Transmission dynamics of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in pigs

From the mid-2000s on, numerous studies have shown that methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), renowned as human pathogen, has a reservoir in pigs and other livestock. In Europe and North America, clonal complex (CC) 398 appears to be the predominant lineage involved. Especially worrisome is its capacity to contaminate humans in close contact with affected animals. Indeed, the typical multi-resistant phenotype of MRSA CC398 and its observed ability of easily acquiring genetic material suggests that MRSA CC398 strains with an increased virulence potential may emerge, for which few therapeutic options would remain. This questions the need to implement interventions to control the presence and spread of MRSA CC398 among pigs. MRSA CC398 shows a high but not fully understood transmission potential in the pig population and is able to persist within that population. Although direct contact is probably the main route for MRSA transmission between pigs, also environmental contamination, the presence of other livestock, the herd size, and farm management are factors that may be involved in the dissemination of MRSA CC398. The current review aims at summarizing the research that has so far been done on the transmission dynamics and risk factors for introduction and persistence of MRSA CC398 in farms

Let Your Light Shine: A Holistic Reflection on the Individual in a Community

Sic luceat lux vestra, or “Let your light Shine” This phrase from the Gospel of Mattew stresses the importance that we all have a light or a talent and we should shine our light for all. The problem though is when we live in the same community for so long, we start to lose our uniqueness and eventually become close-minded to new experiences. By encountering and learning from other communities, we are made aware of this issue and other strengths and weakness of our own community that we take for granted. My disclaimer about this paper is that it is not a typical scholarly paper. This paper is filled with an accumulation of my observations and encounters living in different communities: my college experience, living in the Japanese community through my study abroad program, and my experience in the martial arts community. I will draw upon these experiences as well as use other scholars to provide insights into my experiences. The goal of this paper is to demonstrate that communities are formed due to the unique individuals that are a part of the community, rather, than the standards we label individuals and to achieve this, it requires an openness to everyone’s differences. I will support this thesis by evaluating: the relationship between leaders and the community, suffering’s role in a community, listening as a tool to recognize and overcome our differences and that an inclusive community begins with the acceptance of our unique selves

Olfactory Vision: Recollection of Visual Information Through Smell in Graphic Design

Olfactory Vision is a social study conducted to understand the influence of a scent within graphic design processes, enhancing the recollection of details. Twenty-four random adults were tested. The experiment was divided into three groups, A, B, and C, presenting two sets of cards; the first had symbols, and the second one had typefaces. A summary of the investigation was provided; however, the rose oil fragrance was not revealed, avoiding conditioning the subjects. The participants had an in-person and follow-up questionnaire one week after, testing their short and long-term memory. The results generally showed no significant difference between genders. In general, the scented symbols had a total recollection of 67%, while the typefaces only had a 28%. This study seeks to provide important data that may influence the field of Graphic Design by integrating other senses beyond traditional visual imagery

Certeza diagnóstica mediante interrogatorio y examen físico en estudiantes de medicina interna

Introducción: el análisis de los errores cometidos durante el proceso diagnóstico al aplicar el método clínico por los estudiantes de medicina interna, en dos momentos de su rotación, permite mejorar la calidad de la atención médica. Objetivo: analizar si existe relación entre el diagnóstico al ingreso y egreso, y los errores detectados durante el interrogatorio y examen físico en los estudiantes de tercer año al iniciar y finalizar la rotación de medicina interna. Métodos: se realizó un estudio descriptivo de los alumnos de tercer año del Hospital Militar "Dr. Carlos J. Finlay" en el curso académico 2015-2016. Resultados: los errores son más frecuentes en el interrogatorio, tanto en el primero como en el segundo encuentro médico. La concordancia entre el diagnóstico al ingreso y al egreso, mejoró en un 21,7 % entre el primer y el segundo. Conclusiones: la realización de diagnósticos certeros implica mejoramiento de la atención médica con ahorro de recursos económicos

Certeza diagnóstica mediante interrogatorio y examen físico en estudiantes de medicina interna

Introducción: el análisis de los errores cometidos durante el proceso diagnóstico al aplicar el método clínico por los estudiantes de medicina interna, en dos momentos de su rotación, permite mejorar la calidad de la atención médica. Objetivo: analizar si existe relación entre el diagnóstico al ingreso y egreso, y los errores detectados durante el interrogatorio y examen físico en los estudiantes de tercer año al iniciar y finalizar la rotación de medicina interna. Métodos: se realizó un estudio descriptivo de los alumnos de tercer año del Hospital Militar "Dr. Carlos J. Finlay" en el curso académico 2015-2016. Resultados: los errores son más frecuentes en el interrogatorio, tanto en el primero como en el segundo encuentro médico. La concordancia entre el diagnóstico al ingreso y al egreso, mejoró en un 21,7 % entre el primer y el segundo. Conclusiones: la realización de diagnósticos certeros implica mejoramiento de la atención médica con ahorro de recursos económicos

