3D Optical Coherence Tomography image processing in BISCAP: characterization of biofilm structure and properties.

MOTIVATION: BISCAP is a state-of-the-art tool for automatically characterizing biofilm images obtained from Optical Coherence Tomography. Limited availability of other software tools is reported in the field. BISCAP's first version processes 2D images only. Processing 3D images is a problem of greater scientific relevance since it deals with the entire structure of biofilms instead of their 2D slices. RESULTS: Building on the image-processing principles and algorithms proposed earlier for 2D images, these were adapted to the 3D case, and a more general implementation of BISCAP was developed. The primary goal concerns the extension of the initial methodology to incorporate the depth axis in 3D images; multiple improvements were also made to boost computational performance. The calculation of structural properties and visual outputs was extended to offer new insights into the 3D structure of biofilms. BISCAP was tested using 3D images of biofilms with different morphologies, consistently delivering accurate characterizations of 3D structures in a few minutes using standard laptop machines. Low user dependency is required for image analysis. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: BISCAP is available from https://github.com/diogonarciso/BISCAP. All images used in the tutorials and the validation examples are available from https://web.fe.up.pt/∼fgm/biscap3d.

The multiple roles of trichomes in two Croton species.

Trichomes are common in plants from dry environments, and despite their recognized role in protection and defense, little is known about their role as absorptive structures and in other aspects of leaf ecophysiology. We combine anatomical and ecophysiological data to evaluate how trichomes affect leaf gas exchange and water balance during drought. We studied two congeneric species with pubescent leaves which co-occur in Brazilian Caatinga: Croton blanchetianus (dense trichomes) and Croton adenocalyx (sparse trichomes). We found a novel foliar water uptake (FWU) pathway in C. blanchetianus composed of stellate trichomes and underlying epidermal cells and sclereids that interconnect the trichomes from both leaf surfaces. The water absorbed by these trichomes is redistributed laterally by pectin protuberances on mesophyll cell walls. This mechanism enables C. blanchetianus leaves to absorb water more efficiently than C. adenocalyx. Consequently, the exposure of C. blanchetianus to dew during drought improved its leaf gas exchange and water status more than C. adenocalyx. C. blanchetianus trichomes also increase their leaf capacity to reflect light and maintain lower temperatures during drought. Our results emphasize the multiple roles that trichomes might have on plant functioning and the importance of FWU for the ecophysiology of Caatinga plants during drought.

Landsat data respond to variations in the structure of Caatinga plant communities along a successional gradient.

Plant community succession is generally approached with phytosociological methods, but field surveys are time-consuming, expensive, and limited to several of sites. Remote sensing offers an efficient and economical way to analyze vegetation on large extensions and in inaccessible areas. Most studies addressing remote sensing and tree community succession refer to forest physiognomies. We investigated whether structural changes that occur in non-forest physiognomies are identified by multispectral sensor images (OLI-Landsat). Thirteen 0.1-ha plots were set up in Caatinga fragments aging 10-15, 20-25, 30-35, 40-45 and >50 years to calculate the total density of individuals (TD), mean canopy height (H), total basal area (G) and total aboveground biomass (AGB). We performed correlation analyses between these structural descriptors and eight remote sensing variables (reflectance data and spectral indices) obtained from Landsat images at the end of the rainy season and during the dry season. Blue and short-wave infrared reflectances were negatively correlated with mean height, basal area and biomass, regardless of the analyzed scene (coefficients between -0.58 and -0.79). The litter layer (a non-photosynthetic vegetation component) and the soil exposure are important factors influencing the spectral data.

Data Augmentation Effects on Highly Imbalanced EEG Datasets for Automatic Detection of Photoparoxysmal Responses.

