bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Impacts of Goethite Particles on UV Disinfection of Drinking Water
Authors: Wu Youxian , Clevenger Thomas , Deng Baolin 
Published: July 2005

ABSTRACT

A unique association between bacterial cells and small goethite particles (∼0.2 by 2 μm) protected
Escherichia coli
and
Pseudomonas putida
from UV inactivation. The protection increased with the particle concentration in the turbidity range of 1 to 50 nephelometric turbidity units and with the bacterium-particle attachment time prior to UV irradiation. The lower degree of bacterial inactivation at longer attachment time was mostly attributed to the particle aggregation surrounding bacteria that provided shielding from UV radiation.
Colonic Microbiota Signatures across Five Northern European Countries
Authors: Lay Christophe , Rigottier-Gois Lionel , Holmstrøm Kim , Rajilic Mirjana , Vaughan Elaine E. , de Vos Willem M. , Collins Matthew D. , Thiel Ralph , Namsolleck Pawel , Blaut Michaël , Doré Joël 
Published: July 2005

ABSTRACT

The composition of the colonic microbiota of 91 northern Europeans was characterized by fluorescent in situ hybridization using 18 phylogenetic probes. On average 75% of the bacteria were identified, and large interindividual variations were observed.
Clostridium coccoides
and
Clostridium leptum
were the dominant groups (28.0% and 25.2%), followed by the
Bacteroides
(8.5%). According to principal component analysis, no significant grouping with respect to geographic origin, age, or gender was observed.
Bov-tA Short Interspersed Nucleotide Element Sequences in Circulating Nucleic Acids from Sera of Cattle with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) and Sera of Cattle Exposed to BSE
Authors: Schütz Ekkehard , Urnovitz Howard B. , Iakoubov Leonid , Schulz-Schaeffer Walter , Wemheuer Wilhelm , Brenig Bertram 
Published: July 2005

ABSTRACTCirculating nucleic acids (CNA) are known to be enriched in repetitive DNA sequences in humans. Here, bovine sera CNA were analyzed to determine if cell stress-related short interspersed nucleotide elements (SINEs) could be detected in sera from cattle associated with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Nucleic acids were extracted, amplified, cloned, and sequenced from the sera of protease-resistant prion protein (PrPres)-positive cattle (n= 2) and sera from BSE-cohort cows (n= 6); 150 out of 163 clones revealed the presence of, on average, an 80-bp sequence from the 3′ region of Bov-tA SINE. A PCR protocol was developed that differentially identified SINE-associated CNA in BSE-exposed versus normal cattle. CNA were extracted from a serum vesicular fraction after controlled blood collection and processing procedures. Sera from four confirmed cases of BSE, 137 BSE-exposed cohort animals associated with eight confirmed BSE cases, and 845 healthy, PrPres-negative control cows were tested. All four sera from confirmed BSE cases were repeatedly reactive in the assay. BSE-exposed cohorts had a 100-fold higher occurrence of repeatedly reactive individuals per cohort (average = 63%; range = 33% to 91%), compared to healthy controls (average = 0.6%;P< 0.001). This study shows that BSE-confirmed and cohort animals possess a unique profile of SINE-associated serum CNA that can be utilized as a marker that highly correlates to BSE exposure.
Multivalent Group A Streptococcal Vaccine Elicits Bactericidal Antibodies against Variant M Subtypes
Authors: Dale James B. , Penfound Thomas , Chiang Edna Y. , Long Valerie , Shulman Stanford T. , Beall Bernard 
Published: July 2005

ABSTRACTGroup A streptococci cause a wide spectrum of clinical illness. One of several strategies for vaccine prevention of these infections is based on the type-specific M protein epitopes. A multivalent M protein-based vaccine containing type-specific determinants from 26 different M serotypes is now in clinical trials. Recent epidemiologic studies have shown that, within some serotypes, the amino-terminal M protein sequence may show natural variation, giving rise to subtypes. This raises the possibility that vaccine-induced antibodies against the parent type may not be as effective in promoting bactericidal killing of variant subtypes. In the present study we used rabbit antisera against the 26-valent M protein-based vaccine in bactericidal tests against M1, M3, and M5 streptococci, which were represented by multiple subtypes. We show that the vaccine antibodies effectively promoted in vitro bactericidal activity despite the fact that the M proteins contained naturally occurring variant sequences in the regions corresponding to the vaccine sequence. Our results show that the variant M proteins generally do not result in significant differences in opsonization promoted by rabbit antisera raised against the 26-valent vaccine, suggesting that a multivalent M protein vaccine may not permit variant subtypes of group A streptococci to escape in a highly immunized population.
Evaluation of Inapparent Nosocomial Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Infection in Vietnam by Use of Highly Specific Recombinant Truncated Nucleocapsid Protein-Based Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
Authors: Yu Fuxun , Le Mai Quynh , Inoue Shingo , Thai Hong Thi Cam , Hasebe Futoshi , del Carmen Parquet Maria , Morita Kouichi 
Published: July 2005

