bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Standing Orders in an Ambulatory Setting Increases Influenza Vaccine Usage in Older People
Authors: Goebel Lynne J. , Neitch Shirley M. , Mufson Maurice A. 
Published: June 2005

Objectives: To determine whether standing orders for influenza vaccine increase its usage in an ambulatory setting in elderly patients.Design: Retrospective analysis of influenza vaccine usage over 4 years (1999–2002).Setting: University ambulatory setting.Participants: Overall, 912 elderly patients of two physicians who issued standing orders and 884 elderly patients of two physicians who did not do so constituted the study group.Measurements: Physicians were categorized as to whether they issued a verbal or written standing order to their nurses to administer the influenza vaccine to patients aged 65 and older. Rates of influenza vaccination of patients whose physicians used standing orders were compared with those of physicians who did not use standing orders.Results: Five hundred seventy‐six (63%) patients of physicians who used standing orders received influenza vaccine, compared with 332 (38%) patients of physicians who did not use them (P<.001). Standing orders accounted for a significantly higher rate of influenza vaccination in each study year. Moreover, in 2001, when influenza vaccine delivery was delayed, physicians who used standing orders maintained their same rate of usage, but physicians who did not had rates of about one‐half their usage of the other 3 years.Conclusion: More Medicare recipients received influenza vaccine when their physicians used standing orders for its administration than when their physicians did not. Influenza vaccine represents an important prevention modality that demands widespread implementation, and standing orders can increase its usage.
Measurement of the affinity of anti‐D in the serum of immunized mothers and in immunoglobulin preparations with unlabeled antibodies
Authors: Debbia Martine , Brossard Yves , Lambin Patrick 
Published: June 2005

BACKGROUND: Few data are available on the affinity of maternal anti‐D responsible for hemolytic disease of the fetus and the newborn (HDN) and of anti‐D used for the prophylaxis of that disease. A method was recently described to measure the affinity (Ka) of untagged anti‐D monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs). In this work, the same method was applied to determine the Ka of polyclonal anti‐D.STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: O R1r red blood cells (RBCs) were sensitized with increasing concentrations of native anti‐D in serum samples from immunized mothers and donors and in RhIG preparations. At equilibrium, the amount of anti‐D bound to RBCs was measured by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. Scatchard and Langmuir equations were used to determine Ka.RESULTS: The experimental data fitted well with the Scatchard equation (mean r2 = 0.95) but a better correlation was observed with the Langmuir equation (mean r2 = 0.99). The mean Ka of anti‐D in 11 maternal serum samples, in 6 immunized donors, and in 5 lots of RhIG were 5.6 × 108 per M (from 2.8 × 108 to 12 × 108/M), 3.9 × 108 per M (from 1.5 × 108 to 6.8 × 108/M), and 3.4 × 108 per M (from 3.1 × 108 to 4.2 × 108/M), respectively. The comparison of anti‐D affinity in 5 cases of HDN with fetal anemia and in 6 cases of HDN with postnatal anemia showed no significant difference.CONCLUSION: The method previously described for anti‐D MoAbs was applied to polyclonal anti‐D present in the serum of immunized subjects and in immunoglobulin preparations. The experimental data fitted well with the Langmuir equation, and the affinity of polyclonal of anti‐D was measured with accuracy.
ABO glycosyltransferases as potential source of minor histocompatibility antigens in allogeneic peripheral blood progenitor cell transplantation
Authors: Eiz‐Vesper Britta , Seltsam Axel , Blasczyk Rainer 
Published: June 2005

