Control of high affinity interactions in the talin C terminus: how talin domains coordinate protein dynamics in cell adhesions.

In cell-extracellular matrix junctions (focal adhesions), the cytoskeletal protein talin is central to the connection of integrins to the actin cytoskeleton. Talin is thought to mediate this connection via its two integrin, (at least) three actin, and several vinculin binding sites. The binding sites are cryptic in the head-to-rod autoinhibited cytoplasmic form of the protein and require (stepwise) conformational activation.

Escherichia coli O157 prevalence and enumeration of aerobic bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae, and Escherichia coli O157 at various steps in commercial beef processing plants.

The effectiveness of current antimicrobial interventions used in reducing the prevalence or load of Escherichia coli O157 and indicator organisms on cattle hides and carcasses at two commercial beef processing plants was evaluated. Sponge sampling of beef cattle was performed at five locations from the initial entry of the animals to the slaughter floor to the exit of carcasses from the "hotbox" cooler. For each sample, E.

Functional profiling of mercuric reductase (mer A) genes in biofilm communities of a technical scale biocatalyzer.

Background: Bacterial mercury resistance is based on enzymatic reduction of ionic mercury to elemental mercury and has recently been demonstrated to be applicable for industrial wastewater clean-up. The long-term monitoring of such biocatalyser systems requires a cultivation independent functional community profiling method targeting the key enzyme of the process, the merA gene coding for the mercuric reductase. We report on the development of a profiling method for merA and its application to monitor changes in the functional diversity of the biofilm community of a technical scale biocatalyzer over 8 months of on-site operation.

Molecular quantification of genes encoding for green-fluorescent proteins.

A quantitative PCR approach is presented to analyze the amount of recombinant green fluorescent protein (gfp) genes in environmental DNA samples. The quantification assay is a combination of specific PCR amplification and temperature gradient gel electrophoresis (TGGE). Gene quantification is provided by a competitively coamplified DNA standard constructed by point mutation PCR.

Detection of small sequence differences using competitive PCR: molecular monitoring of genetically improved, mercury-reducing bacteria.

A quantitative PCR approach is presented to detect small genomic sequence differences for molecular quantification of recombinant DNA. The only unique genetic feature of the mercury-reducing, genetically improved Pseudomonas putida KT2442::mer73 available to distinguish it from its native mercury-resistant relatives is the DNA sequence crossing the border of the insertion site of the introduced DNA fragment. The quantification assay is a combination of specific PCR amplification and temperature gradient gel electrophoresis (TGGE).

Two new arsenate/sulfate-reducing bacteria: mechanisms of arsenate reduction.

Two sulfate-reducing bacteria, which also reduce arsenate, were isolated; both organisms oxidized lactate incompletely to acetate. When using lactate as the electron donor, one of these organisms, Desulfomicrobium strain Ben-RB, rapidly reduced (doubling time = 8 h) 5.1 mM arsenate at the same time it reduced sulfate (9.

Treatment of serious Pseudomonas infections with azlocillin.

Azlocillin is a semisynthetic acylureidopenicillin with increased activity against most strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. It was given as the sole antibacterial agent in the treatment of 21 patients with serious pulmonary, wound, bone or joint, or urinary tract infections, endocarditis, or malignant external otitis caused by Pseudomonas sp. In preliminary in vitro tests, azlocillin inhibited 90% of 36 clinical isolates, while carbenicillin and ticarcillin inhibited only 60% and 73%, respectively.

Moxalactam therapy of difficult infections in patients with serious underlying conditions.

Moxalactam was the single therapeutic agent used to treat a variety of infections in sixty-three patients, most of whom had serious concomitant illnesses. Fifty-three patient case reports qualified for evaluation, including those with pneumonia (8), urinary tract infections (18), superficial infections (6), orthopaedic infections (7), osteomyelitis (8), septicaemia (4), pansinusitis (1), and meningitis (1). Preliminary in vitro studies had indicated that most organisms, including those resistant to other antibacterial agents, would respond to moxalactam.

A single injection of moxalactam for acute gonorrhea.

This study evaluated the efficacy of and tolerance to moxalactam in the treatment of uncomplicated gonorrhea, including two infections with penicillin-resistant strains. After appropriate cultures, 87 women and 64 men each received 1 gm of moxalactam intramuscularly as a single injection. Penicillinase-producing Neisseria gonorrhoeae was isolated from one man who had persistent urethritis after therapy with ampicillin.