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The article previews the 11th annual conference of the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities in Southern California in October 2005. The event's speakers were a panel local elected government officials. The main theme of the conference was, "Urban and Metropolitan Universities and the Economy of Tomorrow." It focused on the essential exploration of issues that are critical to the future of higher education. Differing views were also expressed including the strategies to be undertaken for the success of future economy.

Scrutinizes the Letter to Philemon written by apostle Paul in the Bible. Character representation in the letter-narrative; Influence of the spatial confinement of Paul on the letter; Liturgical and theological value of Philemon.

Equinus plays an important role in flatfoot deformity. Proper evaluation and surgical management are critical to comprehensively treat and successfully resolved patients' symptoms. We have discussed the cause, evaluation, and some of the common surgical options. Each procedure has its inherent benefits and risks. It is imperative that the foot and ankle surgeon identify and include these procedures as part of the complete reconstructive surgery., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Few would argue that emergency department utilization volumes do not tax the health system. Currently, there is not a process defined by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for transitioning this patient population back to their primary physicians following emergency department visits. Resource limitations in a rural family medicine setting create barriers to dedicate focus on this important transitional care management from urgent care visits to primary care office., Objective: To describe a novel pilot process for transitional care management from the emergency department utilizing pharmacy student extenders to overcome resource limitation at a rural family medicine clinic and establish follow-up primary physician contact., Methods: From a master list provided, student pharmacists proactively telephoned patients and reviewed medication changes while assisting with scheduling follow-up appointments at the patient's primary physician clinic., Results: The result of these efforts increased the communication with patients and resulted in a 26% (10/38) increase in follow-up appointments scheduled with a total increase of an additional 7 patients adhering to follow-up transitional appointment., Conclusion: This approach utilizing student extenders is a feasible and sustainable process that can increase patient contact when resources are limited, while serving as an educational tool for next generation providers.

Surface water and groundwater are continuously used as sources of drinking water in many metropolitan areas of the United States. The quality of water from these sources may be reduced due to increases in contaminants such as Escherichia coli from urban and agricultural runoffs. In this study, a multiplex fluorogenic PCR assay was used to quantify E. coli O157:H7 in soil, manure, cow and calf feces, and dairy wastewater in an artificial wetland. Primers and probes were designed to amplify and quantify the Shiga-like toxin 1 (stx1) and 2 (stx2) genes and the intimin (eae) gene of E. coli O157:H7 in a single reaction. Primer specificity was confirmed with DNA from 33 E. coli O157:H7 and related strains with and without the three genes. A direct correlation was determined between the fluorescence threshold cycle (C(T)) and the starting quantity of E. coli O157:H7 DNA. A similar correlation was observed between the C(T) and number of CFU per milliliter used in the PCR assay. A detection limit of 7.9 x 10(-5) pg of E. coli O157:H7 DNA ml(-1) equivalent to approximately 6.4 x 10(3) CFU of E. coli O157:H7 ml(-1) based on plate counts was determined. Quantification of E. coli O157:H7 in soil, manure, feces, and wastewater was possible when cell numbers were >/=3.5 x 10(4) CFU g(-1). E. coli O157:H7 levels detected in wetland samples decreased by about 2 logs between wetland influents and effluents. The detection limit of the assay in soil was improved to less than 10 CFU g(-1) with a 16-h enrichment. These results indicate that the developed PCR assay is suitable for quantitative determination of E. coli O157:H7 in environmental samples and represents a considerable advancement in pathogen quantification in different ecosystems.

Chronic periodontitis is a common infectious disease in the adult population. The etiology is clearly bacterial, and a small number of bacterial species have been consistently associated with periodontitis, including Bacteroides forsythus and Porphyromonas gingivalis. Comparatively little attention has been paid to the identification of health-associated and potentially beneficial bacterial species that may reside in the gingival sulcus. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship of the presence of B. forsythus and a newly identified Bacteroides phylotype, oral clone BU063, to periodontal health status. The study was accomplished with a set of samples that were collected from subjects with periodontitis and healthy controls. These samples had previously been analyzed for the presence of P. gingivalis. An oral sampling strategy that included every tooth and a PCR-based detection method were used to maximize detection sensitivity. The presence of B. forsythus in the oral cavity was strongly associated with periodontitis, and its nearest genetic neighbor, oral clone BU063, was associated with oral health (P < 0.0001 for both). Colonization with P. gingivalis was independent of the presence of either Bacteroides species, but the two Bacteroides species were found together less often than would be expected by chance (P < 0.0001). This suggests the presence of a specific exclusionary mechanism between the two Bacteroides species. Comparisons between these two organisms may prove useful for studies that determine how B. forsythus functions in the disease process. In addition, oral clone BU063 deserves further study as a possible preventive or therapeutic intervention for periodontitis.

