gene libraries revealed that all sequences were closely related to methanogenic archaea, such as
Methanosphaera stadtmanae
(94.7% of the archaeal biodiversity). Archaeal community profiles were compared by 16S rRNA gene denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis. This analysis showed similar fingerprints in each SCB and confirmed the predominance of methanogenic archaea in the bioaerosols. This study sheds new light on the nature of bioaerosols in SCBs and suggests that archaea are also aerosolized from pig manure.
Identification of a Novel Two-Peptide Lantibiotic, Lichenicidin, following Rational Genome Mining for LanM Proteins
Authors: Begley Máire , Cotter Paul D. , Hill Colin , Ross R. Paul 
Published: June 2009

ABSTRACT

Lantibiotics are ribosomally synthesized peptide antimicrobials which contain considerable posttranslational modifications. Given their usually broad host range and their highly stable structures, there have been renewed attempts to identify and characterize novel members of the lantibiotic family in recent years. The increasing availability of bacterial genome sequences means that in addition to traditional microbiological approaches, in silico screening strategies may now be employed to the same end. Taking advantage of the highly conserved nature of lantibiotic biosynthetic enzymes, we screened publicly available microbial genome sequences for genes encoding LanM proteins, which are required for the posttranslational modification of type 2 lantibiotics. By using this approach, 89 LanM homologs, including 61 in strains not known to be lantibiotic producers, were identified. Of these strains, five (
Streptococcus pneumoniae
SP23-BS72,
Bacillus licheniformis
ATCC 14580,
Anabaena variabilis
ATCC 29413,
Geobacillus thermodenitrificans
NG80-2, and
Herpetosiphon aurantiacus
ATCC 23779) were subjected to a more detailed bioinformatic analysis. Four of the strains possessed genes potentially encoding a structural peptide in close proximity to the
lanM
determinants, while two,
S. pneumoniae
SP23-BS72 and
B. licheniformis
ATCC 14580, possess two potential structural genes. The
B. licheniformis
strain was selected for a proof-of-concept exercise, which established that a two-peptide lantibiotic, lichenicidin, which exhibits antimicrobial activity against all
Listeria monocytogenes
, methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus
, and vancomycin-resistant enterococcus strains tested, was indeed produced, thereby confirming the benefits of such a bioinformatic approach when screening for novel lantibiotic producers.
Metabolic Flux Analysis of
Escherichia coli creB
and
arcA
Mutants Reveals Shared Control of Carbon Catabolism under Microaerobic Growth Conditions
Authors: Nikel Pablo I. , Zhu Jiangfeng , San Ka-Yiu , Méndez Beatriz S. , Bennett George N. 
Published: June 2009

ABSTRACT

Escherichia coli
has several elaborate sensing mechanisms for response to availability of oxygen and other electron acceptors, as well as the carbon source in the surrounding environment. Among them, the CreBC and ArcAB two-component signal transduction systems are responsible for regulation of carbon source utilization and redox control in response to oxygen availability, respectively. We assessed the role of CreBC and ArcAB in regulating the central carbon metabolism of
E. coli
under microaerobic conditions by means of
13
C-labeling experiments in chemostat cultures of a wild-type strain, Δ
creB
and Δ
arcA
single mutants, and a Δ
creB
Δ
arcA
double mutant. Continuous cultures were conducted at
D
= 0.1 h
−1
under carbon-limited conditions with restricted oxygen supply. Although all experimental strains metabolized glucose mainly through the Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas pathway, mutant strains had significantly lower fluxes in both the oxidative and the nonoxidative pentose phosphate pathways. Significant differences were also found at the pyruvate branching point. Both pyruvate-formate lyase and the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex contributed to acetyl-coenzyme A synthesis from pyruvate, and their activity seemed to be modulated by both ArcAB and CreBC. Strains carrying the
creB
deletion showed a higher biomass yield on glucose compared to the wild-type strain and its Δ
arcA
derivative, which also correlated with higher fluxes from building blocks to biomass. Glyoxylate shunt and lactate dehydrogenase were active mainly in the Δ
arcA
strain. Finally, it was observed that the tricarboxylic acid cycle reactions operated in a rather cyclic fashion under our experimental conditions, with reduced activity in the mutant strains.
In Vivo Domain-Based Functional Analysis of the Major Sporulation Sensor Kinase, KinA, inBacillus subtilis
Authors: Eswaramoorthy Prahathees , Guo Tao , Fujita Masaya 
Published: June 2009

ABSTRACTSensor histidine kinases are widely used by bacteria to detect and respond to environmental signals. InBacillus subtilis, KinA is a major kinase providing phosphate input to the phosphorelay that activates the sporulation pathway upon starvation via the phosphorylated Spo0A transcription factor. KinA contains three PAS domains in its amino-terminal sensor domain, which appear to be involved in the sensing of an unidentified sporulation signal(s) produced upon starvation. Prior biochemical studies have suggested that KinA forms a homodimer as a functional enzyme and that the most amino-terminal PAS domain (PAS-A) plays an important role in sensing the signal(s) to activate an ATP-dependent autophosphorylation reaction to a histidine residue. To analyze the structure and function of the kinase in vivo, we have used a strain in which the synthesis of KinA is under the control of an isopropyl-β-d-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG)-inducible promoter. In vivo functional studies in combination with domain-based deletion analysis show that the cytosolic KinA forms a homo-oligomer as an active form under both nutrient-rich and nutrient-depleted conditions via its amino- and carboxyl-terminal domains independently. Furthermore, we found that a mutant in which the PAS-A domain was deleted was still able to induce sporulation at a wild-type level irrespective of nutrient availability, suggesting that PAS-BC domains are sufficient to maintain the kinase activity. Based on these results, we propose that the primary role of the amino-terminal sensor domain is to form a stable complex as a functional kinase, but possibly not for the binding of an unidentified sporulation signal(s).