1,720,997 research outputs found

    Improved cloning vectors for Bifidobacterium spp.

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    The recombinant plasmids pDLI41, pDGA7 and pDCO7 were constructed by cloning in pDG7, a vector based on Bifidobacterium longum replicon pMB1, the following heterologous genes: Pseudomonas fluorescens lipase, Bacillus licheniformis alpha-amylase and Streptomyces sp. cholesterol oxidase. The hybrid plasmids efficiently transformed Bifidobacterium belonging to five different species. A novel Escherichia coli-Bifidobacterium set of shuttle vectors based on the replicon pMB1 (pLF5, pCLJ15, pSPEC1) featuring chloramphenicol, erythromycin and spectinomycin resistance genetic determinants as selection marker for bifidobacteria, was developed. The plasmid pTRE3, a derivative of pLF5, was the smallest (2.8 kb) Bifidobacterium vector, possessed a convenient multicloning site and presented high structural and segregational stability

    An efficient transformation system for Bifidobacterium spp.

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    This study describes a broad host transformation protocol that enables the uptake of plasmid DNA into 10 different species of Bifidobacterium, some of which have never been transformed before. The vector pNC7 (4·9 kb) was used to optimize the electroporation protocol. Transformation efficiencies ranged from 3·6×10−1 to 1·2×105 transformations per μg DNA. The impact of growth medium composition and electric field strength on transformation efficiency were independently optimized. Electrocompetent cells were grown in Iwata medium broth enriched with ActilightRP 16%, harvested during the early exponential growth phase, and pulsed at 12·5 kV cm−1, 100 Ω and 25 μF

    Characterization of Bifidobacterium strains for use in soymilk fermentation

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    Soybean milk, which serves as a base for a variety of beverages, contains raffinose, stachyose, pentanal and n-hexanal; theformer two may be responsible for flatulence after fermentation, whilst the latter two for a beany flavour. Twenty-seven strains of Bifidobacterium were analyzed for their a-galactosidase activity and the production of lactic and acetic acids to determine their potential for use in the production of fermented soymilk. The behaviour of three strains in soymilk was studied to determine their ability to reduce a-D-galactosyl oligosaccharides and produce lactic and acetic acids. They all were able to reduce stachyose and raffinose. Pentanal and n-hexanal were metabolized by Bifidobacterium breve MB233. These data indicate that bifidobacteria can be used for biotechnological processes that employ soymilk as the substrate. A productwith low levels of a-D-galactosyl oligosaccharides and alkylic aldehydes may be obtained

    Characterization of the plasmid pMB1 from Bifidobacterium longum and its use for shuttle vector construction.

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    The nucleotide sequence of the 1847-bp Bifidobacterium longum B2577 cryptic plasmid pMB1 was determined. The plasmid had a G+C content of 62.0%, and contained two open reading frames, orf1 and orf2, likely arranged in an operon. The proteins encoded by orf1 and orf2 show the highest degree of similarity with similarly arranged peptide sequences translated from Corynebacterium glutamicum pXZ10142 and Mycobacterium fortuitum pAL5000 plasmids. Recombinant plasmids containing the pMB1 replicon were able to replicate in Bifidobacterium animalis MB209. The successful transformation of this strain with pMB1-based plasmids facilitated characterization of this replicon, results of which showed that both orf1 and orf2 are necessary for plasmid replication. A family of new Escherichia coli-B. animalis shuttle plasmids, based on the pMB1 replicon and expressing a cat and an ery gene, was constructed

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

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    The present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed

    PCR detection of Bifidobacterium strains and Streptococcus thermophilus in feces of human subjects after oral bacteriotherapy and yogurt consumption

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    Streptococcus thermophilus, Bifidobacterium infantis Y1 and Bifidobacterium breve Y8 strains were identified and enumerated by PCR assay in human fecal samples after intake of the pharmaceutical preparation VSL-3 or yogurt. ThI/ThII primer set, specific for S. thermophilus, was selected testing its specificity against several strains of enterococci, streptococci and other genera colonizing the human intestine. A culture-independent PCR protocol, developed in this study, allowed to directly detect and enumerate S. thermophilus in human feces, excluding culture-based techniques or time consuming DNA isolation and purification procedures. Intestinal persistence of S. thermophilus was studied in feces of 10 healthy subjects given VSL-3 or yogurt. Streptococcal population was detected after 3 days of administration and persisted for 6 days after the treatment suspension. In the same trial, the colonization kinetics of B. infantis Y1 and B. breve Y8 were studied by amplification of colonies with the strain-specific primer sets InfY-BV.L/R and BreY-BV.R/L, showing a host-dependent transient colonization behaviour. PCR analysis of feces from 10 patients affected by inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and treated with VSL-3 for 2 months showed a colonization pattern of S. thermophilus, B. infantis Y1 and B. breve Y8 similar to that observed with the healthy subjects

    Variations on the Author

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    “Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship

    Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis

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    We provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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