ABSTRACT

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a recently emerged human disease associated with pneumonia. Inapparent infection with SARS coronavirus (CoV) is not well characterized. To develop a safe, simple, and reliable screening method for SARS diagnosis and epidemiological study, two recombinant SARS-CoV nucleocapsid proteins (N′ protein and NΔ
121
protein) were expressed in
Escherichia coli
, purified by affinity chromatography, and used as antigens for indirect, immunoglobulin G enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Serum samples collected from healthy volunteers and SARS patients in Vietnam were used to evaluate the newly developed methods. The N′ protein-based ELISA showed a highly nonspecific reaction. The NΔ
121
protein-based ELISA, with a nonspecific reaction drastically reduced compared to that of the nearly-whole-length N′ protein-based ELISA, resulted in higher rates of positive reactions, higher titers, and earlier detection than the SARS-CoV-infected cell lysate-based ELISA. These results indicate that our newly developed SARS-CoV NΔ
121
protein-based ELISA is not only safe but also a more specific and more sensitive method to diagnose SARS-CoV infection and hence a useful tool for large-scale epidemiological studies. To identify inapparent SARS-CoV infections, serum samples collected from health care workers (HCWs) in Vietnam were screened by the NΔ
121
protein-based ELISA, and positive samples were confirmed by a virus neutralization test. Four out of 149 HCWs were identified to have inapparent SARS-CoV infection in Vietnam, indicating that subclinical SARS-CoV infection in Vietnam is rare but does exist.
Polyethylene Glycol-Conjugated Adenosine Deaminase (ADA) Therapy Provides Temporary Immune Reconstitution to a Child with Delayed-Onset ADA Deficiency
Authors: Lainka Elke , Hershfield Michael S. , Santisteban Ines , Bali Pawan , Seibt Annette , Neubert Jennifer , Friedrich Wilhelm , Niehues Tim 
Published: July 2005

ABSTRACT
We describe the effects of polyethylene glycol-conjugated adenosine deaminase (ADA) replacement therapy on lymphocyte counts, activation, apoptosis, proliferation, and cytokine secretion in a 14-month-old girl with “delayed-onset” ADA deficiency and marked immunodysregulation. Pretreatment lymphopenia affected T cells (CD4, 150/μl; CD8, 459/μl), B cells (16/μl), and NK cells (55/μl). T cells were uniformly activated and largely apoptotic (CD4, 59%; CD8, 82%); and T-cell-dependent cytokine levels in plasma were elevated, including the levels of interleukin 2 (IL-2; 26 pg/ml), IL-4 (81 pg/ml), IL-5 (46 pg/ml), gamma interferon (1,430 pg/ml), tumor necrosis factor alpha (210 pg/ml), and IL-10 (168 pg/ml). Mitogen-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells show reduced IL-2 secretion and proliferation. During the first 5 months of therapy there was clinical improvement and partial immune reconstitution, with nearly normal lymphocyte subset numbers, reduced T-cell activation and CD4-cell apoptosis, and decreased plasma cytokine levels. In parallel, IL-2 secretion and the lymphocyte mitogenic response improved. Between 4 and 7 months, immunoglobulin G antibodies to bovine ADA developed and resulted in the complete reversal of immune recovery.
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Rab-GDI Displacement Factor Ortholog Yip3p Forms Distinct Complexes with the Ypt1 Rab GTPase and the Reticulon Rtn1p
Authors: Geng Jinming , Shin Marcus E. , Gilbert Penney M. , Collins Ruth N. , Burd Christopher G. 
Published: July 2005

