Impact of comprehensive gynecologic services on health maintenance behaviours among women with spinal cord injury.

PURPOSE: Women with spinal cord injury (SCI) and other physical disabilities often lack access to appropriate gynecologic health care and may be at higher risk for preventable gynecologic diseases and other health problems. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a women's health clinic that was established to meet the needs of women with SCI and other disabilities. Specifically, this study examined the effect of clinic participation upon the rate of preventive gynecologic health care behaviours and assessed the relationship between physical and emotional functioning in women with SCI and other disabilities. METHOD: Participants (n =28) were women who completed surveys immediately prior to participation in the clinic, and at 3 and 12 month follow-ups. RESULTS: Results indicated a trend towards increased frequency of breast self-exam three months after initial participation in the clinic (p =0.11). Other rates of health promoting behaviours (exercise, diet and mammography) did not increase. Results also indicated that although physical functioning and life satisfaction were not related, women in this study did experience moderate to high levels of psychological distress. CONCLUSION: Results indicate that whole-woman health care may be important to increasing certain health behaviours among women with disabilities. Implications for comprehensive treatment are discussed.

Genome sequence of enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7.

The bacterium Escherichia coli O157:H7 is a worldwide threat to public health and has been implicated in many outbreaks of haemorrhagic colitis, some of which included fatalities caused by haemolytic uraemic syndrome. Close to 75,000 cases of O157:H7 infection are now estimated to occur annually in the United States. The severity of disease, the lack of effective treatment and the potential for large-scale outbreaks from contaminated food supplies have propelled intensive research on the pathogenesis and detection of E. coli O157:H7 (ref. 4). Here we have sequenced the genome of E. coli O157:H7 to identify candidate genes responsible for pathogenesis, to develop better methods of strain detection and to advance our understanding of the evolution of E. coli, through comparison with the genome of the non-pathogenic laboratory strain E. coli K-12 (ref. 5). We find that lateral gene transfer is far more extensive than previously anticipated. In fact, 1,387 new genes encoded in strain-specific clusters of diverse sizes were found in O157:H7. These include candidate virulence factors, alternative metabolic capacities, several prophages and other new functions--all of which could be targets for surveillance.

Subdivision of the Escherichia coli K-12 genome for sequencing: manipulation and DNA sequence of transposable elements introducing unique restriction sites.

A transposon-based method of introducing unique restriction sites was used for subdivision of the Escherichia coli genome into a contiguous series of large non-overlapping segments spanning 2.5Mb. The segments, sizes ranging from 150 to 250kb, were isolated from the chromosome using the inserted restriction sites and shotgun cloned into an M13 vector for DNA sequencing. These shotgun sizes proved easily manageable, allowing the genomic sequence of E. coli to be completed more efficiently and rapidly than was possible by previously available methods. The 9bp duplication generated during transposition was used as a tag for accurate splicing of the segments; no further sequence redundancy at the junction sites was needed. The system is applicable to larger genomes even if they are not already well-characterized. We present the technology for segment sequencing, results of applying this method to E. coli, and the sequences of the transposon cassettes.

The complete genome sequence of Escherichia coli K-12.

The 4,639,221-base pair sequence of Escherichia coli K-12 is presented. Of 4288 protein-coding genes annotated, 38 percent have no attributed function. Comparison with five other sequenced microbes reveals ubiquitous as well as narrowly distributed gene families; many families of similar genes within E. coli are also evident. The largest family of paralogous proteins contains 80 ABC transporters. The genome as a whole is strikingly organized with respect to the local direction of replication; guanines, oligonucleotides possibly related to replication and recombination, and most genes are so oriented. The genome also contains insertion sequence (IS) elements, phage remnants, and many other patches of unusual composition indicating genome plasticity through horizontal transfer.

Versatile insertion plasmids for targeted genome manipulations in bacteria: isolation, deletion, and rescue of the pathogenicity island LEE of the Escherichia coli O157:H7 genome.

A system of versatile insertion plasmids was constructed that permits efficient delivery of the target sites of an ultra-rare-cutting endonuclease and the recombinase FLP into preselected sites of the bacterial genome. With the help of this system, the pathogenicity island LEE of the Escherichia coli O157:H7 genome was excised and isolated in vitro, deleted in vivo, rescued as a plasmid, and transferred into another strain.