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It's International Literacy Day, a day to recognize how literacy empowers learners to be confident, aim high, and go beyond their expectations in life. This occasion marks the many achievements that have been made to spread literacy around the world and innovate some of the various ways we can work together to eradicate low literacy. It also gives us the chance to reflect on ways to overcome the challenges that stand in the way of promoting literacy as an integral part of lifelong learning.
International Literacy Day is a day when local governments, organizations and nonprofits, communities, teachers, learners, and experts in the literacy field come together to give a voice to this universal cause that affects 43 million adults in the United States, two-thirds of whom are women.
Literacy empowers women everywhere to support themselves so they can get out of domestic violence, help their children, earn a diploma and get a job, and sustain a quality life. While we celebrate the many achievements of thousands of women, we want to share a new and exciting opportunity with programs and their learners nationwide.
ProLiteracy and Lancôme USA have partnered to develop the Write Her Future Institute to empower women through literacy and provide opportunities for women to further their skills and improve their lives. The Lancôme grant to ProLiteracy will provide free access to Voxy®, a personalized language learning platform that pairs authentic content with personalized live instruction—all delivered in a fully mobile experience. Adult literacy programs and students can apply for free one-year Voxy licenses at www.writeherfutureinstitute.com.
Voxy is an innovative digital solution that helps adult learners build English language skills through personalized instruction using real, up-to-date media. The app is effective and was designed with a research-based approach to learning English and multiple skill levels.
Voxy’s key features include:
- Personalized general English and career-aligned courses that adapt to each learner's needs
- Real media content added daily, such as videos, news articles, and conversations
- Live instruction using performance data to inform in-class instruction or utilizing Voxy's optional live instruction for distance learners
- Assessment using the Voxy Proficiency Assessment, a reliable online placement and benchmark tool
- Reporting to track learner progress and study time
Voxy includes various activities that will help keep learners engaged, including grammar, listening, reading, vocabulary, and writing. Some additional features include navigational text available in 14 different languages, word banks, a grammar guide, flashcards, pronunciation practice, and more.
Join us this International Literacy Day to celebrate and empower women, to make an impact, and collectively create the solution for change.
“Lancôme’s wish is to empower women by working to eradicate illiteracy and also to raise awareness of this often silent issue,” says Suriya Parksuwan, President, Lancôme USA. “We know that women who lack basic reading and writing skills have a hidden handicap that can seriously hamper their own lives as well as those of their families. This partnership seems natural for Lancôme, whose mission since the very beginning was to help women on their journey towards happiness and self-fulfillment.”
Together, and through the Write Her Future Institute, we can make a difference and transform the lives of thousands of women through literacy.
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|Motto: Częstochowa to dobre miasto
(Częstochowa is a good city)
|Coordinates: 50°48′N 19°7′E|
|- Mayor||Tadeusz Wrona|
|- City||160 km² (61.8 sq mi)|
|- Density||1,538.3/km² (3,984.2/sq mi)|
|Time zone||CET (UTC+1)|
|- Summer (DST)||CEST (UTC+2)|
|Postal code||42-200 to 42-229, 42-263, 42-271, 42-280, 42-294|
|Area code(s)||+48 34|
Częstochowa (German: Tschenstochau, Yiddish: טשענסטעכאוו-Chenstekhov) is a city in south-central Poland on the Warta River. It was formed from two settlements: Old Częstochowa, founded in the thirteenth century; and Jasna Góra, founded in the fourteenth century. The two were merged in 1826.
The town is known for the famous Paulist monastery of Jasna Góra that is the home of the Black Madonna painting, a shrine of the Virgin Mary, as well as valuable frescoes. The fortified monastery was a stronghold for Polish forces during the Swedish invasions of 1655 and 1705. There is also a Lusatian culture excavation site and museum in the city and ruins of a medieval castle in Olsztyn, approximately 15 kilometers (9.3 mi) from the city center. These sites attract millions of pilgrims annually.
Today the city has approximately 250,000 inhabitants and is an important industrial city with glass and paper manufacturing, textile mills, chemical and food processing centers, as well as an iron and steel plant. From 1975 to 1998 it served as the capital of Częstochowa Voivodeship.
The name Częstochowa means "Częstoch's place" and comes from the personal name Częstoch, mentioned in the medieval documents also as Częstobor and Częstomir. The original name was mentioned (spelled as Czanstochowa) in 1220, (or spelled as Częstochow) in 1382 and 1558.
The village of Częstochówka (Jasna Góra) was a separate municipality mentioned in the fourteenth century as the Old Częstochowa (Antiquo Czanstochowa, 1382) and Częstochówka in 1470-1480.
The city was also known in German as Tschenstochau and in Russian as Ченстохов (Chenstokhov).
The village of Częstochowa was founded in eleventh century. It is first mentioned as a village in historical documents from 1220. In 1382 the Paulist monastery of Jasna Góra was founded by Władysław Opolczyk (Ladislav of Opole) - the Polish Piast prince of Upper Silesia. Two years later the monastery received its famous Black Madonna icon of the Virgin Mary and in subsequent years became a center of pilgrimage, contributing to the growth of the adjacent town. Before 1377 Częstochowa received a town charter, which was later changed to the Magdeburg Law in 1502.
In the seventeenth century the local monastery was converted into a fortress, which was one of the pockets of Polish resistance against the Swedish armies during The Deluge in 1655. The Jewish community in Częstochowa came into existence by about 1700. After the second Partition of Poland it was annexed by Prussia.
The monastery of Częstochowa, beginning in February 1760, was the site of the 13-year imprisonment of Jacob Frank, the Jewish religious leader and founder of Frankism. He had been tried by church tribunal in Warsaw and convicted as a teacher of heresy.
Frank's imprisonment lasted 13 years, yet it only increased his influence with his group, many of who established near him in Częstochowa. After the first partition of Poland, Frank was released by the Russian general Bibikov, who had occupied Częstochowa, in August 1772.
During the Napoleonic Wars, in 1807 Częstochowa became part of the Duchy of Warsaw and since 1815 the Kingdom of Poland. This began a period of fast growth for the city. In 1819 renowned military architect Jan Bernhard planned and started the construction of Aleja Najświętszej Panny Marii - the (Holiest Virgin Mary Avenue), which currently is the main artery of the modern city. The two existing towns of Częstochowa and Częstochówka (the latter received the city rights in 1717 as Nowa Częstochowa) were finally merged in 1826. In 1846 the Warsaw-Vienna Railway line was opened, linking the city with the rest of Europe. After 1870 iron ore started to be developed in the area, which gave a boost to the local industry. Among the most notable investments of the epoch was the Huta Częstochowa steel mill built by Bernard Hantke, as well as several weaveries and paper factories.
During World War I the town came under German occupation, and in 1918 it became a part of the newly-reborn Republic of Poland. The new state acquired large deposits of good iron ore in Silesia and the mines in Częstochowa became inefficient and soon were closed. This brought the period of prosperity to an end. At the same time a bishopric was relocated to the city in 1925.
After the Polish Defensive War of 1939, the town was occupied by Nazi Germany, renamed to Tschenstochau, and incorporated into the General Government. The Nazis marched into Częstochowa on Sunday, September 3, 1939, two days after they invaded Poland. The next day, which became known as Bloody Monday, approximately 150 Jews were shot and killed by the Germans. On April 9, 1941, a ghetto for Jews was created. During World War II approximately 45,000 of Częstochowa's Jews were murdered by the Germans, almost the entire Jewish community living there. The city was liberated from the Germans by the Red Army on January 16, 1945.
Due to the communist idea of rapid industrialization, the inefficient steel mill was significantly expanded and named after Bolesław Bierut. This, combined with the growing tourist movement, led to yet another period of fast city growth, concluded in 1975 with the creation of a separate Częstochowa Voivodeship.
Today Częstochowa is one of the main tourist cities in the region and is sometimes called 'little Nuremberg' because of its number of souvenir shops and historical monuments. It attracts millions (4.5 million in 2005) of tourists and pilgrims every year.
The Jasna Góra Monastery was founded in 1382 by Pauline monks who came from Hungary at the invitation of Władysław, Duke of Opole. The monastery has been a pilgrimage destination for hundreds of years, in large part because it contains one of the most important icons of the Virgin Mary in this part of Europe, The Black Madonna of Częstochowa.
The Black Madonna of Częstochowa is a holy icon of the Virgin Mary, that is both Poland's holiest relic and one of the country's national symbols. The origins of the icon and the date of its composition are still hotly contested among scholars. The difficulty in dating the icon stems from the fact that the original image was painted over after being badly damaged by Hussite raiders in 1430. Medieval restoration methods removed much of the original paints.
Although the icon of Our Lady of Częstochowa has been intimately tied with Poland for the past six hundred years, its history prior to its arrival is shrouded in numerous legends which trace the icon's origin back to St. Luke who, it is believed, painted it on a cypress table top from the house of the Holy Family.
One of the oldest documents from Jasna Góra states that the picture traveled from Jerusalem, via Constantinople and Belz, to finally reach Częstochowa in August 1382 by Władysław Opolczyk, Duke of Opole. The Black Madonna is credited with miraculously saving the monastery of Jasna Góra from a seventeenth century Swedish invasion, The Deluge, which actually changed the course of the war. This event led King Jan Kazimierz to "crown" Our Lady of Częstochowa ("the Black Madonna") as Queen and Protector of Poland in the cathedral of Lwów on April 1, 1656.
Another legend concerning the Black Madonna is that the presence of the holy painting saved its church from being destroyed in a fire, but not before the flames darkened the fleshtone pigments. The legend concerning the two scars on the Black Madonna's right cheek is that the Hussites stormed the Pauline monastery in 1430, plundering the sanctuary. Among the items stolen was the icon. After putting it in their wagon, the Hussites tried to get away but their horses refused to move. They threw the portrait down to the ground and one of the plunderers drew his sword upon the image and inflicted two deep strikes. When the robber tried to inflict a third strike, he fell to the ground and squirmed in agony until his death. Despite past attempts to repair these scars, they had always reappeared.
Another legend states that, as the robber struck the painting twice, the face of the Virgin Mary started to bleed; in a panic, the scared Hussites retreated and left the painting.
The painting, depicting Mary, the mother of Jesus, displays a traditional composition well-known in the icons of Eastern Orthodoxy. Madonna is shown as the "Hodegetria" ("One Who Shows the Way"). In it the Virgin directs attention away from herself, gesturing with her right hand toward Jesus as the source of salvation. In turn, the child extends his right hand toward the viewer in blessing while holding a book of Gospels in his left hand. The icon shows the Madonna in fleur de lys robes.
All links retrieved July 24, 2013.
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The following post has been submitted by Hank Mills
Andrea Rossi is about to initiate a seven day long test of the E-Cat Quark X, the allegedly most advanced version of his Energy Catalyzer technology. He has said that the purpose of the test is to demonstrate the performance, dependability, and safety of the QuarkX to a potential customer and partner. Three of the small reactors will be operated for a week — each producing one hundred total watts of power. With a claimed operating temperature on the outer surface of 1470 C, periods of self sustained operation for a half hour at a time or longer, and high COP even when external power is provided, the trio of nuclear reactors may yield a level of performance that dwarfs all other LENR technologies, including earlier versions of the E-Cat. Even the survival of the reactors for a week in such nightmarish conditions will be a significant accomplishment — the QuarkX will be hotter than hell! Furthermore, if the alleged direct production of electricity from the reactors are verified, the results may extend Leonardo Corporation’s lead over all competitors in the LENR (Cold Fusion) field.
From many of Andrea Rossi’s posts on the Journal of Nuclear Physics, a rough description of the QuarkX can be gathered. The technology is small and has been described both as cigarette sized to pencil sized. To withstand the ultra high temperatures involved that could severely damage other materials over time, custom alloys were produced for both the reactor shell and electrical resistors. Although not specified on the JONP, such an allow may also allow the device to withstand the corrosive properties of lithium vapor for an extended period of time. On at least one occasion, Tungsten was mentioned as being utilized. This means it is probably a component in the reactor shell and resistors.
A few bits of information about the performance characteristics of the E-Cat X are also known: the elevated operating temperature allows for higher COP when external power is provided, the unit can operate for periods of time in self sustain mode with no input power, the outer reactor shell can exceed the melting temperature of nickel because of “eddy currents” that are generated, and somehow electricity is being produced directly in addition to light and heat. Moreover, Andrea Rossi has declared that the electricity is not produced via the conversion of heat, and that he thinks once the technology is further developed fifty percent of the output may be in the form of electricity.
Although there are apparent differences between the QuarkX and previous incarnations of the E-Cat, the same core technology is alleged to be utilized. The inner workings of this nuclear reactor are claimed to abide by his patent, “Fluid Heater.” When asked about the ingredients of the fuel mix, he claims they are the same — which would mean some ratio of nickel, lithium aluminum hydride, and elemental lithium all in the form of powder. Extremely high temperatures have already been produced with this fuel mixture by Andrea Rossi in previous tests, which led to “runaway” events that were sometimes witnessed by third parties. In one test, a reactor surged from a thousand degrees to two thousand degrees in Celsius in ten seconds, resulting in the steel of the reactor vaporizing and the ceramic melting. As one witness described, the ceramic flowed like hot wax. The technological improvements utilized in the E-Cat X seem to allow for higher performance but in a stable manner.
Evidence from Rossi’s own tests/demos and third party replications tend to strongly reveal that the Ni-LiAlH4-Li technology works — producing high temperatures, high COP, and periods of self sustained operation that can last from minutes to several hours. All of this seems to show a power density that can exceed 1000 watts per gram of fuel — a power density no other publicly disclosed LENR technology can match during non-destructive operation. But when it comes to the QuarkX specifically, we have zero evidence of Andrea Rossi’s claims. As of yet, no test data or reports have been shared, and there have been no public demonstrations. The week long test is also going to be completely private: no live feed, no live blogging, no pictures, and no report being released immediately afterwards.
When a report is eventually released — if the test parameters and protocols were rigorous — we may be provided with confirmation that the QuarkX is indeed the revolutionary technology Andrea Rossi has proclaimed it may represent. But until such documentation and hard data is provided, the week long test is largely meaningless to the LENR community. What we need is documented hard evidence we can share with the world that incontrovertibly shows to reasonable individuals — even honest skeptics — that the Ni-LiAlH4-Li formula produces copious quantities of anomalous heat. The report that might one day be published from this week long test could provide such evidence. But we shouldn’t wait for it to be published. Simply put, we’re on the verge of not needing reports from Andrea Rossi to confirm the awesome potential of the E-Cat technology.
The current delay of the ERV (Expert Responsible for Validation) report of the year long test of the one megawatt plant is an example of why we should not depend on Andrea Rossi or Industrial Heat (Cherokee) to provide the evidence we need to validate LENR. After a year of waiting, a lawsuit has halted the dissemination of information from that test. Now, all we have to look forward to is a potentially long, dragged out lawsuit that might go on for years if a settlement is not reached. When or if the ERV report will be published is unknown. We should learn from this and assume that the report from the upcoming week long test of the Quark may not be revealed soon, if ever. Due to the positive results of replicators such as Songsheng Jiang, A Parkhomov, N. Stepanov, and others, it seems like building working Rossi Effect reactors ourselves is very doable. With our own working reactors, we can design whatever tests we want, utilizing whatever measurement techniques we desire, and incorporating whatever forms of calorimetry (phase change, flow, induction, etc) we think are optimal.
The only obstacle we have now is figuring out the critical parameters that allow for a small minority of replication attempts to be successful. Me356, a replicator who frequently posts on the LENR Forum’s website, has shared many clues that could be useful. Some of them were very common sense, and others were already suggested by individuals such as Bob Greenyer of the Martin Fleischman Memorial Project. If these principles are utilized, I think the success rate could go up dramatically. Once a “guaranteed to work” formula is spread on the internet, hundreds or thousands of replications will be posted to YouTube in a short period of time. With so many people demonstrating repeated hour long periods of self sustain (glowing white hot reactors that should have dropped hundreds of degrees in seconds) there will be no denying the reality of Rossi Effect.
While replicators work towards figuring out how to duplicate the Rossi Effect consistently, a statement from Andrea Rossi that the seven day test was successful would be morale boosting. We can only hope that his customer and possible partner might be one of the big names that have been discussed on internet forums. Andrea Rossi has already stated that the customer that utilized the heat from the one megawatt plant for a manufacturing process had multiple manufacturing plants in Europe. After the test was complete, he stated that the customer had ordered three additional one megawatt plants. If the customer witnessing the test of the QuarkX is the same as the one who used the heat from the one megawatt plant, then they could have the resources to bring the QuarkX into mass production.
A mass production of the QuarkX utilizing modern technology, including robotics, would be of a massive benefit to the world. Just imagine billions of pencil sized reactors that could be utilized for any application that required heat or electricity. Every house could have a small window unit producing several kilowatts of power leading to the elimination of the grid; electric cars could use Quark’s instead of batteries for infinite range; space craft utilizing alternative propulsion technologies such as the EM Drive could explore the solar system without solar panels.
The coming months should be exciting. If we stay focused on replication of the Rossi Effect instead of the court battle between Industrial Heat and Leonardo Corporation, anything is possible.
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National Health Statistics Reports
Sexual Behavior, Sexual Attraction, and Sexual Identity in the United States: Data from the 2006-2008 National Survey of Family Growth
By Anjani Chandra, PhD, William D. Mosher, PhD, and Casey Copen, PhD, Division of Vital Statistics, CDC/NCHS; Catlainn Sionean, PhD, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, CDC/NCHHSTP
Number 36, March 2011
Objective:This report presents national estimates of several measures of sexual behavior, sexual attraction, and sexual identity among males and females 15-44 years of age in the United States, based on the 2006-2008 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG). These data are relevant to demographic and public health concerns, including fertility and sexually transmitted diseases among teenagers and adults. Data from the 2006-2008 NSFG are compared with data from the 2002 NSFG and other national surveys.
Methods: Data for 2006-2008 were collected through in-person interviews with a national sample of 13,495 males and females in the household population of the United States. The measures presented in this report were collected using Audio Computer-Assisted SelfInterviewing (ACASI), in which the respondent enters his or her own answers into the computer without telling them to an interviewer. The response rate for the 2006-2008 NSFG was 75%.
Results: Sexual behaviors among males and females 15-44 years of age, based on the 2006-2008 NSFG, were generally similar to those reported based on the 2002 NSFG. Among adults 25-44, about 98% of females and 97% of males ever had vaginal intercourse, 89% of females and 90% of males ever had oral sex with an opposite-sex partner, and 36% of females and 44% of males ever had anal sex with an opposite-sex partner. Twice as many women reported any same-sex contact in their lifetimes compared with men (13% of women and 5.2% of men). Among teenagers aged 15-19, 7% of females and 9% of males have had oral sex with an opposite-sex partner, but no vaginal intercourse. Sexual attraction and identity correlates closely but not completely with reports of sexual behavior. Sexual behaviors, attraction, and identity vary by age, marital and cohabiting status, education, race and Hispanic origin.
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The spheres of influence (2004, november 10) in writeworkcom retrieved 02:02, may 02, 2018, from. Essay about factors influencing the size of spheres - factors influencing the size of spheres aim in class and through my own research i have found out that there are. Backing into world war iii america must check the assertive, rising powers of russia and china before it’s too late accepting spheres of influence is a recipe for disaster. 2323 - using economic means to protect interests and maintain sphere of influence - the eurasian economic community (eurasec) russia does not only create military organisations to preserve its sphere of influence, but it also uses economic means. The influence of kierkegaard’s father on his work has been frequently noted not only did kierkegaard inherit his father’s melancholy, his sense of guilt and anxiety, and his pietistic emphasis on the dour aspects of christian faith, but he also inherited his talents for philosophical argument and creative imagination.
Increasing your sphere of influence will boost the number of people who hear your message, and that alone will have a positive impact on the bottom line of your business. Nietzsche's beyond good and evil gets lots of attention, for the wrong reasons his essay we scholars in that book is not well understood how to write an essay for scholarship zodiac sign research paper on caffeine effectiveness what is the purpose of swift's essay gattaca essay determination meaning the virginia tech massacre essay apj abdul. In a sporting context you can apply the spheres of influence from two perspectives you can take the point of view of the target participant or from the point of view of the program goal or outcome. Global history and geography tuesday part iii b contains one essay question based on the documents european spheres of influence (2.
The importance of a sphere of influence to a superpower essay 813 words | 4 pages the importance of a sphere of influence to a superpower this influence, that was felt around the world, led to many wars and possibly prevented a holocaust. The role of sphere of influence: real international relations in the history of the united states of america.
Expanding spheres of influence in practice acknowledgement and consideration of the impact of social, environmental, and system level determinants of wellbeing does not substitute or invalidate personal, cognitive & behavioural focussed coaching. Spheres of influence: a reconceptualization amitai etzioni “spheres of influence” ings on particular spheres, such as the western hemisphere, namely the. Spheres of influence themselves and talking with both papers’ lead authors (ron fouchier of erasmus medical center in the netherlands and. Series 17 summer issue unit 349 investigating spheres of influence mayfield school data coursework - thevintagecomau sphere of influence gcse coursework essay.
Minimalism and its spheres of influence essay minimalism and its spheres of influence essay minimalism and its spheres of influence essay warning: curl_setopt(. Topic 2 cultural spheres of influences cultural spheres of influence means the influence of culture on business according to scheneider and barsoux there are 5 cultural spheres. Results for 'spheres of influence' (try it on scholar) 1000+ found this essay offers a start on sorting out the relationships of argumentation and persuasion by. Inevitably, perhaps, these essays lack the fingertip feel of his other work, the sure touch that comes from years of consideration “islam in europe” landed garton ash in controversy when it was published in 2006.
Spheres of influence musée d’orsay at the art gallery of south australia miriam cosic zadie smith’s ‘feel free’ in this collection of essays the. Sphere of influence you have three spheres, your sphere of control sphere of influence sphere of concern please note the following facts: your sphere of control is your smallest sphere. You are here: home » coach portfolios » research papers » research paper: radiating spheres of influence research paper: radiating spheres of influence.
Sunday, october 27, 2013 the spheres of influence. Age of imperialism essay examples university of phoenix material american imperialism part 1 complete the chart by identifying the following: • identify the countries or areas where the united states engaged in imperialistic actions during the period from about 1870 to 1914. Spheres of influence the doctor @tardisishome november 8, 2017 #doctorwho 5 likes like liked unlike photo via @thetardistype40 the doctor. Spheres of influence how the government helped build america’s media might was nourished by the penny papers—and democracy nourished the papers, too.
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Just the facts, from John Martin, engineer (JAMA)
“At 4:31 A.M. (local time) on Monday, January 17, 1994, a magnitude 6.8 earthquake woke nearly everyone in southern California. The earthquake epicenter was beneath the San Fernando Valley, 20 miles west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles, near the community of Northridge.
Damage was most extensive in the San Fernando Valley, the Simi Valley, and in the northern part of the Los Angeles Basin. After the earthquake, a total of 24,000 dwellings were vacated. The death toll from the quake was 57. The total cost of the earthquake was estimated to be at least $10 billion. The Northridge earthquake is significant since it was the most expensive earthquake and one of the most expensive natural disasters in United States history, yet it occurred on a previously unknown fault.”
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Voters' Fiscal Guide 2020 | Peter G. Peterson Foundation
The latest and trending
National Debt and Deficits
Historically, our largest deficits were associated with national emergencies like major wars or the Great Recession. Currently, though, the deficit results mainly from predictable structural factors: the aging baby boom generation, rising healthcare costs, skyrocketing interest, and a tax system that does not bring in enough money to pay for what the government has promised its citizens.
Top 10 Reasons Why the National Debt Matters
Here are the reasons that every voter has a stake in improving our fiscal outlook.
The National Debt Is Now More than $26 Trillion. What Does That Mean?
Over the past decade, the United States has added trillions of dollars to its national debt. Much of that growth in debt occurred as a result of the Great Recession, but even before that there was a structural mismatch between spending and revenues.
Debt Is Expected to Grow Faster in the United States than Anywhere Else in the World
No other country in the world is running up its national debt at the same pace as the United States. In fact, most are currently paying down their debt.
Key Drivers of the National Debt
The U.S. tax system does not bring in enough revenues to cover the spending policymakers have enacted. Learn about the two biggest drivers of federal spending.
The Economic Impact of the National Debt
Learn more about the connection between our government’s fiscal outlook and economic opportunities for individuals and families.
How Does the National Debt Affect the Economy?
Policymakers and pundits often depict fiscal responsibility and economic growth as being at odds with one another. In truth, however, a strong fiscal outlook is an essential foundation for a thriving economy.
Economic Growth Was Weaker in 2019 than in 2018
While the economy is expected to continue expanding over the next decade, the rate of growth is projected to slow.
Investing in the Future
Public Investment in Our Future Has Fallen Sharply over the Past 50 Years
The share of the federal budget devoted to investment in our future has fallen sharply in recent decades and is now less than the amount we spend on interest on the national debt.
The National Debt Affects Our Ability to Address Key Priorities
Americans overwhelmingly agree that managing our debt is a key part of our ability to address a range of complex, interconnected challenges affecting our nation’s future.
How Much Government Spending Goes to Children?
Federal spending on children is a critical investment in the nation’s future. Unfortunately, it has fallen to its lowest level in a decade.
What Are the Economic Costs of Child Poverty?
Child poverty is higher in the United States than in many other developed countries – and it has a significant impact on our economy.
It’s Been 25 Years since We Last Raised the Gas Tax, and Its Purchasing Power Has Eroded
Because the gas tax is not pegged to inflation, its purchasing power has eroded significantly over the past two and a half decades, and America’s infrastructure network is suffering the consequences.
Income Inequality Continues to Rise
The gap between the lowest and highest earners in our society has grown significantly in recent decades, but federal taxes and programs play an important role in reducing that gap.
What are the Trends Slowing Wage Growth and Fueling Income Inequality?
A closer look at wage trends reveals why so many Americans are feeling left behind.
Healthcare is the most important issue for our nation’s fiscal and economic future. It represents nearly one-fifth of our entire economy, and it’s the second fastest growing part of the federal budget.
How Does the U.S. Healthcare System Compare to Other Countries?
The United States spends more on healthcare per person than other wealthy countries, but our health outcomes aren’t any better; in fact, they are often worse.
Why Are Americans Paying More for Healthcare?
Back in 1960, healthcare costs accounted for 5 percent of our GDP. Now it is almost 20 percent of our economy. Here are some of the reasons why those costs have exploded.
Millions Gained Healthcare Coverage under Obamacare, But That Trend Is Reversing
Millions of people gained healthcare coverage under the ACA, but the percent of uninsured has been growing over the last two years.
Why are Prescription Drug Prices Rising and How Do They Affect the U.S. Fiscal Outlook?
Prescription drugs play a vital role in the U.S. healthcare system, enabling Americans to lead longer, higher-quality lives – if they can afford them.
U.S. Healthcare Spending
It is estimated that the 30% of healthcare spending goes to unnecessary, ineffective, overpriced, and wasteful services.
Five Things You May Not Know about Medicaid
Medicaid insures nearly a quarter of all Americans. Some 2020 candidates have proposed expanding the program, while others would like to tighten requirements. Learn more about how it works now.
Budget Basics: Medicare
A number of 2020 candidates have proposed expanding Medicare in different ways. Learn more about how the program currently works and the financial pressures it faces.
Why the American Healthcare System Underperforms
Healthcare in the United States is very expensive — but we don’t get what we pay for.
Who Pays Taxes?
The fairness of our federal tax system is a hotly debated issue. Too often, however, those debates confuse or misrepresent important facts.
Two Years Later, What Are Economists Saying about the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act?
In 2017, Lawmakers enacted tax cuts for corporations and individuals. Here’s what economists are saying two years later.
What Is a Wealth Tax, and Should the United States Have One?
Some candidates have proposed a wealth tax to raise revenues and reduce income inequality. Here are the arguments for and against that approach.
How Does the Capital Gains Tax Work Now, and What Are Some Proposed Reforms?
The capital gains tax is a highly debated topic, as most presidential candidates have weighed in on how to revise it.
Payroll Taxes: What Are They and What Do They Fund?
The Social Security payroll tax only applies up to a certain amount of a worker’s annual earnings, meaning that higher-income earners pay a lower percent of their income. Some 2020 candidates have proposed eliminating that cap.
How Do Marginal Income Tax Rates Work — and What if We Increased Them?
Some lawmakers have proposed raising top marginal tax rates to combat rising inequality. Here’s an explanation of how they currently work and what the effects of raising them would be.
The Facts about U.S. Defense Spending
National defense is a vital priority and a fundamental responsibility of the federal government. It is also a significant part of the federal budget – and often one of the more contentious budget issues.
National Security Solutions
We can maintain our level of preparedness and our superior military strength while also avoiding potential waste.
Do Voters Care about the National Debt? The Polls Say They Do
Heading into 2020, the vast majority of Americans are urging leaders in Washington to address the unsustainable national debt and budget deficit.
FT-Peterson US Economic Monitor
What are Americans thinking about the state of the economy and the national debt? The Peterson Foundation has partnered with the Financial Times to track voter sentiment in the lead up to the 2020 election.
Fiscal Confidence Index
The Fiscal Confidence Index is designed to help policymakers, members of the media, and the American public gauge public opinion on the nation’s fiscal and economic challenges.
VOTERS AGREE: THE NATIONAL DEBT IS A BIPARTISAN PRIORITY FOR 2020 ELECTION
A broad, bipartisan majority of voters agree that the national debt is a key issue for the 2020 campaign.
© 2020 PETER G. PETERSON FOUNDATION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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A University of Canterbury (New Zealand) study hopes to produce results which may help people with hearing loss, according to a recent press release from the school.
Associate Professor Megan McAuliffe says hearing loss affects 10 to 15 percent of young adults and more than 30 percent of older adults.
Elucidating how characteristics of different listeners affect their speech processing may lead to the development of targeted signal processing techniques and rehabilitation strategies, so improving quality of life for tens of thousands of New Zealanders and potentially hundreds of millions worldwide.
“As we age, hearing changes mean that some people begin to experience difficulty understanding and following conversations, particularly in noisy environments like cafes and family gatherings,” says Dr McAuliffe, who leads language and ageing research at the University of Canterbury’s New Zealand Institute of Language, Brain and Behaviour.
“Research has shown it’s not simply hearing driving the issue. Memory and linguistic or word knowledge also play a role. For some people, we think that their knowledge of language gained through many years of speaking and listening may assist them to compensate as they age.
“Our Marsden funded project investigates this hypothesis and looks at how people's hearing, memory and linguistic or word knowledge interact in the process of speech comprehension in older New Zealanders.
“Already about 30 older people and 100 younger people have participated. But we’re looking for a further 100 New Zealanders aged 60 years and over. To participate, people must be relatively healthy, speak with a Kiwi accent and not wear hearing aids.
“They must be able to drive to the University of Canterbury and complete two sessions of about one to one and a half hours each. This involves having your hearing tested, doing assessments of language and memory ability and a speech comprehension experiment. People are asked to listen to speech that we’ve distorted so it’s hard to understand and then they say what they think they heard.
“From this speech comprehension experiment, and results of the other assessments, we will gain important information about how people process speech in difficult listening situations and, importantly, how that’s influenced by age, hearing, memory and linguistic knowledge.
“This is a major three-year study and we are hoping to ramp up our efforts this year. At the end of 2011, Statistics New Zealand indicated 13 percent of the population was older than 65 and predicted that, in the next 20 years, the figure would increase to more than 20 percent,” Associate Professor McAuliffe says.
Source: University of Canterbury
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|Latest news | Subscribe|
Read the magazine story to find out more.
Honey Boosts Effectiveness of Parasitic WaspsBy Jim Core
August 19, 2002
Feeding honey to a parasitic wasp from Brazil helps it attack pest flies in the United States more vigorously, Agricultural Research Service scientists and cooperators report.
ARS scientists at the Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology in Gainesville, Fla., and cooperators at the University of Campinas in Brazil are evaluating the Brazilian wasp as part of an effort to screen exotic wasp species from that country that may be biocontrol candidates against flies in the United States.
Certain parasitic wasps native to the United States are now used to control houseflies and stable flies, which are nuisances on livestock and poultry farms and transport disease-causing organisms, according to entomologist Christopher J. Geden at the ARS lab in Gainesville. The parasitic wasps reduce insecticide use while saving farmers time and money. Farmers can buy native parasitic wasps from commercial insectaries.
But the effectiveness of native parasitic wasps is limited, because they will only feed on and lay their eggs inside fly pupae. One foreign wasp species being evaluated (Tachinaephagus zealandicus) attacks flies in the earlier larval stage. Used together, the native and parasitic wasps could attack flies in their larval and pupal stages, resulting in more effective fly control.
Unlike native wasps, however, foreign wasps do not derive energy from their hosts, according to Geden. So they need an energy boost. The researchers found that feeding the wasps honey tripled their attack rate on target flies and increased the amount of progeny developing in flies.
The Gainesville and Brazilian researchers also discovered that honey treated with the antibiotic rifampicin helps T. zealandicus ward off a debilitating new disease transmitted from females to their offspring. Infected wasps take longer to develop into adults and lay substantially more male eggs--a real barrier for rearing wasps for biological control.
A detailed story about this research appears in the August issue of ARS' Agricultural Research magazine.
ARS is the chief scientific research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
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Spending time in nature is a great way to get and stay well. Being outside helps reset the body’s natural circadian rhythm to help you maintain healthy sleep cycles. It also lowers stress and improves mood. Exposure to the sun is vital for vitamin D production, which is a key part of immune function. Spending time outside also lowers blood pressure, increases concentration, and helps restore body after watching TV, using smartphones, and sitting at a desk. Getting outside every day is a key to achieving wellness!
However, when you spend time outdoors, you’ve got to be aware of the threat of illness from ticks and Lyme disease, as well as other arachnids and insects. Some will just give you minor irritations, but others—such as ticks—can cause serious illness. In this post, you’ll find some tips to help you prevent and deal with insect bites. We highly recommend you get outside, just be prepared and know what to watch out for!
Avoiding tick bites in the first place in the best way to prevent any problems. Do everything you can to limit your exposure to ticks and tick habitats. Ticks don’t jump, they simply crawl or fall onto their next host, so:
- Avoid common tick habitats and hangouts such as thick brush and dense forests.
- Hike in the middle of trails, rather than on the edges where you brush up against vegetation.
- Stay away from areas with tall grasses. Ticks love spending time at the ends of tall grasses where they can easily drop onto your body or your pets.
- Cover up as much as possible. Wearing pants, tall socks, and long sleeves can help you prevent ticks from getting on your skin.
There are a number of things you can spray on yourself, your clothing, and your pets to deter ticks. Here are a few good options:
- Permethrin is the most effective option because it kills ticks on contact. Unfortunately, it’s also rather toxic, so use this on boots, backpacks, and the outside of clothing only.
- Essential oils such as lavender, lemongrass, eucalyptus, and lemon, can be useful to deter ticks and other arachnids and insects.
- Other effective, natural tick and insect repellents include products made by Tick Tock Naturals and Ticks n All.
Regular Tick Checks
Always check yourself, your kids, and your pets for ticks after you’ve spent time outside.
Remember that you can get ticks on your body anywhere—in the woods, in a park, and even in your front yard. Consider these tips for effective tick checking:
- Ticks are black and brown and can be very small. Wearing light-colored clothing when outdoors is helpful for spotting a tick on your body.
- Once inside, remove any clothing you have been wearing and either wash it or throw it in the dryer for 60 minutes.
- To check yourself, look in areas where ticks can easily hide: between toes, in your groin, armpits, and hair.
- Use a small hand mirror to check places you can’t see.
- If you don’t have someone to help check your hair (or other areas you can’t see), run your fingers gently over those areas and feel for small bumps. An attached tick will often feel like a small scab.
- If you feel something but can’t see it, have someone look for you before pulling it off.
Removing a Tick
Remove the tick as soon as possible! Ticks burrow into your skin, so the longer the tick is embedded, the more difficult it is to remove, and the more opportunity it has to transmit bacteria to you. If you find a tick that has already attached, follow these steps:
- Get a pair of tweezers, preferably with a sharp point.
- Aim for grabbing the tick by its head, rather than its body. If you just remove the body, the head will stay in and continue to transmit bacteria.
- Grab the tick as close to your skin as possible. The closer to the skin you are, the closer to the head you are.
- Pull up with firm, steady pressure away from your body. You are trying to get the tick to let go of its bite.
- Do everything you can to get the whole tick, head and all. You don’t want to leave any part of the tick in your skin.
- Clean the area with alcohol or soap and water.
- If you are unsuccessful in removing the tick, see a doctor to help you.
Ticks and Lyme Disease Testing
Even if you’ve successfully removed a tick from your body, the tick may be carrying Lyme disease or a number of other infections, which is why appropriate testing is crucial after a tick bite. It’s much easier to test the tick for Lyme disease than to test a person, so if you’ve removed a tick, bring it to your doctor or send it away for testing:
- Place the tick in a secure plastic bag.
- If it is still alive, double bag it to make sure it is secure.
- Do not tape the tick or put any chemicals or substances like alcohol on it.
- Send the tick to one of the following organizations for testing:
Symptoms of Lyme Disease
In the days and weeks after a tick bite, keep an eye out for the following, and see a healthcare practitioner immediately if you experience any of these symptoms:
- Rash: the rash can be the classic bulls-eye rash where there are concentric red and white circles around the bite area, or it can simply be red, or it can look like a spider bite. The rash is usually not itchy.
- Flu-like symptoms: fatigue, chills, aches, headache. Unlike flu, there are no respiratory symptoms related to Lyme.
- Stiff neck
- Joint pain
- Muscle pain
Be sure to get outside this season and enjoy some fun in the sun! But just remember that the prevention and proper care of tick and insect bites is an important part of staying healthy and strong.
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What New State Guidance Does — And Doesn't — Prohibit in N.H. Schools
Folded into the state’s biennial budget this year is a law that restricts how educators in New Hampshire can teach about topics like racism and sexism.
The law is part of a national push by Conservatives to combat what they say are ‘divisive concepts’ being taught in public schools. But many districts say it’s confusing and will discourage important classroom discussions.
Yesterday, the state issued guidance on what this law means in practice.
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O (noun) ‘letter of the alphabet; zero’
As an interjection, O was very common in direct address, in Shakespeare’s time – ‘O false Cressid’ says Troilus (Troilus and Cressida, V.ii.181) – and it was widely used as an emotional vocalization where today we would write Oh. But it had several specific uses as a noun. In Love’s Labour’s Lost (V.ii.45) Rosaline teases Katharine for having a face ‘full of O’s’ – ‘pimples’. In Romeo and Juliet (III.iii.91), the Nurse castigates Romeo: ‘Why should you fall into so deep an O?’ – ‘sorrowful exclamation’. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream (III.ii.188) Lysander says that Helena ‘more engilds the night / Than all yon fiery oes and eyes of light’ – ‘orbs’, or possibly ‘spangles’ (of the kind used to ornament dress in the 17th century). And the word was widely used in this general sense of ‘circle, sphere’ – as when Cleopatra talks about ‘the little O o’th’ earth’ (Antony and Cleopatra, V.ii.81) and, most famously, when the theatre is described as a ‘wooden O’ (Henry V, opening chorus, l.13).
David Crystal is a writer, editor, lecturer and broadcaster, and is the co-author of the new Oxford Illustrated Shakespeare Dictionary.
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Albuterol (also known as salbutamol) is a medication used to prevent and treat wheezing and shortness of breath caused by respiratory problems (such as asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). It is also used to prevent exercise-induced asthma. It is an anti-inflammation medication. Albuterol belongs to the bronchodilator class of drugs. It works by relaxing the muscles surrounding the airways, allowing them to open up and allow you to breathe more easily. Controlling the symptoms of breathing problems can reduce the amount of time spent away from work or school.
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As the Roman Catholic Church spread throughout the world, their missionaries ordained local priests to minister to their own congregations and moved on. The church’s system was designed to bring the word of God to as many people as possible, but it also had the effect of bringing new cultural elements into the church. In Europe alone, the church encompassed many different societies, and these included Italians, the Spanish, German, French and English. All of these countries may seem homogenous, but they had their own musical traditions that were added to the church’s repertoire. The church did not particularly encourage people to share these types of traditions, but they eventually made their way across the continent in many of the Protestant churches.
When the church sent missionaries to Africa, Australia and Asia, the effects were much more subtle and restricted to the local populations for many years. Local congregations incorporated their own music into worship services, but it did not spread back to the European Catholic churches. It might
Colonization of the Americas was part of the reason for the spread of different types of religious music, and Protestantism is part of the reason it was able to be spread. Slaves imported from Africa were converted to Christianity in many areas, but they retained and adapted their music in their new setting. Most of these churches were in the southern half of the country, and the Roman Catholic Church held little sway in that area. Many of the churches were Baptist, and it was those religious practices that were adopted.
Gospel music is one of the more notable types of music that have been incorporated into many of today’s Christian churches, and it has an interesting history. Originally part of the music of the slaves, it was unacceptable music only in their churches. In modern times, gospel music has become part of the traditional religious music for people of any color within the Christian community.
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The second heart sound (S2) is created by the closing of the aortic valve followed by the closing of the pulmonic valve.
Careful analysis of the splitting and intensity of the second heart sound can indicate the presence of many cardiac abnormalities.
This example shows normal physiological splitting of the second heart sound. Splitting varies between zero and eighty milliseconds depending on the phase of the respiratory cycle.
The aortic component of S2 (S2A) precedes the pulmonic component (S2P).
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But a peacock isn’t clever. Why can’t our daughters be told they are smart, funny, clever, etc. AND beautiful? Why avoid it all together? That, in the end, gives the message that you think they aren’t beautiful because you never tell them and they hear that others are told that. I am trying to teach my daughter that she is beautiful just the way she is by not focusing just on looks, but making sure she knows she is beautiful for the whole person she is and that her outward appearance doesn’t need to be changed to make her beautiful. Please, add some balance to life!!!
microevolution + time + isolation + selection pressure + changing environment = macroevolutionThese ideas were discussed at the 1980 Chicago Conference on Macroevolution. For more information, please see the Roger Lewin article "Evolutionary Theory Under Fire", Volume 210, 21 November 1980, pp 883-887.We have transitional fossils, despite the creationist claim that "there are no transitional fossils". We have transitional fossils for humans, too, in spite of the claim that "there are no ape-men." (see Time magazine, August 23, 1999; "How Man Evolved", by Michael Lemonick and Andrea Dorfman, pp. 54-55). The References section of this essay contains links to transitional fossils, including some with pictures.It is puzzling that transitional fossils are more rare than we would expect. I think that paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould is on the right track with his theory of evolution through Punctuated Equilibrium. This theory states that major changes occur locally in an isolated population, so that fossils are more rare than would be expected by the slow, stately progress of change predicted by Charles Darwin. Punctuated Equilibrium is not just an excuse for finding no transitional fossils, because many such fossils have been found. Transitional forms are found locally for certain animals, and outside the "evolution zone" the transition looks quite abrupt because of migration of the new and displacement of the original species.When I look at the flowers in our front garden I marvel at the pistils and stamens, and at the mechanism for pollination and reproduction. It startles me that such a thing could arise simply from natural selection through mutation, in just a billion years. We have examples of change in moths, finches, people, and bacteria, but these examples are kind of unsatisfying in comparison to the great variety of form that we see in nature. Is there more to it?I realize that my life-span of about 80 years is so short that I cannot properly comprehend a million years, let along a billion. My common sense is simply not equipped to make a proper analysis of the time span required to produce a moon flower, or a bird, or a human.I think the "not enough time" problem bothers atheists more than it bothers me. I believe that God directs the processes that we call "random", and that He can engineer an unlikely event according to His plan. With God Almighty in charge, the unlikely becomes certain. I would be more comfortable with a theory that includes proper statistical measures, but I do not require it. Atheists require it.Certain recent evidence indicates just the opposite of what our common sense tells us. It appears that evolution actually occurs much faster than we would expect from natural selection through random mutation alone. Punctuated Equilibrium takes advantage of this difference by proposing that local changes occur rapidly in a small population under survival pressure.This is an unsolved puzzle. The mechanism that drives evolution is something for future biologists to research and figure out. I think that the mechanism is more complex than just natural selection through random mutation. However, I don't believe this to be an enormously difficult puzzle. Scientists finished decoding the human genome in June 2000, and further analysis should provide some answers. We don't know exactly how mutations occur, although that marvelous DNA structure seems to favor viability when it reproduces.The term "Pre-Cambrian Explosion" refers to the sudden emergence of complex life forms after millions of years of single-celled creatures. How did evolution produce a sudden burst of advanced complexity? How does a paramecium become a trilobite in such a short time? This is a bigger puzzle for evolutionary theory. I thought that perhaps this big jump could be explained by the development of sexual reproduction over single-parent reproduction, until someone directed me to another development.Geologists have recently found evidence that something very strange happened to the earth right at the Pre-Cambrian boundary. Discoveries like this make science exciting! It appears that a global freeze suddenly gave way to a very hot period. This abrupt change must have had something to do with the sudden explosion of life forms, but what? The researchers suppose that isolation and selection pressure during that event produced an "evolution engine" capable of great leaps in a short space of time. But the details, the mechanism, and the verification are still anybody's guess.A gap in does not prove the existence of God. We are not at the end of science, or history, until Jesus returns in person.The biggest mystery of biology is the emergence of the first life forms from the "soupy seas". This problem is not strictly of the field of evolution, but of biogenesis instead. It is a related field, so I will discuss it here.A biologist named Stanley Miller has done amazing experiments with lightning that produce amino acids from simple carbon compounds and water. Beyond that, biologists are fairly confident that they can develop a reasonable progression from RNA to DNA, then up through single-celled organisms to multi-celled creatures, and onward to the plant and animal kingdoms. However, the gap between amino acids and RNA remains a mystery.Various mechanisms have been proposed to cross this gap (lightning, solar energy, comets, etc.). However, even the most reasonable mechanisms are extremely unlikely to have produced life on this earth in the space of 3 billion years, according to the latest analyses.As noted earlier, the small probabilities here bother me less than they would bother an atheist, because I believe in more than just a tinkering God. I believe in a God who knows and cares for even the sparrows (Matthew 10: 29-31). Yahweh is always directing and caring for His creation. He does not show up only when evolution needs a boost. Jesus Christ is with us always, even to the end of the age (Matthew 28: 20).I would like to discover a sound scientific treatment of the amino acid - RNA gap, because I believe that science allows us to reveal the marvels of God's creation. Until then, here is how I shall answer the question."I don't know. Only God Almighty knows."I realize that this is not a good answer among men. But it was a good answer for the prophet Ezekiel (37: 3), and it will be good enough for me.There are some non-scriptural objections to evolution that I have heard from Christians:1. Cruelty of Evolution"Evolution is cruel, wasteful, and inefficient; God would not accomplish His creation that way."With regard to "wasteful and inefficient", I have not seen a Bible verse that states that God's ways are waste-free and efficient according to the judgment of 21st-century Americans. In contrast, God's ways often look wasteful and inefficient in man's eyes. For example, consider the parable of the vineyard workers in Matthew 20: 1-16. The vineyard owner wasted his money on the workers hired to work for only the last hour. But God does not call this waste and inefficiency. He calls it grace and mercy.The creation of the dinosaurs would seem like a waste of time on the way to creating mankind. They ruled the earth for millions of years and then were wiped out pretty suddenly. Why did God bother to create them? One may ask the same question in the field of astronomy. The other galaxies besides our Milky Way are magnificent to look at through powerful telescopes. But we won't get the chance to make much use of them, unless Jesus' return is a lot farther off than most people think. Why did God bother to create all those extra galaxies? One would have been plenty.The charge of cruelty is another matter. Where does the Bible say that the working out of God's plan here on earth never involves cruelty? There is plenty of cruelty in the coming of Jesus Christ:I know that God is not cruel. When I see cruelty in this world, I look for an explanation involving our sin, not God's intention."Survival of the fittest is cruel. Death is cruel. God would not design his creation that way."There are some places in the Bible where apparent cruelty is recorded, and man's sin cannot reasonably be the cause.It strikes me as very presumptuous to claim to know the mind of God Almighty, to know His designs and to know what He judges to be cruel and what to be kind. Isaiah 55: 8-9 compares our intellect to God's: "This plan of mine is not what you would work out, neither are my thoughts the same as yours! For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than yours, and my thoughts higher than yours."Perhaps God created the process of evolution as a way for life to survive the natural calamities that He knew would come, such as the meteorite impact at Chicxulub in Mexico's Yucatan Penninsula that is thought to have wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. A remnant of the animals (mammals, birds) apparently did survive and went on to re-populate the earth. This view is consistent with the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 18-19, where a remnant is saved because of God's mercy. (If you want to know why God sent or allowed the Chixculub meteorite in the first place when there was no sin of mankind to destroy, you'll have to ask Him when you get to heaven. I plan to. The same question applies to present-day hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and other natural disasters.) This view asserts that evolution is not God's ideal process for creating life, but instead evolution is God's way of providing for life to survive and thrive in a difficult and dangerous universe. Life on earth has indeed survived for many millions of years despite the worst that satan could throw at it. The universe is good - good enough for us to marvel at along with the Psalmist. But God's ideal arrangement for life is . . . heaven!Albert Einstein followed what he thought to be God's perfect simplicity in relativity. After many scientific successes, he reached a dead end when confronted with the unavoidable complexities of quantum mechanics. Each time he read a new modern theory, he rejected it with the words "If I were God, I would not have designed it that way." Finally Niels Bohr advised him to stop telling God what to do.St. Paul gives a long warning against criticizing the ways of God in Romans 9: 9-24. He gives examples from Biblical history, then denies our right to conclude that God was unfair or unkind. Note especially verse 20: "No, don't say that. Who are you to criticize God? Should the thing made say to the one who made it, 'Why have you made me like this?'"God chose a certain method to spread the Gospel message: Tell people, and then those people will tell other people, and so on. We humans could easily conclude that this method is cruel and inefficient by looking at human history. Jesus Himself was crucified for spreading the message this way. St. Stephen, St. Paul, and all the Apostles except for St. John are thought to have suffered violent deaths for spreading the Gospel message. We can see that this method is inefficient because 2,000 years later there are still people in the world who have not heard about Jesus. Some people have heard the message so poorly communicated that thay are not inclined to accept it. Yet we do not deny that God chose to use this method to spread the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ. Neither can we conclude that God did not use evolution because to us it seems cruel and inefficient. If you do not accept evolution as being from God, then I suppose you have one fewer "God-is-cruel" scenario to wrestle with. But it is a mistake to say, "In my judgment this process is cruel, so therefore God must not have permitted this process to occur."2. Common Sense"The idea that we all crawled out of the mud is contrary to common sense."So is the idea that we are living on a little globe spinning around a sun through empty space. But here we are.3. Random Chance Creating Order"You could shake up a bunch of watch parts in a bucket all day long and never get a watch."I've never met anyone who has tried shaking up those watch parts for a million years, or even for 10,000 years. I don't think the mechanism is the same, anyway.4. Evolution and Christian Faith are Incompatible"Theistic evolution is sitting on the fence. Pick one or the other."So is theistic meteorology sitting on the fence, but most Christians believe in it. God sends rain according to His plan, but water evaporates from the oceans and falls out of clouds as rain. They are both true. There is no conflict. Even Elijah knew that clouds were a sign of rain, although it was God who directed them (1 Kings 18:44).5. Theistic Evolution is a CompromiseMy dictionary defines a compromise as "a settlement of differences by arbitration or by consent reached by mutual concessions". There is the additional implication that these concessions are bad because we don't want to give up part of the Bible. Certainly we do not! So let's look at what we give up in the alleged "compromise" of theistic evolution. So - theistic evolution does not fit the definition of a compromise because we don't have to give up anything that is truly of value to our faith. Now let's look at what we gain. 6. Evolution is Not "Very Good" In Genesis 1:31 God looks over all that He has made: "And God saw every thing that He had made, and behold, it was very good." This verse is used to contend that evolution cannot be part of God's plan because natural selection, the survival of the fittest, cannot be "very good" in God's eyes. Creationists quote a fragment of the very last paragraph of Darwin's book as evidence that evolution is not very good: "...the war of nature, from famine and death...".
Perhaps you are modeling a new perspective. I was visiting with my four-year old twin nieces just a week ago and had given them matching outfits for back-to-preschool. One of the girls had to try on the entire ensemble…shirt, skirt, tights and shoes…and then pronounced that she would be “the prettiest girl in school”. I quickly disabused her of that notion, pointing out that her identical twin would be wearing the same clothes! I also used the episode as a “teachable moment”, when I told her I was more concerned that her clothes be neat, appropriate, and comfortable…and if she felt good about herself because of something she accomplished, that was way more important to me than her being pretty. We do need to have a heightened awareness of our words, and the effect they have. Thanks for your perceptive insights!
I see you are coming from a good place and to each their own, but to me … this is just sad
I actually agree with article 100% and tell my daughter regularly that she has done well at xyz, is clever, is brave, thoughtful etc etc when she has been, or is being. But to not tell your daughter that she IS PRETTY when she so obviously wanted to hear it? What would of been the harm in that? Maybe explain to her about princesses and princes and kings and queens and teach her some things along the way, but heck if my daughter wonders whether I THINK SHE IS PRETTY … yes I do, and I will tell her I think she is pretty, whilst we talk about being kind, and thinking of others, and being truthful , etc, all qualities that you can have whether you would be deemed outwardly pretty in a ‘conventional’ way or not, and how important those qualities are aswell.
I see you are coming from a good place and to each their own, but to me … this is just sad
I actually agree with article 100% about finding other things to say to little girls BEFORE talking about them being pretty/beautiful, and I tell my daughter regularly that she has done well at xyz, is clever, is brave, thoughtful etc etc when she has been, or is being. But to not tell your daughter that she IS PRETTY when she so obviously wanted to hear you say it? What would of been the harm in that? Maybe explain to her about princesses and princes and kings and queens and teach her some things along the way, but heck if my daughter wonders whether I THINK SHE IS PRETTY … yes I do, and I will tell her I think she is pretty. I will tell her this, whilst we talk about being kind, compassionate , truthful , etc, all qualities that you can have whether you would be deemed outwardly pretty in a ‘conventional’ way or not, and how important those qualities are aswell.
I loved this article, but felt a little sadness at the same time. it is wonderful that you went and talked to the child in that way, but if she doesn’t get that a lot at home, ( and maybe she does) , then a drop in the bath will not cool the water.
I agree girls grow up much too fast these days. How I hate to see a 10 year old striving to look 15! and the parents who lament and boo hoo over it, THEY buy the clothes. Or just give up, saying it is only clothes not important.
It IS important. Girls are developing earlier, in many ways now. 8 and 9 years olds getting their periods, and developing much younger. I believe that is a very strong reaction to the meat that society eats today, which is full of hormones and anitibiotics.
We need to teach girls to value something besides looks. I agree. However, it was the most important thing when I went to school, and I am 60 years old. OH it was easier to make friends I think, who then accepted you for you, but there were always the accepted ones, the cool ones. The pretty ones, who had all the right clothes, at least the popular clothes that everyone wanted. That much has not changed. It is past time for us all to do something about it. So everyone, keep dropping in your spoonful, because with enough spoonfuls, eventually it will cool the bath.
The best way to help her is to show her by example. Get healthy as a family. Plant a vegitable garden together and go out and play with her to get everyone some exercise. Let her help with meals by letting her make salads or choose what vegetable to make that night. That way the focus isn’t just on her weight or her tummy and possibly making her self conscious about herself, and instead on teaching her how she can take the best possible care of herself as she’s growing.
I am an English teacher, and guess what their presents are every birthday and holiday? They get a book. Nowadays, it’s usually an ebook. They don’t have a n eReader, but thanks to me, my sister now has the Free Kindle App for PC. I try to buy them age appropriate books, and when they have both turned 14, I will be buying them books about the Holocaust because my sister wants me to wait. her kids, her choice. They were into Barbie, all things pink, Ariel, the Little Princess, Cinderella, and Beauty and the Beast as little girls. I always talked to them about much more substantive matters. Whenever they asked what i was up to, I always told them about the lessons I was teaching my High School students. Things just slightly above their current levels. A big one with Middle and Lower High School students, is, “If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be?” it;s still one of my favorites, and I start the year off with it because it let’s us as a class dive right into learning, and makes kids dive right into what they already know. What I am constantly working on as a teacher is wait time. We really do need to slow down, and let people think before they blurt things out….
I applaud your efforts! Given this is an article about women, perhaps my thinking is not best served here, but… Anyways. I wonder if this kind of talk simply isn’t valued *in general* with kids. But will be expressed in different ways for different genders. As a teacher, I’ve noticed it is the exceptional person who actually is interested in what any child thinks or enjoys or is excited about. They seem to be treated as empty vessels upon which to project your own insecurities rather than thinking, albeit somewhat wonky, people who do or think strange things because they don’t have any experience. Well. One person at a time, I suppose.
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Q.22:- Just as precise measurements are necessary in science, it is equally important to be able to make rough estimates of quantities using rudimentary ideas and common observations. Think of ways by which you can estimate the following (where an estimate is difficult to obtain, try to get an upper bound on the quantity):
(a) the total mass of rain-bearing clouds over India during the Monsoon
(b) the mass of an elephant
(c) the wind speed during a storm
(d) the number of strands of hair on your head
(e) the number of air molecules in your classroom.
(a) During monsoons, a Metrologist records about 215 cm of rainfall in India i.e., the height of water column, h = 215 cm = 2.15 m
Area of country, A = 3.3 × 1012 m2
Hence, volume of rain water, V = A × h = 7.09 × 1012 m3
Density of water, ρ = 1 × 103 kg m–3
Hence, mass of rain water = ρ × V = 7.09 × 1015 kg
Hence, the total mass of rain-bearing clouds over India is approximately 7.09 × 1015 kg.
(b) Consider a ship of known base area floating in the sea. Measure its depth in sea (say d1).
Volume of water displaced by the ship, Vb = A d1
Now, move an elephant on the ship and measure the depth of the ship (d2) in this case.
Volume of water displaced by the ship with the elephant on board, Vbe= Ad2
Volume of water displaced by the elephant = Ad2 – Ad1
Density of water = D
Mass of elephant = AD (d2 – d1)
(c) Wind speed during a storm can be measured by an anemometer. As wind blows, it rotates. The rotation made by the anemometer in one second gives the value of wind speed.
(d) Area of the head surface carrying hair = A
With the help of a screw gauge, the diameter and hence, the radius of a hair can be determined. Let it be r.
∴Area of one hair = πr2
Number of strands of hair ≈ Total surface area / Area of one hair = A / πr2
(e) Let the volume of the room be V.
One mole of air at NTP occupies 22.4 l i.e., 22.4 × 10–3 m3 volume.
Number of molecules in one mole = 6.023 × 1023
∴Number of molecules in room of volume V
= 6.023 × 1023 × V / 22.4 × 10-3 = 134.915 × 1026 V = 1.35 × 1028 V
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Early on, there was the incandescent light bulb. Now, buildings and streets are lit by light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that use less than 25% of the energy and last 25 times longer.
The LED is the result of painstaking years spent searching for the right semiconducting compounds and finessing their microstructures. And it’s just one example of how materials science is pivoting the transition to a future where everyone has access to sustainable, affordable energy.
Satiating the needs and wants of an increasingly wealthy, digitized world will require new ways to convert and use energy. Materials are the foundation of those advances. As commercial silicon solar cells reach their theoretical limit, complementing them with efficient, affordable perovskite solar cells could help photovoltaic modules generate more power. The search is intensifying for advanced batteries that pack more energy than lithium-ion devices for lower cost and do not use scarce, expensive metals such as cobalt. Researchers are also investigating better thermoelectric materials, catalysts for clean energy technologies, and porous materials that soak up carbon.
Yet materials development today is still mostly a result of intuition and luck. The empirical process is slow and fraught with human bias and error. Artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to change that.
The combination of big data and AI is being called the “fourth industrial revolution,” and its applications in materials science have soared in the past decade. Researchers have already used the AI subfield of machine learning to find new battery electrode materials and phosphors for solar cells. Identifying and developing a material for a technological application usually takes more than a decade. AI could slash that to one or two years.
Speeding up materials discovery is not the main driver for the use of AI in materials research, though. According to Gerbrand Ceder, professor of materials science and engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, “AI is best for solving problems that we don’t understand and things that we don’t know how to predict. Materials synthesis is a perfect example. A researcher could think of a new compound for a catalyst or electrode material, said Ceder, “but we don’t have any predictive theory to tell us how to make the compound or if it can exist and be made at all. People have historical knowledge or intuition, and have made hundreds of thousands of compounds. Machine learning could find patterns in these data and learn the rules of synthesis.”
Materials scientists have used computational techniques for decades. Ab initio computing, for instance, simulates the behavior of molecules by solving the equations that govern material properties at the atomic scale. Researchers can use it to calculate the properties of thousands of virtual compounds without stepping into the laboratory. Density functional theory (DFT) is a computational modeling method that calculates the energy of atomic structures and uses that to estimate material properties. The Materials Project aims to use ab initio methods to compute the properties of all known and predicted compounds.
But DFT calculations are slow and computationally intensive. In addition, DFT is limited to picosecond time scales and can only simulate about 200 atoms, said Nongnuch Artrith, a research scientist at Columbia University.
Machine learning can overcome these limitations. Machine learning comprises statistical algorithms and models that can correlate data in large datasets to decipher patterns and underlying rules, which it can then use to make predictions. These computer models learn from existing data—large, cleanly labeled data sets are a must—and their performance improves with training. In image recognition, for instance, computer scientists use millions of labeled pictures to train neural networks to recognize objects. This is how social media sites recognize faces and autonomous vehicles navigate.
“The idea is to train models on DFT reference calculations of small structures, and then use these models to run molecular dynamics simulations,” said Artrith. Using this method, she and her colleagues study structures of thousands or millions of atoms at nanosecond scales. This allows them to simulate battery materials containing a large number of atomic species, such as lithium, oxygen, different transition metals, and carbon.
Researchers are also using machine learning to predict material properties by skipping ab initio calculations entirely. Instead, they create mathematical models to represent molecules based on size and number of atoms, and their relative locations and distance, said Gus Hart, physicist at Brigham Young University. Then the model is trained on data sets to map materials to their properties.
In 2018, Shyue Ping Ong, a nanoengineer at the University of California, San Diego, and colleagues showed that neural networks could use just two parameters—Pauling electronegativity and ion radii—to predict the formation energies of garnet and perovskite crystals. The model could accurately screen thousands of garnet and perovskite candidates and identify stable compositions. The researchers have also developed graph-based models trained on data from tens of thousands of crystals in the Materials Project database to predict formation energies, bandgaps, and elastic moduli of crystals more accurately than DFT calculations performed on a much larger data set.
Another exciting use of machine learning is to create new materials from scratch. The idea is to give a trained model a set of target properties for an application, and let it scan millions of possible atomic configurations for compositions that are likely to meet the target. Using this inverse design principle, Jakoah Brgoch and colleagues at the University of Houston developed an algorithm that could predict the properties of almost 120,000 inorganic compounds to shortlist two dozen promising phosphors for white LEDs. When they synthesized and tested one of the compounds predicted computationally, sodium barium borate, they found that it had a quantum yield of 95 percent and was extremely thermally stable.
Developing new materials is a necessity for companies that rely on advanced materials to produce consumer products. “They have a need to innovate materials faster,” said Bryce Meredig, chief scientific officer and co-founder of Citrine Informatics, one of several emerging startups combining AI and big data to accelerate the pace of making new materials.
“AI can be powerful, but it relies on having a large amount of data,” he said. “Over the past decades, companies have accumulated data and expertise on material sets, but not in a highly structured and organized form that is accessible to AI.”
Citrine helps its customers bring all their materials-related data into a single software system; develops AI software that can learn from this data; and works with the company to consistently integrate new data generated in labs and simulations into the platform.
Another startup, MaterialsZone Ltd. in Israel, specializes at correlating processing parameters, structures, and functionality. The Bar-Ilan University spin-off uses this and similar techniques in discovering new photovoltaic (PV) absorbers for future devices. Data-mining tools analyze large PV material data sets generated by high-throughput methods. The deposition process parameters then model PV performance, providing a path to higher performing solar cells.
“The properties calculated on the microscale for many energy-related materials may present differently on the macroscale,” said Assaf Anderson, CEO of MaterialsZone. “In addition, lab-fabricated materials are never as ideal as the results of theoretical calculations, and the big challenges are to include and forecast effects of scaling-up, reproducibility, lifetime, and cost reductions.”
AI can affect materials research in many other smaller ways too, said Meredig. It can help curate databases or help scientists process data more efficiently, “say by solving crystal structures from x-ray diffraction patterns, which can take hours and days and may not be solvable by a person.”
Yet, for all the excitement about machine learning in materials science, “nobody has shown the ‘killer app’ yet,” said Ceder. That invaluable use for AI could stem from its ability to read and process text, he said. “Can you feed a million research papers to a machine, and can it learn science from that? Evidence shows that at a primitive level, it can, just like auto-predicting the next word in a text message.”
Text mining has produced some incredible results. Ceder and his colleagues, for instance, trained a neural network on three million abstracts of research papers about a compound used for solar cells published before 2005. The model predicted that the material would be used in thermoelectric applications: turns out both solar cells and thermoelectric applications require similar band gaps. Indeed, research papers on the thermoelectric applications of the material were published after 2005.
In another example, researchers at Haverford College had undergraduate researchers digitize their lab notebooks, recording reaction conditions that worked and did not work for the crystallization of vanadium selenites. The researchers were able to use the data to train a model that could predict the success of a new set of reaction inputs with 89% accuracy.
Some researchers, such as Elsa Olivetti from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, are now tackling a more complicated task: using AI to extract materials recipes from research papers in order to predict synthesis of new compounds. Ceder believes that using text mining to predict material synthesis could be a game-changer. “Could we then create materials with properties that we don’t know how to predict yet, like superconductivity?” he said.
The use of AI in materials science is still nascent, held back by a lack of data. “Materials data tend to be small and sparse,” said Meredig. “You have lots of small data sets that are often siloed.” In addition to more data, there is also a need for metadata—a summarized basic description of data that makes it easier to use. “Data is only as good as its metadata,” said Ceder.
To see a radical change in the material development process, AI should be tightly integrated into the workforce, said Meredig. “We need to make AI a copilot in materials research.” And that means training and educating the next generation of materials scientists and engineers to understand and utilize these tools. “Experimental material scientists need to know scanning electron microscopy but also AI tools.”
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Circle of shortcrust pastry, typically 8 to 16 ins diameter, 1/8 to 1/4 ins thick, heavily filled with uncooked chunks of meat and/or vegetables with pepper and salt, folded into a case, the edges crimped to give a rope twist effect seal. Baked so as to cook the filling as the pastry hardens.
Cornish Pasties are never made up with minced meats, mashed potato, gravies, or any fully pre-cooked materials.
Cornish pasty, cut
Image: David Johnson
In 2011 The Cornish Pasty Association obtained a Protected Geographical Indicator (PGI) for the pasties, requiring that they are of "a distinctive 'D' shape and is crimped on one side, never on top. The texture of the filling for the pasty is chunky, made up of uncooked minced or roughly cut chunks of beef (not less than 12.5%), swede, potato and onion and a light peppery seasoning. The pastry casing is golden in colour, savoury, glazed with milk or egg and robust enough to retain its shape throughout the cooking and cooling process without splitting or cracking. The whole pasty is slow-baked to ensure that flavours from the raw ingredients are maximised. No flavourings or additives must be used." The PGI appears to permit pasties assembled in Cornwall to be baked elsewhere to still be designated 'Cornish'.
The word 'pasty', meaning a meat pie cooked without a container, is extremely ancient. It is known at least since 1296 with a reference in the 'Warwickshire Feet of Fines' to one Simon the Pasteymaker, it occurs in 'The lay of Havelok the Dane' from 1300 and repeatedly thereafter. In 1660 (6 Jan) Samuel Pepys complains of being supplied with a venison pasty which was 'palpably beef' and the terms occurs in the plays of both Shakespeare and Ben Jonson. However, these seem to be references to the old type of all-meat pasty, like the Venison Pasty or the Beef-Joint Pasty. Indeed, the first known pasty receipt from Cornwall is precisely for such a grand meat-joint pasty, whereas what marks-out the Cornish variety as distinctive is its construction from morsels of inexpensive meat among vegetables, suited to persons of modest means.
Original Receipt from a letter from Jane Barriball, Launceston, to John Tremayne, Heligan, St Ewe, dated 9th April 1746 (Item T1363-17 part 1, Cornwall Record Office, reproduced from www.cornishpasties.org.uk)
Honed Sr [Honoured Sir]
I have sent the receipt according to my promise wch [which] is under written from Launn 9th April 1746. Sr Yor most hble Servt, Jane Barriball
[Launceston ......... Sir Your most humble Servant]
A Leg or Jigget of Mutton (the Bones being taken out) is to be rubbed over with ........ Cochineal, then spiced with Mace, Cloves & Allspice, of each an equal quantity, with Salt & a little Pepper. To which put in a pint of Clarret or Port in baking. The Crust as usual
The first clear description of a modern Cornish Pasty we can find is in the Leeds Times 1861, where it is plain that the author doesn't assume his readers will know what a 'Cornish Pasty' is: "The standing dish of the country, however, is the " Cornish Pasty," the normal ingredients of which, our author informs us, are " small pieces of beef, highly peppered, enclosed in a wrapper of paste, adding, however, by way of caution to hungry and unwary tourists, that they are eatable enough when quite hot, but detestable otherwise, excepting to those who like cold potato."
Leeds Times - Saturday 21 December 1861
There is frequent anecdotal reference to 'two course' pasties, with meat and vegetables at one end, and fruit at the other. It is known that these have been occasionally made as novelties, but there is no historical evidence for them as everyday dishes, and they cannot be made to work well. The essential feature of the Cornish Pasty is that the filling materials are cooked together inside a well-sealed pastry so that the flavours are retained and meld. This means that a 'double-ender' inevitably ends up with unappealingly jam-flavoured meat and vegetables, and gravy-tainted fruit.
Equally common is the suggestion that the thickly-rolled edge of a Cornish pasty was used as a handle by the dirty hands of tin miners who then discarded the soiled part as a meal for the 'Knockers', the capricious sprites of the mine, though it seems unlikely that hungry and poorly-paid miners would throw away such a treat.
Cooked and uncooked pasties
Pasties have a long association with mining so that wherever Cornish miners have settled there is now a strong local pasty tradition: Nevada County in California; Butte, Montana and Anaconda in Montana and the mining regions of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan; the cities of Pachuca and Real del Monte in the Mexican state of Hidalgo, and the Yorke Peninsula of South Australia.
Pasty Shop in Los Alamitos, California, USA
The nickname 'Oggy' for a pasty is a corruption of the Cornish 'Hoggan'.
It is said that the Devil has never dared cross the Tamar into Cornwall, for fear of Cornishwomen's habit of putting everything they find into a pasty.
It said to be bad luck for fishermen to take pasties to sea.
There is a long-standing argument between historians as to whether Cornwall or neighbouring Devon is the true home of the pasty. The Cornwall Record Office have a pasty receipt dated 1746, while the 1510 Receivers' Accounts for Plymouth in Devon record the purchase of pasties, but don't say where from. There is possibly a reference to pasties in the 1170's Arthurian romances by Chretien de Troyes while Shakespeare mentions pasties in 'The Merry Wives of Windsor', in 'All's Well That Ends Well', and, in 'Titus Andronicus' has Titus bake the flesh of Chiron and Demetrius into a pasty, and forces their mother to eat them.
For other types of pasty, see:
Beef Joint Pasty
Cheese and Onion Pasties
Potato Table Pasty
Shropshire Mint Cake
Thatched House Pie
Westmorland Currant Pasty
Yorkshire Mint Pasty
Not quite Cornish - Baked pastes in Pachuca, Mexico
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BUILT WITH WHIMBERRY
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Fill out this online survey and you may win a prize! The StudyResponse Project ( studyresponse.com ) helps conduct online surveys that offer incentives (mostly raffle-type prizes) to encourage participation in social-science research. It links researchers with registered volunteers through a system of anonymous messages and reminders, thus ensuring privacy.
The site owes a debt to consumer marketers in more ways than one. “E-commerce sites have trained a wide swath of people to fill out online surveys — it’s a kind of basic literacy now — and that has helped us,” said Jeffrey M. Stanton, an assistant professor in the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University, which administers the site. His job is to study the studies — that is, to draw conclusions on the best way to collect research data on the Web.
The project has attracted more than 53,000 volunteers and has been used by 65 research studies on topics ranging from the death penalty to emotional intelligence. The average age of volunteers is 33.9; 68 percent are women. In most studies, participants have a 2 percent to 3 percent chance of winning a prize, typically an Amazon gift certificate. “Some of our volunteers are curious about the research topics, but most are more interested in the prizes,” Dr. Stanton said.
With mail and phone surveys encountering high rates of refusal, online research has become mainstream. Recent studies that have used the site have achieved response rates between 20 percent and 30 percent using surveys that took about 10 to 15 minutes to fill out, he added. Shorter surveys have sometimes reached response rates of 50 percent.
But researchers must adhere to strict rules to tap the StudyResponse panel. For instance, participants must be allowed to skip questions.
“If you force a response, you’ll get bogus data,” Dr. Stanton said.
Pick a Number
Lotto players, note: it’s awfully hard to come up with a truly random number or number sequence.
Most online random-number generators actually offer “pseudo-random” numbers because computers aren’t good at doing anything by chance. To generate numbers that are truly random requires a source of entropy, or disorder, outside the computer itself.
A new site, randomnumbers.info , locates such a source in quantum physics, specifically, the reflection of a light particle on a semitransparent mirror. The site exploits this optical process to generate up to 1,000 random numbers on demand.
“You need a quantum process if you want real randomness,” said Grégoire Ribordy, chief executive of Id Quantique, a commercial spinoff of the University of Geneva, the project’s originator.
Other sites also offer true random numbers, said Mads Haahr, lecturer in computer science at Trinity College, Dublin. His site, random.org , uses atmospheric noise from a radio as a source of disorder; the random numbers at HotBits ( www.fourmilab.ch/hotbits ) are generated by radioactive decay; and LavaRnd ( www.lavarnd.org ) taps the unpredictability of lava lamps.
Aside from players looking for an edge in Pick Six, true random number are needed in applications like cryptography. But people also have used random.org’s output in unexpected ways. One writer used random numbers to help decide on the next plot twist in his novel. Others have tapped the site to determine the order of words asked in a spelling bee and to help decide which chores on a list to do first.
For some, then, random numbers are the holy grail of decision-support tools: a truly unbiased source.
Books With a Voice
Project Gutenberg ( gutenberg.net ) is well known for offering free electronic versions of famous public-domain texts. Now Telltale Weekly ( telltaleweekly.com ) wants to be its audio-book equivalent.
Telltale Weekly sells audio versions of mostly public-domain texts for as little as 25 cents to $1.50. After five years or 100,000 downloads, these works will be released under a Creative Commons Attribution License, meaning anyone can copy, distribute or even make commercial use of the audio files as long as they are properly attributed.
The files are in the MP3 and Ogg Vorbis formats.
This “cheap now, free later” philosophy will allow Telltale Weekly to cover costs while underwriting the creation of a free audio library, according to Alexander Wilson, 27, the site’s founder and an actor and writer in Chapel Hill, N.C. The site plans to offer 50 public-domain works this year, many of them shorter texts that can be performed in less than 45 minutes. Mr. Wilson also plans to release at least 20 copyrighted works.
So far the site offers audio versions of 16 works, including the first section of Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass” and Swift’s “Modest Proposal.” Audio versions of texts by Poe, Thoreau and Chekhov, among others, are planned.
Project Gutenberg itself is now dabbling in computer-generated audio versions of its books. But Mr. Wilson hopes to attract experienced voice actors to perform the works on his site. “Text-to-voice programs are practical for some purposes,” he said. “But few people would choose to listen to them for pleasure.” He acknowledged one advantage of computer-generated readings: “They do ensure a completely neutral interpretation of the text.”
On the Radar
Mars, shmars. NASA’s Microgravity Science Division is the host of online videos of something truly amazing: water balloons popping in space ( microgravity.grc.nasa.gov/balloon/blob.htm ). Crimeculture.com and its companion sites offer a comprehensive view of noir crime novels and films. …A daily index of Op-Ed pieces from American newspapers is available at John Peter Zenger Lives ( johnpeterzenger.com ).
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|Home > Floripedia > De Soto, Hernando|
De Soto, HernandoA History of Florida
De Soto's Commission. Ponce de Leon had sailed with Columbus, De Narvaez had fought against Cortez for his honors in Mexico, and Hernando de Soto, who undertook to finish the work they had begun in Florida, had served as soldier in the West Indies and then in Peru under Pizarro. When he planned an expedition to conquer Florida, so great was his reputation as a successful soldier that he had no difficulty in getting permission from the king of Spain. He received the title of "Adelantado of Florida and marquis of all the lands he might discover, and Adelantado of Cuba."
Lands at Tampa Bay. It was a splendid retinue that sailed with him from Spain in 1538, all eager for adventure in the land they believed to be "the richest country that unto that day had been discovered." After a winter at Cuba then sailed in the spring for Florida. On the 25th of May, 1539, they landed at Tampa Bay after a voyage of six days. As it was Whitsunday, De Soto called the bay Espiritu Santo (Holy Spirit), and by this name it was known for many years. The name of Tampa was afterward given on account of an Indian village of that name near by. This was very near the place where De Narvaez had landed.
Recount De Soto's former experience. What were the titles given? Date and place of landing. Former name of Tampa Bay. Origin of name Tampa.
Romance of Ortiz and the Indian Princess. Near the landing place, just where the city of Tampa now stands, was an Indian village, whose chief was called Hirrihigua. When De Narvaez's vessels had anchored off the shore eleven years before, the Indians had enticed on shore and captured a young man of eighteen, Juan Ortiz, and a comrade. Ortiz's companion, who tried to free himself, was immediately killed, but Ortiz was, put to torture by being stretched on a staging of green poles with a slow fire burning it. Now Hirrihigua had a lovely young daughter. Her heart was filled with pity at sight of the youth who, though he had harmed no one, was put to such cruel torture. Weeping bitterly she threw herself at the stern chieftain's feet, and pleaded with him for mercy. Out of love for his daughter the chief released Ortiz, and the Indian maiden dressed his wounds and cared for him until he was well.
But Hirrihigua hated the sight of the white man, and after a few months Ortiz's life was again in danger. Again the Indian maiden saved him. She told him of his danger and said that he must go to Mucoso, a neighboring chief to whom she was betrothed, and who, for her sake, would befriend him. She herself went with him part of the way one dark night, and gave him directions how to find Mucoso. Mucoso received him kindly, and refused to give him up at Hirrihigua's bidding. Hirrihigua was very angry and declared that he would never give his daughter in marriage to Mucoso so long as he befriended the Spaniard. But even then he could not overcome his daughter's mercy nor the young chief's sense of honor, and Ortiz was protected by Mucoso until the coming of Do Soto. By that time Ortiz had been living among the Indians so long that he looked and talked like an Indian and had at most forgotten his own language. But he gladly joined his countrymen and went on with De Soto march.
Tell the story of Ortiz.
The March. It was not until July that De Soto, after sending one or more of his ships back to Cuba with news of his landing, began his march northward. The knights and soldiers of Spain in their glittering armor, the spirited horses with their necks proudly arched, all in splendid array, with gayly waving pennons and strains of martial music, passed through the forest.
De Soto's March
When did De Soto march? Appearance of the Spanish army.
Conflicts with the Indians. The natives were no better pleased to see him than they had been to see De Narvaez, and there was one fight after another. Sometimes there was trouble in getting provisions, and the hungry strangers were glad to eat the young stalks of maize. But after they crossed the Withlacoochee they found plenty of nuts, vegetables, and fruit at a village called Ocalee. This was at, or near, the present site of Ocala. After leaving Ocalee they entered the province of a very powerful and warlike chief, Vitachuco. Here, on a plain between two lakes, there was a bloody battle. It is said that in this battle two hundred Indians, forced into a lake, swam and fought for a day and night without putting foot to bottorn. Though a great many Indians were taken prisoners in this battle, several days later they made a successful struggle for liberty, and in the confusion De Soto himself was nearly killed.
De Soto's Route. Crossing the Suwanee and continuing his march to the northwest, he reached Anhayea in October and passed the winter there. From Anhayea he sent exploring parties in different directions. One of these parties found at Aute the poor little forge of De Narvaez, with some trace of the work that had been done there. His vessels arrived at the harbor near Aute and were sent to explore the coast to the west. Then in the spring De Soto left his winter quarters and began his march to the northeast in search of gold and pearls. You can easily trace his march on the map. He went from Apalachee Bay northeast, crossing the Savannah River, then west or northwest to the gold region of upper Georgia, then southwest almost to Pensacola Bay, and from there northwest to the Mississippi a few miles below where the city of Memphis is now, then west beyond the river and back again to its banks. You must remember that the Spaniards called all of this country Florida.
What conflicts were there with the Indians? Where were provisions scant? Where abundant? What places did De Soto reach?
Relations with the Indians. The Indians feared and distrusted De Soto, but finding that they could not drive him away, they tried to make friends with him. One chief sent two thousand men to meet him with presents of corn cakes, partridges, hens, conies, and many dogs for food. A tribe near the Tennessee River sent him seven hundred hens, another twenty baskets of mulberries, and still another, as a very great compliment, sent him three hundred dogs. We are sorry to know that he laid waste the fields and villages through which he passed, and that he took many Indians prisoners, treating them very cruelly.
Near the Savannah River De Soto was met by the Indian queen of the province of Colitachiqui. She was young and very beautiful. The Spanish writers called her "the ladie of the countrie." On the 1st of May she crossed the river in a canopied canoe, her attendants following in other canoes. Meeting De Soto, she presented him with skills and shawls, then took off her beautiful pearl necklace, and placed it on De Soto's neck. Afterward she told him where he could find a great many more pearls. Yet this generosity did not save. her from being taken prisoner and led away on foot. A month later she escaped.
What return did De Soto make for the Indians' kindness? What was the result of this treatment?
When the Spaniards reached Mauvilla, at the present site of Mobile, on the Alabama River, there was a battle with the Indians. Eighteen Spaniards were killed, 150 were wounded. The Indians bad seized the baggage of the Spaniards with all their pearIs, and these were burned when the village was set on fire by the white men.
De Soto and the Indian Queen
Discovery of the Mississippi. After this battle De Soto learned that his ships were at Pensacola Bay—only a few days' journey from Mauvilla; but he kept their arrival a secret from his men, fearing that they would all want to return home. The vessels, after long waiting in vain, returned to Cuba. De Soto next turned to the northwest on the journey that led him to the Mississippi. This the Spaniards called simply the Great River. They made boats and rafts from the trees on the banks and so crossed. The summer, autumn, and winter were spent in exploring the regions beyond; but in the spring he decided to go to the coast and send a vessel to Cuba to ask for help in carrying on the expedition. He had now lost 250 men and 150 horses.
He returned to the Mississippi, but made slow progress on the journey to the coast. For the first time be became discouraged—he who had borne up so bravely. For, through all the trials and disappointments of the march, his gallant heart and nerve had never before failed. He had cheered and encouraged his men, and had believed so strongly that he would succeed that they had believed it too. But now he fell ill. He himself knew and those about him knew that his long march was ended.
Why did not De Soto join his ships when he could? How did he cross the Mississippi? What did he plan?
Death and Burial. He called his men about him, and bade them farewell, thanking them for their love and loyalty. He said he had meant to reward them when it should please God to prosper him. He begged that they would forgive any wrong he had done them, and that they would pray God to forgive him his sins. He said he would feel less sorrow at leaving them in a strange country if they would choose a leader and promise to obey him. They asked him to appoint their leader, and this he did. On the next day be died. Great care was taken to conceal his death and place of burial from the Indians. In the hush of night, by the pale light of stars, he was borne to the middle of the great river of his discovery, and sorrowfully, with whispered prayers, buried beneath its waters. After many hardships the comrades who survived him reached Mexico to tell the story of suffering and failure.
What ended De Soto's explorations? What became of the survivors of the expedition?
- The Indian legend of the coming of the white man.
- A sketch of Ponce de Leon according to the following outline:
- His social position, wealth, time of life, former life.
- Traits of character.
- His superstition and its relation to his age, and the marvelous discoveries of the time.
- His prevailing ambitions and desires.
- His ideas of Florida, before and after his first, and after his second expedition.
- What he accomplished by each expedition.
- What he hoped to accomplish by each.
- Why be failed in his purposes.
- His connection with each of the following: Hispaniola, Porto Rico, Bahamas, Tortugas, Cuba.
- Tabulate in the following form all the expeditions to Florida recorded in Chapter 1:
YEAR NAME OF EXPLORER LANDING PLACE EXTENT OF EXPLORATIONS PURPOSES OF EXPEDITION RESULTS
- What three commanders lost their lives in these expeditions?
- Account for the credibility of the men of that time in believing the stories told by the Indians and De Allyon.
- Tell of the first settlement attempted on the mainland by the Spanish.
- Were the requirements of De Leon's commission complied with?
- Give the purpose, incidents, and results of De Narvaez's expedition to Mexico.
- Fit the exploration of De Narvaez into the tabular form prepared.
- What seems to have been the dominating ambition of the Spaniards?
- What were the relations between the Spaniards and the Indians?
- Why did the land and water expeditions never meet as intended?
- Give the reasons for the great suffering among the Spaniards.
- Tell of the fate of De Narvaeez's expedition.
- How did these facts become known?
- Under whom and where had each of the first three great explorers of Florida bad training?
- Write a composition on the adventures of Juan Ortiz.
- Trace De Soto's march from his landing to the time of his death.
- Give an account of the foods and other commodities of value used by the Indians.
- Describe the different kinds of treatment the Spaniards received from the Indians.
- Describe the treatment of the Indians by the Spaniards.
- Tell of the Queen and De Soto.
- Tell of De Soto's death and burial.
THOUGHT AND RESEARCH TOPICS
- What was accomplished by the second voyage of Columbus?
- What is the force of the expression, a "Spanish gentleman"?
- What is the meaning of the name "De Leon"? Find Leon on a modern map. What was Leon at that time? What is it now? Explain De Leon's being called "a lion by name."
- With whom did De Leon remain at Hispaniola? When were the first settlements made there? Whence the name, Hispaniola? What is its present name?
- Read the history of Ponce de Leon prior to his crossing the ocean.
- How did he acquire the wealth with which to fit out the expeditions at his own expense?
- How long was the Spanish rule in each of the islands named in this chapter maintained?
- Who were the Spanish sovereigns during the period covered by these chapters? What changes took place in the importance of Spain as a nation?
- On a map, mark the extent of the world then explored, and the portion of it ruled by this emperor.
- What was implied in De Leon's raising the cross when he landed? What in his planting the Spanish flag?
- Make an outline map of the West Indies and Florida and trace approximately the several voyages, marking the landings and explorations.
- Considering the point at which he landed, and the nature of the country there, which of the two origins of the name Florida is more probable?
- Notice the date, and mention the flowers that he may have seen.
- Read of the Conquests of Mexico. (Prescott.)
- Read of De Narvaez expedition to Mexico.
- What was the bay Miruelo had discovered? Why did De Narvaez wish to reach it? (See Chapter 1.)
- Describe the character of the different parts of the country through which De Narvaez passed.
- At what season did he embark upon the gulf? What kind of weather might be expected at that season?
- What famous story is a parallel to that of Ortiz?
- Account for the continued hostility of the Indians toward De Soto.
- Also account for his apparently cruel policy.
- Give the reason of De Soto for each of the several directions pursued by him in his march.
- Note the traits of character of De Soto as shown by his actions, and compare him with the other Spanish explorers.
Excerpt from Part One, Chapter Three, "Hernando De Soto" A History of Florida, 1904. Next Section; Table of Contents.
|Home > Floripedia > De Soto, Hernando|
Florida: A Social Studies Resource for Students and Teachers
Produced by the Florida Center for Instructional Technology,
College of Education, University of South Florida © 2005.
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|PISCES : PERCIFORMES : Pholididae||BONY FISH|
Description: The butterfish has a long, slender, eel-like body which is flattened from side to side. It has a very slippery skin and is difficult to pick up, hence its common name. The coloration is usually yellowish-brown with darker brown mottling. Like yarrell's blenny (Chirolophis ascani) there is a dark bar which runs from beneath the eye to the outer edge of the mouth. The most characteristic feature of the butterfish is a row of 9-15 black spots, each surrounded by a white ring, along the base of the dorsal fin. Adult fish are between 17-25cm in length.
Habitat: The butterfish is common beneath boulders and seaweeds on the low shore and also sublittorally in a wide range of habitats. It frequently hides amongst seaweed or in crevices in rock. It feeds mainly on small crustaceans and worms.
Distribution: This species is common and widespread all around Britain and Ireland.
Similar Species: Eels, some blennies and rocklings are a similar shape, however only the butterfish has a row of black spots surrounded by white circles at the base of the dorsal fin.
Key Identification Features:
Distribution Map from BioMar data for Ireland - Google Earth map: download this placemark (not got Google Earth installed?)
Distribution Map from NBN: Grid map (fast) : Interactive map (slow, requires login to view records) : National Biodiversity Network mapping facility, data for UK.
|Picton, B.E. & Morrow, C.C., 2010. [In] Encyclopedia of Marine Life of Britain and Ireland |
|Copyright © National Museums of Northern Ireland, 2002-2014|
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Minimize Risk...Reduce Impact...Eliminate Johne's
Welcome to Johne’s Information Central —
Welcome to the new Johne's Information Central! We welcome any comments or updated contact information for the website at [email protected].
Johne’s (pronounced “Yo-nees”) disease is a chronic, contagious bacterial disease that affects the small intestine of ruminants such as cattle, sheep, goats, deer, antelope and bison. All ruminants are susceptible to Johne’s disease.
Johne’s disease is caused by Mycobacterium paratuberculosis, a hardy bacterium that embeds itself in the wall of the lower part of the small intestine known as the ileum. As an immune response, infected tissues attempt to regenerate healthy tissue which leads to visible thickening of the intestines. This prevents nutrient absorption, resulting in weight loss. Late in the infection, antibody production by the animal can be found in serum of animals and is an indicator that clinical signs of disease and death from the infection will soon follow.
The occurrence of Johne’s disease was first described in 1908 by Leonard Pearson in a paper, “A note on the occurrence in America of chronic bacterial dysentery of cattle,” (Am. Vet. Rev. 32:602-605, 1908). Pearson published this report while serving as Dean of the veterinary school at the University of Pennsylvania, 1897-1909.
Johne’s disease is present among U.S. dairy and beef herds:
To reduce the prevalence of Johne’s disease in U.S. cattle, USDA-Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Veterinary Services (VS) spearheads a national, coordinated Johne’s disease effort developed in conjunction with the States and cattle industries. The plan includes a national educational campaign, the Voluntary Bovine Johne’s Disease Control Program and guidelines for States to assist infected herds.
The National Institute for Animal Agriculture has partnered with USDA-APHIS-VS to help educate dairy and beef producers and those who work with these individuals about Johne’s.
Additional information about Johne’s can be found by clicking on other tabs at this website.
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Published: Jan 1953
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|Complete Source PDF (1.4M)||1||$55|| ADD TO CART|
For over a quarter of a century, persons interested in the field of soil mechanics have been attempting to point out and to emphasize the importance of the strength and supporting power of soil masses when they are used as an engineering material. In many cases in engineering practice, the usefulness and economic life of a structure can be measured by the supporting power of the soil upon which it rests. Unfortunately, that supporting power is difficult to determine for two important reasons. First, the nature of the soil mass itself is complex and, second, the factors which determine strength are not constant. As a consequence, the problem is one of dynamics rather than of statics. In dealing with natural soil deposits, one is essentially dealing with a three-phase soil system—a system composed of soil particles, water, and air. It is obvious that the geologic and pedologic nature of the soil particle itself will contribute to its behavior. The second and vital factor is the variable rôle played by contained water and air upon the nature and qualities of this system. This is a complicated factor. It is one which, in conjunction with the surface chemistry of the soil particle, gives the system its capacity for change and introduces the need for applying dynamic analysis methods. It follows that a reliable method for the determination of both the water content and the density of the soil mass in place is a first step toward a better understanding of the vital problem of soil strength analysis.
Catton, Miles D.
Chairman, Subcommittee G-2 on Special Papers, Committee D-18; Asst. to Vice President, Portland Cement Assn., Chicago, Ill.
Paper ID: STP46244S
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Maryland – The largest moon of Pluto, Charon, was spotted by NASA’s New Horizons Spacecraft. It was discovered in 1978 at the United States Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C., using photographic plates. This new perspective of the natural sattelite represents a major legacy in the scientific world, and it will surely contribute for further investigations of the almost unknown planet.
Charon is the largest moon from the satellites that surround Pluto. It is 751 miles wide and was spotted by New Horizons Spacecraft on July 14. However, the focus of this new sighting is on its surface.
To this day, the New Horizons crew members have named different features on the surface of Charon, with famous sci-fi characters. For example, Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker and even Darth Vader from George Lucas’s recognized Star Wars film, have already features named after them.
Also, impact craters on the surface of this moon are named after the classic Star Trek characters, for instance, Captain James T. Kirk, Spock, Lieutenant Uhura, and Commander Sulu, already gained recognition in Pluto’s surroundings.
However, not only fictional characters names are being used. Many features on Pluto itself have been named based on real life explorers, vessels, researchers, etc. However, two features from the planet have received names of famous monsters, such as Cthulhu (a villain in many H.P. Lovecraft stories), and Balrog from the Lord of the Rings.
Nonetheless, the only institution in charge of assigning the official names to all discovered objects in space is the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Currently, the names given to features from Pluto and Charon, are being evaluated and submitted to the organization for approval. The names are suggested and voted by a considerably large public.
“We received so many great suggestions that winnowing down the list was a real challenge. Nevertheless, we limited our proposal to about 10 names in each theme so as not to overwork the IAU nomenclature working group too heavily,” SETI Institute reported.
Scientists are starting to narrow down the standards they will use to name the different features belonging to the other four smaller moons of Pluto. They have concluded until now that features on Styx will be named after gods of the rivers; Hydra will use names of mythical sea serpents; Kerberos will be labeled with names of dogs; and, finally, Nix will use names of gods and goddesses of the night.
Moreover, with this new approach of Charon, many past theories about Pluto must be restudied. Bill MacKinnon, leader of the New Horizons, Geology, Geophysics and Imaging team at Washington University in St. Louis said that at Pluto’s negative 390º Fahrenheit ice flows like glaciers.
“It’s just unbelievable. It’s truly a hallmark in human history”, said Nasa’s science mission directorate head John Grunsfeld. This allowed them to acknowledge the elemental composition of Pluto’s atmosphere by measuring the radio waves’ velocity.
All of these recent findings, have made scientists reassess the common understanding that Pluto was geologically dead and with little (or absolutely no) atmosphere.
New Horizons mission will keep sending new and unknown images of Pluto and its surrounding for the next 15 months.
Source: OUR PLUTO
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Our categorizations of nature are based on domination The world is divided ecologically into predator and prey or bigger more advanced animals versus smaller simpler creatures One category is superior which dominates the second category which is inferior But this dualism based on dominance represented by the demand of a preferred human order upon nature is in fact contradictory As an obvious examplecarnivorous plants like the Venus flytrap consumes insects and the bigger and more taxonomically advanced the prey the more mysterious nature becomes The following examples demonstrate the reversal of the food chain Frogs eat flies But one day in August 1982 at a small pond in Arizona thousands of spadefoot toads were emerging to adulthood from their tadpole stage Among them were toads that were dead or dying The predator was a large insect larva identified as that of the horsefly Tabanus punctifer The enormous larvae are bigger than toads and to think that flies can eat toads is amazing The fly larvae force themselves into the mud rear end first until their front end bearing the mouthparts lies flush with the surface The larvae then catch the toads by hooking their pointed mandibles into the hind legs or belly and them dragging the toad part way into the mud The larvae then suck the toad dry by ingesting blood and body fluid only Unusually large insects like the praying mantis fee on small invertebrates like frogs small birds and mice Decapod crustaceans like lobsters crabs and shrimp eat snails Two scientists Amos Barkai and Christopher McQuaid did research on rock lobsters and whelks snails of middling size around two islands Marcus and Malgas off the coast of South Africa On Malgas Island the rock lobsters ate mollusks mostly mussels and several species of whelks Twenty years ago rock lobster was common on both islands During the 1970s lobsters started disappearing from Marcus Island this was probably due to periods
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Several thousand years ago, says a well-known legend in Chinese medicine, a physician named Bian Que was traveling to the Kingdom of Guo. Upon arriving, he found the townsfolk busily preparing for the funeral of the crown prince. Bian Que inquired about the circumstances of the prince’s death, then asked to examine him. After palpating his thighs and finding them still warm, Bian Que diagnosed the prince as “body collapsed”—what we might call “in shock.” The physician inserted a single acupuncture needle into the prince’s head and applied herb-soaked poultices, and the prince regained consciousness. Bian Que was hailed as a miracle worker, and word quickly spread of his ability to bring the dead back to life with needles, herbs, and his magical ways.
Ever since then, the practice of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been shrouded in mystery and filled with promise. This highly sophisticated and comprehensive healing system, one of the first holistic approaches to healing, sees mind, body, and spirit as deeply connected and intricately woven into the fabric of the universe. The primary objective in TCM is to restore balance, and then help the body continue to function in harmony, through herbal medicine, acupuncture, and lifestyle practices.
TCM focuses less on organs and anatomical structures with fixed locations in the body, and more on the body’s functions—like respiration or digestion—and various entities governing those, including Qi (life force, energy flow, breath or air), blood, bodily fluids, zhang fu (what we call organs in Western medicine), and meridians (a system of channels that run through the body). Disease is generally thought to be caused by an imbalance in these entities and/or their interactions with each other, and diagnoses and treatments are based on these imbalances and their underlying patterns. The practice is complex, and very different from our Western medical systems. What a Western doctor calls inflammation, for example, might be viewed as a pattern of heat in TCM; the Western system would treat inflammation with cooling and calming medicines, like anti-inflammatory drugs and painkillers. The TCM practitioner would address the underlying pattern of heat with acupuncture, herbs, diet, and other lifestyle alterations.
Because TCM is a complex system, you’ll need a qualified practitioner to treat any serious or chronic illness; children and pregnant or lactating women should also consult a practitioner before using any herbal remedies. But you can safely self-administer many Chinese supplements for minor and short-term conditions, like colds or headache. Try these 10 common remedies, and let East meet West in your medicine chest.
Ginseng.Possibly the most famous of all Chinese herbs, ginseng is a potent energy tonic that stimulates and balances the central nervous system and helps people adapt to stress. In TCM, it’s considered adaptogenic, meaning it works systemically to balance energy, and is used as a tonic to offset general weakness. Ginseng also enhances mental ability and can improve memory, especially in older people. Siberian ginseng, also called eleutherococcus, is in the same family, but not the same genus, and is not considered true ginseng, but it has adaptogenic properties nonetheless.
Schizandra has been used for thousands of years as a beauty tonic, to keep skin supple and soft, and delay the appearance
of aging. Because its primary action is to stimulate energy and enhance vitality, schizandra also helps improve memory and boost sexual function when consumed regularly. Modern studies suggest schizandra is an effective treatment for chronic viral hepatitis, and boosts production of glutathione, a powerful antioxidant produced by the body in times of stress.
Licorice root, also known as glycyrrhiza, is traditionally used to build energy, enhance digestion, and regulate blood sugar levels.
It’s added to many Chinese herbal preparations and teas to “harmonize” all the ingredients. Because it can cause high blood pressure, water retention, and potassium depletion in larger quantities, use licorice with caution, or choose deglycyrrhizinated licorice (DGL) products, which cause fewer side effects.
Astragalus is one of the most widely used herbs in Chinese medicine. It has been used for thousands of years as an overall tonic to strengthen the body, and is considered an extremely powerful immune system regulator by modern researchers. In the TCM system, astragalus is said to tonify the protective Qi (energy) just under the skin and muscles, and also help prevent organ prolapse. In modern studies, astragalus was found to improve immune response in cancer patients going through chemotherapy and radiation, and new studies suggest that astragalus may help enhance male fertility.
Jiaogulan,also known as Gynostemma pentaphyllum, is an antioxidant and adaptogenic herb that’s thought to help increase longevity. Modern research from China suggests that jiaogulan has a balancing action on the central nervous system, and can enhance resistance and endurance. Other studies show that jiaogulan has a number of cardiovascular benefits, including lowering cholesterol and high blood pressure, and improving the efficiency of the heart’s pumping action. Other studies suggest jiaogulan may inhibit the growth of cancer.