Photosensitivity is a neurological disorder in which a person's brain produces epileptic discharges, known as Photoparoxysmal Responses (PPRs), when it receives certain visual stimuli. The current standardized diagnosis process used in hospitals consists of submitting the subject to the Intermittent Photic Stimulation process and attempting to trigger these phenomena. The brain activity is measured by an Electroencephalogram (EEG), and the clinical specialists manually look for the PPRs that were provoked during the session. Due to the nature of this disorder, long EEG recordings may contain very few PPR segments, meaning that a highly imbalanced dataset is available. To tackle this problem, this research focused on applying Data Augmentation (DA) to create synthetic PPR segments from the real ones, improving the balance of the dataset and, thus, the global performance of the Machine Learning techniques applied for automatic PPR detection. K-Nearest Neighbors and a One-Hidden-Dense-Layer Neural Network were employed to evaluate the performance of this DA stage. The results showed that DA is able to improve the models, making them more robust and more able to generalize. A comparison with the results obtained from a previous experiment also showed a performance improvement of around 20% for the Accuracy and Specificity measurements without Sensitivity suffering any losses. This project is currently being carried out with subjects at Burgos University Hospital, Spain.

How do intrinsic and extrinsic causes interact in the extinction vulnerability of South American savanna shrub and tree species?

Although a growing body of literature recognises the importance of rarity for biodiversity conservation, it is unclear how the interaction of different forms of rarity, extrinsic causes of extinction, and protection affect species' vulnerability. Here we addressed the extinction vulnerability of 2203 shrub and tree species of the South American savanna (SAS). For this, species were attributed a form of rarity, a synergistic risk index (SRI), and a protection index (PI). The SRI combines three extrinsic causes of extinction (climate hazard, fire frequency, and human footprint). The PI is the ratio between the number of a species occurrences within protected areas and the total number of occurrences in the SAS. By combining the SRI and PI, we classified common and rare species into five vulnerability classes. Some regions of the SAS show high values of climate hazard, fire frequency, human footprint, and SRI. Each extrinsic cause of extinction is differently distributed across the SAS and shows no or low spatial congruence with the SRI. Many species show a low ratio of occurrences within PAs, which in combination with high SRI results in high vulnerability to extinction. Surprisingly, the number of common species in the higher vulnerability classes is higher than of rare species. Common and rare species in different vulnerability classes occur in somewhat different locations across the SAS and mainly constitute spatially incongruent centres with high species richness. Given our results, we propose that strategies for the effective conservation of SAS species are challenging and must be carefully designed.

Mapping the spatial variability of rainfall from a physiographic-based multilinear regression: model development and application to the Southwestern Iberian Peninsula.

A physiographic-based multilinear regression model supported by GIS was developed to estimate spatial rainfall variability in the Southwest Iberian Peninsula. The area study includes a wide diversity of landscape features and comprises four Portuguese regions and one Spanish province (totalizing 28,860 km2). The region suffers a very strong Mediterranean influence, with a major cleavage between winter and summer seasons. Thus, the analysis was carried out separately for the wet (October to March) and dry (April to September) semesters. From an initial set of 10 explanatory physiographic variables, five were selected to be used in the multilinear regression, as they allowed generating models by map algebra that fitted well with the last 40 years of monthly rainfall data records. These records were obtained from 163 weather stations, filtered from an initial set of 230 (142 stations in Portugal and 88 in Spain). The correlation between the physiographic-based multilinear regression model and a model obtained by interpolation from rainfall historical data showed to be good or very good in approximately 75% of the area under study. Results show that physiographic-based models can be effectively used to estimate rainfall where there is a lack of rain gauges, or to densify spatial resolution of rainfall between rain gauges.

Risks of injury in distal metatarsal minimally invasive osteotomy when comparing standard and modified techniques: A cadaveric study.

BACKGROUND: The objectives of the study were to evaluate the structures at risk in distal metatarsal mini-invasive osteotomy (DMMO) and to compare standard and intraosseous approaches. METHODS: DMMO was performed on the second and fourth metatarsals of 11 fresh-frozen cadaveric specimens. The standard technique was performed in 11 metatarsals. It was then compared to a modified intraosseous technique that entails starting inside the bone in 11 other metatarsals. The cadavers were dissected to identify unintentional injury to soft tissue structures. RESULTS: In the standard group the most injured structures were the metatarsal joint capsules (MJC) (27%), extensor digitorum longus (EDL) (18%), and extensor digitorum brevis (EDB) (9%). The modified intraosseous group injured the EDL (27%), not the MJC (0%) and the EDB (0%). Distances between osteotomies and the dorsal metatarsal head articular surface (DMHAS) were 6.08 ± 3.99 mm in the standard and 9.92 ± 3.42 mm in the modified (p = 0.02). CONCLUSION: The DMMO techniques most frequently injured the EDL. Intra-articular positioning of the osteotomy was more observed in the standard. Overall, it appears the modified method could be an alternative to the standard DMMO. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The modified minimally invasive DMMO has a comparable rate of potential iatrogenic injuries. This intraosseous procedure may present as an option when planning surgery to the lesser metatarsals. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III. Comparative Cadaveric Study.

