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At least 973 records · Page 54Linked to original sources

The complete genome sequence of the murine respiratory pathogen Mycoplasma pulmonis.

Mycoplasma pulmonis is a wall-less eubacterium belonging to the Mollicutes (trivial name, mycoplasmas) and responsible for murine respiratory diseases. The genome of strain UAB CTIP is composed of a single circular 963 879 bp chromosome with a G + C content of 26.6 mol%, i.e. the lowest reported among bacteria, Ureaplasma urealyticum apart. This genome contains 782 putative coding sequences (CDSs) covering 91.4% of its length and a function could be assigned to 486 CDSs whilst 92 matched the gene sequences of hypothetical proteins, leaving 204 CDSs without significant database match. The genome contains a single set of rRNA genes and only 29 tRNAs genes. The replication origin oriC was localized by sequence analysis and by using the G + C skew method. Sequence polymorphisms within stretches of repeated nucleotides generate phase-variable protein antigens whilst a recombinase gene is likely to catalyse the site-specific DNA inversions in major M.pulmonis surface antigens. Furthermore, a hemolysin, secreted nucleases and a glyco-protease are predicted virulence factors. Surprisingly, several of the genes previously reported to be essential for a self-replicating minimal cell are missing in the M.pulmonis genome although this one is larger than the other mycoplasma genomes fully sequenced until now.

Animals↗

A periodic pattern of mRNA secondary structure created by the genetic code.

Single-stranded mRNA molecules form secondary structures through complementary self-interactions. Several hypotheses have been proposed on the relationship between the nucleotide sequence, encoded amino acid sequence and mRNA secondary structure. We performed the first transcriptome-wide in silico analysis of the human and mouse mRNA foldings and found a pronounced periodic pattern of nucleotide involvement in mRNA secondary structure. We show that this pattern is created by the structure of the genetic code, and the dinucleotide relative abundances are important for the maintenance of mRNA secondary structure. Although synonymous codon usage contributes to this pattern, it is intrinsic to the structure of the genetic code and manifests itself even in the absence of synonymous codon usage bias at the 4-fold degenerate sites. While all codon sites are important for the maintenance of mRNA secondary structure, degeneracy of the code allows regulation of stability and periodicity of mRNA secondary structure. We demonstrate that the third degenerate codon sites contribute most strongly to mRNA stability. These results convincingly support the hypothesis that redundancies in the genetic code allow transcripts to satisfy requirements for both protein structure and RNA structure. Our data show that selection may be operating on synonymous codons to maintain a more stable and ordered mRNA secondary structure, which is likely to be important for transcript stability and translation. We also demonstrate that functional domains of the mRNA [5'-untranslated region (5'-UTR), CDS and 3'-UTR] preferentially fold onto themselves, while the start codon and stop codon regions are characterized by relaxed secondary structures, which may facilitate initiation and termination of translation.

3' Untranslated Regions↗

Cell-type-specific transcriptomics in chimeric models using transcriptome-based masks.

Regulatory networks involving different cell types control inflammation, morphogenesis and tissue homeostasis. Cell-type-specific transcriptional profiling offers a powerful tool for analyzing such cross-talk but is often hampered by mingling of cells within a tissue. Here, we present a novel method that performs cell-type-specific expression measurements without prior cell separation. This involves inter-species transplantation or chimeric co-culture models among which the human mouse system is frequently used. Here, we exploit the sufficiently divergent transcriptomes of human and mouse in conjunction with high-density oligonucleotide arrays. This required a masking procedure based on transcriptome databases and exhaustive fuzzy mapping of oligonucleotide probes onto these data. The approach was tested in a human-mouse experiment, demonstrating that we can efficiently measure species-specific transcriptional profiles in chimeric RNA samples without physically separating cells. Our results stress the importance of transcriptome databases with accurate 3' mRNA termination for computational prediction of accurate probe masks. We find that most human and mouse 3'-untranslated region contain unique stretches to allow for an effective control of cross-hybridization between the two species. This approach can be applied to xenograft models studying tumor-host interactions, morphogenesis or immune responses.

Animals↗

Objective evaluation of visual fatigue in VDU workers.

Prolonged work with visual display units (VDUs) may result in a wide range of subjective complaints of visual fatigue and somatic disorders. Accepted tests for measuring the physiological correlates of eye discomfort are lacking. In this study, we tested accommodation and convergence, which are most often linked experimentally with VDU work. The tests were carried out on 16 VDU and 13 control workers aged 24 to 43 years, before work at the beginning of the week (first examination) and again four days later at the end of the work day (second examination). The results in VDU workers showed that both accommodation and convergence range significantly decreased. In addition, those workers with powerful accommodative or convergence ranges at the initial examination had a higher decrease. We suggest that accommodation and convergence measurements can be used to evaluate visual fatigue objectively in VDU workers.