Maitake mushroom, long used in Chinese medicine, has become widely known as a potent immune booster. It’s rich in compounds called beta-D-glucan polysaccharides that activate the immune system, and studies suggest that maitake can inhibit tumor growth and metastasis and relieve side effects of chemotherapy. It may also be used to reduce blood pressure, regulate glucose and improve blood lipids, and may also be useful for weight loss.
Fo-ti,called he shou wu in China, may be used in either its processed or unprocessed forms. When the unprocessed, or raw, root is used, it’s called white fo-ti. When the root is traditionally processed (or “cured”) by boiling it in a liquid made from black beans, it’s called red fo-ti. In TCM, white fo-ti helps detoxify the blood and relax the bowels to treat constipation; red fo-ti nourishes blood, kidneys, and liver, and increases overall vitality. Labeling distinctions in American markets can be tricky, but generally, if it doesn’t say “cured,” it’s probably the unprocessed variety.
Codonopsis is said to be an superb blood tonic that also enhances immune function. It’s thought to have similar (but milder) actions as ginseng, and for that reason may be used instead of ginseng in some formulas. Codonopsis contains immune-boosting polysaccharides, like maitake mushrooms. It’s considered generally safe for children, especially for digestive, respiratory and immune system health.
Yin chiao.TCM views what we Westerners call “catching a cold” in a very different way, so “cold” treatments vary widely, depending on their origin and underlying patterns. Generally, though, yin chiao can be used in the very first stages of a cold—meaning, no more than 12 hours after the first symptom—to boost the body’s resistance and minimize symptoms like cough, sneezing, runny nose, sore throat, and chills. Once you’ve had a cold or flu for more than a day, yin chiao isn’t the best formula, since it can weaken the body in the long run.
Dong quai.Also known as Chinese angelica or female ginseng, dong quai is considered a blood tonic that can help improve circulation and combat anemia. It can be used by women and men, but is best known as a women’s tonic for regulating the menstrual cycle and balancing the reproductive system. It also contains flavonoids and has antioxidant activity. You’ll find dong quai in many premenstrual syndrome and menopausal formulas. It should not be used during pregnancy, since it’s thought to increase the risk of miscarriage.
How to Find a Practitioner
In some schools of thought, the marks of a skilled TCM practitioner are gray hair and a small pooch in the belly; the gray hair signifies age and, presumably, years of practice and expertise. The pooch illustrates that the practitioner knows how to breathe properly: into the lower belly which, in time, gently distends it.
That being said, there are plenty of skilled younger, flat-bellied practitioners around. A better way to find one is through the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM). You’ll find a directory of all acupuncturists and TCM practitioners with NCCAOM certification—a prerequisite for licensure in most states—on their website at www.nccaom.org. Or visit a local college for acupuncture and Chinese medicine; many have clinics where students (supervised by faculty) offer services at a vastly reduced fee.
This highly sophisticated and comprehensive healing system, one of the first holistic approaches to healing, sees mind, body, and spirit as deeply connected and intricately woven into the fabric of the universe.
Note: the above remedies are for short-term illnesses, not chronic conditions; don’t use any of them for more than three to five days without consulting a practitioner, since long-term or incorrect use can exacerbate underlying patterns of illness. Also, because contamination can be an issue, buy products at a specialty vitamin store to ensure their purity.
Our Product Picks
HIMALAYA HERBAL HEALTHCARE StressCare This fantastic formula mixes licorice root (Glycyrrhiza glabra) along with a selective blend of tension-relieving and body-balancing herbs.
FUNGI PERFECTI HOST DEFENSE MyCommunity combines 17 sustainably harvested mushroom species including maitake, all of which work synergistically to bolster immune function.
TOP SECRET NUTRITION Astravar This blend of notoginseng (a variety of traditional ginseng) and astragalus is formulated to enhance nutrient absorption, energy, and endurance.
PLANETARY HERBALS Yin Chiao Classic Used for hundreds of years in TCM to strengthen defenses against seasonal colds and flu, yin chiao is a time-proven immunity booster.
GAIA HERBS Thyroid Support This unique formula including schizandra supports normal thyroid hormone production to help maintain optimal weight, neuromuscular tone, and cardiovascular health.
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Ptolemy I (Ptolemy Soter)tŏlˈəmē sōˈtər, d. 284 B.C., king of ancient Egypt, the first ruler of the Macedonian dynasty (or Lagid dynasty), son of a Macedonian named Lagus. He was one of the leading generals of Alexander the Great, and after Alexander's death (323 B.C.) he joined the other Diadochi in dividing and quarreling over the empire. Ptolemy received Egypt and managed to keep control of it in the midst of incessant warfare. To strengthen his position he married Eurydice, daughter of Antipater (though he soon shifted his affection to her niece and his own half-sister, Berenice). He defeated (321) Perdiccas, and he at first supported Antigonus I in the confused struggle for imperial power. He defeated Eumenes, then fearing Antigonus' efforts to remake the empire, allied himself with Cassander and Lysimachus. Ptolemy defeated the troops of Antigonus in 312 but he was defeated at Salamis in 306, and the ultimate defeat and death of Antigonus at Ipsus in 301 resolved the situation. Ptolemy had already declared himself king in 305. Subsequently he laid the outline for Ptolemaic administration in Egypt and did much to make Alexandria a fountainhead of culture and art by founding the library there. Through Arrian, we know that he wrote a history of Alexander.
See J. P. Mahaffy, The Empire of the Ptolemies (1895); E. R. Bevan, A History of Egypt under the Ptolemaic Dynasty (1927); P. M. Fraser, Ptomemaic Alexandria (3 vol., 1972, repr. 1984).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
More on Ptolemy I from Infoplease:
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Ancient History, Egypt: Biographies
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In the early days of settlement in NSW development decision-making took little heed of its impact on the environment, the loss of flora and fauna and associated ecological communities.
In the 1970s, as human impact on our natural environment became more pervasive, a greater understanding developed of what was being lost and appreciation grew of our unique flora and fauna. Changes in attitudes led to the passing of legislation such as the Threatened Species Act, planning laws that include assessment of environmental impacts and the creation of the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS).
The NPWS was established in 1967, 50 years ago, when the Fauna Protection Panel that was constituted under the Fauna Protection Act 1948 amalgamated with the Parks and Reserves Branch of the Department of Lands. The purpose of the act was to provide for the protection and preservation of fauna, while permitting the destruction and control of those species which were harmful to primary producers. The act applied to all fauna whether native or introduced.
The national park estate has been steadily increased over the years so that now 872 reserves and parks are under NPWS management. However the declaration of new national park areas has been reduced to a trickle in recent years. The area of the state represented is now about 9% of the total land area.
NSW has fallen well behind in achieving its international commitments to biodiversity protection. As a signatory to the International Convention on Biological Diversity, NSW has voluntarily committed to protect, by 2020, at least 17% of terrestrial and inland water, and 10% of coastal and marine areas. There is a lot of catching up to do.
It is hard to see these international commitments being met when the current government attitude is to treat the NPWS as a poor relation. There has been a steady reduction in funding since the Liberal National government came into power in 2011.
Staff numbers have been cut through regular redundancy programs so that vital long-term experience has been lost in areas like remote area bushfire fighting and vegetation restoration.
Staff have been subject to repeated structuring, the latest being a reduction in the number of regional managers from 14 to 8. Regional managers will now have impossibly large areas to manage.
Funding has been diverted to eye catching new projects rather than repairing degraded facilities and heritage sites.
In a frank internal memo in June last year, then deputy chief executive Michael Wright acknowledged that NPWS staff were facing:
… ongoing budgetary pressures associated with increasing costs and salaries, and decreasing expense allocations across future years … We need to be proactive in identifying and implementing opportunities for savings to be made and revenue to be increased, to ensure we can continue to implement our core conservation, emergency response and visitor services for the people of NSW.
The savings are being imposed despite the NSW being in a bumper financial position following asset sales and booming stamp duty income. And yet the Office of Environment and Heritage website describes national parks as a ‘bedrock of nature tourism’.
No wonder the government is making the 50 years anniversary a low key event! The situation is an embarrassment to a state with such magnificent natural areas that are a major drawcard for local and international visitors. The newspapers have been full of complaints about the deteriorating visitor facilities. The money is being spent on high profile development such as the mountain bike tracks in Garigal National Park and sports stadiums.
The current executive of the Office of Environment and Heritage has refused a proposal to update a 2006, 40th anniversary document, made available through a freedom of information request, to mark the 50th anniversary. The document, NSW NPWS Commemorative History 1967–2007 was withheld, effectively suppressed, by the then Department of Environment and Climate Change executives when the authors refused to make requested changes. It has remained in draft form under copyright ever since.
The treatment of national parks is consistent with other Baird/Berejiklian government decisions to reduce land clearing restrictions and threatened species protection and facilitate development with reduced standards for biodiversity offsetting. It seems care for the environment is not consistent with the politicians’ mantra of growth at any cost.
Royal National Park Threat
The latest insult is the suggestion by the powerful Roads and Maritime that 60 hectares of the Royal be acquired for an extension to the F6 freeway from Loftus to Waterfall.
The Royal is Australia’s first national park that was reserved for protection. It was formally proclaimed on 26 April 1879.
To make matters worse there has been a push to have the Royal National Park inscribed on the World Heritage list. This process has widespread support from conservationists and the local communities. In July a technical obstacle to including the Royal on the World Heritage List was removed by UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee when they added a listing criterion of ‘an area of importance in world protected area history’ (Mosley 2012). If the land excision for the F6 goes ahead there would be little chance that the listing could be accepted.
Mosley, JG (2012) The First National Park: A Natural for World Heritage, Sutherland Shire Environment Centre
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As many women experience menopause and its accompanying symptoms, including hot flashes, they may seek a variety of treatment options to manage their symptoms.
What Are Hot Flashes?
Caused by a sudden increase in body temperature, hot flashes are feelings of extreme heat coursing through the body. Hot flashes make women sweat profusely and feel very uncomfortable. Hot flash episodes can last anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes, varying in intensity.
Hot Flash Treatments
Fortunately, there is a variety of ways to manage hot flashes. The first step women should take is to incorporate very basic diet and lifestyle changes. Some of those changes are outlined below. Read on to find out more:
- Exercise. Getting regular exercise can be extremely effective in reducing the severity of hot flashes because it helps to regulate and stabilize the body temperature.
Drinking water. Keeping the body well hydrated means that the temperature stays relatively stable and is less likely to rise suddenly.
Wearing breathable clothing. Light cotton clothing is the best for women who want to reduce the likelihood of a hot flash episode. The lightness of the fabric keeps the body cool and resistant to sudden changes in body temperature.
Avoid hot drinks and spicy foods. Hot flashes can be reduced if you modify your diet. This includes reducing your consumption of spicy foods, hot drinks such as coffee or tea, and chocolate, since they can trigger symptoms.
It may be worth consulting a doctor about finding alternative therapies to treat hot flashes. Many women, for example, turn to alternative medicine, such as herbal remedies and acupuncture, for their hot flash aid due to their low risk factor. If lifestyle changes and alternative therapies do not work, women can treat their hot flashes through medications and surgery, most commonly through hormone replacement therapy (HRT). HRT should be a last-resort option for finding hot flashes aid due to its potential side effects.
A hot flash treatment is usually needed for women in their late forties and early fifties, but symptoms can begin for women in their early to mid thirties if they experience early menopause. Menopause and hot flashes begin at different times for every woman and treatments should be sought according to individual need.
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The theme for Nature Book Club for November is Trees & Twigs. There are so many great books about trees that choosing just one book for Nature Book club is going to be too hard. We will definitely be using several books this month because I can’t choose just one! Below are the best books about trees that I have so far discovered.
This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase an item from one of the affiliate links, I earn a small monetary commission. That is greatly appreciated!! Please see my disclosure and policy page for more information.
14 Best Books About Trees for Kids
Through a hole in the book’s cover, an owl invites you inside to meet a majestic tree and all its forest inhabitants during the changing seasons. With clever peekaboo holes throughout, each page reveals a new set of animals playing and living in the tree—baby bears frolicking in the spring, bees buzzing around apples in the summer, squirrels storing nuts in the fall, and finally the lone owl keeping warm during the winter chill—until another year begins. . . . ~from Amazon
The birds, the bees, the flowers and the…TREES! How do trees grow? Why do leaves change? What kind of tree is that? The acclaimed Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s guide answers all kids’ (and their parents’) tree-related questions in an easy-to-understand way. It features 33 different trees that grow in North America, from rural Georgia to the streets of New York City to the California suburbs. ~from Amazon
While stopping to admire some of the world’s most amazing trees, the Cat and Co. teach beginning readers how to identify different species from the shape of their crowns, leaves, lobes, seeds, bark, and fruit. Kids will learn about many trees common to North America. ~from Amazon
Featuring a special section on how children can make a tree identification book of their own, this title is a bright and colorful introduction to trees, leaves, and their inner workings in nature. ~from Amazon
In this simple poem illustrated by award winner Bob Staake, two young families in two very different parts of the world plant a tree. As the trees flourish, so do the families . . . while trees all over the world help clean the air, enrich the soil, and give fruit and shade. ~from Amazon
Complemented by STEM-based activity suggestions, an introduction to the amazing natural world of the giant redwood combines rhymes, gentle artwork and counting
This book about nature and the changing seasons focuses on a young boy and a very special apple tree. In Gail Gibbons’s bright illustrations, Arnold collects apple blossoms in spring, builds a tree house in summer, makes apple pie and cider in the fall, and hangs strings of popcorn and berries for the birds in winter, among other seasonal activities. Includes a recipe for apple pie and a description of how an apple cider press works. ~from Amazon
“Warm and thoughtful, this story is told from the perspective of an ancient oak tree who has seen it all. Bestselling author Katherine Applegate gets readers rooting for the old tree, along with the people and animals who come to depend on it. The shorter length and strong plot are appealing for
Tree Soldier is a charming rhyming story, with beautiful and glowing illustrations, that shows children that spending time with family is more meaningful than a big home overflowing with toys ~from Amazon
Whether they’re short or tall,
In this warm and positive book, people from all parts of the community—neighbors, city workers, and children—come together to clean up and remember Big Tree, and to plant Little Tree in its stead. This wonderful story of neighborly cooperation and community engagement will introduce kids to the joys of being involved in the world immediately around them. ~from Amazon
Spectacular illustrations rendered in oil paint, and a rhyming text that describes a tree’s activities from its roots to its branches, introduce young readers to the amazing activities that go on in a tree. Acorns nibbled by chipmunks, ants scurrying across a trunk, a spider spinning a web, leaves “breathing out air for all to breathe in”—everything adds up to a “busy tree” for all to “come and see.” ~from Amazon
Find out how trees are made and how they grow so tall. Then create a tree hotel and see what wildlife comes to stay! This brilliant information book features a mixture of
A little tree ends up on a cliff and must grow there. She finds comfort in the sea and the moon, support from loons, and connection and warmth from the people sitting in her shade. The Hugging Tree is a poetic and peaceful story that aims to teach children about hope and resilience. Rather than a lonely tree on a lonely cliff, the tree represents
See, what did I tell ya? Aren’t those the best books about trees?
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Bainbridge Colby graduated with the first class from New York Law School. An April 12, 1950 obituary appearing in the New York Times described him as "a brilliant lawyer." Prior to serving as President Wilson's Secretary of State, he spent eighteen years as a member of the New York state legislature. He received honorable mention in the 1933 list of Pulitzer Prize awards based on an editorial he wrote for the Hearst newspapers on freedom of the press. In his role as Secretary of State, Colby signed the proclamation announcing the effectiveness of the Nineteenth Amendment after it had been ratified by the states. An August 27, 1920 headline in the New York Times reads: "Colby Proclaims Woman Suffrage."
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React & Redux: A Visual Explanation
A visual explanation of React & Redux using the classic Todo App teaching exercise.
1. Overview of TodoApp
2. Break Into Components
<APP/>Stores our state, actions and renders all immediate children
<NEW_TODO_FORM/>Accepts text input and triggers "ADD" todo action
<FILTER/>Changes what items we want to display ("SHOW_ALL" or "SHOW_DONE")
Optional: Do not separate out
<FILTER/>into children components if logic is simple and instead keep within
<TODOLIST/>maps over filtered todo items and renders either
<TODO_ITEM/>renders the item and includes key action handlers such as mark as done, edit and delete
<EDIT_TODO_FORM/>renders the input as an input form with its own internal state. Note: we create this as a separate component as we require the feature to undo the edit and only update the state if "Update" button is clicked
3. Data Down Actions Up (DDAU)
- All/ Majority of application state is stored in a root parent component as a POJO. Also, action callbacks to change state are stored in the parent component
- Parent then passes down the relevant state and action callbacks to its children as
- Children components render the
propsand listen for UI events to trigger action callbacks
- Parent components then execute the callback functions to change state
- React then does the heavy-lifting to update the UI only for the state that has changed
4. Create our State (aka: the source of truth)
To filter data, create a helper function to render the items array based on what filter type is in the state - Do not duplicate state data.
Decide whether a
<EDIT_TODO_FORM>is rendered by creating an array of items that are marked as edit
5. Identify Action Handlers
6. Separate out Business Logic
Create a reducer which will be the black box handling our business logic. This is the basic principle of Redux:
prevState: the entire state that this reducer is responsible for handling
action.type: simple text instruction for our reducer to execute relevant function e.g.
action.payload: payload options our action.type and function requires to modify state
A new state is then created without mutating previous state. This business logic is easy to unit test and independent of framework. We then require the reducer to update the state of our components.
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A BIT OF HISTORY
Historians state that people were already using wooden vessels for cooking in the ancient times, that’s why archaeologists discover remnants of this ancient dishware in every corner of the world. Some of the oldest clay pots, which are more than 3000 years old, were found in China. These round clay pots are believed to be ancestors of the modern KAMADO barbecue grill.
Throughout history people have developed these simple clay pots and used them to cook various dishes in many different ways. Indians began to use clay ovens called tandoor, while Japanese called them mushikamado, which is a stove to steam rice in Japanese families during special ceremonies. Mushikamado is a round clay pot with a domed lid and it was most common in Southern Japan. In ancient times Japanese developed it even further to regulate the evaporating temperature by perfecting the design of air dampers and they began to use charcoal instead of wood. Mushikamado came to the attention of Americans after World War II.
The name KAMADO is a Japanese word for “stove”, and KAMADO literally means “a place for a boiling pot”. 竈 is the kanji character for KAMADO. In romaji writing system, which is based on the Latin script, the word KAMADO is written the same as in English – KAMADO. Now the word KAMADO is referred to all similar types of ceramic barbecue grills.
Modern KAMADO barbecue grills are made of various materials such as heat-resistant ceramics and other heat-resistant materials, as well as terracotta – a traditional porous baked ceramic made of natural clay, Portland cement or a mixture of milled lava rock. The surface of barbecue grill can also vary greatly. It can be coated with glossy ceramic glaze, paint, decorative textured plaster or ceramic mosaic. Modern ceramics and fire-resistant materials protect barbecue grills from cracking.
HOW TO LIGHT UP A BARBECUE GRILL
Usually KAMADO barbecue grill is fired with charcoal (although there are gas-fired or electric KAMADO barbecue grills). Wood charcoal does not leave a lot of ash, unlike charcoal briquettes they do not have impurities which can change and distort the taste of the cooked food. Charcoal can be manufactured in an environmentally-friendly manner, i. e. using the coppicing technique. Most importantly, food baked using lump charcoal has natural campfire aroma.
Ceramic barbecue grill design allows keeping the heat and reaching temperature up to 400oC. As well, using KAMADO barbecue grills you can adjust air flow and temperature in a most precise manner; KAMADO grills, therefore, are very similar to wood-fired ovens and can be used to roast and bake food in the same manner as you would do in a regular oven. KAMADO barbecue grills are designed not only for meat grilling or smoking, they can be used to bake pizza, cookies, pies and bread.
KAMADO barbecue grill has a ceramic frame, inside there is a firebox ¬¬¬– a ceramic tank for charcoal. The bottom part of the structure has an air vent, through which the air flow enters the firebox. The domed lid of the grill has another adjustable air vent, through which the air flow goes out. The vents are used to regulate the cooking temperature. Barbecue grids are placed over the fire to place the steaks on them. As well, the lid has an opening for placing the thermometer to measure the temperature of grilled food.
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This volume contains letters written by the Wordsworths to a multitude of correspondents. Their letters cover many topics but focus mainly on their relationships with family and friends. The Wordsworths left behind hundreds of letters, allowing us to learn a great deal about their daily lives.
William Knight tended to edit materials with the eye of idealizing the Wordsworths, but he did include letters that revealed the difficulty that William had with finishing and publishing his works. Also highlighted were Wordsworth’s pained thoughts on the lukewarm reception of his poetry and worries about the public’s opinion of new projects before he had even published them. This theme is especially evident in letters such as the first one displayed below. In some letters, William admits that he is sure his writing will infuriate the public. Wordsworth trusted that later generations would appreciate his writing; he has turned out to be right, but it is comforting to know that a great poet’s work caused him frustration at times.
Later scholars put together more comprehensive and accurate collections of the Wordsworth family letters, but this early effort by William Knight paved the way.
Contributed by Kori Dryer
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Here is Ainsley's narration on Phillis Wheatley:
by Ainsley (8 years)
Phillis was born in Africa and captured when she was 8 years old. She was sold to an American tailor in Boston (his name was John Wheatley).Phillis became attached to the tailor's wife immediately after she became her servant. Mr & Mrs Wheatley had two children called Mary and Nathaniel (they were twins). Phillis got her name from the ship she went in from Africa to America, she got her last name from the Wheatleys. Her first book was "Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral," and was printed in London. When Phillis returned from her trip to London the Wheatleys freed her and she stayed living with them. Mrs Wheatley died in March of 1774. In 1778, Phillis's tutor, Mary Wheatley and her father John Wheatley died and Mary's twin Nathaniel was living overseas in England. That same year Phillis married a free black Bostonian named John Peters. Phillis dies on December 5, 1784 at about the age of 30 and her baby passed away a short time later. And that is the story of Phillis Wheatley.
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Jesus did not speak in similes.
You might remember your nerdy English teacher rambling on about similes, how they are a comparison between two unlike things, using the word “like” or “as.” In the same breath, said nerdy English teacher, probably spoke about metaphor: a comparison between two unlike things not using the word “like” or “as.”
Even though English was a favorite of mine, and even though I’ve always been a poetic guy, it was lost on me: why was it so important that we have a different term for comparisons when they don’t have the word “like” or “as.” I was unclear on how those little words might make much of a difference.
Maybe I’m slow. It’s only as an adult I’ve come to see the huge difference between “Mary had a little lamb, and it’s fleece was white as snow.” (A simile) and “Mary had a little lamb. It’s fleece was snow.” (A metaphor.)
The latter sentence invites us into a field to play with the meaning of words. It flirts with us a little bit. Perhaps it’s not a metaphor at all, but some sort of snow-lamb-creature. Even if we decide not to take the words literally, we are left with some mystery, some room for interpretation. In preceisely what ways was the fleece snow-like?
Jesus spoke in metaphor.
He does not use the words “like” or “as” when he compared himself to light, truth, bread, water, ways (as in a path; see last post for more on this) or ladders (see next post)
Though he sometimes enhances his meanings– usually at the request at his bumbling (like me!) disciples, Jesus’ words begin in mystery, they begin with this space for us to move around in and explore what it is he means.
When Jesus said he is the way, I take him to mean that he is the path toward God the father. Further, I take him to mean that their is something holy not only in Him as our destination, but also in the process of seeking Him. We, like Israel, wrestle with God himself and are blessed for this wrestling, even when it leaves us hurt…
Jesus’ metaphors (not similes!) themselves are an invitation to be with him, the path, as we figure out just what they all mean.
It makes my brain hurt, a little.
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When the UK Parliament on March 25, 1807, passed a legislation abolishing the slave trade, it was the culmination of a long struggle in the UK against the Trans–Atlantic Slave Trade, which, for centuries, defined the relationship between sub-Saharan Africa and Europe, as well as the Americas.
For the victims of the trade in human beings and the societies from which they were wrenched, the scars of this historical reality run deep. For many European nations like the UK, which were the perpetrators and beneficiaries of the trade also, there are deep scars which cannot be over looked. Altogether, the Transatlantic Slave Trade has left an indelible mark on global human inter-relationships.
Significantly, even after the abolition of the slave trade in the UK Parliament, it was not till another 150 years later that the Gold Coast became the first Colony in Sub-Saharan Africa that obtained its independence from colonial rule.
In Ghana, therefore, a commemoration of the 200th year of the UK Abolition of Slave Trade Act, in a year that marks the Golden Jubilee on Independence form colonial rule, provides poignant reminders of much unfinished business in the quest for freedom.
There remains in the relationships between independent Ghana, indeed, Africa (including the Diaspora), and outlived both the abolition of the slave trade and the end of colonial rule.
The British Council, with support from the Ghana @ 50 Secretariat and the Edinaman Traditional Council, is organizing “Reflections”, an event to be held on March 25 2007 at the Elmina Castle, to Commemorate the 200th Anniversary of the UK Abolition of Slave Trade Act.
It is a commemorative event aimed at reflecting on the significance of the abolition of the slave trade by the UK. More importantly, it is aimed at exploring the relationship which has existed between the UK and Africa over the past 200 years. It is also aimed at exploring a future of more positive relationships.
The event will be attended by about 600 invited guests including Chiefs, Government, Officials, members of the Diplomatic Cops in Ghana and the general public.
President Kufour and Baroness Amos, Leader of Britain’s House of Lords, and President, Privy Council, (who is also of African descent), will be the guests of honour.
Among the renowned poets and musicians of African descent and from the UK who will participate in this creative and inspirational gathering are:
- Linton Kwesi Johnson, poet and activist from Jamaica;
- Professor Anyidoho, poet and Professor of English at the University of Ghana, Legon;
- Hugh Masekela, the well-known South African Musician;
- Youssou Ndour, internationally acclaimed Senegalese musician;
- Agya Koo Nimo, a distinguished Ghanaian Musician;
- Eliza Carthy, one of the brightest young stars of English Folk;
- London Community Gospel Choir, the UK’s leading and best known gospel choir;
- Winneba Youth Choir, a youth Choir that is a household name in Ghana;
- Obour, one of Ghana’s foremost young hop-life musicians;
- Amandzeba Nat Brew, a well known Ghanaian musician with a rich sense of history and culture.
The National Dance Company of Ghana will also be amongst the participants.
This evening of Creative and shared artistic experience that reflects on the past, present and the future will be broadcast nationally and internationally.
Reflections is part of “Africa 2007”, a three year programme by the British council, which explores culture and identity to generate fresh ideas and create new relationships between individuals and communities in Africa and the UK.
“Africa 2007” also involves other programmes featuring artistes from Africa and the UK, changes between young people from Africa and the UK, as well as exchanges between professionals and an exhibition on families in Africa and the UK over three generations.
Daily Graphic - 20 March, 2007. Page: 9
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David Blight on racism in the abolitionist movement
|Resource Bank Contents|
Q: Please discuss the racism in the abolitionist movement.
A: Black and white abolitionists often had different agendas by the 1840s, and certainly in the 1850s. But one of the greatest frustrations that many black abolitionists faced was the racism they sometimes experienced from their fellow white abolitionists. In many cases, within the Garrisonian movement in particular, the role of the black speaker or the black writer or the black abolitionist was, in some ways, prescribed, as the famous case of Frederick Douglass' relationship with the Garrisionians.
The Garrisionians wanted Douglass to simply get up and tell his story, to tell his narrative on the platform. They didn't want him to speak about Northern racism, to take on the whole picture of the anti-slavery movement as much as he did. And it had a lot to do with why Douglass eventually broke with the Garrisionians.
It was a problem for white abolitionists as well, because, in many ways, what they had discovered with black speakers is the authentic black voice, and they were using it all that they could, whether it was Douglass or whether it was Henry Garnett or whether it was others.
But for black abolitionists, it became very often simply a case of the demand for recognition, the demand for mutual respect. And it was also especially frustrating to black abolitionists to deal sometimes with the kinds of abstract debates that abolitionists would have, that white abolitionists would have, over doctrine. And, increasingly, in the 1850s, black abolitionists didn't have time to struggle over doctrinaire questions of tactics and strategy. They were by the 1850s about the business of building their own communities, and trying to organize real strategies against slavery in the South.
Many white abolitionists had certain expectations of what black abolitionists were to provide or to perform within this movement. Very often, black abolitionists had different, very different, perceptions of what their role ought to be. So, there was a struggle among white and black abolitionists about just what the proper role of a black abolitionist was in this movement.
David W. Blight
Professor of History and Black Studies
Part 4: Narrative | Resource Bank Contents | Teacher's Guide
Africans in America: Home | Resource Bank Index | Search | Shop
WGBH | PBS Online | ©
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The Honorable Blanche Kelso Bruce - Virginia
Blanche Kelso Bruce - Virginia
U.S. Senator of Mississippi (1875-1881)
Blanche Kelso Bruce was born into slavery two miles south of Green Bay, Prince Edward County, on 1 March 1841, son of Polly Bruce, a slave and a Virginia planter. Bruce spent his childhood years in Virginia on the plantation of Pettus Perkinson where he received his earliest education. He worked as a field hand and printer's apprentice as his master moved him from Virginia to Mississippi and Missouri.
At the beginning of the Civil War, Bruce escaped slavery and eventually settled in Lawrence, Kansas where he organized the state's first school for African Americans. At the end of the Civil War, Bruce moved to Hannibal, Missouri where he established and taught in the first school for African Americans in the state. In 1866, Bruce entered Oberlin College in Ohio where he remained for one year as a result of financial difficulties and was forced to leave. The following year, he was employed as a porter on the steamer Columbia, which traveled between St. Louis, Missouri and Council Bluffs, Iowa.
In 1869, Bruce moved to Mississippi and established himself as a prosperous landowner. In subsequent years, during Reconstruction, he was appointed registrar of voters in Tallahatchie County and was elected Sergeant-At-Arms of the new State Senate. In 1871, Bruce assumed several political positions. He was appointed tax assessor and superintendent of education in Bolivar County and elected sheriff and tax collector of Bolivar County. Bruce gained the attention of powerful white Republicans who dominated Mississippi's Reconstruction government. These Republicans secured more appointments for Bruce and made him the most recognized African American political leader in the state.
In February 1874, the Mississippi legislature elected Bruce to the United State Senate. Bruce formally entered the Senate on 5 March 1875, and was elected to three committees: Pensions; Manufactures; and Education and Labor. On 14 February 1879, during the debate on Chinese exclusion bill that he opposed, Bruce became the first African American senator to preside over a Senate session. On 7 April 1879, he was appointed Chairman of the Select Committee to Investigate the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company.
Following the close of his Senate service on 3 March 1881, Bruce rejected an offer of the ministry to Brazil because slavery was still practiced there. In May 1881, Bruce was appointed as Registrar of the Treasury and served until 1885. Bruce served as Recorder of Deeds for the District of Columbia from 1891-1893 and again as Register of the Treasury from 1897 until his death. Bruce served as a trustee of Howard University, which conferred on him the degree of LL.D. in 1890. He also served as a trustee of the District of Columbia public schools. Senator Bruce died on 17 March 1898 in Washington, DC and was interred in Woodlawn Cemetery in Washington, DC.
Blanche Kelso Bruce became the first African American U.S. Senator to serve a full six-year term.
Bruce, Henry Clay The New Man: Twenty-nine Years a Slave, Twenty-nine Years a Free Man – Recollections of H.C. Bruce © 1895 P. Anstadt & Sons, York, PA.
Gatewood, Willard B. Aristocrats of Color: the Black Elite, 1880-1920 © 1990 Indiana University Press, Bloomington & Indianapolis, IN.
Mann, Kenneth Eugene Blanche Kelso Bruce: United States Senator Without A Constituency The Journal of Mississippi History Volume XXXVIII May 1976 Number 2
Middleton, Ph.D., Stephen Black Congressmen During Reconstruction: A Documentary Sourcebook © 2002 Greenwood Press, Westport, CT.
Ragsdale, Bruce A. and Treese, Joel D., Black Americans in Congress, 1870-1989 Office of the Historian, U.S. House of Representatives Raymond W. Smock, Historian and Director © 1990 U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC.
Sterling, Philip and Logan, Ph.D., Rayford, Four Took Freedom: The Lives of Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, Robert Smalls, and Blanche K. Bruce © 1967 Zenith Books, Doubleday & Company, Inc., Garden City, New York.
Urofsky, Melvin L. Blanche K. Bruce: United States Senator, 1875-1881 The Journal of Mississippi History Volume XXIX May 1967 Number 2
A Guidebook to Virginia's African American Historical Markers Compiled by Loux, Jennifer R., Published by Virginia Department of Historic Resources © 2019
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New classrooms make teaching subjects easier and keeps students engaged to the subjects better than old classrooms and learning spaces do. New spaces with technology and flexible furniture helps students stay focused. Therefore, these additions improve how well students do in classes.
Now that the internet is largely available worldwide, there are many websites that can provide information to help students learn. If technology is integrated into the classroom, then it will allow for more personalized learning. An article on the Smith System website states, “Using cloud computing and mobile devices...they set their learning goals, manage their learning content and process, and choose methods of communicating with others.” If a student doesn’t fully understand a subject, then they can research online or ask fellow classmates on the internet. On dreambox.com, an article states, “Fifteen percent of students in Grades 6 through 12 said they have either informally tutored other students online or found an expert to help them with their own questions.” Students feel much better using technology in classes than textbooks.
Types of furniture in the classroom can also affect student engagement. Old chairs and desks are a nuisance because you cannot move comfortably in them, so you cannot focus on your work. In an article on the Smith System archive, it says, “You also want school chairs that allow body movement, to help keep minds focused. As adults, we certainly can’t and don’t sit in the same position for hours on end. Neither can kids.” Students need to be able to move around and not stay in the same place to focus better on their schoolwork. Furniture that can move is also helpful in a collaborative classroom. Furniture that moves and can connect with other desks makes transforming the classroom into a collaborative space easier instead of being a hassle. Tables and chairs with castors will reduce the time spent moving around and can devote more time to learning.
I had a class that had a combination of chairs, desks, and other furniture, and we were able to sit where we worked best, and I was able to focus well in that class. However, other classes don't have that same variety of furniture to work on. With money to buy new furniture for our classroom, we would be able to work better and be able to focus on our learning, and our teacher would be able to teach our class more efficiently.
The classroom environment has a heavy effect on student achievement. It can either help or hurt students’ learning abilities. The tools that they use to learn can affect their engagement and achievement in a class. Using technology and more flexible seating, there can be a more comfortable learning environment suited for students to achieve more in the 21st century.
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The peanut is not a true nut, but rather a legume. It is one of the most important sources of protein worldwide and accounts for two-thirds of all snack nuts consumed in the United States. Peanuts start growing as a flower; however because of their heavy weight after pollination, they bend toward the soil and eventually go underground where the peanut matures.
Inshell Virginia Peanuts- Super Jumbo, Jumbo, and Fancy
Shelled Runner Peanuts- Jumbo, Medium, No. 1, No. 2, Splits
Shelled Virginia- XL, Medium
Shelled Spanish- Jumbo, #1, Spanish Splits
Although peanuts come in many varieties, there are four main types with specific size, taste and nutrient make-up; they include Runners, Virginia, Spanish and Valencia. Runners are the most popular due to their high yields and availability. Virginias have the largest kernels and are most commonly used for eating in the shell. Spanish-type peanuts have smaller kernels and higher oil content than other types of peanuts and are covered with a reddish-brown skin. Valencias are a very sweet “nut” with three or more small kernels to a pod and are covered in a bright-red skin.
China (~40%), India (~17%), U.S. (~6%), Argentina (~3%)
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The Missouri Compromise helped provide the entrance of Maine as a free state and Missouri as a slave state into the United States. As part of the compromise, slavery was prohibited north of the 36°30′ parallel, excluding Missouri.
1820 · Making Land more affordable
"The United States law requiring full payment at the time of purchase and registration of any land. to help encourage sales and make land more affordable, Congress reduced the minimum price of dollar per acre and the minimum size that could be purchased. Most of this land for sale was located on the frontier which was then ""The West"". This Act was good for many Americans, but it was also over used by wealthy investors."
1835 · The Hermitage is Built
The Hermitage located in Nashville, Tennessee was a plantation owned by President Andrew Jackson from 1804 until his death there in 1845. The Hermitage is now a museum.
Northern English: habitational name from any of various places, for example in Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, and Yorkshire, all of which have the same origin as Middleton , with Old English middel replaced by its Old Norse equivalent meðal after the Scandinavian settlement of northern and eastern England.
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It is a known fact that Science is nobody's friend; except a few kids who might possess a natural talent for the subject. This has always been a sensitive discipline with most students. It is true for almost all kids of all ages and at times their parents too, but online elementary science tutors are here to help you! But are you aware of the ways you can end up making the biggest mistakes when it comes to choosing the right online tutor?
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TutorEye: the trusted name - Why should you choose TutorEye? The answer is quite simple and something that has been out there for quite some time now. All the elementary science experts and tutors available with tutoreye.com are highly professional and punctual. You can improve your Elementary Science paying lowest tutoring FEE at TutorEye. Register Now to gain maximum benefit.
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Estimated length: 1800 meters (6000 ft).
Vertical ascent: 125 metros (410 ft).
Duration: between 1 and 2 hours (ascent and return)
Displays: Fossils partially exposed in the ground, protected by glazed structures.
Cartelería explicativa sobre la evolución geológica y los especímenes mostrados.
Centro interpretativo en la Estación de Campo.
What you need to know for a joyful visit
Difficulty: Easy. Visitors can walk the entire trail (no need to climb). The last tract is somewhat more steep and may require extra caution for children and seniors.
The tour is not accessible for people with motor disabilities.
What to bring: Sunscreen, comfortable shoes, a hat, a light backpack for personal belongings, a bottle of water. Do not forget your camera and / or binoculars!
Regular visits: Self-guided tour during regular park hours.
Schedules and rates: Tuesday to Sunday (Monday except holidays) de 10am to 6pm. The entrance closes at 4pm. The price of the entrance is $30 adults and $15 children.
From the Field Station, the trail goes up and into the depths of the Tertiary Period. The first fossils of insects and mammals tell us about before the lifting of the Andes, which occurred during the Miocene.
Patagonia was an extensive savannah. The climate, warmer than today, was disturbed by frequent volcanic eruptions during this period, depositing large amounts of ashes on the ground.
"Diving" in the Tertiary
But then, another fact became in a dramatically change on the landscape: the invasion of sea water over the continent. Fossils of whales, dolphins and other marine species evidence that this area was once under the sea.
A little further up, we find a larger site of oyster fossils: why? the sea had begun to back off.
With the resurgence of the ground another geological phenomenon is observed: recent glaciations during the last 100.000 years shaped the valley and cut the geological strata allowing us to witness this fascinating story.
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The transistors in the new 65nm (a nanometer is one-billionth of a meter) technology have gates (the switch that turns a transistor on and off) measuring 35nm, approximately 30 percent smaller than the gate lengths on the previous 90nm technology. For comparison, about 100 of these gates could fit inside the diameter of a human red blood cell.
The new process technology increases the number of tiny transistors squeezed onto a single chip, giving Intel the foundation on which to deliver future multi-core processors, and to design innovative features into future products, including virtualization and security capabilities. Intel's new 65nm process technology also includes several unique power-saving and performance-enhancing features.
"Intel continues to meet the increasing challenges of scaling by innovating with new materials, processes and device structures," said Sunlin Chou, senior vice president and general manager of Intel's Technology and Manufacturing Group. "Intel's 65nm process technology has industry-leading density, performance and power reduction features that will enable future chips with increased capabilities and performance. Intel's 65nm technology is on track for delivery in 2005 to extend the benefits of Moore's Law."
In November 2003, Intel announced it used its 65nm process to build 4-megabit SRAMs. Since that time, the company has fabricated fully functional 70-megabit SRAMs on this process with a very small die area of 110 mm(2). Small SRAM cells allow for the integration of larger caches in processors, which increases performance. Each SRAM memory cell has six transistors packed into an area of 0.57 um(2). Some 10 million of these transistors could fit in one square millimeter, roughly the size of the tip of a ball point pen.
New Power-Reduction Features for 65nm Technology
According to Moore's Law, the number of transistors on a chip roughly doubles every two years, resulting in more features, increased performance and decreased cost per transistor. As transistors get smaller, increased power and heat dissipation issues develop. As a result, implementing new features, techniques and structures is imperative to continuing this progress. Intel has addressed these challenges by integrating power-saving features into its 65nm process technology. These features are critical to delivering power-efficient computing and communication products in the future.
Intel's leading strained silicon technology, first implemented in its 90nm process technology, is further enhanced in the 65nm technology. The second generation of Intel strained silicon increases transistor performance by 10 to 15 percent without increasing leakage. Conversely, these transistors can cut leakage by four times at constant performance compared to 90nm transistors. As a result, the transistors on Intel's 65nm process have improved performance without significant increase in leakage (greater electrical current leakage results in greater heat generation).
Intel's 65nm transistors have a reduced gate length of 35nm and a gate oxide thickness of 1.2nm, which combine to provide improved performance and reduced gate capacitance. The reduced gate capacitance ultimately lowers a chip's active power. The new process also integrates eight copper interconnect layers and uses a "low-k" dielectric material that increases the signal speed inside the chip and reduces chip power consumption.
Intel has also implemented "sleep transistors" in its 65nm SRAM. Sleep transistors shut off the current flow to large blocks of the SRAM when they are not being utilized, which eliminates a significant source of power consumption on a chip. This feature is especially beneficial for battery-powered devices, like laptops.
"Intel has been actively working on the power and heat dissipation challenges faced by the semiconductor industry," Chou said. "We have taken a holistic approach by developing solutions that involve systems, chips and technologies, and include innovations on our 65nm technology that go beyond simply extending prior techniques."
Intel's 65nm semiconductor devices were manufactured at the company's 300mm development fab (called D1D) in Hillsboro, Ore., where the process was developed.
More information on Intel's 65nm logic technology will be presented in a paper at the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting in San Francisco Dec. 12-15. Additional information can also be found on Intel's Silicon Showcase at http://www.intel.com/research/silicon.
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CC-MAIN-2020-29
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https://www.cdrinfo.com/d7/content/intel-drives-moores-law-forward-65-nanometer-process-technology
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| 0.932903 | 874 | 3.234375 | 3 |
Trust and communication is the key to any relationship. Building relationships with Indigenous communities requires some navigational tools. For beginners a good place to start is learning the terms of reference and current terminology being used in Canada to identify Indigenous people across this country. Even though these terms are not political correct, learning this will help you find past and present information relevant to the Indigenous narrative. Please understand that Indigenous People are very diverse; we come from many Nations. Second please unpack your privilege, any personal bias and preconceived notions you might have before you engage. Third is communication; please listen and allow the community to lead the conversation. Walking into communities with solution based attitudes can be perceived as negative before knowing the full narrative of the community.
Unfortunately learning Indigenous terminology in Canada is only chipping at the surface. There is so much more to learn about Indigenous Nations throughout North America. For instance who are First Nations, Indigenous, Métis, Inuit, Non-Status, Urban Indigenous, Native American and Multiracial Indigenous people? And where are they? Please be mindful that timelines are attached to these collective nouns colonizers and governments have used to identify Indigenous People over the past 527 years.
Just a heads up in case you wondering we don’t all live on “The Reserve.” A lot of the Indigenous populations throughout North America have migrated and transitioned to urban areas like Toronto, Winnipeg, Vancouver, San Francisco, Washington D.C, Los Angeles and many many more cities.
In the spirit of Ally-ship I want to help you with the Indigenous narrative. I want to help you engage Indigenous People and communities in an authentic way. A way of respect, relevance, reciprocity, responsibility and trust. A way we can all move in a direction together. Gitchi-Meegwetch (Greatest Thank You)!
- Cultural Lens-Strategic Planning
- Anti-Indigenous Racism
- Indigenous Diversity & Inclusion
- Ceremonial Pedagogy
- Engaging Indigenous Communities
- Community Consultations
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CC-MAIN-2020-10
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https://eddyrobinsonmsr.com/indigenous-relations-consultation/
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| 0.92809 | 419 | 3.578125 | 4 |
Almost without fail when discussions turn to the weather, media commentators or scientists will report that the particular weather phenomena they are talking about is the most extreme that has ever been observed or recorded, but the frequency of these reports (and even a basic understanding of statistics) leads to some serious questioning about the validity of these claims.
In early December, the Weather Bureau confirmed that Tasmania had its driest spring on record in 2015. In support of that claim, reference was made to the fact that weather records for Cape Bruny lighthouse and Bushy Park go back more than 140 years, and the amount of rainfall recorded in Tasmania in the spring of 2015 was the lowest ever recorded over that period. To compare current rainfall with all records for the past 140 years in making the ‘driest on record’ claim seems to be pretty reasonable and few would argue with that.
But difficulties arise in situations where a claim is made, but it is not clear what the particular climate or weather event is being compared with. Take the example of the Bureau’s Annual Climate Statement for 2015. The first few sentences of the Overview section of the statement were as follows;
2015 was Australia’s fifth-warmest year on record (national observations commence in 1910). Above average temperatures were persistent throughout the year, with several periods of record warmth. The Australian area-averaged mean temperature for 2015 was 0.83 °C above the 1961–1990 average. Maximum temperatures were 0.96 °C above average, and minimum temperatures were 0.69 °C above average; both the sixth-warmest on record respectively.
Looking at recent years more broadly, eight of Australia’s ten warmest years on record have occurred since 2002. The 10-year mean temperature for 2006–2015 was the second highest on record at 0.53 °C above average (and just behind 2005–2014). Only one year in the past ten was cooler than average: 2011.
What is obvious from a careful reading of the text is that comparisons are being made with several different baseline temperature references, one being the record dating back to 1910 when records commenced, and the second being the average of the period from 1961-1990. Leaving aside arguments about issues like which weather stations are included and the ‘heat island’ question, it certainly seems appropriate to compare current year average temperatures with the long-term record and make a statement about how the 2015 average temperature compared with those 115 years of records.
However, the very next sentence then makes a claim about how much higher the 2015 average temperature was than the average temperature recorded over the period from 1961-1990, a different reference period. And it is not clear from the text included on the accompanying map whether the temperature deciles being referenced in that map are based on 1961-1990 temperatures, or the entire temperature record.
A quick look at the plot of Australian average annual temperatures (based on data published by the BOM) reproduced below, highlights why it is important to be clear about the baseline being used in any comparison.
The graph shows that temperatures over the period from 1961-1990 were more frequently lower (the red line is a five year rolling average) than the 100+ year average, or than was the case from 1910 to 1930, or subsequent to the year 2000. This leads to suspicion that the 1961-1990 reference period is being used to make the 2015 average temperature increase sound more significant that it would be based on a comparison with the long-term average temperature record.
The BOM may well have legitimate reasons for using the 1961-1990 period as a reference period, but the fact that it not clear what reference period is being used – especially in maps and graphs or in claims about ‘highest’ or ‘driest’ years – leads to questions about the legitimacy of the claims being made. It is also evident that the media does not bother with the fine detail of what benchmark is being used for comparison data.
A little more clarity and consistency, especially when it comes to maps and graphs, might help to remove a lot of the confusion and uncertainty around this contentious issue.
This article first appeared on the Australian Farm Institute website and is reprinted here with permission from the author. To view the original article click here
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CC-MAIN-2022-40
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https://www.sheepcentral.com/driest-hottest-year-ever-or-driest-and-hottest-for-selected-records/
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| 0.962294 | 867 | 3.265625 | 3 |
Initial results of Imugen’s new investigational blood tests to screen blood donors for babesiosis were presented at the annual scientific sessions of the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB), held in Boston in October. Data from the Imugen studies were summarized at several podium presentations. Susan Stramer, PhD, current president of the AABB and the executive scientific officer of the American Red Cross, Erin Moritz, MS, PhD, of the American Red Cross, and Philip Molloy, MD, medical director of Imugen, presented some study findings. At the time of the 2012 AABB meeting, approximately 20,000 blood donors had been tested for Babesia microti parasites by nucleic acid tests and also by a new serologic test method.
Babesia organisms, which infect red blood cells, are typically transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected deer tick. The clinical presentation of babesiosis is variable. Individuals may be asymptomatic; and as blood donors, could unknowingly transmit the organism to patients by blood transfusions. Babesiosis is currently the most common infectious disease transmitted by blood in the United States.
Imugen and the American Red Cross are conducting studies on the incidence and prevalence of Babesia in blood donations and follow up studies on patients who have received blood transfusions with potentially infectious units. The efficacy of these newly developed tests is also being evaluated. The laboratory studies have focused on blood donors who reside in areas highly endemic for babesiosis (northeastern region of the U.S.), as well as blood donors from moderately endemic and traditionally non-endemic areas within the United States. Additional institutions participating in the research include the Memorial Blood Centers of Minnesota and the Rhode Island Blood Center; with data presented by Jed Gorlin, MD and Carolyn Young, MD, respectively.
As a result of this testing, 69 blood units that were potentially infectious for Babesia were removed from the blood supply.
These findings suggest that a testing protocol for identifying Babesia infected blood donors is feasible, and has the potential to remove infectious units from the blood supply and reduce the likelihood of transfusion transmitted babesiosis.
Data from these studies, which are expected to conclude in early 2013, will be utilized for an application for test licensure by the FDA.
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CC-MAIN-2014-23
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http://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/news/2012/11/imugen-presents-study-findings-for-tests-to-identify-babesia-infection-in-blood-donors.aspx
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| 0.955744 | 474 | 2.65625 | 3 |
August 23, 2022 — 12:28 PM
While indoor mold growth, in general, isn’t a commonly discussed topic in society, “toxic black mold” has made waves in the news over the years. Unfortunately, this has led to a long list of misconceptions, like that all black mold is toxic and that it’s the only type of mold to worry about at home.
It’s important to understand what “black mold” actually is, why it’s harmful, and how to identify it at home before it becomes a problem.
Over 100,000 species of mold have been identified by researchers so far, and they come in a variety of shapes and colors. Many of these species can be black in color, such as Aspergillus and Chaetomium. That being said, discussions regarding black mold typically refer specifically to a species called Stachybotrys chartarum.
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All species of mold reproduce by creating microscopic spores and releasing them into the surrounding area. Some species of mold, like Stachybotrys chartarum, also release microscopic toxins called mycotoxins when threatened, which are naturally toxic to the human body. To make matters more complicated, some species of mold (including Stachybotrys chartarum) can create multiple types of mycotoxins.
Having spores and mycotoxins in your home can harm your indoor air quality and contaminate your surfaces. And since these particles are small enough to be inhaled, ingested, and absorbed into the body, they can trigger adverse health reactions.
The tricky aspect of indoor mold growth is that everyone responds differently to exposure. Adverse health effects can vary greatly from person to person. Genetics, length of time exposed, volume of exposure, and preexisting conditions all play a role.
That being said, common symptoms include:
- Brain fog and cognitive difficulty
- Chronic fatigue
- Allergy symptoms/persistent cold
- Hormone imbalance
- Digestive issues
- Mood swings
- Headaches and/or migraines
- Muscle and/or joint pain
Signs of black mold at home.
These are four top signs that you might have black mold at home:
The first and easiest way to determine if there’s indoor mold growth is to grab a flashlight and check out hot spot areas in the home. Black mold will appear black in color, but any abnormalities could indicate contamination. Hot spot areas to check include:
- Windowsills and doorframes
- Air vents
- Underneath sinks
- Inside cabinets
- Grout and caulk
- Toilet tank
As a water-loving mold, Stachybotrys chartarum requires high levels of moisture to grow in a home. This is why you’ll always want to check water-damaged areas for signs of black mold. Visual issues to look out for include:
- Coffee-like stains on ceilings or walls
- Discolored carpeting
- Peeling, cracked, or bubbling wallpaper
- Peeling or bubbling paint
If you don’t find any visible mold, that still doesn’t mean that there isn’t a problem. The growth could be in a hidden location like the inside of a wall or underneath the flooring.
In this case, rely on your sense of smell to help determine if there’s an issue. Mold growth often creates a damp, musty, earthy odor due to the release of gases called microbial volatile organic compounds (MVOC). If you constantly smell dampness in the home, there’s a good chance that there’s contamination.
4. Unexplained chronic symptoms
Sometimes, mold growth is hidden and doesn’t create an odor. In cases like this, pay attention to your body and how you feel at home. Have you developed chronic symptoms over time that no doctor can pinpoint a root cause for? Do they flare up any time you’re hanging out at home? Never ignore chronic symptoms or accept them as the “new norm.” Instead, attempt to pinpoint what is causing your body to send out warning signals.
Home health plays a huge role in our ongoing wellness. The safer and less contaminated these spaces are, the healthier and happier our bodies will be. Like any kind of indoor mold, black mold should be avoided and prevented as much as possible. Once you notice these telltale signs of it, it’s time to spring into action and figure out your treatment plan.
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<urn:uuid:99e02226-aa45-4c7e-9c9f-48d0cc08a58a>
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CC-MAIN-2024-10
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https://dailyfitalert.com/index.php/2022/08/23/4-signs-of-black-mold-you-should-never-ignore-from-a-remediation-expert/
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s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-10/segments/1707947476397.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20240303174631-20240303204631-00060.warc.gz
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en
| 0.914229 | 967 | 2.96875 | 3 |
Exposure to air pollution in early years can exacerbate the risk of noncommunicable diseases throughout childhood and the entire life course. This study aimed to assess temperature, relative humidity (RH), carbon dioxide (CO2) and monoxide (CO), particulate matter (PM2.5, PM10), ultrafine particles, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O3), formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and volatile organic compounds (VOC) levels in the two rooms where infant twins spend more time at home (30 dwellings, Northern Portugal). Findings showed that, in general, the worst indoor environmental quality (IEQ) settings were found in bedrooms. In fact, although most of the bedrooms surveyed presented adequate comfort conditions in terms of temperature and RH, several children are sleeping in a bedroom with improper ventilation and/or with a significant degree of air pollution. In particular, mean concentrations higher than recommended limits were found for CO2, PM2.5, PM10 and total VOC. Additionally, terpenes and decamethylcyclopentasiloxane were identified as main components of emissions from indoor sources. Overall, findings revealed that factors related to behaviors of the occupants, namely related to a conscientious use of cleaning products, tobacco and other consumer products (air-fresheners, incenses/candles and insecticides) and promotion of ventilation are essential for the improvement of air quality in households and for the promotion of children's health.
Keywords: Early-life exposures; Household pollution; Indoor environmental quality; Source control.
Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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<urn:uuid:f069d5bd-808d-4b7f-9205-99b63f0cfcd0>
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CC-MAIN-2020-50
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https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33197420/
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| 0.920813 | 326 | 3.109375 | 3 |
Headless vs Composable Commerce: The Origins of Modern Commerce
When digital commerce first emerged, brands operated two separate sales streams: in-store and online. As digital grew in popularity and the role of digital experiences in people's lives matured, business models were slow to shift and digital commerce began lagging behind. This made it difficult for brands to see consumer trends coming, and even when they could, the technology supporting their digital experiences didn’t have the flexibility to capture the trends in time.
To solve this, retailers started separating their back-end services from their front-end experiences. The thinking was that if the technology stack was too rigid to serve the changing market, then separating parts of it—making it more flexible, and accessing their back-end through APIs—could fix that.
This decoupling of services from experiences is known as headless commerce. It allows brands to keep their complex commerce back-ends and build a more flexible front-end to meet changing market realities. For example, if content model constraints make writing about new products difficult, headless commerce allows for a different content management system with customizable content models to be connected to the current system, easing that pain point.
This change in architecture—a headless front-end driving digital experiences and the big, all-in-one back-end continuing to support the commercial operations—gave brands the ability to create more memorable customer experiences. With the emergence of headless, brands could update their sites with better copy and imagery or even extend their platform from websites to mobile apps. This was a leap forward for digital experiences, but alas, digital commercial models kept evolving.
Evolving commercial models: Digital commerce is happening everywhere
The biggest problem with a headless architecture built on an all-in-one platform is that it’s difficult for brands to innovate their business models. Retailers continually faced disruption from competitors with more flexibility, and as the demand for things like subscription services, same-day delivery, and buy-online-pickup-in-store (BOPIS) increased through pressure from up-start direct-to-consumer brands who weren’t tethered to traditional retail models and outdated systems, retailers on all-in-one platforms were challenged to keep pace.
How were the newcomers able to carve out inroads so easily? By using a new approach called composable commerce.
Headless commerce and composable commerce are often viewed as the same thing, but there are important distinctions between the two. Headless commerce simply means that a service that was previously coupled with an all-in-one system has been decoupled, that front- and back-ends are able to operate independently. But with composable architectures, every component is independent, and they’re brought together in a curated, best-for-me system, which means brands can choose each element of their digital services to best meet their specific business model needs.
Composable commerce components
Composable commerce is often likened to the use of LEGO® bricks. With LEGO®, you’re able to join pieces together in any configuration or pattern you’d like. Whether you want to build your own version of a diner, a dinosaur, or the Death Star, you can use a virtually infinite combination of pieces to create your vision. The only caveat is that it’s up to you to craft the most structurally sound and efficient build.
The essence of composable commerce is the idea of optimizing your commerce ecosystem through the use of discrete, API-connected modules, each targeting a specific business need.
Composable commerce operates under three guiding principles:
- Business-centric solutions, which empower you with tools to address your specific business needs.
- Modular architecture, which creates flexibility through the use of microservices.
- Open ecosystem, which provides you with useful support, guidance, and integrations for crafting your solution.
Modern commerce for modern brands
Composable commerce ultimately addresses the challenges of the modern brand, whether that means scaling in new markets, providing a more seamless customer journey across touchpoints, becoming more responsive to market changes, or improving performance. It leverages a number of powerful technologies like MACH (microservices, API-first, cloud native, and headless) to provide a truly best-for-me architecture.
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CC-MAIN-2022-33
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https://composable.com/headless-commerce-vs-composable-commerce
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| 0.93884 | 931 | 2.71875 | 3 |
A sleeping pill can temporarily revive people in a permanent vegetative state to the point where they can have conversations, a study finds.
The drug works on nerve cells in the brain
Zolpidem is usually used to treat insomnia.
South African researchers, writing in the NeuroRehabilitation, looked at the effects on three patients of using the drug for up to six years.
But one expert in neurological rehabilitation said it was possible the patients had a different condition.
A person in a vegetative state will appear to be awake and may have their eyes open, but will show no awareness of their surroundings.
They will not be able to interact with other people, and will show no responses to sounds or things that happen around them.
But they will show signs of movement, and cycles of sleep and may be able to breathe on their own.
Each of the three patients studied was given the drug every morning.
An improvement was seen within 20 minutes of taking the drug and wore off after four hours, when the patients restored to their permanent vegetative state.
Patient L had been in a vegetative state for three years, showing no response to touch and no reaction to his family.
After he was given Zolpidem, he was able to talk to them, answering simple questions.
Patient G was also able to answer simple questions and catch a basketball.
Patient N had been "constantly screaming", but stopped after being given the drug when he started watching TV and responding to his family.
Dr Ralf Clauss, now in the nuclear medicine department at the Royal Surrey Hospital was one of the researchers who carried out the study.
He told the BBC: "For every damaged area of the brain, there is a dormant area, which seems to be a sort of protective mechanism.
"The damaged tissue is dead, there's nothing you can do.
"But it's the dormant areas which 'wake up'."
He said drugs like Zolpidem activate receptors for a chemical called GABA in nerve cells in the brain.
When brain damage occurs, these receptors appear to change shape, so they cannot behave as normal.
He said the drug appeared to cause the receptors in these dormant areas to change back to their normal shape, triggering nerve cell activity.
Dr Clauss added: "We are carrying out further research. The next step is to get rid of the sleepiness effect of the drug."
Mike Barnes, professor of neurological rehabilitation at the Hunters Moor centre in Newcastle, said it was possible that the patients had not had "true" PVS.
"A diagnosis of PVS means the patient should not wake up and respond."
He said a study carried out by specialists 10 years ago had shown that up to 45% of patients diagnosed with PVS actually had a range of different conditions, from which they could wake up.
Professor Barnes added: "This drug could be unmasking a condition from which people are able to wake up temporarily.
"But if they did have PVS, it would be a remarkable finding, and certainly worth further research."
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/5008744.stm
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| 0.977179 | 636 | 2.984375 | 3 |
Anderson, B E; Neuman, M A
Members of the genus Bartonella (formerly Rochalimaea) were virtually unknown to modern-day clinicians and microbiologists until they were associated with opportunistic infections in AIDS patients about 6 years ago. Since that time, Bartonella species have been associated with cat scratch disease, bacillary angiomatosis, and a variety of other disease syndromes. Clinical presentation of infection with Bartonella ranges from a relatively mild lymphadenopathy with few other symptoms, seen in cat scratch disease, to life-threatening systemic disease in the immunocompromised patient. In some individuals, infection manifests as lesions that exhibit proliferation of endothelial cells and neovascularization, a pathogenic process unique to this genus of bacteria. As the spectrum of disease attributed to Bartonella is further defined, the need for reliable laboratory methods to diagnose infections caused by these unique organisms also increases. A brief summary of the clinical presentations associated with Bartonella infections is presented, and the current status of laboratory diagnosis and identification of these organisms is reviewed. PMID:9105751
Probert, Will; Louie, Janice K; Tucker, James R; Longoria, Rose; Hogue, Robin; Moler, Silvia; Graves, Margot; Palmer, Heather J; Cassady, Joseph; Fritz, Curtis L
We report the second human case of infection caused by an organism identified as the proposed Bartonella species, "B. washoensis." The organism was isolated from a blood sample from a patient presenting with meningitis and early sepsis. Oropsylla montana fleas were implicated as the vector for disease transmission in this case.
Clin Microbiol Rev 13:428-38 29. Breitschwerdt EB, Maggi RG, Lantos PM, Woods CW, Hegarty BC, Bradley JM. 2010. Bartonella vinsonii subsp...Robert Mozayeni B, Hegarty BC, Bradley JM, Mascarelli PE. 2010. PCR amplification of Bartonella koehlerae from human blood and enrichment blood cultures...Breitschwerdt EB, Sontakke S, Cannedy A, Hancock SI, Bradley JM. 2001. Infection with Bartonella weissii and detection of nanobacterium antigens in
Minnick, Michael F; Battisti, James M
It has been nearly two decades since the discovery of Bartonella as an agent of bacillary angiomatosis in AIDS patients and persistent bacteremia and ‘nonculturable’ endocarditis in homeless people. Since that time, the number of Bartonella species identified has increased from one to 24, and 10 of these bacteria are associated with human disease. Although Bartonella is the only genus that infects human erythrocytes and triggers pathological angiogenesis in the vascular bed, the group remains understudied compared with most other bacterial pathogens. Numerous questions regarding Bartonella's molecular pathogenesis and epidemiology remain unanswered. Virtually every mammal harbors one or more Bartonella species and their transmission typically involves a hematophagous arthropod vector. However, many details regarding epidemiology and the public health threat imposed by these animal reservoirs is unclear. A handful of studies have shown that bartonellae are highly-adapted pathogens whose parasitic strategy has evolved to cause persistent infections of the host. To this end, virulence attributes of Bartonella include the subversion of host cells with effector molecules delivered via a type IV secretion system, induction of pathological angiogenesis through various means, including inhibition of apoptosis and activation of hypoxia-inducing factor 1, use of afimbrial adhesins that are orthologs of Yersinia adhesin A, incorporation of lipopolysaccharides with low endotoxic potency in the outer membrane, and several other virulence factors that help Bartonella infect and persist in erythrocytes and endothelial cells of the host circulatory system. PMID:19659429
Mogollon-Pasapera, Elin; Otvos, Laszlo; Giordano, Antonio; Cassone, Marco
The number of known Bartonella species is rapidly growing. Some of them are responsible for distinct infectious diseases and show different prevalence and antibiotic susceptibility profiles. Not only have some vectors of Bartonella not been fully characterized, but also intermediate hosts are actually much more numerous and diverse than previously thought. Among these, dogs differ from cats because they tend to suffer an overt disease similar to humans, thus providing the base for a useful animal indicator and research model. Among the debilitating conditions with an unclear impact on the course of these infections, specific conditions (e.g., homelessness, alcoholism) have been linked to a much higher prevalence and to high risk of unfavorable outcome. Due to the limited arsenal of antibiotics effective in vivo on this peculiar intracellular pathogen, the risk/benefit balance of antibiotic therapy is sometimes difficult to draw. In this evolving picture, the recent discoveries of new species highlights the importance of basic molecular biology resources that would bring major public health benefits if available in endemic areas, and specifically in many areas of Peru and Bolivia.
Paul, Sandip; Minnick, Michael F.; Chattopadhyay, Sujay
Among all species of Bartonella, human-restricted Bartonella bacilliformis is the most virulent but harbors one of the most reduced genomes. Carrión’s disease, the infection caused by B. bacilliformis, has been afflicting poor rural populations for centuries in the high-altitude valleys of the South American Andes, where the pathogen’s distribution is probably restricted by its sand fly vector’s range. Importantly, Carrión’s disease satisfies the criteria set by the World Health Organization for a disease amenable to elimination. However, to date, there are no genome-level studies to identify potential footprints of B. bacilliformis (patho)adaptation. Our comparative genomic approach demonstrates that the evolution of this intracellular pathogen is shaped predominantly via mutation. Analysis of strains having publicly-available genomes shows high mutational divergence of core genes leading to multiple sub-species. We infer that the sub-speciation event might have happened recently where a possible adaptive divergence was accelerated by intermediate emergence of a mutator phenotype. Also, within a sub-species the pathogen shows inter-clonal adaptive evolution evidenced by non-neutral accumulation of convergent amino acid mutations. A total of 67 non-recombinant core genes (over-representing functional categories like DNA repair, glucose metabolic process, ATP-binding and ligase) were identified as candidates evolving via adaptive mutational convergence. Such convergence, both at the level of genes and their encoded functions, indicates evolution of B. bacilliformis clones along common adaptive routes, while there was little diversity within a single clone. PMID:27167125
Schröder, Gunnar; Schuelein, Ralf; Quebatte, Maxime; Dehio, Christoph
Bacterial type IV secretion systems (T4SS) mediate interbacterial conjugative DNA transfer and transkingdom protein transfer into eukaryotic host cells in bacterial pathogenesis. The sole bacterium known to naturally transfer DNA into eukaryotic host cells via a T4SS is the plant pathogen Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Here we demonstrate T4SS-mediated DNA transfer from a human bacterial pathogen into human cells. We show that the zoonotic pathogen Bartonella henselae can transfer a cryptic plasmid occurring in the bartonellae into the human endothelial cell line EA.hy926 via its T4SS VirB/VirD4. DNA transfer into EA.hy926 cells was demonstrated by using a reporter derivative of this Bartonella-specific mobilizable plasmid generated by insertion of a eukaryotic egfp-expression cassette. Fusion of the C-terminal secretion signal of the endogenous VirB/VirD4 protein substrate BepD with the plasmid-encoded DNA-transport protein Mob resulted in a 100-fold increased DNA transfer rate. Expression of the delivered egfp gene in EA.hy926 cells required cell division, suggesting that nuclear envelope breakdown may facilitate passive entry of the transferred ssDNA into the nucleus as prerequisite for complementary strand synthesis and transcription of the egfp gene. Addition of an eukaryotic neomycin phosphotransferase expression cassette to the reporter plasmid facilitated selection of stable transgenic EA.hy926 cell lines that display chromosomal integration of the transferred plasmid DNA. Our data suggest that T4SS-dependent DNA transfer into host cells may occur naturally during human infection with Bartonella and that these chronically infecting pathogens have potential for the engineering of in vivo gene-delivery vectors with applications in DNA vaccination and therapeutic gene therapy. PMID:21844337
Chang, C C; Kasten, R W; Chomel, B B; Simpson, D C; Hew, C M; Kordick, D L; Heller, R; Piemont, Y; Breitschwerdt, E B
Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii was originally isolated from a dog suffering infectious endocarditis and was recently identified as a zoonotic agent causing human endocarditis. Following the coyote bite of a child who developed clinical signs compatible with Bartonella infection in Santa Clara County, Calif., this epidemiological study was conducted. Among 109 coyotes (Canis latrans) from central coastal California, 31 animals (28%) were found to be bacteremic with B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii and 83 animals (76%) had B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii antibodies. These findings suggest these animals could be the wildlife reservoir of B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii. PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis of the gltA and 16S rRNA genes for these 31 isolates yielded similar profiles that were identical to those of B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii. Partial sequencing of the gltA and 16S rRNA genes, respectively, indicated 99.5 and 100% homology between the coyote isolate and B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii (ATCC 51672). PCR-RFLP analysis of the 16S-23S intergenic spacer region showed the existence of two different strain profiles, as has been reported in dogs. Six (19%) of 31 Bartonella bacteremic coyotes exhibited the strain profile that was identified in the type strain of a canine endocarditis case (B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii ATCC 51672). The other 25 bacteremic coyotes were infected with a strain that was similar to the strains isolated from healthy dogs. Based on whole bacterial genome analysis by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) with SmaI restriction endonuclease, there was more diversity in fingerprints for the coyote isolates, which had at least 10 major variants compared to the two variants described for domestic dog isolates from the eastern United States. By PFGE analysis, three Bartonella bacteremic coyotes were infected by a strain identical to the one isolated from three healthy dog carriers. Further studies are necessary
Hang, Jun; Clifford, Robert J.; Onmus-Leone, Fatma; Yang, Yu; Jiang, Ju; Leguia, Mariana; Kasper, Matthew R.; Maguina, Ciro; Lesho, Emil P.; Jarman, Richard G.; Richards, Allen; Blazes, David
The genus Bartonella contains >40 species, and an increasing number of these Bartonella species are being implicated in human disease. One such pathogen is Bartonella ancashensis, which was isolated in blood samples from 2 patients living in Caraz, Peru, during a clinical trial of treatment for bartonellosis. Three B. ancashensis strains were analyzed by using whole-genome restriction mapping and high-throughput pyrosequencing. Genome-wide comparative analysis of Bartonella species showed that B. ancashensis has features seen in modern and ancient lineages of Bartonella species and is more related to B. bacilliformis. The divergence between B. ancashensis and B. bacilliformis is much greater than what is seen between known Bartonella genetic lineages. In addition, B. ancashensis contains type IV secretion system proteins, which are not present in B. bacilliformis. Whole-genome analysis indicates that B. ancashensis might represent a distinct Bartonella lineage phylogenetically related to B. bacilliformis. PMID:28221130
Mullins, Kristin E.; Hang, Jun; Jiang, Ju; Leguia, Mariana; Kasper, Matthew R.; Maguiña, Ciro; Jarman, Richard G.; Blazes, David L.
A recently described clinical isolate, “Candidatus Bartonella ancashi,” was obtained from a blood sample of a patient presenting with verruga peruana in the Ancash region of Peru. This sample and a second isolate obtained 60 days later from the same patient were molecularly typed using multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and multispacer sequence typing (MST). The isolates were 100% indistinguishable from each other but phylogenetically distant from Bartonella bacilliformis and considerably divergent from other known Bartonella species, confirming their novelty. PMID:23985925
Previte, D; Olds, B P; Yoon, K; Sun, W; Muir, W; Paige, K N; Lee, S H; Clark, J; Koehler, J E; Pittendrigh, B R
Human head and body lice are obligatory hematophagous ectoparasites that belong to a single species, Pediculus humanus. Only body lice, however, are vectors of the infectious Gram-negative bacterium Bartonella quintana. Because of their near identical genomes, yet differential vector competence, head and body lice provide a unique model system to study the gain or loss of vector competence. Using our in vitro louse-rearing system, we infected head and body lice with blood containing B. quintana in order to detect both differences in the proliferation of B. quintana and transcriptional differences of immune-related genes in the lice. B. quintana proliferated rapidly in body lice at 6 days post-infection, but plateaued in head lice at 4 days post-infection. RNAseq and quantitative real-time PCR validation analyses determined gene expression differences. Eight immunoresponse genes were observed to be significantly different with many associated with the Toll pathway: Fibrinogen-like protein, Spaetzle, Defensin 1, Serpin, Scavenger receptor A and Apolipoporhrin 2. Our findings support the hypothesis that body lice, unlike head lice, fight infection from B. quintana only at the later stages of its proliferation.
Previte, D.; Olds, B. P.; Yoon, K.; Sun, W.; Muir, W.; Paige, K. N.; Lee, S. H.; Clark, J.; Koehler, J. E.; Pittendrigh, B. R.
Human head and body lice are obligatory hematophagous ectoparasites that belong to a single species, Pediculus humanus. Only body lice, however, are vectors of the infectious Gram-negative bacterium Bartonella quintana. Because of their near identical genomes, yet differential vector competence, head and body lice provide a unique model system to study the gain or loss of vector competence. Using our in vitro louse-rearing system, we infected head and body lice with blood containing B. quintana in order to detect both differences in the proliferation of B. quintana and transcriptional differences of immune-related genes in the lice. B. quintana proliferated rapidly in body lice at 6 days postinfection, but plateaued in head lice at 4 days postinfection. RNAseq and quantitative real-time PCR validation analyses determined gene expression differences. Eight immunoresponse genes were observed to be significantly different with many associated with the Toll pathway: Fibrinogen-like protein, Spaetzle, Defensin 1, Serpin, Scavenger receptor A and Apolipoporhrin 2. Our findings support the hypothesis that body lice, unlike head lice, fight infection from B. quintana only at the later stages of its proliferation. PMID:24404961
Berrich, Moez; Kieda, Claudine; Grillon, Catherine; Monteil, Martine; Lamerant, Nathalie; Gavard, Julie; Boulouis, Henri Jean; Haddad, Nadia
Bartonella henselae, a zoonotic agent, induces tumors of endothelial cells (ECs), namely bacillary angiomatosis and peliosis in immunosuppressed humans but not in cats. In vitro studies on ECs represent to date the only way to explore the interactions between Bartonella henselae and vascular endothelium. However, no comparative study of the interactions between Bartonella henselae and human (incidental host) ECs vs feline (reservoir host) ECs has been carried out because of the absence of any available feline endothelial cell lines.To this purpose, we have developed nine feline EC lines which allowed comparing the effects of Bartonella strains on human and feline micro-vascular ECs representative of the infection development sites such as skin, versus macro-vascular ECs, such as umbilical vein.Our model revealed intrinsic differences between human (Human Skin Microvascular ECs -HSkMEC and Human Umbilical Vein ECs - iHUVEC) and feline ECs susceptibility to Bartonella henselae infection.While no effect was observed on the feline ECs upon Bartonella henselae infection, the human ones displayed accelerated angiogenesis and wound healing.Noticeable differences were demonstrated between human micro- and macro-vasculature derived ECs both in terms of pseudo-tube formation and healing. Interestingly, Bartonella henselae effects on human ECs were also elicited by soluble factors.Neither Bartonella henselae-infected Human Skin Microvascular ECs clinically involved in bacillary angiomatosis, nor feline ECs increased cAMP production, as opposed to HUVEC.Bartonella henselae could stimulate the activation of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) in homologous cellular systems and trigger VEGF production by HSkMECs only, but not iHUVEC or any feline ECs tested.These results may explain the decreased pathogenic potential of Bartonella henselae infection for cats as compared to humans and strongly suggest that an autocrine secretion of VEGF by human skin
Rozental, Tatiana; Ferreira, Michelle Santos; Guterres, Alexandro; Mares-Guia, Maria Angélica; Teixeira, Bernardo R; Gonçalves, Jonathan; Bonvicino, Cibele Rodrigues; D'Andrea, Paulo Sergio; de Lemos, Elba Regina Sampaio
Zoonotic pathogens comprise a significant and increasing fraction of all emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases that plague humans. Identifying host species is one of the keys to controlling emerging infectious diseases. From March 2007 until April 2012, we collected a total of 131 wild rodents in eight municipalities of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. We investigated these rodents for infection with Coxiella burnetii, Bartonella spp. and Rickettsia spp. In total, 22.1% (29/131) of the rodents were infected by at least one pathogen; co-infection was detected in 1.5% (2/131) of rodents. Coxiella burnetii was detected in 4.6% (6/131) of the wild animals, 17.6% of the rodents harbored Bartonella spp. No cases of Rickettsia were identified. Bartonella doshiae and Bartonella vinsonii were the species found on the wild mammals. This report is the first to note C. burnetii, B. doshiae and B. vinsonii natural infections in Atlantic Forest wild rodents in Brazil. Our work highlights the potential risk of transmission to humans, since most of the infected specimens belong to generalist species that live near human dwellings.
Laroche, Maureen; Berenger, Jean-Michel; Mediannikov, Oleg; Raoult, Didier; Parola, Philippe
Background Among the Reduviidae family, triatomines are giant blood-sucking bugs. They are well known in Central and South America where they transmit Trypanosoma cruzi to mammals, including humans, through their feces. This parasitic protozoan is the causative agent of Chagas disease, a major public health issue in endemic areas. Because of the medical and economic impact of Chagas disease, the presence of other arthropod-borne pathogens in triatomines was rarely investigated. Methodology/Principal findings In this study, seven triatomines species involved in the transmission of T. cruzi were molecularly screened for the presence of known pathogens generally associated with arthropods, such as Rickettsia, Bartonella, Anaplasmataceae, Borrelia species and Coxiella burnetii. Of all included triatomine species, only Eratyrus mucronatus specimens tested positive for Bartonella species for 56% of tested samples. A new genotype of Bartonella spp. was detected in 13/23 Eratyrus mucronatus specimens, an important vector of T. cruzi to humans. This bacterium was further characterized by sequencing fragments of the ftsZ, gltA and rpoB genes. Depending on the targeted gene, this agent shares 84% to 91% of identity with B. bacilliformis, the agent of Carrion’s disease, a deadly sandfly-borne infectious disease endemic in South America. It is also closely related to animal pathogens such as B. bovis and B. chomelii. Conclusions As E. mucronatus is an invasive species that occasionally feeds on humans, the presence of potentially pathogenic Bartonella-infected bugs could present another risk for human health, along with the T. cruzi issue. PMID:28095503
Kandelaki, George; Malania, Lile; Bai, Ying; Chakvetadze, Neli; Katsitadze, Guram; Imnadze, Paata; Nelson, Christina; Harrus, Shimon
Lymphadenopathy and fever that developed in a woman in Tbilisi, Georgia, most likely were caused by a ratborne Bartonella strain related B. tribocorum and B. elizabethae. The finding suggests that this Bartonella strain could be spread by infected rats and represents a potential human risk. PMID:26889959
Fontalvo, Mariana Campos; Favacho, Alexsandra Rodrigues de Mendonça; Araujo, Andreina de Carvalho; Santos, Naylla Mayana Dos; Oliveira, Glauber Meneses Barboza de; Aguiar, Daniel Moura; Lemos, Elba Regina Sampaio de; Horta, Mauricio Claudio
This study verified the occurrence of Bartonella spp. in dogs, cats, wild mammals and their ectoparasites in Petrolina and Lagoa Grande Counties, Pernambuco, located in a semi-arid region in Northeastern Brazil. Anti-Bartonella spp. antibodies were detected by indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) in 24.8% of dogs (27/109) and in 15% of cats (6/40). Bartonella sp. DNA was identified by PCR performed on DNA extracted from blood and ectoparasites using primers targeting Bartonella sp. gltA and ribC genes in 100% (9/9) of Pulex irritans from Cerdocyon thous, 57.4% (35/61) of P. irritans from dogs, 2.3% (1/43) of Ctenocephalides felis felis from dogs, 53.3% (24/45) of C. felis felis from cats, and 10% (1/10) of Polyplax spp. from Thrichomys apereoides. DNA sequencing identified Bartonella clarridgeiae and Bartonella henselae in C. felis felis from cats, Bartonella rochalimae in P. irritans from dog and C. thous, and Bartonella vinsoni berkhofii in P. irritans from dog.
Abbot, Patrick; Aviles, Alena E; Eller, Lauren; Durden, Lance A
Coinfections within hosts present opportunities for horizontal gene transfer between strains and competitive interactions between genotypes and thus can be a critical element of the lifestyles of pathogens. Bartonella spp. are Alphaproteobacteria that parasitize mammalian erythrocytes and endothelial cells. Their vectors are thought to be various biting arthropods, such as fleas, ticks, mites, and lice, and they are commonly cited as agents of various emerging diseases. Coinfections by different Bartonella strains and species can be common in mammals, but little is known about specificity and coinfections in arthropod vectors. We surveyed the rate of mixed infections of Bartonella in flea vectors (Polygenis gwyni) parasitizing cotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus) in which previous surveys indicated high rates of infection. We found that nearly all fleas (20 of 21) harbored one or more strains of Bartonella, with rates of coinfection approaching 90%. A strain previously identified as common in cotton rats was also common in their fleas. However, another common strain in cotton rats was absent from P. gwyni, while a rare cotton rat strain was quite common in P. gwyni. Surprisingly, some samples were also coinfected with a strain phylogenetically related to Bartonella clarridgeiae, which is typically associated with felids and ruminants. Finally, a locus (pap31) that is characteristically borne on phage in Bartonella was successfully sequenced from most samples. However, sequence diversity in pap31 was novel in the P. gwyni samples, relative to other Bartonella previously typed with pap31, emphasizing the likelihood of large reservoirs of cryptic diversity in natural populations of the pathogen.
Silaghi, Cornelia; Pfeffer, Martin; Kiefer, Daniel; Kiefer, Matthias; Obiegala, Anna
Bartonellae cause zoonotic diseases and are transmitted by arthropods. Rodents are reservoirs for most Bartonella spp. As the knowledge about Bartonella in rodents and their parasitizing ectoparasites is scarce in Germany, this study's objectives were to investigate Bartonella spp. in small mammals and in their ectoparasites. A total of 79 small mammals (seven species) were captured and their ectoparasites collected at seven sites around Leipzig, Saxony, Germany, in 2010 and 2011. Altogether, 79 spleen samples, 135 fleas (five species) and 365 ticks (three species) were investigated for Bartonella spp. by PCR targeting the ITS 16S-23S rRNA region. In total, 52 (65.8 %) small mammals, 73 (54.1 %) fleas and 51 (16.3 %) ticks were positive for Bartonella spp. Most small mammals were positive for uncultured Bartonella sp. (n = 29) followed by Bartonella grahamii (n = 12), Bartonella taylorii (n = 8) and Bartonella sp. N40 (n = 3). Likewise, most fleas were positive for uncultured Bartonella sp. (n = 45) followed by B. grahamii (n = 14), B. taylorii (n = 8), B. sp. N40 (n = 5) and Bartonella elizabethae (n = 2). Most ticks were positive for B. sp. (n = 19) followed by B. grahamii (n = 10), Bartonella chomelii (n = 3), B. taylorii (n = 2) and B. sp. N40 (n = 1). This study's results suggest that rodents and fleas may be reservoirs and vectors, respectively. Zoonotic B. grahamii and B. elizabethae were found in rodents and their fleas. Therefore, humans may contract Bartonella infection by contact to wild rodents. Ticks seem of minor importance in transmitting Bartonella spp. found in fleas and rodents. However, ticks might be vectors of B. chomelii.
Ciervo, Alessandra; Petrucca, Andrea; Ciarrocchi, Simonetta; Pinto, Antonella; Bonazzi, Lucio; Fabio, Anna; Farnetti, Enrico; Chomel, Bruno B.; Ciceroni, Lorenzo
The aim of this study was to characterize a Bartonella strain (BA-1) isolated from a blood culture of an Italian, human immunodeficiency virus-positive patient with bacillary angiomatosis. We analyzed the isolate using molecular biology methods such as whole-cell fatty acid analysis, PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis, type-specific 16S rRNA PCRs, sequence analysis of the 16S rRNA, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, and arbitrarily primed PCR. The BA-1 isolate turned out to be a Bartonella quintana strain, similar but not identical to B. quintana Oklahoma, which was used as a control strain. PMID:11724882
Iralu, Jonathan; Bai, Ying; Crook, Larry; Tempest, Bruce; Simpson, Gary; McKenzie, Taylor
Serum specimens from 114 patients hospitalized with a febrile illness were tested with an indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) using Bartonella antigens prepared from 6 species of sigmodontine rodents and 3 known human Bartonella pathogens: B. henselae, B. quintana, and B. elizabethae. Acute- and convalescent-phase serum samples from 5 of these patients showed seroconversion with an IFA titer >512 to rodent-associated Bartonella antigens. The highest titer was against antigen derived from the white-throated woodrat (Neotoma albigula), although this rodent is not necessarily implicated as the source of infection. Three of the 5 who seroconverted showed no cross-reaction to the 3 Bartonella human pathogens. Common clinical characteristics were fever, chills, myalgias, leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, and transaminasemia. Although antibodies to Bartonella are cross-reactive, high-titer seroconversions to rodent-associated Bartonella antigens in adults with common clinical characteristics should stimulate the search for additional Bartonella human pathogens. PMID:16836824
Eicher, Simone C; Dehio, Christoph
The Gram-negative genus Bartonella comprises arthropod-borne pathogens that typically infect mammals in a host-specific manner. Bartonella bacilliformis and Bartonella quintana are human-specific pathogens, while several zoonotic bartonellae specific for diverse animal hosts infect humans as an incidental host. Clinical manifestations of Bartonella infections range from mild symptoms to life-threatening disease. Following transmission by blood-sucking arthropods or traumatic contact with infected animals, bartonellae display sequential tropisms towards endothelial and possibly other nucleated cells and erythrocytes, the latter in a host-specific manner. Attachment to the extracellular matrix (ECM) and to nucleated cells is mediated by surface-exposed bacterial adhesins, in particular trimeric autotransporter adhesins (TAAs). The subsequent engulfment of the pathogen into a vacuolar structure follows a unique series of events whereby the pathogen avoids the endolysosomal compartments. For Bartonella henselae and assumingly most other species, the infection process is aided at different steps by Bartonella effector proteins (Beps). They are injected into host cells through the type IV secretion system (T4SS) VirB/D4 and subvert host cellular functions to favour pathogen uptake. Bacterial binding to erythrocytes is mediated by Trw, another T4SS, in a strictly host-specific manner, followed by pathogen-forced uptake involving the IalB invasin and subsequent replication and persistence within a membrane-bound intra-erythrocytic compartment.
Morick, Danny; Krasnov, Boris R; Khokhlova, Irina S; Gottlieb, Yuval; Harrus, Shimon
Bartonella are emerging and re-emerging pathogens affecting humans and a wide variety of animals including rodents. Horizontal transmission of Bartonella species by different hematophagous vectors is well acknowledged but vertical transmission (from mother to offspring) is questionable and was never explored in fleas. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the rodent flea, Xenopsylla ramesis, can acquire native Bartonella from wild rodents and transmit it transovarially. For this aim, Bartonella-free laboratory-reared X. ramesis fleas were placed on six naturally Bartonella-infected rodents and six species-matched Bartonella-negative rodents (three Meriones crassus jirds, two Gerbillus nanus gerbils and one Gerbillus dasyurus gerbil) for 7 days, 12-14h per day. The fleas that were placed on the Bartonella-positive rodents acquired four different Bartonella genotypes. Eggs and larvae laid and developed, respectively, by fleas from both rodent groups were collected daily for 7 days and molecularly screened for Bartonella. All eggs and larvae from both groups were found to be negative for Bartonella DNA. Interestingly, two of five gut voids regurgitated by Bartonella-positive fleas contained Bartonella DNA. The naturally infected rodents remained persistently infected with Bartonella for at least 89 days suggesting their capability to serve as competent reservoirs for Bartonella species. The findings in this study indicate that X. ramesis fleas can acquire several Bartonella strains from wild rodents but cannot transmit Bartonella transovarially.
Blanco, José Ramón; Jado, Isabel; Marín, Mercedes; Sanfeliu, Isabel; Portillo, Aránzazu; Anda, Pedro; Pons, Immaculada; Oteo, José Antonio
Ehrlichia/Anaplasma, Bartonella, Rickettsia and Tropheryma whipplei (formerly called whippelii) are fastidious bacterial organisms, considered the causative agents of potentially severe emerging and re-emerging diseases with repercussions on public health. The recent availability of advanced molecular biology and cell culture techniques has led to the implication of many of these species in human pathologies. These issues are extensively covered in number 27 of the SEIMC microbiological procedure: Diagnóstico microbiológico de las infecciones por patógenos bacterianos emergentes: Anaplasma, Bartonella, Rickettsia y Tropheryma whippelii (Microbiological diagnosis of Anaplasma, Bartonella, Rickettsia and Tropheryma whippelii infections) (2nd ed., 2007) (www.seimc.org/documentos/protocolos/microbiologia/).
Bartonella henselae, the agent of cat scratch disease and the vasculoproliferative disorders bacillary angiomatosis and peliosis hepatis, contains to date two groups of described pathogenicity factors: adhesins and type IV secretion systems. Bartonella adhesin A (BadA), the Trw system and possibly filamentous hemagglutinin act as promiscous or specific adhesins, whereas the virulence locus (Vir)B/VirD4 type IV secretion system modulates a variety of host cell functions. BadA mediates bacterial adherence to endothelial cells and extracellular matrix proteins and triggers the induction of angiogenic gene programming. The VirB/VirD4 type IV secretion system is responsible for, e.g., inhibition of host cell apoptosis, bacterial persistence in erythrocytes, and endothelial sprouting. The Trw-conjugation system of Bartonella spp. mediates host-specific adherence to erythrocytes. Filamentous hemagglutinins represent additional potential pathogenicity factors which are not yet characterized. The exact molecular functions of these pathogenicity factors and their contribution to an orchestral interplay need to be analyzed to understand B. henselae pathogenicity in detail. PMID:21489243
Han, Hui-Ju; Wen, Hong-ling; Zhao, Li; Liu, Jian-wei; Luo, Li-Mei; Zhou, Chuan-Min; Qin, Xiang-Rong; Zhu, Ye-Lei; Zheng, Xue-Xing
Bartonella species are emerging human pathogens. Bats are known to carry diverse Bartonella species, some of which are capable of infecting humans. However, as the second largest mammalian group by a number of species, the role of bats as the reservoirs of Bartonella species is not fully explored, in term of their species diversity and worldwide distribution. China, especially Northern China, harbors a number of endemic insectivorous bat species; however, to our knowledge, there are not yet studies about Bartonella in bats in China. The aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence and genetic diversity of Bartonella species in bats in Northern China. Bartonella species were detected by PCR amplification of gltA gene in 25.2% (27/107) bats in Mengyin County, Shandong Province of China, including 1/3 Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, 2/10 Rhinolophus pusillus, 9/16 Myotis fimbriatus, 1/5 Myotis ricketti, 14/58 Myotis pequinius. Phylogenetic analysis showed that Bartonella species detected in bats in this study clustered into ten groups, and some might be novel Bartonella species. An association between Bartonella species and bat species was demonstrated and co-infection with different Bartonella species in a single bat was also observed. Our findings expanded our knowledge on the genetic diversity of Bartonella in bats, and shed light on the ecology of bat-borne Bartonella species. PMID:28081122
Hill, E M; Raji, A; Valenzuela, M S; Garcia, F; Hoover, R
Bartonella bacilliformis was tested for its ability to adhere to and invade tissue culture cell monolayers. The parasite was able to efficiently bind and penetrate human dermal fibroblasts, human laryngeal epithelium, and human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Exposure of the organism to immune serum prepared against a crude Bartonella extract containing cell wall and membranous material resulted in decreased ability of the parasite to invade host cells. There was also an overall reduction in the invasiveness of bartonellae and total host cell association when human laryngeal epithelial cells and human umbilical vein endothelial cells were preexposed to cytochalasin D, indicating an active involvement of host cells in the uptake of bartonellae. Transmission electron microscopy revealed the presence of bartonellae inside and outside intracellular vacuoles. These data suggest that a surface-associated factor is involved in the invasion process and that internalization of the parasite by host cells involves a microfilament-dependent process similar to phagocytosis. Images PMID:1398917
Chomel, Bruno B.; McMillan-Cole, Audrey C.; Kasten, Rickie W.; Stuckey, Matthew J.; Sato, Shingo; Maruyama, Soichi; Diniz, Pedro P. V. P.; Breitschwerdt, Edward B.
Bartonellae are emerging vector-borne pathogens infecting erythrocytes and endothelial cells of various domestic and wild mammals. Blood samples were collected from domestic and wild canids in Iraq under the United States Army zoonotic disease surveillance program. Serology was performed using an indirect immunofluorescent antibody test for B. henselae, B. clarridgeiae, B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii and B. bovis. Overall seroprevalence was 47.4% in dogs (n = 97), 40.4% in jackals (n = 57) and 12.8% in red foxes (n = 39). Bartonella species DNA was amplified from whole blood and representative strains were sequenced. DNA of a new Bartonella species similar to but distinct from B. bovis, was amplified from 37.1% of the dogs and 12.3% of the jackals. B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii was also amplified from one jackal and no Bartonella DNA was amplified from foxes. Adjusting for age, the odds of dogs being Bartonella PCR positive were 11.94 times higher than for wild canids (95% CI: 4.55–31.35), suggesting their role as reservoir for this new Bartonella species. This study reports on the prevalence of Bartonella species in domestic and wild canids of Iraq and provides the first detection of Bartonella in jackals. We propose Candidatus Bartonella merieuxii for this new Bartonella species. Most of the Bartonella species identified in sick dogs are also pathogenic for humans. Therefore, seroprevalence in Iraqi dog owners and bacteremia in Iraqi people with unexplained fever or culture negative endocarditis requires further investigation as well as in United States military personnel who were stationed in Iraq. Finally, it will also be essential to test any dog brought back from Iraq to the USA for presence of Bartonella bacteremia to prevent any accidental introduction of a new Bartonella species to the New World. PMID:23029597
Boulouis, Henri J.; Barrat, Francine; Bermond, Delphine; Bernex, Florence; Thibault, Danièle; Heller, Rémy; Fontaine, Jean-Jacques; Piémont, Yves; Chomel, Bruno B.
The kinetics of infection and the pathogenic effects on the reproductive function of laboratory mice infected with Bartonella birtlesii recovered from an Apodemus species are described. B. birtlesii infection, as determined by bacteremia, occurred in BALB/c mice inoculated intravenously. Inoculation with a low-dose inoculum (1.5 × 103 CFU) induced bacteremia in only 75% of the mice compared to all of the mice inoculated with higher doses (≥1.5 × 104). Mice became bacteremic for at least 5 weeks (range, 5 to 8 weeks) with a peak ranging from 2 × 103 to 105 CFU/ml of blood. The bacteremia level was significantly higher in virgin females than in males but the duration of bacteremia was similar. In mice infected before pregnancy (n = 20), fetal loss was evaluated by enumerating resorption and fetal death on day 18 of gestation. The fetal death and resorption percentage of infected mice was 36.3% versus 14.5% for controls (P < 0.0001). Fetal suffering was evaluated by weighing viable fetuses. The weight of viable fetuses was significantly lower for infected mice than for uninfected mice (P < 0.0002). Transplacental transmission of Bartonella was demonstrated since 76% of the fetal resorptions tested was culture positive for B. birtlesii. The histopathological analysis of the placentas of infected mice showed vascular lesions in the maternal placenta, which could explain the reproductive disorders observed. BALB/c mice appeared to be a useful model for studying Bartonella infection. This study provides the first evidence of reproductive disorders in mice experimentally infected with a Bartonella strain originating from a wild rodent. PMID:11500400
Cloning, expression, purification, crystallization and X-ray diffraction analysis of dihydrodipicolinate synthase from the human pathogenic bacterium Bartonella henselae strain Houston-1 at 2.1 Å resolution
Naqvi, Kubra F.; Staker, Bart L.; Dobson, Renwick C. J.; Serbzhinskiy, Dmitry; Sankaran, Banumathi; Myler, Peter J.; Hudson, André O.
The enzyme dihydrodipicolinate synthase catalyzes the committed step in the synthesis of diaminopimelate and lysine to facilitate peptidoglycan and protein synthesis. Dihydrodipicolinate synthase catalyzes the condensation of l-aspartate 4-semialdehyde and pyruvate to synthesize l-2,3-dihydrodipicolinate. Here, the cloning, expression, purification, crystallization and X-ray diffraction analysis of dihydrodipicolinate synthase from the pathogenic bacterium Bartonella henselae, the causative bacterium of cat-scratch disease, are presented. Protein crystals were grown in conditions consisting of 20%(w/v) PEG 4000, 100 mM sodium citrate tribasic pH 5.5 and were shown to diffract to ∼2.10 Å resolution. They belonged to space group P212121, with unit-cell parameters a = 79.96, b = 106.33, c = 136.25 Å. The final R values were R r.i.m. = 0.098, R work = 0.183, R free = 0.233. PMID:26750477
Fournier, Pierre-Edouard; Drancourt, Michel; Aboudharam, Gérard; Raoult, Didier
Studying ancient infectious diseases is a challenge, as written contemporary descriptions, when available, are often imprecise and do not allow for accurate discrimination among the pathogens endemic at that time. Paleomicrobiology offers a unique access to the history of these infections by identifying precisely the causative agents. Body louse-transmitted infections are amongst the most epidemic diseases in history, especially in war and famine periods. Of these, Bartonella quintana was detected by suicide PCR in 4000-year-old human remains, thus representing the oldest evidence to date of an arthropod-transmitted infection to human beings. This species has also been detected in human specimens from the 11th to 15th, 18th and 19th centuries. In addition, Bartonella henselae, a cat- and flea-associated pathogen, was detected in cat specimens from the 13th to 18th centuries, therefore demonstrating an association of the bacterium and its reservoir for over 800 years. Therefore, pathogenic Bartonella species have been involved in several outbreaks in the past millennia and should systematically be investigated in human remains from suspected epidemics.
Schulein, Ralf; Guye, Patrick; Rhomberg, Thomas A.; Schmid, Michael C.; Schröder, Gunnar; Vergunst, Annette C.; Carena, Ilaria; Dehio, Christoph
Bacterial type IV secretion (T4S) systems mediate the transfer of macromolecular substrates into various target cells, e.g., the conjugative transfer of DNA into bacteria or the transfer of virulence proteins into eukaryotic host cells. The T4S apparatus VirB of the vascular tumor-inducing pathogen Bartonella henselae causes subversion of human endothelial cell (HEC) function. Here we report the identification of multiple protein substrates of VirB, which, upon translocation into HEC, mediate all known VirB-dependent cellular changes. These Bartonella-translocated effector proteins (Beps) A-G are encoded together with the VirB system and the T4S coupling protein VirD4 on a Bartonella-specific pathogenicity island. The Beps display a modular architecture, suggesting an evolution by extensive domain duplication and reshuffling. The C terminus of each Bep harbors at least one copy of the Bep-intracellular delivery domain and a short positively charged tail sequence. This biparte C terminus constitutes a transfer signal that is sufficient to mediate VirB/VirD4-dependent intracellular delivery of reporter protein fusions. The Bep-intracellular delivery domain is also present in conjugative relaxases of bacterial conjugation systems. We exemplarily show that the C terminus of such a conjugative relaxase mediates protein transfer through the Bartonella henselae VirB/VirD4 system into HEC. Conjugative relaxases may thus represent the evolutionary origin of the here defined T4S signal for protein transfer into human cells. PMID:15642951
Schulein, Ralf; Guye, Patrick; Rhomberg, Thomas A; Schmid, Michael C; Schröder, Gunnar; Vergunst, Annette C; Carena, Ilaria; Dehio, Christoph
Bacterial type IV secretion (T4S) systems mediate the transfer of macromolecular substrates into various target cells, e.g., the conjugative transfer of DNA into bacteria or the transfer of virulence proteins into eukaryotic host cells. The T4S apparatus VirB of the vascular tumor-inducing pathogen Bartonella henselae causes subversion of human endothelial cell (HEC) function. Here we report the identification of multiple protein substrates of VirB, which, upon translocation into HEC, mediate all known VirB-dependent cellular changes. These Bartonella-translocated effector proteins (Beps) A-G are encoded together with the VirB system and the T4S coupling protein VirD4 on a Bartonella-specific pathogenicity island. The Beps display a modular architecture, suggesting an evolution by extensive domain duplication and reshuffling. The C terminus of each Bep harbors at least one copy of the Bep-intracellular delivery domain and a short positively charged tail sequence. This biparte C terminus constitutes a transfer signal that is sufficient to mediate VirB/VirD4-dependent intracellular delivery of reporter protein fusions. The Bep-intracellular delivery domain is also present in conjugative relaxases of bacterial conjugation systems. We exemplarily show that the C terminus of such a conjugative relaxase mediates protein transfer through the Bartonella henselae VirB/VirD4 system into HEC. Conjugative relaxases may thus represent the evolutionary origin of the here defined T4S signal for protein transfer into human cells.
