Identity Scores Research Articles

Gracilibacillus oryzae sp. nov., isolated from rice seeds.

A Gram-stain-positive, facultatively anaerobic, endospore-forming bacterium, designated strain TD8T, was isolated from surface-sterilized rice seeds (Oryza sativa L.). Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene indicated that strain TD8T should be placed within the genus Gracilibacillus (95.2-99.0 % sequence similarity); it exhibited highest similarities to Gracilibacillus ureilyticus CGMCC 1.7727T (99.0 %), 'Gracilibacillus xinjiangensis' CGMCC 1.12449T (98.9 %) and Gracilibacillus dipsosauri CGMCC 1.3642T (97.5 %). Chemotaxonomic analysis showed that menaquinone-7 (MK-7) was the major isoprenoid quinone. Diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol and one unidentified phospholipid were the major cellular polar lipids, and the major fatty acids were anteiso-C15 : 0, anteiso-C17 : 0, iso-C15 : 0, C16 : 0 and iso-C16 : 0, which supported the allocation of the strain to the genus Gracilibacillus. The digital DNA-DNA hybridization value between strain TD8T and Gracilibacillus ureilyticus CGMCC 1.7727T was lower than 70 % (22.60 %), and the average nucleotide identity score was 79.54±5.09 %, suggesting that strain TD8T represented a novel species in the genus Gracilibacillus. The genomic DNA G+C content was 37.5 %. Based on physiological and biochemical characteristics and genotypic data, strain TD8T represents a novel species of the genus Gracilibacillus, for which the name Gracilibacillus oryzae sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is TD8T (=ACCC 61556T=CICC 24889T=JCM 33537T).

CoreCruncher: Fast and Robust Construction of Core Genomes in Large Prokaryotic Data Sets

The core genome represents the set of genes shared by all, or nearly all, strains of a given population or species of prokaryotes. Inferring the core genome is integral to many genomic analyses, however, most methods rely on the comparison of all the pairs of genomes; a step that is becoming increasingly difficult given the massive accumulation of genomic data. Here, we present CoreCruncher; a program that robustly and rapidly constructs core genomes across hundreds or thousands of genomes. CoreCruncher does not compute all pairwise genome comparisons and uses a heuristic based on the distributions of identity scores to classify sequences as orthologs or paralogs/xenologs. Although it is much faster than current methods, our results indicate that our approach is more conservative than other tools and less sensitive to the presence of paralogs and xenologs. CoreCruncher is freely available from: https://github.com/lbobay/CoreCruncher. CoreCruncher is written in Python 3.7 and can also run on Python 2.7 without modification. It requires the python library Numpy and either Usearch or Blast. Certain options require the programs muscle or mafft.

Microlunatus elymi sp. nov., a novel actinobacterium isolated from rhizospheric soil of the wild plant Elymus tsukushiensis.

An actinobacterial strain, designated KUDC0627T, was isolated from rhizospheric soil that contained Elymus tsukushiensis on the Dokdo Islands, Republic of Korea. Cells were Gram-stain-positive, facultative anaerobic, non-motile and non-endospore-forming cocci. Results of phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain KUDC0627T belongs to the genus Microlunatus and is most closely related to Microlunatus soli DSM 21800T (98.5 %), Microlunatus endophyticus DSM 100019T (97.7 %) and Microlunatus ginsengisoli Gsoil 633T (96.5 %). The average nucleotide identity scores and average amino acid identity values were all below the 95.0 % cut-off point. In silico DNA-DNA hybridization, using the Genome-to-Genome Distance Calculator, estimated that there is 22.3 % DNA relatedness between KUDC0627T and M. soli DSM 21800T. The genomic DNA G+C content was 66.9 mol%. The major menaquinone was MK-9(H4) and the major diagnostic diamino acid in the cell-wall peptidoglycan was ll-diaminopimelic acid. The polar lipid profile included diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, unidentified phospholipids, unidentified glycolipids and unidentified lipids. The major cellular fatty acids were iso-C15 : 0, anteiso-C15 : 0 and iso-C16 : 0. Based on phenotypic, chemotaxonomic, and phylogenetic data, strain KUDC0627T (=KCTC 39853T=JCM 32702T) represents a novel species, for which the name Microlunatus elymi sp. nov. is proposed.

