23). Mark et al. (46) reported Autophagy inhibitor order in abstract form the results of 301 patients with T1–2, Gleason 4–10, median PSA 9.3 (2.7–39.8) treated with HDR monotherapy. They administered 7.5 Gy in six fractions in two implants performed 1 month apart. Urethral dose points [12], [13], [14], [15] and [16] limited to <105% of the prescription dose. Acute urinary retention occurred in 5%. Late Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) urinary toxicity was 3% Grade 2 and Grade 3–4 (urethral stricture requiring dilation 6%). Late RTOG rectal

toxicity was Grade 1–2 (2.3%) and Grade 3–4 (0.3%). The PSA progression–free survival was 88% at 8 years. Rogers et al. (47) reported their experience on 284 patients with intermediate-risk group patients treated with two HDR implants to deliver six fractions of 6.5 Gy. The 5-year

actuarial biochemical survival was 94.4%, local control and cause-specific survival 100%, and distant metastasis–free survival 99%. Percent of core positive over 75% and Stage T2c predicted for worse biochemical control. Patients without these adverse risk factors had a 5-year biochemical control of 97.5%. The incidence of side effects was low. Unlike other reports, there were no urethral strictures. Transient Grade 1 incontinence was found in 7.7% of cases after treatment, but exclusive of patients with prior transurethral resection or neurologic illness it was 2.5%. Grade 1 RTOG rectal toxicity occurred in 4.2%. Potency was maintained in 83% of patients all 2 years after therapy. this website Ghadjar et al. (48) reported on 36 patients with low- (28) and intermediate- (8) risk prostate cancer treated with HDR monotherapy in a single implant and four fractions of 9.5 Gy over 2 days. Acute Grade 3 GU toxicity rate was 3% and late GU toxicity 11%. There was no Grade 3 GI toxicity. The 3-year PSA progression–free survival rate was 100%. The sexual preservation rate in patients without ADT was 75%. Late Grade 3 GU toxicity was associated

with higher PTV doses as represented by the V100 (percent target coverage by 100% isodose) and D90 (dose to 90% of the PTV), and the urethral V120 (volume urethra receiving ≥120% of the prescription dose). Hoskin et al. (49), in the United Kingdom, conducted a dose escalation trial for mostly intermediate- (52%) and high-risk (44%) patients. A total of 197 patients were treated with 34 Gy in four fractions, 36 Gy in four fractions, 31.5 Gy in three fractions, or 26 Gy in two fractions. Median followup times were 60, 54, 36, and 6 months. Incidence of early Grade ≥3 GU morbidity was 3–7%, and Grade 4 0–4%. Grade 3 or 4 early GI morbidity was not observed. Late GU toxicity (3 year actuarial) Grade 3 was 3–16%. The 4-year stricture (requiring surgery) rate was 3–7%. Late GI toxicity Grade 3 was 1%. There was no late Grade 4 GI or GU toxicity. At 3 years, 99% of patients with intermediate-risk and 91% with high-risk disease were free of biochemical relapse (p = 0.02).

Here,

α is the thermal expansion coefficient, taken to be 3.2 × 10− 4 °C− 1 and cp = 3.98 J g− 1 °C− 1 (salinity ≈ 39.5‰ and temperature 28.5°C); Various studies relating to water column conditions have been carried out in different areas. Holloway (1980) considers thermal stratification in a water body subjected to atmospheric heating and wind-induced vertical mixing. Simpson et al. (1990) discuss how buoyancy input as fresh water exerts a stratifying influence in estuaries and adjacent coastal waters. Liu (2007) found that, in the Bohai Sea, stratification comes into existence in April, peaks in July and decays towards October. Buranapratheprat et al. (2008) discuss the water column conditions

in the upper selleck chemicals llc Gulf of Thailand based on surface heat flux, river discharge, tidal and wind mixing. They show that stratification develops in May because of surface heating and is dominant in October due to the large river discharge. Monthly variations http://www.selleckchem.com/products/incb28060.html of the surface heat fluxes are taken from Ahmad et al. (1989) and the results are reproduced in Figure 2 along with the net surface heat flux. Wind speed data (1990–2000) for Jeddah airport are provided by PME (Presidency of Meteorology and Environment) of Saudi Arabia. The monthly averages of wind speed are plotted in Figure 3a. The hydrographic data and the tidal current speeds are from Ahmad et al. (1997). The measured tidal current velocities are also plotted in Figure 3b and the temperature and salinity for the months of April and September 1997 for three stations are shown in Figure 4. The tidal current velocity in the main body of the Dimethyl sulfoxide lagoon