BACKGROUND: Most studies indicate that the incidence of graft‐versus‐host disease (GVHD) is not increased in ABO‐mismatched allogeneic peripheral blood progenitor cell transplantation. These studies exclusively looked at ABO phenotypes without considering the fact that different genotypes hide behind identical phenotypes that encode for different sets of glycosyltransferases, thus providing a source for minor histocompatibility antigens (mHags).STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Therefore, whether peptides derived from ABO glycosyltransferases are capable of stimulating peptide‐specific T cells was investigated. T‐cell responses were identified by measuring intracellular interleukin‐2 expression.RESULTS: Individuals with ABO genotypes encoding glycosyltransferases lacking the peptide sequences used for stimulation showed T‐cell responses, whereas those expressing glycosyltransferases containing the respective peptide sequences proved to be tolerant, indicating that ABO peptides are allogeneic and may act as mHags. Interestingly, even ABO*O individuals were tolerant to O glycosyltransferase–derived peptides, which strongly suggests that truncated O transferases are expressed.CONCLUSION: Considering allelic ABO sequences, at least 15 percent of all phenotypically ABO‐matched transplant pairs can be expected to have genotype constellations relevant to GVHD. Therefore, the genotype behind the ABO blood group phenotype should be considered to answer the question of whether ABO mismatch is a risk factor of GVHD.
Evaluation of a new LightCycler reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction infectivity assay for detection of human parvovirus B19 in dry‐heat inactivation studies
Authors: Prikhod’ko Grigori G. , Vasilyeva Irina , Reyes Herbert , Wong Susan , Brown Kevin E. , Jameson Thomas , Busby Thomas F. 
Published: June 2005

BACKGROUND: Human parvovirus B19 (B19) is a widely distributed infectious agent, which causes a variety of illnesses including erythema infectiosum (fifth disease) especially in children, arthritis, aplastic crisis, and hydrops fetalis. B19 can be transmitted from asymptomatic blood donors to recipients of their blood components. Fifth disease has been reported in patients receiving red blood cells, platelets, solvent/detergent‐treated plasma, and clotting factor concentrates.STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: A new B19‐specific Light Cycler (LC) reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) infectivity assay was developed for quantitative analysis of the infectivity of B19 in virus validation studies. The cycling conditions and the primers of the new assay were designed to amplify spliced RNA forms but not precursor RNA or B19 genome. One 50 percent infectious dose, determined on UT7/Epo‐S1 cells of low passage, equaled 3.74 ± 0.1 log international units of B19 DNA.RESULTS: The efficiency of the dry‐heat process (100°C) on inactivation of B19 spiked and lyophilized with fibrinogen, a major component of the clotting factor concentrate and hemostatic dressing products, was investigated by use of B19‐specific LC RT‐PCR infectivity assay. At 1.3 to 1.7 percent residual moisture of fibrinogen, the infectivity of B19 was reduced dramatically by 3.3 to 5.1 log for 1 and 2 hours of dry‐heat treatment, respectively. B19 infectivity was reduced 1.5, 2.8, and 3.8 log for 1, 2, and 3 hours of dry‐heat treatment, respectively, at 0.5 to 0.7 percent residual moisture level.CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that level of residual moisture of lyophilized fibrinogen with B19 spike correlated with a different resistance of B19 to dry‐heat treatment, and that low moisture may stabilize virus against heat.
Results of the Cord Blood Transplantation (COBLT) Study unrelated donor banking program
Authors: Kurtzberg Joanne , Cairo Mitchell S. , Fraser John K. , Baxter‐Lowe LeeAnn , Cohen Geoff , Carter Shelly L. , Kernan Nancy A. 
Published: June 2005

BACKGROUND: The goals of the Cord Blood Transplantation (COBLT) Study banking program initiated in 1996 were to develop standard operating procedures (SOPs) for cord blood (CB) donor recruitment and banking and to build an ethnically diverse unrelated CB bank to support a transplantation protocol.STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: The program included collection centers, three banks, a steering committee, and a medical coordinating center (MCC) that developed and validated SOPs and a Web‐based data collection system. External oversight was performed by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the MCC.RESULTS: A total of 34,799 potential donors were screened and 20,710 consented. A total of 17,207 ethnically diverse units were collected between 1998 and 2001. A total of 11,077 (64%) units were cryopreserved and quarantined. Of these, 79 percent met eligibility criteria and were HLA‐typed and entered into the search registry. Higher CB volumes and cell counts were obtained from cesarean sections compared to vaginal deliveries. Units from African American persons contained lower cell counts per volume compared to other ethnicities. Birth weight correlated with volume and cell content. External oversight was accomplished through custom reports generated by the data collection system and periodic site visits. During maintenance, a breach in the SOPs was detected during a site visit at one of the banks. These units were designated for future use in nonclinical research.CONCLUSION: The COBLT Study demonstrated that SOPs and data collection can be implemented in multiple banks coordinated by one MCC. Relationships between donor demographics and CB content may be useful in the development of other CB banking programs.
Relationship between obesity, glucose tolerance, and periodontal disease in Japanese women: the Hisayama study
Authors: Saito T. , Shimazaki Y. , Kiyohara Y. , Kato I. , Kubo M. , Iida M. , Yamashita Y. 
Published: June 2005

