ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: This study evaluates social, behavioral, and environmental determinants to differentiate between active and inactive asthma and how predisposing, enabling, and need factors elucidate asthma-related health services and asthma control among women in Puerto Rico. METHODS: This study analyzed secondary cross-sectional data from a subsample of 625 adult females who participated in the Asthma Call Back Survey in Puerto Rico. Logistic and multinomial regression analyses were conducted to examine associations between explanatory variables and asthma outcomes. RESULTS: In total, 63% of women reported active asthma, from which 37.9% have not well controlled or very poorly controlled asthma. Women with active asthma were significantly more likely to be out of work, have middle income (US$25,000-
ABSTRACT
We have developed a novel, isothermal DNA amplification strategy that employs phi29 DNA polymerase and rolling circle amplification to generate high-quality templates for DNA sequencing reactions. The TempliPhi DNA amplification kits take advantage of the fact that cloned DNA is typically obtained in circular vectors, which are readily replicated in vitro using phi29 DNA polymerase by a rolling circle mechanism. This single subunit, proofreading DNA polymerase has excellent processivity and strand displacement properties for generation of multiple, tandem double-stranded copies of the circular DNA, generating as much as 10(7)-fold amplification. Large amounts of product (1-3 microg) can be obtained in as little as 4 hours. Input DNA can be as little as 0.01 ng of purified plasmid DNA, a single bacterial colony, or a 1 microL of a saturated overnight culture. Additionally, the presence of an associated proof reading function within the phi29 DNA polymerase ensures high-fidelity amplification. Once completed, the product DNA can be used directly in sequencing reactions. Additionally, the properties of phi29 DNA polymerase and its use in applications such as amplification ofhuman genomic DNA for genotyping studies is discussed.
Subject(s)
Bacillus Phages/genetics , DNA, Circular , DNA-Directed DNA Polymerase , Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques/instrumentation , Sequence Analysis, DNA/instrumentation , Templates, Genetic , DNA, Bacterial/genetics , DNA, Viral , Escherichia coli/genetics , Escherichia coli/virology , Gene Library , Humans , Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques/methods , Reproducibility of Results , Sensitivity and SpecificityABSTRACT
Several reports indicate geographic variation of isolates of Pneumocystis carinii hominis. We have sequenced the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and large subunit Group I intron of rRNA genes from P. carinii DNA obtained from two patients from Puerto Rico. Both can be subclassified as Type II, according to the sequence of the ITS region. A system capable of identifying individual isolates will be an essential tool for epidemiological studies of the organism. The amplification of DNA from fixed tissues may facilitate the processing of a large number of samples.
