A validation of the Nottingham Clavicle Score: a clavicle, acromioclavicular joint and sternoclavicular joint-specific patient-reported outcome measure.

Background: Patients with acromioclavicular joint (ACJ) and sternoclavicular joint (SCJ) injuries and with clavicle fractures are typically younger and more active than those with other shoulder pathologies. We developed the Nottingham Clavicle Score (NCS) specifically for this group of patients to improve sensitivity for assessing the outcomes of treatment of these conditions compared with the more commonly used Constant Score (CS) and Oxford Shoulder Score (OSS).

Materials And Methods: This was a cohort study in which the preoperative and 6-month postoperative NCS evaluations of outcome in 90 patients were compared with the CS, OSS, Imatani Score (IS), and the EQ-5D scores.

Surgery within 6 months of an acute rotator cuff tear significantly improves outcome.

Background: To determine the effect of time to repair on the outcome after an acute rotator cuff tear.

Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data on patients presenting with acute rotator cuff tear to our shoulder clinic. Patient-reported outcomes were assessed using the Oxford Shoulder Score, and symptomatic retears were diagnosed by clinical assessment plus imaging.

Risk factors and predictors of mortality for proximal humeral fractures.

Background: Risk factors for mortality after proximal humeral fracture, including socioeconomic status, are poorly defined. This retrospective review of prospectively collected data defines the epidemiology and predictors of mortality in association with proximal humeral fractures.

Methods: Patients who sustained proximal humeral fractures were identified from fragility fracture and trauma databases between May 2001 and September 2012.

Scapular Winging.

This review explores the causes of scapula winging, with overview of the relevant anatomy, proposed aetiology and treatment. Particular focus is given to lesions of the long thoracic nerve, which is reported to be the most common aetiological factor.

UafB is a serine-rich repeat adhesin of Staphylococcus saprophyticus that mediates binding to fibronectin, fibrinogen and human uroepithelial cells.

Staphylococcus saprophyticus is an important cause of urinary tract infection (UTI), particularly among young women, and is second only to uropathogenic Escherichia coli as the most frequent cause of UTI. The molecular mechanisms of urinary tract colonization by S. saprophyticus remain poorly understood.

Topological analysis of GtrA and GtrB proteins encoded by the serotype-converting cassette of Shigella flexneri.

Serotype conversion (O-antigen glucosylation) in Shigella flexneri is mediated by temperate bacteriophages, which encode a three-gene cluster that contains gtrA, gtrB, and gtr([type]). Sequence analysis has revealed that gtrA and gtrB are conserved and readily interchangeable between serotypes. The gtr([type]) is unique in each serotype and responsible for specifically mediating conversion by the addition of a glucosyl group to the O-antigen units.

The chromosome of Shigella flexneri bacteriophage Sf6: complete nucleotide sequence, genetic mosaicism, and DNA packaging.

Shigella flexneri temperate bacteriophage Sf6 is of interest in part because its prophage expresses the oac gene that alters the antigenic properties of the surface O-antigen polysaccharide of its host bacterium. We have determined the complete sequence of its 39,044 bp genome. The sequence shows that Sf6 is a member of the canonical lambdoid phage group, and like other phages of this type has a highly mosaic genome.

Epitope analysis of the FanC subunit protein of the K99 (F5) fimbriae of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli using a recombinant fusion technique.

We have used a recombinant approach to characterise the B- and T-cell epitopes of FanC, the major subunit polypeptide of K99 (F5) fimbriae of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli strains. This involved the fusion of FanC and its carboxy-terminal truncated derivatives to a reporter, the E. coli alkaline phosphatase (PhoA), generating stable, recombinant fusions.

Cloning and characterization of a novel haemolysin in Vibrio cholerae O1 that does not directly contribute to the virulence of the organism.

A previously undescribed haemolysin, distinct from the major Vibrio cholerae O1 El Tor haemolysin, HlyA, was cloned from the O1 classical biotype strain Z17561. This novel haemolysin showed 71.5% overall similarity to the delta-thermostable direct haemolysin of Vibrio parahaemolyticus, and so it has been termed V.

Identification and characterization of assembly proteins of CS5 pili from enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli.

This study investigated the role of three genes comprising part of the operon which encodes CS5 pili from enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli. In-frame gene deletions were constructed, and the effects on biogenesis of the pili were examined. A deletion in csfB abolished CsfA major subunit accumulation in the periplasm, which could be restored by trans-complementation with a complete copy of the csfB gene.

The Vibrio cholerae O1 chromosomal integron.

Until the discovery of the Vibrio cholerae repeat (VCR), the gene capture and expression systems termed integrons had been typically associated with antibiotic-resistance gene cassettes with usually less than five genes in an array. A method is described for the cloning of the ends of large cassette arrays. Conserved restriction sites within VCRs facilitated the mapping by Southern hybridization and cloning of the 5' end of the VCR array, and using appropriate fragments it was possible to develop a physical map of the region of the V.

Distribution of IS1358 and linkage to rfb-related genes in Vibrio anguillarum.

The insertion sequence IS1358 is linked to the rfb regions of both Vibrio cholerae O1 and O139, and its location was suggestive of a role in generating new combinations of rfb genes. This provoked an examination of the distribution and localization of IS1358 in Vibrio anguillarum. S11358 was widely distributed in a number of V.

The Shigella flexneri bacteriophage Sf6 tailspike protein (TSP)/endorhamnosidase is related to the bacteriophage P22 TSP and has a motif common to exo- and endoglycanases, and C-5 epimerases.

The temperate bacteriophage Sf6 infects Shigella flexneri strains of serotype X or Y, converting them into serotypes 3a or 3b, respectively. The tailspike protein (TSP) of Sf6 possesses endo-1,3-alpha-L-rhamnosidase (endorhamnosidase) activity which results in cleavage of the lipopolysaccharide O-antigen receptor during the adsorption of the phage to the cell surface. When used in Southern hybridization, a P22 gene 9 (encoding P22 TSP) DNA probe hybridized with restriction fragment Pstl-7 of Sf6.

VlpA of Vibrio cholerae O1: the first bacterial member of the alpha 2-microglobulin lipocalin superfamily.

We have identified a gene, vlpA, which is closely linked to the mfrA,B locus associated with mannose-fucose-resistant haemagglutination. VlpA is an outer-membrane protein which can be labelled with [3H]palmitate and whose processing is globomycin-sensitive, suggesting that it is a lipoprotein. Homology searches revealed that VlpA belongs to the group of lipocalins of the alpha 2-microglobulin superfamily which function as small hydrophobic molecule transporters, and is the first identified bacterial member of this group.