Antimicrobial resistance in microbes poses a global and increasing threat to public health. The horizontal transfer of antimicrobial resistance genes was thought to be due largely to conjugative ...plasmids or transposons, with only a minor part being played by transduction through bacteriophages. However, whole-genome sequencing has recently shown that the latter mechanism could be highly important in the exchange of antimicrobial resistance genes between microorganisms and environments. The transfer of antimicrobial resistance genes by phages could underlie the origin of resistant bacteria found in food. We show that chicken meat carries a number of phages capable of transferring antimicrobial resistance. Of 243 phages randomly isolated from chicken meat, about a quarter (24.7%) were able to transduce resistance to one or more of the five antimicrobials tested into Escherichia coli ATCC 13706 (DSM 12242). Resistance to kanamycin was transduced the most often, followed by that to chloramphenicol, with four phages transducing tetracycline resistance and three transducing ampicillin resistance. Phages able to transduce antimicrobial resistance were isolated from 44% of the samples of chicken meat that we tested. The statistically significant (P = 0.01) relationship between the presence of phages transducing kanamycin resistance and E. coli isolates resistant to this antibiotic suggests that transduction may be an important mechanism for transferring kanamycin resistance to E. coli. It appears that the transduction of resistance to certain antimicrobials, e.g., kanamycin, not only is widely distributed in E. coli isolates found on meat but also could represent a major mechanism for resistance transfer. The result is of high importance for animal and human health.
This first of a 2-part series of articles recounts the key points presented in a collaborative symposium sponsored jointly by the Arthritis Foundation and the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle ...Society with the intent to survey the state of scientific knowledge related to incidence, diagnosis, pathologic mechanisms, and injection treatment options for osteoarthritis (OA) of the foot and ankle. A meeting was held virtually on December 3, 2021. A group of experts were invited to present brief synopses of the current state of knowledge and research in this area. Part 1 overviews areas of epidemiology and pathophysiology, current approaches in imaging, diagnostic and therapeutic injections, and genetics. Opportunities for future research are discussed. The OA scientific community, including funding agencies, academia, industry, and regulatory agencies, must recognize the needs of patients that suffer from arthritis of foot and ankle. The foot and ankle contain a myriad of interrelated joints and tissues that together provide a critical functionality. When this functionality is compromised by OA, significant disability results, yet the foot and ankle are generally understudied by the research community.
Level of Evidence: Level V - Review Article/Expert Opinion.
Dying, Death, and Grief in an Online Universe Carla Sofka, PhD, Illene Noppe Cupit, PhD, Kathleen Gilbert, PhD, CFLE, FT / Paul Gilbert, FBPsS, Carla Sofka, PhD, Kathleen Gilbert, PhD, CFLE, FT, Illene Noppe Cupit, PhD
2012, 2012-02-09
eBook
"This book is an excellent resource for the diverse practitioners and educators who are involved in this nascent area."-- Cruse Bereavement Care "This book is innovative and timely, challengingthe ...reader to think 'out of the box.' Sofka, Cupit, and Gilbert provide a framework to explore thanatologyin an online universe while encouraging continuousresearch to adapt to this ever-changing digital world."-- Death Studies "Historically we have always employed our foremost technology in the service of the dead. We have used whatever we had at our disposal to mourn, to support, to share memories and to tell stories. Carla J. Sofka, Illene Noppe Cupit, and Kathleen R. GilbertÖ reaffirm that principle reminding us that this new digital world both offers dramatic technologies and creates considerable opportunities to deal with dying, death, and grief. The editors are extraordinarily sensitive to the multiple ways that this new technology has impacted upon the death system or the ways that a society organizes behavior around dying and death. Dying, Death, and Grief in an Online Universe is bound to be a classic." Kenneth J Doka, PhD Professor, The College of New Rochelle Senior Consultant, The Hospice Foundation of America Modern communication technology has profoundly influenced societal practices and views about dying, death, and loss. This text, written for death educators, clinicians, researchers, and students of thanatology, provides current information about "thanatechnology, " the communication technology used in providing death education, grief counseling, and thantology research. The book offers a broad overview of how the communication technology revolution affects individuals coping with end-of-life issues, death-related and non-death loss and grief, and implications of the "digital divide" between those who are knowledgeable about and have access to modern technology, and those who are not. It describes the proliferation of online support groups and social network sites to cope with loss, and mechanisms for the memorialization and commemoration of loss. It also highlights blogging as a mechanism for storytelling and SKYPE as a communication tool during times of loss and grief. The unique issue of disenfranchised grief experienced by online community members is also explored along with ethical issues. Appendices provide guidance regarding the online availability of different types of informational support, tools to evaluate the integrity of online resources, and ethical standards. Key Features: * Examines the ways in which modern communication technology has revolutionized societal practices and views about dying, death, and loss * Offers time-tested strategies for providing death education online * Addresses ethical issues related to availability and use of technology * Explores the implications of the "digital divide" between technology and non-technology users in relation to issues of death and loss * Analyzes how technology has shaped and changed thanatology research
