bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
α‐AMYLASE SYNTHESIS BY MUTANT OF BACILLUS SUBTILIS IMMOBILIZED ONTO CHANNEL ALUMINA BEADS
Authors: WHITNEY DEANE F. , TOLEDO ROMEO T. , HAMDY MOSTAFA K. 
Published: October 2006

ABSTRACTS A W20mutant strain derived from Bacillus subtilis H1using UV radiation and exposure to a mutagenic agent was used for α‐amylase synthesis. Both cultures were characterized for growth and continuous α‐amylase syntheses, and the isolated enzymes had the same molecular mass of ∼55 kDa. W20cells, harvested from specific growth phase, were immobilized within alumina beads and placed in a bioreactor column; specific feedstock (FS) was used for α‐amylase syntheses and was affected by its composition, and its flow rate as well as temperature. Maximal α‐amylase productivity (427‐µM reducing sugar[s]/mL effluent/h) was achieved using stationary‐phase cells and FS containing 3% starch kept at 45C and 100‐mL/h flow rate. When FS, with 2% starch, was fed to the column at the same temperature but at a higher flow rate, productivities were reduced to 326 µM. α‐amylase synthesis by W20cells was affected by growth phase of cells used, column temperature and FS flow rate. Some immobilized cells were washed out from the column because of shear forces on bead surfaces by FS flow rate and by temperature. Scanning electron micrographs revealed large numbers of cells attached to external and internal bead channels. This article is a novel approach for α‐amylase synthesis and can be used for its industrial production.
A SIMPLE METHOD FOR RAPID SCREENING OF BACTERIA WITH GLUTAMATE DECARBOXYLASE ACTIVITIES
Authors: YANG SHENG‐YUAN , LU ZHAO‐XIN , LÜ FENG‐XIA , BIE XIAO‐MEI , SUN LI‐JUN , ZENG XIAO‐XIONG 
Published: October 2006

ABSTRACT A pH indicator method (PIM) for rapid screening of bacteria with glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) activities was established. In this article, 48 different bacterial strains were used for the detection of GAD activities by the PIM, as well as by paper chromatography and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. Similar results were obtained by the three methods; however, the PIM is a more simple, rapid and repeatable one.
Review of Pesticide Education Materials for Health Care Providers Providing Care to Agricultural Workers
Authors: Hiott Ann E. , Quandt Sara A. , Early Julie , Jackson David S. , Arcury Thomas A. 
Published: October 2006

ABSTRACT:
Context: Pesticide exposure is an important environmental and occupational health risk for agricultural workers and their families, but health care providers receive little training in it. Objective: To evaluate the medical resources available to providers caring for patients, particularly farmworkers, exposed to pesticides and to recommend a selective bibliography for use in educating clinicians about pesticides and health care. These resources are divided into 3 domains: (1) the working knowledge, (2) the skill set, and (3) the references needed to care for these patients. Methods: We searched library databases dating back to 1995, as well as conference materials and Internet resources. Materials were included only if they were readily available through customary sources. Materials were randomly divided into 2 groups. Two authors wrote detailed reviews for each group. The remaining authors read each document and review, making changes that were agreed upon by the team. Review procedures were standardized to examine the contemporary relevance, quality, and overall strengths and weaknesses of the material relative to guidelines developed for each domain. These guidelines were developed from the authors’ experience, national focus groups, and literature review. Results: While no 1 resource adequately addresses all needs, a number of resources were identified addressing the categories of working knowledge, skill set, and reference materials. Few of the reviewed materials address the cultural competence of providers treating farmworkers. Additional education resources are needed.
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Rural Primary Care: Improving Care for Mental Health Following Bioterrorism
Authors: Tsao Jennie C. I. , Dobalian Aram , Wiens Brenda A. , Gylys Julius A. , Evans Garret D. 
Published: October 2006

