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Presents an obituary for general practitioner John Shackleton Bailey who died on February 24, 1997.

This project explored the experiences of six undergraduate nursing students, three American nursing students and three nursing students from the Sultan of Oman, who participated in a faculty initiated education research project as part of their pediatric clinical practicum. Students were placed in dyads, with one American-born student and one Omani student in each dyad. Omani students also were paired with American nurse preceptors. A transcript-based content analysis was used to analyze data generated from qualitative focus group student interviews and student journals. The analysis generated three themes that described how myths were dispelled, cultural barriers were broken down and knowledge gained from another cultural perspective. The nurse preceptors were surveyed at the conclusion of the program. The survey findings suggest that preceptors gained a different cultural perspective of nursing care and they were better informed of the Omani students' learning needs. There was, however, an additional investment of preceptor time in meeting the learning needs of international students. Additional faculty time was also required for preparation and time during clinical conferencing to address differences in nursing practice between U.S. and Oman while meeting course learning objectives. Overall, the educational program provided evidence of enhancing American and Omani student cultural competence and Omani student adaptation to the United States. Coupling a domestic student with an international student to form dyads from the beginning of international students' experience could be a significant enhancement to both groups of students' learning experience., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Problem: Although environmental health has been central to nursing practice since the work of Florence Nightingale, the inclusion of environmental health concepts into nursing education has, for the most part, been confined to public health and occupational health nursing. The 1995 Institute of Medicine report, Nursing, Health, and the Environment, clearly stated that environmental health was an important aspect of nursing practice, but nurses were not adequately educated to address such in their practice., Methods: This article highlights the initiatives by nurse educators, faculty development programs, federal agencies, nonprofit organizations, and private foundations to educate and engage nurses in environmental health since 1995, with a focus on the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments. The historical summary was developed using professional literature, documents, personal interviews, and survey data., Findings: Nurses responded to the mandates of the 1995 Institute of Medicine report, Nursing, Health, and the Environment, in formal educational programs, through continuing education for nurses, workshops, symposia, and regional faculty development trainings. Since the formation of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, collaborative efforts led to the development of competencies, nursing outreach to organizations such as the American Nursing Association, the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing to advance practice standards, academic curriculum, and the development of an electronic textbook., Conclusion: The environmental health nursing agenda moved forward since the publication of the 1995 IOM report; however, the development of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments accelerated the educational accomplishments through organizational collaboration., (© 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

PETAL LOSS (PTL) is a trihelix transcription factor that represses growth, especially between sepal primordia. As one of 30 trihelix proteins in Arabidopsis, it falls in the GT2 clade with duplicated trihelix DNA-binding domains and a long α-helical central domain. PTL orthologs occur in all angiosperm genomes examined except grasses, and sequence comparisons reveal that there are two further short conserved domains at each end. GT2 itself carries two nuclear localization sequences, but PTL has an additional nuclear localization sequence (NLS). We show that PTL can act as a transcriptional activator in yeast and in planta, with the latter tested by two different functional assays. Specific deletions revealed that the activation region is C-terminal. Site-directed mutagenesis of the DNA-binding domains has shown that a conserved tryptophan and two downstream acidic amino acids in the second trihelix, predicted to promote folding, are each required for PTL function. Also, three basic residues in the third helix, near the DNA interaction sites, support its function. PTL was found to dimerize in yeast. This was confirmed and extended by jointly expressing differentially tagged forms of PTL in a transient expression system in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves. Cytoplasmic PTL (with mutant NLS sequences) was carried into the nucleus upon binding with nuclear-localized PTL, providing each partner carried intact central domains. As this 90-amino acid domain is conserved in most trihelix family members, it seems likely that they all function in dimeric form., (© 2014 The Authors The Plant Journal © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Objectives: This study was conducted to determine rural Nicaraguan health promotores' perceptions of their community's health problems, their self-identified learning needs, and resource needs. Despite the valuable contributions of promotores, there is limited research regarding unpaid volunteer promotores' perceptions of their needs in providing care to remote communities., Design and Sample: A qualitative descriptive study of 13 unpaid, volunteer promotores in Waslala, Nicaragua, was conducted., Measures: Data were collected during individual interviews with seven promotores and two focus groups with 13 promotores. Data were analyzed by reading verbatim transcripts repeatedly and establishing general themes. Promotores confirmed the findings., Results: Waslalan promotores described a synergy of traditional folk health beliefs and natural practices along with use of modern medications while working to meet the health needs of their communities. Without much formal training, the promotores used public health strategies to influence health behaviors and address health disparities in the communities they serve. Serving their communities and God were their motivation in their work., Conclusions: Recommendations include supporting efforts to meet promotores' needs regarding community health education with messages from community leaders and nurses, finding methods to financially compensate promotores, and including promotores in health program planning and evaluation., (© 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Akinetes are dormancy cells commonly found among filamentous cyanobacteria, many of which are toxic and/or nuisance, bloom-forming species. Development of akinetes from vegetative cells is a process that involves morphological and biochemical modifications. Here, we applied a single-cell approach to quantify genome and ribosome content of akinetes and vegetative cells in Aphanizomenon ovalisporum (Cyanobacteria). Vegetative cells of A. ovalisporum were naturally polyploid and contained, on average, eight genome copies per cell. However, the chromosomal content of akinetes increased up to 450 copies, with an average value of 119 genome copies per akinete, 15-fold higher than that in vegetative cells. On the basis of fluorescence in situ hybridization, with a probe targeting 16S rRNA, and detection with confocal laser scanning microscopy, we conclude that ribosomes accumulated in akinetes to a higher level than that found in vegetative cells. We further present evidence that this massive accumulation of nucleic acids in akinetes is likely supported by phosphate supplied from inorganic polyphosphate bodies that were abundantly present in vegetative cells, but notably absent from akinetes. These results are interpreted in the context of cellular investments for proliferation following a long-term dormancy, as the high nucleic acid content would provide the basis for extended survival, rapid resumption of metabolic activity and cell division upon germination.