Accurate quantitation of the number of cells of individual bacterial species in dental plaque samples is needed for understanding the bacterial etiology of periodontitis. Real-time PCR offers a sensitive, efficient, and reliable approach to quantitation. Using the TaqMan system we were able to determine both the amount of Porphyromonas gingivalis and the total number of bacterial cells present in plaque samples. Using species-specific primers and a fluorescent probe, detection of DNA from serial dilutions of P. gingivalis cells was linear over a large range of DNA concentrations (correlation coefficient = 0.96). No difference was observed between P. gingivalis DNA alone and the same DNA mixed with DNA isolated from dental plaque, indicating that P. gingivalis levels can be determined accurately from clinical samples. The total number of cells of all bacterial species was determined using universal primers and a fluorescent probe. Standard curves using four different bacterial species gave similar results (correlation coefficient = 0.86). Levels of both P. gingivalis and total bacteria were determined from a series of human plaque samples. High levels of P. gingivalis were observed in several of the samples from subjects with periodontitis and none of those from healthy subjects. Real-time quantitative PCR provided a sensitive and reliable method for quantitating P. gingivalis. In addition, it allowed the determination of the total number of bacterial cells present in a complex sample so that the percentage of P. gingivalis cells could be determined.

To determine if there is variability in virulence among strains of Porphyromonas gingivalis in human periodontitis, their distribution in a group of subjects with clear indicators of periodontitis and in a healthy, age-matched control group was examined. The presence of heteroduplex types of P. gingivalis in the two groups was determined with a PCR-based assay. This assay relied on detection of polymorphisms in the ribosomal internal spacer region (ISR). ISR fragments generated by PCR with P. gingivalis-specific primers were hybridized to fragments from reference strains, and the formation of heteroduplexes from the hybridization of nonidentical sequences was observed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Characteristic fingerprints from comparison with a panel of reference strains allowed the identification of heteroduplex types in clinical samples. One hundred thirty adults with periodontitis and 181 controls were sampled. With this approach, 11 heteroduplex types of P. gingivalis were detected in the population. Sufficient numbers were available for statistical analysis of six of these types. Heteroduplex type hW83 was found to be very strongly associated with periodontitis (P = 0.0000), and two additional types, h49417 and hHG1691, were also significantly associated with disease. The remaining types, h23A4, h381, and hA7A1, were detected more frequently in subjects with periodontitis than in healthy subjects, but the difference was not significant. These data indicate that virulence in human periodontitis varies among strains of P. gingivalis, and they identify an apparently highly virulent subgroup.

Heteroduplex analysis has been used extensively to identify allelic variation among mammalian genes. It provides a rapid and reliable method for determining and cataloging minor differences between two closely related DNA sequences. We have adapted this technique to distinguish among strains or clonal types of Porphyromonas gingivalis. The ribosomal intergenic spacer region (ISR) was amplified directly from a subgingival plaque sample by PCR with species-specific primers, avoiding the need for culturing the bacteria. The PCR products were then directly compared by heteroduplex analysis with known strains of P. gingivalis for identification. We identified 22 distinct but closely related heteroduplex types of P. gingivalis in 1,183 clinical samples. Multiple strains were found in 34% of the samples in which P. gingivalis was detected. Heteroduplex types were identified from these multistrain samples without separating them by culturing or molecular cloning. PCR with species-specific primers and heteroduplex analysis makes it possible to reliably and sensitively detect and identify strains of P. gingivalis in large numbers of samples.

Periodontitis is a common, progressive disease that eventually affects the majority of the population. The local destruction of periodontitis is believed to result from a bacterial infection of the gingival sulcus, and several clinical studies have provided evidence to implicate Porphyromonas gingivalis. If P. gingivalis is a periodontal pathogen, it would be expected to be present in most subjects with disease and rarely detected in subjects with good periodontal health. However, in most previous studies, P. gingivalis has not been detected in the majority of subjects with disease, and age-matched, periodontally healthy controls were not included for comparison. The purpose of the study reported here was to compare the prevalence of P. gingivalis in a group with periodontitis to that of a group that is periodontally healthy. A comprehensive sampling strategy and a sensitive PCR assay were used to maximize the likelihood of detection. The target sequence for P. gingivalis-specific amplification was the transcribed spacer region within the ribosomal operon. P. gingivalis was detected in only 25% (46 of 181) of the healthy subjects but was detected in 79% (103 of 130) of the periodontitis group (P < 0.0001). The odds ratio for being infected with P. gingivalis was 11.2 times greater in the periodontitis group than in the healthy group (95% confidence interval, 6.5 to 19.2). These data implicate P. gingivalis in the pathogenesis of periodontitis and suggest that P. gingivalis may not be a normal inhabitant of a periodontally healthy dentition.