varied from about 0.05 m s− 1 to about 0.2 m s− 1 depending on the spring-neap cycle and the seasonal variations of the mean sea level in the Red Sea. The tidal currents at the inlet were faster owing to the narrowness of the entrance. When the net heat at the air-sea interface Q   < 0, from November to March ( Figure 2), then the potential energy due to the surface heat flux will not contribute to stratification and the water column is mixed. When the heat balance Q   > 0, surface heating will contribute to stratification and tidal and wind mixing will be opposed, so stratification will depend on their net contribution. The calculations are therefore made for April to October only. The net surface heat flux at the air-sea interface from April to October, as well as the tidal current velocities and the wind speeds for this period are listed in Table 1. Based on this data dvdt is computed for surface heat flux, tidal and wind mixing terms. The values are given in Table 2 along with the net changes in potential energy. From the hydrographic data at three stations in the Rabigh Lagoon (Ahmad et al.

Gene isoforms are generated by alternative splicing, in which exons are spliced

and joined together in different combinations. Alternative splicing is an important mechanism of gene function regulation since differences in the mRNA sequences translate into distinct protein domains with distinct roles. Alternative splicing can also affect the 5’ and 3’ UTRs that are essential for gene regulation. Therefore, identifying the transcriptional variants of a gene and the relative abundance of each of them is instrumental to dissecting the functional role of such gene. A large body RGFP966 of evidence has identified alternative splicing differences between ESC and differentiated cell populations [30, 31 and 32•]. Pluripotency regulation by the recently identified novel isoform of FOXP1 in hESCs is a significant landmark exemplifying the importance of alternative splicing and isoform usage [33•]. The annotated FOXP1 isoform (NM_001012505) is important for differentiation, cell proliferation and development [34]. However, a novel exon (18b) was discovered to replace the annotated exon 18 in the traditional isoform NM_001012505, which produces a novel isoform of FOXP1 in hESCs. The alternative exon usage changes the protein coding sequence of the fork-head domain of FOXP1 and consequently changes the DNA-binding specificities resulting in the regulation

of a different set of target genes. This novel isoform is specifically expressed by hESCs and contribute to the regulation of pluripotency genes, such selleck screening library as OCT4, NR5A2 and

NANOG. Novel splice sites, exons and isoforms are also identified in the key pluripotency gene NANOG [35]. Novel 5’ end exons and splices result in various 5’ UTRs and N terminal domains in Nanog. As a result, two protein variants attenuate the self-renewal potential and pluripotency in ESCs. Similarly, novel splices in SALL4 and TCF3 can also change their functions in pluripotency regulation [31 and 32•]. A large body of evidence have identified alternative splicing differences between ESCs and differentiated cell populations [30, 31 and 32•]. These studies, exemplify the importance of large-scale identification of novel isoforms of annotated genes and their abundance, especially for Carbohydrate pluripotency-associated genes. Au et al. reported a few novel isoforms of known pluripotency markers ( Table 1 and Figure 2). For example, in the DPPA4 locus, a RefSeq-annotated isoform is expressed but a novel isoform skipping three exons also contributes to a significant portion (∼17%) of the total gene abundance. In TERT, a novel isoform displaying cassette exon skipping junctions contributes as much as 54% of the gene abundance. Alternative splicing may be one mechanism of regulation of the telomerase activity of TERT.

However, it did not present recommendations BIBW2992 mw with an LOE or SOR. Because of the support of a high LOE, we

have graded each of the NICE recommendations with a weighting of 4. Overall recommendation scores of interventions were determined by the median value of the specific intervention’s individual weightings. Table 2 illustrates how the overall intervention recommendations were then grouped on the basis of their median score into strongly recommended, recommended, recommended with caution, and unsupported. For example, knee bracing is recommended by 5 guidelines with weighted scores of 4, 3, 4, 4, and 2, resulting in a median score of 4 and grading of strongly recommended. The systematic literature search yielded 19 guidelines. One15 was excluded because there were no stated methods for evidence gathering or developing recommendations, recommendations were not clear, and AZD2281 order no method for grading recommendations was stated. One16 was excluded because no conclusive recommendations were provided for the physical management of glenohumeral joint OA. This resulted in 17 guidelines available for full data extraction. Table 3 lists the 17 guidelines’ AGREE II domain scores with an overall quality assessment rating and a comment on weaknesses of the specific guideline.

