bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Killing of
Bacillus subtilis
Spores by a Modified Fenton Reagent Containing CuCl
2
and Ascorbic Acid
Authors: Shapiro Michael P. , Setlow Barbara , Setlow Peter 
Published: April 2004

ABSTRACT

Bacillus subtilis
spores were killed by CuCl
2
-ascorbic acid, chloride ions were essential for killing of spores, and spores with defective coats were killed more rapidly. CuCl
2
-ascorbic acid did not damage spore DNA, and spores killed by this reagent initiated germination. However, spores killed by CuCl
2
-ascorbic acid may have damage to their inner membrane.
Comparisons of Protocols for Decontamination of Environmental Ice Samples for Biological and Molecular Examinations
Authors: Rogers S. O. , Theraisnathan V. , Ma L. J. , Zhao Y. , Zhang G. , Shin S.-G. , Castello J. D. , Starmer W. T. 
Published: April 2004

ABSTRACT
Drilling and laboratory manipulations of glacial ice cores introduce contemporary microbes and biomolecules onto the cores. We report herein a systematic comparative study of several decontamination protocols. Only treatment with 5% sodium hypochlorite eliminated all external contaminating microbes and nucleic acids while maintaining the integrity of those within the cores.
Development and Evaluation of a Reflective Solar Disinfection Pouch for Treatment of Drinking Water
Authors: Walker D. Carey , Len Soo-Voon , Sheehan Brita 
Published: April 2004

ABSTRACT

A second-generation solar disinfection (SODIS) system (pouch) was constructed from food-grade, commercially available packaging materials selected to fully transmit and amplify the antimicrobial properties of sunlight. Depending upon the season, water source, and challenge organism, culturable bacteria were reduced between 3.5 and 5.5 log cycles. The system was also capable of reducing the background presumptive coliform population in nonsterile river water below the level of detection. Similar experiments conducted with a model virus, the F-specific RNA bacteriophage MS2, indicated that the pouch was slightly less efficient, reducing viable plaques by 3.5 log units in comparison to a 5.0 log reduction of enterotoxigenic
Escherichia coli
O18:H11 within the same time period. These results suggest that water of poor microbiological quality can be improved by using a freely available resource (sunlight) and a specifically designed plastic pouch constructed of food-grade packaging materials.
Serotyping,
stx
2
Subtyping, and Characterization of the Locus of Enterocyte Effacement Island of Shiga Toxin-Producing
Escherichia coli
and
E. coli
O157:H7 Strains Isolated from the Environment in France
Authors: Vernozy-Rozand C. , Montet M. P. , Bertin Y. , Trably F. , Girardeau J. P. , Martin C. , Livrelli V. , Beutin L. 
Published: April 2004

ABSTRACT

Twenty-seven Shiga toxin-producing
Escherichia coli
(STEC) strains were isolated from 207
stx
-positive French environmental samples. Ten of these strains were positive for
stx
1
, and 24 were positive for
stx
2
(10 were positive for
stx
2vh-a
or
stx
2vh-b
, 19 were positive for
stx
2d
, and 15 were positive for
stx
2e
). One strain belonged to serotype O157:H7, and the others belonged to serogroups O2, O8, O11, O26, O76, O103, O113, O121, O141, O166, and O174. The environment is a reservoir in which new clones of STEC that are pathogenic for humans can emerge.
Antibiotic Production by a
Roseobacter
Clade-Affiliated Species from the German Wadden Sea and Its Antagonistic Effects on Indigenous Isolates
Authors: Brinkhoff Thorsten , Bach Gabriela , Heidorn Thorsten , Liang Lanfang , Schlingloff Andrea , Simon Meinhard 
Published: April 2004

ABSTRACT

A strain affiliated with the
Roseobacter
clade and producing a new antibiotic named tropodithietic acid (L. Liang, Ph.D. thesis, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany, 2003) was isolated from the German Wadden Sea. The compound showed strong inhibiting properties with respect to marine bacteria of various taxa and marine algae. Antibiotic production was found to occur during the complete growth phase. Strain mutants without antagonistic properties appeared several times spontaneously.
Assessment of the Epidemic Potential of a New Strain of Rotavirus Associated with the Novel G9 Serotype Which Caused an Outbreak in the United States for the First Time in the 1995-1996 Season
Authors: Clark H. Fred , Lawley Diane A. , Schaffer Alyssa , Patacsil Janice M. , Marcello Amy E. , Glass Roger I. , Jain Vivek , Gentsch Jon 
Published: April 2004