ABSTRACT:
Context: Recent bioterrorist attacks have highlighted the critical need for health care organizations to prepare for future threats. Yet, relatively little attention has been paid to the mental health needs of rural communities in the wake of such events. A critical aspect of bioterrorism is emphasis on generating fear and uncertainty, thereby contributing to increased needs for mental health care, particularly for posttraumatic stress disorder, which has been estimated to occur in 28% of terrorism survivors. Purpose: Prior experience with natural disasters suggests that first responders typically focus on immediate medical trauma or injury, leaving rural communities to struggle with the burden of unmet mental health needs both in the immediate aftermath and over the longer term. The purpose of the present article is to draw attention to the greater need to educate rural primary care providers who will be the frontline providers of mental health services following bioterrorism, given the limited availability of tertiary mental health care in rural communities. Methods: We reviewed the literature related to bioterrorist events and mental health with an emphasis on rural communities. Findings and Conclusions: Public health agencies should work with rural primary care providers and mental health professionals to develop educational interventions focused on posttraumatic stress disorder and other mental disorders, as well as algorithms for assessment, referral, and treatment of postevent psychological disorders and somatic complaints to ensure the availability, continuity, and delivery of quality mental health care for rural residents following bioterrorism and other public health emergencies.
Rural Illinois Hospital Chief Executive Officers’ Perceptions of Provider Shortages and Issues in Rural Recruitment and Retention
Authors: Glasser Michael , Peters Karen , MacDowell Martin 
Published: October 2006

ABSTRACT:
Background: It is important to assess rural health professions workforce needs and identify variables in recruitment and retention of rural health professionals. Purpose: This study examined the perspectives of rural hospital chief executive officers (CEOs) regarding workforce needs and their views of factors in the recruitment and retention process. Methods: A survey was mailed to CEOs of 28 Illinois rural hospitals, in towns ranging from 3,396 to 33,530 in population size. The survey addressed CEO perceptions of number of physicians needed by specialty, need for other health professionals, and variables important to recruitment and retention. Findings: Twenty‐two CEOs (79%) responded to the survey. Eighty‐six percent indicated a physician shortage in the community, with 64% reporting the need for family physicians. CEOs also indicated the need for physicians in obstetrics‐gynecology, general and orthopedic surgery, general internal medicine, cardiology, and psychiatry. In terms of needs for other health professionals, most often mentioned were registered nurses (91%), pharmacists (64%), and nurses’ aides (46%). Related to recruitment and retention, most often mentioned by the CEOs was community attractiveness in general, followed by practice and physician career opportunities. Conclusions: CEOs offer 1 important perspective on health professions needs, recruitment, and retention in rural communities. While expressing a range of opinions, rural hospital CEOs clearly indicate the need for more primary care physicians, call for an increased capacity in nursing, and point to community development as a key factor in recruitment and retention.
Demographic and Psychosocial Characteristics of Smokers and Nonsmokers in Low‐Socioeconomic Status Rural Appalachian 2‐Parent Families in Southern West Virginia
Authors: Song Hana , Fish Margaret 
Published: October 2006

ABSTRACT:
Context: Rural Appalachian women living in poverty have a high prevalence of prenatal smoking; yet, few studies have examined this issue. Purpose: To investigate the demographic and psychosocial characteristics of prenatal smokers and nonsmokers in low–socioeconomic status, rural Appalachian 2‐parent families. Methods: During an 18‐month period, two thirds of eligible low–socioeconomic status prenatal patients were recruited for a longitudinal study from a community health clinic in a rural West Virginia county. Data for the present report are from 92 women with a husband/partner (37 smokers and 55 nonsmokers) who completed a prenatal interview in the last trimester of pregnancy. This interview included demographics, personality traits, self‐esteem problems, social support, and marital/partner relationship. Findings: Compared to nonsmokers, prenatal smokers were less likely to have completed high school, less extroverted, and also had lower self‐esteem, less intimate support, and more negative marital relationship. Conclusions: High school graduation and variables related to positive personality and supportive relationships distinguished smokers from nonsmokers. The causal relationship between these variables and prenatal smoking requires more work in larger and varied populations, and this study provides some direction for ongoing longitudinal investigation.
Unspecified falls among youth: predictors of coding specificity in the emergency department
Authors: Kaida A K , Marko J , Hagel B , Lightfoot P , Sevcik W , Rowe B H 
Published: October 2006

