Virulence of the nosocomial pathogen Staphylococcus epidermidis is crucially linked to formation of adherent biofilms on artificial surfaces. Biofilm assembly is significantly fostered by production of a bacteria derived extracellular matrix. However, the matrix composition, spatial organization, and relevance of specific molecular interactions for integration of bacterial cells into the multil...

The authors tested the single and combined effects of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA genotypes on the phenotypes of systolic blood pressure (SBP) and weight, and their changes over 5 years in normotensive subjects living in Barbados. The nuclear genotypes were gender (Y chromosome), haptoglobin (HP), and group specific component (Gc). A mitochondrial genotype was chosen as a marker for maternal ...

A size selective nanorattle was formed by encapsulating soybean peroxidase (SBP) within a ZnS mesoporous hollow sphere. Once encapsulated within the mesoporous hollow sphere, the SBP remained active against molecules smaller than the 3 nm diameter of the mesopores in the shell wall, while molecules larger than the mesopores, which could not pass into the hollow sphere, did not interact with the...

The first known step in steroid hormone action is the association of the steroid with specific cytoplasmic steroid-binding proteins (SBP). Using a competitive binding assay, we detected, quantified, and partially characterized such a SBP in cytosol from glucocorticoid-sensitive human lymphoblastic leukemic blasts. The affinity of steroids for the SBP was directly related to their known killing ...

BACKGROUND/AIMS There is no nationwide population-based study for the long-term mortality after single episode of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) in cirrhotic patients. Our study showed the short-term and long-term mortalities, and identified the mortality risk of SBP. MATERIALS AND METHODS The National Health Insurance Database, derived from the Taiwan National Health Insurance progr...

BACKGROUND Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) provides relevant data about blood pressure over a 24-h period. The analysis of parameters to determine the blood pressure profile from these data is of great importance. OBJECTIVES To calculate areas under systolic and diastolic blood pressure curves (SBP-AUC/DBP-AUC) and compare with systolic and diastolic blood pressure load (SBPL/DBPL...

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to evaluate receiver operating characteristic curves to identify optimal cutoff values of exercise systolic blood pressure (SBP) using both peak SBP and relative SBP (peak SBP minus resting SBP) as predictors of future hypertension (HTN). METHODS Participants were 3,742 healthy normotensive men who underwent symptom-limited treadmill testing at baselin...

BACKGROUND Ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring is the reference standard for out-of-clinic BP measurement. Thresholds for identifying ambulatory hypertension (daytime systolic BP [SBP]/diastolic BP [DBP] ≥135/85 mm Hg, 24-hour SBP/DBP ≥130/80 mm Hg, and nighttime SBP/DBP ≥120/70 mm Hg) have been derived from European, Asian, and South American populations. We determined BP thresholds for ...

Declining systolic blood pressure (SBP) is common in very old age and is associated with adverse events, such as dementia. Knowledge of factors associated with SBP changes could explain the etiology of this decline in SBP. This study investigated longitudinal changes in socioeconomic factors, medical conditions, drug prescriptions, and assessments and their associations with SBP changes among v...