Effects of zinc on Salmonella in the layer house environments and laying hens, and the ability of zinc to induce molt in laying hens

There is increasing interest in developing methods to detect and identify Salmonella, to eliminate or reduce the risk of contamination of shell eggs, and to retain the economic advantages of induced molting without increasing the risk of Salmonella enteritidis infection. S. enteritidis and S. typhimurium are the most common serotypes among 2449 known serotypes of the Salmonella, and are the causes of most egg- related foodborne salmonellosis in humans in the U. S. These two species are also responsible for environmental contamination and the incidence of infections. Therefore, this study was conducted in three phases consisting of ten in vivo and in vitro experiments. This study investigated the effects of zinc on Salmonella growth and survivability in poultry environments, and its ability to induce a molt in single comb white leghorn hens. In part, the antibacterial properties of zinc may reduce environmental contamination in a poultry house by interrupting airborne routes. The first phase involved detecting airborne bacteria by aerosol sampling methods, and then screening any Salmonella mutant (s) that survived desiccation by transposon footprinting. The second phase examined, in vitro, the addition of zinc on the growth kinetics of Salmonella under aerobic or anaerobic conditions, the effects of combinating zinc and acidic conditions on the growth kinetics of Salmonella in vitro under aerobic or anaerobic conditions, and the effects of zinc amended feed on the survival of a dry inoculum of Salmonella. The third phase investigated the ability of zinc propionate, as an alternative salt form of zinc, to induce molt in laying hens, the influence of zinc acetate and zinc propionate on gastrointestinal tract fermentation, and susceptibility of laying hens to S. enteritidis during an induced molt, and the comparison of digestive microbial crop and cecal communities among molted hens fed by either zinc acetate or zinc propionate amended molting diets with hens undergoing feed withdrawal or full fed nonmolted hens using molecular-based denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis

Genetic and Functional Analyses of Virulence Potential of an Escherichia coli O157:H7 Strain Isolated From Super-Shedder Cattle

Shiga toxin (Stx)-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157:H7 is an enteric pathogen that causes life-threatening disease in humans, with cattle being major natural reservoirs. A group of STEC O157:H7 with a dramatic combination of high virulence potentials and super-shedder bovine origin have been isolated. Here, an STEC O157:H7 isolate, JEONG-1266, was analyzed by comparative genomics, stx genotyping, and phenotypic analyses. The phylogenetic typing and whole-genome comparison consistently showed that JEONG-1266 is genetically close to EC4115 (one of 2006 Spinach outbreak isolates) and SS17 (an isolate from super-shedder cattle) strains, all of which belong to lineage I/II and Clade 8. Both lineage I/II and Clade 8 are known to be mostly associated with clinical strains with high virulence and severe clinical symptoms. Further, JEONG-1266, like EC4115 and SS17, harbors stx2a/stx2c genes, and carries Stx-encoding prophages, specifically the φstx2a-γ subtype. Possession of the φstx2a-γ subtype of Stx-encoding prophages and production of Stx2a have been shown to be a key signature associated with hypervirulent STEC O157:H7 strains. In silico virulence typing elucidated JEONG- 1266, EC4115, and SS17 shared a highly conserved profile of key virulence genes at the nucleotide sequence level. Consistently, phenotypic data showed that JEONG-1266 expressed a high level of Stx2 toxins and had the full capacity of adhesion in vitro. Taken together, our study suggests that JEONG-1266 may represent an emerging STEC O157:H7 group, which are hypervirulent strains that originate from super-shedders, that can be a threat to food safety and public health

A Survey on Cooperation between Early Childhood Facilities and Elementary Schools regarding Children with Disabilities

This survey aimed to reveal the current conditions of cooperation between early childhood facilities and elementary schools regarding children with disabilities. A nationwide questionnaire was administered to 172 nursery schools (public), 242 nursery schools (private), 200 kindergartens (public), 481 kindergartens (private), and 592 elementary schools. Overall, for cooperation with elementary school for children with disabilities, the percentage of practice with kindergarten (public) was highest among early childhood facilities. In particular, for “Exchange activities between early childhood facilities and elementary schools” and “Introduction of approach curriculum,” the percentage of practice with kindergarten (public) was higher when compared with that in other early childhood facilities. The newly found information in this survey was that nursery schools (public) were most likely to take advantage of the “Individual education program.” The major problem was that nursery school and kindergarten teachers were willing to cooperate on early childhood education and care with elementary school teachers, but elementary school teachers answered that it was difficult to cooperate with many of the early childhood facilities. The ideal method for cooperation between early childhood facilities and elementary schools needs to be considered within each community.本研究は平成26年度文部科学省委託「幼児教育の改善・充実調査研究」（研究代表者：山崎 晃）及び平成25～27年度科学研究費・基盤研究（C）（研究課題番号：25381325，研究代表者：山崎 晃）の助成を受けて行われた研究成果の一部である

