bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Is there an association between periodontal disease, prematurity and low birth weight? A population‐based study
Authors: Lunardelli Abelardo Nunes , Peres Marco Aurélio 
Published: August 2005

AbstractBackground: The relationship between periodontal diseases in pregnancy and children born prematurely or with low birth weight has been increasingly investigated, showing inconclusive results.Objectives: To test the link between periodontal disease in pregnant women and low birth weight or prematurity.Methods: A population‐based, cross‐sectional study was carried out in Southern Brazil. The sample consisted of 449 parturients who were interviewed and examined up to 48 h post‐partum. Three outcomes were investigated: low birth weight, prematurity and prematurity and/or birth weight. Periodontal disease, the exposure, was defined as (i) at least one site with a periodontal pocket; (ii) the presence of pockets at four or more sites. Socio‐demographic information relating to health and maternal habits was collected through a questionnaire and by hospital medical records. Simple and multiple regression analysis was performed.Findings: There was no statistically significant association between periodontal disease and low birth weight. Periodontal pocket was not associated with low birth weight and/or pre‐term birth after being adjusted. A periodontal pocket in at least one site was associated with prematurity (odds ratio=2.6; 95% confidence interval 1.0–6.9) even after adjusting for maternal schooling, parity, number of previous children of low birth weight, number of pre‐natal consultations and body mass index. After the introduction of variables relating to maternal health during pregnancy, this association disappeared.Conclusions: No association was found between periodontal disease in the mother and the low birth weight. An association between prematurity and periodontal pockets was found but it was confounded by maternal health variables.
Impact of smoking on the clinical, microbiological and immunological parameters of adult patients with periodontitis
Authors: Apatzidou D. A. , Riggio M. P. , Kinane D. F. 
Published: August 2005

AbstractObjectives: The aim of the current study was to assess the impact of smoking on the clinical indices, the humoral immune response and the detection frequency of putative periodontal pathogens in patients with periodontitis cross‐sectionally and following therapy.Material and Methods: Clinical measurements, subgingival plaque samples, gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) and sera were collected from 40 untreated patients with moderate‐to‐advanced chronic periodontitis before and after treatment over a period of 6 months. The treatment consisted of the initial therapy of scaling and root planing. Smoking status was self‐reported and was confirmed by cotinine enzyme inhibition assay (CEIA). Whole‐mouth clinical measurements were recorded with a manual periodontal probe at baseline (BAS) and at 6 months (RAS). Selected‐site analyses were performed on the deepest site in each quadrant before and after therapy and clinical indices were recorded with an electronic pressure‐sensitive probe. GCF sample volume was quantified using the Periotron 6000. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was utilized to determine the presence of Porphyromonas gingivalis, Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Prevotella intermedia, Treponema denticola and Tanerella forsythensis in subgingival plaque. Enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay examined the systemic antibody titres to these bacteria, and thiocyanate disassociation determined the antibody avidity to these organisms.Results: At baseline, smokers showed significantly less gingival inflammation and lower GCF volume compared with non‐smokers. After treatment, a compromised clinical outcome was noted for smokers in terms of pocket depth reduction and gain in attachment levels. No significant differences in the detection of putative periodontal pathogens in subgingival plaque existed between smokers and non‐smokers. A consistent trend was noted in that smokers had lower sera immunoglobulin G antibody titres to these organisms before and after treatment (statistically significant for A. actinomycetemcomitans). This pattern was less clear when antibody avidities were considered, revealing only small differences, if any, between the two groups of patients.Conclusion: Current data indicate that smokers with periodontal disease have a suppressed inflammatory response, a significantly less favourable clinical outcome and seem to have an altered host antibody response to antigenic challenge than non‐smokers. In contrast, the subgingival microflora of smokers appears similar to that of non‐smokers.
CORRELATING SHRINKAGE WITH YIELD, WATER CONTENT AND TEXTURE OF PORK HAM BY COMPUTER VISION
Authors: DU CHENG‐JIN , SUN DA‐WEN 
Published: August 2005