There was variability in the domains that were effectively addressed by the guidelines. Of the 17 guidelines, 2 effectively addressed 4 of the 6 AGREE II domains,14 and 17 9 effectively addressed 3 domains,18, 19,

20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26 and 6 effectively addressed at least 2 domains.1, 5, 27, 28, 29 and 30 Stakeholder involvement was effectively addressed by 6 guidelines,1, 14, (-)-p-Bromotetramisole Oxalate 17, 18, 26 and 28 editorial independence was effectively addressed by 1 guideline,22 and applicability was not effectively addressed in any guideline. Six guidelines can be recommended without modifications.14, 17, 20, 24, 25 and 26 Eleven guidelines1, 5, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 27, 28, 29 and 30 were recommended with modifications. Forty interventions were identified across the guidelines. Table 4 lists the grouped interventions covered by the 17 guidelines. The grouped interventions are listed in descending order with the number of guidelines that recommended them: exercise (16 guidelines), education (13 guidelines), equipment (11 guidelines), weight loss/diet (11 guidelines), taping, heat/ice (9 guidelines), electrical-based therapy (7 guidelines), self-management (7 guidelines), acupuncture (5 guidelines), manual therapy (5 guidelines), psychosocial interventions (5 guidelines), and balneotherapy/spa therapy (2 guidelines). Balneotherapy refers to the passive relaxation in mineral or thermal water, whereas hydrotherapy refers to therapeutic methods (eg, exercise) that take advantage of the physical properties of water.

Heyman received the ADA Foundation’s F. Ann Gallagher Award to attend the national Public Policy Workshop in 2007 and The Ohio State University Health Services Management and Policy Faculty Award for Academic Excellence in 2007. She was working on her Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing at the time of her death. Tell Us Your Issue We care about the concerns of ADA members and want to hear from you. There are four easy ways to submit your issues: • E-mail [email protected]. You will receive immediate confirmation

that your message has been received and action will be taken within 2 months. For more information, visit ADA’s member home page and click on Member Issues or visit www.eatright.org/issues. Deadline for submitting material for the People and Events section is the first of the month, 3 months selleckchem before the date

of the issue (eg, May 1 for the August issue). Publication of an educational event is not an endorsement by the Association of the event or sponsor. Send material to: Ryan Lipscomb, Editor, Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 120 S. Riverside Plaza, Suite 2000, Chicago, IL 60606; [email protected]; 312/899-4829; or fax, 312/899-4812. “
“Recognize research excellence—Nominate an article published in the 2011 ADA Journal for the Huddleson Every year the Journal of the American Dietetic Association the is check details proud to present

its readers with a variety of revealing and insightful articles that expand the perimeters of nutrition science. While every article featured in this publication reflects a worthy contribution to the dietetics profession, each year there are a select number of articles whose research and content are so exceptional that they deserve to be recognized by the Association. We invite you to take a few moments to consider which research, practice, or review articles—published in the Journal during the 2011 calendar year—had the greatest impact on you. Then, nominate the author for the Mary P. Huddleson Award by filling out the form below. The deadline for nominations is March 1, 2012. The Mary P. Huddleson Award, bestowed by the American Dietetic Association Foundation (ADAF), is named for Mary Pascoe Huddleson, editor of the Journal from 1927 to 1946. The award, which recognizes a registered dietitian who was the lead author of an article published in the Journal, carries an honorarium of up to $1,000 ⁎. A committee of judges will review nominations and make recommendations to the ADAF. The ADAF, after determining the winner and two honorable mentions for the Huddleson Award, will issue an official announcement.