Background:  Recent studies have reported a relationship between obesity and periodontal disease. Obesity is the strongest risk factor for type 2 diabetes, which is, in turn, a risk factor for periodontal disease. An oral glucose tolerance test is necessary to diagnose diabetes; however, no study has examined the relationship between obesity and periodontal disease by taking oral glucose tolerance test results into consideration.Methods:  In all, 584 Japanese women aged between 40 and 79 years old, with at least 10 teeth, underwent health examinations. Body mass index, waist–hip ratio, body fat, and oral glucose tolerance test results were used as independent variables with known risk factors for periodontal disease. Mean probing pocket depth and mean attachment loss were used as the dependent variables.Results:  In all of the analyses, body mass index, body fat, and waist–hip ratio were significantly associated with the highest quintile of mean probing pocket depth, even when adjusted for oral glucose tolerance test results. In the multivariate analysis, the subjects with the highest quartile of body mass index had a significantly higher odds ratio (OR) for the highest quintile of mean probing pocket depth [OR, 4.3; 95% confidence interval (CI), 2.1–8.9; p < 0.001], whereas neither impaired glucose tolerance nor diabetes were significantly associated with deep pockets. The relationships between the obesity indexes and mean attachment loss did not reach statistical significance.Conclusion:  Obesity was associated with deep pockets in Japanese women, even after adjusting for oral glucose tolerance test.
Accessing Self‐development through Narrative Approaches in Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy
Authors: DeSocio Janiece E. 
Published: June 2005

TOPIC:  Narrative psychotherapy with children and adolescents. PURPOSE:  To demonstrate the integration of developmental theory with narrative approaches to psychotherapy as a means of accessing self‐development during childhood and adolescence. SOURCES:  Published literature and the author's experience in using narrative therapy with an 8‐year‐old and his foster mother. CONCLUSIONS:  When informed by developmental theory, narrative approaches can be used effectively with children and adolescents to assist them in constructing positive life stories that can influence their identity formation.
Characterization of the Replication Region of Plasmid pLS32 from the Natto Strain ofBacillus subtilis
Authors: Tanaka Teruo , Ishida Hirofumi , Maehara Tomoko 
Published: June 2005

ABSTRACTPlasmid pL32 from the Natto strain ofBacillus subtilisbelongs to a group of low-copy-number plasmids in gram-positive bacteria that replicate via a theta mechanism of replication. We studied the DNA region encoding the replication protein, RepN, of pLS32, and obtained the following results. Transcription of therepNgene starts 167 nucleotides upstream from the translational start site ofrepN. The copy number ofrepN-coding plasmid pHDCS2, in which therepNgene was placed downstream of the IPTG (isopropyl-1-thio-β-d-galactopyranoside)-inducible Pspacpromoter, was increased 100 fold by the addition of IPTG. Histidine-tagged RepN bound to a specific region in therepNgene containing five 22-bp tandem repeats (iterons) with partial mismatches, as shown by gel retardation and foot printing analyses. Sequence alterations in the first three iterons resulted in an increase in plasmid copy number, whereas those in either the forth or fifth iteron resulted in the failure of plasmid replication. The iterons expressed various degrees of incompatibility with an incomingrepN-driven replicon pSEQ243, with the first three showing the strongest incompatibility. Finally, by using a plasmid, pHDMAEC21, carrying the sequence alterations in all the five iterons inrepNand thus unable to replicate but encoding intact RepN, the region necessary for replication was confined to a 96-bp sequence spanning the 3′-terminal half of the fourth iteron to an A+T-rich region located downstream of the fifth iteron. From these results, we conclude that the iterons inrepNare involved in both the control of plasmid copy number and incompatibility, and we suggest that the binding of RepN to the last two iterons triggers replication by melting the A+T-rich DNA sequence.
Calcium-Induced Virulence Factors Associated with the Extracellular Matrix of MucoidPseudomonas aeruginosaBiofilms
Authors: Sarkisova S. , Patrauchan M. A. , Berglund D. , Nivens D. E. , Franklin M. J. 
Published: June 2005

