bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Serving High-Risk Foods in a High-Risk Setting: Survey of Hospital Food Service Practices after an Outbreak of Listeriosis in a Hospital
Authors: Cokes Carolyn , France Anne Marie , Reddy Vasudha , Hanson Heather , Lee Lillian , Kornstein Laura , Stavinsky Faina , Balter Sharon 
Published: March 2011

Background and Objectives.Prepared ready-to-eat salads and ready-to-eat delicatessen-style meats present a high risk for Listeria contamination. Because no foodborne illness risk management guidelines exist specifically for US hospitals, a survey of New York City (NYC) hospitals was conducted to characterize policies and practices after a listeriosis outbreak occurred in a NYC hospital.Methods.From August through October 2008, a listeriosis outbreak in a NYC hospital was investigated. From February through April 2009, NYC's 61 acute-care hospitals were asked to participate in a telephone survey regarding food safety practices and policies, specifically service of high-risk foods to patients at increased risk for listeriosis.Results.Five patients with medical conditions that put them at high risk for listeriosis had laboratory-confirmed Listeria monocytogenes infection. The Listeria outbreak strain was isolated from tuna salad prepared in the hospital. Fifty-four (89%) of 61 hospitals responded to the survey. Overall, 81% of respondents reported serving ready-to-eat deli meats to patients, and 100% reported serving prepared ready-to-eat salads. Pregnant women, patients receiving immunosuppressive drugs, and patients undergoing chemotherapy were served ready-to-eat deli meats at 77%, 59%, and 49% of hospitals, respectively, and were served prepared ready-to-eat salads at 94%, 89%, and 73% of hospitals, respectively. Only 4 (25%) of 16 respondents reported having a policy that ready-to-eat deli meats must be heated until steaming hot before serving.Conclusions.Despite the potential for severe outcomes of Listeria infection among hospitalized patients, the majority of NYC hospitals had no food preparation policies to minimize risk. Hospitals should implement policies to avoid serving high-risk foods to patients at risk for listeriosis.
Improving Antimicrobial Stewardship The Evolution of Programmatic Strategies and Barriers
Authors: Johannsson Birgir , Beekmann Susan E. , Srinivasan Arjun , Hersh Adam L. , Laxminarayan Ramanan , Polgreen Philip M. ,   on behalf of The Infectious Diseases Society of America Emerging Infections Network
Published: March 2011

Objective.To describe the prevalence and characteristics of antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) in hospitals across the United States and to describe financial support provided for these programs.Design.Electronic and paper 14-question survey of infectious diseases physician members of the Infectious Diseases Society of America Emerging Infections Network (IDSA EIN).Participants.All 1,044 IDSA EIN members who care for adult patients were invited to participate.Results.Five hundred twenty-two (50%) members responded. Seventy-three percent of respondents reported that their institutions had or were planning an ASP, compared with 50% reporting the same thing in an EIN survey 10 years before. A shift was noted from formulary restriction alone to use of a set of tailored strategies designed to provide information and feedback to prescribers, particularly in community hospitals. Lack of funding and lack of personnel were reported as major barriers to implementing a program. Fifty-two percent of respondents with an ASP reported that infectious diseases physicians do not receive direct compensation for their participation in the ASP, compared with 18% 10 years ago.Conclusions.The percentage of institutions reporting ASPs has increased over the last decade, although small community hospitals were least likely to have these programs. In addition, ASP strategies have shifted dramatically. Lack of funding remains a key barrier for ASPs, and administrators need additional cost savings data in order to support ASPs. Interestingly, while guidelines and editorials regard compensated participation by an infectious diseases physician in these programs as critical, we found that more than half of the respondents reported no direct compensation for ASP activities.
Observation of green lasing at 537 nm from Er-ions by coupled photon–atom modes in a random cavity
Authors: Pham Van Hoi , Chi Do Thuy , Bui Huy , Nguyen The Anh , Nguyen Thuy Van 
Published: March 2011

