The influence of wildfires on aerosol size distributions in rural areas

The number of particles and their size distributions were measured in a rural area, during the summer, using a PCASP-X. The aim was to study the influence of wildfires on particle size distributions. The comparative studies carried out reveal an average increase of around ten times in the number of particles in the fine mode, especially in sizes between 0.10 and 0.14 μm, where the increase is of nearly 20 times. An analysis carried out at three different points in time--before, during, and after the passing of the smoke plume from the wildfires--shows that the mean geometric diameter of the fine mode in the measurements affected by the fire is smaller than the one obtained in the measurements carried out immediately before and after (0.14 μm) and presents average values of 0.11 μm.publishe

Fecal carriage of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and carcass contamination in cattle at slaughter in northern Italy

Feedlot cattle slaughtered at a large abattoir in northern Italy during 2002 were examined for intestinal carriage and carcass contamination with Escherichia coli O157:H7. Carcass samples were taken following the excision method described in the Decision 471/2001/EC, and fecal material was taken from the colon of the calves after evisceration. Bacteria were isolated and identified according to the MFLP-80 and MFLP-90 procedures (Food Directorate’s Health Canada’s). Eighty-eight non-sorbitol-fermenting E. coli O157:H7 isolates were obtained from 12 of the 45 calves examined. In particular, E. coli O157:H7 isolates were found in 11 (24%) fecal and five (11%) carcass samples. PCR analysis showed that all 11 fecal samples and five carcass samples carried eae-γ1-positive E. coli O157:H7 isolates. In addition, genes encoding Shigatoxins were detected in O157:H7 isolates from nine and two of those 11 fecal and five carcasses, respectively. A representative group of 32 E. coli O157:H7 isolates was analyzed by phage typing and DNA macrorestriction fragment analysis (PFGE). Five phage types (PT8, PT32v, PT32, PT54, and PT not typable) and seven (I–VII) distinct restriction patterns of similarity > 85% were detected. Up to three different O157:H7 strains in an individual fecal sample and up to four from the same animal could be isolated. These findings provide evidence of the epidemiological importance of subtyping more than one isolate from the same sample. Phage typing together with PFGE proved to be very useful tools to detect cross-contamination among carcasses and should therefore be included in HACCP programs at abattoirs. The results showed that the same PFGE-phage type E. coli O157:H7 profile was detected in the fecal and carcass samples from an animal, and also in two more carcasses corresponding to two animals slaughtered the same day. [Int Microbiol 2007; 10(2):109-116

Extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli O1:K1:H7/NM from human and avian origin: detection of clonal groups B2 ST95 and D ST59 with different host distribution

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Extraintestinal pathogenic <it>Escherichia coli </it>(ExPEC) strains of serotype O1:K1:H7/NM are frequently implicated in neonatal meningitis, urinary tract infections and septicemia in humans. They are also commonly isolated from colibacillosis in poultry. Studies to determine the similarities of ExPEC from different origins have indicated that avian strains potentially have zoonotic properties.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 59 ExPEC O1:K1:H7/NM isolates (21 from avian colibacillosis, 15 from human meningitis, and 23 from human urinary tract infection and septicemia) originated from four countries were characterized by phylogenetic PCR grouping, Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST), Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) and genotyping based on several genes known for their association with ExPEC or avian pathogenic <it>Escherichia coli </it>(APEC) virulence.</p> <p>APEC and human ExPEC isolates differed significantly in their assignments to phylogenetic groups, being phylogroup B2 more prevalent among APEC than among human ExPEC (95% vs. 53%, <it>P </it>= 0.001), whereas phylogroup D was almost exclusively associated with human ExPEC (47% vs. 5%, <it>P </it>= 0.0000). Seven virulence genes showed significant differences, being <it>fimAv</it>_MT78and <it>sat </it>genes linked to human isolates, while <it>papGII</it>, <it>tsh</it>, <it>iron</it>, <it>cvaC </it>and <it>iss </it>were significantly associated to APEC. By MLST, 39 of 40 ExPEC belonging to phylogroup B2, and 17 of 19 belonging to phylogroup D exhibited the Sequence Types (STs) ST95 and ST59, respectively. Additionally, two novel STs (ST1013 and ST1006) were established. Considering strains sharing the same ST, phylogenetic group, virulence genotype and PFGE cluster to belong to the same subclone, five subclones were detected; one of those grouped six strains of human and animal origin from two countries.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Present results reveal that the clonal group B2 O1:K1:H7/NM ST95, detected in strains of animal and human origin, recovered from different dates and geographic sources, provides evidence that some APEC isolates may act as potential pathogens for humans and, consequently, poultry as a foodborne source, suggesting no host specificity for this type of isolates. A novel and important finding has been the detection of the clonal group D O1:K1:H7/NM ST59 almost exclusively in humans, carrying pathogenic genes linked to the phylogenetic group D. This finding would suggest D O1:K1:H7/NM ST59 as a host specific pathotype for humans.</p