ABSTRACT
Rotavirus causes severe morbidity in developed countries and frequent deaths (≥500,000 per year) in less-developed countries. Historically, four serotypes—G1, G2, G3, and G4—have predominated; they are distinguished by one of two surface neutralization antigens (VP7). However, in 1983 and 1984 we described a new rotavirus serotype, designated G9, in five children hospitalized for diarrhea in Philadelphia, Pa. G9 rotavirus was not identified again in the Western Hemisphere until it caused ca. 50% of the rotavirus disease detected in Philadelphia in the 1995-1996 season. This outbreak allowed us to question whether a rotavirus strain completely new to a well-studied community would target either very young infants or older children, cause especially severe disease, or completely displace previously extant serotypes. We observed a significant excess of G9 infections in younger infants (especially in those <6 months old) that might be attributed to the lack of G9-specific antibodies in mothers. Of further note, six of the seven oldest patients with rotavirus diarrhea were infected with the G9 strains (not significant). However, the age distribution of children with rotavirus did not differ over a 5-year study period regardless of the infecting serotype. Patients with diarrhea associated with G9 strains did not have disease more severe than that caused by the G1, G2, or G3 serotype. G9 strains did not displace the other serotypes but were virtually completely replaced by G1 or G2 serotypes in the three subsequent rotavirus seasons. We conclude that the abrupt appearance of this novel rotavirus serotype did not present a special threat to public health in the community.
Validation of Clinical Application of Cytomegalovirus Plasma DNA Load Measurement and Definition of Treatment Criteria by Analysis of Correlation to Antigen Detection
Authors: Kalpoe Jayant S. , Kroes Aloys C. M. , de Jong Menno D. , Schinkel Janke , de Brouwer Caroline S. , Beersma Matthias F. C. , Claas Eric C. J. 
Published: April 2004

ABSTRACT
Successful preemptive cytomegalovirus (CMV) therapy in transplant patients depends on the availability of sensitive, specific, and timely diagnostic tests for CMV infections. The pp65 antigenemia assay has been used for this purpose with considerable success. Quantification of CMV DNA is currently regarded to be an alternative diagnostic approach. The precise relationship between these two methods has still to be defined, but is essential to compare diagnostic results. This study compared the results of both assays with a large series of transplant recipients in different categories. An internally controlled quantitative real-time CMV DNA PCR was used to test 409 plasma samples from solid organ transplant (SOT) and stem cell transplant (SCT) patients. Levels of CMV DNA in plasma correlated well with classified outcomes of the pp65 antigenemia test. Despite this correlation, the quantitative CMV PCR values in a class of antigen test results were within a wide range, and the definition of an optimal cutoff value for initiating treatment required further analysis by a receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis. This is essential for reactivating infections in particular. For the SCT patients the optimal cutoff value of CMV DNA load defining relevant viral reactivation (in this assay, 10,000 copies/ml) was slightly higher than that for the SOT patients (6,300 copies/ml). Based on a comparison with the established pp65 antigenemia assay, quantification of CMV DNA in plasma appeared to be capable of guiding the clinical management of transplant recipients. This approach may have important advantages, which include a superior reproducibility and sensitivity, allowing the inclusion of kinetic criteria in clinical guidelines.
Molecular Epidemiology of
Mycobacterium avium
subsp.
paratuberculosis
Isolates Recovered from Wild Animal Species
Authors: Motiwala Alifiya S. , Amonsin Alongkorn , Strother Megan , Manning Elizabeth J. B. , Kapur Vivek , Sreevatsan Srinand 
Published: April 2004