Abstract
We present new results of a laser phenomenon that gives rise to a narrow green emission mode in a random photonic-crystal cavity based on an Er-doped glass–air gap–polymer with a 976 nm diode laser pump. Lasing occurs at 537 nm, which does not respond to the resonant radiative transition 2
H
11/2→4
I
15/2; 4
S
3/2→4
I
15/2 in Erbium ions. This effect can be seen as photon–atom coupling in the context of the interaction between a single atom and/or a few atoms and resonant optical media, such as cavities or photonic crystals. Experimental results show that the random lasing mode directly originates from the coupled photon–atom mode inside the random cavity. The measured Q-factor is of 2100–2800 for a random cavity with an air gap of 600–1700 nm between Er-doped glass fiber and a coated polymer layer.
Electric contact resistance for monitoring nanoindentation-induced delamination
Authors: Nguyen Huu Hung , Wei Pal Jen , Lin Jen Fin 
Published: March 2011

Abstract
This study applied an in situ electric contact resistance technique to monitor delamination induced by indentation loads. A suddenly increasing indentation depth, together with a simultaneous drop in monitoring contact current, suggests that delamination occurred. During unloading processes, the rapid decrease in both contact depth and current imply that the delaminated film was suspended as long as the indentation load became sufficiently small. When delamination occurred during oscillating processes, the contact current was found to drop from an initial value to a steady value, which is related to a loss of interfacial contact.
Synthesis and optical properties of copper nanoparticles prepared by a chemical reduction method
Authors: Dang Thi My Dung , Le Thi Tuyet Thu , Fribourg-Blanc Eric , Dang Mau Chien 
Published: March 2011

Abstract
Copper nanoparticles, due to their interesting properties, low cost preparation and many potential applications in catalysis, cooling fluid or conductive inks, have attracted a lot of interest in recent years. In this study, copper nanoparticles were synthesized through the chemical reduction of copper sulfate with sodium borohydride in water without inert gas protection. In our synthesis route, ascorbic acid (natural vitamin C) was employed as a protective agent to prevent the nascent Cu nanoparticles from oxidation during the synthesis process and in storage. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) was added and worked both as a size controller and as a capping agent. Cu nanoparticles were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy to investigate the coordination between Cu nanoparticles and PEG. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and UV–vis spectrometry contributed to the analysis of size and optical properties of the nanoparticles, respectively. The average crystal sizes of the particles at room temperature were less than 10 nm. It was observed that the surface plasmon resonance phenomenon can be controlled during synthesis by varying the reaction time, pH, and relative ratio of copper sulfate to the surfactant. The surface plasmon resonance peak shifts from 561 to 572 nm, while the apparent color changes from red to black, which is partly related to the change in particle size. Upon oxidation, the color of the solution changes from red to violet and ultimately a blue solution appears.
The influence of fabrication conditions on structure and magnetic properties of Nd–Fe–Co–Nb–B nanocomposites
Authors: Nguyen Hai Yen , Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen , Pham Thi Thanh , Do Tran Huu , Nguyen Huy Dan 
Published: March 2011

Abstract
In this paper, we present the results of an investigation of the influence of fabrication conditions on the structure and magnetic properties of Nd
10.5−x

Fe
83.5−y

Co

x

Nb

y

B
6 (x=0–6; y=1.5–3) nanocomposites prepared by melt-spinning combined with annealing. By changing the quenching rate (by varying the tangential velocity of the copper wheel from 10 m
s
−1 to 40 m
s
−1), one can select a suitable velocity to obtain an alloy that has good, hard magnetic behavior without annealing. However, the hard magnetic behavior of the alloy is better and more stable when the alloy is quenched at a high rate to create an amorphous state and subsequently annealed in the range of 650–800 °C for 10 min. The results also show that the Co concentration has an important effect on the structure and magnetic properties of the alloys.
First Report of Grapevine Trunk Disease Caused by Botryosphaeria obtusa in China
Authors: Yan J.-Y. , Peng Y.-L. , Xie Y. , Li X.-H. , Yao S.-W. , Tang M.-L. , Wang Z.-Y. 
Published: March 2011