Immunoreactivity of the 14F7 Mab Raised against N-Glycolyl GM3 Ganglioside in Epithelial Malignant Tumors from Digestive System

The limited expression of N-Glycolyl GM3 (NeuGcGM3) ganglioside in human normal tissues, as well as its presence in melanoma and breast carcinoma using 14F7 Mab (anti-NeuGcGM3), has been previously reported. In this work we evaluated for the first time the 14F7 Mab immunorecognition in some digestive system tumors. Immunohistochemical assays were made with 14F7, followed by anti-mouse biotinylated antibody and ABC/HRP system in normal and pathological human tissues were made. No immunoreaction was evidenced in normal tissues. The reactivity of 14F7 was detected in all adenocarcinomas of the stomach (12/12), colon (12/12), and pancreas (11/11). A finely granular immunorecognition in esophageal tumors (5/15), epidermoid carcinoma of the rectum (5/7), and basaloid carcinoma (4/5) of the latter as well as in hepatocellular carcinoma (13/14) was also observed. Our results are in agreement with the assumption that NeuGcGM3 ganglioside may be considered as target for passive and active immunotherapy in digestive system malignancies expressing this molecule

Identification of two new intimin types in atypical enteropathogenic Escherichia coli

Stool specimens of patients with diarrhea or other gastrointestinal alterations who were admitted to Xeral-Calde Hospital (Lugo, Spain) were analyzed for the prevalence of typical and atypical enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC). Atypical EPEC strains (eae+ bfp–) were detected in 105 (5.2%) of 2015 patients, whereas typical EPEC strains (eae+ bfp+) were identified in only five (0.2%) patients. Atypical EPEC strains were (after Salmonella) the second most frequently recovered enteropathogenic bacteria. In this study, 110 EPEC strains were characterized. The strains belonged to 43 O serogroups and 69 O:H serotypes, including 44 new serotypes not previously reported among human EPEC. However, 29% were of one of three serogroups (O26, O51, and O145) and 33% belonged to eight serotypes (O10:H–, O26:H11, O26:H–, O51:H49, O123:H19, O128:H2, O145:H28, and O145:H–). Only 14 (13%) could be assigned to classical EPEC serotypes. Fifteen intimin types, namely, α1 (6 strains), α2 (4 strains), β1 (34 strains), ξR/β2 (6 strains), γ1 (13 strains), γ2/θ (16 strains), δ/k (5 strains), ε1 (9 strains), νR/ε2 (5 strains), ζ (6 strains), ι1 (1 strain), μR/ι2 (1 strain), νB (1 strain), ξB (1 strain), and ο (2 strains), were detected among the 110 EPEC strains, but none of the strains was positive for intimin types μ1, μ2, λ, or μB. In addition, in atypical EPEC strains of serotypes O10:H–, O84:H–, and O129:H–, two new intimin genes (eae-νB and eae-ο) were identified. These genes showed less than 95% nucleotide sequence identity with existing intimin types. Phylogenetic analysis revealed six groups of closely related intimin genes: (i) α1, α2, ζ, νB, and ο; (ii) ι1 and μR/ι2; (iii) β1, ξR/β2B, δ/β2O, and κ; (iv) ε1, ξB, η1,η2, and νR/ε2; (v) γ1, μB, γ2, and θ; and (vi) λ. These results indicate that atypical EPEC strains belonging to large number of serotypes and with different intimin types might be frequently isolated from human clinical stool samples in Spain. [Int Microbiol 2006; 9(2):103-110

