A simple fiber-optic sensor capable of discrimination between temperature and strain is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The sensor head is formed by cascading two sections of single-mode thin-core diameter fibers (TCFs) that act as two different inter-modal interferometers (IMIs). Due to the different sensitivity responses of the two IMIs to ...

Squarebop I bacteriorhodopsin is a light-activated proton pump present in the membranes of the archeon Haloquadratum walsbyi, a square-shaped organism representing 50-60% of microbial population in the crystallizer ponds of the coastal salterns. Here we describe: (1) the operating mode of a bioreactor designed to concentrate the saltern biomass through ...

We report a cost effective and facile way to synthesize flexible, uniform, and large area surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates using an oblique angle deposition (OAD) technique. The flexible SERS substrates consist of 1 μm long, tilted silver nanocolumnar films deposited on flexible polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Klebsiella pneumonia carbapenemases (KPCs) are able to hydrolyze the carbapenems, which cause many bacteria resistance to multiple classes of antibiotics, so the rapid dissemination of KPCs is worrisome. Laboratory identification of KPCs-harboring clinical isolates would be a key to limit the spread of the bacteria. This study would ...

Akinetes are the dormant cells of Nostocales (cyanobacteria) that enable the organisms to survive harsh environmental conditions while resting in bottom sediments. The germination of akinetes assists the dispersal and persistence of the species. The assessment of the akinete pool in lake sediments is essential to predict the bloom formation ...

We have developed and validated two new fluorescence-based PCR assays to detect the Wolbachia wMel strain in Aedes aegypti and the wRi and wAu strains in Drosophila simulans. The new assays are accurate, informative and cost-efficient for large-scale Wolbachia screening.

Polaromonas naphthalenivorans strain CJ2 is a Gram-negative betaproteobacterium that was identified, using stable isotope probing in 2003, as a dominant in situ degrader of naphthalene in coal tar-contaminated sediments. The sequenced genome of strain CJ2 revealed several genes conferring nitrogen fixation within a 65.6 kb region of strain CJ2's chromosome that ...

OBJECTIVE:: The assessment of workplace physical load is highly resource intensive. This study tested whether a single-item measure asking individuals about perceived physical strain (PPS) at work was an acceptable proxy for physical load. METHODS:: The study was conducted in a subset of the GAZEL cohort (n = 2612) undergoing ...

Failure of antibiotics to inactivate in vivo pathogens organized in biofilms is described to trigger chronic infections. Besides mechanisms involving specific genetic or physiological cell properties, antibiotic sorption and/or reaction with biofilm components may lessen the antibiotic bioavailability and consequently decrease their efficiency. To assess locally and accurately the antibiotic ...

A pneumococcal serotyping/genotyping system (PSGS) was developed based upon targeted PCR followed by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and amplicon base composition analysis. Eight multiplex PCR reactions, 32 targeting serotype-determining capsular biosynthetic loci and 8 targeting multilocus sequence typing (MLST) loci, were employed for each one of 229 highly diverse S. ...

Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans is a Gram-negative, acidophilic, and chemolithotrophic bacterium that is active in bioleaching. The leaching efficacy is directly influenced by the biomass changes of this specie in bioleaching microbial community. In order to perform a simple and sensitive assay on A. ferrooxidans from mixed strains in this process, a ...

A Gram-positive, non-motile and aerobic actinobacterium, designated strain CJ10(T), was isolated from tidal flat sediment from the Yellow Sea in South Korea. Strain CJ10(T) grew on tryptic soy agar in the presence of 0-4% (w/v) NaCl (optimum 0% NaCl) and at pH 6-11 (optimum pH 9). On the basis of ...

We demonstrate the strong influence of strain on the morphology and In content of InGaN insertions in GaN nanowires, in agreement with theoretical predictions which establish that InGaN island nucleation on GaN nanowires may be energetically favorable, depending on In content and nanowire diameter. EDX analyses reveal In inhomogeneities between ...

Alishewanella sp. strain KMK6 was able to degrade mixture of textile dyes (0.5-2.0 g l(-1)) within 8 h. An initial 28 % reduction in COD was observed immediately after decolorization at static anoxic conditions which on further incubation at shaking conditions reduced by 90 %. Partially purified azoreductase was able to utilize different ...

Certain strains of the rhizosphere bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens contain the phenazine biosynthesis operon (phzABCDEFG) and produce redox-active phenazine antibiotics that suppress a wide variety of soilborne plant pathogens. In 2007 and 2008, we isolated 412 phenazine-producing (Phz(+)) fluorescent Pseudomonas strains from roots of dryland wheat and barley grown in the ...

Aim: Development of a non-toxic, fluorescent-based, agar system for the screening of overexpressed bacterial efflux pump systems with common, inexpensive UV accessories. Wild type Gram-negative and positive bacteria expressing intrinsic efflux pumps and their progeny that overexpress a specific efflux pump were selected for evaluation of efflux pump activity in ...