Research on the influencing factors of Chinese medicine cultural identity of international students in Chinese medicine schools

In order to explore the influencing factors of Chinese medicine cultural identity of international students from Chinese medicine schools. The paper questionnaire survey was conducted among overseas students with academic degrees from nine Chinese medicine colleges by means of convenient sampling, and the data were analyzed by multiple linear regression. In conclusion, the mean of Chinese medicine cultural identity score of international students from Chinese medicine colleges was (3.80±0.70), Chinese medicine cultural identity that there are statistically significant differences in the four variables: whether Chinese or not, motivation of studying abroad, medical training and home medicine (p< 0.05). Conclusion: The motivation of studying abroad is an important factor affecting the cultural identity of Chinese medicine for international students in China, and Colleges of Chinese medicine should enhance the education and guidance of cultural identity of Chinese medicine for international students in China.

Chitinophaga solisilvae sp. nov., isolated from forest soil.

A Gram-stain-negative, strictly aerobic, non-motile and rod-shaped bacterial strain, O9T, was isolated from a forest soil sample collected at Dai, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province, PR China. Strain O9T grew optimally at pH 7.0, at 28‒30 °C and in the absence of NaCl. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis placed strain O9T within the genus Chitinophaga of the family Chitinophagaceae, with Chitinophaga terrae KP01T (97.8 %), Chitinophaga jiangningensis JN53T (97.7 %), Chitinophaga niastensis JS16-4T (97.4 %), Chitinophaga qingshengii JN246T (97.3 %) and Chitinophaga dinghuensis DHOC24T (97.3 %) as its closest relatives. Strain O9T hydrolysed casein, gelatin and Tween 80. It could not assimilate l-arabinose, l-rhamnose, sucrose, melibiose, gentiobiose or d-fructose as a carbon source. It was negative for esterase lipase (C8) and β-glucosidase. Phosphatidylethanolamine was the predominant polar lipid. The major respiratory quinone of strain O9T was MK-7. Its major fatty acids were iso-C15:0 (34.2 %), C16:1 ω5c (20.9 %) and iso-C17:0 3-OH (12.6 %). The genomic DNA G+C content of strain O9T was 49.0 mol% based on total genome calculations. The average nucleotide identity score between the genomic sequence of strain O9T and that of Chitinophaga terrae KP01T was 72.9%. The Genome-to-Genome Distance Calculator showed that DNA‒DNA hybridization values for strain O9T and Chitinophaga terrae KP01T were 13.6, 21.1 and 14.4%, respectively. Based on the polyphasic taxonomic data, strain O9T represents a novel species of the genus Chitinophaga, for which the name Chitinophaga solisilvae sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is O9T (=CGMCC 1.12462T=KCTC 32404T).

Measuring teacher identity during the transition from medical school to residency

Residents undergo professional identity formation during training, and the integration of a teacher identity into that of a clinician is part of this process. We aimed to measure the teacher identity of incoming interns of various specialties. In this cross-sectional, survey-based study, we modified a validated teacher identity scale and distributed it to residents attending orientation at a large, academic institution. A total of 297 residents took the survey, including 272 interns; 80% (218/272) of interns completed the survey and permitted use of their data. The mean score for global teacher identity was 4.16 (SD 0.67) on a 1 to 5 Likert scale. There were significant differences between interns’ current self-assessed teaching abilities and their desired future performance as teachers (P < 0.001 for all domains). Male interns had higher global teacher identity scores (4.27) than female interns (4.05; P = 0.02). There were no differences in global teacher identity between interns in medical, surgical, and supportive specialties. Interns who had participated in a student-as-teacher program in medical school had higher global teacher identity (P < 0.001) than those who had not. In conclusion, teacher identity is high in incoming interns, with higher scores in men and in those who completed student-as-teacher programs in medical school.

