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Proteus mirabilis and Klebsiella aerogenes are Gram-negative opportunistic pathogens that are responsible for nosocomial and health care-associated infections, including urinary tract infections. Here, the full genome sequences of six Chi-like Proteus (DanisaurMW, DoubleBarrel, Inception, Jing313, and NotEvenPhaged) or Klebsiella (Phraden) bacteriophages are announced, contributing to the understanding of Chi-like phages.

The Enterobacteriales order is composed of Gram-negative bacteria that range from harmless symbionts to well-studied pathogens. We announce complete genome sequences of five related SO-1-like Enterobacteriales bacteriophages (also known as the Dhillonvirus genus) isolated from wastewater that infect Escherichia coli (Opt-212, Over9000, Pubbukkers, and Teewinot) or Shigella boydii (StarDew).

The

We have studied the ability of a range of antibiotics to penetrate intervertebral disc tissue in vitro, using a mouse disc model. Equilibrium concentrations of antibiotics incorporated into the entire disc were determined by bioassay using a microbial growth-inhibition method. Uptake was significantly higher with positively-charged aminoglycosides compared with negatively-charged penicillins and cephalosporins. Uncharged ciprofloxacin showed an intermediate degree of uptake. Our results support the hypothesis that electrostatic interaction between charged antibiotics and negatively-charged glycosaminoglycans in the disc is an important factor in antibiotic penetration, and may explain their differential uptake.

The pathogeneses of parathyroid disease in patients with uremia and nonfamilial primary parathyroid hyperplasia are poorly understood. Because of multigland involvement, it has been assumed that these common diseases predominantly involve polyclonal (non-neoplastic) cellular proliferations, but an overall assessment of their clonality has not been done. We examined the clonality of these hyperplastic parathyroid tumors using X-chromosome inactivation analysis with the M27 beta (DXS255) DNA polymorphism and by searching for monoclonal allelic losses at M27 beta and at loci on chromosome band 11q13. Fully 7 of 11 informative hemodialysis patients (64%) with uremic refractory hyperparathyroidism harbored at least one monoclonal parathyroid tumor (with a minimum of 12 of their 19 available glands being monoclonal). Tumor monoclonality was demonstrable in 6 of 16 informative patients (38%) with primary parathyroid hyperplasia. Histopathologic categories of nodular versus generalized hyperplasia were not useful predictors of clonal status. These observations indicate that monoclonal parathyroid neoplasms are common in patients with uremic refractory hyperparathyroidism and also develop in a substantial group of patients with sporadic primary parathyroid hyperplasia, thereby changing our concept of the pathogenesis of these diseases. Neoplastic transformation of preexisting polyclonal hyperplasia, apparently due in large part to genes not yet implicated in parathyroid tumorigenesis and possibly including a novel X-chromosome tumor suppressor gene, is likely to play a central role in these disorders.

This paper is about three classes of objects: Leonard pairs, Leonard triples, and the finite-dimensional irreducible modules for an algebra $\mathcal{A}$. Let $\K$ denote an algebraically closed field of characteristic zero. Let $V$ denote a vector space over $\K$ with finite positive dimension. A Leonard pair on $V$ is an ordered pair of linear transformations in End$(V)$ such that for each of these transformations there exists a basis for $V$ with respect to which the matrix representing that transformation is diagonal and the matrix representing the other transformation is irreducible tridiagonal. Whenever the tridiagonal matrices are bipartite, the Leonard pair is said to be totally bipartite. A mild weakening yields a type of Leonard pair said to be totally almost bipartite. A Leonard pair is said to be totally B/AB whenever it is totally bipartite or totally almost bipartite. The notion of a Leonard triple and the corresponding notion of totally B/AB are similarly defined. There are families of Leonard pairs and Leonard triples said to have Bannai/Ito type. The Leonard pairs and Leonard triples of interest to us are totally B/AB and of Bannai/Ito type. Let $\mathcal{A}$ denote the unital associative $\K$-algebra defined by generators $x,y,z$ and relations\[xy+yx=2z,\qquad yz+zy=2x,\qquad zx+xz=2y.\]The algebra $\mathcal{A}$ has a presentation involving generators $x,y$ and relations\[x^{2}y+2xyx+yx^{2}=4y,\qquad y^{2}x+2yxy+xy^{2}=4x.\] In this paper we obtain the following results. We classify up to isomorphism the totally B/AB Leonard pairs of Bannai/Ito type. We classify up to isomorphism the totally B/AB Leonard triples of Bannai/Ito type. We classify up to isomorphism the finite-dimensional irreducible $\mathcal{A}$-modules. We show that these three classes of objects are essentially in one-to-one correspondence, and describe these correspondences in detail.