The main goal of this work is to characterize the biochemical profile of three halophilous microalgal strains isolated from extreme ecosystems in northern Chile to assess their potential as possible sources of technological and commercial advantages. A procedure for the validation of a routine method for determining the total protein, ...

Aims:  Development of a novel PCR-based method able to detect potential cellulolytic filamentous fungi and to classify them exploiting the amplification of the cellobiohydrolase gene (cbh-I) and its polymorphism. Methods and Results:  A mixed approach including the combination of i) fungal cultivation and isolation, ii) classification of fungal isolates through ...

The two main types of mechanical stimuli used in cellular-level bone mechanotransduction studies are substrate strain and flow-induced shear stress. A subset of studies has investigated which of these stimuli induces the primary mechanotransduction effect on bone cells. The shortcomings of these experiments are twofold. First, in some experiments the ...

C-phycocyanin (C-PC) is a blue colored accessory photosynthetic pigment found in cyanobacteria. Some of the medicinal properties of Spirulina have been attributed to this pigment, which includes anticancer, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activity. We have screened cyanobacteria isolated from freshwater habitats in Florida for their high content of C-PC. Of 125 ...

This review emphasises the fact that studies of acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation by solventogenic clostridia cannot be limited to research on the strain Clostridiumacetobutylicum ATCC 824. Various 1-butanol producing species of the genus Clostridium, which differ in their patterns of product formation and abilities to ferment particular carbohydrates or glycerol, are ...

BACKGROUND: The relative contributions of an axial tibial torque and frontal plane moment to anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) strain during pivot landings are unknown. HYPOTHESIS: The peak normalized relative strain in the anteromedial (AM) bundle of the ACL is affected by the direction of the axial tibial torque but not ...

To find importance of morphometric criterion of larval rostellar hook of Echinococcus granulosus (E. granulosus) and the easy and reliable method for distinguish sheep and camel strains in epidemiologic studies. Larval rostellar hooks (n=1860) of 31 camel and sheep isolates in Iran, which already had been characterized by PCR, were ...

Spirometry is considered the primary method to detect the air flow limitation associated with obstructive lung disease. However, air flow limitation is the end-result of many factors that contribute to obstructive lung disease. One of these factors is increased airway resistance. Airway resistance is traditionally measured by relating air flow ...

This study describes a new multilocus variable number tandem-repeat (VNTR) analysis (MLVA) typing system for the discrimination of Chlamydia trachomatis genovar D to K isolates or specimens. We focused our MLVA scheme on genovar E which predominates in most populations worldwide. This system does not require culture and therefore can ...

Bead assays are an emerging microbial detection technology with the capability for rapid detection of extremely low levels of viable pathogens. Such technologies are of high value in clinical settings and in the food industry. Here, we perform a bead assay for extracted 16S rRNA from Escherichia coli (strain K12) ...

Traditional phenotypic methods and commercial kits based on carbohydrate assimilation patterns are unable to consistently distinguish among isolates of Pichia guilliermondii, Debaryomyces hansenii and Candida palmioleophila. As result, these species are often misidentified. In this work, we established a reliable method for the identification/differentiation of these species. Our assay was ...

AIMS: It has been shown that speckle-tracking echocardiography (STE) is a feasible and reproducible method to assess left atrial (LA) function. The relationship between left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP) and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) with LA deformation parameters has not been studied comprehensively. Therefore, we propose to investigate the effects ...

Objective: To assess the effects of frame and volume rate on the concordance between two-dimensional speckle tracking strain (2DS) and three-dimensional speckle tracking strain (3DS), and between 2DS and triplane imaging of speckle tracking (Tri-P). Methods: Global longitudinal strains (GLSs) derived from 2DS, 3DS, and Tri-P were compared among 142 ...

Ehrlichia ruminantium (ER) is a member of the order Rickettsiales transmitted by Amblyomma ticks. This obligatory intracellular bacterium is the causative agent of a fatal disease in ruminants, named heartwater. It represents a constraint on breeding development in sub-Saharan Africa and in the Caribbean. The genetic diversity of the strains ...

Background: The role of speckle tracking in the assessment of right atrial (RA) deformation dynamics has not been established yet. The reference ranges of RA longitudinal strain indices were measured by speckle tracking in a population of normal subjects. Methods: In 84 healthy individuals, peak atrial longitudinal strain (PALS), peak ...

AIMS: Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) is a useful indicator of coronary artery disease (CAD). The relation between functional changes of the common carotid artery (CCA) and CAD is unclear. This study investigated the relationship between CCA strain and CIMT in the assessment of CAD. METHODS AND RESULTS: Within a 1-month ...

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate the capacity and reproducibility of three-dimensional echocardiographic (3DE) strain parameters in the assessment of global left ventricular (LV) systolic function. METHODS: A total of 128 subjects with differing LV ejection fractions were investigated using two-dimensional echocardiographic (2DE) and 3DE strains. Three-dimensional ...

