OBJECTIVE To determine how symmetric (proportionate; SGR) and asymmetric (disproportionate; AGR) growth restriction influence growth and development in preterms from birth to 4 years. METHODS This community-based cohort study of 810 children comprised 86 SGR, 61 AGR, and 663 non-growth restricted (NGR) preterms, born in 2002 and 2003. Symmetrical growth restriction was defined as a birth weig...

The synthesis of protein A in Staphylococcus aureus is regulated by global regulatory loci such as sar and agr. Phenotypic data indicate that both sar and agr suppress protein A synthesis; like agr, sar also regulates protein A production at the transcriptional level. To determine the genetic requirement of sar in protein A suppression, we transformed shuttle plasmids containing various sar fra...

We present a simple assay to examine effects of compounds on virulence gene expression in the human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus. The assay employs transcriptional reporter strains carrying lacZ fused to central virulence genes. Compounds affecting virulence gene expression and activity of the agr locus are scored based on color change in the presence of a chromogenic beta-galactosidase subst...

Serum lipoproteins (LP) are increasingly being recognized as dual purpose molecules that contribute to both cholesterol homeostasis and host innate defense. In fact, very low LP levels are associated with increased risk of bacterial infection in critically ill patients. In this respect, we reported that apolipoprotein B100 (apoB100), the 4536 amino acid structural protein of very low density li...

Objective(s): In the current research, the prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus clones and genes encoding antimicrobial resistance and toxins were examined among 120 S. aureus strains from nosocomial infections in tehran, Iran.Materials and Methods: Antimicrobial susceptibility was examined, based on disk diffusion and PCR method to identify resistance and toxin-encoding genes. Based on the poly...

Staphylococcal food poisoning (SFP) is a common cause of foodborne illness worldwide, and enterotoxin D (SED) is one of the most frequent Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxins associated with it. It has been reported that the expression and formation of SED in S. aureus is regulated by the quorum sensing Agr system. In this study, the effect of agr deletion on sed expression in S. aureus grown on ...

Objective To investigate the role of the acute glucagon response in the long-term remission of newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus following short-term intensive insulin therapy (IIT). Methods Ten patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus received IIT. Intravenous glucose tolerance tests and the clamp technique were performed pre- and post-IIT. Remission was defined as mainten...

Infections with the leading nosocomial pathogen Staphylococcus epidermidis are characterized by biofilm development on indwelling medical devices. We demonstrate that the quorum-sensing regulator agr affects the biofilm development of S. epidermidis in an unexpected fashion and is likely involved in promoting biofilm detachment. An isogenic agr mutant showed increased biofilm development and co...

This project concerns the design and fabrication of the Automated Guided Robot (AGR) prototype, utilizing genetic algorithm (GA) as a mainframe in helping the robot to generate a self-understanding of the area of work and mobilization to a destination desired by the user. The main objective of this project is to create and develop a Path Planning Mobile Robot able to avoid obstacles in its path...

sae is a two-component signal transduction system in Staphylococcus aureus that regulates the expression of many virulence factors at the transcriptional level and appears to act synergistically with agr in some cases. In this study, the interactions between sae and agr have been characterized in some detail. It was found that the sae locus is larger and more complex than originally envisioned,...