Relationship of Patent Ductus Arteriosus Echocardiographic Markers With Descending Aorta Diastolic Flow.

OBJECTIVES: To characterize the relationship of echocardiographic markers of left heart overload and flow in peripheral major end-organ vessels (eg, celiac artery) with the presence of reversed holodiastolic flow in the descending aorta, considered a surrogate marker of an increased transductal shunt volume, in preterm patients with a patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). METHODS: This work was a retrospective study of data from echocardiography performed to investigate the hemodynamic significance of a PDA in preterm patients. We studied differences in echocardiographic markers of the PDA shunt volume according to patterns of flow in the postductal descending aorta (no PDA, PDA with antegrade diastolic flow, and PDA with reversed diastolic flow). The strength of the association between each echocardiographic marker and the presence of aortic holodiastolic flow reversal was investigated. RESULTS: We studied 137 patients with a median (interquartile range) birth weight of 850 (694-1030) g and a median gestational age of 25 (24-27) weeks. Among patients with a PDA (113), those with diastolic flow reversal in the descending aorta (44) presented had increased echocardiographic markers representative of the shunt volume (increased left ventricular output, left atrial-to-aortic ratio, pulmonary vein D wave, and shorter isovolumic relaxation time) compared to those with aortic antegrade diastolic flow. A positive, albeit weak, correlation between diastolic flow reversal and shunt volume echocardiographic markers was found. Abnormal diastolic flow in the celiac artery had the strongest correlation (R2  = 0.24). CONCLUSIONS: In preterm patients with a PDA, echocardiographic markers of the shunt volume were more abnormal in patients with reversed diastolic flow in the descending aorta. These data support the assumption that variance in these markers are related to the shunt volume, which needs consideration when adjudicating hemodynamic significance.

Photosensitizers attenuate LPS-induced inflammation: implications in dentistry and general health.

Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) is a complementary therapeutic modality for periodontal and endodontic diseases, in which Gram-negative bacteria are directly involved. Currently, there are few evidences regarding the effects of aPDT on bacterial components such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and it would represent a major step forward in the clinical use of this therapy. In this context, this study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of different photosensitizers (PSs) used in aPDT in LPS inhibition. Four PSs were used in this study: methylene blue (MB), toluidine blue (TBO), new methylene blue (NMB), and curcumin (CUR). Different approaches to evaluate LPS interaction with PSs were used, such as spectrophotometry, Limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) test, functional assays using mouse macrophages, and an in vivo model of LPS injection. Spectrophotometry showed that LPS decreased the absorbance of all PSs used, indicating interactions between the two species. LAL assay revealed significant differences in LPS concentrations upon pre-incubation with the different PSs. Interestingly, the inflammatory potential of LPS decreased after previous treatment with the four PSs, resulting in decreased secretion of inflammatory cytokines by macrophages. In vivo, pre-incubating curcumin with LPS prevented animals from undergoing septic shock within the established time. Using relevant models to study the inflammatory activity of LPS, we found that all PSs used in this work decreased LPS-induced inflammation, with a more striking effect observed for NMB and curcumin. These data advance the understanding of the mechanisms of LPS inhibition by PSs.

Hybrid power generation for increasing water and energy securities during drought: Exploring local and regional effects in a semi-arid basin.

