We studied polymorphism of penA (which encodes penicillin-binding protein 2) in 13 strains of Neisseria meningitidis susceptible to penicillin (pen(S)) and 12 strains with reduced susceptibility to penicillin (pen(I)). These strains differed in geographical origin. Serological and genetic typing showed that they were highly diverse and belonged to several genetic lineages. Restriction analysis ...

The uptake of insulin pen use has been slow in the United States, despite their advantages over the vial/ syringe. We present results of a United States subset of 150 patients with type 1/type 2 diabetes, who were enrolled in an open-label study, that assessed usability, pen features, and patient preferences for four prefilled insulin pens: SoloSTAR, FlexPen, Lilly disposable pen, and a prototy...

The complex formation between mercury(II) and penicillamine (H(2)Pen = 3,3'-dimethyl cysteine) in alkaline aqueous solutions (pH approximately 2) has been investigated with extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) and 199Hg NMR spectroscopy. By varying the penicillamine concentration (C(H(2)Pen) = 0.2-1.25 M) in approximately 0.1 M Hg(II) solutions, two coexisting major species [Hg(Pen)...

This paper discusses the use of pen pressure as a feature in writer-independent on-line handwriting recognition. We propose two kinds of features related to pen pressure: one is the pressure representing pen ups and downs in a continuous manner; the other is the time-derivative of the pressure representing the temporal pattern of the pen pressure. Combining either of them with the existing feat...

Background: Epidemiologic studies have demonstrated an association between indoor fungal growth and respiratory symptoms. However, in only a few studies was fungal exposure actually measured. Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the measurement by enzyme immunoassay of extracellular polysaccharides of Aspergillus and Penicillium species (EPS-Asp/Pen) in house dust as a marker fo...

introduction: standard concentrations of antibiotics in culture media are thought to have no detectable toxic effects on the cultured cells. however, since antibiotics are biologically active substances, the possibility that they interfere to some extent with cellular processes occurring in the cultured cells can not always be totally excluded. this study, therefore, was conducted to assess whe...

BACKGROUND Self-administration of recombinant human follicle-stimulating hormone (r-hFSH) can be performed using injection pen devices by women undergoing assisted reproductive technology procedures. The objective of this study was to explore the use of the prefilled follitropin alfa pen in routine assisted reproductive technology procedures in Germany. METHODS This prospective, observational...

Relationships between air quality, a variety of environmental risk factors, and calf respiratory health were studied in 13 naturally ventilated calf barns during winter. A minimum of 12 preweaned calves were randomly selected and scored for the presence of respiratory disease in each barn. An air sampling device was used to determine airborne bacteria colony-forming units per cubic meter (cfu/m...

Interactive displays involve the interfacing of a stimuli-responsive sensor with a visual human-readable response. Here, we describe a polymeric electroluminescence-based stimuli-responsive display method that simultaneously detects external stimuli and visualizes the stimulant object. This organic light-emitting board is capable of both sensing and direct visualization of a variety of conducti...