bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Antibiotic Susceptibility and Characteristics of
Neisseria meningitidis
Isolates from the African Meningitis Belt, 2000 to 2006: Phenotypic and Genotypic Perspectives
Authors: Hedberg Sara Thulin , Fredlund Hans , Nicolas Pierre , Caugant Dominique A. , Olcén Per , Unemo Magnus 
Published: February 2009

ABSTRACT

Up-to-date information regarding the antibiotic susceptibility of
Neisseria meningitidis
strains from African countries is highly limited. Our aim was to comprehensively describe the antibiotic susceptibilities of a selection of
N. meningitidis
isolates recovered between 2000 and 2006 from 18 African countries, mainly those within the meningitis belt. Susceptibilities to 11 antibiotics were determined using Etest for 137
N. meningitidis
isolates (stringently selected from 693 available isolates). The isolates were also characterized by serogrouping, multilocus sequence typing, genosubtyping, and
penA
allele identification. All
N. meningitidis
isolates were susceptible to ceftriaxone, chloramphenicol, and ciprofloxacin. No isolate produced β-lactamase. Only three isolates (2%) displayed reduced susceptibility to penicillin G. The two isolates with the highest penicillin G MICs were the only isolates showing reduced susceptibility to ampicillin and cefuroxime. One of these isolates was also resistant to penicillin V. One percent of isolates displayed reduced susceptibility to rifampin, while 52% of the isolates were resistant to tetracycline, 74% were resistant to erythromycin, and 94% were resistant to sulfadiazine. The MICs of rifampin and tetracycline seemed to be associated with the serogroup of the isolates. In total, 18 sequence types (STs), 10 genosubtypes, and 8 different
penA
alleles were identified; the most common were ST-7, P1.20,9,35-1, and
penA4
, respectively. A high level of correlation was found between ST, genosubtype, and
penA
allele. In conclusion,
N. meningitidis
isolates from the African meningitis belt remain highly susceptible to the antibiotics used. Regarding β-lactam antibiotics, rare isolates showed a reduced susceptibility to penicillins, but the expanded-spectrum cephalosporins are not affected at present.
Surveillance of Carbapenem-Resistant
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Isolates from Puerto Rican Medical Center Hospitals: Dissemination of KPC and IMP-18 β-Lactamases
Authors: Wolter Daniel J. , Khalaf Noha , Robledo Iraida E. , Vázquez Guillermo J. , Santé Maria I. , Aquino Edna E. , Goering Richard V. , Hanson Nancy D. 
Published: February 2009

ABSTRACT

During a 6-month period, 37/513 (7.2%)
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
isolates belonging to 13 pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) groups from Puerto Rican hospitals were carbapenem nonsusceptible. Seven of 37 isolates from four PFGE groups carried
bla
IMP-18
, and 25/37 isolates from seven PFGE groups carried
bla
KPC
. The results indicated the clonal spread of
bla
KPC
-positive
P. aeruginosa
isolates into several Puerto Rican hospitals and the dissemination of
bla
IMP-18
and
bla
KPC
into genetically unrelated isolates.
bla
CTX-M
Genes in
Escherichia coli
Strains from Croatian Hospitals Are Located in New (
bla
CTX-M-3a
) and Widely Spread (
bla
CTX-M-3a
and
bla
CTX-M-15
) Genetic Structures
Authors: Literacka Elżbieta , Bedenic Branka , Baraniak Anna , Fiett Janusz , Tonkic Marija , Jajic-Bencic Ines , Gniadkowski Marek 
Published: February 2009

ABSTRACT

CTX-M-producing
Escherichia coli
isolates from three Croatian hospitals were analyzed. All
bla
CTX-M-15
genes and one
bla
CTX-M-3a
gene resided in widely spread IS
Ecp1
transposition modules, but other
bla
CTX-M-3a
genes were in a new configuration with two IS
26
copies, indicating a new event of gene mobilization from a
Kluyvera ascorbata
genome. The study confirmed the role of the
E. coli
ST131 clonal group with IncFII-type plasmids in the spread of
bla
CTX-M-15
and of IncL/M pCTX-M3-type plasmids in the dissemination of
bla
CTX-M-3a
.
Efficacy of Piperacillin Combined with the Penem β-Lactamase Inhibitor BLI-489 in Murine Models of Systemic Infection
Authors: Petersen Peter J. , Jones C. Hal , Venkatesan Aranapakam M. , Bradford Patricia A. 
Published: February 2009