The working standard was calibrated after the end of the experiment, in the laboratory, relative to a commercial multi-component gas standard supplied by Apel-Riemer Environmental Inc. The most abundant marine organic compound identified in the mesocosm enclosures was DMS at concentrations

ranging from 0.3 to 6 nM. Isoprene was the second most abundant tracer (0.02 to 0.42 nM), followed by (−) α-pinene (0.0041 to 0.063 nM) and (+) α-pinene (0.002 to 0.055 nM). In Fig. 6, we present our findings for DMS and isoprene over a period of 29 days. Each line shows the mean value of a pCO2 group (low, middle and high pCO2) and the error bars display the standard deviation Bortezomib research buy of each group. For DMS ( Fig. 6(A)), generally the same trend was observed for all three pCO2 groups over the course of the experiment. One small concentration increase appeared on day 3 followed by a bigger increase which started around day 15 and continued until the end of the experiment. From day 8 onward, a clear consistent concentration difference was observed between the three CO2 treatments. Significantly

higher DMS concentrations were observed in the low pCO2 mesocosms, while higher pCO2 concentrations led to smaller DMS production. This study suggests that a higher CO2 world would result in lower DMS emissions. Previous mesocosm studies in 2004 and 2006 (Avgoustidi et al., 2012 and Hopkins et al., 2010) have shown the same CO2 effect on DMS emissions. One exception to Sirolimus solubility dmso this apparent consensus was a mesocosm study in 2005 which reported no significant differences between treatments (Vogt et al., 2008a) or even small increase of DMS production (Wingenter et al., 2007). The different responses of DMS to elevated CO2 could have been a function

of different phytoplankton compositions and abundances as well as different physical and biological processes (Avgoustidi et al., 2012, Hopkins et al., 2010, Vogt et al., 2008a and Wingenter et al., 2007). For isoprene (Fig. 6(B)), the situation was different. Differences in the concentration levels were apparent between the three CO2 treatments although low CO2 levels and high isoprene emissions did not correspond as clearly as in the case of DMS. At the beginning and end ID-8 of the experiment, all CO2 treatments provided similar isoprene concentrations. Between days 1–4 and 8–15, the middle CO2 treatment showed higher isoprene emissions. A possible explanation could be the uneven distribution of phytoplankton families mainly responsible for isoprene production in these mesocosms. A more detailed investigation on the effect of elevated CO2 on DMS, isoprene, (+) α-pinene and (−) α-pinene based on correlations with the available biological datasets will be reported in a following publication.

, 2012). Detailed information on the sampling stations is given in Table 1. Ten cruises were conducted in the morning every selleck kinase inhibitor 3–4 days from 28 April to 1 June, except from 4 to 14 May. Zooplankton collections were made by vertical hauls of a plankton net (mouth diameter:

0.5 m, mesh size: 505 μm) from 1 m above the bottom to the surface. The base of the net was weighted with a 15-kg hammer. The filtered water volume was determined by the rope length multiplied by the mouth size (unit: m3). After collection, the zooplankton was immediately preserved in 5% formaldehyde. Organisms were identified to species level under a stereomicroscope ( Chen and Zhang, 1965 and Zheng et al., 1984). Temperature and salinity were measured in situ using a YSI 6600 multi-parameter water quality monitor. For the determination of surface chlorophyll a (Chl a) concentration, a 200-mL water sample was gently passed through a Buparlisib 0.45 μm cellulose filter and extracted with acetone (90%v/v) for 24 h at 4°C in darkness. The surface layer Chl a concentration (unit: mg m− 3) was then determined with a Turner design 10 AU fluorometer before and after acidification ( Parsons et al. 1984). One-way ANOVA (least significant difference or LSD) was used to test for differences among

stations for physical and biological parameters from the DNPP outflow water area (S2), the aquaculture area (S6) and the external area of Dapeng Cove (S5). A species was defined as dominant when Y, the dominance indicator, was ≥ 0.02 ( Xu & Chen 1989). Y was calculated as follows: Y = (ni/N) fi, where i Molecular motor is the sample number, ni is the ith species abundance, fi is the frequency of occurrence of species i, and N is the total abundance of all zooplankton species. The hierarchical cluster and multidimensional scaling (MDS) analyses of similarity among the sampling stations were computed on the basis of the Bray-Curtis similarity index and

