Campylobacter
spp. are the most frequent agent of human gastroenteritis worldwide, and the spread of multidrug-resistant strains makes the clinical treatment difficult. The current study presents the ...resistome analysis of 39,798
Campylobacter jejuni
and 11,920
Campylobacter coli
genomes available in public repositories. Determinants of resistance to β-lactams (Be) and tetracyclines (Te) were the most frequent for both species, with resistance to quinolones (Qu) as the third most important on
C. jejuni
and to aminoglycosides (Am) on
C. coli
. Moreover, resistance to Te, Qu, and Am was frequently found in co-occurrence with resistance to other antibiotic families. Geographical differences on clonal complexes distribution were found for
C. jejuni
and on resistome genotypes for both
C. jejuni
and
C. coli
species. Attending to the resistome patterns by isolation source, three main clusters of genomes were found on
C. jejuni
genomes at antimicrobial resistance gene level. The first cluster was formed by genomes from human, food production animals (e.g., sheep, cow, and chicken), and food (e.g., dairy products) isolates. The higher incidence of
tet(O)
, associated with tetracycline resistance, and the
gyrA
(T86I) single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), associated with quinolone resistance, among genomes from this cluster could be due to the intense use of these antibiotics in veterinary and human clinical settings. Similarly, a high incidence of
tet(O)
genes of
C. coli
genomes from pig, cow, and turkey was found. Moreover, the cluster based on resistome patterns formed by
C. jejuni
and
C. coli
genomes of human, turkey, and chicken origin is in agreement with previous observations reporting chicken or poultry-related environments as the main source of human campylobacteriosis infections. Most clonal complexes (CCs) associated with chicken host specialization (e.g., ST-354, ST-573, ST-464, and ST-446) were the CCs with the highest prevalence of determinants of resistance to Be, Qu, and Te. Finally, a clear trend toward an increase in the occurrence of Te and Qu resistance determinants on
C. jejuni
, linked to the spread of the co-occurrence of the
bla
OXA–
61
and
tet(O)-tet(O/W/O)
genes and the
gyrA
(T86I) SNP, was found from 2001 to date in Europe.
How does educational stage affect the way people find information? In previous research using the Digital Visitors & Residents (V&R) framework for semi-structured interviews, context was a factor in ...how individuals behaved. This study of 145 online, open-ended surveys examines the impact that one's V&R educational stage has on the likelihood of attending to digital and human sources across four contexts. These contexts vary according to whether the search was professional or personal and successful or struggled. The impact of educational stage differs based on context. In some contexts, people at higher educational stages are more likely to attend to digital sources and less likely to attend to human sources. In other contexts, there is no statistically significant difference (p < 0.10) among educational stages. These findings provide support for previous V&R research, while also demonstrating that online surveys can be used to supplement and balance the data collected from semi-structured interviews.
•Participants completed an open-ended online survey about their behavior in several information-seeking contexts.•The Digital Visitors & Residents (V&R) framework was used to analyze their responses.•Higher V&R educational stages were more likely to use digital sources, less likely to use human sources in some contexts.•Convenience, familiarity, and credibility of source also influence the choice of digital or human sources in some contexts.
This article addresses whether there are sufficient constraints on legal professionals acting as police informants, following the controversial 'Lawyer X' case. It examines key observations of the ...High Court of Australia in AB v CD; EF v CD 2018 HCA 58 relating to lawyers' and barristers' duties to their clients and to the court. It argues that existing professional rules and common law duties are insufficient to prevent legal advocates from acting as human sources. The author also suggests implications arising from the decision for the application of public interest immunity to human sources.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis est la cause d’une des maladies infectieuses les plus fréquentes dans le monde causant la mort de plus de 1,2 millions de personnes chaque année selon l’organisation ...mondiale de la santé (OMS). Actuellement, la tuberculose à M. tuberculosis émerge chez d’autres espèces comme l’a montré notre revue bibliographique des cas de tuberculose à M. tuberculosis chez les primates non-humains, les éléphants d’Asie, les animaux de ferme, les animaux de compagnie et certains animaux sauvages. Nous avons montré que ces trois espèces survivent dans le sol pendant au moins 12 mois et restent pathogènes dans un modèle souris. Egalement nous avons montré que le sol infecté par M. tuberculosis est une source potentielle de contamination pour les animaux. Nous avons ensuite développé un protocole de culture rapide de M. tuberculosis, incluant un nouveau milieu de culture solide, des conditions optimisées d’incubation, et la détection des microcolonies par autofluorescence. Notre travail de thèse a permis de mettre en place des techniques et protocoles qui révolutionnent la culture et l’isolement de M. tuberculosis en réduisant les délais de culture et des antibiogrammes, un point déterminant pour la lutte contre la tuberculose notamment dans les pays à ressources limitées et les pays à forte émergence de souches de M. tuberculosis de plus en plus résistantes. Ces protocoles sont en cours de transfert pour la routine de laboratoire.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the cause of one of the most common infectious diseases in the world killing more than 1.2 million people each year according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Currently, M. tuberculosis tuberculosis emerges in other species like non-human primates, Asian elephants, farm animals and some wild animals. We have shown that three species of M. tuberculosis complex survive in the soil for at least 12 months and are pathogenic in a mouse model and M. tuberculosis-infected soil is a potential source of infection for animals. We then developed a protocol for rapid culture of M. tuberculosis, including a new solid culture medium, optimized conditions of incubation, and detection of microcolonies by autofluorescence. Our thesis has helped develop techniques and protocols that are revolutionizing the culture and isolation of M. tuberculosis by reducing delays culture and susceptibility testing, a crucial point for the fight against tuberculosis, especially in countries limited resources and countries with strong emergence of M. tuberculosis strains more resistant. These protocols are being transferred to the routine laboratory.
