bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Making Rules for Global Finance: Transatlantic Regulatory Cooperation at the Turn of the Millennium
Authors: Posner Elliot
Published: October 2009

This article explains a shift in the way transatlantic authorities managed conflicts over the cross-border regulation of securities markets: from cooperation skewed heavily toward the preferences of U.S. officials and accepted grudgingly by European counterparts; to a Euro-American regulatory condominium characterized by close interactions among decision makers and mutual accommodation. In the final decades of the twentieth century, the asymmetric influence wielded by U.S. securities market authorities had few parallels in other regulatory areas. Why, then, did U.S. officials become more accommodating and European authorities more influential, and why did the turning point occur in 2002 and 2003, an unlikely moment for intensified transatlantic sovereignty sharing? My study shows that institutional change inside the EU recast the North Atlantic balance of regulatory leverage and thereby was the primary factor behind the reshaping of transatlantic cooperation. Internal EU regulatory centralization changed the expectations of U.S. and European firms and authorities and generated new incentives in Washington, D.C., for accommodation and closer transatlantic coordination. My explanation differs from models that, accepting U.S. financial pre-eminence as a given, attribute variance in cross-border regulatory cooperation to factors such as incentives derived from the particularities of issue areas or preferences rooted in domestic politics. While resonating with a well-established theme from the realist branch of IPE, my findings have broad theoretical significance, and open new avenues for dialogue between realists and constructivists about the social, political, and institutional foundations of power in global economic affairs. The transatlantic political process set off by financial transformation in Europe reveals contemporary sources of systemic change and raises questions about what the EU's ascendance as a global financial regulator will mean in the aftermath of the late-2000s crisis.
On Acting and Knowing: How Pragmatism Can Advance International Relations Research and Methodology
Authors: Friedrichs Jörg , Kratochwil Friedrich
Published: October 2009

This article moves from deconstruction to reconstruction in research methodology. It proposes pragmatism as a way to escape from epistemological deadlock. We first show that social scientists are mistaken in their hope to obtain warranted knowledge through traditional scientific methods. We then show that pragmatism has grown from tacit commonsense to an explicit item on the agenda of the international relations discipline. We suggest that a coherent pragmatic approach consists of two elements: the recognition of knowledge generation as a social and discursive activity, and the orientation of research toward the generation of useful knowledge. To offer a concrete example of what pragmatic methodology can look like, we propose the research strategy of abduction. We assess various forms of research design to further elucidate how pragmatic research works in practice.
Audience Beliefs and International Organization Legitimacy
Authors: Chapman Terrence L.
Published: October 2009

Recent work suggests that multilateral security institutions, such as the UN Security Council, can influence foreign policy through public opinion. According to this view, authorization can increase public support for foreign policy, freeing domestic constraints. Governments that feel constrained by public opinion may thus alter their foreign policies to garner external authorization. These claims challenge traditional realist views about the role of international organizations in security affairs, which tend to focus on direct enforcement mechanisms and neglect indirect channels of influence. To examine these claims, this article investigates the first link in this causal chain—the effect of institutional statements on public opinion. Strategic information arguments, as opposed to arguments about the symbolic legitimacy of specific organizations or the procedural importance of consultation, posit that the effect of institutional statements on public opinion is conditional on public perceptions of member states' interests. This article tests this conditional relationship in the context of changes in presidential approval surrounding military disputes, using a measure of preference distance between the United States and veto-wielding members of the UN Security Council. Findings indicate that short-term changes in presidential approval surrounding the onset of military disputes in the United States between 1946 and 2001 have been significantly larger when accompanied by a positive resolution for a Security Council that is more distant in terms of foreign policy preferences. The article also discusses polling data during the 1990s and 2000s that support the strategic information perspective.
Do Firms Target Credit Ratings or Leverage Levels?
Authors: Kisgen Darren J.
Published: October 2009

Firms reduce leverage following credit rating downgrades. In the year following a downgrade, downgraded firms issue approximately 1.5%–2.0% less net debt relative to net equity as a percentage of assets compared to other firms. This relationship persists within an empirical model of target leverage behavior. The effect of a downgrade is larger at downgrades to a speculative grade rating and if commercial paper access is affected. In particular, firms downgraded to speculative are about twice as likely to reduce debt as other firms. Rating upgrades do not affect subsequent capital structure activity, suggesting that firms target minimum rating levels.
Stock Option Repricing and Its Alternatives: An Empirical Examination
Authors: Kalpathy Swaminathan
Published: October 2009

In this paper I examine the likelihood of CEO stock option repricing and its alternatives: namely, option grant, stock grant, and “do nothing.” Multinomial logit results suggest that firms reprice options to increase sensitivity of pay to stock price and to temper down sensitivity of pay to volatility. Moreover, repricing firms are younger and more concentrated in industries where human capital is important. Finally, I find no evidence that internal governance or executive conflicts of interest are relevant in explaining repricing. My results indicate that repricing is motivated by incentive alignment and retention, and not by agency cost considerations.
Late time evolution of unforced inviscid two-dimensional turbulence
Authors: DRITSCHEL DAVID G. , SCOTT RICHARD K. , MACASKILL CHARLIE , GOTTWALD GEORG A. , TRAN CHUONG V.
Published: October 2009

