BIOCHEMICAL DIFFERENTIATION AMONG S. aureus, S. Intermedius AND S. hyicus ISOLATED FROM BOVINES WITH SUBCLINICAL MASTITIS

Staphylococcus aureus é, entre as espécies de estafilococos, a mais relacionada a infecções em animais e humanos, bem como a doenças de origem alimentar. Entretanto, S. intermedius e S. hyicus, duas espécies com características morfológicas muito similares a S. aureus, também podem causar doenças, bem como produzir enterotoxinas em alimentos, tornando importante a diferenciação entre essas três espécies de estafilococos. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a eficiência de oito técnicas bioquímicas com relação à sua capacidade para distinguir entre S. aureus, S. intermedius e S. hyicus. Para isso, 65 cepas, previamente identificadas em nível de espécie através de técnicas moleculares, foram submetidas aos testes de produção de pigmentos carotenóides, atividade hemolítica em ágar sangue, produção de b- galactosidase, produção de acetoína, atividade lipolítica em polisorbato, fermentação aeróbica da maltose, fermentação anaeróbica do manitol e crescimento em ágar Baird-Paker e ágar P suplementados com acriflavina. Verificou-se que os testes de sensibilidade a acriflavina e de produção de b- galactosidase apresentaram bom poder discriminatório, demonstrando serem os melhores testes bioquímicos para a diferenciação entre essas três espécies de estafilococos. Abstract Among staphylococcus species, Staphylococcus aureus is the one mostly related to animal and human infections, as well as food diseases. However, S. intermedius and S. hyicus, two species with very similar morphological characteristics to S. aureus, can also cause diseases as well as produce enterotoxins in food, what makes important the differentiation of these three species. The aim of this work was to study the efficiency of eight biochemical techniques regarding their capacity to distinguish among S. aureus, S. intermedius and S. hyicus. For that purpose, sixty five strains, previously identified at species level through molecular techniques, were submitted to the tests of carotenoid pigments production, hemolytic activity in blood agar, b- galactosidase production, acetoin production, lipolytic activity in polysorbate, maltose aerobic fermentation, manitol anaerobic fermentation and growth in Baird-Parker and P agar supplemented with acriflavine. It was verified that tests of sensitivity to acriflavine and b-galactosidase production display good distinguishing properties, constituting as a whole, the best biochemical tests for the identification of these three staphylococcus species

Assessment of the structure and variability of Weddell Sea water masses in distinct ocean reanalysis products

We assessed and evaluated the performance of five ocean reanalysis products in reproducing essential hydrographic properties and their associated temporal variability for the Weddell Sea, Antarctica. The products used in this assessment were ECMWF ORAS4 (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Ocean Reanalysis System 4), CFSR (Climate Forecast System Reanalysis), MyOcean UR025.4 (University of Reading), ECCO2 (Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean, Phase II) and SODA (Simple Ocean Data Assimilation). The present study focuses on the Weddell Sea deep layer, which is composed of the following three main water masses: Warm Deep Water (WDW), Weddell Sea Deep Water (WSDW) and Weddell Sea Bottom Water (WSBW). The MyOcean UR025.4 product provided the most accurate representation of the structure and thermohaline properties of the Weddell Sea water masses when compared with observations. All the ocean reanalysis products analyzed exhibited limited capabilities in representing the surface water masses in the Weddell Sea. The CFSR and ECCO2 products were not able to represent deep water masses with a neutral density ? 28.40 kg m?3, which was considered the WSBW's upper limit throughout the simulation period. The expected WDW warming was only reproduced by the SODA product, whereas the ECCO2 product was able to represent the trends in the WSDW's hydrographic properties. All the assessed ocean reanalyses were able to represent the decrease in the WSBW's density, except the SODA product in the inner Weddell Sea. Improvements in parameterization may have as much impact on the reanalyses assessed as improvements in horizontal resolution primarily because the Southern Ocean lacks in situ data, and the data that are currently available are summer-biased. The choice of the reanalysis product should be made carefully, taking into account the performance, the parameters of interest, and the type of physical processes to be evaluated

The comparative responsiveness of Hospital Universitario Princesa Index and other composite indices for assessing rheumatoid arthritis activity

Objective To evaluate the responsiveness in terms of correlation of the Hospital Universitario La Princesa Index (HUPI) comparatively to the traditional composite indices used to assess disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and to compare the performance of HUPI-based response criteria with that of the EULAR response criteria. Methods Secondary data analysis from the following studies: ACT-RAY (clinical trial), PROAR (early RA cohort) and EMECAR (pre-biologic era long term RA cohort). Responsiveness was evaluated by: 1) comparing change from baseline (Delta) of HUPI with Delta in other scores by calculating correlation coefficients; 2) calculating standardised effect sizes. The accuracy of response by HUPI and by EULAR criteria was analyzed using linear regressions in which the dependent variable was change in global assessment by physician (Delta GDA-Phy). Results Delta HUPI correlation with change in all other indices ranged from 0.387 to 0.791); HUPI's standardized effect size was larger than those from the other indices in each database used. In ACT-RAY, depending on visit, between 65 and 80% of patients were equally classified by HUPI and EULAR response criteria. However, HUPI criteria were slightly more stringent, with higher percentage of patients classified as non-responder, especially at early visits. HUPI response criteria showed a slightly higher accuracy than EULAR response criteria when using Delta GDA-Phy as gold standard. Conclusion HUPI shows good responsiveness in terms of correlation in each studied scenario (clinical trial, early RA cohort, and established RA cohort). Response criteria by HUPI seem more stringent than EULAR''s

Experimental confirmation of efficient island divertor operation and successful neoclassical transport optimization in Wendelstein 7-X

We present recent highlights from the most recent operation phases of Wendelstein 7-X, the most advanced stellarator in the world. Stable detachment with good particle exhaust, low impurity content, and energy confinement times exceeding 100 ms, have been maintained for tens of seconds. Pellet fueling allows for plasma phases with reduced ion-temperature-gradient turbulence, and during such phases, the overall confinement is so good (energy confinement times often exceeding 200 ms) that the attained density and temperature profiles would not have been possible in less optimized devices, since they would have had neoclassical transport losses exceeding the heating applied in W7-X. This provides proof that the reduction of neoclassical transport through magnetic field optimization is successful. W7-X plasmas generally show good impurity screening and high plasma purity, but there is evidence of longer impurity confinement times during turbulence-suppressed phases.EC/H2020/633053/EU/Implementation of activities described in the Roadmap to Fusion during Horizon 2020 through a Joint programme of the members of the EUROfusion consortium/ EUROfusio

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries