Methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA) in the pork food chain in Germany

This paper gives an overview on studies carried out in Germany on the prevalence of MRSA on different stages of the pork food chain. Prevalence studies were carried out on herd level for breeding (201 herds) and fattening pits (290 herds), at abattoirs (n=1026 pigs), in a pork processing facility and in pig meat at retail. MRSA were characterized using spa-typing SCCmec-typing and testing for antimicrobial resistance

MRSA in herds of fattening pigs in Germany- Associated risk factors

We investigated the association of putative risk factors with the prevalence of MRSA in herds of fattening pigs. Dust samples of 282 herds in Germany were collected in 2008. lnfonnation regarding herd characteristics and management practices was collected in a standardized questionnaire. Dust samples were pooled per farm and cultured using selective enrichment and chromogenic media. Presumptive MRSA-isolates were confirmed by multiplex-PCR for the detection of 16S rDNA, nuc and mecA genes. The association of management factors with prevalence was detennined using univariate logistic regression. Multivariate models were not used on account of substantial multicollinearity between the variables

Genotipagem de Toxoplasma gondii em galinhas domésticas em uma área rural do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil

Free-range chickens may ingest oocysts of T. gondii present in the environment and consequently harbor virulent strains of this parasite in different tissues, without any clinical signs. Isolation of T. gondii through bioassays on mice and cats from naturally infected chicken tissues has been described in several countries, demonstrating the importance of free-range chickens in the transmission of this parasite. The aim of this study was the genotypic characterization of T. gondii isolates obtained from naturally infected free-range chickens in a rural area of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Brain and heart tissue from 12 chickens seropositive for T. gondii were processed using peptic digestion technique for parasite isolation. From 12 samples subjected to mouse bioassay, nine isolates were obtained. RFLP-PCR genotypic characterization was performed using 11 genetic markers: SAG1, 5'-3'SAG2, alt.SAG2, SAG3, BTUB, GRA6, c22-8, c29- 2, L358, PK1 and Apico. Genetic characterization of the isolates revealed the presence of five atypical genotypes according to ToxoDB (# 11, # 55, # 64, # 140 and # 163). Our results showed a wide genetic diversity of T. gondii in free-range chickens in this region.Galinhas criadas ao ar livre podem ingerir oocistos de T. gondii presentes no ambiente e, com isso, albergar cepas virulentas desse parasita em diferentes tecidos, sem sinais clínicos. O isolamento de T. gondii por meio de bioensaios em camundongos e gatos, a partir de tecidos de galinhas naturalmente infectadas, tem sido descrito em vários países. Isso demonstra a importância das galinhas caipiras na epidemiologia desse parasita. O objetivo deste trabalho foi caracterizar genotipicamente isolados de T. gondii obtidos de galinhas caipiras naturalmente infectadas em uma área rural do município de Santa Maria, estado do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. Fragmentos de cérebro e de coração, de 12 galinhas soropositivas para T. gondii, foram processados pela técnica de digestão péptica para isolamento do parasita. Das 12 amostras submetidas a bioensaio com camundongos, nove isolados foram obtidos. A caracterização genotípica por RFLP-PCR foi realizada utilizando-se 11 marcadores genéticos: SAG1, 5'- 3'SAG2, alt.SAG2, SAG3, BTUB, GRA6, c22-8, c29-2, L358, PK1 e Apico e revelou a presença de cinco genótipos atípicos de acordo com o ToxoDB (# 11, # 55, # 64, # 140 e # 163). Os resultados mostraram uma ampla diversidade genética de T. gondii em galinhas caipiras nessa região.Fil: Camillo, G.. Universidade Federal de Santa Maria; BrasilFil: Machado, M. E. A.. Universidade Federal de Santa Maria; BrasilFil: Cadore, G.C.. Universidade Federal de Santa Maria; BrasilFil: Bräunig, P.. Universidade Federal de Santa Maria; BrasilFil: Venturini, María Cecilia. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Departamento de Epizootiología y Salud Pública. Laboratorio de Inmunoparasitología; ArgentinaFil: Pardini, Lais Luján. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Departamento de Epizootiología y Salud Pública. Laboratorio de Inmunoparasitología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Barros, L.D.. Universidade Estadual de Londrina; BrasilFil: Garcia, J.L.. Universidade Estadual de Londrina; BrasilFil: Sangioni, L.A.. Universidade Federal de Santa Maria; BrasilFil: Vogel, F.S.F.. Universidade Federal de Santa Maria; Brasi

Annihilation of low energy antiprotons in silicon

The goal of the AE$\mathrm{\bar{g}}$IS experiment at the Antiproton Decelerator (AD) at CERN, is to measure directly the Earth's gravitational acceleration on antimatter. To achieve this goal, the AE$\mathrm{\bar{g}}$IS collaboration will produce a pulsed, cold (100 mK) antihydrogen beam with a velocity of a few 100 m/s and measure the magnitude of the vertical deflection of the beam from a straight path. The final position of the falling antihydrogen will be detected by a position sensitive detector. This detector will consist of an active silicon part, where the annihilations take place, followed by an emulsion part. Together, they allow to achieve 1$$ precision on the measurement of $\bar{g}$ with about 600 reconstructed and time tagged annihilations. We present here, to the best of our knowledge, the first direct measurement of antiproton annihilation in a segmented silicon sensor, the first step towards designing a position sensitive silicon detector for the AE$\mathrm{\bar{g}}$IS experiment. We also present a first comparison with Monte Carlo simulations (GEANT4) for antiproton energies below 5 MeVComment: 21 pages in total, 29 figures, 3 table

