Do medical students studying in the United Kingdom have an adequate factual knowledge of basic life support?

Background: Healthcare professionals have a duty to maintain basic life support (BLS) skills. This study aims to evaluate medical students' factual knowledge of BLS and the training they receive.

Methods: A cross-sectional, closed-response questionnaire was distributed to the first- and fourth-year students studying at institutions in the United Kingdom.

Discovery of genes required for lipoteichoic acid glycosylation predicts two distinct mechanisms for wall teichoic acid glycosylation.

The bacterial cell wall is an important and highly complex structure that is essential for bacterial growth because it protects bacteria from cell lysis and environmental insults. A typical Gram-positive bacterial cell wall is composed of peptidoglycan and the secondary cell wall polymers, wall teichoic acid (WTA) and lipoteichoic acid (LTA). In many Gram-positive bacteria, LTA is a polyglycerol-phosphate chain that is decorated with d-alanine and sugar residues.

Identification of a Lipoteichoic Acid Glycosyltransferase Enzyme Reveals that GW-Domain-Containing Proteins Can Be Retained in the Cell Wall of Listeria monocytogenes in the Absence of Lipoteichoic Acid or Its Modifications.

Unlabelled: Listeria monocytogenes is a foodborne Gram-positive bacterial pathogen, and many of its virulence factors are either secreted proteins or proteins covalently or noncovalently attached to the cell wall. Previous work has indicated that noncovalently attached proteins with GW (glycine-tryptophan) domains are retained in the cell wall by binding to the cell wall polymer lipoteichoic acid (LTA). LTA is a glycerol phosphate polymer, which is modified in L.

Structural and mechanistic insight into the Listeria monocytogenes two-enzyme lipoteichoic acid synthesis system.

Lipoteichoic acid (LTA) is an important cell wall component required for proper cell growth in many Gram-positive bacteria. In Listeria monocytogenes, two enzymes are required for the synthesis of this polyglycerolphosphate polymer. The LTA primase LtaP(Lm) initiates LTA synthesis by transferring the first glycerolphosphate (GroP) subunit onto the glycolipid anchor and the LTA synthase LtaS(Lm) extends the polymer by the repeated addition of GroP subunits to the tip of the growing chain.

Lipoteichoic acid synthesis and function in gram-positive bacteria.

Lipoteichoic acid (LTA) is an important cell wall polymer found in gram-positive bacteria. Although the exact role of LTA is unknown, mutants display significant growth and physiological defects. Additionally, modification of the LTA backbone structure can provide protection against cationic antimicrobial peptides.