ABSTRACT

Rab GTPases are crucial regulators of organelle biogenesis, maintenance, and transport. Multiple Rabs are expressed in all cells, and each is localized to a distinct set of organelles, but little is known regarding the mechanisms by which Rabs are targeted to their resident organelles. Integral membrane proteins have been postulated to serve as receptors that recruit Rabs from the cytosol in a complex with the Rab chaperone, GDI, to facilitate the dissociation of Rab and GDI, hence facilitating loading of Rabs on membranes. We show here that the yeast (
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
) Golgi Rab GTPase Ypt1p can be copurified with the integral membrane protein Yip3p from detergent cell extracts. In addition, a member of the highly conserved reticulon protein family, Rtn1p, is also associated with Yip3p in vivo. However, Ypt1p did not copurify with Rtn1p, indicating that Yip3p is a component of at least two different protein complexes. Yip3p and Rtn1p are only partially colocalized in cells, with Yip3p localized predominantly to the Golgi and secondarily to the endoplasmic reticulum, whereas Rtn1p is localized predominantly to the endoplasmic reticulum and secondarily to the Golgi. Surprisingly, the intracellular localization of Rabs was not perturbed in
yip3
Δ or
rtn1
Δ mutants, suggesting that these proteins do not play a role in targeting Rabs to intracellular membranes. These data indicate that Yip3p may have multiple functions and that its interaction with Rabs is not critical for their recruitment to organelle membranes.
Release from Quorum-Sensing Molecules Triggers Hyphal Formation during
Candida albicans
Resumption of Growth
Authors: Enjalbert Brice , Whiteway Malcolm 
Published: July 2005

ABSTRACT

Candida albicans
is a pathogenic fungus able to change morphology in response to variations in its growth environment. Simple inoculation of stationary cells into fresh medium at 37°C, without any other manipulations, appears to be a powerful but transient inducer of hyphal formation; this process also plays a significant role in classical serum induction of hyphal formation. The mechanism appears to involve the release of hyphal repression caused by quorum-sensing molecules in the growth medium of stationary-phase cells, and farnesol has a strong but incomplete role in this process. We used DNA microarray technology to study both the resumption of growth of
Candida albicans
cells and molecular regulation involving farnesol. Maintaining farnesol in the culture medium during the resumption of growth both delays and reduces the induction of hypha-related genes yet triggers expression of genes encoding drug efflux components. The persistence of farnesol also prevents the repression of histone genes during hyphal growth and affects the expression of putative or demonstrated morphogenesis-regulating cyclin genes, such as
HGC1
,
CLN3
, and
PCL2
. The results suggest a model explaining the triggering of hyphae in the host based on quorum-sensing molecules.
Functional Characterization of an Evolutionarily Distinct Phosphopantetheinyl Transferase in the Apicomplexan
Cryptosporidium parvum
Authors: Cai Xiaomin , Herschap Dustin , Zhu Guan 
Published: July 2005

ABSTRACT

Recently, two types of fatty acid synthases (FASs) have been discovered from apicomplexan parasites. Although significant progress has been made in characterizing these apicomplexan FASs, virtually nothing was previously known about the activation and regulation of these enzymes. In this study, we report the discovery and characterization of two distinct types of phosphopantetheinyl transferase (PPTase) that are responsible for synthesizing holo-acyl carrier protein (ACP) from three apicomplexan parasites: surfactin production element (SFP) type in
Cryptosporidium parvum
(CpSFP-PPT), holo-ACP synthase (ACPS)-type in
Plasmodium falciparum
(PfACPS-PPT), and both SFP and ACPS types in
Toxoplasma gondii
(TgSFP-PPT and TgACPS-PPT). CpSFP-PPT and TgSFP-PPT are monofunctional, cytosolic, and phylogenetically related to animal PPTases. However, PfACPS-PPT and TgACPS-PPT are bifunctional (fused with a metal-dependent hydrolase), likely targeted to the apicoplast, and more closely related to proteobacterial PPTases. The function of apicomplexan PPTases has been confirmed by detailed functional analysis using recombinant CpSFP-PPT expressed from an artificially synthesized gene with codon usage optimized for
Escherichia coli
. The recombinant CpSFP-PPT was able to activate the ACP domains from the
C. parvum
type I FAS in vitro using either CoA or acetyl-CoA as a substrate, or in vivo when coexpressed in bacteria, with kinetic characteristics typical of PPTases. These observations suggest that the two types of fatty acid synthases in the Apicomplexa are activated and regulated by two evolutionarily distinct PPTases.
Autocrine, Mitogenic Pheromone Receptor Loop of the Ciliate
Euplotes raikovi
: Pheromone-Induced Receptor Internalization
Authors: Vallesi Adriana , Ballarini Patrizia , Di Pretoro Barbara , Alimenti Claudio , Miceli Cristina , Luporini Pierangelo 
Published: July 2005

