bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effects of Ultra‐Low‐Dose Estrogen Therapy on Muscle and Physical Function in Older Women
Authors: Kenny Anne M. , Kleppinger Alison , Wang Yahzen , Prestwood Karen M. 
Published: September 2005

Objectives: To determine the effects of ultra‐low‐dose hormone therapy on muscle mass and physical function in community‐dwelling women.Design: Double‐blind, placebo‐controlled trial.Setting: Clinical research center in Connecticut.Participants: Healthy, community‐dwelling women aged 65 and older (n=167).Intervention: Eligible women were randomly assigned to treatment with 0.25 mg 17‐beta estradiol or placebo for 36 months. All women (estradiol or placebo) with an intact uterus received micronized progesterone 100 mg/d for 2 weeks every 6 months. All participants received 1,300 mg elemental calcium with 1,000 IU vitamin D per day.Measurements: Appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM), lean body mass (LBM), and percentage body fat were measured using dual x‐ray absorptiometry. Sarcopenia was defined as skeletal muscle mass (ASM/height2) 2 standard deviations or less than young, healthy reference population mean. Physical activity (Physical Activity Scale in the Elderly (PASE)) and performance were measured. Serum estrone, estradiol, and sex hormone–binding globulin were measured.Results: The prevalence of sarcopenia at baseline was 13%. There were no baseline differences between groups except for PASE score and chair rise time, in which the estrogen group had better performance. No changes in ASM, LBM, percentage of body fat, or physical performance were found after 3 years of estrogen therapy.Conclusion: Sarcopenia was present in 13% of this group of community‐dwelling, postmenopausal older women. Ultra‐low‐dose estrogen therapy neither improves nor harms ASM. Similarly, no changes in body fat or physical performance were detected.
High Pacing Impedances: Are You Overtorquing Your Leads?
Authors: LASKE TIMOTHY G. , VIEAU SARAH A. , SKADSBERG NICHOLAS D. , IAIZZO PAUL A. 
Published: September 2005

Background: Variations in measured pacing impedances that occur at the time of lead implantation remain largely unexplained and may be due to the morphology of the tissue‐lead interface.
Methods: An endocardial pacing lead was implanted under direct endoscopic visualization and parameters were measured for defined stages of implantation into multiple sites within the right atrium of in vitro swine hearts (n = 6, 38 implants), in vivo swine hearts (n = 2, 10 implants), and an in vitro human heart (n = 1, 15 implants).
Results: Steady increases in impedance values up to 2 turns fully fixed (2TF) were associated with minimal tissue distortion in all implants. Overtorquing of the in vitro swine implants resulted in severe distortion at the tissue‐lead interface demonstrating either tissue wrapping (24 implants) or tissue coring (14 implants). Impedance and threshold values remained elevated (953 ± 282 Ω, 7.86 ± 3.0 V; both P < 0.05 vs 2TF) during tissue distortion/wrapping, while tissue‐cored implants were associated with significant decreases (552 ± 187 Ω, 6.2 ± 2.2 V; both P < 0.05 vs 2TF). P‐wave amplitudes demonstrated no significant changes or correlation to tissue distortion. Importantly, both swine in vivo and human in vitro data demonstrated similar trends compared with the swine in vitro data.
Conclusions: In this study, one is able to directly observe and correlate the degree of distortion at the tissue‐lead interface with measured electrical parameters. Instantaneous impedance values obtained during fixation serve as a superior indicator of an acceptable lead implantation, and should therefore be carefully monitored during implantation.
Placement of Transvenous Pacemaker and ICD Leads Across Total Chronic Occlusions
Authors: McCOTTER CRAIG J. , ANGLE J. FRITZ , PRUDENTE LIZA A. , MOUNSEY J. PAUL , FERGUSON JOHN D. , DiMARCO JOHN P. , HUMMEL JAMES P. , MANGRUM J. MICHAEL 
Published: September 2005