Liu, Mafeng; Biville, Francis
Bartonella are hemotropic bacteria responsible for emerging zoonoses. Most Bartonella species appear to share a natural cycle that involves an arthropod transmission, followed by exploitation of a mammalian host in which they cause long-lasting intra-erythrocytic bacteremia. Persistence in erythrocytes is considered an adaptation to transmission by bloodsucking arthropod vectors and a strategy to obtain heme required for Bartonella growth. Bartonella genomes do not encode for siderophore biosynthesis or a complete iron Fe(3+) transport system. Only genes, sharing strong homology with all components of a Fe(2+) transport system, are present in Bartonella genomes. Also, Bartonella genomes encode for a complete heme transport system. Bartonella must face various environments in their hosts and vectors. In mammals, free heme and iron are rare and oxygen concentration is low. In arthropod vectors, toxic heme levels are found in the gut where oxygen concentration is high. Bartonella genomes encode for 3-5 heme-binding proteins. In Bartonella henselae heme-binding proteins were shown to be involved in heme uptake process, oxidative stress response, and survival inside endothelial cells and in the flea. In this report, we discuss the use of the heme uptake and storage system of B. henselae during its infection cycle. Also, we establish a comparison with the iron and heme uptake systems of Yersinia pestis used during its infection cycle.
Schmidgen, Thomas; Kaiser, Patrick O.; Ballhorn, Wibke; Franz, Bettina; Göttig, Stephan; Linke, Dirk
Human-pathogenic Bartonella henselae causes cat scratch disease and vasculoproliferative disorders. An important pathogenicity factor of B. henselae is the trimeric autotransporter adhesin (TAA) Bartonella adhesin A (BadA), which is modularly constructed, consisting of a head, a long and repetitive neck-stalk module, and a membrane anchor. BadA is involved in bacterial autoagglutination, binding to extracellular matrix proteins and host cells, and in proangiogenic reprogramming. The slow growth of B. henselae and limited tools for genetic manipulation are obstacles for detailed examination of BadA and its domains. Here, we established a recombinant expression system for BadA mutants in Escherichia coli allowing functional analysis of particular BadA domains. Using a BadA mutant lacking 21 neck-stalk repeats (BadA HN23), the BadA HN23 signal sequence was exchanged with that of E. coli OmpA, and the BadA membrane anchor was additionally replaced with that of Yersinia adhesin A (YadA). Constructs were cloned in E. coli, and hybrid protein expression was detected by immunoblotting, fluorescence microscopy, and flow cytometry. Functional analysis revealed that BadA hybrid proteins mediate autoagglutination and binding to collagen and endothelial cells. In vivo, expression of this BadA construct correlated with higher pathogenicity of E. coli in a Galleria mellonella infection model. PMID:24682330
Bai, Y.; Kosoy, M.Y.; Calisher, C.H.; Cully, J.F.; Collinge, S.K.
By studying Bartonella prevalence in rodent communities from 23 geographic sites in the western United States and one site in northern Mexico, the present study focused on the effects of rodent community diversity (measured by richness and Shannon index) and composition on prevalence of Bartonella infections. The analysis showed negative correlations of Bartonella prevalence with rodent richness and Shannon index. Further, Bartonella prevalence varied among rodent genera/species. Three models were applied to explain the observations. (1) Within-species/genus transmission: Bartonella strains usually are host-specific and adding non-host species would decrease Bartonella prevalence in its principal host through reduction of host contact (encounter reduction); (2) Frequency-dependence: Adding hosts would decrease the proportion of all infected individuals in the community, resulting in a reduction in the number of contacts between susceptible and infected individuals that usually leads to transmission (transmission reduction); and (3) Dominant species effect: Dominant species, if not susceptible to Bartonellae, can constrain the abundance of susceptible hosts (susceptible host regulation). These mechanisms work in concert; and the level of Bartonella prevalence is an outcome of regulation of all of these mechanisms on the entire system.
Morick, Danny; Krasnov, Boris R; Khokhlova, Irina S; Gutiérrez, Ricardo; Gottlieb, Yuval; Harrus, Shimon
Pathogens use diverse pathways to infect host populations by vertical and/or horizontal routes. Horizontal transmission of bacteria belonging to the Bartonella genus via haematophagous vectors is well known. Vertical transmission of Bartonella species was also suggested to occur but its routes remain to be unveiled. In a previous study, we showed the absence of transovarial transmission of Bartonella species OE 1-1 in Xenopsylla ramesis fleas, and that fleas feeding on Bartonella-positive jirds produced Bartonella-positive gut voids. This current study aimed to investigate whether vertical nontransovarial transmission of Bartonella occurs in fleas. For this aim, the X. ramesis-Bartonella sp. OE 1-1 model was used. Four groups of fleas including Bartonella-positive and Bartonella-negative female fleas and larval offspring had access to either Bartonella-negative or Bartonella-positive gut voids and faeces. Sixteen per cent of flea offspring that had access to Bartonella-positive faeces and gut voids became Bartonella positive. Our findings demonstrate that Bartonella-positive flea faeces and gut voids are proper infection sources for flea larvae and indicate that vertical nontransovarial transmission of bartonellae occurs in fleas. This information broadens our understanding of Bartonella transmission routes in flea vectors and enlightens pathways of bartonellae transmission and maintenance in flea populations in nature.
Billeter, Sarah A; Borchert, Jeff N; Atiku, Linda A; Mpanga, Joseph T; Gage, Kenneth L; Kosoy, Michael Y
The presence of bartonellae in invasive rats (Rattus rattus) and indigenous rodents (Arvicanthis niloticus and Cricetomys gambianus) from two districts in Uganda, Arua and Zombo, was examined by PCR detection and culture. Blood from a total of 228 R. rattus, 31 A. niloticus, and 5 C. gambianus was screened using genus-specific primers targeting the 16S-23S intergenic spacer region. Furthermore, rodent blood was plated on brain heart infusion blood agar, and isolates were verified as Bartonella species using citrate synthase gene- (gltA) specific primers. One hundred and four fleas recovered from R. rattus were also tested for the presence of Bartonella species using the same gltA primer set. An overall prevalence of 1.3% (three of 228) was obtained in R. rattus, whereas 61.3% of 31 A. niloticus and 60% of five C. gambianus were positive for the presence of Bartonella species. Genotypes related to Bartonella elizabethae, a known zoonotic pathogen, were detected in three R. rattus and one C. gambianus. Bartonella strains, similar to bacteria detected in indigenous rodents from other African countries, were isolated from the blood of A. niloticus. Bartonellae, similar to bacteria initially cultured from Ornithodorus sonrai (soft tick) from Senegal, were found in two C. gambianus. Interestingly, bartonellae detected in fleas from invasive rats were similar to bacteria identified in indigenous rodents and not their rat hosts, with an overall prevalence of 6.7%. These results suggest that if fleas are competent vectors of these bartonellae, humans residing in these two districts of Uganda are potentially at greater risk for exposure to Bartonella species from native rodents than from invasive rats. The low prevalence of bartonellae in R. rattus was quite surprising, in contrast, to the detection of these organisms in a large percentage of Rattus species from other geographical areas. A possible reason for this disparity is discussed.
Guy, Lionel; Nystedt, Björn; Toft, Christina; Zaremba-Niedzwiedzka, Katarzyna; Berglund, Eva C.; Granberg, Fredrik; Näslund, Kristina; Eriksson, Ann-Sofie; Andersson, Siv G. E.
Gene transfer agents (GTAs) randomly transfer short fragments of a bacterial genome. A novel putative GTA was recently discovered in the mouse-infecting bacterium Bartonella grahamii. Although GTAs are widespread in phylogenetically diverse bacteria, their role in evolution is largely unknown. Here, we present a comparative analysis of 16 Bartonella genomes ranging from 1.4 to 2.6 Mb in size, including six novel genomes from Bartonella isolated from a cow, two moose, two dogs, and a kangaroo. A phylogenetic tree inferred from 428 orthologous core genes indicates that the deadly human pathogen B. bacilliformis is related to the ruminant-adapted clade, rather than being the earliest diverging species in the genus as previously thought. A gene flux analysis identified 12 genes for a GTA and a phage-derived origin of replication as the most conserved innovations. These are located in a region of a few hundred kb that also contains 8 insertions of gene clusters for type III, IV, and V secretion systems, and genes for putatively secreted molecules such as cholera-like toxins. The phylogenies indicate a recent transfer of seven genes in the virB gene cluster for a type IV secretion system from a cat-adapted B. henselae to a dog-adapted B. vinsonii strain. We show that the B. henselae GTA is functional and can transfer genes in vitro. We suggest that the maintenance of the GTA is driven by selection to increase the likelihood of horizontal gene transfer and argue that this process is beneficial at the population level, by facilitating adaptive evolution of the host-adaptation systems and thereby expansion of the host range size. The process counters gene loss and forces all cells to contribute to the production of the GTA and the secreted molecules. The results advance our understanding of the role that GTAs play for the evolution of bacterial genomes. PMID:23555299
Guy, Lionel; Nystedt, Björn; Toft, Christina; Zaremba-Niedzwiedzka, Katarzyna; Berglund, Eva C; Granberg, Fredrik; Näslund, Kristina; Eriksson, Ann-Sofie; Andersson, Siv G E
Gene transfer agents (GTAs) randomly transfer short fragments of a bacterial genome. A novel putative GTA was recently discovered in the mouse-infecting bacterium Bartonella grahamii. Although GTAs are widespread in phylogenetically diverse bacteria, their role in evolution is largely unknown. Here, we present a comparative analysis of 16 Bartonella genomes ranging from 1.4 to 2.6 Mb in size, including six novel genomes from Bartonella isolated from a cow, two moose, two dogs, and a kangaroo. A phylogenetic tree inferred from 428 orthologous core genes indicates that the deadly human pathogen B. bacilliformis is related to the ruminant-adapted clade, rather than being the earliest diverging species in the genus as previously thought. A gene flux analysis identified 12 genes for a GTA and a phage-derived origin of replication as the most conserved innovations. These are located in a region of a few hundred kb that also contains 8 insertions of gene clusters for type III, IV, and V secretion systems, and genes for putatively secreted molecules such as cholera-like toxins. The phylogenies indicate a recent transfer of seven genes in the virB gene cluster for a type IV secretion system from a cat-adapted B. henselae to a dog-adapted B. vinsonii strain. We show that the B. henselae GTA is functional and can transfer genes in vitro. We suggest that the maintenance of the GTA is driven by selection to increase the likelihood of horizontal gene transfer and argue that this process is beneficial at the population level, by facilitating adaptive evolution of the host-adaptation systems and thereby expansion of the host range size. The process counters gene loss and forces all cells to contribute to the production of the GTA and the secreted molecules. The results advance our understanding of the role that GTAs play for the evolution of bacterial genomes.
Bai, Ying; Kosoy, Michael; Recuenco, Sergio; Alvarez, Danilo; Moran, David; Turmelle, Amy; Ellison, James; Garcia, Daniel L; Estevez, Alejandra; Lindblade, Kim; Rupprecht, Charles
To better understand the role of bats as reservoirs of Bartonella spp., we estimated Bartonella spp. prevalence and genetic diversity in bats in Guatemala during 2009. We found prevalence of 33% and identified 21 genetic variants of 13 phylogroups. Vampire bat-associated Bartonella spp. may cause undiagnosed illnesses in humans.
Engel, Philipp; Salzburger, Walter; Liesch, Marius; Chang, Chao-Chin; Maruyama, Soichi; Lanz, Christa; Calteau, Alexandra; Lajus, Aurélie; Médigue, Claudine; Schuster, Stephan C.; Dehio, Christoph
Adaptive radiation is the rapid origination of multiple species from a single ancestor as the result of concurrent adaptation to disparate environments. This fundamental evolutionary process is considered to be responsible for the genesis of a great portion of the diversity of life. Bacteria have evolved enormous biological diversity by exploiting an exceptional range of environments, yet diversification of bacteria via adaptive radiation has been documented in a few cases only and the underlying molecular mechanisms are largely unknown. Here we show a compelling example of adaptive radiation in pathogenic bacteria and reveal their genetic basis. Our evolutionary genomic analyses of the α-proteobacterial genus Bartonella uncover two parallel adaptive radiations within these host-restricted mammalian pathogens. We identify a horizontally-acquired protein secretion system, which has evolved to target specific bacterial effector proteins into host cells as the evolutionary key innovation triggering these parallel adaptive radiations. We show that the functional versatility and adaptive potential of the VirB type IV secretion system (T4SS), and thereby translocated Bartonella effector proteins (Beps), evolved in parallel in the two lineages prior to their radiations. Independent chromosomal fixation of the virB operon and consecutive rounds of lineage-specific bep gene duplications followed by their functional diversification characterize these parallel evolutionary trajectories. Whereas most Beps maintained their ancestral domain constitution, strikingly, a novel type of effector protein emerged convergently in both lineages. This resulted in similar arrays of host cell-targeted effector proteins in the two lineages of Bartonella as the basis of their independent radiation. The parallel molecular evolution of the VirB/Bep system displays a striking example of a key innovation involved in independent adaptive processes and the emergence of bacterial pathogens
Engel, Philipp; Salzburger, Walter; Liesch, Marius; Chang, Chao-Chin; Maruyama, Soichi; Lanz, Christa; Calteau, Alexandra; Lajus, Aurélie; Médigue, Claudine; Schuster, Stephan C; Dehio, Christoph
Adaptive radiation is the rapid origination of multiple species from a single ancestor as the result of concurrent adaptation to disparate environments. This fundamental evolutionary process is considered to be responsible for the genesis of a great portion of the diversity of life. Bacteria have evolved enormous biological diversity by exploiting an exceptional range of environments, yet diversification of bacteria via adaptive radiation has been documented in a few cases only and the underlying molecular mechanisms are largely unknown. Here we show a compelling example of adaptive radiation in pathogenic bacteria and reveal their genetic basis. Our evolutionary genomic analyses of the α-proteobacterial genus Bartonella uncover two parallel adaptive radiations within these host-restricted mammalian pathogens. We identify a horizontally-acquired protein secretion system, which has evolved to target specific bacterial effector proteins into host cells as the evolutionary key innovation triggering these parallel adaptive radiations. We show that the functional versatility and adaptive potential of the VirB type IV secretion system (T4SS), and thereby translocated Bartonella effector proteins (Beps), evolved in parallel in the two lineages prior to their radiations. Independent chromosomal fixation of the virB operon and consecutive rounds of lineage-specific bep gene duplications followed by their functional diversification characterize these parallel evolutionary trajectories. Whereas most Beps maintained their ancestral domain constitution, strikingly, a novel type of effector protein emerged convergently in both lineages. This resulted in similar arrays of host cell-targeted effector proteins in the two lineages of Bartonella as the basis of their independent radiation. The parallel molecular evolution of the VirB/Bep system displays a striking example of a key innovation involved in independent adaptive processes and the emergence of bacterial pathogens
Weidensdorfer, Marko; Chae, Ju Ik; Makobe, Celestine; Stahl, Julia; Averhoff, Beate; Müller, Volker; Schürmann, Christoph; Brandes, Ralf P; Wilharm, Gottfried; Ballhorn, Wibke; Christ, Sara; Linke, Dirk; Fischer, Doris; Göttig, Stephan; Kempf, Volkhard A J
Bacterial adherence determines the virulence of many human-pathogenic bacteria. Experimental approaches elucidating this early infection event in greater detail have been performed using mainly methods of cellular microbiology. However, in vitro infections of cell monolayers reflect the in vivo situation only partially, and animal infection models are not available for many human-pathogenic bacteria. Therefore, ex vivo infection of human organs might represent an attractive method to overcome these limitations. We infected whole human umbilical cords ex vivo with Bartonella henselae or Acinetobacter baumannii under dynamic flow conditions mimicking the in vivo infection situation of human endothelium. For this purpose, methods for quantifying endothelium-adherent wild-type and trimeric autotransporter adhesin (TAA)-deficient bacteria were set up. Data revealed that (i) A. baumannii binds in a TAA-dependent manner to endothelial cells, (ii) this organ infection model led to highly reproducible adherence rates, and furthermore, (iii) this model allowed to dissect the biological function of TAAs in the natural course of human infections. These findings indicate that infection models using ex vivo human tissue samples ("organ microbiology") might be a valuable tool in analyzing bacterial pathogenicity with the capacity to replace animal infection models at least partially.
Belkhiria, Jaber; Chomel, Bruno B; Ben Hamida, Taoufik; Kasten, Rickie W; Stuckey, Matthew J; Fleischman, Drew A; Christopher, Mary M; Boulouis, Henri-Jean; Farver, Thomas B
Bartonellae are blood-borne and vector-transmitted pathogens, some are zoonotic, which have been reported in several Mediterranean countries. Transmission from dogs to humans is suspected, but has not been clearly demonstrated. Our objectives were to determine the seroprevalence of Bartonella henselae, Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii, Bartonella clarridgeiae, and Bartonella bovis (as a proxy for Candidatus Bartonella merieuxii) in stray dogs from Tunisia, identify the Bartonella species infecting the dogs and evaluate potential risk factors for canine infection. Blood samples were collected between January and November 2013 from 149 dogs in 10 Tunisian governorates covering several climatic zones. Dog-specific and geographic variables were analyzed as potential risk factors for Bartonella spp. seropositivity and PCR-positivity. DNA was extracted from the blood of all dogs and tested by PCR for Bartonella, targeting the ftsZ and rpoB genes. Partial sequencing was performed on PCR-positive dogs. Twenty-nine dogs (19.5%, 95% confidence interval: 14-27.4) were seropositive for one or more Bartonella species, including 17 (11.4%) for B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii, 14 (9.4%) for B. henselae, 13 (8.4%) for B. clarridgeiae, and 7 (4.7%) for B. bovis. Statistical analysis revealed a few potential risk factors, mainly dog's age and breed, latitude and average winter temperature. Twenty-two (14.8%) dogs, including 8 of the 29 seropositive dogs, were PCR-positive for Bartonella based on the ftsZ gene, with 18 (81.8%) of these 22 dogs also positive for the rpoB gene. Partial sequencing showed that all PCR-positive dogs were infected with Candidatus B. merieuxii. Dogs from arid regions and regions with cold average winter temperatures were less likely to be PCR-positive than dogs from other climatic zones. The widespread presence of Bartonella spp. infection in Tunisian dogs suggests a role for stray dogs as potential reservoirs of Bartonella species in Tunisia.
Fernández-González, Adriana M; Kosoy, Michael Y; Rubio, André V; Graham, Christine B; Montenieri, John A; Osikowicz, Lynn M; Bai, Ying; Acosta-Gutiérrez, Roxana; Ávila-Flores, Rafael; Gage, Kenneth L; Suzán, Gerardo
Rodent fleas from northwestern Chihuahua, Mexico, were analyzed for the presence of Bartonella and Yersinia pestis. In total, 760 fleas belonging to 10 species were tested with multiplex polymerase chain reaction analysis targeting the gltA (338-bp) and pla genes (478-bp) of Bartonella and Y. pestis, respectively. Although none was positive for Y. pestis, 307 fleas were infected with Bartonella spp., resulting in an overall prevalence of 40.4%. A logistic regression analysis indicated that the presence of Bartonella is more likely to occur in some flea species. From a subset of Bartonella-positive fleas, phylogenetic analyses of gltA gene sequences revealed 13 genetic variants clustering in five phylogroups (I–V), two of which were matched with known pathogenic Bartonella species (Bartonella vinsonii subsp. arupensis and Bartonella washoensis) and two that were not related with any previously described species or subspecies of Bartonella. Variants in phylogroup V, which were mainly obtained from Meringis spp. fleas, were identical to those reported recently in their specific rodent hosts (Dipodomys spp.) in the same region, suggesting that kangaroo rats and their fleas harbor other Bartonella species not reported previously. Considering the Bartonella prevalence and the flea genotypes associated with known pathogenic Bartonella species, we suggest that analysis of rodent and flea communities in the region should continue for their potential implications for human health. Given that nearby locations in the United States have reported Y. pestis in wild animals and their fleas, we suggest conducting larger-scale studies to increase our knowledge of this bacterium.
Morway, Christina; Kosoy, Michael; Eisen, Rebecca; Montenieri, John; Sheff, Kelly; Reynolds, Pamela J; Powers, Nelson
Rodent-borne bartonellae have been identified as human pathogens. Little is known about Bartonella infections in woodrat hosts and their fleas and how woodrat-flea associations may affect the dynamics of Bartonella infections. We collected blood samples and fleas from two species of woodrats (Neotoma micropus and N. albigula) from Santa Fe County, NM, from 2002-2005. The most predominant flea species were Orchopeas sexdentatus and O. neotomae. Bartonella prevalence in woodrats was 64% overall, with a lower prevalence occurring in the pre-reproductive period compared to the early and late reproductive periods. A negative correlation between Bartonella prevalence in N. micropus and weight of N. micropus was observed. Flea load in Neotoma species was highest in the early reproductive period compared to the pre- and late reproductive periods and was higher in N. micropus compared to N. albigula. Bartonella prevalence in fleas was highest in the early reproductive period and lowest in the late reproductive period, and it was higher in fleas collected from N. micropus than in fleas collected from N. albigula. Abundance of O. sexdentatus was significantly higher in N. micropus compared to N. albigula, and abundance of O. sexdentatus and O. neotomae was highest in the early reproductive period. No direct correlations were found either between Bartonella prevalence in woodrats and in fleas or between Bartonella prevalence in woodrats and flea loads. Out of 25 partially characterized Bartonella isolates from Neotoma woodrats, 24 belonged to one genogroup based on sequencing of the gltA gene.
Boudebouch, N; Sarih, M; Beaucournu, J-C; Amarouch, H; Hassar, M; Raoult, D; Parola, P
A total of 554 fleas were collected in the Moroccan Casablanca and Tiznit regions from domesticated animals and ruminants between August 2007 and October 2008 and were tested for the presence of Rickettsia spp. and Bartonella spp. using molecular methods. For the first time in Morocco, we found Rickettsia felis, the agent of flea-borne spotted fever in Ctenocephalides felis; B. henselae, an agent of cat scratch disease; and Bartonella clarridgeiae, a cat pathogen and potentially a human pathogen.
Summary: Bartonella spp. are facultative intracellular pathogens that employ a unique stealth infection strategy comprising immune evasion and modulation, intimate interaction with nucleated cells, and intraerythrocytic persistence. Infections with Bartonella are ubiquitous among mammals, and many species can infect humans either as their natural host or incidentally as zoonotic pathogens. Upon inoculation into a naive host, the bartonellae first colonize a primary niche that is widely accepted to involve the manipulation of nucleated host cells, e.g., in the microvasculature. Consistently, in vitro research showed that Bartonella harbors an ample arsenal of virulence factors to modulate the response of such cells, gain entrance, and establish an intracellular niche. Subsequently, the bacteria are seeded into the bloodstream where they invade erythrocytes and give rise to a typically asymptomatic intraerythrocytic bacteremia. While this course of infection is characteristic for natural hosts, zoonotic infections or the infection of immunocompromised patients may alter the path of Bartonella and result in considerable morbidity. In this review we compile current knowledge on the molecular processes underlying both the infection strategy and pathogenesis of Bartonella and discuss their connection to the clinical presentation of human patients, which ranges from minor complaints to life-threatening disease. PMID:22232371
Nasereddin, A; Risheq, A; Harrus, S; Azmi, K; Ereqat, S; Baneth, G; Salant, H; Mumcuoglu, K Y; Abdeen, Z
Bartonellosis is an infectious bacterial disease. The prevalence and genetic characteristics of Bartonella spp. in fleas of wild and domestic animals from Palestinian territories are described. Flea samples (n=289) were collected from 121 cats, 135 dogs, 26 hyraxes and seven rats from northern (n=165), central (n=113), and southern Palestinian territories (n=11). The prevalent flea species were: Ctenocephalides felis (n=119/289; 41.2%), Ctenocephalides canis (n=159/289; 55%), and Xenopsylla sp. (n=7/289; 2.4%). Targeting the Intergenic Transcribed Spacer (ITS) locus, DNA of Bartonella was detected in 22% (64/289) of all fleas. Fifty percent of the C. felis and 57% of the Xenopsylla sp. contained Bartonella DNA. DNA sequencing showed the presence of Bartonella clarridgeiae (50%), Bartonella henselae (27%), and Bartonella koehlerae (3%) in C. felis. Xenopsylla sp. collected from Rattus rattus rats were infected with Bartonella tribocorum, Bartonella elizabethae, and Bartonella rochalimae. Phylogenetic sequence analysis using the 16S ribosomal RNA gene obtained four genetic clusters, B. henselae and B. koehlerae as subcluster 1, B. clarridgeiae as cluster 2, while the rat Bartonella species (B. tribocorum and B. elizabethae) were an outgroup cluster. These findings showed the important role of cat and rat fleas as vectors of zoonotic Bartonella species in Palestinian territories. It is hoped that this publication will raise awareness among physicians, veterinarians, and other health workers of the high prevalence of Bartonella spp. in fleas in Palestinian territories and the potential risk of these pathogens to humans and animals in this region.
Dybing, Narelle A; Jacobson, Caroline; Irwin, Peter; Algar, Dave; Adams, Peter J
Bacteria of the genus Bartonella have been described in multiple mammalian hosts with many species capable of causing disease in humans. Cats and various species of rats have been reported to play a role as vertebrate hosts to a number of Bartonella spp. This study aimed to identify Bartonella spp. in Western Australia, Dirk Hartog Island (DHI), and Christmas Island (CI) and to investigate the presence of potential arthropod vectors. Feral cats were collected from CI (n = 35), DHI (n = 23) and southwest Western Australia (swWA; n = 58), and black rats were collected from CI (n = 48). Individuals were necropsied, ectoparasites were collected by external examination of carcasses, and splenic tissue was collected for polymerase chain reaction analysis to detect Bartonella DNA. Bartonella henselae DNA was detected from two cats and Bartonella koehlerae DNA from one cat in southwest WA, but Bartonella DNA was not identified in cats on DHI or CI. Bartonella phoceensis (28/48 = 58.3%) and a novel Bartonella genotype (8/48 = 16.7%) based on the internal transcribed space region were detected in the spleens of black rats on CI. Detection of Bartonella spp. in each location corresponded to the presence of ectoparasites. Cats from southwest WA harbored four species of fleas, including Ctenocephalides felis, and black rats on CI were infested with multiple species of ectoparasites, including mites, fleas, and lice. Conversely, cats on Dirk Hartog and CI were free of ectoparasites. This study has identified the DNA of Bartonella species from island and mainland swWA with some (B. henselae and B. koehlerae) of known zoonotic importance. This study further extends the geographical range for the pathogenic B. koehlerae. The association of Bartonella with ectoparasites is unsurprising, but little is known about the specific vector competence of the ectoparasites identified in this study.
Kordick, Dorsey L.; Brown, Talmage T.; Shin, KwangOk; Breitschwerdt, Edward B.
Human Bartonella infections result in diverse medical presentations, whereas many cats appear to tolerate chronic bacteremia without obvious clinical abnormalities. Eighteen specific-pathogen-free cats were inoculated with Bartonella henselae- and/or Bartonella clarridgeiae-infected cat blood and monitored for 454 days. Relapsing bacteremia did not correlate with changes in protein profiles or differences in antigenic protein recognition. Intradermal skin testing did not induce a delayed type hypersensitivity reaction to cat scratch disease skin test antigen. Thirteen cats were euthanatized at the end of the study. Despite persistent infection, clinical signs were minimal and gross necropsy results were unremarkable. Histopathology revealed peripheral lymph node hyperplasia (in all of the 13 cats), splenic follicular hyperplasia (in 9 cats), lymphocytic cholangitis/pericholangitis (in 9 cats), lymphocytic hepatitis (in 6 cats), lymphoplasmacytic myocarditis (in 8 cats), and interstitial lymphocytic nephritis (in 4 cats). Structures suggestive of Bartonella were visualized in some Warthin-Starry stained sections, and Bartonella DNA was amplified from the lymph node (from 6 of the 13 cats), liver (from 11 cats) heart (from 8 cats), kidney (from 9 cats), lung (from 2 cats), and brain (from 9 cats). This study indicates that B. henselae or B. clarridgeiae can induce chronic infection following blood transfusion in specific-pathogen-free cats and that Bartonella DNA can be detected in blood, brain, lymph node, myocardium, liver, and kidney tissues of both blood culture-positive cats and blood culture-negative cats. Detection of histologic changes in these cats supports a potential etiologic role for Bartonella species in several idiopathic disease processes in cats. PMID:10203518
Background Bartonella tamiae, a newly described bacterial species, was isolated from the blood of three hospitalized patients in Thailand. These patients presented with headache, myalgia, anemia, and mild liver function abnormalities. Since B. tamiae was presumed to be the cause of their illness, these isolates were inoculated into immunocompetent mice to determine their relative pathogenicity in inducing manifestations of disease and pathology similar to that observed in humans. Methods Three groups of four Swiss Webster female mice aged 15-18 months were each inoculated with 106-7 colony forming units of one of three B. tamiae isolates [Th239, Th307, and Th339]. A mouse from each experimental group was sampled at 3, 4, 5 and 6 weeks post-inoculation. Two saline inoculated age-matched controls were included in the study. Samples collected at necropsy were evaluated for the presence of B. tamiae DNA, and tissues were formalin-fixed, stained with hematoxylin and eosin, and examined for histopathology. Results Following inoculation with B. tamiae, mice developed ulcerative skin lesions and subcutaneous masses on the lateral thorax, as well as axillary and inguinal lymphadenopathy. B. tamiae DNA was found in subcutaneous masses, lymph node, and liver of inoculated mice. Histopathological changes were observed in tissues of inoculated mice, and severity of lesions correlated with the isolate inoculated, with the most severe pathology induced by B. tamiae Th239. Mice inoculated with Th239 and Th339 demonstrated myocarditis, lymphadenitis with associated vascular necrosis, and granulomatous hepatitis and nephritis with associated hepatocellular and renal necrosis. Mice inoculated with Th307 developed a deep dermatitis and granulomas within the kidneys. Conclusions The three isolates of B. tamiae evaluated in this study induce disease in immunocompetent Swiss Webster mice up to 6 weeks after inoculation. The human patients from whom these isolates were obtained had
Reeves, Will K; Rogers, Thomas E; Durden, Lance A; Dasch, Gregory A
Bartonella spp. are putatively vector-borne bacterial agents of humans and animals. Fleas have been incriminated as vectors of Bartonella spp. and are suspected of transmitting Bartonella of rodents and bats, but some of these Bartonella spp. have not yet been directly detected in wild caught fleas. We report the molecular detection of Bartonella tribocorum, Bartonella vinsonii subsp. vinsonii, and two novel genotypes of Bartonella from the fleas Xenopsylla cheopis, Ctenophthalmus pseudagyrtes, Sternopsylla texanus, or Orchopeas howardi.
Saenz, Virna L; Maggi, Ricardo G; Breitschwerdt, Edward B; Kim, Jung; Vargo, Edward L; Schal, Coby
Bed bugs (Cimex lectularius L.) have resurged in the United States and globally. Bed bugs are hematophagous ectoparasites of humans and other animals, including domestic pets, chickens, and bats, and their blood feeding habits contribute to their potential as disease vectors. Several species of Bartonella are re-emergent bacterial pathogens that also affect humans, domestic pets, bats and a number of other wildlife species. Because reports of both bed bugs and Bartonella have been increasing in the U.S., and because their host ranges can overlap, we investigated whether the resurgences of these medically important pathogens and their potential vector might be linked, by screening for Bartonella spp. in bed bugs collected from geographic areas where these pathogens are prevalent and from bed bugs that have been in culture in the laboratory for several years. We screened a total of 331 bed bugs: 316 bed bugs from 36 unique collections in 29 geographic locations in 13 states, 10 bed bugs from two colonies maintained in the laboratory for 3 yr, and 5 bed bugs from a colony that has been in culture since before the recent resurgence of bed bugs. Bartonella spp. DNA was screened using a polymerase chain reaction assay targeting the 16S-23S rRNA intergenic transcribed spacer region. Bartonella DNA was not amplified from any bed bug, but five bed bugs from four different apartments of an elderly housing building in North Carolina contained DNA sequences that corresponded to Burkholderia multivorans, an important pathogen in nosocomial infections that was not previously linked to an arthropod vector.
Saenz, Virna L.; Maggi, Ricardo G.; Breitschwerdt, Edward B.; Kim, Jung; Vargo, Edward L.; Schal, Coby
Bed bugs (Cimex lectularius L.) have resurged in the United States and globally. Bed bugs are hematophagous ectoparasites of humans and other animals, including domestic pets, chickens, and bats, and their blood feeding habits contribute to their potential as disease vectors. Several species of Bartonella are re-emergent bacterial pathogens that also affect humans, domestic pets, bats and a number of other wildlife species. Because reports of both bed bugs and Bartonella have been increasing in the U.S., and because their host ranges can overlap, we investigated whether the resurgences of these medically important pathogens and their potential vector might be linked, by screening for Bartonella spp. in bed bugs collected from geographic areas where these pathogens are prevalent and from bed bugs that have been in culture in the laboratory for several years. We screened a total of 331 bed bugs: 316 bed bugs from 36 unique collections in 29 geographic locations in 13 states, 10 bed bugs from two colonies maintained in the laboratory for 3 yr, and 5 bed bugs from a colony that has been in culture since before the recent resurgence of bed bugs. Bartonella spp. DNA was screened using a polymerase chain reaction assay targeting the 16S–23S rRNA intergenic transcribed spacer region. Bartonella DNA was not amplified from any bed bug, but five bed bugs from four different apartments of an elderly housing building in North Carolina contained DNA sequences that corresponded to Burkholderia multivorans, an important pathogen in nosocomial infections that was not previously linked to an arthropod vector. PMID:24040015
Maggi, Ricardo G; Chomel, Bruno; Hegarty, Barbara C; Henn, Jennifer; Breitschwerdt, Edward B
Since the isolation of Bartonella vinsonii subspecies berkhoffii from a dog with endocarditis in 1993, this organism has emerged as an important pathogen in dogs and as an emerging pathogen in people. Current evidence indicates that coyotes, dogs and gray foxes potentially serve as reservoir hosts. Based upon sequence differences within the 16S-23S ITS region and Pap31 gene, we propose a classification scheme that divides B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii isolates into four distinct types. Two conserved sequences, of 37 and 18 bp, respectively, are differentially present within the ITS region of each of the four B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii types. To date, B. vinsonii berkhoffii types I, II, and III have been identified in the US, type III in Europe and type IV in Canada. Based upon the proposed genotyping scheme, the geographic distribution of B. vinsonii berkhoffii types needs to be more thoroughly delineated in future molecular epidemiological studies involving Bartonella infection in coyotes, dogs, gray foxes, human beings and potentially other animals or in arthropod vectors. Strain typing may help to better define the reservoir potential, carriership patterns, modes of transmission, and geographic distribution for each B. vinsonii berkhoffii type.
Duodu, Samuel; Madslien, Knut; Hjelm, Eva; Molin, Ylva; Paziewska-Harris, Anna; Harris, Philip D; Colquhoun, Duncan J; Ytrehus, Bjørnar
Infections with Bartonella spp. have been recognized as emerging zoonotic diseases in humans. Large knowledge gaps exist, however, relating to reservoirs, vectors, and transmission of these bacteria. We describe identification by culture, PCR, and housekeeping gene sequencing of Bartonella spp. in fed, wingless deer keds (Lipoptena cervi), deer ked pupae, and blood samples collected from moose, Alces alces, sampled within the deer ked distribution range in Norway. Direct sequencing from moose blood sampled in a deer ked-free area also indicated Bartonella infection but at a much lower prevalence. The sequencing data suggested the presence of mixed infections involving two species of Bartonella within the deer ked range, while moose outside the range appeared to be infected with a single species. Bartonella were not detected or cultured from unfed winged deer keds. The results may indicate that long-term bacteremia in the moose represents a reservoir of infection and that L. cervi acts as a vector for the spread of infection of Bartonella spp. Further research is needed to evaluate the role of L. cervi in the transmission of Bartonella to animals and humans and the possible pathogenicity of these bacteria for humans and animals.
Maurin, M; Raoult, D
Bartonella (formerly Rochalimaea) quintana is the etiological agent of trench fever, a disease extensively reported during the World Wars. Recent molecular biology approaches have allowed dramatic extension of the spectrum of Bartonella infections. B. quintana is now also recognized as an etiological agent of fever and bacteremia, endocarditis, bacillary angiomatosis, and chronic lymphadenopathy. Human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients and/or homeless people are the most vulnerable to infection. Poverty and louse infestation were the main epidemiological factors associated with B. quintana infections during wartime. Although poverty and chronic alcoholism have been associated with modern cases of trench fever and bacteremia due to B. quintana in Europe and the United States, vectors for B. quintana have not been clearly identified and B. quintana has not been isolated from modern-day lice. Microscopic bacillary angiomatosis lesions are characterized by tumor-like capillary lobules, with proliferating endothelial cells. In vitro experiments have shown that B. quintana survives within endothelial cells and stimulates cell proliferation. These observations, together with the finding that lesions may regress when antibiotic therapy is administered, strongly suggest that B. quintana itself stimulates angiogenesis. Bartonella infections are characterized by a high frequency of relapses after brief courses of antibiotic therapy. It is to be noted that in vitro, although Bartonella species are highly susceptible to antibiotics, only the aminoglycosides have proved to be bactericidal. However, the most effective antibiotic regimen for Bartonella infections remains to be established. PMID:8809460
Foucault, Cédric; Brouqui, Philippe; Raoult, Didier
Bartonella quintana, a pathogen that is restricted to human hosts and louse vectors, was first characterized as the agent of trench fever. The disease was described in 1915 on the basis of natural and experimental infections in soldiers. It is now recognized as a reemerging pathogen among homeless populations in cities in the United States and Europe and is responsible for a wide spectrum of conditions, including chronic bacteremia, endocarditis, and bacillary angiomatosis. Diagnosis is based on serologic analysis, culture, and molecular biology. Recent characterization of its genome allowed the development of modern diagnosis and typing methods. Guidelines for the treatment of B. quintana infections are presented.
Chomel, Bruno B; Henn, Jennifer B; Kasten, Rickie W; Nieto, Nathan C; Foley, Janet; Papageorgiou, Sophia; Allen, Claire; Koehler, Jane E
Bartonella rochalimae was first isolated from the blood of a human who traveled to Peru and was exposed to multiple insect bites. Foxes and dogs are likely natural reservoirs for this bacterium. We report the results of experimental inoculation of two dogs, five cats and six guinea pigs with the only human isolate of this new Bartonella species. Both dogs became bacteremic for 5-7 weeks, with a peak of 10(3)-10(4) colony forming units (CFU)/mL blood. Three cats had low bacteremia levels (< 200 CFU/mL) of 6-8 weeks' duration. One cat that remained seronegative had two bacterial colonies isolated at a single culture time point. A fifth cat never became bacteremic, but seroconverted. None of the guinea pigs became bacteremic, but five seroconverted. These results suggest that dogs could be a reservoir of this strain of B. rochalimae, in contrast to cats and guinea pigs.
Holmberg, M.; Mills, J. N.; McGill, S.; Benjamin, G.; Ellis, B. A.
Sylvatic small mammals were captured in rural habitats near Uppsala, Sweden, to measure the prevalence of bartonella infections, characterize bacterial isolates and identify their host range, and increase our understanding of host-pathogen ecology. During 7 nights of trapping at 3 localities, 236 small mammals were captured (trap success 30%). Bartonella were isolated from bloods of Apodemus flavicollis (19 of 110 tested), Apodemus sylvaticus (6/25), Clethrionomys glareolus (9/60), Microtus agrestis (1/3), Mus musculus (1/18), and Sorex araneus (3/20). Nucleotide sequencing (a 338 bp fragment of the gltA gene) of 40 isolates yielded 6 unique genotypes. Five of the 6 genotypes were most similar to other known bartonella isolated from Old World small-mammal hosts. The most frequent genotype (83%) was isolated from A. flavicollis and M. musculus and was identical to Bartonella grahamii, a recently demonstrated human pathogen. These two hosts were most frequently captured in and around human structures and work places, thus providing conditions that could potentially lead to frequent human infections. PMID:12613756
Molia, S; Chomel, B B; Kasten, R W; Leutenegger, C M; Steele, B R; Marker, L; Martenson, J S; Keet, D F; Bengis, R G; Peterson, R P; Munson, L; O'Brien, S J
Bartonella species are emerging pathogens that have been isolated worldwide from humans and other mammals. Our objective was to estimate the prevalence of Bartonella infection in free-ranging African lions (Panthera leo) and cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus). Blood and/or serum samples were collected from a convenience sample of 113 lions and 74 cheetahs captured in Africa between 1982 and 2002. Whole blood samples available from 58 of the lions and 17 of the cheetahs were cultured for evidence of Bartonella spp., and whole blood from 54 of the 58 lions and 73 of the 74 cheetahs tested for the presence of Bartonella DNA by TaqMan PCR. Serum samples from the 113 lions and 74 cheetahs were tested for the presence of antibodies against Bartonella henselae using an immunofluorescence assay. Three (5.2%) of the 58 lions and one (5.9%) of the 17 cheetahs were bacteremic. Two lions were infected with B. henselae, based on PCR/RFLP of the citrate synthase gene. The third lion and the cheetah were infected with previously unidentified Bartonella strains. Twenty-three percent of the 73 cheetahs and 3.7% of the 54 lions tested by TaqMan PCR were positive for Bartonella spp. B. henselae antibody prevalence was 17% (19/113) for the lions and 31% (23/74) for the cheetahs. The prevalence of seropositivity, bacteremia, and positive TaqMan PCR was not significantly different between sexes and age categories (juvenile versus adult) for both lions and cheetahs. Domestic cats are thus no longer the only known carriers of Bartonella spp. in Africa. Translocation of B. henselae seronegative and TaqMan PCR negative wild felids might be effective in limiting the spread of Bartonella infection.
Kamani, Joshua; Baneth, Gad; Mitchell, Mark; Mumcuoglu, Kosta Y; Gutiérrez, Ricardo; Harrus, Shimon
Previous and ongoing studies have incriminated bats as reservoirs of several emerging and re-emerging zoonoses. Most of these studies, however, have focused on viral agents and neglected important bacterial pathogens. To date, there has been no report investigating the prevalence of Bartonella spp. in bats and bat flies from Nigeria, despite the fact that bats are used as food and for cultural ritual purposes by some ethnic groups in Nigeria. To elucidate the role of bats as reservoirs of bartonellae, we screened by molecular methods 148 bats and 34 bat flies, Diptera:Hippoboscoidea:Nycteribiidae (Cyclopodia greeffi) from Nigeria for Bartonella spp. Overall, Bartonella spp. DNA was detected in 76 out of 148 (51.4%) bat blood samples tested and 10 out of 24 (41.7%) bat flies tested by qPCR targeting the 16S-23S internal transcribed spacer (ITS) locus. Bartonella was isolated from 23 of 148 (15.5%) bat blood samples, and the isolates were genetically characterized. Prevalence of Bartonella spp. culture-positive samples ranged from 0% to 45.5% among five bat species. Micropterus spp. bats had a significantly higher relative risk of 3.45 for being culture positive compared to Eidolon helvum, Epomophorus spp., Rhinolophus spp., and Chaerephon nigeriae. Bartonella spp. detected in this study fall into three distinct clusters along with other Bartonella spp. isolated from bats and bat flies from Kenya and Ghana, respectively. The isolation of Bartonella spp. in 10.0-45.5% of four out of five bat species screened in this study indicates a widespread infection in bat population in Nigeria. Further investigation is warranted to determine the role of these bacteria as a cause of human and animal diseases in Nigeria.
Loan, Hoang Kim; Cuong, Nguyen Van; Takhampunya, Ratree; Klangthong, Kewalin; Osikowicz, Lynn; Kiet, Bach Tuan; Campbell, James; Bryant, Juliet; Promstaporn, Sommai; Kosoy, Michael; Hoang, Nguyen Van; Morand, Serge; Chaval, Yannick; Hien, Vo Be; Carrique-Mas, Juan
A survey of Bartonella spp. from 275 rats purchased in food markets (n=150) and trapped in different ecosystems (rice field, forest, and animal farms) (n=125) was carried out during October, 2012-March, 2013, in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. The overall Bartonella spp. prevalence detected by culture and PCR in blood was 14.9% (10.7-19.1%), the highest corresponding to Rattus tanezumi (49.2%), followed by Rattus norvegicus (20.7%). Trapped rats were also investigated for the presence and type of chiggers (larvae of trombiculid mites), and Bartonella spp. were investigated on chigger pools collected from each rat by RT-PCR. A total of five Bartonella spp. were identified in rats, three of which (B. elizabethae, B. rattimassiliensis, and B. tribocorum) are known zoonotic pathogens. Among trapped rats, factors independently associated with increased prevalence of Bartonella spp. included: (1) Rat species (R. tanezumi); (2) the number of Trombiculini-Blankaartia and Schoengastiini-Ascoschoengastia mites found on rats; and (3) the habitat of the rat (i.e., forest/fields vs. animal farms). The prevalence of Bartonella infection among chiggers from Bartonella spp.-positive R. tanezumi rats was 5/25 (25%), compared with 1/27 (3.7%) among Bartonella spp.-negative R. tanezumi rats (relative risk [RR]=5.4, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.68-43.09). The finding of Bartonella spp.-positive chiggers on Bartonella spp.-negative rats is strongly suggestive of a transovarial transmission cycle. Rats are ubiquitous in areas of human activity and farms in the Mekong Delta; in addition, trapping and trading of rats for food is common. To correctly assess the human risks due to rat trapping, marketing, and carcass dressing, further studies are needed to establish the routes of transmission and cycle of infection. The widespread presence of these zoonotic pathogens in rats and the abundance of human-rat interactions suggest that surveillance efforts should be enhanced to detect any human
Ereqat, Suheir; Nasereddin, Abdelmajeed; Vayssier-Taussat, Muriel; Abdelkader, Ahmad; Al-Jawabreh, Amer; Zaid, Taher; Azmi, Kifaya; Abdeen, Ziad
Ticks play an important role in disease transmission as vectors for human and animal pathogens, including the Gram-negative pathogen Bartonella. Here, we evaluated the presence of Bartonella in ixodid ticks and domestic animals from Palestine. We tested 633 partly engorged ticks and 139 blood samples from domestic animals (dogs, sheep and camels) for Bartonella using ITS-PCR. Bartonella DNA was detected in 3.9% of the tested ticks. None of the ticks collected from sheep and goats were positive for Bartonella. Seventeen R. sanguineus ticks (17/391; 4.3%) collected from dogs were infected with B. rochalimae (n = 10), B. chomelii (n = 6), and B. koehlerae (n = 1). Four H. dromedarri ticks (4/63; 6.3%) obtained from camels were infected with B. bovis (n = 2) and B. rochalimae (n = 2). Among canine blood samples (n = 110), we found one asymptomatic female dog to be infected with B. rochalimae (0.9%). The detection of zoonotic Bartonella species in this study should raise awareness of these vector-borne diseases among physicians, veterinarians and public health workers and highlight the importance of surveillance and preventive measures in the region.
Ereqat, Suheir; Nasereddin, Abdelmajeed; Vayssier-Taussat, Muriel; Abdelkader, Ahmad; Al-Jawabreh, Amer; Zaid, Taher; Azmi, Kifaya; Abdeen, Ziad
Ticks play an important role in disease transmission as vectors for human and animal pathogens, including the Gram-negative pathogen Bartonella. Here, we evaluated the presence of Bartonella in ixodid ticks and domestic animals from Palestine. We tested 633 partly engorged ticks and 139 blood samples from domestic animals (dogs, sheep and camels) for Bartonella using ITS-PCR. Bartonella DNA was detected in 3.9% of the tested ticks. None of the ticks collected from sheep and goats were positive for Bartonella. Seventeen R. sanguineus ticks (17/391; 4.3%) collected from dogs were infected with B. rochalimae (n = 10), B. chomelii (n = 6), and B. koehlerae (n = 1). Four H. dromedarri ticks (4/63; 6.3%) obtained from camels were infected with B. bovis (n = 2) and B. rochalimae (n = 2). Among canine blood samples (n = 110), we found one asymptomatic female dog to be infected with B. rochalimae (0.9%). The detection of zoonotic Bartonella species in this study should raise awareness of these vector-borne diseases among physicians, veterinarians and public health workers and highlight the importance of surveillance and preventive measures in the region. PMID:27540374
Chiaraviglio, Lucius; Duong, Scott; Brown, Daniel A.; Birtles, Richard J.; Kirby, James E.
Bartonella are ubiquitous Gram-negative pathogens that cause chronic blood stream infections in mammals. Two species most often responsible for human infection, B. henselae and B. quintana, cause prolonged febrile illness in immunocompetent hosts, known as cat scratch disease and trench fever, respectively. Fascinatingly, in immunocompromised hosts, these organisms also induce new blood vessel formation leading to the formation of angioproliferative tumors, a disease process named bacillary angiomatosis. In addition, they cause an endothelial-lined cystic disease in the liver known as bacillary peliosis. Unfortunately, there are as yet no completely satisfying small animal models for exploring these unique human pathologies, as neither species appears able to sustain infection in small animal models. Therefore, we investigated the potential use of other Bartonella species for their ability to recapitulate human pathologies in an immunodeficient murine host. Here, we demonstrate the ability of Bartonella taylorii to cause chronic infection in SCID/BEIGE mice. In this model, Bartonella grows in extracellular aggregates, embedded within collagen matrix, similar to previous observations in cat scratch disease, bacillary peliosis, and bacillary angiomatosis. Interestingly, despite overwhelming infection later in disease, evidence for significant intracellular replication in endothelial or other cell types was not evident. We believe that this new model will provide an important new tool for investigation of Bartonella–host interaction. PMID:20395436
An investigation of Bartonella spp., Rickettsia typhi, and Seoul hantavirus in rats (Rattus spp.) from an inner-city neighborhood of Vancouver, Canada: is pathogen presence a reflection of global and local rat population structure?
Himsworth, Chelsea G; Bai, Ying; Kosoy, Michael Y; Wood, Heidi; DiBernardo, Antonia; Lindsay, Robbin; Bidulka, Julie; Tang, Patrick; Jardine, Claire; Patrick, David
Urban Norway and black rats (Rattus norvegicus and Rattus rattus) are reservoirs for variety of zoonotic pathogens. Many of these pathogens, including Rickettsia typhi, Bartonella spp., and Seoul hantavirus (SEOV), are thought to be endemic in rat populations worldwide; however, past field research has found these organisms to be absent in certain rat populations. Rats (Rattus spp.) from an inner city neighborhood of Vancouver, Canada, were tested for exposure to and/or infection with SEOV and R. typhi (using serology and PCR), as well as Bartonella spp. (using culture and sequencing). Approximately 25% of 404 rats tested were infected with Bartonella tribocorum, which demonstrated significant geographic clustering within the study area. Infection was associated with both season and sexual maturity. Seroreactivity against R. typhi and SEOV was observed in 0.36% and 1.45% of 553 rats tested, respectively, although PCR screening results for these pathogens were negative, suggesting that they are not endemic in the study population. Overall, these results suggest that the geographic distribution of rat-associated zoonoses, including R. typhi, SEOV, and Bartonella spp., is less ubiquitous than previously appreciated, and is likely dependent on patterns of dispersion and establishment of the rat reservoir host. Further study on global and local Rattus spp. population structures may help to elucidate the ecology of zoonotic organisms in these species.
Kaewmongkol, Gunn; Kaewmongkol, Sarawan; Fleming, Patricia A; Adams, Peter J; Ryan, Una; Irwin, Peter J; Fenwick, Stanley G
Bartonella are arthropod-borne, fastidious, Gram-negative, and aerobic bacilli distributed by fleas, lice, sand flies, and, possibly, ticks. The zoonotic Bartonella species, Bartonella henselae and Bartonella clarridgeiae, which are the causes of cat scratch disease and endocarditis in humans, have been reported from cats, cat fleas, and humans in Australia. However, to date, there has been no report of B. henselae or B. clarridgeiae in Australian wild animals and their ectoparasites. B. henselae and B. clarridgeiae were detected in fleas (Ctenocephalides felis) from red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), an introduced pest animal species in Australia, and only B. clarridgeiae was detected in blood from one red fox. Phylogenetic analysis of the ribosomal intergenic spacer region revealed that the B. henselae detected in the current study were related to B. henselae strain Houston-1, a major pathogenic strain in humans in Australia, and confirmed the genetic distinctness of B. clarridgeiae. The identification and characterization of Bartonella species in red foxes in the Southwest of Western Australia suggests that red foxes may act as reservoirs of infection for animals and humans in this region.
Gallegos, Belém; Martínez, Ruth; Pérez, Laura; Del Socorro Pina, María; Perez, Eduardo; Hernández, Pedro
Lectins are carbohydrate-binding proteins widely distributed in nature. They constitute a highly diverse group of proteins consisting of many different protein families that are, in general, structurally unrelated. In the last few years, mushroom and other fungal lectins have attracted wide attention due to their antitumour, antiproliferative and immunomodulatory activities. The present mini-review provides concise information about recent developments in understanding lectins from human pathogenic fungi. A bibliographic search was performed in the Science Direct and PubMed databases, using the following keywords "lectin", "fungi", "human" and "pathogenic". Lectins present in fungi have been classified; however, the role played by lectins derived from human pathogenic fungi in infectious processes remains uncertain; thus, this is a scientific field requiring more research. This manuscript is part of the series of works presented at the "V International Workshop: Molecular genetic approaches to the study of human pathogenic fungi" (Oaxaca, Mexico, 2012).
De Sousa, Rita; Edouard-Fournier, Pierre; Santos-Silva, Margarida; Amaro, Fatima; Bacellar, Fatima; Raoult, Didier
A total of 56 fleas were collected from mice, rats, and one hedgehog in national parks of mainland Portugal and the Madeira Island. All fleas were tested for the presence of bacteria of the genera Rickettsia and Bartonella using PCR assays. In fleas from mainland Portugal, we detected Rickettsia felis in one Archaeopsylla erinacei maura flea and in one Ctenophtalmus sp. In five Leptopsylla segnis fleas taken from rats in the Madeira Island, we identified Rickettsia typhi. In addition, in four fleas from the genera Ornithophaga and Stenoponia collect from mice and a rat in mainland Portugal, we detected the presence of two new Bartonella genotypes closely related to Bartonella elizabethae. Our findings emphasize the potential risk of flea-transmitted infections in mainland Portugal and the Madeira archipelago, and extend our knowledge of the potential flea vectors of human pathogens.
Cicuttin, Gabriel L; Brambati, Diego F; De Gennaro, María F; Carmona, Fernando; Isturiz, María L; Pujol, Laura E; Belerenian, Guillermo C; Gil, Horacio
In Argentina, data on the presence of members of the genus Bartonella is scarce. To increase knowledge about these zoonotic pathogens in this country, the presence and variability of Bartonella spp. was investigated in cats and dogs from Buenos Aires. Bartonella spp. was detected in 17.8% of cats, while all dogs tested negative by PCR and Reverse Line Blot. B. henselae was the most frequent species, being detected in 11.9% (14/101), while B. clarridgeiae was found in only 5.9% (6/101) of the cats. Afterwards, B. henselae isolates and positive blood samples were characterized by Multiple Locus Sequence Typing (MLST) and Multiple Locus Variable Number Tandem Repeats Analysis (MLVA). As result, four different MLST sequence types (ST) and eight MLVA profiles were identified. ST 1 was the most frequent variant found in cats, followed by ST 8. Interestingly, some of the MLVA profiles that were detected in this study have been previously associated with human disease, and represents a potential risk of infection. Veterinarians and physicians should consider the presence of these emerging pathogens in their diagnostic routine.
Tsai, Kun-Hsien; Huang, Chin-Gi; Fang, Chi-Tai; Shu, Pei-Yun; Huang, Jyh-Hsiung; Wu, Wen-Jer
Cat fleas (Ctenocephalides felis [Bouché]) are the primary ectoparasites of dog and cat populations. In this study, we report the monthly population dynamics of Rickettsia felis and Bartonella spp. (two zoonotic pathogens that can cause human disease) in cat fleas collected from dogs and cats in Taipei, Taiwan, from December 2006 to December 2007. Natural R. felis infection in individual cat fleas was assessed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using pRF-, ompB-, and gltA-specific primer pairs. Samples positive by PCR were confirmed with DNA sequencing. R. felis was detected in cat fleas year round, and the average infection rate was 21.4% (90 of 420) in 2007. Cat fleas also play an important role in the transmission of Bartonella between reservoirs and other mammalian hosts. In this study, we used primer pairs specific for the Bartonella gltA and rpoB genes to detect Bartonella infections. Of the 420 cat fleas tested, 38 were positive by PCR for Bartonella. Sequence similarities to Bartonella henselae, Bartonella clarridgeiae, and Bartonella koehlerae were observed in 6.2% (26 of 420), 2.1% (9 of 420), and 0.7% (3 of 420) of the fleas, respectively. Based on the pap31 gene sequence, several amplicons of the B. henselae detected in the cat fleas could be subgrouped into three strains: Fizz/CAL-1 (n = 18), Marseille (n = 5), and Houston-1 (n = 3). These results demonstrate that cat fleas infected with R. felis are endemic to Taiwan, and highlight the role of C. felis in Bartonella transmission between reservoirs and other mammal hosts and demonstrate the genetic variability of B. henselae in Taiwan.
Brinkerhoff, R Jory; Kabeya, Hidenori; Inoue, Kai; Bai, Ying; Maruyama, Soichi
At least 12 species in the genus Bartonella are zoonotic pathogens that may be transmitted among mammalian hosts by fleas or other arthropods. Apparent host specificity by some Bartonella species to mammalian hosts has been observed, and the detection of multiple Bartonella species in mammalian fleas suggests that fleas take bloodmeals from a variety of host species. However, many flea species are observed to parasitize a narrow host range. Therefore, we suspect that fleas may acquire Bartonella by a mechanism other than ingesting infectious blood. We found that detection of multiple Bartonella genotypes and species is apparently common in fleas and that the majority of fleas tested (5/9) carried Bartonella species atypical of their hosts. We also detected Bartonella DNA in flea reproductive tissues, suggesting that vertical transmission of this organism in vectors is possible, potentially leading to the accumulation of Bartonella diversity over time within fleas.
Toxoplasma gondii and Bartonella spp. are zoonotic pathogens of cats. Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV), and Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLv) are related to Human Iimmunodeficiency Virus, and Human Leukemia Virus, respectively, and these viruses are immunosuppressive. In the present study, the prevale...
Toxoplasma gondii and Bartonella spp. are zoonotic pathogens of cats. Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV), and Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLv) are related to Human Immunodeficiency Virus, and Human Leukemia Virus, respectively, and these viruses are immunosuppressive. In the present study, the prevalen...
Rizzo, M F; Billeter, S A; Osikowicz, L; Luna-Caipo, D V; Cáceres, A G; Kosoy, M
In the present study, we investigated 238 fleas collected from cats and dogs in three regions of Peru (Ancash, Cajamarca, and Lima) for the presence of Bartonella DNA. Bartonella spp. were detected by amplification of the citrate synthase gene (16.4%) and the 16S-23S intergenic spacer region (20.6%). Bartonella rochalimae was the most common species detected followed by Bartonella clarridgeiae and Bartonella henselae. Our results demonstrate that dogs and cats in Peru are infested with fleas harboring zoonotic Bartonella spp. and these infected fleas could pose a disease risk for humans.
Yore, K; DiGangi, B; Brewer, M; Balakrishnan, N; Breitschwerdt, E B; Lappin, M
Several Bartonella spp. associated with fleas can induce a variety of clinical syndromes in both dogs and humans. However, few studies have investigated the prevalence of Bartonella in the blood of dogs and their fleas. The objectives of this study were to determine the genera of fleas infesting shelter dogs in Florida, the prevalence of Bartonella spp. within the fleas, and the prevalence of Bartonella spp. within the blood of healthy dogs from which the fleas were collected. Fleas, serum, and EDTA-anti-coagulated whole blood were collected from 80 healthy dogs, and total DNA was extracted for PCR amplification of Bartonella spp. The genera of fleas infesting 43 of the dogs were determined phenotypically. PCR amplicons from blood and flea pools were sequenced to confirm the Bartonella species. Amplicons for which sequencing revealed homology to Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii (Bvb) underwent specific genotyping by targeting the 16S-23S intergenic spacer region. A total of 220 fleas were collected from 80 dogs and pooled by genus (43 dogs) and flea species. Bartonella spp. DNA was amplified from 14 of 80 dog blood samples (17.5%) and from 9 of 80 pooled fleas (11.3%). B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii DNA was amplified from nine dogs and five of the flea pools. Bartonella rochalimae (Br) DNA was amplified from six dogs and two flea pools. One of 14 dogs was co-infected with Bvb and Br. The dog was infested with Pulex spp. fleas containing Br DNA and a single Ctenocephalides felis flea. Of the Bvb bacteremic dogs, five and four were infected with genotypes II and I, respectively. Of the Bvb PCR positive flea pools, three were Bvb genotype II and two were Bvb genotype I. Amplification of Bvb DNA from Pulex spp. collected from domestic dogs, suggests that Pulex fleas may be a vector for dogs and a source for zoonotic transfer of this pathogen from dogs to people. The findings of this study provide evidence to support the hypothesis that flea-infested dogs may be a
Judson, S D; Frank, H K; Hadly, E A
Species in the bacterial genus, Bartonella, can cause disease in both humans and animals. Previous reports of Bartonella in bats and ectoparasitic bat flies suggest that bats could serve as mammalian hosts and bat flies as arthropod vectors. We compared the prevalence and genetic similarity of bartonellae in individual Costa Rican bats and their bat flies using molecular and sequencing methods targeting the citrate synthase gene (gltA). Bartonellae were more prevalent in bat flies than in bats, and genetic variants were sometimes, but not always, shared between bats and their bat flies. The detected bartonellae genetic variants were diverse, and some were similar to species known to cause disease in humans and other mammals. The high prevalence and sharing of bartonellae in bat flies and bats support a role for bat flies as a potential vector for Bartonella, while the genetic diversity and similarity to known species suggest that bartonellae could spill over into humans and animals sharing the landscape.
Tsai, Yi-Lun; Lin, Chao-Chen; Chomel, Bruno B; Chuang, Shih-Te; Tsai, Kun-Hsien; Wu, Wen-Jer; Huang, Chin-Gi; Yu, Jiann-Chung; Sung, Min-Hua; Kass, Philip H; Chang, Chao-Chin
Mainly through vector transmission, domestic cats and dogs are infected by several Bartonella spp. and represent a large reservoir for human infections. This study investigated the relationship of prevalences of Bartonella infection in shelter dogs and cats and various ectoparasite species infesting them (fleas, ticks, and lice). Moreover, relationships between Bartonella infection and animal gender and age and presence of ectoparasites were analyzed. Blood samples were collected from 120 dogs and 103 cats. There were 386 ticks and 36 fleas harvested on these dogs, and 141 fleas, 4 ticks, and 2 lice harvested on these cats. Isolation/detection of Bartonella sp. was performed by culture, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and partial sequencing. Bartonella was isolated from 21 (20.4%) cats and detected by PCR from 20 (19.4%) cats, 2 (1.7%) dogs, 55 (39%) fleas collected from cats, 28 (10%) ticks DNA samples, and 1 (2.8%) flea collected from dogs. When combining culture and PCR data, 27 cats and 55 fleas collected on cats were positive for Bartonella henselae or Bartonella clarridgeiae, but none were coinfected. Approximately half of the B. henselae isolates from 21 cats were B. henselae type I. Moreover, B. henselae, Bartonella phoceensis, Bartonella queenslandensis, Bartonella rattimassiliensis, Bartonella elizabethae DNA was detected in ticks collected from dogs and one flea was B. clarridgeiae PCR positive. This is the first report of such a wide variety of Bartonella spp. detected in Rhipicephalus sanguineus. Further studies are required to understand the relative importance of these ectoparasites to transmit Bartonella spp. in dogs and cats.
Type IV secretion systems (T4SSs) are transporters of Gram-negative bacteria that mediate interbacterial DNA transfer, and translocation of virulence factors into eukaryotic host cells. The α-proteobacterial genus Bartonella comprises arthropod-borne pathogens that colonize endothelial cells and erythrocytes of their mammalian reservoir hosts, thereby causing long-lasting intraerythrocytic infections. The deadly human pathogen Bartonella bacilliformis holds an isolated position in the Bartonella phylogeny as a sole representative of an ancestral lineage. All other species evolved in a separate ‘modern’ lineage by radial speciation and represent highly host-adapted pathogens of limited virulence potential. Unlike B. bacilliformis, the species of the modern lineage encode at least one of the closely related T4SSs, VirB/VirD4 or Vbh. These VirB-like T4SSs represent major host adaptability factors that contributed to the remarkable evolutionary success of the modern lineage. At the molecular level, the VirB/VirD4 T4SS was shown to translocate several effector proteins into endothelial cells that subvert cellular functions critical for establishing chronic infection. A third T4SS, Trw, is present in a sub-branch of the modern lineage. Trw does not translocate any known effectors, but produces multiple variant pilus subunits critically involved in the invasion of erythrocytes. The T4SSs laterally acquired by the bartonellae have thus adopted highly diverse functions during infection, highlighting their versatility as pathogenicity factors. PMID:18489724
Lei, Bonnie R.; Olival, Kevin J.
Background Emerging bacterial zoonoses in bats and rodents remain relatively understudied. We conduct the first comparative host–pathogen coevolutionary analyses of bacterial pathogens in these hosts, using Bartonella spp. and Leptospira spp. as a model. Methodology/Principal Findings We used published genetic data for 51 Bartonella genotypes from 24 bat species, 129 Bartonella from 38 rodents, and 26 Leptospira from 20 bats. We generated maximum likelihood and Bayesian phylogenies for hosts and bacteria, and tested for coevoutionary congruence using programs ParaFit, PACO, and Jane. Bartonella spp. and their bat hosts had a significant coevolutionary fit (ParaFitGlobal = 1.9703, P≤0.001; m2 global value = 7.3320, P≤0.0001). Bartonella spp. and rodent hosts also indicated strong overall patterns of cospeciation (ParaFitGlobal = 102.4409, P≤0.001; m2 global value = 86.532, P≤0.0001). In contrast, we were unable to reject independence of speciation events in Leptospira and bats (ParaFitGlobal = 0.0042, P = 0.84; m2 global value = 4.6310, P = 0.5629). Separate analyses of New World and Old World data subsets yielded results congruent with analysis from entire datasets. We also conducted event-based cophylogeny analyses to reconstruct likely evolutionary histories for each group of pathogens and hosts. Leptospira and bats had the greatest number of host switches per parasite (0.731), while Bartonella and rodents had the fewest (0.264). Conclusions/Significance In both bat and rodent hosts, Bartonella exhibits significant coevolution with minimal host switching, while Leptospira in bats lacks evolutionary congruence with its host and has high number of host switches. Reasons underlying these variable coevolutionary patterns in host range are likely due to differences in disease-specific transmission and host ecology. Understanding the coevolutionary patterns and frequency of host-switching events between bacterial pathogens and
Melotto, Maeli; Panchal, Shweta; Roy, Debanjana
Certain human bacterial pathogens such as the enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica are not proven to be plant pathogens yet. Nonetheless, under certain conditions they can survive on, penetrate into, and colonize internal plant tissues causing serious food borne disease outbreaks. In this review, we highlight current understanding on the molecular mechanisms of plant responses against human bacterial pathogens and discuss salient common and contrasting themes of plant interactions with phytopathogens or human pathogens. PMID:25157245
Just, F T; Gilles, J; Pradel, I; Pfalzer, S; Lengauer, H; Hellmann, K; Pfister, K
Nine hundred and fifty-two fleas were collected from 148 cats and 133 dogs at 18 widely distributed geographic locations in Germany and France and examined for the presence of six different Bartonella spp. (Bartonella bacilliformis, Bartonella clarridgeiae, Bartonella elizabethae, Bartonella henselae, Bartonella quintana, Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii) by PCR. Thirty-five specimens (3.7%) tested positive for either B. henselae (14 positive fleas) or B. clarridgeiae (21 positive fleas). DNA of other Bartonella spp. were not detected. Bartonella clarridgeiae was the dominating species in samples from France (19 out of 22 positive fleas), whereas B. henselae was more frequent in Germany (11 out of 13 positive fleas). With 3.5% (22 out of 632 fleas) in France and 4.1% (13 out of 320 fleas) in Germany, the overall prevalences of pathogen did not vary significantly between the flea populations of both countries. 5.4% of cats in France versus 16.1% of cats from Germany were infested by fleas carrying Bartonella, whereas 9.5% of dogs in France but none of the examined dogs from Germany were infested by Bartonella positive fleas. The molecular evidence of Bartonella infections reveals that agents of zoonotic potential are established in flea populations in Germany and France and that the spectrum of species can vary significantly from country to country.
Ben-Tekaya, Houchaima; Gorvel, Jean-Pierre; Dehio, Christoph
Bartonella spp. and Brucella spp. are closely related α-proteobacterial pathogens that by distinct stealth-attack strategies cause chronic infections in mammals including humans. Human infections manifest by a broad spectrum of clinical symptoms, ranging from mild to fatal disease. Both pathogens establish intracellular replication niches and subvert diverse pathways of the host’s immune system. Several virulence factors allow them to adhere to, invade, proliferate, and persist within various host-cell types. In particular, type IV secretion systems (T4SS) represent essential virulence factors that transfer effector proteins tailored to recruit host components and modulate cellular processes to the benefit of the bacterial intruders. This article puts the remarkable features of these two pathogens into perspective, highlighting the mechanisms they use to hijack signaling and trafficking pathways of the host as the basis for their stealthy infection strategies. PMID:23906880
Ben-Tekaya, Houchaima; Gorvel, Jean-Pierre; Dehio, Christoph
Bartonella spp. and Brucella spp. are closely related α-proteobacterial pathogens that by distinct stealth-attack strategies cause chronic infections in mammals including humans. Human infections manifest by a broad spectrum of clinical symptoms, ranging from mild to fatal disease. Both pathogens establish intracellular replication niches and subvert diverse pathways of the host's immune system. Several virulence factors allow them to adhere to, invade, proliferate, and persist within various host-cell types. In particular, type IV secretion systems (T4SS) represent essential virulence factors that transfer effector proteins tailored to recruit host components and modulate cellular processes to the benefit of the bacterial intruders. This article puts the remarkable features of these two pathogens into perspective, highlighting the mechanisms they use to hijack signaling and trafficking pathways of the host as the basis for their stealthy infection strategies.
Lipatova, Indre; Paulauskas, Algimantas; Puraite, Irma; Radzijevskaja, Jana; Balciauskas, Linas; Gedminas, Vaclovas
The Bartonella pathogen is an emerging zoonotic agent. Epidemiological studies worldwide have demonstrated that small mammals are reservoir hosts of Bartonella spp. and their ectoparasites are potential vectors. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of Bartonella infections in small mammals (Rodentia, Insectivora) and their ectoparasites (fleas and ticks) in Lithuania. A total of 430 small mammals representing nine species were captured with live-traps in Lithuania during 2013-2014. A total of 151 fleas representing eight species were collected from 109 (25.8%) small mammals. Five hundred and seventy ticks (Ixodes ricinus) were collected from 68 (16.1%) small mammals. Bartonella DNA was detected in 102 (23.7%) small mammals, 44 (29.1%) fleas and five (3.7%) pooled tick samples. Sequence analysis of 16S-23S rRNA ITS region showed that sequences were identical or similar to Bartonella grahamii, Bartonella taylorii and Bartonella rochalimae. This study is the first investigating the distribution and diversity of Bartonella species in small mammals and their ectoparasites in Lithuania. B. grahamii, B. taylorii, and B. rochalimae were detected in small mammals and their fleas, and B. grahamii in ticks obtained from small mammals.
Bown, Kevin J; Bennet, Malcolm; Begon, Michael
Bartonella species are increasingly associated with a range of human and animal diseases. Despite this, we have a poor understanding of the ecology and epidemiology of many species, especially those circulating in wild populations. Previous studies have demonstrated that a diverse range of Bartonella species are abundant in wild rodent populations; little is known regarding their modes of transmission, although both direct and indirect routes have been suggested. In this study, with bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) as the host species, we demonstrate that the rodent flea Ctenophthalmus nobilis is a competent vector of at least two Bartonella species, B. grahamii, which has previously been associated with human infection, and B. taylorii. In contrast, no evidence of either horizontal or vertical transmission was seen in bank voles inoculated with B. taylorii maintained in an arthropod-free environment; this finding suggests that fleas may be essential for transmitting some Bartonella species.
Bennett, Malcolm; Begon, Michael
Bartonella species are increasingly associated with a range of human and animal diseases. Despite this, we have a poor understanding of the ecology and epidemiology of many species, especially those circulating in wild populations. Previous studies have demonstrated that a diverse range of Bartonella species are abundant in wild rodent populations; little is known regarding their modes of transmission, although both direct and indirect routes have been suggested. In this study, with bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) as the host species, we demonstrate that the rodent flea Ctenophthalmus nobilis is a competent vector of at least two Bartonella species, B. grahamii, which has previously been associated with human infection, and B. taylorii. In contrast, no evidence of either horizontal or vertical transmission was seen in bank voles inoculated with B. taylorii maintained in an arthropod-free environment; this finding suggests that fleas may be essential for transmitting some Bartonella species. PMID:15200860
Stuckey, Matthew J.; Boulouis, Henri-Jean; Cliquet, Florence; Picard-Meyer, Evelyne; Servat, Alexandre; Aréchiga-Ceballos, Nidia; Echevarría, Juan E.
We detected Bartonella in 11 of 109 insectivorous bats from France and 1 of 26 bats from Spain. These genetic variants are closely related to bat-associated Bartonella described in Finland and the United Kingdom and to B. mayotimonensis, the agent of a human endocarditis case in the United States. PMID:28221109
Malania, Lile; Bai, Ying; Osikowicz, Lynn M.; Tsertsvadze, Nikoloz; Katsitadze, Guram; Imnadze, Paata; Kosoy, Michael
Bartonella infections are widespread and highly prevalent in rodents. Several rodent-associated Bartonella species have been related to human diseases. Recently, Bartonella species was reported as the etiology of a human case in the country of Georgia (Caucasus). However, information on Bartonella in rodents in Georgia is absent. Rodent hearts were collected from Georgia to investigate the presence and diversity of Bartonella species. Bartonella bacteria were cultured from 37.2% (16/43) of rodents examined, while Bartonella DNA was detected in 41.2% (28/68) of rodents by polymerase chain reaction targeting citrate synthase (gltA) gene. Sequences of gltA showed that rodents in this region harbored multiple Bartonella strains, including Bartonella elizabethae, Bartonella tribocorum, Bartonella grahamii, and an unknown genogroup. The first three Bartonella species, known to be rat-associated and human cases linked, were commonly observed in wood mice (Apodemus [Sylvaemus] uralensis) (5/8 positive with B. elizabethae and B. tribocorum) and social voles (Microtus socialis) (4/6 positive with B. grahamii and B. elizabethae) in this study. The frequent distribution of these Bartonella species suggests that they may contribute to unidentified clinical infections. The unknown genogroup was observed in 24 Bartonella isolates and/or DNA extracts from heart tissues, all of which were obtained from Libyan jirds (Meriones libycus). Further characterization of the bacterial cultures based on sequence analysis of four additional genes (ftsZ, nuoG, rpoB, and ssrA) supported that the jird-associated Bartonella strains comprise a distinct monophyletic clade. The impact of this bacterium on wildlife and human health needs to be determined. PMID:27162268
Dietrich, Muriel; Tjale, Mabotse A; Weyer, Jacqueline; Kearney, Teresa; Seamark, Ernest C J; Nel, Louis H; Monadjem, Ara; Markotter, Wanda
In addition to several emerging viruses, bats have been reported to host multiple bacteria but their zoonotic threats remain poorly understood, especially in Africa where the diversity of bats is important. Here, we investigated the presence and diversity of Bartonella and Rickettsia spp. in bats and their ectoparasites (Diptera and Siphonaptera) collected across South Africa and Swaziland. We collected 384 blood samples and 14 ectoparasites across 29 different bat species and found positive samples in four insectivorous and two frugivorous bat species, as well as their Nycteribiidae flies. Phylogenetic analyses revealed diverse Bartonella genotypes and one main group of Rickettsia, distinct from those previously reported in bats and their ectoparasites, and for some closely related to human pathogens. Our results suggest a differential pattern of host specificity depending on bat species. Bartonella spp. identified in bat flies and blood were identical supporting that bat flies may serve as vectors. Our results represent the first report of bat-borne Bartonella and Rickettsia spp. in these countries and highlight the potential role of bats as reservoirs of human bacterial pathogens.
Dietrich, Muriel; Tjale, Mabotse A.; Weyer, Jacqueline; Kearney, Teresa; Seamark, Ernest C. J.; Nel, Louis H.; Monadjem, Ara; Markotter, Wanda
In addition to several emerging viruses, bats have been reported to host multiple bacteria but their zoonotic threats remain poorly understood, especially in Africa where the diversity of bats is important. Here, we investigated the presence and diversity of Bartonella and Rickettsia spp. in bats and their ectoparasites (Diptera and Siphonaptera) collected across South Africa and Swaziland. We collected 384 blood samples and 14 ectoparasites across 29 different bat species and found positive samples in four insectivorous and two frugivorous bat species, as well as their Nycteribiidae flies. Phylogenetic analyses revealed diverse Bartonella genotypes and one main group of Rickettsia, distinct from those previously reported in bats and their ectoparasites, and for some closely related to human pathogens. Our results suggest a differential pattern of host specificity depending on bat species. Bartonella spp. identified in bat flies and blood were identical supporting that bat flies may serve as vectors. Our results represent the first report of bat-borne Bartonella and Rickettsia spp. in these countries and highlight the potential role of bats as reservoirs of human bacterial pathogens. PMID:26999518
Kerkhoff, F. T.; Bergmans, A. M. C.; van der Zee, A.; Rothova, A.
We describe the clinical and laboratory features of a 55-year-old human immunodeficiency virus-negative female patient who presented with bilateral intraocular inflammatory disease (neuroretinitis type) and behavioral changes caused by a Bartonella grahamii infection. Diagnosis was based on the PCR analysis of DNA extracted from the intraocular fluids. DNA analysis of the PCR product revealed a 100% identity with the 16S rRNA gene sequence of B. grahamii. The patient was successfully treated with doxycycline (200 mg/day) and rifampin (600 mg/day) for 4 weeks. This is the first report that demonstrates the presence of a Bartonella species in the intraocular fluids of a nonimmunocompromised patient and that indicates that B. grahamii is pathogenic for humans. PMID:10565926
Kaewmongkol, Gunn; Kaewmongkol, Sarawan; Owen, Helen; Fleming, Patricia A; Adams, Peter J; Ryan, Una; Irwin, Peter J; Fenwick, Stanley G
Bartonella are fastidious, Gram-negative, aerobic bacilli belonging to the Alphaproteobacteria group. In the last ten years, the discovery of new Bartonella species from a variety of mammalian hosts, arthropod vectors and geographical areas has increased. More than 20 species of Bartonella have been identified, of which approximately thirteen are associated with disease in humans and animals. Recently, four novel species of Bartonella were isolated from mammalian hosts in Australia: Bartonella australis from eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) and Bartonella rattaustraliani, Bartonella queenslandensis and Bartonella coopersplainsensis from rodents. Bartonella-like organisms have also been detected from Ixodes tasmani ticks collected from koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus). However, very little is known about Bartonella spp. in other marsupials in Australia. We report the identification of a novel Bartonella species detected from fleas (Acanthopsylla jordani) and ticks (Ixodes antechini) collected from a small carnivorous marsupial, Antechinus flavipes (Mardos or Yellow-footed antechinus) in the southwest of Western Australia. New nested-PCRs targeting the gltA gene and the ribosomal ITS region were developed as part of the present study. DNA sequencing of the 16S rRNA, gltA, ftsZ and rpoB genes and the ribosomal ITS region revealed that this detection is a distinct Bartonella species and is related to B. australis isolated from kangaroos. This is the first report of two different possible arthropod vectors in Australia (ticks and fleas) being infected with the same species of Bartonella. We propose the name Candidatus Bartonella antechini n. sp. for the recently characterized organism.
Brydak-Godowska, Joanna; Kopacz, Dorota; Borkowski, Piotr K; Fiecek, Beata; Hevelke, Agata; Rabczenko, Daniel; Tylewska-Wierzbanowska, Stanisława; Kęcik, Dariusz; Chmielewski, Tomasz
Bartonella species, vector-borne etiologic agents of many systemic or self-limited infections, are responsible for a widening spectrum of diseases in humans, including inflammatory conditions of the eye. The aim of this study was to determine whether there is any relationship between uveitis and the evidence of Bartonella spp. infection in the serum, ocular fluid, and cataract mass in patients with intraocular inflammation. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based tests and DNA sequencing were performed on surgery-extracted specimens of intraocular fluid and lens mass of 33 patients. Sera from 51 patients and 101 control subjects were tested for the presence of specific antibodies against Bartonella spp. Neither IgM-class antibodies against Bartonella spp. nor Bartonella spp. DNA were detected. A specific IgG-class antibody was found in 33.3% of the patients with uveitis. The rate of positive Bartonella serology was higher among the uveitis patients than that in control subjects. This high rate may in part result from unrecognized indirect mechanisms rather than the immediate presence and multiplication of Bartonella spp. in the eyeball. Nonetheless we believe that screening for Bartonella spp. should become part of the diagnostic workup in uveitis.
Kreppel, Andrew J.; Schlaudecker, Elizabeth P.
Abstract Introduction: Bartonella henselae commonly involves the mononuclear phagocyte system (MPS), and its most common presentation is lymphadenitis. Rarely, it can cause isolated osteomyelitis. We present a case of a 3 year old with constitutional symptoms and new onset of limp. Previously reported cases of osteomyelitis due to B. henselae are also reviewed here, keeping the index case in mind. Methods: We conducted a Medline search using MeSH subject headings Bartonella and osteomyelitis, limited to humans. Results: The index case is a 3-year-old female who had a subacute presentation with new-onset leg pain and fever. Subsequent imaging demonstrated osteomyelitis of the acetabulum. Multiple diagnostic attempts were unsuccessful, and the patient did not respond to empiric therapy. Despite indeterminate serology, the diagnosis of Bartonella osteomyelitis was eventually confirmed by PCR on bone biopsy of the lesion. The literature search revealed 48 publications, which were reduced to 28 when limiting articles to the English language and the pediatric population. After a report of 36 pediatric cases in 2007, there have been an additional 12 pediatric cases since 1998. Generally, these patients had a subacute presentation with relatively mild constitutional symptoms. Most commonly, bone involvement occurred as osteolytic lesions of the axial skeleton. Of the total 48 cases reported, only four reported involvement of the axial skeleton. Conclusion: We present the first case, to our knowledge, of pediatric osteomyelitis of the pelvis due to B. henselae with indeterminate serologic and positive PCR results. Bartonella osteomyelitis should be included in the differential diagnosis when typical pathogens are not identified or if the patient is slow to respond to standard therapies. The sensitivity of tissue PCR for Bartonella osteomyelitis is now better than the current gold standard of serology, and new management guidelines may need to reflect this. PMID:26273806
Marié, Jean-Lou; Fournier, Pierre-Edouard; Rolain, Jean-Marc; Briolant, Sébastien; Davoust, Bernard; Raoult, Didier
The prevalences of Bartonella spp. and Rickettsia spp. were investigated using molecular methods in 77 rodent fleas collected in November 2002 by the French forces detachment in Kabul, Afghanistan. Overall, Bartonella DNA was detected in 15.5% of gerbil fleas and 40.5% of rat fleas, whereas Rickettsia felis was found in 9% of gerbil fleas. We described for the first time in this country Bartonella quintana, B. koehlerae, B. taylorii, and Rickettsia felis in fleas from the gerbil species Meriones lybicus, and B. elizabethae and B. doshiae in rat fleas. Of these, B. quintana, B. elizabethae, B. koehlerae, and R. felis are recognized human pathogens. These results emphasize the potential risk of flea-borne infections transmitted by rodents in this area, and suggest that preventive measures should be taken in the general framework of zoonoses management.
Sato, S; Kabeya, H; Shigematsu, Y; Sentsui, H; Une, Y; Minami, M; Murata, K; Ogura, G; Maruyama, S
The prevalence and genetic properties of Bartonella species were investigated in small Indian mongooses and masked palm civets in Japan. Bartonella henselae, the causative agent of cat-scratch disease (CSD) was isolated from 15.9% (10/63) of the mongooses and 2.0% (1/50) of the masked palm civets, respectively. The bacteraemic level ranged from 3.0 × 10(1) to 8.9 × 10(3) CFU/mL in mongooses and was 7.0 × 10(3) CFU/mL in the masked palm civet. Multispacer typing (MST) analysis based on nine intergenic spacers resulted in the detection of five MST genotypes (MSTs 8, 14, 37, 58 and 59) for the isolates, which grouped in lineage 1 with MST genotypes of isolates from all CSD patients and most of the cats in Japan. It was also found that MST14 from the mongoose strains was the predominant genotype of cat and human strains. This is the first report on the isolation of B. henselae from small Indian mongooses and masked palm civets. The data obtained in the present study suggest that these animals serve as new reservoirs for B. henselae, and may play a role as potential sources of human infection.
Abromaitis, Stephanie; Nelson, Christopher S; Previte, Domenic; Yoon, Kyong S; Clark, J Marshall; DeRisi, Joseph L; Koehler, Jane E
The bacterial pathogen Bartonella quintana is passed between humans by body lice. B. quintana has adapted to both the human host and body louse vector niches, producing persistent infection with high titer bacterial loads in both the host (up to 10(5) colony-forming units [CFU]/ml) and vector (more than 10(8) CFU/ml). Using a novel custom microarray platform, we analyzed bacterial transcription at temperatures corresponding to the host (37°C) and vector (28°C), to probe for temperature-specific and growth phase-specific transcriptomes. We observed that transcription of 7% (93 genes) of the B. quintana genome is modified in response to change in growth phase, and that 5% (68 genes) of the genome is temperature-responsive. Among these transcriptional changes in response to temperature shift and growth phase was the induction of known B. quintana virulence genes and several previously unannotated genes. Hemin binding proteins, secretion systems, response regulators, and genes for invasion and cell attachment were prominent among the differentially-regulated B. quintana genes. This study represents the first analysis of global transcriptional responses by B. quintana. In addition, the in vivo experiments provide novel insight into the B. quintana transcriptional program within the body louse environment. These data and approaches will facilitate study of the adaptation mechanisms employed by Bartonella during the transition between human host and arthropod vector.
Matera, G.; Liberto, M.C.; Pollio, A.; Diana, R.; Martucci, M.; Parlato, G.; Gulletta, E.; Foca', A.
Bartonella quintana has been reported as the cause of trench fever, persistent endocarditis, bacteriaemia and has been isolated with an increasing incidence in clinical specimens from AIDS patients. One of the main pathogenic factors of gram-negative bacteria, including B. quintana, is the lipopolysaccharide (LPS). However, very little information is available on the features of Bartonella LPS. The aim of the present study was to extract, purify and characterise B. quintana LPS. The effect of the LPS under scrutiny was also evaluated on TNFa release by means of the "in vitro" human whole blood model of sepsis. The Oklahoma strain of B. quintana was grown on sheep blood agar, at 37 C, in a moist atmosphere containing 5% carbon dioxide. Cells were harvested and washed in sterile and apyrogenic saline solution and LPS extracted following the procedure of Westphal e Jann (1965), modified by Minnick (1994). The LPS of B. quintana showed the migration pattern of a deep rough chemotype, and the chromogenic limulus amoebocyte lysate test (LAL test) revealed strong reactivity at low concentrations (6.2 pg/ml). Samples of human whole blood stimulated by 1000 ng/ml of B. quintana LPS released 1707 378 pg/ml of TNFa.
Harms, Alexander; Segers, Francisca H I D; Quebatte, Maxime; Mistl, Claudia; Manfredi, Pablo; Körner, Jonas; Chomel, Bruno B; Kosoy, Michael; Maruyama, Soichi; Engel, Philipp; Dehio, Christoph
The α-proteobacterial genus Bartonella comprises a group of ubiquitous mammalian pathogens that are studied as a model for the evolution of bacterial pathogenesis. Vast abundance of two particular phylogenetic lineages of Bartonella had been linked to enhanced host adaptability enabled by lineage-specific acquisition of a VirB/D4 type IV secretion system (T4SS) and parallel evolution of complex effector repertoires. However, the limited availability of genome sequences from one of those lineages as well as other, remote branches of Bartonella has so far hampered comprehensive understanding of how the VirB/D4 T4SS and its effectors called Beps have shaped Bartonella evolution. Here, we report the discovery of a third repertoire of Beps associated with the VirB/D4 T4SS of B. ancashensis, a novel human pathogen that lacks any signs of host adaptability and is only distantly related to the two species-rich lineages encoding a VirB/D4 T4SS. Furthermore, sequencing of ten new Bartonella isolates from under-sampled lineages enabled combined in silico analyses and wet lab experiments that suggest several parallel layers of functional diversification during evolution of the three Bep repertoires from a single ancestral effector. Our analyses show that the Beps of B. ancashensis share many features with the two other repertoires, but may represent a more ancestral state that has not yet unleashed the adaptive potential of such an effector set. We anticipate that the effectors of B. ancashensis will enable future studies to dissect the evolutionary history of Bartonella effectors and help unraveling the evolutionary forces underlying bacterial host adaptation.
Harms, Alexander; Segers, Francisca H.I.D.; Quebatte, Maxime; Mistl, Claudia; Manfredi, Pablo; Körner, Jonas; Chomel, Bruno B.; Kosoy, Michael; Maruyama, Soichi; Engel, Philipp
The α-proteobacterial genus Bartonella comprises a group of ubiquitous mammalian pathogens that are studied as a model for the evolution of bacterial pathogenesis. Vast abundance of two particular phylogenetic lineages of Bartonella had been linked to enhanced host adaptability enabled by lineage-specific acquisition of a VirB/D4 type IV secretion system (T4SS) and parallel evolution of complex effector repertoires. However, the limited availability of genome sequences from one of those lineages as well as other, remote branches of Bartonella has so far hampered comprehensive understanding of how the VirB/D4 T4SS and its effectors called Beps have shaped Bartonella evolution. Here, we report the discovery of a third repertoire of Beps associated with the VirB/D4 T4SS of B. ancashensis, a novel human pathogen that lacks any signs of host adaptability and is only distantly related to the two species-rich lineages encoding a VirB/D4 T4SS. Furthermore, sequencing of ten new Bartonella isolates from under-sampled lineages enabled combined in silico analyses and wet lab experiments that suggest several parallel layers of functional diversification during evolution of the three Bep repertoires from a single ancestral effector. Our analyses show that the Beps of B. ancashensis share many features with the two other repertoires, but may represent a more ancestral state that has not yet unleashed the adaptive potential of such an effector set. We anticipate that the effectors of B. ancashensis will enable future studies to dissect the evolutionary history of Bartonella effectors and help unraveling the evolutionary forces underlying bacterial host adaptation. PMID:28338931
Nelder, Mark P; Reeves, Will K; Adler, Peter H; Wozniak, Arthur; Wills, William
A survey of ectoparasites and their associated pathogens was conducted in two South Carolina zoos, from 2004 to 2007. Dead, wild birds and mammals, as well as captive animals examined during routine veterinary checks constituted the study populations. Ectoparasites were tested for species of Anaplasma, Bartonella, Coxiella burnetii, Ehrlichia, Rickettsia, and Trypanosoma. Forty-six species of ectoparasites were collected from 133 free-roaming and captive hosts and their associated nesting and bedding materials. Six vector-borne pathogens were detected molecularly in the ectoparasites, including Anaplasma phagocytophilum in the tick Ixodes dentatus Marx from an eastern cottontail rabbit, Bartonella clarridgeiae in the cat flea Ctenocephalides felis (Bouché) from a Virginia opossum, Bartonella sp. Oh6 in the squirrel flea Orchopeas howardi (Baker) from an eastern grey squirrel, Bartonella sp. T7498 in the sucking louse Neohaematopinus sciuri Jancke from a squirrel, Rickettsia sp. Rf2125 in C. felis from a zookeeper and a grizzly bear, and Rickettsiales sp. Ib 2006 in Ixodes brunneus Koch from an American crow. While the pathology of some of these pathogens is poorly known, Anaplasma phagocytophilum (causative agent of human granulocytic anaplasmosis) and Bartonella clarridgeiae (causative agent of a disease similar to cat-scratch disease) can infect humans. Ectoparasites and their pathogens, especially those originating from free-roaming animals, present a potential threat to captive animals and humans.
Lai, Olivia; Ho, Derek; Glick, Sharon; Jagdeo, Jared
The global population of bed bugs (Cimex lectularius and Cimex hemipterus, family Cimicidae) has undergone a significant resurgence since the late 1990s. This is likely due to an increase in global travel, trade, and the number of insecticide-resistant bed bugs. The global bed bug population is estimated to be increasing by 100-500 % annually. The worldwide spread of bed bugs is concerning, because they are a significant socioeconomic burden and a major concern to public health. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, bed bugs are "a pest of significant health importance." Additionally, 68 % of U.S. pest professionals reported that bed bugs are the most challenging pest to treat. Upwards of 45 disease pathogens have been reported in bed bugs. Recent studies report that bed bugs may be competent vectors for pathogens, such as Bartonella quintana and Trypanosoma cruzi. However, public health reports have thus far failed to produce evidence that major infectious disease outbreaks have been associated with bed bugs. Since many disease pathogens have previously been reported in bed bugs and the worldwide bed bug population is now drastically increasing, it stands to reason to wonder if bed bugs might transmit human pathogens. This review includes a literature search on recently published clinical and laboratory studies (1990-2016) investigating bed bugs as potential vectors of infectious disease, and reports the significant findings and limitations of the reviewed studies. To date, no published study has demonstrated a causal relationship between bed bugs and infectious disease transmission in humans. Also, we present and propose to expand on previous hypotheses as to why bed bugs do not transmit human pathogens. Bed bugs may contain "neutralizing factors" that attenuate pathogen virulence and, thereby, decrease the ability of bed bugs to transmit infectious disease.
Fournier, Pierre-Edouard; Ndihokubwayo, Jean-Bosco; Guidran, Jo; Kelly, Patrick J; Raoult, Didier
Using polymerase chain reaction and sequencing, we investigated the prevalence of Rickettsia prowazekii, Bartonella quintana, and Borrelia recurrentis in 841 body lice collected from various countries. We detected R. prowazekii in body lice from Burundi in 1997 and in lice from Burundi and Rwanda in 2001; B. quintana infections of body lice were widespread. We did not detect B. recurrentis in any lice.
Márquez, F J; Millán, J; Rodríguez-Liébana, J J; García-Egea, I; Muniain, M A
A total of 559 fleas representing four species (Pulex irritans, Ctenocephalides felis, Ctenocephalides canis and Spilopsyllus cuniculi) collected on carnivores (five Iberian lynx Lynx pardinus, six European wildcat Felis silvestris, 10 common genet Genetta genetta, three Eurasian badger Meles meles, 22 red fox Vulpes vulpes, 87 dogs and 23 cats) in Andalusia, southern Spain, were distributed in 156 pools of monospecific flea from each carnivore, and tested for Bartonella infection in an assay based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of the 16 S-23 S rRNA intergenic spacer region. Twenty-one samples (13.5%) were positive and the sequence data showed the presence of four different Bartonella species. Bartonella henselae was detected in nine pools of Ctenocephalides felis from cats and dogs and in three pools of Ctenocephalides canis from cats; Bartonella clarridgeiae in Ctenocephalides felis from a cat, and Bartonella alsatica in Spilopsyllus cuniculi from a wildcat. DNA of Bartonella sp., closely related to Bartonella rochalimae, was found in seven pools of Pulex irritans from foxes. This is the first detection of B. alsatica and Bartonella sp. in the Iberian Peninsula. All of these Bartonella species have been implicated as agents of human diseases. The present survey confirms that carnivores are major reservoirs for Bartonella spp.
López-Pérez, A M; Osikowicz, L; Bai, Y; Montenieri, J; Rubio, A; Moreno, K; Gage, K; Suzán, G; Kosoy, M
The host-parasite-vector relationship of Bartonella spp. system in wild carnivores and their fleas from northwestern Mexico was investigated. Sixty-six carnivores belonging to eight species were sampled, and 285 fleas belonging to three species were collected during spring (April-May) and fall (October-November) seasons. We detected Bartonella species in 7 carnivores (10.6%) and 27 fleas (9.5%) through either blood culture or PCR. Of the 27 Bartonella-positive fleas, twenty-two were Pulex simulans, three were Pulex irritans and one was Echidnophaga gallinacea. The gltA gene and ITS region sequences alignment revealed six and eight genetic variants of Bartonella spp., respectively. These variants were clustered into Bartonella rochalimae, Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii and another genotype, which likely represents a novel species of Bartonella spp. Although experimental infection studies are required to prove the vector role of P. simulans, our results suggest that this flea may play an important role in the Bartonella transmission. The results indicated possible host-specific relationships between Bartonella genotypes and the families of the carnivores, but further studies are needed to verify this finding. The presence of zoonotic species of Bartonella spp. in wild carnivores raises the issue of their potential risk for humans in fragmented ecosystems.
Deng, Hongkuan; Le Rhun, Danielle; Buffet, Jean-Philippe R; Cotté, Violaine; Read, Amanda; Birtles, Richard J; Vayssier-Taussat, Muriel
Numerous mammal species, including domestic and wild animals such as ruminants, dogs, cats and rodents, as well as humans, serve as reservoir hosts for various Bartonella species. Some of those species that exploit non-human mammals as reservoir hosts have zoonotic potential. Our understanding of interactions between bartonellae and reservoir hosts has been greatly improved by the development of animal models for infection and the use of molecular tools allowing large scale mutagenesis of Bartonella species. By reviewing and combining the results of these and other approaches we can obtain a comprehensive insight into the molecular interactions that underlie the exploitation of reservoir hosts by Bartonella species, particularly the well-studied interactions with vascular endothelial cells and erythrocytes.
Numerous mammal species, including domestic and wild animals such as ruminants, dogs, cats and rodents, as well as humans, serve as reservoir hosts for various Bartonella species. Some of those species that exploit non-human mammals as reservoir hosts have zoonotic potential. Our understanding of interactions between bartonellae and reservoir hosts has been greatly improved by the development of animal models for infection and the use of molecular tools allowing large scale mutagenesis of Bartonella species. By reviewing and combining the results of these and other approaches we can obtain a comprehensive insight into the molecular interactions that underlie the exploitation of reservoir hosts by Bartonella species, particularly the well-studied interactions with vascular endothelial cells and erythrocytes. PMID:22369683
Morick, Danny; Krasnov, Boris R; Khokhlova, Irina S; Gutiérrez, Ricardo; Fielden, Laura J; Gottlieb, Yuval; Harrus, Shimon
Numerous pathogens are transmitted from one host to another by hematophagous insect vectors. The interactions between a vector-borne organism and its vector vary in many ways, most of which are yet to be explored and identified. These interactions may play a role in the dynamics of the infection cycle. One way to evaluate these interactions is by studying the effects of the tested organism on the vector. In this study, we tested the effects of infection with Bartonella species on fitness-related variables of fleas by using Bartonella sp. strain OE 1-1, Xenopsylla ramesis fleas, and Meriones crassus jirds as a model system. Feeding parameters, including blood meal size and metabolic rate during digestion, as well as reproductive parameters, including fecundity, fertility, and life span, were compared between fleas experimentally infected with Bartonella and uninfected fleas. In addition, the developmental time, sex ratio, and body size of F1 offspring fleas were compared between the two groups. Most tested parameters did not differ between infected and uninfected fleas. However, F1 males produced by Bartonella-positive females were significantly smaller than F1 males produced by Bartonella-negative female fleas. The findings in this study suggest that bartonellae are well adapted to their flea vectors, and by minimally affecting their fitness they have evolved to better spread themselves in the natural environment.