Background:Deficiencies in emergency department (ED) charting is a common international problem. While unintentional falls account for the largest proportion of injury related ED visits by youth, insufficient charting details result in more than one third of these falls being coded as “unspecified”. Non-specific coding compromises the utility of injury surveillance data.Objective:To re-examine the ED charts of unspecified youth falls to determine the possibility of assigning more specific codes.Methods:400 ED charts for youth (aged 0–19 years) treated at four EDs in an urban Canadian health region between 1997 and 1999 and coded as “Other or unspecified fall” (ICD-9 E888) were randomly selected. A structured chart review was completed and a blinded nosologist recoded the cause of injury using the extracted data. Differences in coding specificity were compared with the original data, and logistic regression was undertaken to examine variables that predicted assignment of a specific E-code.Results:A more specific code was assigned to 46% of cases initially coded as unspecified. Of these, 73% were recoded as “Slips, trips, and stumbles” (E885), which still lacks the specificity required for injury prevention planning; 2% of charts had no fall documented. Multivariate analysis revealed that dichotomized injury severity (adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 1.75 (95% confidence interval, 1.11 to 2.78)), arrival at the ED by ambulance (adjusted OR = 5.41 (1.07 to 27.0)), and the availability of nurse’s notes or triage forms, or both, in the chart (adjusted OR = 3.75 (2.17 to 6.45)) were the strongest predictors of a more specific E-code assignment.Conclusions:Deficiencies in both chart documentation and coding specificity contribute to the use of non-specific E-codes. More comprehensive triage coding, improved chart documentation, and alternative methods of data collection in the acute care setting are required to improve ED injury surveillance initiatives.
Evaluation of Safe Kids Week 2004: Age 4 to 9? It’s Booster Seat Time!
Authors: Howard A , Beben N , Rothman L , Fiissel D , MacArthur C 
Published: October 2006

Objective:To assess the effectiveness of a national one week media campaign promoting booster seat use.Design:Pre-test, post-test design based on nationally representative random digit dialing telephone survey, with control for exposure to campaign.Setting:Canada.Subjects:Parents of children aged 4–9 years.Interventions:During a one week campaign in May 2004, information on booster seat use was distributed via a national media campaign, retail stores, medical clinics, and community events. Information included pamphlets with guidelines for booster seat use, as well as a growth chart (designed by Safe Kids Canada) to assist parents in determining if their child should be using a booster seat. Assessing seat belt fit was described in detail on the growth chart.Main outcome measures:Knowledge, attitudes, and self-reported behaviors regarding booster seat use.Results:Respondents in the group exposed to the campaign were twice as likely to report using a booster seat with lap and shoulder belt for their child (47%), compared to those in the pre-test (24%) and the unexposed (23%) groups (p<0.001). However, only small differences in general knowledge regarding booster seat use were found between the groups.Conclusions:A one week national media campaign substantially increased self-reported use of booster seats. Parents did not remember details of the campaign content, but did remember implications for their own child.
Car manufacturers and global road safety: a word frequency analysis of road safety documents: Table 1
Authors: Roberts I , Wentz R , Edwards P 
Published: October 2006