Development of the Life After Sports Transition (LAST) Online Course for Collegiate Student-Athletes: Pretest-Posttest Study

Transitioning into athletic retirement can have negative impacts on college student-athletes’ psychological, social, emotional, and physical well-being, yet few educational programs exist to help augment college student-athlete preparation for embracing life after sports. The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate a new Life After Sports Transition (LAST) online course for college student athletes. A single group pretest-post-test study evaluated effects of the LAST course among a convenience sample of college student-athletes (n=10) attending a NCAA Division I university. Paired sample t-tests examined changes in athletic identity, psychological well-being, hope, and self-reflection/insight. Propensity score matching (PSM) of pretest scores and age was used to reduce effects of the pretest differences in the small sample. At posttest, participants were also asked to assess the overall quality of the online LAST course. There was a decrease observed in athletic identity scores from pretest to posttest which approached statistical significance (P=.06). PSM analyses indicated that participants with higher GPA scores had significantly higher environmental mastery (b=2.28, SE=0.49, Pb=2.78, SE=1.20, P=.02, 95% CI: 0.42 to 5.14) scores at post-test than participants with lower GPA scores. However, contrary to our hypotheses, participants also reported lower scores on self-reflection/insight (P=.004, Hedges g = 1.65) and self-acceptance (P=.042, Hedges’ g = 0.93) at post-test. Despite these counter intuitive findings, participants rated the LAST course highly on most distance education quality dimensions. While student-athlete participation in the LAST course was associated with a decline in athletic identity, findings suggest that future life after sports programs focus more on introspective mediators of lifestyle change (i.e., self-reflection and self-acceptance) in order to foster more positive life transitions for college student-athletes.

Molecular Detection of Some Anaplasma Species in Blood of Dogs in Baghdad Province, Iraq

A total of 150 blood samples were collected from dogs and examined by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique, which was used to detect the 16S RNA gene of Anaplasma platys and Anaplasma phagocytophilum. Subsequent analysis of the PCR amplicons was achieved by nucleotides sequencing of some positive samples. Totally, the findings show the presence of PCR products (i.e., Anaplasma spp. infection) in 12/150 (8.0%) of the dogs under study. While 5/150 (3.33%) of the cases were A. platys, 7/150 (4.66%) were A. phagocytophilum. Nucleotide sequencing confirmed the identity of the amplified genes whose sequences were compared with other references belong to 15 of 16S rRNA gene of A. platys and 14 references of 16S rRNA gene of A. phagocytophilum, and the isolate sequences of this study were deposited on the Gene Bank. The identity and similarity scores between the isolates of this study and reference strains ranged from 98 to 99%. In conclusion, canine anaplasmosis prevalence in dogs could be underestimated in Iraq, and the phylogenetic tree of the local A. platys and A. phagocytophilum isolates were found to resemble other worldwide strains of Anaplasma spp. with a high degree of similarity.

An exploratory mixed methods approach to implicit and explicit identification with non-suicidal self-injury

Background and objectivesIdentification with non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is uniquely related to NSSI behavior and predicts future NSSI. This exploratory, mixed methods study used implicit and explicit approaches to further understanding of NSSI identity. Methods: Participants included 15 treatment-seeking adults (60% female, 87% Caucasian) with lifetime NSSI. Participant age ranged from 19 to 38 years (M = 25.33, SD = 6.10). Implicit tasks were completed at two time points in a test-retest design, followed by a qualitative interview. ResultsQualitative data suggest that explicit NSSI identity is relevant to some individuals with NSSI history. Mixed methods analyses indicate that individuals who explicitly identify with NSSI have stronger implicit NSSI identities than those who do not, and report more methods of NSSI on average. LimitationsResults are novel, although exploratory in nature due to the sample size, and may not be generalizable to non-clinical samples or individuals currently engaging in NSSI. ConclusionsIndividuals with stronger explicit identity evidence higher implicit identity scores, suggesting a potential higher risk profile for future NSSI. This study offers further support for the value of including both implicit and explicit assessment of NSSI identity in risk assessment.

