The effects of aerobic dance and relaxation therapy on intraocular pressure and blood pressure

The ability of different forms of aerobic exercise to reduce intraocular pressure (lOP) has been reported. This investigation studied the effects on lOP due to physical exercise on a short-term basis. Thirteen adult subjects enrolled in an aerobic dance class were measured once a week, before and after a one-hour exercise session, for lOP, systolic, and diastolic blood pressures. A second group consisted of five adults taking a relaxation therapy class. The same measurements were collected from these subjects. For both groups, measurements were obtained over five weeks. Results from two factor analysis of variance for each individual group showed no significant decrease in lOP or blood pressures at the p \u3c .05 level. It was therefore concluded that neither short term exercise programs such as aerobic dancing nor relaxation therapy could alter lOP or blood pressures significantly under the conditions existent in this study

The Molecular Nature and Replication of R Factor 222 in Proteus Mirabilis

The molecular nature and replicative behavior of R factor 222 was examined in Proteus mirabilis . In deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA} from R+ P. mirabilis , R factor 222 was identified by CsCl density gradient centrifugation as 2 satellite DNA bands at densities corresponding to 50 and 58 moles percent guanine plus cytosine (% GC) . Replication of the 50 and 58% GC components of R factor 222 in P. mirabilis was analyzed during growth in the presence and absence of chloramphenicol (CAM} and after shifting exponentialand stationary- phase cells to conditions which inhibit host protein or DNA synthesis . CAM reduced the cellular growth rate but increased the amount of both R factor components relative to host chromosomal DNA . However, the 58% GC component showed a larger proportionate increase. This was inferred to indicate reduced synthesis of an inhibitor that acts on both R factor components and an initiator required for replication of the 50% GC component . Replicative patterns observed after shifting exponential- and stationary-phase cel ls grown with or without CAM to minimal medium or CAM for one generation, or puromycin for 3 hr , corroborated this interpretation. After shifts of exponential- phase cells from either medium, replication of the 50% GC components parallel ed host replication, thus indicating a requirement for protein synthesis . Under these conditions , replication of the 58% GC replicon increased due to reduced inhibitor synthesis . R factor DNA content remained constant after shifting stationary- phase cells from drug-free medium, whereas increased replication of the 58% GC component occurred after identical shifts of CAM- grown cells of the same chronological age. This indicated that effective concentrations of the regulatory inhibitor were attained in the stationary-phase cells grown in drug-free medium . Similar responses were observed after shifts to 5 C or to medium containing streptomycin or tetracycline . Absence of replication of the 50% GC component after shifting to medium containing nalidixic acid or phenethyl alcohol and the hereditary persistence of this replicon during growth indicated that the 50% GC replicon was attached to the membrane . Thus , in P . mirabilis the three replicons of R factor 222 are regulated as follows : the composite R factor and transfer portion (RTF) replicons , represented by the 50% GC component, require protein synthesis and membrane attachment for replication and are negatively regulated by an inhibitor ; the 58% GC or resistance determinant s replicon exists cytoplasmically and is subject only to negative replicative control . The unusually low hyper chromic shift and the abnormal buoyant density shifts in CsCl observed after thermal denaturation of R f actor DNA indicated an abnormal chemical composition . DNA from P. mirabilis harboring R factor 222 was examined chromatographically after enzymatic and chemical hydrolyses . Preliminary results indicated the presence of an unusual chemical component in R factor DNA which reacts positively to carbohydrate development and possesses chromatographic and spectrophotometric properties similar to 5-hydroxymethyl cytosine

Transcytosis of Listeria monocytogenes across the intestinal barrier upon specific targeting of goblet cell accessible E-cadherin

Listeria monocytogenes targets accessible E-cadherin expressed on mucus-producing goblet cells to invade the intestinal tissue

Contribution of TAT System Translocated PhoX to Campylobacter jejuni Phosphate Metabolism and Resilience to Environmental Stresses

Campylobacter jejuni is a common gastrointestinal pathogen that colonizes food animals; it is transmitted via fecal contamination of food, and infections in immune-compromised people are more likely to result in serious long-term illness. Environmental phosphate is likely an important sensor of environmental fitness and the ability to obtain extracellular phosphate is central to the bacteria's core metabolic responses. PhoX is the sole alkaline phosphatase in C. jejuni, a substrate of the TAT transport system. Alkaline phosphatases mediate the hydrolytic removal of inorganic phosphate (Pi) from phospho-organic compounds and thereby contribute significantly to the polyphosphate kinase 1 (ppk1) mediated formation of poly P, a molecule that regulates bacterial response to stresses and virulence. Similarly, deletion of the tatC gene, a key component of the TAT system, results in diverse phenotypes in C. jejuni including reduced stress tolerance and in vivo colonization. Therefore, here we investigated the contribution of phoX in poly P synthesis and in TAT-system mediated responses. The phoX deletion mutant showed significant decrease (P<0.05) in poly P accumulation in stationary phase compared to the wild-type, suggesting that PhoX is a major contributor to the inorganic phosphate pool in the cell which is essential for poly P synthesis. The phoX deletion is sufficient for a nutrient stress defect similar to the defect previously described for the ΔtatC mutant. Additionally, the phoX deletion mutant has increased resistance to certain antimicrobials. The ΔphoX mutant was also moderately defective in invasion and intracellular survival within human intestinal epithelial cells as well as in chicken colonization. Further, the ΔphoX mutant produced increased biofilm that can be rescued with 1 mM inorganic phosphate. The qRT-PCR of the ΔphoX mutant revealed transcriptional changes that suggest potential mechanisms for the increased biofilm phenotype