1,325 research outputs found

    Distribution of Legionella Species and Serogroups Isolated by Culture in Patients with Sporadic Community-Acquired Legionellosis: An International Collaborative Survey

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    This international collaborative survey identified culture-confirmed legionellosis in 508 patients with sporadic community-acquired legionellosis. Legionella pneumophila constituted 91.5% of the isolates. Serogroup 1 was the predominant serogroup (84.2%), and serogroups 2-13 (7.4%) accounted for the remaining serogroups. The Legionella species most commonly isolated were L. longbeachae (3.9%) and L. bozemanii (2.4%), followed by L. micdadei, L. dumoffii, L. feeleii, L. wadsworthii and L. anisa (2.2% combined). L. longbeachae constituted 30.4% of the community-acquired Legionella isolates in Australia and New Zealan

    Detection and diversity of a putative novel heterogeneous polymorphic proline-glycine repeat (Pgr) protein in the footrot pathogen Dichelobacter nodosus

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    Dichelobacter nodosus, a Gram-negative anaerobic bacterium, is the essential causative agent of footrot in sheep. Currently, depending on the clinical presentation in the field, footrot is described as benign or virulent; D. nodosus strains have also been classified as benign or virulent, but this designation is not always consistent with clinical disease. The aim of this study was to determine the diversity of the pgr gene, which encodes a putative proline-glycine repeat protein (Pgr). The pgr gene was present in all 100 isolates of D. nodosus that were examined and, based on sequence analysis had two variants, pgrA and pgrB. In pgrA, there were two coding tandem repeat regions, R1 and R2: different strains had variable numbers of repeats within these regions. The R1 and R2 were absent from pgrB. Both variants were present in strains from Australia, Sweden and the UK, however, only pgrB was detected in isolates from Western Australia. The pgrA gene was detected in D. nodosus from tissue samples from two flocks in the UK with virulent footrot and only pgrB from a flock with no virulent or benign footrot for >10 years. Bioinformatic analysis of the putative PgrA protein indicated that it contained a collagen-like cell surface anchor motif. These results suggest that the pgr gene may be a useful molecular marker for epidemiological studies

    Genome-wide changes in genetic diversity in a population of Myotis lucifugus affected by white-nose syndrome

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    Novel pathogens can cause massive declines in populations, and even extirpation of hosts. But disease can also act as a selective pressure on survivors, driving the evolution of resistance or tolerance. Bat white-nose syndrome (WNS) is a rapidly spreading wildlife disease in North America. The fungus causing the disease invades skin tissues of hibernating bats, resulting in disruption of hibernation behavior, premature energy depletion, and subsequent death. We used whole-genome sequencing to investigate changes in allele frequencies within a population of Myotis lucifugus in eastern North America to search for genetic resistance to WNS. Our results show low F-ST values within the population across time, i.e., prior to WNS (Pre-WNS) compared to the population that has survived WNS (Post-WNS). However, when dividing the population with a geographical cut-off between the states of Pennsylvania and New York, a sharp increase in values on scaffold GL429776 is evident in the Post-WNS samples. Genes present in the diverged area are associated with thermoregulation and promotion of brown fat production. Thus, although WNS may not have subjected the entire M. lucifugus population to selective pressure, it may have selected for specific alleles in Pennsylvania through decreased gene flow within the population. However, the persistence of remnant sub-populations in the aftermath of WNS is likely due to multiple factors in bat life history.Peer reviewe

    New possibilities for research on reef fish across the continental shelf of South Africa

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    [From introduction] Subtidal research presents numerous challenges that restrict the ability to answer fundamental ecological questions related to reef systems. These challenges are closely associated with traditional monitoring methods and include depth restrictions (e.g. safe diving depths for underwater visual census), habitat destruction (e.g. trawling), mortality of target species (e.g. controlled angling and fish traps), and high operating costs (e.g. remotely operated vehicles and large research vessels. Whereas many of these challenges do not apply or are avoidable in the shallow subtidal environment, the difficulties grow as one attempts to sample deeper benthic habitats. This situation has resulted in a paucity of knowledge on the structure and ecology of deep water reef habitats around the coast of South Africa and in most marine areas around the world. Furthermore, the inability to effectively survey deep water benthic environments has limited the capacity of researchers to investigate connectivity between shallow and deep water habitats in a standardised and comparable fashion