Morick, Danny; Krasnov, Boris R.; Khokhlova, Irina S.; Gutiérrez, Ricardo; Fielden, Laura J.; Gottlieb, Yuval
Numerous pathogens are transmitted from one host to another by hematophagous insect vectors. The interactions between a vector-borne organism and its vector vary in many ways, most of which are yet to be explored and identified. These interactions may play a role in the dynamics of the infection cycle. One way to evaluate these interactions is by studying the effects of the tested organism on the vector. In this study, we tested the effects of infection with Bartonella species on fitness-related variables of fleas by using Bartonella sp. strain OE 1-1, Xenopsylla ramesis fleas, and Meriones crassus jirds as a model system. Feeding parameters, including blood meal size and metabolic rate during digestion, as well as reproductive parameters, including fecundity, fertility, and life span, were compared between fleas experimentally infected with Bartonella and uninfected fleas. In addition, the developmental time, sex ratio, and body size of F1 offspring fleas were compared between the two groups. Most tested parameters did not differ between infected and uninfected fleas. However, F1 males produced by Bartonella-positive females were significantly smaller than F1 males produced by Bartonella-negative female fleas. The findings in this study suggest that bartonellae are well adapted to their flea vectors, and by minimally affecting their fitness they have evolved to better spread themselves in the natural environment. PMID:23542614
Costa, Federico; Porter, Fleur Helena; Rodrigues, Gorete; Farias, Helena; de Faria, Marcus Tucunduva; Wunder, Elsio A; Osikowicz, Lynn M; Kosoy, Michael Y; Reis, Mitermayer Galvão; Ko, Albert I; Childs, James E
Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) are reservoir hosts for zoonotic pathogens that cause significant morbidity and mortality in humans. Studies evaluating the prevalence of zoonotic pathogens in tropical Norway rat populations are rare, and data on co-infection with multiple pathogens are nonexistent. Herein, we describe the prevalence of leptospiral carriage, Seoul virus (SEOV), and Bartonella spp. infection independently, in addition to the rates of co-infection among urban, slum-dwelling Norway rats in Salvador, Brazil, trapped during the rainy season from June to August of 2010. These data were complemented with previously unpublished Leptospira and SEOV prevalence information collected in 1998. Immunofluorescence staining of kidney impressions was used to identify Leptospira interrogans in 2010, whereas isolation was used in 1998, and western blotting was used to detect SEOV antibodies in 2010, whereas enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used in 1998: in 2010, Bartonella spp. were isolated from a subsample of rats. The most common pathogen in both years was Leptospira spp. (83%, n=142 in 1998, 63%, n=84 in 2010). SEOV was detected in 18% of individuals in both 1998 and 2010 (n=78 in 1998; n=73 in 2010), and two species of Bartonella were isolated from 5 of 26 rats (19%) tested in 2010. The prevalence of all agents increased significantly with rat mass/age. Acquisition of Leptospira spp. occurred at a younger mass/age than SEOV and Bartonella spp. infection, suggesting differences in the transmission dynamics of these pathogens. These data indicate that Norway rats in Salvador serve as reservoir hosts for all three of these zoonotic pathogens and that the high prevalence of leptospiral carriage in Salvador rats poses a high degree of risk to human health.
Porter, Fleur Helena; Rodrigues, Gorete; Farias, Helena; de Faria, Marcus Tucunduva; Wunder, Elsio A.; Osikowicz, Lynn M.; Kosoy, Michael Y.; Reis, Mitermayer Galvão; Ko, Albert I.; Childs, James E.
Abstract Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) are reservoir hosts for zoonotic pathogens that cause significant morbidity and mortality in humans. Studies evaluating the prevalence of zoonotic pathogens in tropical Norway rat populations are rare, and data on co-infection with multiple pathogens are nonexistent. Herein, we describe the prevalence of leptospiral carriage, Seoul virus (SEOV), and Bartonella spp. infection independently, in addition to the rates of co-infection among urban, slum-dwelling Norway rats in Salvador, Brazil, trapped during the rainy season from June to August of 2010. These data were complemented with previously unpublished Leptospira and SEOV prevalence information collected in 1998. Immunofluorescence staining of kidney impressions was used to identify Leptospira interrogans in 2010, whereas isolation was used in 1998, and western blotting was used to detect SEOV antibodies in 2010, whereas enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used in 1998: in 2010, Bartonella spp. were isolated from a subsample of rats. The most common pathogen in both years was Leptospira spp. (83%, n=142 in 1998, 63%, n=84 in 2010). SEOV was detected in 18% of individuals in both 1998 and 2010 (n=78 in 1998; n=73 in 2010), and two species of Bartonella were isolated from 5 of 26 rats (19%) tested in 2010. The prevalence of all agents increased significantly with rat mass/age. Acquisition of Leptospira spp. occurred at a younger mass/age than SEOV and Bartonella spp. infection, suggesting differences in the transmission dynamics of these pathogens. These data indicate that Norway rats in Salvador serve as reservoir hosts for all three of these zoonotic pathogens and that the high prevalence of leptospiral carriage in Salvador rats poses a high degree of risk to human health. PMID:24359425
Heitman, Joseph; Carter, Dee A.; Dyer, Paul S.; Soll, David R.
We review here recent advances in our understanding of sexual reproduction in fungal pathogens that commonly infect humans, including Candida albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans/gattii, and Aspergillus fumigatus. Where appropriate or relevant, we introduce findings on other species associated with human infections. In particular, we focus on rapid advances involving genetic, genomic, and population genetic approaches that have reshaped our view of how fungal pathogens evolve. Rather than being asexual, mitotic, and largely clonal, as was thought to be prevalent as recently as a decade ago, we now appreciate that the vast majority of pathogenic fungi have retained extant sexual, or parasexual, cycles. In some examples, sexual and parasexual unions of pathogenic fungi involve closely related individuals, generating diversity in the population but with more restricted recombination than expected from fertile, sexual, outcrossing and recombining populations. In other cases, species and isolates participate in global outcrossing populations with the capacity for considerable levels of gene flow. These findings illustrate general principles of eukaryotic pathogen emergence with relevance for other fungi, parasitic eukaryotic pathogens, and both unicellular and multicellular eukaryotic organisms. PMID:25085958
Heitman, Joseph; Carter, Dee A; Dyer, Paul S; Soll, David R
We review here recent advances in our understanding of sexual reproduction in fungal pathogens that commonly infect humans, including Candida albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans/gattii, and Aspergillus fumigatus. Where appropriate or relevant, we introduce findings on other species associated with human infections. In particular, we focus on rapid advances involving genetic, genomic, and population genetic approaches that have reshaped our view of how fungal pathogens evolve. Rather than being asexual, mitotic, and largely clonal, as was thought to be prevalent as recently as a decade ago, we now appreciate that the vast majority of pathogenic fungi have retained extant sexual, or parasexual, cycles. In some examples, sexual and parasexual unions of pathogenic fungi involve closely related individuals, generating diversity in the population but with more restricted recombination than expected from fertile, sexual, outcrossing and recombining populations. In other cases, species and isolates participate in global outcrossing populations with the capacity for considerable levels of gene flow. These findings illustrate general principles of eukaryotic pathogen emergence with relevance for other fungi, parasitic eukaryotic pathogens, and both unicellular and multicellular eukaryotic organisms.
Mediannikov, O; Fenollar, F
Ticks are considered to be second worldwide to mosquitoes as vectors of human diseases and the most important vectors of disease-causing pathogens in domestic and wild animals. A number of emerging tick-borne pathogens are already discovered; however, the proportion of undiagnosed infectious diseases, especially in tropical regions, may suggest that there are still more pathogens associated with ticks. Moreover, the identification of bacteria associated with ticks may provide new tool for the control of ticks and tick-borne diseases. Described here molecular methods of screening of ticks, extensive use of modern culturomics approach, newly developed artificial media and different cell line cultures may significantly improve our knowledge about the ticks as the agents of human and animal pathology.
Gonçalves, Luiz Ricardo; Favacho, Alexsandra Rodrigues de Mendonça; Roque, André Luiz Rodrigues; Mendes, Natalia Serra; Fidelis Junior, Otávio Luiz; Benevenute, Jyan Lucas; Herrera, Heitor Miraglia; D'Andrea, Paulo Sérgio; de Lemos, Elba Regina Sampaio; Machado, Rosangela Zacarias; André, Marcos Rogério
Bartonella spp. comprise an ecologically successful group of microorganisms that infect erythrocytes and have adapted to different hosts, which include a wide range of mammals, besides humans. Rodents are reservoirs of about two-thirds of Bartonella spp. described to date; and some of them have been implicated as causative agents of human diseases. In our study, we performed molecular and phylogenetic analyses of Bartonella spp. infecting wild rodents from five different Brazilian biomes. In order to characterize the genetic diversity of Bartonella spp., we performed a robust analysis based on three target genes, followed by sequencing, Bayesian inference, and maximum likelihood analysis. Bartonella spp. were detected in 25.6% (117/457) of rodent spleen samples analyzed, and this occurrence varied among different biomes. The diversity analysis of gltA sequences showed the presence of 15 different haplotypes. Analysis of the phylogenetic relationship of gltA sequences performed by Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood showed that the Bartonella species detected in rodents from Brazil was closely related to the phylogenetic group A detected in other cricetid rodents from North America, probably constituting only one species. Last, the Bartonella species genogroup identified in the present study formed a monophyletic group that included Bartonella samples from seven different rodent species distributed in three distinct biomes. In conclusion, our study showed that the occurrence of Bartonella bacteria in rodents is much more frequent and widespread than previously recognized.
In the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Food (NACMCF) determined that the cooking (time/temperature) for finfish would be different than for meat products and identified a need for time/temperature requirements to assure the thermal inactivation of the human pathogens: Sa...
Lim, Jeong-A; Lee, Dong Hwan; Heu, Sunggi
There are an increasing number of outbreaks of human pathogens related to fresh produce. Thus, the growth of human pathogens on plants should be explored. Human pathogens can survive under the harsh environments in plants, and can adhere and actively invade plants. Plant-associated microbiota or insects contribute to the survival and transmission of enteric pathogens in plants. Human enteric pathogens also trigger plant innate immunity, but some pathogens–such as Salmonella–can overcome this defense mechanism. PMID:25288993
Chomel, Bruno B.; Wey, Aaron C.; Kasten, Rickie W.
We report the first documented case of Bartonella washoensis bacteremia in a dog with mitral valve endocarditis. B. washoensis was isolated in 1995 from a human patient with cardiac disease. The main reservoir species appears to be ground squirrels (Spermophilus beecheyi) in the western United States. Based on echocardiographic findings, a diagnosis of infective vegetative valvular mitral endocarditis was made in a spayed 12-year-old female Doberman pinscher. A year prior to presentation, the referring veterinarian had detected a heart murmur, which led to progressive dyspnea and a diagnosis of congestive heart failure the week before examination. One month after initial presentation, symptoms worsened. An emergency therapy for congestive heart failure was unsuccessfully implemented, and necropsy evaluation of the dog was not permitted. Indirect immunofluorescence tests showed that the dog was strongly seropositive (titer of 1:4,096) for several Bartonella antigens (B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii, B. clarridgeiae, and B. henselae), highly suggestive of Bartonella endocarditis. Standard aerobic and aerobic-anaerobic cultures were negative. However, a specific blood culture for Bartonella isolation grew a fastidious, gram-negative organism 7 days after being plated. Phenotypic and genotypic characterizations of the isolate, including partial sequencing of the citrate synthase (gltA), groEL, and 16S rRNA genes, indicated that this organism was identical to B. washoensis. The dog was seronegative for all tick-borne pathogens tested (Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Ehrlichia canis, and Rickettsia rickettsii), but the sample was highly positive for B. washoensis (titer of 1:8,192) and, according to indirect immunofluorescent-antibody assay, weakly positive for phase II Coxiella burnetii infection. PMID:14605197
Successful assessment and treatment of Bartonella in HIV-seropositive people depends on nursing's fundamental role in the management of these bacterial infections. Bartonella species are responsible for a variety of infections, including cat scratch disease and bacillary angiomatosis, which can be debilitating to people living with AIDS. This paper provides an overview of the clinical presentation and nursing management of Bartonella infection in PLWAs. The author discusses common diagnostic procedures, treatment strategies, and the nurse's role in caring for patients with a Bartonella infection.
Korhonen, E M; Pérez Vera, C; Pulliainen, A T; Sironen, T; Aaltonen, K; Kortet, R; Härkönen, L; Härkönen, S; Paakkonen, T; Nieminen, P; Mustonen, A-M; Ylönen, H; Vapalahti, O
The deer ked (Lipoptena cervi) is a haematophagous ectoparasite of cervids that harbours haemotrophic Bartonella. A prerequisite for the vector competence of the deer ked is the vertical transmission of the pathogen from the mother to its progeny and transstadial transmission from pupa to winged adult. We screened 1154 pupae and 59 pools of winged adult deer keds from different areas in Finland for Bartonella DNA using PCR. Altogether 13 pupa samples and one winged adult deer ked were positive for the presence of Bartonella DNA. The amplified sequences were closely related to either B. schoenbuchensis or B. bovis. The same lineages were identified in eight blood samples collected from free-ranging moose. This is the first demonstration of Bartonella spp. DNA in a winged adult deer ked and, thus, evidence for potential transstadial transmission of Bartonella spp. in the species.
Rojek, Jillian M; Kunz, Stefan
The arenaviruses Lassa virus (LASV) in Africa and Machupo (MACV), Guanarito (GTOV) and Junin viruses (JUNV) in South America cause severe haemorrhagic fevers in humans with fatality rates of 15-35%. The present review focuses on the first steps of infection with human pathogenic arenaviruses, the interaction with their cellular receptor molecules and subsequent entry into the host cell. While similarities exist in genomic organization, structure and clinical disease caused by pathogenic Old World and New World arenaviruses these pathogens use different primary receptors. The Old World arenaviruses employ alpha-dystroglycan, a cellular receptor for proteins of the extracellular matrix, and the human pathogenic New World arenaviruses use the cellular cargo receptor transferrin receptor 1. While the New World arenavirus JUNV enters cells via clathrin-dependent endocytosis, evidence occurred for clathrin-independent entry of the prototypic Old World arenavirus lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus. Upon internalization, arenaviruses are delivered to the endosome, where pH-dependent membrane fusion is mediated by the envelope glycoprotein (GP). While arenavirus GPs share characteristics with class I fusion GPs of other enveloped viruses, unusual mechanistic features of GP-mediated membrane fusion have recently been discovered for arenaviruses with important implications for viral entry.
Laudisoit, Anne; Falay, Dadi; Amundala, Nicaise; Akaibe, Dudu; de Bellocq, Joëlle Goüy; Van Houtte, Natalie; Breno, Matteo; Verheyen, Erik; Wilschut, Liesbeth; Parola, Philippe; Raoult, Didier; Socolovschi, Cristina
The prevalence and identity of Rickettsia and Bartonella in urban rat and flea populations were evaluated in Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) by molecular tools. An overall prevalence of 17% Bartonella species and 13% Rickettsia typhi, the agent of murine typhus, was found in the cosmopolitan rat species, Rattus rattus and Rattus norvegicus that were infested by a majority of Xenopsylla cheopis fleas. Bartonella queenslandensis, Bartonella elizabethae, and three Bartonella genotypes were identified by sequencing in rat specimens, mostly in R. rattus. Rickettsia typhi was detected in 72% of X. cheopis pools, the main vector and reservoir of this zoonotic pathogen. Co-infections were observed in rodents, suggesting a common mammalian host shared by R. typhi and Bartonella spp. Thus, both infections are endemic in DRC and the medical staffs need to be aware knowing the high prevalence of impoverished populations or immunocompromised inhabitants in this area. PMID:24445202
Laudisoit, Anne; Falay, Dadi; Amundala, Nicaise; Akaibe, Dudu; de Bellocq, Joëlle Goüy; Van Houtte, Natalie; Breno, Matteo; Verheyen, Erik; Wilschut, Liesbeth; Parola, Philippe; Raoult, Didier; Socolovschi, Cristina
The prevalence and identity of Rickettsia and Bartonella in urban rat and flea populations were evaluated in Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) by molecular tools. An overall prevalence of 17% Bartonella species and 13% Rickettsia typhi, the agent of murine typhus, was found in the cosmopolitan rat species, Rattus rattus and Rattus norvegicus that were infested by a majority of Xenopsylla cheopis fleas. Bartonella queenslandensis, Bartonella elizabethae, and three Bartonella genotypes were identified by sequencing in rat specimens, mostly in R. rattus. Rickettsia typhi was detected in 72% of X. cheopis pools, the main vector and reservoir of this zoonotic pathogen. Co-infections were observed in rodents, suggesting a common mammalian host shared by R. typhi and Bartonella spp. Thus, both infections are endemic in DRC and the medical staffs need to be aware knowing the high prevalence of impoverished populations or immunocompromised inhabitants in this area.
da Silva, Marilene Neves; Vieira-Damiani, Gislaine; Ericson, Marna Elise; Gupta, Kalpna; Gilioli, Rovilson; de Almeida, Amanda Roberta; Drummond, Marina Rovani; Lania, Bruno Grosselli; de Almeida Lins, Karina; Soares, Tania Cristina Benetti; Velho, Paulo Eduardo Neves Ferreira
BACKGROUND Bartonella spp. are neglected fastidious Gram-negative bacilli. We isolated Bartonella henselae from 1.2% of 500 studied blood donors and demonstrated that the bacteria remain viable in red blood cell units after 35 days of experimental infection. Now, we aim to evaluate the possibility of B. henselae transmission by blood transfusion in a mouse model. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS Eight BALB/c mice were intraperitoneal inoculated with a 30μLof suspension with 104 CFU/mL of B. henselae and a second group of eight mice were inoculated with saline solution and used as control. After 96 hours of inoculation, the animals were euthanized. We collected blood and tissue samples from skin, liver, and spleen. Thirty microliters of blood from four Bartonella-inoculated animals were transfused into a new group (n=4). Another group received blood from the control animals. B. henselae infection was investigated by conventional and nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR). RESULTS Blood samples from all 24 mice were negative by molecular tests though half of the tissue samples were positive by nested PCR in the intraperitoneal Bartonella-investigated animals. Tissues from two of the four mice that received blood transfusions from Bartonella-inoculated animals were also nested PCR positives. CONCLUSIONS Transmission of B. henselae by transfusion is possible in mice even when donor animals have undetectable bloodstream infection. The impact of human Bartonella sp. transmission through blood transfusion recipients must be evaluated. PMID:26968530
Raybould, Jillian E; Raybould, Alison L; Morales, Megan K; Zaheer, Misbah; Lipkowitz, Michael S; Timpone, Joseph G; Kumar, Princy N
Among culture-negative endocarditis in the United States, Bartonella species are the most common cause, with Bartonella henselae and Bartonella quintana comprising the majority of cases. Kidney manifestations, particularly glomerulonephritis, are common sequelae of infectious endocarditis, with nearly half of all Bartonella patients demonstrating renal involvement. Although a pauci-immune pattern is a frequent finding in infectious endocarditis-associated glomerulonephritis, it is rarely reported in Bartonella endocarditis. Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) positivity can be seen with many pathogens causing endocarditis and has been previously reported with Bartonella species. In addition, ANCA-associated vasculitis can also present with renal and cardiac involvement, including noninfectious valvular vegetations and pauci-immune glomerulonephritis. Given the overlap in their clinical presentation, it is difficult to differentiate between Bartonella endocarditis and ANCA-associated vasculitis but imperative to do so to guide management decisions. We present a case of ANCA-positive Bartonella endocarditis with associated pauci-immune glomerulonephritis that was successfully treated with medical management alone.
Goranov, Alexi I.; Madhani, Hiten D.
Fungal infections are challenging to diagnose and often difficult to treat, with only a handful of drug classes existing. Understanding the molecular mechanisms by which pathogenic fungi cause human disease is imperative. Here, we discuss how the development and use of genome-scale genetic resources, such as whole-genome knockout collections, can address this unmet need. Using work in Saccharomcyes cerevisiae as a guide, studies of Cryptococcus neoformans and Candida albicans have shown how the challenges of large-scale gene deletion can be overcome, and how such collections can be effectively used to obtain insights into mechanisms of pathogenesis. We conclude that, with concerted efforts, full genome-wide functional analysis of human fungal pathogen genomes is within reach. PMID:25377143
deposited these sequences, after careful quality control to insure that they are correct and accurate, into the database. In addition to reference...immunosuppressive agents are, like humans, at risk for infections, particularly from a variety of potential fungal pathogens [32,33]. Second- ary infections...evaluation of its taxonomy. J Clin Microbiol 1993; 31: 18041810. 31 Smeak DD, Gallagher L, Birchard SJ, Fossum TW. Management of intractable pleural effusion
Maggi, Ricardo G.; Balakrishnan, Nandhakumar; Bradley, Julie M.
Bartonella species constitute emerging, vector-borne, intravascular pathogens that produce long-lasting bacteremia in reservoir-adapted (natural host or passive carrier of a microorganism) and opportunistic hosts. With the advent of more sensitive and specific diagnostic tests, there is evolving microbiological evidence supporting concurrent infection with one or more Bartonella spp. in more than one family member; however, the mode(s) of transmission to or among family members remains unclear. In this study, we provide molecular microbiological evidence of Bartonella henselae genotype San Antonio 2 (SA2) infection in four of six Danish family members, including a child who died of unknown causes at 14 months of age. PMID:25740763
Hirzel, Cedric; Bloch, Andreas; Fischer, Urs; Jeannet, Natalie; Berlinger, Livia; Krestel, Heinz
Each year in the United States, 500 patients are hospitalized for cat-scratch disease, caused by Bartonella henselae infection. We report a case of rare but serious neurologic B. henselae infection. When typical features of cat-scratch disease occur with neurologic findings, Bartonella infection should be suspected and diagnostic testing should be performed. PMID:28322716
Griffin, Dale W.; Donaldson, Kim A.; Paul, J.H.; Rose, Joan B.
This review addresses both historical and recent investigations into viral contamination of marine waters. With the relatively recent emergence of molecular biology-based assays, a number of investigations have shown that pathogenic viruses are prevalent in marine waters being impacted by sewage. Research has shown that this group of fecal-oral viral pathogens (enteroviruses, hepatitis A viruses, Norwalk viruses, reoviruses, adenoviruses, rotaviruses, etc.) can cause a broad range of asymptomatic to severe gastrointestinal, respiratory, and eye, nose, ear, and skin infections in people exposed through recreational use of the water. The viruses and the nucleic acid signature survive for an extended period in the marine environment. One of the primary concerns of public health officials is the relationship between the presence of pathogens and the recreational risk to human health in polluted marine environments. While a number of studies have attempted to address this issue, the relationship is still poorly understood. A contributing factor to our lack of progress in the field has been the lack of sensitive methods to detect the broad range of both bacterial and viral pathogens. The application of new and advanced molecular methods will continue to contribute to our current state of knowledge in this emerging and
Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease of antiquity. Yet TB today still causes more adult deaths than any other single infectious disease. Recent studies show that contrary to the common view postulating an animal origin for TB, Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC), the causative agent of TB, emerged as a human pathogen in Africa and colonized the world accompanying the Out-of-Africa migrations of modern humans. More recently, evolutionarily ‘modern’ lineages of MTBC expanded as a consequence of the global human population increase, and spread throughout the world following waves of exploration, trade and conquest. While epidemiological data suggest that the different phylogenetic lineages of MTBC might have adapted to different human populations, overall, the phylogenetically ‘modern’ MTBC lineages are more successful in terms of their geographical spread compared with the ‘ancient’ lineages. Interestingly, the global success of ‘modern’ MTBC correlates with a hypo-inflammatory phenotype in macrophages, possibly reflecting higher virulence, and a shorter latency in humans. Finally, various human genetic variants have been associated with different MTBC lineages, suggesting an interaction between human genetic diversity and MTBC variation. In summary, the biology and the epidemiology of human TB have been shaped by the long-standing association between MTBC and its human host. PMID:22312052
Pichi, Francesco; Srivastava, Sunil K; Levinson, Ashleigh; Baynes, Kimberly M; Traut, Caitlyn; Lowder, Careen Y
Neovascularization may be associated with cat-scratch neuroretinitis in the absence of retinal vascular occlusion. Bartonella organisms establish an intimate relationship with the vascular endothelium, causing angioproliferative lesions, which might represent a dedicated pathogenic strategy for expanding the bacterial host cell habitat. In the eye, pathological angiogenesis caused by Bartonella has been described as peripapillary or macular choroidal neovascularization, but the presence of neovascularization within foci of chorioretinitis has never before been reported. The authors present a case of Bartonella chorioretinitis in which optical coherence tomography angiography, by detecting erythrocyte motion, was able to identify neovessels inside the infectious focus. [Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina. 2016;47:585-588.].
Sofer, S; Gutiérrez, R; Morick, D; Mumcuoglu, K Y; Harrus, S
Fleas represent an acknowledged burden on dogs worldwide. The characterization of flea species infesting kennel dogs from two localities in Israel (Rehovot and Jerusalem) and their molecular screening for Bartonella species (Rhizobiales: Bartonellaceae) was investigated. A total of 355 fleas were collected from 107 dogs. The fleas were morphologically classified and molecularly screened targeting the Bartonella 16S-23S internal transcribed spacer (ITS). Of the 107 dogs examined, 80 (74.8%) were infested with Ctenocephalides canis (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae), 68 (63.6%) with Ctenocephalides felis, 15 (14.0%) with Pulex irritans (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae) and one (0.9%) with Xenopsylla cheopis (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae). Fleas were grouped into 166 pools (one to nine fleas per pool) according to species and host. Thirteen of the 166 flea pools (7.8%) were found to be positive for Bartonella DNA. Detected ITS sequences were 99-100% similar to those of four Bartonella species: Bartonella henselae (six pools); Bartonella elizabethae (five pools); Bartonella rochalimae (one pool), and Bartonella bovis (one pool). The present study indicates the occurrence of a variety of flea species in dogs in Israel; these flea species are, in turn, carriers of several zoonotic Bartonella species. Physicians, veterinarians and public health workers should be aware of the presence of these pathogens in dog fleas in Israel and preventive measures should be implemented.
Al-Kappany, Y M; Lappin, M R; Kwok, O C H; Abu-Elwafa, S A; Hilali, M; Dubey, J P
Toxoplasma gondii and Bartonella spp. are zoonotic pathogens of cats. Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and feline leukemia virus (FeLv) are related to human immunodeficiency virus and human leukemia virus, respectively, and these viruses are immunosuppressive. In the present study, the prevalence of antibodies to T. gondii , Bartonella spp., FIV, as well as FeLv and Dirofilaria immitis antigens was determined in sera from feral cats (Felis catus) from Cairo, Egypt. Using a modified agglutination test, antibodies to T. gondii were found in 172 (95.5%) of the 180 cats with titers of 1∶5 in 9, 1∶10 in 9, 1∶20 in 3, 1∶40 in 5, 1∶80 in 5, 1∶160 in 15, 1∶320 in 22, and 1∶640 or higher in 104. Thus, 57.4% had high T. gondii titers. Antibodies to Bartonella spp. were found in 105 (59.6%) of 178, with titers of 1∶64 in 45, 1∶128 in 39, 1∶256 in 13, 1∶512 in 3, 1∶1,024 in 4, and 1∶2,048 in 1 cat. Antibodies to FIV were detected in 59 (33.9%) of 174 cats. Of 174 cats tested, antigens to FeLv, and D. immitis were detected in 8 (4.6%) and 6 (3.4%) cats, respectively. The results indicate a high prevalence of T. gondii, Bartonella spp., and FIV infections in cats from Cairo, Egypt. This is the first report of Bartonella spp., and D. immitis infection in cats in Egypt.
Outbreaks of foodborne illnesses associated with the presence of human pathogens have led to increased concern about the prevalence of pathogens in the environment and the vulnerability of fresh produce to contamination by these pathogens. As the FDA strives to mandate treatments to reduce pathogen...
Quebatte, Maxime; Dehio, Michaela; Tropel, David; Basler, Andrea; Toller, Isabella; Raddatz, Guenter; Engel, Philipp; Huser, Sonja; Schein, Hermine; Lindroos, Hillevi L.; Andersson, Siv G. E.; Dehio, Christoph
Here, we report the first comprehensive study of Bartonella henselae gene expression during infection of human endothelial cells. Expression of the main cluster of upregulated genes, comprising the VirB type IV secretion system and its secreted protein substrates, is shown to be under the positive control of the transcriptional regulator BatR. We demonstrate binding of BatR to the promoters of the virB operon and a substrate-encoding gene and provide biochemical evidence that BatR and BatS constitute a functional two-component regulatory system. Moreover, in contrast to the acid-inducible (pH 5.5) homologs ChvG/ChvI of Agrobacterium tumefaciens, BatR/BatS are optimally activated at the physiological pH of blood (pH 7.4). By conservation analysis of the BatR regulon, we show that BatR/BatS are uniquely adapted to upregulate a genus-specific virulence regulon during hemotropic infection in mammals. Thus, we propose that BatR/BatS two-component system homologs represent vertically inherited pH sensors that control the expression of horizontally transmitted gene sets critical for the diverse host-associated life styles of the alphaproteobacteria. PMID:20418395
Tsai, Yi-Lun; Chang, Chao-Chin; Chuang, Shih-Te; Chomel, Bruno B
A wide range of blood-sucking arthropods have either been confirmed or are suspected as important vectors in Bartonella transmission to mammals, including humans. Overall, it appears that the diversity of Bartonella species DNA identified in ectoparasites is much broader than the species detected in their mammalian hosts, suggesting a mechanism of adaptation of Bartonella species to their host-vector ecosystem. However, these mechanisms leading to the fitness between the vectors and their hosts still need to be investigated.
Chomel, Bruno B.; Boulouis, Henri-Jean; Breitschwerdt, Edward B.; Kasten, Rickie W.; Vayssier-Taussat, Muriel; Birtles, Richard J.; Koehler, Jane E.; Dehio, Christoph
Bartonella spp. are facultative intracellular bacteria that cause characteristic host-restricted hemotropic infections in mammals and are typically transmitted by blood-sucking arthropods. In the mammalian reservoir, these bacteria initially infect a yet unrecognized primary niche, which seeds organisms into the blood stream leading to the establishment of a long-lasting intra-erythrocytic bacteremia as the hall-mark of infection. Bacterial type IV secretion systems, which are supra-molecular transporters ancestrally related to bacterial conjugation systems, represent crucial pathogenicity factors that have contributed to a radial expansion of the Bartonella lineage in nature by facilitating adaptation to unique mammalian hosts. On the molecular level, the type IV secretion system VirB/VirD4 is known to translocate a cocktail of different effector proteins into host cells, which subvert multiple cellular functions to the benefit of the infecting pathogen. Furthermore, bacterial adhesins mediate a critical, early step in the pathogenesis of the bartonellae by binding to extracellular matrix components of host cells, which leads to firm bacterial adhesion to the cell surface as a prerequisite for the efficient translocation of type IV secretion effector proteins. The best-studied adhesins in bartonellae are the orthologous trimeric autotransporter adhesins, BadA in Bartonella henselae and the Vomp family in Bartonella quintana. Genetic diversity and strain variability also appear to enhance the ability of bartonellae to invade not only specific reservoir hosts, but also accidental hosts, as shown for B. henselae. Bartonellae have been identified in many different blood-sucking arthropods, in which they are typically found to cause extracellular infections of the mid-gut epithelium. Adaptation to specific vectors and reservoirs seems to be a common strategy of bartonellae for transmission and host diversity. However, knowledge regarding arthropod specificity
Billeter, Sarah A; Colton, Leah; Sangmaneedet, Somboon; Suksawat, Fanan; Evans, Brian P; Kosoy, Michael Y
The presence of Bartonella species in Xenopsylla cheopis fleas collected from Rattus spp. (R. exulans, R. norvegicus, and R. rattus) in Khon Kaen Province, Thailand was investigated. One hundred ninety-three fleas obtained from 62 rats, were screened by polymerase chain reaction using primers specific for the 16S-23S intergenic spacer region, and the presence of Bartonella DNA was confirmed by using the citrate synthase gene. Bartonella DNA was detected in 59.1% (114 of 193) of fleas examined. Sequencing demonstrated the presence of Bartonella spp. similar to B. elizabethae, B. rattimassiliensis, B. rochalimae, and B. tribocorum in the samples tested with a cutoff for sequence similarity ≥ 96% and 4 clustered together with the closest match with B. grahamii (95.5% identity). If X. cheopis proves to be a competent vector of these species, our results suggest that humans and animals residing in this area may be at risk for infection by several zoonotic Bartonella species.
Rubio, André V; Ávila-Flores, Rafael; Osikowicz, Lynn M; Bai, Ying; Suzán, Gerardo; Kosoy, Michael Y
Bartonella infections were investigated in wild rodents from northwestern Chihuahua, Mexico. A total of 489 rodents belonging to 14 species were surveyed in four areas. Bartonella bacteria were cultured from 50.1% of rodent samples (245/489). Infection rates ranged from 0% to 83.3% per rodent species, with no significant difference between sites except for Cynomys ludovicianus. Phylogenetic analyses of the citrate synthase gene (gltA) of the Bartonella isolates revealed 23 genetic variants (15 novel and 8 previously described), clustering into five phylogroups. Three phylogroups were associated with Bartonella vinsonii subsp. vinsonii, B. vinsonii subsp. arupensis, and B. washoensis, respectively. The other two phylogroups were not genetically related to any known Bartonella species. The genetic variants and phylogenetic groups exhibited a high degree of host specificity, mainly at the genus and family levels. This is the first study that describes the genetic diversity of Bartonella strains in wild rodents from Mexico. Considering that some variants found in this study are associated with Bartonella species that have been reported as zoonotic, more investigations are needed to further understand the ecology of Bartonella species in Mexican wildlife and their implications for human health.
Pérez Vera, Cristina; Aaltonen, Kirsi; Spillmann, Thomas; Vapalahti, Olli; Sironen, Tarja
Moose, Alces alces (Artiodactyla: Cervidae) in Finland are heavily infested with deer keds, Lipoptena cervi (Diptera: Hippoboschidae). The deer ked, which carries species of the genus Bartonella, has been proposed as a vector for the transmission of bartonellae to animals and humans. Previously, bartonella DNA was found in deer keds as well as in moose blood collected in Finland. We investigated the prevalence and molecular diversity of Bartonella spp. infection from blood samples collected from free-ranging moose. Given that the deer ked is not present in northernmost Finland, we also investigated whether there were geographic differences in the prevalence of bartonella infection in moose. The overall prevalence of bartonella infection was 72.9% (108/148). Geographically, the prevalence was highest in the south (90.6%) and lowest in the north (55.9%). At least two species of bartonellae were identified by multilocus sequence analysis. Based on logistic regression analysis, there was no significant association between bartonella infection and either age or sex; however, moose from outside the deer ked zone were significantly less likely to be infected (P<0.015) than were moose hunted within the deer ked zone.
Liu, Bo; Newburg, David S
Breastfeeding protects the neonate against pathogen infection. Major mechanisms of protection include human milk glycoconjugates functioning as soluble receptor mimetics that inhibit pathogen binding to the mucosal cell surface, prebiotic stimulation of gut colonization by favorable microbiota, immunomodulation, and as a substrate for bacterial fermentation products in the gut. Human milk proteins are predominantly glycosylated, and some biological functions of these human milk glycoproteins (HMGPs) have been reported. HMGPs range in size from 14 kDa to 2,000 kDa and include mucins, secretory immunoglobulin A, bile salt-stimulated lipase, lactoferrin, butyrophilin, lactadherin, leptin, and adiponectin. This review summarizes known biological roles of HMGPs that may contribute to the ability of human milk to protect neonates from disease.
Abstract Breastfeeding protects the neonate against pathogen infection. Major mechanisms of protection include human milk glycoconjugates functioning as soluble receptor mimetics that inhibit pathogen binding to the mucosal cell surface, prebiotic stimulation of gut colonization by favorable microbiota, immunomodulation, and as a substrate for bacterial fermentation products in the gut. Human milk proteins are predominantly glycosylated, and some biological functions of these human milk glycoproteins (HMGPs) have been reported. HMGPs range in size from 14 kDa to 2,000 kDa and include mucins, secretory immunoglobulin A, bile salt-stimulated lipase, lactoferrin, butyrophilin, lactadherin, leptin, and adiponectin. This review summarizes known biological roles of HMGPs that may contribute to the ability of human milk to protect neonates from disease. PMID:23697737
Reeves, Will K; Loftis, Amanda D; Szumlas, Daniel E; Abbassy, Magda M; Helmy, Ibrahim M; Hanafi, Hanafi A; Dasch, Gregory A
We collected and tested 616 tropical rat mites (Ornithonyssus bacoti (Hirst)) from rats (Rattus norvegicus (Berkenhout) and R. rattus (Linnaeus)) throughout 14 governorates in Egypt and tested DNA extracts from pools of these mites for Bartonella spp., Coxiella burnetii, and Rickettsia spp. by PCR amplification and sequencing. Three different mite-associated bacterial agents, including one Bartonella and two Rickettsia spp., were detected in eight pools of mites. Further research could demonstrate the vector potential of mites and pathogenicity of these agents to humans or animals.
Morick, Danny; Krasnov, Boris R; Khokhlova, Irina S; Shenbrot, Georgy I; Kosoy, Michael Y; Harrus, Shimon
Fleas collected from rodents in the Negev Desert in southern Israel were molecularly screened for Bartonella species. A total of 1,148 fleas, collected from 122 rodents belonging to six species, were pooled in 245 pools based on flea species, sex, and rodent host species. Two Bartonella gene fragments, corresponding to RNA polymerase B (rpoB) and citrate synthase (gltA), were targeted, and 94 and 74 flea pools were found positive by PCR, respectively. The Bartonella 16S-23S internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region was also targeted, and 66 flea pools were found to be positive by PCR. Sixteen different Bartonella gltA genotypes were detected in 94 positive flea pools collected from 5 different rodent species, indicating that fleas collected from each rodent species can harbor several Bartonella genotypes. Based on gltA analysis, identified Bartonella genotypes were highly similar or identical to strains previously detected in rodent species from different parts of the world. A gltA fragment 100% similar to Bartonella henselae was detected in one flea pool. Another 2 flea pools contained gltA fragments that were closely related to B. henselae (98% similarity). The high sequence similarities to the zoonotic pathogen B. henselae warrant further investigation.
Brook, Cara E; Bai, Ying; Dobson, Andrew P; Osikowicz, Lynn M; Ranaivoson, Hafaliana C; Zhu, Qiyun; Kosoy, Michael Y; Dittmar, Katharina
We captured, ectoparasite-combed, and blood-sampled cave-roosting Madagascan fruit bats (Eidolon dupreanum) and tree-roosting Madagascan flying foxes (Pteropus rufus) in four single-species roosts within a sympatric geographic foraging range for these species in central Madagascar. We describe infection with novel Bartonella spp. in sampled Eidolon dupreanum and associated bat flies (Cyclopodia dubia), which nest close to or within major known Bartonella lineages; simultaneously, we report the absence of Bartonella spp. in Thaumapsylla sp. fleas collected from these same bats. This represents the first documented finding of Bartonella infection in these species of bat and bat fly, as well as a new geographic record for Thaumapsylla sp. We further relate the absence of both Bartonella spp. and ectoparasites in sympatrically sampled Pteropus rufus, thus suggestive of a potential role for bat flies in Bartonella spp. transmission. These findings shed light on transmission ecology of bat-borne Bartonella spp., recently demonstrated as a potentially zoonotic pathogen.
Pennisi, M G; La Camera, E; Giacobbe, L; Orlandella, B M; Lentini, V; Zummo, S; Fera, M T
Bartonella henselae is considered an emerging pathogen of veterinary and medical interest that can be occasionally transmitted to humans. Cats are considered to be the only reservoir host for B. henselae. In this study, we used a nested-PCR assay to investigate the prevalence of B.henselae and Bartonella clarridgeiae DNA in peripheral blood samples, fine needle lymph node aspirate specimens and oral swabs from 85 cats in order to develop an easy diagnostic strategy for the selection of infection-free cats that are being considered as pets, especially for immunocompromised patients. Overall, molecular analysis showed that 71 cats (83.5%) tested PCR positive for the presence of B. henselae DNA. PCR amplification of DNA B. henselae produced positive products from lymph node aspirate specimens (62/85; 72.9%) similar to those obtained from blood samples (60/85; 70.6%) and higher than those from oral swabs (51/85; 60%) of cats. No PCR product was obtained for B. clarridgeiae. The simultaneous analysis of three different clinical samples in our study increased the diagnostic possibilities for B. henselae infection in the examined cats from 60-72.9% to 83.5%. Lymph node aspirates were found to be the most effective clinical samples for the detection of B. henselae and blood samples were the next best. Oral swab samples were used in this study with good results when considered in combination with blood and/or lymph node aspiration. The use of nested-PCR assay on these three clinical samples may enhance the diagnostic sensitivity for bartonellosis in cats irrespective of the clinical status of animals.
Drut, Amandine; Bublot, Isabelle; Breitschwerdt, Edward B; Chabanne, Luc; Vayssier-Taussat, Muriel; Cadoré, Jean-Luc
We report the first documented case of Bartonella henselae infection in a dog from France and the first isolation of B. henselae from a dog with fever of unknown origin. This observation contributes to the "One Health" concept focusing on zoonotic pathogens emerging from companion animals. A 1-year-old female German shepherd dog was referred for evaluation of fever of unknown origin of 1 month duration. Diagnostic investigations confirmed diffuse pyogranulomatous lymphadenitis. The dog became afebrile, and lymph node size normalized in response to a 6-week course of doxycycline. Retrospectively, Bartonella DNA was amplified from an EDTA-anticoagulated blood sample obtained before antimicrobial therapy, with the gtlA fragment sharing 99 % identity with the 350-bp gtlA fragment of the B. henselae Houston-1 strain. The same strain was isolated in the blood of three healthy cats from the household. Two months after discontinuation of doxycycline, the dog experienced a febrile relapse. Bartonella DNA was again amplified from blood prior to and immediately after administration of a 6-week course azithromycin therapy. However, without administration of additional medications, PCR was negative 9 months after azithromycin therapy and the dog remains clinically healthy 12 months following the second course of antibiotics. The medical management of this case raises several clinically relevant comparative infectious disease issues, including the extent to which Bartonella spp. contribute to fever of unknown origin and pyogranulomatous inflammatory diseases in dogs and humans, and the potential of doxycycline and azithromycin treatment failures. The possibility that dogs could constitute an underestimated reservoir for B. henselae transmission to people is also discussed.
Frye, M. J.; Firth, C.; Bhat, M.; Firth, M. A.; Che, X.; Lee, D.; Williams, S. H.; Lipkin, W. I.
The Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus) is a reservoir of many zoonotic pathogens and lives in close proximity to humans in urban environments. Human infection with rodent-borne disease occurs either directly through contact with a rat or its excreta, or indirectly via arthropod vectors such as fleas and ticks. Here, we report on the diversity and abundance of ectoparasitic arthropod species and associated pathogenic bacteria from 133 Norway rats trapped over a 10-mo period in Manhattan, New York, NY. Norway rats were host to the tropical rat mite [Ornithonyssus bacoti (Hirst)], the spiny rat mite (Laelaps echidnina Berlese), Laelaps nuttalli Hirst, the spined rat louse [Polyplax spinulosa (Burmeister)], and the Oriental rat flea [(Xenopsylla cheopis) (Rothschild)], with an average of 1.7 species per individual. A flea index of 4.1 X. cheopis was determined, whereas previous studies in New York City reported 0.22 fleas per rat. Multiple species of pathogenic Bartonella were identified from Oriental rat fleas that were related to Bartonella tribocorum, Bartonella rochalimae, and Bartonella elizabethae. However, no evidence of Yersinia pestis or Rickettsia spp. infection was detected in fleas. The identification of multiple medically important ectoparasite species in New York City underscores the need for future efforts to fully characterize the diversity and distribution of ectoparasites on Norway rats, and assess the risk to humans of vector-borne disease transmission. PMID:26336309
Frye, M J; Firth, C; Bhat, M; Firth, M A; Che, X; Lee, D; Williams, S H; Lipkin, W I
The Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus) is a reservoir of many zoonotic pathogens and lives in close proximity to humans in urban environments. Human infection with rodent-borne disease occurs either directly through contact with a rat or its excreta, or indirectly via arthropod vectors such as fleas and ticks. Here, we report on the diversity and abundance of ectoparasitic arthropod species and associated pathogenic bacteria from 133 Norway rats trapped over a 10-mo period in Manhattan, New York, NY. Norway rats were host to the tropical rat mite [Ornithonyssus bacoti (Hirst)], the spiny rat mite (Laelaps echidnina Berlese), Laelaps nuttalli Hirst, the spined rat louse [Polyplax spinulosa (Burmeister)], and the Oriental rat flea [(Xenopsylla cheopis) (Rothschild)], with an average of 1.7 species per individual. A flea index of 4.1 X. cheopis was determined, whereas previous studies in New York City reported 0.22 fleas per rat. Multiple species of pathogenic Bartonella were identified from Oriental rat fleas that were related to Bartonella tribocorum, Bartonella rochalimae, and Bartonella elizabethae. However, no evidence of Yersinia pestis or Rickettsia spp. infection was detected in fleas. The identification of multiple medically important ectoparasite species in New York City underscores the need for future efforts to fully characterize the diversity and distribution of ectoparasites on Norway rats, and assess the risk to humans of vector-borne disease transmission.
Morick, Danny; Baneth, Gad; Avidor, Boaz; Kosoy, Michael Y; Mumcuoglu, Kosta Y; Mintz, Dvir; Eyal, Osnat; Goethe, Ralph; Mietze, Andreas; Shpigel, Nahum; Harrus, Shimon
The prevalence of Bartonella spp. in wild rodents was studied in 19 geographical locations in Israel. One hundred and twelve rodents belonging to five species (Mus musculus, Rattus rattus, Microtus socialis, Acomys cahirinus and Apodemus sylvaticus) were included in the survey. In addition, 156 ectoparasites were collected from the rodents. Spleen sample from each rodent and the ectoparasites were examined for the presence of Bartonella DNA using high resolution melt (HRM) real-time PCR. The method was designed for the simultaneous detection and differentiation of eight Bartonella spp. according to the nucleotide variation in each of two gene fragments (rpoB and gltA) and the 16S-23S intergenic spacer (ITS) locus, using the same PCR protocol which allowed the simultaneous amplification of the three different loci. Bartonella DNA was detected in spleen samples of 19 out of 79 (24%) black rats (R. rattus) and in 1 of 4 (25%) Cairo spiny mice (A. cahirinus). In addition, 15 of 34 (44%) flea pools harbored Bartonella DNA. Only rat flea (Xenopsyla cheopis) pools collected from black rats (R. rattus) were positive for Bartonella DNA. The Bartonella sp. detected in spleen samples from black rats (R. rattus) was closely related to both B. tribocorum and B. elizabethae. The species detected in the Cairo spiny mouse (A. cahirinus) spleen sample was closely related to the zoonotic pathogen, B. elizabethae. These results indicate that Bartonella species are highly prevalent in suburban rodent populations and their ectoparasites in Israel. Further investigation of the prevalence and zoonotic potential of the Bartonella species detected in the black rats and the Cairo spiny mouse is warranted.
Carrasco, Sebastian E; Chomel, Bruno B; Gill, Verena A; Kasten, Rickie W; Maggi, Ricardo G; Breitschwerdt, Edward B; Byrne, Barbara A; Burek-Huntington, Kathleen A; Miller, Melissa A; Goldstein, Tracey; Mazet, Jonna A K
Since 2002, vegetative valvular endocarditis (VVE), septicemia and meningoencephalitis have contributed to an Unusual Mortality Event (UME) of northern sea otters in southcentral Alaska. Streptococcal organisms were commonly isolated from vegetative lesions and organs from these sea otters. Bartonella infection has also been associated with bacteremia and VVE in terrestrial mammals, but little is known regarding its pathogenic significance in marine mammals. Our study evaluated whether Streptococcus bovis/equinus (SB/E) and Bartonella infections were associated with UME-related disease characterized by VVE and septicemia in Alaskan sea otter carcasses recovered 2004-2008. These bacteria were also evaluated in southern sea otters in California. Streptococcus bovis/equinus were cultured from 45% (23/51) of northern sea otter heart valves, and biochemical testing and sequencing identified these isolates as Streptococcus infantarius subsp. coli. One-third of sea otter hearts were co-infected with Bartonella spp. Our analysis demonstrated that SB/E was strongly associated with UME-related disease in northern sea otters (P<0.001). While Bartonella infection was also detected in 45% (23/51) and 10% (3/30) of heart valves of northern and southern sea otters examined, respectively, it was not associated with disease. Phylogenetic analysis of the Bartonella ITS region allowed detection of two Bartonella species, one novel species closely related to Bartonella spp. JM-1, B. washoensis and Candidatus B. volans and another molecularly identical to B. henselae. Our findings help to elucidate the role of pathogens in northern sea otter mortalities during this UME and suggested that Bartonella spp. is common in sea otters from Alaska and California.
Guillen, Yolanda; Casadellà, Maria; García-de-la-Guarda, Ruth; Espinoza-Culupú, Abraham; Paredes, Roger; Ruiz, Joaquim
Bartonella bacilliformis is the causative agent of Carrion’s disease, a highly endemic human bartonellosis in Peru. We performed a whole-genome assembly of two B. bacilliformis strains isolated from the blood of infected patients in the acute phase of Carrion’s disease from the Cusco and Piura regions in Peru. PMID:27389274
Márquez, Francisco J
A sample of 279 European wild rabbits, Oryctolagus cuniculus (141 males, 138 females), captured alive in Andalusia (Spain) and belonging to the two haplotype classes previously described for this species (230 and 49 corresponding with haplotypes A and B, respectively), were tested for the presence of Bartonella alsatica DNA. Two species-specific nested polymerase chain reaction assays targeting for 16S-23S rRNA intergenic spacer region and RNA polymerase β subunit genes have been developed. Forty-eight (17.20%) rabbits were infected with B. alsatica. Two-way contingency table analyses and the calculation of Cramer's V statistic showed no differences in infection rate, considering haplotype lineage or sex. The risk of infection of human population, especially for hunters in close contact with this demonstrated human pathogen, should be considered.
Wikswo, Mary Elizabeth; Hu, Renjie; Metzger, Marco E; Eremeeva, Marina E
Sixty-two questing adult Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Latreille) ticks were collected by direct removal from blades of turfgrass and adjacent concrete walkways at a suburban home in Riverside County, CA, and tested for the presence of Rickettsia, Bartonella, and Ehrlichia DNA. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to amplify fragments of the 17-kDa antigen gene and the rOmpA gene of the spotted fever group rickettsiae. One male tick contained R. rickettsii DNA; its genotype differed from R. rickettsii isolates found in Montana and Arizona that cause Rocky Mountain spotted fever and from Hlp#2 and 364D serotypes. One male tick and one female tick contained B. henselae DNA. No Ehrlichia platys or Ehrlichia canis DNAs were detected using nested PCR for their 16S rRNA genes. These findings extend the area where Rickettsia rickettsii may be vectored by Rh. sanguineus. Rh. sanguineus also may be infected with Bartonella henselae, a human pathogen that is typically associated with fleas and causes cat scratch disease.
Bliven, Kimberly A.; Maurelli, Anthony T.
Selective pressures within the human host, including interactions with innate and adaptive immune responses, exposure to medical interventions such as antibiotics, and competition with commensal microbiota all facilitate the evolution of bacterial pathogens. In this chapter, we present examples of pathogen strategies which emerged as a result of selective pressures within the human host niche, and discuss the resulting co-evolutionary ‘arms race’ between these organisms. In bacterial pathogens, many of the genes responsible for these strategies are encoded on mobile pathogenicity islands (PAIs) or plasmids, underscoring the importance of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) in the emergence of virulent microbial species. PMID:26999399
Schaller, James L.; Burkland, Glenn A.; Langhoff, P.J.
Introduction Bartonella is an emerging infection found in cities, suburbs, and rural locations. Routine national labs offer testing for only 2 species, but at least 9 have been discovered as human infections within the last 15 years. Some authors discuss Bartonella cases having atypical presentations, with serious morbidity considered uncharacteristic of more routine Bartonella infections. Some atypical findings include distortion of vision, abdominal pain, severe liver and spleen tissue abnormalities, thrombocytopenic purpura, bone infection, arthritis, abscesses, heart tissue and heart valve problems. While some articles discuss Bartonella as a cause of neurologic illnesses, psychiatric illnesses have received limited attention. Case reports usually do not focus on psychiatric symptoms and typically only as incidental comorbid findings. In this article, we discuss patients exhibiting new-onset agitation, panic attacks, and treatment-resistant depression, all of which may be attributed to Bartonella. Methods Three patients receiving care in an outpatient clinical setting developed acute onset personality changes and agitation, depression, and panic attacks. They were retrospectively examined for evidence of Bartonella infections. The medical and psychiatric treatment progress of each patient was tracked until both were significantly resolved and the Bartonella was cured. Results The patients generally seemed to require higher dosing of antidepressants, benzodiazepines, or antipsychotics in order to function normally. Doses were reduced following antibiotic treatment and as the presumed signs of Bartonella infection remitted. All patients improved significantly following treatment and returned to their previously healthy or near-normal baseline mental health status. Discussion New Bartonella species are emerging as human infections. Most do not have antibody or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) diagnostic testing at this time. Manual differential examinations are of
Dubey, J P; Lappin, M R; Kwok, O C H; Mofya, S; Chikweto, A; Baffa, A; Doherty, D; Shakeri, J; Macpherson, C N L; Sharma, R N
Toxoplasma gondii and Bartonella spp. are zoonotic pathogens of cats. Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and feline leukemia virus (FeLv) are related to human immunodeficiency virus, and human leukemia virus, respectively; all of these viruses are immunosuppressive. In the present study, the prevalence of antibodies to T. gondi, Bartonella spp., FIV, as well as FeLv antigen were determined in sera from 75 domestic and 101 feral cats (Felis catus) from the Caribbean island of Grenada, West Indies. Using a modified agglutination test, antibodies to T. gondii were found in 23 (30.6%) of the 75 pet cats with titers of 1:25 in 1, 1:50 in 3, 1:400 in 4, 1:500 in 12, 1:800 in 2, and 1:1,600 in 1, and 28 (27.7%) of 101 feral cats with titers of 1:25 in 4, 1:50 in 7, 1:200 in 4, 1:400 in 1, 1:500 in 3, 1:800 in 2, 1:1,600 in 3, and 1:3,200 in 4. Overall, in both pet and feral cats, the seroprevalence increased with age. Antibodies to Bartonella spp. were found in 38 (50.6%) of the 75 pet cats and 52.4% of 101 feral cats. Antibodies to FIV were found in 6 domestic and 22 feral cats. None of the 176 cats was positive for FeLv antigen. There was no correlation among T. gondii, Bartonella spp., and FIV seropositivity.
Kim, Baek-Jun; Kim, Su-Jin; Kang, Jun-Gu; Ko, Sungjin; Won, Sohyun; Kim, Hyewon; Kim, Heung-Chul; Kim, Myung-Soon; Chong, Sung-Tae; Klein, Terry A; Lee, Sanghun; Chae, Joon-Seok
Rodents and soricomorphs are animal hosts of fleas and associated zoonotic microbial pathogens. A total of 4,889 small mammals were collected from Gyeonggi and Gangwon Provinces, Republic of Korea, from 2008 through 2010, including: Apodemus agrarius (4,122, 84.3%), followed by Crocidura lasiura (282, 5.8%), Microtus fortis (257, 5.3%), Myodes regulus (77, 1.6%), Micromys minutus (71, 1.5%), Mus musculus (63, 1.3%), and 4 other species (17, 0.3%). A total of 1,099 fleas belonging to 10 species and 7 genera were collected. Ctenophthalmus congeneroides (724, 65.9%) was the most commonly collected flea, followed by Stenoponia sidimi (301, 27.4%), Neopsylla bidentatiformis (29, 2.6%), and Rhadinopsylla insolita (25, 2.3%). The remaining species accounted for only 1.8% (20, range 1-6) of all fleas collected. The 2 dominant flea species, C. congeneroides and S. sidimi, showed an inverse seasonal pattern, with higher populations of C. congeneroides from January-September, whereas S. sidimi was more frequently collected during October-December. The overall flea infestation rates (FIR) and flea indices (FI) were 14.1% and 0.22, respectively, and were highest during April-June (19.7% and 0.30, respectively). A total of 735 of the 1,099 fleas were assayed for the detection of Bartonella spp. by PCR using Bartonella-specific primers, of which 515 were positive for Bartonella, with an overall maximum likelihood estimate (MLE) of 700.7/1,000. The highest MLE values were observed during April-June (899.2) and July-September (936.2) trapping periods and, although lower, were similar for January-March (566.7) and October-December (574.1). C. congeneroides demonstrated high MLEs for all seasons (range 752.5-934.8), while S. sidimi was positive for Bartonella only during January-March (MLE=342.1) and October-December (MLE=497.2) collection periods. Continued long-term surveillance of small mammals and associated ectoparasites is needed to improve our understanding of the prevalence
Chomel, Bruno B; Boulouis, Henri-Jean
Domestic animals and wildlife represent a large reservoir for bartonellae, at least eight species or subspecies of which have been reported to cause zoonotic infections. In addition, numerous orphan clinical syndromes are now being attributed to Bartonella henselae infection. Many mammalian species, including cats, dogs, rodents and ruminants are the main bartonellae reservoirs. Cats are the main reservoir for B. henselae. It appears that domestic dogs, at least in non tropical regions, are more likely to be accidental hosts than reservoirs, and constitute excellent sentinels for human infections. Bartonellae are vector-borne bacteria. The mode of B. henselae transmission by cat fleas is now better understood, but new potential vectors have recently been identified, including ticks and biting flies. This articles summarizes current knowledge of the etiology, new clinical features and epidemiological characteristics of these emerging zoonoses.
Ramamurthy, Thandavarayan; Chowdhury, Goutam; Pazhani, Gururaja P.; Shinoda, Sumio
Vibrio fluvialis is a pathogen commonly found in coastal environs. Considering recent increase in numbers of diarrheal outbreaks and sporadic extraintestinal cases, V. fluvialis has been considered as an emerging pathogen. Though this pathogen can be easily isolated by existing culture methods, its identification is still a challenging problem due to close phenotypic resemblance either with Vibrio cholerae or Aeromonas spp. However, using molecular tools, it is easy to identify V. fluvialis from clinical and different environmental samples. Many putative virulence factors have been reported, but its mechanisms of pathogenesis and survival fitness in the environment are yet to be explored. This chapter covers some of the major discoveries that have been made to understand the importance of V. fluvialis. PMID:24653717
Rolain, Jean-Marc; Maggi, Ricardo; Sontakke, Sushama; Keene, Bruce; Hunter, Stuart; Lepidi, Hubert; Breitschwerdt, Kyle T.; Breitschwerdt, Edward B.; Raoult, Didier
We provide the first evidence that Bartonella quintana can infect dogs and cause typical signs of endocarditis. Using PCR and sequencing, we identified B. quintana in the blood of a dog from the United States with aortic valve endocarditis and probably also in the mitral valve of a dog from New Zealand with endocarditis. PMID:17326937
Gracia, María Jesús; Marcén, José Miguel; Pinal, Rocio; Calvete, Carlos; Rodes, Daniel
The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of Bartonella henselae, Rickettsia felis, and Rickettsia typhi in fleas and companion cats (serum and claws) and to assess their presence as a function of host, host habitat, and level of parasitism. Eighty-nine serum and claw samples and 90 flea pools were collected. Cat sera were assayed by IFA for Bartonella henselae and Rickettssia species IgG antibodies. Conventional PCRs were performed on DNA extracted from nails and fleas collected from cats. A large portion (55.8%) of the feline population sampled was exposed to at least one of the three tested vector-borne pathogens. Seroreactivity to B. henselae was found in 50% of the feline studied population, and to R. felis in 16.3%. R. typhi antibodies were not found in any cat. No Bartonella sp. DNA was amplified from the claws. Flea samples from 41 cats (46%) showed molecular evidence for at least one pathogen; our study demonstrated a prevalence rate of 43.3 % of Rickettsia sp and 4.4% of Bartonella sp. in the studied flea population. None of the risk factors studied (cat's features, host habitat, and level of parasitation) was associated with either the serology or the PCR results for Bartonella sp. and Rickettsia sp.. Flea-associated infectious agents are common in cats and fleas and support the recommendation that stringent flea control should be maintained on cats.
Gabriel, Mourad W; Henn, Jennifer; Foley, Janet E; Brown, Richard N; Kasten, Rickie W; Foley, Patrick; Chomel, Bruno B
Bartonella spp. are fastidious, gram-negative, rod-shaped bacteria and are usually vector-borne. However, the vector has not been definitively identified for many recently described species. In northern California, gray foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) are infected with two zoonotic Bartonella species, B. rochalimae and B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii. Fleas (range 1-8 fleas per fox) were collected from 22 (41.5%) of 54 gray foxes from urban and backcountry zones near Hoopa, California. The flea species were determined, and DNA was individually extracted to establish the Bartonella species harbored by these fleas. Of the 108 fleas collected, 99 (92%) were identified as Pulex simulans. Overall, 39% (42/108) of the fleas were polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-positive for Bartonella, with B. rochalimae and B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii identified in 34 (81%) and 8 (19%) of the PCR-positive fleas, respectively. There was no difference between the prevalence of Bartonella spp. in P. simulans for the urban and backcountry zones. Fourteen (64%) of the 22 foxes were Bartonella bacteremic at one or more of the capture dates. In 10 instances, both the foxes and the fleas collected from them at the same blood collection were Bartonella-positive. B. rochalimae was the predominant species identified in both foxes and fleas. The competency of Pulex fleas as a vector of B. rochalimae has not been confirmed and will need to be demonstrated experimentally. Pulex spp. fleas readily feed on humans and may represent a source of human exposure to zoonotic species of Bartonella.
Lilley, Thomas M; Veikkolainen, Ville; Pulliainen, Arto T
Although bats have been implicated as reservoir hosts for a number of zoonotic and life-threatening viruses, the bat bacterial flora and its zoonotic threat remain elusive. However, members of the vector-borne bacterial genera Bartonella causing various human as well as animal diseases have recently been isolated or detected from bats and their ectoparasites. In this study, we sampled 124 insectivorous microbats (Daubenton's bat, Myotis daubentonii) for peripheral blood in southwestern Finland in 2010. A Bartonella-specific PCR targeting rpoB (RNA polymerase β-subunit) was positive with blood samples from 46 bats (prevalence 37%). Scaled mass indexes of the infected and noninfected bats did not differ (p = 0.057). One rpoB sequence was identical with the rpoB sequence of B. naantaliensis strain 2574/1, previously isolated from bats in Finland. The rest of the sequences were highly similar to each other with nucleotide identity scores of 96% or higher. Nucleotide identity scores to the previously described type strain sequences of Bartonella or other database entries were no higher than 87%. Sequence analyses of another gene, gltA (citrate synthase), gave no higher than 90% nucleotide identity scores. On the basis of the conventional 95% sequence similarity cutoff in bacterial species delineation, a novel species of Bartonella was detected. We propose a species name Candidatus B. hemsundetiensis. Phylogenetic analyses based on rpoB and gltA sequences indicate that Candidatus B. hemsundetiensis clusters in a deep-branching position close to the ancestral species B. tamiae and B. bacilliformis. Our study reinforces the importance of bats as reservoirs of Bartonella.
Doxey, Andrew C; McConkey, Brendan J
Molecular mimicry of host proteins is a common strategy adopted by bacterial pathogens to interfere with and exploit host processes. Despite the availability of pathogen genomes, few studies have attempted to predict virulence-associated mimicry relationships directly from genomic sequences. Here, we analyzed the proteomes of 62 pathogenic and 66 non-pathogenic bacterial species, and screened for the top pathogen-specific or pathogen-enriched sequence similarities to human proteins. The screen identified approximately 100 potential mimicry relationships including well-characterized examples among the top-scoring hits (e.g., RalF, internalin, yopH, and others), with about 1/3 of predicted relationships supported by existing literature. Examination of homology to virulence factors, statistically enriched functions, and comparison with literature indicated that the detected mimics target key host structures (e.g., extracellular matrix, ECM) and pathways (e.g., cell adhesion, lipid metabolism, and immune signaling). The top-scoring and most widespread mimicry pattern detected among pathogens consisted of elevated sequence similarities to ECM proteins including collagens and leucine-rich repeat proteins. Unexpectedly, analysis of the pathogen counterparts of these proteins revealed that they have evolved independently in different species of bacterial pathogens from separate repeat amplifications. Thus, our analysis provides evidence for two classes of mimics: complex proteins such as enzymes that have been acquired by eukaryote-to-pathogen horizontal transfer, and simpler repeat proteins that have independently evolved to mimic the host ECM. Ultimately, computational detection of pathogen-specific and pathogen-enriched similarities to host proteins provides insights into potentially novel mimicry-mediated virulence mechanisms of pathogenic bacteria.
Doxey, Andrew C; McConkey, Brendan J
Molecular mimicry of host proteins is a common strategy adopted by bacterial pathogens to interfere with and exploit host processes. Despite the availability of pathogen genomes, few studies have attempted to predict virulence-associated mimicry relationships directly from genomic sequences. Here, we analyzed the proteomes of 62 pathogenic and 66 non-pathogenic bacterial species, and screened for the top pathogen-specific or pathogen-enriched sequence similarities to human proteins. The screen identified approximately 100 potential mimicry relationships including well-characterized examples among the top-scoring hits (e.g., RalF, internalin, yopH, and others), with about 1/3 of predicted relationships supported by existing literature. Examination of homology to virulence factors, statistically enriched functions, and comparison with literature indicated that the detected mimics target key host structures (e.g., extracellular matrix, ECM) and pathways (e.g., cell adhesion, lipid metabolism, and immune signaling). The top-scoring and most widespread mimicry pattern detected among pathogens consisted of elevated sequence similarities to ECM proteins including collagens and leucine-rich repeat proteins. Unexpectedly, analysis of the pathogen counterparts of these proteins revealed that they have evolved independently in different species of bacterial pathogens from separate repeat amplifications. Thus, our analysis provides evidence for two classes of mimics: complex proteins such as enzymes that have been acquired by eukaryote-to-pathogen horizontal transfer, and simpler repeat proteins that have independently evolved to mimic the host ECM. Ultimately, computational detection of pathogen-specific and pathogen-enriched similarities to host proteins provides insights into potentially novel mimicry-mediated virulence mechanisms of pathogenic bacteria. PMID:23715053
Toxoplasma gondii and Bartonella spp. are zoonotic pathogens of cats. Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV), and Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLv) are related to Human Immunodeficiency Virus, and Human T-lymphotrophic Virus, respectively, and these viruses are immunosuppressive. In the present study, the p...
Hacker, Elena; Antunes, Camila A; Mattos-Guaraldi, Ana L; Burkovski, Andreas; Tauch, Andreas
While formerly known infections of Corynebacterium ulcerans are rare and mainly associated with contact to infected cattle, C. ulcerans has become an emerging pathogen today. In Western Europe, cases of respiratory diphtheria caused by C. ulcerans have been reported more often than infections by Corynebacterium diphtheria, while systemic infections are also increasingly reported. Little is known about factors that contribute to host colonization and virulence of this zoonotic pathogen. Research in this field has received new impetus by the publication of several C. ulcerans genome sequences in the past years. This review gives a comprehensive overview of the basic knowledge of C. ulcerans, as well as the recent advances made in the analysis of putative virulence factors.
United States, 1980–1989. National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance System. Am. J. Med. 91(3B):86S–89S. 2. Hostetter, M. K. 1996. New insights into...algorithms for the database. Preliminary identifications using our methods have been successful and resulted in a publication, as well as a new ...survey may result in a new paradigm for medical mycology because the number of pathogenic fungi could be grossly underestimated. All Medical Mycology
Warinner, Christina; Matias Rodrigues, João F.; Vyas, Rounak; Trachsel, Christian; Shved, Natallia; Grossmann, Jonas; Radini, Anita; Hancock, Y.; Tito, Raul Y.; Fiddyment, Sarah; Speller, Camilla; Hendy, Jessica; Charlton, Sophy; Luder, Hans Ulrich; Salazar-García, Domingo C.; Eppler, Elisabeth; Seiler, Roger; Hansen, Lars; Samaniego Castruita, José Alfredo; Barkow-Oesterreicher, Simon; Teoh, Kai Yik; Kelstrup, Christian; Olsen, Jesper V.; Nanni, Paolo; Kawai, Toshihisa; Willerslev, Eske; von Mering, Christian; Lewis, Cecil M.; Collins, Matthew J.; Gilbert, M. Thomas P.; Rühli, Frank; Cappellini, Enrico
Calcified dental plaque (dental calculus) preserves for millennia and entraps biomolecules from all domains of life and viruses. We report the first high-resolution taxonomic and protein functional characterization of the ancient oral microbiome and demonstrate that the oral cavity has long served as a reservoir for bacteria implicated in both local and systemic disease. We characterize: (i) the ancient oral microbiome in a diseased state, (ii) 40 opportunistic pathogens, (iii) the first evidence of ancient human-associated putative antibiotic resistance genes, (iv) a genome reconstruction of the periodontal pathogen Tannerella forsythia, (v) 239 bacterial and 43 human proteins, allowing confirmation of a long-term association between host immune factors, “red-complex” pathogens, and periodontal disease, and (vi) DNA sequences matching dietary sources. Directly datable and nearly ubiquitous, dental calculus permits the simultaneous investigation of pathogen activity, host immunity, and diet, thereby extending the direct investigation of common diseases into the human evolutionary past. PMID:24562188
Rasis, Michal; Rudoler, Nir; Schwartz, David; Giladi, Michael
Bartonella spp. are fastidious, Gram-negative bacilli that cause a wide spectrum of diseases in humans. Most Bartonella spp. have adapted to a specific host, generally a domestic or wild mammal. Dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius) have become a focus of growing public-health interest because they have been identified as a reservoir host for the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus. Nevertheless, data on camel zoonoses are limited. We aimed to study the occurrence of Bartonella bacteremia among dromedaries in Israel. Nine of 51 (17.6%) camels were found to be bacteremic with Bartonella spp.; bacteremia levels ranged from five to >1000 colony-forming units/mL. Phylogenetic reconstruction based on the concatenated sequences of gltA and rpoB genes demonstrated that the dromedary Bartonella isolates are closely related to other ruminant-derived Bartonella spp., with B. bovis being the nearest relative. Using electron microscopy, the novel isolates were shown to be flagellated, whereas B. bovis is nonflagellated. Sequence comparisons analysis of the housekeeping genes ftsZ, ribC, and groEL showed the highest homology to B. chomelii, B. capreoli, and B. birtlesii, respectively. Sequence analysis of the gltA and rpoB revealed ∼96% identity to B. bovis, a previously suggested cutoff value for sequence-based differentiation of Bartonella spp., suggesting that this approach does not have sufficient discriminatory power for differentiating ruminant-related Bartonella spp. A comprehensive multilocus sequence typing (MLST) analysis based on nine genetic loci (gltA, rpoB, ftsZ, internal transcribed spacer (ITS), 16S rRNA, ribC, groEL, nuoG, and SsrA) identified seven sequence types of the new dromedary isolates. This is the first description of a Bartonella sp. from camelids. On the basis of a distinct reservoir and ecological niche, sequence analyses, and expression of flagella, we designate these isolates as a novel Bartonella sp. named Bartonella dromedarii sp
Pangjai, Decha; Maruyama, Soichi; Boonmar, Sumalee; Kabeya, Hidenori; Sato, Shingo; Nimsuphan, Burin; Petkanchanapong, Wimol; Wootta, Wattanapong; Wangroongsarb, Piyada; Boonyareth, Maskiet; Preedakoon, Poom; Saisongkorh, Watcharee; Sawanpanyalert, Pathom
We investigated the prevalence of Bartonella species in 10 rodent and one shrew species in Thailand. From February 2008 to May 2010, a total of 375 small animals were captured in 9 provinces in Thailand. Bartonella strains were isolated from 57 rodents (54 from Rattus species and 3 from Bandicota indica) and one shrew (Suncus murinus) in 7 of the 9 provinces, and identified to the species level. Sequence analysis of the citrate synthase and RNA polymerase β subunit genes identified the 58 isolates from each Bartonella-positive animal as B. tribocorum in 27 (46.6%) animals, B. rattimassiliensis in 17 (29.3%) animals, B. elizabethae in 10 (17.2%) animals and B. queenslandensis in 4 (6.9%) animals. R. norvegicus, R. rattus, and Suncus murinus carried B. elizabethae, which causes endocarditis in humans. The prevalence of Bartonella bacteremic animals by province was 42.9% of the animals collected in Phang Nga, 26.8% in Chiang Rai, 20.4% in Sa Kaeo, 16.7% in Nakhon Si Thammarat, 12.0% in Surat Thani, 9.1% in Mae Hong Son and Loei Provinces. These results indicate that Bartonella organisms are widely distributed in small mammals in Thailand and some animal species may serve as important reservoirs of zoonotic Bartonella species in the country.
Cornwallis, Charlie K.; Buckling, Angus; West, Stuart A.
The harm that pathogens cause to hosts during infection, termed virulence, varies across species from negligible to a high likelihood of rapid death. Classic theory for the evolution of virulence is based on a trade-off between pathogen growth, transmission and host survival, which predicts that higher within-host growth causes increased transmission and higher virulence. However, using data from 61 human pathogens, we found the opposite correlation to the expected positive correlation between pathogen growth rate and virulence. We found that (i) slower growing pathogens are significantly more virulent than faster growing pathogens, (ii) inhaled pathogens and pathogens that infect via skin wounds are significantly more virulent than pathogens that are ingested, but (iii) there is no correlation between symptoms of infection that aid transmission (such as diarrhoea and coughing) and virulence. Overall, our results emphasize how virulence can be influenced by mechanistic life-history details, especially transmission mode, that determine how parasites infect and exploit their hosts. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Opening the black box: re-examining the ecology and evolution of parasite transmission’. PMID:28289261
Parra, Elena; Segura, Ferran; Tijero, Jessica; Pons, Imma; Nogueras, Maria-Mercedes
A real-time PCR assay using SYBR Green was optimized to detect those Bartonella that are most frequently described as pathogens. The assay was genus-specific. Sequencing allowed to distinguish species. Assay sensitivity was determined using 10-fold serial dilutions of genomic DNA. Dynamic range was 100 ng-100 fg and sensitivity was 50 copies/reaction.
Gerrikagoitia, Xeider; Gil, Horacio; García-Esteban, Coral; Anda, Pedro; Juste, R. A.
The genus Bartonella was detected by PCR in 5.7% (12/212) of wild carnivores from Northern Spain. Based on hybridization and sequence analyses, Bartonella henselae was identified in a wildcat (Felis silvestris), Bartonella rochalimae in a red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and in a wolf (Canis lupus), and Bartonella sp. in badgers (Meles meles). PMID:22138983
Reeves, Will K; Szumlas, Daniel E; Moriarity, John R; Loftis, Amanda D; Abbassy, Magda M; Helmy, Ibrahim M; Dasch, Gregory A
We collected 1,023 lice, representing 5 species, from rats and domestic cattle throughout 13 governorates in Egypt and tested these lice for Anaplasma marginale, Bartonella spp., Brucella spp., Borrelia recurrentis, Coxiella burnetii, Francisella tularensis, and Rickettsia spp. by PCR amplification and sequencing. Five different louse-borne bacterial agents were detected in lice from rodents or cattle, including "Bartonella rattimassiliensis", "B. phoceensis", and Bartonella sp. near Bartonella tribocorum, Coxiella burnetii, and Rickettsia typhi. More lice from governorates bordering the Mediterranean and Red Seas contained pathogens. Our data indicate that lice of urban and domestic animals harbor pathogenic or potentially pathogenic bacterial agents throughout Egypt.
Gaevskaia, N E; Kudriakova, T A; Makedonova, L D; Kachkina, G V
The issue of identification and differentiation of large group of bacteriophages of human pathogenic vibrio is still unresolved. In research and practical applied purposes it is important to consider characteristics of bacteriophages for establishing similarity and differences between them. The actual study was carried out to analyze specimens of DNA-containing bacteriophages of pathogenic vibrio. The overwhelming majority of them characterized by complicated type of symmetry--phages with double-helical DNA and also phages with mono-helical DNA structure discovered recently in vibrio. For the first time, the general framework of identification and differentiation of bacteriophages of pathogenic vibrio was developed. This achievement increases possibility to establish species assignment of phages and to compare with phages registered in the database. "The collection of bacteriophages and test-strains of human pathogenic vibrio" (No2010620549 of 24.09.210).
Cryptosporidium ubiquitum is an emerging and important human pathogen with a broad range of mammalian hosts. Linkage between human and animal cases of C. ubiquitum has not been possible because of a lack of subtyping tools. In this study, we utilized the 60 kDa glycoprotein gene of C. ubiquitum to d...
In recent years understanding the role of foodborne pathogens in human disease has evolved to include conditions outside the gastrointestinal diseases typically associated with bacteria such as Salmonella, Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), Listeria monocytogenes, etc. Other human pathog...
Fu, Wenqing; Ligabue, Alessio; Rogers, Kai J; Akey, Joshua M; Monnat, Raymond J
Heritable loss of function mutations in the human RECQ helicase genes BLM, WRN, and RECQL4 cause Bloom, Werner, and Rothmund-Thomson syndromes, cancer predispositions with additional developmental or progeroid features. In order to better understand RECQ pathogenic and population variation, we systematically analyzed genetic variation in all five human RECQ helicase genes. A total of 3,741 unique base pair-level variants were identified, across 17,605 potential mutation sites. Direct counting of BLM, RECQL4, and WRN pathogenic variants was used to determine aggregate and disease-specific carrier frequencies. The use of biochemical and model organism data, together with computational prediction, identified over 300 potentially pathogenic population variants in RECQL and RECQL5, the two RECQ helicases that are not yet linked to a heritable deficiency syndrome. Despite the presence of these predicted pathogenic variants in the human population, we identified no individuals homozygous for any biochemically verified or predicted pathogenic RECQL or RECQL5 variant. Nor did we find any individual heterozygous for known pathogenic variants in two or more of the disease-associated RECQ helicase genes BLM, RECQL4, or WRN. Several postulated RECQ helicase deficiency syndromes-RECQL or RECQL5 loss of function, or compound haploinsufficiency for the disease-associated RECQ helicases-may remain missing, as they likely incompatible with life.
Keita, Mamadou B; Hamad, Ibrahim; Bittar, Fadi
Because of the close genetic relatedness between apes and humans, apes are susceptible to many human infectious agents and can serve as carriers of these pathogens. Consequently, they present a serious health hazard to humans. Moreover, many emerging infectious diseases originate in wildlife and continue to threaten human populations, especially vector-borne diseases described in great apes, such as malaria and rickettsiosis. These wild primates may be permanent reservoirs and important sources of human pathogens. In this special issue, we report that apes, including chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), bonobos (Pan paniscus), gorillas (Gorilla gorilla and Gorilla beringei), orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus and Pongo abelii), gibbons (Hylobates spp., Hoolock spp. and Nomascus spp) and siamangs (Symphalangus syndactylus syndactylus and Symphalangus continentis), have many bacterial, viral, fungal and parasitic species that are capable of infecting humans. Serious measures should be adopted in tropical forests and sub-tropical areas where habitat overlaps are frequent to survey and prevent infectious diseases from spreading from apes to people.
Liu, MaFeng; Bouhsira, Emilie; Boulouis, Henri-Jean; Biville, Francis
Bartonella henselae is a zoonotic pathogen that possesses a flea-cat-flea transmission cycle and causes cat scratch disease in humans via cat scratches and bites. In order to establish infection, B. henselae must overcome oxidative stress damage produced by the mammalian host and arthropod vector. B. henselae encodes for putative Fe²⁺ and Mn²⁺ transporter SitABCD. In B. henselae, SitAB knockdown increases sensitivity to hydrogen peroxide. We consistently show that SitAB knockdown decreases the ability of B. henselae to survive in both human endothelial cells and cat fleas, thus demonstrating that the SitABCD transporter plays an important role during the B. henselae infection cycle.
Bottone, Edward J
Bacillus cereus is a Gram-positive aerobic or facultatively anaerobic, motile, spore-forming, rod-shaped bacterium that is widely distributed environmentally. While B. cereus is associated mainly with food poisoning, it is being increasingly reported to be a cause of serious and potentially fatal non-gastrointestinal-tract infections. The pathogenicity of B. cereus, whether intestinal or nonintestinal, is intimately associated with the production of tissue-destructive exoenzymes. Among these secreted toxins are four hemolysins, three distinct phospholipases, an emesis-inducing toxin, and proteases. The major hurdle in evaluating B. cereus when isolated from a clinical specimen is overcoming its stigma as an insignificant contaminant. Outside its notoriety in association with food poisoning and severe eye infections, this bacterium has been incriminated in a multitude of other clinical conditions such as anthrax-like progressive pneumonia, fulminant sepsis, and devastating central nervous system infections, particularly in immunosuppressed individuals, intravenous drug abusers, and neonates. Its role in nosocomial acquired bacteremia and wound infections in postsurgical patients has also been well defined, especially when intravascular devices such as catheters are inserted. Primary cutaneous infections mimicking clostridial gas gangrene induced subsequent to trauma have also been well documented. B. cereus produces a potent beta-lactamase conferring marked resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics. Antimicrobials noted to be effective in the empirical management of a B. cereus infection while awaiting antimicrobial susceptibility results for the isolate include ciprofloxacin and vancomycin.
Zielinski, Christina E; Corti, Davide; Mele, Federico; Pinto, Dora; Lanzavecchia, Antonio; Sallusto, Federica
Studies on immunologic memory in animal models and especially in the human system are instrumental to identify mechanisms and correlates of protection necessary for vaccine development. In this article, we provide an overview of the cellular basis of immunologic memory. We also describe experimental approaches based on high throughput cell cultures, which we have developed to interrogate human memory T cells, B cells, and plasma cells. We discuss how these approaches can provide new tools and information for vaccine design, in a process that we define as 'analytic vaccinology'.
Lynch, Tarah; Iverson, Jennifer; Kosoy, Michael
In this study we compared some common Bartonella culturing methodologies using four diverse species causing human illnesses. Based on a review of the literature, we focused on three major inconsistencies between protocols: base medium, cell coculture, and temperature. Our data showed that Bartonella tamiae demonstrated temperature-dependent growth limitations between common culturing conditions only 2°C apart. Additionally, growth of B. quintana was significantly enhanced by the presence of mammalian cell coculture under mammalian cell culture conditions; however, when the medium was modified to incorporate insect cell culture-based medium, coculturing with mammalian cells was no longer needed. In this study, we were able to overcome these temperature- and cell-dependent limitations and accommodate all of the strains tested by combining mammalian cell culture-based medium with insect cell culture-based medium.
Mba, Pamela Angue; Marié, Jean-Lou; Rolain, Jean-Marc; Davoust, Bernard; Beaucournu, Jean-Claude; Raoult, Didier; Parola, Philippe
A total of 155 fleas collected in 2009 in Lebanon from 16 cats (104 Ctenocephalides felis specimens, 1 C. canis specimen) and 2 dogs (50 C. canis specimens) were tested for the presence of Rickettsia spp. and Bartonella spp. using molecular methods, including real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR), regular PCR, and sequencing of amplified PCR products. Rickettsia felis, the agent of the emerging flea-borne spotted fever in humans, was identified in 17 (16%) C. felis cat fleas. Bartonella henselae, an agent of cat scratch disease, was identified in three (2.9%) C. felis. Our results emphasize the potential risk of these emerging flea-borne infections in Lebanon.
Yersinia enterocolitica is a Gram-negative microbe of public health importance and is under national FoodNet surveillance in the United States. The majority of human yersiniosis cases are foodborne. Consumption of dairy products (milk, ice cream), water, vegetables (tofu), and pork have been linke...
Loftis, Amanda D; Reeves, Will K; Szumlas, Daniel E; Abbassy, Magda M; Helmy, Ibrahim M; Moriarity, John R; Dasch, Gregory A
Serologic surveys in Egypt have documented human and animal exposure to vector-borne bacterial pathogens, but the presence and distribution of these agents in arthropods has not been determined. Between July 2002 and July 2003, fleas were collected from 221 mammals trapped in 17 cities throughout Egypt. A total of 987 fleas were collected, representing four species (Ctenocephalides felis, Echidnophaga gallinacea, Leptopsylla segnis, and Xenopsylla cheopis); 899 of these fleas were X. cheopis from rats (Rattus spp.). Fleas were tested for DNA from Anaplasma spp., Bartonella spp., Coxiella burnetii, Ehrlichia spp., Rickettsia spp., and Yersinia pestis. Rickettsia typhi, the agent of murine typhus, was detected in X. cheopis and L. segnis from rats from nine cities. A spotted-fever group Rickettsia sp. similar to "RF2125" was detected in E. gallinacea, and two unidentified spotted fever group Rickettsia were detected in two X. cheopis. Novel Bartonella genotypes were detected in X. cheopis and L. segnis from three cities. Coxiella burnetii was detected in two fleas. Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, and Y. pestis were not detected.
Hu, Shoukui; Niu, Lina; Luo, Lijuan; Song, Xiuping; Sun, Jimin; Liu, Qiyong
Trench fever, caused by Bartonella quintana, is recognized as a re-emerging and neglected disease. Rapid and sensitive detection approaches are urgently required to monitor and help control B. quintana infections. Here, loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), which amplifies target DNA at a fixed temperature with high sensitivity, specificity and rapidity, was employed to detect B. quintana. Thirty-six strains, including 10 B. quintana, 13 other Bartonella spp., and 13 other common pathogens, were applied to verify and evaluate the LAMP assay. The specificity of the LAMP assay was 100%, and the limit of detection was 125 fg/reaction. The LAMP assay was compared with qPCR in the examination of 100 rhesus and 20 rhesus-feeder blood samples; the diagnostic accuracy was found to be 100% when LAMP was compared to qPCR, but the LAMP assay was significantly more sensitive (p < 0.05). Thus, LAMP methodology is a useful for diagnosis of trench fever in humans and primates, especially in low-resource settings, because of its rapid, sensitive detection that does not require sophisticated equipment. PMID:27916953
McCormick, Allison; Loeffler, Jürgen; Ebel, Frank
Aspergillus fumigatus is currently the major air-borne fungal pathogen. It is able to cause several forms of disease in humans of which invasive aspergillosis is the most severe. The high mortality rate of this disease prompts increased efforts to disclose the basic principles of A. fumigatus pathogenicity. According to our current knowledge, A. fumigatus lacks sophisticated virulence traits; it is nevertheless able to establish infection due to its robustness and ability to adapt to a wide range of environmental conditions. This review focuses on two crucial aspects of invasive aspergillosis: (i) properties of A. fumigatus that are relevant during infection and may distinguish it from non-pathogenic Aspergillus species and (ii) interactions of the pathogen with the innate and adaptive immune systems.
Aerococci have often been misidentified as streptococci in microbiology laboratories, leading to an underestimation of these bacteria as causes of human infections. An increased awareness of aerococci and the introduction of matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry, has led to an increased isolation of Aerococcus urinae and Aerococcus sanguinicola from human urine and blood. The two species are found in human urine and can cause urinary tract infections (UTI). Aerococcus urinae can, in older males with underlying urinary tract conditions, cause invasive infections such as urosepsis or infective endocarditis. The prognosis of invasive aerococcal infections appears to be relatively favourable despite the old age of patients and their many comorbidities. Though clinical breakpoints are still not in place, aerococci seem to be sensitive to penicillins, carbapenems and vancomycin. There is synergy between penicillin and aminoglycosides against some A. urinae isolates and this combination is often used in aerococcal infective endocarditis. The treatment of complicated aerococcal UTI is not obvious as many isolates are resistant to fluoroquinolones. In addition, A. urinae is resistant to sulphamethoxazole, and there are methodological problems in the determination of trimethoprim sensitivity. In complicated UTI, ampicillin is probably a safe treatment option, whereas nitrofurantoin is probably effective in uncomplicated UTI. Treatment studies in aerococcal infections are needed as is a better understanding of the natural niches for aerococci and the pathogenesis and clinical course of aerococcal infections.
Mendoza, Leonel; Vilela, Raquel; Voelz, Kerstin; Ibrahim, Ashraf S.; Voigt, Kerstin; Lee, Soo Chan
In recent years, we have seen an increase in the number of immunocompromised cohorts as a result of infections and/or medical conditions, which has resulted in an increased incidence of fungal infections. Although rare, the incidence of infections caused by fungi belonging to basal fungal lineages is also continuously increasing. Basal fungal lineages diverged at an early point during the evolution of the fungal lineage, in which, in a simplified four-phylum fungal kingdom, Zygomycota and Chytridiomycota belong to the basal fungi, distinguishing them from Ascomycota and Basidiomycota. Currently there are no known human infections caused by fungi in Chytridiomycota; only Zygomycotan fungi are known to infect humans. Hence, infections caused by zygomycetes have been called zygomycosis, and the term “zygomycosis” is often used as a synonym for “mucormycosis.” In the four-phylum fungal kingdom system, Zygomycota is classified mainly based on morphology, including the ability to form coenocytic (aseptated) hyphae and zygospores (sexual spores). In the Zygomycota, there are 10 known orders, two of which, the Mucorales and Entomophthorales, contain species that can infect humans, and the infection has historically been known as zygomycosis. However, recent multilocus sequence typing analyses (the fungal tree of life [AFTOL] project) revealed that the Zygomycota forms not a monophyletic clade but instead a polyphyletic clade, whereas Ascomycota and Basidiomycota are monophyletic. Thus, the term “zygomycosis” needed to be further specified, resulting in the terms “mucormycosis” and “entomophthoramycosis.” This review covers these two different types of fungal infections. PMID:25377138
Sréter-Lancz, Zsuzsa; Tornyai, Krisztián; Széll, Zoltán; Sréter, Tamás; Márialigeti, Károly
Fleas (95 Pulex irritans, 50 Ctenocephalides felis, 45 Ctenocephalides canis) and ixodid ticks (223 ixodes ricinus, 231 Dermacentor reticulatus, 204 Haemaphysalis concinna) were collected in Hungary and tested, in assays based on PCR, for Bartonella infection. Low percentages of P. irritans (4.2%) and C. felis (4.0%) were found to be infected. The groEL sequences of the four isolates from P. irritans were different from all the homologous sequences for bartonellae previously stored in GenBank but closest to those of Bartonella sp. SE-Bart-B (sharing 96% identities). The groEL sequences of the two isolates from C. felis were identical with those of the causative agents of cat scratch disease, Bartonella henselae and Bartonella clarridgeiae, respectively. The pap31 sequences of B. henselae amplified from Hungarian fleas were identical with that of Marseille strain. No Bartonella-specific amplification products were detected in C. canis, I. ricinus, D. reticulatus and H. concinna pools.
Ganesh, Atheesha; Lin, Johnson
In recent years, the impending impact of waterborne pathogens on human health has become a growing concern. Drinking water and recreational exposure to polluted water have shown to be linked to viral infections, since viruses are shed in extremely high numbers in the faeces and vomit of infected individuals and are routinely introduced into the water environment. All of the identified pathogenic viruses that pose a significant public health threat in the water environment are transmitted via the faecal-oral route. This group, are collectively known as enteric viruses, and their possible health effects include gastroenteritis, paralysis, meningitis, hepatitis, respiratory illness and diarrhoea. This review addresses both past and recent investigations into viral contamination of surface waters, with emphasis on six types of potential waterborne human pathogenic viruses. In addition, the viral associated illnesses are outlined with reference to their pathogenesis and routes of transmission.
Okujava, Rusudan; Guye, Patrick; Lu, Yun-Yueh; Mistl, Claudia; Polus, Florine; Vayssier-Taussat, Muriel; Halin, Cornelia; Rolink, Antonius G; Dehio, Christoph
Numerous bacterial pathogens secrete multiple effectors to modulate host cellular functions. These effectors may interfere with each other to efficiently control the infection process. Bartonellae are Gram-negative, facultative intracellular bacteria using a VirB type IV secretion system to translocate a cocktail of Bartonella effector proteins (Beps) into host cells. Based on in vitro infection models we demonstrate here that BepE protects infected migratory cells from injurious effects triggered by BepC and is required for in vivo dissemination of bacteria from the dermal site of inoculation to blood. Human endothelial cells (HUVECs) infected with a ΔbepE mutant of B. henselae (Bhe) displayed a cell fragmentation phenotype resulting from Bep-dependent disturbance of rear edge detachment during migration. A ΔbepCE mutant did not show cell fragmentation, indicating that BepC is critical for triggering this deleterious phenotype. Complementation of ΔbepE with BepEBhe or its homologues from other Bartonella species abolished cell fragmentation. This cyto-protective activity is confined to the C-terminal Bartonella intracellular delivery (BID) domain of BepEBhe (BID2.EBhe). Ectopic expression of BID2.EBhe impeded the disruption of actin stress fibers by Rho Inhibitor 1, indicating that BepE restores normal cell migration via the RhoA signaling pathway, a major regulator of rear edge retraction. An intradermal (i.d.) model for B. tribocorum (Btr) infection in the rat reservoir host mimicking the natural route of infection by blood sucking arthropods allowed demonstrating a vital role for BepE in bacterial dissemination from derma to blood. While the Btr mutant ΔbepDE was abacteremic following i.d. inoculation, complementation with BepEBtr, BepEBhe or BIDs.EBhe restored bacteremia. Given that we observed a similar protective effect of BepEBhe on infected bone marrow-derived dendritic cells migrating through a monolayer of lymphatic endothelial cells we propose that
Okujava, Rusudan; Guye, Patrick; Lu, Yun-Yueh; Mistl, Claudia; Polus, Florine; Vayssier-Taussat, Muriel; Halin, Cornelia; Rolink, Antonius G.; Dehio, Christoph
Numerous bacterial pathogens secrete multiple effectors to modulate host cellular functions. These effectors may interfere with each other to efficiently control the infection process. Bartonellae are Gram-negative, facultative intracellular bacteria using a VirB type IV secretion system to translocate a cocktail of Bartonella effector proteins (Beps) into host cells. Based on in vitro infection models we demonstrate here that BepE protects infected migratory cells from injurious effects triggered by BepC and is required for in vivo dissemination of bacteria from the dermal site of inoculation to blood. Human endothelial cells (HUVECs) infected with a ΔbepE mutant of B. henselae (Bhe) displayed a cell fragmentation phenotype resulting from Bep-dependent disturbance of rear edge detachment during migration. A ΔbepCE mutant did not show cell fragmentation, indicating that BepC is critical for triggering this deleterious phenotype. Complementation of ΔbepE with BepEBhe or its homologues from other Bartonella species abolished cell fragmentation. This cyto-protective activity is confined to the C-terminal Bartonella intracellular delivery (BID) domain of BepEBhe (BID2.EBhe). Ectopic expression of BID2.EBhe impeded the disruption of actin stress fibers by Rho Inhibitor 1, indicating that BepE restores normal cell migration via the RhoA signaling pathway, a major regulator of rear edge retraction. An intradermal (i.d.) model for B. tribocorum (Btr) infection in the rat reservoir host mimicking the natural route of infection by blood sucking arthropods allowed demonstrating a vital role for BepE in bacterial dissemination from derma to blood. While the Btr mutant ΔbepDE was abacteremic following i.d. inoculation, complementation with BepEBtr, BepEBhe or BIDs.EBhe restored bacteremia. Given that we observed a similar protective effect of BepEBhe on infected bone marrow-derived dendritic cells migrating through a monolayer of lymphatic endothelial cells we propose that
Boschiroli, Maria L; Falkinham, Joseph; Favre-Bonte, Sabine; Nazaret, Sylvie; Piveteau, Pascal; Sadowsky, Michael J.; Byappanahalli, Muruleedhara; Delaquis, Pascal; Hartmann, Alain
Soils receive inputs of human pathogenic and indicator bacteria through land application of animal manures or sewage sludge, and inputs by wildlife. Soil is an extremely heterogeneous substrate and contains meso- and macrofauna that may be reservoirs for bacteria of human health concern. The ability to detect and quantify bacteria of human health concern is important in risk assessments and in evaluating the efficacy of agricultural soil management practices that are protective of crop quality and protective of adjacent water resources. The present chapter describes the distribution of selected Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria in soils. Methods for detecting and quantifying soilborne bacteria including extraction, enrichment using immunomagnetic capture, culturing, molecular detection and deep sequencing of metagenomic DNA to detect pathogens are overviewed. Methods for strain phenotypic and genotypic characterization are presented, as well as how comparison with clinical isolates can inform the potential for human health risk.
This article introduces the first Focus Issue of Phytopathology, a dedicated issue of the journal that highlights a topic of significant interest to our readership. This first Focus Issue addresses the topic of food safety and the biology of human pathogens on plants, a relatively new problem in pla...
Park, Minji; Do, Eunsoo
Pathogenic microbes secrete various enzymes with lipolytic activities to facilitate their survival within the host. Lipolytic enzymes include extracellular lipases and phospholipases, and several lines of evidence have suggested that these enzymes contribute to the virulence of pathogenic fungi. Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans are the most commonly isolated human fungal pathogens, and several biochemical and molecular approaches have identified their extracellular lipolytic enzymes. The role of lipases and phospholipases in the virulence of C. albicans has been extensively studied, and these enzymes have been shown to contribute to C. albicans morphological transition, colonization, cytotoxicity, and penetration to the host. While not much is known about the lipases in C. neoformans, the roles of phospholipases in the dissemination of fungal cells in the host and in signaling pathways have been described. Lipolytic enzymes may also influence the survival of the lipophilic cutaneous pathogenic yeast Malassezia species within the host, and an unusually high number of lipase-coding genes may complement the lipid dependency of this fungus. This review briefly describes the current understanding of the lipolytic enzymes in major human fungal pathogens, namely C. albicans, C. neoformans, and Malassezia spp. PMID:23874127
Silaghi, Cornelia; Knaus, Martin; Rapti, Dhimiter; Shukullari, Enstela; Pfister, Kurt; Rehbein, Steffen
Fleas can serve as vectors for bacterial pathogens like Bartonella and Rickettsia species, which have been isolated worldwide. However, the knowledge of the epidemiology of vector-borne diseases in general and thus on flea-borne diseases in Albania is limited. Therefore, from 78 free-roaming cats in Tirana, Albania, fleas (371 Ctenocephalides felis and 5 Ctenocephalides canis) were collected to examine them for the presence of Rickettsia and Bartonella species. Ten of the 371 C. felis (2.7%) were positive for Rickettsia felis, and 24 (6.5%) for Bartonella spp. (B. henselae and B. clarridgeiae). In total, fleas from 15 cats (19.2%) were positive for either one or the other of the pathogens. The results of this study provided evidence for the presence of R. felis (causing flea-borne spotted fever) and Bartonella spp. (causing cat scratch disease) in Albania. Thus, these infectious diseases should be considered as differential diagnoses when febrile symptoms are presented, especially after contact with cats or their fleas.
Chen, Po-Lin; Lamy, Brigitte; Ko, Wen-Chien
Aeromonas dhakensis was first isolated from children with diarrhea in Dhaka, Bangladesh and described in 2002. In the past decade, increasing evidence indicate this species is widely distributed in the environment and can cause a variety of infections both in human and animals, especially in coastal areas. A. dhakensis is often misidentified as A. hydrophila, A. veronii, or A. caviae by commercial phenotypic tests in the clinical laboratory. Correct identification relies on molecular methods. Increasingly used matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) may be able to identify Aeromonas specie rapidly and accurately. A. dhakensis has shown its potent virulence in different animal models and clinical infections. Although several virulence factors had been reported, no single mechanism is conclusive. Characteristically A. dhakensis is the principal species causing soft tissue infection and bacteremia, especially among patients with liver cirrhosis or malignancy. Of note, A. dhakensis bacteremia is more lethal than bacteremia due to other Aeromonas species. The role of this species in gastroenteritis remains controversial. Third generation cephalosporins and carbapenems should be used cautiously in the treatment of severe A. dhakensis infection due to the presence of AmpC ββ-lactamase and metallo-β-lactamase genes, and optimal regimens may be cefepime or fluoroquinolones. Studies of bacterial virulence factors and associated host responses may provide the chance to understand the heterogeneous virulence between species. The hypothesis A. dhakensis with varied geographic prevalence and enhanced virulence that compared to other Aeromonas species warrants more investigations. PMID:27303382
Bai, Y.; Cross, P.C.; Malania, L.; Kosoy, M.