The results of rice germplasm EDV test by genomic analysis and related discussions

It is a matter of fact that essentially derived varieties (EDV) exist in rice breeding in China, which impact breeding innovation negatively. This study explores the potential of using identity score (IS) method, which was originally developed by animal breeding and population genetic society, in determining essentially deviated rice male sterile (MS) lines released by “two-way hybrid rice system”. Six MS lines plus a control line, Nongken 58, which is an autonomous mutation donor of Nongken 58S, are analyzed with IS. Our results show that IS can determine similarity between rice lines to a very good level, with superiority on genome-wide coverage and accuracy when compared with NYT 1433-2007, which is the present rice authenticity standard. It is noteworthy that the 2 EDV lines identified by our study show enough polymorphisms when tested by simple sequence repeat (SSR), which suggests that it should call for challenges for SSR based authenticity test as required by the present national standards. Discussions on how to push forward rice breeding with implementation of IS are also covered.

Expression profiling and in silico homology modeling of Inositol pentakisphosphate 2-kinase, a potential candidate gene for low phytate trait in soybean.

Low phytate soybeans are desirable both from a nutritional and economic standpoint. Inositol 1, 3, 4, 5, 6-pentakisphosphate 2-kinase (IPK1), optimizes the metabolic flux of phytate generation in soybean and thus shows much promise as a likely candidate for pathway regulation. In the present study, the differential spatial and temporal expression profiling of GmIpk1 and its two homologs Glyma06g03310 and Glyma04g03310 were carried out in Glycine max L. var Pusa 9712 revealing the early stages of seed development to be the potential target for gene manipulation. NCBI databank was screened using BLASTp to retrieve 32 plant IPK1 sequences showing high homology to GmIPK1 and its homologs. Bio-computational tools were employed to predict the protein's properties, conserved domains, and secondary structures. Using state-of-the-art in silico physicochemical approach, the three-dimensional (3D) GmIPK1 protein model (PMD ID-PM0079931), was developed based on Arabidopsis thaliana (PDB ID: 4AQK). Superimposition of 4AQK and best model of GmIPK1 revealed that the GmIPK1 aligned well and shows a sequence identity score of 54.32% with 4AQK and a low RMSD of 0.163nm and almost similar structural features. The modeled structure was further refined considering the stereochemical geometry, energy and packing environment between the model and the template along with validation of its intrinsic dynamics. Molecular dynamics simulation studies of GmIPK1 were carried out to obtain structural insights and to understand the interactive behavior of this enzyme with ligands ADP and IP6. The results of this study provide some fundamental knowledge on the distinct mechanistic step performed by the key residues to elucidate the structure-function relationship of GmIPK1, as an initiative towards engineering "low phytate soybean".

SOME PSYCHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF ELITE HANDBALL PLAYERS IN CORRELATION WITH PLAYERS' MOTOR ABILITIES

Personality characteristics, problem-solving, movement speed, explosive leg power and correlations between them are essential topics in elite handball, although studies in these fields are relatively rare. The correlations between psychological characteristics, problem-solving abilities, and some motor abilities in two different age categories were researched. The sample included 41 female handball players, 24 of which were members of the senior national team, with an average age of 24.79 years (SD = 4.84 years), and 17 girls from the Slovenian youth national team, whose average age was 16.35 (SD = 0.70 years). The differences in age between groups were statistically significant (t = 8.42, p (t) = 0.00). Players’ psychological characteristics were examined with the Wartegg test, while the Runs Test (different sprints and vertical jumps) was used to assess players’ motor abilities. Identity has a significant negative (-0.61) correlation to CMJ - youth players with a lower identity score jumped higher. Furthermore, rationalemotional integrity is also negatively correlated to CMJ (0.58). Results do not conclusively describe the correlation between problem-solving and movement speed among female handball players. No any statistically significant differences between youth and senior players were discovered. The test results are an essential contribution to a better understanding of the correlation between specific psychological characteristics and problem-solving in relation to movement speed and explosive leg power of youth and senior female elite handball players despite the fact that the correlations were not statistically significant. However, this was the first use of the Wartegg test in female handball.