Objective:The World Bank believes that the car manufacturers can make a valuable contribution to road safety in poor countries and has established the Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP) for this purpose. However, some commentators are sceptical. The authors examined road safety policy documents to assess the extent of any bias.Design:Word frequency analyses of road safety policy documents from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the GRSP.Main outcome measures:The relative occurrence of key road safety terms was quantified by calculating a word prevalence ratio with 95% confidence intervals. Terms for which there was a fourfold difference in prevalence between the documents were tabulated.Results:Compared to WHO’sWorld report on road traffic injury prevention, the GRSP road safety documents were substantially less likely to use the words speed, speed limits, child restraint, pedestrian, public transport, walking, and cycling, but substantially more likely to use the words school, campaign, driver training, and billboard.Conclusions:There are important differences in emphasis in road safety policy documents prepared by WHO and the GRSP. Vigilance is needed to ensure that the road safety interventions that the car industry supports are based on sound evidence of effectiveness.
The criminal purchase of firearm ammunition
Authors: Tita G E , Braga A A , Ridgeway G , Pierce G L 
Published: October 2006

Objective:Laws that prohibit certain individuals from owning firearms also pertain to ammunition. Whereas retail sales of firearms to criminals are regularly disrupted by instant background checks, sales of ammunition are essentially unchecked and the rate at which criminals acquire ammunition is unknown. This research describes the ammunition market and estimates the rate at which criminals are acquiring ammunition.Design:Criminal background checks conducted on individuals purchasing ammunition in the City of Los Angeles in April and May 2004.Setting:Los Angeles, CA, USA.Subjects:Ammunition purchasers.Main outcome measures:Criminal activity that prohibits one from owning, purchasing, or possessing ammunition.Results:2.6% (95% CI 1.9% to 3.2%) of ammunition purchasers had a prior felony conviction or another condition that prohibited them from possessing ammunition. During the study period prohibited possessors purchased 10 050 rounds of ammunition in Los Angeles.Conclusions:These estimates suggest that monitoring ammunition transactions may help reduce the supply of ammunition to criminals and the frequency of injuries from felonious gun assaults. Such a record can also provide information for generating leads on illegal firearm possession.
Involvement of Mitochondrial and Akt Signaling Pathways in Augmented Apoptosis Induced by a Combination of Low Doses of Celecoxib and N-(4-Hydroxyphenyl) Retinamide in Premalignant Human Bronchial Epithelial Cells
Authors: Schroeder Claudia P. , Kadara Humam , Lotan Dafna , Woo Jong K. , Lee Ho-Young , Hong Waun Ki , Lotan Reuben 
Published: October 2006

Abstract
Celecoxib is being evaluated as a chemopreventive agent. However, its mechanism of action is not clear because high doses were used for in vitro studies to obtain antitumor effects. We found that celecoxib inhibited the growth of premalignant and malignant human bronchial epithelial cells with IC50 values between 8.9 and 32.7 μmol/L, irrespective of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression. Normal human bronchial epithelial cells were less sensitive to celecoxib. Because these concentrations were higher than those attainable in vivo (≤5.6 μmol/L), we surmised that combining celecoxib with the synthetic retinoid N-(4-hydroxyphenyl) retinamide (4HPR) might improve its efficacy. Treatment of premalignant lung cell lines with combinations of clinically relevant concentrations of celecoxib (≤5 μmol/L) and 4HPR (≤0.25 μmol/L) resulted in greater growth inhibition, apoptosis induction, and suppression of colony formation than did either agent alone. This combination also decreased the levels of Bcl-2, induced the release of mitochondrial cytochrome c, activated caspase-9 and caspase-3, and induced cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase at concentrations at which each agent alone showed no or minimal effects. Furthermore, combinations of celecoxib and 4HPR suppressed the phosphorylation levels of serine/threonine kinase Akt and its substrate glycogen synthase kinase-3β more effectively than the single agents did. Accordingly, overexpression of constitutively active Akt protected bronchial epithelial cells from undergoing apoptosis after incubation with both celecoxib and 4HPR. These findings indicate that activation of the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway and suppression of the Akt survival pathway mediate the augmented apoptosis and suggest that this combination may be useful for lung cancer chemoprevention. (Cancer Res 2006; 66(19): 9762-70)
Genotoxic Stress Induces Coordinately Regulated Alternative Splicing of the p53 Modulators MDM2 and MDM4
Authors: Chandler Dawn S. , Singh Ravi K. , Caldwell Lisa C. , Bitler Jaquelyn L. , Lozano Guillermina 
Published: October 2006