log10(x + 1)-transformed data from the dominant species ( Clarke & Gorley 2006). Pearson’s correlation analysis was used to examine possible relationships between sea surface temperature, salinity and Chl a with zooplankton abundance. The tests were deemed significant when P < 0.05. The surface water temperature of Dapeng Cove rose from 28 April to 1 June and then maintained a high level of nearly 30°C after 20 May. Salinity ranged from 28.78 to 32.19 owing to the frequent rains during the survey period (Figure 2a). The Chl a concentration fluctuated widely from 3.22 to 25.57 mg m− 3 with an irregular temporal distribution ( Figure 2b). There were marked increases in surface water temperature at the water outflow of the DNPP (S2) and in Chl a concentration at S4 and S6 ( Table 2). The regional distributions of salinity did not differ significantly among S2, S5 and S6 (P > 0.05); however, temperature at S2 was significantly higher than that at S5 and S6 (F = 8.581, P < 0.01).

High levels of IgE and/or eosinophilia are also found in patients with monogenic disorders caused by defects in FOXP3, IL2RA, IKBKG, WAS, or DOCK8 ( Table 2

and Supplementary Table 1). It should also be standard practice to exclude infectious causes such as bacteria (Yersinia spp, Salmonella spp, Shigella spp, Campylobacter spp, Mycobacterium learn more tuberculosis, Clostridium difficile), parasites (Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia lamblia), and viral infections (cytomegalovirus or human immunodeficiency virus), remembering that some infections can mimic IBD. However, most of these pathogens do not cause bloody diarrhea for more than 2 to selleck 3 weeks. In addition, monogenic disorders (such as B- or T-cell defect immunodeficiencies or familial HLH type 5, caused by STXBP2 deficiency) predispose patients to intestinal infections. 69 Celiac disease should be considered as a differential diagnosis for patients with suspected autoimmune enteropathy

presenting with villous atrophy (such as IPEX or IPEX-like patients). To detect possible causes of monogenic IBD-like immunopathology, we propose additional laboratory screening for all children diagnosed before 6 years of age. The limited set of laboratory tests includes measurements of IgA, IgE, IgG, and IgM; flow cytometry analysis of lymphocyte subsets (CD3, CD4, CD8, CD19/CD20, NK cells); and analysis of oxidative burst by neutrophils (using the nitro blue tetrazolium test or flow cytometry–based assays such as the dihydrorhodamine fluorescence assay). When placed in the context of clinical, histopathologic, and radiological data, these tests can guide the diagnosis toward the more prevalent defects of neutrophil, B-cell, or T-cell dysfunction. Etofibrate Further tests are necessary to characterize particular subgroups,

such as those who develop the disease when they are younger than 2 years of age, those with excessive autoimmunity, or those with severe perianal disease. Those tests include flow cytometry analysis of XIAP expression by lymphocytes and NK cells129 and 130 or FOXP3 expression in CD4+ T cells, which can diagnose a significant proportion of patients with XLP2 and IPEX. Flow cytometry can detect functional defects in MDP signaling in patients with XIAP deficiency. 131 IL10RA and IL10RB defects can be detected by assays that determine whether exogenous IL-10 will suppress lipopolysaccharide-induced peripheral blood mononuclear cell cytokine secretion or IL-10–induced STAT3 phosphorylation. 30, 103 and 107 Increased levels of antibodies against enterocytes can indicate autoimmune enteropathy, in particular in patients with IPEX.

For the Gulf of Finland a resolution of 1 nm and a simulation time of a few years could be accepted as a threshold for models used for this purpose. We are find more deeply grateful to Markus Meier and Anders Höglund, who provided the RCO model data and meteorological forcing within the framework of the BONUS+ BalticWay

cooperation. “
“The Baltic Sea is a challenging area for regional marine science (Leppäranta & Myrberg 2009) and especially for wave scientists in terms of both wind wave modelling and measurements. Numerically reconstructed global wave data sets such as the KNMI/ERA-40 Wave Atlas (Sterl & Caires 2005) allow a quantification of the wave climate and its changes in the open ocean, but their spatial resolution Alectinib datasheet (1.5° × 1.5°) is insufficient for Baltic Sea conditions. Numerical simulations of the Baltic Sea wave climate require a high spatial resolution because of the extremely complex geometry and high variability of wind fields in this basin. The presence of sea ice often complicates both visual observations and instrumental measurements. As floating devices are normally removed well before the ice season (Kahma et al. 2003), the measured wave statistics has extensive gaps for the windiest period that frequently occurs just before the ice cover forms. Relatively shallow areas, widely spread in this basin, may host unexpectedly high waves, formed in the process of wave refraction and optional