Objective: To establish a method of implantation for device leads across total venous occlusions.
Background: Indications for pacemaker and implantable cardiac defibrillator implantation continue to expand. Chronic venous occlusions are increasingly encountered with lead placement. Some degree of obstruction can be as high as 13% before device implantation and 50% after transvenous device implantation. We report an approach of venoplasty/dilatation of chronic total occlusions to allow lead placement.
Methods: From January 1, 2002 through December 16, 2004, 1,356 systems (initial and upgrade) were implanted at the University of Virginia. At the time of device implant, seven patients were noted to have chronic venous occlusions and alternative access was precluded. Four of the seven patients had an existing system; the other three received initial implantations. Subsequently, these seven patients had a 5 Fr catheter placed in the basilic/axillary/subclavian vein and a venogram was obtained to demonstrate the area of chronic occlusion. A guide wire was advanced across the lesion for initial recanalization. Dilatation or venoplasty was performed at the occluded site. A guide wire was retained across the lesion and the patient underwent lead implantation.
Results: In all seven patients, recanalization was achieved and leads were successfully placed. There were no complications or damage to the vessels or existing leads.
Conclusions: Venoplasty or dilatation of chronic total venous occlusion is a safe and effective technique, which allows for placement of transvenous leads.
Determination of the Optimal Atrioventricular Interval in Sick Sinus Syndrome During DDD Pacing
Authors: KATO MASAYA , DOTE KEIGO , SASAKI SHOTA , GOTO KENJI , TAKEMOTO HIROAKI , HABARA SEIJI , HASEGAWA DAIJI , MATSUDA OSAMU 
Published: September 2005

Background: Although the AAI pacing mode has been shown to be electromechanically superior to the DDD pacing mode in sick sinus syndrome (SSS), there is evidence suggesting that during AAI pacing the presence of natural ventricular activation pattern is not enough for hemodynamic benefit to occur. Myocardial performance index (MPI) is a simply measurable Doppler‐derived index of combined systolic and diastolic myocardial performance. The aim of this study was to investigate whether AAI pacing mode is electromechanically superior to the DDD mode in patients with SSS by using Doppler‐derived MPI.
Methods: Thirty‐nine SSS patients with dual‐chamber pacing devices were evaluated by using Doppler echocardiography in AAI mode and DDD mode. The optimal atrioventricular (AV) interval in DDD mode was determined and atrial stimulus‐R interval was measured in AAI mode. The ratio of the atrial stimulus‐R interval to the optimal AV interval was defined as relative AV interval (rAVI) and the ratio of MPI in AAI mode to that in DDD mode was defined as relative MPI (rMPI).
Results: The rMPI was significantly correlated with atrial stimulus‐R interval and rAVI (r = 0.57, P = 0.0002, and r = 0.67, P < 0.0001, respectively). A cutoff point of 1.73 for rAVI provided optimum sensitivity and specificity for rMPI >1 based on the receiver operator curves.
Conclusions: Even though the intrinsic AV conduction is moderately prolonged, some SSS patients with dual‐chamber pacing devices benefit from the ventricular pacing with optimal AV interval. MPI is useful to determine the optimal pacing mode in acute experiment.
Psychological profile in oral lichen planus
Authors: Ivanovski Kiro , Nakova Marija , Warburton Gary , Pesevska Snezana , Filipovska Angelina , Nares Salvador , Nunn Martha E. , Angelova Dragana , Angelov Nikola 
Published: September 2005

AbstractAim: Oral lichen planus (OLP) is an oral lesion with an enigmatic etiology. To explore the possibility of psycho‐somatization, we evaluated the psychological personality profiles of OLP patients.Methods: Twenty patients with reticular; 20 with erosive form of OLP, and 25 controls were tested with the psychological Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)‐202 test. Eight clinical scales (hypochondriasis, depression, hysteria, psychopathic deviate, paranoia, psychasthenia, schizophrenia, and hypomania) as well as cortisol level, CD3, CD4, CD8, and CD16 markers by group were compared. Psychosomatization was evaluated by the use of internalization ratio (IR) Index.Results: A characteristic MMPI profile was noted in the OLP groups with high IR index value. Significant differences among the groups were detected for cortisol, CD4, CD8, and CD16 counts. Mean values for hypochondriasis, depression, and hysteria were all significantly different with significantly higher mean scores for both reticular and erosive OLP subjects compared with controls.Conclusions: Prolonged emotive stress in many OLP patients may lead to psychosomatization and may contribute to the initiation and clinical expression of this oral disorder.Clinical significance: If additional research involving a larger and more diverse sample of patients confirms these findings, clinical trials will be needed to determine whether adjunctive psychological intervention provides a benefit in treating patients with OLP.
Effects of Solar UV Radiation on Morphology and Photosynthesis of Filamentous Cyanobacterium
Arthrospira platensis
Authors: Wu Hongyan , Gao Kunshan , Villafañe Virginia E. , Watanabe Teruo , Helbling E. Walter 
Published: September 2005