Reservoirs of hydropower plants (HPP) can amend water, energy, and food security in semi-arid regions. However, during severe droughts, the priority of energy demand leads to critical conditions of water availability. To reduce water use for energy, one possible measure is the adoption of solar power, an abundant energy source in semi-arid regions. This study assessed the influence of adding floating photovoltaic power (PV) in the large-scale reservoir of Sobradinho HPP, located in the São Francisco River (SFR), in Brazil, from 2009 to 2018. The simulated scenarios varied the installed PV power capacity from 50 to 1000 MW. For each scenario, water allocation was modified based on the solar-hydro equivalence that restrained the historical outflow of Sobradinho to maintain water in the reservoir. Besides, a diverse operation rule for the reservoirs in cascade of SFR was adopted to avoid ecological impacts of low streamflow. The scenarios were assessed in water security, solar-hydro electricity output, capacity factor of the powerplant, water and energy losses by evaporation and spilled water. Results show that a PV system starting from 250 MW was necessary to improve water security during the severe drought, reserving 0.7-2.3 of the annual water demand. In addition, the capacity factor was optimized from 29% to 34-47%. However, as the HPPs installed at SFR work as one system, the constrain of the river flow reduced the hydroelectricity by 4.4% for 750 MW. We concluded that PV significantly influenced water security and ecological conditions of SFR, with benefits in the range of 250-750 MW. The research provides assessment on substituting hydro for solar power on the operation of reservoirs in cascade and identifies the correlated benefits in social and ecological aspects. This information can support decisions of water and energy supply system operators and public policies focused on integrated resources management in semi-arid regions.

Mathematical Models to Measure the Variability of Nodes and Networks in Team Sports.

Pattern analysis is a widely researched topic in team sports performance analysis, using information theory as a conceptual framework. Bayesian methods are also used in this research field, but the association between these two is being developed. The aim of this paper is to present new mathematical concepts that are based on information and probability theory and can be applied to network analysis in Team Sports. These results are based on the transition matrices of the Markov chain, associated with the adjacency matrices of a network with n nodes and allowing for a more robust analysis of the variability of interactions in team sports. The proposed models refer to individual and collective rates and indexes of total variability between players and teams as well as the overall passing capacity of a network, all of which are demonstrated in the UEFA 2020/2021 Champions League Final.

GO-DACT: a phase 3b randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of GOlimumab plus methotrexate (MTX) versus placebo plus MTX in improving DACTylitis in MTX-naive patients with psoriatic arthritis.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the efficacy of golimumab in combination with methotrexate (MTX) versus MTX monotherapy in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) dactylitis. METHODS: Multicentre, investigator-initiated, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-design phase 3b trial in 11 Portuguese rheumatology centres. Patients with PsA along with active dactylitis and naive to MTX and biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) were randomly assigned to golimumab or placebo, both in combination with MTX. The primary endpoint was Dactylitis Severity Score (DSS) change from baseline to week 24. Key secondary endpoints included DSS and Leeds Dactylitis Index (LDI) response, and changes from baseline in the LDI and MRI dactylitis score. Analysis was by intention-to-treat for the primary endpoint. RESULTS: Twenty-one patients received golimumab plus MTX and 23 MTX monotherapy for 24 weeks. One patient from each arm discontinued. Patient inclusion was halted at 50% planned recruitment due to a favourable interim analysis. Median baseline DSS was 6 in both arms. By week 24, patients treated with golimumab plus MTX exhibited significantly greater improvements in DSS relative to MTX monotherapy (median change of 5 vs 2 points, respectively; p=0.026). In the golimumab plus MTX arm, significantly higher proportions of patients achieved at least 50% or 70% improvement in DSS and 20%, 50% or 70% improvement in LDI in comparison to MTX monotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of golimumab and MTX as first-line bDMARD therapy is superior to MTX monotherapy for the treatment of PsA dactylitis. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT02065713.

Relationship of Patent Ductus Arteriosus Size to Echocardiographic Markers of Shunt Volume.

OBJECTIVE: To define the technique of estimating ductal diameter (DD) that best correlates with echocardiographic markers of transductal shunt volume in preterm infants >7 days old with persistent patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). STUDY DESIGN: We conducted a retrospective study of 104 neonates born at <30 weeks gestation that had targeted neonatal echocardiography evaluation of PDA performed between 7 and 30 days. We used univariate analysis to determine the association of echocardiographic markers of shunt volume with ductal size definitions: DD, DD indexed to weight, and DD indexed to left pulmonary artery diameter. RESULTS: Two hundred echocardiograms were reviewed from 104 patients with a median gestational age of 25.4 weeks (range, 25-26.3 weeks) and a median birth weight of 810 g (range, 740-920 g). We found a weak correlation of each method of PDA size definition with individual echocardiographic markers of transductal shunt volume, of which nonindexed DD demonstrated the best correlation. The best correlation was found with markers of systemic hypoperfusion, such as diastolic flow reversal in the descending aorta (R2 = 0.24) and celiac artery (R2 = 0.21). Markers of pulmonary overcirculation, such as left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (R2 = 0.19) and left ventricular output (R2 = 0.17), showed fair correlation with nonindexed DD. CONCLUSION: In preterm infants >7 days old with PDA, nonindexed DD demonstrated weak correlations with individual echocardiographic markers of shunt volume. These data highlight the need for comprehensive echocardiographic evaluation in addition to diameter measurements to provide a better understanding of the hemodynamic consequences of PDA.