We propose a new unified model for the small, intermediate and large-scale evolution of freely decaying two-dimensional turbulence in the inviscid limit. The new model's centerpiece is a recent theory of vortex self-similarity (Dritschel et al., Phys. Rev. Lett., vol. 101, 2008, no. 094501), applicable to the intermediate range of scales spanned by an expanding population of vortices. This range is predicted to have a steep k−5 energy spectrum. At small scales, this gives way to Batchelor's (Batchelor, Phys. Fluids, vol. 12, 1969, p. 233) k−3 energy spectrum, corresponding to the (forward) enstrophy (mean square vorticity) cascade or, physically, to thinning filamentary debris produced by vortex collisions. This small-scale range carries with it nearly all of the enstrophy but negligible energy. At large scales, the slow growth of the maximum vortex size (~t1/6 in radius) implies a correspondingly slow inverse energy cascade. We argue that this exceedingly slow growth allows the large scales to approach equipartition (Kraichnan, Phys. Fluids, vol. 10, 1967, p. 1417; Fox & Orszag, Phys. Fluids, vol. 12, 1973, p. 169), ultimately leading to a k1 energy spectrum there. Put together, our proposed model has an energy spectrum ℰ(k, t) ∝ t1/3k1 at large scales, together with ℰ(k, t) ∝ t−2/3k−5 over the vortex population, and finally ℰ(k, t) ∝ t−1k−3 over an exponentially widening small-scale range dominated by incoherent filamentary debris.

Support for our model is provided in two parts. First, we address the evolution of large and ultra-large scales (much greater than any vortex) using a novel high-resolution vortex-in-cell simulation. This verifies equipartition, but more importantly allows us to better understand the approach to equipartition. Second, we address the intermediate and small scales by an ensemble of especially high-resolution direct numerical simulations.
Effect of dispersion on the onset of convection during CO2 sequestration
Authors: HIDALGO JUAN J. , CARRERA JESÚS
Published: October 2009

Dissolution of carbon dioxide (CO2) injected into saline aquifers causes an unstable high-density diffusive front. Understanding how instability fingers develop has received much attention because they accelerate dissolution trapping, which favours long-term sequestration. The time for the onset of convection as the dominant transport mechanism has been traditionally studied by neglecting dispersion and treating the CO2–brine interface as a prescribed concentration boundary by analogy to a thermal convection problem. This work explores the effect of these simplifications. Results show that accounting for the CO2 mass flux across the prescribed concentration boundary has little effect on the onset of convection. However, accounting for dispersion causes a reduction of up to two orders of magnitude on the onset time. This implies that CO2 dissolution can be accelerated by activating dispersion as a transport mechanism, which can be achieved adopting a fluctuating injection regime.
Gentamicin-resistant staphylococei: genetics of an outbreak in a dermatology department
Authors: Naidoo Jay , Noble W. C. , Weissmann A. , Dyke K. G. H.
Published: October 2009

The genetics of gentamicin resistance inStaphylococcus aureusstrains isolated during an outbreak of infection in a dermatology department have been studied. The predominant strain ofS. aureusdid not appear to possess a plasmid mediating gentamicin resistance though one isolate yielded a plasmid coding for penicillin and gentamicin. Three distinct plasmids were isolated from other phage types ofS. aureuswhich appeared towards the end of the epidemic. There appeared to be a stepwise loss of gentamicin resistance in the predominant strain.
Salmonella isolation from reptilian faeces: A discussion of appropriate cultural techniques
Authors: Harvey R. W. S. , Price T. H.
Published: October 2009

A short study of salmonella isolation from reptile faeces is described. The samples came from the reptile house at the Bristol Zoological Gardens. The wide range of salmonella serotypes present in the material, including representatives of all four subgenera, is noted. The important factors in the technique of isolation are discussed. These are choice of inoculum, enrichment medium, and plating Medium, useof multiple subculture and serological isolation. If the number of samples available is scanty, an extended technique will probably yield more information than a simple method.
A comparison of enrichment media for the isolation of salmonellae from seagull cloacal swabs
Authors: Fricker C. R. , Girdwood R. W. A. , Munro D.
Published: October 2009

The relative efficiency of three selective enrichment broths (Muller-Kauffmann tetrathionate, Rappaport's and selenite F) was investigated for the isolation of salmonellae from seagull cloacal swabs. Pre-enrichment in buffered peptone water was employed throughout the study, which involved the examination of 560 gulls, sixty (10·7%) of which were found to be carrying salmonellae. Rappaport's broth as modified by Vassiliadis for incubation at 43°C (Vassiliadis et al. 1976) yielded the highest number of positive swabs (57) and the widest range of serotypes. It was significantly more efficient that either selenite F or tetrathionate broth, although the results obtained with Rappaport's broth incubated at 37 and 43°C did not differ significantly (P > 0·5). Eleven serotypes were isolated during, the study, the most prevalent being Salmonella virchow.
The generation of aerosols by accidents which may occur during plant-scale production of micro-organisms
Authors: Ashcroft J. , Pomeroy N. P.
Published: October 2009