ABSTRACTPseudomonas aeruginosacolonizes the pulmonary tissue of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), leading to biofilm-associated infections. The pulmonary fluid of CF patients usually contains elevated concentrations of cations and may contain theP. aeruginosaredox-active pigment pyocyanin, which is known to disrupt calcium homeostasis of host cells. Since divalent cations are important bridging ions for bacterial polysaccharides and since they may play regulatory roles in bacterial gene expression, we investigated the effect of calcium ions on the extracellular matrix constituents ofP. aeruginosabiofilms. For mucoid strainP. aeruginosaFRD1, calcium addition (1.0 and 10 mM as CaCl2) resulted in biofilms that were at least 10-fold thicker than biofilms without added calcium. Scanning confocal laser microscopy showed increased spacing between cells for the thick biofilms, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealed that the material between cells is primarily alginate. AnalgDtranscriptional reporter demonstrated that calcium addition caused an eightfold increase inalggene expression in FRD1 biofilms. Calcium addition also resulted in increased amounts of three extracellular proteases (AprA, LasB, and PrpL). Immunoblots of the biofilm extracellular material established that AprA was harbored within the biofilm extracellular matrix. AnaprAdeletion mutation and a mutation in gene for a putativeP. aeruginosacalmodulin-like protein did not significantly affect calcium-induced biofilm structure. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis showed increased amounts of phenazine biosynthetic proteins in FRD1 biofilms and in calcium-amended planktonic cultures. Spectrochemical analyses showed that the calcium addition causes a three- to fivefold increase in pyocyanin production. These results demonstrate that calcium addition affects the structure and extracellular matrix composition of mucoidP. aeruginosabiofilms, through increased expression and stability of bacterial extracellular products. The calcium-induced extracellular matrix of mucoidP. aeruginosaconsists primarily of the virulence factor alginate and also harbors extracellular proteases and perhaps pyocyanin, a biomolecule that may further disrupt cellular calcium levels.
Choline-Binding Protein D (CbpD) inStreptococcus pneumoniaeIs Essential for Competence-Induced Cell Lysis
Authors: Kausmally Louise , Johnsborg Ola , Lunde Merete , Knutsen Eivind , Håvarstein Leiv Sigve 
Published: June 2005

ABSTRACTStreptococcus pneumoniaeis an important human pathogen that is able to take up naked DNA from the environment by a quorum-sensing-regulated process called natural genetic transformation. This property enables members of this bacterial species to efficiently acquire new properties that may increase their ability to survive and multiply in the human host. We have previously reported that induction of the competent state in a liquid culture ofStreptococcus pneumoniaetriggers lysis of a subfraction of the bacterial population resulting in release of DNA. We have also proposed that such competence-induced DNA release is an integral part of natural genetic transformation that has evolved to increase the efficiency of gene transfer between pneumococci. In the present work, we have further elucidated the mechanism behind competence-induced cell lysis by identifying a putative murein hydrolase, choline-binding protein D (CbpD), as a key component of this process. By using real-time PCR to estimate the amount of extracellular DNA in competent relative to noncompetent cultures, we were able to show that competence-induced cell lysis and DNA release are strongly attenuated in acbpDmutant. Ectopic expression of CbpD in the presence or absence of other competence proteins revealed that CbpD is essentially unable to cause cell lysis on its own but depends on at least one additional protein expressed during competence.
Acetobacter aceti
Possesses a Proton Motive Force-Dependent Efflux System for Acetic Acid
Authors: Matsushita Kazunobu , Inoue Taketo , Adachi Osao , Toyama Hirohide 
Published: June 2005

