bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
AI-3 Synthesis Is Not Dependent onluxSinEscherichia coli
Authors: Walters Matthew , Sircili Marcelo P. , Sperandio Vanessa 
Published: August 2006

ABSTRACTThe quorum-sensing (QS) signal autoinducer-2 (AI-2) has been proposed to promote interspecies signaling in a broad range of bacterial species. AI-2 is spontaneously derived from 4,5-dihydroxy-2,3-pentanedione that, along with homocysteine, is produced by cleavage ofS-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH) andS-ribosylhomocysteine by the Pfs and LuxS enzymes. Numerous phenotypes have been attributed to AI-2 QS signaling usingluxSmutants. We have previously reported that theluxSmutation also affects the synthesis of the AI-3 autoinducer that activates enterohemorrhagicEscherichia colivirulence genes. Here we show that several species of bacteria synthesize AI-3, suggesting a possible role in interspecies bacterial communication. TheluxSmutation leaves the cell with only one pathway, involving oxaloacetate andl-glutamate, for de novo synthesis of homocysteine. The exclusive use of this pathway for homocysteine production appears to alter metabolism in theluxSmutant, leading to decreased levels of AI-3. The addition of aspartate and expression of an aromatic amino acid transporter, as well as a tyrosine-specific transporter, restored AI-3-dependent phenotypes in anluxSmutant. The defect in AI-3 production, but not in AI-2 production, in theluxSmutant was restored by expressing thePseudomonas aeruginosa S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase that synthesizes homocysteine directly from SAH. Furthermore, phenotype microarrays revealed that theluxSmutation caused numerous metabolic deficiencies, while AI-3 signaling had little effect on metabolism. This study examines how AI-3 production is affected by theluxSmutation and explores the roles of the LuxS/AI-2 system in metabolism and QS.
The
Bacillus subtilis
DivIVA Protein Has a Sporulation-Specific Proximity to Spo0J
Authors: Perry S. E. , Edwards D. H. 
Published: August 2006

ABSTRACT

The
Bacillus subtilis
DivIVA protein controls the positioning of the division site and the relocation of the chromosome during sporulation. By performing coimmunoprecipitation experiments, we demonstrated that a myc-DivIVA protein is in proximity to FtsZ and MinD during vegetative growth and Spo0J during the first 120 min of sporulation.
Police deaths in New York and London during the twentieth century
Authors: Kyriacou D N , Monkkonen E H , Peek-Asa C , Lucke R E , Labbett S , Pearlman K S , Hutson H R 
Published: August 2006

Objectives:To describe the incidences and causes of occupational police deaths in New York City in the United States and Greater London in the United Kingdom during the twentieth century. To assess the relation between overall societal violence and violence directed toward police officers in these metropolitan areas.Design and setting:Ecological study of New York and London from 1900 through 1999.Main outcome measures:Intentional and unintentional occupational police mortality rates for New York and London were estimated for each decade. The general population homicide rates of both New York and London were assessed for their correlation with their respective intentional occupational police mortality rates.Results:During the 20th century, 585 police officers in New York and 160 police officers in London died while participating in law enforcement activities. New York had markedly greater intentional police mortality rates compared to London throughout most of the 20th century, but these differences decreased significantly by the end of the century. Intentional gunshot wounds comprised 290 police deaths in New York, but only 14 police deaths in London. In New York, gun shot wounds (both intentional and unintentional) accounted for more occupational police deaths (51.6%) than did all other injury mechanisms combined. In London, motor vehicle collision was the most common cause (47.5%) of occupational police death. There were no apparent correlations between the general population homicide rates and intentional police mortality rates in either New York (r2 = 0.05, 95% CI −0.77 to 0.81) or London (r2 = 0.34, 95% CI −0.61 to 0.89).Conclusions:During the 20th century, both intentional and unintentional occupational police mortality rates were significantly greater in New York compared to London. These differences are likely from several socioeconomic, cultural, and occupational factors. The declines in police deaths in New York during the latter part of the 20th century indicate that at least some measures taken by the New York Police Department have been successful at significantly reducing the incidence of both intentional and unintentional police deaths.
Incidence and lifetime costs of injuries in the United States
Authors: Corso P , Finkelstein E , Miller T , Fiebelkorn I , Zaloshnja E 
Published: August 2006