Experiments have been performed to simulate accidents which may occur during large-scale production of micro-organisms. Four types of accident, which were considered to be the most likely to result in the greatest hazard to health, were simulated using a bacterial model. The accidents were all concerned with faults occurring in the operation of the microbial fermenter. Gross contamination of surfaces occurred in all experiments, but only three types of accident produced a measurable aerosol.
A standardized monitor for the control of ethylene oxide sterilization cycles
Authors: Dadd A. H. , Stewart Celia M. , Town Margaret M.
Published: October 2009

The resistance of spores ofB. subtilisvar.nigerproduced in liquid synthetic medium and exposed to ethylene oxide on a nylon surface, has been shown to be almost identical to that for spores produced on a traditional solidified complex medium with exposure to the sterilant on aluminium foil. The use of short lengths of nylon tube as carriers allowed easy production and handling, with self-protection of the spore-bearing surface. Addition of a dye provided visual evidence of inoculation without affecting resistance to ethylene oxide. Such a monitor is suitable for use as a standardized biological challenge in routine ethylene oxide sterilization cycles.
The isolation ofCampylobacter jejunifrom flies
Authors: Wright E. P.
Published: October 2009

Living flies collected from three locations were cultured on selective medium forCampylobacterspp.Campylobacter jejuniwas isolated from five (2·4%) of 210 flies examined.

These results suggest that the potential hazard to health from the transmission of campylobacters from animals to human food by flies is small.
Milk-borne campylobacter enteritis in a rural area
Authors: Wright E. P. , Tillett H. E. , Hague J. T. , Clegg F. G. , Darnell R. , Culshaw J. A. , Sorrell J. A.
Published: October 2009

During November and December 1981 more than 50 residents in a village in Derbyshire had an acute gastrointestinal illness. One month later a second outbreak occurred affecting another 22 people. Campylobacter jejuni was isolated from 12 patients; no other gastrointestinal pathogens were identified. A casecontrol study showed an association with the consumption of unpasteurized milk from one particular farm. No new cases were identified for 6 months following the application of a Pasteurization Order from 26 January to 23 February 1982.
Enterotoxin production, phage typing and serotyping ofStaphylococcus aureusstrains isolated from clinical materials and food
Authors: Melconian A. K. , Brun Y. , Fleurette J.
Published: October 2009

The production of enterotoxins A, B, C and F by strains ofStaphylococcus aureusisolated from various clinical sources and from isolates implicated in food poisoning was investigated.

One hundred and ninety one of the 374 clinical strains (51·1%) were found to be enterotoxigenic; of these, 81 (27·7 %) strains produced enterotoxin A, 57 (15·3 %) strains produced enterotoxin B, 23 (6·2 %) strains produced enterotoxin C, and 64 (17·1 %) strains produced enterotoxin F. These enterotoxigenic strains were most frequently lysed by phages of group III (21·5%) or were not typable (22%).

Eighteen of the 29 strains implicated in food poisoning were enterotoxigenic.

The correlation of antigens and bacteriophage patterns with enterotoxigenicity was determined: enterotoxin A being related to a4antigen, enterotoxin B to phages of 94/96 complex with c1, o antigens, and enterotoxin F to phages of group I with 2632, k1k2, m antigens.
Effect of stool storage at room temperature on salmonella isolation from faeces
Authors: Harvey R. W. S. , Price T. H.
Published: October 2009

Stools, known to have contained salmonellas were cultured in three enrichment media on arrival at the laboratory. The three media were laboratory prepared selenite F, laboratory prepared Muller-Kauffmann tetrathionate and commercially obtained Oxoid Muller-Kauffmann tetrathionate (CM343). Where faecal samples were sufficiently large, they were stored at room temperature and re-examined using the same three enrichment broths. Whether fresh or stored stools were investigated, the laboratory prepared media were significantly more efficient than the commercial medium. In a straight comparison of the two laboratory prepared media, no significant difference in efficiency was evident with fresh stool samples. With stored specimens, however, Muller-Kauffmann tetrathionate was significantly better than selenite F. This finding might be relevant in examining samples delayed in the post.
Aerosol exposure of cattle to foot-and-mouth disease virus
Authors: McVicar John W. , Eisner Robert J.
Published: October 2009

Slight modifications of a small, plastic covered greenhouse provided a chamber for the exposure of cattle of all ages to aerosols of foot-and-mouth disease virus. Particle size distributions of aerosols were 76% < 3 μm, 17% 3–6 μm, and 7% > 6 μm immediately after the deVilbis no. 40 nebulizer used was turned off and 90% < 3 μm, 8% 3–6 μm, and 2% > 6 μm 20–30 min later. Pharyngeal virus growth curves and viremia patterns correlated well with the dose of virus to which test cattle were exposed and were similar to those of cattle inoculated intranasally.
Antibody response in pig nasal fluid and serum following foot-and-mouth disease infection or vaccination
Authors: Francis M. J. , Black L.
Published: October 2009

