32 research outputs found
Occurrence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in surface waters near industrial hog operation spray fields
Industrial hog operations (IHOs) have been identified as a source of antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, including methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). However, few studies have investigated the presence of antibiotic-resistant S. aureus in the environment near IHOs, specifically surface waters proximal to spray fields where IHO liquid lagoon waste is sprayed. Surface water samples (n = 179) were collected over the course of approximately one year from nine locations in southeastern North Carolina and analyzed for the presence of presumptive MRSA using CHROMagar MRSA media. Culture-based, biochemical, and molecular tests, as well as matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry were used to confirm that isolates that grew on CHROMagar MRSA media were S. aureus. Confirmed S. aureus isolates were then tested for susceptibility to 16 antibiotics and screened for molecular markers of MRSA (mecA, mecC) and livestock adaptation (absence of scn). A total of 12 confirmed MRSA were detected in 9 distinct water samples. Nine of 12 MRSA isolates were also multidrug-resistant (MDRSA [i.e., resistant to â„ 3 antibiotic classes]). All MRSA were scn-positive and most (11/12) belonged to a staphylococcal protein A (spa) type t008, which is commonly associated with humans. Additionally, 12 confirmed S. aureus that were methicillin-susceptible (MSSA) were recovered, 7 of which belonged to spa type t021 and were scn-negative (a marker of livestock-adaptation). This study demonstrated the presence of MSSA, MRSA, and MDRSA in surface waters adjacent to IHO lagoon waste spray fields in southeastern North Carolina. To our knowledge, this is the first report of waterborne S. aureus from surface waters proximal to IHOs
Unwrapping Closed Timelike Curves
Closed timelike curves (CTCs) appear in many solutions of the Einstein
equation, even with reasonable matter sources. These solutions appear to
violate causality and so are considered problematic. Since CTCs reflect the
global properties of a spacetime, one can attempt to change its topology,
without changing its geometry, in such a way that the former CTCs are no longer
closed in the new spacetime. This procedure is informally known as unwrapping.
However, changes in global identifications tend to lead to local effects, and
unwrapping is no exception, as it introduces a special kind of singularity,
called quasi-regular. This "unwrapping" singularity is similar to the string
singularities. We give two examples of unwrapping of essentially 2+1
dimensional spacetimes with CTCs, the Gott spacetime and the Godel universe. We
show that the unwrapped Gott spacetime, while singular, is at least devoid of
CTCs. In contrast, the unwrapped Godel spacetime still contains CTCs through
every point. A "multiple unwrapping" procedure is devised to remove the
remaining circular CTCs. We conclude that, based on the two spacetimes we
investigated, CTCs appearing in the solutions of the Einstein equation are not
simply a mathematical artifact of coordinate identifications, but are indeed a
necessary consequence of General Relativity, provided only that we demand these
solutions do not possess naked quasi-regular singularities.Comment: 29 pages, 9 figure
Measurable versions of the LS category on laminations
We give two new versions of the LS category for the set-up of measurable
laminations defined by Berm\'udez. Both of these versions must be considered as
"tangential categories". The first one, simply called (LS) category, is the
direct analogue for measurable laminations of the tangential category of
(topological) laminations introduced by Colman Vale and Mac\'ias Virg\'os. For
the measurable lamination that underlies any lamination, our measurable
tangential category is a lower bound of the tangential category. The second
version, called the measured category, depends on the choice of a transverse
invariant measure. We show that both of these "tangential categories" satisfy
appropriate versions of some well known properties of the classical category:
the homotopy invariance, a dimensional upper bound, a cohomological lower bound
(cup length), and an upper bound given by the critical points of a smooth
function.Comment: 22 page
Early above- and below-ground responses of subboreal conifer seedlings to various levels of deciduous canopy removal
We examined the growth of understory conifers, following partial or complete deciduous canopy removal, in a field study established in two regions in Canada. In central British Columbia, we studied the responses of three species (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca (Beissn.) Franco, Picea glauca (Moench) Voss x Picea engelmannii Parry ex Engelm., and Abies lasiocarpa (Hook.) Nutt.), and in northwestern Quebec, we studied one species (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.). Stem and root diameter and height growth were measured 5 years before and 3 years after harvesting. Both root and stem diameter growth increased sharply following release but seedlings showed greater root growth, suggesting that in the short term, improvement in soil resource capture and transport, and presumably stability, may be more important than an increase in stem diameter and height growth. Response was strongly size dependent, which appears to reflect greater demand for soil resources as well as higher light levels and greater tree vigour before release for taller individuals. Growth ratios could not explain the faster response generally attributed to true fir species or the unusual swift response of spruces. Good prerelease vigour of spruces, presumably favoured by deciduous canopies, could explain their rapid response to release
Overview of recent physics results from the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX)
Structural Components of Humic Acids as Determined by Chemical Modifications and Carbonâ13 NMR, Pyrolysisâ, and ThermochemolysisâGas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry
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Spitzer or neoclassical resistivity: A comparison between measured and model poloidal field profiles on PBX-M
Direct measurements of the radial profile of the magnetic field line pitch on PBX-M coupled with model predictions of these profiles allow a critical comparison with the Spitzer and neoclassical models of plasma parallel resistivity. The measurements of the magnetic field line pitch are made by Motional Stark Effect polarimetry, while the model profiles are determined by solving the poloidal field diffusion equation in the TRANSP transport code using measured plasma profiles and assuming either Spitzer or neoclassical resistivity. The measured field pitch profiles were available for only seven cases, and the model profiles were distinguishable from each other in only three of those cases due to finite resistive diffusion times. The data in two of these three were best matched by the Spitzer model, especially in the inner half of the plasma. Portions of the measured pitch profiles for these two cases and the full profiles for other cases, however, departed significantly from both the Spitzer and neoclassical models, indicating a plasma resistivity profile different from either model