ABSTRACT

To study the impact of solar UV radiation (UVR) (280 to 400 nm) on the filamentous cyanobacterium
Arthrospira
(
Spirulina
)
platensis
, we examined the morphological changes and photosynthetic performance using an indoor-grown strain (which had not been exposed to sunlight for decades) and an outdoor-grown strain (which had been grown under sunlight for decades) while they were cultured with three solar radiation treatments: PAB (photosynthetically active radiation [PAR] plus UVR; 280 to 700 nm), PA (PAR plus UV-A; 320 to 700 nm), and P (PAR only; 400 to 700 nm). Solar UVR broke the spiral filaments of
A. platensis
exposed to full solar radiation in short-term low-cell-density cultures. This breakage was observed after 2 h for the indoor strain but after 4 to 6 h for the outdoor strain. Filament breakage also occurred in the cultures exposed to PAR alone; however, the extent of breakage was less than that observed for filaments exposed to full solar radiation. The spiral filaments broke and compressed when high-cell-density cultures were exposed to full solar radiation during long-term experiments. When UV-B was screened off, the filaments initially broke, but they elongated and became loosely arranged later (i.e., there were fewer spirals per unit of filament length). When UVR was filtered out, the spiral structure hardly broke or became looser. Photosynthetic O
2
evolution in the presence of UVR was significantly suppressed in the indoor strain compared to the outdoor strain. UVR-induced inhibition increased with exposure time, and it was significantly lower in the outdoor strain. The concentration of UV-absorbing compounds was low in both strains, and there was no significant change in the amount regardless of the radiation treatment, suggesting that these compounds were not effectively used as protection against solar UVR. Self-shading, on the other hand, produced by compression of the spirals over adaptive time scales, seems to play an important role in protecting this species against deleterious UVR. Our findings suggest that the increase in UV-B irradiance due to ozone depletion not only might affect photosynthesis but also might alter the morphological development of filamentous cyanobacteria during acclimation or over adaptive time scales.
Membrane Damage and Microbial Inactivation by Chlorine in the Absence and Presence of a Chlorine-Demanding Substrate
Authors: Virto R. , Mañas P. , Álvarez I. , Condon S. , Raso J. 
Published: September 2005

ABSTRACT

The relationship between cell inactivation and membrane damage was studied in two gram-positive organisms,
Listeria monocytogenes
and
Bacillus subtilis
, and two gram-negative organisms,
Yersinia enterocolitica
and
Escherichia coli
, exposed to chlorine in the absence and presence of 150 ppm of organic matter (Trypticase soy broth).
L. monocytogenes
and
B. subtilis
were more resistant to chlorine in distilled water. The addition of small amounts of organic matter to the chlorination medium drastically increased the resistance of both types of microorganisms, but this effect was more marked in
Y. enterocolitica
and
E. coli
. In addition, the survival curves for these microorganisms in the presence of organic matter had a prolonged shoulder. Sublethal injury was not detected under most experimental conditions, and only gram-positive cells treated in distilled water showed a relevant degree of injury. The exposure of bacterial cells to chlorine in distilled water caused extensive permeabilization of the cytoplasmic membrane, but the concentrations required were much higher than those needed to inactivate cells. Therefore, there was no relationship between the occurrence of membrane permeabilization and cell death. The addition of organic matter to the treatment medium stabilized the cytoplasmic membrane against permeabilization in both the gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria investigated. Exposure of
E. coli
cells to the outer membrane-permeabilizing agent EDTA increased their sensitivity to chlorine and caused the shoulders in the survival curves to disappear. Based on these observations, we propose that bacterial envelopes could play a role in cell inactivation by modulating the access of chlorine to the key targets within the cell.
Novel Method for Detection of Butanolides in
Streptomyces coelicolor
Culture Broth, Using a His-Tagged Receptor (ScbR) and Mass Spectrometry
Authors: Yang Yung-Hun , Joo Hwang-Soo , Lee Kwangwon , Liou Kwang-Kyung , Lee Hei-Chan , Sohng Jae-Kyung , Kim Byung-Gee 
Published: September 2005

ABSTRACT

γ-Butyrolactone derivative molecules in
Streptomyces
play a crucial role in cell density control, secondary metabolism, and cell differentiation. As their synthesis level in the cell is very low compared to those of similar
N
-acyl homoserine lactone molecules from gram-negative bacteria, it is very hard to analyze them even with several hundredfold concentration of the culture broth. We have developed a very quick and easy detection method using an affinity capture technique with His-tagged receptor proteins and electrospray tandem mass spectrometry. Using
Streptomyces coelicolor
as a model system, SCB1 was detected from only 100 ml of the culture broth after solvent extraction. This method can be further applied to detection and quantitative analysis of butanolides and inhibitor screening of the receptor molecules.
Survival of
Campylobacter jejuni
in Water: Effect of Grazing by the Freshwater Crustacean
Daphnia carinata
(Cladocera)
Authors: Schallenberg M. , Bremer P. J. , Henkel S. , Launhardt A. , Burns C. W. 
Published: September 2005