Background: Methylotrophy describes the ability of organisms to grow on reduced organic compounds without carbon-carbon bonds. The genomes of two pink-pigmented facultative methylotrophic bacteria of the Alpha-proteobacterial genus Methylobacterium, the reference species Methylobacterium extorquens strain AM1 and the dichloromethane-degrading strain DM4, were compared., Methodology/principal Findings: The 6.88 Mb genome of strain AM1 comprises a 5.51 Mb chromosome, a 1.26 Mb megaplasmid and three plasmids, while the 6.12 Mb genome of strain DM4 features a 5.94 Mb chromosome and two plasmids. The chromosomes are highly syntenic and share a large majority of genes, while plasmids are mostly strain-specific, with the exception of a 130 kb region of the strain AM1 megaplasmid which is syntenic to a chromosomal region of strain DM4. Both genomes contain large sets of insertion elements, many of them strain-specific, suggesting an important potential for genomic plasticity. Most of the genomic determinants associated with methylotrophy are nearly identical, with two exceptions that illustrate the metabolic and genomic versatility of Methylobacterium. A 126 kb dichloromethane utilization (dcm) gene cluster is essential for the ability of strain DM4 to use DCM as the sole carbon and energy source for growth and is unique to strain DM4. The methylamine utilization (mau) gene cluster is only found in strain AM1, indicating that strain DM4 employs an alternative system for growth with methylamine. The dcm and mau clusters represent two of the chromosomal genomic islands (AM1: 28; DM4: 17) that were defined. The mau cluster is flanked by mobile elements, but the dcm cluster disrupts a gene annotated as chelatase and for which we propose the name "island integration determinant" (iid)., Conclusion/significance: These two genome sequences provide a platform for intra- and interspecies genomic comparisons in the genus Methylobacterium, and for investigations of the adaptive mechanisms which allow bacterial lineages to acquire methylotrophic lifestyles.

Renibacterium salmoninarum is the causative agent of bacterial kidney disease and a significant threat to healthy and sustainable production of salmonid fish worldwide. This pathogen is difficult to culture in vitro, genetic manipulation is challenging, and current therapies and preventative strategies are only marginally effective in preventing disease. The complete genome of R. salmoninarum ATCC 33209 was sequenced and shown to be a 3,155,250-bp circular chromosome that is predicted to contain 3,507 open-reading frames (ORFs). A total of 80 copies of three different insertion sequence elements are interspersed throughout the genome. Approximately 21% of the predicted ORFs have been inactivated via frameshifts, point mutations, insertion sequences, and putative deletions. The R. salmoninarum genome has extended regions of synteny to the Arthrobacter sp. strain FB24 and Arthrobacter aurescens TC1 genomes, but it is approximately 1.9 Mb smaller than both Arthrobacter genomes and has a lower G+C content, suggesting that significant genome reduction has occurred since divergence from the last common ancestor. A limited set of putative virulence factors appear to have been acquired via horizontal transmission after divergence of the species; these factors include capsular polysaccharides, heme sequestration molecules, and the major secreted cell surface antigen p57 (also known as major soluble antigen). Examination of the genome revealed a number of ORFs homologous to antibiotic resistance genes, including genes encoding beta-lactamases, efflux proteins, macrolide glycosyltransferases, and rRNA methyltransferases. The genome sequence provides new insights into R. salmoninarum evolution and may facilitate identification of chemotherapeutic targets and vaccine candidates that can be used for prevention and treatment of infections in cultured salmonids.