Prospects for measuring the gravitational free-fall of antihydrogen with emulsion detectors

The main goal of the AEgIS experiment at CERN is to test the weak equivalence principle for antimatter. AEgIS will measure the free-fall of an antihydrogen beam traversing a moir\'e deflectometer. The goal is to determine the gravitational acceleration g for antihydrogen with an initial relative accuracy of 1% by using an emulsion detector combined with a silicon micro-strip detector to measure the time of flight. Nuclear emulsions can measure the annihilation vertex of antihydrogen atoms with a precision of about 1 - 2 microns r.m.s. We present here results for emulsion detectors operated in vacuum using low energy antiprotons from the CERN antiproton decelerator. We compare with Monte Carlo simulations, and discuss the impact on the AEgIS project.Comment: 20 pages, 16 figures, 3 table

Neue Kennwerte für die Wasserbindung in Böden - Ergebnisse der Abstimmung zwischen dem Personenkreis Wasserhaushaltstabellen der Ad-hoc-AG Boden und dem DWA

Mit den vorliegenden Diagrammen und Tabellen liegen bundesweit abgestimmte Grundlagen für die Einschätzung des Wasser- und Lufthaushaltes von Böden vor. Die Werteschwankungen von Wasserge-halten in verschiedenen Porenbereichen des Bodens können über die graphische Datenauswertung auf der Basis des Korn-größendiagramms schlüssig abgebildet werden. Gegenüber der bodenkundlichen Kartieranleitung (Ad-hoc-AG Boden 2005) liegen folgende Änderungen bzw. Erweiterungen vor: - Schätzrahmen mit Werten für 5 Trockenrohdichten - Schätzrahmen mit Angaben für pF 2,5 - Schätzrahmen mit Angaben für die Frühjahrsfeuchte - Diagramme auf der Basis des Korngrößendreiecks - Erweiterung der Tabelle mit Zuschlägen in Abhängigkeit von der Humusstufe und Bodenart für pF 2,5 Schätzrahmen und Diagramme bieten ein aufeinander abgestimmtes Gesamtpaket für die feldbodenkundliche Arbeit

RFID Tracking of Sublethal Effects of Two Neonicotinoid Insecticides on the Foraging Behavior of Apis mellifera

The development of insecticides requires valid risk assessment procedures to avoid causing harm to beneficial insects and especially to pollinators such as the honeybee Apis mellifera. In addition to testing according to current guidelines designed to detect bee mortality, tests are needed to determine possible sublethal effects interfering with the animal's vitality and behavioral performance. Several methods have been used to detect sublethal effects of different insecticides under laboratory conditions using olfactory conditioning. Furthermore, studies have been conducted on the influence insecticides have on foraging activity and homing ability which require time-consuming visual observation. We tested an experimental design using the radiofrequency identification (RFID) method to monitor the influence of sublethal doses of insecticides on individual honeybee foragers on an automated basis. With electronic readers positioned at the hive entrance and at an artificial food source, we obtained quantifiable data on honeybee foraging behavior. This enabled us to efficiently retrieve detailed information on flight parameters. We compared several groups of bees, fed simultaneously with different dosages of a tested substance. With this experimental approach we monitored the acute effects of sublethal doses of the neonicotinoids imidacloprid (0.15–6 ng/bee) and clothianidin (0.05–2 ng/bee) under field-like circumstances. At field-relevant doses for nectar and pollen no adverse effects were observed for either substance. Both substances led to a significant reduction of foraging activity and to longer foraging flights at doses of ≥0.5 ng/bee (clothianidin) and ≥1.5 ng/bee (imidacloprid) during the first three hours after treatment. This study demonstrates that the RFID-method is an effective way to record short-term alterations in foraging activity after insecticides have been administered once, orally, to individual bees. We contribute further information on the understanding of how honeybees are affected by sublethal doses of insecticides

The AEgIS experiment at CERN: Measuring antihydrogen free-fall in earth's gravitational field to test WEP with antimatter

The AEgIS (Antimatter Experiment: Gravity, Interferometry, Spectroscopy) experiment is designed with the objective to test the weak equivalence principle with antimatter by studying the free fall of antihydrogen in the Earth's gravitational field. A pulsed cold beam of antihydrogen will be produced by charge exchange between cold Ps excited in Rydberg state and cold antiprotons. Finally the free fall will be measured by a classical moir\ue9 deflectometer. The apparatus being assembled at the Antiproton Decelerator at CERN will be described, then the advancements of the experiment will be reported: positrons and antiprotons trapping measurements, Ps two-step excitation and a test-measurement of antiprotons deflection with a small scale moir\ue9 deflectometer