University of Alberta

About: University of Alberta is a education organization based out in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Health care. The organization has 65403 authors who have published 154847 publications receiving 5358338 citations. The organization is also known as: Ualberta & UAlberta.

ISOQOL recommends minimum standards for patient-reported outcome measures used in patient-centered outcomes and comparative effectiveness research

Abstract: Purpose An essential aspect of patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR) and comparative effectiveness research (CER) is the integration of patient perspectives and experiences with clinical data to evaluate interventions. Thus, PCOR and CER require capturing patient-reported outcome (PRO) data appropriately to inform research, healthcare delivery, and policy. This initiative’s goal was to identify minimum standards for the design and selection of a PRO measure for use in PCOR and CER.

Microsatellite analysis of genetic variation in black bear populations

Abstract: Measuring levels of genetic variation is an important aspect of conservation genetics The informativeness of such measurements is related to the variability of the genetic markers used; a particular concern in species, such as bears, which are characterized by low levels of genetic variation resulting from low population densities and small effective population sizes We describe the development of microsatellite analysis in bears and its use in assessing interpopulation differences in genetic variation in black bears from three Canadian National Parks These markers are highly variable and allowed identification of dramatic differences in both distribution and amount of variation between populations Low levels of variation were observed in a population from the Island of Newfoundland The significance of interpopulation differences in variability was tested using a likelihood ratio test of estimates of theta = 4Ne mu

Anxiogenic stimuli in the elevated plus-maze

Abstract: Untreated rats normally avoid the open arms of the "elevated plus-maze," preferring instead the closed arms, whereas rats treated with antianxiety drugs (e.g., diazepam) show far less open-arm avoidance. Although it has often been assumed that rats avoid the open arms because of novelty, height, or open space, the anxiogenic role of these stimuli in the plus-maze has not been systematically examined. In Experiment 1, rats were repeatedly exposed to the elevated plus-maze with the expectation that their "fear" of the open arms would habituate over trials. Instead, open-arm avoidance actually increased on the second trial and showed no evidence of habituating after 18 trials. In Experiment 2, three 30-min sessions of confinement to the open arms ("flooding") failed to decrease rats' open-arm avoidance. Instead, rats that had received flooding avoided the open arms significantly more than control rats during the first test. Experiment 3 showed that although diazepam-treated rats avoided the open arms less than vehicle-controls on the first test this difference dissipated across test trials. Further, diazepam had no carryover effect on rats' subsequent avoidance of the open arms in a nondrugged state. In Experiment 4, plus-maze height was varied from 50 to 6 cm, but rats did not display more open-arm activity as maze height decreased. In Experiment 5, height cues were manipulated by placing a "floor" 8 cm beneath one open arm while leaving the floor of the other open arm at 50 cm. Rats did not avoid the "low" open arm less than the "high" open arm.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Control of acid resistance in Escherichia coli.

Abstract: Acid resistance (AR) in Escherichia coli is defined as the ability to withstand an acid challenge of pH 2.5 or less and is a trait generally restricted to stationary-phase cells. Earlier reports described three AR systems in E. coli. In the present study, the genetics and control of these three systems have been more clearly defined. Expression of the first AR system (designated the oxidative or glucose-repressed AR system) was previously shown to require the alternative sigma factor RpoS. Consistent with glucose repression, this system also proved to be dependent in many situations on the cyclic AMP receptor protein. The second AR system required the addition of arginine during pH 2.5 acid challenge, the structural gene for arginine decarboxylase (adiA), and the regulator cysB, confirming earlier reports. The third AR system required glutamate for protection at pH 2.5, one of two genes encoding glutamate decarboxylase (gadA or gadB), and the gene encoding the putative glutamate:γ-aminobutyric acid antiporter (gadC). Only one of the two glutamate decarboxylases was needed for protection at pH 2.5. However, survival at pH 2 required both glutamate decarboxylase isozymes. Stationary phase and acid pH regulation of the gad genes proved separable. Stationary-phase induction of gadA and gadB required the alternative sigma factor ςS encoded by rpoS. However, acid induction of these enzymes, which was demonstrated to occur in exponential- and stationary-phase cells, proved to be ςS independent. Neither gad gene required the presence of volatile fatty acids for induction. The data also indicate that AR via the amino acid decarboxylase systems requires more than an inducible decarboxylase and antiporter. Another surprising finding was that the ςS-dependent oxidative system, originally thought to be acid induced, actually proved to be induced following entry into stationary phase regardless of the pH. However, an inhibitor produced at pH 8 somehow interferes with the activity of this system, giving the illusion of acid induction. The results also revealed that the AR system affording the most effective protection at pH 2 in complex medium (either Luria-Bertani broth or brain heart infusion broth plus 0.4% glucose) is the glutamate-dependent GAD system. Thus, E. coli possesses three overlapping acid survival systems whose various levels of control and differing requirements for activity ensure that at least one system will be available to protect the stationary-phase cell under naturally occurring acidic environments.