Antimicrobial Resistance among Campylobacter Strains, United States, 1997–2001

We summarize antimicrobial resistance surveillance data in human and chicken isolates of Campylobacter. Isolates were from a sentinel county study from 1989 through 1990 and from nine state health departments participating in National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System for enteric bacteria (NARMS) from 1997 through 2001. None of the 297 C. jejuni or C. coli isolates tested from 1989 through 1990 was ciprofloxacin-resistant. From 1997 through 2001, a total of 1,553 human Campylobacter isolates were characterized: 1,471 (95%) were C. jejuni, 63 (4%) were C. coli, and 19 (1%) were other Campylobacter species. The prevalence of ciprofloxacin-resistant Campylobacter was 13% (28 of 217) in 1997 and 19% (75 of 384) in 2001; erythromycin resistance was 2% (4 of 217) in 1997 and 2% (8 of 384) in 2001. Ciprofloxacin-resistant Campylobacter was isolated from 10% of 180 chicken products purchased from grocery stores in three states in 1999. Ciprofloxacin resistance has emerged among Campylobacter since 1990 and has increased in prevalence since 1997

Comparative Genomic Analysis of Clinical Strains of Campylobacter jejuni from South Africa

BACKGROUND: Campylobacter jejuni is a common cause of acute gastroenteritis and is also associated with the post-infectious neuropathies, Guillain-Barré and Miller Fisher syndromes. In the Cape Town area of South Africa, C. jejuni strains with Penner heat-stable (HS) serotype HS:41 have been observed to be overrepresented among cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome. The present study examined the genetic content of a collection of 32 South African C. jejuni strains with different serotypes, including 13 HS:41 strains, that were recovered from patients with enteritis, Guillain-Barré or Miller Fisher syndromes. The sequence-based typing methods, multilocus sequence typing and DNA microarrays, were employed to potentially identify distinguishing features within the genomes of these C. jejuni strains with various disease outcomes. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Comparative genomic analyses demonstrated that the HS:41 South African strains were clearly distinct from the other South African strains. Further DNA microarray analysis demonstrated that the HS:41 strains from South African patients with the Guillain-Barré syndrome or enteritis were highly similar in gene content. Interestingly, the South African HS:41 strains were distinct in gene content when compared to HS:41 strains from other geographical locations due to the presence of genomic islands, referred to as Campylobacter jejuni integrated elements (CJIEs). Only the integrated element CJIE1, a Campylobacter Mu-like prophage, was present in the South African HS:41 strains whereas this element was absent in two closely-related HS:41 strains from Mexico. A more distantly-related HS:41 strain from Canada possessed both integrated elements CJIE1 and CJIE2. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: These findings demonstrate that CJIEs may contribute to the differentiation of closely-related C. jejuni strains. In addition, the presence of bacteriophage-related genes in CJIE1 may contribute to the genomic diversity of C. jejuni strains. This comparative genomic analysis of C. jejuni provides fundamental information that potentially could lead to improved methods for analyzing the epidemiology of disease outbreaks

Self-love and sociability: the ‘rudiments of commerce’ in the state of nature

Istvan Hont’s classic work on the theoretical links between the seventeenth-century natural jurists Hugo Grotius and Samuel Pufendorf and the eighteenth-century Scottish political economists remains a popular trope among intellectual and economic historians of various stamps. Despite this, a common criticism levelled at Hont remains his relative lack of engagement with the relationship between religion and economics in the early modern period. This paper challenges this aspect of Hont’s narrative by drawing attention to an alternative, albeit complementary, assessment of the natural jurisprudential heritage of eighteenth-century British political economy. Specifically, the article attempts to map on to Hont’s thesis the Christian Stoic interpretation of Grotius and Pufendorf which has gained greater currency in recent years. In doing so, the paper argues that Grotius and Pufendorf’s contributions to the ‘unsocial sociability’ debate do not necessarily lead directly to the Scottish school of political economists, as is commonly assumed. Instead, it contends that a reconsideration of Grotius and Pufendorf as neo-Stoic theorists, particularly via scrutiny of their respective adaptations of the traditional Stoic theory of oikeiosis, steers us towards the heart of the early English ‘clerical’ Enlightenment

Fred Morrow Fling: Scientific Historian

Paper manuscript originally submitted in 1967.It will be pointed out in this paper that Fred Morrow Fling was a product of his times, and that his assumptions and attitudes toward history were in many ways those of the scientific historians. In discussing his career I have tried to do what Fling himself attempted to do in his biography of Mirabeau: "I have tried." Fling wrote, "to avoid the role of the advocate and to attain to a strictly scientific point of view -- in so far as evidence permits it -- but to describe it sympathetically." I cannot claim success in being "scientific" if by that term is meant strict objectivity. It will be clear that 1 do not share Fling's a belief that the historian can be completely detached from his subject. I will not, however, argue with Fling on whether history is or is not a science; he believed it was and it is my purpose to suggest why he thought so, and to explain what the science of history meant to Fling

Conservative interventions for incontinence in people with dementia or cognitive impairment, living at home: a systematic review

Abstract ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Dementia is a distressing and disabling illness with worldwide estimates of increased numbers of people with the condition. Two thirds of people with dementia live at home and policies in many countries seek to support more people for longer in this setting. Incontinence both contributes to carer burden and is also a significant factor in the decision to move into care homes. A review was conducted for evidence of effectiveness for conservative interventions, which are non-pharmacological and non-surgical interventions, for the prevention or management of incontinence in community dwelling people with dementia. METHOD: Fourteen electronic databases were searched, including MEDLINE, EMBASE and CINAHL (from inception to 2012). Assessments of risk of bias were made. Meta-analysis was inappropriate due to the heterogeneity of the interventions and outcome measurements. A narrative analysis was undertaken. RESULTS: From 427 identified abstracts, 56 studies were examined but only three met the inclusion criteria, all more than a decade old. All three focused on urinary incontinence. Two studies were exploratory or pilot studies. All had a control arm. The interventions were of advice for the carer to implement. Two included toileting education of prompted voiding or an individualised toileting schedule. There was insufficient evidence to support or rule out effectiveness of any of these interventions. Some interventions were unacceptable for some carers. None specifically reported the perspective of the person with dementia. CONCLUSIONS: There was insufficient evidence from any studies to recommend any strategies. There remains an urgent need for both research and also clinical guidance for health professionals tailored to community settings where the majority of people with dementia live

NUrF-Optimization of in situ UV-vis and fluorescence and autonomous characterization techniques with small-angle neutron scattering instrumentation

We have designed, built, and validated a (quasi)-simultaneous measurement platform called NUrF, which consists of neutron small-angle scattering, UV-visible, fluorescence, and densitometry techniques. In this contribution, we illustrate the concept and benefits of the NUrF setup combined with high-performance liquid chromatography pumps to automate the preparation and measurement of a mixture series of Brij35 nonionic surfactants with perfluorononanoic acid in the presence of a reporter fluorophore (pyrene)