The glutamate decarboxylase acid resistance mechanism affects survival of Listeria monocytogenes LO28 in modified atmosphere-packaged foods.

Aims: The contribution of the glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) acid resistance system to survival and growth of Listeria monocytogenes LO28 in modified atmosphere-packaged foods was examined.

Methods And Results: The survival and growth of the wild-type LO28 and four GAD deletion mutants (DeltagadA, DeltagadB, DeltagadC, DeltagadAB) in packaged foods (minced beef, lettuce, dry coleslaw mix) during storage at 4, 8 and 15 degrees C were studied. Survival and growth patterns varied with strain, product type, gas atmosphere and storage temperature.

A survey for serotyping, antibiotic resistance profiling and PFGE characterization of and the potential multiplication of restaurant Salmonella isolates.

Aims: The aims of this research were (1) to determine the occurrence of Salmonella in Irish restaurant kitchens and (2) to investigate the serovar, genotype, antibiotic resistance profile and survival/growth profile of the Salmonella under catering chilled storage and temperature abuse conditions.

Methods: Five sites/tools in each of 200 randomly selected restaurant kitchens were examined for the presence of presumptive Salmonella spp. by enrichment.

Renal cell carcinoma: imaging and therapy.

Purpose Of Review: The increasing use of ultrasound and computerized tomography has led to over 50% of renal cell carcinomas being incidentally detected. With an increasing number of small and asymptomatic tumors being identified it is particularly important for an accurate diagnosis to be reached via available imaging modalities to permit selection of patients for surgical treatment. The identification of patients suitable for management via nephron-sparing surgery is a key issue.

MglA regulates Francisella tularensis subsp. novicida (Francisella novicida) response to starvation and oxidative stress.

MglA is a transcriptional regulator of genes that contribute to the virulence of Francisella tularensis, a highly infectious pathogen and the causative agent of tularemia. This study used a label-free shotgun proteomics method to determine the F. tularensis subsp.

Vpr cytopathicity independent of G2/M cell cycle arrest in human immunodeficiency virus type 1-infected CD4+ T cells.

The mechanism of CD4(+) T-cell depletion in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected individuals remains unknown, although mounting evidence suggests that direct viral cytopathicity contributes to this loss. The HIV-1 Vpr accessory protein causes cell death and arrests cells in the G(2)/M phase; however, the molecular mechanism underlying these properties is not clear. Mutation of hydrophobic residues on the surface of its third alpha-helix disrupted Vpr toxicity, G(2)/M arrest induction, nuclear localization, and self-association, implicating this region in multiple Vpr functions.

Dual-specificity tyrosine phosphorylation-regulated kinase 1A does not require tyrosine phosphorylation for activity in vitro.

The dual-specificity tyrosine phosphorylation-regulated kinase 1A (DYRK1A) gene is localized in human chromosome 21, and its overexpression has been associated with the learning and memory deficits of Down syndrome. DYRK1A contains a Y319XY321 motif shared by all members of the DYRK protein kinase family. Residue Y321 in the motif is phosphorylated in DYRK1A prepared from Escherichia coli and from eukaryotic cells.

Diagnostic and therapeutic use of radioisotopes for bony disease in prostate cancer: current practice.

Nuclear medicine techniques continue to be important non-invasive imaging tools assisting the diagnosis, monitoring and--in some cases--treatment of prostate cancer. Bone scintigraphy was the premier modality to have an extensive role in the staging of prostate cancer and has remained an integral tool for over three decades in the assessment of newly diagnosed disease or in follow-up staging. Therapeutic treatment and palliation of disseminated disease, particularly in the skeleton, has also been successful with several radioisotopes including strontium-89 chloride.

Intraneuronal Abeta immunoreactivity is not a predictor of brain amyloidosis-beta or neurofibrillary degeneration.

Amyloid beta (Abeta) immunoreactivity in neurons was examined in brains of 32 control subjects, 31 people with Down syndrome, and 36 patients with sporadic Alzheimer's disease to determine if intraneuronal Abeta immunoreactivity is an early manifestation of Alzheimer-type pathology leading to fibrillar plaque formation and/or neurofibrillary degeneration. The appearance of Abeta immunoreactivity in neurons in infants and stable neuron-type specific Abeta immunoreactivity in a majority of brain structures during late childhood, adulthood, and normal aging does not support this hypothesis. The absence or detection of only traces of reaction with antibodies against 4-13 aa and 8-17 aa of Abeta in neurons indicated that intraneuronal Abeta was mainly a product of alpha- and gamma-secretases (Abeta(17-40/42)).

Evaluation of exposure with response-prevention for obsessive compulsive disorder in childhood and adolescence.

The present study was undertaken to estimate the effect of exposure plus response-prevention (E/RP), delivered alone intensively over 5-weeks and without concomitant pharmacotherapy, for children and adolescents with OCD. Twenty children and adolescents with OCD, not receiving medication for this condition, were randomized to E/RP or a wait-list condition. Statistically and clinically significant symptomatic improvement was found in the E/RP group compared with controls, with improvement maintained at follow-up an average of 14 weeks later.

