Prevalence and molecular epidemiology of mcr-mediated colistin-resistance Escherichia coli from healthy poultry in France after national plan to reduce exposure to colistin in farm

IntroductionWithin the 2007–2014 programme for the surveillance of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in livestock in France, mcr-1 prevalence average in commensal Escherichia coli was found to be 5.9% in turkeys and 1.8% in broilers, indicating that mobile colistin resistance had spread in farm animals. In 2017, the French national Ecoantibio2 plan was established to tackle AMR in veterinary medicine, with the objective of a 50% reduction in exposure to colistin in farm animals within 5 years (from 2014–2015 to 2020). Our objective was to update data concerning the prevalence and molecular epidemiology of colistin resistance, in consideration of colistin sales in poultry production in France.MethodsAntimicrobial susceptibility of commensal E. coli isolated from broilers and turkeys at slaughterhouse was determined by broth micro-dilution. The mcr genes were screened by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Whole genome sequencing (WGS) was used to investigate the genetic diversity of colistin-resistant isolates. Transformation experiments enabled identification of the mcr-bearing plasmid replicon types. The correlation between prevalence of colistin resistance and colistin usage data was explored statistically.Results and discussionIn 2020, in France, the resistance prevalence to colistin in poultry production was 3% in turkeys and 1% in broilers, showing a significant highly positive correlation with a −68% decrease of poultry exposure to colistin since 2014. Only the mcr-1 gene was detected among the colistin-resistant E. coli. More than 80% of isolates are multi-drug resistant with 40% of isolates originating from turkeys and 44% originating from broilers co-resistant to the critically important antimicrobial ciprofloxacin. Most of the strains had no clonal relationship. The mcr gene was located in different plasmid types, carrying various other AMR genes. The decrease in colistin resistance among poultry in France can be considered a positive outcome of the national action plans for reduced colistin usage

Mind the gap! Integrating taxonomic approaches to assess ant diversity at the southern extreme of the Atlantic Forest

Understanding patterns of species diversity rely on accurate taxonomy which can only be achieved by long-term natural history research and the use of complementary information to establish species boundaries among cryptic taxa. We used DNA barcoding to characterize the ant diversity of Iguazú National Park (INP), a protected area of the Upper Paraná Atlantic Forest ecoregion, located at the southernmost extent of this forest. We assessed ant diversity using both cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) sequences and traditional morphological approaches and then compared the results of these two methods. We successfully obtained COI sequences for 312 specimens belonging to 124 species, providing a DNA barcode reference library for nearly 50% of the currently known ant fauna of INP. Our results evidenced a clear barcode gap for all but two species, with a mean intraspecific divergence of 0.72%, and an average congeneric distance of 17.25%. Congruently, the library assembled here was remarkably useful for the discrimination of the ants of INP and even allowed us to link unidentified males and queens to their worker castes. To detect overlooked diversity, we classified the DNA barcodes into Molecular Operational Taxonomic Units (MOTUs) using three different clustering algorithms and then compared their number and composition to that of reference species identified based on morphology. The MOTU count was always higher than that of reference species regardless of the method, suggesting that the diversity of ants at INP could be between 6% and 10% higher than currently recognized. Lastly, our survey contributed with 78 new barcode clusters to the global DNA barcode reference library, and added 36 new records of ant species for the INP, being 23 of them new citations for Argentina.Fil: Hanisch, Priscila Elena. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: Lavinia Oblanca, Pablo Damián. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: Suarez, Andrew. University of Illinois; Estados UnidosFil: Lijtmaer, Dario Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: Leponce, Maurice. Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences; BélgicaFil: Paris, Carolina Ivon. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución; ArgentinaFil: Tubaro, Pablo Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; Argentin

Functional Polymorphisms in PRODH Are Associated with Risk and Protection for Schizophrenia and Fronto-Striatal Structure and Function