ABSTRACT

Environmental studies of the human-pathogenic bacterium
Campylobacter jejuni
have focused on linking distributions with potential sources. However, in aquatic ecosystems, the abundance of
C. jejuni
may also be regulated by predation. We examine the potential for grazing by the freshwater planktonic crustacean
Daphnia carinata
to reduce the survival of
C. jejuni
. We use a system for measuring grazing and clearance rates of
D. carinata
on bacteria and demonstrate that
D. carinata
can graze
C. jejuni
cells at a rate of 7% individual
−1
h
−1
under simulated natural conditions in the presence of an algal food source. We show that passage of
C. jejuni
through the
Daphnia
gut and incorporation into fecal material effectively reduces survival of
C. jejuni
. This is the first evidence to suggest that grazing by planktonic organisms can reduce the abundance of
C. jejuni
in natural waters. Biomanipulation of planktonic food webs to enhance
Daphnia
densities offers potential for reducing microbial pathogen densities in drinking water reservoirs and recreational water bodies, thereby reducing the risk of contracting water-borne disease.
Phylogenetic Characterization of Virulence and Resistance Phenotypes of
Pseudomonas syringae
Authors: Hwang Michael S. H. , Morgan Robyn L. , Sarkar Sara F. , Wang Pauline W. , Guttman David S. 
Published: September 2005

ABSTRACT

Individual strains of the plant pathogenic bacterium
Pseudomonas syringae
vary in their ability to produce toxins, nucleate ice, and resist antimicrobial compounds. These phenotypes enhance virulence, but it is not clear whether they play a dominant role in specific pathogen-host interactions. To investigate the evolution of these virulence-associated phenotypes, we used functional assays to survey for the distribution of these phenotypes among a collection of 95
P. syringae
strains. All of these strains were phylogenetically characterized via multilocus sequence typing (MLST). We surveyed for the production of coronatine, phaseolotoxin, syringomycin, and tabtoxin; for resistance to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, rifampin, streptomycin, tetracycline, kanamycin, and copper; and for the ability to nucleate ice at high temperatures via the ice-nucleating protein INA. We found that fewer than 50% of the strains produced toxins and significantly fewer strains than expected produced multiple toxins, leading to the speculation that there is a cost associated with the production of multiple toxins. None of these toxins was associated with host of isolation, and their distribution, relative to core genome phylogeny, indicated extensive horizontal genetic exchange. Most strains were resistant to ampicillin and copper and had the ability to nucleate ice, and yet very few strains were resistant to the other antibiotics. The distribution of the rare resistance phenotypes was also inconsistent with the clonal history of the species and did not associate with host of isolation. The present study provides a robust phylogenetic foundation for the study of these important virulence-associated phenotypes in
P. syringae
host colonization and pathogenesis.
Identification of 9,17-Dioxo-1,2,3,4,10,19-Hexanorandrostan-5-oic Acid, 4-Hydroxy-2-Oxohexanoic Acid, and 2-Hydroxyhexa-2,4-Dienoic Acid and Related Enzymes Involved in Testosterone Degradation in
Comamonas testosteroni
TA441
Authors: Horinouchi Masae , Hayashi Toshiaki , Koshino Hiroyuki , Kurita Tomokazu , Kudo Toshiaki 
Published: September 2005

ABSTRACT

Comamonas testosteroni
TA441 utilizes testosterone via aromatization of the A ring followed by
meta
-cleavage of the ring. The product of the
meta
-cleavage reaction, 4,5-9,10-diseco-3-hydroxy-5,9,17-trioxoandrosta-1(10),2-dien-4-oic acid, is degraded by a hydrolase, TesD. We directly isolated and identified two products of TesD as 9,17-dioxo-1,2,3,4,10,19-hexanorandrostan-5-oic acid and (2
Z
,4
Z
)-2-hydroxyhexa-2,4-dienoic acid. The latter was a pure 4
Z
isomer. 2-Hydroxyhexa-2,4-dienoic acid was converted by a hydratase, TesE, and the product isolated from the reaction solution was identified as 2-hydroxy-4-hex-2-enolactone, indicating the direct product of TesE to be 4-hydroxy-2-oxohexanoic acid.
Dependence of Arbuscular-Mycorrhizal Fungi on Their Plant Host for Palmitic Acid Synthesis
Authors: Trépanier Martin , Bécard Guillaume , Moutoglis Peter , Willemot Claude , Gagné Serge , Avis Tyler J. , Rioux Jacques-André 
Published: September 2005