ABSTRACT

The ciliate
Euplotes raikovi
produces a family of diffusible signal proteins (pheromones) that function as prototypic growth factors. They may either promote cell growth, by binding to pheromone receptors synthesized by the same cells from which they are secreted (autocrine activity), or induce a temporary cell shift from the growth stage to a mating (sexual) one by binding to pheromone receptors of other, conspecific cells (paracrine activity). In cells constitutively secreting the pheromone E
r
-1, it was first observed that the expression of the E
r
-1 receptor “p15,” a type II membrane protein of 130 amino acids, is quantitatively correlated with the extracellular concentration of secreted pheromone. p15 expression on the cell surface rapidly and markedly increased after the removal of secreted E
r
-1 and gradually decreased in parallel with new E
r
-1 secretion. It was then shown that p15 is internalized through endocytic vesicles following E
r
-1 binding and that the internalization of p15/E
r
-1 complexes is specifically blocked by the paracrine p15 binding of E
r
-2, a pheromone structurally homologous to, and thus capable of fully antagonizing, E
r
-1. Based on previous findings that the p15 pheromone-binding site is structurally equivalent to E
r
-1 and that E
r
-1 molecules polymerize in crystals following a pattern of cooperative interaction, it was proposed that p15/E
r
-1 complexes are internalized as a consequence of their unique property (not shared by p15/E
r
-2 complexes) of undergoing clustering.
Deletion and Allelic Exchange of the
Aspergillus fumigatus veA
Locus via a Novel Recyclable Marker Module
Authors: Krappmann Sven , Bayram Özgür , Braus Gerhard H. 
Published: July 2005

ABSTRACT

Detailed evaluation of gene functions in an asexual fungus requires advanced methods of molecular biology. For the generation of targeted gene deletions in the opportunistic pathogen
Aspergillus fumigatus
we designed a novel blaster module allowing dominant selection of transformants due to resistance to phleomycin as well as dominant (counter)selection of a Cre recombinase-mediated marker excision event. For validation purposes we have deleted the
A. fumigatus pabaA
gene in a wild-type isolate by making use of this cassette. The resulting
pabaA
::
loxP
strain served as the recipient for subsequent targeting of the
velvet
locus. Homologous reconstitution of the deleted gene was performed by an allele whose expression is driven in a nitrogen source-dependent manner, as validated by Northern analyses. Overexpression of the
veA
locus in
A. fumigatus
does not result in any obvious phenotype, whereas the sporulation capacities of the
veA
null mutant are reduced on nitrate-containing medium, a phenotype that is completely restored in the reconstituted strain.
BIFURCATIONS AND LIMIT DYNAMICS IN ADAPTIVE CONTROL SYSTEMS
Authors: LAMOOKI G. R. ROKNI , TOWNLEY S. , OSINGA H. M. 
Published: July 2005

Adaptive controllers are used in systems where one or more parameters are unknown. Such controllers are designed to stabilize the system using an estimate for the unknown parameters that is adapted automatically as part of the stabilization. One drawback in adaptive control design is the possibility that the closed-loop limit system is not stable. The worst situation is the existence of a destabilized limit system attracting a large open subset of initial conditions. These situations lie behind bad behavior of the closed-loop adaptive control system. The main issue in this paper is to identify and characterize the occurrence of such bad behavior in the adaptive stabilization of first- and second-order systems with one unknown parameter. We develop normal forms for all possible cases and find the conditions that lead to bad behavior. In this context, we discuss a number of bifurcation-like phenomena.
THE ROLE OF THE DIRECT TRANSFER MATRIX AS A CONNECTIVITY MATRIX AND APPLICATION TO THE HELMHOLTZ EQUATION IN 2D: RELATION TO NUMERICAL METHODS AND FREE FIELD RADIATION EXAMPLE
Authors: MAGRANS F. X. , GUASCH O. 
Published: July 2005

The Direct Transfer Function (DTF) matrix was developed in the framework of the Global Transfer Direct Transfer (GTDT) method of transmission path analysis. This method aims at solving the problem of transmission paths among subsystems from a general N-dimensional linear network, representing a vibro-acoustical model under study. The DTF matrix can be calculated from the Global Transfer Functions (GTFs), which are measurable quantities, and it is built from all the Direct Transfer Functions (DTFs) between subsystem pairs. The DTFs allow to define transmission paths by relating the signals between two network subsystems when the remaining ones become somehow blocked. In this paper, the role of the DTF matrix as a connectivity matrix is first shown by solving the Helmholtz equation in a two-dimensional grid. The results are compared with those arising from the analysis of the stencils of various numerical methods. Some finite difference and finite element methods have been considered. The connectivity role of the DTF matrix is also elucidated by means of a free field radiation example.
Paul, Polemics, and the Problem of Essentialism
Authors: Eisenbaum Pamela 
Published: July 2005