Nasal fluid and serum collected from pigs after exposure to live foot and mouth disease (FMD) virus or injection of single oil emulsion (w/o) or double oil emulsion (w/o/w) vaccines were examined for FMD neutralizing activity. After virus exposure the response profiles of serum and nasal mucus were similar to one another. In both, neutralizing activity rose to a peak at one to two weeks after exposure and then subsided slowly. After vaccination with either the w/o or w/o/w preparations a neutralizing response was demonstrable in the serum three to seven days after the first injection, and this was boosted by revaccinations 56 and 117 days later. The neutralizing activity was also detectable in nasal fluid seven days after the first vaccination, but subsequent revaccinations 56 and 117 days later provoked neutralizing titres which were no greater than those observed after the initial vaccination.
A simple view of nocardial taxonomy
Authors: Stanford J. L.
Published: October 2009

Nocardial taxonomy, like that of other actinomyeete genera, has undergone all the viscissitudes of doubt associated with years of inadequate and sometimes inappropriate methodology. This is reflected by the great expansion of species names allocated to the genus over the first two thirds of this century (Buchanan, Holt & Lessel, 1966), followed by the contraction achieved in the list of approved bacterial names in 1980 (Skerman, McGowan & Sneath, 1980). Created by Trevisan in 1889 for five species, modern taxonomists would now allocate some 20 species to the genus, including only one of Trevisan's original five species (Table 1). As an actinomycetc genusNocardiahas suffered from two particular disadvantages. First in having an apparently distinctive nocardioform morphology on the basis of which organisms were referred to this genus long after crude morphology lost its importance in many other genera. Second in having an unfortunate type species,Nocardia farcinica, with no really well accredited type strain.
Clinical and clinical laboratory aspects of nocardial infection
Authors: Stevens David A.
Published: October 2009

It is nearly 100 years since Noeard described bovine farcy, a granulomatous disease of cattle characterized by abscesses, sinus tracts and pulmonary disease (Nocard, 1888). This was the first disease due toNocardiaspecies described. Since that time our knowledge of the role of the nocardiae in human veterinary diseases, of the epidemiology of these diseases, and their diagnosis and treatment, has enlarged rapidly. This paper attempts to give an overview of our current understanding of these diseases.
Nocardiain naturally acquired and experimental infections in animals
Authors: Beaman B. L. , Sugar A. M.
Published: October 2009

There are three commonly recognized species ofNocardiathat cause disease in a large variety of animals including humans. In the United States, pulmonary or systemic nocardiosis in humans caused byN. asteroidesis most frequently diagnosed. It should be noted thatN. brasiliensiscan cause nocardiosis also. In Central and South America mycetomas induced byN. brasiliensisappear to be more prevalent even thoughN. asteroidescan be seen in this type of infection. Sporadic cases of both mycetoma and nocardiosis caused byN. caviaehave been reported. These three species ofNocardiaappear to be present in the soils of most countries; butN. asteroidesis more frequently isolated in the temperate climates whereasN. brasiliensispredominates in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. No specific geographic distribution has been noted withN. caviae. Infections involving these three species of bacteria are, therefore, worldwide in occurrence. Even though nocardial infections in both humans and animals were recognized as early as 1888, traditionally, they have been considered rare in frequency as compared to many other infectious diseases. This is a perception that probably is not accurate. During the past twenty years, greater diagnostic awareness combined with more intensive medical and veterinary surveillance have resulted in significantly increased recognition of disease caused by these aerobic actinomycetes.
A comparison of procedures for the isolation of campylobacters from seagull faeces
Authors: Fricker C. R. , Girdwood R. W. A. , Munro D.
Published: October 2009

Two enrichment broths (Preston and Roman & Doyle's) and four solid media (Preston, Skirrow's, Butzler's and Blaser's) were compared to determine their relative efficiencies in recovering campylobacters from 389 freshly voided seagull faeces, 276 of which were found to contain campylobacters by one or more of the procedures used.

A combination of enrichment in Preston medium followed by plating on to Preston agar gave the highest number of isolates (263). Enrichment in fluid media was shown to be an important part of the technique, as only 85 (30·8 %) of the 276 isolations were made as a result of direct plating.

Very little difference was seen between the two forms of enrichment (P> 0·5) but of the four selective media, Butzler's was significantly less efficient than any of the other three (P< 0·01), because it failed to grow more than a few strains ofCampylobacter coliand the NARTC group, which together made up nearly two-thirds of the total number ofCampylobacterspp. isolated.
A minimal apparatus method for counting bacteria: comparison with reference method in surveying beef carcasses at three commercial abattoirs
Authors: Hudson W. R. , Roberts T. A. , Whelehan O. P.
Published: October 2009

In two surveys of three commercial abattoirs a minimal apparatus method for making bacterial counts, the ‘loop-tile’ method, detected the same trends in bacterial numbers on beef carcasses as the ISO reference method applied to the same samples. Both methods showed the carcasses from one abattoir, that with an export licence, to carry consistently higher numbers of bacteria, and one of the four sites sampled on each carcass to be consistently dirtier than the other three.
Studies on the growth and survival ofStaphylococcus aureusin corned beef
Authors: Mansfield J. M. , Farkas G. , Wieneke Antonnette A. , Gilbert R. J.
Published: October 2009

The growth of an enterotoxin A producing strain ofStaphylococcus aureusin corned beef was investigated. In the inoculated 6 lb. canned product the bacteria spread throughout the meat and attained high numbers. The rate of spread of the organisms was related to the temperature and length of storage of the cans and the numbers of bacteria inoculated. Cans which had been stored for more than four months showed high counts of the bacteria throughout the meat. It was noted that with the long term contaminated product counts ofS. aureuson some selective media may give falsely low results.

