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A transposon mutant library was constructed from the bacterial blight pathogen Xanthomonas oryzae pv . oryzae ( Xoo) KACC10331 by Tn5 transposon mutagenesis. The susceptible rice cultivar Milyang 23 was inoculated with a total of 24 540 mutants resistant to kanamycin and 67 avirulent or reduced-pathogenicity mutant strains were selected for study. Southern hybridization verified that 84 mutant strains had single-copy insertions and their single-transposon insertion sites were identified by sequencing analysis combined with thermal asymmetric interlaced (TAIL)-PCR. The single-transposon-tagged sequences of 21 mutant strains belonged to pathogenicity-related genes previously reported in Xanthomonas species, while the other 46 single-transposon-tagged sequences included diverse functional genes encoding, five cell-wall-degrading enzymes, three fimbrial and flagella assembly regulators, five regulatory proteins, 15 metabolic regulators and 18 hypothetical proteins, which were identified as novel pathogenicity genes of Xoo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose To demonstrate the opioid-sparing effect and reduction in postoperative ileus obtained with valdecoxib 40 mg administered pre- and postoperatively in patients undergoing colorectal resection. Methods Patients for elective colorectal resection from December 2002 to June 2004 were randomized to receive either valdecoxib or placebo with standard patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) morphine. In the study arm, the first dose of valdecoxib 40 mg was administered orally as close as possible to 1 h prior to the start of surgery. Each subsequent dose was administered at 24-h intervals up to 120 h. Patients in the control arm were served placebos at the same time-points. Results Forty patients were enrolled in the study arm and 39 (excluding one protocol violation) in the control arm. The groups were comparable in age, sex, American Society of Anesthesiology status, body mass index, incision length, and duration and types of operations. Mean PCA doses at 12 and 24 h were 18.6 and 28.3 mg in the study arm vs 26.2 and 41.2 mg in controls, representing a one-third opioid reduction. Bowel sound and movement first appeared at medians of 12 and 72 h in the study arm vs 24 and 84 h, respectively, in controls ( P < 0.05). Tolerance of solid diet was at a median of 60 h and discharge at a median of 4 days in the study arm vs 72 h and 6 days in controls ( P < 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively). Seven (18%) morbidities occurred in the control vs six (15%) in the study arm. Conclusions Patients treated with a cyclo-oxygenase 2-specific inhibitor have a shorter recovery time when compared with patients on a standard postoperative PCA morphine-only regimen after colorectal resection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]