ABSTRACT

Acetic acid bacteria are obligate aerobes able to oxidize ethanol, sugar alcohols, and sugars into their corresponding acids. Among them,
Acetobacter
and
Gluconacetobacter
species have very high ethanol oxidation capacity, leading to accumulation of vast amounts of acetic acid outside the cell. Since these bacteria are able to grow in media with high concentrations of acetic acid, they must possess a specific mechanism such as an efflux pump by which they can resist the toxic effects of acetic acid. In this study, the efflux pump of
Acetobacter aceti
IFO 3283 was examined using intact cells and membrane vesicles. The accumulation of acetic acid/acetate in intact cells was increased by the addition of a proton uncoupler and/or cyanide, suggesting the presence of an energy-dependent efflux system. To confirm this, right-side-out and inside-out membrane vesicles were prepared from
A. aceti
IFO 3283, and the accumulation of acetic acid/acetate in the vesicles was examined. Upon the addition of a respiratory substrate, the accumulation of acetic acid/acetate in the right-side-out vesicles was largely decreased, while its accumulation was very much increased in the inside-out vesicles. These respiration-dependent phenomena observed in both types of membrane vesicles were all sensitive to a proton uncoupler. Acetic acid/acetate uptake in the inside-out membrane vesicles was dependent not on ATP but on the proton motive force. Furthermore, uptake was shown to be rather specific for acetic acid and to be pH dependent, because higher uptake was observed at lower pH. Thus,
A. aceti
IFO 3283 possesses a proton motive force-dependent efflux pump for acetic acid.
Regulation ofPseudomonasQuinolone Signal Synthesis inPseudomonas aeruginosa
Authors: Wade Dana S. , Calfee M. Worth , Rocha Edson R. , Ling Elizabeth A. , Engstrom Elana , Coleman James P. , Pesci Everett C. 
Published: June 2005

ABSTRACTPseudomonas aeruginosais an opportunistic pathogen that causes chronic lung infections in cystic fibrosis patients and is a major source of nosocomial infections. This bacterium controls many virulence factors by using two quorum-sensing systems,lasandrhl. Thelassystem is composed of the LasR regulator protein and its cell-to-cell signal,N-(3-oxododecanoyl) homoserine lactone, and therhlsystem is composed of RhlR and the signalN-butyryl homoserine lactone. A third intercellular signal, thePseudomonasquinolone signal (PQS; 2-heptyl-3-hydroxy-4-quinolone), also regulates numerous virulence factors. PQS synthesis requires the expression of multiple operons, one of which ispqsABCDE. Previous experiments showed that the transcription of this operon, and therefore PQS production, is negatively regulated by therhlquorum-sensing system and positively regulated by thelasquorum-sensing system and PqsR (also known as MvfR), a LysR-type transcriptional regulator protein. With the use of DNA mobility shift assays and β-galactosidase reporter fusions, we have studied the regulation ofpqsRand its relationship topqsA,lasR, andrhlR. We show that PqsR binds the promoter ofpqsAand that this binding increases dramatically in the presence of PQS, implying that PQS acts as a coinducer for PqsR. We have also mapped the transcriptional start site forpqsRand found that the transcription ofpqsRis positively regulated bylasRand negatively regulated byrhlR. These results suggest that a regulatory chain occurs wherepqsRis under the control of LasR and RhlR and where PqsR in turn controlspqsABCDE, which is required for the production of PQS.
Binding of
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
AlgZ to Sites Upstream of the
algZ
Promoter Leads to Repression of Transcription
Authors: Ramsey Deborah M. , Baynham Patricia J. , Wozniak Daniel J. 
Published: June 2005

ABSTRACT

Mucoid variants of the opportunistic pathogen
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
produce the exopolysaccharide alginate and colonize the respiratory tracts of cystic fibrosis patients. The genes encoding the alginate biosynthetic enzymes are clustered in a single operon, which is under tight transcriptional control. One essential activator of the alginate operon is AlgZ, a proposed ribbon-helix-helix DNA binding protein that shares 30% amino acid identity with the Mnt repressor of
Salmonella enterica
serovar Typhimurium bacteriophage P22. In the current study, we examined the role of AlgZ as an autoregulator. Using single-copy
algZ-lacZ
transcription fusions, an increase in
algZ
transcription was observed in an
algZ
mutant compared to the isogenic wild-type strain, suggesting that AlgZ may have an additional role as a repressor. To identify the AlgZ binding site, overlapping regions upstream of
algZ
were incubated with AlgZ and analyzed by electrophoretic mobility shift assays. Specific binding activity was localized to a region spanning from 66 to 185 base pairs upstream of the
algZ
transcriptional start site. Two AlgZ binding sites were defined using copper-phenanthroline footprinting and deletion analyses, with one site centered at 93 base pairs and the other centered at 161 base pairs upstream of the
algZ
promoter. Deletion of both binding sites resulted in the loss of AlgZ binding. These results indicate that AlgZ represses
algZ
transcription, and this activity is mediated by multiple AlgZ-DNA interactions.