Pathogenic Yersinia enterocolitica O:3 isolated from a hunted wild alpine ibex

Occurrence of Yersinia spp. in wild ruminants was studied and the strains were characterized to get more information on the epidemiology of enteropathogenic Yersinia in the wildlife. In total, faecal samples of 77 red deer, 60 chamois, 55 roe deer and 27 alpine ibex were collected during 3 months of the hunting season in 2011. The most frequently identified species was Y. enterocolitica found in 13%, 10%, 4% and 2% of roe deer, red deer, alpine ibex and chamois, respectively. Interestingly, one Y. enterocolitica O:3 strain, isolated from an alpine ibex, carried the important virulence genes located on the virulence plasmid (yadA and virF) and in the chromosome (ail, hreP, myfA and ystA). Most of the Y. enterocolitica strains belonged to biotype 1A of which 14 were ystB positive. Further studies are needed to clarify the importance of alpine ibex as a reservoir of pathogenic Y. enterocolitic

OZONE DECONTAMINATION OF CHILLED POULTRY CARCASSES

Ozone is a strong oxidant and disinfecting agent. The bactericidal effects of ozone have been documented on a wide range of organisms, including Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. In this study, the effect of treatment with gaseous ozone on microbial contamination (Total Aerobic Mesophilic and Psicrophilic Microrganism Count, Enterobacteriaceae, Total and Fecal Coliforms, Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp, Campylobacter spp., Listeria monocytogenes) and sensory characteristics of poultry carcasses were investigated. N.50 carcasses were divided into two parts. The first batch was used as control and stored in a coolroom at 0-1°C; the second one was kept in another cool room, with the same dimensions and at the same temperature, provided with an ozone generator, working for 60 minutes every 4 hours in order to reach an ozone concentration of 0.4 ppm. Significative differences were found between the control batch and the treated one for Total Aerobic Counts (at 32° and 20°C) and Enterobacteriaceae. Salmonella arizonae, Campylobacter fetus spp fetus and Listeria monocytogenes were sometimes found in both batches. Acceptable sensory qualities were observed until day 14 and 20 after slaughter for the control and the treated batch, respectively

Perfil lipídico de la carne de perdiz común y pacaa, cruda y en escabeche

La Provincia del Chaco, ubicada en la región noreste de la Argentina, es rica en fauna silvestre. Las carnes de estas especies, preparadas en guisos y escabeches integran la dieta, principalmente en las zonas rurales. La Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Agricultura y la Alimentación (FAO) enfatiza la necesidad de promover el consumo de alimentos nativos por razones nutricionales, ecológicas y económicas. Las tablas de composición de alimentos no cuentan con información acerca de la calidad nutricional de estas especies de origen regional. El aporte de macro nutrientes y el perfil de ácidos grasos de la pechuga de perdiz común ó perdiz chica (Nothura maculosa) y del pacaá o gallineta (Aramides ypecaha) fue determinado. Estas aves silvestres son de caza legal en la provincia del Chaco (Argentina). El tenor graso de la carne cruda fue de 0,25 ± 0,16 % para Nothura maculosa y 0.52 ± 0.20 % para Aramides ypecaha lo que las ubica entre las carnes magras. Su aporte proteico del 22-24% es comparable al de otras carnes de consumo masivo. La preparación del escabeche con aceite de girasol, si bien eleva el contenido de lípidos al 12-15 %, aumenta también considerablemente los ácidos grasos mono y poliinsaturados, de probada influencia en la salud cardiovascular

Quenched BKB_K-parameter with the Wilson and Clover actions at β=6.0\beta = 6.0

We present results for the Kaon $B$ parameter from a sample of $200$ configurations using the Wilson action and $460$ configurations using the Clover action, on a $18^3 \times 64$ lattice at $\beta=6.0$. A slight improvement of the chiral behaviour of $B_K$ is observed due to the Clover action. We have also compared the results for $B_K$ obtained from two different procedures for the boosting of the coupling constant $g$. We observe a strong dependence of $B_K$ on the prescription adopted for $g$ in the Wilson case, contrary to the results of the Clover case which are almost unaffected by the choice of $g$. Combining some recently obtained non perturbative estimates for the renormalisation constants with our Clover matrix element, we observe a significant improvement in the chiral behaviour of $B_K$.Comment: 3 pages, Latex, Postscript file with figures available at ftp://hpteo.roma1.infn.it/pub/preprints/lat94/donini ; to appear in Lattice '94, Nucl. Phys. (Proc.Suppl.

A lattice study of the exclusive B→K∗γB \to K^* \gamma decay amplitude, using the Clover action at β=6.0\beta=6.0

We present the results of a numerical calculation of the $B\to K^* \gamma$ form factors. The results have been obtained by studying the relevant correlation functions at $\beta=6.0$, on an $18^3 \times 64$ lattice, using the ${\rm O(a)}$-improved fermion action, in the quenched approximation. From the study of the matrix element $$ we have obtained the form factor $T_1(0)$ which controls the exclusive decay rate. The results are compared with the recent results from CLEO. We also discuss the compatibility between the scaling laws predicted by the Heavy Quark Effective Theory (HQET) and pole dominance, by studying the mass- and $q^2$-dependence of the form factors. From our analysis, it appears that the form factors follow a mass behaviour compatible with the predictions of the HQET and that the $q^2$-dependence of $T_2$ is weaker than would be predicted by pole dominance.Comment: 17 pages, LaTeX + epsf.sty. Uuencoded, compressed, tar archive including the text and one postscript figur

Polyakov loops and finite-size effects of hadron masses in full lattice QCD

Polyakov type loops are responsible for the difference between quenched and unquenched finite size effects on the QCD mass spectrum. With a numerical simulation, using appropriate sea quark spatial boundary conditions, we show that we can align the phases of spatial Polyakov loops in a predelined direction. Starting from these results, we propose a procedure to minimize fluctuations due to these effects in meson propagators

Caracterização dos macrófagos presentes nas lesões cutâneas da hanseníase: estudo por monoclonais

As lesões cutâneas de 16 pacientes com hanseníase foram estudadas por imunofluorescência com anticorpos monoclonais anti-monócitos (OKM1 e anti-MO) e anti-Ia (OKIa). Foi avaliada a atividade de fosfatase ácida utilizando-se naftol AS-B1 fosfato como substrato. Os macrófagos parecem constituir uma população heterogênea em relação aos antigenos estudados neste trabalho e quanto a atividade enzimática. Em todas as formas estudadas um grande número de células eram OKIa positivas

The Spot-Forward Exchange Rate Relation in Indian Foreign Exchange Market An Analysis

Forward exchange rate bias explanation generally falls into two categories – assumption of rational expectation resulting in a risk premium and expectation errors which is systematic. The paper tests the bias in the Indian forward exchange markets using one-month and three month forward contracts. The study finds that the three month contracts have larger prediction errors than the one-month contracts. The also paper finds that the prediction errors have information content which leads to assume the presence of risk premium. The study also finds that risk one-month contracts have lesser variability vis-à-vis the three month contracts