Numbers ofS. aureuson meat inoculated by handling after removal from the can were initially extremely variable. More uniform distribution and higher counts were attained only if the meat was exposed for some hours at ambient temperature or above. The significance of the results to the investigation of outbreaks of food poisoning suspected of being associated with canned corned beef is discussed.
Hygiene for the newborn – to bath or to wash?
Authors: Hylén A.-M. , Karlsson E. , Svanberg L. , Walder M.
Published: October 2009

Appropriate skin care of newborns is performed partly to prevent infection but also for aesthetic and cleansing purposes. Skin care should involve cleansing with a non-toxic, non-abrasive neutral material. This study compared the relative risks and benefits of washing versus bathing with regard to bacterial colonization rate, clinical infection rate, body temperature and crying. The results confirm our clinical impression that bathing and washing routines do not differ with regard to signs of infection or other clinical complications. However, the washing routine does increase the babies heat loss and make them less comfortable.
Exposure of water consumers to mesophilic actinomycetes
Authors: Ojanen T. H. , Katila M.-L. , Mäntyjärvi R. , Seppänen H. , Muittari A. , Kuusisto P. , Virtanen P.
Published: October 2009

In autumn 1978 an epidemic of respiratory disease resembling allergic alveolitis occurred in a small Finnish community. The disease was caused by repeated exposures to tap water aerosol. The raw water of the community and the sand filters of the purification system were heavily contaminated with mesophilic actinomycetes. Fourteen different strains of actinomycetes were isolated. Exposed persons with and without symptoms as well as unexposed control persons were tested for antibodies against five of these actinomycetes and againstEnterobacter agglomerans. Both the exposed and the control persons had antibodies to actinomycetes but the exposed persons had antibodies against more actinomycete strains than the control persons. Precipitating antibodies againstE. agglomeranswere also found in control persons as well as in patients. There was a significant difference between the patients and the exposed healthy persons in bacterial agglutination tests with flagellar antigen of oneE. agglomeransstrain. However, the role of mesophilic actinomycetes andE. agglomeransin the aetiology of the disease could not be firmly established.
Escherichia colidiarrhoea
Authors: Gross R. J. , Rowe B.
Published: October 2009

Ever since Escherich (1885) first isolated the organism now known asEscherichia colifrom the stools of infants, medical microbiologists have been faced with the problem of distinguishing between those strains capable of causing diarrhoea and those that are harmless gut commensals. Epidemiological investigations were greatly facilitated by the description by Kauffmann (1947) of a serotyping scheme forE. coli, and Taylor (1961) later reported that 17 0 serogroups ofE. colihad been implicated as possible causes of epidemic infantile enteritis. These infantile enteropathogenicE. coli(EPEC), having been discovered by epidemiological studies using serotyping, belonged by definition to a restricted range of serogroups. More recently it was shown that otherE. colistrains may produce enterotoxins, and these enterotoxigenicE. coli(ETEC) usually belong to particular serogroups which are different from those associated with EPEC.E. colistrains belonging to a third range of serogroups may cause an illness resembling shigella dysentery, and these may be regarded as entero-invasiveE. coli(EIEC).E. colistrains that cause diarrhoea may therefore be considered as three groups, as follows.
Escherichia coliin extra-intestinal infections
Authors: Ørskov Ida , Ørskov Frits
Published: October 2009

When Theodor Escherich (1885a, b) first describedEscherichia colihe looked on it as a saprophytic organism. Soon several investigators found that colibacteria could be isolated from intestinal infections and from many infections outside the intestine, like urinary tract infections (UTI), cholecystitis, wound infections, meningitis, septicaemia, pulmonary infections, and many more. Uhlenhuth (1897) showed that coli strains from pathological processes were more pathogenic in animal experiments than strains isolated from the normal intestine. Smith (1927), who examined strains from white scours in calves, showed that spontaneous acapsular mutants could be obtained from certain colibacteria, and that such mutants were less virulent when injected intra-peritoneally into guinea-pigs.
Escherichia coli as a genetic tool
Authors: Datta Naomi
Published: October 2009

The study of Escherichia coli and its plasmids and bacteriophages has provided a vast body of genetical information, much of it relevant to the whole of biology. This was true even before the development of the new techniques, for cloning and analysing DNA, that have revolutionized biological research during the past decade. Thousands of millions of dollars are now invested in industrial uses of these techniques, which all depend on discoveries made in the course of academic research on E. coli. Much of the background of knowledge necessary for the cloning and expression of genetically engineered information, as well as the techniques themselves, came from work with this organism.
Brucellosis: serological methods compared
Authors: Heizmann W. , Botzenhart K. , Döller G. , Schanz D. , Hermann G. , Fleischmann K.
Published: October 2009

