An estimation of thermophilic Campylobacter population in ready-to-eat roast beef and chicken sold and hygiene practices of sellers in beer bars in Arusha, Tanzania.

Background: In Tanzania, ‘nyama-choma’ (roast beef) and ‘kuku-choma’ (roast chicken) are popular ready-to-eat foods served in beer bars. A separate risk assessment for thermophilic Campylobacter in Arusha showed that the incidence rate was 6.4 people (90% CI: 3.4-10.4) per 1000 peopleper day but the concentration of Campylobacter in beef, which was not studied, was the factor influencing the results of the assessment the most. The present study was thus conducted to understand the concentration of thermophilic Campylobacter on roast beef and chicken surfaces as well as that on raw beef using the most probable number (MPN) approach. Methods: A survey was conducted in Arusha, Tanzania in September and October 2010 and 30 samples of beef sold at butchers and 30 samples of roast beef and 10 samples of roast chicken sold at nyama-choma beer bars were collected and these butchers and bar owners were interviewed for the sales and hygiene information. Fifty grams of samples were rinsed with 25 ml of Phosphate Buffered Saline (PBS) and one ml of each three replicates of this solution and 10 and 100 times diluted solutions were inoculated to Preston broth and incubated at 42°C for 24 hours in a CO2 jar. The solutions were then cultured on CCDA agar at 42°C for 48 hours and the isolates were sub-cultured on blood agar and the DNA was extracted. The extracted DNA was tested for thermophilic Campylobacter using PCR and positive DNA was tested for both C. jejuni and C. coli. The MPN of the isolates was obtained from the MPN table. Results: Out of 70 samples, thermophilic Campylobacter isolates were detected from one sample of roast chicken and identified as C. coli. The prevalence was therefore 0% (0/30) for beef at butchers, 0% (0/30) for roast beef and 10% (1/10) for roast chicken. The MPN of the C. coli was 0.37/g of meat (95% CI: 0.07 – 1.0). A low recovery rate and the small value of MPN might be due to dry and hot selling environment in butchers and heat of roasted meats. According to the interviews with 30 butchers, 7 respondents (23%) had a refrigerator and 16 (53%) had received hygiene training. Similarly, out of 40 nyama-choma beer bar owners where 30 roast beef and 10 roast chicken were sampled, 8 (20%) had a refrigerator and 21 (53%) had been trained. All the respondents used tap water in their operation. The fact that C. coli was recovered from roast chicken suggested possible post-roast contamination and although the owner of the bar which C. coli was detected did not use same utensils for both raw and roasted meat, 38% (15/40) of nyama-choma bar operators reported using. The proportions of pubs using the same utensils for both raw and roast meat were not significantly different between those trained for hygiene (7/21, 33%) and not trained (8/19, 42%, x2=0.06, df=1, p=0.81), suggesting ineffectiveness of hygiene training provided by the health authorities. Future research should focus on updating the risk assessment and incentives of compliance to hygiene regulation

Using resting-state DMN effective connectivity to characterize the neurofunctional architecture of empathy

Neuroimaging studies in social neuroscience have largely relied on functional connectivity (FC) methods to characterize the functional integration between different brain regions. However, these methods have limited utility in social-cognitive studies that aim to understand the directed information flow among brain areas that underlies complex psychological processes. In this study we combined functional and effective connectivity approaches to characterize the functional integration within the Default Mode Network (DMN) and its role in self-perceived empathy. Forty-two participants underwent a resting state fMRI scan and completed a questionnaire of dyadic empathy. Independent Component Analysis (ICA) showed that higher empathy scores were associated with an increased contribution of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) to the DMN spatial mode. Dynamic causal modelling (DCM) combined with Canonical Variance Analysis (CVA) revealed that this association was mediated indirectly by the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) via the right inferior parietal lobule (IPL). More specifically, in participants with higher scores in empathy, the PCC had a greater effect on bilateral IPL and the right IPL had a greater influence on mPFC. These results highlight the importance of using analytic approaches that address directed and hierarchical connectivity within networks, when studying complex psychological phenomena, such as empathy.- This study was funded by BIAL Foundation (Grant number 87/12); by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and the Portuguese Ministry of Education and Science through national funds and co-financed by FEDER through COMPETE2020 under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007653); by the postdoctoral scholarship UMINHO/BPD/18/2017 and by the Portuguese Foundation for Science Doctoral scholarship (PD/BD/105963/2014). This work was conducted at Psychology Research Centre (UID/PSI/01662/2013), University of Minho

Differentiation of Schizophrenia Patients from Healthy Subjects by Mismatch Negativity and Neuropsychological Tests

