The incidence of antimicrobial-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae (GC) is rising in Canada; however, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance data are unavailable for infections diagnosed directly ...from clinical specimens by nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs), representing over 80% of diagnoses. We developed a set of 10 improved molecular assays for surveillance of GC-AMR and prediction of susceptibilities in NAAT specimens.
Multiplex real-time PCR (RT-PCR) assays were developed to detect SNPs associated with cephalosporin (ponA, porB, mtrR -35delA, penA A311V, penA A501, N513Y, G545S), ciprofloxacin (gyrA S91, parC D86/S87/S88) and azithromycin 23S (A2059G, C2611T), mtrR meningitidis-like promoter resistance. The assays were validated on 127 gonococcal isolates, 51 non-gonococcal isolates and 50 NAATs with matched culture isolates. SNPs determined from the assay were compared with SNPs determined from in silico analysis of WGS data. MICs were determined for culture isolates using the agar dilution method.
SNP analysis of the 50 NAAT specimens had 96% agreement with the matched culture RT-PCR analysis. When compared with MICs, presence of penA A311V or penA A501 and two or more other SNPs correlated with decreased susceptibility and presence of three or more other SNPs correlated with intermediate susceptibility to cephalosporins; presence of any associated SNP correlated with ciprofloxacin or azithromycin resistance. NAAT-AMR predictions correlated with matched-culture cephalosporin, ciprofloxacin and azithromycin MICs at 94%, 100% and 98%, respectively.
We expanded molecular tests for N. gonorrhoeae AMR prediction by adding new loci and multiplexing reactions to improve surveillance where culture isolates are unavailable.
A comprehensive and critical review was performed on the environmental fate of eighteen commercial phthalate esters with alkyl chains ranging from 1 to 13 carbons. A synthesis of the extensive ...literature data on physicochemical properties, partitioning behavior, abiotic and biotic transformations and bioaccumulation processes of these chemicals is presented. This chemical class exhibits an eight order of magnitude increase in octanol-water partition coefficients (Kow) and a four order of magnitude decrease in vapor pressure (VP) as alkyl chain length increases from 1 to 13 carbons. A critical review of water solubility measurements for higher molecular weight phthalate esters (i.e. alkyl chains ≥ 6 carbons) reveals that most published values exceed true water solubilities due to experimental difficulties associated with solubility determinations for these hydrophobic organic liquids. Laboratory and field studies show that partitioning to suspended solids, soils, sediments and aerosols increase as Kow increases and VP decreases. Photodegradation via free radical attack is expected to be the dominant degradation pathway in the atmosphere with predicted half-lives of ca. 1 day for most of the phthalate esters investigated. Numerous studies indicate that phthalate esters are degraded by a wide range of bacteria and actinomycetes under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Standardized aerobic biodegradation tests with sewage sludge inocula show that phthalate esters undergo ≥ 50% ultimate degradation within 28 days. Biodegradation is expected to be the dominant loss mechanism in surface waters, soils and sediments. Primary degradation half-lives in surface and marine waters range from <1 day to 2 weeks and in soils from <1 week to several months. Longer half-lives may occur in anaerobic, oligotrophic, or cold environments. Numerous experiments have shown that the bioaccumulation of phthalate esters in the aquatic and terrestrial foodchein is limited by biotransformation, which increases with increasing trophic level. Consequently, models that ignore biotransformation grossly exaggerate bioaccumulation potential of higher molecular weight phthalate esters. This review provides the logical first step in elucidating multimedia exposure to phthalate esters.
Full text
Available for:
IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
Background and Aims. No-till is considered a core practice of conservation and climate-smart agriculture. Nevertheless, recent evidence suggests that the benefits of this practice for climate change ...mitigation might be overestimated, particularly in the short term. Methods and Results. In a three-year field experiment, we investigated the environmental and agronomic performance of this practice by looking at changes in soil physical properties, C and N pools, as well as vine yield and grape quality. No-till increased stratification in the distribution of active soil C (POXC), further accentuating the already existing difference between top and subsoil. No-till also slightly reduced the daily efflux of CO2 from the soil during the rainy season, showing that these plots were less prone to lose C than tilled plots. Nonetheless, no-till did not increase total soil C stocks. This, together with the lack of differences in cumulative N2O emissions, resulted in similar global warming potential in till and no-till plots. Vine yield and grape quality remained unchanged in the no-till compared to the tilled plots. Conclusions. Even though no-till did not result in short-term climate change mitigation, results of this study suggest changes in the ecological processes leading to C accumulation and mineralization and that may result in future C sequestration. There were no deleterious effects of no-till on grape yield and quality. Significance of the Study. This study shows that reducing tillage intensity in vineyards is a feasible strategy from an agronomic standpoint.
Full text
Available for:
BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Productive bacterial cell division and survival of progeny requires tight coordination between chromosome segregation and cell division to ensure equal partitioning of DNA. Unlike rod-shaped bacteria ...that undergo division in one plane, the coccoid human pathogen
divides in three successive orthogonal planes, which requires a different spatial control compared to rod-shaped cells. To gain a better understanding of how this coordination between chromosome segregation and cell division is regulated in
, we investigated proteins that associate with FtsZ and the divisome. We found that DnaK, a well-known chaperone, interacts with FtsZ, EzrA and DivIVA, and is required for DivIVA stability. Unlike in several rod shaped organisms, DivIVA in
associates with several components of the divisome, as well as the chromosome segregation protein, SMC. This data, combined with phenotypic analysis of mutants, suggests a novel role for
DivIVA in ensuring cell division and chromosome segregation are coordinated.
