Staphylococcal protein A (Spa) is an important virulence factor of Staphylococcus aureus. Transcription of the spa determinant occurs during the exponential growth phase and is repressed when the cells enter the postexponential growth phase. Regulation of spa expression has been found to be complicated, with regulation involving multiple factors, including Agr, SarA, SarS, SarT, Rot, and MgrA. ...

OBJECTIVES We aimed to evaluate a wide spectrum of clinical features of adult patients with spondyloarthritis (SpA) whose initial manifestation was fever, using the Assessment of SpondyloArthritis international Society (ASAS) classification criteria. METHODS We retrospectively collected the electronic medical records of hospitalized SpA patients who initially presented to the Severance Hospit...

Background: The aim of this study is to measure the level of radon gas in the thermal springs of the four seasons in the Black Sea Region and to determine the gamma activity levels in the soils around them. Materials and Methods: Indoor radon activity concentrations of four spa facilities, namely Ladik, Havza, Ilıcaköy, and Ayder, were measured using CR-39 passive radon dosimeters and active ra...

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the practice performance of general practitioners (GPs) and GP residents in recognising and referring patients suspected for having axial or peripheral spondyloarthritis (SpA), and to investigate the influence of education on this performance. METHODS GP (residents) were visited in two rounds by standardised patients (SPs) simulating axial SpA, peripheral SpA or carpal ...

This paper subjects the GB parametric account of variation in Slavic numeral systems put forward in Franks (1995) to critical scrutiny from the perspective of minimalism. It is argued that the true nature of the variation lies in the case contexts in which QPs (phrases in which GEN-Q is assigned) can occur in the different languages. It is further argued that this variation is best understood i...

Storage protein activator (SPA) is a key regulator of the transcription of wheat (Triticum aestivum) grain storage protein genes and belongs to the Opaque2 transcription factor subfamily. We analyzed the sequence polymorphism of the three homoeologous Spa genes in hexaploid wheat. The level of polymorphism in these genes was high particularly in the promoter. The deduced protein sequences of ea...

Caloric restriction (CR) and metabolic glucoprivation affect spontaneous physical activity (SPA), but it's unknown whether these treatments similarly affect SPA in selectively bred obesity-prone (OP) and -resistant (OR) rats. OR rats have greater basal SPA and are more responsive to treatments that modulate SPA, such as orexin A administration. We hypothesized that OR rats would be more sensiti...

Objectives The study aimed to demonstrate the interethnic differences and clinical features of Spondyloarthropathy(SpA) patients in a diverse Middle Eastern Country. Methods A retrospective review of medical records to collect the required data was conducted for SpA patients at two study institutions in the United Arab Emirates. Results Of 141 SpA patients found, 88 AS(Ankylosing Spondyliti...

BACKGROUND Chronic low back pain (LBP), the leading symptom of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and undifferentiated axial spondyloarthritis (SpA), precedes the development of radiographic sacroiliitis, sometimes by many years. OBJECTIVE To assign disease probabilities and to develop an algorithm to help in the early diagnosis of axial SpA. METHODS Axial SpA comprises AS and undifferentiated SpA...

background: the aim was to compare the intensity of pain caused by suprapubic aspiration (spa) and urethral catheterization for urine sampling in premature infants. methods: a prospective randomized controlled design with 80 premature infants in alzahra university hospital, isfahan, iran was conducted. premature newborns who needed urine samples for microbiologic analysis were randomly assigned...