The aim of the present study was to investigate the presence of Bartonella infections in elk populations. We report the isolation of four Bartonella strains from 55 elk blood samples. Sequencing analysis demonstrated that all four strains belong to Bartonella capreoli, a bacterium that was originally described in the wild roe deer of Europe. Our finding first time demonstrated that B. capreoli has a wide geographic range, and that elk may be another host for this bacterium. Further investigations are needed to determine the impact of this bacterium on wildlife.
Ko, S; Kang, J-G; Kim, H-C; Klein, T A; Choi, K-S; Song, J-W; Youn, H-Y; Chae, J-S
To determine the prevalence of Bartonella species and identify which species of Bartonella naturally infects the striped field mouse (Apodemus agrarius) in the Republic of Korea (ROK), spleens from 200 mice were assayed by nested polymerase chain reaction (nPCR) targeting the RNA polymerase subunit beta (rpoB) gene and the 16S-23S internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region for members of the genus Bartonella. Utilizing PCR techniques, the prevalence of Bartonella spp. ranged from 31.5% (63/200) to 62.0% (124/200) for the rpoB and ITS gene fragments, respectively. The most prevalent species, Bartonella grahamii, was assigned to 17 genotypes and closely related to the zoonotic pathogens, B. taylorii, B. tribocorum, B. phoceensis and B. henselae, which also were detected. Two Bartonella isolates (KRBG28 and KRBG32) were recovered from blood of A. agrarius captured in Gyeonggi Province, ROK. Comparison of the 16S rRNA, hemin-binding protein E (hbpE), glutamate dehydrogenase 1 (gdh1), invasion-associated protein B (ialB), cell division protein (ftsZ), citrate synthase (gltA), 60 kDa heat shock protein (groEL), rpoB gene fragments and the ITS region sequences from the isolates with GenBank was confirmed as B. grahamii. Phylogenetic analysis based on the alignment of concatenated sequences (4933 bp) of KRBG28 and KRBG32 clustered with B. grahamii, forming an independent clade between Asian and American/European B. grahamii genogroups.
Wray, Amy K; Olival, Kevin J; Morán, David; Lopez, Maria Renee; Alvarez, Danilo; Navarrete-Macias, Isamara; Liang, Eliza; Simmons, Nancy B; Lipkin, W Ian; Daszak, Peter; Anthony, Simon J
Certain bat species serve as natural reservoirs for pathogens in several key viral families including henipa-, lyssa-, corona-, and filoviruses, which may pose serious threats to human health. The Common Vampire Bat (Desmodus rotundus), due to its abundance, sanguivorous feeding habit involving humans and domestic animals, and highly social behavioral ecology, may have an unusually high potential for interspecies disease transmission. Previous studies have investigated rabies dynamics in D. rotundus, yet the diversity of other viruses, bacteria, and other microbes that these bats may carry remains largely unknown. We screened 396 blood, urine, saliva, and fecal samples from D. rotundus captured in Guatemala for 13 viral families and genera. Positive results were found for rhabdovirus, adenovirus, and herpesvirus assays. We also screened these samples for Bartonella spp. and found that 38% of individuals tested positive. To characterize potential for interspecies transmission associated with feeding behavior, we also analyzed cytochrome B sequences from fecal samples to identify prey species and found that domestic cattle (Bos taurus) made up the majority of blood meals. Our findings suggest that the risk of pathogen spillover from Desmodus rotundus, including between domestic animal species, is possible and warrants further investigation to characterize this microbial diversity and expand our understanding of foraging ecology in their populations.
Background Ticks may transmit a large variety of pathogens, which cause illnesses in animals and humans, commonly referred to as to tick-borne diseases (TBDs). The incidence of human TBDs in Italy is underestimated because of poor surveillance and the scant amount of studies available. Methods Samples (n = 561) were collected from humans in four main geographical areas of Italy (i.e., northwestern, northeastern, southern Italy, and Sicily), which represent a variety of environments. After being morphologically identified, ticks were molecularly tested with selected protocols for the presence of pathogens of the genera Rickettsia, Babesia, Theileria, Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis, Borrelia and Anaplasma. Results Ticks belonged to 16 species of the genera Argas, Dermacentor, Haemaphysalis, Hyalomma, Ixodes and Rhipicephalus, with Ixodes ricinus (59.5%) being the species most frequently retrieved, followed by Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato (21.4%). Nymphs were the life stage most frequently retrieved (41%), followed by adult females (34.6%). The overall positivity to any pathogen detected was 18%. Detected microorganisms were Rickettsia spp. (17.0%), Anaplasma phagocytophilum (0.8%), Borrelia afzelii (0.5%), Borrelia valaisiana (0.3%), C. N. mikurensis (0.5%) and Babesia venatorum (0.6%). Conclusions Results indicate that people living in the Italian peninsula are at risk of being bitten by different tick species, which may transmit a plethora of TBD causing pathogens and that co-infections may also occur. PMID:25023709
RNA viruses, with their high potential for mutation and epidemic spread, are the most common class of pathogens found as new causes of human illness. Despite great advances made in diagnostic technology since the 1950s, the annual rate at which novel virulent viruses have been found has remained at 2-3. Most emerging viruses are zoonoses; they have jumped from mammal or bird hosts to humans. An analysis of virus discovery indicates that the small number of novel viruses discovered annually is an artifact of inadequate surveillance in tropical and subtropical countries, where even established endemic pathogens are often misdiagnosed. Many of the emerging viruses of the future are already infecting humans but remain to be uncovered by a strategy of disease surveillance in selected populations.
RNA viruses, with their high potential for mutation and epidemic spread, are the most common class of pathogens found as new causes of human illness. Despite great advances made in diagnostic technology since the 1950s, the annual rate at which novel virulent viruses have been found has remained at 2–3. Most emerging viruses are zoonoses; they have jumped from mammal or bird hosts to humans. An analysis of virus discovery indicates that the small number of novel viruses discovered annually is an artifact of inadequate surveillance in tropical and subtropical countries, where even established endemic pathogens are often misdiagnosed. Many of the emerging viruses of the future are already infecting humans but remain to be uncovered by a strategy of disease surveillance in selected populations. PMID:25416679
Panayidou, Stavria; Ioannidou, Eleni; Apidianakis, Yiorgos
Drosophila has been the invertebrate model organism of choice for the study of innate immune responses during the past few decades. Many Drosophila–microbe interaction studies have helped to define innate immunity pathways, and significant effort has been made lately to decipher mechanisms of microbial pathogenesis. Here we catalog 68 bacterial, fungal, and viral species studied in flies, 43 of which are relevant to human health. We discuss studies of human pathogens in flies revealing not only the elicitation and avoidance of immune response but also mechanisms of tolerance, host tissue homeostasis, regeneration, and predisposition to cancer. Prominent among those is the emerging pattern of intestinal regeneration as a defense response induced by pathogenic and innocuous bacteria. Immunopathology mechanisms and many microbial virulence factors have been elucidated, but their relevance to human health conventionally necessitates validation in mammalian models of infection. PMID:24398387
Glick, Yair; Ben-Ari, Ya'ara; Drayman, Nir; Pellach, Michal; Neveu, Gregory; Boonyaratanakornkit, Jim; Avrahami, Dorit; Einav, Shirit; Oppenheim, Ariella; Gerber, Doron
The discovery of how a pathogen invades a cell requires one to determine which host cell receptors are exploited. This determination is a challenging problem because the receptor is invariably a membrane protein, which represents an Achilles heel in proteomics. We have developed a universal platform for high-throughput expression and interaction studies of membrane proteins by creating a microfluidic-based comprehensive human membrane protein array (MPA). The MPA is, to our knowledge, the first of its kind and offers a powerful alternative to conventional proteomics by enabling the simultaneous study of 2,100 membrane proteins. We characterized direct interactions of a whole nonenveloped virus (simian virus 40), as well as those of the hepatitis delta enveloped virus large form antigen, with candidate host receptors expressed on the MPA. Selected newly discovered membrane protein-pathogen interactions were validated by conventional methods, demonstrating that the MPA is an important tool for cellular receptor discovery and for understanding pathogen tropism.
Favacho, Alexsandra Rodrigues de Mendonça; Andrade, Marcelle Novaes; de Oliveira, Renata Carvalho; Bonvicino, Cibele Rodrigues; D'Andrea, Paulo Sergio; de Lemos, Elba Regina Sampaio
Several rodent-associated Bartonella species cause disease in humans but little is known about their epidemiology in Brazil. The presence of Bartonella spp. in wild rodents captured in two municipalities of the Mato Grosso do Sul state was assessed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Fragments of heart tissue from 42 wild rodents were tested using primers targeting the Bartonella 16S-23S intergenic transcribed spacer (ITS) region and citrate synthase gltA gene. The wild rodents were identified based on external and cranial morphology and confirmed at species level by mitochondrial DNA (cytochrome B) sequencing and karyotype. Overall, 42.9% (18/42) of the wild rodents were PCR positive for Bartonella spp.: Callomys callosus (04), Cerradomys maracajuensis (04), Hylaeamus megacephalus (01), Necromys lasiurus (06), Nectomys squamipes (01), Oecomys catherinae (01) and Oxymycterus delator (01). Bartonella vinsonii subsp. arupensis was detected in N. lasiurus (46%) and C. callosus (21%) captured in the two study sites. We reported the first molecular detection of B. vinsonii subsp. arupensis in different species of wild rodents collected in the Brazilian territory. Further studies are needed to examine the role of these mammals in the eco-epidemiology of bartonellosis in Brazil.
Chastant-Maillard, S; Boulouis, H-J; Reynaud, K; Thoumire, S; Gandoin, C; Bouillin, C; Cordonnier, N; Maillard, R
Transplacental transmission of Bartonella spp. has been reported for rodents, but not for cats and has never been investigated in cattle. The objective of this study was to assess vertical transmission of Bartonella in cattle. Fifty-six cow-calf pairs were tested before (cows) and after (calves) caesarean section for Bartonella bacteremia and/or serology, and the cotyledons were checked for gross lesions and presence of the bacteria. None of the 29 (52%) bacteremic cows gave birth to bacteremic calves, and all calves were seronegative at birth. Neither placentitis nor vasculitis were observed in all collected cotyledons. Bartonella bovis was not detected in placental cotyledons. Therefore, transplacental transmission of B. bovis and multiplication of the bacteria in the placenta do not seem likely. The lack of transplacental transmission may be associated with the particular structure of the placenta in ruminants or to a poor affinity/agressiveness of B. bovis for this tissue.
Schmidt, Sabrina; Essbauer, Sandra S; Mayer-Scholl, Anne; Poppert, Sven; Schmidt-Chanasit, Jonas; Klempa, Boris; Henning, Klaus; Schares, Gereon; Groschup, Martin H; Spitzenberger, Friederike; Richter, Dania; Heckel, Gerald; Ulrich, Rainer G
Rodents are important reservoirs for a large number of zoonotic pathogens. We examined the occurrence of 11 viral, bacterial, and parasitic agents in rodent populations in Austria, including three different hantaviruses, lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus, orthopox virus, Leptospira spp., Borrelia spp., Rickettsia spp., Bartonella spp., Coxiella burnetii, and Toxoplasma gondii. In 2008, 110 rodents of four species (40 Clethrionomys glareolus, 29 Apodemus flavicollis, 26 Apodemus sylvaticus, and 15 Microtus arvalis) were trapped at two rural sites in Lower Austria. Chest cavity fluid and samples of lung, spleen, kidney, liver, brain, and ear pinna skin were collected. We screened selected tissue samples for hantaviruses, lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus, orthopox viruses, Leptospira, Borrelia, Rickettsia, Bartonella spp., C. burnetii, and T. gondii by RT-PCR/PCR and detected nucleic acids of Tula hantavirus, Leptospira spp., Borrelia afzelii, Rickettsia spp., and different Bartonella species. Serological investigations were performed for hantaviruses, lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus, orthopox viruses, and Rickettsia spp. Here, Dobrava-Belgrade hantavirus-, Tula hantavirus-, lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus-, orthopox virus-, and rickettsia-specific antibodies were demonstrated. Puumala hantavirus, C. burnetii, and T. gondii were neither detected by RT-PCR/PCR nor by serological methods. In addition, multiple infections with up to three pathogens were shown in nine animals of three rodent species from different trapping sites. In conclusion, these results show that rodents in Austria may host multiple zoonotic pathogens. Our observation raises important questions regarding the interactions of different pathogens in the host, the countermeasures of the host's immune system, the impact of the host-pathogen interaction on the fitness of the host, and the spread of infectious agents among wild rodents and from those to other animals or humans.
Schmidt, Sabrina; Essbauer, Sandra S.; Mayer-Scholl, Anne; Poppert, Sven; Schmidt-Chanasit, Jonas; Klempa, Boris; Henning, Klaus; Schares, Gereon; Groschup, Martin H.; Spitzenberger, Friederike; Richter, Dania; Heckel, Gerald
Abstract Rodents are important reservoirs for a large number of zoonotic pathogens. We examined the occurrence of 11 viral, bacterial, and parasitic agents in rodent populations in Austria, including three different hantaviruses, lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus, orthopox virus, Leptospira spp., Borrelia spp., Rickettsia spp., Bartonella spp., Coxiella burnetii, and Toxoplasma gondii. In 2008, 110 rodents of four species (40 Clethrionomys glareolus, 29 Apodemus flavicollis, 26 Apodemus sylvaticus, and 15 Microtus arvalis) were trapped at two rural sites in Lower Austria. Chest cavity fluid and samples of lung, spleen, kidney, liver, brain, and ear pinna skin were collected. We screened selected tissue samples for hantaviruses, lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus, orthopox viruses, Leptospira, Borrelia, Rickettsia, Bartonella spp., C. burnetii, and T. gondii by RT-PCR/PCR and detected nucleic acids of Tula hantavirus, Leptospira spp., Borrelia afzelii, Rickettsia spp., and different Bartonella species. Serological investigations were performed for hantaviruses, lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus, orthopox viruses, and Rickettsia spp. Here, Dobrava-Belgrade hantavirus-, Tula hantavirus-, lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus-, orthopox virus-, and rickettsia-specific antibodies were demonstrated. Puumala hantavirus, C. burnetii, and T. gondii were neither detected by RT-PCR/PCR nor by serological methods. In addition, multiple infections with up to three pathogens were shown in nine animals of three rodent species from different trapping sites. In conclusion, these results show that rodents in Austria may host multiple zoonotic pathogens. Our observation raises important questions regarding the interactions of different pathogens in the host, the countermeasures of the host's immune system, the impact of the host–pathogen interaction on the fitness of the host, and the spread of infectious agents among wild rodents and from those to other animals or humans. PMID
Diniz, Pedro Paulo Vissotto de Paiva; Velho, Paulo Eduardo Neves Ferreira; Pitassi, Luiza Helena Urso; Drummond, Marina Rovani; Lania, Bruno Grosselli; Barjas-Castro, Maria Lourdes; Sowy, Stanley; Breitschwerdt, Edward B.; Scorpio, Diana Gerardi
Bacteria from the genus Bartonella are emerging blood-borne bacteria, capable of causing long-lasting infection in marine and terrestrial mammals, including humans. Bartonella are generally well adapted to their main host, causing persistent infection without clinical manifestation. However, these organisms may cause severe disease in natural or accidental hosts. In humans, Bartonella species have been detected from sick patients presented with diverse disease manifestations, including cat scratch disease, trench fever, bacillary angiomatosis, endocarditis, polyarthritis, or granulomatous inflammatory disease. However, with the advances in diagnostic methods, subclinical bloodstream infection in humans has been reported, with the potential for transmission through blood transfusion been recently investigated by our group. The objective of this study was to determine the risk factors associated with Bartonella species infection in asymptomatic blood donors presented at a major blood bank in Southeastern Brazil. Five hundred blood donors were randomly enrolled and tested for Bartonella species infection by specialized blood cultured coupled with high-sensitive PCR assays. Epidemiological questionnaires were designed to cover major potential risk factors, such as age, gender, ethnicity, contact with companion animals, livestock, or wild animals, bites from insects or animal, economical status, among other factors. Based on multivariate logistic regression, bloodstream infection with B. henselae or B. clarridgeiae was associated with cat contact (adjusted OR: 3.4, 95% CI: 1.1–9.6) or history of tick bite (adjusted OR: 3.7, 95% CI: 1.3–13.4). These risk factors should be considered during donor screening, as bacteremia by these Bartonella species may not be detected by traditional laboratory screening methods, and it may be transmitted by blood transfusion. PMID:26999057
Crawford, Aaron; Wilson, Duncan
The ability of pathogenic microorganisms to assimilate sufficient nutrients for growth within their hosts is a fundamental requirement for pathogenicity. However, certain trace nutrients, including iron, zinc and manganese, are actively withheld from invading pathogens in a process called nutritional immunity. Therefore, successful pathogenic species must have evolved specialized mechanisms in order to adapt to the nutritionally restrictive environment of the host and cause disease. In this review, we discuss recent advances which have been made in our understanding of fungal iron and zinc acquisition strategies and nutritional immunity against fungal infections, and explore the mechanisms of micronutrient uptake by human pathogenic fungi.
Edelman, Daniel C
In 1994, Chang and Moore reported on the latest of the gammaherpesviruses to infect humans, human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) . This novel herpesvirus has and continues to present challenges to define its scope of involvement in human disease. In this review, aspects of HHV-8 infection are discussed, such as, the human immune response, viral pathogenesis and transmission, viral disease entities, and the virus's epidemiology with an emphasis on HHV-8 diagnostics. PMID:16138925
Huang, Cheng; Kolokoltsova, Olga A.; Yun, Nadezhda E.; Seregin, Alexey V.; Ronca, Shannon; Koma, Takaaki
ABSTRACT The arenavirus family includes several important pathogens that cause severe and sometimes fatal diseases in humans. The highly pathogenic Old World (OW) arenavirus Lassa fever virus (LASV) is the causative agent of Lassa fever (LF) disease in humans. LASV infections in severe cases are generally immunosuppressive without stimulating interferon (IFN) induction, a proinflammatory response, or T cell activation. However, the host innate immune responses to highly pathogenic New World (NW) arenaviruses are not well understood. We have previously shown that the highly pathogenic NW arenavirus, Junin virus (JUNV), induced an IFN response in human A549 cells. Here, we report that Machupo virus (MACV), another highly pathogenic NW arenavirus, also induces an IFN response. Importantly, both pathogenic NW arenaviruses, in contrast to the OW highly pathogenic arenavirus LASV, readily elicited an IFN response in human primary dendritic cells and A549 cells. Coinfection experiments revealed that LASV could potently inhibit MACV-activated IFN responses even at 6 h after MACV infection, while the replication levels of MACV and LASV were not affected by virus coinfection. Our results clearly demonstrated that although all viruses studied herein are highly pathogenic to humans, the host IFN responses toward infections with the NW arenaviruses JUNV and MACV are quite different from responses to infections with the OW arenavirus LASV, a discovery that needs to be further investigated in relevant animal models. This finding might help us better understand various interplays between the host immune system and highly pathogenic arenaviruses as well as distinct mechanisms underlying viral pathogenesis. IMPORTANCE Infections of humans with the highly pathogenic OW LASV are accompanied by potent suppression of interferon or proinflammatory cytokine production. In contrast, infections with the highly pathogenic NW arenavirus JUNV are associated with high levels of IFNs and
Colson, Philippe; La Scola, Bernard; Raoult, Didier
Giant viruses infecting phagocytic protists are composed of mimiviruses, the record holders of particle and genome size amongst viruses, and marseilleviruses. Since the discovery in 2003 at our laboratory of the first of these giant viruses, the Mimivirus, a growing body of data has revealed that they are common inhabitants of our biosphere. Moreover, from the outset, the story of Mimivirus has been linked to that of patients exhibiting pneumonia and it was shown that patients developed antibodies to this amoebal pathogen. Since then, there have been several proven cases of human infection or colonization with giant viruses of amoebae, which are known to host several bacteria that are human pathogens. Mimiviruses and marseilleviruses represent a major challenge in human pathology, as virological procedures implemented to date have not used appropriate media to allow their culture, and molecular techniques have used filtration steps that likely prevented their detection. Nevertheless, there is an increasing body of evidence that mimiviruses might cause pneumonia and that humans carry marseilleviruses, and re-analyses of metagenomic databases have provided evidence that these giant viruses can be common in human samples. The proportion of human infections related to these giant mimiviruses and marseilleviruses and the precise short- and long-term consequences of these infections have been scarcely investigated so far and should be the subject of future works.
Lu, Yun-Yueh; Franz, Bettina; Truttmann, Matthias C; Riess, Tanja; Gay-Fraret, Jérémie; Faustmann, Marco; Kempf, Volkhard A J; Dehio, Christoph
The Gram-negative, zoonotic pathogen Bartonella henselae is the aetiological agent of cat scratch disease, bacillary angiomatosis and peliosis hepatis in humans. Two pathogenicity factors of B. henselae - each displaying multiple functions in host cell interaction - have been characterized in greater detail: the trimeric autotransporter Bartonella adhesin A (BadA) and the type IV secretion system VirB/D4 (VirB/D4 T4SS). BadA mediates, e.g. binding to fibronectin (Fn), adherence to endothelial cells (ECs) and secretion of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). VirB/D4 translocates several Bartonella effector proteins (Beps) into the cytoplasm of infected ECs, resulting, e.g. in uptake of bacterial aggregates via the invasome structure, inhibition of apoptosis and activation of a proangiogenic phenotype. Despite this knowledge of the individual activities of BadA or VirB/D4 it is unknown whether these major virulence factors affect each other in their specific activities. In this study, expression and function of BadA and VirB/D4 were analysed in a variety of clinical B. henselae isolates. Data revealed that most isolates have lost expression of either BadA or VirB/D4 during in vitro passages. However, the phenotypic effects of coexpression of both virulence factors was studied in one clinical isolate that was found to stably coexpress BadA and VirB/D4, as well as by ectopic expression of BadA in a strain expressing VirB/D4 but not BadA. BadA, which forms a dense layer on the bacterial surface, negatively affected VirB/D4-dependent Bep translocation and invasome formation by likely preventing close contact between the bacterial cell envelope and the host cell membrane. In contrast, BadA-dependent Fn binding, adhesion to ECs and VEGF secretion were not affected by a functional VirB/D4 T4SS. The obtained data imply that the essential virulence factors BadA and VirB/D4 are likely differentially expressed during different stages of the infection cycle of
Farooq, Shaika; Farooq, Rumana; Nahvi, Nahida
Comamonas testosteroni (formally Pseudomonas testosteroni) is common environmental bacterium that is not part of the human microbiome. Since its identification as a human pathogen in 1987, numerous reports have drizzled in, implicating this organism for various infections. Although these organisms are of low virulence, some of their obscurity perhaps is due to the incapability of clinical laboratories to identify them. Most of the reported cases are bloodstream infections. We report a case of gastroenteritis caused by this organism in a 65-year-old female with colostomy in situ. PMID:28203137
Balakrishnan, Nandhakumar; Pritchard, Jessica; Ericson, Marna; Grindem, Carol; Phillips, Kathryn; Jennings, Samuel; Mathews, Kyle; Tran, Huy; Birkenheuer, Adam J.
Bartonella henselae is increasingly associated with a variety of pathological entities, which are often similar in dogs and human patients. Following an acute flea infestation, a dog developed an unusual clinical presentation for canine bartonellosis. Comprehensive medical, microbiological, and surgical interventions were required for diagnosis and to achieve a full recovery. PMID:24920774
Balakrishnan, Nandhakumar; Pritchard, Jessica; Ericson, Marna; Grindem, Carol; Phillips, Kathryn; Jennings, Samuel; Mathews, Kyle; Tran, Huy; Birkenheuer, Adam J; Breitschwerdt, Edward B
Bartonella henselae is increasingly associated with a variety of pathological entities, which are often similar in dogs and human patients. Following an acute flea infestation, a dog developed an unusual clinical presentation for canine bartonellosis. Comprehensive medical, microbiological, and surgical interventions were required for diagnosis and to achieve a full recovery.
Desjardins, Christopher A.; Champion, Mia D.; Holder, Jason W.; Muszewska, Anna; Goldberg, Jonathan; Bailão, Alexandre M.; Brigido, Marcelo Macedo; Ferreira, Márcia Eliana da Silva; Garcia, Ana Maria; Grynberg, Marcin; Gujja, Sharvari; Heiman, David I.; Henn, Matthew R.; Kodira, Chinnappa D.; León-Narváez, Henry; Longo, Larissa V. G.; Ma, Li-Jun; Malavazi, Iran; Matsuo, Alisson L.; Morais, Flavia V.; Pereira, Maristela; Rodríguez-Brito, Sabrina; Sakthikumar, Sharadha; Salem-Izacc, Silvia M.; Sykes, Sean M.; Teixeira, Marcus Melo; Vallejo, Milene C.; Walter, Maria Emília Machado Telles; Yandava, Chandri; Young, Sarah; Zeng, Qiandong; Zucker, Jeremy; Felipe, Maria Sueli; Goldman, Gustavo H.; Haas, Brian J.; McEwen, Juan G.; Nino-Vega, Gustavo; Puccia, Rosana; San-Blas, Gioconda; Soares, Celia Maria de Almeida; Birren, Bruce W.; Cuomo, Christina A.
Paracoccidioides is a fungal pathogen and the cause of paracoccidioidomycosis, a health-threatening human systemic mycosis endemic to Latin America. Infection by Paracoccidioides, a dimorphic fungus in the order Onygenales, is coupled with a thermally regulated transition from a soil-dwelling filamentous form to a yeast-like pathogenic form. To better understand the genetic basis of growth and pathogenicity in Paracoccidioides, we sequenced the genomes of two strains of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis (Pb03 and Pb18) and one strain of Paracoccidioides lutzii (Pb01). These genomes range in size from 29.1 Mb to 32.9 Mb and encode 7,610 to 8,130 genes. To enable genetic studies, we mapped 94% of the P. brasiliensis Pb18 assembly onto five chromosomes. We characterized gene family content across Onygenales and related fungi, and within Paracoccidioides we found expansions of the fungal-specific kinase family FunK1. Additionally, the Onygenales have lost many genes involved in carbohydrate metabolism and fewer genes involved in protein metabolism, resulting in a higher ratio of proteases to carbohydrate active enzymes in the Onygenales than their relatives. To determine if gene content correlated with growth on different substrates, we screened the non-pathogenic onygenale Uncinocarpus reesii, which has orthologs for 91% of Paracoccidioides metabolic genes, for growth on 190 carbon sources. U. reesii showed growth on a limited range of carbohydrates, primarily basic plant sugars and cell wall components; this suggests that Onygenales, including dimorphic fungi, can degrade cellulosic plant material in the soil. In addition, U. reesii grew on gelatin and a wide range of dipeptides and amino acids, indicating a preference for proteinaceous growth substrates over carbohydrates, which may enable these fungi to also degrade animal biomass. These capabilities for degrading plant and animal substrates suggest a duality in lifestyle that could enable pathogenic species of
Puupponen-Pimiä, Riitta; Nohynek, Liisa; Alakomi, Hanna-Leena; Oksman-Caldentey, Kirsi-Marja
Berry fruits are rich sources of bioactive compounds, such as phenolics and organic acids, which have antimicrobial activities against human pathogens. Among different berries and berry phenolics, cranberry, cloudberry, raspberry, strawberry and bilberry especially possess clear antimicrobial effects against, e.g. Salmonella and Staphylococcus. Complex phenolic polymers, like ellagitannins, are strong antibacterial agents present in cloudberry and raspberry. Several mechanisms of action in the growth inhibition of bacteria are involved, such as destabilisation of cytoplasmic membrane, permeabilisation of plasma membrane, inhibition of extracellular microbial enzymes, direct actions on microbial metabolism and deprivation of the substrates required for microbial growth. Antimicrobial activity of berries may also be related to antiadherence of bacteria to epithelial cells, which is a prerequisite for colonisation and infection of many pathogens. Antimicrobial berry compounds may have important applications in the future as natural antimicrobial agents for food industry as well as for medicine. Some of the novel approaches are discussed.
Puupponen-Pimiä, Riitta; Nohynek, Liisa; Alakomi, Hanna-Leena; Oksman-Caldentey, Kirsi-Marja
Phenolic compounds present in berries selectively inhibit the growth of human gastrointestinal pathogens. Especially cranberry, cloudberry, raspberry, strawberry and bilberry possess clear antimicrobial effects against e.g. salmonella and staphylococcus. Complex phenolic polymers, such as ellagitannins, are strong antibacterial agents present in cloudberry, raspberry and strawberry. Berry phenolics seem to affect the growth of different bacterial species with different mechanisms. Adherence of bacteria to epithelial surfaces is a prerequisite for colonization and infection of many pathogens. Antimicrobial activity of berries may also be related to anti-adherence activity of the berries. Utilization of enzymes in berry processing increases the amount of phenolics and antimicrobial activity of the berry products. Antimicrobial berry compounds are likely to have many important applications in the future as natural antimicrobial agents for food industry as well as for medicine.
Tryland, M; Nesbakken, T; Robertson, L; Grahek-Ogden, D; Lunestad, B T
Only a few countries worldwide hunt seals and whales commercially. In Norway, hooded and harp seals and minke whales are commercially harvested, and coastal seals (harbour and grey seals) are hunted as game. Marine mammal meat is sold to the public and thus included in general microbiological meat control regulations. Slaughtering and dressing of marine mammals are performed in the open air on deck, and many factors on board sealing or whaling vessels may affect meat quality, such as the ice used for cooling whale meat and the seawater used for cleaning, storage of whale meat in the open air until ambient temperature is reached, and the hygienic conditions of equipment, decks, and other surfaces. Based on existing reports, it appears that meat of seal and whale does not usually represent a microbiological hazard to consumers in Norway, because human disease has not been associated with consumption of such foods. However, as hygienic control on marine mammal meat is ad hoc, mainly based on spot-testing, and addresses very few human pathogens, this conclusion may be premature. Additionally, few data from surveys or systematic quality control screenings have been published. This review examines the occurrence of potential human pathogens in marine mammals, as well as critical points for contamination of meat during the slaughter, dressing, cooling, storage and processing of meat. Some zoonotic agents are of particular relevance as foodborne pathogens, such as Trichinella spp., Toxoplasma gondii, Salmonella and Leptospira spp. In addition, Mycoplasma spp. parapoxvirus and Mycobacterium spp. constitute occupational risks during handling of marine mammals and marine mammal products. Adequate training in hygienic procedures is necessary to minimize the risk of contamination on board, and acquiring further data is essential for obtaining a realistic assessment of the microbiological risk to humans from consuming marine mammal meat.
Tu, Nhan; Lima, Amorce; Bandeali, Zahra; Anderson, Burt
Bacteria utilize a general stress response system to combat stresses from their surrounding environments. In alpha-proteobacteria, the general stress response uses an alternate sigma factor as the main regulator and incorporates it with a two-component system into a unique regulatory circuit. This system has been described in several alpha-proteobacterial species, including the pathogens Bartonella quintana and Brucella abortus. Most of the studies have focused on characterizing the PhyR anti-anti-sigma factor, the NepR anti-sigma factor, and the alternate sigma factor. However, not enough attention is directed toward studying the role of histidine kinases in the general stress response. Our study identifies the general stress response system in Bartonella henselae, where the gene synteny is conserved and both the PhyR and alternate sigma factor have similar sequence and domain structures with other alpha-proteobacteria. Our data showed that the general stress response genes are up-regulated under conditions that mimic the cat flea vector. Furthermore, we showed that both RpoE and PhyR positively regulate this system and that RpoE also affects transcription of genes encoding heme-binding proteins and the gene encoding the BadA adhesin. Finally, we identified a histidine kinase, annotated as BH13820 that can potentially phosphorylate PhyR. PMID:26724735
Thomas, Frédéric; Daoust, Simon P; Raymond, Michel
Throughout our evolutionary history, humankind has always lived in contact with large numbers of pathogens. Some cultural traits, such as sedentarization and animal domestication, have considerably increased new parasitic contacts and epidemic transitions. Here, we review the various phenotypic traits that have been proposed to be affected by the highly parasitic human environment, including fertility, birth weight, fluctuating asymmetry, body odours, food recipes, sexual behaviour, pregnancy sickness, language, religion and intellectual quotient. We also discuss how such knowledge is important to understanding several aspects of the current problems faced by humanity in our changing world and to predicting the long-term consequences of parasite eradication policies on our health and well-being. The study of the evolutionary interactions between humans and parasites is a burgeoning and most promising field, as demonstrated by the recent increasing popularity of Darwinian medicine. PMID:25568057
Garcia-Blanco, Mariano A.; Cullen, Bryan R.
Several human viruses are able to latently infect specific target cell populations in vivo. Analysis of the replication cycles of herpes simplex virus, Epstein-Barr virus, and human immunodeficiency virus suggests that the latent infections established by these human pathogens primarily result from a lack of host factors critical for the expression of viral early gene products. The subsequent activation of specific cellular transcription factors in response to extracellular stimuli can induce the expression of these viral regulatory proteins and lead to a burst of lytic viral replication. Latency in these eukaryotic viruses therefore contrasts with latency in bacteriophage, which is maintained primarily by the expression of virally encoded repressors of lytic replication.
Ximenes, Eduardo; Hoagland, Lori; Ku, Seockmo; Li, Xuan; Ladisch, Michael
Fresh produce, viewed as an essential part of a healthy life style is usually consumed in the form of raw or minimally processed fruits and vegetables, and is a potentially important source of food-borne human pathogenic bacteria and viruses. These are passed on to the consumer since the bacteria can form biofilms or otherwise populate plant tissues, thereby using plants as vectors to infect animal hosts. The life cycle of the bacteria in plants differs from those in animals or humans and results in altered physiochemical and biological properties (e.g., physiology, immunity, native microflora, physical barriers, mobility, and temperature). Mechanisms by which healthy plants may become contaminated by microorganisms, develop biofilms, and then pass on their pathogenic burden to people are explored in the context of hollow fiber microfiltration by which plant-derived microorganisms may be recovered and rapidly concentrated to facilitate study of their properties. Enzymes, when added to macerated plant tissues, hydrolyze or alter macromolecules that would otherwise foul hollow-fiber microfiltration membranes. Hence, microfiltration may be used to quickly increase the concentration of microorganisms to detectable levels. This review discusses microbial colonization of vegetables, formation and properties of biofilms, and how hollow fiber microfiltration may be used to concentrate microbial targets to detectable levels. The use of added enzymes helps to disintegrate biofilms and minimize hollow fiber membrane fouling, thereby providing a new tool for more time effectively elucidating mechanisms by which biofilms develop and plant tissue becomes contaminated with human pathogens. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2016;9999: 1-16. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Edelblute, Chelsea M; Donate, Amy L; Hargrave, Barbara Y; Heller, Loree C
Activation of human platelets produces a gel-like substance referred to as platelet rich plasma or platelet gel. Platelet gel is used clinically to promote wound healing; it also exhibits antimicrobial properties that may aid in the healing of infected wounds. The purpose of this study was to quantify the efficacy of human platelet gel against the opportunistic bacterial wound pathogens Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus on skin. These opportunistic pathogens may exhibit extensive antibiotic resistance, necessitating the development of alternative treatment options. The antimicrobial efficacy of platelet gel supernatants was quantified using an in vitro broth dilution assay, an ex vivo inoculated skin assay, and in an in vivo skin decontamination assay. Human platelet gel supernatants were highly bactericidal against A. baumannii and moderately but significantly bactericidal against S. aureus in vitro and in the ex vivo skin model. P. aeruginosa was not inactivated in vitro; a low but significant inactivation level was observed ex vivo. These supernatants were quite effective at inactivating a model organism on skin in vivo. These results suggest application of platelet gel has potential clinical applicability, not only in the acceleration of wound healing, but also against relevant bacteria causing wound infections.
Josephs-Spaulding, Jonathan; Beeler, Erik; Singh, Om V
As food safety advances, there is a great need to maintain, distribute, and provide high-quality food to a much broader consumer base. There is also an ever-growing "arms race" between pathogens and humans as food manufacturers. The human microbiome is a collective organ of microbes that have found community niches while associating with their host and other microorganisms. Humans play an important role in modifying the environment of these organisms through their life choices, especially through individual diet. The composition of an individual's diet influences the digestive system-an ecosystem with the greatest number and largest diversity of organisms currently known. Organisms living on and within food have the potential to be either friends or foes to the consumer. Maintenance of this system can have multiple benefits, but lack of maintenance can lead to a host of chronic and preventable diseases. Overall, this dynamic system is influenced by intense competition from food-borne pathogens, lifestyle, overall diet, and presiding host-associated microbiota.
Glick, Yair; Ben-Ari, Ya’ara; Drayman, Nir; Pellach, Michal; Neveu, Gregory; Boonyaratanakornkit, Jim; Avrahami, Dorit; Einav, Shirit; Oppenheim, Ariella
The discovery of how a pathogen invades a cell requires one to determine which host cell receptors are exploited. This determination is a challenging problem because the receptor is invariably a membrane protein, which represents an Achilles heel in proteomics. We have developed a universal platform for high-throughput expression and interaction studies of membrane proteins by creating a microfluidic-based comprehensive human membrane protein array (MPA). The MPA is, to our knowledge, the first of its kind and offers a powerful alternative to conventional proteomics by enabling the simultaneous study of 2,100 membrane proteins. We characterized direct interactions of a whole nonenveloped virus (simian virus 40), as well as those of the hepatitis delta enveloped virus large form antigen, with candidate host receptors expressed on the MPA. Selected newly discovered membrane protein–pathogen interactions were validated by conventional methods, demonstrating that the MPA is an important tool for cellular receptor discovery and for understanding pathogen tropism. PMID:27044079
Drali, Rezak; Shako, Jean-Christophe; Davoust, Bernard; Diatta, Georges; Raoult, Didier
The human body louse is known as a vector for the transmission of three serious diseases-specifically, epidemic typhus, trench fever, and relapsing fever caused by Rickettsia prowazekii, Bartonella quintana, and Borrelia recurrentis, respectively-that have killed millions of people. It is also suspected in the transmission of a fourth pathogen, Yersinia pestis, which is the etiologic agent of plague. To date, human lice belonging to the genus Pediculus have been classified into three mitochondrial clades: A, B, and C. Here, we describe a fourth mitochondrial clade, Clade D, comprising head and body lice. Clade D may be a vector of B. quintana and Y. pestis, which is prevalent in a highly plague-endemic area near the Rethy Health District, Orientale Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Drali, Rezak; Shako, Jean-Christophe; Davoust, Bernard; Diatta, Georges; Raoult, Didier
The human body louse is known as a vector for the transmission of three serious diseases—specifically, epidemic typhus, trench fever, and relapsing fever caused by Rickettsia prowazekii, Bartonella quintana, and Borrelia recurrentis, respectively—that have killed millions of people. It is also suspected in the transmission of a fourth pathogen, Yersinia pestis, which is the etiologic agent of plague. To date, human lice belonging to the genus Pediculus have been classified into three mitochondrial clades: A, B, and C. Here, we describe a fourth mitochondrial clade, Clade D, comprising head and body lice. Clade D may be a vector of B. quintana and Y. pestis, which is prevalent in a highly plague-endemic area near the Rethy Health District, Orientale Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. PMID:26392158
Gibson, Wendy; Peacock, Lori; Ferris, Vanessa; Fischer, Katrin; Livingstone, Jennifer; Thomas, James; Bailey, Mick
Genetic recombination between pathogens derived from humans and livestock has the potential to create novel pathogen strains, highlighted by the influenza pandemic H1N1/09, which was derived from a re-assortment of swine, avian and human influenza A viruses. Here we investigated whether genetic recombination between subspecies of the protozoan parasite, Trypanosoma brucei, from humans and animals can generate new strains of human pathogen, T. b. rhodesiense (Tbr) responsible for sleeping sickness (Human African Trypanosomiasis, HAT) in East Africa. The trait of human infectivity in Tbr is conferred by a single gene, SRA, which is potentially transferable to the animal pathogen Tbb by sexual reproduction. We tracked the inheritance of SRA in crosses of Tbr and Tbb set up by co-transmitting genetically-engineered fluorescent parental trypanosome lines through tsetse flies. SRA was readily transferred into new genetic backgrounds by sexual reproduction between Tbr and Tbb, thus creating new strains of the human pathogen, Tbr. There was no evidence of diminished growth or transmissibility of hybrid trypanosomes carrying SRA. Although expression of SRA is critical to survival of Tbr in the human host, we show that the gene exists as a single copy in a representative collection of Tbr strains. SRA was found on one homologue of chromosome IV in the majority of Tbr isolates examined, but some Ugandan Tbr had SRA on both homologues. The mobility of SRA by genetic recombination readily explains the observed genetic variability of Tbr in East Africa. We conclude that new strains of the human pathogen Tbr are being generated continuously by recombination with the much larger pool of animal-infective trypanosomes. Such novel recombinants present a risk for future outbreaks of HAT.
Background Bartonella species comprise a group of zoonotic pathogens that are usually acquired by vector transmission or by animal bites or scratches. Methods PCR targeting the Bartonella 16S-23S intergenic spacer (ITS) region was used in conjunction with BAPGM (Bartonella alpha Proteobacteria growth medium) enrichment blood culture to determine the infection status of the family members and to amplify DNA from spiders and woodlice. Antibody titers to B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii (Bvb) genotypes I-III, B. henselae (Bh) and B. koehlerae (Bk) were determined using an IFA test. Management of the medical problems reported by these patients was provided by their respective physicians. Results In this investigation, immediately prior to the onset of symptoms two children in a family experienced puncture-like skin lesions after exposure to and presumptive bites from woodlouse hunter spiders. Shortly thereafter, the mother and both children developed hive-like lesions. Over the ensuing months, the youngest son was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre (GBS) syndrome followed by Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP). The older son developed intermittent disorientation and irritability, and the mother experienced fatigue, headaches, joint pain and memory loss. When tested approximately three years after the woodlouse hunter spider infestation, all three family members were Bartonella henselae seroreactive and B. henselae DNA was amplified and sequenced from blood, serum or Bartonella alpha-proteobacteria (BAPGM) enrichment blood cultures from the mother and oldest son. Also, B. henselae DNA was PCR amplified and sequenced from a woodlouse and from woodlouse hunter spiders collected adjacent to the family’s home. Conclusions Although it was not possible to determine whether the family’s B. henselae infections were acquired by spider bites or whether the spiders and woodlice were merely accidental hosts, physicians should consider the possibility that B
Dugan, Vivien G; Emrich, Scott J; Giraldo-Calderón, Gloria I; Harb, Omar S; Newman, Ruchi M; Pickett, Brett E; Schriml, Lynn M; Stockwell, Timothy B; Stoeckert, Christian J; Sullivan, Dan E; Singh, Indresh; Ward, Doyle V; Yao, Alison; Zheng, Jie; Barrett, Tanya; Birren, Bruce; Brinkac, Lauren; Bruno, Vincent M; Caler, Elizabet; Chapman, Sinéad; Collins, Frank H; Cuomo, Christina A; Di Francesco, Valentina; Durkin, Scott; Eppinger, Mark; Feldgarden, Michael; Fraser, Claire; Fricke, W Florian; Giovanni, Maria; Henn, Matthew R; Hine, Erin; Hotopp, Julie Dunning; Karsch-Mizrachi, Ilene; Kissinger, Jessica C; Lee, Eun Mi; Mathur, Punam; Mongodin, Emmanuel F; Murphy, Cheryl I; Myers, Garry; Neafsey, Daniel E; Nelson, Karen E; Nierman, William C; Puzak, Julia; Rasko, David; Roos, David S; Sadzewicz, Lisa; Silva, Joana C; Sobral, Bruno; Squires, R Burke; Stevens, Rick L; Tallon, Luke; Tettelin, Herve; Wentworth, David; White, Owen; Will, Rebecca; Wortman, Jennifer; Zhang, Yun; Scheuermann, Richard H
High throughput sequencing has accelerated the determination of genome sequences for thousands of human infectious disease pathogens and dozens of their vectors. The scale and scope of these data are enabling genotype-phenotype association studies to identify genetic determinants of pathogen virulence and drug/insecticide resistance, and phylogenetic studies to track the origin and spread of disease outbreaks. To maximize the utility of genomic sequences for these purposes, it is essential that metadata about the pathogen/vector isolate characteristics be collected and made available in organized, clear, and consistent formats. Here we report the development of the GSCID/BRC Project and Sample Application Standard, developed by representatives of the Genome Sequencing Centers for Infectious Diseases (GSCIDs), the Bioinformatics Resource Centers (BRCs) for Infectious Diseases, and the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), informed by interactions with numerous collaborating scientists. It includes mapping to terms from other data standards initiatives, including the Genomic Standards Consortium's minimal information (MIxS) and NCBI's BioSample/BioProjects checklists and the Ontology for Biomedical Investigations (OBI). The standard includes data fields about characteristics of the organism or environmental source of the specimen, spatial-temporal information about the specimen isolation event, phenotypic characteristics of the pathogen/vector isolated, and project leadership and support. By modeling metadata fields into an ontology-based semantic framework and reusing existing ontologies and minimum information checklists, the application standard can be extended to support additional project-specific data fields and integrated with other data represented with comparable standards. The use of this metadata standard by all ongoing and future GSCID sequencing projects will provide a
Bai, Ying; Recuenco, Sergio; Gilbert, Amy Turmelle; Osikowicz, Lynn M; Gómez, Jorge; Rupprecht, Charles; Kosoy, Michael Y
Bartonella infections were investigated in bats in the Amazon part of Peru. A total of 112 bats belonging to 19 species were surveyed. Bartonella bacteria were cultured from 24.1% of the bats (27/112). Infection rates ranged from 0% to 100% per bat species. Phylogenetic analyses of gltA of the Bartonella isolates revealed 21 genetic variants clustering into 13 divergent phylogroups. Some Bartonella strains were shared by bats of multiple species, and bats of some species were infected with multiple Bartonella strains, showing no evident specific Bartonella sp.-bat relationships. Rarely found in other bat species, the Bartonella strains of phylogroups I and III discovered from the common vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus) were more specific to the host bat species, suggesting some level of host specificity.
Hughes, Tamara T; Allen, Amanda L; Bardin, Joseph E; Christian, Megan N; Daimon, Kansei; Dozier, Kelsey D; Hansen, Caom L; Holcomb, Lisa M; Ahlander, Joseph
Viruses are infectious particles whose viability is dependent on the cells of living organisms, such as bacteria, plants, and animals. It is of great interest to discover how viruses function inside host cells in order to develop therapies to treat virally infected organisms. The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster is an excellent model system for studying the molecular mechanisms of replication, amplification, and cellular consequences of human viruses. In this review, we describe the advantages of using Drosophila as a model system to study human viruses, and highlight how Drosophila has been used to provide unique insight into the gene function of several pathogenic viruses. We also propose possible directions for future research in this area.
Hughes, Tamara T.; Allen, Amanda L.; Bardin, Joseph E.; Christian, Megan N.; Daimon, Kansei; Dozier, Kelsey D.; Hansen, Caom L.; Holcomb, Lisa M.; Ahlander, Joseph
Viruses are infectious particles whose viability is dependent on the cells of living organisms, such as bacteria, plants, and animals. It is of great interest to discover how viruses function inside host cells in order to develop therapies to treat virally infected organisms. The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster is an excellent model system for studying the molecular mechanisms of replication, amplification, and cellular consequences of human viruses. In this review, we describe the advantages of using Drosophila as a model system to study human viruses, and highlight how Drosophila has been used to provide unique insight into the gene function of several pathogenic viruses. We also propose possible directions for future research in this area. PMID:22177780
Xiao, Lihua; Terashima, Angélica; Guerra, Humberto; Gotuzzo, Eduardo; Saldías, Gustavo; Bonilla, J. Alfredo; Zhou, Ling; Lindquist, Alan; Upton, Steve J.
Cryptosporidium muris, predominantly a rodent species of Cryptosporidium, is not normally considered a human pathogen. Recently, isolated human infections have been reported from Indonesia, Thailand, France, and Kenya. We report the first case of C. muris in a human in the Western Hemisphere. This species may be an emerging zoonotic pathogen capable of infecting humans. PMID:14519260
Fleischman, D A; Chomel, B B; Kasten, R W; André, M R; Gonçalves, L R; Machado, R Z
SUMMARY Wild canids are potential hosts for numerous species of Bartonella, yet little research has been done to quantify their infection rates in South America. We sought to investigate Bartonella seroprevalence in captive wild canids from 19 zoos in São Paulo and Mato Grosso states, Brazil. Blood samples were collected from 97 wild canids belonging to four different native species and three European wolves (Canis lupus). Indirect immunofluorescent antibody testing was performed to detect the presence of B. henselae, B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii, B. clarridgeiae, and B. rochalimae. Overall, Bartonella antibodies were detected in 11 of the canids, including five (12·8%) of 39 crab-eating foxes (Cerdocyon thous), three (11·1%) of 27 bush dogs (Speothos venaticus), two (8·7%) of 23 maned wolves (Chrysocyon brachyurus) and one (12·5%) of eight hoary foxes (Lycalopex vetulus), with titres ranging from 1:64 to 1:512. Knowing that many species of canids make excellent reservoir hosts for Bartonella, and that there is zoonotic potential for all Bartonella spp. tested for, it will be important to conduct further research in non-captive wild canids to gain an accurate understanding of Bartonella infection in free-ranging wild canids in South America.
Scheidegger, F; Ellner, Y; Guye, P; Rhomberg, T A; Weber, H; Augustin, H G; Dehio, C
The zoonotic pathogen Bartonella henselae (Bh) can lead to vasoproliferative tumour lesions in the skin and inner organs known as bacillary angiomatosis and bacillary peliosis. The knowledge on the molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in this pathogen-triggered angiogenic process is confined by the lack of a suitable animal model and a physiologically relevant cell culture model of angiogenesis. Here we employed a three-dimensional in vitro angiogenesis assay of collagen gel-embedded endothelial cell (EC) spheroids to study the angiogenic properties of Bh. Spheroids generated from Bh-infected ECs displayed a high capacity to form sprouts, which represent capillary-like projections into the collagen gel. The VirB/VirD4 type IV secretion system and a subset of its translocated Bartonella effector proteins (Beps) were found to profoundly modulate this Bh-induced sprouting activity. BepA, known to protect ECs from apoptosis, strongly promoted sprout formation. In contrast, BepG, triggering cytoskeletal rearrangements, potently inhibited sprouting. Hence, the here established in vitro model of Bartonella- induced angiogenesis revealed distinct and opposing activities of type IV secretion system effector proteins, which together with a VirB/VirD4-independent effect may control the angiogenic activity of Bh during chronic infection of the vasculature.
Zurita, Antonio; Gutiérrez, Sara García; Cutillas, Cristina
In the present study, a molecular detection of Bartonella sp. and Wolbachia sp. in Ctenocephalides felis (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae) isolated from Canis lupus familiaris from different geographical areas of Spain, Iran and South Africa, and in Stenoponia tripectinata tripectinata isolated from Mus musculus from the Canary Islands has been carried out by amplification of the 16S ribosomal RNA partial gene of Wolbachia sp. and intergenic spacer region (its region) of Bartonella sp. A total of 70 % of C. felis analysed were infected by W. pipientis. This percentage of prevalence was considerably higher in female fleas than in male fleas. Bartonella DNA was not detected in C. felis from dogs, while Bartonella elizabethae was detected and identified in S. t. tripectinata from M. musculus from the Canary Islands representing 43.75 % prevalence. This report is the first to identify B. elizabethae in S. t. tripectinata collected in M. musculus from the Canary Islands. Thus, our results demonstrate that this flea is a potential vector of B. elizabethae and might play roles in human infection. The zoonotic character of this bartonellosis emphasizes the need to alert public health authorities and the veterinary community of the risk of infection.
Fletcher, Jacqueline; Leach, Jan E; Eversole, Kellye; Tauxe, Robert
Recent efforts to address concerns about microbial contamination of food plants and resulting foodborne illness have prompted new collaboration and interactions between the scientific communities of plant pathology and food safety. This article provides perspectives from scientists of both disciplines and presents selected research results and concepts that highlight existing and possible future synergisms for audiences of both disciplines. Plant pathology is a complex discipline that encompasses studies of the dissemination, colonization, and infection of plants by microbes such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and oomycetes. Plant pathologists study plant diseases as well as host plant defense responses and disease management strategies with the goal of minimizing disease occurrences and impacts. Repeated outbreaks of human illness attributed to the contamination of fresh produce, nuts and seeds, and other plant-derived foods by human enteric pathogens such as Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. have led some plant pathologists to broaden the application of their science in the past two decades, to address problems of human pathogens on plants (HPOPs). Food microbiology, which began with the study of microbes that spoil foods and those that are critical to produce food, now also focuses study on how foods become contaminated with pathogens and how this can be controlled or prevented. Thus, at the same time, public health researchers and food microbiologists have become more concerned about plant-microbe interactions before and after harvest. New collaborations are forming between members of the plant pathology and food safety communities, leading to enhanced research capacity and greater understanding of the issues for which research is needed. The two communities use somewhat different vocabularies and conceptual models. For example, traditional plant pathology concepts such as the disease triangle and the disease cycle can help to define
Chinnadurai, Sathya K; Birkenheuer, Adam J; Blanton, Hunter L; Maggi, Ricardo G; Belfiore, Natalia; Marr, Henry S; Breitschwerdt, Edward B; Stoskopf, Michael K
Trapper-killed North American river otters (Lontra canadensis) in North Carolina, USA, were screened for multiple vector-borne bacteria known to be pathogenic to mammals. Blood was collected from 30 carcasses in 2006, from 35 in 2007, and from one live otter in 2008. Samples were screened using conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for DNA from Bartonella spp., Ehrlichia spp., and spotted fever group Rickettsia spp. All samples were negative for Rickettsia spp. Twelve of 30 samples from 2006 produced amplicons using the assay designed to detect Ehrlichia spp., but sequencing revealed that the amplified DNA fragment was from a novel Wolbachia sp., thought to be an endosymbiote of a Dirofilaria sp. Between 2006 and 2007, DNA from a novel Bartonella sp. was detected in 19 of 65 animals (29%). Blood from one live otter captured in 2008 was found positive for this Bartonella sp. by both PCR and culture. The pathogenicity of this Bartonella species in river otters or other mammals is unknown.
Palmieri, Valentina; Carmela Lauriola, Maria; Ciasca, Gabriele; Conti, Claudio; De Spirito, Marco; Papi, Massimiliano
Standing out as the new wonder bidimensional material, graphene oxide (GO) has aroused an exceptional interest in biomedical research by holding promise for being the antibacterial of future. First, GO possesses a specific interaction with microorganisms combined with a mild toxicity for human cells. Additionally, its antibacterial action seems to be directed to multiple targets in pathogens, causing both membranes mechanical injury and oxidative stress. Lastly, compared to other carbon materials, GO has easy and low-cost processing and is environment-friendly. This remarkable specificity and multi-targeting antibacterial activity come at a time when antibiotic resistance represents the major health challenge. Unfortunately, a comprehensive framework to understand how to effectively utilize this material against microorganisms is still lacking. In the last decade, several groups tried to define the mechanisms of interaction between GO flakes and pathogens but conflicting results have been reported. This review is focused on all the contradictions of GO antimicrobial properties in solution. Flake size, incubation protocol, time of exposure and species considered are examples of factors influencing results. These parameters will be summarized and analyzed with the aim of defining the causes of contradictions, to allow fast GO clinical application.
Yazid Abdad, Mohammad; Stenos, John; Graves, Stephen
Rickettsia felis was first recognised two decades ago and has now been described as endemic to all continents except Antarctica. The rickettsiosis caused by R. felis is known as flea-borne spotted fever or cat-flea typhus. The large number of arthropod species found to harbour R. felis and that may act as potential vectors support the view that it is a pan-global microbe. The main arthropod reservoir and vector is the cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis, yet more than 20 other species of fleas, ticks, and mites species have been reported to harbour R. felis. Few bacterial pathogens of humans have been found associated with such a diverse range of invertebrates. With the projected increase in global temperature over the next century, there is concern that changes to the ecology and distribution of R. felis vectors may adversely impact public health. PMID:24149035
Felipe, Maria Sueli S; Torres, Fernando A G; Maranhão, Andrea Q; Silva-Pereira, Ildinete; Poças-Fonseca, Marcio J; Campos, Elida G; Moraes, Lídia M P; Arraes, Fabrício B M; Carvalho, Maria José A; Andrade, Rosângela V; Nicola, André M; Teixeira, Marcus M; Jesuíno, Rosália S A; Pereira, Maristela; Soares, Célia M A; Brígido, Marcelo M
Paracoccidioides brasiliensis is a dimorphic and thermo-regulated fungus which is the causative agent of paracoccidioidomycosis, an endemic disease widespread in Latin America. Pathogenicity is assumed to be a consequence of the cellular differentiation process that this fungus undergoes from mycelium to yeast cells during human infection. In an effort to elucidate the molecular mechanisms involved in this process a network of Brazilian laboratories carried out a transcriptome project for both cell types. This review focuses on the data analysis yielding a comprehensive view of the fungal metabolism and the molecular adaptations during dimorphism in P. brasiliensis from analysis of 6022 groups, related to expressed genes, which were generated from both mycelium and yeast phases.
Barak, Jeri D; Schroeder, Brenda K
Bacterial food-borne pathogens use plants as vectors between animal hosts, all the while following the life cycle script of plant-associated bacteria. Similar to phytobacteria, Salmonella, pathogenic Escherichia coli, and cross-domain pathogens have a foothold in agricultural production areas. The commonality of environmental contamination translates to contact with plants. Because of the chronic absence of kill steps against human pathogens for fresh produce, arrival on plants leads to persistence and the risk of human illness. Significant research progress is revealing mechanisms used by human pathogens to colonize plants and important biological interactions between and among bacteria in planta. These findings articulate the difficulty of eliminating or reducing the pathogen from plants. The plant itself may be an untapped key to clean produce. This review highlights the life of human pathogens outside an animal host, focusing on the role of plants, and illustrates areas that are ripe for future investigation.
McIntyre, K. Marie; Setzkorn, Christian; Hepworth, Philip J.; Morand, Serge; Morse, Andrew P.; Baylis, Matthew
Disease or pathogen risk prioritisations aid understanding of infectious agent impact within surveillance or mitigation and biosecurity work, but take significant development. Previous work has shown the H-(Hirsch-)index as an alternative proxy. We present a weighted risk analysis describing infectious pathogen impact for human health (human pathogens) and well-being (domestic animal pathogens) using an objective, evidence-based, repeatable approach; the H-index. This study established the highest H-index European pathogens. Commonalities amongst pathogens not included in previous surveillance or risk analyses were examined. Differences between host types (humans/animals/zoonotic) in pathogen H-indices were explored as a One Health impact indicator. Finally, the acceptability of the H-index proxy for animal pathogen impact was examined by comparison with other measures. 57 pathogens appeared solely in the top 100 highest H-indices (1) human or (2) animal pathogens list, and 43 occurred in both. Of human pathogens, 66 were zoonotic and 67 were emerging, compared to 67 and 57 for animals. There were statistically significant differences between H-indices for host types (humans, animal, zoonotic), and there was limited evidence that H-indices are a reasonable proxy for animal pathogen impact. This work addresses measures outlined by the European Commission to strengthen climate change resilience and biosecurity for infectious diseases. The results include a quantitative evaluation of infectious pathogen impact, and suggest greater impacts of human-only compared to zoonotic pathogens or scientific under-representation of zoonoses. The outputs separate high and low impact pathogens, and should be combined with other risk assessment methods relying on expert opinion or qualitative data for priority setting, or could be used to prioritise diseases for which formal risk assessments are not possible because of data gaps. PMID:25136810
Castellani, Francesco; Ghidini, Valentina; Tafi, Maria Carla; Boaretti, Marzia; Lleo, Maria M
During the infectious process, pathogens may reach anatomical sites where they are exposed to substances interfering with their growth. These substances can include molecules produced by the host, and his resident microbial population, as well as exogenous antibacterial drugs. Suboptimal concentrations of inhibitory molecules and stress conditions found in vivo (high or low temperatures, lack of oxygen, extreme pH) might induce in bacteria the activation of survival mechanisms blocking their division capability but allowing them to stay alive. These "dormant" bacteria can be reactivated in particular circumstances and would be able to express their virulence traits. In this study, it was evaluated the effect of some environmental conditions, such as optimal and suboptimal temperatures, direct light and antibiotic sub-inhibitory concentrations doses of antibiotic, on the human pathogens Escherichia coli and Enterococcus faecalis when incubated in fluids accumulated in the body of patients with different pathologies. It is shown that inoculation in a number of accumulated body fluids and the presence of gentamicin, reliable conditions encountered during pathological states, induce stress-responding strategies enabling bacteria to persist in microcosms mimicking the human body. Significant differences were detected in Gram-negative and Gram-positive species with E. faecalis surviving, as starved or viable but non-culturable forms, in any microcosm and condition tested and E. coli activating a viable but non-culturable state only in some clinical samples. The persistence of bacteria under these conditions, being non-culturable, might explain some recurrent infections without isolation of the causative agent after application of the standard microbiological methods.
Coffin, John M.
After the discovery of retroviral reverse transcriptase in 1970, there was a flurry of activity, sparked by the “War on Cancer,” to identify human cancer retroviruses. After many false claims resulting from various artifacts, most scientists abandoned the search, but the Gallo laboratory carried on, developing both specific assays and new cell culture methods that enabled them to report, in the accompanying 1980 PNAS paper, identification and partial characterization of human T-cell leukemia virus (HTLV; now known as HTLV-1) produced by a T-cell line from a lymphoma patient. Follow-up studies, including collaboration with the group that first identified a cluster of adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) cases in Japan, provided conclusive evidence that HTLV was the cause of this disease. HTLV-1 is now known to infect at least 4–10 million people worldwide, about 5% of whom will develop ATL. Despite intensive research, knowledge of the viral etiology has not led to improvement in treatment or outcome of ATL. However, the technology for discovery of HTLV and acknowledgment of the existence of pathogenic human retroviruses laid the technical and intellectual foundation for the discovery of the cause of AIDS soon afterward. Without this advance, our ability to diagnose and treat HIV infection most likely would have been long delayed. PMID:26696625
Diniz, Pedro Paulo V. P.; Morton, Bridget A.; Tngrian, Maryam; Kachani, Malika; Barrón, Eduardo A.; Gavidia, Cesar M.; Gilman, Robert H.; Angulo, Noelia P.; Brenner, Elliott C.; Lerner, Richard; Chomel, Bruno B.
Bartonella species are emerging infectious organisms transmitted by arthropods capable of causing long-lasting infection in mammalian hosts. Among over 30 species described from four continents to date, 15 are known to infect humans, with eight of these capable of infecting dogs as well. B. bacilliformis is the only species described infecting humans in Peru; however, several other Bartonella species were detected in small mammals, bats, ticks, and fleas in that country. The objective of this study was to determine the serological and/or molecular prevalence of Bartonella species in asymptomatic dogs in Peru in order to indirectly evaluate the potential for human exposure to zoonotic Bartonella species. A convenient sample of 219 healthy dogs was obtained from five cities and three villages in Peru. EDTA-blood samples were collected from 205 dogs, whereas serum samples were available from 108 dogs. The EDTA-blood samples were screened by PCR followed by nucleotide sequencing for species identification. Antibodies against B. vinsonii berkhoffii and B. rochalimae were detected by IFA (cut-off of 1∶64). Bartonella DNA was detected in 21 of the 205 dogs (10%). Fifteen dogs were infected with B. rochalimae, while six dogs were infected with B. v. berkhoffii genotype III. Seropositivity for B. rochalimae was detected in 67 dogs (62%), and for B. v. berkhoffii in 43 (40%) of the 108 dogs. Reciprocal titers ≥1∶256 for B. rochalimae were detected in 19% of dogs, and for B. v. berkhoffii in 6.5% of dogs. This study identifies for the first time a population of dogs exposed to or infected with zoonotic Bartonella species, suggesting that domestic dogs may be the natural reservoir of these zoonotic organisms. Since dogs are epidemiological sentinels, Peruvian humans may be exposed to infections with B. rochalimae or B. v. berkhoffii. PMID:24040427
Background Bartonella henselae is a zoonotic, alpha Proteobacterium, historically associated with cat scratch disease (CSD), but more recently associated with persistent bacteremia, fever of unknown origin, arthritic and neurological disorders, and bacillary angiomatosis, and peliosis hepatis in immunocompromised patients. A family from the Netherlands contacted our laboratory requesting to be included in a research study (NCSU-IRB#1960), designed to characterize Bartonella spp. bacteremia in people with extensive arthropod or animal exposure. All four family members had been exposed to tick bites in Zeeland, southwestern Netherlands. The mother and son were exhibiting symptoms including fatigue, headaches, memory loss, disorientation, peripheral neuropathic pain, striae (son only), and loss of coordination, whereas the father and daughter were healthy. Methods Each family member was tested for serological evidence of Bartonella exposure using B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii genotypes I-III, B. henselae and B. koehlerae indirect fluorescent antibody assays and for bacteremia using the BAPGM enrichment blood culture platform. Results The mother was seroreactive to multiple Bartonella spp. antigens and bacteremia was confirmed by PCR amplification of B. henselae DNA from blood, and from a BAPGM blood agar plate subculture isolate. The son was not seroreactive to any Bartonella sp. antigen, but B. henselae DNA was amplified from several blood and serum samples, from BAPGM enrichment blood culture, and from a cutaneous striae biopsy. The father and daughter were seronegative to all Bartonella spp. antigens, and negative for Bartonella DNA amplification. Conclusions Historically, persistent B. henselae bacteremia was not thought to occur in immunocompetent humans. To our knowledge, this study provides preliminary evidence supporting the possibility of persistent B. henselae bacteremia in immunocompetent persons from Europe. Cat or flea contact was considered an unlikely
Pathogen reduction is an ideal approach to ensure the continued safety of the blood supply against emerging pathogens. However, the currently licensed pathogen reduction techniques are ineffective against non-enveloped viruses, and they introduce chemicals with concerns of side effects which prevent...
Billeter, S A; Hayman, D T S; Peel, A J; Baker, K; Wood, J L N; Cunningham, A; Suu-Ire, R; Dittmar, K; Kosoy, M Y
Bat flies are obligate ectoparasites of bats and it has been hypothesized that they may be involved in the transmission of Bartonella species between bats. A survey was conducted to identify whether Cyclopodia greefi greefi (Diptera: Nycteribiidae) collected from Ghana and 2 islands in the Gulf of Guinea harbour Bartonella. In total, 137 adult flies removed from Eidolon helvum, the straw-coloured fruit bat, were screened for the presence of Bartonella by culture and PCR analysis. Bartonella DNA was detected in 91 (66·4%) of the specimens examined and 1 strain of a Bartonella sp., initially identified in E. helvum blood from Kenya, was obtained from a bat fly collected in Ghana. This is the first study, to our knowledge, to report the identification and isolation of Bartonella in bat flies from western Africa.
Gutiérrez, Ricardo; Krasnov, Boris; Morick, Danny; Gottlieb, Yuval; Khokhlova, Irina S; Harrus, Shimon
Epidemiological studies worldwide have reported a high prevalence and a great diversity of Bartonella species, both in rodents and their flea parasites. The interaction among Bartonella, wild rodents, and fleas reflects a high degree of adaptation among these organisms. Vertical and horizontal efficient Bartonella transmission pathways within flea communities and from fleas to rodents have been documented in competence studies, suggesting that fleas are key players in the transmission of Bartonella to rodents. Exploration of the ecological traits of rodents and their fleas may shed light on the mechanisms used by bartonellae to become established in these organisms. The present review explores the interrelations within the Bartonella-rodent-flea system. The role of the latter two components is emphasized.
Edouard, Sophie; Nabet, Cecile; Lepidi, Hubert; Fournier, Pierre-Edouard
Bartonella spp. are fastidious bacteria that cause blood culture-negative endocarditis and have been increasingly reported. In this study, we included all patients retrospectively and prospectively diagnosed with Bartonella endocarditis in our French reference center between 2005 and 2013. Our diagnosis was based on the modified Duke criteria and microbiological findings, including serological and PCR results. To review the published literature, we searched all human Bartonella endocarditis cases published in the PubMed database between January 2005 and October 2013. We report here a large series of 106 cases, which include 59 cases that had not previously been reported or mentioned. Indirect immunofluorescence assays, Western blotting, and real-time PCR from total blood, serum, and valve tissue exhibited sensitivities of 58%, 100%, 33%, 36%, and 91%, respectively. The number of cases reported in the literature between 2005 and 2013 increased to reach a cumulative number of 196 cases. The number of cases reported in the literature by other centers is increasing more rapidly than that reported by our French reference center (P < 10−2). Currently, there is a lack of criteria for the diagnosis of Bartonella endocarditis. We suggest that a positive PCR result from a cardiac valve or blood specimen, an IgG titer of ≥800 using an immunofluorescence assay, or a positive Western blot assay be considered major Duke criteria for Bartonella endocarditis. There is no real increase in the incidence of these infections but rather a better understanding and interest in the disease resulting from the improvement of diagnostic tools. PMID:25540398
Bouhsira, Emilie; Ferrandez, Yann; Liu, MaFeng; Franc, Michel; Boulouis, Henri-Jean; Biville, Francis
The blood-sucking arthropod Ctenocephalides felis has been confirmed as a vector for Bartonella henselae and is a suspected vector for Bartonella clarridgeiae, Bartonella quintana and Bartonella koehlerae in Bartonella transmission to mammals. To understand the absence of other Bartonella species in the cat flea, we have developed an artificial flea-feeding method with blood infected successively with five different Bartonella species. The results demonstrated the ability of these five Bartonella species to persist in C. felis suggesting an ability of fleas to be a potential vector for several Bartonella species. In addition, we demonstrated a regurgitation of Bartonella DNA in uninfected blood used to feed C. felis thus suggesting a potential horizontal transmission of Bartonella through C. felis saliva. On the contrary, no vertical transmission was detected in these artificial conditions.
Douam, Florian; Gaska, Jenna M.; Winer, Benjamin Y.; Ding, Qiang; von Schaewen, Markus; Ploss, Alexander
Infectious diseases are the second leading cause of death worldwide. Although the host multitropism of some pathogens has rendered their manipulation possible in animal models, the human-restricted tropism of numerous viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites has seriously hampered our understanding of these pathogens. Hence, uncovering the genetic basis underlying the narrow tropism of such pathogens is critical for understanding their mechanisms of infection and pathogenesis. Moreover, such genetic dissection is essential for the generation of permissive animal models that can serve as critical tools for the development of therapeutics or vaccines against challenging human pathogens. In this review, we describe different experimental approaches utilized to uncover the genetic foundation regulating pathogen host tropism as well as their relevance for studying the tropism of several important human pathogens. Finally, we discuss the current and future uses of this knowledge for generating genetically modified animal models permissive for these pathogens. PMID:26407032
Douam, Florian; Gaska, Jenna M; Winer, Benjamin Y; Ding, Qiang; von Schaewen, Markus; Ploss, Alexander
Infectious diseases are the second leading cause of death worldwide. Although the host multitropism of some pathogens has rendered their manipulation possible in animal models, the human-restricted tropism of numerous viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites has seriously hampered our understanding of these pathogens. Hence, uncovering the genetic basis underlying the narrow tropism of such pathogens is critical for understanding their mechanisms of infection and pathogenesis. Moreover, such genetic dissection is essential for the generation of permissive animal models that can serve as critical tools for the development of therapeutics or vaccines against challenging human pathogens. In this review, we describe different experimental approaches utilized to uncover the genetic foundation regulating pathogen host tropism as well as their relevance for studying the tropism of several important human pathogens. Finally, we discuss the current and future uses of this knowledge for generating genetically modified animal models permissive for these pathogens.
Fujii, Yoichi Robertus
For disease prognosis, the functional significance of the oncoviral integration locus in oncogenesis has remained enigmatic. The locus encodes several transcripts without protein products, but microRNAs (miRNAs) have recently been identified from a common oncoviral integration locus. miRNA is an endogenous, non-coding small RNA by which gene expression is suppressed. Although miRNA genes, such as let-7 in the nematode, have orthologs among animals, the relationship between miRNAs and tumorigenesis or tumor suppression has been mainly discovered in several human cancers. On the contrary, this review clearly demonstrates the potential for human tumorigenesis of both miRNA genes from oncoviral integration sites and other cellular onco-microRNA genes, and we conclude that alteration of the miRNA profile of cells can be defined as tumorigenic or tumor suppressive. Thus, we explain here that virally-pathogenic miRNAs could also be partly responsible for oncogenesis or oncogene suppression to confirm’ the RNA wave’, with the miRNAs hypothesized as a mobile and functional genetic element. PMID:19920887
Kumsa, Bersissa; Parola, Philippe; Raoult, Didier; Socolovschi, Cristina
Fleas are important vectors of several Rickettsia and Bartonella spp. that cause emerging zoonotic diseases worldwide. In this study, 303 fleas collected from domestic dogs and cats in Ethiopia and identified morphologically as Ctenocephalides felis felis, C. canis, Pulex irritans, and Echidnophaga gallinacea were tested for Rickettsia and Bartonella DNA by using molecular methods. Rickettsia felis was detected in 21% of fleas, primarily C. felis, with a similar prevalence in fleas from dogs and cats. A larger proportion of flea-infested dogs (69%) than cats (37%) harbored at least one C. felis infected with R. felis. Rickettsia typhi was not detected. Bartonella henselae DNA was detected in 6% (2 of 34) of C. felis collected from cats. Our study highlights the likelihood of human exposure to R. felis, an emerging agent of spotted fever, and B. henselae, the agent of cat-scratch disease, in urban areas in Ethiopia.
Kumsa, Bersissa; Parola, Philippe; Raoult, Didier; Socolovschi, Cristina
Fleas are important vectors of several Rickettsia and Bartonella spp. that cause emerging zoonotic diseases worldwide. In this study, 303 fleas collected from domestic dogs and cats in Ethiopia and identified morphologically as Ctenocephalides felis felis, C. canis, Pulex irritans, and Echidnophaga gallinacea were tested for Rickettsia and Bartonella DNA by using molecular methods. Rickettsia felis was detected in 21% of fleas, primarily C. felis, with a similar prevalence in fleas from dogs and cats. A larger proportion of flea-infested dogs (69%) than cats (37%) harbored at least one C. felis infected with R. felis. Rickettsia typhi was not detected. Bartonella henselae DNA was detected in 6% (2 of 34) of C. felis collected from cats. Our study highlights the likelihood of human exposure to R. felis, an emerging agent of spotted fever, and B. henselae, the agent of cat-scratch disease, in urban areas in Ethiopia. PMID:24445204
Kang, Jun-Gu; Ko, Sungjin; Smith, W. Barney; Kim, Heung-Chul; Lee, In-Yong
North Korea is located on the northern part of the Korean Peninsula in East Asia. While tick-borne pathogens of medical and veterinary importance have been reported from China and South Korea, they have not been reported from North Korea. To screen for zoonotic tick-borne pathogens in North Korea, ticks were collected from domestic goats. A total of 292 (27 nymph, 26 male, 239 female) Haemaphysalis (H.) longicornis were collected and assayed individually for selected tick-borne pathogens. A total of 77 (26.4%) were positive for Anaplasma bovis, followed by Bartonella (B.) grahamii (15, 5.1%), Anaplasma phagocytophilum (12, 4.1%), Bartonella henselae (10, 3.4%), and Borrelia spp. (3, 1.0%) based on 16S ribosomal RNA and ITS species-specific nested polymerase chain reaction. Using the groEL-based nested PCR, a total of 6 and 1 H. longicornis were positive for B. grahamii and B. henselae, respectively. All products were sequenced and demonstrated 100% identity and homology with previously reported sequences from other countries in GenBank. This is the first report of the detection of tick-borne pathogens in the North Korea and suggests that farm animals may act as reservoirs for zoonotic tick-borne pathogens. PMID:26645342
Kang, Jun-Gu; Ko, Sungjin; Smith, W Barney; Kim, Heung-Chul; Lee, In-Yong; Chae, Joon-Seok
North Korea is located on the northern part of the Korean Peninsula in East Asia. While tick-borne pathogens of medical and veterinary importance have been reported from China and South Korea, they have not been reported from North Korea. To screen for zoonotic tick-borne pathogens in North Korea, ticks were collected from domestic goats. A total of 292 (27 nymph, 26 male, 239 female) Haemaphysalis (H.) longicornis were collected and assayed individually for selected tick-borne pathogens. A total of 77 (26.4%) were positive for Anaplasma bovis, followed by Bartonella (B.) grahamii (15, 5.1%), Anaplasma phagocytophilum (12, 4.1%), Bartonella henselae (10, 3.4%), and Borrelia spp. (3, 1.0%) based on 16S ribosomal RNA and ITS species-specific nested polymerase chain reaction. Using the groEL-based nested PCR, a total of 6 and 1 H. longicornis were positive for B. grahamii and B. henselae, respectively. All products were sequenced and demonstrated 100% identity and homology with previously reported sequences from other countries in GenBank. This is the first report of the detection of tick-borne pathogens in the North Korea and suggests that farm animals may act as reservoirs for zoonotic tick-borne pathogens.
Leulmi, Hamza; Bitam, Idir; Berenger, Jean Michel; Lepidi, Hubert; Rolain, Jean Marc; Almeras, Lionel; Raoult, Didier; Parola, Philippe
Background Bartonella quintana, the etiologic agent of trench fever and other human diseases, is transmitted by the feces of body lice. Recently, this bacterium has been detected in other arthropod families such as bed bugs, which begs the question of their involvement in B. quintana transmission. Although several infectious pathogens have been reported and are suggested to be transmitted by bed bugs, the evidence regarding their competence as vectors is unclear. Methodology/Principal Findings Bed bugs at the adult and instar developmental stages were fed three successive human blood meals inoculated with B. quintana bacterium from day one (D1) to D5; subsequently they were fed with pathogen-free human blood until the end of the experiment. Bed bugs and feces were collected in time series, to evaluate their capacities to acquire, multiply and expel viable B. quintana using molecular biology, immunohistochemistry and cultures assays. B. quintana was detected molecularly in 100% of randomly selected experimentally infected bed bug specimens (D3). The monitoring of B. quintana in bed bug feces showed that the bacterium was detectable starting on the 3rd day post-infection (pi) and persisted until day 18±1 pi. Although immunohistochemistry assays localized the bacteria to the gastrointestinal bed bug gut, the detection of B. quintana in the first and second instar larva stages suggested a vertical non-transovarial transmission of the bacterium. Conclusion The present work demonstrated for the first time that bed bugs can acquire, maintain for more than 2 weeks and release viable B. quintana organisms following a stercorarial shedding. We also observed the vertical transmission of the bacterium to their progeny. Although the biological role of bed bugs in the transmission of B. quintana under natural conditions has yet to be confirmed, the present work highlights the need to reconsider monitoring of these arthropods for the transmission of human pathogens. PMID
Kang, Jun-Gu; Ko, Sungjin; Kim, Heung-Chul; Chong, Sung-Tae; Klein, Terry A; Chae, Jeong-Byoung; Jo, Yong-Sun; Choi, Kyoung-Seong; Yu, Do-Hyeon; Park, Bae-Keun; Park, Jinho; Chae, Joon-Seok
Deer serve as reservoirs of tick-borne pathogens that impact on medical and veterinary health worldwide. In the Republic of Korea, the population of Korean water deer (KWD, Hydropotes inermis argyropus) has greatly increased from 1982 to 2011, in part, as a result of reforestation programs established following the Korean War when much of the land was barren of trees. Eighty seven Haemaphysalis flava, 228 Haemaphysalis longicornis, 8 Ixodes nipponensis, and 40 Ixodes persulcatus (21 larvae, 114 nymphs, and 228 adults) were collected from 27 out of 70 KWD. A total of 89/363 ticks (266 pools, 24.5% minimum infection rate) and 5 (1.4%) fed ticks were positive for Anaplasma phagocytophilum using nested PCR targeting the 16S rRNA and groEL genes, respectively. The 16S rRNA gene fragment sequences of 88/89 (98.9%) of positive samples for A. phagocytophilum corresponded to previously described gene sequences from KWD spleen tissues. The 16S rRNA gene fragment sequences of 20/363 (5.5%) of the ticks were positive for A. bovis and were identical to previously reported sequences. Using the ITS specific nested PCR, 11/363 (3.0%) of the ticks were positive for Bartonella spp. This is the first report of Anaplasma and Bartonella spp. detected in ticks collected from KWD, suggesting that ticks are vectors of Anaplasma and Bartonella spp. between reservoir hosts in natural surroundings.
Kang, Jun-Gu; Ko, Sungjin; Kim, Heung-Chul; Chong, Sung-Tae; Klein, Terry A.; Chae, Jeong-Byoung; Jo, Yong-Sun; Choi, Kyoung-Seong; Yu, Do-Hyeon; Park, Bae-Keun; Park, Jinho; Chae, Joon-Seok
Deer serve as reservoirs of tick-borne pathogens that impact on medical and veterinary health worldwide. In the Republic of Korea, the population of Korean water deer (KWD, Hydropotes inermis argyropus) has greatly increased from 1982 to 2011, in part, as a result of reforestation programs established following the Korean War when much of the land was barren of trees. Eighty seven Haemaphysalis flava, 228 Haemaphysalis longicornis, 8 Ixodes nipponensis, and 40 Ixodes persulcatus (21 larvae, 114 nymphs, and 228 adults) were collected from 27 out of 70 KWD. A total of 89/363 ticks (266 pools, 24.5% minimum infection rate) and 5 (1.4%) fed ticks were positive for Anaplasma phagocytophilum using nested PCR targeting the 16S rRNA and groEL genes, respectively. The 16S rRNA gene fragment sequences of 88/89 (98.9%) of positive samples for A. phagocytophilum corresponded to previously described gene sequences from KWD spleen tissues. The 16S rRNA gene fragment sequences of 20/363 (5.5%) of the ticks were positive for A. bovis and were identical to previously reported sequences. Using the ITS specific nested PCR, 11/363 (3.0%) of the ticks were positive for Bartonella spp. This is the first report of Anaplasma and Bartonella spp. detected in ticks collected from KWD, suggesting that ticks are vectors of Anaplasma and Bartonella spp. between reservoir hosts in natural surroundings. PMID:26951985
Hernández-Reyes, Casandra; Schikora, Adam
Infections with non-typhoidal Salmonella strains are constant and are a non-negligible threat to the human population. In the last two decades, salmonellosis outbreaks have increasingly been associated with infected fruits and vegetables. For a long time, Salmonellae were assumed to survive on plants after a more or less accidental infection. However, this notion has recently been challenged. Studies on the infection mechanism in vegetal hosts, as well as on plant immune systems, revealed an active infection process resembling in certain features the infection in animals. On one hand, Salmonella requires the type III secretion systems to effectively infect plants and to suppress their resistance mechanisms. On the other hand, plants recognize these bacteria and react to the infection with an induced defense mechanism similar to the reaction to other plant pathogens. In this review, we present the newest reports on the interaction between Salmonellae and plants. We discuss the possible ways used by these bacteria to infect plants as well as the plant responses to the infection. The recent findings indicate that plants play a central role in the dissemination of Salmonella within the ecosystem.
Li, Wei; Wang, Hongfei; Lei, Cheng; Ying, Tianlei; Tan, Xiangshi
Clostridium difficile is a human pathogen that causes severe antibiotic-associated Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). Herein the MnSODcd from C. difficile was cloned, expressed in Escherichia Coli,and characterized by X-ray crystallography, UV/Vis and EPR spectroscopy, and activity assay, et al. The crystal structure of MnSODcd (2.32 Å) reveals a manganese coordination geometry of distorted trigonal bipyramidal, with His111, His197 and Asp193 providing the equatorial ligands and with His56 and a hydroxide or water forming the axial ligands. The catalytic activity of MnSODcd (8,600 U/mg) can be effectively inhibited by 2-methoxyestradiol with an IC50 of 75 μM. The affinity investigation between 2-methoxyestradiol and MnSODcd by ITC indicated a binding constant of 8.6 μM with enthalpy changes (ΔH = -4.08 ± 0.03 kcal/mol, ΔS = 9.53 ± 0.02 cal/mol/deg). An inhibitory mechanism of MnSODcd by 2-methoxyestradiol was probed and proposed based on molecular docking models and gel filtration analysis. The 2-methoxyestradiol may bind MnSODcd to interfere with the cross-linking between the two active sites of the dimer enzyme, compromising the SOD activity. These results provide valuable insight into the rational design of MnSODcd inhibitors for potential therapeutics for CDI.
Scholtz, Vladimír; Soušková, Hana; Hubka, Vit; Švarcová, Michaela; Julák, Jaroslav
Non-thermal plasma (NTP) was tested as an in vitro deactivation method on four human pathogenic dermatophytes belonging to all ecological groups including anthropophilic Trichophyton rubrum and Trichophyton interdigitale, zoophilic Arthroderma benhamiae, and geophilic Microsporum gypseum. The identification of all strains was confirmed by sequencing of ITS rDNA region (internal transcribed spacer region of ribosomal DNA). Dermatophyte spores were suspended in water or inoculated on agar plates and exposed to NTP generated by a positive or negative corona discharge, or cometary discharge. After 15 min of exposure to NTP a significant decrease in the number of surviving spores in water suspensions was observed in all species. Complete spore inactivation and thus decontamination was observed in anthropophilic species after 25 min of exposure. Similarly, a significant decrease in the number of surviving spores was observed after 10-15 min of exposure to NTP on the surface of agar plates with full inhibition after 25 min in all tested species except of M. gypseum. Although the sensitivity of dermatophytes to the action of NTP appears to be lower than that of bacteria and yeast, our results suggest that NTP has the potential to be used as an alternative treatment strategy for dermatophytosis and could be useful for surface decontamination in clinical practice.
Boutellis, Amina; Veracx, Aurélie; Angelakis, Emmanouil; Diatta, Georges; Mediannikov, Oleg; Trape, Jean-François; Raoult, Didier
Head and body lice are strict, obligate human ectoparasites with three mitochondrial clades (A, B, and C). Body lice have been implicated as vectors of human diseases, and as the principal vectors of epidemic typhus, relapsing fever, and Bartonella quintata-associated diseases (trench fever, bacillary angiomatosis, endocarditis, chronic bacteremia, and chronic lymphadenopathy). Using molecular methods (real-time and traditional PCR), we assessed the presence of Bartonella quintana DNA in black head lice collected from three locations in Sénégal. DNA from B. quintana was identified in 19 lice (6.93%) collected from 7 patients (7%) in Dakar. B. quintana-positive lice collected from three subjects were identified as clades C and A.
Antequera-Gómez, M L; Lozano-Almendral, L; Barandika, J F; González-Martín-Niño, R M; Rodríguez-Moreno, I; García-Pérez, A L; Gil, H
The presence of Bartonella spp. was investigated in domestic ungulates grazing in communal pastures from a mountain area in northern Spain, where 18.3% (17/93) of cattle were found to be positive by PCR combined with a reverse line blot (PCR/RLB), whereas sheep (n = 133) or horses (n = 91) were found not to be infected by this pathogen. Bartonella infection was significantly associated with age, since older animals showed a higher prevalence than heifers and calves. In contrast to other studies, B. chomelii was the most frequent species found in cattle (14/17), while B. bovis was detected in only three animals. Moreover, 18 B. chomelii isolates and one B. bovis isolate were obtained from nine animals. Afterwards, B. chomelii isolates were characterized by a multilocus sequence typing (MLST) method which was adapted in this study. This method presented a high discrimination power, identifying nine different sequence types (STs). This characterization also showed the presence of different STs simultaneously in the same host and that STs had switched over time in one of the animals. In addition, B. chomelii STs seem to group phylogenetically in two different lineages. The only B. bovis isolate was characterized with a previously described MLST method. This isolate corresponded to a new ST which is located in lineage I, where the B. bovis strains infecting Bos taurus subsp. taurus are grouped. Further studies on the dynamics of Bartonella infection in cattle and the potential ectoparasites involved in the transmission of this microorganism should be performed, improving knowledge about the interaction of Bartonella spp. and domestic ungulates.
Antequera-Gómez, M. L.; Lozano-Almendral, L.; Barandika, J. F.; González-Martín-Niño, R. M.; Rodríguez-Moreno, I.; García-Pérez, A. L.
The presence of Bartonella spp. was investigated in domestic ungulates grazing in communal pastures from a mountain area in northern Spain, where 18.3% (17/93) of cattle were found to be positive by PCR combined with a reverse line blot (PCR/RLB), whereas sheep (n = 133) or horses (n = 91) were found not to be infected by this pathogen. Bartonella infection was significantly associated with age, since older animals showed a higher prevalence than heifers and calves. In contrast to other studies, B. chomelii was the most frequent species found in cattle (14/17), while B. bovis was detected in only three animals. Moreover, 18 B. chomelii isolates and one B. bovis isolate were obtained from nine animals. Afterwards, B. chomelii isolates were characterized by a multilocus sequence typing (MLST) method which was adapted in this study. This method presented a high discrimination power, identifying nine different sequence types (STs). This characterization also showed the presence of different STs simultaneously in the same host and that STs had switched over time in one of the animals. In addition, B. chomelii STs seem to group phylogenetically in two different lineages. The only B. bovis isolate was characterized with a previously described MLST method. This isolate corresponded to a new ST which is located in lineage I, where the B. bovis strains infecting Bos taurus subsp. taurus are grouped. Further studies on the dynamics of Bartonella infection in cattle and the potential ectoparasites involved in the transmission of this microorganism should be performed, improving knowledge about the interaction of Bartonella spp. and domestic ungulates. PMID:25381240
Chitwood, M Colter; Maggi, Ricardo G; Kennedy-Stoskopf, Suzanne; Toliver, Marcée; DePerno, Christopher S
Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii has not been detected previously in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). We tested whole blood from 60 white-tailed deer for Bartonella spp. DNA; three (5%) were positive for Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii. This is the first detection of Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii in white-tailed deer.
Marston, E L; Finkel, B; Regnery, R L; Winoto, I L; Graham, R R; Wignal, S; Simanjuntak, G; Olson, J G
We studied evidence of Bartonella henselae and Bartonella clarridgeiae infection in 54 cats living in Jakarta, Indonesia. By using an indirect immunofluorescence assay, we found immunoglobulin G antibody to B. henselae in 40 of 74 cats (54%). The blood of 14 feral cats was cultured on rabbit blood agar plates for 28 days. Bartonella-like colonies were identified as B. henselae or B. clarridgeiae by using restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis and direct sequencing of the PCR amplicons. Of the cats sampled in the study, 6 of 14 (43%; all feral) were culture positive for B. henselae; 3 of 14 (21%; 2 feral and 1 pet) culture positive for B. clarridgeiae. This is the first report that documents B. henselae and B. clarridgeiae infections in Indonesian cats.
Rohmer, Laurence; Fong, Christine; Abmayr, Simone; Wasnick, Michael; Larson Freeman, Theodore J; Radey, Matthew; Guina, Tina; Svensson, Kerstin; Hayden, Hillary S; Jacobs, Michael; Gallagher, Larry A; Manoil, Colin; Ernst, Robert K; Drees, Becky; Buckley, Danielle; Haugen, Eric; Bovee, Donald; Zhou, Yang; Chang, Jean; Levy, Ruth; Lim, Regina; Gillett, Will; Guenthener, Don; Kang, Allison; Shaffer, Scott A; Taylor, Greg; Chen, Jinzhi; Gallis, Byron; D'Argenio, David A; Forsman, Mats; Olson, Maynard V; Goodlett, David R; Kaul, Rajinder; Miller, Samuel I; Brittnacher, Mitchell J
Background Francisella tularensis subspecies tularensis and holarctica are pathogenic to humans, whereas the two other subspecies, novicida and mediasiatica, rarely cause disease. To uncover the factors that allow subspecies tularensis and holarctica to be pathogenic to humans, we compared their genome sequences with the genome sequence of Francisella tularensis subspecies novicida U112, which is nonpathogenic to humans. Results Comparison of the genomes of human pathogenic Francisella strains with the genome of U112 identifies genes specific to the human pathogenic strains and reveals pseudogenes that previously were unidentified. In addition, this analysis provides a coarse chronology of the evolutionary events that took place during the emergence of the human pathogenic strains. Genomic rearrangements at the level of insertion sequences (IS elements), point mutations, and small indels took place in the human pathogenic strains during and after differentiation from the nonpathogenic strain, resulting in gene inactivation. Conclusion The chronology of events suggests a substantial role for genetic drift in the formation of pseudogenes in Francisella genomes. Mutations that occurred early in the evolution, however, might have been fixed in the population either because of evolutionary bottlenecks or because they were pathoadaptive (beneficial in the context of infection). Because the structure of Francisella genomes is similar to that of the genomes of other emerging or highly pathogenic bacteria, this evolutionary scenario may be shared by pathogens from other species. PMID:17550600
Zimbler, Daniel L; Penwell, William F; Gaddy, Jennifer A; Menke, Sharon M; Tomaras, Andrew P; Connerly, Pamela L; Actis, Luis A
Acinetobacter baumannii is a gram-negative bacterium that causes serious infections in compromised patients. More recently, it has emerged as the causative agent of severe infections in military personnel wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. This pathogen grows under a wide range of conditions including iron-limiting conditions imposed by natural and synthetic iron chelators. Initial studies using the type strain 19606 showed that the iron proficiency of this pathogen depends on the expression of the acinetobactin-mediated iron acquisition system. More recently, we have observed that hemin but not human hemoglobin serves as an iron source when 19606 isogenic derivatives affected in acinetobactin transport and biosynthesis were cultured under iron-limiting conditions. This finding is in agreement with the observation that the genome of the strain 17978 has a gene cluster coding for putative hemin-acquisition functions, which include genes coding for putative hemin utilization functions and a TonBExbBD energy transducing system. This system restored enterobactin biosynthesis in an E. coli ExbBD deficient strain but not when introduced into a TonB mutant. PCR and Southern blot analyses showed that this hemin-utilization gene cluster is also present in the 19606 strain. Analysis of the 17978 genome also showed that this strain harbors genes required for acinetobactin synthesis and transport as well as a gene cluster that could code for additional iron acquisition functions. This hypothesis is in agreement with the fact that the inactivation of the basD acinetobactin biosynthetic gene did not affect the growth of A. baumannii 17978 cells under iron-chelated conditions. Interestingly, this second iron uptake gene cluster is flanked by perfect inverted repeats and includes transposase genes that are expressed transcriptionally. Also interesting is the observation that this additional cluster could not be detected in the type strain 19606, an observation that suggests some
Diakou, Anastasia; Di Cesare, Angela; Accettura, Paolo Matteo; Barros, Luciano; Iorio, Raffaella; Paoletti, Barbara; Frangipane di Regalbono, Antonio; Halos, Lénaïg; Beugnet, Frederic; Traversa, Donato
This survey investigated the distribution of various intestinal parasites and vector-borne pathogens in stray and free-roaming cats living in four regions of Greece. A total number of one hundred and fifty cats living in three Islands (Crete, Mykonos and Skopelos) and in Athens municipality was established as a realistic aim to be accomplished in the study areas. All cats were examined with different microscopic, serological and molecular assays aiming at evaluating the occurrence of intestinal parasites, and exposure to or presence of vector-borne infections. A total of 135 cats (90%) was positive for one or more parasites and/or pathogens transmitted by ectoparasites. Forty-four (29.3%) cats were positive for one single infection, while 91 (60.7%) for more than one pathogen. A high number of (n. 53) multiple infections caused by feline intestinal and vector-borne agents including at least one zoonotic pathogen was detected. Among them, the most frequently recorded helminths were roundworms (Toxocara cati, 24%) and Dipylidium caninum (2%), while a high number of examined animals (58.8%) had seroreaction for Bartonella spp., followed by Rickettsia spp. (43.2%) and Leishmania infantum (6.1%). DNA-based assays revealed the zoonotic arthropod-borne organisms Bartonella henselae, Bartonella clarridgeiae, Rickettsia spp., and L. infantum. These results show that free-ranging cats living in areas of Greece under examination may be exposed to a plethora of internal parasites and vector-borne pathogens, some of them potentially able to infect humans. Therefore, epidemiological vigilance and appropriate control measures are crucial for the prevention and control of these infections and to minimize the risk of infection for people.
Diakou, Anastasia; Di Cesare, Angela; Accettura, Paolo Matteo; Barros, Luciano; Iorio, Raffaella; Paoletti, Barbara; Frangipane di Regalbono, Antonio; Halos, Lénaïg; Beugnet, Frederic; Traversa, Donato
This survey investigated the distribution of various intestinal parasites and vector-borne pathogens in stray and free-roaming cats living in four regions of Greece. A total number of one hundred and fifty cats living in three Islands (Crete, Mykonos and Skopelos) and in Athens municipality was established as a realistic aim to be accomplished in the study areas. All cats were examined with different microscopic, serological and molecular assays aiming at evaluating the occurrence of intestinal parasites, and exposure to or presence of vector-borne infections. A total of 135 cats (90%) was positive for one or more parasites and/or pathogens transmitted by ectoparasites. Forty-four (29.3%) cats were positive for one single infection, while 91 (60.7%) for more than one pathogen. A high number of (n. 53) multiple infections caused by feline intestinal and vector-borne agents including at least one zoonotic pathogen was detected. Among them, the most frequently recorded helminths were roundworms (Toxocara cati, 24%) and Dipylidium caninum (2%), while a high number of examined animals (58.8%) had seroreaction for Bartonella spp., followed by Rickettsia spp. (43.2%) and Leishmania infantum (6.1%). DNA-based assays revealed the zoonotic arthropod-borne organisms Bartonella henselae, Bartonella clarridgeiae, Rickettsia spp., and L. infantum. These results show that free-ranging cats living in areas of Greece under examination may be exposed to a plethora of internal parasites and vector-borne pathogens, some of them potentially able to infect humans. Therefore, epidemiological vigilance and appropriate control measures are crucial for the prevention and control of these infections and to minimize the risk of infection for people. PMID:28141857
Bouhsira, Emilie; Franc, Michel; Boulouis, Henri-Jean; Jacquiet, Philippe; Raymond-Letron, Isabelle; Liénard, Emmanuel
Bartonella henselae (Rhizobiales: Bartonellaceae) is a Gram-negative fastidious bacterium of veterinary and zoonotic importance. The cat flea Ctenocephalides felis (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae) is the main recognized vector of B. henselae, and transmission among cats and humans occurs mainly through infected flea feces. The present study documents the use of a quantitative molecular approach to follow the daily kinetics of B. henselae within the cat flea and its excreted feces after exposure to infected blood for 48 h in an artificial membrane system. B. henselae DNA was detected in both fleas and feces for the entire life span of the fleas (i.e., 12 days) starting from 24 h after initiation of the blood meal.
Cockwill, Ken R.; Taylor, Susan M.; Philibert, Helene M.; Breitschwerdt, Edward B.; Maggi, Ricardo G.