PRODH, encoding proline oxidase (POX), has been associated with schizophrenia through linkage, association, and the 22q11 deletion syndrome (Velo-Cardio-Facial syndrome). Here, we show in a family-based sample that functional polymorphisms in PRODH are associated with schizophrenia, with protective and risk alleles having opposite effects on POX activity. Using a multimodal imaging genetics approach, we demonstrate that haplotypes constructed from these risk and protective functional polymorphisms have dissociable correlations with structure, function, and connectivity of striatum and prefrontal cortex, impacting critical circuitry implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Specifically, the schizophrenia risk haplotype was associated with decreased striatal volume and increased striatal-frontal functional connectivity, while the protective haplotype was associated with decreased striatal-frontal functional connectivity. Our findings suggest a role for functional genetic variation in POX on neostriatal-frontal circuits mediating risk and protection for schizophrenia

Iron Behaving Badly: Inappropriate Iron Chelation as a Major Contributor to the Aetiology of Vascular and Other Progressive Inflammatory and Degenerative Diseases

The production of peroxide and superoxide is an inevitable consequence of aerobic metabolism, and while these particular "reactive oxygen species" (ROSs) can exhibit a number of biological effects, they are not of themselves excessively reactive and thus they are not especially damaging at physiological concentrations. However, their reactions with poorly liganded iron species can lead to the catalytic production of the very reactive and dangerous hydroxyl radical, which is exceptionally damaging, and a major cause of chronic inflammation. We review the considerable and wide-ranging evidence for the involvement of this combination of (su)peroxide and poorly liganded iron in a large number of physiological and indeed pathological processes and inflammatory disorders, especially those involving the progressive degradation of cellular and organismal performance. These diseases share a great many similarities and thus might be considered to have a common cause (i.e. iron-catalysed free radical and especially hydroxyl radical generation). The studies reviewed include those focused on a series of cardiovascular, metabolic and neurological diseases, where iron can be found at the sites of plaques and lesions, as well as studies showing the significance of iron to aging and longevity. The effective chelation of iron by natural or synthetic ligands is thus of major physiological (and potentially therapeutic) importance. As systems properties, we need to recognise that physiological observables have multiple molecular causes, and studying them in isolation leads to inconsistent patterns of apparent causality when it is the simultaneous combination of multiple factors that is responsible. This explains, for instance, the decidedly mixed effects of antioxidants that have been observed, etc...Comment: 159 pages, including 9 Figs and 2184 reference

'Burden to others' as a public concern in advanced cancer:a comparative survey in seven European countries

Background: Europe faces an enormous public health challenge with aging populations and rising cancer incidence. Little is known about what concerns the public across European countries regarding cancer care towards the end of life. We aimed to compare the level of public concern with different symptoms and problems in advanced cancer across Europe and examine factors influencing this. Methods: Telephone survey with 9,344 individuals aged >= 16 in England, Flanders, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. Participants were asked about nine symptoms and problems, imagining a situation of advanced cancer with less than one year to live. These were ranked and the three top concerns examined in detail. As 'burden to others' showed most variation within and between countries, we determined the relative influence of factors on this concern using GEE and logistic regression. Results: Overall response rate was 21%. Pain was the top concern in all countries, from 34% participants (Italy) to 49% (Flanders). Burden was second in England, Germany, Italy, Portugal, and Spain. Breathlessness was second in Flanders and the Netherlands. Concern with burden was independently associated with age (70+ years, OR 1.50; 95%CI 1.24-1.82), living alone (OR 0.82, 95%CI 0.73-0.93) and preferring quality rather than quantity of life (OR 1.43, 95%CI 1.14-1.80). Conclusions: When imagining a last year of life with cancer, the public is not only concerned about medical problems but also about being a burden. Public education about palliative care and symptom control is needed. Cancer care should include a routine assessment and management of social concerns, particularly for older patients with poor prognosis

Discrepancies in the use of chemotherapy and artificial nutrition near the end of life for hospitalised patients with metastatic gastric or oesophageal cancer. A countrywide, register-based study

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