At least 12 persons contracted clinical, and 4 persons subclinicalBrucella melitensisinfection during a brucellosis epidemic in the spring and summer of 1983 in Southern Germany, a region which had been free of this disease for the past 20 years. All cases of illness were traced to one infected herd of sheep. The presence of antibodies against B. melitensis was examined in 72 sera of infected patients using the following tests: agglutination, Coomb's test, two complement fixation tests with different antigen preparations (CFT 1 and 2), IgG and IgM enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and opsonophagocytosis; and the occurrence of cross-reacting antibodies againstYersinia enterocolitcaO9 was investigated in the agglutination and complement fixation tests. Sera from 100 blood donors and 112 other people with close contact with sheep were also examined. The results revealed the need to consider an intermediate range in the interpretation of ELISA results – due to elevated values of persons in groups at risk but without clinical signs of illness. In all other tests, however, such persons revealed the same cut-off levels as the general population. Results from all initial sera of infected persons revealed titres of optical densities above the baseline levels determined in the present study, with the exception of the Coomb's and CFT 2 tests. The agglutination test, but not brucella CFT2, revealed complete cross-reactivity between Y. enterocolitica O9 and B. melitensis. ELISA stood out as the only test which is suited to diagnosis of both recent and past infection, since ELISA IgM determination permits conclusions about the time of the onset of illness, and determination of IgG may still yield values above the cut-off level up to G23 days after the onset of illness. In 2 of the 1G infected persons, IgG ELISA was the only test revealing previous infection 424 and 528 days after the onset of illness. A procedural scheme is presented which may help to simplify the diagnosis of brucellosis.
Pneumococcal carriage amongst Australian aborigines in Alice Springs, Northern Territory
Authors: Hansman D. , Morris S. , Gregory M. , McDonald B.
Published: October 2009

In Alice Springs and its vicinity, a single nasal swab was collected from 282 Australian aborigines in May 1981 to determine nasal carriage rates of pneumococci. Each swab was inoculated on blood agar and on gentamicin blood agar. The carriage rates were 89% in children, 39% in adolescents and 34% in adults. In all, 27 serotypes of pneumococci were met with and 15 (4%) of subjects yielded two or more serotypes. In children, types 23, 19, 6, 22 and 6 were predominant (in that order), whereas type 3 was commonest in older subjects. Approximately 25% children and 5% adults yielded drug-insensitive pneumococci. Resistance to benzylpenicillin, tetracycline and co-trimoxazole was met with, resistant pneumococci showed five resistance patterns and belonged to nine serotypes, predominantly types 19 and 23. All isolates were sensitive to chloramphenicol, erythromycin, lincomycin and rifampicin. The carriage rate of drug-insensitive pneumococci was 100-fold higher amongst children sampled than in non-aboriginal children in Australia.
Shedding of oocysts by immunocompetent individuals with cryptosporidiosis
Authors: Baxby Derrick , Hart C. A. , Blundell N.
Published: October 2009

Studies were made on 33 immunocompetent patients with cryptosporidiosis (31 of them children) to determine how long oocyst shedding continued after the cessation of diarrhoea. The majority (20/33) ceased to shed oocysts in the week following the cessation of diarrhoea. However 5 patients (15%) continued to shed oocysts for 2 weeks or more, and 1 patient was still shedding oocysts when lost to follow-up 3 weeks after the diarrhoea ceased.

There was considerable variation among patients, and some eliminated oocysts more efficiently and quickly than others. The sucrose flotation technique was more useful than direct smear for detecting the low numbers present at the end of the shedding period. Limited information suggested that a carrier state or relapse is probably rare.
Binding to and antibacterial effect of ampicillin, neomycin and polymyxin B on human faeces
Authors: Hazenberg M. P. , Pennock-Schröder A. M. , Van Den Boom M. , Van De Merwe J. P.
Published: October 2009

Neomycin and polymyxin B, used during selective decontamination of the gastrointestinal tract, were studied for their effect on the human faecal florain vitro. The selective effect was found to be associated with a relative insusceptibility of the obligate anaerobic flora as compared with the facultatively anaerobic Gram-negative rods (Escherichia coli). Both neomycin and polymyxin B were bound by human faeces, in contrast to ampicillin. The results may explain the selective effect of neomycin and polymyxin B on the human florain vivo.
The effect of the use of different selective media on the ability to recover salmonellae from seagull faeces
Authors: Fricker C. R. , Girdwood R. W. A.
Published: October 2009

Solid media were compared for their ability to recover salmonellae from seagull faecal material after pro-enrichment in buffered peptone water and enrichment in Rappaport's broth. Of the 847 specimens examined 96 were found to be positive for salmonellae. Use of Brilliant Green agar containing sulphamandelate supplement resulted in the detection of salmonellae from each of the 96 samples found to be positive and was the most efficient medium tested. Brilliant Green agar lacking the supplement was the least effective medium, salmonellae being isolated from only 80 samples using this medium.