In September 2010, grapevine (Vitis vinifera) trunk diseases were observed in several vineyards of Yantai District in Shandong Provinces and Changli County of Hebei Provinces of China. Characteristic symptoms of Botryosphaeria canker were apparent, including dark brown discoloration on the trunk (visible in cross-section), cob base shriveling, drying of fruit clusters, and berry falling (2). To identify the causal pathogen, culturing of fungi was attempted from 387 small pieces of tissue from the canker margins of 43 diseased plants. Samples were surface disinfected by placing them in 75% ethanol for 1 min and rinsing with sterilized water three times before culturing on potato dextrose agar (PDA) at 28°C for 7 to 10 days. Fungi isolated were single spored to obtain pure cultures. On the basis of colony characteristics on PDA, 18 isolates from the 387 tissue pieces were eventually identified as Botryosphaeria obtusa (1), Most of the other fungi isolated were B. dothidea. B. obtusa colonies were grayish white, becoming dark brown with age, and pycnidia were formed after incubation for approximately 7 days. Conidia measured 8 to 11 × 17 to 26 μm (n= 50). Two isolates were used for rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence analysis with primers ITS1 and ITS4 (3). PCR products were separated by electrophoresis and bands were purified for legation with PMD-18T (Takara Company, Dalian, China) vector for sequencing. BLAST searches of two ITS sequences had 99 to 100% identity to B. obtusa. EF1-α and β-tubulin sequence analysis gave similar results. Koch's postulates were completed in the greenhouse on grape shoots inoculated with two isolates of B. obtusa originally isolated from diseased plants in the field. Inoculations were made on green shoots of V. vinifera cv. Dunkelfelder T. Six shoots were inoculated per isolate by wounding with a 4-mm cork borer (2 mm deep) and placing a colonized agar plug from a 5-day-old culture on the wound and wrapping it with Parafilm. Controls were mock inoculated with an agar plug from sterile PDA. Inoculated shoots were incubated in the dark under moist conditions in the laboratory for 8 to 10 days at 25°C. Inoculated shoots had necrotic cankers after 8 to 10 days and B. obtusa was recovered from each canker margin. The results indicated that some grapevines in China with symptoms of Botryosphaeria canker were infected by B. obtusa. To our knowledge, this is the first report of this pathogen causing trunk disease on grapevine in China. References: (1) A. Taylor et al. Australas. Plant Pathol. 34:187, 2005. (2) J. R. Úrbez-Torres et al. Plant Dis. 92:519, 2008. (3) T. J. White et al. Page 315 in: PCR Protocols: A Guide to Methods and Applications. Academic Press, San Diego, 1990.
First Report of Fusarium Wilt of Chicory (Cichorium intybus) Caused by Fusarium oxysporum in Italy
Authors: Garibaldi A. , Gilardi G. , Poli A. , Gullino M. L. 
Published: March 2011

In the summer of 2009, a wilt of chicory was observed on 25 to 30% of 30-day-old Cichorium intybus L. cv. Clio plants grown outdoors on a commercial farm in Piedmont (northern Italy). Affected plants were chlorotic and stunted with poorly developed root systems compared with healthy plants. Black streaks were observed in the stem and proximal part of the leaf vascular system in wilted plants. Fusarium oxysporum Schltdl. was isolated from symptomatic vascular tissue on a Fusarium-selective medium (1) from 80% of samples. Grown on potato dextrose agar (PDA) for 4 days at 23°C, the colonies, initially white and later pale pink, produced hyaline microconidia that were oval-elliptical and cylindrical in shape measuring 5.6 to 14.9 (average 10.2) × 2.1 to 4.5 (3.0) μm, borne on short monophialides measuring 8.2 to 16.1 (average 13.2) × 2.1 to 4.2 (3.3) μm. Macroconidia were slightly curved, three-septate, with a slightly hooked apical cell and a foot-shaped basal cell measuring 24.9 to 41.6 (average 32.2) × 3.2 to 5.2 (4.3) μm. Chlamydospores were both terminally and intercalary, solitary but also in short chains (2 to 4 elements) measuring 21.1 to 41.0 (average 27.2) μm (2). The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) rDNA region was amplified using the primers ITS1/ITS4 and sequenced. BLASTn analysis of the 527-bp amplicon (GenBank Accession No. HQ644423) obtained had 98% sequence identity with F. oxysporum (GenBank Accession No. FJ605247). The translation elongation factor-1α (EF-1α) gene was amplified using primers EF-1/EF-2 and sequenced (GenBank Accession No. GU564259). The 663-bp fragment had 99% sequence identity with F. oxysporum (GenBank Accession Nos. EU313540, EU313539, and DQ837696). Pathogenicity tests were conducted on 15-day-old chicory plants from two cultivars (Clio and Katia). Thirty-five plants per cultivar were inoculated by dipping their roots in a 1 × 106 CFU/ml suspension of isolate FusCic45B recovered from wilted chicory. Inoculated and noninoculated plants were transplanted into five pots filled with 10 liters of steamed mix (peat/perlite/sand, 60:20:20 vol/vol) and were maintained in a glasshouse at 25 to 27°C. Wilt symptoms and vascular discoloration of the roots, crown, and veins developed 15 days after inoculation on all inoculated plants. Plants of cv. Clio were more susceptible. F. oxysporum was always reisolated from infected plants using the Fusarium-selective medium. All noninoculated plants remained healthy. The pathogenicity test was conducted twice. To our knowledge, this is the first report of wilt caused by F. oxysporum on chicory, C. intybus, in Italy as well as worldwide. References: (1) H. Komada. Rev. Plant Prot. Res. 8:114, 1975. (2) E. Nelson et al. Fusarium Species: An Illustrated Manual for Identification. The Pennsylvania State University Press, University Park, 1983.
Regular Exercise Reverses Sensory Hypersensitivity in a Rat Neuropathic Pain Model
Authors: Stagg Nicola J. , Mata Heriberto P. , Ibrahim Mohab M. , Henriksen Erik J. , Porreca Frank , Vanderah Todd W. , Philip Malan T. 
Published: March 2011