A dog referred for lameness was diagnosed with culture-negative endocarditis. Antibodies to Bartonella spp. were detected. Antibiotic treatment resulted in transient clinical improvement, but the dog developed cardiac failure and was euthanized. Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii genotype IV was identified within the aortic heart valve lesions by PCR amplification and DNA sequencing. PMID:17824328
VELHO, Paulo Eduardo Neves Ferreira; BELLOMO-BRANDÃO, Maria Ângela; DRUMMOND, Marina Rovani; MAGALHÃES, Renata Ferreira; HESSEL, Gabriel; BARJAS-CASTRO, Maria de Lourdes; ESCANHOELA, Cecília Amélia Fazzio; NEGRO, Gilda Maria Barbaro DEL; OKAY, Thelma Suely
SUMMARY Severe anemia and cholestatic hepatitis are associated with bartonella infections. A putative vertical Bartonella henselae infection was defined on the basis of ultrastructural and molecular analyses in a three-year-old child with anemia, jaundice and hepatosplenomegaly since birth. Physicians should consider bartonellosis in patients with anemia and hepatitis of unknown origin. PMID:27410916
Woudstra, Cédric; Fach, Patrick; Chomel, Bruno B.; Haddad, Nadia
ABSTRACT Bartonella henselae is the main causative agent of cat scratch disease. In this report, we present the draft genome sequences of 12 strains of Bartonella henselae originating from the United States, Denmark, and France. These strains were isolated from cats and belonged to either 16S rRNA genotype I or 16S rRNA genotype II. PMID:28360154
Mullins, Kristin; Smoak, Bonnie L.; Jiang, Ju; Canal, Enrique; Solorzano, Nelson; Hall, Eric; Meza, Rina; Maguina, Ciro; Myers, Todd; Richards, Allen L.; Laughlin, Larry
While studying chronic verruga peruana infections in Peru from 2003, we isolated a novel Bartonella agent, which we propose be named Candidatus Bartonella ancashi. This case reveals the inherent weakness of relying solely on clinical syndromes for diagnosis and underscores the need for a new diagnostic paradigm in developing settings. PMID:23764047
Pearce-Duvet, Jessica M C
Many significant diseases of human civilization are thought to have arisen concurrently with the advent of agriculture in human society. It has been hypothesised that the food produced by farming increased population sizes to allow the maintenance of virulent pathogens, i.e. civilization pathogens, while domestic animals provided sources of disease to humans. To determine the relationship between pathogens in humans and domestic animals, I examined phylogenetic data for several human pathogens that are commonly evolutionarily linked to domestic animals: measles, pertussis, smallpox, tuberculosis, taenid worms, and falciparal malaria. The majority are civilization pathogens, although I have included others whose evolutionary origins have traditionally been ascribed to domestic animals. The strongest evidence for a domestic-animal origin exists for measles and pertussis, although the data do not exclude a non-domestic origin. As for the other pathogens, the evidence currently available makes it difficult to determine if the domestic-origin hypothesis is supported or refuted; in fact, intriguing data for tuberculosis and taenid worms suggests that transmission may occur as easily from humans to domestic animals. These findings do not abrogate the importance of agriculture in disease transmission; rather, if anything, they suggest an alternative, more complex series of effects than previously elucidated. Rather than domestication, the broader force for human pathogen evolution could be ecological change, namely anthropogenic modification of the environment. This is supported by evidence that many current emerging infectious diseases are associated with human modification of the environment. Agriculture may have changed the transmission ecology of pre-existing human pathogens, increased the success of pre-existing pathogen vectors, resulted in novel interactions between humans and wildlife, and, through the domestication of animals, provided a stable conduit for human
Gutiérrez, Ricardo; Krasnov, Boris; Morick, Danny; Gottlieb, Yuval; Khokhlova, Irina S.
Abstract Epidemiological studies worldwide have reported a high prevalence and a great diversity of Bartonella species, both in rodents and their flea parasites. The interaction among Bartonella, wild rodents, and fleas reflects a high degree of adaptation among these organisms. Vertical and horizontal efficient Bartonella transmission pathways within flea communities and from fleas to rodents have been documented in competence studies, suggesting that fleas are key players in the transmission of Bartonella to rodents. Exploration of the ecological traits of rodents and their fleas may shed light on the mechanisms used by bartonellae to become established in these organisms. The present review explores the interrelations within the Bartonella–rodent–flea system. The role of the latter two components is emphasized. PMID:25629778
Bonilla, Denise L; Kabeya, Hidenori; Henn, Jennifer; Kramer, Vicki L; Kosoy, Michael Y
Bartonella quintana is a bacterium that causes trench fever in humans. Past reports have shown Bartonella spp. infections in homeless populations in San Francisco, California, USA. The California Department of Public Health in collaboration with San Francisco Project Homeless Connect initiated a program in 2007 to collect lice from the homeless to test for B. quintana and to educate the homeless and their caregivers on prevention and control of louse-borne disease. During 2007-2008, 33.3% of body lice-infested persons and 25% of head lice-infested persons had lice pools infected with B. quintana strain Fuller. Further work is needed to examine how homeless persons acquire lice and determine the risk for illness to persons infested with B. quintana-infected lice.
van Overbeek, Leonard S.; van Doorn, Joop; Wichers, Jan H.; van Amerongen, Aart; van Roermund, Herman J. W.; Willemsen, Peter T. J.
Disease incidences related to Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica infections by consumption of (fresh) vegetables, sprouts, and occasionally fruits made clear that these pathogens are not only transmitted to humans via the “classical” routes of meat, eggs, and dairy products, but also can be transmitted to humans via plants or products derived from plants. Nowadays, it is of major concern that these human pathogens, especially the ones belonging to the taxonomical family of Enterobacteriaceae, become adapted to environmental habitats without losing their virulence to humans. Adaptation to the plant environment would lead to longer persistence in plants, increasing their chances on transmission to humans via consumption of plant-derived food. One of the mechanisms of adaptation to the plant environment in human pathogens, proposed in this paper, is horizontal transfer of genes from different microbial communities present in the arable ecosystem, like the ones originating from soil, animal digestive track systems (manure), water and plants themselves. Genes that would confer better adaptation to the phytosphere might be genes involved in plant colonization, stress resistance and nutrient acquisition and utilization. Because human pathogenic enterics often were prone to genetic exchanges via phages and conjugative plasmids, it was postulated that these genetic elements may be hold key responsible for horizontal gene transfers between human pathogens and indigenous microbes in agroproduction systems. In analogy to zoonosis, we coin the term phytonosis for a human pathogen that is transmitted via plants and not exclusively via animals. PMID:24688484
Iraola, Gregorio; Vazquez, Gustavo; Spangenberg, Lucía; Naya, Hugo
Although there have been great advances in understanding bacterial pathogenesis, there is still a lack of integrative information about what makes a bacterium a human pathogen. The advent of high-throughput sequencing technologies has dramatically increased the amount of completed bacterial genomes, for both known human pathogenic and non-pathogenic strains; this information is now available to investigate genetic features that determine pathogenic phenotypes in bacteria. In this work we determined presence/absence patterns of different virulence-related genes among more than finished bacterial genomes from both human pathogenic and non-pathogenic strains, belonging to different taxonomic groups (i.e: Actinobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, Firmicutes, etc.). An accuracy of 95% using a cross-fold validation scheme with in-fold feature selection is obtained when classifying human pathogens and non-pathogens. A reduced subset of highly informative genes () is presented and applied to an external validation set. The statistical model was implemented in the BacFier v1.0 software (freely available at ), that displays not only the prediction (pathogen/non-pathogen) and an associated probability for pathogenicity, but also the presence/absence vector for the analyzed genes, so it is possible to decipher the subset of virulence genes responsible for the classification on the analyzed genome. Furthermore, we discuss the biological relevance for bacterial pathogenesis of the core set of genes, corresponding to eight functional categories, all with evident and documented association with the phenotypes of interest. Also, we analyze which functional categories of virulence genes were more distinctive for pathogenicity in each taxonomic group, which seems to be a completely new kind of information and could lead to important evolutionary conclusions. PMID:22916122
The assertion that ingestion of human erythrocytes is restricted to invasive strains of Entamoeba histolytica has not been evaluated previously by comparative studies. In this report we describe the in vitro ingestion of human erythrocytes by pathogenic and nonpathogenic Entamoeba. Microscopic evaluation of erythrophagocytosis by eight different Entamoeba grown in culture revealed that strains of E. histolytica isolated from cases of human dysentery show a much higher rate of erythrocyte ingestion than nonpathogenic strains. However, all strains are able to phagocytize erythrocytes. The extremely high rate of phagocytic activity shown by pathogenic E. histolytica could be one of the properties related to the pathogenicity of this parasitic protozoan. PMID:722237
Hodgkinson, Alison J; Cakebread, Julie; Callaghan, Megan; Harris, Paul; Brunt, Rachel; Anderson, Rachel C; Armstrong, Kelly M; Haigh, Brendan
Secretory IgA (SIgA) from milk contributes to early colonization and maintenance of commensal/symbiotic bacteria in the gut, as well as providing defence against pathogens. SIgA binds bacteria using specific antigenic sites or non-specifically via its glycans attached to α-heavy-chain and secretory component. In our study, we tested the hypothesis that human and bovine SIgA have similar innate-binding activity for bacteria. SIgAs, isolated from human and bovine milk, were incubated with a selection of commensal, pathogenic and probiotic bacteria. Using flow cytometry, we measured numbers of bacteria binding SIgA and their level of SIgA binding. The percentage of bacteria bound by human and bovine SIgA varied from 30 to 90% depending on bacterial species and strains, but was remarkably consistent between human and bovine SIgA. The level of SIgA binding per bacterial cell was lower for those bacteria that had a higher percentage of SIgA-bound bacteria, and higher for those bacteria that had lower percentage of SIgA-bound bacteria. Overall, human and bovine SIgA interacted with bacteria in a comparable way. This contributes to longer term research about the potential benefits of bovine SIgA for human consumers.
Aleta, Alberto; Hisi, Andreia N. S.; Colizza, Vittoria; Moreno, Yamir
Rapidly mutating pathogens may be able to persist in the population and reach an endemic equilibrium by escaping hosts’ acquired immunity. For such diseases, multiple biological, environmental and population-level mechanisms determine the dynamics of the outbreak, including pathogen's epidemiological traits (e.g. transmissibility, infectious period and duration of immunity), seasonality, interaction with other circulating strains and hosts’ mixing and spatial fragmentation. Here, we study a susceptible-infected-recovered-susceptible model on a metapopulation where individuals are distributed in sub-populations connected via a network of mobility flows. Through extensive numerical simulations, we explore the phase space of pathogen's persistence and map the dynamical regimes of the pathogen following emergence. Our results show that spatial fragmentation and mobility play a key role in the persistence of the disease whose maximum is reached at intermediate mobility values. We describe the occurrence of different phenomena including local extinction and emergence of epidemic waves, and assess the conditions for large-scale spreading. Findings are highlighted in reference to previous studies and to real scenarios. Our work uncovers the crucial role of hosts’ mobility on the ecological dynamics of rapidly mutating pathogens, opening the path for further studies on disease ecology in the presence of a complex and heterogeneous environment.
Kim, Hanhae; Jung, Kwang-Woo; Maeng, Shinae; Chen, Ying-Lien; Shin, Junha; Shim, Jung Eun; Hwang, Sohyun; Janbon, Guilhem; Kim, Taeyup; Heitman, Joseph; Bahn, Yong-Sun; Lee, Insuk
Cryptococcus neoformans is an opportunistic human pathogenic fungus that causes meningoencephalitis. Due to the increasing global risk of cryptococcosis and the emergence of drug-resistant strains, the development of predictive genetics platforms for the rapid identification of novel genes governing pathogenicity and drug resistance of C. neoformans is imperative. The analysis of functional genomics data and genome-scale mutant libraries may facilitate the genetic dissection of such complex phenotypes but with limited efficiency. Here, we present a genome-scale co-functional network for C. neoformans, CryptoNet, which covers ~81% of the coding genome and provides an efficient intermediary between functional genomics data and reverse-genetics resources for the genetic dissection of C. neoformans phenotypes. CryptoNet is the first genome-scale co-functional network for any fungal pathogen. CryptoNet effectively identified novel genes for pathogenicity and drug resistance using guilt-by-association and context-associated hub algorithms. CryptoNet is also the first genome-scale co-functional network for fungi in the basidiomycota phylum, as Saccharomyces cerevisiae belongs to the ascomycota phylum. CryptoNet may therefore provide insights into pathway evolution between two distinct phyla of the fungal kingdom. The CryptoNet web server (www.inetbio.org/cryptonet) is a public resource that provides an interactive environment of network-assisted predictive genetics for C. neoformans.
Isolation of Bartonella henselae, Bartonella koehlerae subsp. koehlerae, Bartonella koehlerae subsp. bothieri and a new subspecies of B. koehlerae from free-ranging lions (Panthera leo) from South Africa, cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) from Namibia and captive cheetahs from California.
Molia, S; Kasten, R W; Stuckey, M J; Boulouis, H J; Allen, J; Borgo, G M; Koehler, J E; Chang, C C; Chomel, B B
Bartonellae are blood- and vector-borne Gram-negative bacteria, recognized as emerging pathogens. Whole-blood samples were collected from 58 free-ranging lions (Panthera leo) in South Africa and 17 cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) from Namibia. Blood samples were also collected from 11 cheetahs (more than once for some of them) at the San Diego Wildlife Safari Park. Bacteria were isolated from the blood of three (5%) lions, one (6%) Namibian cheetah and eight (73%) cheetahs from California. The lion Bartonella isolates were identified as B. henselae (two isolates) and B. koehlerae subsp. koehlerae. The Namibian cheetah strain was close but distinct from isolates from North American wild felids and clustered between B. henselae and B. koehlerae. It should be considered as a new subspecies of B. koehlerae. All the Californian semi-captive cheetah isolates were different from B. henselae or B. koehlerae subsp. koehlerae and from the Namibian cheetah isolate. They were also distinct from the strains isolated from Californian mountain lions (Felis concolor) and clustered with strains of B. koehlerae subsp. bothieri isolated from free-ranging bobcats (Lynx rufus) in California. Therefore, it is likely that these captive cheetahs became infected by an indigenous strain for which bobcats are the natural reservoir.
Colwell, Rita [University of Maryland
Rita Colwell on "Experimental Reservoirs of Human Pathogens: The Vibrio cholerae paradigm" at the 2012 Sequencing, Finishing, Analysis in the Future Meeting held June 5-7, 2012 in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Three microsporidial species from the genus Encephalitozoon, E. hellem, E. cuniculi and E. intestinalis, have emerged as important opportunistic pathogens of humans affecting organ transplant recipients, AIDS patients, and other immunocompromised patients. Even though these thre...
March, Sandra; Ramanan, Vyas; Trehan, Kartik; Ng, Shengyong; Galstian, Ani; Gural, Nil; Scull, Margaret A; Shlomai, Amir; Mota, Maria M; Fleming, Heather E; Khetani, Salman R; Rice, Charles M; Bhatia, Sangeeta N
The development of therapies and vaccines for human hepatropic pathogens requires robust model systems that enable the study of host-pathogen interactions. However, in vitro liver models of infection typically use either hepatoma cell lines that exhibit aberrant physiology or primary human hepatocytes in culture conditions in which they rapidly lose their hepatic phenotype. To achieve stable and robust in vitro primary human hepatocyte models, we developed micropatterned cocultures (MPCCs), which consist of primary human hepatocytes organized into 2D islands that are surrounded by supportive fibroblast cells. By using this system, which can be established over a period of days, and maintained over multiple weeks, we demonstrate how to recapitulate in vitro hepatic life cycles for the hepatitis B and C viruses and the Plasmodium pathogens P. falciparum and P. vivax. The MPCC platform can be used to uncover aspects of host-pathogen interactions, and it has the potential to be used for drug and vaccine development.
Rice, Alan M.; McLysaght, Aoife
Human copy number variants (CNVs) account for genome variation an order of magnitude larger than single-nucleotide polymorphisms. Although much of this variation has no phenotypic consequences, some variants have been associated with disease, in particular neurodevelopmental disorders. Pathogenic CNVs are typically very large and contain multiple genes, and understanding the cause of the pathogenicity remains a major challenge. Here we show that pathogenic CNVs are significantly enriched for genes involved in development and genes that have greater evolutionary copy number conservation across mammals, indicative of functional constraints. Conversely, genes found in benign CNV regions have more variable copy number. These evolutionary constraints are characteristic of genes in pathogenic CNVs and can only be explained by dosage sensitivity of those genes. These results implicate dosage sensitivity of individual genes as a common cause of CNV pathogenicity. These evolutionary metrics suggest a path to identifying disease genes in pathogenic CNVs. PMID:28176757
urgent need to expand the current therapeutic annamentarium. The pathogenic mechanism of arenaviruses is believed to involve dysregulation of cytokines... arenaviruses . Summary of Results Figure I. Schematic repreSt:ntation for immune responses post infection. Target A represents immune response clearing...working to develop thioaptamer countenneasures against BT agents including arenaviruses and flaviviruses. ODN Agentf: thioaptamers RNA and DNA
With an increasing number of outbreaks and illnesses associated with pre-harvest contaminated produce, understanding the potential and mechanisms of produce contamination by enteric pathogens can aid in the development of preventative measures and post-harvest processing to reduce microbial populati...
Staley, Christopher; Reckhow, Kenneth H; Lukasik, Jerzy; Harwood, Valerie J
We investigated the potential for a variety of environmental reservoirs to harbor or contribute fecal indicator bacteria (FIB), DNA markers of human fecal contamination, and human pathogens to a freshwater lake. We hypothesized that submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), sediments, and stormwater act as reservoirs and/or provide inputs of FIB and human pathogens to this inland water. Analysis included microbial source tracking (MST) markers of sewage contamination (Enterococcus faecium esp gene, human-associated Bacteroides HF183, and human polyomaviruses), pathogens (Salmonella, Cryptosporidium, Giardia, and enteric viruses), and FIB (fecal coliforms, Escherichia coli, and enterococci). Bayesian analysis was used to assess relationships among microbial and physicochemical variables. FIB in the water were correlated with concentrations in SAV and sediment. Furthermore, the correlation of antecedent rainfall and major rain events with FIB concentrations and detection of human markers and pathogens points toward multiple reservoirs for microbial contaminants in this system. Although pathogens and human-source markers were detected in 55% and 21% of samples, respectively, markers rarely coincided with pathogen detection. Bayesian analysis revealed that low concentrations (<45 CFU × 100 ml(-1)) of fecal coliforms were associated with 93% probability that pathogens would not be detected; furthermore the Bayes net model showed associations between elevated temperature and rainfall with fecal coliform and enterococci concentrations, but not E. coli. These data indicate that many under-studied matrices (e.g. SAV, sediment, stormwater) are important reservoirs for FIB and potentially human pathogens and demonstrate the usefulness of Bayes net analysis for water quality assessment.
Kitada, Amanda A B; Favacho, Alexsandra R M; Oliveira, Raquel V C; Pessoa, Adonai A; Gomes, Raphael; Honse, Carla O; Gremião, Isabella D F; Lemos, Elba R S; Pereira, Sandro A
Cat scratch disease is a zoonosis caused by Bartonella species, transmitted to humans through scratches or bites from infected cats and via direct contact with infected feces. Sporotrichosis, caused by the fungal complex Sporothrix, is transmitted by traumatic inoculation of the fungus. Cats are important in zoonotic transmission. Serum samples from 112 domestic cats with sporotrichosis and 77 samples from healthy cats were analyzed by indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA), using the commercial kit Bartonella henselae IFA IgG (Bion). The presence of antibodies against feline leukemia virus (FeLV) and of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) core antigens was detected using the commercial kit Snap Combo FIV-FeLV (Idexx). The group of animals with sporotrichosis contained 93 males with a median age of 22 months, eight (7.1%) of which were positive for FIV and 15 (13.4%) for FeLV. The group of animals without sporotrichosis contained 36 males with a median age 48 months, 10 (13.0%) of which were positive for FIV and eight (10.4%) for FeLV. Of the 112 cats with sporotrichosis and 77 cats without mycosis, 72 (64.3%) and 35 (45.5%), respectively, were IFA reactive. No association was found between age, sex, FIV/FeLV and the presence of antibodies to Bartonella species. The results suggest that the study population can be considered a potential source of zoonotic infection for both diseases.
... HUMAN SERVICES Food and Drug Administration (Formerly Docket No. 2001D-0107) Expedited Review for New Animal Drug Applications for Human Pathogen Reduction Claims; Withdrawal of Guidance AGENCY: Food and... guidance for industry 121 entitled ``Expedited Review for New Animal Drug Applications for Human...
Himsworth, Chelsea G; Parsons, Kirbee L; Jardine, Claire; Patrick, David M
Urban Norway and black rats (Rattus norvegicus and Rattus rattus) are the source of a number of pathogens responsible for significant human morbidity and mortality in cities around the world. These pathogens include zoonotic bacteria (Leptospira interrogans, Yersina pestis, Rickettsia typhi, Bartonella spp., Streptobacillus moniliformis), viruses (Seoul hantavirus), and parasites (Angiostrongylus cantonensis). A more complete understanding of the ecology of these pathogens in people and rats is critical for determining the public health risks associated with urban rats and for developing strategies to monitor and mitigate those risks. Although the ecology of rat-associated zoonoses is complex, due to the multiple ways in which rats, people, pathogens, vectors, and the environment may interact, common determinants of human disease can still be identified. This review summarizes the ecology of zoonoses associated with urban rats with a view to identifying similarities, critical differences, and avenues for further study.
Lekshmi, Manjusha; Ammini, Parvathi; Kumar, Sanath; Varela, Manuel F.
Food-borne pathogens are a serious human health concern worldwide, and the emergence of antibiotic-resistant food pathogens has further confounded this problem. Once-highly-efficacious antibiotics are gradually becoming ineffective against many important pathogens, resulting in severe treatment crises. Among several reasons for the development and spread of antimicrobial resistance, their overuse in animal food production systems for purposes other than treatment of infections is prominent. Many pathogens of animals are zoonotic, and therefore any development of resistance in pathogens associated with food animals can spread to humans through the food chain. Human infections by antibiotic-resistant pathogens such as Campylobacter spp., Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus are increasing. Considering the human health risk due to emerging antibiotic resistance in food animal–associated bacteria, many countries have banned the use of antibiotic growth promoters and the application in animals of antibiotics critically important in human medicine. Concerted global efforts are necessary to minimize the use of antimicrobials in food animals in order to control the development of antibiotic resistance in these systems and their spread to humans via food and water. PMID:28335438
Lekshmi, Manjusha; Ammini, Parvathi; Kumar, Sanath; Varela, Manuel F
Food-borne pathogens are a serious human health concern worldwide, and the emergence of antibiotic-resistant food pathogens has further confounded this problem. Once-highly-efficacious antibiotics are gradually becoming ineffective against many important pathogens, resulting in severe treatment crises. Among several reasons for the development and spread of antimicrobial resistance, their overuse in animal food production systems for purposes other than treatment of infections is prominent. Many pathogens of animals are zoonotic, and therefore any development of resistance in pathogens associated with food animals can spread to humans through the food chain. Human infections by antibiotic-resistant pathogens such as Campylobacter spp., Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus are increasing. Considering the human health risk due to emerging antibiotic resistance in food animal-associated bacteria, many countries have banned the use of antibiotic growth promoters and the application in animals of antibiotics critically important in human medicine. Concerted global efforts are necessary to minimize the use of antimicrobials in food animals in order to control the development of antibiotic resistance in these systems and their spread to humans via food and water.
Kaewmongkol, Gunn; Kaewmongkol, Sarawan; McInnes, Linda M; Burmej, Halina; Bennett, Mark D; Adams, Peter J; Ryan, Una; Irwin, Peter J; Fenwick, Stanley G
Fleas are important arthropod vectors for a variety of diseases in veterinary and human medicine, and bacteria belonging to the genus Bartonella are among the organisms most commonly transmitted by these ectoparasites. Recently, a number of novel Bartonella species and novel species candidates have been reported in marsupial fleas in Australia. In the present study the genetic diversity of marsupial fleas was investigated; 10 species of fleas were collected from seven different marsupial and placental mammal hosts in Western Australia including woylies (Bettongia penicillata), western barred bandicoots (Perameles bougainville), mardos (Antechinus flavipes), bush rats (Rattus fuscipes), red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), feral cats (Felis catus) and rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus). PCR and sequence analysis of the cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) and the 18S rRNA genes from these fleas was performed. Concatenated phylogenetic analysis of the COI and 18S rRNA genes revealed a close genetic relationship between marsupial fleas, with Pygiopsylla hilli from woylies, Pygiopsylla tunneyi from western barred bandicoots and Acanthopsylla jordani from mardos, forming a separate cluster from fleas collected from the placental mammals in the same geographical area. The clustering of Bartonella species with their marsupial flea hosts suggests co-evolution of marsupial hosts, marsupial fleas and Bartonella species in Australia.
Boxall, Alistair B.A.; Hardy, Anthony; Beulke, Sabine; Boucard, Tatiana; Burgin, Laura; Falloon, Peter D.; Haygarth, Philip M.; Hutchinson, Thomas; Kovats, R. Sari; Leonardi, Giovanni; Levy, Leonard S.; Nichols, Gordon; Parsons, Simon A.; Potts, Laura; Stone, David; Topp, Edward; Turley, David B.; Walsh, Kerry; Wellington, Elizabeth M.H.; Williams, Richard J.
Objective Climate change is likely to affect the nature of pathogens and chemicals in the environment and their fate and transport. Future risks of pathogens and chemicals could therefore be very different from those of today. In this review, we assess the implications of climate change for changes in human exposures to pathogens and chemicals in agricultural systems in the United Kingdom and discuss the subsequent effects on health impacts. Data sources In this review, we used expert input and considered literature on climate change; health effects resulting from exposure to pathogens and chemicals arising from agriculture; inputs of chemicals and pathogens to agricultural systems; and human exposure pathways for pathogens and chemicals in agricultural systems. Data synthesis We established the current evidence base for health effects of chemicals and pathogens in the agricultural environment; determined the potential implications of climate change on chemical and pathogen inputs in agricultural systems; and explored the effects of climate change on environmental transport and fate of different contaminant types. We combined these data to assess the implications of climate change in terms of indirect human exposure to pathogens and chemicals in agricultural systems. We then developed recommendations on future research and policy changes to manage any adverse increases in risks. Conclusions Overall, climate change is likely to increase human exposures to agricultural contaminants. The magnitude of the increases will be highly dependent on the contaminant type. Risks from many pathogens and particulate and particle-associated contaminants could increase significantly. These increases in exposure can, however, be managed for the most part through targeted research and policy changes. PMID:19440487
Borchardt, Mark A.; Burch, Tucker R
Dairy manure, like the fecal excrement from any domesticated or wild animal, can contain pathogens capable of infecting humans and causing illness or even death. Pathogens in dairy manure can be broadly divided into categories of taxonomy or infectiousness. Dividing by taxonomy there are three pathogen groups in dairy manure: viruses (e.g., bovine rotavirus), bacteria (e.g., Salmonella species), and protozoa (e.g., Cryptosporidium parvum). There are two categories of infectiousness for pathogens found in animals: those that are zoonotic and those that are not. A zoonotic pathogen is one that can infect both human and animal hosts. Some zoonotic pathogens found in dairy manure cause illness in both hosts (e.g., Salmonella) while other zoonotic pathogens, like Escherichia coli O157:H7, (enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC)) cause illness only in humans. As a general rule, the gastrointestinal viruses found in dairy manure are not zoonotic. While there are exceptions (e.g., rare reports of bovine rotavirus infecting children), for the most part the viruses in dairy manure are not a human health concern. The primary concerns are the zoonotic bacteria and protozoa in dairy manure.
Chandra, Shona; Forsyth, Maureen; Lawrence, Andrea L; Emery, David; Šlapeta, Jan
The cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis) is the most common flea species parasitising both domestic cats and dogs globally. Fleas are known vectors of zoonotic pathogens such as vector borne Rickettsia and Bartonella. This study compared cat fleas from domestic cats and dogs in New Zealand's North and South Islands to Australian cat fleas, using the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) marker, cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and II (cox1, cox2). We assessed the prevalence of Rickettsia and Bartonella using genus specific multiplexed real-time PCR assays. Morphological identification confirmed that the cat flea (C. felis) is the most common flea in New Zealand. The examined fleas (n=43) at cox1 locus revealed six closely related C. felis haplotypes (inter-haplotype distance 1.1%) across New Zealand. The New Zealand C. felis haplotypes were identical or near identical with haplotypes from southern Australia demonstrating common dispersal of haplotype lineage across both the geographical (Tasman Sea) and climate scale. New Zealand cat fleas carried Rickettsia felis (5.3%) and Bartonella clarridgeiae (18.4%). To understand the capability of C. felis to vector zoonotic pathogens, we determined flea cox1 and cox2 haplotype diversity with the tandem multiplexed real-time PCR and sequencing for Bartonella and Rickettsia. This enabled us to demonstrate highly similar cat fleas on cat and dog populations across Australia and New Zealand.
Schaefer, Jonathan D; Kasten, Rickie W; Coonan, Timothy J; Clifford, Deana L; Chomel, Bruno B
Bartonella rochalimae (B.r.) and Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii (B.v.b.) have been isolated from gray foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) in mainland California and high Bartonella seroprevalence was reported in island foxes (U. litorralis), especially from Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa Islands. As a follow-up study, the objectives were to determine the prevalence of Bartonella bacteremia and seropositivity and to identify the Bartonella species infecting a convenience sample of 51 island foxes living on Santa Rosa Island. Using an immuno-fluorescence antibody test directed against B.v.b and Bartonella clarridgeiae (B.c.), used as a substitute for B.r., the overall antibody prevalence was 62.7% with 16 (31.4%) foxes seropositive for B.c. only, 5 (9.8%) for B.v.b. only, and 11 (21.6%) for both antigens. B.v.b. was isolated from 6 (11.8%) foxes using blood culture medium. An additional seropositive fox tested PCR positive for B.v.b. and 3 other seropositive foxes tested PCR positive for B. rochalimae. All of the isolated B.v.b. colonies and the B.v.b. PCR positive sample belonged to type III, the same type found to infect mainland gray foxes. Therefore, Bartonella infection is widespread within this island fox population with evidence for B.v.b. type III reservoir host-specificity. Presence of B. rochalimae in the Channel Islands has been detected for the first time using PCR.
Bitam, Idir; Rolain, Jean Marc; Nicolas, Violaine; Tsai, Yi-Lun; Parola, Philippe; Gundi, Vijay A K B; Chomel, Bruno B; Raoult, Didier
We report the molecular detection of several Bartonella species in 44 (21.5%) of 204 fleas from Algeria collected from 26 rodents and 7 hedgehogs. Bartonella elizabethae and B. clarridgeiae were detected in the fleas collected on hedgehogs. Bartonella tribocorum and B. elizabethae were detected in fleas collected from rats and mice, and sequences similar to an unnamed Bartonella sp. detected in rodents from China were detected in rats as well as a genotype of Bartonella closely related to Bartonella rochalimae detected in fleas collected on brown rats (Rattus norvegicus).
Abdel-Moein, Khaled A.; Hamza, Dalia A.
The current study was conducted to investigate the occurrence of human pathogenic Clostridium botulinum in the feces of dairy animals. Fecal samples were collected from 203 apparently healthy dairy animals (50 cattle, 50 buffaloes, 52 sheep, 51 goats). Samples were cultured to recover C. botulinum while human pathogenic C. botulinum strains were identified after screening of all C. botulinum isolates for the presence of genes that encode toxins type A, B, E, F. The overall prevalence of C. botulinum was 18.7% whereas human pathogenic C. botulinum strains (only type A) were isolated from six animals at the rates of 2, 2, 5.8, and 2% for cattle, buffaloes, sheep, and goats, respectively. High fecal carriage rates of C. botulinum among apparently healthy dairy animals especially type A alarm both veterinary and public health communities for a potential role which may be played by dairy animals in the epidemiology of such pathogen. PMID:27077311
Abdel-Moein, Khaled A; Hamza, Dalia A
The current study was conducted to investigate the occurrence of human pathogenic Clostridium botulinum in the feces of dairy animals. Fecal samples were collected from 203 apparently healthy dairy animals (50 cattle, 50 buffaloes, 52 sheep, 51 goats). Samples were cultured to recover C. botulinum while human pathogenic C. botulinum strains were identified after screening of all C. botulinum isolates for the presence of genes that encode toxins type A, B, E, F. The overall prevalence of C. botulinum was 18.7% whereas human pathogenic C. botulinum strains (only type A) were isolated from six animals at the rates of 2, 2, 5.8, and 2% for cattle, buffaloes, sheep, and goats, respectively. High fecal carriage rates of C. botulinum among apparently healthy dairy animals especially type A alarm both veterinary and public health communities for a potential role which may be played by dairy animals in the epidemiology of such pathogen.
Leeper, Thomas; Zhang, Suxin; Van Voorhis, Wesley C; Myler, Peter J; Varani, Gabriele
Glutaredoxin proteins (GLXRs) are essential components of the glutathione system that reductively detoxify substances such as arsenic and peroxides and are important in the synthesis of DNA via ribonucleotide reductases. NMR solution structures of glutaredoxin domains from two Gram-negative opportunistic pathogens, Brucella melitensis and Bartonella henselae, are presented. These domains lack the N-terminal helix that is frequently present in eukaryotic GLXRs. The conserved active-site cysteines adopt canonical proline/tyrosine-stabilized geometries. A difference in the angle of α-helix 2 relative to the β-sheet surface and the presence of an extended loop in the human sequence suggests potential regulatory regions and/or protein-protein interaction motifs. This observation is consistent with mutations in this region that suppress defects in GLXR-ribonucleotide reductase interactions. These differences between the human and bacterial forms are adjacent to the dithiol active site and may permit species-selective drug design.
Ståhle, Magnus U; Brandhorst, Daniel; Korsgren, Olle; Knutson, Folke
Serum is regarded as an essential supplement to promote survival and growth of cells during culture. However, the potential risk of transmitting diseases disqualifies the use of serum for clinical cell therapy in most countries. Hence, most clinical cell therapy programs have replaced human serum with human serum albumin, which can result in inferior quality of released cell products. Photochemical treatment of different blood products utilizing Intercept® technology has been shown to inactivate a broad variety of pathogens of RNA and DNA origin. The present study assesses the feasibility of using pathogen-inactivated, blood group-compatible serum for use in human pancreatic islet culture. Isolated human islets were cultured at 37°C for 3-4 days in CMRL 1066 supplemented with 10% of either pathogen-inactivated or nontreated human serum. Islet quality assessment included glucose-stimulated insulin release (perifusion), ADP/ATP ratio, cytokine expression, and posttransplant function in diabetic nude mice. No differences were found between islets cultured in pathogen-inactivated or control serum regarding stimulated insulin release, intracellular insulin content, and ADP/ATP ratio. Whether media was supplemented with treated or nontreated serum, islet expression of IL-6, IL-8, MCP-1, or tissue factor was not affected. The final diabetes-reversal rate of mice receiving islets cultured in pathogen-inactivated or nontreated serum was 78% and 87%, respectively (NS). As reported here, pathogen-inactivated human serum does not affect viability or functional integrity of cultured human islets. The implementation of this technology for RNA- and DNA-based pathogen inactivation should enable reintroduction of human serum for clinical cell therapy.
Kumaraswamy, Rajkumari; Amha, Yamrot M; Anwar, Muhammad Z; Henschel, Andreas; Rodríguez, Jorge; Ahmad, Farrukh
Effective and sensitive monitoring of human pathogenic bacteria in municipal wastewater treatment is important not only for managing public health risk related to treated wastewater reuse, but also for ensuring proper functioning of the treatment plant. In this study, three different 16S rRNA gene molecular analysis methodologies were employed to screen bacterial pathogens in samples collected at three different stages of an activated sludge plant. Overall bacterial diversity was analyzed using next generation sequencing (NGS) on the Illumina MiSeq platform, as well as PCR-DGGE followed by band sequencing. In addition, a microdiversity analysis was conducted using PCR-DGGE, targeting Escherichia coli. Bioinformatics analysis was performed using QIIME protocol by clustering sequences against the Human Pathogenic Bacteria Database. NGS data were also clustered against the Greengenes database for a genera-level diversity analysis. NGS proved to be the most effective approach screening the sequences of 21 potential human bacterial pathogens, while the E. coli microdiversity analysis yielded one (O157:H7 str. EDL933) out of the two E. coli strains picked up by NGS. Overall diversity using PCR-DGGE did not yield any pathogenic sequence matches even though a number of sequences matched the NGS results. Overall, sequences of Gram-negative pathogens decreased in relative abundance along the treatment train while those of Gram-positive pathogens increased.
Sattar, Syed A
Airborne spread of pathogens can be rapid, widespread, and difficult to prevent. In this international workshop, a panel of 6 experts will expound on the following: (1) the potential for indoor air to spread a wide range of human pathogens, plus engineering controls to reduce the risk for exposure to airborne infectious agents; (2) the behavior of aerosolized infectious agents indoors and the use of emerging air decontamination technologies; (3) a survey of quantitative methods to recover infectious agents and their surrogates from indoor air with regard to survival and inactivation of airborne pathogens; (4) mathematical models to predict the movement of pathogens indoors and the use of such information to optimize the benefits of air decontamination technologies; and (5) synergy between different infectious agents, such as legionellae and fungi, in the built environment predisposing to possible transmission-related health impacts of aerosolized biofilm-based opportunistic pathogens. After the presentations, the panel will address a set of preformulated questions on selection criteria for surrogate microbes to study the survival and inactivation of airborne human pathogens, desirable features of technologies for microbial decontamination of indoor air, knowledge gaps, and research needs. It is anticipated that the deliberations of the workshop will provide the attendees with an update on the significance of indoor air as a vehicle for transmitting human pathogens with a brief on what is currently being done to mitigate the risks from airborne infectious agents.
Introduction Bartonella spp. infection is not rare and must be considered with great care in patients with suspected infective endocarditis, particularly if regular blood cultures remain sterile. Management of these infections requires knowledge of the identification and treatment of these bacteria. Case presentation A 50-year-old Senegalese man was admitted to our Department of Cardiac Surgery with a culture-negative endocarditis. Despite valvular surgery and adequate antibiotic treatment, recurrence of the endocarditis was observed on the prosthetic mitral valve. Heart failure required circulatory support. Weaning off the circulatory support could not be attempted owing to the absence of heart recovery. Bacteriological diagnosis of Bartonella quintana endocarditis was performed by molecular methods retrospectively after the death of the patient. Conclusions This case report underlines the severity and difficulty of the diagnosis of Bartonella quintana endocarditis. The clinical picture suggested possible Bartonella quintana associated myocarditis, a feature that should be considered in new cases. PMID:19830188
Switzer, Alexandra D; McMillan-Cole, Audrey C; Kasten, Rickie W; Stuckey, Matthew J; Kass, Philip H; Chomel, Bruno B
Because of overpopulation, stray/feral cats were captured on military bases in Iraq as part of the US Army Zoonotic Disease Surveillance Program. Blood samples were collected from 207 cats, mainly in Baghdad but also in North and West Iraq, to determine the prevalence of Bartonella and Toxoplasma infections. Nine (4.3%) cats, all from Baghdad, were bacteremic with B. henselae type I. Seroprevalence was 30.4% for T. gondii, 15% for B. henselae, and 12.6% for B. clarridgeiae. Differences in Bartonella prevalence by location were statistically significant, because most of the seropositive cats were from Baghdad. There was no association between T. gondii seropositivity and either of the two Bartonella species surveyed. This report is the first report on the prevalence of Bartonella and T. gondii among stray cats in Iraq, which allows for better evaluation of the zoonotic risk potential to the Iraqi people and deployed military personnel by feral cat colonies.
Rising, Taylor; Fulton, Nicholas; Vasavada, Pauravi
Bartonella henselae is a bacterium which can cause a wide range of clinical manifestations, ranging from fever of unknown origin to a potentially fatal endocarditis. We report a case of Bartonella henselae infection in a pediatric-aged patient following a scratch from a kitten. The patient initially presented with a prolonged fever of unknown origin which was unresponsive to antibiotic treatment. The patient was hospitalized with worsening fevers and night sweat. Subsequent ultrasound imaging demonstrated multiple hypoechoic foci within the spleen. A contrast-enhanced CT of the abdomen and pelvis was also obtained which showed hypoattenuating lesions in the spleen and bilateral kidneys. Bartonella henselae IgG and IgM titers were positive, consistent with an acute Bartonella henselae infection. The patient was discharged with a course of oral rifampin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, and all symptoms had resolved following two weeks of therapy. PMID:27127672
Fazzina, R; Iudicone, P; Mariotti, A; Fioravanti, D; Procoli, A; Cicchetti, E; Scambia, G; Bonanno, G; Pierelli, L
Alternatives to the use of fetal bovine serum (FBS) have been investigated to ensure xeno-free growth condition. In this study we evaluated the efficacy of human platelet lysate (PL) as a substitute of FBS for the in vitro culture of some human cell lines. PL was obtained by pools of pathogen inactivated human donor platelet (PLT) concentrates. Human leukemia cell lines (KG-1, K562, JURKAT, HL-60) and epithelial tumor cell lines (HeLa and MCF-7) were cultured with either FBS or PL. Changes in cell proliferation, viability, morphology, surface markers and cell cycle were evaluated for each cell line. Functional characteristics were analysed by drug sensitivity test and cytotoxicity assay. Our results demonstrated that PL can support growth and expansion of all cell lines, although the cells cultured in presence of PL experienced a less massive proliferation compared to those grown with FBS. We found a comparable percentage of viable specific marker-expressing cells in both conditions, confirming lineage fidelity in all cultures. Functionality assays showed that cells in both FBS- and PL-supported cultures maintained their normal responsiveness to adriamycin and NK cell-mediated lysis. Our findings indicate that PL is a feasible serum substitute for supporting growth and propagation of haematopoietic and epithelial cell lines with many advantages from a perspective of process standardization, ethicality and product safety.
Johnston, Ashleigh C; Piro, Anthony; Clough, Barbara; Siew, Malvin; Virreira Winter, Sebastian; Coers, Jörn; Frickel, Eva-Maria
Guanylate binding proteins (GBPs) are a family of large interferon-inducible GTPases that are transcriptionally upregulated upon infection with intracellular pathogens. Murine GBPs (mGBPs) including mGBP1 and 2 localize to and disrupt pathogen-containing vacuoles (PVs) resulting in the cell-autonomous clearing or innate immune detection of PV-resident pathogens. Human GBPs (hGBPs) are known to exert antiviral host defense and activate the NLRP3 inflammasome, but it is unclear whether hGBPs can directly recognize and control intravacuolar pathogens. Here, we report that endogenous or ectopically expressed hGBP1 fails to associate with PVs formed in human cells by the bacterial pathogens Chlamydia trachomatis or Salmonella typhimurium or the protozoan pathogen Toxoplasma gondii. While we find that hGBP1 expression has no discernible effect on intracellular replication of C. trachomatis and S. typhimurium, we observed enhanced early Toxoplasma replication in CRISPR hGBP1-deleted human epithelial cells. We thus identified a novel role for hGBP1 in cell-autonomous immunity that is independent of PV translocation, as observed for mGBPs. This study highlights fundamental differences between human and murine GBPs and underlines the need to study the functions of GBPs at cellular locations away from PVs.
Florin, Todd A; Zaoutis, Theoklis E; Zaoutis, Lisa B
Bartonella henselae was discovered a quarter of a century ago as the causative agent of cat scratch disease, a clinical entity described in the literature for more than half a century. As diagnostic techniques improve, our knowledge of the spectrum of clinical disease resulting from infection with Bartonella is expanding. This review summarizes current knowledge regarding the microbiology, clinical manifestations, diagnostic techniques, and treatment of B. henselae infection.
Salminen, Seppo; Nybom, Sonja; Meriluoto, Jussi; Collado, Maria Carmen; Vesterlund, Satu; El-Nezami, Hani
The probiotic terminology has matured over the years and currently a unified definition has been formed. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and bifidobacteria have been reported to remove heavy metals, cyanotoxins and mycotoxins from aqueous solutions. The binding processes appear to be species and strain specific. The most efficient microbial species and strains in the removal of these compounds vary between components tested. However, it is of interest to note that most strains characterized until now do not bind positive components or nutrients in the diet. This has significant implications to future detoxification biotechnology development. In a similar manner, lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria interact directly with viruses and pathogens in food and water as well as toxin producing microbes and some toxins. This review updates information and aims to characterize these interactions in association. The target is to understand probiotic health effects and to relate the mechanisms and actions to future potential of specific probiotic bacteria on decontamination of foods and water, and diets. The same aim is targeted in characterizing the role of probiotics in inactivating pathogens and viruses of health importance to facilitate the establishment of novel means of disease risk reduction related health benefits.
Harada, Kazuki; Amano, Kennichiro; Akimoto, Shinnich; Yamamoto, Kinya; Yamamoto, Yoshihiro; Yanagihara, Katsunori; Kohno, Shigeru; Kishida, Naoki; Takahashi, Toshio
We characterized the serological and pathogenic properties of two Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae isolates from human cases of infective endocarditis in Japan. One isolate was recovered from a fisherman, and was identified as serovar 3, which is known to be prevalent among fish isolates. This strain exhibited high virulence in mice but was avirulent in swine. Another was untypable, and avirulent in both mice and swine. Our results suggest that various serological and athogenical types of E. rhusiopathiae can induce human endocarditis. This is the first report to characterize the pathogenicity of E. rhusiopathiae isolates from human endocarditis.
Nystedt, Björn; Frank, A Carolin; Thollesson, Mikael; Andersson, Siv G E
We have studied the evolution of a type IV secretion system (T4SS), in Bartonella, which is thought to have changed function from conjugation to erythrocyte adherence following a recent horizontal gene transfer event. The system, called Trw, is unique among T4SSs in that genes encoding both exo- and intracellular components are located within the same duplicated fragment. This provides an opportunity to study the influence of selection on proteins involved in host-pathogen interactions. We sequenced the trw locus from several strains of Bartonella henselae and investigated its evolutionary history by comparisons to other Bartonella species. Several instances of recombination and gene conversion events where detected in the 2- to 5-fold duplicated gene fragments encompassing trwJIH, explaining the homogenization of the anchoring protein TrwI and the divergence of the minor pilus protein TrwJ. A phylogenetic analysis of the 7- to 8-fold duplicated gene coding for the major pilus protein TrwL displayed 2 distinct clades, likely representing a subfunctionalization event. The analyses of the B. henselae strains also identified a recent horizontal transfer event of almost the complete trwL region. We suggest that the switch in function of the T4SS was mediated by the duplication of the genes encoding pilus components and their diversification by combinatorial sequence shuffling within and among genomes. We suggest that the pilus proteins have evolved by diversifying selection to match a divergent set of erythrocyte surface structures, consistent with the trench warfare coevolutionary model.
Fincher, Corey L; Thornhill, Randy; Murray, Damian R; Schaller, Mark
Pathogenic diseases impose selection pressures on the social behaviour of host populations. In humans (Homo sapiens), many psychological phenomena appear to serve an antipathogen defence function. One broad implication is the existence of cross-cultural differences in human cognition and behaviour contingent upon the relative presence of pathogens in the local ecology. We focus specifically on one fundamental cultural variable: differences in individualistic versus collectivist values. We suggest that specific behavioural manifestations of collectivism (e.g. ethnocentrism, conformity) can inhibit the transmission of pathogens; and so we hypothesize that collectivism (compared with individualism) will more often characterize cultures in regions that have historically had higher prevalence of pathogens. Drawing on epidemiological data and the findings of worldwide cross-national surveys of individualism/collectivism, our results support this hypothesis: the regional prevalence of pathogens has a strong positive correlation with cultural indicators of collectivism and a strong negative correlation with individualism. The correlations remain significant even when controlling for potential confounding variables. These results help to explain the origin of a paradigmatic cross-cultural difference, and reveal previously undocumented consequences of pathogenic diseases on the variable nature of human societies.
Fincher, Corey L; Thornhill, Randy; Murray, Damian R; Schaller, Mark
Pathogenic diseases impose selection pressures on the social behaviour of host populations. In humans (Homo sapiens), many psychological phenomena appear to serve an antipathogen defence function. One broad implication is the existence of cross-cultural differences in human cognition and behaviour contingent upon the relative presence of pathogens in the local ecology. We focus specifically on one fundamental cultural variable: differences in individualistic versus collectivist values. We suggest that specific behavioural manifestations of collectivism (e.g. ethnocentrism, conformity) can inhibit the transmission of pathogens; and so we hypothesize that collectivism (compared with individualism) will more often characterize cultures in regions that have historically had higher prevalence of pathogens. Drawing on epidemiological data and the findings of worldwide cross-national surveys of individualism/collectivism, our results support this hypothesis: the regional prevalence of pathogens has a strong positive correlation with cultural indicators of collectivism and a strong negative correlation with individualism. The correlations remain significant even when controlling for potential confounding variables. These results help to explain the origin of a paradigmatic cross-cultural difference, and reveal previously undocumented consequences of pathogenic diseases on the variable nature of human societies. PMID:18302996
Ojha, Chet Raj; Rodriguez, Myosotys; Dever, Seth M; Mukhopadhyay, Rita; El-Hage, Nazira
MicroRNAs (miRNAs), which are small non-coding RNAs expressed by almost all metazoans, have key roles in the regulation of cell differentiation, organism development and gene expression. Thousands of miRNAs regulating approximately 60 % of the total human genome have been identified. They regulate genetic expression either by direct cleavage or by translational repression of the target mRNAs recognized through partial complementary base pairing. The active and functional unit of miRNA is its complex with Argonaute proteins known as the microRNA-induced silencing complex (miRISC). De-regulated miRNA expression in the human cell may contribute to a diverse group of disorders including cancer, cardiovascular dysfunctions, liver damage, immunological dysfunction, metabolic syndromes and pathogenic infections. Current day studies have revealed that miRNAs are indeed a pivotal component of host-pathogen interactions and host immune responses toward microorganisms. miRNA is emerging as a tool for genetic study, therapeutic development and diagnosis for human pathogenic infections caused by viruses, bacteria, parasites and fungi. Many pathogens can exploit the host miRNA system for their own benefit such as surviving inside the host cell, replication, pathogenesis and bypassing some host immune barriers, while some express pathogen-encoded miRNA inside the host contributing to their replication, survival and/or latency. In this review, we discuss the role and significance of miRNA in relation to some pathogenic viruses.
Bartley, Patricia; Angelakis, Emmanouil; Raoult, Didier; Sampath, Rangarajan; Bonomo, Robert A.
Identifying the pathogen responsible for culture-negative valve endocarditis often depends on molecular studies performed on surgical specimens. A patient with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome who had an aortic graft, a mechanical aortic valve, and a mitral anulloplasty ring presented with culture-negative prosthetic valve endocarditis and aortic graft infection. Research-based polymerase chain reaction (PCR)/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry on peripheral blood samples identified Bartonella henselae. Quantitative PCR targeting the16S-23S ribonucleic acid intergenic region and Western immunoblotting confirmed this result. This, in turn, permitted early initiation of pathogen-directed therapy and subsequent successful medical management of B henselae prosthetic valve endocarditis and aortic graft infection. PMID:27844027
Al-Laaeiby, Ayat; Kershaw, Michael J; Penn, Tina J; Thornton, Christopher R
The dematiaceous (melanised) fungus Lomentospora (Scedosporium) prolificans is a life-threatening opportunistic pathogen of immunocompromised humans, resistant to anti-fungal drugs. Melanin has been shown to protect human pathogenic fungi against antifungal drugs, oxidative killing and environmental stresses. To determine the protective role of melanin in L. prolificans to oxidative killing (H₂O₂), UV radiation and the polyene anti-fungal drug amphotericin B, targeted gene disruption was used to generate mutants of the pathogen lacking the dihydroxynaphthalene (DHN)-melanin biosynthetic enzymes polyketide synthase (PKS1), tetrahydroxynapthalene reductase (4HNR) and scytalone dehydratase (SCD1). Infectious propagules (spores) of the wild-type strain 3.1 were black/brown, whereas spores of the PKS-deficient mutant ΔLppks1::hph were white. Complementation of the albino mutant ΔLppks1::hph restored the black-brown spore pigmentation, while the 4HNR-deficient mutant ΔLp4hnr::hph and SCD-deficient mutant ΔLpscd1::hph both produced orange-yellow spores. The mutants ΔLppks1::hph and ΔLp4hnr::hph showed significant reductions in spore survival following H₂O₂ treatment, while spores of ΔLpscd1::hph and the ΔLppks1::hph complemented strain ΔLppks1::hph:PKS showed spore survivals similar to strain 3.1. Spores of the mutants ΔLp4hnr::hph and ΔLpscd1::hph and complemented strain ΔLppks1::hph:PKS showed spore survivals similar to 3.1 following exposure to UV radiation, but survival of ΔLppks1::hph spores was significantly reduced compared to the wild-type strain. Strain 3.1 and mutants ΔLp4hnr::hph and ΔLppks1::hph:PKS were resistant to amphotericin B while, paradoxically, the PKS1- and SCD1-deficient mutants showed significant increases in growth in the presence of the antifungal drug. Taken together, these results show that while melanin plays a protective role in the survival of the pathogen to oxidative killing and UV radiation, melanin does not
Al-Laaeiby, Ayat; Kershaw, Michael J.; Penn, Tina J.; Thornton, Christopher R.
The dematiaceous (melanised) fungus Lomentospora (Scedosporium) prolificans is a life-threatening opportunistic pathogen of immunocompromised humans, resistant to anti-fungal drugs. Melanin has been shown to protect human pathogenic fungi against antifungal drugs, oxidative killing and environmental stresses. To determine the protective role of melanin in L. prolificans to oxidative killing (H2O2), UV radiation and the polyene anti-fungal drug amphotericin B, targeted gene disruption was used to generate mutants of the pathogen lacking the dihydroxynaphthalene (DHN)-melanin biosynthetic enzymes polyketide synthase (PKS1), tetrahydroxynapthalene reductase (4HNR) and scytalone dehydratase (SCD1). Infectious propagules (spores) of the wild-type strain 3.1 were black/brown, whereas spores of the PKS-deficient mutant ΔLppks1::hph were white. Complementation of the albino mutant ΔLppks1::hph restored the black-brown spore pigmentation, while the 4HNR-deficient mutant ΔLp4hnr::hph and SCD-deficient mutant ΔLpscd1::hph both produced orange-yellow spores. The mutants ΔLppks1::hph and ΔLp4hnr::hph showed significant reductions in spore survival following H2O2 treatment, while spores of ΔLpscd1::hph and the ΔLppks1::hph complemented strain ΔLppks1::hph:PKS showed spore survivals similar to strain 3.1. Spores of the mutants ΔLp4hnr::hph and ΔLpscd1::hph and complemented strain ΔLppks1::hph:PKS showed spore survivals similar to 3.1 following exposure to UV radiation, but survival of ΔLppks1::hph spores was significantly reduced compared to the wild-type strain. Strain 3.1 and mutants ΔLp4hnr::hph and ΔLppks1::hph:PKS were resistant to amphotericin B while, paradoxically, the PKS1- and SCD1-deficient mutants showed significant increases in growth in the presence of the antifungal drug. Taken together, these results show that while melanin plays a protective role in the survival of the pathogen to oxidative killing and UV radiation, melanin does not contribute to
Case, Joseph Brad; Chomel, Bruno; Nicholson, William; Foley, Janet E
Although cats and their arthropod parasites can sometimes be important sources of zoonotic diseases in humans, the extent of exposure among various cat populations to many potential zoonotic agents remains incompletely described. In this study, 170 domestic cats living in private homes, feral cat colonies, and animal shelters from California and Wisconsin were evaluated by serology to determine the levels of exposure to a group of zoonotic vector-borne pathogens. Serological positive test results were observed in 17.2% of cats for Rickettsia rickettsii, 14.9% for R akari, 4.9% for R typhi, 11.1% for R felis, and 14.7% for Bartonella henselae. Although vector-borne disease exposure has been documented previously in cats, the evaluation of multiple pathogens and diverse cat populations simultaneously performed here contributes to our understanding of feline exposure to these zoonotic pathogens.
Background It is now well established that nearly 20% of human cancers are caused by infectious agents, and the list of human oncogenic pathogens will grow in the future for a variety of cancer types. Whole tumor transcriptome and genome sequencing by next-generation sequencing technologies presents an unparalleled opportunity for pathogen detection and discovery in human tissues but requires development of new genome-wide bioinformatics tools. Results Here we present CaPSID (Computational Pathogen Sequence IDentification), a comprehensive bioinformatics platform for identifying, querying and visualizing both exogenous and endogenous pathogen nucleotide sequences in tumor genomes and transcriptomes. CaPSID includes a scalable, high performance database for data storage and a web application that integrates the genome browser JBrowse. CaPSID also provides useful metrics for sequence analysis of pre-aligned BAM files, such as gene and genome coverage, and is optimized to run efficiently on multiprocessor computers with low memory usage. Conclusions To demonstrate the usefulness and efficiency of CaPSID, we carried out a comprehensive analysis of both a simulated dataset and transcriptome samples from ovarian cancer. CaPSID correctly identified all of the human and pathogen sequences in the simulated dataset, while in the ovarian dataset CaPSID’s predictions were successfully validated in vitro. PMID:22901030
Caza, Mélissa; Kronstad, James W.
Iron is the most abundant transition metal in the human body and its bioavailability is stringently controlled. In particular, iron is tightly bound to host proteins such as transferrin to maintain homeostasis, to limit potential damage caused by iron toxicity under physiological conditions and to restrict access by pathogens. Therefore, iron acquisition during infection of a human host is a challenge that must be surmounted by every successful pathogenic microorganism. Iron is essential for bacterial and fungal physiological processes such as DNA replication, transcription, metabolism, and energy generation via respiration. Hence, pathogenic bacteria and fungi have developed sophisticated strategies to gain access to iron from host sources. Indeed, siderophore production and transport, iron acquisition from heme and host iron-containing proteins such as hemoglobin and transferrin, and reduction of ferric to ferrous iron with subsequent transport are all strategies found in bacterial and fungal pathogens of humans. This review focuses on a comparison of these strategies between bacterial and fungal pathogens in the context of virulence and the iron limitation that occurs in the human body as a mechanism of innate nutritional defense. PMID:24312900
Allocati, N; Petrucci, A G; Di Giovanni, P; Masulli, M; Di Ilio, C; De Laurenzi, V
Bats are natural reservoir hosts and sources of infection of several microorganisms, many of which cause severe human diseases. Because of contact between bats and other animals, including humans, the possibility exists for additional interspecies transmissions and resulting disease outbreaks. The purpose of this article is to supply an overview on the main pathogens isolated from bats that have the potential to cause disease in humans. PMID:27551536
Tiao, N; Darrington, C; Molla, B; Saville, W J A; Tilahun, G; Kwok, O C H; Gebreyes, W A; Lappin, M R; Jones, J L; Dubey, J P
Toxoplasma gondii and Bartonella spp. are zoonotic pathogens of cats. Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), and feline leukaemia virus (FeLV) are immunosuppressive viruses of cats that can affect T. gondii oocyst shedding. In this study, the prevalence of antibodies to T. gondii, Bartonella spp., FIV, as well as FeLV antigens were determined in sera from feral cats (Felis catus) from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Using the modified agglutination test, IgG antibodies to T. gondii were found in 41 (85.4%) of the 48 cats with titres of 1:25 in one, 1:50 in one, 1:200 in six, 1:400 in six, 1:800 in six, 1:1600 in eight, and 1:3200 in 13 cats. Toxoplasma gondii IgM antibodies were found in 11/46 cats tested by ELISA, suggesting recent infection. Antibodies to Bartonella spp. were found in five (11%) of 46 cats tested. Antibodies to FIV or FeLV antigen were not detected in any of the 41 cats tested. The results indicate a high prevalence of T. gondii and a low prevalence of Bartonella spp. infection in cats in Ethiopia.
Li, Dong Mei; Liu, Qi Yong; Yu, Dong Zheng; Zhang, Jian Zhong; Gong, Zheng Da; Song, Xiu Ping
Previous studies have demonstrated a diversity of Bartonella spp. in rodent populations in Yunnan Province, China. Although Bartonella spp. have been isolated from cat fleas and cattle ticks collected from their animal hosts, little is known about Bartonella carried by rodent fleas. In this study, Bartonella DNA was detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in two of five species of rodent fleas. These included Xenopsylla cheopis and Ctenophthalmus lushuiensis, which were collected from Rattus tanezumi flavipectus and from the nests of voles, respectively, during 1997 from two sites in western Yunnan Province, China. Sequence analysis of the Bartonella citrate synthase gene (gltA) amplicons obtained from six of 65 grouped flea samples showed that Bartonella genetic variants were clustered in four groups. One from Xenopsylla cheopis was identical to Bartonella tribocorum, whereas the other three genotypes from Ctenophthalmus lushuiensis were related to the vole-associated Bartonella isolates and cat-associated Bartonella clarridgeiae. This is the first detection of this Bartonella variant from fleas in China. Therefore, further investigations are needed to clarify the distribution of Bartonella in rodents and their ectoparasites in China to define the role of these arthropods in the transmission routes of Bartonella.
Graczyk, Thaddeus K.; Girouard, Autumn S.; Tamang, Leena; Nappier, Sharon P.; Schwab, Kellogg J.
The introduction of nonnative oysters (i.e., Crassostrea ariakensis) into the Chesapeake Bay has been proposed as necessary for the restoration of the oyster industry; however, nothing is known about the public health risks related to contamination of these oysters with human pathogens. Commercial market-size C. ariakensis triploids were maintained in large marine tanks with water of low (8-ppt), medium (12-ppt), and high (20-ppt) salinities spiked with 1.0 × 105 transmissive stages of the following human pathogens: Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts, Giardia lamblia cysts, and microsporidian spores (i.e., Encephalitozoon intestinalis, Encephalitozoon hellem, and Enterocytozoon bieneusi). Viable oocysts and spores were still detected in oysters on day 33 post-water inoculation (pwi), and cysts were detected on day 14 pwi. The recovery, bioaccumulation, depuration, and inactivation rates of human waterborne pathogens by C. ariakensis triploids were driven by salinity and were optimal in medium- and high-salinity water. The concentration of human pathogens from ambient water by C. ariakensis and the retention of these pathogens without (or with minimal) inactivation and a very low depuration rate provide evidence that these oysters may present a public health threat upon entering the human food chain, if harvested from polluted water. This conclusion is reinforced by the concentration of waterborne pathogens used in the present study, which was representative of levels of infectious agents in surface waters, including the Chesapeake Bay. Aquacultures of nonnative oysters in the Chesapeake Bay will provide excellent ecological services in regard to efficient cleaning of human-infectious agents from the estuarine waters. PMID:16672482
Shokryazdan, Parisa; Sieo, Chin Chin; Kalavathy, Ramasamy; Liang, Juan Boo; Alitheen, Noorjahan Banu; Faseleh Jahromi, Mohammad; Ho, Yin Wan
The objective of this study was to isolate, identify, and characterize some lactic acid bacterial strains from human milk, infant feces, and fermented grapes and dates, as potential probiotics with antimicrobial activity against some human pathogenic strains. One hundred and forty bacterial strains were isolated and, after initial identification and a preliminary screening for acid and bile tolerance, nine of the best isolates were selected and further identified using 16 S rRNA gene sequences. The nine selected isolates were then characterized in vitro for their probiotic characteristics and their antimicrobial activities against some human pathogens. Results showed that all nine isolates belonged to the genus Lactobacillus. They were able to tolerate pH 3 for 3 h, 0.3% bile salts for 4 h, and 1.9 mg/mL pancreatic enzymes for 3 h. They exhibited good ability to attach to intestinal epithelial cells and were not resistant to the tested antibiotics. They also showed good antimicrobial activities against the tested pathogenic strains of humans, and most of them exhibited stronger antimicrobial activity than the reference strain L. casei Shirota. Thus, the nine Lactobacillus strains could be considered as potential antimicrobial probiotic strains against human pathogens and should be further studied for their human health benefits. PMID:25105147
Pappalardo, Morena; Juliá, Miguel; Howard, Mark J.; Rossman, Jeremy S.; Michaelis, Martin; Wass, Mark N.
Reston viruses are the only Ebolaviruses that are not pathogenic in humans. We analyzed 196 Ebolavirus genomes and identified specificity determining positions (SDPs) in all nine Ebolavirus proteins that distinguish Reston viruses from the four human pathogenic Ebolaviruses. A subset of these SDPs will explain the differences in human pathogenicity between Reston and the other four ebolavirus species. Structural analysis was performed to identify those SDPs that are likely to have a functional effect. This analysis revealed novel functional insights in particular for Ebolavirus proteins VP40 and VP24. The VP40 SDP P85T interferes with VP40 function by altering octamer formation. The VP40 SDP Q245P affects the structure and hydrophobic core of the protein and consequently protein function. Three VP24 SDPs (T131S, M136L, Q139R) are likely to impair VP24 binding to human karyopherin alpha5 (KPNA5) and therefore inhibition of interferon signaling. Since VP24 is critical for Ebolavirus adaptation to novel hosts, and only a few SDPs distinguish Reston virus VP24 from VP24 of other Ebolaviruses, human pathogenic Reston viruses may emerge. This is of concern since Reston viruses circulate in domestic pigs and can infect humans, possibly via airborne transmission. PMID:27009368
Pappalardo, Morena; Juliá, Miguel; Howard, Mark J; Rossman, Jeremy S; Michaelis, Martin; Wass, Mark N
Reston viruses are the only Ebolaviruses that are not pathogenic in humans. We analyzed 196 Ebolavirus genomes and identified specificity determining positions (SDPs) in all nine Ebolavirus proteins that distinguish Reston viruses from the four human pathogenic Ebolaviruses. A subset of these SDPs will explain the differences in human pathogenicity between Reston and the other four ebolavirus species. Structural analysis was performed to identify those SDPs that are likely to have a functional effect. This analysis revealed novel functional insights in particular for Ebolavirus proteins VP40 and VP24. The VP40 SDP P85T interferes with VP40 function by altering octamer formation. The VP40 SDP Q245P affects the structure and hydrophobic core of the protein and consequently protein function. Three VP24 SDPs (T131S, M136L, Q139R) are likely to impair VP24 binding to human karyopherin alpha5 (KPNA5) and therefore inhibition of interferon signaling. Since VP24 is critical for Ebolavirus adaptation to novel hosts, and only a few SDPs distinguish Reston virus VP24 from VP24 of other Ebolaviruses, human pathogenic Reston viruses may emerge. This is of concern since Reston viruses circulate in domestic pigs and can infect humans, possibly via airborne transmission.
Le Panse, Rozen; Cizeron-Clairac, Géraldine; Cuvelier, Mélinée; Truffault, Frédérique; Bismuth, Jacky; Nancy, Patrice; De Rosbo, Nicole Kerlero; Berrih-Aknin, Sonia
The thymus is frequently hyperplastic in young female myasthenia gravis (MG) patients presenting with anti-acetylcholine receptor (AChR) antibodies. This thymic pathology is characterized by the presence of ectopic germinal centers (GCs) containing B cells involved at least partially in the production of pathogenic anti-AChR antibodies. Our recent studies have furthered our understanding of the mechanisms leading to GC formation in the hyperplastic thymus. First, we showed that CXCL13 and CCL21, chemokines involved in GC formation, are overexpressed in MG thymus. Second, we demonstrated an increase in pro-inflammatory activity in the thymus from MG patients and its partial normalization by glucocorticoids, as evidenced by gene expression profile. Third, we found that pro-inflammatory cytokines are able to upregulate the expression of AChR subunits in thymic epithelial and myoid cells. Fourth, we showed that the function of T regulatory (Treg) cells, whose role is to downregulate the immune response, is severely impaired in the thymus of MG patients; such a defect could explain the chronic immune activation observed consistently in MG thymic hyperplasia. Altogether, these new data suggest that CXCL13 and CCL21, which are produced in excess in MG thymus, attract peripheral B cells and activated T cells, which are maintained chronically activated in the inflammatory thymic environment because of the defect in suppressive activity of Treg cells. Presence of AChR in the thymus and upregulation of its expression by the pro-inflammatory environment contribute to the triggering and maintenance of the anti-AChR autoimmune response.
Kang, Eunju; Wu, Jun; Gutierrez, Nuria Marti; Koski, Amy; Tippner-Hedges, Rebecca; Agaronyan, Karen; Platero-Luengo, Aida; Martinez-Redondo, Paloma; Ma, Hong; Lee, Yeonmi; Hayama, Tomonari; Van Dyken, Crystal; Wang, Xinjian; Luo, Shiyu; Ahmed, Riffat; Li, Ying; Ji, Dongmei; Kayali, Refik; Cinnioglu, Cengiz; Olson, Susan; Jensen, Jeffrey; Battaglia, David; Lee, David; Wu, Diana; Huang, Taosheng; Wolf, Don P; Temiakov, Dmitry; Belmonte, Juan Carlos Izpisua; Amato, Paula; Mitalipov, Shoukhrat
Maternally inherited mitochondrial (mt)DNA mutations can cause fatal or severely debilitating syndromes in children, with disease severity dependent on the specific gene mutation and the ratio of mutant to wild-type mtDNA (heteroplasmy) in each cell and tissue. Pathogenic mtDNA mutations are relatively common, with an estimated 778 affected children born each year in the United States. Mitochondrial replacement therapies or techniques (MRT) circumventing mother-to-child mtDNA disease transmission involve replacement of oocyte maternal mtDNA. Here we report MRT outcomes in several families with common mtDNA syndromes. The mother's oocytes were of normal quality and mutation levels correlated with those in existing children. Efficient replacement of oocyte mutant mtDNA was performed by spindle transfer, resulting in embryos containing >99% donor mtDNA. Donor mtDNA was stably maintained in embryonic stem cells (ES cells) derived from most embryos. However, some ES cell lines demonstrated gradual loss of donor mtDNA and reversal to the maternal haplotype. In evaluating donor-to-maternal mtDNA interactions, it seems that compatibility relates to mtDNA replication efficiency rather than to mismatch or oxidative phosphorylation dysfunction. We identify a polymorphism within the conserved sequence box II region of the D-loop as a plausible cause of preferential replication of specific mtDNA haplotypes. In addition, some haplotypes confer proliferative and growth advantages to cells. Hence, we propose a matching paradigm for selecting compatible donor mtDNA for MRT.
Carvalho, Chris; Yang, Jiaqi; Vogan, Aaron; Maganti, Harinad; Yamamura, Deborah; Xu, Jianping
Yeast are among the most frequent pathogens in humans. The dominant yeast causing human infections belong to the genus Candida and Candida albicans is the most frequently isolated species. However, several non-C. albicans species are becoming increasingly common in patients worldwide. The relationships between yeast in humans and the natural environments remain poorly understood. Furthermore, it is often difficult to identify or exclude the origins of disease-causing yeast from specific environmental reservoirs. In this study, we compared the yeast isolates from tree hollows and from clinics in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Our surveys and analyses showed significant differences in yeast species composition, in their temporal dynamics, and in yeast genotypes between isolates from tree hollows and hospitals. Our results are inconsistent with the hypothesis that yeast from trees constitute a significant source of pathogenic yeast in humans in this region. Similarly, the yeast in humans and clinics do not appear to contribute to yeast in tree hollows.
Al-Yasiri, Mohammed Hashim; Normand, Anne-Cécile; L’Ollivier, Coralie; Lachaud, Laurence; Bourgeois, Nathalie; Rebaudet, Stanislas; Piarroux, Renaud; Mauffrey, Jean-François; Ranque, Stéphane
The opportunistic pathogenic yeast Candida glabrata is a component of the mycobiota of both humans and yellow-legged gulls that is prone to develop fluconazole resistance. Whether gulls are a reservoir of the yeast and facilitate the dissemination of human C. glabrata strains remains an open question. In this study, MLVA genotyping highlighted the lack of genetic structure of 190 C. glabrata strains isolated from either patients in three hospitals or fecal samples collected from gull breeding colonies located in five distinct areas along the French Mediterranean littoral. Fluconazole-resistant isolates were evenly distributed between both gull and human populations. These findings demonstrate that gulls are a reservoir of this species and facilitate the diffusion of C. glabrata and indirect transmission to human or animal hosts via environmental contamination. This eco-epidemiological view, which can be applied to other vertebrate host species, broadens our perspective regarding the reservoirs and dissemination patterns of antifungal-resistant human pathogenic yeast. PMID:27782182
Al-Yasiri, Mohammed Hashim; Normand, Anne-Cécile; L'Ollivier, Coralie; Lachaud, Laurence; Bourgeois, Nathalie; Rebaudet, Stanislas; Piarroux, Renaud; Mauffrey, Jean-François; Ranque, Stéphane
The opportunistic pathogenic yeast Candida glabrata is a component of the mycobiota of both humans and yellow-legged gulls that is prone to develop fluconazole resistance. Whether gulls are a reservoir of the yeast and facilitate the dissemination of human C. glabrata strains remains an open question. In this study, MLVA genotyping highlighted the lack of genetic structure of 190 C. glabrata strains isolated from either patients in three hospitals or fecal samples collected from gull breeding colonies located in five distinct areas along the French Mediterranean littoral. Fluconazole-resistant isolates were evenly distributed between both gull and human populations. These findings demonstrate that gulls are a reservoir of this species and facilitate the diffusion of C. glabrata and indirect transmission to human or animal hosts via environmental contamination. This eco-epidemiological view, which can be applied to other vertebrate host species, broadens our perspective regarding the reservoirs and dissemination patterns of antifungal-resistant human pathogenic yeast.
Brambila-Tapia, Aniel Jessica Leticia; Poot-Hernández, Augusto Cesar; Perez-Rueda, Ernesto; Rodríguez-Vázquez, Katya
DNA methylation plays an important role in gene expression and virulence in some pathogenic bacteria. In this report, we describe DNA methyltransferases (MTases) present in human pathogenic bacteria and compared them with related species, which are not pathogenic or less pathogenic, based in comparative genomics. We performed a search in the KEGG database of the KEGG database orthology groups associated with adenine and cytosine DNA MTase activities (EC: 184.108.40.206, EC: 220.127.116.11 and EC: 18.104.22.168) in 37 human pathogenic species and 18 non/less pathogenic relatives and performed comparisons of the number of these MTases sequences according to their genome size, the DNA MTase type and with their non-less pathogenic relatives. We observed that Helicobacter pylori and Neisseria spp. presented the highest number of MTases while ten different species did not present a predicted DNA MTase. We also detected a significant increase of adenine MTases over cytosine MTases (2.19 vs. 1.06, respectively, p < 0.001). Adenine MTases were the only MTases associated with restriction modification systems and DNA MTases associated with type I restriction modification systems were more numerous than those associated with type III restriction modification systems (0.84 vs. 0.17, p < 0.001); additionally, there was no correlation with the genome size and the total number of DNA MTases, indicating that the number of DNA MTases is related to the particular evolution and lifestyle of specific species, regulating the expression of virulence genes in some pathogenic bacteria.
Aliouat-Denis, Cécile-Marie; Chabé, Magali; Delhaes, Laurence; Dei-Cas, Eduardo
In the last few decades, aerially transmitted human fungal pathogens have been increasingly recognized to impact the clinical course of chronic pulmonary diseases, such as asthma, cystic fibrosis or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Thanks to recent development of culture-free high-throughput sequencing methods, the metagenomic approaches are now appropriate to detect, identify and even quantify prokaryotic or eukaryotic microorganism communities inhabiting human respiratory tract and to access the complexity of even low-burden microbe communities that are likely to play a role in chronic pulmonary diseases. In this review, we explore how metagenomics and comparative genomics studies can alleviate fungal culture bottlenecks, improve our knowledge about fungal biology, lift the veil on cross-talks between host lung and fungal microbiota, and gain insights into the pathogenic impact of these aerially transmitted fungi that affect human beings. We reviewed metagenomic studies and comparative genomic analyses of carefully chosen microorganisms, and confirmed the usefulness of such approaches to better delineate biology and pathogenesis of aerially transmitted human fungal pathogens. Efforts to generate and efficiently analyze the enormous amount of data produced by such novel approaches have to be pursued, and will potentially provide the patients suffering from chronic pulmonary diseases with a better management. This manuscript is part of the series of works presented at the "V International Workshop: Molecular genetic approaches to the study of human pathogenic fungi" (Oaxaca, Mexico, 2012).
McKee, Clifton D; Hayman, David T S; Kosoy, Michael Y; Webb, Colleen T
The influence of factors contributing to parasite diversity in individual hosts and communities are increasingly studied, but there has been less focus on the dominant processes leading to parasite diversification. Using bartonella infections in bats as a model system, we explored the influence of three processes that can contribute to bartonella diversification and lineage formation: (1) spatial correlation in the invasion and transmission of bartonella among bats (phylogeography); (2) divergent adaptation of bartonellae to bat hosts and arthropod vectors; and (3) evolutionary codivergence between bats and bartonellae. Using a combination of global fit techniques and ancestral state reconstruction, we found that codivergence appears to be the dominant process leading to diversification of bartonella in bats, with lineages of bartonellae corresponding to separate bat suborders, superfamilies, and families. Furthermore, we estimated the rates at which bartonellae shift bat hosts across taxonomic scales (suborders, superfamilies, and families) and found that transition rates decrease with increasing taxonomic distance, providing support for a mechanism that can contribute to the observed evolutionary congruence between bats and their associated bartonellae. While bartonella diversification is associated with host sympatry, the influence of this factor is minor compared to the influence of codivergence and there is a clear indication that some bartonella lineages span multiple regions, particularly between Africa and Southeast Asia. Divergent adaptation of bartonellae to bat hosts and arthropod vectors is apparent and can dilute the overall pattern of codivergence, however its importance in the formation of Bartonella lineages in bats is small relative to codivergence. We argue that exploring all three of these processes yields a more complete understanding of bat-bartonella relationships and the evolution of the genus Bartonella, generally. Application of these
Bartonella quintana is a vector-borne bacterial pathogen that causes fatal disease in humans. During the infectious cycle, B. quintana transitions from the hemin-restricted human bloodstream to the hemin-rich body louse vector. Because extracytoplasmic function (ECF) sigma factors often regulate adaptation to environmental changes, we hypothesized that a previously unstudied B. quintana ECF sigma factor, RpoE, is involved in the transition from the human host to the body louse vector. The genomic context of B. quintana rpoE identified it as a member of the ECF15 family of sigma factors found only in alphaproteobacteria. ECF15 sigma factors are believed to be the master regulators of the general stress response in alphaproteobacteria. In this study, we examined the B. quintana RpoE response to two stressors that are encountered in the body louse vector environment, a decreased temperature and an increased hemin concentration. We determined that the expression of rpoE is significantly upregulated at the body louse (28°C) versus the human host (37°C) temperature. rpoE expression also was upregulated when B. quintana was exposed to high hemin concentrations. In vitro and in vivo analyses demonstrated that RpoE function is regulated by a mechanism involving the anti-sigma factor NepR and the response regulator PhyR. The ΔrpoE ΔnepR mutant strain of B. quintana established that RpoE-mediated transcription is important in mediating the tolerance of B. quintana to high hemin concentrations. We present the first analysis of an ECF15 sigma factor in a vector-borne human pathogen and conclude that RpoE has a role in the adaptation of B. quintana to the hemin-rich arthropod vector environment. PMID:23564167
Sangaré, Abdoul Karim; Boutellis, Amina; Drali, Rezak; Socolovschi, Cristina; Barker, Stephen C; Diatta, Georges; Rogier, Christophe; Olive, Marie-Marie; Doumbo, Ogobara K; Raoult, Didier
Currently, the body louse is the only recognized vector of Bartonella quintana, an organism that causes trench fever. In this work, we investigated the prevalence of this bacterium in human lice in different African countries. We tested 616 head lice and 424 body lice from nine African countries using real-time polymerase chain reaction targeting intergenic spacer region 2 and specific B. quintana genes. Overall, B. quintana DNA was found in 54% and 2% of body and head lice, respectively. Our results also show that there are more body lice positive for B. quintana in poor countries, which was determined by the gross domestic product, than in wealthy areas (228/403 versus 0/21, P < 0.001). A similar finding was obtained for head lice (8/226 versus 2/390, P = 0.007). Our findings suggest that head lice in Africa may be infected by B. quintana when patients live in poor economic conditions and are also exposed to body lice.
Sangaré, Abdoul Karim; Boutellis, Amina; Drali, Rezak; Socolovschi, Cristina; Barker, Stephen C.; Diatta, Georges; Rogier, Christophe; Olive, Marie-Marie; Doumbo, Ogobara K.; Raoult, Didier
Currently, the body louse is the only recognized vector of Bartonella quintana, an organism that causes trench fever. In this work, we investigated the prevalence of this bacterium in human lice in different African countries. We tested 616 head lice and 424 body lice from nine African countries using real-time polymerase chain reaction targeting intergenic spacer region 2 and specific B. quintana genes. Overall, B. quintana DNA was found in 54% and 2% of body and head lice, respectively. Our results also show that there are more body lice positive for B. quintana in poor countries, which was determined by the gross domestic product, than in wealthy areas (228/403 versus 0/21, P < 0.001). A similar finding was obtained for head lice (8/226 versus 2/390, P = 0.007). Our findings suggest that head lice in Africa may be infected by B. quintana when patients live in poor economic conditions and are also exposed to body lice. PMID:24935950
Pickett, John A; Birkett, Michael A; Dewhirst, Sarah Y; Logan, James G; Omolo, Maurice O; Torto, Baldwyn; Pelletier, Julien; Syed, Zainulabeuddin; Leal, Walter S
Infectious diseases affecting livestock and human health that involve vector-borne pathogens are a global problem, unrestricted by borders or boundaries, which may be exacerbated by changing global climate. Thus, the availability of effective tools for control of pathogen vectors is of the utmost importance. The aim of this article is to review, selectively, current knowledge of the chemical ecology of pathogen vectors that affect livestock and human health in the developed and developing world, based on key note lectures presented in a symposium on "The Chemical Ecology of Disease Vectors" at the 25th Annual ISCE meeting in Neuchatel, Switzerland. The focus is on the deployment of semiochemicals for monitoring and control strategies, and discusses briefly future directions that such research should proceed along, bearing in mind the environmental challenges associated with climate change that we will face during the 21st century.
Hall, Jessica L.; Alpers, Kathrin; Bown, Kevin J.; Martin, Stephen J.
Mapping the public health threat of tickborne pathogens requires quantification of not only the density of infected host-seeking ticks but also the rate of human exposure to these ticks. To efficiently sample a high number of persons in a short time, we used a mass-participation outdoor event. In June 2014, we sampled ≈500 persons competing in a 2-day mountain marathon run across predominantly tick-infested habitat in Scotland. From the number of tick bites recorded and prevalence of tick infection with Borrelia burgdoferi sensu lato and B. miyamotoi, we quantified the frequency of competitor exposure to the pathogens. Mass-participation outdoor events have the potential to serve as excellent windows for epidemiologic study of tickborne pathogens; their concerted use should improve spatial and temporal mapping of human exposure to infected ticks. PMID:28221107
Hall, Jessica L; Alpers, Kathrin; Bown, Kevin J; Martin, Stephen J; Birtles, Richard J
Mapping the public health threat of tickborne pathogens requires quantification of not only the density of infected host-seeking ticks but also the rate of human exposure to these ticks. To efficiently sample a high number of persons in a short time, we used a mass-participation outdoor event. In June 2014, we sampled ≈500 persons competing in a 2-day mountain marathon run across predominantly tick-infested habitat in Scotland. From the number of tick bites recorded and prevalence of tick infection with Borrelia burgdoferi sensu lato and B. miyamotoi, we quantified the frequency of competitor exposure to the pathogens. Mass-participation outdoor events have the potential to serve as excellent windows for epidemiologic study of tickborne pathogens; their concerted use should improve spatial and temporal mapping of human exposure to infected ticks.
Stoddard, Steven T.; Morrison, Amy C.; Vazquez-Prokopec, Gonzalo M.; Paz Soldan, Valerie; Kochel, Tadeusz J.; Kitron, Uriel; Elder, John P.; Scott, Thomas W.
Background Human movement is a key behavioral factor in many vector-borne disease systems because it influences exposure to vectors and thus the transmission of pathogens. Human movement transcends spatial and temporal scales with different influences on disease dynamics. Here we develop a conceptual model to evaluate the importance of variation in exposure due to individual human movements for pathogen transmission, focusing on mosquito-borne dengue virus. Methodology and Principal Findings We develop a model showing that the relevance of human movement at a particular scale depends on vector behavior. Focusing on the day-biting Aedes aegypti, we illustrate how vector biting behavior combined with fine-scale movements of individual humans engaged in their regular daily routine can influence transmission. Using a simple example, we estimate a transmission rate (R0) of 1.3 when exposure is assumed to occur only in the home versus 3.75 when exposure at multiple locations—e.g., market, friend's—due to movement is considered. Movement also influences for which sites and individuals risk is greatest. For the example considered, intriguingly, our model predicts little correspondence between vector abundance in a site and estimated R0 for that site when movement is considered. This illustrates the importance of human movement for understanding and predicting the dynamics of a disease like dengue. To encourage investigation of human movement and disease, we review methods currently available to study human movement and, based on our experience studying dengue in Peru, discuss several important questions to address when designing a study. Conclusions/Significance Human movement is a critical, understudied behavioral component underlying the transmission dynamics of many vector-borne pathogens. Understanding movement will facilitate identification of key individuals and sites in the transmission of pathogens such as dengue, which then may provide targets for surveillance
Panda, Swagatika; Mohakud, Nirmal Kumar; Pena, Lindomar; Kumar, Subrat
Human metapneumovirus (hMPV), discovered in 2001, most commonly causes upper and lower respiratory tract infections in young children, but is also a concern for elderly subjects and immune-compromised patients. hMPV is the major etiological agent responsible for about 5% to 10% of hospitalizations of children suffering from acute respiratory tract infections. hMPV infection can cause severe bronchiolitis and pneumonia in children, and its symptoms are indistinguishable from those caused by human respiratory syncytial virus. Initial infection with hMPV usually occurs during early childhood, but re-infections are common throughout life. Due to the slow growth of the virus in cell culture, molecular methods (such as reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR)) are the preferred diagnostic modality for detecting hMPV. A few vaccine candidates have been shown to be effective in preventing clinical disease, but none are yet commercially available. Our understanding of hMPV has undergone major changes in recent years and in this article we will review the currently available information on the molecular biology and epidemiology of hMPV. We will also review the current therapeutic interventions and strategies being used to control hMPV infection, with an emphasis on possible approaches that could be used to develop an effective vaccine against hMPV.
Balique, Fanny; Lecoq, Hervé; Raoult, Didier; Colson, Philippe
Phytoviruses are highly prevalent in plants worldwide, including vegetables and fruits. Humans, and more generally animals, are exposed daily to these viruses, among which several are extremely stable. It is currently accepted that a strict separation exists between plant and vertebrate viruses regarding their host range and pathogenicity, and plant viruses are believed to infect only plants. Accordingly, plant viruses are not considered to present potential pathogenicity to humans and other vertebrates. Notwithstanding these beliefs, there are many examples where phytoviruses circulate and propagate in insect vectors. Several issues are raised here that question if plant viruses might further cross the kingdom barrier to cause diseases in humans. Indeed, there is close relatedness between some plant and animal viruses, and almost identical gene repertoires. Moreover, plant viruses can be detected in non-human mammals and humans samples, and there are evidence of immune responses to plant viruses in invertebrates, non-human vertebrates and humans, and of the entry of plant viruses or their genomes into non-human mammal cells and bodies after experimental exposure. Overall, the question raised here is unresolved, and several data prompt the additional extensive study of the interactions between phytoviruses and non-human mammals and humans, and the potential of these viruses to cause diseases in humans. PMID:25903834
Balique, Fanny; Lecoq, Hervé; Raoult, Didier; Colson, Philippe
Phytoviruses are highly prevalent in plants worldwide, including vegetables and fruits. Humans, and more generally animals, are exposed daily to these viruses, among which several are extremely stable. It is currently accepted that a strict separation exists between plant and vertebrate viruses regarding their host range and pathogenicity, and plant viruses are believed to infect only plants. Accordingly, plant viruses are not considered to present potential pathogenicity to humans and other vertebrates. Notwithstanding these beliefs, there are many examples where phytoviruses circulate and propagate in insect vectors. Several issues are raised here that question if plant viruses might further cross the kingdom barrier to cause diseases in humans. Indeed, there is close relatedness between some plant and animal viruses, and almost identical gene repertoires. Moreover, plant viruses can be detected in non-human mammals and humans samples, and there are evidence of immune responses to plant viruses in invertebrates, non-human vertebrates and humans, and of the entry of plant viruses or their genomes into non-human mammal cells and bodies after experimental exposure. Overall, the question raised here is unresolved, and several data prompt the additional extensive study of the interactions between phytoviruses and non-human mammals and humans, and the potential of these viruses to cause diseases in humans.
Schaefer, Jonathan D; Moore, Guy M; Namekata, Michael S; Kasten, Rick W; Chomel, Bruno B
Gray foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) were shown to be naturally infected with Bartonella rochalimae, a Bartonella species similar to Bartonella clarridgeiae (B.c.), and Bartonella vinsonii subspecies berkhoffii (B.v.berkhoffii) in northern California. A serological survey was performed to investigate the presence of Bartonella infection in 132 gray foxes from West/Central Texas. Using an immunofluorescence antibody test directed against B.v.berkhoffii and B.c., the antibody prevalence was 50% (66/132), with 22 (33.3%) individuals seropositive for B.c. only, 8 (12.2%) for B.v.berkhoffii, and 36 (54.5%) seroreactive for both B.c. and B.v.berkhoffii. The foxes had 3.63 more odds (95% confidence interval [CI]=1.38, 10.25) to be seropositive for B.c. than for B.v.berkhoffii. Female foxes were more likely to be seropositive for B.c. (odds ratio [OR]=2.90, 95% CI=1.33, 6.36) and also for both antigens (OR=2.50, 95% CI=1.06, 5.90) than males.
Aujoulat, F; Marchandin, H; Zorgniotti, I; Masnou, A; Jumas-Bilak, E
Rhizobium pusense was recently described after isolation from the rhizosphere of chickpea. Multilocus sequence-based analysis of clinical isolates identified as Agrobacterium (Rhizobium) radiobacter demonstrated that R. pusense is the main human pathogen within Agrobacterium (Rhizobium) spp. Clinical microbiology of Agrobacterium (Rhizobium) should be considered in the light of recent taxonomic changes.
Triana, Sergio; González, Andrés; Ohm, Robin A.; Wösten, Han A. B.; de Cock, Hans; Restrepo, Silvia
Malassezia pachydermatis is a basidiomycetous yeast that causes infections in humans and animals. Here, we report the genome sequence of Malassezia pachydermatis strain CBS 1879, which will facilitate the study of mechanisms underlying pathogenicity of the only non-lipid-dependent Malasezzia species. PMID:26472839
Zoropogui, Anthony; Pujic, Petar; Normand, Philippe; Barbe, Valérie; Beaman, Blaine; Beaman, LoVelle; Boiron, Patrick; Colinon, Céline; Deredjian, Amélie; Graindorge, Arnault; Mangenot, Sophie; Nazaret, Sylvie; Neto, Manuelle; Petit, Stéphanie; Roche, David; Vallenet, David; Rodríguez-Nava, Veronica; Richard, Yves; Cournoyer, Benoit; Blaha, Didier
The pathogenic strain Nocardia cyriacigeorgica GUH-2 was isolated from a fatal human nocardiosis case, and its genome was sequenced. The complete genomic sequence of this strain contains 6,194,645 bp, an average G+C content of 68.37%, and no plasmids. We also identified several protein-coding genes to which N. cyriacigeorgica's virulence can potentially be attributed.
The etiology and impacts of human exposure to environmental pathogens are of major concern worldwide and, thus, the ability to assess exposure and infections using cost effective, high-throughput approaches would be indispensable. The principal objective of this work is to devel...
Cold plasma is a novel non-thermal food processing technology, suitable for application to fresh and fresh-cut fruits and vegetables. Reductions of 3-5 logs have been achieved against human pathogens such as Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7 on fresh produce and against phytopathogens and spoilage orga...
Suzuki, Masato; Suzuki, Satowa; Matsui, Mari; Hiraki, Yoichi; Kawano, Fumio; Shibayama, Keigo
Pseudomonas alcaligenes, a Gram-negative aerobic bacterium, is a rare opportunistic human pathogen. Here, we report the whole-genome sequence of P. alcaligenes strain MRY13-0052, which was isolated from a bloodstream infection in a medical institution in Japan and is resistant to antimicrobial agents, including broad-spectrum cephalosporins and monobactams.
Tan, Shi Yang; Tan, Irene Kit Ping; Tan, Mui Fern; Dutta, Avirup; Choo, Siew Woh
On record, there are 17 species in the Yersinia genus, of which three are known to be pathogenic to human. While the chromosomal and pYV (or pCD1) plasmid-borne virulence genes as well as pathogenesis of these three species are well studied, their genomic evolution is poorly understood. Our study aims to predict the key evolutionary events that led to the emergence of pathogenic Yersinia species by analyzing gene gain-and-loss, virulence genes, and “Clustered regularly-interspaced short palindromic repeats”. Our results suggest that the most recent ancestor shared by the human pathogenic Yersinia was most probably an environmental species that had adapted to the human body. This might have led to ecological specialization that diverged Yersinia into ecotypes and distinct lineages based on differential gene gain-and-loss in different niches. Our data also suggest that Y. pseudotuberculosis group might be the donor of the ail virulence gene to Y. enterocolitica. Hence, we postulate that evolution of human pathogenic Yersinia might not be totally in parallel, but instead, there were lateral gene transfer events. Furthermore, the presence of virulence genes seems to be important for the positive selection of virulence plasmid. Our studies provide better insights into the evolutionary biology of these bacteria. PMID:27796355
Beatty, Jennifer K; Akierman, Sarah V; Motta, Jean-Paul; Muise, Stacy; Workentine, Matthew L; Harrison, Joe J; Bhargava, Amol; Beck, Paul L; Rioux, Kevin P; McKnight, Gordon Webb; Wallace, John L; Buret, Andre G
Giardia duodenalis is a prevalent cause of acute diarrheal disease worldwide. However, recent outbreaks in Italy and Norway have revealed a link between giardiasis and the subsequent development of chronic post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome. While the mechanisms underlying the causation of post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome remain obscure, recent findings suggest that alterations in gut microbiota communities are linked to the pathophysiology of irritable bowel syndrome. In the present study, we use a laboratory biofilm system to culture and enrich mucosal microbiota from human intestinal biopsies. Subsequently, we show that co-culture with Giardia induces disturbances in biofilm species composition and biofilm structure resulting in microbiota communities that are intrinsically dysbiotic - even after the clearance of Giardia. These microbiota abnormalities were mediated in part by secretory-excretory Giardia cysteine proteases. Using in vitro cell culture and germ-free murine infection models, we show that Giardia-induced disruptions of microbiota promote bacterial invasion, resulting in epithelial apoptosis, tight junctional disruption, and bacterial translocation across an intestinal epithelial barrier. Additionally, these dysbiotic microbiota communities resulted in increased activation of the Toll-like receptor 4 signalling pathway, and overproduction of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-1beta in humanized germ-free mice. Previous studies that have sought explanations and risk factors for the development of post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome have focused on features of enteropathogens and attributes of the infected host. We propose that polymicrobial interactions involving Giardia and gut microbiota may cause persistent dysbiosis, offering a new interpretation of the reasons why those afflicted with giardiasis are predisposed to gastrointestinal disorders post-infection.
Gutiérrez, Ricardo; Cohen, Liron; Morick, Danny; Mumcuoglu, Kosta Y.; Harrus, Shimon
Bartonella spp. are worldwide-distributed facultative intracellular bacteria that exhibit an immense genomic diversity across mammal and arthropod hosts. The occurrence of cattle-associated Bartonella species was investigated in the cattle tail louse Haematopinus quadripertusus and in dairy cattle blood from Israel. Lice were collected from cattle from two dairy farms during summer 2011, and both lice and cow blood samples were collected from additional seven farms during the successive winter. The lice were identified morphologically and molecularly using 18S rRNA sequencing. Thereafter, they were screened for Bartonella DNA by conventional and real-time PCR assays using four partial genetic loci (gltA, rpoB, ssrA, and internal transcribed spacer [ITS]). A potentially novel Bartonella variant, closely related to other ruminant bartonellae, was identified in 11 of 13 louse pools collected in summer. In the cattle blood, the prevalence of Bartonella infection was 38%, identified as B. bovis and B. henselae (24 and 12%, respectively). A third genotype, closely related to Bartonella melophagi and Bartonella chomelii (based on the ssrA gene) and to B. bovis (based on the ITS sequence) was identified in a single cow. The relatively high prevalence of these Bartonella species in cattle and the occurrence of phylogenetically diverse Bartonella variants in both cattle and their lice suggest the potential role of this animal system in the generation of Bartonella species diversity. PMID:24973066
Müller, Ananda; Walker, Romina; Bittencourt, Pedro; Machado, Rosangela Zacarias; Benevenute, Jyan Lucas; DO Amaral, Renan Bressiani; Gonçalves, Luiz Ricardo; André, Marcos Rogério
The present study determined the prevalence, hematological findings and genetic diversity of Bartonella spp. in domestic cats from Valdivia, Southern Chile. A complete blood count and nuoG gene real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) for Bartonella spp. were performed in 370 blood samples from cats in Valdivia, Southern Chile. nuoG qPCR-positive samples were submitted to conventional PCR for the gltA gene and sequencing for species differentiation and phylogenetic analysis. Alignment of gltA gene was used to calculate the nucleotide diversity, polymorphic level, number of variable sites and average number of nucleotide differences. Bartonella DNA prevalence in cats was 18·1% (67/370). Twenty-nine samples were sequenced with 62·0% (18/29) identified as Bartonella henselae, 34·4% (10/29) as Bartonella clarridgeiae, and 3·4% (1/29) as Bartonella koehlerae. Bartonella-positive cats had low DNA bacterial loads and their hematological parameters varied minimally. Each Bartonella species from Chile clustered together and with other Bartonella spp. described in cats worldwide. Bartonella henselae and B. clarridgeiae showed a low number of variable sites, haplotypes and nucleotide diversity. Bartonella clarridgeiae and B. koehlerae are reported for the first time in cats from Chile and South America, respectively.
Sharma, Kalpana; Goss, Erica M.; Dickstein, Ellen R.; Smith, Matthew E.; Johnson, Judith A.; Southwick, Frederick S.; van Bruggen, Ariena H. C.
Pathogen host shifts represent a major source of new infectious diseases. There are several examples of cross-genus host jumps that have caused catastrophic epidemics in animal and plant species worldwide. Cross-kingdom jumps are rare, and are often associated with nosocomial infections. Here we provide an example of human-mediated cross-kingdom jumping of Exserohilum rostratum isolated from a patient who had received a corticosteroid injection and died of fungal meningitis in a Florida hospital in 2012. The clinical isolate of E. rostratum was compared with two plant pathogenic isolates of E. rostratum and an isolate of the closely related genus Bipolaris in terms of morphology, phylogeny, and pathogenicity on one C3 grass, Gulf annual rye grass (Lolium multiflorum), and two C4 grasses, Japanese stilt grass (Microstegium vimineum) and bahia grass (Paspalum notatum). Colony growth and color, as well as conidia shape and size were the same for the clinical and plant isolates of E. rostratum, while these characteristics differed slightly for the Bipolaris sp. isolate. The plant pathogenic and clinical isolates of E. rostratum were indistinguishable based on morphology and ITS and 28S rDNA sequence analysis. The clinical isolate was as pathogenic to all grass species tested as the plant pathogenic strains that were originally isolated from plant hosts. The clinical isolate induced more severe symptoms on stilt grass than on rye grass, while this was the reverse for the plant isolates of E. rostratum. The phylogenetic similarity between the clinical and plant-associated E. rostratum isolates and the ability of the clinical isolate to infect plants suggests that a plant pathogenic strain of E. rostratum contaminated the corticosteroid injection fluid and was able to cause systemic disease in the affected patient. This is the first proof that a clinical isolate of E. rostratum is also an effective plant pathogen. PMID:25285444
Kabeya, Hidenori; Inoue, Kai; Izumi, Yasuhito; Morita, Tatsushi; Imai, Soichi; Maruyama, Soichi
The purpose of this study was to assess the role of fleas for transmission of Bartonella species among wild rodents in Japan. Flea samples were collected from wild rodents and examined genetically for Bartonella infection. Bartonella DNA was detected from 16 of 40 (40.0%) flea samples. Sequence analysis demonstrated that 3 of 16 (18.8%) of the Bartonella-positive animals were infested with fleas from which the closely related Bartonella DNA sequence was detected, indicating that the fleas acquired Bartonella from the infested rodents. The DNA was detected in hemolymph, the midgut and the ovary (only in female), indicating that Bartonella might be colonized through the midgut and distributed into the body.
Nawtaisong, Pruksa; Tanganuchitcharnchai, Ampai; Smith, Derek J.; Day, Nicholas P. J.; Paris, Daniel H.