CIPR: a web-based R/shiny app and R package to annotate cell clusters in single cell RNA sequencing experiments

BackgroundSingle cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) has provided invaluable insights into cellular heterogeneity and functional states in health and disease. During the analysis of scRNAseq data, annotating the biological identity of cell clusters is an important step before downstream analyses and it remains technically challenging. The current solutions for annotating single cell clusters generally lack a graphical user interface, can be computationally intensive or have a limited scope. On the other hand, manually annotating single cell clusters by examining the expression of marker genes can be subjective and labor-intensive. To improve the quality and efficiency of annotating cell clusters in scRNAseq data, we present a web-based R/Shiny app and R package, Cluster Identity PRedictor (CIPR), which provides a graphical user interface to quickly score gene expression profiles of unknown cell clusters against mouse or human references, or a custom dataset provided by the user. CIPR can be easily integrated into the current pipelines to facilitate scRNAseq data analysis.ResultsCIPR employs multiple approaches for calculating the identity score at the cluster level and can accept inputs generated by popular scRNAseq analysis software. CIPR provides 2 mouse and 5 human reference datasets, and its pipeline allows inter-species comparisons and the ability to upload a custom reference dataset for specialized studies. The option to filter out lowly variable genes and to exclude irrelevant reference cell subsets from the analysis can improve the discriminatory power of CIPR suggesting that it can be tailored to different experimental contexts. Benchmarking CIPR against existing functionally similar software revealed that our algorithm is less computationally demanding, it performs significantly faster and provides accurate predictions for multiple cell clusters in a scRNAseq experiment involving tumor-infiltrating immune cells.ConclusionsCIPR facilitates scRNAseq data analysis by annotating unknown cell clusters in an objective and efficient manner. Platform independence owing to Shiny framework and the requirement for a minimal programming experience allows this software to be used by researchers from different backgrounds. CIPR can accurately predict the identity of a variety of cell clusters and can be used in various experimental contexts across a broad spectrum of research areas.

Closeness of relationship to LGBTQ individuals is associated with increases in ally identity and behavior

Previous research studies have indicated that intergroup contact between heterosexuals and lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals has been associated with more positive feelings about and understanding of the LGB community. The current study examined how closeness of that intergroup contact between heterosexual, cisgender students and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) peers would relate with LGB ally identity and behaviors. Three hundred fifty-three heterosexual, cisgender college students answered questions about their ally identity, knowledge, and behaviors. Close friendships but not coworker-acquaintance relationships with LGBTQ individuals were associated with higher LGB ally identity and behavior measure scores when compared with students who had no such relationships. In the long term, ally relationships can contribute to making the environment safer for LGBTQ people, including students, who may then feel more comfortable to come out. With more out LGBTQ people, close friendships may develop between LGBTQ people and heterosexuals, which could contribute to allyhood.

An Implementation of Three-level Multi-objective ABC Algorithm for RNA Multiple Structural Alignment

Background: Structural alignment of ribose nucleic acid (RNA) is one of the most challenging multi-objective real world problems from the field of bioinformatics. Objective: RNA molecules are less stable; hence they require inclusion of most stable secondary structure during their alignment. Therefore, the structural alignment requires the consideration of similarity score and structure score, as two objectives. Trade-off between these two objectives exists since obtaining optimum similarity score at concurrent optimum structure score is not possible. This paper presents artificial bee colony algorithm based three level multi-objective approach for performing structural alignment of RNA sequences, namely MO-3LABC. Methods: Algorithm firstly builds the secondary structure of all sequences at minimum free energy (MFE). Then sequence alignment is performed in level one at average percent sequence identity (APSI) score based gap length, optimized by ABC algorithm. Level two now builds the secondary structure of these aligned sequences based on base-pair probability and co-variation. Now the scores of level one and level two move towards level three for multi-objective optimization at Pareto optimality criteria with few additional strategies. Results: The results of MO-3LABC are compared with an already established efficient strategy MO-TLPSO; multi-objective two level strategy based on particle swarm optimization. The outputs are compared for pairwise and multiple sequence alignment datasets at prediction accuracy and solution quality criteria. Conclusion: MO-3LABC is found significantly better than MO-TLPSO at all the four evaluation criteria for both the datasets.