This second of a 2-part series of articles recounts the key points presented in a collaborative symposium sponsored jointly by the Arthritis Foundation and the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle ...Society with the intent to survey current treatment options for osteoarthritis (OA) of the foot and ankle. A meeting was held virtually on December 10, 2021. A group of experts were invited to present brief synopses of the current state of knowledge and research in this area. Topics were chosen by meeting organizers, who then identified and invited the expert speakers. Part 2 overviews the current treatment options, including orthotics, non–joint destructive procedures, as well as arthroscopies and arthroplasties in ankles and feet. Opportunities for future research are also discussed, such as developments in surgical options for ankle and the first metatarsophalangeal joint. The OA scientific community, including funding agencies, academia, industry, and regulatory agencies, must recognize the importance to patients of addressing the foot and ankle with improved basic, translational, and clinical research.
Level of Evidence:
Level V, review article/expert opinion.
Human campylobacteriosis is primarily associated with poultry but also cattle. In this study, 55 Campylobacter jejuni strains isolated from 382 dairy calves' feces were differentiated by multilocus ...sequence typing and tested for antimicrobial resistance. The most prevalent sequence type (ST) was ST883 (20.0%), followed by ST48 (14.5%), and ST50 (9.1%). In contrast to ST48 and ST50, ST883 has rarely been described in cattle previously. Furthermore, risk factor analysis was performed for the presence of the most prevalent STs in these calves. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the type of farm (organic vs. conventional) and calf housing (place, and individual vs. group) were identified as significantly (p < 0.05) associated with the presence of ST883 in calves, and ST50 was associated with calf diarrhea. Antimicrobial resistance was detected in 58.2% of the isolates. Most of the resistant isolates (81.3%) were resistant to more than one antimicrobial. Most frequently, resistance to ciprofloxacin (49.1%), followed by nalidixic acid (42.8%), and tetracycline (14.5%) was observed. The results of the present study support the hypothesis that dairy calves may serve as a potential reservoir for C. jejuni and pose a risk for transmission, including antimicrobial resistant isolates to the environment and to humans.
In this collection leading anthropologists provide a comprehensive yet highly nuanced view of what it means to be a Greek man or woman, married or unmarried, functioning within a complex society ...based on kinship ties. Exploring the ways in which sexual identity is constructed, these authors discuss, for example, how going out for coffee embodies dominant ideas about female sexuality, moral virtue, and autonomy; why men in a Lesbos village maintain elaborate friendships with nonfamily members while the women do not; why young housewives often participate in conflict-resolution rituals; and how the dominant role of mature married householders is challenged by unmarried persons who emphasize spontaneity and personal autonomy. This collection demonstrates that kinship and gender identities in Greece are not unitary and fixed: kinship is organized in several highly specific forms, and gender identities are plural, competing, antagonistic, and are continually being redefined by contexts and social change.
Appendicitis in leukemic patients is uncommon but associated with increased mortality. Additionally, leukemic cell infiltration of the appendix is extremely rare. While appendectomy is the treatment ...of choice for these patients, diagnosis and management of leukemia have a greater impact on remission and survival. A 59-year-old Caucasian female was admitted to the surgical service with acute right lower quadrant pain, nausea, and anorexia. She was noted to have leukocytosis, anemia, and thrombocytopenia. Abdominal imaging demonstrated appendicitis with retroperitoneal and mesenteric lymphadenopathy for which she underwent laparoscopic appendectomy. Peripheral smear, bone marrow biopsy, and surgical pathology of the appendix demonstrated acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with nonsuppurative appendicitis. In the setting of AML, prior cases described the development of appendicitis with active chemotherapy. Of these cases, less than ten patients had leukemic infiltration of the appendix, leading to leukostasis and nonsuppurative appendicitis. Acute appendicitis with leukemic infiltration as the initial manifestation of AML has only been described in two other cases in the literature with an average associated morbidity of 32.6 days. The prompt management in this case of appendicitis and AML resulted in an overall survival of 185 days.