PTPG, the gene for protein-tyrosine phosphatase y(PTPy), maps to a region ofhuman chromosome 3, 3p2l, that is frequently deleted in renal cell carcinoma and lung carcinoma. One of the functions of protein-tyrosine phosphatases is to reverse the effect of protein-tyrosine kinases, many of which are oncogenes, suggesting that some proteintyrosine phosphatase genes may act as tumor suppressor genes.

BackgroundThe sensitivity of the dipstick in elderly patients with a suspected urinary tract infection (UTI) is unclear because of the inclusion of patients with urine contamination or asymptomatic bacteriuria in previous studies.MethodsWe selected consecutive patients aged 65 years or older hospitalized in internal medicine departments with bacteremic UTI (same organism in blood and urine cultures) minimizing misclassifications. The false positive rate was determined in consecutive patients with negative culture results. A positive dipstick was a test result with a trace leukocyte esterase and/or nitrite positivity. Bacteriuria was the growth of at least 105 colony-forming units per milliliter of urine.ResultsOf 20,555 consecutive patients, 228 had a bacteremic UTI, and 4069 a negative culture result. The sensitivity of the dipstick was 96.9% (95% CI—93.7–98.6) with a false positive rate of 42.4% (95% CI, 41.0–43.8) in those with a negative culture result.ConclusionsIn elderly hospitalized patients with a bacteremic UTI, the dipstick urinalysis is highly sensitive, much higher than reported previously in studies of UTIs in the elderly. It is unclear whether the observed high sensitivity of the dipstick was due to the exclusion of patients with asymptomatic bacteriuria or to spectrum bias. Studies of the clinical utility/disutility of using a negative dipstick to rule out a urinary tract infection are warranted.

IntroductionThe use of research associates (RA) programs to facilitate study enrollment in the emergency department was initiated during the mid-1990s. The University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) was an early adopting site for this model, which has experienced considerable growth and development over the past 20 years.MethodsOur goal was to detail the Emergency Department Research Associates (EDRA) program processes developed at the URMC that has led to our program’s sustainability and productivity. These processes, and the lessons learned during their development, can assist institutions seeking to establish an RA program or refine an existing program.ResultsDefined procedures for selecting, training, and monitoring EDRAs have been created and refined with the goal of maximizing study enrollment and minimizing protocol deviations. Our EDRA program functions as a paid service center for investigators, and our EDRAs engage in a variety of study-related activities including screening and enrolling patients, administering surveys, collecting bio-specimens, and making follow-up calls. Over the past two years, our program has averaged 222 enrollments/month (standard deviation = 79.93), gathering roughly 25 participants per study per month.ConclusionOur EDRA model has consistently resulted in some of the highest number of enrollments across a variety of recently funded, multi-center studies. Maintaining a high-quality EDRA program requires continual investment on the part of the leadership team, though the benefits to investigators within and outside the department outweigh these costs.

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This study involved the construction of hybrid plasmids to produce heat-stable enterotoxin type II of Escherichia coli (STb). The translation of the open reading frame for the STb gene estA was demonstrated in several ways. Studies using in vivo labeling with [35S]cysteine demonstrated a radiolabeled protein band on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the expected molecular weight of 5,000 for toxin STb. Insertion of translational or transcriptional termination signals into the Bglll site of the estA gene blocked the expression of estA. The estA gene was cloned into high-expression vector pKC30 downstream from the strong Pl promoter. Northern (RNA) blotting assays revealed a 10to 20-fold increase in mRNA produced by strain C600F(pKC30STb) over other STb-producing strains, compared with little or no increase in enterotoxin activity demonstrated by bioassay. The estA gene, with its own promoter and Shine-Delgarno region and a portion of the sequence for the signal peptide deleted, was also inserted under the control of the tac promoter. Even after induction of the tac promoter by addition of isopropyl-,I-D-thiogalactopyranoside, no biologic enterotoxin activity could be identified. Neutralizing antibodies to STb were produced in rabbits by using either a purified OmpF-STb-pi-galactosidase fusion protein or a 19-amino-acid synthetic STb peptide coupled to * Corresponding author. provided by C. H. Lee (15). All of the plasmids used are described in Table 1. The host strains were E. coli MH3000 and TK1046 for pORF1 derivatives (41). C600F, N99CI+, and N5151 were used as hosts for pKC30 and its derivatives (2, 31). E. coli JM103 was used as the host for pDR540 and its subclones (42). E. coli C strain 3456 was used as the host for pCHL6. P3, a wild-type strain of E. coli containing the gene for enterotoxin STb, estA, and 10405, a wild-type E. coli strain without estA, were used as controls in the bioassays. All of the strains used are listed in Table 2. Media. Bacteria were grown in tryptone yeast extract medium or minimal medium A supplemented with 0.25% glucose or 0.20% lactose. Clones were screened for lactose fermentation on MacConkey lactose plates or on 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-4-D-galactopyranoside plates with or without isopropyl- ,-D-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG). In vivo radiolabeling was performed in modified minimal medium A (0.004 M dipotassium phosphate, 0.0022 M potassium biphosphate, 0.0017 M trisodium citrate, 0.0076 M ammonium sulfate, 0.008 M magnesium sulfate, 0.01% yeast extract, 5% glucose, required growth factors). Ampicillin was used at 50 ,ug/ml, and tetracycline was used at 20 ,ug/ml. Materials. Enzymes were purchased from New England BioLabs, Inc., or Boehringer Mannheim Biochemicals and used as recommended by the suppliers. 5-Bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-4-D-galactopyranoside, IPTG, and p-aminophenyl-,B-D-thiogalactosidase were purchased from Sigma Chemical Co. o-Nitrophenyl-,B-D-galactopyranoside was supplied by Boehringer Mannheim Biochemicals. Oligonucleotides were sy...