Background
Exercise is often prescribed as a therapy for chronic pain. Short-term exercise briefly increases the production of endogenous analgesics, leading to transient antinociception. In limited studies, exercise produced sustained increases in endogenous opioids, sustained analgesia, or diminished measures of chronic pain. This study tests the hypothesis that regular aerobic exercise leads to sustained reversal of neuropathic pain by activating endogenous opioid-mediated pain modulatory systems.

Methods
After baseline measurements, the L5 and L6 spinal nerves of male Sprague-Dawley rats were tightly ligated. Animals were randomized to sedentary or 5-week treadmill exercise-trained groups. Thermal and tactile sensitivities were assessed 23 h after exercise, using paw withdrawal thresholds to von Frey filaments and withdrawal latencies to noxious heat. Opioid receptor antagonists were administered by subcutaneous, intrathecal, or intracerebroventricular injection. Opioid peptides were quantified using immunohistochemistry with densitometry.

Results
Exercise training ameliorated thermal and tactile hypersensitivity in spinal nerve-ligated animals within 3 weeks. Sensory hypersensitivity returned 5 days after discontinuation of exercise training. The effects of exercise were reversed by using systemically or intracerebroventricularly administered opioid receptor antagonists and prevented by continuous infusion of naltrexone. Exercise increased β-endorphin and met-enkephalin content in the rostral ventromedial medulla and the mid-brain periaqueductal gray area.

Conclusions
Regular moderate aerobic exercise reversed signs of neuropathic pain and increased endogenous opioid content in brainstem regions important in pain modulation. Exercise effects were reversed by opioid receptor antagonists. These results suggest that exercise-induced reversal of neuropathic pain results from an up-regulation of endogenous opioids.
Altered trichothecene biosynthesis in TRI6‐silenced transformants of Fusarium culmorum influences the severity of crown and foot rot on durum wheat seedlings
Authors: SCHERM BARBARA , ORRÙ MARCELLA , BALMAS VIRGILIO , SPANU FRANCESCA , AZARA EMANUELA , DELOGU GIOVANNA , HAMMOND THOMAS M. , KELLER NANCY P. , MIGHELI QUIRICO 
Published: March 2011

SUMMARYAn RNA silencing construct was used to alter mycotoxin production in the plant pathogenic fungus Fusarium culmorum, the incitant of crown and foot rot on wheat. The transformation of a wild‐type strain and its nitrate reductase‐deficient mutant with inverted repeat transgenes (IRTs) containing sequences corresponding to the trichothecene regulatory gene TRI6 was achieved using hygromycin B resistance as a selectable marker. Southern analysis revealed a variety of integration patterns of the TRI6 IRT. One transformant underwent homologous recombination with deletion of the endogenous TRI6 gene, whereas, in another transformant, the TRI6 IRT was not integrated into the genome. The TRI6 IRT did not alter the physiological characteristics, such as spore production, pigmentation or growth rate, on solid media. In most transformants, a high TRI6 amplification signal was detected by quantitative reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction, corresponding to a TRI6‐hybridizing smear of degraded fragments by Northern analysis, whereas TRI5 expression decreased compared with the respective nontransformed strain. Four transformants showed increased TRI5 expression, which was correlated with a dramatic (up to 28‐fold) augmentation of deoxynivalenol production. Pathogenicity assays on durum wheat seedlings confirmed that impairment of deoxynivalenol production in the TRI6 IRT transformants correlated with a loss of virulence, with decreased disease indices ranging from 40% to 80% in nine silenced strains, whereas the overproducing transformants displayed higher virulence compared with the wild‐type.
Structural characterisation of β‐cyclodextrin crosslinked by adipic acid
Authors: Kwak Hae‐Soo , Lee Jung Eun , Chang Yoon Hyuk 
Published: March 2011