ABSTRACT

Mycobacterial isolates were obtained by radiometric culture from 33 different species of captive or free-ranging animals (
n
= 106) and environmental sources (
n
= 3) from six geographic zones within the United States. The identities of all 109 isolates were confirmed by using mycobactin J dependence and characterization of five well-defined molecular markers, including two integration loci of IS
900
(loci L1 and L9), one
Mycobacterium avium
subsp.
paratuberculosis
(
M. paratuberculosis
)-specific sequence (locus 251), and one
M. avium
subsp.
avium
-specific marker (IS
1245
), as well as
hsp65
and IS
1311
restriction endonuclease analyses. Seventy-six acid-fast isolates were identified as
M. paratuberculosis
, 15 were identified as belonging to the
M. avium-M. intracellulare
complex (but not
M. paratuberculosis
), and the remaining 18 were identified as mycobacteria outside the
M. avium
-
M. intracellulare
complex. Fingerprinting by multiplex PCR for IS
900
integration loci clustered 67 of the 76
M. paratuberculosis
strains into a single clade (designated clade A18) and had a Simpson's diversity index (
D
) of 0.53. In contrast, sequence-based characterization of a recently identified
M. paratuberculosis
short sequence repeat (SSR) region enabled the differentiation of the
M. paratuberculosis
isolates in clade A18 into seven distinct alleles (
D
= 0.75). The analysis revealed eight subtypes among the 33 species of animals, suggesting the interspecies transmission of specific strains. Taken together, the results of our analyses demonstrate that SSR analysis enables the genetic characterization of
M. paratuberculosis
isolates from different host species and provide evidence for the host specificity of some
M. paratuberculosis
strains as well as sharing of strains between wild and domesticated animal species.
Evaluation of
porB
PCR-Amplicon Restriction Endonuclease Analysis as a Method To Determine
porB
Variable-Region Sequences in Nonserotypeable Meningococci
Authors: Dyet Kristin H. , Simmonds Robin S. , Martin Diana R. 
Published: April 2004

ABSTRACT

porB
PCR-amplicon restriction endonuclease analysis is a rapid, simple method developed to assess
porB
variation in nonserotypeable meningococci isolated during New Zealand's epidemic of meningococcal disease. Most nonserotypeable meningococci isolated between 1990 and 1999 inclusively either were type 4 (40.5%) or contained the
porB
variable region 1 (VR1)-19, VR2-D, VR3-7, and VR4-14a sequences (45.1%).
Detection of Inducible Clindamycin Resistance of Staphylococci in Conjunction with Performance of Automated Broth Susceptibility Testing
Authors: Jorgensen J. H. , Crawford S. A. , McElmeel M. L. , Fiebelkorn K. R. 
Published: April 2004

ABSTRACT

This study has shown that inducible clindamycin resistance in staphylococci can be detected by disk testing on sheep blood agar inoculum purity plates used with the bioMerieux VITEK 2. Tests of 150 erythromycin-resistant isolates correlated with standard D-zone tests on Mueller-Hinton agar and with PCR for
erm
(A),
erm
(C), and
msr
(A).
Problems in Identification of
Francisella philomiragia
Associated with Fatal Bacteremia in a Patient with Chronic Granulomatous Disease
Authors: Friis-Møller A. , Lemming L. E. , Valerius N. H. , Bruun B. 
Published: April 2004

ABSTRACT

Francisella philomiragia
is a rare gram-negative, halophilic coccobacillus with bizarre spherical forms on primary isolation. A case of
F. philomiragia
bacteremia in a 24-year-old patient with chronic granulomatous disease is reported. Identification of
F. philomiragia
was problematic with conventional tests but was done correctly and rapidly by kit 16S ribosomal DNA sequencing.
Culture-Negative Endocarditis Due to Houston Complex
Bartonella henselae
Acquired in Noumea, New Caledonia
Authors: Rodrick Dani , Dillon Belinda , Dexter Mark , Nicholson Ian , Marcel Sebastien , Dickeson David , Iredell Jon 
Published: April 2004

ABSTRACT

A 44-year-old man with a bioprosthetic aortic valve suffered destructive endocarditis with severe embolic disease due to
Bartonella henselae
infection. Multilocus sequence typing was successfully performed with crude preparations of operative tissue as templates, and the infecting organism was determined to be typical of the Houston clonal group, although it was never cultured from blood or tissue. This is the first report of
B. henselae
infection in the South Pacific, and it reminds one that
B. henselae
is a cause of potentially lethal culture-negative endocarditis which may respond poorly to conventional empirical therapy. Nothing is known of the epidemiology of the infection in this region, but it is likely to be common and to contain representatives of both major clonal complexes. This study emphasizes the ease with which multilocus sequence typing can be used directly with tissue, which is important because of suggestions of strain-dependent clinical outcomes.
Improving surveillance for injuries associated with potential motor vehicle safety defects
Authors: Whitfield R A , Whitfield A K 
Published: April 2004