All of the media tested were shown to support the growth of a wide range of salmonella serotypes, althoughSalmonella typhiandS. dublindid not form colonies on those media which contained Brilliant Green. Hynes' modification of deoxycholate citrate agar was shown to be considerably less inhibitory to salmonellae after ageing for four days. Ageing of other media had no significant affect on their ability to support the growth of salmonellae.
Stability of aminoglycoside resistancein vitroin gentamicin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus
Authors: Dixson Shirley , Brumfitt W. , Hamilton-Miller J. M. T.
Published: October 2009

Stability of aminoglycoside resistance has been investigated in 20 strains ofStaphylococcus aureusresistant to gentamicin (16 strains were also resistant to methicillin). In view of previous reports that incubation at elevated temperatures can hasten the loss of unstable antibiotic resistance, we passaged strains daily in a liquid medium for 24 days at 43 °C. The nine strains which were resistant to neomycin kept their aminoglycoside resistance virtually intact, whereas most of the other 11 strains (sensitive to neomycin) lost almost all their resistance to gentamicin and kanamycin after 5 days. It thus appears that the stability of aminoglycoside resistances inStaph. aureusis closely linked to the resistance of the strains to neomycin. This finding has important possible consequences in terms of the advisability of the clinical usage of preparations containing neomycin or framycetin for topical application and bowel sterilization.
The effect of vaccination regimen on the transfer of foot and mouth disease antibodies from the sow to her piglets
Authors: Francis M. J. , Black L.
Published: October 2009

Four groups of pregnant sows were inoculated with type O1foot and mouth disease (FMD) oil emulsion vaccine at various times before farrowing and samples of the sow's serum, colostrum and milk, and piglet's serum, collected during the first week after farrowing, were analysed for FMD virus neutralizing activity.

No FMD neutralizing antibodies were detectable in the piglets serum at birth but they were present 1·5 h after suckling and peak titres were reached 1–3 days later. There was no significant difference between the antibody titres of colostrum samples collected from different teats at farrowing. However, similar samples collected 3 days later showed significant (P< 0·005) fore to hind variation. The principal FMD virus neutralizing antibody class present in the sow's serum at farrowing and in their 3-day-old piglets was governed by the inoculation schedule employed. When the last vaccinations were given ≃ 30 days before farrowing (dbf) the predominant FMD virus neutralizing class was IgG. However, when the sows were vaccinated only ≃ 12 dbf the predominant class was IgM. A significant correlation was observed between the sow's serum titres and colostrum titres at farrowing (r= 0·90), and also between sows colostrum titres at farrowing and their 3-day-old piglets serum titres (r= 0·99).
Nephropathia epidemica in Norway: antigen and antibodies in rodent reservoirs and antibodies in selected human populations
Authors: Traavik T. , Sommer Ann-Inger , Mehl R. , Berdal B. P. , Stavem K. , Hunderi O. H. , Dalrymple J. M.
Published: October 2009

Nephropathia epidemica (NE) antigen was detected by IFAT (indirect fluorescent antibody technique) in the lungs of 14 of 97 bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) collected in three endemic areas. The distribution of antigen positive voles within an endemic location was scattered. Antibodies to Korean hemorrhagic fever (KHF) virus antigens were detected by IFAT in 12 of 14 NE antigen positive bank voles and in 15 of 83 that were antigen negative. NE antigen positive voles exhibited higher antibody titres. Antibodies to KHF were demonstrated in sera from C. rutilus and C. rufocanus collected more than 200 km north of the distribution area for C. glareolus. It appears likely that these vole species can serve as virus vectors for NE cases occurring north of the bank vole area. NE antibodies cross-reacting with KHF virus seem to diminish with time after infection in some NE patients, while for others such cross-reacting antibodies were detected up to 12 years after the disease. Antibodies to KHF were detected in eight of 106 healthy forestry workers with no clinical history of NE. No serological cross-reactions were detected between NE/KHF antigens and representative Bunyaviridae present in Norway. NE/KHF-like viruses appear widespread in Norway, both within and outside of the distribution area of the bank vole.
Inactivation of human rotavirus, SA11 and other enteric viruses in effluent by disinfectants
Authors: Harakeh M. , Butler M.
Published: October 2009

A preparation of infectious human rotavirus, isolated from faeces and resuspended in wastewater effluent, was shown to be inactivated by chlorine, chlorine dioxide, ozone and peracetic acid. Infectivity was assayed in MA 104 cells by the detection of cell-associated viral antigen by immunofluorescence. The inactivation curves were similar to those reported for other enteric viruses. Human rotavirus was at least as resistant as poliovirus, coxsackievirus, echovirus and f2coliphage and was strikingly less sensitive to inactivation than the simian rotavirus, SA11. The latter was generally the most sensitive of the six tested viruses yet is often taken as being representative of the human rotaviruses.
Subdivision ofMycobacterium tuberculosisfor epidemiological purposes: a seven year study of the ‘Classical’ and ‘Asian’ types of the human tubercle bacillus in South-East England
Authors: Grange J. M. , Yates M. D. , Collins C. H.
Published: October 2009

Human strains ofMycobacterium tuberculosiswere divided into the ‘Classical’ and ‘Asian’ types according to their sensitivity to thiophen-2-carboxylic acid hydrazide. The isolation of these two types in South-East England was studied during a seven-year period (1977–1983). The ‘Asian’ type was more prevalent among ethnic Asian patients than among ethnic Europeans. Among Europeans there was a decline in the isolation rate of ‘Classical’ strains and a small but significant increase in ‘Asian’ strains during the study period, so that the proportion of the latter type in this group is increasing. The type of bacillus was unrelated to the site of isolation except that the incidence of lymphadenitis due to the ‘Asian’ type among European females was significantly higher than expected. In general, European patients tended to be older than Asian patients, and the differences in age distribution according to site of isolation and type of bacillus in each ethnic group were small. A notable exception occurred with European females infected with the ‘Asian’ type, whose age distribution was similar to the Asians.