After the completion of a draft human genome sequence, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium has proceeded to finish and annotate each of the 24 chromosomes comprising the human genome. Here we describe the sequencing and analysis of human chromosome 3, one of the largest human chromosomes. Chromosome 3 comprises just four contigs, one of which currently represents the longest unbroken stretch of finished DNA sequence known so far. The chromosome is remarkable in having the lowest rate of segmental duplication in the genome. It also includes a chemokine receptor gene cluster as well as numerous loci involved in multiple human cancers such as the gene encoding FHIT, which contains the most common constitutive fragile site in the genome, FRA3B. Using genomic sequence from chimpanzee and rhesus macaque, we were able to characterize the breakpoints defining a large pericentric inversion that occurred some time after the split of Homininae from Ponginae, and propose an evolutionary history of the inversion.

Background: Motor fluctuations are a common complication in patients with Parkinson disease (PD) receiving long-term levodopa therapy. Slowed gastric emptying and poor solubility of levodopa in the gastrointestinal tract may delay the onset of drug benefit after dosing. Etilevodopa is an ethyl-ester prodrug of levodopa that has greater gastric solubility, passes quickly into the small intestine, is rapidly hydrolyzed to levodopa, and has a shortened time to maximum levodopa concentration., Objective: To determine the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of etilevodopa in patients with PD who have motor fluctuations., Design: A double-blind, randomized, comparative clinical trial., Setting: Forty-four sites in the United States and Canada., Patients: Three hundred twenty-seven patients with PD who had a latency of at least 90 minutes total daily time to "on" (TTON) after levodopa dosing., Intervention: Treatment with either etilevodopa-carbidopa or levodopa-carbidopa for 18 weeks., Main Outcome Measure: Change from baseline in total daily TTON as measured using home diaries., Results: The reduction in mean total daily TTON from baseline to treatment was 0.58 hour in the etilevodopa-carbidopa group and 0.79 hour in the levodopa-carbidopa group (P = .24). There was no significant difference between the etilevodopa-carbidopa and levodopa-carbidopa groups in the reduction of response failures (-6.82% vs -4.69%; P = .20). Total daily "off" time improved in the etilevodopa-carbidopa (-0.85 hour) and levodopa-carbidopa (-0.87 hour) groups without an increase in on time with troublesome dyskinesias., Conclusion: Despite the theoretical pharmacokinetic advantage of etilevodopa, there was no improvement in TTON, response failures, or off time compared with levodopa.

We have developed technologies for creating saturating libraries of sequence-defined transposon insertion mutants in which each strain is maintained. Phenotypic analysis of such libraries should provide a virtually complete identification of nonessential genes required for any process for which a suitable screen can be devised. The approach was applied to Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an opportunistic pathogen with a 6.3-Mbp genome. The library that was generated consists of 30,100 sequence-defined mutants, corresponding to an average of five insertions per gene. About 12% of the predicted genes of this organism lacked insertions; many of these genes are likely to be essential for growth on rich media. Based on statistical analyses and bioinformatic comparison to known essential genes in E. coli, we estimate that the actual number of essential genes is 300-400. Screening the collection for strains defective in two defined multigenic processes (twitching motility and prototrophic growth) identified mutants corresponding to nearly all genes expected from earlier studies. Thus, phenotypic analysis of the collection may produce essentially complete lists of genes required for diverse biological activities. The transposons used to generate the mutant collection have added features that should facilitate downstream studies of gene expression, protein localization, epistasis, and chromosome engineering.

Human chromosome 7 has historically received prominent attention in the human genetics community, primarily related to the search for the cystic fibrosis gene and the frequent cytogenetic changes associated with various forms of cancer. Here we present more than 153 million base pairs representing 99.4% of the euchromatic sequence of chromosome 7, the first metacentric chromosome completed so far. The sequence has excellent concordance with previously established physical and genetic maps, and it exhibits an unusual amount of segmentally duplicated sequence (8.2%), with marked differences between the two arms. Our initial analyses have identified 1,150 protein-coding genes, 605 of which have been confirmed by complementary DNA sequences, and an additional 941 pseudogenes. Of genes confirmed by transcript sequences, some are polymorphic for mutations that disrupt the reading frame.