Prevalence of extended-spectrum beta-lactamases in the local farm environment and livestock: challenges to mitigate antimicrobial resistance

The effectiveness of antibiotics has been challenged by the increasing frequency of antimicrobial resistance (AR), which has emerged as a major threat to global health. Despite the negative impact of AR on health, there are few effective strategies for reducing AR in food-producing animals. Of the antimicrobial resistant microorganisms (ARMs), extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs)-producing Enterobacteriaceae are an emerging global threat due to their increasing prevalence in livestock, even in animals raised without antibiotics. Many reviews are available for the positive selection of AR associated with antibiotic use in livestock, but less attention has been given to how other factors including soil, water, manure, wildlife, and farm workers, are associated with the emergence of ESBL-producing bacteria. Understanding of antibiotic resistance genes and bacteria transfer at the interfaces of livestock and other potential reservoirs will provide insights for the development of mitigation strategies for AR

The JCMT BISTRO Survey: A Spiral Magnetic Field in a Hub-filament Structure, Monoceros R2

We present and analyze observations of polarized dust emission at 850 μm toward the central 1 7 1 pc hub-filament structure of Monoceros R2 (Mon R2). The data are obtained with SCUBA-2/POL-2 on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) as part of the B-fields in Star-forming Region Observations survey. The orientations of the magnetic field follow the spiral structure of Mon R2, which are well described by an axisymmetric magnetic field model. We estimate the turbulent component of the magnetic field using the angle difference between our observations and the best-fit model of the underlying large-scale mean magnetic field. This estimate is used to calculate the magnetic field strength using the Davis–Chandrasekhar–Fermi method, for which we also obtain the distribution of volume density and velocity dispersion using a column density map derived from Herschel data and the C18O (J = 3 - 2) data taken with HARP on the JCMT, respectively. We make maps of magnetic field strengths and mass-to-flux ratios, finding that magnetic field strengths vary from 0.02 to 3.64 mG with a mean value of 1.0 \ub1 0.06 mG, and the mean critical mass-to-flux ratio is 0.47 \ub1 0.02. Additionally, the mean Alfv\ue9n Mach number is 0.35 \ub1 0.01. This suggests that, in Mon R2, the magnetic fields provide resistance against large-scale gravitational collapse, and the magnetic pressure exceeds the turbulent pressure. We also investigate the properties of each filament in Mon R2. Most of the filaments are aligned along the magnetic field direction and are magnetically subcritical

The JCMT BISTRO Survey: Studying the Complex Magnetic Field of L43

We present observations of polarized dust emission at 850 μm from the L43 molecular cloud, which sits in the Ophiuchus cloud complex. The data were taken using SCUBA-2/POL-2 on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope as a part of the BISTRO large program. L43 is a dense (NH 10 22 2 ~ –1023 cm−2) complex molecular cloud with a submillimeter-bright starless core and two protostellar sources. There appears to be an evolutionary gradient along the isolated filament that L43 is embedded within, with the most evolved source closest to the Sco OB2 association. One of the protostars drives a CO outflow that has created a cavity to the southeast. We see a magnetic field that appears to be aligned with the cavity walls of the outflow, suggesting interaction with the outflow. We also find a magnetic field strength of up to ∼160 ± 30 μG in the main starless core and up to ∼90 ± 40 μG in the more diffuse, extended region. These field strengths give magnetically super- and subcritical values, respectively, and both are found to be roughly trans-Alfvénic. We also present a new method of data reduction for these denser but fainter objects like starless cores

The TOP-SCOPE Survey of Planck Galactic Cold Clumps : Survey Overview and Results of an Exemplar Source, PGCC G26.53+0.17