ABSTRACT An automatic method for shrinkage evaluation of pork ham was developed using computer vision. First, a sequence of image‐processing algorithms was developed to estimate the average diameter, short axis, long axis, perimeter, volume and surface area before and after cooking and cooling. This sequence consisted of three steps, i.e., shape extraction, protrusion deletion and measurement. Based on the estimated shape characteristics, three kinds of shrinkage were evaluated as the percentage change before and after a process, i.e., shrinkages caused by the cooking process, cooling process and total shrinkage during the entire cooking and cooling processes. Then the cooking shrinkage was related to cooking loss; the cooling shrinkage to cooling loss and the total shrinkage to yield, water content and texture. It was found that among the three shrinkages, the cooking shrinkage in volume was the highest with up to 9.36%, and was significantly correlated with cooking loss (r = 0.91). The total shrinkage was highly negatively correlated with water content, and had positive correlations with the texture attributes. However, no significant relationships were found between cooling shrinkage and cooling loss, and between total shrinkage and yield.
Analytical Variance-Based Global Sensitivity Analysis in
Simulation-Based Design Under Uncertainty
Authors: Chen Wei , Jin Ruichen , Sudjianto Agus 
Published: August 2005

Abstract
The importance of sensitivity analysis in engineering design cannot be over-emphasized. In design under uncertainty, sensitivity analysis is performed with respect to the probabilistic characteristics. Global sensitivity analysis (GSA), in particular, is used to study the impact of variations in input variables on the variation of a model output. One of the most challenging issues for GSA is the intensive computational demand for assessing the impact of probabilistic variations. Existing variance-based GSA methods are developed for general functional relationships but require a large number of samples. In this work, we develop an efficient and accurate approach to GSA that employs analytic formulations derived from metamodels. The approach is especially applicable to simulation-based design because metamodels are often created to replace expensive simulation programs, and therefore readily available to designers. In this work, we identify the needs of GSA in design under uncertainty, and then develop generalized analytical formulations that can provide GSA for a variety of metamodels commonly used in engineering applications. We show that even though the function forms of these metamodels vary significantly, they all follow the form of multivariate tensor-product basis functions for which the analytical results of univariate integrals can be constructed to calculate the multivariate integrals in GSA. The benefits of our proposed techniques are demonstrated and verified through both illustrative mathematical examples and the robust design for improving vehicle handling performance.
Metamodeling Development for Vehicle Frontal Impact
Simulation
Authors: Yang R. J. , Wang N. , Tho C. H. , Bobineau J. P. , Wang B. P. 
Published: August 2005

Abstract
Response surface methods or metamodels are commonly used to approximate large computationally expensive engineering systems. Five response surface methods are studied: Stepwise Regression, Moving Least Square, Kriging, Multiquadric, and Adaptive and Interactive Modeling System. A real-world frontal impact design problem is used as an example, which is a complex, highly nonlinear, transient, dynamic, large deformation finite element model. To study the accuracy of the metamodel, the optimal Latin Hypercube Sampling method is used to distribute the sampling points uniformly over the entire design space. The Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) is used as the error indicator. Convergence rate, widely used in the arena of the finite element method for evaluating new element’s performance, was exploited in this vehicle impact example.
CtsR Is the Master Regulator of Stress Response Gene Expression inOenococcus oeni
Authors: Grandvalet Cosette , Coucheney Françoise , Beltramo Charlotte , Guzzo Jean 
Published: August 2005

ABSTRACTAlthough many stress response genes have been characterized inOenococcus oeni, little is known about the regulation of stress response in this malolactic bacterium. The expression of eubacterial stress genes is controlled both positively and negatively at the transcriptional level. Overall, negative regulation of heat shock genes appears to be more widespread among gram-positive bacteria. We recently identified an ortholog of thectsRgene inO. oeni. InBacillus subtilis, CtsR negatively regulates expression of theclpgenes, which belong to the class III family of heat shock genes. ThectsRgene ofO. oeniis cotranscribed with the downstreamclpCgene. Sequence analysis of theO. oeniIOB 8413 (ATCC BAA-1163) genome revealed the presence of potential CtsR operator sites upstream from most of the major molecular chaperone genes, including theclpgenes and thegroESanddnaKoperons. UsingB. subtilisas a heterologous host, CtsR-dependent regulation ofO. oenimolecular chaperone genes was demonstrated with transcriptional fusions. No alternative sigma factors appear to be encoded by theO. oeniIOB 8413 (ATCC BAA-1163) genome. Moreover, apart from CtsR, no known genes encoding regulators of stress response, such as HrcA, could be identified in this genome. Unlike the multiple regulatory mechanisms of stress response described in many closely related gram-positive bacteria, this is the first example wherednaKandgroESLare controlled by CtsR but not by HrcA.
Shigella dysenteriaeShuS Promotes Utilization of Heme as an Iron Source and Protects against Heme Toxicity
Authors: Wyckoff Elizabeth E. , Lopreato Gregory F. , Tipton Kimberly A. , Payne Shelley M. 
Published: August 2005