ABSTRACTThe in vivo efficacy of piperacillin in combination with the penem inhibitor BLI-489 was determined using acute lethal systemic infections in mice. On the basis of preliminary results with various ratios, a dosing ratio of 8:1 was found to be optimal for retention of enhanced efficacy. Piperacillin-BLI-489 dosed at an 8:1 ratio was efficacious against murine infections caused by class A (including extended-spectrum β-lactamases), class C (AmpC), and class D β-lactamase-expressing pathogens.
Breakpoints for Susceptibility Testing Should Not Divide Wild-Type Distributions of Important Target Species
Authors: Arendrup Maiken Cavling , Kahlmeter Gunnar , Rodriguez-Tudela Juan Luis , Donnelly J. Peter 
Published: February 2009

ABSTRACT

The fluconazole MIC distributions for
Candida glabrata
from testing 34 different clinical isolates and performing 51 tests on a single isolate mirrored each other. Since what is perceived as biological variation in isolates without resistance mechanisms is mainly methodological variation, breakpoints which divide this distribution not only lack a sound biological basis but also result in poor reproducibility of susceptibility characterization. This makes 2, 4, 8, and possibly 16 μg/ml unsuitable breakpoints for
C. glabrata
and fluconazole.
Independence ofAnaplasma marginaleStrains with High and Low Transmission Efficiencies in the Tick Vector following Simultaneous Acquisition by Feeding on a Superinfected Mammalian Reservoir Host
Authors: Galletti Maria F. B. M. , Ueti Massaro W. , Knowles Donald P. , Brayton Kelly A. , Palmer Guy H. 
Published: February 2009

ABSTRACTStrain superinfection occurs when a second pathogen strain infects a host already carrying a primary strain.Anaplasma marginalesuperinfection occurs when the second strain carries a variant repertoire different from that of the primary strain, and the epidemiologic consequences depend on the relative efficiencies of tick-borne transmission of the two strains. Following strain superinfection in the reservoir host, we tested whether the presence of twoA. marginale(sensu lato) strains that differed in transmission efficiency altered the transmission phenotypes in comparison to those for single-strain infections.Dermacentor andersoniticks were fed on animals superinfected with theAnaplasma marginalesubsp.centralevaccine strain (low transmission efficiency) and theA. marginaleSt. Maries strain (high transmission efficiency). Within ticks that acquired both strains, the St. Maries strain had a competitive advantage and replicated to significantly higher levels than the vaccine strain. The St. Maries strain was subsequently transmitted to naïve hosts by ticks previously fed either on superinfected animals or on animals singly infected with the St. Maries strain, consistent with the predicted transmission phenotype of this strain and the lack of interference due to the presence of a competing low-efficiency strain. The vaccine strain was not transmitted by either singly infected or coinfected ticks, consistent with the predicted transmission phenotype and the lack of enhancement due to the presence of a high-efficiency strain. These results support the idea that the strain predominance in regions of endemicity is mediated by the intrinsic transmission efficiency of specific strains regardless of occurrence of superinfection.
Asphyxial games or “the choking game”: a potentially fatal risk behaviour
Authors: Macnab A J , Deevska M , Gagnon F , Cannon W G , Andrew T 
Published: February 2009

Objectives:To determine the prevalence of knowledge about and participation in asphyxial games, sometimes called “the choking game”, and how best to raise awareness of this risk-taking behaviour and provide preventive education.Design:Questionnaire; collaborative research model; lay advocacy group/university researchers.Setting:8 middle and high schools in Texas (six) and Ontario (two). A recent death from playing the choking game had occurred in one Texas school, and two other fatalities had occurred within the state.Subjects:Students in grades 4–12, aged 9–18 years.Intervention:None.Outcome measures:None.Results:Of 2762 surveys distributed, 2504 (90.7%) were completed. The mean (SD) age of the responders was 13.7 (2.2) years. 68% of children had heard about the game, 45% knew somebody who played it, and 6.6% had tried it, 93.9% of those with someone else. Forty percent of children perceived no risk. Information that playing the game could result in death or brain damage was reported as most likely to influence behaviour. The most respected source of a preventive education message was parents for pre-adolescents (43%) or victim/victim’s family (36%) for older adolescents.Conclusions:Knowledge of and participation in self-asphyxial behaviour is not unusual among schoolchildren. The age of the child probably determines the best source (parents or victim/victim’s family) of preventive education.
Teen perceptions of good drivers and safe drivers: implications for reaching adolescents
Authors: Barg F K , Keddem S , Ginsburg K R , Winston F K 
Published: February 2009

