Prevalence and characterization of human mecC methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates in England

Objectives There are limited data available on the epidemiology and prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in the human population that encode the recently described mecA homologue, mecC. To address this knowledge gap we undertook a prospective prevalence study in England to determine the prevalence of mecC among MRSA isolates. Patients and methods Three hundred and thirty-five sequential MRSA isolates from individual patients were collected from each of six clinical microbiology laboratories in England during 2011–12. These were tested by PCR or genome sequencing to differentiate those encoding mecA and mecC. mecC-positive isolates were further characterized by multilocus sequence typing, spa typing, antimicrobial susceptibility profile and detection of PBP2a using commercially available kits. Results Nine out of the 2010 MRSA isolates tested were mecC positive, indicating a prevalence among MRSA in England of 0.45% (95% CI 0.24%–0.85%). The remainder were mecA positive. Eight out of these nine mecC MRSA isolates belonged to clonal complex 130, the other being sequence type 425. Resistance to non-β-lactam antibiotics was rare among these mecC MRSA isolates and all were phenotypically identified as MRSA using oxacillin and cefoxitin according to BSAC disc diffusion methodology. However, all nine mecC isolates gave a negative result using three different commercial PBP2a detection assays. Conclusions mecC MRSA are currently rare among MRSA isolated from humans in England and this study provides an important baseline prevalence rate to monitor future changes, which may be important given the increasing prevalence of mecC MRSA reported in Denmark

Report from the EPAA workshop: In vitro ADME in safety testing used by EPAA industry sectors

AbstractThere are now numerous in vitro and in silico ADME alternatives to in vivo assays but how do different industries incorporate them into their decision tree approaches for risk assessment, bearing in mind that the chemicals tested are intended for widely varying purposes? The extent of the use of animal tests is mainly driven by regulations or by the lack of a suitable in vitro model. Therefore, what considerations are needed for alternative models and how can they be improved so that they can be used as part of the risk assessment process? To address these issues, the European Partnership for Alternative Approaches to Animal Testing (EPAA) working group on prioritisation, promotion and implementation of the 3Rs research held a workshop in November, 2008 in Duesseldorf, Germany. Participants included different industry sectors such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, industrial- and agro-chemicals. This report describes the outcome of the discussions and recommendations (a) to reduce the number of animals used for determining the ADME properties of chemicals and (b) for considerations and actions regarding in vitro and in silico assays. These included: standardisation and promotion of in vitro assays so that they may become accepted by regulators; increased availability of industry in vivo kinetic data for a central database to increase the power of in silico predictions; expansion of the applicability domains of in vitro and in silico tools (which are not necessarily more applicable or even exclusive to one particular sector) and continued collaborations between regulators, academia and industry. A recommended immediate course of action was to establish an expert panel of users, developers and regulators to define the testing scope of models for different chemical classes. It was agreed by all participants that improvement and harmonization of alternative approaches is needed for all sectors and this will most effectively be achieved by stakeholders from different sectors sharing data

Variation in clutch size in relation to nest size in birds

Peer reviewe

Convergence of moments for Axiom A and non-uniformly hyperbolic flows

In the paper, we prove convergence of moments of all orders for Axiom A diffeomorphisms and flows. The same results hold for non-uniformly hyperbolic diffeomorphisms and flows modelled by Young towers with superpolynomial tails. For polynomial tails, we prove convergence of moments up to a certain order, and give examples where moments diverge when this order is exceeded. Non-uniformly hyperbolic systems covered by our result include Hénon-like attractors, Lorenz attractors, semidispersing billiards, finite horizon planar periodic Lorentz gases, and Pomeau–Manneville intermittency maps

Correlation of Tethyan and Peri-Tethyan long-term and high-frequency eustatic signals (Anisian, Middle Triassic)

During Anisian times, broad ramp systems developed on the northwestern Tethys shelf and in the adjacent Peri-Tethyan realm. In both paleogeographical settings carbonate series display characteristic cyclic patterns, reflecting long-term and high-frequency eustatic sea-level changes. Facies successions recognized within the small-scale sedimentary cycles document a rapid transgressive phase followed by a prolonged highstand phase. The erosional base of these deposits is interpreted as a sequence boundary. Transgressive deposits are characterized by bioclastic limestones with reworked lithoclasts. Bioturbated mudstones represent the highstand deposits. Sedimentation of laminated mudstones is documented during the late highstand phase. Maximum flooding is recognized by thin condensed marly layers at the top of bioclastic beds. Such meter-scale sedimentary cycles are the basic stratigraphic building blocks of the Anisian series of Hungary and Germany, representing ramp deposits of the proximal Tethys shelf and the northern Peri-Tethys Basin, respectively. Comparison of both depositional environments leads to a better understanding of cyclic sedimentation of shallow-water carbonates and controlling factors. Eustatic signals of different scales are analysed and used for correlation of sedimentary series between different paleogeographical settings

Geothermal reservoir characteristics of Meso- and Cenozoic sedimentary rocks of Budapest (Hungary)

The characterisation of deep geothermal reservoirs of sedimentary basins is supported by outcrop analogue studies since reservoir characteristics are strongly related to the sedimentary facies and thus influence the basic direction of geothermal field development and applied technology. Permeability and thermal conductivity are key parameters in geothermal reservoir characterisation and the data gained from outcrop samples serve to understand the reservoir system. New thermophysical data from the Meso- and Cenozoic sedimentary rocks of Budapest include carbonates and siliciclastics of Triassic, Eocene, Oligocene and Miocene age as well as Pleistocene travertine, exposed on the western side of the river Danube in the Buda Hills. Field and laboratory analyses revealed distinct horizons of different geothermal potential and thus enable to identify and interpret corresponding exploration target horizons in geothermal prone depths in the Budapest region as well as in sub-basins of the Pannonian Basins System exhibiting geothermal anomalies

Non-Destructive Characterization of Low Radioactive Particles from Irish Sea Sediment by Micro X-Ray Synchrotron Radiation Techniques: Micro X-Ray Fluorescence ( µ-XRF) and Micro X-Ray Absorption near Edge Structure ( µ-XANES) Spectroscopy.

Abstract not availableJRC.E-Institute for Transuranium Elements (Karlsruhe

Interaction between emerging flux and coronal hole - observations and simulations

International audienc