Genetic relatedness among isolates of Shigella sonnei carrying class 2 integrons in Tehran, Iran, 2002–2003

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Shigella </it>spp. are major cause of diarrhoeal disease in both developing and developed countries. <it>Shigella sonnei </it>is the serogroup of <it>Shigella </it>most frequently responsible for sporadic and epidemic enteritis in developed countries. In recent years the emergence and spread of <it>S. sonnei </it>biotype g carrying class 2 integron have been frequently reported in many countries. Recently, <it>S. sonnei </it>has been reported as the prevalent serogroup of <it>Shigella </it>in Iran.</p> <p>The present study was carried out to investigate phenotypic and genetic characteristics of <it>Shigella sonnei </it>isolates identified in the years 2002 and 2003 in Tehran, Iran.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Biotyping, drug susceptibility testing, pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and analysis of class 2 integrons have been carried out on 60 <it>S. sonnei </it>isolates, including 57 sporadic isolates from paediatric cases of shigellosis occurring in 2002 and 2003, two sporadic isolates recovered in 1984 and the ATCC 9290 strain.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Biotype g and resistance to streptomycin, sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim and tetracycline were exhibited by 54 of the 57 recent isolates. Of the 54 biotype g isolates, 28 exhibited a class 2 integron of 2161 bp, and 24 a class 2 integron of 1371 bp, respectively. Class 2 integrons were not detected in four isolates only, including the two endemic isolates recovered in 1984 and two strains from recent sporadic cases. PFGE divided the strains into eight pulsotypes labeled A to H, three major pulsotypes – A to C – including the large majority of the recent sporadic <it>S. sonnei </it>isolates. Pulsotypes A and C were the most prevalent groups, accounting for 41.6% and 35.0%, respectively, of the isolates under study.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results suggest that biotype g, class 2 integron carrying <it>S. sonnei </it>are prevalent in our geographic area. <it>S. sonnei </it>isolated in the years 2002 and 2003 could be attributed to a few predominant clusters including, respectively, strains with pulsotypes B and C carrying a 2161 bp class 2 integron, and those having pulsotype A and a 1371 bp class 2 integron. A few epidemic clones are responsible for the apparently endemic occurrence of shigellosis in Tehran, Iran.</p

On planar valued CSPs

We study the computational complexity of planar valued constraint satisfaction problems (VCSPs). First, we show that intractable Boolean VCSPs have to be self-complementary to be tractable in the planar setting, thus extending a corresponding result of Dvořák and Kupec [ICALP’15] from CSPs to VCSPs. Second, we give a complete complexity classification of conservative planar VCSPs on arbitrary finite domains. As it turns out, in this case planarity does not lead to any new tractable cases, and thus our classification is a sharpening of the classification of conservative VCSPs by Kolmogorov and Živný [JACM’13]

The complexity of Boolean surjective general-valued CSPs

Valued constraint satisfaction problems (VCSPs) are discrete optimisation problems with a $\overline{\mathbb{Q}}$-valued objective function given as a sum of fixed-arity functions, where $\overline{\mathbb{Q}}=\mathbb{Q}\cup\{\infty\}$ is the set of extended rationals. In Boolean surjective VCSPs variables take on labels from $D=\{0,1\}$ and an optimal assignment is required to use both labels from $D$. A classic example is the global min-cut problem in graphs. Building on the work of Uppman, we establish a dichotomy theorem and thus give a complete complexity classification of Boolean surjective VCSPs. The newly discovered tractable case has an interesting structure related to projections of downsets and upsets. Our work generalises the dichotomy for $\{0,\infty\}$-valued constraint languages (corresponding to CSPs) obtained by Creignou and H\&amp;apos;ebrard, and the dichotomy for $\{0,1\}$-valued constraint languages (corresponding to Min-CSPs) obtained by Uppman.</p

On Planar Valued CSPs

We study the computational complexity of planar valued constraint satisfaction problems (VCSPs). First, we show that intractable Boolean VCSPs have to be self-complementary to be tractable in the planar setting, thus extending a corresponding result of Dvorak and Kupec [ICALP'15] from CSPs to VCSPs. Second, we give a complete complexity classification of conservative planar VCSPs on arbitrary finite domains. As it turns out, in this case planarity does not lead to any new tractable cases, and thus our classification is a sharpening of the classification of conservative VCSPs by Kolmogorov and Zivny [JACM'13]

The complexity of Boolean surjective general-valued CSPs

Valued constraint satisfaction problems (VCSPs) are discrete optimisation problems with a (Q ∪ {∞})-valued objective function given as a sum of fixed-arity functions. In Boolean surjective VCSPs, variables take on labels from D = {0, 1} and an optimal assignment is required to use both labels from D. Examples include the classical global Min-Cut problem in graphs and the Minimum Distance problem studied in coding theory. We establish a dichotomy theorem and thus give a complete complexity classification of Boolean surjective VCSPs with respect to exact solvability. Our work generalises the dichotomy for {0, ∞}-valued constraint languages (corresponding to surjective decision CSPs) obtained by Creignou and H´ebrard. For the maximisation problem of Q≥0-valued surjective VCSPs, we also establish a dichotomy theorem with respect to approximability. Unlike in the case of Boolean surjective (decision) CSPs, there appears a novel tractable class of languages that is trivial in the non-surjective setting. This newly discovered tractable class has an interesting mathematical structure related to downsets and upsets. Our main contribution is identifying this class and proving that it lies on the borderline of tractability. A crucial part of our proof is a polynomial-time algorithm for enumerating all near-optimal solutions to a generalised Min-Cut problem, which might be of independent interest

DYNA (Colombia)

En este trabajo se diseñó e implementó un montaje experimental para estudiar la aceleración superficial de un suelo formado por capas y se contrastaron las mediciones experimentales con un modelo teórico unidimensional de trazado de rayos. Para tal fin se preparó un suelo donde fueron enterradas placas de poliestireno expandido (EPS: Expanded PolyStyrene) y baldosas. Dicho suelo fue perturbado por una onda acústica bajo incidencia normal proveniente de un parlante. En el experimento se obtuvieron frecuencias de resonancia que están de acuerdo con el modelo teórico estudiado.In this work it was designed and implemented an experimental setup to study the surface acceleration of a multilayered soil and the experimental measurements were contrasted with a one-dimensional theoretical model based on ray tracing. For this purpose, a soil was suited, where tiles and expanded polystyrene (EPS) slabs were buried. This soil was disturbed by a sound wave at normal incidence from a subwoofer. In experiment were obtained resonance frequencies which are according to the studied theoretical model

Estudio del movimiento superficial de un suelo multi-capas poco profundo sometido a ondas P

In this work it was designed and implemented an experimental setup to study the surface acceleration of a multilayered soil and the experimental measurements were contrasted with a one-dimensional theoretical model based on ray tracing. For this purpose, a soil was suited, where tiles and expanded polystyrene (EPS) slabs were buried. This soil was disturbed by a sound wave at normal incidence from a subwoofer. In experiment were obtained resonance frequencies which are according to the studied theoretical model. © The author; licensee Universidad Nacional de Colombia.0000-0002-7880-58830000-0002-4267-042Xvictor.aristizabalt@[email protected]