High Prevalence of ST131 Subclades C2-H30Rx and C1-M27 Among Extended-Spectrum beta-Lactamase-Producing Escherichia coli Causing Human Extraintestinal Infections in Patients From Two Hospitals of Spain and France During 2015

The present study was carried out to evaluate the prevalence of sequence type 131 (ST131) among 188 extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli (ESBL-EC) collected in 2015 in Lucus Augusti University hospital (Lugo, Spain) and AP-HP Beaujon hospital (Clichy, France) with regard to other STs and to characterize, the types of ESBL produced, serotypes, virulence factor (VF)-encoding genes and the ST131 clades and subclades. ST131 was detected in 33 (39.1%) and 46 (47.9%) of the isolates in Lucus Augusti and Beaujon, respectively. The 109 remaining isolates displayed 57 other STs, the following STs being displayed by at least three isolates: ST10 (8 isolates), ST23 (3), ST38 (4), ST58 (3), ST88 (5), ST95 (4), ST167 (3), ST354 (5), ST361 (3), ST410 (6), ST648 (4), ST744 (3), and ST1615 (6). ST354, ST410, and ST1615 were significantly (P < 0.05) more frequent in Lucus Augusti (5.4%, 6.5%, and 6.5%) than in Beaujon (0% for the three STs). The new globally emerging clone ST1193 among extraintestinal clinical ESBL-EC was identified in one isolate from France and one from Spain. CTX-M-15 was the commonest ESBL detected in the two hospitals (44.6% in Lucus Augusti and 50.0% in Beaujon). CTX-M-14 was significantly (P = 0.0003) more frequent in Lucus Augusti (31.5%) than in Beaujon (10.4%), whereas CTX-M-1 (20.8 vs. 7.6%; P = 0.008) and CTX-M-27 (15.6 vs. 6.5%; P = 0.0389) were more frequent in Beaujon than in Lucus Augusti. The ST131 isolates showed a higher virulence score (mean 13.367) compared with the non-ST131 isolates (mean 7.661) (P < 0.001). Among the 79 ST131 isolates, most of them (52; 65.8%) belonged to subclade C2 (also known as subclone H30Rx) followed by those belonging to subclade C1 (cluster C1-M27: 16 isolates, 20.3%; cluster non-C1-M27: 6 isolates, 7.6%) and clade A (4 isolates; 5.1%). The C2 subclade isolates showed a higher VF-encoding gene score (mean 14.250) compared with the C1-M27 cluster isolates (mean 10.875) (P < 0.001). In conclusion, this study highlights the epidemiological differences between the ESBL-EC isolated from two hospitals of France and Spain obtain in 2015 and reports, for the first time, the presence of clone ST1193 in Spain

Characteristics of the Shiga-toxin-producing enteroaggregative Escherichia coli O104:H4 German outbreak strain and of STEC strains isolated in Spain

