Application of ribotyping and IS<i>200</i> fingerprinting to distinguish the five <i>Salmonella</i> serotype O6,7:c:1,5 groups: Choleraesuis <i>sensu stricto</i>, Choleraesuis var. Kunzendorf, Choleraesuis var. Decatur, Paratyphi C, and Typhisuis

Sixty-seven strains of the five described Salmonella serotypes having antigens 6,7:c: 1,5, that is S. enterica serotype Choleraesuis sensu stricto, Choleraesuis var. Kunzendorf, Choleraesuis var. Decatur, Paratyphi C, and Typhisuis, were examined for 16S rrn profile ribotype, presence of IS200 and phenotypic characters, including rate of change of flagellar-antigen phase and nutritional character. Choleraesuis sensu stricto and its Kunzendorf variant had related but distinct ribotypes. Therefore, ribotyping appears to be a suitable method for differentiating Choleraesuis non-Kunzendorf from Choleraesuis var. Kunzendorf. Some strains of Paratyphi C had 16S profiles that resembled that of Choleraesuis non-Kunzendorf, while others resembled that of Choleraesuis var. Kunzendorf. The Typhisuis profiles were like those of Choleraesuis non-Kunzendorf, while the Choleraesuis var. Decatur profiles were unlike those of any of the other four groups. Furthermore, IS200 fingerprinting discriminated between Choleraesuis var. Decatur and the other strains with antigenic formula O6,7:c: 1,5, and comparison of IS200 patterns showed a high degree of genetic divergence within Choleraesuis var. Decatur. Our findings show that ribotyping and IS200 fingerprinting, combined with classical microbiological methods, distinguish the groups Choleraesuis non-Kunzendorf, Choleraesuis var. Kunzendorf, Choleraesuis var. Decatur, Paratyphi C and Typhisuis

Seasonal variation in marine C:N:P stoichiometry: can the composition of seston explain stable Redfield ratios?

Seston is suspended particulate organic matter, comprising a mixture of autotrophic, heterotrophic and detrital material. Despite variable proportions of these components, marine seston often exhibits relatively small deviations from the Redfield ratio (C:N:P = 106:16:1). Two time-series from the Norwegian shelf in Skagerrak are used to identify drivers of the seasonal variation in seston elemental ratios. An ordination identified water mass characteristics and bloom dynamics as the most important drivers for determining C:N, while changes in nutrient concentrations and biomass were most important for the C:P and N:P relationships. There is no standardized method for determining the functional composition of seston and the fractions of POC, PON and PP associated with phytoplankton, therefore any such information has to be obtained by indirect means. In this study, a generalized linear model was used to differentiate between the live autotrophic and non-autotrophic sestonic fractions, and for both stations the non-autotrophic fractions dominated with respective annual means of 76 and 55%. This regression model approach builds on assumptions (e.g. constant POC:Chl-a ratio) and the robustness of the estimates were explored with a bootstrap analysis. In addition the autotrophic percentage calculated from the statistical model was compared with estimated phytoplankton carbon, and the two independent estimates of autotrophic percentage were comparable with similar seasonal cycles. The estimated C:nutrient ratios of live autotrophs were, in general, lower than Redfield, while the non-autotrophic C:nutrient ratios were higher than the live autotrophic ratios and above, or close to, the Redfield ratio. This is due to preferential remineralization of nutrients, and the P content mainly governed the difference between the sestonic fractions. Despite the seasonal variability in seston composition and the generally low contribution of autotrophic biomass, the variation observed in the total seston ratios was low compared to the variation found in dissolved and particulate pools. Sestonic C:N:P ratios close to the Redfield ratios should not be used as an indicator of phytoplankton physiological state, but could instead reflect varying contributions of sestonic fractions that sum up to an elemental ratio close to Redfield