The low dust temperatures (<14 K) of Planck Galactic cold clumps (PGCCs) make them ideal targets to probe the initial conditions and very early phase of star formation. "TOP-SCOPE" is a joint survey program targeting similar to 2000 PGCCs in J = 1-0 transitions of CO isotopologues and similar to 1000 PGCCs in 850 mu m continuum emission. The objective of the "TOP-SCOPE" survey and the joint surveys (SMT 10 m, KVN 21 m, and NRO 45 m) is to statistically study the initial conditions occurring during star formation and the evolution of molecular clouds, across a wide range of environments. The observations, data analysis, and example science cases for these surveys are introduced with an exemplar source, PGCC G26.53+0.17 (G26), which is a filamentary infrared dark cloud (IRDC). The total mass, length, and mean line mass (M/L) of the G26 filament are similar to 6200 M-circle dot, similar to 12 pc, and similar to 500 M-circle dot pc(-1), respectively. Ten massive clumps, including eight starless ones, are found along the filament. The most massive clump as a whole may still be in global collapse, while its denser part seems to be undergoing expansion owing to outflow feedback. The fragmentation in the G26 filament from cloud scale to clump scale is in agreement with gravitational fragmentation of an isothermal, nonmagnetized, and turbulent supported cylinder. A bimodal behavior in dust emissivity spectral index (beta) distribution is found in G26, suggesting grain growth along the filament. The G26 filament may be formed owing to large-scale compression flows evidenced by the temperature and velocity gradients across its natal cloud.Peer reviewe

Magnetic Fields in the Infrared Dark Cloud G34.43+0.24

We present the B-fields mapped in IRDC G34.43+0.24 using 850 mu m polarized dust emission observed with the POL-2 instrument at the James Clerk Maxwell telescope. We examine the magnetic field geometries and strengths in the northern, central, and southern regions of the filament. The overall field geometry is ordered and aligned closely perpendicular to the filament's main axis, particularly in regions containing the central clumps MM1 and MM2, whereas MM3 in the north has field orientations aligned with its major axis. The overall field orientations are uniform at large (POL-2 at 14 '' and SHARP at 10 '') to small scales (TADPOL at 2 ''.5 and SMA at 1 ''.5) in the MM1 and MM2 regions. SHARP/CSO observations in MM3 at 350 mu m from Tang et al. show a similar trend as seen in our POL-2 observations. TADPOL observations demonstrate a well-defined field geometry in MM1/MM2 consistent with MHD simulations of accreting filaments. We obtained a plane-of-sky magnetic field strength of 470 +/- 190 mu G, 100 +/- 40 mu G, and 60 +/- 34 mu G in the central, northern, and southern regions of G34, respectively, using the updated Davis-Chandrasekhar-Fermi relation. The estimated value of field strength, combined with column density and velocity dispersion values available in the literature, suggests G34 to be marginally critical with criticality parameter lambda values 0.8 +/- 0.4, 1.1 +/- 0.8, and 0.9 +/- 0.5 in the central, northern, and southern regions, respectively. The turbulent motions in G34 are sub-AlfvEnic with Alfvenic Mach numbers of 0.34 +/- 0.13, 0.53 +/- 0.30, and 0.49 +/- 0.26 in the three regions. The observed aligned B-fields in G34.43+0.24 are consistent with theoretical models suggesting that B-fields play an important role in guiding the contraction of the cloud driven by gravity.Peer reviewe

JCMT BISTRO Survey: Magnetic Fields within the Hub-filament Structure in IC 5146

We present the 850 μm polarization observations toward the IC 5146 filamentary cloud taken using the Submillimetre Common-User Bolometer Array 2 (SCUBA-2) and its associated polarimeter (POL-2), mounted on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope, as part of the B-fields In STar forming Regions Observations. This work is aimed at revealing the magnetic field morphology within a core-scale (lesssim1.0 pc) hub-filament structure (HFS) located at the end of a parsec-scale filament. To investigate whether the observed polarization traces the magnetic field in the HFS, we analyze the dependence between the observed polarization fraction and total intensity using a Bayesian approach with the polarization fraction described by the Rice likelihood function, which can correctly describe the probability density function of the observed polarization fraction for low signal-to-noise ratio data. We find a power-law dependence between the polarization fraction and total intensity with an index of 0.56 in A V ~ 20–300 mag regions, suggesting that the dust grains in these dense regions can still be aligned with magnetic fields in the IC 5146 regions. Our polarization maps reveal a curved magnetic field, possibly dragged by the contraction along the parsec-scale filament. We further obtain a magnetic field strength of 0.5 ± 0.2 mG toward the central hub using the Davis–Chandrasekhar–Fermi method, corresponding to a mass-to-flux criticality of ~1.3 ± 0.4 and an Alfvénic Mach number of <0.6. These results suggest that gravity and magnetic field are currently of comparable importance in the HFS and that turbulence is less important