SummaryThis study was conducted to investigate the structural characterisation of β‐cyclodextrin (β‐CD) crosslinked by adipic acid. β‐CD was treated with different concentrations (0%, 5%, 10% and 15%, w/v) of adipic acid. Different instruments, such as scanning electron microsope (SEM), Fourier‐transform infrared (FT‐IR) spectroscopy and 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra were used to find out chemical structure in the crosslinked β‐CD. SEM analysis suggested that crosslinking β‐CD with 15% adipic acid changed the original morphology and considerably increased the particle size of the raw material. FT‐IR spectroscopy data showed that an intensive absorption band at 1706 cm−1 was present in the β‐CD samples treated with 10% and 15% adipic acid, indicating a crosslinking between hydroxyl groups of β‐CD and carboxyl groups of adipic acid. NMR spectra revealed that the ester linkages between hydroxyl groups of β‐CD and carboxyl groups of adipic acid were formed after crosslinking of β‐CD with adipic acid.
Costs of constitutive and herbivore‐induced chemical defences in pine trees emerge only under low nutrient availability
Authors: Sampedro Luis , Moreira Xoaquín , Zas Rafael 
Published: March 2011

Summary 1. Production of antiherbivore chemical defences is generally assumed to be costly in terms of fitness, although some studies have failed to detect such costs. A convincing explanation is that the expression of fitness costs depends on environmental conditions such as nutrient availability. 2. We performed a greenhouse experiment with 33 half‐sib families in order to study the phenotypic plasticity of constitutive and methyl jasmonate‐induced chemical defences to soil phosphorus (P) availability, the existence of genetic trade‐offs (costs) between growth and the production of those defences and the extent to which P availability may modulate the expression of those costs. 3. We measured some proxies of vegetative fitness (primary growth, secondary growth and total biomass), plant reserves (soluble sugars and starch) and the concentration of quantitative chemical defences (diterpene content in the stem, total polyphenolics and condensed tannins in the needles). 4. Phosphorus availability had a considerable effect, both on the allocation of resources to constitutive and induced defences and on the expression of vegetative costs associated with those chemical defences. Constitutive investment in chemical defences was greater under P‐limited conditions for all studied traits. Inducibility of foliar phenolic compounds was greater under P‐limited conditions, and it was strongly constrained under high P availability. Availability of P did not affect the inducibility of stem diterpenes. 5. All defensive traits showed significant genetic variation, with different levels of genetic control in constitutive and induced modes, and genetic variation in their inducibility. We found significant negative genetic correlations (i.e. trade‐offs) between growth and defensive investment, but costs of chemical defences emerged only in P‐limited conditions. Vegetative costs of constitutive defences were detected for stem diterpenes but not for needle phenolics, while costs of induced defences were found for leaf phenolics but not for stem diterpenes. 6. Synthesis. Our results indicate that P availability controls the production of chemical defences in this pine species, influencing the resource allocation to constitutive defences, the inducibility of those defences and the emergence of related vegetative costs. Phosphorus availability thus appears as a major driver in the evolution of pine resistance to insects and a potential factor in maintaining genetic variation in defences.
Human host determinants influencing the outcome of Trypanosoma brucei gambiense infections
Authors: BUCHETON B. , MacLEOD A. , JAMONNEAU V. 
Published: March 2011

SummarySince first identified, human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) or sleeping sickness has been described as invariably fatal. Increasing data however argue that infection by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense, the causative agent of HAT, results in a wide range of outcomes in its human host and importantly that a number of subjects in endemic areas are apparently able to control infection to low levels, undetectable by the classical parasitological tests used in the field. Thus, trypanotolerance seems to occur in humans as has already been described in cattle or in the rodent experimental models of infection. This review focuses on the description of the diversity of outcomes resulting from T. b. gambiense in humans and on the host factors involved. The consequences/impacts on HAT epidemiology resulting from this diversity are also discussed with regard to implementing sustainable HAT control strategies.