Nightwork Peterson, Institute Historian T. F; Bender, Eric
03/2011
eBook
An MIT "hack" is an ingenious, benign, andanonymous prank or practical joke, often requiring engineering or scientificexpertise and often pulled off under cover of darkness -- instances of campus ...mischief sometimes coinciding withApril Fool's Day, final exams, or commencement. (It should not beconfused with the sometimes nonbenign phenomenon of computer hacking.)Noteworthy MIT hacks over the years include the legendary Harvard--YaleFootball Game Hack (when a weather balloon emblazoned "MIT" poppedout of the ground near the 50-yard line), the campus police car found perchedon the Great Dome, the apparent disappearance of the Institute president'soffice, and a faux cathedral (complete with stained glass windows, organ, andwedding ceremony) in a lobby. Hacks are by their nature ephemeral, althoughthey live on in the memory of both perpetrators and spectators. Nightwork,drawing on the MIT Museum's unique collection of hack-related photographsand other materials, describes and documents the best of MIT's hacks andhacking culture. Thisgenerously illustrated updated edition has added coverage of such recent hacksas the cross-country abduction of rival Caltech's cannon (a prankrequiring months of planning, intricate choreography, and last-minute improvisation),a fire truck on the Dome that marked the fifth anniversary of 9/11, andnumerous pokes at the celebrated Frank Gehry-designed Stata Center, and even aworking solar-powered Red Line subway car on the Great Dome. Hackshave been said to express the essence of MIT, providing, as alumnusAndre DeHon observes, "an opportunity todemonstrate creativity and know-how in mastering the physical world."What better way to mark the 150th anniversary of MIT's founding than tocommemorate its native ingenuity with this new edition of Nightwork?
Snake River Sockeye Salmon Oncorhynchus nerka were declared endangered in 1991 after several years of decreasing abundance. Several factors, including poor marine survival, likely contributed to the ...decline of Snake River Sockeye Salmon. Little is known about their migration and ocean distribution and the factors influencing their production. We sampled (1) coastal waters from southern British Columbia (BC) to southeast Alaska during June–July, October–November, and February–March 1998–2011; and (2) Oregon and Washington coastal waters during May–June and September 2007–2010. In total, 8,227 juvenile Sockeye Salmon were captured. Despite their extremely low abundance relative to other stocks, 15 coded-wire-tagged juveniles from Redfish Lake were recovered since 2007, primarily in spring and summer surveys off the BC coast. Genetic analyses revealed that an additional eight Redfish Lake juveniles were also present in this area during summer. Snake River smolts undertook a rapid northward migration that brought them well beyond the Columbia River estuary and plume, exposing them to ocean conditions prevailing off BC. Through a multimodel inference approach, we characterized associations between the number of returning adults and a suite of ocean and river variables. Seven ocean variables and five river variables were chosen for the model selection analysis (e.g., copepod biomass anomalies, coastal upwelling indices, date of the spring transition, river discharge, river temperature, and the proportion of smolts transported through the hydropower system). Although adult returns were highly correlated with smolt abundance, our analyses suggest that ocean conditions encountered during the first growing season (as indexed by copepod anomalies) contribute to the variability in total adult returns. There was also evidence for a negative effect of transporting smolts through the hydropower system, with the caveat that we used transportation data for steelhead O. mykiss as a proxy. Received April 4, 2014; accepted September 15, 2014
Full text
Available for:
FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Erectile dysfunction (impotence) affects approximately 10 million to 20 million men in the United States.
1
,
2
It becomes more frequent with age,
3
but is not an inevitable consequence of normal ...aging.
4
It is usually due to organic factors or diseases, such as pelvic vascular disease, diabetes mellitus, neurodegenerative disorders, side effects of medication, pelvic surgery, and trauma.
3
,
4
Erectile dysfunction impairs sexual performance, diminishes self-esteem,
2
,
3
and disrupts personal relationships.
1
Current treatments for erectile dysfunction include oral medications, vacuum pumps, vascular surgery, penile prostheses, and intracavernosal injections. Oral medications, such as yohimbine, have limited efficacy.
5
,
6
Vacuum pumps may be . . .
Pathogenesis of Tourette's Syndrome Leckman, James F; Peterson, Bradley S.; Anderson, George M. ...
Journal of child psychology and psychiatry,
01/1997, Volume:
38, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
This review presents a model of disease pathogenesis in the context of CNS development M begins with an exploration of the clinical features and natural history of Tourette's syndrome. This is ...followed by a consideration of the role of genetic and non gene tic factors. An effort is then made to review the anatomical organization of the basal ganglia and related cortical sites. These circuits are intimately involved in (he normal processing of sensorimotor, cognitive, and emotionally laden information. Evidence implicating these circuits in the pathobiology of Tourette's syndrome is then considered. The review closes with the prospects for advances in interdisciplinary research and therapeutics using this model as a guide.
Full text
Available for:
FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Purpose: The Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) is a community-based program providing primary, acute, and long-term care to frail elderly individuals. A central component of the ...PACE model is the interdisciplinary care team, which includes both professionals and non-professionals. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between the team's overall performance and the risk-adjusted health outcomes of program enrollees. Design and Methods: The study included interdisciplinary teams in 26 PACE programs and 3,401 individuals enrolled in them. We combined information about individuals' health, functional, and mental status from DataPACE with an overall measure of team performance. We used multivariate regression techniques to test the hypothesis that better team performance is associated with better risk-adjusted health outcomes: survival and short-term (within 3 months of enrollment) and long-term (within 12 months of enrollment) improvements in functional status and in urinary incontinence. Results: Team performance was significantly associated with better functional outcomes (both short and long term) and with better long-term urinary incontinence outcomes. There was no significant association with survival. Implications: This study provides empirical evidence for the relationship between team performance and patient outcomes in long-term care. It suggests that PACE programs can improve patient outcomes by improving the functioning of care teams.
PDF