Research on the correlations of structural empowerment, psychological empowerment and professional identity of clinical nurses

Objective To investigate the status of clinical nurses′ professional identity, structural empowerment and psychological empowerment, analyze the correlation between professional identity and structural empowerment and psychological empowerment, and establish a multiple stepwise regression model to discuss the dependence between professional identity and structural empowerment and psychological empowerment in clinical nurses. Methods A total of 1 008 clinical nurses from Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, the Affiliated Hospital of Medical School of Nanjing University were selected as the subject by using the convenience sampling method. The General Information Questionnaire, Professional Identity Scale, Conditions of Work Effectiveness Scale, and Psychological Empowerment Scale were used to questionnaire. Results The professional identity of nurses was at medium level (104.49±19.54), the total scores of structural and psychological empowerment of nurses were 60.09±13.49 and 42.59±7.31. Correlation analysis showed that the total score of professional identity of clinical nurses was positively correlated with the total score of structural empowerment, psychological empowerment and theirs dimensions (r values were 0.436-0.715, P<0.01). Multivariate stepwise regression results showed that the nurse working years, health status self-assessment, formal empowerment, informal empowerment, work meaning, self-efficacy, work influence was the main influencing factors of nurses professional identity, which explained 60.5% of the total variation. Conclusions Nursing managers should focus on the professional identity of clinical nurses, by optimizing the management organizational structure and pay attention to the perception of empowerment behavior to improve the comprehensive empowerment level, so as to enhance the professional identity of nurses. Key words: Nurses; Professional identity; Structural empowerment; Psychological empowerment

Practice and effectiveness of improving nursing quality in primary hospitals under the model of overall trusteeship

Objective To explore the application effect of high quality nursing resources sinking in primary hospitals nursing quality management under the model of overall trusteeship. Methods In January 2017, through the establishment of a nursing custody assistance team, high-quality nursing resources were integrated to sink to the primary hospitals (Ningbo Daxie Development Zone Hospital) , improving the nursing management system and nursing quality control three-level system, strengthening nursing quality supervision, performance assessment and diversified training of nursing talents. The quality of care, nurse bedside comprehensive ability, nurse job satisfaction, professional identity, and patient satisfaction before and after trusteeship for 2 years were observed and compared. Results After 2 years of trusteeship, the scores of nursing quality in all dimensions and total score were significantly higher than those before the trusteeship, and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05) . After 2 years of trusteeship, nurse bedside comprehensive ability and job satisfaction of the nurses were significantly higher than those before the trusteeship (χ2=16.97, 40.08; P<0.01) . After 2 years of trusteeship, the scores of professional identity in all dimensions and total score were higher than those before the trusteeship, and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.01) . After 2 years of trusteeship, the patient satisfaction was higher than that before the trusteeship, and the difference was statistically significant (χ2=30.40, P<0.01) . Conclusions Under the overall trusteeship mode, high-quality nursing resources are sunk into primary hospitals, and scientific nursing management and talent training innovation mode are implemented, which effectively improve the nursing quality of the trusteeship hospital, improve the job satisfaction of nurses and patients' satisfaction, and promote the sustainable development of the trusteeship hospital. Key words: Nursing administration research; Nursing quality; Trusteeship hospital; Professional identity; Job satisfaction

Polyphasic Characterisation of Cedecea colo sp. nov., a New Enteric Bacterium Isolated from the Koala Hindgut.

The Cedecea genus is comprised of six rarely isolated species within the Enterobacteriaceae family. Representatives are Gram-negative motile bacilli, and are typically oxidase-negative, lipase-positive and resistant to colistin and cephalothin. In this study, a putative novel Cedecea species (designated strain ZA_0188T), isolated from the koala hindgut, was characterised using a polyphasic taxonomic approach. Maximum average nucleotide identity (ANI) and 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) similarity scores well below thresholds of species demarcation were reported, at 81.1% and 97.9%, respectively. Multilocus phylogenetic analysis indicated strain ZA_0188T was most similar to but divergent from recognised Cedecea species. The isolate’s genomic G+C content was determined as 53.0 mol%, >1% lower than previously reported in Cedecea. Phenotypically, strain ZA_0188T was distinct from recognised Cedecea species such as colistin- and cephalothin-sensitive, lipase-, sorbitol-, sucrose-, and Voges-Proskauer-negative, and melibiose-, arabinose-, arginine-, and rhamnose-positive. In preliminary experiments, strain ZA_0188T exhibited cellulase activity and high-level tolerance to eucalyptus oil compared to other enteric species surveyed. Collectively, these findings suggest that strain ZA_0188T represents a novel enteric species, for which the name Cedecea colo is proposed.