In view of the differences in behaviour of the two types of human tubercle bacilli in this country there is a need to cintinue a bacteriological surveillance and also to determine whether the nature of the host–pathogen interaction varies according to the type of bacillus.
Studies on staphylococci from toxic shock syndrome in France, 1981–1983
Authors: Melconian A. K. , Fleurette J. , Brun Y.
Published: October 2009

Staphylococci from 22 cases of toxic shock syndrome with onsets between 1981 and March 1983 have been studied. Another four cases were detected by abstract surveillance. Three of these patients died. The case histories show that the syndrome occurs in women during menstruation as well as in males and in children, and is associated withStaphylococcus aureusinfections.

The production of enterotoxins (A, B, C) and toxic shock toxin byS. aureusisolates from toxic shock syndrome was investigated. Twenty-two of the 23 isolates were found to be toxigenie: 7 produced enterotoxin A, 8 produced enterotoxin B, 3 produced enterotoxin C and 13 produced toxic shock toxin. The latter was found with enterotoxin A in five cases, and with enterotoxins A and B in only one case.

Sixty-three percent of 40S. aureusstrains isolated from the vagina of patients with diseases other than toxic shock syndrome produced toxin; eight of these strains produced toxic shock toxin.
Escherichia coli 0142.H6; a drug-resistant enteropathogenic clone?
Authors: Gross R. J. , Rowe B. , Threlfall E. J.
Published: October 2009

For many years strains of Escherichia coli belonging to particular serotypes (EPEC) were a common cause of outbreaks of infantile enteritis in Europe and North America. E. coli 0142. H6 was first isolated from infants with diarrhoea in Indonesia in 1960 and a further outbreak occurred in Mexico in 1965. Between 1967 and 1972 outbreaks of infantile enteritis caused by E. coli 0142 were reported in hospitals in Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and Eire. Sporadic cases occurred in Canada in 1972 and a further outbreak occurred in Arizona, U.S.A. in 1975. Strains from all these incidents were examined by biochemical and serological methods. Their resistance to antimicrobial drugs was determined and their resistance plasmids characterized; their plasmid profiles were visualized by agarose gel electrophoresis. The cumulative evidence suggests that strains isolated in the British Isles all belonged to a single clone and were related to those isolated in Indonesia, the U.S.A. and Canada. However, the strains from Mexico appeared to be unrelated. This study demonstrates that single clones of enteropathogenic E. coli may spread throughout the world, causing outbreaks of diarrhoeal disease and acquiring resistance to antimicrobial drugs.
Implications of coliform variability in the assessment of the sanitary quality of recreational waters
Authors: Fleisher Jay M.
Published: October 2009

The most widely used indicator of the sanitary quality of recreational waters is the coliform group of bacteria. Present techniques of coliform enumeration are imprecise, and this fact is too often overlooked in routine water quality surveys as well as in research efforts seeking quantitative relationships between coliform density and the health effects of recreational waters. To illustrate this point, three years of data gathered by the New York City Department of Health as part of their routine beach water sampling programme were re-analysed, taking the limited precision of each coliform estimate into account. Re-analysis showed 56·6% of the data were not significantly different (P > 0·05) from the standard being used. This large percentage of the data was of little value in determining the acceptability of the waters being sampled relative to the standard being used and thus represented a substantial waste of time and expense. Of the remaining data, half indicated acceptable water quality and half indicated unacceptable water quality relative to the standard. These three years of data, therefore, gave little information on the acceptability of the water quality at this location with respect to the standard being used. The data further suggest significant differences in coliform density within sample dates. It is recommended that in future water quality surveys, or in studies of the health effects of recreational waters as related to coliform density, emphasis should shift from maximizing the number of sample dates to maximizing the number of replicate determinations made per sample date.
A μ-capture ELISA for detecting Mycoplasma pneumoniae IgM: comparison with indirect immunofluorescence and indirect ELISA
Authors: Wreghitt T. G. , Sillis Margaret
Published: October 2009

A μ-capture ELISA was developed for detecting Mycoplasma pneumoniae specific IgM, and compared with an indirect immunofluorescent antibody (IFA) technique and an indirect ELISA. μ-capture ELISA and IFA compared well and were found to be the most sensitive assays. The IFA test can be completed in 2 h whilst the results of the μ-capture ELISA can be available in 24 h. Both tests are amenable to routine diagnostic use and have similar sensitivity. Indirect ELISA was found to be less sensitive and less specific, giving high assay values with several sera having undetectable M. pneumoniae CF antibody or CF antibody in low titre. Serum samples obtained from 11 patients at various times after M. pneumoniae infection showed maximum antibody levels within the first month by all assays, with a gradual fall in amount of IgM with time when assayed by μ-capture ELISA, a more gradual decline by IFA and hardly any decline with indirect ELISA. It was concluded that the indirect ELISA is unsuitable for the investigation of possible M. pneumoniae infection because the sustained high assay values with serum samples taken many months after infection, make interpretation of the test results very difficult.