Background:Standardized methodologies for assessing economic burden of injury at the national or international level do not exist.Objective:To measure national incidence, medical costs, and productivity losses of medically treated injuries using the most recent data available in the United States, as a case study for similarly developed countries undertaking economic burden analyses.Method:The authors combined several data sets to estimate the incidence of fatal and non-fatal injuries in 2000. They computed unit medical and productivity costs and multiplied these costs by corresponding incidence estimates to yield total lifetime costs of injuries occurring in 2000.Main outcome measures:Incidence, medical costs, productivity losses, and total costs for injuries stratified by age group, sex, and mechanism.Results:More than 50 million Americans experienced a medically treated injury in 2000, resulting in lifetime costs of $406 billion; $80 billion for medical treatment and $326 billion for lost productivity. Males had a 20% higher rate of injury than females. Injuries resulting from falls or being struck by/against an object accounted for more than 44% of injuries. The rate of medically treated injuries declined by 15% from 1985 to 2000 in the US. For those aged 0–44, the incidence rate of injuries declined by more than 20%; while persons aged 75 and older experienced a 20% increase.Conclusions:These national burden estimates provide unequivocal evidence of the large health and financial burden of injuries. This study can serve as a template for other countries or be used in intercountry comparisons.
Lower rates of emergency department injury visits among Latino children in the USA: no association with health insurance
Authors: Simon T D , Bublitz Emsermann C , Dickinson L M , Hambidge S J 
Published: August 2006

Background and objective:Latino children have lower rates of injury visits to emergency departments (EDs) than non-Latino white and African American children. This study tests the hypothesis that this difference reflects health insurance status.Design:Secondary analysis.Patients/setting:Children under 19 years of age visiting EDs in the USA, sampled in the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey of EDs (NHAMCS-ED) from 1997 to 2001.Main outcome measures:Rates of ED injury visits; ED injury visit rates by race/ethnicity stratified by health insurance and adjusted for other covariates; subtypes of injury visits; and procedures and hospital admissions by race/ethnicity.Results:Injuries accounted for >56 million, or 40.5%, of total ED visits among pediatric patients. Injury visits occurred at lower rates for Latino children (9.9 per 100 person years) than non-Latino white and African American children (16.2 and 18.3, respectively), although total ED visit rates were similar. Regardless of health insurance status, Latino children had lower rates of injury visits than non-Latino white and African American children. Latino children had lower rates of the three major subtypes of injury visits (sports, accidental falls, struck by/between objects). Latino children had similar rates of procedures and hospital admissions to non-Latino white children.Conclusions:Irrespective of their insurance status, Latino children have lower rates of ED injury visits in the USA than non-Latino white children. Possible reasons for this difference include different healthcare seeking behavior or different injury patterns by race/ethnicity, but not differences in health insurance status or barriers to accessing ED care.
Blurring the distinctions between on and off the job injuries: similarities and differences in circumstances
Authors: Smith G S , Sorock G S , Wellman H M , Courtney T K , Pransky G S 
Published: August 2006

Objectives:To compare the causes of non-fatal work and non-work injuries and the places or environments where they occur. It has been suggested that many injuries may have similar etiologies on and off the job and thus involve some common prevention strategies. However lack of comparable data on work relatedness has prevented testing this proposition.Methods:The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) now collects information on the cause, location, and work relatedness of all medically attended injuries. National US estimates of non-fatal work and non-work injuries were compared by cause and place/location for working age adults (18–64 years).Results:Overall 28.6% of injuries to working age adults were work related (37.5% among employed people). The causes and locations of many work and non-work injuries were similar. Falls, overexertion, and struck/caught by were leading causes for work and non-work injuries. Motor vehicle injuries were less likely to be work related (3.4% at workv19.5% non-work) and overexertion injuries more likely to be work related (27.1%v13.8%). Assaults were less than 1% of work injuries and 1.8% of non-work injuries. Both work and non-work injuries occurred in every location examined—including the home where 3.5% of injuries were work related.Conclusions:Work and non-work injuries share many similarities suggesting opportunities to broaden injury prevention programs commonly restricted to one setting or the other. Comprehensive efforts to prevent both non-work and work injuries may result in considerable cost savings not only to society but also directly to employers, who incur much of the associated costs.
Bicycle helmet prevalence two years after the introduction of mandatory use legislation for under 18 year olds in Alberta, Canada
Authors: Hagel B E , Rizkallah J W , Lamy A , Belton K L , Jhangri G S , Cherry N , Rowe B H 
Published: August 2006

Objective:To determine changes in helmet use in cyclists following the introduction of a bicycle helmet law for children under age 18.Methods:Cyclists were observed by two independent observers from July to August 2004 (post-legislation) in Edmonton, Alberta. The data were compared with a similar survey completed at the same locations and days in July to August 2000 (pre-legislation). Data were collected for 271 cyclists in 2004 and 699 cyclists in 2000.Results:The overall prevalence of helmet use increased from 43% (95% CI 39 to 47%) in 2000 to 53% (95% CI 47 to 59%) in 2004. Helmet use increased in those under 18, but did not change in those 18 and older. In the cluster adjusted multivariate Poisson regression model, the prevalence of helmet use significantly increased for those under age 18 (adjusted prevalence ratio (APR) 3.69, 95% CI 2.65 to 5.14), but not for those 18 years and older (APR 1.17, 95% CI 0.95 to 1.43).Conclusion:Extension of legislation to all age groups should be considered.
Effects of undercover police stings of gun dealers on the supply of new guns to criminals
Authors: Webster D W , Bulzacchelli M T , Zeoli A M , Vernick J S 
Published: August 2006