Lignin composition is related to xylem embolism resistance and leaf life span in trees in a tropical semiarid climate.

Wood properties influence the leaf life span (LL) of tree crowns. As lignin is an important component of wood and the water transport system, we investigated its relationship with embolism resistance and the LL of several tree species in a seasonally dry tropical ecosystem. We determined total lignin and the monomer contents of guaiacyl (G) and syringyl (S) and related them to wood traits and xylem vulnerability to embolism (Ψ50 ) for the most common species of the Brazilian semiarid, locally known as Caatinga. Leaf life span was negatively related to Ψ50 and positively related to S : G, which was negatively related to Ψ50 . This means that greater S : G increases LL by reducing Ψ50 . Lignin content was not correlated with any variable. We found two apparently unrelated axes of drought resistance. One axis, associated with lignin monomeric composition, increases LL in the dry season as a result of lower xylem embolism vulnerability. The other, associated with wood density and stem water content, helps leafless trees to withstand drought and allows them to resprout at the end of the dry season. The monomeric composition of lignin (S : G) is therefore an important functional wood attribute affecting several key functional aspects of tropical tree species in a semiarid climate.

Non-volant mammals from the Upper Paraná River Basin: a data set from a critical region for conservation in Brazil.

The data set represents the first attempt at a large-scale inventory of non-volant mammals, with potential applications to performing macroecological studies, developing conservation strategies, and undertaking population and community ecology research, but also to evaluate the ecological consequences of fragmentation and defaunation. Our objectives for compiling these data were to summarize information about inventories of non-volant mammals in the critically important area of the Upper Paraná River Basin by focusing on species richness and index of frequency of occurrence and to identify gaps in knowledge regarding non-volant mammal communities in order to guide future sampling efforts. The data set comprises studies on communities of non-volant mammals from 52 locations covering more than 1,000 km2 and comprises portion of four Brazilian states in the Upper Paraná River Basin. We listed 81 species of non-volant mammals distributed among 58 genera, 22 families, and 9 orders. Rodentia (28 species) was the richest order, followed by Carnivora (17 spp.) and Didelphimorphia (15 spp.). The richest family was Cricetidae (20 spp.), followed by Didelphidae (15 spp.), and Dasypodidae and Felidae (six spp.). Considering national conservation status, one species are considered endangered and 16 vulnerable. Considering global conservation status, 7 species are considered vulnerable, 10 are considered near threatened, and 6 are data deficient. According to the index of frequency of occurrence, Myrmecophaga tridactyla was the most frequent species, occurring at 88.64% of all sites, while 25 species were considered very restricted, occurring in just 2.56% of all sites. In general, the non-volant mammal fauna was composed of mainly very restricted (VR, 25 species) and localized species (L, 25 species), which account for 61.7% of the known species, while 38.3% are restricted (R, 8 species), common (C, 16 species), and widespread (W, 7 species). Seven marsupials and five small rodents had their distributions extended in the central-south of Brazil. All of these species are considered data deficient or threatened, which highlights the importance of these records. No copyright restrictions are associated with the use of this data set. Please cite this data paper when the data are used in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us of how they are using the data.

Effectiveness and long-term retention of anti-tumour necrosis factor treatment in juvenile and adult patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis: data from Reuma.pt.