A total of 1, 404 strains of Vibrio cholerae 0-1 and non 0-1, V. fluvialis and V. parahaemolyticus isolated from humna sources in various countries from 1979 to 1984 were studied for their resistance ...to 6 different antimicrobial agents, i.e. ampicillin, chloramphenicol, kanamycin, streptomycin, sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim and tetracycline, as well as for the presence of conjugative R plasmids. Among vibrio strains studied, 19 strains (4.3%) of 438 V. cholerae 0-1, 13 (10.2%) of 127 V. cholerae non 0-1, 3 (2.3%) of 133 V. fluvialis and 20 (2.8%) of 706 V. parahaemolyticus were found to be resistant to some of the antimicrobials tested. By transfer experiments, 13 of V. cholerae 0-1 and one of V. cholerae non 0-1 strains with multiple resistance were demonstrated to have conjugative R plasmids, but no strains of V. fluvialis and V. parahaemolyticus had plasmids. The R plasmids isolated from these resistant V. cholerae belonged to incompatibility group C. The molecular weight of these plasmids was estimated to be about 100 to 120 megadaltons by agarose gel electrophoresis.
•B. theta was present in high abundance in sewage, followed by HPyVs and M. smithii.•HPyVs showed high specificity towards human waste contamination.•Threshold concentrations of MST markers were ...derived considering decay and dilution factors.•Derived threshold concentrations of MST markers offer a quick guide to understand the health risks.•Field data validated B. theta threshold concentration derived from this study.
Human specific microbial source tracking (MST) markers which are highly specific to human waste contamination offer the advantage of better association with human pathogens than traditional microbial indicators. However, the performance of these MST markers may vary across different geographical regions. The magnitude of MST markers also plays an important role in interpreting the health risks. This study aims to (i) validate the specificity and sensitivity of human markers for tropical urban catchments; (ii) identify the threshold concentrations of MST markers, i.e. human polyomaviruses (HPyVs), Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron (B. theta) and Methanobrevibacter smithii (M. smithii), that correspond to the acceptable gastrointestinal (GI) illness risks associated with swimming using the QMRA approach; and (iii) validate the threshold concentrations of MST markers using the surveillance data obtained from the tropical urban environment. Among the three MST markers, HPyVs showed the highest specificity (100%) to sewage samples, followed by M. smithii (97%) and B. theta (90%). All MST markers showed 100% sensitivity towards sewage contamination, with B. theta present in highest abundance in sewage, followed by HPyVs and M. smithii. This study demonstrates a risk-based framework to identify the threshold concentrations of MST markers associated with GI illness risks in environmental waters by considering two main influencing factors (i.e. decay and dilution factors). This study successfully validated the B. theta threshold concentration range (581 to 8073 GC/100 mL) with field data (370 to 6500 GC/100 mL) in estimating GI illness risks with an Enterococcus model. Field data showed that the MST markers at threshold concentrations were able to classify the safe level in more than 83% of the samples, according to GI illness risks from Enterococcus and adenovirus. The study also highlighted the lack of associations between MST markers and GI illness risks from norovirus. With comprehensive information on specificity, sensitivity and threshold concentrations of MST markers, increasing confidence can be placed on identifying human source contamination and evaluating the health risks posed in environmental waters in Singapore.
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Human source intelligence (HUMINT) practitioners are concerned with detecting informant deception, and previous research indicates that the verbal content of an informant’s narrative can be used to ...identify potential deceit. The current study extends previous research by analysing the narrative structure and narrative identity of accounts provided by 22 participants undertaking the role of a mock-informant. Results indicate that deception affects the structure of a mock-informant narrative, with deceptive mock-informants employing abstract introductions and evaluative remarks to withhold information and to distract their listeners with emotional content. Additionally, deceptive mock-informants are more likely to express a low potency narrative role, such as a victim or tragic hero. Furthermore, there is tentative evidence to suggest that an analysis of narrative identity can also provide an indication of varying levels of motivation and cooperation among truthful mock-informants. These findings have implications for HUMINT practitioners in the field and add to the wider body of deception detection research.
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