Characterization of a possible nosocomial aspergillosis outbreak

ObjectiveTo study the epidemiologic aspects of a suspected outbreak of nosocomial invasive aspergillosis.MethodsSixteen Aspergillus fumigatus strains were isolated from bronchoalveolar washings or sputa of 10 patients during a 9-month period. Furthermore, two environmental samples, isolated in a microbiological screening of the hospital, were also available for analysis. Random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis (RAPD) was carried out.ResultsThe analysis performed by RAPD clearly demonstrated substantial genetic variation among the isolates. Both of the two different primers selected for RAPD analysis (R-108 and AP12h) were able to demonstrate that the strains isolated from all patients infected with the same fungal species and the environmental samples were genotypically distinct. The results by RAPD typing demonstrated that this technique could detect variability among isolates of Aspergillus fumigatus from different patients and even from the same patient.ConclusionsRAPD genotyping proved that the outbreak of invasive aspergillosis consisted of a series of events, non-related, and probably not coming from the same source within the hospital. This type of analysis is an easy, quick and highly discriminatory technique that may help in planning epidemiologic studies of aspergillosis

Neutron Stars in a Varying Speed of Light Theory

We study neutron stars in a varying speed of light (VSL) theory of gravity in which the local speed of light depends upon the value of a scalar field $\phi$. We find that the masses and radii of the stars are strongly dependent on the strength of the coupling between $\phi$ and the matter field and that for certain choices of coupling parameters, the maximum neutron star mass can be arbitrarily small. We also discuss the phenomenon of cosmological evolution of VSL stars (analogous to the gravitational evolution in scalar-tensor theories) and we derive a relation showing how the fractional change in the energy of a star is related to the change in the cosmological value of the scalar field.Comment: 15 pages, 2 figures. Added solutions with a more realistic equation of state. To be published in PR

Оценивание устойчивого развития окружающей среды на субнациональном уровне в Украине

Рассмотрены существующие методы оценивания устойчивого развития окружающей среды (самостоятельные индикаторы, а также их системы и индексы). Предложен индекс устойчивого развития окружающей среды для оценивания взаимоотношений с окружающей средой на уровне регионов Украины, учитывающий национальные приоритеты в экологической политике. По предложенному региональному индексу получены экологические профили и рейтинг областей Украины.Розглянуто існуючі методи оцінювання сталого розвитку довкілля (самостійні індикатори, а також їх системи та індекси). Запропоновано індекс сталого розвитку довкілля для оцінювання взаємовідносин із навколишнім середовищем на рівні регіонів України, який враховує національні пріоритети в екологічній політиці. За запропонованим регіональним індексом отримано екологічні профілі і рейтинг областей України.The existing methods for assessment of the environment sustainable development (independent indicators, their systems and indices) are considered. The environment sustainability index for assessment of relations with the environment at a regional level for Ukraine is proposed, which takes into account the national priorities in ecological policy. Ecological profiles and rating of the Ukrainian regions are obtained according to the proposed regional index

Mass and Magnetic Moments of the Heavy Flavored Baryons with J=3/2J=3/2 in Light Cone QCD Sum Rules

Inspired by the results of recent experimental discoveries for charm and bottom baryons, the masses and magnetic moments of the heavy baryons with $J^P=3/2^+$ containing a single heavy quark are studied within light cone QCD sum rules method. Our results on the masses of heavy baryons are in good agreement with predictions of other approaches, as well as with the existing experimental values. Our predictions on the masses of the states, which are not yet discovered in the experiments, can be tested in the future experiments. A comparison of our results on the magnetic moments of these baryons and the hyper central model predictions is presented.Comment: 33 Pages, 16 Figures and 3 Table

Cell wall organic matrix composition and biomineralization across reef-building coralline algae under global change.

OnlinePublCrustose coralline algae (CCA) are one of the most important benthic substrate consolidators on coral reefs through their ability to deposit calcium carbonate on an organic matrix in their cell walls. Discrete polysaccharides have been recognized for their role in biomineralization, yet little is known about the carbohydrate composition of organic matrices across CCA taxa and whether they have the capacity to modulate their organic matrix constituents amidst environmental change, particularly the threats of ocean acidification (OA) and warming. We simulated elevated pCO₂ and temperature (IPCC RCP 8.5) and subjected four mid-shelf Great Barrier Reef species of CCA to two months of experimentation. To assess the variability in surficial monosaccharide composition and biomineralization across species and treatments, we determined the monosaccharide composition of the polysaccharides present in the cell walls of surficial algal tissue and quantified calcification. Our results revealed dissimilarity among species' monosaccharide constituents, which suggests that organic matrices are composed of different polysaccharides across CCA taxa. We also found that species differentially modulate composition in response to ocean acidification and warming. Our findings suggest that both variability in composition and ability to modulate monosaccharide abundance may play a crucial role in surficial biomineralization dynamics under the stress of OA and global warming.Ellie Bergstrom, Jelle Lahnstein, Helen Collins, Tessa M. Page, Vincent Bulone, and Guillermo Diaz-Pulid

Light cone QCD sum rules study of the semileptonic heavy ΞQ\Xi_{Q} and ΞQ′\Xi'_{Q} transitions to Ξ\Xi and Σ\Sigma baryons

The semileptonic decays of heavy spin--1/2, $\Xi_{b(c)}$ and $\Xi'_{b(c)}$ baryons to the light spin-- 1/2, $\Xi$ and $\Sigma$ baryons are investigated in the framework of the light cone QCD sum rules. In particular, using the most general form of the interpolating currents for the heavy baryons as well as the distribution amplitudes of the $\Xi$ and $\Sigma$ baryons, we calculate all form factors entering the matrix elements of the corresponding effective Hamiltonians in full QCD. Having calculated the responsible form factors, we evaluate the decay rates and branching fractions of the related transitions.Comment: 30 Pages, 5 Figures and 18 Table

Quark Potential in a Quark-Meson Plasma

We investigate quark potential by considering meson exchanges in the two flavor Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model at finite temperature and density. There are two kinds of oscillations in the chiral restoration phase, one is the Friedel oscillation due to the sharp quark Fermi surface at high density, and the other is the Yukawa oscillation driven by the complex meson poles at high temperature. The quark-meson plasma is strongly coupled in the temperature region $1\le T/T_c \lesssim 3$ with $T_c$ being the critical temperature of chiral phase transition. The maximum coupling in this region is located at the critical point.Comment: 8 pages and 8 figure

Cosmic Acceleration in Brans-Dicke Cosmology

We consider Brans-Dicke theory with a self-interacting potential in Einstein conformal frame. We show that an accelerating expansion is possible in a spatially flat universe for large values of the Brans-Dicke parameter consistent with local gravity experiments.Comment: 10 Pages, 3 figures, To appear in General Relativity and Gravitatio

Heterogeneity in reporting on urinary outcome and cure after surgical interventions for stress urinary incontinence in adult neuro-urological patients: A systematic review

Aims: To describe all outcome parameters and definitions of cure used to report on outcome of surgical interventions for stress urinary incontinence (SUI) in neuro-urological (NU) patients. Methods: This systematic review was performed and reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. The study protocol was registered and published (CRD42016033303; http://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO). Medline, Embase, Cochrane controlled trials databases, and clinicaltrial.gov were systematically searched for relevant publications until February 2017. Result