wave energy concentration in some areas (Soomere 2003, 2005, Soomere et al. 2008a). Systematic studies into the properties of waves in the Baltic Sea go back more than a half-century (see Soomere 2008 and the references therein) and have resulted in several generations of wave atlases for this region. Several attempts to reconstruct the wave climate based on measured or visually observed data and/or numerical hindcasts have been undertaken for many areas of the Baltic Sea (e.g. Mietus & von Storch 1997, Paplińska 1999, 2001, Blomgren et al. 2001, Cieślikiewicz & Herman 2002, Soomere 2005, 2008, Broman

et al. 2006, Soomere & Zaitseva 2007). Many of these studies cover either relatively short periods (a few C-X-C chemokine receptor type 7 (CXCR-7) years) or concentrate on specific areas of the Baltic Sea. This is not unexpected because long-term reconstructions of the Baltic Sea wave fields are still an extremely complicated task and usually contain extensive uncertainties (Cieślikiewicz & Paplńska-Swerpel 2008, Kriezi & Broman 2008). An overview of the relevant literature until 2007 and a description of the basic features of the wave climate (empirical distribution functions of the basic sea state properties such as wave heights and periods as well as a description of wave extremes and decadal changes to wave conditions) are presented in Soomere (2008). As wave height is often proportional to wind speed squared, wave fields can be used as a sensitive indicator of changes in wind properties (Weisse & von Storch 2010).

Patients included in the study have not made use of antibiotics within the previous 3 months. All teeth showed no periodontal pockets deeper than 4 mm. The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Estácio de Sá University. All patients were asked to rinse the oral cavity for 1 min with 0.12% chlorhexidine before sampling procedures. Abscesses were sampled by aspiration of the purulent exudate from the swollen mucosa over each abscess. http://www.selleckchem.com/products/epacadostat-incb024360.html The overlying mucosa was disinfected with 2% chlorhexidine solution, and a sterile disposable syringe was used to aspirate the purulent exudate, which was immediately injected into cryotubes containing Tris–EDTA

(TE) buffer (10 mM Tris–HCl, 1 mM EDTA, pH 7.6) and frozen at −20 °C. In cases of asymptomatic apical periodontitis, samples were obtained from the root canals under strict aseptic http://www.selleckchem.com/products/ve-822.html conditions, which included rubber dam isolation and a two-step disinfection protocol of the operative field with 2.5% NaOCl, as previously described.22 Paper points used for sampling the root canals were transferred to cryotubes containing TE buffer and immediately frozen at −20 °C. Sterility control samples taken from the tooth crown were tested by using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with universal primers for the bacterial 16S rRNA gene.

Accordingly, one case was excluded because of a positive result. Root canal samples from the teeth with asymptomatic apical periodontitis were also taken after chemomechanical procedures in order to evaluate the effects of treatment on endodontic

bacterial communities that were positive for antibiotic resistance genes. Root canals were instrumented with NiTi hand or rotary instruments at a working length (WL) established 1 mm short of the apical foramen with the aid of an electronic apex locator (Novapex, Forum Technologies, Rishon le-Zion, Israel) and confirmed by radiographs. Patency of the apical foramen was confirmed with a small file throughout the procedures and under control with the apex locator. The size of Phosphoglycerate kinase apical preparation ranged from #40 to #55. For irrigation, 2.5% NaOCl was used in all canals, 2 ml after each file size, and delivered by disposable syringes and NaviTip needles (Ultradent, South Jordan, UT) inserted up to 4 mm short of the WL. After preparation, smear layer was removed by rinsing the canal with 17% EDTA and 2.5% NaOCl. The canal was dried using sterile paper points and then flushed with 5 ml of 5% sodium thiosulfate to inactivate NaOCl. Next, a postpreparation (S2) sample was taken from the canals as for the initial sample. DNA was extracted from all samples using the QIAamp DNA Mini Kit (Qiagen, Valencia, CA) following the protocol recommended by the manufacturer. The presence of bacteria in clinical samples was determined by using PCR with universal primers for the bacterial 16S rRNA gene as described previously.