The phase-switched screen

Conventional (passive) radar-absorbent materials operate either by phase cancellation or by absorbing incident electromagnetic energy and converting it into heat. This paper examines a new type of active "absorber," called the phase-switched screen (PSS). The PSS operates quite differently from passive absorbers in that it exhibits an apparently low value of reflectivity by redistributing the electromagnetic energy incident upon it over a bandwidth that is wide enough to ensure that little reflected energy falls within the pass-band of the receiver. The discussion considers the basic temporal and spectral properties of several PSS topologies, and includes measured data on both planar and cylindrical PSS structures

Evaluation of the whanau carers training programme delivered by LIFE Unlimited

In response to the needs of Maori informal carers, a training programme was developed for whanau carers in the Waikato region. It was delivered by LIFE Unlimited. It is a unique training programme in that it is community driven and focuses on informal caregivers who are Maori. The overarching aim of the whanau carers training programme is to provide increased training and support of informal carers. This report aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the whanau carers training programme, including: the unique nature of the programme, the critical success factors, the barriers to success if any, and suggested improvements. The report concludes the programme has had a positive and definite impact upon the whanau carers. The evaluation team observed that the overall programme works very well and fulfils its stated obligations to the Ministry of Health. The programmes are delivered well, and are well received by the client group

Dollars are a girl's best friend? Female tourists' sexual behaviour in the Caribbean

Though increasingly a focus of both political concern and academic research, ‘sex tourism’ is a difficult term to define. This article presents both quantitative and qualitative data on the sexual behaviour and attitudes of single and/or unaccompanied heterosexual female tourists in the Dominican Republic and Jamaica. In so doing it aims to contribute to the body of research evidence on the phenomenon, as well as to highlight some of the conceptual problems associated with existing analyses of both ‘sex tourism’ and ‘romance tourism’. It calls for the development of a theoretical model of sex tourism which can accommodate both the diversity of tourist-related sexual-economic exchanges which take place in economically underdeveloped countries and the complexity of the power relations that underpin them

Corporate Social and Financial Performance: Empirical Evidence from American Companies

The objective of this study is to address the issue of the relationship between corporate social and financial performance by moderating company size and financial leverage.with the use of type of industry as control variable. The Corporate social performance (CSP/CSR) is measured using seven item developed initially by Michael Jantzi Research Associate, Inc and used by Mahoney and Robert (2007). To attaint main research objective, the measure of CSP composite is used. Furthermore, company size, financial leverage, and type ofindustry are measured by total asset, degree of intermal and external source to finance the company’s assets, and dummy variable (0 for non manufacture and 1 for manufacture), respectively. A moderated multiple regression model is used in the present study. Four models are developed in the study basedon the theory of slack resiurce and good management. The result of the present study is that corporate social performance (CSP/CSR) has no effect on corporate financial performance (CFP) under slack resource and good management theory it is also shown that only financial leverage could moderate the interaction between CSP/CSR and financial performance (CSP). However, based on the overall analysis, it may be reasonable to come to conclusion that the relationship between CSP and financial performance is spurious as Orlitzki (2000) concluded. Key Words: Corporate social performance, corporate social responsibility, financial performance, good management theory, stakeholder, and slack resource theory

Monetary Policy Analysis in a Small Open Economy: A Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium Approach

This paper develops and estimates a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model of a small open economy which approximately accounts for the empirical evidence concerning the monetary transmission mechanism, as summarized by impulse response functions derived from an estimated structural vector autoregressive model, while dominating that structural vector autoregressive model in terms of predictive accuracy. The model features short run nominal price and wage rigidities generated by monopolistic competition and staggered reoptimization in output and labour markets. The resultant inertia in inflation and persistence in output is enhanced with other features such as habit persistence in consumption, adjustment costs in investment, and variable capital utilization. Incomplete exchange rate pass through is generated by monopolistic competition and staggered reoptimization in the import market. Cyclical components are modeled by linearizing equilibrium conditions around a stationary deterministic steady state equilibrium, while trend components are modeled as random walks while ensuring the existence of a well defined balanced growth path. Parameters and trend components are jointly estimated with a novel Bayesian full information maximum likelihood procedure.Monetary policy analysis; Inflation targeting; Small open economy; Dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model; Monetary transmission mechanism; Forecast performance evaluation

Medwaves e-Newsletter. October 2007

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