Opinions of medical students at the University of Cape Town on emigration, conscription and compulsory community service

A study was conducted to determine emigration intentions of medical students at the University of Cape Town. Students from 1st to 5th year completed a self-administered questionnaire. A response rate of 86% was achieved. Over half the students (54%) were considering emigration. The most frequently selected motivating factors were moral dissatisfaction with the present government and career opportunities abroad. Men who were eligible for military conscription rated this factor as an important deterrent to remaining in South Africa, and 81% stated objections to national service. However, 71% would be less likely to emigrate were an alternative national service (ANS) instituted. Should a compulsory community service be implemented, 41% of those eligible would be more inclined to emigrate. Recommendations include the implementation of ANS; a re-evaluation of the compulsory community service proposal; and further investigation of emigration trends and of ways to curb emigration. Suggestions offered are a reappraisal of both selection criteria and medical education; and the provision of incentives for doctors to work in rural areas

Emerg. Infect. Dis

The multidrug-resistant (MDR) Salmonella enterica serotype Newport strain that produces CMY-2 β-lactamase(Newport MDR-AmpC) was the source of sporadic cases and outbreaks in humans in France during 2000–2005. Because this strain was not detected in food animals, it was most likely introduced into France through imported food products

Mitochondrial proteomics: analysis of a whole mitochondrial extract with two-dimensional electrophoresis

Mitochondria are complex organelles, and their proteomics analysis requires a combination of techniques. The emphasis in this chapter is made first on mitochondria preparation from cultured mammalian cells, then on the separation of the mitochondrial proteins with two-dimensional electrophoresis (2DE), showing some adjustment over the classical techniques to improve resolution of the mitochondrial proteins. This covers both the protein solubilization, the electrophoretic part per se, and the protein detection on the gels, which makes the interface with the protein identification part relying on mass spectrometry

Réutilisation maîtrisée des eaux usées : approfondir les connaissances pour lever les freins et relever les défis

Le recyclage des eaux usées représente une solution pour faire face à la demande croissante des ressources hydriques pour l’irrigation agricole. Mais leur réutilisation pose des problèmes de sécurité, de réglementation et bien sûr de techniques adaptées, que cet article nous propose de mieux comprendre

2005 French Salmonella Network data on antimicrobial resistance in the swine channels

The Salmonella Network is gathering, on a voluntary participation scheme, from approximately 150 public and private laboratories dissemmated throughout France, Salmonella strains and/or epidemiological information. Those non-human Salmonella strains are isolated either from animal health and production or food, feed and the environment sectors. Thus, in 2005, a total of 527 isolations from the swine channels were reported. The top 5 prevalent serotypes were : Typhimurium, Derby, Manhattan, lnfantis and Kedougou. Two-hundred and ninety five strains were received at the laboratory and, after double clearance, 185 strains were tested for their antimicrobial resistance against 16 antibiotics by the disk diffusion method. Twenty-one strains were associated to the animal health and production sector and 164 to the food sector

Antimicrobial susceptibility of S. aureus strains isolated from a ham plant in France

As MRSA (methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus) were recently isolated from pigs in the Netherlands (1), we were incited to evaluate the resistance gene circulation inside S. aureus strains isolated from swine food products. A study, build in 2002, established the biodiversity of S. aureus isolates originated from a single raw ham industrial unit located in western France. Biotypes and pulsotypes from 106 isolates from raw material ham, end product and plant environment were determined. Isolates split up into 7 biotypes and about forty pulsotypes, which delineated a total of 23 sub-groups with 80% of homology and indicated the presence of numerous S. aureus strains in the plant

Méthode d'évaluation de l'action de conseil en irrigation IRRIPARC en régions Nord-Pas-de-Calais et Picardie

Parmi les nombreuses actions de conseil en irrigation développées en France, trop peu d'entre elles sont évaluées pour apprécier leur impact sur les pratiques d'irrigation et les bénéfices pour la ressource. Dans cet article, nous proposons une méthode d'évaluation de l'une d'entre elles, sur l'étude d'un cas concret : l'action IRRIPARC. Dans les régions Nord-Pas-de-Calais et Picardie, des fiches de réglages de canons enrouleurs ont été diffusées aux agriculteurs, pour limiter les effets du vent sur l'uniformité de la répartition de l'eau d'irrigation. La méthode d'évaluation proposée repose sur l'étude de trois critères : l'efficacité, la pertinence et la cohérence de l'action. La collecte des données se fait par enquêtes quantitatives et qualitatives auprès de différents acteurs : les agriculteurs, public cible de l'action, et les partenaires impliqués dans l'action IRRIPARC. L'analyse débouche sur des perspectives d'évolution et fournit des recommandations pour l'action. / Several technical support actions in irrigation have been carried out in France. However, very few have been evaluated to determine their actual impact on irrigation practices and their water saving benefits. In this paper, an assessment method of a technical support action is presented on a concrete case: the IRRIPARC action. The action was carried in the Nord Pas-de-Calais region of France. It aims at providing to farmers technical forms to help them to set their irrigation guns according to the wind speed in order to improve water distribution uniformity. The method depends on three criteria based on the effectiveness, the relevance and the consistency of the action. The data have been collected through quantitative and qualitative enquiries to different stakeholders: farmers to which the action was intended, and other partners which were involved in the action. The analysis results in evolution perspective of IRRIPARC action

PHENIX Highlights

Recent highlights of measurements by the PHENIX experiment at RHIC are presented.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figures. Talk at Quark Matter 200