Background Scrub typhus is a common cause of undiagnosed febrile illness in certain tropical regions, but can be easily treated with antibiotics. The causative agent, Orientia tsutsugamushi, is antigenically variable which complicates diagnosis and efforts towards vaccine development. Methodology/Principal Findings This study aimed to dissect the antigenic and genetic relatedness of O. tsutsugamushi strains and investigate sero-diagnostic reactivities by titrating individual patient sera against their O. tsutsugamushi isolates (whole-cell antigen preparation), in homologous and heterologous serum-isolate pairs from the same endemic region in NE Thailand. The indirect immunofluorescence assay was used to titrate Orientia tsutsugamushi isolates and human sera, and a mathematical technique, antigenic cartography, was applied to these data to visualise the antigenic differences and cross-reactivity between strains and sera. No functional or antigen-specific analyses were performed. The antigenic variation found in clinical isolates was much less pronounced than the genetic differences found in the 56kDa type-specific antigen genes. The Karp-like sera were more broadly reactive than the Gilliam-like sera. Conclusions/Significance Antigenic cartography worked well with scrub typhus indirect immunofluorescence titres. The data from humoral responses suggest that a Karp-like strain would provide broader antibody cross-reactivity than a Gilliam-like strain. Although previous exposure to O. tsutsugamushi could not be ruled out, scrub typhus patient serum antibody responses were characterised by strong homologous, but weak heterologous antibody titres, with little evidence for cross-reactivity by Gilliam-like sera, but a broader response from some Karp-like sera. This work highlights the importance of antigenic variation in O. tsutsugamushi diagnosis and determination of new serotypes. PMID:27248711
Heimersson, Sara; Harder, Robin; Peters, Gregory M; Svanström, Magdalena
Resource recovery from sewage sludge has the potential to save natural resources, but the potential risks connected to human exposure to heavy metals, organic micropollutants, and pathogenic microorganisms attract stakeholder concern. The purpose of the presented study was to include pathogen risks to human health in life cycle assessment (LCA) of wastewater and sludge management systems, as this is commonly omitted from LCAs due to methodological limitations. Part 1 of this article series estimated the overall pathogen risk for such a system with agricultural use of the sludge, in a way that enables the results to be integrated in LCA. This article (part 2) presents a full LCA for two model systems (with agricultural utilization or incineration of sludge) to reveal the relative importance of pathogen risk in relation to other potential impacts on human health. The study showed that, for both model systems, pathogen risk can constitute an important part (in this study up to 20%) of the total life cycle impacts on human health (expressed in disability adjusted life years) which include other important impacts such as human toxicity potential, global warming potential, and photochemical oxidant formation potential.
Khromenkova, E P; Dimidova, L L; Dumbadze, O S; Aidinov, G T; Shendo, G L; Agirov, A Kh; Batchaev, Kh Kh
Sanitary and parasitological studies of the waste effluents and surface reservoir waters were conducted in the south of Russia. The efficiency of purification of waste effluents from the pathogens of parasitic diseases was investigated in the region's sewage-purification facilities. The water of the surface water reservoirs was found to contain helminthic eggs and larvae and intestinal protozoan cysts because of the poor purification and disinfection of service fecal sewage waters. The poor purification and disinvasion of waste effluents in the region determine the potential risk of contamination of the surface water reservoirs and infection of the population with the pathogens of human parasitic diseases.
Junqueira, Juliana Campos
The number of studies using G. mellonella as a model host for human pathogens has increased significantly in the last few years. Important studies were published from different countries for evaluating the pathogenesis of bacterial and fungal infections and for exploring the host defenses against pathogens. Therefore, standardized conditions for the use of G. melonella larvae need to be established. Recent research showed that the deprivation of G. mellonella larvae of food during the experiment caused a reduction in immune responses and an increased susceptibility to infection, suggesting that incubating of larvae in the presence or absence of nutrition may affect the results and comparisons among different laboratories.
Morick, Danny; Krasnov, Boris R; Khokhlova, Irina S; Gottlieb, Yuval; Harrus, Shimon
A high prevalence of Bartonella infection is found in many natural systems; however, the transmission dynamics leading to observations of these infections is not fully understood. The capability of Xenopsylla ramesis fleas to serve as competent vectors of Bartonella sp. OE 1-1 (a strain closely related to the zoonotic Bartonella elizabethae) to Meriones crassus jirds was investigated. Naïve X. ramesis fleas were placed for 72 h on naïve jirds or jirds that were either experimentally or naturally infected with Bartonella sp. strain OE 1-1, after which they were placed on naïve jirds. Postfeeding, 69 to 100% of the fleas collected from each Bartonella-positive jird contained Bartonella DNA, and all naïve jirds became positive for Bartonella sp. OE 1-1 after infestation with the infected fleas. In addition, maternal transmission of Bartonella sp. OE 1-1 in jirds was tested by mating 5 Bartonella-positive and 5 naïve female jirds with 10 naïve male jirds in the absence of fleas. Fifteen offspring were delivered by each group. Cultures of blood drawn from all offspring on days 35 and 47 postdelivery were found to be negative for Bartonella. A single spleen sample from the offspring of a Bartonella-positive mother was found molecularly positive for Bartonella sp. OE 1-1. This study demonstrates that X. ramesis fleas are competent vectors of Bartonella sp. OE 1-1 to M. crassus jirds and indicates that maternal transmission is probably not the major transmission route from female jirds to their offspring. We suggest that the dynamics of Bartonella sp. OE 1-1 in the M. crassus jird population in nature is mostly dependent on its vectors.
Bittar, Fadi; Keita, Mamadou B; Lagier, Jean-Christophe; Peeters, Martine; Delaporte, Eric; Raoult, Didier
Wild apes are considered to be the most serious reservoir and source of zoonoses. However, little data are available about the gut microbiota and pathogenic bacteria in gorillas. For this propose, a total of 48 fecal samples obtained from 21 Gorilla gorilla gorilla individuals (as revealed via microsatellite analysis) were screened for human bacterial pathogens using culturomics and molecular techniques. By applying culturomics to one index gorilla and using specific media supplemented by plants, we tested 12,800 colonies and identified 147 different bacterial species, including 5 new species. Many opportunistic pathogens were isolated, including 8 frequently associated with human diseases; Mycobacterium bolletii, Proteus mirabilis, Acinetobacter baumannii, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Serratia marcescens, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridium botulinum. The genus Treponema accounted for 27.4% of the total reads identified at the genus level via 454 pyrosequencing. Using specific real-time PCR on 48 gorilla fecal samples, in addition to classical human pathogens, we also observed the fastidious bacteria Bartonella spp. Borrelia spp., Coxiella burnetii and Tropheryma whipplei in the gorilla population. We estimated that the prevalence of these pathogens vary between 4.76% and 85.7%. Therefore, gorillas share many bacterial pathogens with humans suggesting that they could be a reservoir for their emergence.
Bittar, Fadi; Keita, Mamadou B.; Lagier, Jean-Christophe; Peeters, Martine; Delaporte, Eric; Raoult, Didier
Wild apes are considered to be the most serious reservoir and source of zoonoses. However, little data are available about the gut microbiota and pathogenic bacteria in gorillas. For this propose, a total of 48 fecal samples obtained from 21 Gorilla gorilla gorilla individuals (as revealed via microsatellite analysis) were screened for human bacterial pathogens using culturomics and molecular techniques. By applying culturomics to one index gorilla and using specific media supplemented by plants, we tested 12,800 colonies and identified 147 different bacterial species, including 5 new species. Many opportunistic pathogens were isolated, including 8 frequently associated with human diseases; Mycobacterium bolletii, Proteus mirabilis, Acinetobacter baumannii, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Serratia marcescens, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridium botulinum. The genus Treponema accounted for 27.4% of the total reads identified at the genus level via 454 pyrosequencing. Using specific real-time PCR on 48 gorilla fecal samples, in addition to classical human pathogens, we also observed the fastidious bacteria Bartonella spp. Borrelia spp., Coxiella burnetii and Tropheryma whipplei in the gorilla population. We estimated that the prevalence of these pathogens vary between 4.76% and 85.7%. Therefore, gorillas share many bacterial pathogens with humans suggesting that they could be a reservoir for their emergence. PMID:25417711
Faghri, M A; Pennington, C L; Cronholm, L S; Atlas, R M
A diverse array of bacterial species, including several potential human pathogens, was isolated from edible crabs collected in cold waters. Crabs collected near Kodiak Island, Alaska, contained higher levels of bacteria than crabs collected away from regions of human habitation. The bacteria associated with the crabs collected near Kodiak included Yersinia enterocolitica, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and coagulase-negative Staphylococcus species; the pathogenicity of these isolates was demonstrated in mice. Although coliforms were not found, the bacterial species associated with the tissues of crabs collected near Kodiak indicate possible fecal contamination that may have occurred through contact with sewage. Compared with surrounding waters and sediments, the crab tissues contained much higher proportions of gram-positive cocci. As revealed by indirect plate counts and direct scanning electron microscopic observations, muscle and hemolymph tissues contained much lower levels of bacteria than shell and gill tissues. After the death of a crab, however, the numbers of bacteria associated with hemolymph and muscle tissues increased significantly. Microcosm studies showed that certain bacterial populations, e.g., Vibrio cholerae, can be bioaccumulated in crab gill tissues. The results of this study indicate the need for careful review of waste disposal practices where edible crabs may be contaminated with microorganisms that are potential human pathogens and the need for surveillance of shellfish for pathogenic microorganisms that naturally occur in marine ecosystems. Images PMID:6742824
Tezera, Liku B; Bielecka, Magdalena K; Chancellor, Andrew; Reichmann, Michaela T; Shammari, Basim Al; Brace, Patience; Batty, Alex; Tocheva, Annie; Jogai, Sanjay; Marshall, Ben G; Tebruegge, Marc; Jayasinghe, Suwan N; Mansour, Salah; Elkington, Paul T
Cell biology differs between traditional cell culture and 3-dimensional (3-D) systems, and is modulated by the extracellular matrix. Experimentation in 3-D presents challenges, especially with virulent pathogens. Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) kills more humans than any other infection and is characterised by a spatially organised immune response and extracellular matrix remodelling. We developed a 3-D system incorporating virulent mycobacteria, primary human blood mononuclear cells and collagen–alginate matrix to dissect the host-pathogen interaction. Infection in 3-D led to greater cellular survival and permitted longitudinal analysis over 21 days. Key features of human tuberculosis develop, and extracellular matrix integrity favours the host over the pathogen. We optimised multiparameter readouts to study emerging therapeutic interventions: cytokine supplementation, host-directed therapy and immunoaugmentation. Each intervention modulates the host-pathogen interaction, but has both beneficial and harmful effects. This methodology has wide applicability to investigate infectious, inflammatory and neoplastic diseases and develop novel drug regimes and vaccination approaches. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.21283.001 PMID:28063256
Panayidou, Stavria; Ioannidou, Eleni; Apidianakis, Yiorgos
Drosophila has been the invertebrate model organism of choice for the study of innate immune responses during the past few decades. Many Drosophila-microbe interaction studies have helped to define innate immunity pathways, and significant effort has been made lately to decipher mechanisms of microbial pathogenesis. Here we catalog 68 bacterial, fungal, and viral species studied in flies, 43 of which are relevant to human health. We discuss studies of human pathogens in flies revealing not only the elicitation and avoidance of immune response but also mechanisms of tolerance, host tissue homeostasis, regeneration, and predisposition to cancer. Prominent among those is the emerging pattern of intestinal regeneration as a defense response induced by pathogenic and innocuous bacteria. Immunopathology mechanisms and many microbial virulence factors have been elucidated, but their relevance to human health conventionally necessitates validation in mammalian models of infection.
Hart, Benjamin L.
No other theme in animal biology seems to be more central than the concept of employing strategies to survive and successfully reproduce. In nature, controlling or avoiding pathogens and parasites is an essential fitness strategy because of the ever-present disease-causing organisms. The disease-control strategies discussed here are: physical avoidance and removal of pathogens and parasites; quarantine or peripheralization of conspecifics that could be carrying potential pathogens; herbal medicine, animal style, to prevent or treat an infection; potentiation of the immune system; and care of sick or injured group members. These strategies are seen as also encompassing the pillars of human medicine: (i) quarantine; (ii) immune-boosting vaccinations; (iii) use of medicinal products; and (iv) caring or nursing. In contrast to animals, in humans, the disease-control strategies have been consolidated into a consistent and extensive medical system. A hypothesis that explains some of this difference between animals and humans is that humans are sick more often than animals. This increase in sickness in humans leading to an extensive, cognitively driven medical system is attributed to an evolutionary dietary transition from mostly natural vegetation to a meat-based diet, with an increase in health-eroding free radicals and a dietary reduction of free-radical-scavenging antioxidants. PMID:22042917
Rahman, Meher K.; Midtling, Emilie H.; Svingen, Phyllis A.; Xiong, Yuning; Bell, Michael P.; Tung, Jeanne; Smyrk, Tom; Egan, Larry J.; Faubion, William A.
The expression of pathogen recognition receptors in human FOXP3+ T regulatory cells is established, yet the function of these receptors is currently obscure. In the process of studying the function of both peripheral and lamina propria FOXP3+ lymphocytes in patients with the human inflammatory bowel disease Crohn’s disease, we observed a clear deficiency in the quantity of FOXP3+ lymphocytes in patients with disease-associated polymorphisms in the pathogen recognition receptor gene NOD2. Subsequently, we determined that the NOD2 ligand, muramyl dipeptide (MDP), activates NF-κB in primary human FOXP3+ T cells. This activation is functionally relevant, as MDP-stimulated human FOXP3+ T cells are protected from death receptor Fas-mediated apoptosis. Importantly, apoptosis protection was not evident in MDP-stimulated FOXP3+ T cells isolated from a patient with the disease-associated polymorphism. Thus, we propose that one function of pathogen recognition receptors in human T regulatory cells is the protection against death receptor-mediated apoptosis in a Fas ligand-rich environment, such as that of the inflamed intestinal subepithelial space. PMID:20483763
Kinzelman, Julie; McLellan, Sandra L; Amick, Ashley; Preedit, Justine; Scopel, Caitlin O; Olapade, Ola; Gradus, Steve; Singh, Ajaib; Sedmak, Gerald
Ring-billed (Larus delawarensis Ord, 1815) and herring (Larus argentatus Pontoppidan, 1763) gulls are predominant species of shorebirds in coastal areas. Gulls contribute to the fecal indicator burden in beach sands, which, once transported to bathing waters, may result in water quality failures. The importance of these contamination sources must not be overlooked when considering the impact of poor bathing water quality on human health. This study examined the occurrence of human enteric pathogens in gull populations at Racine, Wisconsin. For 12 weeks in 2004 and 2005, and 7 weeks in 2006, 724 gull fecal samples were examined for pathogen occurrence on traditional selective media (BBL CHROMagar-Salmonella, Remel Campy-BAP, 7% horse blood agar) or through the use of novel isolation techniques (Campylobacter, EC FP5-funded CAMPYCHECK Project), and confirmed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for pathogens commonly harbored in gulls. An additional 226 gull fecal samples, collected in the same 12-week period in 2004, from a beach in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, were evaluated with standard microbiological methods and PCR. Five isolates of Salmonella (0.7%), 162 (22.7%) isolates of Campylobacter, 3 isolates of Aeromonas hydrophila group 2 (0.4%), and 28 isolates of Plesiomonas shigelloides (3.9%) were noted from the Racine beach. No occurrences of Salmonella and 3 isolates of Campylobacter (0.4%) were found at the Milwaukee beach. A subset of the 2004 samples was also examined for Giardia and Cryptosporidium and was found to be negative. Information as to the occurrence of human pathogens in beach ecosystems is essential to design further studies assessing human health risk and to determine the parameters influencing the fate and transport of pathogens in the nearshore environment.
Beuchat, Larry R
Outbreaks of human infections associated with consumption of raw fruits and vegetables have occurred with increased frequency during the past decade. Factors contributing to this increase may include changes in agronomic and processing practices, an increase in per capita consumption of raw or minimally processed fruits and vegetables, increased international trade and distribution, and an increase in the number of immuno-compromised consumers. A general lack of efficacy of sanitizers in removing or killing pathogens on raw fruits and vegetables has been attributed, in part, to their inaccessibility to locations within structures and tissues that may harbor pathogens. Understanding the ecology of pathogens and naturally occurring microorganisms is essential before interventions for elimination or control of growth can be devised.
Most of the fungal species that infect humans can grow in more than one morphological form but only a subset of pathogens produce filamentous hyphae during the infection process. This subset is phylogenetically unrelated and includes the commonly carried yeasts, Candida albicans, C. dubliniensis, and Malassezia spp., and the acquired pathogens, Aspergillus fumigatus and dermatophytes such as Trichophyton rubrum and T. mentagrophytes. The primary function of hypha formation in these opportunistic pathogens is to invade the substrate they are adhered to, whether biotic or abiotic, but other functions include the directional translocation between host environments, consolidation of the colony, nutrient acquisition and the formation of 3-dimensional matrices. To support these functions, polarised hyphal growth is co-regulated with other factors that are essential for normal hypha function in vivo. PMID:22121367
Clementi, Nicola; Mancini, Nicasio; Solforosi, Laura; Castelli, Matteo; Clementi, Massimo; Burioni, Roberto
In the last two decades, several phage display-selected monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have been described in the literature and a few of them have managed to reach the clinics. Among these, the anti-respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) Palivizumab, a phage-display optimized mAb, is the only marketed mAb directed against microbial pathogens. Palivizumab is a clear example of the importance of choosing the most appropriate strategy when selecting or optimizing an anti-infectious mAb. From this perspective, the extreme versatility of phage-display technology makes it a useful tool when setting up different strategies for the selection of mAbs directed against human pathogens, especially when their possible clinical use is considered. In this paper, we review the principal phage display strategies used to select anti-infectious mAbs, with particular attention focused on those used against hypervariable pathogens, such as HCV and influenza viruses.
Schikora, Marek; Schikora, Adam
Our growing awareness that contaminated plants, fresh fruits and vegetables are responsible for a significant proportion of food poisoning with pathogenic microorganisms indorses the demand to understand the interactions between plants and human pathogens. Today we understand that those pathogens do not merely survive on or within plants, they actively infect plant organisms by suppressing their immune system. Studies on the infection process and disease development used mainly physiological, genetic, and molecular approaches, and image-based analysis provides yet another method for this toolbox. Employed as an observational tool, it bears the potential for objective and high throughput approaches, and together with other methods it will be very likely a part of data fusion approaches in the near future. PMID:25505501
Choo, Siew Woh; Wee, Wei Yee; Ngeow, Yun Fong; Mitchell, Wayne; Tan, Joon Liang; Wong, Guat Jah; Zhao, Yongbing; Xiao, Jingfa
Mycobacterium abscessus (Ma) is an emerging human pathogen that causes both soft tissue infections and systemic disease. We present the first comparative whole-genome study of Ma strains isolated from patients of wide geographical origin. We found a high proportion of accessory strain-specific genes indicating an open, non-conservative pan-genome structure, and clear evidence of rapid phage-mediated evolution. Although we found fewer virulence factors in Ma compared to M. tuberculosis, our data indicated that Ma evolves rapidly and therefore should be monitored closely for the acquisition of more pathogenic traits. This comparative study provides a better understanding of Ma and forms the basis for future functional work on this important pathogen. PMID:24515248
Transmission of bacterial, fungal, and viral pathogens is of primary importance in public and occupational health and infection control. Although several standardized protocols have been proposed to target microbes on fomites through surface decontamination, use of microbicidal agents, and cleaning processes, only limited guidance is available on microbial decontamination of indoor air to reduce the risk of pathogen transmission between individuals. This article reviews the salient aspects of airborne transmission of infectious agents, exposure assessment, in vitro assessment of microbicidal agents, and processes for air decontamination for infection prevention and control. Laboratory-scale testing (eg, rotating chambers, wind tunnels) and promising field-scale methodologies to decontaminate indoor air are also presented. The potential of bacteriophages as potential surrogates for the study of airborne human pathogenic viruses is also discussed.
Mito, Tsutomu; Hirota, Yusuke; Suzuki, Shingo; Noda, Kazutaka; Uehara, Takanori; Ohira, Yoshiyuki; Ikusaka, Masatomi
A 65-year-old Japanese man was admitted with a 4-month history of fatigue and exertional dyspnea. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed a vegetation on the aortic valve and severe aortic regurgitation. Accordingly, infective endocarditis and heart failure were diagnosed. Although a blood culture was negative on day 7 after admission, a prolonged blood culture with subculture was performed according to the patient's history of contact with cats. Consequently, Bartonella henselae was isolated. Bartonella species are fastidious bacteria that cause blood culture-negative infective endocarditis. This case demonstrates that B. henselae may be detected by prolonged incubation of blood cultures.
McGill, Svena; Hjelm, Eva; Rajs, Jovan; Lindquist, Olle; Friman, Göran
A high frequency of Bartonella elizabethae seropositivity (39%) was recorded among intravenous heroin addicts in Stockholm, Sweden, who died from a lethal injection. Some of the B. elizabethae-seropositive individuals also had antibodies to B. henselae Houston-1, B. grahamii, and B. quintana, but none had antibodies to B. henselae Marseille or B. vinsonii subsp. vinsonii. Hepatitis was a frequent finding but no case had peliosis hepatitis. There was no case of endocarditis, but in three persons active subacute-to-chronic myocarditis was found; two of these cases were Bartonella-positive and HIV-negative.
Mito, Tsutomu; Hirota, Yusuke; Suzuki, Shingo; Noda, Kazutaka; Uehara, Takanori; Ohira, Yoshiyuki; Ikusaka, Masatomi
A 65-year-old Japanese man was admitted with a 4-month history of fatigue and exertional dyspnea. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed a vegetation on the aortic valve and severe aortic regurgitation. Accordingly, infective endocarditis and heart failure were diagnosed. Although a blood culture was negative on day 7 after admission, a prolonged blood culture with subculture was performed according to the patient's history of contact with cats. Consequently, Bartonella henselae was isolated. Bartonella species are fastidious bacteria that cause blood culture-negative infective endocarditis. This case demonstrates that B. henselae may be detected by prolonged incubation of blood cultures. PMID:27746451
Ibekwe, A. Mark; Leddy, Menu; Murinda, Shelton E.
Current microbial source tracking (MST) methods for water depend on testing for fecal indicator bacterial counts or specific marker gene sequences to identify fecal contamination where potential human pathogenic bacteria could be present. In this study, we applied 454 high-throughput pyrosequencing to identify bacterial pathogen DNA sequences, including those not traditionally monitored by MST and correlated their abundances to specific sources of contamination such as urban runoff and agricultural runoff from concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), recreation park area, waste-water treatment plants, and natural sites with little or no human activities. Samples for pyrosequencing were surface water, and sediment collected from 19 sites. A total of 12,959 16S rRNA gene sequences with average length of ≤400 bp were obtained, and were assigned to corresponding taxonomic ranks using ribosomal database project (RDP), Classifier and Greengenes databases. The percent of total potential pathogens were highest in urban runoff water (7.94%), agricultural runoff sediment (6.52%), and Prado Park sediment (6.00%), respectively. Although the numbers of DNA sequence tags from pyrosequencing were very high for the natural site, corresponding percent potential pathogens were very low (3.78–4.08%). Most of the potential pathogenic bacterial sequences identified were from three major phyla, namely, Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Firmicutes. The use of deep sequencing may provide improved and faster methods for the identification of pathogen sources in most watersheds so that better risk assessment methods may be developed to enhance public health. PMID:24278139
Jones, Lisa A; Worobo, Randy W; Smart, Christine D
Fruit and vegetable growers continually battle plant diseases and food safety concerns. Surface water is commonly used in the production of fruits and vegetables and can harbor both human- and plant-pathogenic microorganisms that can contaminate crops when used for irrigation or other agricultural purposes. Treatment methods for surface water are currently limited, and there is a need for suitable treatment options. A liquid-processing unit that uses UV light for the decontamination of turbid juices was analyzed for its efficacy in the treatment of surface waters contaminated with bacterial or oomycete pathogens, i.e., Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica, Listeria monocytogenes, Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis, Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato, and Phytophthora capsici. Five-strain cocktails of each pathogen, containing approximately 10(8) or 10(9) CFU/liter for bacteria or 10(4) or 10(5) zoospores/liter for Ph. capsici, were inoculated into aliquots of two turbid surface water irrigation sources and processed with the UV unit. Pathogens were enumerated before and after treatment. In general, as the turbidity of the water source increased, the effectiveness of the UV treatment decreased, but in all cases, 99.9% or higher inactivation was achieved. Log reductions ranged from 10.0 to 6.1 and from 5.0 to 4.2 for bacterial pathogens and Ph. capsici, respectively.
West, P. A.
Pathogenic Vibrio species are naturally-occurring bacteria in freshwater and saline aquatic environments. Counts of free-living bacteria in water are generally less than required to induce disease. Increases in number of organisms towards an infective dose can occur as water temperatures rise seasonally followed by growth and concentration of bacteria on higher animals, such as chitinous plankton, or accumulation by shellfish and seafood. Pathogenic Vibrio species must elaborate a series of virulence factors to elicit disease in humans. Activities which predispose diarrhoeal and extraintestinal infections include ingestion of seafood and shellfish and occupational or recreational exposure to natural aquatic environments, especially those above 20 degrees C. Travel to areas endemic for diseases due to pathogenic Vibrio species may be associated with infections. Host risk factors strongly associated with infections are lack of gastric acid and liver disorders. Involvement of pathogenic Vibrio species in cases of diarrhoea should be suspected especially if infection is associated with ingestion of seafood or shellfish, raw or undercooked, in the previous 72 h. Vibrio species should be suspected in any acute infection associated with wounds sustained or exposed in the marine or estuarine environment. Laboratories serving coastal areas where infection due to pathogenic Vibrio species are most likely to occur should consider routine use of TCBS agar and other detection regimens for culture of Vibrio species from faeces, blood and samples from wound and ear infections. PMID:2673820
Bergeron, Catherine Racicot; Prussing, Catharine; Boerlin, Patrick; Daignault, Danielle; Dutil, Lucie; Reid-Smith, Richard J.; Zhanel, George G.
We previously described how retail meat, particularly chicken, might be a reservoir for extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC) causing urinary tract infections (UTIs) in humans. To rule out retail beef and pork as potential reservoirs, we tested 320 additional E. coli isolates from these meats. Isolates from beef and pork were significantly less likely than those from chicken to be genetically related to isolates from humans with UTIs. We then tested whether the reservoir for ExPEC in humans could be food animals themselves by comparing geographically and temporally matched E. coli isolates from 475 humans with UTIs and from cecal contents of 349 slaughtered animals. We found genetic similarities between E. coli from animals in abattoirs, principally chickens, and ExPEC causing UTIs in humans. ExPEC transmission from food animals could be responsible for human infections, and chickens are the most probable reservoir. PMID:22377351
Hoppe, T; Kraus, D; Novak, N; Probstmeier, R; Frentzen, M; Wenghoefer, M; Jepsen, S; Winter, J
The impact of oral pathogens onto the generation and variability of oral tumors has only recently been investigated. To get further insights, oral cancer cells were treated with pathogens and additionally, as a result of this bacterial cellular infection, with human defensins, which are as anti-microbial peptide members of the innate immune system. After cell stimulation, proliferation behavior, expression analysis of oncogenic relevant defensin genes, and effects on EGFR signaling were investigated. The expression of oncogenic relevant anti-microbial peptides was analyzed with real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry. Cell culture experiments were performed to examine cellular impacts caused by stimulation, i.e., altered gene expression, proliferation rate, and EGF receptor-dependent signaling. Incubation of oral tumor cells with an oral pathogen (Porphyromonas gingivalis) and human α-defensins led to an increase in cell proliferation. In contrast, another oral bacterium used, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, enhanced cell death. The bacteria and anti-microbial peptides exhibited diverse effects on the transcript levels of oncogenic relevant defensin genes and epidermal growth factor receptor signaling. These two oral pathogens exhibited opposite primary effects on the proliferation behavior of oral tumor cells. Nevertheless, both microbe species led to similar secondary impacts on the proliferation rate by modifying expression levels of oncogenic relevant α-defensin genes. In this respect, oral pathogens exerted multiplying effects on tumor cell proliferation. Additionally, human defensins were shown to differently influence epidermal growth factor receptor signaling, supporting the hypothesis that these anti-microbial peptides serve as ligands of EGFR, thus modifying the proliferation behavior of oral tumor cells.
Fumagalli, Matteo; Sironi, Manuela; Pozzoli, Uberto; Ferrer-Admetlla, Anna; Ferrer-Admettla, Anna; Pattini, Linda; Nielsen, Rasmus
Previous genome-wide scans of positive natural selection in humans have identified a number of non-neutrally evolving genes that play important roles in skin pigmentation, metabolism, or immune function. Recent studies have also shown that a genome-wide pattern of local adaptation can be detected by identifying correlations between patterns of allele frequencies and environmental variables. Despite these observations, the degree to which natural selection is primarily driven by adaptation to local environments, and the role of pathogens or other ecological factors as selective agents, is still under debate. To address this issue, we correlated the spatial allele frequency distribution of a large sample of SNPs from 55 distinct human populations to a set of environmental factors that describe local geographical features such as climate, diet regimes, and pathogen loads. In concordance with previous studies, we detected a significant enrichment of genic SNPs, and particularly non-synonymous SNPs associated with local adaptation. Furthermore, we show that the diversity of the local pathogenic environment is the predominant driver of local adaptation, and that climate, at least as measured here, only plays a relatively minor role. While background demography by far makes the strongest contribution in explaining the genetic variance among populations, we detected about 100 genes which show an unexpectedly strong correlation between allele frequencies and pathogenic environment, after correcting for demography. Conversely, for diet regimes and climatic conditions, no genes show a similar correlation between the environmental factor and allele frequencies. This result is validated using low-coverage sequencing data for multiple populations. Among the loci targeted by pathogen-driven selection, we found an enrichment of genes associated to autoimmune diseases, such as celiac disease, type 1 diabetes, and multiples sclerosis, which lends credence to the hypothesis that some
Chomel, Bruno B; Kikuchi, Yoko; Martenson, Janice S; Roelke-Parker, Melodie E; Chang, Chao-Chin; Kasten, Rickie W; Foley, Janet E; Laudre, John; Murphy, Kerry; Swift, Pamela K; Kramer, Vicki L; O'brien, Stephen J
Bartonella henselae is the main agent of cat scratch disease in humans and domestic cats are the main reservoir of this bacterium. We conducted a serosurvey to investigate the role of American wild felids as a potential reservoir of Bartonella species. A total of 479 samples (439 serum samples and 40 Nobuto strips) collected between 1984 and 1999 from pumas (Felis concolor) and 91 samples (58 serum samples and 33 Nobuto strips) collected from bobcats (Lynx rufus) in North America, Central America and South America were screened for B. henselae antibodies. The overall prevalence of B. henselae antibodies was respectively 19.4% in pumas and 23.1% in bobcats, with regional variations. In the USA, pumas from the southwestern states were more likely to be seropositive for B. henselae (prevalence ratio (PR) = 2.82, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.55, 5.11) than pumas from the Northwest and Mountain states. Similarly, adults were more likely to be B. henselae seropositive than juveniles and kittens (PR = 1.77, 95% CI = 1.07, 2.93). Adult pumas were more likely to have higher B. henselae antibody titers than juveniles and kittens (p = 0.026). B. henselae antibody prevalence was 22.4% (19/85) in bobcats from the USA and 33.3% (2/6) in the Mexican bobcats. In the USA, antibody prevalence varied depending on the geographical origin of the bobcats. In California, the highest prevalence was in bobcats from the coastal range (37.5%). These results suggest a potential role of wild felids in the epidemiological cycle of Bartonella henselae or closely related Bartonella species.
Menon, S; Timms, P; Allan, J A; Alexander, K; Rombauts, L; Horner, P; Keltz, M; Hocking, J; Huston, W M
Chlamydia trachomatis is the most common bacterial sexually transmitted pathogen worldwide. Infection can result in serious reproductive pathologies, including pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy, and infertility, in women. However, the processes that result in these reproductive pathologies have not been well defined. Here we review the evidence for the human disease burden of these chlamydial reproductive pathologies. We then review human-based evidence that links Chlamydia with reproductive pathologies in women. We present data supporting the idea that host, immunological, epidemiological, and pathogen factors may all contribute to the development of infertility. Specifically, we review the existing evidence that host and pathogen genotypes, host hormone status, age of sexual debut, sexual behavior, coinfections, and repeat infections are all likely to be contributory factors in development of infertility. Pathogen factors such as infectious burden, treatment failure, and tissue tropisms or ascension capacity are also potential contributory factors. We present four possible processes of pathology development and how these processes are supported by the published data. We highlight the limitations of the evidence and propose future studies that could improve our understanding of how chlamydial infertility in women occurs and possible future interventions to reduce this disease burden.
Sato, Tomotaka; Takayanagi, Atsushi; Nagao, Keisuke; Tomatsu, Nobuhiro; Fukui, Toshifumi; Kawaguchi, Masahiro; Kudoh, Jun; Amagai, Masayuki; Yamamoto, Nobuko; Shimizu, Nobuyoshi
Fungal diseases in immunocompromised hosts pose significant threats to their prognoses. An accurate diagnosis and identification of the fungal pathogens causing the infection are critical to determine the proper therapeutic interventions, but these are often not achieved, due to difficulties with isolation and morphological identification. In an effort to ultimately carry out the simultaneous detection of all human pathogenic microbes, we developed a simple system to identify 26 clinically important fungi by using a combination of PCR amplification and DNA microarray assay (designated PCR-DM), in which PCR-amplified DNA from the internal transcribed spacer region of the rRNA gene was hybridized to a DNA microarray fabricated with species-specific probes sets using the Bubble Jet technology. PCR-DM reliably identified all 26 reference strains; hence, we applied it to cases of onychomycosis, taking advantage of the accessibility of tissue from skin. PCR-DM detected fungal DNA and identified pathogens in 92% of 106 microscopy-confirmed onychomycosis specimens. In contrast, culture was successful for only 36 specimens (34%), 3 of which had results inconsistent with the results of PCR-DM, but sequence analysis of the isolates proved that the PCR-DM result was correct. Thus, PCR-DM provides a powerful method to identify pathogenic fungi with high sensitivity and speed directly from tissue specimens, and this concept could be applied to other fungal or nonfungal infectious human diseases in less accessible anatomical sites.
Riehm, Julia M; Löscher, Thomas
Yersinia pestis is a highly pathogenic gram-negative bacterium and the causative agent of human plague. In the last 1500 years and during three dreaded pandemics, millions of people became victims of Justinian's plague, the Black Death, or modern plague. Today, Y. pestis is endemic in natural foci of Asian, African and American countries. Due to its broad dissemination in mammal species and fleas, eradication of the pathogen will not be possible in the near future. In fact, plague is currently classified as a "re-emerging disease". Infection may occur after the bite of an infected flea, but also after oral ingestion or inhalation of the pathogen. The clinical presentations comprise the bubonic and pneumonic form, septicemia, rarely pharyngitis, and meningitis. Most human cases can successfully be treated with antibiotics. However, the high transmission rate and lethality of pneumonic plague require international and mandatory case notification and quarantine of patients. Rapid diagnosis, therapy and barrier nursing are not only crucial for the individual patient but also for the prevention of further spread of the pathogen or of epidemics. Therefore, WHO emergency schedules demand the isolation of cases, identification and surveillance of contacts as well as control of zoonotic reservoir animals and vectors. These sanctions and effective antibiotic treatment usually allow a rapid containment of outbreaks. However, multiple antibiotic resistant strains of Y. pestis have been isolated from patients in the past. So far, no outbreaks with such strains have been reported.
Stubben, Chris J; Duffield, Melanie L; Cooper, Ian A; Ford, Donna C; Gans, Jason D; Karlyshev, Andrey V; Lingard, Bryan; Oyston, Petra CF; de Rochefort, Anna; Song, Jian; Wren, Brendan W; Titball, Rick W; Wolinsky, Murray
Background New and improved antimicrobial countermeasures are urgently needed to counteract increased resistance to existing antimicrobial treatments and to combat currently untreatable or new emerging infectious diseases. We demonstrate that computational comparative genomics, together with experimental screening, can identify potential generic (i.e., conserved across multiple pathogen species) and novel virulence-associated genes that may serve as targets for broad-spectrum countermeasures. Results Using phylogenetic profiles of protein clusters from completed microbial genome sequences, we identified seventeen protein candidates that are common to diverse human pathogens and absent or uncommon in non-pathogens. Mutants of 13 of these candidates were successfully generated in Yersinia pseudotuberculosis and the potential role of the proteins in virulence was assayed in an animal model. Six candidate proteins are suggested to be involved in the virulence of Y. pseudotuberculosis, none of which have previously been implicated in the virulence of Y. pseudotuberculosis and three have no record of involvement in the virulence of any bacteria. Conclusion This work demonstrates a strategy for the identification of potential virulence factors that are conserved across a number of human pathogenic bacterial species, confirming the usefulness of this tool. PMID:19874620
Liu, MaFeng; Ferrandez, Yann; Bouhsira, Emilie; Monteil, Martine; Franc, Michel; Boulouis, Henri-Jean; Biville, Francis
Bartonella are hemotropic bacteria responsible for emerging zoonoses. These heme auxotroph alphaproteobacteria must import heme for their growth, since they cannot synthesize it. To import exogenous heme, Bartonella genomes encode for a complete heme uptake system enabling transportation of this compound into the cytoplasm and degrading it to release iron. In addition, these bacteria encode for four or five outer membrane heme binding proteins (Hbps). The structural genes of these highly homologous proteins are expressed differently depending on oxygen, temperature and heme concentrations. These proteins were hypothesized as being involved in various cellular processes according to their ability to bind heme and their regulation profile. In this report, we investigated the roles of the four Hbps of Bartonella henselae, responsible for cat scratch disease. We show that Hbps can bind heme in vitro. They are able to enhance the efficiency of heme uptake when co-expressed with a heme transporter in Escherichia coli. Using B. henselae Hbp knockdown mutants, we show that these proteins are involved in defense against the oxidative stress, colonization of human endothelial cell and survival in the flea. PMID:23144761
Liu, MaFeng; Ferrandez, Yann; Bouhsira, Emilie; Monteil, Martine; Franc, Michel; Boulouis, Henri-Jean; Biville, Francis
Bartonella are hemotropic bacteria responsible for emerging zoonoses. These heme auxotroph alphaproteobacteria must import heme for their growth, since they cannot synthesize it. To import exogenous heme, Bartonella genomes encode for a complete heme uptake system enabling transportation of this compound into the cytoplasm and degrading it to release iron. In addition, these bacteria encode for four or five outer membrane heme binding proteins (Hbps). The structural genes of these highly homologous proteins are expressed differently depending on oxygen, temperature and heme concentrations. These proteins were hypothesized as being involved in various cellular processes according to their ability to bind heme and their regulation profile. In this report, we investigated the roles of the four Hbps of Bartonella henselae, responsible for cat scratch disease. We show that Hbps can bind heme in vitro. They are able to enhance the efficiency of heme uptake when co-expressed with a heme transporter in Escherichia coli. Using B. henselae Hbp knockdown mutants, we show that these proteins are involved in defense against the oxidative stress, colonization of human endothelial cell and survival in the flea.
Paillot, Romain; Steward, Karen F.; Webb, Katy; Ainslie, Fern; Jourdan, Thibaud; Bason, Nathalie C.; Holroyd, Nancy E.; Mungall, Karen; Quail, Michael A.; Sanders, Mandy; Simmonds, Mark; Willey, David; Brooks, Karen; Aanensen, David M.; Spratt, Brian G.; Jolley, Keith A.; Maiden, Martin C. J.; Kehoe, Michael; Chanter, Neil; Bentley, Stephen D.; Robinson, Carl; Maskell, Duncan J.; Parkhill, Julian; Waller, Andrew S.
The continued evolution of bacterial pathogens has major implications for both human and animal disease, but the exchange of genetic material between host-restricted pathogens is rarely considered. Streptococcus equi subspecies equi (S. equi) is a host-restricted pathogen of horses that has evolved from the zoonotic pathogen Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus (S. zooepidemicus). These pathogens share approximately 80% genome sequence identity with the important human pathogen Streptococcus pyogenes. We sequenced and compared the genomes of S. equi 4047 and S. zooepidemicus H70 and screened S. equi and S. zooepidemicus strains from around the world to uncover evidence of the genetic events that have shaped the evolution of the S. equi genome and led to its emergence as a host-restricted pathogen. Our analysis provides evidence of functional loss due to mutation and deletion, coupled with pathogenic specialization through the acquisition of bacteriophage encoding a phospholipase A2 toxin, and four superantigens, and an integrative conjugative element carrying a novel iron acquisition system with similarity to the high pathogenicity island of Yersinia pestis. We also highlight that S. equi, S. zooepidemicus, and S. pyogenes share a common phage pool that enhances cross-species pathogen evolution. We conclude that the complex interplay of functional loss, pathogenic specialization, and genetic exchange between S. equi, S. zooepidemicus, and S. pyogenes continues to influence the evolution of these important streptococci. PMID:19325880
Zakeri, Sedigheh; Khorami, Nargess; Ganji, Zahra F; Sepahian, Neda; Malmasi, Abdol-Ali; Gouya, Mohammad Mehdi; Djadid, Navid D
Leptospirosis is the most common zoonotic disease, which is transmitted to humans through contaminated water or direct exposure to the urine of infected animals. In this study, the presence and prevalence of Leptospira species in the infected samples of human (n=369) and sheep (n=75) sera and also dogs' urine (n=150), collected from four provinces of Iran, were investigated by using nested-PCR/RFLP assay followed by sequencing analysis. Nested-PCR assay detected that 98/369 (26.5%) human, 13/75 (17.33%) of sheep's sera and 33/150 (22%) dogs' urine samples were positive for Leptospira DNA. RFLP assay detected that all positive cases had either pathogenic or intermediate Leptospira species. By sequence analysis, Leptospira interrogans was the most prevalent species among the examined samples of human (53/82, 64.6%) and sheep (11/13, 84.6%). However, in dog samples, Leptospira wolffii (27/29, 93.1%) was detected for the first time and was the dominant species. The presence of L. wolffii with 100% identity in clinical human samples and animals suspected with Leptospira may provide evidence for circulation of L. wolffii and its role in transmission cycle within human and animal hosts. In addition, this species can be potentially pathogenic to human and probably animal hosts. A large epidemiology survey would be needed to define the presence and the prevalence of this species in global endemic regions.
Marciano, Odelya; Gutiérrez, Ricardo; Morick, Danny; King, Roni; Nachum-Biala, Yaarit; Baneth, Gad; Harrus, Shimon
Bartonella infection was explored in wild animals from Israel. Golden jackals (Canis aureus), red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), rock hyraxes (Procavia capensis), southern white-breasted hedgehogs (Erinaceus concolor), social voles (Microtus socialis), Tristram's jirds (Meriones tristrami), Cairo spiny mice (Acomys cahirinus), house mice (Mus musculus) and Indian crested porcupines (Hystrix indica) were sampled and screened by molecular and isolation methods. Bartonella-DNA was detected in 46 animals: 9/70 (13%) golden jackals, 2/11 (18%) red foxes, 3/35 (9%) rock hyraxes, 1/3 (33%) southern white-breasted hedgehogs, 5/57 (9%) Cairo spiny mice, 25/43 (58%) Tristram's jirds and 1/6 (16%) house mice. Bartonella rochalimae and B. rochalimae-like were widespread among jackals, foxes, hyraxes and jirds. This report represents the first detection of this zoonotic Bartonella sp. in rock hyraxes and golden jackals. Moreover, DNA of Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii, Bartonella acomydis, Candidatus Bartonella merieuxii and other uncharacterized genotypes were identified. Three different Bartonella strains were isolated from Tristram's jirds, and several genotypes were molecularly detected from these animals. Furthermore, this study reports the first detection of Bartonella infection in a southern hedgehog. Our study indicates that infection with zoonotic and other Bartonella species is widespread among wild animals and stresses their potential threat to public health.
Truttmann, Matthias C; Guye, Patrick; Dehio, Christoph
The gram-negative, zoonotic pathogen Bartonella henselae (Bhe) translocates seven distinct Bartonella effector proteins (Beps) via the VirB/VirD4 type IV secretion system (T4SS) into human cells, thereby interfering with host cell signaling , . In particular, the effector protein BepG alone or the combination of effector proteins BepC and BepF trigger massive F-actin rearrangements that lead to the establishment of invasome structures eventually resulting in the internalization of entire Bhe aggregates , . In this report, we investigate the molecular function of the effector protein BepF in the eukaryotic host cell. We show that the N-terminal [E/T]PLYAT tyrosine phosphorylation motifs of BepF get phosphorylated upon translocation but do not contribute to invasome-mediated Bhe uptake. In contrast, we found that two of the three BID domains of BepF are capable to trigger invasome formation together with BepC, while a mutation of the WxxxE motif of the BID-F1 domain inhibited its ability to contribute to the formation of invasome structures. Next, we show that BepF function during invasome formation can be replaced by the over-expression of constitutive-active Rho GTPases Rac1 or Cdc42. Finally we demonstrate that BID-F1 and BID-F2 domains promote the formation of filopodia-like extensions in NIH 3T3 and HeLa cells as well as membrane protrusions in HeLa cells, suggesting a role for BepF in Rac1 and Cdc42 activation during the process of invasome formation.
Truttmann, Matthias C.; Guye, Patrick; Dehio, Christoph
The gram-negative, zoonotic pathogen Bartonella henselae (Bhe) translocates seven distinct Bartonella effector proteins (Beps) via the VirB/VirD4 type IV secretion system (T4SS) into human cells, thereby interfering with host cell signaling , . In particular, the effector protein BepG alone or the combination of effector proteins BepC and BepF trigger massive F-actin rearrangements that lead to the establishment of invasome structures eventually resulting in the internalization of entire Bhe aggregates , . In this report, we investigate the molecular function of the effector protein BepF in the eukaryotic host cell. We show that the N-terminal [E/T]PLYAT tyrosine phosphorylation motifs of BepF get phosphorylated upon translocation but do not contribute to invasome-mediated Bhe uptake. In contrast, we found that two of the three BID domains of BepF are capable to trigger invasome formation together with BepC, while a mutation of the WxxxE motif of the BID-F1 domain inhibited its ability to contribute to the formation of invasome structures. Next, we show that BepF function during invasome formation can be replaced by the over-expression of constitutive-active Rho GTPases Rac1 or Cdc42. Finally we demonstrate that BID-F1 and BID-F2 domains promote the formation of filopodia-like extensions in NIH 3T3 and HeLa cells as well as membrane protrusions in HeLa cells, suggesting a role for BepF in Rac1 and Cdc42 activation during the process of invasome formation. PMID:22043280
Gomes, Ana C; Miranda, Isabel; Silva, Raquel M; Moura, Gabriela R; Thomas, Benjamin; Akoulitchev, Alexandre; Santos, Manuel AS
Background Genetic code alterations have been reported in mitochondrial, prokaryotic, and eukaryotic cytoplasmic translation systems, but their evolution and how organisms cope and survive such dramatic genetic events are not understood. Results Here we used an unusual decoding of leucine CUG codons as serine in the main human fungal pathogen Candida albicans to elucidate the global impact of genetic code alterations on the proteome. We show that C. albicans decodes CUG codons ambiguously and tolerates partial reversion of their identity from serine back to leucine on a genome-wide scale. Conclusion Such codon ambiguity expands the proteome of this human pathogen exponentially and is used to generate important phenotypic diversity. This study highlights novel features of C. albicans biology and unanticipated roles for codon ambiguity in the evolution of the genetic code. PMID:17916231
Lamb, Joleah B; van de Water, Jeroen A J M; Bourne, David G; Altier, Craig; Hein, Margaux Y; Fiorenza, Evan A; Abu, Nur; Jompa, Jamaluddin; Harvell, C Drew
Plants are important in urban environments for removing pathogens and improving water quality. Seagrass meadows are the most widespread coastal ecosystem on the planet. Although these plants are known to be associated with natural biocide production, they have not been evaluated for their ability to remove microbiological contamination. Using amplicon sequencing of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene, we found that when seagrass meadows are present, there was a 50% reduction in the relative abundance of potential bacterial pathogens capable of causing disease in humans and marine organisms. Moreover, field surveys of more than 8000 reef-building corals located adjacent to seagrass meadows showed twofold reductions in disease levels compared to corals at paired sites without adjacent seagrass meadows. These results highlight the importance of seagrass ecosystems to the health of humans and other organisms.
Hernández-Reyes, Casandra; Schenk, Sebastian T; Neumann, Christina; Kogel, Karl-Heinz; Schikora, Adam
The implementation of beneficial microorganisms for plant protection has a long history. Many rhizobia bacteria are able to influence the immune system of host plants by inducing resistance towards pathogenic microorganisms. In this report, we present a translational approach in which we demonstrate the resistance-inducing effect of Ensifer meliloti (Sinorhizobium meliloti) on crop plants that have a significant impact on the worldwide economy and on human nutrition. Ensifer meliloti is usually associated with root nodulation in legumes and nitrogen fixation. Here, we suggest that the ability of S. meliloti to induce resistance depends on the production of the quorum-sensing molecule, oxo-C14-HSL. The capacity to enhanced resistance provides a possibility to the use these beneficial bacteria in agriculture. Using the Arabidopsis-Salmonella model, we also demonstrate that the application of N-acyl-homoserine lactones-producing bacteria could be a successful strategy to prevent plant-originated infections with human pathogens.
Pérez-Reytor, Diliana; Plaza, Nicolás; Espejo, Romilio T; Navarrete, Paola; Bastías, Roberto; Garcia, Katherine
In recent decades, the identification of small non-coding RNAs in bacteria has revealed an important regulatory mechanism of gene expression involved in the response to environmental signals and to the control of virulence. In the family Vibrionaceae, which includes several human and animal pathogens, small non-coding RNAs (sRNAs) are closely related to important processes including metabolism, quorum sensing, virulence, and fitness. Studies conducted in silico and experiments using microarrays and high-throughput RNA sequencing have led to the discovery of an unexpected number of sRNAs in Vibrios. The present review discusses the most relevant reports regarding the mechanisms of action of sRNAs and their implications in the virulence of the main human pathogens in the family Vibrionaceae: Vibrio parahaemolyticus, V. vulnificus and V. cholerae.
Hernández-Reyes, Casandra; Schenk, Sebastian T; Neumann, Christina; Kogel, Karl-Heinz; Schikora, Adam
The implementation of beneficial microorganisms for plant protection has a long history. Many rhizobia bacteria are able to influence the immune system of host plants by inducing resistance towards pathogenic microorganisms. In this report, we present a translational approach in which we demonstrate the resistance-inducing effect of Ensifer meliloti (Sinorhizobium meliloti) on crop plants that have a significant impact on the worldwide economy and on human nutrition. Ensifer meliloti is usually associated with root nodulation in legumes and nitrogen fixation. Here, we suggest that the ability of S. meliloti to induce resistance depends on the production of the quorum-sensing molecule, oxo-C14-HSL. The capacity to enhanced resistance provides a possibility to the use these beneficial bacteria in agriculture. Using the Arabidopsis-Salmonella model, we also demonstrate that the application of N-acyl-homoserine lactones-producing bacteria could be a successful strategy to prevent plant-originated infections with human pathogens. PMID:25234390
Pérez-Reytor, Diliana; Plaza, Nicolás; Espejo, Romilio T.; Navarrete, Paola; Bastías, Roberto; Garcia, Katherine
In recent decades, the identification of small non-coding RNAs in bacteria has revealed an important regulatory mechanism of gene expression involved in the response to environmental signals and to the control of virulence. In the family Vibrionaceae, which includes several human and animal pathogens, small non-coding RNAs (sRNAs) are closely related to important processes including metabolism, quorum sensing, virulence, and fitness. Studies conducted in silico and experiments using microarrays and high-throughput RNA sequencing have led to the discovery of an unexpected number of sRNAs in Vibrios. The present review discusses the most relevant reports regarding the mechanisms of action of sRNAs and their implications in the virulence of the main human pathogens in the family Vibrionaceae: Vibrio parahaemolyticus, V. vulnificus and V. cholerae. PMID:28123382
Carver, Scott; Bevins, Sarah N; Lappin, Michael R; Boydston, Erin E; Lyren, Lisa M; Alldredge, Mathew; Logan, Kenneth A; Sweanor, Linda L; Riley, Seth P D; Serieys, Laurel E K; Fisher, Robert N; Vickers, T Winston; Boyce, Walter; Mcbride, Roy; Cunningham, Mark C; Jennings, Megan; Lewis, Jesse; Lunn, Tamika; Crooks, Kevin R; Vandewoude, Sue
Understanding how landscape, host, and pathogen traits contribute to disease exposure requires systematic evaluations of pathogens within and among host species and geographic regions. The relative importance of these attributes is critical for management of wildlife and mitigating domestic animal and human disease, particularly given rapid ecological changes, such as urbanization. We screened > 1000 samples from sympatric populations of puma (Puma concolor), bobcat (Lynx rufus), and domestic cat (Felis catus) across urban gradients in six sites, representing three regions, in North America for exposure to a representative suite of bacterial, protozoal, and viral pathogens (Bartonella sp., Toxoplasma gondii, feline herpesvirus-1, feline panleukopenea virus, feline calicivirus, and feline immunodeficiency virus). We evaluated prevalence within each species, and examined host trait and land cover determinants of exposure; providing an unprecedented analysis of factors relating to potential for infections in domesticated and wild felids. Prevalence differed among host species (highest for puma and lowest for domestic cat) and was greater for indirectly transmitted pathogens. Sex was inconsistently predictive of exposure to directly transmitted pathogens only, and age infrequently predictive of both direct and indirectly transmitted pathogens. Determinants of pathogen exposure were widely divergent between the wild felid species. For puma, suburban land use predicted increased exposure to Bartonella sp. in southern California, and FHV-1 exposure increased near urban edges in Florida. This may suggest interspecific transmission with domestic cats via flea vectors (California) and direct contact (Florida) around urban boundaries. Bobcats captured near urban areas had increased exposure to T. gondii in Florida, suggesting an urban source of prey Bobcats captured near urban areas in Colorado and Florida had higher FIV exposure, possibly suggesting increased intraspecific
Carver, Scott; Bevins, Sarah N.; Lappin, Michael R.; Boydston, Erin E.; Lyren, Lisa M.; Alldredge, Mathew W.; Logan, Kenneth A.; Sweanor, Linda L.; Riley, Seth P.D.; Serieys, Laurel E.K.; Fisher, Robert N.; Vickers, T. Winston; Boyce, Walter M.; McBride, Roy; Cunnigham, Mark C.; Jennings, Megan; Lewis, Jesse S.; Lunn, Tamika; Crooks, Kevin R.; VandeWoude, Sue
Understanding how landscape, host, and pathogen traits contribute to disease exposure requires systematic evaluations of pathogens within and among host species and geographic regions. The relative importance of these attributes is critical for management of wildlife and mitigating domestic animal and human disease, particularly given rapid ecological changes, such as urbanization. We screened >1,000 samples from sympatric populations of puma (Puma concolor), bobcat (Lynx rufus) and domestic cat (Felis catus) across urban gradients in six sites, representing three regions, in North America for exposure to a representative suite of bacterial, protozoal and viral pathogens (Bartonella sp., Toxoplasma gondii, feline herpesvirus-1, feline panleukopenea virus, feline calicivirus, feline immunodeficiency virus). We evaluated prevalence within each species, and examined host trait and land cover determinants of exposure-providing an unprecedented analysis of factors relating to potential for infections in domesticated and wild felids. Prevalence differed among host species (highest for puma and lowest for domestic cat) and was greater for indirectly transmitted pathogens. Sex was inconsistently predictive of exposure to directly transmitted pathogens only, and age infrequently predictive of both direct and indirectly transmitted pathogens. Determinants of pathogen exposure were widely divergent between the wild felid species. For puma, suburban landuse predicted increased exposure to Bartonella sp. in southern California, and FHV-1 exposure increased near urban edges in Florida. This may suggest inter-specific transmission with domestic cats via flea vectors (California) and direct contact (Florida) around urban boundaries. Bobcats captured near urban areas had increased exposure to T. gondii in Florida, suggesting an urban source of prey. Bobcats captured near urban areas in Colorado and Florida had higher FIV exposure, possibly suggesting increased intra
Żak, Iwona; Tyrak, Jerzy; Bryk, Agata
Truncatella angustata is a coelomycetous fungus, typically associated with vascular plants as either an endophyte or a pathogen. This organism has not previously been implicated in human disease. This report describes a case of T. angustata subcutaneous infection in an immunocompetent patient. A conclusive diagnosis was achieved through partial sequencing of ribosomal DNA (rDNA) cluster. The patient was successfully treated with voriconazole followed by itraconazole. PMID:25809973
Houhamdi, L; Parola, P; Raoult, D
Among the three lice which parasite the human being, the human body louse, Pediculus humanus humanus, is a vector of infectious diseases. It lives and multiplies in clothes and human infestation is associated with cold weather and a lack of hygiene. Three pathogenic bacteria are transmitted by the body louse: 1) Rickettsia prowazekii, the agent of epidemic typhus of which the most recent outbreak (and the largest since World War II) was observed during the civil war in Burundi; 2) Borrelia recurrentis, the agent of relapsing fever, historically responsible of massive outbreaks in Eurasia and Africa, which prevails currently in Ethiopia and neighboring countries; 3) Bartonella quintana, the agent of trench fever, bacillary angiomatosis, chronic bacteremia, endocarditis, and lymphadenopathy. Body louse infestation, associated with a decline in social and hygienic conditions provoked by civil unrest and economic instability, is reemergent worldwide. Recently, a forth human pathogen, Acinetobacter baumannii, has been associated to the body louse.
Weil, Jennifer D; Cutter, Catherine N; Beelman, Robert B; LaBorde, Luke F
Commercial production of white button mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus) requires a specialized growth substrate prepared from composted agricultural by-products. Because horse and poultry manures are widely used in substrate formulations, there is a need to determine the extent to which the composting process is capable of eliminating human pathogens. In this study, partially composted substrate was inoculated with a pathogen cocktail (log 10⁶ to 10⁸ CFU/g) containing Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Salmonella. Pathogen and indicator-organism reductions were followed at temperatures that typically occurred during a standard 6-day phase II pasteurization and conditioning procedure. Controlled-temperature water bath studies at 48.8, 54.4, and 60°C demonstrated complete destruction of the three pathogens after 36.0, 8.0, and 0.5 h, respectively. Destruction of L. monocytogenes and E. coli O157:H7 at 54.4°C occurred more slowly than E. coli, total coliforms, Enterobacteriaceae, and Salmonella. Microbial reductions that occurred during a standard 6-day phase II pasteurization and conditioning treatment were studied in a small-scale mushroom production research facility. After phase II composting, E. coli, coliforms, and Enterobacteriaceae were below detectable levels, and inoculated pathogens were not detected by direct plating or by enrichment. The results of this study show that a phase II composting process can be an effective control measure for eliminating risks associated with the use of composted animal manures during mushroom production. Growers are encouraged to validate and verify their own composting processes through periodic microbial testing for pathogens and to conduct studies to assure uniform distribution of substrate temperatures during phase II.
Kircher, Martin; Witten, Daniela M.; Jain, Preti; O’Roak, Brian J.; Cooper, Gregory M.; Shendure, Jay
Our capacity to sequence human genomes has exceeded our ability to interpret genetic variation. Current genomic annotations tend to exploit a single information type (e.g. conservation) and/or are restricted in scope (e.g. to missense changes). Here, we describe Combined Annotation Dependent Depletion (CADD), a framework that objectively integrates many diverse annotations into a single, quantitative score. We implement CADD as a support vector machine trained to differentiate 14.7 million high-frequency human derived alleles from 14.7 million simulated variants. We pre-compute “C-scores” for all 8.6 billion possible human single nucleotide variants and enable scoring of short insertions/deletions. C-scores correlate with allelic diversity, annotations of functionality, pathogenicity, disease severity, experimentally measured regulatory effects, and complex trait associations, and highly rank known pathogenic variants within individual genomes. The ability of CADD to prioritize functional, deleterious, and pathogenic variants across many functional categories, effect sizes and genetic architectures is unmatched by any current annotation. PMID:24487276
Zeng, Yuan; Hu, Xing Ping
The emergence and dissemination of multidrug resistant bacterial pathogens necessitate research to find new antimicrobials against these organisms. We investigated antimicrobial production by eastern subterranean termites, Reticulitermes flavipes, against a panel of bacteria including three multidrug resistant (MDR) and four non-MDR human pathogens. We determined that the crude extract of naïve termites had a broad-spectrum activity against the non-MDR bacteria but it was ineffective against the three MDR pathogens Pseudomonas aeruginosa, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and Acinetobacter baumannii. Heat or trypsin treatment resulted in a complete loss of activity suggesting that antibacterial activity was proteinaceous in nature. The antimicrobial activity changed dramatically when the termites were fed with either heat-killed P. aeruginosa or MRSA. Heat-killed P. aeruginosa induced activity against P. aeruginosa and MRSA while maintaining or slightly increasing activity against non-MDR bacteria. Heat-killed MRSA induced activity specifically against MRSA, altered the activity against two other Gram-positive bacteria, and inhibited activity against three Gram-negative bacteria. Neither the naïve termites nor the termites challenged with heat-killed pathogens produced antibacterial activity against A. baumannii. Further investigation demonstrated that hemolymph, not the hindgut, was the primary source of antibiotic activity. This suggests that the termite produces these antibacterial activities and not the hindgut microbiota. Two-dimensional gel electrophoretic analyses of 493 hemolymph protein spots indicated that a total of 38 and 65 proteins were differentially expressed at least 2.5-fold upon being fed with P. aeruginosa and MRSA, respectively. Our results provide the first evidence of constitutive and inducible activities produced by R. flavipes against human bacterial pathogens. PMID:27611223
Dieme, Constentin; Parola, Philippe; Guernier, Vanina; Lagadec, Erwan; Le Minter, Gildas; Balleydier, Elsa; Pagès, Frederic; Dellagi, Koussay; Tortosa, Pablo; Raoult, Didier; Socolovschi, Cristina
Rickettsia felis, Rickettsia typhi, and Bartonella DNA was detected by molecular tools in 12% of Rattus rattus fleas (Xenopsylla species) collected from Reunion Island. One-third of the infested commensal rodents captured during 1 year carried at least one infected flea. As clinical signs of these zoonoses are non-specific, they are often misdiagnosed. PMID:25646263
Maggi, Ricardo G; Mascarelli, Patricia E; Balakrishnan, Nandhakumar; Rohde, Cynthia M; Kelly, Catherine M; Ramaiah, Lila; Leach, Michael W; Breitschwerdt, Edward B
Here, we report latent infections with Bartonella quintana and a hemotropic Mycoplasma sp. in a research colony of cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis). Sequence alignments, evolutionary analysis, and signature nucleotide sequence motifs of the hemotropic Mycoplasma 16S rRNA and RNase P genes indicate the presence of a novel organism.
Dieme, Constentin; Parola, Philippe; Guernier, Vanina; Lagadec, Erwan; Le Minter, Gildas; Balleydier, Elsa; Pagès, Frederic; Dellagi, Koussay; Tortosa, Pablo; Raoult, Didier; Socolovschi, Cristina
Rickettsia felis, Rickettsia typhi, and Bartonella DNA was detected by molecular tools in 12% of Rattus rattus fleas (Xenopsylla species) collected from Reunion Island. One-third of the infested commensal rodents captured during 1 year carried at least one infected flea. As clinical signs of these zoonoses are non-specific, they are often misdiagnosed.
Mendoza, L; Kaufman, L; Standard, P
Identification of the newly named pathogenic oomycete Pythium insidiosum and its differentiation from other Pythium species by morphologic criteria alone can be difficult and time-consuming. Antigenic analysis by fluorescent-antibody and immunodiffusion precipitin techniques demonstrated that the P. insidiosum isolates that cause pythiosis in dogs, horses, and humans are identical and that they were distinguishable from other Pythium species by these means. The immunologic data agreed with the morphologic data. This indicated that the animal and human isolates belonged to a single species, P. insidiosum. Fluorescent-antibody and immunodiffusion reagents were developed for the specific identification of P. insidiosum. PMID:3121666
Barnes, T; Holzrichter, J F; Milanovich, F P
, such as their full genomic information, can be very helpful in identifying malevolent users. In addition, it is undoubtedly true that an understanding of replication and human or other sensitivity to pathogens will improve our medical understanding of human health in general.
Mahmoud, D.A.; Hassanein, N.M.; Youssef, K.A.; Abou Zeid, M.A.
This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of aqueous, ethanolic and ethyl acetate extracts from neem leaves on growth of some human pathogens (Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus terreus, Candida albicans and Microsporum gypseum) in vitro. Different concentrations (5, 10, 15 and 20%) prepared from these extracts inhibited the growth of the test pathogens and the effect gradually increased with concentration. The 20% ethyl acetate extract gave the strongest inhibition compared with the activity obtained by the same concentration of the other extracts. High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) analysis of ethyl acetate extract showed the presence of a main component (nimonol) which was purified and chemically confirmed by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopic analysis. The 20% ethyl acetate extract lost a part of its antifungal effect after pooling out the nimonol and this loss in activity was variable on test pathogens. The purified nimonol as a separate compound did not show any antifungal activity when assayed against all the six fungal pathogens. PMID:24031718
Schiller, Birgit; Makrypidi, Georgia; Razzazi-Fazeli, Ebrahim; Paschinger, Katharina; Walochnik, Julia; Wilson, Iain B. H.
Glycans play key roles in host-pathogen interactions; thus, knowing the N-glycomic repertoire of a pathogen can be helpful in deciphering its methods of establishing and sustaining a disease. Therefore, we sought to elucidate the glycomic potential of the facultative amoebal parasite Acanthamoeba. This is the first study of its asparagine-linked glycans, for which we applied biochemical tools and various approaches of mass spectrometry. An initial glycomic screen of eight strains from five genotypes of this human pathogen suggested, in addition to the common eukaryotic oligomannose structures, the presence of pentose and deoxyhexose residues on their N-glycans. A more detailed analysis was performed on the N-glycans of a genotype T11 strain (4RE); fractionation by HPLC and tandem mass spectrometric analyses indicated the presence of a novel mannosylfucosyl modification of the reducing terminal core as well as phosphorylation of mannose residues, methylation of hexose and various forms of pentosylation. The largest N-glycan in the 4RE strain contained two N-acetylhexosamine, thirteen hexose, one fucose, one methyl, and two pentose residues; however, in this and most other strains analyzed, glycans with compositions of Hex8–9HexNAc2Pnt0–1 tended to dominate in terms of abundance. Although no correlation between pathogenicity and N-glycan structure can be proposed, highly unusual structures in this facultative parasite can be found which are potential virulence factors or therapeutic targets. PMID:23139421
Sykes, Jane E; Westropp, Joellen L; Kasten, Rick W; Chomel, Bruno B
This study's objective was to determine whether a relationship exists between infection or seropositivity to Bartonella species and clinical illness in cats. Blood samples were obtained for Bartonella species isolation and immunofluorescent antibody serology from 298 cats presenting to a tertiary referral hospital. Medical records were searched and the history, physical examination findings and the results of diagnostic testing relating to the visit at which Bartonella species testing was performed were recorded. Fifty-two (17%) samples were seropositive for Bartonella henselae, four (1%) for Bartonella clarridgeiae, and 57 (19%) for both organisms. Nineteen (6.4%) samples were culture positive, 17 for B henselae and two for B clarridgeiae. Gingivostomatitis was associated with Bartonella species isolation (P=0.001), but not seropositivity. There was no association with uveitis, neurologic signs, or chronic kidney disease, and a weak association between seropositivity and idiopathic lower urinary tract disease (feline interstitial cystitis) (P=0.05).
Jardine, C; Waldner, C; Wobeser, G; Leighton, F A
The epidemiology of Bartonella infections in Richardson's ground squirrels (Spermophilus richardsonii) was studied at multiple sites in Saskatchewan, Canada, from 2002 to 2004. The overall prevalence of Bartonella infection was 48%. Juvenile squirrels were significantly more likely to be infected with Bartonella than were adults (58% and 37%, respectively), and juvenile animals also were significantly more likely to have high levels of bacteremia compared to adult animals. Prevalence of Bartonella infection appeared to decrease with age; only 24% of animals known to be > or = 2 yr old were infected with Bartonella. Prevalence of infection was lowest in May (27%) and highest in late summer and early autumn (71%). The prevalence of fleas also varied seasonally, and animals were more likely to have fleas in the late summer and early autumn than in early summer. We found no relationship between Bartonella prevalence and host density or flea prevalence.
Background Campylobacter concisus is an emerging enteric pathogen, yet it is commonly isolated from feces and the oral cavities of healthy individuals. This genetically complex species is comprised of several distinct genomospecies which may vary in pathogenic potential. Results We compared pathogenic and genotypic properties of C. concisus fecal isolates from diarrheic and healthy humans residing in the same geographic region. Analysis of amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) profiles delineated two main clusters. Isolates assigned to AFLP cluster 1 belonged to genomospecies A (based on genomospecies-specific differences in the 23S rRNA gene) and were predominantly isolated from healthy individuals. This cluster also contained a reference oral strain. Isolates assigned to this cluster induced greater expression of epithelial IL-8 mRNA and more frequently contained genes coding for the zonnula occludins toxin and the S-layer RTX. Furthermore, isolates from healthy individuals induced greater apoptotic DNA fragmentation and increased metabolic activity than those from diarrheic individuals, and isolates assigned to genomospecies A (of which the majority were from healthy individuals) exhibited higher haemolytic activity compared to genomospecies B isolates. In contrast, AFLP cluster 2 was predominated by isolates belonging to genomospecies B and those from diarrheic individuals. Isolates from this cluster displayed greater mean epithelial invasion and translocation than cluster 1 isolates. Conclusion Two main genetically distinct clusters (i.e., genomospecies) were identified among C. concisus fecal isolates from healthy and diarrheic individuals. Strains within these clusters differed with respect to clinical presentation and pathogenic properties, supporting the hypothesis that pathogenic potential varies between genomospecies. ALFP cluster 2 isolates were predominantly from diarrheic patients, and exhibited higher levels of epithelial invasion and
Koning, Nathalie; Kessen, Sabine F M; Van Der Voorn, J Patrick; Appelmelk, Ben J; Jeurink, Prescilla V; Knippels, Leon M J; Garssen, Johan; Van Kooyk, Yvette
Beneficial effects of breastfeeding are well-recognized and include both immediate neonatal protection against pathogens and long-term protection against allergies and autoimmune diseases. Although several proteins have been identified to have anti-viral or anti-bacterial effects like secretory IgA or lactoferrin, the mechanisms of immune modulation are not fully understood. Recent studies identified important beneficial effects of glycans in human milk, such as those expressed in oligosaccharides or on glycoproteins. Glycans are recognized by the carbohydrate receptors C-type lectins on dendritic cell (DC) and specific tissue macrophages, which exert important functions in immune modulation and immune homeostasis. A well-characterized C-type lectin is dendritic cell-specific intercellular adhesion molecule-3-grabbing non-integrin (DC-SIGN), which binds terminal fucose. The present study shows that in human milk, MUC1 is the major milk glycoprotein that binds to the lectin domain of DC-SIGN and prevents pathogen interaction through the presence of Lewis x-type oligosaccharides. Surprisingly, this was specific for human milk, as formula, bovine or camel milk did not show any presence of proteins that interacted with DC-SIGN. The expression of DC-SIGN is found in young infants along the entire gastrointestinal tract. Our data thus suggest the importance of human milk glycoproteins for blocking pathogen interaction to DC in young children. Moreover, a potential benefit of human milk later in life in shaping the infants immune system through DC-SIGN cannot be ruled out.
Williamson, R. Anthony; Burioni, Roberto; Sanna, Pietro P.; Partridge, Lynda J.; Barbas, Carlos F., III; Burton, Dennis R.
Conventional antibody generation usually requires active immunization with antigen immediately prior to the preparation procedure. Combinatorial antibody library technology offers the possibility of cloning a range of antibody specificities at a single point in time and then accessing these specificities at will. Here we show that human monoclonal antibody Fab fragments against a plethora of infectious agents can be readily derived from a single library. Further examination of a number of libraries shows that whenever antibody against a pathogen can be detected in the serum of the donor, then specific antibodies can be derived from the corresponding library. We describe the generation of human Fab fragments against herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2, human cytomegalovirus, varicella zoster virus, rubella, human immunodeficiency virus type 1, and respiratory syncytial virus. The antibodies are shown to be highly specific and a number are effective in neutralizing virus in vitro.
Breitschwerdt, E. B.; Maggi, R. G.; Nicholson, W. L.; Cherry, N. A.; Woods, C. W.
We detected infection with a Bartonella species (B. henselae or B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii) in blood samples from six immunocompetent patients who presented with a chronic neurological or neurocognitive syndrome including seizures, ataxia, memory loss, and/or tremors. Each of these patients had substantial animal contact or recent arthropod exposure as a potential risk factor for Bartonella infection. Additional studies should be performed to clarify the potential role of Bartonella spp. as a cause of chronic neurological and neurocognitive dysfunction. PMID:18632903
Pérez-Rodríguez, Ileana; Bolognini, Marie; Ricci, Jessica; Bini, Elisabetta; Vetriani, Costantino
Chemosynthetic Epsilonproteobacteria from deep-sea hydrothermal vents colonize substrates exposed to steep thermal and redox gradients. In many bacteria, substrate attachment, biofilm formation, expression of virulence genes and host colonization are partly controlled via a cell density-dependent mechanism involving signal molecules, known as quorum sensing. Within the Epsilonproteobacteria, quorum sensing has been investigated only in human pathogens that use the luxS/autoinducer-2 (AI-2) mechanism to control the expression of some of these functions. In this study we showed that luxS is conserved in Epsilonproteobacteria and that pathogenic and mesophilic members of this class inherited this gene from a thermophilic ancestor. Furthermore, we provide evidence that the luxS gene is expressed—and a quorum-sensing signal is produced—during growth of Sulfurovum lithotrophicum and Caminibacter mediatlanticus, two Epsilonproteobacteria from deep-sea hydrothermal vents. Finally, we detected luxS transcripts in Epsilonproteobacteria-dominated biofilm communities collected from deep-sea hydrothermal vents. Taken together, our findings indicate that the epsiloproteobacterial lineage of the LuxS enzyme originated in high-temperature geothermal environments and that, in vent Epsilonproteobacteria, luxS expression is linked to the production of AI-2 signals, which are likely produced in situ at deep-sea vents. We conclude that the luxS gene is part of the ancestral epsilonproteobacterial genome and represents an evolutionary link that connects thermophiles to human pathogens. PMID:25397946
Wu, Shubiao; Carvalho, Pedro N; Müller, Jochen A; Manoj, Valsa Remony; Dong, Renjie
Removal of human pathogens from wastewater is a critical factor with linkage to human health. Constructed Wetlands (CWs) are environmental friendly ecosystems that are applicable not only for chemical pollution control, but also for the reduction of pathogens from wastewater. Yet the knowledge on the fate and removal of such indicator bacteria in CWs is still not sufficient due to the complexity of removal mechanisms and influencing factors. This review serves to provide a better understanding of this state-of-the-art technology, which is necessary for further investigations and design development. The fecal indicator bacteria in CWs mainly come from three sources, namely, influent wastewaters, regrowth within the CWs, and animal activities. The properties of microbial contamination vary depending on the different sources. The removal of pathogens is a complex process that is influenced by operational parameters such as hydraulic regime and retention time, vegetation, seasonal fluctuation, and water composition. The most frequent and well-validated removal mechanisms include natural die-off due to starvation or predation, sedimentation and filtration, and adsorption. The concentration of the main fecal indicator bacteria in the effluent was found to be exponentially related to the loading rate. Generally, horizontal subsurface flow CWs have better reduction capacity than free water surface flow CWs, and hybrid wetland systems were found to be the most efficient due to a longer retention time. Further improvement of fecal indicator bacteria removal in CWs is needed, however, levels in CW effluents are still higher than most of the regulation standards for reuse.
Secundino, Ismael; Lizcano, Anel; Roupé, K. Markus; Wang, Xiaoxia; Cole, Jason N.; Olson, Joshua; Ali, S. Raza; Dahesh, Samira; Amayreh, Lenah K.; Henningham, Anna; Varki, Ajit; Nizet, Victor
Inhibitory CD33-related Siglec receptors regulate immune cell activation upon engaging ubiquitous sialic acids (Sias) on host cell surface glycans. Through molecular mimicry, Sia-expressing pathogen group B Streptococcus binds inhibitory human Siglec-9 (hSiglec-9) to blunt neutrophil activation and promote bacterial survival. We unexpectedly discovered that hSiglec-9 also specifically binds high molecular weight hyaluronan (HMW-HA), another ubiquitous host glycan, through a region of its terminal Ig-like V-set domain distinct from the Sia-binding site. HMW-HA recognition by hSiglec-9 limited neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) formation, oxidative burst, and apoptosis, defining HMW-HA as a regulator of neutrophil activation. However, the pathogen group A Streptococcus (GAS) expresses a HMW-HA capsule that engages hSiglec-9, blocking NET formation and oxidative burst, thereby promoting bacterial survival. Thus, a single inhibitory lectin receptor detects two distinct glycan “self-associated molecular patterns” to maintain neutrophil homeostasis, and two leading human bacterial pathogens have independently evolved molecular mimicry to exploit this immunoregulatory mechanism. PMID:26411873
Lopes, José Pedro; Stylianou, Marios; Nilsson, Gunnar; Urban, Constantin F
Immunosuppressed patients are frequently afflicted with severe mycoses caused by opportunistic fungal pathogens. Besides being a commensal, colonizing predominantly skin and mucosal surfaces, Candida albicans is the most common human fungal pathogen. Mast cells are present in tissues prone to fungal colonization being expectedly among the first immune cells to get into contact with C. albicans. However, mast cell-fungus interaction remains a neglected area of study. Here we show that human mast cells mounted specific responses towards C. albicans. Collectively, mast cell responses included the launch of initial, intermediate and late phase components determined by the secretion of granular proteins and cytokines. Initially mast cells reduced fungal viability and occasionally internalized yeasts. C. albicans could evade ingestion by intracellular growth leading to cellular death. Furthermore, secreted factors in the supernatants of infected cells recruited neutrophils, but not monocytes. Late stages were marked by the release of cytokines that are known to be anti-inflammatory suggesting a modulation of initial responses. C. albicans-infected mast cells formed extracellular DNA traps, which ensnared but did not kill the fungus. Our results suggest that mast cells serve as tissue sentinels modulating antifungal immune responses during C. albicans infection. Consequently, these findings open new doors for understanding fungal pathogenicity.
Pérez-Rodríguez, Ileana; Bolognini, Marie; Ricci, Jessica; Bini, Elisabetta; Vetriani, Costantino
Chemosynthetic Epsilonproteobacteria from deep-sea hydrothermal vents colonize substrates exposed to steep thermal and redox gradients. In many bacteria, substrate attachment, biofilm formation, expression of virulence genes and host colonization are partly controlled via a cell density-dependent mechanism involving signal molecules, known as quorum sensing. Within the Epsilonproteobacteria, quorum sensing has been investigated only in human pathogens that use the luxS/autoinducer-2 (AI-2) mechanism to control the expression of some of these functions. In this study we showed that luxS is conserved in Epsilonproteobacteria and that pathogenic and mesophilic members of this class inherited this gene from a thermophilic ancestor. Furthermore, we provide evidence that the luxS gene is expressed--and a quorum-sensing signal is produced--during growth of Sulfurovum lithotrophicum and Caminibacter mediatlanticus, two Epsilonproteobacteria from deep-sea hydrothermal vents. Finally, we detected luxS transcripts in Epsilonproteobacteria-dominated biofilm communities collected from deep-sea hydrothermal vents. Taken together, our findings indicate that the epsiloproteobacterial lineage of the LuxS enzyme originated in high-temperature geothermal environments and that, in vent Epsilonproteobacteria, luxS expression is linked to the production of AI-2 signals, which are likely produced in situ at deep-sea vents. We conclude that the luxS gene is part of the ancestral epsilonproteobacterial genome and represents an evolutionary link that connects thermophiles to human pathogens.
Garg, Aprajita; Stein, Anna; Zhao, William; Dwivedi, Ankit; Frutos, Roger; Cornillot, Emmanuel; Ben Mamoun, Choukri
The apicomplexan intraerythrocytic parasite Babesia microti is an emerging human pathogen and the primary cause of human babesiosis, a malaria-like illness endemic in the United States. The pathogen is transmitted to humans by the tick vector, Ixodes scapularis, and by transfusion of blood from asymptomatic B. microti-infected donors. Whereas the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes of this parasite have been sequenced, assembled and annotated, its apicoplast genome remained incomplete, mainly due to its low representation and high A+T content. Here we report the complete sequence and annotation of the apicoplast genome of the B. microti R1 isolate. The genome consists of a 28.7 kb circular molecule encoding primarily functions important for maintenance of the apicoplast DNA, transcription, translation and maturation of organellar proteins. Genome analysis and annotation revealed a unique gene structure and organization of the B. microti apicoplast genome and suggest that all metabolic and non-housekeeping functions in this organelle are nuclear-encoded. B. microti apicoplast functions are significantly different from those of the host, suggesting that they might be useful as targets for development of potent and safe therapies for the treatment of human babesiosis.
Lepczyńska, M; Białkowska, J; Dzika, E; Piskorz-Ogórek, K; Korycińska, J
Blastocystis is an enteric parasite that inhabits the gastrointestinal tract of humans and many animals. This emerging parasite has a worldwide distribution. It is often identified as the most common eukaryotic organism reported in human fecal samples. This parasite is recognized and diagnosed more often than ever before. Furthermore, some strains develop resistance against currently recommended drugs, such as metronidazole; therefore, the use of natural remedies or special diets has many positive aspects that may address this problem. The goal of this review is to compare natural treatments and various diets against the efficacy of drugs, and describe their influence on the composition of the gut microbiota, which affects Blastocystis growth and the occurrence of symptoms. This article reviews important work in the literature, including the classification, life cycle, epidemiology, pathogenesis, pathogenicity, genetics, biology, and treatment of Blastocystis. It also includes a review of the current knowledge about human gut microbiota and various diets proposed for Blastocystis eradication. The literature has revealed that garlic, ginger, some medical plants, and many spices contain the most effective organic compounds for parasite eradication. They work by inhibiting parasitic enzymes and nucleic acids, as well as by inhibiting protein synthesis. The efficacy of any specific organic compound depends on the Blastocystis subtype, and, consequently, on its immunity to treatment. In conclusion, the article discusses the findings that human gut microbiota composition triggers important mechanisms at the molecular level, and, thus, has a crucial influence on the parasitic pathogenicity.
Stewart, Jill R; Gast, Rebecca J; Fujioka, Roger S; Solo-Gabriele, Helena M; Meschke, J Scott; Amaral-Zettler, Linda A; Del Castillo, Erika; Polz, Martin F; Collier, Tracy K; Strom, Mark S; Sinigalliano, Christopher D; Moeller, Peter D R; Holland, A Fredrick
Innovative research relating oceans and human health is advancing our understanding of disease-causing organisms in coastal ecosystems. Novel techniques are elucidating the loading, transport and fate of pathogens in coastal ecosystems, and identifying sources of contamination. This research is facilitating improved risk assessments for seafood consumers and those who use the oceans for recreation. A number of challenges still remain and define future directions of research and public policy. Sample processing and molecular detection techniques need to be advanced to allow rapid and specific identification of microbes of public health concern from complex environmental samples. Water quality standards need to be updated to more accurately reflect health risks and to provide managers with improved tools for decision-making. Greater discrimination of virulent versus harmless microbes is needed to identify environmental reservoirs of pathogens and factors leading to human infections. Investigations must include examination of microbial community dynamics that may be important from a human health perspective. Further research is needed to evaluate the ecology of non-enteric water-transmitted diseases. Sentinels should also be established and monitored, providing early warning of dangers to ecosystem health. Taken together, this effort will provide more reliable information about public health risks associated with beaches and seafood consumption, and how human activities can affect their exposure to disease-causing organisms from the oceans.
Bonnin, Rémy A; Girlich, Delphine; Imanci, Dilek; Dortet, Laurent; Naas, Thierry
We provide here the first genome sequence of a Serratia rubidaea isolate, a human-opportunistic pathogen. This reference sequence will permit a comparison of this species with others of the Serratia genus.
Rojas, Norman; Troyo, Adriana; Castillo, Daniela; Gutierrez, Ricardo; Harrus, Shimon
The bacterial genus Bartonella includes several species with zoonotic potential, some of which are common in domestic dogs and cats, as well as in their fleas. Because there is no previous information about the presence of Bartonella species in fleas from Central America, this study aimed at evaluating the presence of Bartonella spp. in fleas collected from dogs and cats in Costa Rica. A total 72 pools of Ctenocephalides felis and 21 pools of Pulex simulans were screened by conventional PCR to detect Bartonella DNA fragments of the citrate synthase (gltA) and the β subunit RNA polymerase (rpoB) genes. Three (4.2%) pools of C. felis and five pools (22.7%) of P. simulans were found positive for Bartonella DNA. Sequences corresponding to Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii strain Winnie, B. rochalimae, and an undescribed Bartonella sp. (clone BR10) were detected in flea pools from dogs, whereas Bartonella henselae and B. clarridgeiae sequences were identified in flea pools from cats. The detection of zoonotic Bartonella spp. in this study should increase the awareness to these flea-borne diseases among physicians and public health workers and highlight the importance of flea control in the region.
Leydet, Brian F; Liang, Fang-Ting
There are 4 major human-biting tick species in the northeastern United States, which include: Amblyomma americanum, Amblyomma maculatum, Dermacentor variabilis, and Ixodes scapularis. The black bear is a large mammal that has been shown to be parasitized by all the aforementioned ticks. We investigated the bacterial infections in ticks collected from Louisiana black bears (Ursus americanus subspecies luteolus). Eighty-six ticks were collected from 17 black bears in Louisiana from June 2010 to March 2011. All 4 common human-biting tick species were represented. Each tick was subjected to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting select bacterial pathogens and symbionts. Bacterial DNA was detected in 62% of ticks (n=53). Rickettsia parkeri, the causative agent of an emerging spotted fever group rickettsiosis, was identified in 66% of A. maculatum, 28% of D. variabilis, and 11% of I. scapularis. The Lyme disease bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi, was detected in 2 I. scapularis, while one A. americanum was positive for Borrelia bissettii, a putative human pathogen. The rickettsial endosymbionts Candidatus Rickettsia andeanae, rickettsial endosymbiont of I. scapularis, and Rickettsia amblyommii were detected in their common tick hosts at 21%, 39%, and 60%, respectively. All ticks were PCR-negative for Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Ehrlichia spp., and Babesia microti. This is the first reported detection of R. parkeri in vector ticks in Louisiana; we also report the novel association of R. parkeri with I. scapularis. Detection of both R. parkeri and B. burgdorferi in their respective vectors in Louisiana demands further investigation to determine potential for human exposure to these pathogens.
Miles, Brodie; Zakhary, Ibrahim; El-Awady, Ahmed; Scisci, Elizabeth; Carrion, Julio; O'Neill, John C.; Rawlings, Aaron; Stern, J. Kobi; Susin, Cristiano
Several intracellular pathogens, including a key etiological agent of chronic periodontitis, Porphyromonas gingivalis, infect blood myeloid dendritic cells (mDCs). This infection results in pathogen dissemination to distant inflammatory sites (i.e., pathogen trafficking). The alteration in chemokine-chemokine receptor expression that contributes to this pathogen trafficking function, particularly toward sites of neovascularization in humans, is unclear. To investigate this, we utilized human monocyte-derived DCs (MoDCs) and primary endothelial cells in vitro, combined with ex vivo-isolated blood mDCs and serum from chronic periodontitis subjects and healthy controls. Our results, using conditional fimbria mutants of P. gingivalis, show that P. gingivalis infection of MoDCs induces an angiogenic migratory profile. This profile is enhanced by expression of DC-SIGN on MoDCs and minor mfa-1 fimbriae on P. gingivalis and is evidenced by robust upregulation of CXCR4, but not secondary lymphoid organ (SLO)-homing CCR7. This disruption of SLO-homing capacity in response to respective chemokines closely matches surface expression of CXCR4 and CCR7 and is consistent with directed MoDC migration through an endothelial monolayer. Ex vivo-isolated mDCs from the blood of chronic periodontitis subjects, but not healthy controls, expressed a similar migratory profile; moreover, sera from chronic periodontitis subjects expressed elevated levels of CXCL12. Overall, we conclude that P. gingivalis actively “commandeers” DCs by reprogramming the chemokine receptor profile, thus disrupting SLO homing, while driving migration toward inflammatory vascular sites. PMID:24126519
Müller, Gabriela L; Tuttobene, Marisel; Altilio, Matías; Martinez Amezaga, Maitena; Nguyen, Meaghan; Pamela Cribb, P; Cybulski, Larisa E; Ramírez, María Soledad; Altabe, Silvia; Mussi, María Alejandra
Light sensing in chemotrophic bacteria has been relatively recently ascertained. In the human pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii, light modulates motility, biofilm formation and virulence through the BLUF photoreceptor BlsA. In addition, light can induce reduction in susceptibility to certain antibiotics such as minocycline and tigecycline in a photoreceptor-independent manner. In this work we identified new traits whose expression are modulated by light in this pathogen, which comprise not only important determinants related to pathogenicity and antibiotic resistance, but also metabolic pathways, which represents a novel concept for chemotrophic bacteria. Indeed, the phenylacetic acid catabolic pathway as well as trehalose biosynthesis were modulated by light, responses that completely depend on BlsA. We further show that tolerance to some antibiotics as well as modulation of antioxidant enzyme levels are also influenced by light, likely contributing to bacterial persistence in adverse environments. Also, we present evidence indicating that surfactant production is modulated by light. Finally, the expression of whole pathways and gene clusters such as genes involved in lipid metabolism and genes encoding components of the type VI secretion system, as well as efflux pumps related to antibiotic resistance, were differentially induced by light. Overall, our results indicate that light modulates global features of A. baumannii lifestyle.Importance The discovery that non-phototrophic bacteria respond to light constituted a novel concept in microbiology. In this context, we demonstrated that light could modulate aspects related to bacterial virulence, persistence and resistance to antibiotics in the human pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii In this work, we present the novel finding that light directly regulates metabolism in this chemotrophic bacterium. Insights into the mechanism show the involvement of the photoreceptor BlsA. In addition, tolerance to antibiotics and
Bhat, Meera; Firth, Matthew A.; Williams, Simon H.; Frye, Matthew J.; Simmonds, Peter; Conte, Juliette M.; Ng, James; Garcia, Joel; Bhuva, Nishit P.; Lee, Bohyun; Che, Xiaoyu; Quan, Phenix-Lan; Lipkin, W. Ian
ABSTRACT Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) are globally distributed and concentrate in urban environments, where they live and feed in closer proximity to human populations than most other mammals. Despite the potential role of rats as reservoirs of zoonotic diseases, the microbial diversity present in urban rat populations remains unexplored. In this study, we used targeted molecular assays to detect known bacterial, viral, and protozoan human pathogens and unbiased high-throughput sequencing to identify novel viruses related to agents of human disease in commensal Norway rats in New York City. We found that these rats are infected with bacterial pathogens known to cause acute or mild gastroenteritis in people, including atypical enteropathogenic Escherichia coli, Clostridium difficile, and Salmonella enterica, as well as infectious agents that have been associated with undifferentiated febrile illnesses, including Bartonella spp., Streptobacillus moniliformis, Leptospira interrogans, and Seoul hantavirus. We also identified a wide range of known and novel viruses from groups that contain important human pathogens, including sapoviruses, cardioviruses, kobuviruses, parechoviruses, rotaviruses, and hepaciviruses. The two novel hepaciviruses discovered in this study replicate in the liver of Norway rats and may have utility in establishing a small animal model of human hepatitis C virus infection. The results of this study demonstrate the diversity of microbes carried by commensal rodent species and highlight the need for improved pathogen surveillance and disease monitoring in urban environments. PMID:25316698
Lalioui, L; Le Bouguénec, C
We recently described a new afimbrial adhesin, AfaE-VIII, produced by animal strains associated with diarrhea and septicemia and by human isolates associated with extraintestinal infections. Here, we report that the afa-8 operon, encoding AfaE-VIII adhesin, from the human blood isolate Escherichia coli AL862 is carried by a 61-kb genomic region with characteristics typical of a pathogenicity island (PAI), including a size larger than 10 kb, the presence of an integrase-encoding gene, the insertion into a tRNA locus (pheR), and the presence of a small direct repeat at each extremity. Moreover, the G+C content of the afa-8 operon (46.4%) is lower than that of the E. coli K-12/MG1655 chromosome (50.8%). Within this PAI, designated PAI I(AL862), we identified open reading frames able to code for products similar to proteins involved in sugar utilization. Four probes spanning these sequences hybridized with 74.3% of pathogenic afa-8-positive E. coli strains isolated from humans and animals, 25% of human pathogenic afa-8-negative E. coli strains, and only 8% of fecal strains (P = 0.05), indicating that these sequences are strongly associated with the afa-8 operon and that this genetic association may define a PAI widely distributed among human and animal afa-8-positive strains. One of the distinctive features of this study is that E. coli AL862 also carries another afa-8-containing PAI (PAI II(AL862)), which appeared to be similar in size and genetic organization to PAI I(AL862) and was inserted into the pheV gene. We investigated the insertion sites of afa-8-containing PAI in human and bovine pathogenic E. coli strains and found that this PAI preferentially inserted into the pheV gene.
Sun, Mingwei; Zheng, Beiwen; Gao, George F; Zhu, Baoli
Throughout human history, pandemic bacterial diseases such as the plague and tuberculosis have posed an enormous threat to human beings. The discovery of antibiotics has provided us with powerful arsenal for the defense against bacterial infections. However, bacteria are acquiring more and more resistance genes to shield off antibiotics through mutation and horizontal gene transfer. Therefore, novel antibiotics must be produced and the arms race between bacterial pathogens and antibiotics is becoming increasingly intense. Recently, researchers have found that plasmids carrying a new metallo-beta-lactamase gene, blaNDM-1, and many other antibiotics resistance genes can easily spread through bacterial populations and confer recipient stains resistance to nearly all of the current antibiotics. It is a threat to the human health and a great challenge for our medical science, which we are facing. We need to find new ways to fight and win this arms racing.
M.H, Branquinha; F.A, Marinho; L.S, Sangenito; S.S.C, Oliveira; K.C, Gonçalves; V, Ennes-Vidal; C.M, d’Avila-Levy; A.L.S, Santos
The treatment for both leishmaniasis and trypanosomiasis, which are severe human infections caused by trypanosomatids belonging to Leishmania and Trypanosoma genera, respectively, is extremely limited because of concerns of toxicity and efficacy with the available anti-protozoan drugs, as well as the emergence of drug resistance. Consequently, the urgency for the discovery of new trypanosomatid targets and novel bioactive compounds is particularly necessary. In this context, the investigation of changes in parasite gene expression between drug resistant/sensitive strains and in the up-regulation of virulence-related genes in infective forms has brought to the fore the involvement of calpain-like proteins in several crucial pathophysiological processes performed by trypanosomatids. These studies were encouraged by the publication of the complete genome sequences of three human pathogenic trypanosomatids, Trypanosoma brucei, Trypanosoma cruzi and Leishmania major, which allowed in silico analyses that in turn directed the identification of numerous genes with interesting chemotherapeutic characteristics, including a large family of calpain-related proteins, in which to date 23 genes were assigned as calpains in T. brucei, 40 in T. cruzi and 33 in L. braziliensis. In the present review, we intend to add to these biochemical/biological reports the investigations performed upon the inhibitory capability of calpain inhibitors against human pathogenic trypanosomatids. PMID:23899207
Janda, J Michael; Abbott, Sharon L
The genus Shewanella is currently composed of more than 50 species that inhabit a range of marine environs and ecosystems. Several members of this genus, including S. oneidensis, have been identified that could potentially play key roles in environmental processes such as bioremediation of toxic elements and heavy metals and serving as microbial fuel cells. In contrast to this beneficial role, shewanellae are increasingly being implicated as human pathogens in persons exposed through occupational or recreational activities to marine niches containing shewanellae. Documented illnesses linked to Shewanella include skin and soft tissue infections, bacteremia, and otitis media. At present, it is unclear exactly how many Shewanella species are truly bona fide human pathogens. Recent advances in the taxonomy and phylogenetic relatedness of members of this genus, however, support the concept that most human infections are caused by a single species, S. algae. Some phylogenetic data further suggest that some current members of the genus are not true Shewanella species sensu stricto. The current review summarizes our present knowledge of the distribution, epidemiology, disease spectrum, and identification of microbial species focusing on a clinical perspective.
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Walking in to your first music lesson ever can be pretty scary. Especially if you've never done it before — what do you even DO in a music lesson?
Here are a few things you can expect from your first music lesson:
YOU PROBABLY WON'T BE PLAYING FULL SONGS
When you're first starting out, you've got a LOT to learn. So a huge portion of your first lesson will be spent learning new concepts like music reading and rhythm and the proper way to hold your instrument.
Your teacher will probably start you out on short & simple songs like "Mary Had A Little Lamb." But don't worry, once you show you teacher you can tackle the easy stuff, you'll move on to more difficult songs!
In fact, you might not even play your instrument at all.
Some instruments require a LOT of technique work that must be practiced before you even play the instrument. I remember being so disappointed during my first violin lesson when we spent the entire lesson on technique and learning about the instrument. I didn't even get to play the violin!
But my teacher knew what she was doing. It turns out that first week of practicing just holding the violin and the bow was what set me up for success later on — because when I DID start to play songs, I could focus on getting the notes right and didn't have to think about the technique as much.
YOU'LL USE MUSCLES YOU DIDN'T EVEN KNOW YOU HAD
Instruments are tricky. Chances are, you're going to need to develop some muscle coordination in areas that you've never needed to use before — like holding your wrist at a specific angle, or keeping all of the knuckles in your finger slightly curved while you press the piano keys.
Your teacher will do a lot of adjusting to make sure you're using the right muscles as you play. Don't get frustrated when they correct you — remember, they're helping you! Technique issues can cause pain and injury if they're not corrected early enough.
YOU'LL HAVE A LOT OF FUN!
No matter how difficult learning your instrument is, remember this: You're there to have fun!
So don't take yourself too seriously and don't be embarrassed when you mess up. (Trust me, your teacher has seen every mistake in the book — they're not expecting you to be perfect!)
If you're thinking about signing up for lessons but aren't sure if they're right for you, reach out to us and we'll be able to answer any questions you might have!
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https://nolaschoolofmusic.com/blog/what-to-expect-from-your-first-music-lesson
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| 0.968573 | 528 | 2.984375 | 3 |
When I first saw a picture of Poveglia Island, I couldn’t help but notice how pretty it is. But then I read the story behind the place and let me tell you, there’s nothing pretty about it. For centuries, the island has attracted nothing but the worst fate, with hundreds of thousands of people suffering torturous deaths. Today the island may look uninhabited, but legend suggests otherwise…
Poveglia is located in northern Italy, in the Venetian Lagoons. It has no owners and entry to the place is strictly forbidden. The only time any visits are made is to harvest vineyards. Even fisherman won’t venture intot the waters near the island, for fear of catching human bones in their nets. For a time, it was owned by the Italian state but was sold to a private buyer in the 1960s. The poor guy lived there for a short while, but abandoned the place after a short while. More recently, a family was known to have purchased Poveglia in an attempt to convert it into a holiday home, but again, they couldn’t spend more than one night there. Rumors say that their daughter’s face was split open and 14 stitches were needed to fix it.
Photo by Chris 73
So what exactly is it that makes the beautiful island one of the most haunted and evil locations in the world? Well, it all began during the Roman era. Poveglia was used as a dumping ground for plague victims, in order to isolate them from the general population. Centuries later, the island served the same purpose during the period of Black Death, one of the most devastating pandemics in human history. The dead were dumped into large pits on the island and burned. In a state of panic, the people who showed even the slightest signs of illness were dragged away to Poveglia and burned alive. Legend goes that over 160,000 people were burned there during this period. Even today, the soil of the island, along with the charred remains of the bodies, has created a thick layer of sticky ash that covers the entire place.
Photo by tedlum
Several centuries later, in 1922, more terrible things began to happen. A large psychiatric hospital was constructed on the island, complete with a bell tower. While the doctors and nurses noticed nothing unusual, the mentally imbalanced patients reported sightings of ghosts of the plague victims. They said that they could hear the tortured people wail and scream all through the night . But no one took them seriously, considering their mental condition. And now comes the most horrible part of all, although it sounds so much like a movie that I wonder if it has been made up. There was supposedly this evil lunatic doctor at the hospital who would torture patients in the name of finding cures for insanity. He would take them up to the bell tower and perform lobotomies on them using hammers, chisels and hand drills.
Photo by ntenny
Legend has it that after several years of torturing patients, the evil doctor was finally able to see the spirits of Poveglia himself. In a fit of madness, he ran up to the bell tower and jumped, but the fall didn’t kill him. According to witnesses, as he lay writhing in pain on the ground, a mist came up from nowhere and strangled him to death. He was then bricked up in the bell tower, according to the story, and continues to haunt the island today. Seems to me that the part about the doctor sounds totally made up, though.
