James Cole | PubMed Health

PubMed2003

BSD: the Biodegradative Strain Database.

The Biodegradative Strain Database (BSD) is a freely-accessible, web-based database providing detailed information on degradative bacteria and the hazardous substances that they degrade, including corresponding literature citations, relevant patents and links to additional web-based biological and chemical data. The BSD (http://bsd.cme.msu.edu) is being developed within the phylogenetic framework of the Ribosomal Database Project II (RDPII: http://rdp.cme.msu.edu/html) to provide a biological complement to the chemical and degradative pathway data of the University of Minnesota Biocatalysis/Biodegradation Database (UM-BBD: http://umbbd.ahc.umn.edu). Data is accessible through a series of strain, chemical and reference lists or by keyword search. The web site also includes on-line data submission and user survey forms to solicit user contributions and suggestions. The current release contains information on over 250 degradative bacterial strains and 150 hazardous substances. The transformation of xenobiotics and other environmentally toxic compounds by microorganisms is central to strategies for biocatalysis and the bioremediation of contaminated environments. However, practical, comprehensive, strain-level information on biocatalytic/biodegradative microbes is not readily available and is often difficult to compile. Similarly, for any given environmental contaminant, there is no single resource that can provide comparative information on the array of identified microbes capable of degrading the chemical. A web site that consolidates and cross-references strain, chemical and reference data related to biocatalysis, biotransformation, biodegradation and bioremediation would be an invaluable tool for academic and industrial researchers and environmental engineers.

Bacteria↗

PubMed2002

Radiographic analysis of femoral tunnel position in postoperative posterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that plain radiographs are accurate in assessing femoral tunnel positions in posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) reconstruction. TYPE OF STUDY: Cadaveric study. METHODS: Femoral tunnels were drilled in cadaveric distal femurs using standard techniques at the 12 o'clock, 1:30, and 3 o'clock positions in the left femora and at the 12 o'clock, 10:30, and 9 o'clock positions in the right femora. At each of the three positions, a 9-mm tunnel was drilled with its anterior edge 2 mm posterior to the articular surface of the medial femoral condyle (MFC). Posterior or "malpositioned" tunnels were drilled with the anterior edge 11 mm posterior to the articular surface of the MFC. Four radiographs; a true lateral, a 10 degrees externally rotated lateral, a 10 degrees internally rotated film in the sagittal plane, and an anteroposterior (AP) radiograph were then taken of each tunnel with a radiopaque dilator in the tunnel. All radiographs were analyzed with the 4-quadrant method (4 is the posterior quadrant) and the ratio method (0 is anterior and 1 is posterior). The AP radiograph was measured using a new technique, the intersection of the angle of a line through the center of the femoral tunnel and a line placed tangential to the femoral condyles. RESULTS: Means were calculated for each of the 6 tunnel positions on the 4 radiographs (lateral, external rotation, internal rotation, and AP). Of the 15 comparisons among tunnel postions, 13 could be discriminated using the lateral and AP radiographs. The high-anterior (HA) (12 o'clock position) could not be differentiated on any radiograph from the high-posterior (HP) (12 o'clock position). The internally rotated lateral radiograph could discriminate the midanterior (MA) (1:30 and 10:30 positions) from the low-anterior (LA) (the 3 and 9 o'clock positions). CONCLUSIONS: Three radiographs; the AP, lateral, and internally rotated lateral, can be used to detect a significant difference in the majority of tunnel locations. The tunnel positions that could not be differentiated with these measurements were posterior and may not be clinically important. We concluded that a plain radiograph is an accurate indicator of PCL tunnel position.

Cadaver↗