    Spectroscopic and computational insights on catalytic synergy in bimetallic aluminophosphate catalysts

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    A combined electronic structure computational and X-ray absorption spectroscopy study was used to investigate the nature of the active sites responsible for catalytic synergy in Co-Ti bimetallic nanoporous frameworks. Probing the nature of the molecular species at the atomic level has led to the identification of a unique Co-O-Ti bond, which serves as the loci for the superior performance of the bimetallic catalyst, when compared with its analogous monometallic counterpart. The structural and spectroscopic features associated with this active site have been characterized and contrasted, with a view to affording structure property relationships, in the wider context of designing sustainable catalytic oxidations with porous solids

    Sub-Annual Calving Front Migration, Area Change and Calving Rates from Swath Mode CryoSat-2 Altimetry, on Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf, Antarctica

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    Mapping the time-variable calving front location (CFL) of Antarctic ice shelves is important for estimating the freshwater budget, as an indicator of changing ocean and structural conditions or as a precursor of dynamic instability. Here, we present a novel approach for deriving regular and consistent CFLs based on CryoSat-2 swath altimetry. The CFL detection is based on the premise that the shelf edge is usually characterized by a steep ice cliff, which is clearly resolved in the surface elevation data. Our method applies edge detection and vectorization of the sharp ice edge in gridded elevation data to generate vector shapefiles of the calving front. To show the feasibility of our approach, we derived a unique data set of ice-front positions for the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf (FRIS) between 2011 and 2018 at a 200 m spatial resolution and biannual temporal frequency. The observed CFLs compare well with independently derived ice front positions from Sentinel-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar imagery and are used to calculate area change, advance rates, and iceberg calving rates. We measure an area increase of 810 ± 40 km2 a−1 for FRIS and calving rates of 9 ± 1 Gt a−1 and 7 ± 1 Gt a−1 for the Filchner and Ronne Ice Shelves, respectively, which is an order of magnitude smaller than their steady-state calving flux. Our findings demonstrate that the “elevation-edge” method is complementary to standard CFL detection techniques. Although at a reduced spatial resolution and less suitable for smaller glaciers in steep terrain, it enables to provide CFLs at regular intervals and to fill existing gaps in time and space. Moreover, the method simultaneously provides ice thickness, required for mass budget calculation, and has a degree of automation which removes the need for heavy manual intervention. In the future, altimetry data has the potential to deliver a systematic and continuous record of change in ice shelf calving front positions around Antarctica. This will greatly benefit the investigation of environmental forcing on ice flow and terminus dynamics by providing a valuable climate data record and improving our knowledge of the constraints for calving models and ice shelf freshwater budget

    Factors associated with self-care activities among adults in the United Kingdom: a systematic review

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    Background: The Government has promoted self-care. Our aim was to review evidence about who uses self-tests and other self-care activities (over-the-counter medicine, private sector,complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), home blood pressure monitors). Methods: During April 2007, relevant bibliographic databases (Medline, Embase, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts, PsycINFO,British Nursing Index, Allied and Complementary Medicine Database, Sociological Abstracts, International Bibliography of the Social Sciences, Arthritis and Complementary Medicine Database, Complementary and Alternative Medicine and Pain Database) were searched, and potentially relevant studies were reviewed against eligibility criteria. Studies were included if they were published during the last 15 years and identified factors, reasons or characteristics associated with a relevant activity among UK adults. Two independent reviewers used proformas to assess the quality of eligible studies. Results: 206 potentially relevant papers were identified, 157 were excluded, and 49 papers related to 46 studies were included: 37 studies were, or used data from questionnaire surveys, 36 had quality scores of five or more out of 10, and 27 were about CAM. Available evidence suggests that users of CAM and over-the-counter medicine are female, middle-aged, affluent and/or educated with some measure of poor health, and that people who use the private sector are affluent and/or educated. Conclusion: People who engage in these activities are likely to be affluent. Targeted promotion may, therefore, be needed to ensure that use is equitable. People who use some activities also appear to have poorer measures of health than non-users or people attending conventional services. It is, therefore, also important to ensure that self-care is not used as a second choice for people who have not had their needs met by conventional service
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