Livestock-Associated Methicillin Resistant and Methicillin Susceptible Staphylococcus aureus Sequence Type (CC)1 in European Farmed Animals: High Genetic Relatedness of Isolates from Italian Cattle Herds and Humans

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Sequence Type (ST)1, Clonal Complex( CC) 1, SCCmec V is one of the major Livestock-Associated (LA-) lineages in pig farming industry in Italy and is associated with pigs in other European countries. Recently, it has been increasingly detected in Italian dairy cattle herds. The aim of this study was to analyse the differences between ST1 MRSA and methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) from cattle and pig herds in Italy and Europe and human isolates. Sixty-tree animal isolates from different holdings and 20 human isolates were characterized by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), spa-typing, SCCmec typing, and by micro-array analysis for several virulence, antimicrobial resistance, and strain/host-specific marker genes. Three major PFGE clusters were detected. The bovine isolates shared a high (>= 90% to 100%) similarity with human isolates and carried the same SCCmec type IVa. They often showed genetic features typical of human adaptation or present in human-associated CC1: Immune evasion cluster (IEC) genes sak and scn, or sea; sat and aphA3-mediated aminoglycoside resistance. Contrary, typical markers of porcine origin in Italy and Spain, like erm(A) mediated macrolide-lincosamide-streptograminB, and of vga(A)-mediated pleuromutilin resistance were always absent in human and bovine isolates. Most of ST(CC) 1 MRSA from dairy cattle were multidrug-resistant and contained virulence and immunomodulatory genes associated with full capability of colonizing humans. As such, these strains may represent a greater human hazard than the porcine strains. The zoonotic capacity of CC1 LA-MRSA from livestock must be taken seriously and measures should be implemented at farm-level to prevent spill-over

Genotypes and Toxin Gene Profiles of Staphylococcus aureus Clinical Isolates from China

A total of 108 S. aureus isolates from 16 major hospitals located in 14 different provinces in China were characterized for the profiles of 18 staphylococcal enterotoxin (SE) genes, 3 exfoliatin genes (eta, etb and etd), and the toxic shock syndrome toxin gene (tsst) by PCR. The genomic diversity of each isolate was also evaluated by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), multilocus sequence typing (MLST), and accessory gene regulator (agr) typing. Of these strains, 90.7% (98/108) harbored toxin genes, in which tsst was the most prevalent toxin gene (48.1%), followed by sea (44.4%), sek (42.6%) and seq (40.7%). The see and etb genes were not found in any of the isolates tested. Because of high-frequency transfer of toxin gene-containing mobile genetic elements between S. aureus strains, a total of 47 different toxin gene combinations were detected, including a complete egc cluster in 19 isolates, co-occurrence of sea, sek and seq in 38 strains, and sec and sel together in 11 strains. Genetic typing by PFGE grouped all the strains into 25 clusters based on 80% similarity. MLST revealed 25 sequence types (ST) which were assigned into 16 clonal complexes (CCs) including 2 new singletons. Among these, 11 new and 6 known STs were first reported in the S. aureus strains from China. Overall, the genotyping results showed high genetic diversity of the strains regardless of their geographical distributions, and no strong correlation between genetic background and toxin genotypes of the strains. For genotyping S. aureus, PFGE appears to be more discriminatory than MLST. However, toxin gene typing combined with PFGE or MLST could increase the discriminatory power of genotyping S. aureus strains

A Single-Stranded DNA Aptamer That Selectively Binds to Staphylococcus aureus Enterotoxin B

The bacterium Staphylococcus aureus is a common foodborne pathogen capable of secreting a cocktail of small, stable, and strain-specific, staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs). Staphylococcal food poisoning (SFP) results when improperly handled food contaminated with SEs is consumed. Gastrointestinal symptoms of SFP include emesis, diarrhea and severe abdominal pain, which manifest within hours of ingesting contaminated food. Immuno-affinity based methods directly detect, identify, and quantify several SEs within a food or clinical sample. However, the success of these assays depends upon the availability of a monoclonal antibody, the development of which is non-trivial and costly. The current scope of the available immuno-affinity based methods is limited to the classical SEs and does not encompass all of the known or emergent SEs. In contrast to antibodies, aptamers are short nucleic acids that exhibit high affinity and specificity for their targets without the high-costs and ethical concerns of animal husbandry. Further, researchers may choose to freely distribute aptamers and develop assays without the proprietary issues that increase the per-sample cost of immuno-affinity assays. This study describes a novel aptamer, selected in vitro, with affinity to staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) that may be used in lieu of antibodies in SE detection assays. The aptamer, designated APTSEB1, successfully isolates SEB from a complex mixture of SEs with extremely high discrimination. This work sets the foundation for future aptamer and assay development towards the entire family of SEs. The rapid, robust, and low-cost identification and quantification of all of the SEs in S. aureus contaminated food is essential for food safety and epidemiological efforts. An in vitro generated library of SE aptamers could potentially allow for the comprehensive and cost-effective analysis of food samples that immuno-affinity assays currently cannot provide