Abstract
The tumor suppressor protein p53 is a transcription factor that induces G1 arrest of the cell cycle and/or apoptosis. The murine double-minute protein MDM2 and its homologue MDM4 (also known as MDMX) are critical regulators of p53. Altered transcripts of the human homologue of mdm2, MDM2, have been identified in human tumors, such as invasive carcinoma of the breast, lung carcinoma, and liposarcoma. MDM2 alternate forms act to negatively regulate the normal MDM2 gene product, thus activating p53. Although many reports have documented a plethora of tumor types characterized by MDM2 alternative transcripts, few have investigated the signals that might initiate alternative splicing. We have identified a novel role of these alternative MDM2 transcripts in the normal surveillance mechanism of the cell and in DNA damage response. We report that alternate forms of MDM2 are detected after UV irradiation. Furthermore, we show that mouse cells treated with UV are also characterized by alternative transcripts of mdm2, suggesting that this is an important and evolutionarily conserved mechanism for regulating the expression of MDM2/mdm2. An additional p53 regulator and mdm2 family member, MDM4, is likewise alternatively spliced following UV irradiation. By activating alternative splicing of both MDM2 and MDM4, yet another layer of p53 regulation is initiated by the cells in response to damage. A stepwise model for malignant conversion by which alternate forms of MDM2 and MDM4 place selective pressure on the cells to acquire additional alterations in the p53 pathway is herein proposed. (Cancer Res 2006; 66(19): 9502-8)
Ras-induced Modulation of CXCL10 and Its Receptor Splice Variant CXCR3-B in MDA-MB-435 and MCF-7 Cells: Relevance for the Development of Human Breast Cancer
Authors: Datta Dipak , Flaxenburg Jesse A. , Laxmanan Sreenivas , Geehan Christopher , Grimm Martin , Waaga-Gasser Ana Maria , Briscoe David M. , Pal Soumitro 
Published: October 2006

AbstractInteractions between chemokines and chemokine receptors have been proposed recently to be of importance in the development and progression of cancer. Human breast cancer cells express the chemokine CXCL10 (IP-10) and also its receptor CXCR3. In this study, we have investigated the role of Ras activation in the regulation of CXCL10 and its receptor splice variant CXCR3-B in two human breast cancer cell lines MDA-MB-435 and MCF-7. In cotransfection assays, using a full-length CXCL10 promoter-luciferase construct, we found that the activated form of Ras, Ha-Ras(12V), promoted CXCL10 transcriptional activation. Ras significantly increased CXCL10 mRNA and protein expression as observed by real-time PCR, fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis, and ELISA. Selective inhibition of Ha-Ras by small interfering RNA (siRNA) decreased CXCL10 mRNA expression in a dose-dependent manner. Further, using effector domain mutants of Ras, we found that Ras-induced overexpression of CXCL10 is mediated primarily through the Raf and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase signaling pathways. We also observed that the expression of the splice variant CXCR3-B, known to inhibit cell proliferation, was significantly down-regulated by Ras. Selective inhibition of CXCR3-B using siRNA resulted in an increase in CXCL10-mediated breast cancer cell proliferation through Gi proteins and likely involving CXCR3-A. Finally, we observed intense expression of CXCL10 and CXCR3 in association with human breast cancer in situ, indicating that these observations may be of pathophysiologic significance. Together, these results suggest that activation of Ras plays a critical role in modulating the expression of both CXCL10 and CXCR3-B, which may have important consequences in the development of breast tumors through cancer cell proliferation. (Cancer Res 2006; 66(19): 9509-18)