Objective:To understand definitions of the phrases “good driver” and “safe driver” among teen pre-drivers and early drivers in order to appropriately tailor messages about driving safety.Design:Qualitative study using freelisting, an anthropological research technique, to explore nuances in the ways that teens define a good driver and a safe driverSetting:Classes in six high schools each in a different state in the USA.Subjects:193 adolescent pre-drivers and early drivers, aged 15–17.Main outcome measures:Meaning of the phrase good driver and safe driver was identified for subgroups of adolescents.Results:Teen pre-drivers and early drivers define a good driver and a safe driver as one who is cautious, alert, responsible, does not speed, obeys the law, uses seatbelts, and concentrates. There are subtle and potentially important differences in the way that subgroups define a good driver and a safe driver.Conclusions:Injury prevention experts need to attend closely to the implicit meanings that teens attach to everyday terms. Freelisting is a method that identifies perceptions about the meaning of health communication messages and suggests differences in meaning among subgroups.
Injuries from interpersonal violence presenting to a rural health center in Western Kenya: characteristics and correlates
Authors: Ranney M L , Odero W , Mello M J , Waxman M , Fife R S 
Published: February 2009

Objective:To define the scope of injury due to interpersonal violence in a medium-sized town in Western Kenya.Design:Prospective, cross-sectional data collection and analysis.Setting/subjects:Data were prospectively collected on all injured patients (n = 562) presenting to a health center in Western Kenya, 2002–2004. Age, gender, type, and severity of injury, relationship to assailant, disposition, and clinician’s suspicion of alcohol use were recorded.Main outcome measures:Number of injuries due to interpersonal violence; correlation of gender, alcohol use, relationship to assailant, and type of injury.Results:Interpersonal violence caused 43% of all injuries. Men and women were equally likely to suffer violent injuries (42% vs 45%); however, women were more likely to suffer injury from domestic violence (4.7% vs 7.0%) and sexual assault (0% vs 3.5%). Men and women were equally likely to know their assailant. Women were more likely to be injured by a spouse/partner (19% vs 1.3%), whereas men were more likely to be injured by an acquaintance (29% vs 16%). Alcohol use was more often suspected for victims of violent, as opposed to unintentional, injury (45% vs 16%). Men with violent injuries were more likely than women to be suspected of having used alcohol (51% vs 35%).Conclusions:Interpersonal violence is a leading cause of injury in Western Kenya. Although men and women are equally likely to be assaulted, women are more likely to be injured by a spouse, and men by an acquaintance. Alcohol use is common among those who suffer violent injuries in this population.
Safety behaviours among Alaskan Native and American Indian people living in Alaska
Authors: Redwood D G , Hagan K D , Perkins R D , Stafford H B , Orell L J , Lanier A P 
Published: February 2009

Objective:To examine self-reported safety behaviours among 3828 Alaskan Native and American Indian people enrolled in the Alaska Education and Research Towards Health (EARTH) Study, 2004–2006.Design:A cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from a cohort study. A non-random sample of participants (2322 women and 1506 men) aged ⩾18 years from three regions of Alaska completed questions on safety behaviours as part of a comprehensive health and lifestyle computer-assisted self-administered questionnaire.Results:Most participants reported never driving after drinking (94.1%) or riding with a driver who had been drinking (91.3%). Fewer (74.1%) participants reported using a seatbelt always or almost always when riding in a vehicle. Only about half (55%) always kept to the speed limit when driving or used a personal flotation device when boating (51.5%). Even fewer (20.5%) reported using a helmet when riding on off-road vehicles, including four-wheelers and snowmobiles. Factors identified among those least likely to use safety devices and practise good safety behaviours are: younger age, lower household income and education, non-married, speaking only English at home, and a self-reported health status of poor to fair (p<0.05).Conclusions:Recommendations for future injury prevention efforts in this population are to increase use of personal flotation devices while boating and address the underuse of helmets with off-road vehicles. Limited prevention resources should be used to target those who engage in risky behaviours to maximise programme impact.
Don’t throw your blood clots away: use of blood clot may improve sensitivity of PCR diagnosis in invasive aspergillosis
Authors: McCulloch E , Ramage G , Jones B , Warn P , Kirkpatrick W R , Patterson T F , Williams C 
Published: February 2009