Aims It is well accepted that strain and strain rate deformation parameters are not only a measure of intrinsic myocardial contractility but are also influenced by changes in cardiac load and structure. To date, no information is available on the relative importance of these confounders. The study was designed to ...

Subject-specific finite element models have been used to predict stress-state and fracture risk in individual patients. While many studies analysed quasi-axial loading configurations, only few works simulated sideways load configurations, such as those arising in a fall. The majority among these latter directly predicted bone strength, without assessing elastic strain ...

Fine-scale genetic mapping is often hindered by the lack of adequate markers surrounding the locus of interest. In the filamentous ascomycete Neurospora crassa, the genome has been sequenced and an effort has been made to generate genome-wide deletion strains for the entire gene set. Accordingly, the hygromycin-resistant marker in each ...

This study investigated a large population of individuals positive for A. actinomycetemcomitans and performed a two way analysis assessing the relation between the different serotypes of the bacterium and periodontal conditions. The serotypes analysis (serotypes a, b, c, d, e, f) showed that out of the 204 selected individuals positive ...

Silaproline is an analogue of proline, which exhibits similar conformational properties. Moreover, the presence of dimethylsilyl group confers to silaproline a higher lipophilicity as well as an improved resistance to biodegradation. This report describes the comparison of two routes to obtain Fmoc-(L: ) Sip-OH on the gram scale using chiral ...

A suspended multicore fiber sensor for simultaneous measurement of curvature and strain is proposed. The spectral response shows evidences of several interferences arising from the seven cores of the fiber. Once the sensing head presents different sensitivities for curvature and strain measurements, these physical parameters can be discriminated by using ...

AIMS: The efficacy of anthracyclines is undermined by potential life-threatening cardiotoxicity. Cardiotoxicity is dependent upon several factors and the timing to its development is variable. Moreover, as adjuvant therapy with trastuzumab often follows, a close monitoring of cardiac function in those treated with anthracyclines is mandatory. Left ventricular ejection fraction ...

We report on the growth of strained Si nanocrystals (NCs) of sizes in the range 5-43 nm and analyze the detailed nature of strain and its influence on the optical properties of the NCs as a function of size. Freestanding Si NPs were prepared in a controlled way using a ...

AIMS: Although the accuracy of three-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) to quantify left ventricular (LV) volumes and function has been demonstrated, its reliability has not been studied in great detail. The aim of the study was to determine inter-observer, intra-observer, and test-retest reliability of echocardiographic measurements of LV volumes and ...

AIMS: Area strain (AS), derived from three-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography (3D-STE), is a novel parameter integrating longitudinal and circumferential deformation. We sought to evaluate the ability of global AS to detect early left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction in patients with risk factors for heart failure (HF). METHODS AND RESULTS: Standard echocardiography ...

Background: This study aimed to examine the relationship between biochemical heart failure markers and conventional left ventricular (LV) measurements and strain assessed by speckle-tracking echocardiography in chronic aortic regurgitation (AR) patients. Methods and Results: LV strain, rotation assessed by speckle-tracking echocardiography, LV measurements, mitral annular plane excursion measured by M-mode, ...

STRUCTURED ABSTRACT: Study Design. A cadaveric biomechanical experiment was conducted to assess the range of motion (ROM) and screw strain at S1 in a long instrumented spinal fusion construct to compare the effects of various surgical strategies for L5-S1 stabilization.Objective. To directly quantify and compare S1 screw strains and lumbosacral ...

An alternative approach to extract 3D myocardial strain based on elastic registration of the ultrasound images (3DSE) was developed by our lab. The aim of the present study was to test its clinical performance by comparing strain values obtained by 3DSE with the ones obtained with 2D speckle tracking (2DST). ...

OBJECTIVE: The authors hypothesized that the measurement of strain by speckle tracking with transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is feasible and comparable to transthoracic echocardiography (TTE). DESIGN: A prospective observational comparative study. SETTING: A university hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Adult patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery. INTERVENTIONS: Structured intraoperative TTE and TEE examination. MEASUREMENTS AND ...

Genotypes of samples from protease inhibitor-naïve patients in Frankfurt's HIV-Cohort were analyzed with five tipranavir resistance-prediction algorithms. Mean scores were higher in non-B compared to B-subtypes. The proportion of non-B's increased with increasing scores, except in weighted algorithms. Virtual and in-vitro-phenotype analyses of samples with increased scores showed no reduced ...

An automated system, MicroScan WalkAway-96, in conjugation with Combo Pos® 28 panels, was validated for the identification and methicillin susceptibility of coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS). The performance of this system was evaluated on 428 CNS. Identification results were compared using a validated in-house method. Methicillin susceptibility was compared with oxacillin MIC ...

ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE 2011; 18:860-867 © 2011 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine ABSTRACT: Background:  Feedback devices provide verbal and visual real-time information on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) quality. Feedback devices can improve the quality of CPR during transportation. It remains unclear if feedback has an effect on the physical ...