ABSTRACT

Lipids are the major form of carbon storage in arbuscular-mycorrhizal fungi. We studied fatty acid synthesis by
Glomus intraradices
and
Gigaspora rosea
. [
14
C]Acetate and [
14
C]sucrose were incorporated into a synthetic culture medium to test fatty acid synthetic ability in germinating spores (
G. intraradices
and
G. rosea
), mycorrhized carrot roots, and extraradical fungal mycelium (
G. intraradices
). Germinating spores and extraradical hyphae could not synthesize 16-carbon fatty acids but could elongate and desaturate fatty acids already present. The growth stimulation of germinating spores by root exudates did not stimulate fatty acid synthesis. 16-Carbon fatty acids (16:0 and 16:1) were synthesized only by the fungi in the mycorrhized roots. Our data strongly suggest that the fatty acid synthase activity of arbuscular-mycorrhizal fungi is expressed exclusively in the intraradical mycelium and indicate that fatty acid metabolism may play a major role in the obligate biotrophism of arbuscular-mycorrhizal fungi.
Evidence for Aceticlastic Methanogenesis in the Presence of Sulfate in a Gas Condensate-Contaminated Aquifer
Authors: Struchtemeyer Christopher G. , Elshahed Mostafa S. , Duncan Kathleen E. , McInerney Michael J. 
Published: September 2005

ABSTRACT

The anaerobic metabolism of acetate was studied in sediments and groundwater from a gas condensate-contaminated aquifer in an aquifer where geochemical evidence implicated sulfate reduction and methanogenesis as the predominant terminal electron-accepting processes. Most-probable-number tubes containing acetate and microcosms containing either [2-
14
C]acetate or [U-
14
C]acetate produced higher quantities of CH
4
compared to CO
2
in the presence or absence of sulfate.
14
CH
4
accounted for 70 to 100% of the total labeled gas in the [
14
C]acetate microcosms regardless of whether sulfate was present or not. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of the acetate enrichments both with and without sulfate using
Archaea
-specific primers showed identical predominant bands that had 99% sequence similarity to members of
Methanosaetaceae
. Clone libraries containing archaeal 16S rRNA gene sequences amplified from sediment from the contaminated portion of the aquifer showed that 180 of the 190 clones sequenced belonged to the
Methanosaetaceae
. The production of methane and the high frequency of sequences from the
Methanosaetaceae
in acetate enrichments with and without sulfate indicate that aceticlastic methanogenesis was the predominant fate of acetate at this site even though sulfate-reducing bacteria would be expected to consume acetate in the presence of sulfate.
Improved System for Construction and Analysis of Single-Copy β-Galactosidase Operon Fusions in
Yersinia enterocolitica
Authors: Maxson Michelle E. , Darwin Andrew J. 
Published: September 2005

ABSTRACT

We report a significantly improved system for studying single-copy
lacZ
operon fusions in
Yersinia enterocolitica
: a simple procedure for the stable integration of
lacZ
operon fusions into the
ara
locus and a strain with a deletion mutation that abolishes the low level of endogenous β-galactosidase activity.
Viable
Blastocystis
Cysts in Scottish and Malaysian Sewage Samples
Authors: Suresh K. , Smith H. V. , Tan T. C. 
Published: September 2005

ABSTRACT

Blastocystis
cysts were detected in 38% (47/123) (37 Scottish, 17 Malaysian) of sewage treatment works. Fifty percent of influents (29% Scottish, 76% Malaysian) and 28% of effluents (9% Scottish, 60% Malaysian) contained viable cysts. Viable cysts, discharged in effluent, provide further evidence for the potential for waterborne transmission of
Blastocystis
.
Advantage Provided by Iron for
Escherichia coli
Growth and Cultivability in Drinking Water
Authors: Appenzeller Brice M. R. , Yañez Carolina , Jorand Frederic , Block Jean-Claude 
Published: September 2005

ABSTRACT

The presence of iron, used both as a nutrient and as an electron acceptor, was demonstrated to give an advantage to
Escherichia coli
bacteria in drinking water. Slight additions of ferrous sulfate to water with initial low iron concentrations led to a significant increase in the number of
E. coli
bacteria. The presence of ferric oxide in water under anaerobic conditions increased bacterial cultivability.