Background:The diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis (IA) remains challenging and frequently is not made until after death. Histopathological examination remains central to confirmation of diagnosis but often requires invasive procedures to obtain tissue for the examination. Detection of aspergillus DNA by quantitative PCR (qPCR) offers the potential for earlier diagnosis due to higher sensitivity, but PCR in clinical use is poorly reproducible, with different centres reporting variable results and often using different extraction and analytical methods.Aims:To optimise the performance of aspergillus PCR as a diagnostic modality.Methods:A rat inhalation model of invasive aspergillosis was used to optimise the methodology of diagnostic aspergillus PCR. Infected animals were terminally bled at 4 days post-infection; samples of EDTA blood, serum and the residual clot were pooled for subsequent analysis. DNA was extracted from each fraction using a variety of methods and an optimised qPCR reaction using anAspergillus fumigatusprimer set performed.Results:Significantly more aspergillus DNA was detected from the clot than EDTA and serum samples. Enzymatic and mechanical pretreatment reduced the yield of fungal DNA. There was some evidence that the average Ct values were greater for the EZ1 BioRobot than the MagNA Pure automated extractor, but this did not reach statistical significance at the 5% level (p = 0.078).Conclusions:Automated extraction from the clot present in a blood sample will increase DNA yield and improve the diagnostic sensitivity of the test.
Tobacco in prisons: a focus group study
Authors: Richmond R , Butler T , Wilhelm K , Wodak A , Cunningham M , Anderson I 
Published: February 2009

Objective:To examine the role of tobacco use in prison and possible influences of the prison environment on smoking among inmates in the context of developing inmate smoking cessation programmes.Method:Qualitative study based on seven focus groups with prisoners and ex-prisoners.Settings:A maximum security prison in rural New South Wales (NSW), Australia, and a community justice restorative centre and accommodation service for ex-prisoners in Sydney, NSW, Australia.Participants:40 participants (28 men and 12 women) comprising nine prisoners (including four Indigenous inmates) and 31 ex-prisoners.Results:Prisoners reported that tobacco serves as a de facto currency in correctional settings and can be exchanged for goods, used to pay debts and for gambling. Smoking helps manage the stressful situations such as transfers, court appearances and prison visits. Inmate smoking cessation programmes need to address the enmeshment of tobacco in prison life, improve availability of pharmacotherapies (for example, nicotine patches, bupropion) and the quitline (a free telephone helpline providing information on stopping smoking), provide non-smoking cells and areas within prisons, encourage physical activity for inmates and maintain monitoring of smoking cessation status after release.Conclusions:Tobacco is integrally bound up in the prison “culture”. Our findings are relevant to inform prison health authorities concerned with improving the health of prisoners, and for support organisations attempting to facilitate smoking cessation both in prison and after release. Smoking cessation programmes in prisons should be tailored to the unique stresses of the prison environment. Programmes need to acknowledge the difficulties of quitting smoking in prison arising from the stresses posed by this setting.
Microbial genesis, life and death in glacial iceThis article is one of a selection of papers in the Special Issue on Polar and Alpine Microbiology.
Authors: Price P. Buford 
Published: February 2009

Arguments are given that terrestrial RNA and DNA may have originated in a frozen environment more than 4 billion years ago. Scenarios are developed for atmospheric transport of microbes onto glacial ice, their adaptation to subzero temperatures in the ice, and their incorporation into one of three habitats — liquid veins, mineral grain surfaces, or isolated inside 1 of the crystals that make up polycrystalline ice. The Arrhenius dependence of microbial metabolic rate on temperature is shown to match that required to repair damage owing to spontaneous DNA depurination and amino acid racemization. Even for the oldest glacial ice, microbial lifetime is shown not to be shortened by radiation damage from 238U, 232Th, or 40K in mineral dust in ice, by phage-induced lysis, or by penetrating cosmic radiation. Instead, death of those cells adapted to the hostile conditions in glacial ice is probably due to exhaustion of available nutrients. By contrast, in permafrost microbial death is more likely due to α-particle radiation damage from U and Th in the soil and rocks intermixed with ice. For residence times in ice longer than a million years, spore formers may be unable to compete in longevity with vegetative cells that are able to repair DNA damage via survival metabolism.
New palaeomagnetic data from the Mahabaleshwar Plateau, Deccan Flood Basalt Province, India: implications for the volcanostratigraphic architecture of continental flood basalt provinces
Authors: Jay Anne E. , Niocaill Conall Mac , Widdowson Mike , Self Stephen , Turner William 
Published: February 2009