ABSTRACTShigella dysenteriaeserotype 1, a major cause of bacillary dysentery in humans, can use heme as a source of iron. Genes for the transport of heme into the bacterial cell have been identified, but little is known about proteins that control the fate of the heme molecule after it has entered the cell. TheshuSgene is located within the heme transport locus, downstream of the heme receptor geneshuA. ShuS is a heme binding protein, but its role in heme utilization is poorly understood. In this work, we report the construction of a chromosomalshuSmutant. TheshuSmutant was defective in utilizing heme as an iron source. At low heme concentrations, theshuSmutant grew slowly and its growth was stimulated by either increasing the heme concentration or by providing extra copies of the heme receptorshuAon a plasmid. At intermediate heme concentrations, the growth of theshuSmutant was moderately impaired, and at high heme concentrations,shuSwas required for growth on heme. TheshuSmutant did not show increased sensitivity to hydrogen peroxide, even at high heme concentrations. ShuS was also required for optimal utilization of heme under microaerobic and anaerobic conditions. These data are consistent with the model in which ShuS binds heme in a soluble, nontoxic form and potentially transfers the heme from the transport proteins in the membrane to either heme-containing or heme-degrading proteins. ShuS did not appear to store heme for future use.
Helicobacter pylori
Flagellar Hook-Filament Transition Is Controlled by a FliK Functional Homolog Encoded by the Gene HP0906
Authors: Ryan Kieran A. , Karim Najma , Worku Mulugeta , Penn Charles W. , O'Toole Paul W. 
Published: August 2005

ABSTRACT

Helicobacter pylori
is a human gastric pathogen which is dependent on motility for infection. The
H. pylori
genome encodes a near-complete complement of flagellar proteins compared to model enteric bacteria. One of the few flagellar genes not annotated in
H. pylori
is that encoding FliK, a hook length control protein whose absence leads to a polyhook phenotype in
Salmonella enterica
. We investigated the role of the
H. pylori
gene HP0906 in flagellar biogenesis because of linkage to other flagellar genes, because of its transcriptional regulation pattern, and because of the properties of an ortholog in
Campylobacter jejuni
(N. Kamal and C. W. Penn, unpublished data). A nonpolar mutation of HP0906 in strain CCUG 17874 was generated by insertion of a chloramphenicol resistance marker. Cells of the mutant were almost completely nonmotile but produced sheathed, undulating polyhook structures at the cell pole. Expression of HP0906 in a
Salmonella fliK
mutant restored motility, confirming that HP0906 is the
H. pylori fliK
gene. Mutation of HP0906 caused a dramatic reduction in
H. pylori
flagellin protein production and a significant increase in production of the hook protein FlgE. The HP0906 mutant showed increased transcription of the
flgE
and
flaB
genes relative to the wild type, down-regulation of
flaA
transcription, and no significant change in transcription of the flagellar intermediate class genes
flgM
,
fliD
, and
flhA
. We conclude that the
H. pylori
HP0906 gene product is the hook length control protein FliK and that its function is required for turning off the σ
54
regulon during progression of the flagellar gene expression cascade.
Role ofBorrelia burgdorferiLinear Plasmid 25 in Infection ofIxodes scapularisTicks
Authors: Strother Keith O. , de Silva Aravinda 
Published: August 2005