Objective:To improve surveillance for deaths and injuries associated with potential motor vehicle safety defects.Design:Vehicles in fatal crashes can be studied for indications of potential defects using an “early warning” surveillance statistic previously suggested for screening reports of adverse drug reactions. This statistic is illustrated with time series data for fatal, tire related and fire related crashes. Geographic analyses are used to augment the tire related statistics.Results:A statistical criterion based on the Poisson distribution that tests the likelihood of an expected number of events, given the number of events that actually occurred, is a promising method that can be readily adapted for use in injury surveillance.Conclusions:Use of the demonstrated techniques could have helped to avert a well known injury surveillance failure. This method is adaptable to aid in the direction of engineering and statistical reviews to prevent deaths and injuries associated with potential motor vehicle safety defects using available databases.
Reality check: using newspapers, police reports, and court records to assess defensive gun use
Authors: Denton J F , Fabricius W V 
Published: April 2004

Objective:To identify legitimate defensive gun uses (DGUs), and provide a reality check on previous estimates of the rate of DGUs by using a novel approach based on newspaper reports and police and court records. Previous estimates have relied on self report, differ by a factor of 10 or more, and are viewed as highly controversial.Design and setting:The reported uses of firearms in a newspaper covering roughly the Phoenix metropolitan area over almost a 3.5 month period were examined, supplemented where necessary by police and court records.Results:Two DGUs involving killing assailants and one involving firing at an assailant were found. The three DGUs stemmed from cases of “mutual combat” or exposed bystanders to gunfire.Conclusions:These findings cast doubt on rates of DGUs reported in an influential study by Kleck and Gertz, which predict that the police should have known about 98 DGU killings or woundings and 236 DGU firings at adversaries during the time the newspaper was surveyed. The findings reported here were closer to predictions based on the National Crime Victimization Survey, which suggest that the police should have known about eight DGU killings or woundings and 19 DGU firings at adversaries.
Community paediatricians’ counseling patterns and knowledge of recommendations relating to child restraint use in motor vehicles
Authors: Rothenstein J , Howard A , Parkin P , Khambalia A , Macarthur C 
Published: April 2004

Background:Road traffic injury is the leading cause of death among Canadian children and youth. Transport Canada recommends four types of child restraint depending on the size of the child, and recent studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of recommended restraint use.Objectives:To determine community paediatricians’ knowledge of Transport Canada recommendations for child restraint use in vehicles, and to examine paediatricians’ counseling patterns in relation to child passenger safety.Methods:A mailed questionnaire survey of all community paediatricians affiliated with the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto was conducted. A 16 item questionnaire gathered information on knowledge of Transport Canada recommendations for child restraint use, general counseling patterns in relation to child passenger safety, and demographic information.Results:In total, 60 community paediatricians in active practice were identified. Of these, 48 (80%) responded to the mailed questionnaire. Almost all paediatricians (92%) correctly identified the recommended weight for transition to a forward-facing car seat, whereas fewer paediatricians (63%) correctly identified the recommended weight for transition to a booster seat from a forward-facing car seat, and only one third of paediatricians correctly identified the recommended weight for transition from a booster seat to a seat belt.Conclusion:Community paediatricians’ knowledge of Transport Canada recommendations for child restraint use in vehicles is incomplete. There is a need for such recommendations to be better disseminated to paediatricians and parents so that information on child restraint use is delivered in a clear and consistent manner.
Review of the role of alcohol in drowning associated with recreational aquatic activity
Authors: Driscoll T R , Harrison J A , Steenkamp M 
Published: April 2004