Accommodation, Ocular↗

Musculoskeletal problems among VDU workers in a Hong Kong bank.

A survey of musculoskeletal problems among visual display unit (VDU) users was carried out in a bank using a self-administered questionnaire. The prevalence of complaints in various body parts were: neck--31.4%, back 30.6%, shoulder--16.5%, hand and wrist--14.9% and arm--6.6%. Frequent users of VDU had significantly more musculoskeletal problems in the neck and shoulder regions than infrequent users. Individual musculoskeltal complaints were associated with various risk factors including personal attributes, working posture, repetitive movements and work station design. Back, neck and shoulder problems were more related to unfavourable working postures, white arm, hand and wrist problems were more affected by repetitive movements. Some risk factors for musculoskeletal problems were specifically related to the nature or design of VDU work. Modification of the workstation design and improvement in work organization should be able to reduce the prevalence of these disorders.

Adolescent↗

Musculoskeletal disorders and visual strain in intensive data processing workers.

BACKGROUND: This study was conducted for a UK Trade Union in response to increasing numbers of health complaints among intensive computer workers in a data processing environment. AIM: To estimate prevalence of musculoskeletal pain/discomfort and visual strain symptoms among data processing workers and to explore associations with work factors. METHODS: A self-report questionnaire was distributed to data processors (n = 175) and a control group (n = 129) in the same organization. RESULTS: Eighty-six per cent of data processors reported musculoskeletal pain/discomfort in the previous year, with the highest prevalence rate found for the neck (58%). The 12 month reported prevalence for visual strain symptoms was 47%, tired eyes (41%) was the most commonly reported symptom. In the last week, 56% reported pain/discomfort and 25% visual strain symptoms. Data processors reporting pain in the previous year were more likely to be dissatisfied with their jobs (P < 0.01), to report a lack of choice in deciding what they did at work (P < 0.02), to have insufficient time to complete work (P < 0.05) or to receive help from others when time was limited (P < 0.03). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of self-reported musculoskeletal pain/discomfort and visual strain symptoms was high among data processors. A systematic approach to risk reduction addressing organizational, psychosocial and physical work factors is required. This study has implications for reorganization of this and other intensive computer work, given the increasing requirement for intensive computing work in many industrial sectors. More research is needed to investigate interactions between job demands and support systems for these workers.

Adult↗

A laboratory evaluation of an auditory display designed to enhance intraoperative monitoring.

UNLABELLED: Encouraged by the popularity of the pulse oximeter pulse-tone, we developed and tested an auditory display of six physiologic variables. The display consisted of a cardiovascular sound triggered by every heartbeat (conveying heart rate) and a respiratory sound triggered by every breath (conveying respiratory rate). Attributes of the cardiovascular sound were modulated to convey hemoglobin saturation and blood pressure, and those of the respiratory sound were modulated to denote end-tidal CO(2) and tidal volume. Three display formats (auditory, visual, and combined) were compared. Fourteen anesthesia residents monitored dynamic displays of 6 variables to detect and identify 6 predefined events during 21 trials. An event occurred during each trial and the subject's task was to detect when it started and then identify the type of event. Subjects detected every event. They detected events more rapidly with the combined display (10.4 s) than with the visual (12.8 s) or auditory (13.0 s) displays. Subjects correctly identified events least often with the auditory display (60% versus visual 88% and combined 80%). They correctly identified events more quickly with the combined display than with the visual display. We conclude that, with little training, clinicians can successfully detect and identify simulated clinical events using an auditory display of six variables. IMPLICATIONS: We developed and tested an auditory display of multivariable clinical data. With little training, clinicians successfully used the display to detect and diagnose simulated critical events. This suggests that a multivariable auditory display could enhance intraoperative monitoring.

Adult↗

Visual display format affects the ability of anesthesiologists to detect acute physiologic changes. A laboratory study employing a clinical display simulator.

BACKGROUND: Anesthesiologists use data presented on visual displays to monitor patients' physiologic status. Although studies in nonmedical fields have suggested differential effects on performance among display formats, few studies have examined the effect of display format on anesthesiologist monitoring performance. METHODS: A computer-based clinical display simulator was developed to evaluate the efficacy of three currently used display formats (numeric, histogram, or polygon displays) in a partial-task laboratory simulation. The subjects' task consisted solely of detecting any changes in the values of the physiologic variables depicted on a simulated clinical display. Response latency and accuracy were used as measures of performance. RESULTS: Thirteen anesthesia residents and five nonmedical volunteers, were enrolled as subjects. Use of either the histogram or polygon displays significantly improved response latencies and allowed greater accuracy compared with the numeric display in the anesthesia residents. Neither response latency nor accuracy improved with additional exposure to these displays. In contrast, display format did not significantly affect response latency or accuracy in the nonmedical volunteers. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that graphic displays may enhance the detection of acute changes in patient physiologic status during anesthesia administration. This research also demonstrates the importance of assessing performance on clinical devices by studying actual users rather than random subjects. Further research is required to elucidate the display elements and characteristics that best support different aspects of the anesthesiologist's monitoring tasks.