Objective:To assess the effects of undercover police stings and lawsuits against gun dealers suspected of facilitating illegal gun sales in three US cities (Chicago, Detroit, Gary) on the flow of new firearms to criminals.Methods:An interrupted time series design and negative binomial regression analyses were used to test for temporal change in the recovery of guns used in crimes within one year of retail sale in both intervention and comparison cities.Results:The stings were associated with an abrupt 46.4% reduction in the flow of new guns to criminals in Chicago (95% confidence interval, −58.6% to −30.5%), and with a gradual reduction in new crime guns recovered in Detroit. There was no significant change associated with the stings in Gary, and no change in comparison cities that was coincident with the stings in Chicago and Detroit.Conclusions:The announcement of police stings and lawsuits against suspect gun dealers appeared to have reduced the supply of new guns to criminals in Chicago significantly, and may have contributed to beneficial effects in Detroit. Given the important role that gun stores play in supplying guns to criminals in the US, further efforts of this type are warranted and should be evaluated.
The impact of driver distraction on road safety: results from a representative survey in two Australian states
Authors: McEvoy S P , Stevenson M R , Woodward M 
Published: August 2006

Objective:To quantify the prevalence and effects of distracting activities while driving.Design:Cross sectional driver survey.Setting:New South Wales and Western Australia, Australia.Participants:1347 licensed drivers aged between 18 and 65 years. Data were weighted to reflect the corresponding driving population.Main outcome measures:Prevalence of distracting activities while driving; perceived risks and adverse outcomes due to distractions.Results:The most common distracting activities during the most recent driving trip were lack of concentration (weighted percentage (standard error, SE) 71.8% (1.4%) of drivers); adjusting in-vehicle equipment (68.7% (1.5%)); outside people, objects or events (57.8% (1.6%)); and talking to passengers (39.8% (1.6%)). On average, a driver engaged in a distracting activity once every six minutes. One in five crashes (21%) during the last three years, involving one in 20 drivers (5.0% (0.7%)), was attributed to driver distraction based on self-report. In the population under study, this equated to 242,188 (SE 34,417) drivers. Younger drivers (18–30 years) were significantly more likely to report distracting activities, to perceive distracting activities as less dangerous, and to have crashed as a result.Conclusions:Distracting activities while driving are common and can result in driving errors. Driver distraction is an important cause of crashes. Further research is needed to estimate the risk conferred by different distracting activities and the circumstances during which activities pose greatest risk. These results suggest that a strategy to minimize distracting activities while driving, with a focus on young drivers, is indicated.
Increased reach and effectiveness of a statewide tobacco quitline after the addition of access to free nicotine replacement therapy
Authors: An Lawrence C , Schillo Barbara A , Kavanaugh Annette M , Lachter Randi B , Luxenberg Michael G , Wendling Ann H , Joseph Anne M 
Published: August 2006

Background:Tobacco users receiving behavioural and pharmacological assistance are more likely to quit. Although telephone quitlines provide population access to counselling, few offer pharmacotherapy.Objective:To assess change in cessation rates and programme impact after the addition of free nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) to statewide quitline services.Design, setting, participants:An observational study of cohorts of callers to the Minnesota QUITPLANSMHelpline before (n  =  380) and after (n  =  373) the addition of access to free NRT.Intervention:Mailing of NRT (patch or gum) to callers enrolling in multi-session counselling.Main outcome measure:Thirty-day abstinence six months after programme registration.Results:The number of callers increased from 155 (SD 75) to 679 (180) per month pre-NRT to post-NRT (difference 524, 95% confidence interval (CI) 323 to 725). Post-NRT, the proportion of callers enrolling in multi-session counselling (23.4%v90.1%, difference 66.6%, 95% CI 60.8% to 71.6%) and using pharmacotherapy (46.8%v86.8%, difference 40.0%, 95% CI 31.3% to 47.9%) increased. Thirty-day abstinence at six months increased from 10.0% pre-NRT to 18.2% post-NRT (difference 8.2%, 95% CI 3.1% to 13.4%). Post-NRT the average number of new ex-smokers per month among registrants increased from 15.5 to 123.6 (difference 108.1, 95% CI 61.1 to 155.0). The cost per quit pre-NRT was $1362 (SD $207). The cost per quit post-NRT was $1934 ($215) suggesting a possible increase in cost per quit (difference $572, 95% CI −$12 to $1157).Conclusion:The addition of free NRT to a state quitline is followed by increases in participation and abstinence rates resulting in an eightfold increase in programme impact. These findings support the addition of access to pharmacological therapy as part of state quitline services.
Smoke-free laws and secondhand smoke exposure in US non-smoking adults, 1999–2002
Authors: Pickett Melanie S , Schober Susan E , Brody Debra J , Curtin Lester R , Giovino Gary A 
Published: August 2006