Study design: A case report of Neisseria sicca/subflava discitis in a healthy elderly female. Objective: To report a rare case, which is usually seen exclusively in children. Setting: Stoke on Trent, England. Method: Case report, a 65-year-old female with a 6 month history of back and bilateral leg pain. X-rays showed collapse of L4/5 disc. No neurological deficit. Magnetic resonance imaging supported the clinical suspicion of discitis. Percutaneous biopsy followed 2 weeks later by open biopsy with bilateral root decompression was performed. Culture of L4/5 disc tissue produced Neisseria sicca/subflava. The patient was treated with a 4-week course of intravenous amoxycillin. Follow-up at 3 months confirmed clinical resolution of original symptoms. Conclusion: Any organism cultured from biopsy needs to be interpreted within the context of the clinical case. If clinical suspicion is high, further weight must be added to the finding of unusual or environmental organisms and culture of a repeat aspirate or biopsy may clarify the significance.

Sir, I read with interest the article by Ng and Sell[1][1] in the May 2004 issue entitled “Predictive value of the duration of sciatica for lumbar discectomy”. It is a rigorous assessment of this much debated question, but to call it a prospective, cohort study, despite the fact that the

Plants of two soybean cultivars infected withGlomus mosseae were physiologically stressed by top removal and were harvested at seven bi-weekly intervals. Removing tops stopped root growth, stimulated branching, delayed plant growth stages by approximately two weeks, but did not affect spore production. Spore numbers were significantly related only to time of harvest. Pot variation in spore number was not significantly correlated with infection percentage or root dry weight. Harvest, cultivar, and cutting effects were highly significant for root and shoot weights and root/shoot ratios.

Human monocytes, pulmonary alveolar macrophages (PAMs) and spleen macrophages were concentrated by immobilization on cold insoluble globulins. These cell preparations were 90 +/- 3%, 95 +/- 1% and 83 +/- 3% esterase rich, respectively, 87 +/- 4%, 95 +/- 3% and 66 +/- 11% phagocytic and 78 +/- 3%, 79 +/- 9% and 68 +/- 5% reactive with OKM1 monoclonal antibody. Spleen macrophages differed from the other two cell preparations in that significantly fewer reacted with 61D3 or 63D2 monoclonal antibodies. Monocytes and PAMs promoted the mixed leucocyte response by autologous lymphocytes when added at low concentrations, but suppressed this response at high concentrations. Spleen macrophages only promoted the mixed leucocyte reaction but were required in much higher numbers than either monocytes or PAMs for optimal promotion. Likewise, the added presence of monocytes or PAMs in high numbers suppressed Ig synthesis stimulated with pokeweed mitogen, while spleen macrophages were not suppressive in this system. This study shows that the distribution of macrophages that differ in their regulatory effects upon lymphocyte responses varies in different tissues. The human spleen is deficient in macrophage related suppression.

Human synovial tissues have been assayed for the production of cartilage degrading activity (CDA). This activity is thought to be homologous with catabolin/interleukin 1 (IL1) produced by porcine synovium and leucocytes and by human leucocytes. The CDA of 26 rheumatoid (RA) and 41 non-rheumatoid synovia was measured on a dry weight basis. The rheumatoid synovia showed a threefold increase in activity over the non-rheumatoid, but there was no significant overall difference on a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) basis. The rheumatoid synovia appeared to consist of two populations; in over half the samples CDA was not related to cellularity, but eight patients had a high CDA and a high cellularity.