AbstractThe study of Paul—more than the study of Jesus—has been and continues to be the arena of discourse where Christians (and recently some Jews) work out their religious identity. Put another way, reading, interpreting and reinterpreting Paul fosters the construction, reconstruction, and sometimes deconstruction of the boundary that marks the distinction between Christianity and Judaism.Since there exists much scholarship on how the history of the interpretation of Paul has been motivated by Christian–Jewish polemic, I will not illustrate that history here. Instead, I wish to highlight two things that distinguish the contemporary debate from previous ones: 1) There is input from the Jewish side—both in terms of content and persons,—which has led to what many think of as a "Jewish" understanding of Paul; and 2) that this Jewish perspective on Paul is not only perceived by some scholars as problematic, wrong, or misguided but as a threat to Christianity itself, thus proving that Christian–Jewish polemic is alive and well in Pauline studies, in spite of recent widespread acknowledgment of Paul's Jewishness!Demonstrating that these two qualities characterize current debate about Paul is not difficult to do. However, by discussing these two aspects of Pauline scholarship, I intend to complicate the notion of religious identity at work in the interpretation of Paul, in an effort to reveal that an essentialist understanding of religious identity underlies the debate about Paul's Jewishness. This kind of essentialism fails to account for the elasticity within religious traditions and the permeability between religious traditions, and thus it greatly exacerbates the problem of Christian–Jewish polemic in the study of Paul. Unless we grasp the flexibility that inheres in religious identity, which includes giving up the notion of essentialism, the study of Paul will continue to be marred by these polemics.
An American "myth of Innocence" and Contemporary Pauline Studies
Authors: Elliott Neil 
Published: July 2005

AbstractRichard Hughes discusses the "Myths America Lives By," including myths of national innocence and national destiny. Hughes' discussion is particularly relevant to the American context of Pauline studies after the Shoah, where "American" values of inclusiveness and "universalism" are opposed to ethnic intolerance. Ironically, in some versions of the so-called "new perspective on Paul," the latter is usually identified with the "Jewish exclusivism" that Paul opposed.Increasing criticisms have been raised against this construal of Paul's theology. Efforts to rehabilitate Paul by opposing him to Jewish ethnocentrism rely on caricature and stigmatize fundamental Jewish identity and observance. In contrast, an explicitly political reading, attending to aspects of counter-imperial dissent in Paul's letters, however uncongenial to the mythology of American innocence and destiny, may provide deeper insight into the contours of Paul's interaction with alternative Jewish discourses under Roman rule.
Football Equipment Design Affects Face Mask Removal Efficiency
Authors: Swartz Erik E. , Norkus Susan A. , Cappaert Tom , Decoster Laura C. 
Published: July 2005

Background Researchers have investigated the performance of face mask removal tools for spine injury management in football but not the effects of football equipment design. Hypotheses Various styles or designs of football helmet equipment (helmets, face masks, loop straps) affect face mask removal efficiency. A cordless screwdriver performs more efficiently than do cutting tools. Study Design Controlled laboratory study. Methods Nineteen certified athletic trainers were randomly assigned to group 1 (cordless screwdriver and the FM Extractor) or group 2 (cordless screwdriver and the Trainer's Angel). Subjects randomly performed face mask removal for 6 conditions composed of helmet (3), face mask (3), and loop strap (5) combinations. Time, head movement, perceived difficulty, and success rates were measured. Results Multiple significant differences were found in time, movement, and perceived difficulty between the 6 helmet equipment conditions. The Shockblocker loop strap was consistently superior in all variables regardless of the tool used or the helmet it was attached to. The cordless screwdriver created less movement (mean range from any one plane, 2.8°-13.3°), was faster (mean range, 42.1-68.8 seconds), and was less difficult (mean rating of perceived exertion range, 1.4-2.9) compared to cutting tools (ranges, 4.4°-18.4° in any one plane, 71-174 seconds, rating of perceived exertion, 2.8-7.7). Trial failure was more common with cutting tools than with the screwdriver. Conclusion Differences in football helmet equipment affect face mask removal. The cordless screwdriver is more efficient than the FM Extractor and Trainer's Angel. Clinical Relevance Professionals responsible for the care of football athletes must be knowledgeable in the types of equipment used and the best option available for effective airway access.