ABSTRACTThe tick-borne bacteriumBorrelia burgdorferihas over 20 different circular and linear plasmids. SomeB. burgdorferiplasmids are readily lost during in vitro culture or genetic manipulation. Linear plasmid 25, which is often lost in laboratory strains, is required for the infection of mice. Strains missing linear plasmid 25 (lp25−) are able to infect mice if the BBE22 gene on lp25 is provided on a shuttle vector. In this study, we examined the role of lp25 and BBE22 in tick infections. We tested the hypothesis that complementation with BBE22 in spirochetes lacking lp25 would restore the ability of spirochetes to infect ticks. A natural tick infection cycle was performed by feeding larvae on mice injected with the parental, lp25−, or lp25−BBE22-complemented spirochete strains. In addition, larvae and nymphs were artificially infected with different strains to study tick infections independent of mouse infections.B. burgdorferimissing lp25 was significantly impaired in its ability to infect larval and nymphal ticks. When an lp25−strain was complemented with BBE22, the ability to infect ticks was partially restored. Complementation with BBE22 allowed spirochetes lacking lp25 to establish short-term infections in ticks, but in most cases the infection prevalence was lower than that of the wild-type strain. In addition, the number of infected ticks decreased over time, suggesting that another gene(s) on lp25 is required for long-term persistence in ticks and completion of a natural infection cycle.
Conversion of Methylglyoxal to Acetol by
Escherichia coli
Aldo-Keto Reductases
Authors: Ko Junsang , Kim Insook , Yoo Seokho , Min Bumchan , Kim Kyungmin , Park Chankyu 
Published: August 2005

ABSTRACT

Methylglyoxal (MG) is a toxic metabolite known to accumulate in various cell types. We detected in vivo conversion of MG to acetol in MG-accumulating
Escherichia coli
cells by use of
1
H nuclear magnetic resonance (
1
H-NMR) spectroscopy. A search for homologs of the mammalian aldo-keto reductases (AKRs), which are known to exhibit activity to MG, revealed nine open reading frames from the
E. coli
genome. Based on both sequence similarities and preliminary characterization with
1
H-NMR for crude extracts of the corresponding mutant strains, we chose five genes,
yafB
,
yqhE
,
yeaE
,
yghZ
, and
yajO
, for further study. Quantitative assessment of the metabolites produced in vitro from the crude extracts of these mutants and biochemical study with purified AKRs indicated that the
yafB
,
yqhE
,
yeaE
, and
yghZ
genes are involved in the conversion of MG to acetol in the presence of NADPH. When we assessed their in vivo catalytic activities by creating double mutants, all of these genes except for
yqhE
exhibited further sensitivities to MG in a glyoxalase-deficient strain. The results imply that the glutathione-independent detoxification of MG can occur through multiple pathways, consisting of
yafB
,
yqhE
,
yeaE
, and
yghZ
genes, leading to the generation of acetol.
Proteomic Analysis of Global Changes in Protein Expression during Bile Salt Exposure of
Bifidobacterium longum
NCIMB 8809
Authors: Sánchez Borja , Champomier-Vergès Marie-Christine , Anglade Patricia , Baraige Fabienne , de los Reyes-Gavilán Clara G. , Margolles Abelardo , Zagorec Monique 
Published: August 2005

ABSTRACT

Adaptation to and tolerance of bile stress are among the main limiting factors to ensure survival of bifidobacteria in the intestinal environment of humans. The effect of bile salts on protein expression patterns of
Bifidobacterium longum
was examined. Protein pattern comparison of strains grown with or without bile extract allowed us to identify 34 different proteins whose expression was regulated. The majority of these proteins were induced after both a minor (0.6 g liter
−1
) and a major (1.2 g liter
−1
) exposure to bile. These include general stress response chaperones, proteins involved in transcription and translation and in the metabolism of amino acids and nucleotides, and several enzymes of glycolysis and pyruvate catabolism. Remarkably, xylulose 5-phosphate/fructose 6-phosphate phosphoketolase, the key enzyme of the so-called bifidobacterial shunt, was found to be upregulated, and the activity on fructose 6-phosphate was significantly higher for protein extracts of cells grown in the presence of bile. Changes in the levels of metabolic end products (acetate and lactate) were also detected. These results suggest that bile salts, to which bifidobacteria are naturally exposed, induce a complex physiological response rather than a single event in which proteins from many different functional categories take part. This study has extended our understanding of the molecular mechanism underlying the capacity of intestinal bifidobacteria to tolerate bile.
Expanded Metabolic Reconstruction of
Helicobacter pylori
(
i
IT341 GSM/GPR): an In Silico Genome-Scale Characterization of Single- and Double-Deletion Mutants
Authors: Thiele Ines , Vo Thuy D. , Price Nathan D. , Palsson Bernhard Ø. 
Published: August 2005