Adult↗

Posture, please.

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Carpal Tunnel Syndrome↗

Clinical dashboards: impact on workflow, care quality, and patient safety.

There is a vast array of technical data that is continuously generated within the intensive care unit environment. In addition to physiological monitors, there is information being captured by the ventilator, intravenous infusion pumps, medication dispensing units, and even the patient's bed. The ability to retrieve and synchronize data is essential for both clinical documentation and real-time problem solving for individual patients and the intensive care unit population as a whole. Technical advances that permit the integration of all relevant data into a singular display or "dashboard" may improve staff efficiency, accelerate decisions, streamline workflow processes, and reduce oversights and errors in clinical practice. Critical care nurses must coordinate all aspects of care for one or more patients. Clinical data are constantly being retrieved, documented, analyzed, and communicated to others, all within the daily routine of nursing care. In addition, many bedside monitors and devices have alarms systems that must be evaluated throughout the workday, and actions taken on the basis of the patient's condition and other data. It is obvious that the complexity within such care processes presents many potential opportunities for overlooking important details. The capability to systematically and logically link physiological monitors and other selected data sets into a cohesive dashboard system holds tremendous promise for improving care quality, patient safety, and clinical outcomes in the intensive care unit.

Computer Terminals↗

Changing the delivery of nursing care. Implementation issues and qualitative findings.

Faced with a shortage of professional nurses, 37 hospitals in New Jersey implemented a variety of approaches to changing the delivery of nursing care. Implementation issues, including the positive and negative effects of the changes, are discussed. Most project coordinators reported that implementation was more difficult than they had anticipated.

Computer Terminals↗

Visual neural performance for chromatic displays.

Various subjective procedures have been used in the past to examine the visual disorders and ocular symptoms often associated with prolonged usage of Video Display Units (VDU's). We examined visual neural performance for VDU stimuli which differed in size (14, 21, or 28 min arc), chromaticity (white, red, green, or blue), and retinal clarity, by transient pattern visually evoked potentials (t-p VEP's). Such information could prove useful in the design of electro-optical display systems that optimize visual neural performance and minimize ocular fatigue. Stimuli consisted of "monochromatic" (W, R, G, or Blue on black) and "multichromatic" (Blue/R, Blue/G, and R/G) checkerboards with brightness-matched chromatic elements displayed on a high resolution RGB monitor at 40 and 80 cm. The ambient lighting level was 54 lux. Group-averaged amplitudes and implicit times of t-p VEP's from 20 visually normal subjects indicated a differential neural response across target colors and three experimentally induced levels of blur. For monochromatic stimuli, the Blue/Black targets elicited t-p VEP's with the lowest amplitude, longest implicit time, and greatest sensitivity to optical defocus. Increasing the target element size reduced the VEP sensitivity to defocus across all colors except red. For multichromatic targets, Red/Green targets elicited the most vulnerable t-p VEP's. Several optical and neural explanations are given to explain these results. Implications for VDU designs are presented.

Accommodation, Ocular↗

Tear characteristics of the VDU operator.

The volume and stability of the tear film was measured in a small group of Visual Display Unit (VDU) operators and a non-VDU operating group. Using noninvasive methods of tear measurement, we found no difference in precorneal tear film stability between the two groups; however, the tear volume of the VDU users was greater than in the non-VDU operating group. No relation was found to exist between precorneal tear film stability and tear volume.

Adult↗

Effect of visual display unit use on blink rate and tear stability.

In the literature, there is evidence supporting the notion that visual display unit (VDU) use decreases the blink rate and possibly reduces the stability of the precorneal tear film. In this investigation the blink rate and tear stability were measured using noninvasive techniques, in relation to VDU use. In normal healthy subjects, the results show an average 5-fold drop in blink rate during VDU use but tear stability appears to be unaffected. During VDU use a significant relation was found to exist between the interval between blinks and the stability of the precorneal tear film.

Adolescent↗

Effect of VDUs on the eyes: report of a 6-year epidemiological study.

One thousand, three hundred and sixteen office workers [692 visual display unit (VDU) users, 624 controls in the first year] were examined once each year over a 6-year period to establish whether or not VDU work was a factor in the occurrence of visual symptoms, ocular abnormalities, or ocular disease. Statistical analysis showed that although there were differences between VDU users and nonusers in the amount of myopia, the prevalence of some symptoms, and the prevalence of signs of fundal or vitreal disease, the differences were small and there were no clear trends or patterns to lend convincing support to the hypothesis that VDU work may be a risk factor. There were no significant differences in the prevalence and incidence of cataract.

Adult↗