A Shiga-toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) strain belonging to serotype O104:H4, phylogenetic group&nbsp;B1 and sequence type ST678, with virulence features common to the enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC) pathotype, was reported as the cause of the recent 2011 outbreak in Germany. The outbreak strain was determined to carry several virulence factors of extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC) and to be resistant to a wide range of antibiotics. There are only a few&nbsp;reports of serotype O104:H4, which is very rare in humans and has never been detected in animals or food. Several research&nbsp;groups obtained the complete genome sequence of isolates of the German outbreak strain as well as the genome sequences of&nbsp;EAEC of serotype O104:H4 strains from Africa. Those findings suggested that horizontal genetic transfer allowed the emergence of the highly virulent Shiga-toxin-producing enteroaggregative E. coli (STEAEC) O104:H4 strain responsible for theoutbreak in Germany. Epidemiologic investigations supported a linkage between the outbreaks in Germany and France and&nbsp;traced their origin to fenugreek seeds imported from Africa. However, there has been no isolation of the causative strain&nbsp;O104:H4 from any of the samples of fenugreek seeds analyzed. Following the German outbreak, we conducted a large sampling to analyze the presence of STEC, EAEC, and other types of diarrheagenic E. coli strains in Spanish vegetables. During&nbsp;June and July 2011, 200 vegetable samples from different origins were analyzed. All were negative for the virulent serotype&nbsp;O104:H4 and only one lettuce sample (0.6%) was positive for a STEC strain of serotype O146:H21 (stx1, stx2), considered&nbsp;of low virulence. Despite the single positive case, the hygienic and sanitary quality of Spanish vegetables proved to be quite&nbsp;good. In 195 of the 200 samples (98%), &lt;10 colony-forming units (cfu) of E. coli per gram were detected, and the microbiological levels of all samples were satisfactory (&lt;100 cfu/g). The samples were also negative for other pathotypes of diarrheagenic E. coli (EAEC, ETEC, tEPEC, and EIEC). Consistent with data from other countries, STEC belonging to serotypeO157:H7 and other serotypes have been isolated from beef, milk, cheese, and domestic (cattle, sheep, goats) and wild (deer,&nbsp;boar, fox) animals in Spain. Nevertheless, STEC outbreaks in Spain are rare

Molecular Characteristics of Extraintestinal Pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC), Uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC), and Multidrug Resistant E. coli Isolated from Healthy Dogs in Spain. Whole Genome Sequencing of Canine ST372 Isolates and Comparison with Human Isolates Causing Extraintestinal Infections

Under a one health perspective and the worldwide antimicrobial resistance concern, we investigated extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC), uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC), and multidrug resistant (MDR) E. coli from 197 isolates recovered from healthy dogs in Spain between 2013 and 2017. A total of 91 (46.2%) isolates were molecularly classified as ExPEC and/or UPEC, including 50 clones, among which (i) four clones were dominant (B2-CH14-180-ST127, B2-CH52-14-ST141, B2-CH103-9-ST372 and F-CH4-58-ST648) and (ii) 15 had been identified among isolates causing extraintestinal infections in Spanish and French humans in 2015 and 2016. A total of 28 (14.2%) isolates were classified as MDR, associated with B1, D, and E phylogroups, and included 24 clones, of which eight had also been identified among the human clinical isolates. We selected 23 ST372 strains, 21 from healthy dogs, and two from human clinical isolates for whole genome sequencing and built an SNP-tree with these 23 genomes and 174 genomes (128 from canine strains and 46 from human strains) obtained from public databases. These 197 genomes were segregated into six clusters. Cluster 1 comprised 74.6% of the strain genomes, mostly composed of canine strain genomes (p < 0.00001). Clusters 4 and 6 also included canine strain genomes, while clusters 2, 3, and 5 were significantly associated with human strain genomes. Finding several common clones and clone-related serotypes in dogs and humans suggests a potentially bidirectional clone transfer that argues for the one health perspective

On domain walls in a Ginzburg-Landau non-linear S^2-sigma model

The domain wall solutions of a Ginzburg-Landau non-linear $S^2$-sigma hybrid model are unveiled. There are three types of basic topological walls and two types of degenerate families of composite - one topological, the other non-topological- walls. The domain wall solutions are identified as the finite action trajectories (in infinite time) of a related mechanical system that is Hamilton-Jacobi separable in sphero-conical coordinates. The physical and mathematical features of these domain walls are thoroughly discussed.Comment: 26 pages, 18 figure