ABSTRACT

Helicobacter pylori
is a human gastric pathogen infecting almost half of the world population. Herein, we present an updated version of the metabolic reconstruction of
H. pylori
strain 26695 based on the revised genome annotation and new experimental data. This reconstruction,
i
IT341 GSM/GPR, represents a detailed review of the current literature about
H. pylori
as it integrates biochemical and genomic data in a comprehensive framework. In total, it accounts for 341 metabolic genes, 476 intracellular reactions, 78 exchange reactions, and 485 metabolites. Novel features of
i
IT341 GSM/GPR include (i) gene-protein-reaction associations, (ii) elementally and charge-balanced reactions, (iii) more accurate descriptions of isoprenoid and lipopolysaccharide metabolism, and (iv) quantitative assessments of the supporting data for each reaction. This metabolic reconstruction was used to carry out in silico deletion studies to identify essential and conditionally essential genes in
H. pylori
. A total of 128 essential and 75 conditionally essential metabolic genes were identified. Predicted growth phenotypes of single knockouts were validated using published experimental data. In addition, in silico double-deletion studies identified a total of 47 synthetic lethal mutants involving 67 different metabolic genes in rich medium.
Rv2358 and FurB: Two Transcriptional Regulators from
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Which Respond to Zinc
Authors: Canneva Fabio , Branzoni Manuela , Riccardi Giovanna , Provvedi Roberta , Milano Anna 
Published: August 2005

ABSTRACT

In a previous work, we demonstrated that the
Mycobacterium tuberculosis Rv2358
-
furB
operon is induced by zinc. In this study, the orthologous genes from
Mycobacterium smegmatis
mc
2
155 were inactivated and mutants analyzed. Rv2358 protein was purified and found to bind upstream of the
Rv2358
gene. Binding was inhibited by Zn
2+
ions.
TheLeptospira interrogans lexAGene Is Not Autoregulated
Authors: Cuñé Jordi , Cullen Paul , Mazon Gerard , Campoy Susana , Adler Ben , Barbe Jordi 
Published: August 2005

ABSTRACTFootprinting and mutagenesis experiments demonstrated thatLeptospira interrogansLexA binds the palindrome TTTGN5CAAA found in therecApromoter but not in thelexApromoter. In silico analysis revealed that none of the other canonical SOS genes is under direct control of LexA, making the leptospirallexAgene the first described which is not autoregulated.
Too many cooks
Authors: Beltram Dustin 
Published: August 2005

This is the first in a series of articles dedicated to exploring the unique challenges facing designers, customers and users of enterprise software.

"Enterprise software?" you say. "What a snooze fest."

Well, yes, I might agree with you there. But I'll work hard to make this as interesting and useful as possible. In the months ahead, I'll explore scenarios that illuminate these challenges and, hopefully, shed a little light on how to deal with them. I'll also be talking with practitioners in the field to get their opinions and insights.

If you have thoughts you'd like to share on the subject, feel free to send me an email at dbeltramo@acm.org. See you next issue.
Measuring the outcomes of day hospital attendance: a comparison of the Barthel Index and London Handicap Scale
Authors: Harwood Rowan H , Ebrahim Shah 
Published: August 2005

Objective: To assess the ability of two scales to measure the effects of attendance at a geriatric day hospital. Design: ‘Before-and-after’ measurements. Setting: Day hospital serving a defined, urban, catchment area. Subjects: One hundred and three consecutive new patients over a three-month period. Intervention: Day hospital attendance for as long as the multidisciplinary team thought warranted. Outcome measures: Barthel Index and London Handicap Scale. Results: Seventy-six patients (74%) attended for broadly defined ‘rehabilitation’. Measurements on the Barthel Index and London Handicap Scale were completed on 54 of these. Repeat measurements after discharge from the day hospital were achieved on 37 patients. Patients attended between two and 57 times, with a median of eight. Mean Barthel Index did not change over the period of attendance. There was a small improvement in mean handicap score. Eight patients were identified post hoc who attended for 10 or more sessions, and they experienced a large mean reduction in handicap. Conclusion: Overall, neither the Barthel Index nor the London Handicap Scale changed much during attendance at the day hospital. Generally very short lengths of attendance may have explained this. For patients with more prolonged attendance, who might be expected to change more, the London Handicap Scale proved more responsive than the Barthel Index.