Sleep arrangements and behavior of bed-sharing families in the home setting.

Objectives: We aimed to provide a quantitative analysis of the sleep arrangements and behaviors of bed-sharing families to further understand the risks and benefits as well as the effects of infant age and room temperature on bed-sharing behaviors.

Methods: Forty infants who regularly bed shared with > or = 1 parent > or = 5 hours per night were recruited. Overnight video of the family and physiological monitoring of the infant was conducted in infants' homes.

The development of a 'clean sheep policy' in compliance with the new Hygiene Regulation (EC) 853/2004 (Hygiene 2).

The aim of this research was to identify the risk factors associated with the transfer of bacterial contamination from the fleece to the ovine carcass thereby providing the scientific basis for the development and validation of a clean sheep policy. Two hundred sheep in lairage were graded into five categories each consisting of 40 sheep. The categories were as follows; (A) clean and dry; (B) clean and wet; (C) dirty and dry; (D) dirty and wet and (E) visible dags (dung-clotted tufts of wool) categorized by the chief veterinary inspector at the slaughter plant based on the visual inspection of the hygienic status of the fleece.

Delineating the anatomy of oncologic postradiation vesicovaginal fistulae with reconstructed computed tomography.

The key diagnosis and treating of vesicovaginal fistulae is accurate imaging. We illustrate the latest use of enhanced computed tomography for such cases.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder, tics and anxiety in 6-year-old twins.

Background: Previous reports of genetic influences on obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms have suggested moderate heritability. Family history studies of co-morbidity have found familial aggregation with tics, especially for early-onset OCD, and familial aggregation with anxiety disorders.

Method: Heritability of OCD and familial aggregation of OCD, tics and anxiety disorders were investigated in a community sample of 6-year-old twins using a two-phase design in which 4662 twin pairs were sampled and 854 pairs were assessed in the second phase by maternal-informant diagnostic interview using DSM-IV criteria.

Type IV pili-mediated secretion modulates Francisella virulence.

Francisella tularensis are the causative agent of the zoonotic disease, tularaemia. Among four F. tularensis subspecies, ssp.

Thermal inactivation of Bacillus cereus and Clostridium perfringens vegetative cells and spores in pork luncheon roll.

The aim of this study was to design a thermal treatment(s) for pork luncheon roll, which would destroy Bacillus cereus and Clostridium perfringens vegetative cells and spores. B. cereus and C.

Xenografting tumour beneath the renal capsule using modern surgical equipment.

Introduction: The growth of human tumours under the renal capsule in animal models has been performed in the past. However, the use of modern surgical equipment has not always been translated into the laboratory. We report on a novel method for human renal tumour transplants using an automated biopsy gun to obtain tumour tissue and an epidural needle with introducer to easily deploy the grafts under the renal capsule.

What's the problem? A response to "secular humanism and scientific psychiatry".

Notwithstanding the interest and importance of Szasz's position, it neglects the phenomena, the real problems which take people to the clinic seeking treatment, and the conditionality of the notion of individual responsibility.

Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine: expanding the open-access conversation on health care.

Natural philosophy once spanned the fields of philosophy, science, and medicine. Scientific disciplines and medical specialties have rapidly achieved independence, and the availability of the internet and open-access publishing promises a further expansion of knowledge. Nevertheless, a consideration of the grounding concepts and ethical principles that underlie health care remains paramount.

Cystoscopy in women with recurrent urinary tract infection.

Objective: To investigate if women with recurrent urinary tract infection (UTI) warrant cystoscopy to exclude an abnormality of the lower urinary tract. This is particularly relevant given that non-invasive imaging has often been performed to exclude abnormality. Our further aims were to correlate imaging and risk factors with cystoscopic findings to determine their predictive value in finding pathology.

Fine-needle aspiration cytology predicts inguinal lymph node metastasis without antibiotic pretreatment in penile carcinoma.

Objective: To evaluate the accuracy of fine-needle aspiration (FNA) cytology of palpable inguinal lymphadenopathy before definitive management of the primary tumour, in predicting inguinal lymph node (LN) metastasis in men with primary squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the penis.

Patients And Methods: Sixteen men with primary SCC of the penis and palpable inguinal lymphadenopathy (unilateral or bilateral) were treated by primary resection and bilateral inguinal LN dissection. FNA cytology was analysed for 25 palpable inguinal LNs at the time of penile biopsy.

Differences in infant and parent behaviors during routine bed sharing compared with cot sleeping in the home setting.

Objectives: To observe the behavior of infants sleeping in the natural physical environment of home, comparing the 2 different sleep practices of bed sharing and cot sleeping quantifying to factors that have been identified as potential risks or benefits.

Methods: Forty routine bed-sharing infants, aged 5-27 weeks were matched for age and season of study with 40 routine cot-sleeping infants. Overnight video and physiologic data of bed-share infants and cot-sleep infants were recorded in the infants' own homes.