Objectives:To investigate the relationship between smoke-free law coverage and secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure in the United States non-smoking adult population.Design:We used data from the 1999–2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a cross-sectional survey designed to monitor the health and nutritional status of the US population. Serum cotinine levels were available for 5866 non-smoking adults from 57 survey locations. Each location was categorised into one of three groups indicating extensive, limited, and no coverage by a smoke-free law.Main outcome measures:The proportion of adults with SHS exposure, defined as having serum cotinine levels ⩾ 0.05 ng/ml.Results:Among non-smoking adults living in counties with extensive smoke-free law coverage, 12.5% were exposed to SHS, compared with 35.1% with limited coverage, and 45.9% with no law. Adjusting for confounders, men and women residing in counties with extensive coverage had 0.10 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.06 to 0.16) and 0.19 (95% CI 0.11 to 0.34) times the odds of SHS exposure compared to those residing in counties without a smoke-free law.Conclusions:These results support the scientific evidence suggesting that smoke-free laws are an effective strategy for reducing SHS exposure.
What contributed to the major decline in per capita cigarette consumption during California’s comprehensive tobacco control programme?
Authors: Gilpin Elizabeth A , Messer Karen , White Martha M , Pierce John P 
Published: August 2006

Objectives:California experienced a notable decline in per capita cigarette consumption during its comprehensive tobacco control programme. This study examines what proportion of the decline occurred from: (1) fewer ever smokers in the population, (2) more ever smokers quitting, and (3) current smokers smoking less.Design, subjects:Per capita cigarette consumption computed from cigarette sales and from adult respondents to the large, cross-sectional, population-based California Tobacco Surveys of 1990 (n  =  24 296), 1996 (n  =  18 616) and 2002 (n  =  20 525) were examined for similar trends.Main outcome measure:Changes (period 1: 1990–1996; period 2: 1996–2002) in per capita cigarette consumption from self-reported survey data were partitioned for the entire population and for demographic subgroups into the three components mentioned above.Results:In periods 1 and 2, most of the decline in per capita cigarette consumption for the population as a whole was from current smokers smoking less followed by a reduction in ever smokers. The decline from smokers smoking less was particularly evident among young adults (18–29 years) in period 1. While the portion of the decline due to quitting in the entire population in period 1 was negligible, in period 2 it accounted for 22% of the total per capita decline. The decline from quitting in period 2 was mostly observed among women.Conclusions:Rather than near-term benefits from smokers quitting, population health benefits from reduced per capita cigarette consumption will likely occur over the longer term from fewer people becoming ever smokers, and more less-addicted smokers eventually quitting successfully.
An ethnographic study of tobacco control in hospital settings
Authors: Schultz Annette S H , Bottorff Joan L , Johnson Joy L 
Published: August 2006

Background:Tobacco control in hospital settings is characterised by a focus on protection strategies and an increasing expectation that health practitioners provide cessation support to patients. While practitioners claim to have positive attitudes toward supporting patient cessation efforts, missed opportunities are the practice norm.Objective:To study hospital workplace culture relevant to tobacco use and control as part of a mixed-methods research project that investigated hospital-based registered nurses’ integration of cessation interventions.Design:The study was conducted at two hospitals situated in British Columbia, Canada. Data collection included 135 hours of field work including observations of ward activities and designated smoking areas, 85 unstructured conversations with nurses, and the collection of patient-care documents on 16 adult in-patient wards.Results:The findings demonstrate that protection strategies (for example, smoking restrictions) were relatively well integrated into organisational culture and practice activities but the same was not true for cessation strategies. An analysis of resources and documentation relevant to tobacco revealed an absence of support for addressing tobacco use and cessation. Nurses framed patients’ tobacco use as a relational issue, a risk to patient safety, and a burden. Furthermore, conversations revealed that nurses tended to possess only a vague awareness of nicotine dependence.Conclusion:Overcoming challenges to extending tobacco control within hospitals could be enhanced by emphasising the value of addressing patients’ tobacco use, raising awareness of nicotine dependence, and improving the availability of resources to address addiction issues.