The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Community Survey, 2014 and Trends 2009–2014: A Sourcebook of Community Attitudes

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Community Survey (Mat-Su Survey), conducted annually since 2006, is a cooperative research effort between the Justice Center at University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. The survey asks Mat-Su Borough residents to evaluate the quality of Borough services, provide opinions about Borough decision-making, and sum up their perceptions about a range of issues relevant to the present and future of the Mat-Su community. The 2014 survey was distributed to 2,491 adult heads-of-household in the Mat-Su Borough in the winter and spring of 2014; a total of 1,003 surveys were returned, for a response rate of 40.3%. This sourcebook presents both the results from the 2014 Mat-Su Survey and trends from 2009–2014 in five major areas: (1) evaluation of current borough services; (2) use of borough facilities; (3) life in Mat-Su neighborhoods; (4) local government access, policies, and practices; and (5) respondent background information. A set of additional questions focusing on salmon and the environment was added to the 2014 Mat-Su Survey at the request of the Nature Conservancy. Additionally, findings from a derived importance-performance analysis of the survey data are presented, as is a compilation of respondent comments.Matanuska-Susitna BoroughIntroduction / Organization of Sourcebook / Methods / Executive Summary / 2014 RESULTS AND 2009–2014 TRENDS / Part I. Evaluation of Current Borough Services / Part II. Use of Borough Facilities / Part III. Life in Matanuska-Susitna Borough Neighborhoods / Part IV. Local Government: Access, Policies and Practices / Part V. Open Space and Salmon / Part VI. Sample Characteristics / Part VII. Derived Importance-Performance Analysis / Part VIII. Respondents’ Comments / Appendix: Questionnair

Are There Regional Variations in the Diagnosis, Surveillance, and Control of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus?

Abstract Objective: To assess the way healthcare facilities (HCFs) diagnose, survey, and control methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Design: Questionnaire. Setting: Ninety HCFs in 30 countries. Results: Evaluation of susceptibility testing methods showed that 8 laboratories (9%) used oxacillin disks with antimicrobial content different from the one recommended, 12 (13%) did not determine MRSA susceptibility to vancomycin, and 4 (4.5%) reported instances of isolation of vancomycin-resistant S. aureus but neither confirmed this resistance nor alerted public health authorities. A MRSA control program was reported by 55 (61.1%) of the HCFs. The following isolation precautions were routinely used: hospitalization in a private room (34.4%), wearing of gloves (62.2%), wearing of gowns (44.4%), hand washing by healthcare workers (53.3%), use of an isolation sign on the patient's door (43%), or all four. When the characteristics of HCFs with low incidence rates (< 0.4 per 1,000 patient-days) were compared with those of HCFs with high incidence rates (P = 0.4 per 1,000 patient-days), having a higher mean number of beds per infection control nurse was the only factor significantly associated with HCFs with high incidence rates (834 vs 318 beds; P = .02). Conclusion: Our results emphasize the urgent need to strengthen the microbiologic and epidemiologic capacities of HCFs worldwide to prevent MRSA transmission and to prepare them to address the possible emergence of vancomycin-resistant S. aureu

Novel Anti-Infective Compounds from Marine Bacteria

As a result of the continuous evolution of microbial pathogens towards antibiotic-resistance, there have been demands for the development of new and effective antimicrobial compounds. Since the 1960s, the scientific literature has accumulated many publications about novel pharmaceutical compounds produced by a diverse range of marine bacteria. Indeed, marine micro-organisms continue to be a productive and successful focus for natural products research, with many newly isolated compounds possessing potentially valuable pharmacological activities. In this regard, the marine environment will undoubtedly prove to be an increasingly important source of novel antimicrobial metabolites, and selective or targeted approaches are already enabling the recovery of a significant number of antibiotic-producing micro-organisms. The aim of this review is to consider advances made in the discovery of new secondary metabolites derived from marine bacteria, and in particular those effective against the so called “superbugs”, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE), which are largely responsible for the increase in numbers of hospital acquired, i.e., nosocomial, infections