During persistent infection, optimal expression of bacterial factors is required to match the ever-changing host environment. The gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori has a large set of simple sequence repeats (SSR), which constitute contingency loci. Through a slipped strand mispairing mechanism, the SSRs generate heterogeneous populations that facilitate adaptation. Here, we present a model t...

BACKGROUND Gastric Helicobacter pylori colonization leads to iron deficiency anemia (IDA), especially in children and adolescents. However the pathogenesis is poorly understood. OBJECTIVE We sought to identify specific H. pylori genes involved in IDA development, by comparing bacterial genome-wide expression profiling in patients affected or not. METHODS H. pylori were isolated from four ch...

Our study aims to reconstruct the palaeogeography of northern part Lesser Antilles in order analyse whether emerged areas might have existed during Cenozoic, favouring terrestrial faunal dispersals between South America and Greater along present-day arc. The stratigraphy depositional environments islands Anguilla, St Martin, Tintamarre, Barthélemy, Barbuda Antigua are reviewed association with ...

OBJECTIVE Use of oral short-acting beta 2-agonist (SABA) persists in non-resource poor countries despite concerns for its lower efficacy and safety. Utilisation and reasons for such use is needed to support the effort to discourage the use of oral SABA in asthma. This study examined the frequency of oral short-acting Beta 2-agonist (SABA) usage in the management of asthma in primary care and de...

BACKGROUND Inhaled short acting β2-agonists (SABA), e.g. albuterol, are used for quick reversal of bronchoconstriction in asthmatics. While SABA are not recommended for maintenance therapy, it is not uncommon to find patients who frequently use SABA over a long period of time and there is a suspicion that long term exposure to SABA could be detrimental to lung function. To test this hypothesis ...

Biodiversity surveys were conducted on Saba Bank, Netherlands Antilles, to assess ichthyofaunal richness and to compare with published surveys of other Caribbean localities. The primary objective was to estimate the total species richness of the Saba Bank ichthyofauna. A variety of sampling techniques was utilized to survey the fish species of both the visually accessible megafauna and the camo...

Saba Bank is a 2,200 km(2) submerged carbonate platform in the northeastern Caribbean Sea off Saba Island, Netherlands Antilles. The presence of reef-like geomorphic features and significant shelf edge coral development on Saba Bank have led to the conclusion that it is an actively growing, though wholly submerged, coral reef atoll. However, little information exists on the composition of benth...

BACKGROUND Telehealth strategies for asthma have focused primarily on adherence to controller medications. Telemonitoring of short-acting β-agonist (SABA) focuses on patterns of use and may allow more timely action to avert exacerbations. Studies assessing this approach are lacking. OBJECTIVE This pragmatic controlled study was designed to measure real-world effectiveness of the Propeller Hea...

Helicobacter pylori can cause peptic ulcer disease and/or gastric cancer. Adhesion of bacteria to the stomach mucosa is an important contributor to the vigour of infection and resulting virulence. H. pylori adheres primarily via binding of BabA adhesins to ABO/Lewis b (Leb) blood group antigens and the binding of SabA adhesins to sialyl-Lewis x/a (sLex/a) antigens. Similar to most Gram-negative...