OBJECTIVES: Assess the effectiveness and safety of biologic therapy as well as predictors of response at 1 year of therapy, retention rate in biologic treatment and predictors of drug discontinuation in JIA patients in the Portuguese register of rheumatic diseases. METHODS: We prospectively collected patient and disease characteristics from patients with JIA who started biological therapy. Adverse events were collected during the follow-up period. Predictors of response at 1 year and drug retention rates were assessed at 4 years of treatment for the first biologic agent. RESULTS: A total of 812 JIA patients [65% females, mean age at JIA onset 6.9 years (s.d. 4.7)], 227 received biologic therapy; 205 patients (90.3%) were treated with an anti-TNF as the first biologic. All the parameters used to evaluate disease activity, namely number of active joints, ESR and Childhood HAQ/HAQ, decreased significantly at 6 months and 1 year of treatment. The mean reduction in Juvenile Disease Activity Score 10 (JADAS10) after 1 year of treatment was 10.4 (s.d. 7.4). According to the definition of improvement using the JADAS10 score, 83.3% respond to biologic therapy after 1 year. Fourteen patients discontinued biologic therapies due to adverse events. Retention rates were 92.9% at 1 year, 85.5% at 2 years, 78.4% at 3 years and 68.1% at 4 years of treatment. Among all JIA subtypes, only concomitant therapy with corticosteroids was found to be univariately associated with withdrawal of biologic treatment (P = 0.016). CONCLUSION: Biologic therapies seem effective and safe in patients with JIA. In addition, the retention rates for the first biologic agent are high throughout 4 years.

Percutaneous valve implantation in "tricuspid" position after a Fontan-Björk operation.

BACKGROUND: A 30-year-old female with tricuspid valve atresia, ventricular septal defect, and atrial septal defect had a neonatal modified Blalock Taussig shunt and a Fontan-Björk operation performed at five years of age. She did well initially but progressively developed signs of systemic congestion due to severe homograft stenosis and underwent successful percutaneous implantation of a Melody® pulmonary valve (Medtronic, Minneapolis, MN, USA) in the "tricuspid" position.

Physical and technical performances are not associated with tactical prominence in U14 soccer matches.

The aim of this study was to analyse the association between physical/technical variables and the tactical prominence variables in U14 soccer matches. Twenty-two young amateur soccer players (13.5 [Formula: see text] 0.5 years old, 5.4 [Formula: see text] 0.5 years of practice, 163.3 [Formula: see text] 9.8 cm in body height) from two teams of the Portuguese regional league volunteered for the study. Our results showed positive and moderate correlation between dribbling test and betweenness centrality (r = 0.324; p = 0.142), and negative moderate correlation between %fatigue index and betweenness centrality (r = -0.390; p = 0.073). Physical and technical variables had no statistical differences among tactical positions. Nevertheless, when tactical prominence of players from four tactical positions were compared, significant differences were found in terms of degree prestige (p = 0.001) and degree centrality (p = 0.002). This pilot study did not find strong correlations between physical/technical levels and tactical prominence in soccer matches.

Flagellin and GroEL mediates in vitro binding of an atypical enteropathogenic Escherichia coli to cellular fibronectin.

BACKGROUND: Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) is distinguished mainly by the presence of EPEC adherence factor plasmid (pEAF) in typical EPEC (tEPEC) and its absence in atypical EPEC (aEPEC). The initial adherence to the intestinal mucosa is complex and mediated by adhesins other than bundle-forming pilus, which is not produced by aEPEC. Extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins of eukaryotic cells are commonly recognized by bacterial adhesins. Therefore, binding to ECM proteins may facilitate colonization, invasion and/or signaling by intestinal pathogens. Previous studies from our group demonstrated that aEPEC O26:H11 (strain BA2103) showed high binding activity to fibronectin, not shared by its counterpart, aEPEC O26:HNM. RESULTS: In the present study, using mass spectrometry after fibronectin-associated immunoprecipitation, two proteins, flagellin (50 kDa) and GroEL (52 kDa), were identified and BA2103 binding ability to fibronectin was inhibited in the presence of anti-H11 and anti-GroEL sera, but not by either naïve rabbit or other unrelated sera. It was also observed that the presence of purified flagellin inhibits adhesion of BA2103 to cellular fibronectin in a dose-dependent manner. Additionally, BA2103 GroEL is similar to the same protein of uropathogenic E. coli. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that flagellin may play a role in the in vitro interaction of BA2103 with cellular fibronectin, and GroEL can be an accessory protein in this process.