Objective and design:To assess the role of alcohol in drowning associated with recreational aquatic activity by reviewing the English language literature published up to October 2003.Results:Alcohol is widely used in association with recreational aquatic activity in the United States, but there is minimal information regarding the extent of use elsewhere. A priori and anecdotal evidence suggests that alcohol is an important risk factor for drowning associated with recreational aquatic activity. Specific studies provide good evidence supporting this, but the extent of increased risk associated with alcohol use, and the attributable risk due to alcohol use, is not well characterised. Drowning appears to be the overwhelming cause of death associated with recreational aquatic activity with alcohol detected in the blood in 30%–70% of persons who drown while involved in this activity. The few relevant studies on degree of increased risk suggest persons with a blood alcohol level of 0.10 g/100 ml have about 10 times the risk of death associated with recreational boating compared with persons who have not been drinking, but that even small amounts of alcohol can increase this risk. The population attributable risk seems to be in the range of about 10%–30%.Conclusions:Alcohol consumption significantly increases the likelihood of immersions resulting in drowning during aquatic activities. However, more information is required if appropriate prevention activities are to be planned, initiated, and evaluated. This includes better information on alcohol use, and attitudes to alcohol use, in association with recreational aquatic activity, and the nature and extent of increased risk associated with alcohol use. Evaluation of interventions is also needed.
Downhill skiing injury fatalities among children
Authors: Xiang H , Stallones L , Smith G A 
Published: April 2004

Objective:Young skiers are at increased risk for injury, however, epidemiological data on skiing related fatal injuries among child skiers are scarce. This study aimed to provide information needed to develop injury control and prevention programs.Design and setting:Study subjects came from Colorado, USA and were identified using a death certificate based surveillance system. Fatal injuries were limited to events that occurred at established commercial ski resorts in Colorado, and subjects were classified as child skiers (0–17 years) or adult skiers (⩾18 years).Main outcome measure:Type and external cause, time, and week day of injury, gender and residency of the decedents.Results:During the study period from 1980–2001, 149 fatal injuries associated with downhill skiing were identified; 21 (14.1%) occurred among child skiers aged ⩽17 years. The age of the youngest decedent was 7 years. In females the proportion of fatal injuries among child skiers was nearly three times that of adults. Traumatic brain injuries were the leading cause of death (67% of all deaths) among children, while multiple internal injuries and traumatic brain injuries accounted for almost equal proportions of fatal injuries among adults. Collision was the leading external mechanism of fatal injuries, accounting for more than two thirds of fatal injuries in both child and adult skiers.Conclusions:Traumatic brain injury was the leading cause and collision was the leading external injury mechanism of fatal injuries associated with downhill skiing among child skiers. This underscores the importance of brain injury prevention strategies, including the use of ski helmets and prevention of collisions on ski slopes.
Influence of low frequency electric fields on anti- and pro-coagulability of the vascular endothelium: new insights into high-voltage electrical injury
Authors: Pallua Norbert , Lichtenegger Franziska , Hafemann Bernd , Silny Jiri , Ulrich Dietmar 
Published: April 2004

SummaryAfter high-voltage electric injury, patients often show tissue necrosis and thrombosis of blood vessels even remote from entry and exit site of electrical current. In this study, plasma levels of TAT, F1+2, PAI-1, and t-PA were determined in vivo in three patients with high-voltage injury for 96 hours after trauma. In order to analyse a possible effect on haemostasis related to endothelial cell damage, protein S, TF, ET-1, PGI2, NO, t-PA, and PAI-1 were determined for 72 hours in vitro in cell culture supernatant of HUVECs that had been exposed to 1, 10, 30, and 50 electric field periods of 50 Hz with field strength of 60 V/cm and duration of 20 ms. Furthermore, expression of thrombomodulin was immunohistochemically analysed. Clotting activation could be observed in our patients by increased levels of F1+2 and TAT between 12 and 72 hours after injury, whereas fibrinolysis was disturbed due to high PAI-1. One patient presented thrombosis of vessels by day 3. In vitro, PAI-1 increased significantly (p<0.05) in medium of cells with an application of 30 and 50 periods between 2 and 48 hours. Between 4 and 72 hours, the concentration of t-PA was significantly lower (p<0.05) in the medium of HUVECs exposed to 10, 30, and 50 periods, whereas there was a significant increase (p<0.05) in the concentration of TF in the cell groups with an application of 30 and 50 periods. 24, 48, and 72 hours after injury, there was just weak or no staining for thrombomodulin in HUVECs with an application of 30 and 50 periods. The disturbed balance between clotting system and fibrinolysis seen in vitro after electric injury might explain the clinical observation of a progressive thrombosis of blood vessels after electric injury leading to tissue loss.