Prior Surgery Negatively Affects Cell Culture Identity in Patients Undergoing Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation

Background: Recently, a cell identity assay has been introduced to evaluate the identity of cultured chondrocytes before autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI), which was shown to be associated with graft survival after ACI. Purpose: To identify the influence of several patient- and lesion-specific factors on cell identity and viability assays. Study Design: Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: A total of 187 patients with second-generation ACI were included in this study. Patient and lesion characteristics, cell viability, cell identity, and biopsy specimen weight were recorded for each patient. A binomial logistic regression model was utilized to determine patient-specific predictive factors for cell product quality. Results: The implanted ACI cell products showed a cell viability of 93% ± 2.4% (mean ± SD; range, 84-98) with an identity score of 5.8 ± 2.1 (range, –0.08 to 9.46). Patients with multiple previous surgical procedures on the index knee had significantly lower cell identity scores when compared with patients without previous surgery (odds ratio = 0.31; 95% CI, 0.16-0.59; P < .001). Patients without surgical history had significantly higher cell identity scores than patients with 1 and ≥2 previous surgical procedures on the index knee (6.32 vs 5.32 vs 5.05; P = .006 and P < .001, respectively). Cell viability was not predicted by any preoperative variable (P > .05). Cell identity and viability were not associated with each other or with biopsy specimen weight (P > .05). Conclusion: Cartilage biopsy specimens from patients with ≥1 previous surgical procedures resulted in implants with lower cell identity scores when compared with patients without previous operations. None of the other patient- or lesion-specific factors were correlated, specifically biopsy specimen weight.

Identification and characterization of the first endogenous phospholipase A2 inhibitor from a non-venomous tropical snake, Boa constrictor (Serpentes: Boidae).

Background: Endogenous phospholipase A2 inhibitors from snake blood (sbPLIs) have been isolated from several species around the world, with the primary function of self-protection against the action of toxic phospholipases A2. In American snakes, sbPLIs were solely described in pit vipers, in which the natural protection role is justified. In this study, we described a sbPLI in Boa constrictor (popularly known as jiboia), a non-venomous snake species from America.Methods: PLA2 inhibitory activity was tested in the blood plasma of B. constrictor using C. d. terrificus venom as the enzyme source. Antibodies developed against CNF, a sbγPLI from Crotalus durissus terrificus, were used to investigate the presence of homologues in the blood plasma of B. constrictor. A CNF-like molecule with a PLA2 inhibitory activity was purified by column chromatography. The encoding gene for the inhibitor was cloned from B. constrictor liver tissue. The DNA fragment was cloned, purified and sequenced. The deduced primary sequence of interest was aligned with known sbγPLIs from the literature.Results: The blood plasma of B. constrictor displayed PLA2 inhibitory activity. A CNF-like molecule (named BcNF) was identified and purified from the blood plasma of B. constrictor. Basic properties such as molecular mass, composing amino acids, and pI were comparable, but BcNF displayed reduced specific activity in PLA2 inhibition. BcNF showed highest identity scores (ISs) with sbγPLIs from pit vipers from Latin America (90-100%), followed by gamma inhibitors from Asian viperid (80-90%). ISs below 70% were obtained for BcNF and non-venomous species from Asia.Conclusion: A functional sbγPLI (BcNF) was described in the blood plasma of B. constrictor. BcNF displayed higher primary identity with sbγPLIs from Viperidae than to sbγPLIs from non-venomous species from Asia. The physiological role played by sbγPLIs in non-venomous snake species remains to be understood. Further investigation is needed.