Abstract:

New magnetostratigraphic data from seven Western Ghats sections in the Deccan Volcanic Province are presented. These are combined with an established geochemically defined stratigraphy, and volcanological logs, to provide a correlated, chronological eruptive framework. We identify two magnetic polarities in five of the sections, and these are assigned to chrons 29r and 29n. Importantly, the reversal boundary represents an identifiable isochronous surface within the volcanic pile. This surface occurs at different elevations, as does the altitude of the geochemically defined formation boundary (i.e. Ambenali–Mahabaleshwar Fms), which defines a second isochronous surface. Inspection reveals significant differences in the number and thickness of lava units preserved between these two surfaces. This indicates that there was significant local topography (
c
. 80 m) across Deccan Volcanic Province lava fields during their development; an interpretation consistent with topographies observed across modern and historical examples (e.g. Hawaii, Iceland). These data also indicate that the geochemical stratigraphies of continental flood basalt provinces can mask local and sub-regional detail in lava stacking patterns when applied at smaller spatial scales (<10
2
–10
4
m). Finally, transitional (R–N) directions preserved in some eruptive units place constraints upon the rates of eruption, and indicate
c
. 2 ka periods of volcanic repose.
Detrital zircon age constraints on the provenance of sandstones on Hatton Bank and Edoras Bank, NE Atlantic
Authors: Morton Andrew C. , Hitchen Kenneth , Fanning C. Mark , Yaxley Greg , Johnson Howard , Ritchie J.Derek 
Published: February 2009

Abstract:

U–Pb dating of detrital zircons shows that the provenance of Cretaceous–Palaeogene sandstones on Hatton and Edoras banks (SW Rockall Plateau) comprises magmatic rocks dated at
c
. 1800 Ma and
c
. 1750 Ma, respectively. Their depositional setting, first-cycle mineralogy and unimodal detrital zircon populations suggest that these sandstones are of local origin. The zircon age data are therefore considered to provide constraints on these poorly understood areas of the Rockall Plateau. The U–Pb dates are directly comparable with U–Pb zircon crystallization ages from granitoid rocks reported from the Ketilidian Belt of southern Greenland and from the Rhinns Complex of western Britain. Hf isotopic data from the Edoras Bank sample are consistent with derivation from a juvenile Palaeoproterozoic block. In conjunction with previously reported Sm–Nd T
dm
model ages from the Ketilidian Belt, Rockall Bank and the Rhinns Complex, these data extend the known distribution of a large juvenile Palaeoproterozoic terrane spanning the southern NE Atlantic. In contrast, Hf isotopic data from the Hatton Bank sample imply a large contribution from Archaean crust. The zircon population from Edoras Bank also contains sparse Mesoproterozoic grains, providing evidence for the presence of volumetrically minor Grenville-age intrusions in the southern part of the Rockall Plateau.
The record of tectonic denudation and erosion in an emerging orogen: an apatite fission-track study of the Sierra Nevada, southern Spain
Authors: Clark S.J.P. , Dempster T.J. 
Published: February 2009

Abstract:

Apatite fission-track analysis of rocks from the Sierra Nevada basement, southern Spain reveals a detailed record of Neogene denudation. This is combined with evidence of the accumulation of clastic sedimentary rocks in the adjacent Granada Basin to provide a comprehensive record of the denudation of the emerging mountain block. Fission-track ages of
c
. 9–10 and 4 Ma obtained from the basement reveal periods of rapid cooling linked to tectonic denudation of the metamorphic core. The first major pulse of erosion from the Sierra Nevada produced proximal conglomerates in the marine basin and is constrained at
c
. 7 Ma using Sr-isotope stratigraphy. No major signal of rapid cooling is preserved by the fission-track systems in the basement block associated with this event. Apatite fission-track data from the conglomerates show young ages and short track lengths indicative of reheating. Modelling of the data suggests that heating occurred at around 4 Ma and is linked to movement of hot fluids through the basin. The ability of thermochronometers to record erosional events during the early stages of orogenesis is critically examined and we suggest that in young rising mountain blocks surface processes are incapable of keeping pace with rock uplift, and denudation principally occurs via tectonic processes.