BACKGROUND: Schizophrenia is a heterogeneous disorder with diverse presentations. The current and the proposed DSM-V diagnostic system remains phenomenologically based, despite the fact that several neurobiological and neuropsychological markers have been identified. A multivariate approach has better diagnostic utility than a single marker method. In this study, the mismatch negativity (MMN) deficit of schizophrenia was first replicated in a Han Chinese population, and then the MMN was combined with several neuropsychological measurements to differentiate schizophrenia patients from healthy subjects. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: 120 schizophrenia patients and 76 healthy controls were recruited. Each subject received examinations for duration MMN, Continuous Performance Test, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Third Edition (WAIS-III). The MMN was compared between cases and controls, and important covariates were investigated. Schizophrenia patients had significantly reduced MMN amplitudes, and MMN decreased with increasing age in both patient and control groups. None of the neuropsychological indices correlated with MMN. Predictive multivariate logistic regression models using the MMN and neuropsychological measurements as predictors were developed. Four predictors, including MMN at electrode FCz and three scores from the WAIS-III (Arithmetic, Block Design, and Performance IQ) were retained in the final predictive model. The model performed well in differentiating patients from healthy subjects (percentage of concordant pairs: 90.5%). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: MMN deficits were found in Han Chinese schizophrenia patients. The multivariate approach combining biomarkers from different modalities such as electrophysiology and neuropsychology had a better diagnostic utility

Factors associated with inter-farm spread of porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) in Kagoshima and Miyazaki Prefectures, Japan

Purpose: In October 2013, an outbreak of porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) was confirmed in Japan. The disease spread countrywide, and more than 400,000 pigs died in total as of March 22, 2015. The present study was conducted to understand the factors having caused such a wide inter-farm spread. Methods: Kagoshima and Miyazaki Prefectures, the main pig production areas of Japan, were selected as study sites. A spatio-temporal analysis was conducted to detect disease clustering using SaTScan version 9.3.1, selecting week as time unit and Bernoulli model, with anonymized data on farm size, farm types, administrative units, and date of onset provided by both prefectures (709 and 506 farms in Kagoshima and Miyazaki). Univariate and multivariable survival analyses were performed using the data in R version 3.0.2. Separately, a case-control postal survey was conducted on 78 infected (infection confirmed between Dec 2013 and Aug 2014) and 91 non-infected pig farms in Kagoshima and Miyazaki Prefectures for detailed biosecurity measures, and univariate analysis was performed. Results: Accumulated incidence rate at farm level was 23.6% in Kagoshima and 15.6% in Miyazaki as of July 24, 2014. SaTScan found three disease clusters: Kanoya (16.9km, Dec 3rd 2013 to Feb 13th 2014, Kagoshima), Miyakonojo (one city, radius not calculated, Jan 10th to 30th), and northern Miyazaki (32.4km, Mar 14th to Apr 3rd, Miyazaki). In survival analysis, survivorship was significantly lower (7.5) in integrated farms which have susceptible suckling pigs and visit slaughterhouses, than grow-finisher farms (8.2, p < 0.01). In all farm types, there were significant negative associations between survivorship, and farm size and farm density (both p < 0.01). Use of two specific abattoirs, use of communal compost depots, and not disinfecting a floor mat of track transporting pig excrement/compost were significant risk factors for PED. Conclusions: Our study identified two modes of transmission: slaughterhouses (common source infection), and compost management. Cleaning and disinfection associated with these pathways would reduce the chance of PED transmission. Relevance: This is relevant to infection control

Factors associated with farm-level infection of porcine epidemic diarrhea during the early phase of the epidemic in Japan in 2013 and 2014

The objective of this study was to investigate factors that caused rapid spread during the early phase of the porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) epidemic in Japan in 2013 and 2014. Anonymized datasets from all pig farms were provided by Kagoshima (709 farms) and Miyazaki Prefectures (506 farms). Semi-parametric survival analysis was conducted using the first 180 days from the first case on December 3, 2013 in Kagoshima Prefecture. To compare the hazard between different farm management types, univariable survival analysis was conducted. As farm sizes varied among different farm types, bivariable survival analysis was conducted for farm size categories and farm density per km2 for each management type. A case-control study using a postal questionnaire survey was conducted in September 2014, and risk factor analysis was performed using generalized linear models with binomial errors. The hazard was significantly higher in farrow-to-finish farms than fattening farms [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.6, p < 0.01], but was not significantly different between reproduction and fattening farms (HR = 1.3, p = 0.16). In separate bivariable survival analyses for each farm type, large- and middle-scale farms had higher hazard than small-scale farms in fattening (HR = 5.8 and 2.6, respectively, both p < 0.01) and reproduction farms (HR = 4.0 and 3.6, respectively, both p < 0.01). In farrow-to-finish farms, large-scale farms had higher hazard than small-scale farms (HR = 2.8, p < 0.01), and higher farm density per km2 was also a risk factor (HR = 7.6, p < 0.01). In the case-control study, questionnaires were returned from 78 PED virus-infected and 91 non-infected farms. The overall response rate was 34%. Risk factors of the final model were occurrence of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome in the past 5 years [odds ratio (OR) = 1.97, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.97–4.00, p = 0.054], use of a common compost station (OR = 2.51, 95%CI: 1.08–5.83, p = 0.03), and use of a pig excrement disposal service (OR = 2.64, 95%CI: 1.05–6.63, p = 0.04). High hazard in farrow-to-finish farms suggested transmission from slaughterhouses to susceptible suckling piglets. Hazard associated with large-scale farms and high density might be due to frequent vehicle entrance and transmission by roads. Improvement of farm hygiene management and avoidance of risky practices associated with contact with pig excrement were keys in preventing invasion of PED virus to a farm