Photo by ntenny
Nevertheless, the island paints a scary picture to all those who read about it. Psychics who have visited the place in order to investigate have left scared to death and unable to return. Everyone who has been there reports that a heavy, dark and evil atmosphere shrouds the place, and the tortured moans can sometimes be heard. A particularly scary account comes from a daredevil who managed to spend a night on the island. He said that as soon as he entered the abandoned asylum, he heard a strange, booming voice commanding him to, “Leave immediately and do not return.” I don’t know how he even made it out of there, if it were me, I would have died of a heart-attack right there.
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http://www.odditycentral.com/pics/poveglia-the-venetian-island-of-the-dead.html
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| 0.983917 | 899 | 2.75 | 3 |
Creating and managing places that can be used and enjoyed by people who live nearby helps to ensure that places are sustainable.
Involving local people in development decisions helps to ensure that the eventual designs are appropriate, enjoyable, well used, and cared for by the community. It is vital to involve local communities in the earliest planning stage of regenerating, developing or constructing public open space.
Overview of Community Engagement process
The community engagement process breaks down into a number of different activities. The following is a rough guide of the stages of community consultation.
- Find people – actively seek out disengaged people
- Cultivate your connections
- Prepare your activities
- Prepare your venue
- Run your events
- Run supplementary information gathering
- Assess the results and integrate these into your planning
- Distribute the findings and plans to your partners
- Maintain the partnerships
See downloadable brochure for more detail on each stage.
Preparation is key
The whole experience of the engagement process should be as pleasant as possible for everyone involved. If you stress that it’s about ‘engaging’ rather than ‘consulting’, this may help to clarify the nature of the session beforehand.
- Decide how best to arrange the consultation groups: how many days, what activities will you offer, what groups would work well together and so on.
- Make sure everyone has enough information about the project before they come.
- Create information and activities that are accessible and will yield meaningful feedback.
- Arrange catering and additional support such as BSL signers if required.
- Send out schedules for the day in good time; particularly to people with learning disabilities or their representatives so they can prepare for the day and reduces anxieties about what the day will hold for them
How to facilitate a Community Engagement session
- Set out the guidelines at the beginning of the activity session to help steer the group in a positive direction
- Schedules for groups, if required should go out before the session to enable everyone to familiarise themselves.
- Create an atmosphere that allows people to feel able to comment without fear. Be careful not to allow personal or organisational goals to steer the process.
- Tailor your activities and techniques depending on the age and ability of the group.
- Where possible, host the session within the public space itself.
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https://www.sensorytrust.org.uk/resources/guidance/community-engagement-guide
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en
| 0.913998 | 488 | 2.890625 | 3 |
The Global History Lab, a free, online course, allows you to learn word history together with Princeton undergraduates, students at Sciences Po in Paris, Panteion University in Greece, Kepler University in Rwanda, and refugees in settlements in Uganda and Jordan.
The course surveys the major themes of the history of the world since 1300. Taught by Professor Jeremy Adelman, it examines the phases of global integration and disintegration from the Silk Road and the conquests of Genghis Kahn to the end of the Cold War and globalization in our times. In addition to watching the online lectures, all students analyze weekly case studies with primary documents and share their findings in a common course Gallery. By encouraging collaboration across divides, this course is a unique experiment in higher education in the service of humanitarian goals.
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CC-MAIN-2024-10
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https://online.princeton.edu/news/learn-world-history-students-princeton-and-refugees-uganda-and-jordan
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en
| 0.902467 | 160 | 2.671875 | 3 |
You may have heard of Collatz Conjecture, it’s simple enough to explain to a 2nd grader, yet has stumped mathematicians for the last 80 years. Paul Erdos famously referred to it when he said “Mathematics is not yet ready for such problems.” I like exposing students to unsolved problems in mathematics, because it gives them a real sense for what mathematicians do (also their’s no pressure to solve it).
I have explored it with a variety of ages, last year I had a fruitful experience with my 5th-6th grade class and thought others would enjoy the investigation. Below you will find two ways to introduce the conjecture, and a method for reversing the recursive formula to “grow the Collatz tree.” This investigation also hits a few of the Expressions and Equations standards, such as 6.EE.A.1-2, and 6.EE.B.5.
1. Take any natural number n.
2. If its even divide by two, if its odd multiply by three and add one.
Repeat step 2 indefinitely. The conjecture states that you will always reach 1 eventually.
For example, say you start with 5 your sequence would go 5-16-8-4-2-1.
The Game Intro: One way I’ve introduced it in the past is to have the students play a game where they roll a 10 sided die for a starting number. Then the person who gets to one in the most number of steps wins. Students quickly realize they can create a diagram, or tree network, which tells them right away who will win. Sometimes we extend it, by playing the game with 20-sided die and trying to solve that version as well. Here’s what the tree network might look like for the game with a ten sided die.
The Human Tree Intro: Another way to introduce it that is more kinesthetic, is to give each student a number on a sticky note, name tag, or index card. Then say if your number is even, look for the person that is half your number and if your number is odd find the person with one more than triple your number. Once they find their person they can connect with them by holding their hand or putting their hand on their shoulder. I usually make a stack starting with one, going up the “Collatz Tree” until I have enough numbers for the amount of students and teachers in the group. I also try to make it so there are several branchings. When everyone is “connected,” the group should work to untangle themselves so that the overall structure can be seen. I wish I had a picture of the process, and outcome, but alas I couldn’t find one.
Growing the Collatz Tree (doubling)
Once students get familiar with the structure of the Collatz tree we talk a bit about what it would mean for the conjecture to be true. Can we prove that a certain set of numbers will always go to one. Quickly students discover that as soon as you hit a power of 2, you are dividing by two all the way down. I like calling this the “tower of powers.”
We use the powers of 2 as the “trunk” of our Collatz tree, and the first example of a way to grow the Collatz Tree. You can reverse the recursive formula and double any number to “grow a branch” of the tree. For example, 5 could have come from 10, which could have come from 20, which could have come from 40, etc.
Branching Rule (n-1)/3
Then I ask the students to notice when there are “branchings” in the tree, in other words when are there two numbers that will lead to the same number such as 5 and 32, both lead to 16. Here students have to think about when (x-1)/3 will have an integer solution. This happens when a number is one more than a multiple of three. So we reviewed the divisibility rule for 3, and tried it out on a few examples.
Students worked in groups to apply these two methods to grow the Collatz tree. There are lots of opportunities to differentiate the process, as students noticed patterns in branchings and some wrote algebraic expressions to describe the branches. For example, the 3-6-12… branch above can be described as 3*2^n.
Here is an example of what one group made:
Extensions and Connections
1. If you extend the recursive formula into the complex plane you get the fractal below. For a thorough explanation check out the blog post by Nathaniel Johnston.
2. Dan Finkel over at mathforlove.com has a variation called “The Dr Squares Puzzle” where they come up with a similar recursive process, with a few loops.
3. Here’s another recursive process involving numbers and their written form (It also has a tree structure):
Step one: choose a natural number N
Step two: write the number in words, count the number of letters in the word and write that number.
Step 3: Repeat Step two.
For example: One-3-Three-5-Five-4-Four… stays at four indefinitely. You can also try other languages. 🙂
Finally, a post on Collatz Conjecture wouldn’t be complete without this from XKCD:
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CC-MAIN-2018-30
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https://artofmathstudio.wordpress.com/page/2/
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en
| 0.959727 | 1,139 | 3.1875 | 3 |
Spray Drying Specialists Choose Low-Cost Alternative to Rotary Valve
Spray drying is a method used to dry materials from a free-flowing fluid to a powder having specific requirements of shape and size. Heated air is used to vaporize the liquid from a slurry which has been atomized inside a drying chamber. Solids suspended in the slurry are rapidly dried and then drawn out of the drying chamber. The process results in the production of a powder which is collected for use in such industries as food, dairy, chemical, ceramics, and pharmaceutical.
The discharge of these powders from the dryer chamber into the dust collection system is the final step in most spray drying processes. In order for the entire process to move smoothly, a reliable material handling valve is necessary.
Anhydro, Inc., a global manufacturer of spray drying equipment, has long depended on a unique material handling valve for the reliable discharge of powders from the drying chambers and cyclone dust collectors on a number of its spray drying systems. For more than 30 years Anhydro has relied on non-powered automatic valves made by Aerodyne.
Stewart Gibson, process engineer in charge of industrial sales for Anhydro, has been specifying the Abanaki Vacu-Valve on “ceramics” spray drying systems since he joined the company 29 years ago. When asked why he prefers the Vacu-Valve to a more commonly used rotary valve the answer was “simplicity”. “The Vacu-Valve is a simple powder release valve that prevents ingress of air into the system, which is just what we needed.”
Anhydro is known in the spray drying industry for its use of energy-efficient components, plus the ease of operation and process automation that its equipment provides. The Vacu-Valve uses no electricity or controls and is a fraction of the cost of the rotary valve it typically replaces. The valve’s unique duck-bill rubber sleeve utilizes the negative pressure within the dust collection system to maintain a proper airlock seal. As collected material builds up above the valve, the sleeve is forced open to allow product to discharge from the hopper. The valve then re-closes automatically. The Vacu-Valve is available with a variety of sleeve materials to suit various application requirements.
Mr. Gibson specifies the Vacu-Valve on specific spray-drying applications in the ceramics industry. He says there are particular applications the valve is well suited to, namely those with “dense, free-flowing powders”. “The free-flowing nature of materials like ceramics makes this valve suitable for use” says Gibson. Gibson says he continues to choose Aerodyne’s Vacu-Valve for Anhydro, Inc. because of the “reduced maintenance and high reliability” it offers. With no controls or moving parts like the rotary valve, he said, it just works.
Visit our partner site, www.abanaki.com, for information about oil skimmers.
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https://www.dustcollectorhq.com/case-studies/rotary-valve-spray-drying/
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en
| 0.934092 | 646 | 2.734375 | 3 |
Via the Mises Economics blog, Carleen Hawn.
Commenter Francis Wu:
I’d rather be known as an innovator. Anybody can come up with an idea, but an idea is worthless unless it’s acted upon and properly executed (innovation). Sometimes the idea and the innovation can come from the same person. Other times, the idea people get drunk on their own big ideas and fail to execute.
For more on the “-Invention vs. Innovation”- debate, see this April 2007 blog post from Mike Linksvayer, with plenty of good comments.
One way of putting it is that six billion people generate a huge number of ideas, some number of which could be called inventions. Most are hopeless (the inventions- the people at least manage to survive for a time). Most of the rest are not actively pursued. The only way to test whether an invention is hopeless or useful is to attempt to deliver it at scale. So innovators (think of them as idea entrepreneurs, or whatever) both figure out which inventions are not hopeless and deliver the useful ones at scale. Innovators create all of the surplus, inventors do little more than breathe.
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<urn:uuid:d04d68c5-60af-4e9b-98d8-4b54ab4f49dc>
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CC-MAIN-2021-39
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https://www.midasoracle.org/2007/07/23/innovation-happens-when-these-new-things-are-delivered-to-the-marketplace-for-the-benefit-of-consumerssociety/
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en
| 0.940214 | 247 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Opaque glass (milk glass or lattimo), enameled
Overall: 10.2 x 7.4 cm (4 x 2 15/16 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1955.70
By the mid-1400s the word lattimo had come to mean glass made milk-like by the addition of opacifying materials, such as an oxide of tin. It was imitative of Chinese porcelain. Only fourteen surviving pieces of lattimo vessels are recorded. These beakers may have been intended as betrothal or wedding gifts. This one is enameled with idealized portrait heads of a young man and woman. Such portrait heads of young women were also a feature of Italian Maiolica, especially those at Deruta (see "love dishes" in Gallery 219).
The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email [email protected].
To request more information about this object, study images, or bibliography, contact the Ingalls Library Reference Desk.
All images and data available through Open Access can be downloaded for free. For images not available through Open Access, a detail image, or any image with a color bar, request a digital file from Image Services.
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CC-MAIN-2023-06
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https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1955.70
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en
| 0.924454 | 282 | 2.8125 | 3 |
The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) refers to a type of retrovirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). HIV attacks some immune cells and causes weakness of immune system resulting in loss of ability to fight against the organism that causes disease. HIV spreads through fluidic exchange with some infected person such as blood transfer or sharing needles with someone who is HIV infected. In addition, HIV can spread from infected mother to child during pregnancy. Some of the symptoms of HIV infection are slight fever, fatigue, swollen glands, headaches and muscle aches. HIV infection has no cure but there are treatments which help to stabilize or reduce this infection so that it does not lead to AIDS. HIV therapeutics market is growing at a significant rate due to increase in the HIV infected cases and growing awareness about the same. HIV infection can be treated by various therapeutics such as nucleoside/ nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitor, integrase inhibitor, HIV-1 protease inhibitor, non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor, pharmacokinetic enhancer and entry inhibitor.
North America, followed by Europe, has the largest market for HIV therapeutics due to affordability and accessibility of expensive treatment for HIV infection and innovations in drug therapies in this region. Asia is expected to show high growth rate in the HIV therapeutics market in next few years due to increasing number of HIV infected population and increasing research activities for developing HIV drugs and vaccines in the region.
Increasing number of HIV infection cases, technological advancement in HIV diagnosis and therapeutics, rise in research activities for developing HIV vaccines and lack of awareness about the modes of transmission of the virus are driving the global market for HIV therapeutics. In addition, increasing awareness about the availability of HIV therapeutics in the market and cost effective drug therapies for HIV are driving the global HIV therapeutics market. However, various factors such as failure of treatment in some cases, lack of skilled professionals and introduction of generic drugs in the market are restraining the HIV therapeutics market.
Growing demographics and economies in the developing countries such as India and China are expected to offer good opportunities for HIV therapeutics market. In addition, rise in awareness about the availability of treatment of HIV infection are expected to offer new opportunity to global HIV therapeutics market. One of the latest trends that have been observed in the HIV therapeutics market includes companies involved in new product launches. Some of the major companies dealing in HIV therapeutics are GlaxoSmithKline, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Pfizer and Boehringer Ingelheim. Other companies having significant presence in HIV therapeutics market are Merck, Hoffmann-La Roche and Gilead Sciences.
Key points covered in the report
The report covers geographic segmentation
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<urn:uuid:3b5b8b71-508c-43c6-acea-6a5dce2304d1>
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CC-MAIN-2020-10
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https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/hiv-therapeutics-market.asp
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en
| 0.946727 | 559 | 2.625 | 3 |
Peridot is a fine gemstone variant of the olivine mineral. It’s the birthstone for August. Peridot is treasured in Hawaii as the goddess Pele's tears. The island of Oahu even has beaches made out of tiny grains of peridot. Although Hawaii’s volcanoes have produced some peridot large enough to be cut into gemstones, virtually all peridot sold in Hawaii today is from Arizona, another state with extreme geology.
The fresh lime green of peridot is its distinctive signature. Its spring green color also is ideal with sky blue.
Today most peridot is mined, often by hand, by Native Americans on the San Carlos Reservation in Arizona. Peridot found here is beautiful in color but relatively small in size. Faceted peridot from Arizona is rare in sizes above five carats. Fine large peridot are found in Myanmar and large quantities of peridot are also mined in China.
Here is a photo of a gold ring with peridot and white sapphire:
Check out more jewelry with peridot.
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CC-MAIN-2018-51
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https://www.drukker.com/pages/peridot
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en
| 0.954524 | 235 | 2.59375 | 3 |
The dangers of smoking have long been documented, but kids tobacco prevention is still, sadly, a huge need. Two or three generations ago, there was a level of excuse: people didn’t know cigarettes were harmful. But now, we do, and the kids and teenagers who are smoking today are starting in an environment that’s well aware of the health risks. However, peer pressure, parental example, indirect marketing tactics, and a culture ultra-focused on image work together to create an environment in which too many young people are choosing to start smoking anyway.
Tobacco awareness campaigns can help reinforce smoke-free habits and convictions at a younger age. As kids get older each year, they’re more and more exposed to mass media and marketing. At the same time, adolescents are notoriously sensitive to the opinions of their peers, even when those peers are not their friends.
Helping bring a no-smoking message into schools when students are young can help reinforce in kids tobacco prevention messages that they hear elsewhere. Anti-smoking campaigns are one of our top priorities, and we can help deliver thousands of school folders with tobacco prevention and other health-oriented messages into the hands of students nationwide.
We find this to be an effective strategy for a number of reasons.
School folders are an ever-present school supply, and one that students see repeatedly throughout the school day.
Repeated exposure to a positive message through both words and images can help students become familiar with, and then internalize those messages.
When awareness programs deliver school folders into the hands of students, they serve as conversation starters within the classroom and hallways of schools.
Discussing non-smoking initiatives in the classroom can help reverse the peer-pressure stigma, as students are engaged in active group discussions and activities incorporating the folder’s messages.
When it comes to teaching healthy habits to kids, tobacco prevention is very often just one element of a larger community initiative. The most pressing threats to the physical and mental well-being of students are tobacco, obesity, and bullying. Our folders can isolate one issue to bring attention to a very specific need, or can work to paint a larger picture of overall health. By explaining the basic components of a healthy lifestyle, a folder can help kids learn, even from the earliest grades, about the elements needed to live a balanced, healthy lifestyle.
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<urn:uuid:33530f4a-4de3-41ce-a07b-b4f64c89a034>
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CC-MAIN-2018-13
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https://www.myschoolfolders.com/kids-tobacco-prevention-a-pressing-issue/
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en
| 0.951559 | 482 | 3.546875 | 4 |
The WASP lost this right in 2015 when the Army reinterpreted existing law to exclude them. WASP Elaine Harmon’s family took up the fight to restore these rights for the WASP after Elaine died in 2015. Elaine had left behind a letter stating that it was her final wish to have her ashes placed in Arlington National Cemetery. Her family set up a Change.org petition that received more than 178,000 signatures. In January 2015, Rep. Martha McSally, the Air Force’s first female pilot to fly in combat and the first woman to command a fighter squadron, announced she would introduce legislation to allow the WASP to be buried at Arlington.
In March, the House voted 385-0 in favor of the bill sponsored by Rep. McSally. The Senate unanimously passed the bill in early May.
“Today is a victorious occasion for a revolutionary group of women who deserve to be celebrated and remembered by all,” said Sen. Joni Ernst in a released statement.
The 1,074 WASP ferried combat aircraft throughout the United States from 1942 to 1944. They were not considered active-duty military at the time of their service but have received the Congressional Gold Medal and veteran benefits since the 1970s. The Army began allowing their inurnment at Arlington in 2002, but former Army Secretary John McHugh overruled the policy, saying the law does not allow it.
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<urn:uuid:c34b1568-401f-4dd7-96d2-c7e4423b756e>
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CC-MAIN-2016-22
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http://waishowdaily.blogspot.com/
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en
| 0.978097 | 290 | 2.90625 | 3 |
Since 2009, Portugal has been suffering from the worst economic crisis since the fall of the dictatorship in 1974. This deep recession was caused by the collapse of foreign demand and the restrictive financial conditions that have affected all the sectors of the economy, such as exports and investments in particular. After three years of recession, which was further worsened by the government's austerity measures (-1.8% in 2013), by late 2013 the Portuguese economy has been showing signs of recovery and a return to positive growth is expected in 2014 (0.8%).
In May 2011, Portugal signed a 78 billion EUR bailout agreement with the Troika (EU-ECB-IMF), in order to reduce its budget deficit. Under this agreement, the government launched a plan of reforms and structural adjustments, including budget cuts, tax increases, a large privatization program expected to earn the country 7 billion EUR, a bank recapitalization plan, and a reform of the labor market. In 2013, after three years of unprecedented austerity measures, the country's stability was shaken. The Minister of European Affairs resigned and the President of the Republic Anibal Cavaco Silva put the policy of austerity publicly in questions and was supported by the Constitutional Court. Debt continued to deepen, reaching more than 125% of the GDP. The 2014 budget, which was amended at the beginning of the year, includes new budget cuts, with the aim of saving 3.9 billion euro. Portugal has made a pledge to its creditors to reduce its public deficit to 4% in 2014. The country has been trying to regain investors' trust in order to fund its heavy debt burden on the financial markets and avoid the need for a second bailout plan.
With an unemployment rate rising to over 16%, which affects 36% of people under 25 years of age, an increase in social inequality between the north and the south, and the weakening of purchasing power, social tensions have been more keenly felt.
|Main Indicators||2011||2012||2013||2014||2015 (e)|
|GDP (billions USD)||238.11||212.26||220.06||228.17||231.97|
|GDP (Constant Prices, Annual % Change)||-1.3||-3.2||-1.4e||1.0||1.5|
|GDP per Capita (USD)||22,417||20,065||20||21,748e||22,089|
|General Government Balance (in % of GDP)||-6.5||-3.9||-2.9||-2.3||-1.5|
|General Government Gross Debt (in % of GDP)||108.2||124.1||128.9||131.3e||128.7|
|Inflation Rate (%)||3.6||2.8||0.4||0.0||1.1|
|Unemployment Rate (% of the Labor Force)||12.7||15.5||16.2||14.2||13.5|
|Current Account (billions USD)||-16.71||-4.28||1.17e||1.45e||1.93|
|Current Account (in % of GDP)||-7.0||-2.0||0.5||0.6||0.8|
Source: IMF - World Economic Outlook Database , Last Available Data
Note: (e) Estimated Data
The agricultural sector, with low productivity due to low level of mechanization, represents a little over 2% of Portugal's GDP and employs 11% of the population. The main crops are cereals, fruits, vegetables and wine. The exports of Port wine represent 1.4% of total exports and the country is one of the world's 10 largest wine exporters. Portugal has many natural resources. The mining sector (copper, tin) represents 6% of the GDP and Portugal is one of the main exporters of marble. The forests provide a large portion of the world's cork supply.
The manufacturing industry is modern and it is made up of small and medium-sized companies. Its main sectors of activity are metallurgy, mechanical engineering, textiles and construction. Moreover, the country has increased its role in the European automobile sector and has a world class mold manufacturing industry.
Services, particularly tourism, play an important role which is increasing rapidly. The tertiary sector contributes to almost 75% of the GDP and employs 60% of the active population.
|Breakdown of Economic Activity By Sector||Agriculture||Industry||Services|
|Employment By Sector (in % of Total Employment)||10.5||25.6||63.8|
|Value Added (in % of GDP)||2.3||21.1||76.7|
|Value Added (Annual % Change)||2.7||-1.9||-0.9|
Source: World Bank - Last Available Data.
|Euro (EUR) - Average Annual Exchange Rate For 1 USD||0.72||0.76||0.72||0.78||0.76|
Source: CIA - The world factbook - Last Available Data.
The Economic freedom index measure ten components of economic freedom, grouped into four broad categories or pillars of economic freedom: Rule of Law (property rights, freedom from corruption); Limited Government (fiscal freedom, government spending); Regulatory Efficiency (business freedom, labor freedom, monetary freedom); and Open Markets (trade freedom, investment freedom, financial freedom). Each of the freedoms within these four broad categories is individually scored on a scale of 0 to 100. A country’s overall economic freedom score is a simple average of its scores on the 10 individual freedoms.
The business rankings model measures the quality or attractiveness of the business environment in the 82 countries covered by The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Country Forecast reports. It examines ten separate criteria or categories, covering the political environment, the macroeconomic environment, market opportunities, policy towards free enterprise and competition, policy towards foreign investment, foreign trade and exchange controls, taxes, financing, the labour market and infrastructure.
Portugal's economy is open to foreign investment, trade represents more than 75% of the GDP (during the period 2010-2012). Becoming a member of the European Union changed the structure of the Portuguese imports and exports. The country exports more and more technological equipment instead of the traditional agricultural products or products from the textile and clothing industry. The European Union is Portugal's main client, followed by the United States. Other commercial partners of Portugal are China, Nigeria and Brazil.
The trade balance of Portugal is structurally in deficit, however it saw an improvement during the crisis of 2009, imports falling more quickly than exports. In 2013, the country's trade surplus reached historical levels, with exports growing more quickly than imports.
|Foreign Trade Indicators||2009||2010||2011||2012||2013|
|Imports of Goods (million USD)||71,648||75,635||82,466||72,162||75,194|
|Exports of Goods (million USD)||44,310||48,736||59,675||58,328||62,872|
|Imports of Services (million USD)||14,154||14,303||15,808||13,252||14,015|
|Exports of Services (million USD)||22,401||23,030||26,349||24,216||27,019|
|Imports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change)||-9.9||7.8||-5.8||-6.6||3.6|
|Exports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change)||-10.2||9.5||7.0||3.1||6.4|
|Imports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP)||34.0||37.4||38.6||38.0||38.3|
|Exports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP)||27.1||29.9||34.3||37.3||39.3|
|Trade Balance (million USD)||-24,981||-25,266||-19,667||-11,570||-9,646|
|Trade Balance (Including Service) (million USD)||-16,408||-16,636||-9,067||-256||3,767|
|Foreign Trade (in % of GDP)||61.1||67.3||72.9||75.4||77.5|
Source: WTO - World Trade Organization ; World Bank , Last Available Data
(% of Exports)
|See More Countries||41.0%|
(% of Imports)
|See More Countries||46.8%|
Source: Comtrade, Last Available Data
|- bn USD of products exported in 2013|
|Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous...Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals (excl. crude); preparations containing >= 70% by weight of petroleum oils or of oils obtained from bituminous minerals, these oils being the basic constituents of the preparations, n.e.s.; waste oils containing mainly petroleum or bituminous minerals||9.3%|
|Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally...Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons, incl. station wagons and racing cars (excl. motor vehicles of heading 8702)||3.9%|
|Parts and accessories for tractors, motor vehicles...Parts and accessories for tractors, motor vehicles for the transport of ten or more persons, motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons, motor vehicles for the transport of goods and special purpose motor vehicles of heading 8701 to 8705, n.e.s.||3.8%|
|Footwear with outer soles of rubber, plastics,...Footwear with outer soles of rubber, plastics, leather or composition leather and uppers of leather (excl. orthopaedic footwear, skating boots with ice or roller skates attached, and toy footwear)||3.2%|
|Uncoated paper and paperboard, of a kind used for...Uncoated paper and paperboard, of a kind used for writing, printing or other graphic purposes, and non-perforated punch-cards and punch tape paper, in rolls or in square or rectangular sheets, of any size, and hand-made paper and paperboard (excl. newsprint of heading 4801 and paper and paperboard of heading 4803)||2.4%|
|See More Products||77.3%|
|- bn USD of products imported in 2013|
|Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous...Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude||12.4%|
|Parts and accessories for tractors, motor vehicles...Parts and accessories for tractors, motor vehicles for the transport of ten or more persons, motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons, motor vehicles for the transport of goods and special purpose motor vehicles of heading 8701 to 8705, n.e.s.||3.5%|
|Petroleum gas and other gaseous hydrocarbonsPetroleum gas and other gaseous hydrocarbons||3.3%|
|Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally...Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons, incl. station wagons and racing cars (excl. motor vehicles of heading 8702)||3.2%|
|Medicaments consisting of mixed or unmixed...Medicaments consisting of mixed or unmixed products for therapeutic or prophylactic uses, put up in measured doses incl. those in the form of transdermal administration or in forms or packings for retail sale (excl. goods of heading 3002, 3005 or 3006)||2.9%|
|See More Products||74.7%|
Source: Comtrade, Last Available Data
|- bn USD of services exported in 2011|
|Personal travelPersonal travel||38.26%|
|Business travelBusiness travel||4.25%|
|Air transportAir transport||17.33%|
|Road transportRoad transport||6.20%|
|Sea transportSea transport||3.44%|
|Miscellaneous business,...Miscellaneous business, professional, and technical services||11.79%|
|Architectural, engineering,...Architectural, engineering, and other technical services||3.20%|
|Legal, accounting, management...Legal, accounting, management consulting, and public relations||2.65%|
|Services between related...Services between related enterprises, n.i.e.||1.84%|
|Advertising, market research,...Advertising, market research, and public opinion polling||1.52%|
|Agricultural, mining, and...Agricultural, mining, and on-site processing services||1.24%|
|Other business servicesOther business services||1.10%|
|Research and developmentResearch and development||0.25%|
|Merchanting and other trade-related...Merchanting and other trade-related services||6.46%|
|Operational leasing servicesOperational leasing services||0.47%|
|Construction abroadConstruction abroad||2.56%|
|Construction in the compiling...Construction in the compiling economy||0.42%|
|Telecommunications servicesTelecommunications services||2.37%|
|Postal and courier servicesPostal and courier services||0.10%|
|Computer servicesComputer services||1.90%|
|Information servicesInformation services||0.07%|
|Other personal, cultural, and...Other personal, cultural, and recreational services||0.82%|
|Audiovisual and related servicesAudiovisual and related services||0.43%|
|Embassies and consulatesEmbassies and consulates||0.68%|
|Freight insuranceFreight insurance||0.01%|
|- bn USD of services imported in 2011|
|Air transportAir transport||13.67%|
|Sea transportSea transport||9.49%|
|Road transportRoad transport||5.46%|
|Personal travelPersonal travel||19.80%|
|Business travelBusiness travel||6.25%|
|Miscellaneous business,...Miscellaneous business, professional, and technical services||11.88%|
|Architectural, engineering,...Architectural, engineering, and other technical services||2.87%|
|Legal, accounting, management...Legal, accounting, management consulting, and public relations||2.15%|
|Advertising, market research,...Advertising, market research, and public opinion polling||1.90%|
|Services between related...Services between related enterprises, n.i.e.||1.90%|
|Other business servicesOther business services||1.45%|
|Agricultural, mining, and...Agricultural, mining, and on-site processing services||1.39%|
|Research and developmentResearch and development||0.22%|
|Merchanting and other trade-related...Merchanting and other trade-related services||7.80%|
|Operational leasing servicesOperational leasing services||1.40%|
|Other personal, cultural, and...Other personal, cultural, and recreational services||2.29%|
|Audiovisual and related servicesAudiovisual and related services||1.90%|
|Embassies and consulatesEmbassies and consulates||0.58%|
|Computer servicesComputer services||3.42%|
|Information servicesInformation services||0.44%|
|Telecommunications servicesTelecommunications services||3.54%|
|Postal and courier servicesPostal and courier services||0.13%|
|Franchises and similar rightsFranchises and similar rights||0.18%|
|Freight insuranceFreight insurance||0.39%|
|Construction abroadConstruction abroad||0.66%|
|Construction in the compiling...Construction in the compiling economy||0.37%|
Source: Comtrade, Last Available Data
The world rankings, published annually, measures the violations of press freedom worldwide. It reflects the degree of freedom enjoyed by journalists, the media and digital citizens of each country and the means used by states to respect and uphold this freedom. Finally, a note and a position are assigned to each country. To compile this index, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) prepared a questionnaire sent to partner organizations,150 RWB correspondents, journalists, researchers, jurists and activists of human rights, including the main criteria - 44 in total - to assess the situation of press freedom in a given country. It includes every kind of direct attacks against journalists and digital citizens (murders, imprisonment, assault, threats, etc.) or against the media (censorship, confiscation, searches and harassment etc.).
The Indicator of Political Freedom provides an annual evaluation of the state of freedom in a country as experienced by individuals. The survey measures freedom according to two broad categories: political rights and civil liberties. The ratings process is based on a checklist of 10 political rights questions (on Electoral Process, Political Pluralism and Participation, Functioning of Government) and 15 civil liberties questions (on Freedom of Expression, Belief, Associational and Organizational Rights, Rule of Law, Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights). Scores are awarded to each of these questions on a scale of 0 to 4, where a score of 0 represents the smallest degree and 4 the greatest degree of rights or liberties present. The total score awarded to the political rights and civil liberties checklist determines the political rights and civil liberties rating. Each rating of 1 through 7, with 1 representing the highest and 7 the lowest level of freedom, corresponds to a range of total scores.
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Last Updates: January 2015
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In this comprehensive review of dozens of studies, published by the Urban Land Institute, the researchers conclude that urban development is both a key contributor to climate change and an essential factor in combating it. Meeting the growing demand for conveniently located homes in walkable neighborhoods could significantly reduce the growth in the number of miles Americans drive, shrinking the nation’s carbon footprint while giving people more housing choices.
Growing Cooler: The Evidence on Urban Development and Climate Change
Reid Ewing, National Center for Smart Growth Reserach & Education, Univ. of Maryland
Keith Bartholomew, former staff attorney, 1000 Friends of Oregon,
Steve Winkelman, Center for Clean Air Policy
Jerry Walters, Fehr & Peers Associates
Don Chen, Smart Growth America
with Barbara McCann and David Goldberg
October 2007, 60 pages. Published by Urban Land Institute
Less Auto-Dependent Development Is Key to Mitigating Climate Change, Research Team Concludes
New book documents how key changes in land development patterns could help reduce vehicle greenhouse gas emissions
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Meeting the growing demand for conveniently located homes in walkable neighborhoods could significantly reduce the growth in the number of miles Americans drive, shrinking the nation's carbon footprint while giving people more housing choices, according to a team of leading urban planning researchers.
In a comprehensive review of dozens of studies, published by the Urban Land Institute, the researchers conclude that urban development is both a key contributor to climate change and an essential factor in combating it.
They warn that if sprawling development continues to fuel growth in driving, the projected 59 percent increase in the total miles driven between 2005 and 2030 will overwhelm expected gains from vehicle efficiency and low-carbon fuels. Even if the most stringent fuel-efficiency proposals under consideration are enacted, notes co-author Steve Winkelman, "vehicle emissions still would be 40 percent above 1990 levels in 2030 -- entirely off-track from reductions of 60-80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050 required for climate protection."
"Curbing emissions from cars depends on a three-legged stool: improved vehicle efficiency, cleaner fuels, and a reduction in driving," said lead author Reid Ewing, Research Professor at the National Center for Smart Growth, University of Maryland. "The research shows that one of the best ways to reduce vehicle travel is to build places where people can accomplish more with less driving."
Depending on several factors, from mix of land uses to pedestrian-friendly design, compact development reduces driving from 20 to 40 percent, and more in some instances, according to the forthcoming book Growing Cooler: The Evidence on Urban Development and Climate Change. Typically, Americans living in compact urban neighborhoods where cars are not the only transportation option drive a third fewer miles than those in automobile-oriented suburbs, the researchers found.
At the same time, the book documents market research showing a majority of future housing demand lies in smaller homes and lots, townhouses, and condominiums in neighborhoods where jobs and activities are close at hand. The researchers note that demographic changes, shrinking households, rising gas prices, lengthening commutes and cultural shifts all play a role in that demand.
The report cites real estate projections showing that two-thirds of development expected to be on the ground in 2050 is not yet built, meaning that the potential for change is profound. The authors calculate that shifting 60 percent of new growth to compact patterns would save 85 million tons of CO2 annually by 2030. The savings over that period equate to a 28 percent increase in federal vehicle efficiency standards by 2020 (to 32 mpg), comparable to proposals now being debated in Congress.
"Clearly, the development industry has a key role in the search for solutions to offset the impact of climate change," said ULI Senior Resident Fellow William H. Hudnut, III, former mayor of Indianapolis. "Whether close-in or in suburbs, well-planned communities give residents the option to walk, bike or take transit to nearby shopping, retail and entertainment. Being able to spend less time behind the wheel will benefit our health, our pocketbooks and the environment."
Implementing the policies recommended in the report would reverse a decades-long trend. Since 1980, the number of miles Americans drive has grown three times faster than population, and almost twice as fast as vehicle registrations. Spread-out development is the key factor in that rate of growth, the research team found.
The findings show that people who move into compact, "green neighborhoods" are making as big a contribution to fighting global warming as those who buy the most efficient hybrid vehicles, but remain in car-dependent areas.
While demand for such smart-growth development is growing, government regulations, government spending, and transportation policies still favor sprawling, automobile-dependent development. The book recommends changes in all three areas to make green neighborhoods more available and more affordable. It also calls for including smart-growth strategies as a fundamental tenet in upcoming climate change legislation.
The study represents a collaboration among leading urban planning researchers, including Ewing, Steve Winkelman of the Center for Clean Air Policy, Keith Bartholomew of the University of Utah, and Jerry Walters of Fehr & Peers Associates. Smart Growth America coordinated the multi-disciplinary team that developed the recommended policy actions and is leading a broad coalition to develop those strategies further. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Hewlett Foundation provided funding for the underlying research.
The full book will be available to order at www.uli.org.
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A large long-term study on the use of the big-selling weedkiller glyphosate by agricultural workers in the United States has found no firm link between exposure to the pesticide and cancer, scientists said on Thursday.
Published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, the study found there was "no association between glyphosate", the main ingredient in Monsanto's popular herbicide RoundUp, "and any solid tumours or lymphoid malignancies overall, including non-Hogkin Lymphoma (NHL) and its subtypes".
It said there was "some evidence of increased risk of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) among the highest exposed group", but added "this association was not statistically significant" and would require more research to be confirmed.
The findings are likely to impact legal proceedings taking place in the United States against Monsanto, in which more than 180 plaintiffs are claiming exposure to RoundUp gave them cancer - allegations that Monsanto denies.
The findings may also influence a crucial decision due in Europe this week on whether glyphosate should be re-licensed for sale across the European Union.
That EU decision has been delayed for several years after the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) reviewed glyphosate in 2015 and concluded it was "probably carcinogenic" to humans.
The research is part of a large project known as the Agricultural Health Study (AHS), which has been tracking the health of tens of thousands of agricultural workers, farmers and their families in Iowa and North Carolina.
Since the early 1990s, it has gathered and analysed detailed information on the health of participants and their families, and their use of pesticides, including glyphosate.
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Published on 25.11.02 in Vol 4, No 2 (2002): Theme Issue: Disease Management and the Internet
Internet use in disease management for home care patients: A call for papers
J Med Internet Res 2002;4(2):e6
Disease Management and the Internet
Disease Management refers to "a set of coordinated healthcare interventions and communications for populations with conditions in which patient self-care efforts are significant." Disease management supports the care plan and enhances the provider-patient relationship. It emphasizes prevention of deterioration and/or complications using evidence-based practice guidelines. It aims to improve the patient's overall health by continuously assessing clinical and economic outcomes. The goals of disease management are to manage medical conditions over time, improve outcomes, lower costs, and support patient-provider interaction, patient education and monitoring.
Patients with chronic illnesses account for a great portion of healthcare costs. An efficient disease management system should dramatically reduce medical and administrative costs, while enriching the physician-patient communication and improving health outcomes.
Earlier efforts in utilizing information technology demonstrated the barriers of attempting to integrate systems without a common protocol and developing systems with a long implementation cycle and at increased overall costs. However, the diffusion of the Internet has the potential to empower patients and address these barriers by providing the means for technically flexible applications with shorter implementation cycles.
Internet technologies are being utilized for disease management in many clinical areas in the last few years. Insome examples of web-based disease managementapplications are provided, grouped by clinical area. Internet technologies allow to connect patients with providers, link home-care with hospital and ambulatory care, facilitate information exchange, communication, and collaboration between and among patients, caregivers, and health care providers. Patient self-management education is a central component of disease management, and the Internet supports this by enabling the transmission of tailored health information or automated reminders to patients or their caregivers. Web-based electronic health records are another avenue of enhancing communication among stakeholders to coordinate care, and patient accessible records empower patients to improve self-care in the age of consumer health informatics [ ]. The convergence of the Internet with everyday household items such as TV sets, refrigerators, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and mobile phones [ ] opens up new channels of communicating with patients through information technology and empowering them to manage their disease.
Challenges for web-based disease management systems
Factors that will be critical for the diffusion of Internet based disease management systems include design; privacy and confidentiality; patient and provider acceptance; costs and reimbursement structures; and access to and ownership of data.
A great number of home care patients who require disease management are elderly and/or have functional limitations. A functional limitation describes a "reduced sensory, cognitive or motor capability associated with human aging, temporary injury, or permanent disability that prevents a person from communicating, working, playing or simply functioning in an environment where other people in the population can function." . Although the Internet seems to have the potential to revolutionize the process of health care delivery and empower patients to become more active in the care process, the fastest growing segment of the US population — i.e., people over the age of 50 years — are at a disadvantage because designers of both software and hardware technology fail to consider them as a potential user group. Usability and accessibility issues are important quality criteria for web-based interventions, but are frequently ignored by designers and evaluators [ ]. The design of a usable web-based information system for healthy users who are familiar with computer technology is a challenge. When a system needs to address age-related constraints and the functional limitations of inexperienced users, it becomes even more difficult. Designers of a system for home care patients should aim to increase its functional accessibility [ ] and employ rigorous usabiliy testing methods.
Privacy and Confidentiality
The healthcare sector worldwide is facing a great number of challenges and regulations in regard to the confidentiality, availability and integrity of individual health information. In the United States, the Notice of the Proposed Rule from the Department of Health and Human Services concerning Security and Electronic Signature Standards was introduced in 1998 . The Proposed Rule falls under the umbrella of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) that was passed in 1996. This Proposed Rule became law in 2000 in the United States and suggests standards for the security of individual health information and electronic signature use for health care providers, systems and agencies. These will use the Security Standards to develop and maintain the security of all electronic health information. Similar frameworks exist in the European Union and Canada [ ].
Patient and provider acceptance
The diffusion of an innovation depends to a great extent to the attitudes of the population to which it is being introduced to. This of course applies to web-based disease management applications as well where users (patients, caregivers, family members, providers) have to accept the use of technology and be willing to receive training and integrate the application into the care delivery process.
Costs and reimbursement
While there is some evidence demonstrating the cost-effectiveness of traditional disease management (e.g., a retrospective analysis of 7,000 patients found a $50 per member, per month savings in diabetes treatment costs over twelve months and eighteen percent decrease of admissions ) there is little evidence as of yet of the cost-effectiveness or even possible long term cost reduction through utilization of Internet in disease management. Cost analysis and/or cost-effectiveness studies will contribute to discussions about possible reimbursement issues of web-based monitoring services and the question of which party will bear the costs of implementing and maintaining such a web-based system.
Access to and ownership of the data
In many web-based applications in home care, patients enter or record monitoring data and transmit them daily to a web server owned and maintained by a private third party that allows providers to log in and access the data of their patients. The question of patients' rights to access parts or all of their record, the physical storage and access rights and the issue of data ownership become even more essential when monitoring data are stored physically at a separate location controlled by a private company. The implications are not only possible threats to data privacy but extend to ethical and political debates about restructuring the care delivery process and introducing new key players.
Call for papers
The Journal of Medical Internet Research is pleased to announce a theme issue on Internet utilization for disease management in home care. We invite researchers in this field to submit papers that focus on this area such as:
- Studies (preferably randomized controlled trials) that demonstrate the impact of Internet utilization in disease management on
- health outcomes
- patient self-management education
- cost of care
- Papers that describe the development and evaluation of web-based disease management applications
- Studies that address design issues for such applications
- Studies that describe innovative web-based patient monitoring systems and/or devices (an evaluation component is strongly encouraged)
- Studies that propose a sustainable and cost-effective model for web-based disease management
- Manuscripts that address the issues of privacy and confidentiality of patient data (e.g. the impact of final HIPAA privacy rule on disease management via Internet for the US)
- Critical comments and opinion papers
- Systematic reviews synthesizing our current state of knowledge in this field
All papers will undergo a normal peer-review process. Papers received before June 1st, 2003 will have the best chances for publication. The theme issue is planned to appear in late 2003. We will be actively looking for a sponsor of this theme issue, which will enable us to waive our usual article processing fee for papers published in this theme issue. The theme issue will be Medline-indexed and be made freely accessible on the web and possibly in a printed version.
George Demiris, PhD
Assistant Professor, Health Management and Informatics, University of Missouri-Columbia
Guest Editor, J Med Internet Res, Theme Issue "Disease Management and the Internet"
Gunther Eysenbach, MD
Associate Professor, Department of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto
Editor, J Med Internet Res
Conflicts of Interest
- Definition of Disease Management. Disease Management Association of America. URL: http://www.dmaa.org/definition.html [accessed 2002 Sep 25]
- Eysenbach G. Consumer health informatics. BMJ 2000 Jun 24;320(7251):1713-1716 [FREE Full text] [Medline] [CrossRef]
- Neville R, Greene A, Mcleod J, Tracy A, Surie J. Mobile phone text messaging can help young people manage asthma. BMJ 2002 Sep 14;325(7364):600 [FREE Full text] [Medline] [CrossRef]
- Finkelstein J, O'connor G, Friedmann RH. Development and implementation of the home asthma telemonitoring (HAT) system to facilitate asthma self-care. Medinfo 2001;10(Pt 1):810-814. [Medline]
- Baker AM, Lafata JE, Ward RE, Whitehouse F, Divine G. A Web-based diabetes care management support system. Jt Comm J Qual Improv 2001 Apr;27(4):179-190. [Medline]
- Mckay HG, Feil EG, Glasgow RE, Brown JE. Feasibility and use of an Internet support service for diabetes self-management. Diabetes Educ 1998 Apr;24(2):174-179. [Medline]
- Riva A, Bellazzi R, Stefanelli M. A Web-based system for the intelligent management of diabetic patients. MD Comput 1997;14(5):360-364. [Medline]
- Bellazzi R, Larizza C, Montani S, Riva A, Stefanelli M, D'annunzio G, et al. A telemedicine support for diabetes management: the T-IDDM project. Comput Methods Programs Biomed 2002 Aug;69(2):147-161. [Medline] [CrossRef]
- Morlion B, Knoop C, Paiva M, Estenne M. Internet-based home monitoring of pulmonary function after lung transplantation. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2002 Mar 1;165(5):694-697 [FREE Full text] [Medline]
- Demiris G, Speedie S, Finkelstein SM. The nature of communication in virtual home care visits. Proc AMIA Symp 2001:135-138. [Medline]
- Resource guide for accessible design of consumer electronics-linking product design to the needs of people with functional limitations: a joint venture of the electronic industries alliance and the lectronic industries foundations. Telecommunications Industry Association Web site. URL: http://www.tiaonline.org/access/guide.html
- Eysenbach G, Powell J, Kuss O, Sa ER. Empirical studies assessing the quality of health information for consumers on the world wide web: a systematic review. JAMA 2002 May 22;287(20):2691-2700. [Medline] [CrossRef]
- Demiris G, Finkelstein SM, Speedie SM. Considerations for the design of a Web-based clinical monitoring and educational system for elderly patients. J Am Med Inform Assoc 2001;8(5):468-472. [PMC] [Medline]
- Human S. Office of the Secretary Standards for privacy of individually identifiable health information; proposed rule. Fed Regist 1999 Nov 3;64(212):59917-60016.
- Ilioudis C, Pangalos G. A framework for an institutional high level security policy for the processing of medical data and their transmission through the Internet. J Med Internet Res 2001 Apr 6;3(2):e14 [FREE Full text] [Medline] [CrossRef]
- Rubin RJ, Dietrich KA, Hawk AD. Clinical and economic impact of implementing a comprehensive diabetes management program in managed care. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 1998 Aug;83(8):2635-2642 [FREE Full text] [Medline] [CrossRef]
Edited by G. Eysenbach; This is a non-peer-reviewed article. published 25.11.02
© George Demeris, Gunther Eysenbach. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 25.11.2002. Except where otherwise noted, articles published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, including full bibliographic details and the URL (see "please cite as" above), and this statement is included.
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Posted by: Craig Woolheater on November 15th, 2013
Today marks the 47th anniversary of what is considered the first sighting of the Mothman in Point Pleasant, WV.
Eyewitness sketch of the Mothman by Roger Scarberry
The Mothman, a strange creature reported to haunt the Charleston and Point Pleasant areas of West Virginia between November 1966 and December 1967, was also sporadically reported to be seen prior to, and after, those dates, with some sightings coming as recently as 2005. Most observers describe the Mothman as being 5 to 7 feet tall creature with wings and large reflective red eyes, similar to the Garuda of Hindu lore. A number of hypotheses have been put forward to explain what people reported, ranging from misidentification and coincidence to paranormal phenomena and conspiracy theories.
The Mothman was named in parallel to the villain “Killer Moth” in the Batman TV series that was popular at the time, was reportedly first sighted November 12, 1966. A group of five men were preparing a grave in a cemetery close to Clendenin, West Virginia when what they described as a “brown human shape with wings” lifted off from behind nearby trees and flew over their heads. However, this sighting was not made public until later, and the first sighting described in the media took place just three days later.
On the evening of November 15, 1966 two young married couples from Point Pleasant, Roger and Linda Scarberry and Steve and Mary Mallette, were out for a drive in the Scarberrys’ car. They were passing a World War II TNT factory about seven miles outside of Point Pleasant, in the 2,500 acre McClintic Wildlife Station, when they noticed two red lights in the shadow by an old generator plant near the gate of the factory. They stopped the car and were startled to see that the lights were the glowing red eyes of a large animal, “shaped like a man, but bigger, maybe six and a half or seven feet tall, with big wings folded against its back,” according to Roger Scarberry. Terrified, the couples took off in their car, heading for Route 62.
Headed down the exit ramp, they saw the creature again, standing on a ridge near the road. It spread its wings and took off, following their car to the city limits. They went to the Mason County courthouse and told their story to Deputy Millard Halstead, who later said “I’ve known these kids all their lives. They’d never been in any trouble and they were really scared that night. I took them seriously.” He followed Roger Scarberry’s car back to the TNT factory, but found no sign of the strange creature. According to the book Alien Animals, by Janet Board, a poltergeist attack on the Scarberry home took place later that night, in which the creature was seen several times.
On that very same evening, at about 10:30 p.m. Newell Partridge, a local building contractor who lived in Salem, about 90 miles from point pleasant, was watching television when he the screen suddenly went dark. He would later state that a weird pattern filled the screen and that he heard a loud whining sound coming from outside that raised in pitch before drawing silent, “It sounded like a generator winding up”. Newell’s dog, Bandit, began to stir and howl out of the front porch, Newell got up to investigate what was going on. When he walked outside, he noticed that Bandit was focused on the hay barn, about 150 yards from the house. Newell then turned on his flashlight and shinned the beam in the direction of the barn, upon doing so the light illuminated two red circles that looked like eyes or the reflectors of a bicycle tire, the sight of these glowing red eyes frightened him. Bandit, an experienced hunting dog who was also very protective of his territory shot off across the yard in the direction of the glowing eyes. Newell called for his dog to stop and come back to the porch but the determined dog paid no attention to his master.
Afraid for the life of his dog Newell ran back into the house to get his gun but was to frightened to go back outside. That night he slept with with his gun propped up agianst his bed. The next morning Bandit was no where to be found, Newell called out for his dog but to no avail. Two days later there was still no sign of Bandit when Newell read about the Mothman sightings in Point Pleasant. He read one statement in particular that may have explained the fate of his beloved dog. Roger Scarberry, one of the 4 people who originally saw the Mothman near the old TNT plant, was qouted by the newspaper as saying that they saw the body of a large dog laying on the side of the road moments before the Mothman appeared to them. Could this have been to body of Bandit?
Co-founder of Cryptomundo in 2005. I have appeared in or contributed to the following TV programs, documentaries and films: OLN's Mysterious Encounters: "Caddo Critter", Southern Fried Bigfoot, Travel Channel's Weird Travels: "Bigfoot", History Channel's MonsterQuest: "Swamp Stalker", The Wild Man of the Navidad, Destination America's Monsters and Mysteries in America: Texas Terror - Lake Worth Monster, Animal Planet's Finding Bigfoot: Return to Boggy Creek and Beast of the Bayou.
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Detailed antique map showing the British islands in the West Indies.
Shows the Virgin Islands, the Grenadines, Grenada, Trinidad, New Providence, Anguila (Anguilla), Grand Cayman, Roatan, Jamaica, Dominica, Tobago, Barbadoes (Barbados), St. Vincent, St. Lucie (St. Lucia), and the Leeward Islands.
Each island includes towns, bays, etc., along with the date of settlement. The Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge was active from the 1830s through the 1860s and published some of the best regional maps of the era. A rare map to show detail on the Virgin Islands and Grand Cayman.
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Opinion or Truth
A Socratic Dialogue
By BRENT SILBY
Through this dialogue we see the problem that arises when we take a relativist stance to truth. Many people have taken a liking to relativism; perhaps because it seems so wonderfully democratic. However, the further one goes down the relativist road, the more difficult it becomes to answer fairly straightforward questions. It is almost as if the relativist tries to use logic to argue that logic doesn’t work.
Persons of the dialogue
John: Western Philosophy is really nothing more than opinionated people talking opinion.
Socrates: Doesn’t philosophy involve forming rational argument? This would seem to be quite different to simply voicing opinion. Is a rational argument the same as an opinion?
John: Argument can be reduced to premises, which can further be reduced to more basic premises. As we repeat this reduction, we find ourselves with the most basic axioms. The axioms of most frameworks are fundamentally opinion are they not? In this way, rational argument amounts to not much more than glorified opinion.
Socrates: Can you think of a scientific axiom or mathematical axiom that is opinion-based rather than reason-based?
John: Wolfram Mathworld defines an axiom as “a proposition regarded as self-evidently true without proof”
Socrates: Such as x=x? This is considered self-evidently true. But is it simply opinion? If so, wouldn’t there be some subjectivity or uncertainty about whether or not it is true?
John: This is just accepted uncertainty, because the results of making this assumption are useful. The results of not making this assumption might also be useful.
Socrates: I’m assuming we can agree that opinion carries a level of uncertainty and subjectivity, right? You suggested that self-evident truths have an accepted level of uncertainty, and are therefore opinions? Is that what you’re saying? I don’t want to characterise your position.
x=x is an example of a self-evident proposition, right? Is there a level of uncertainty in the claim that X=X? If so, what is the nature of that uncertainty?
John: I was saying axioms (in mathematics) are equivalent to opinions, because they are subjective, unprovable. Now, x=x is only subjectively self evident. You’re so accustomed to that useful axiom/ opinion that you probably assume its certainty.
Socrates: Certainly I am used to assuming that x=x is self evident. You’re suggesting that I’m assuming its certainty out of habit and that it is, in fact, only subjectively self evident. But I would have thought that something is self evident if its truth is implied by the definition of the terms used within its formulation. In other words, the evidence for its truth is contained within itself. Isn’t it built into the definition of the component terms of x=x that it is self evident, i.e. true by definition?
Your claim that x=x is only subjectively self evident is interesting. I’m wondering how you have come to know that it is only subjectively self evident. Would you be able to show me why x=x might only be subjectively self-evident? If its truth subjective, then it is possible for it to be false, right? Can you show me how it could be considered false? Perhaps you could provide an example in which x=x yields a contradiction. This would help me understand why you think x=x is only subjectively self-evident.
John: No clear example sorry Socrates. I know it’s a core axiom though. I don’t think it’s one that you’d name casually.
Socrates: I agree. I think it is a core axiom and a good example of a self evident truth. Okay, without a clear example of possible falsehood in this case we cannot say definitively whether or not it is subjective. It is therefore possible that this is an example of a core axiom that is not simply a matter of opinion.
Shall we consider another self evident truth: There are no square circles. Would you say that this is a subjective claim?
John: People with a lot of expertise have attended to what an axiom is and what it means quite closely. If the definition does not have a proof but is regarded as a truth doesn’t sound like opinion to you, then we can’t proceed. If there is a possibility it could be, how about we test where that would go so this conversation has some movement.
Socrates: Wouldn’t the term self evident imply the proof is contained within itself? Axioms are foundations upon which reasoning can be built. It seems they are considered axioms because their truth is so obvious (i.e. built into the definition of terms used) that they need no further proof. They could be considered fundamental truths.
You have suggested that axioms (or self evident truths) are simply a matter of opinion. The implication here is that they are subjective. If this is true, I would expect the possibility of their falsehood. Is it enough to just assume they might be false? Upon what is that assumption based?
So, to move forward. I’m wondering, does the claim that an axiom “does not have a proof” (as you stated above) amount to the same thing as an axiom does not require a proof, as in the definition I recently read. Could it be the case that axioms do have proofs, but when used in argument the proof is not explicitly required because it can be safely assumed?
John: In mathematics proofs are built from axioms and proofs already proven. Axioms so not need proof once you’re underway because they are your initial assumptions. This doesn’t inherently make them true or proven. Usually axioms would not be so badly chosen as to be a meaningless start point to build all following deductions from.
Socrates: That makes sense. The axioms are the initial assumptions, which are accepted as true, and upon which reasoning follows. As you say, their acceptance doesn’t inherently make them true or proven. Then again, the basic assumptions are, as you indicate, presumably not chosen at whim. So they are, perhaps, accepted as true with good reason. Perhaps this is where the term self evident comes in.
Okay, so the thought is that because axioms do not require proof they are therefore subjective matters of opinion, right? This, itself, would appear to be an axiom that is placed prior to all other axioms. Perhaps the most fundamental of all axioms is: all axioms are subjective opinions. If I understand what you’ve said throughout the discussion, this is a position you would agree with, right?
Socrates: Thanks John. So we have now defined the most fundamental of all axioms as: axioms are subjective opinions.
But what does this mean? If we apply this axiom to itself, we find that this most basic of axioms is, itself, just a matter of opinion. Does it not follow that it could be false? If so, it could be the case that this basic axiom is not merely a matter of opinion? But wouldn’t that make it a counter example to itself? Wouldn’t this be like saying: The fundamental axiom is that all axioms are matters of opinion. But being a matter of opinion means this axiom could be false, in which case this axiom is not a matter of opinion. This is a contradiction because the axiom states that all axioms are matters of opinion.
I think we might call this a reflexive paradox. Are we getting into trouble here?
I think you made a good point above when you indicated that axioms are chosen with good reason. I agree with that point. If you are correct, wouldn’t we expect the most fundamental of all axioms to be free of contradiction?
John: You’ve not stated all your assumptions. Might i be correct in assuming you’re adopting some assumption like: something must be either true or false, it can not be both or neither.
I think more along the lines: if this is a base assumption, what perspectives and results does it offer and are they new or useful.
This sounds a lot like theory of what is knowable. Did anyone get anywhere definitive on that?
Socrates: You mention the possibility that a base assumption could be both true and false. I wonder, is that true? Or is it false? Does it make sense to say it is both true and false that our base assumptions can be both true and false?
I have no assumptions. I am an explorer. In order to find suitable assumptions, a starting point would be to see where your current assumptions lead us. I am therefore working from your assumption that the most fundamental of all axioms is that axioms are subjective matters of opinion. It follows from that axiom that axioms might not be matters of opinion. In other words, the assumption that axioms are matters of opinion could be false. Can we agree on this?
John: Sure, that axiom is an opinion. Are you assuming a reflexive type axiom where you’ve decided you’re allowed to apply axioms to themselves? I don’t agree. I guess you’re going to suggest logicaly nullifying the axiom because it has lead to contradiction / paradox in a particular case. This is a valid approach, if we’ve agreed to assume that is how to interpret this type of result. But, a paradox / inconsistency does not have to imply a broken axiom.
Socrates: If we agree that all axioms are matters of opinion (I think this is what was stated above), and if this is itself an axiom, then doesn’t it follow that it should apply to itself? Perhaps you could re-word the axiom to read: all axioms except this one are matters of opinion. Is that better?
John: You ask “doesn’t it follow”? No, it does not follow. When you ask this, you are making assumptions. We haven’t yet agreed how axioms interact or what our logic is. I’m assuming there is more than one logic possible
Socrates: Could you explain why it does not follow? Perhaps an example would help. Could you find me an example of a set in which all members have property X, and one member does not have property X? That would help me understand your position.
John: Perhaps you could provide an example of a fact you hold as true which does not sit on some axiom of belief.
Socrates: It is a little premature to move on to this question. We have not yet finished exploring the question as to whether or not axioms are a simply matters of belief (or opinion). So, shall we put your question to one side until we settle on what an axiom is?
I note that you have not yet answered my earlier question. Recall, I suggested that if all axioms are matters of opinion, and if this is itself an axiom, then doesn’t it follow that it should apply to itself? Your response was “no”. I then asked why it does not follow. This has not been answered yet. I’m also interested in seeing an example of one of these “other logics” you mention.
John: (no response)
Socrates: Let’s pause here and summarise our discussion so far. I think a recap is important to ensure we do not skip past any important questions or issues. Here is a summary of what we’ve covered.
You began with the claim that Western Philosophy amounts to nothing more than “opinionated people talking opinion”. I suggested that Philosophers form rational argument, which is quite the opposite to voicing opinion. I asked whether you think rational argument is the same as opinion. Your response was that axioms (i.e. the foundation upon which arguments follow) are fundamentally opinion. You then stated that an axiom is a proposition regarded as self-evidently true without proof.
I asked whether an axiom such as x=x is just opinion, i.e. that there is a level of subjectivity or uncertainty as to its truth. You responded by suggesting that x=x is only subjectively self evident. In reply I proposed that its self evidence is built into the definition of its component terms. I asked you to show me a way in which x=x could be considered false. The existence of such an example would show that its truth is subjective (i.e. a matter of opinion). You could not provide an example. I then asked whether the self evident truth there are no square circles is a subjective claim. You did not answer that question.
As we moved on, you indicated agreement with the notion that the most fundamental of all axioms is: allaxioms are subjective opinions. I then pointed out a problem with this position, because as an axiom, it would apply to itself, which would mean it could be false, i.e. it would serve as a counter example to itself.
You didn’t agree that this was a problem and suggested that it would only be a problem if we assume that axioms could apply to themselves. However, I responded that if the axiom states that all axioms are matters of opinion, then it must follow that it applies to itself. But you said it doesn’t follow. You went on to suggest the existence of other logics.
I asked why it doesn’t follow. I asked for an example to help make the point. The type of example I asked for was one in which a set in which all members have property X, contains one member that does not have property X. You did not give me an example.
Here are my questions that remain unanswered.
1. show me a possible scenario in which x=x is false
2. is there are no square circles a subjective claim?
3. why should the axiom “All axioms are matters of opinion” not apply to itself?
4. what is an example of a set in which all members have property X, and one member of that set does not have property X?
5. What is an example of “other logics”?
You said earlier that this looks like the beginning of a theory of knowledge. If so, would it not be wise to have answers to these questions before proceeding? If we leave these questions unanswered, we might find ourselves in hot water further down the line when they inevitably come back to haunt us.
John: Socrates, at this time I cannot answer those questions.
Socrates: Do you think the difficulty in answering such questions may stem from your assumption that axioms are only subjectively true, i.e. matters of opinion?
John: I may not be able to answer the questions above, but it does not follow that axioms are anything more than subjective opinions.
Socrates: Perhaps. Nevertheless, you cannot answer my questions. Now, would you agree that these questions would pose no problem if we accept that there are some basic axioms that are more than mere matters of opinion? In other words, these questions become irrelevant if we accept the existence of fundamental axioms that have an objective truth value?
John: I would have to agree that these questions would pose no problem if the basic axioms were not subjective matters of opinion.
Socrates: Given the difficulty in answering the questions above, would you agree that it is possible that the basic axioms upon which we build reasoning are objective truths, and not merely matters of opinion?
John: The way you formulate it, I have to agree that it is possible.
Socrates: If forming a rational argument involves logic, and if logic is based upon fundamental axioms, and if axioms might be objective truths, would you accept that there is a possible difference between a rational argument and an opinion?
John: Again, the way you have constructed this, I have to accept the possibility.
Socrates: So it is possible that Western Philosophy is not simply “opinionated people talking opinion”?
John: It is possible.
Socrates: Shall we accept this conclusion for now and adjourn until the above questions can be answered?
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Fibroids are growths on the walls of the uterus. Sometimes, a fibroid is attached to the outside of the uterus by a stalk. Fibroids can be as small as a seed or a pea or as large as an orange or small melon. Although fibroids are called "tumors," they are not cancer. They are smooth muscle growths. About two of every 10 women who have not gone through menopause have fibroids. The technical term for a fibroid tumor is leiomyoma.
What symptoms do fibroids cause?
Fibroids may cause no symptoms at all, or they may cause pain or bleeding. Fibroids may make it hard to pass urine if they grow large enough to press on the bladder. They also may cause abdominal swelling, pain during intercourse, lower abdominal and pelvic discomfort or pain, and increased uterine cramping before and during menstrual periods. Fibroids also can make it hard for you to get pregnant. Sometimes fibroids can cause problems with pregnancy, labor or delivery, including miscarriage and premature birth.
How are fibroids diagnosed?
Usually, fibroids are found by abdominal or pelvic examination or pelvic ultrasound. Less frequently, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computerized tomography (CT) scans are used.
What happens to fibroids after menopause?
Fibroids usually shrink substantially and symptoms may be significantly reduced. Larger fibroids may remain symptomatic if estrogen replacement therapy is used.How are fibroids treated?
If you have fibroids, you may have several treatments from which to choose. The choice depends on how big the fibroids are, where they are, and whether you are pregnant or want to become pregnant.
Watchful waiting may be all the treatment you need if your fibroid is small and you do not have any symptoms. You will need regular visits to your doctor for a pelvic exam to monitor the growth of the fibroid.
Non-surgical treatments for fibroids include hormones and pain relief medicines.
Surgical treatments for fibroids include hysterectomy and myomectomy. Hysterectomy is usually recommended when the fibroids are causing symptoms, when they have grown rapidly or when the fibroids are large (as large as a grapefruit).
Myomectomy is an operation to remove a fibroid tumor without taking out the uterus. The growths may come back after a myomectomy, and repeat surgery may be necessary. If you are considering a myomectomy, be sure to ask the doctor how likely it is that new fibroids might grow after the surgery. You also should ask your doctor how much experience he or she has in doing this procedure. Not all gynecologists have been trained to perform myomectomies.
Another option is laser surgery, which usually is an outpatient procedure. With laser surgery, the doctor uses a high-intensity light to remove small fibroids. Depending on the location of the fibroid, it may be possible to remove it during a laparoscopy. Or, the doctor may put a thin tube called a hysteroscope with a laser through the vagina and into the uterus. The tube may have a small scraper to scrape away the fibroid from the wall of the uterus.
For more information on fibroids, contact the following organizations:
National Institute of Child
Health and Human Development
Agency for Healthcare
Research and Quality
BACK TO WOMEN'S HEALTH CONCERNS
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Stroke risk when you have atrial fibrillation
Now we have a better tool to calculate your chance of a brain attack if you've been diagnosed with afib.
Atrial fibrillation (afib) is among the most common heart rhythm irregularities. During a bout of afib, the usually rhythmic contractions of the heart muscle's upper chambers (the atria) are replaced by an ineffectual quiver that does not completely move blood out of the heart chamber. As a result, blood can stagnate and form clots. These clots can then travel to the brain and cause an ischemic stroke.
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What is sinusitis?
Sinus infections often follow a cold and cause pain and pressure in your head and face.
Sinusitis can be either acute (sudden) or chronic (long-term). With chronic sinusitis, the infection or inflammation does not completely go away for 12 weeks or more.
What causes sinusitis?
Sinusitis can be caused by three things:
The same viruses that cause the common cold cause most cases of sinusitis.
When the lining of the sinus cavities gets inflamed from a viral infection like a cold, it swells. This is viral sinusitis. The swelling can block the normal drainage of fluid from the sinuses into the nose and throat. If the fluid cannot drain and builds up over time, bacteria or fungi (plural of fungus) may start to grow in it. These bacterial or fungal infections can cause more swelling and pain. They are more likely to last longer, get worse with time, and become chronic.
Nasal allergies or other problems that block the nasal passages and allow fluid to build up in the sinuses can also lead to sinusitis.
What are the symptoms?
The main symptoms of sinusitis are a runny or stuffy nose and pain and pressure in your head and face. You may also have a yellow or green drainage or drip from your nose or down the back of your throat (post-nasal discharge). Where you feel the pain and tenderness depends on which sinus is affected.
Other common symptoms of sinusitis may include:
- A headache.
- Bad breath.
- A cough that produces mucus.
- A fever.
- Pain in your teeth.
- A reduced sense of taste or smell.
How is sinusitis diagnosed?
Your doctor can tell if you have sinusitis by asking questions about your past health and doing a physical examination. You probably won't need any other tests.
How is it treated?
Viral sinus infections usually go away on their own within 10 to 14 days. Antibiotics don't work for viral infections. But there are some things you can do at home to help relieve your symptoms:
- Drink plenty of fluids.
- Put a hot, damp towel or gel pack on your face for 5 to 10 minutes at a time, several times a day.
- Breathe warm, moist air from a steamy shower, a hot bath, or a sink filled with hot water.
- Use saline nose drops and sprays to keep the nasal passages moist and use saline nasal washes to help keep the nasal passages open and wash out mucus and bacteria.
- Try over-the-counter medicine to help relieve the pain and pressure in your head and face.
Home treatments may help drain mucus from the sinuses and prevent a more serious bacterial or fungal infection.
Bacterial infections can be treated with antibiotics. You will probably feel better in a few days, but some symptoms may last for several weeks. You may need to take the medicine for a longer time if you have chronic sinusitis.
If you have a fungal infection-which is not common-antibiotics won't clear up your sinusitis. With this type of infection, you may need treatment with antifungal medicines, steroid medicines, or surgery.
If you have taken antibiotics and other medicines for a long time but still have sinusitis symptoms, you may need surgery. You may also need surgery if the infection is likely to spread or if you have other problems, such as a growth (polyp) blocking the nasal passage.
Frequently Asked Questions
Learning about sinusitis:
Living with sinusitis:
Health Tools help you make wise health decisions or take action to improve your health.
- The mucous membrane swells when it becomes inflamed, blocking the drainage of fluid from the sinuses into the nose and throat.
- Mucus and fluid build up inside the sinuses, causing pressure and pain.
- Bacteria are more likely to grow in sinuses that are unable to drain properly. Bacterial infection in the sinuses often causes more inflammation and pain.
Colds usually trigger this process, but any factor that causes the mucous membrane to become inflamed may lead to sinusitis. Many people with nasal allergies (allergic rhinitis), for instance, are likely to have recurring or long-term (chronic) sinus infections. Nasal polyps, foreign objects (usually in children), structural problems in the nose such as a deviated septum, and other conditions can also block the nasal passages, increasing the risk of sinusitis.
Pain and pressure in the face along with a stuffy or runny nose are the main symptoms of sinusitis. You also may have a yellow or greenish discharge from your nose. Leaning forward or moving your head often increases facial pain and pressure.
The location of pain and tenderness may depend on which sinus is affected.
Other common symptoms of sinusitis include:
- Yellow or greenish discharge from the nose or down the back of the throat.
- Bad breath.
- Stuffy nose.
- Cough that produces mucus.
- Tooth pain.
- Reduced sense of taste or smell.
Acute (sudden) sinusitis is usually caused by a viral infection and often develops rapidly. It usually lasts for 4 weeks or less, and the symptoms often begin to clear up within a week without any treatment. Acute sinusitis caused by a bacterial infection is less likely to clear up on its own and may lead to chronic sinusitis or to complications in which the infection spreads beyond the sinuses. Nasal discharge that contains pus and gets worse after 5 days or persists for more than 10 days may be a sign of acute sinusitis caused by a bacterial infection.
Chronic (long-term) sinusitis is usually caused by a bacterial or fungal infection. These infections may be difficult to treat. If chronic sinusitis is not cured after trying two or more different antibiotics, you may want to talk with your doctor about surgery or allergy testing. Chronic sinusitis can lead to permanent changes in the mucous membranes that line the sinuses and may make you more prone to sinus infections.
Symptoms of sinusitis in children include coughing, nasal discharge that lasts more than 7 to 10 days, and complaints of headache and facial pain. Many children age 2 or older with chronic sinusitis may also have allergies and frequent ear infections. Some immunizations, particularly pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), may help prevent ear and sinus infections.
Other conditions that have symptoms similar to sinusitis may include allergies, toothaches, and colds or other upper respiratory infections. But if you've had a cold that returns or gets worse after 7 days, you may have a sinus infection rather than a cold or other upper respiratory infection.
There are two types of sinusitis: acute (sudden onset) and chronic (long-term). Sinusitis often develops after a cold or viral infection. Most sinus infections improve on their own, but sometimes they develop into a bacterial infection-swelling, inflammation, and mucus production caused by the cold can lead to blockage in the nasal passages, which may encourage the growth of bacteria.
Acute sinusitis, whether viral or bacterial, may develop into chronic inflammation or infections that may last 12 weeks or longer. Chronic sinusitis can lead to permanent changes in the mucous membranes that line the sinuses. As a result of these changes, you may become prone to having more sinus infections that may become more difficult to treat.
Complications of sinusitis (such as an infection of the facial bones called osteomyelitis) or meningitis are relatively rare. But when complications occur, they may be life-threatening and often require extensive medical or surgical treatment.
What Increases Your Risk
Your risk of sinusitis increases if you have recently had a cold, another viral or bacterial infection, or an upper respiratory tract infection. Also, chronic nasal allergies (allergic rhinitis) can lead to sinusitis.
Sometimes a deviated septum, broken nose, or growths such as nasal polyps can make you more susceptible to sinus infections. Problems with nasal structure can prevent the proper flow of mucus from the sinuses into the nose.
Other factors that increase your risk for getting sinus infections include having asthma, smoking, air pollution, overuse of decongestant sprays, cold weather, rapid air pressure changes (such as from flying or scuba diving), and swimming in contaminated water. Also, using continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) to treat sleep apnea may increase the risk of sinusitis.
When To Call a Doctor
Call your doctor if sinusitis does not improve after 2 days of home treatment and you have symptoms such as:
- Pain in the face or upper teeth.
- Pain extending from the bridge of the nose to the lower eyelid.
- Headache that is not relieved by taking an over-the-counter pain medicine, such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen.
- Fever of 38.3°C (101°F) or higher.
- Nasal discharge that starts out clear and later becomes thick and discoloured (yellow or green).
- Cold symptoms that last longer than 10 days or get worse after the first 7 days.
- Mild or chronic pain in the face that lasts longer than a month, has changed, or has not been checked by a doctor.
- Not feeling any better within 3 to 5 days after starting antibiotics for your sinus infection.
If you are not sure whether you have a cold or a sinus infection, see the topic Facial Problems, Non-Injury.
Watchful waiting is appropriate if you have symptoms of an early sinus infection (such as pain and pressure in your head along with a stuffy or runny nose). An early sinus infection can often be treated at home if you are in good health. If you develop symptoms of a sinus infection, start home treatment, such as drinking lots of fluids and breathing steam from a warm shower, and use the guidelines above to decide whether you need to call a doctor.
Who to see
Your doctor may refer you to an ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialist (also called an otolaryngologist) who can provide a more specialized examination of the nasal passages and upper throat. Referral to an ENT specialist may be beneficial for people in whom nasal polyps or other conditions causing blockage of the nasal cavity are suspected. Diagnosis and surgical treatment of chronic or complicated cases of sinusitis may be done by an ENT specialist.
An infectious disease specialist may be needed when sinusitis is caused by something unusual or when rare complications (such as an infection of the facial bones) occur. An allergist may be needed when allergies are suspected to be causing or contributing to sinus problems.
To prepare for your appointment, see the topic Making the Most of Your Appointment.
Examinations and Tests
Diagnosis of sinusitis is usually based on your medical history and physical examination. A detailed history of the problem often can be of more value to the diagnosis than a physical examination. If the symptoms and physical findings are typical of sinusitis, further testing is usually not needed.
Additional tests may be done if:
- The diagnosis is not clear.
- Antibiotic treatment has failed to clear up the problem.
- Complications (such as a bone infection) are suspected.
- Surgery is being considered.
Imaging tests may be used when symptoms of sinusitis persist or recur despite treatment, or to look for tumours or other growths when there is bleeding or bloody discharge from the nose. They include:
- Computed tomography (CT) scan of the head and face, which provides a detailed image of sinus structures. A CT scan may help evaluate severe or chronic sinusitis, identify suspected complications of sinusitis, or rule out other conditions. It is not used to diagnose acute sinusitis.
- Sinus X-ray, which may be done to confirm a suspected case of sinusitis. An X-ray produces a picture of dense tissues inside the body. But a CT scan provides better information.
Less often, other tests may be done by an ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialist (also called an otolaryngologist) or by an allergist. These tests may include:
- An endoscopic sinus examination (ESM) (nasal endoscopy). An ESM uses a lighted viewing instrument called an endoscope to view structures inside your nose and sinus cavities. ESM is used to evaluate chronic sinusitis.
- A needle puncture and aspiration of sinus contents, followed by nasal culture to identify the bacteria or fungus causing the problem.
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). An MRI may be done if there is reason to believe that an infection has spread beyond the sinuses. It is also helpful in evaluating growths or tumours inside the nose or sinuses.
Sinusitis is treated with medicines and home treatment, such as applying moist heat to your face. The goals of treatment for sinusitis are to:
- Improve drainage of mucus and reduce swelling in the sinuses.
- Relieve pain and pressure.
- Clear up any infection.
- Prevent the formation of scar tissue, and avoid permanent damage to the tissues lining the nose and sinuses.
At first while being treated for acute or chronic sinusitis, you may begin to feel better from antibiotics and home treatment, but sometimes your symptoms become worse and additional treatment may be needed.
For acute sinusitis
Short-term (acute) sinusitis usually lasts less than 4 weeks. Up to two-thirds of people with acute sinusitis improve on their own without antibiotic treatment.footnote 1 Sinus infections are commonly caused by viral infections, which do not respond to antibiotics. Talking with your doctor will help you determine whether treatment with antibiotics is needed for your acute sinus infection.
Most people recover completely when treated with an antibiotic for acute sinusitis that is caused by a bacterial infection. The number of days you take antibiotics depends on the antibiotic and how bad the infection is. When you are prescribed an antibiotic, be sure to take it until it is gone, even if you feel better. Always take an antibiotic exactly as your doctor tells you, or the infection may not go away completely.
For chronic sinusitis
Sinusitis that lasts 12 weeks or longer is called chronic sinusitis. It is more difficult to treat and responds more slowly to antibiotics than acute sinusitis.
Antibiotic therapy is usually recommended for chronic sinusitis and may require a longer course of treatment. You may need to try more than one antibiotic. A corticosteroid nasal spray that reduces inflammation and swelling of the lining of the nasal passages may also be used during treatment.
In some people, a sinus infection may be caused by a fungus or a bacterium other than those normally associated with sinusitis. People who have an impaired immune system are at risk for these unusual infections. It also may include people who must use an oral or inhaled corticosteroid medication (such as prednisone). Fungal sinusitis, which accounts for a significant number of chronic sinusitis cases, does not respond to antibiotic treatment and may need treatment with antifungal medications, corticosteroids, or surgery.
Surgery may be required if you have taken antibiotics for an extended period of time but still have symptoms or when complications (such as infection of facial bones) are likely. For more information, see:
What to think about
Sinusitis may be difficult to diagnose, because it often causes the same symptoms as a cold or other viral illness, especially in its early stages. It can be particularly difficult to identify sinusitis in children. If your child or you have frequent sinus infections, learn what signs to watch for, and begin home treatment immediately.
Symptoms of chronic sinusitis are often vague and may not respond well to treatment. It may take time and patience to find a successful treatment.
There are several ways you may reduce your chance of getting sinusitis:
- Treat stuffiness (nasal congestion) caused by colds or allergies promptly. This can help you prevent a bacterial infection from developing in your sinuses.
- Avoid contact with people who have colds and other viral upper respiratory infections. If you do have contact with people who have these infections, wash your hands often, especially after being in contact with those who are infected.
- Avoid cigarette, cigar, and pipe smoke in your home and workplace. Smoke causes and further irritates inflamed membranes in your nose and sinuses.
- If you have allergies, avoid the things that trigger your allergy attacks. Consider talking to your doctor about immunotherapy, such as allergy shots. For more information, see the topic Allergic Rhinitis.
- Avoid breathing dry air. Consider using a humidifier at home and work to increase the moisture in the air.
Home treatment may relieve symptoms of pain and pressure associated with short-term (acute) sinusitis. Home treatment may improve drainage of mucus from the sinuses and prevent the need for antibiotics.
- Drink plenty of fluids to help keep your mucus thin.
- Apply moist heat (using a hot, damp towel or gel pack) to your face for 5 to 10 minutes, several times a day.
- Breathe warm, moist air from a steamy shower, a hot bath, or a sink filled with hot water. Avoid extremely cool, dry air. Consider using a humidifier to increase the moisture in the air in your home.
- Use saltwater nasal washes (saline lavage or irrigation) to help keep the nasal passages open and wash out mucus and bacteria. You can purchase saline nose drops or sprays at a pharmacy or make your own saline solution at home. If you make saline at home, use distilled water or water that has been boiled and then cooled. People who have post-nasal drip and are around age 8 and older may also find it helpful to gargle often with warm salt water. This can help prevent a sore throat.
- If you need to blow your nose, do it gently. Forceful blowing may force thick mucus back into your sinuses and block them. Keep both nostrils open when blowing your nose.
- Avoid alcohol. It causes swelling of the tissue lining the nose and sinuses.
- Try over-the-counter medicines to relieve pain or stuffy nose. Be safe with medicines. Read and follow all instructions on the label. Do not use the medicine longer than the label says.
If you have chronic sinusitis, you'll probably need to continue the above home treatment measures for a long period of time to keep your sinuses clear.
Medicines may be needed when symptoms of sinusitis are severe or do not improve. The goals of treatment with medicine are to:
- Treat the infection, which is usually caused by bacteria if your symptoms have lasted more than 7 to 10 days.
- Relieve pressure and pain caused by poor sinus drainage.
- Reduce inflammation of the nose and sinuses.
Medicines are used and sometimes combined to treat sinusitis. Read and follow all instructions on the label.
- Antibiotics kill bacteria. An antibiotic often used is amoxicillin with clavulanate.
- Decongestants reduce the swelling of the mucous membranes in the nose. Some examples may include oxymetazoline (for example, Dristan) and xylometazoline (for example, Otrivin).
- Analgesics relieve pain. Some examples include acetaminophen (for example, Tylenol) and ibuprofen (for example, Advil).
- Corticosteroids reduce inflammation in the nasal passages. Some examples include beclomethasone or mometasone (Nasonex). Most of the time, they come in the form of a nasal spray.
- Mucolytics thin mucus. Some examples include guaifenesin (for example, Robitussin).
What to think about
If you are taking antibiotics for a sinus infection, do not stop taking the antibiotics early just because you feel better. Take the entire course of antibiotics. The infection may not go away if you do not take all of the antibiotics prescribed by your doctor.
Antibiotic treatment is successful in most cases of short-term (acute) sinusitis when it is caused by bacteria. You should notice improvement within 3 to 4 days after you begin taking an antibiotic.
Chronic sinusitis may last 12 weeks or longer and usually requires 3 to 4 weeks of antibiotic treatment. Symptoms may persist or return despite adequate antibiotic treatment. A different antibiotic may be needed to treat the infection. Referral to an ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialist (also called an otolaryngologist) may be needed if symptoms of sinusitis do not go away despite long-term antibiotic treatment.
The goal of surgery is to make drainage of the sinuses better, usually by removing the blockage and draining the mucus. This may mean removing:
- Infected, swollen, or damaged tissue.
- Bone, to create a wider opening for drainage of mucus from the sinuses.
- Growths (polyps) inside the nose or sinuses.
- A foreign object that is blocking a nasal or sinus passage. This usually occurs in children.
Surgery may be the only means of getting a badly blocked, infected sinus to drain properly. But surgery does not always completely eliminate sinusitis. Some people may need a second operation.
Surgery is most successful when used along with medicine and home treatment to prevent future sinusitis. A second surgery and future sinusitis may be avoided if antibiotics are taken to prevent reinfection.
Endoscopic surgery is preferred over traditional surgery for most cases of chronic sinusitis that require surgery. It is less invasive, less expensive, and has a lower rate of complications.
- Endoscopic surgery may be done to remove small amounts of bone or other material blocking the sinus openings or to remove growths (polyps). Normally, a thin, lighted tool called an endoscope is inserted through the nose so the doctor can see and remove whatever is blocking the sinuses.
- Sinus surgery may be done when complications of sinusitis-such as the development of pus in a sinus, infection of the facial bones, or brain abscess-have occurred. In this type of surgery, the doctor makes an opening into the sinus from inside the mouth or through the skin of the face.
What to think about
Very few people need surgery to treat sinusitis. But you may need surgery if ALL of these are true:
- Your doctor says that you have chronic sinusitis.
- You've followed what's called "maximum medical treatment" for 4 to 6 weeks. This means that you've taken medicines and followed home treatment for at least 4 to 6 weeks. This treatment includes antibiotics, a steroid nasal spray, and other prescription medicines.
- You've had a CT scan of your sinuses after the 4 to 6 weeks of treatment. It is very important to have the CT scan done after this treatment. Reducing the swelling and infection as much as possible lets your doctor see what could be causing your infections.
- The CT scan shows that something, such as nasal polyps, is keeping your sinuses from draining as they should.
You also may need surgery if:
- You have a sinus infection caused by a fungus. Infections caused by fungus cannot be cleared up with antibiotics.
- You have a serious problem such as an infection that spreads beyond your sinuses. This is rare.
The extent of the blockage and other problems determine how extensive your surgery will need to be. Surgery may be limited to removal of infected tissue or small growths (polyps) inside the nose. More extensive surgery involves removing pieces of bone to create a wider opening to allow a sinus to drain.
Sinus surgery is always performed by an ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialist (also called an otolaryngologist).
Other Places To Get Help
- Ah-See K (2015). Sinusitis (acute rhinosinusitis). BMJ Clinical Evidence. http://clinicalevidence.bmj.com/x/systematic-review/0511/overview.html. Accessed April 14, 2016.
Other Works Consulted
- Ah-See K (2015). Sinusitis (acute rhinosinusitis). BMJ Clinical Evidence. http://clinicalevidence.bmj.com/x/systematic-review/0511/overview.html. Accessed April 14, 2016.
- Chow AW, et al. (2012). IDSA clinical practice guideline for acute bacterial rhinosinusitis in children and adults. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 54(8): e72-e112.
- Rosenfeld R, et al. (2015). Clinical practice guideline (updated): Adult sinusitis. Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, 152(2S): S1-S39. Accessed June 16, 2015.
- Rubin MA, et al. (2015). Sore throat, earache, and upper respiratory symptoms. In DL Kasper et al., eds., Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 19th ed., vol. 1, pp. 225-235. New York: McGraw-Hill Education.
Primary Medical Reviewer Patrice Burgess, MD - Family Medicine
Anne C. Poinier, MD - Internal Medicine
E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine
Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine
Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine
Specialist Medical Reviewer Donald R. Mintz, MD - Otolaryngology
Martin J. Gabica, MD - Family Medicine
Current as ofMay 4, 2017
Current as of: May 4, 2017
Author: Healthwise Staff
Medical Review: Patrice Burgess, MD - Family Medicine & Anne C. Poinier, MD - Internal Medicine & E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine & Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine & Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine & Donald R. Mintz, MD - Otolaryngology & Martin J. Gabica, MD - Family Medicine
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Where they male or female? Age? Where did they come from? When did they arrive? These are the questions that Lydia Lingerfelt and Dr. Pilger wanted to answer about the two skeletons that are owned by Agnes Scott College Biology department. They decided to use osteological information to learn about the biological history of the two skeletons, historical records, catalogs, and surveys completed by Agnes Scott alumni to discover the year the skeletons arrived.
In addition to discovering the time the skeletons arrived, Lydia and Dr. Pilger wanted to find the age, sex, and health status of these two skeletons. They sent out surveys to Biology majors who attended Agnes Scott from the year 1965 and earlier years, looked at yearbooks dating back to the year 1889, and old catalogs to try to figure out when the skeletons arrived. It was discovered that one skeleton was used in a Physiology and Hygiene class in 1906 and the oldest alumni recalls seeing a skeleton when she attended Agnes Scott in 1931. Also, there is a reference to a skeleton in an Agnes Scott yearbook that was made in 1899 referring to the skeleton as Bonsey.
The sex was determined by using os coxae (pelvic bone) morphology and cranial features, It was discovered that one skeleton (skeleton A) was a male and the second skeleton (skeleton B) was a male. The age of the skeletons was discovered by using the dental development, bone fusion, and cranial suture fusion.
In conclusion, they discovered that the skeletons were both males and their age ranged from 35 to 55, one skeleton has been at the college since 1899 and the second arrived before 1931, skeleton A had servere periostitis of the left femur, and skeleton B had servere periodontitis and was a vegetarian.
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The Language Program Coordinator at my unit and I are currently revamping the existing Heritage Language Track. By rethinking the actual design of the sequence, I have come across several interesting tools that could be used in introductory courses, and that would substitute some of the outdated materials that students feel so out of touch with in the language classroom.
One of them are memes. According to the Internetslang.com, a meme is: "an idea that spreads like a virus by word of mouth, e-mail, blogs, etc". Here's an example of one:
Memes can be used to raise awareness about certain aspects of the grammar in an approachable and entertaining way. In fact, there are many freeware tools on the web that allow us to create our own (click here to check one of them).
This week, I tried some of them in class with my students. We were going over some orthographical rules, and I found this mine of memes and infographs that effectively touched upon the crucial points of the lesson:
I have always been fascinated by the power of corpora. From simple compilations of news, articles and interviews to more sophisticated and specific learner corpora, these (mostly open-access) tools are a source of endless research topics. In this post, I would like to share some links to the most interesting language corpora out there. Use them wisely, and remember, sharing is caring!
Two weeks ago, I decided to succumb to the temptation, and I created an account on Twitter.
And, oh boy, is it addictive! But in a good way.
Its intuitive and fresh interface allowed me to join some interesting discussion groups on bilingual and heritage education and language assessment. I am now connected to groups such as @Multi_Ling_Mat (Multilingual Matters), @actfl or @Lg_on_the_Move (Language on the Move), and I am constantly updated on new articles, promotions and language-related news.
As you may have imagined/read about, Twitter can also be used as an interactive tool in the foreign language classroom. By creating your own hashtag (#) or a username shared by all the members of the class, we can offer students a trendy way to be in touch with the most updated hispanic realities (news, music, culture, events...). The other day I stumbled upon this great page developed by a Spanish Instructor, in which he cited some of the ways in which we can implement Twitter in the classroom.This next site is less language-specific, but it includes a list of 50 creative ways to use Twitter in the classroom.
Below you will find a list of some of the users that I follow in connection with Spanish, language acquisition and pedagogy:
1. Educación INTEF @educaINTEF Instituto Nacional de Tecnologías Educativas y de Formación de Profesorado del Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte.
2. SpanglishBaby @spanglishbaby Online resource & community for parents Raising Bicultural and #BilingualKids
3. LARC SDSU @LARC_SDSUOpen Door to Language & Culture/ Mission: Develop & support the teaching & learning of foreign languages in the US through research, technology, & publications.
4. Multilingual Matters @Multi_Ling_Mat We publish titles on applied linguistics, multilingualism, second language acquisition, language education and translation.
5. COERLL @COERLLThe Center for Open Educational Resources & Language Learning (COERLL) produces and disseminates OER to support language teaching and learning.
6. ACTFL @actfl The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages provides vision, leadership & support for world language teaching & learning at all instruction levels
7. CASLS @CASLS_NFLRCCASLS integrates technology and research with curriculum, assessment, professional development, and program development.
8. Language on the Move @Lg_on_the_Move Language learning, bilingualism, multilingualism, cross-cultural communication, social inclusion, justice, human rights, tourism, migration, transnationalism
9.CALPER @CALPERPANational LRC at the Pennsylvania State University. Developing materials, conducting educational sessions. Your source for info on language learning & teaching.
10. INFOLING.org @infoling Infoling distribuye informaciones sobre eventos científicos, novedades bibliográficas y ofertas de trabajo.
11. Bilingualism Matters @BilingualismMat Advice and info on bilingualism from researchers at Edinburgh Uni
12. RAE @RAEinforma La Real Academia Española (RAE), fundada en 1713, vela por el buen uso y la unidad de la lengua española, patrimonio común de 500 millones de hispanohablantes.
13. Ele que Ele @ElequeEle_es Este es el Twitter de http://www.elequeele.es , blog informativo del mundo ELE, aquí podréis encontrar todas las novedades publicadas en el blog y más sorpresas.
14. CVC. Inst. Cervantes @cvc_cervantesInstituto Cervantes: Canal de novedades del Centro Virtual Cervantes y sus portales de contenidos.15. Todoele @todoele Sitio web para profesores de español como lengua extranjera.
16. LSA @LingSocAm The Linguistic Society of America
Oh, the hours we spend designing amazing activities for our language classes! And the countless times we wished we had bookmarked that site that had those podcasts that we needed for our lesson on POR and PARA...
Over the years I have been accumulating the links of those magic websites that save us a few hours every week. These are some of the most treasured amongst my dear dear collection. Enjoy!
1. Todoele.net - As its name indicates, everything ELE (Español Lengua Extranjera). With tons of activities classified by grammatical item, topic and difficulty.
2. TICELE - where the podcast dreams are made of... amazing site with links to the most amazing videos and podcasts out there!
3. marcoELE - created in 2005, marcoELE is both a journal on teaching Spanish as a foreign language and a repository with gazillions of activities ready to use in the classroom.
4. Edinumen - This Spanish editorial added some freebies to their webpage a few year ago.
5. Instituto Cervantes - news, journals, images, activities and so much more. This is the official webpage of one of the most important institutions that regulates the teaching of Spanish as a foreign language.
6. Bablingua - free resources for teachers.
7. Dialectoteca del español - Do you want to expose your students to different varieties of Spanish? Well, this is the place for you!
8. RedELE - official journal of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Education dedicated to the teaching of Spanish as a foreign language. Nice place to find articles on applied linguistics and some really cool ideas too!
9. JRamonELE - great great blog by a Spanish teacher!
We are always talking about standardizing our research tools by creating a community where experimental tasks and proficiency measures can be shared by all. Unfortunately, it is rarely the case that these great ideas become a reality.
The IRIS repository (sponsored by the University of York and Georgetown University) is one of those cases. Although it has not been updated in a while, one can obtain the stimuli used in different research projects developed by researchers working at those institutions.
Great project that will hopefully spread to other research institutions!
This is a blog where I will collect all types of resources for linguists and language teachers.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: The Measurement Lab (M-Lab) data contains the speed at which users can connect to the internet, as measured by M-Lab equipment. It does not contain information on what rate of connection a consumer pays for. Readers should consider that subscription speeds and other factors could affect the M-Lab data, especially when comparing M-Lab to data from the Federal Communications Commission. While the M-Lab process is designed to measure actual connection speeds of individual consumers, the FCC data shows the highest possible speed (as reported by the ISP) that at least one home or business within a census tract could theoretically subscribe to. So, for example, if a subscriber could purchase 500 megbits per second download but purchased a subscription for only 25 mbps, under normal circumstances that user’s best M-Lab connection speed would be, at most, 25 mbps, while the FCC broadband map would should that 500 mbps is available.
This article discusses broadband availability and usage comparing federal data to data obtained through open source speed test. Small towns and rural areas may lack representation in the open-source speed test. You may participate in the study here.
In February of this year, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released the initial version of its Broadband Map, which is focused on the fixed broadband deployment situation across the country (i.e. not mobile). This map and its underlying data represent a change from previous efforts in this area – namely, the National Broadband Map (NBM) that was funded through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act but is no longer being updated. While the NBM was compiled by different entities in each state with only voluntary participation from providers, the FCC version is based on data from Form 477, which is required from all facilities-based providers (like AT&T, Comcast, and satellite companies) twice each year. The data currently being used are from December 2016, while the NBM still shows June 2014 records. Both the FCC and the NBM provided data at a relatively low level of geographic detail –census blocks, which typically contain 30 to 500 people. There were over 11 million census blocks as of the 2010 Census. Providers are required to detail all census blocks where their service is available, along with the speeds available (from eight possible tiers) and technology type.
On its face, the FCC’s map seems to be an improvement from previous broadband data collection efforts. However, criticism of the map and its underlying data has been fast and furious. Less than a week after the map was released, Citylab released a bruising critique that focused on the imprecision associated with the search-by-address function, the lack of pricing data, and the fact that new Internet providers are left out completely. Motherboard described numerous problems that users faced, including duplicative listings of providers and inaccurate descriptions of the speeds they can provide. A piece in the Daily Yonder worried that defining satellite as broadband was problematic for rural areas. And, a Slate article emphasized that the FCC map only includes fixed (not mobile) data, and that the map does not track actual speeds – only the maximum advertised speeds, which are not necessarily representative of what customers experience.
It is this last piece of the puzzle that we focus on here: the fact that the map’s listing of maximum advertised download speeds does not mesh with true, on-the-ground experiences for many rural areas. This was made clear to us as we conducted focus groups of people who took advantage of rural library hotspot lending programs (we visited 24 small communities in Kansas and Maine with such programs, and conducted focus groups in nine of those. Our research, funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services, examines the information and connectivity environment for rural areas of Maine and Kansas. The focus group participants commonly pointed out that only relatively slow speeds (less than 10 megabits per second) were available from their local provider, despite the FCC’s broadband map depicting the area as having access to speeds of 25 or even 50 MBPS.
As we tried to figure out this discrepancy, we were alerted to another source of data that would prove useful: Measurement Lab. This lab is a consortium of research, industry, and public-interest partners focused on providing verifiable Internet speed measurements. Essentially, Internet consumers run speed tests through the lab’s website, and the data is compiled by city to paint a picture of “true” speeds that are actually experienced in that location. The data are available for over 87,000 cities across the world – but, as might be expected, the number of tests run is sometimes small in rural locations. This data have been used in several publications – typically to make the point that the FCC’s map is simply not telling the same story as the speed tests, or to measure the actual speeds in public schools. A variety of metrics are available from the Measurement Lab site, but in our opinion the most telling are the median, average, and maximum download speeds, along with the number of tests run (by provider) in a particular city. The M-Lab allows tests from both mobile and fixed connections, but in our experience with rural locations the entries are dominated by the local fixed provider. An example of the summary report available for Clearwater, Kansas (pop. 2,423), is shown below: (As a reminder, the median rate is the point at which half of the speed tests were faster and half were slower.)
We compared the FCC data and the M-Lab data for our 24 library hotspot sites. The results (shown in the table below) are striking. While residents of nearly every city on the list are shown as having at least 25 MBPS available to them, the median speeds of actual connections are below 10 MBPS in all but two cities. In seven cases, the median speed is below 5 MBPS – even though the FCC depicts them as having 25 MBPS available.
(Population data is from American Community Survey 2012-16. FCC speed is from December 2016. M-Lab data is from June 2017-2018. N/A – speed test not available in that location.)
It is interesting that in most locations, the maximum speed reported is close to (or greatly exceeds) the datapoint reported by the FCC; however, these speeds are far from the typical experience for most users in these locations. For example, in Steuben, Maine, the maximum reported speed was 87 MBPS; however, the median user (out of 119 observations) only experienced speeds of less than 2 MBPS. These discrepancies require further exploration; it may be that the high-speed observation was via a dedicated network (such as a university or library) that is not available to residential customers.
Overall, the M-Lab data is a useful source of information for rural advocates who are concerned that the FCC’s Broadband Map does not paint an accurate picture of the connectivity situation in their area. Their data also should be useful for policymakers. Broadband is a hot topic in the rural arena, with implications for economic development, health care, civic engagement, and education. It is important for broadband activists and policymakers to be aware (and have data to prove) that the FCC’s “maximum speed available” is generally not the same as the “typical speed experienced.” These discrepancies also highlight the need to distinguish between “enterprise” users’ speeds and household access and speeds. Much of the economic development literature correctly recognizes the needs of both businesses and individuals, but fails to distinguish what that means in terms of on-the-ground connectivity options for these two groups.
Brian Whitacre is a professor in the department of Agricultural Economics at Oklahoma State University.
Sharon Strover is a Regents Professor in Communication at the University of Texas, where she directs the Technology and Information Policy Institute.
Colin Rhinesmith is an assistant professor in the School of Library and Information Science at Simmons College.
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Plastic Pollution Deal ‘Marks A Triumph By Planet Earth’by Jamie Hailstone · Forbes
More than 170 nations across the globe have backed a historic UN resolution to end plastic pollution, with an international legally binding agreement to be in place by 2024.
The resolution at today’s (2 March) UN Environment Assembly conference in Nairobi establishes an international committee, which will begin work on the agreement later this year.
UNEP executive director Inger Andersen said the agreement “marks a triumph by planet earth over single-use plastics” and added is was the “most significant environmental multilateral deal since the Paris accord”.
It is expected the agreement will address the full lifecycle of plastics, the design of reusable and recyclable products and materials, and the need for enhanced international collaboration to facilitate access to technology.
“It is an insurance policy for this generation and future ones, so they may live with plastic and not be doomed by it.” added Andersen.
Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi, Japan’s environment minister, whose draft resolution contributed to the final resolution, commented: “The resolution will clearly take us towards a future with no plastic pollution, including in the marine environment. United, we can make it happen. Together, let us go forward as we start the negotiations towards a better future with no plastic pollution.”
A report published last month by the OECD, which warned only 9% of plastic waste is successfully recycled, outlined the scale of the problem.
According to the OECD Global Plastic Outlook report, the average person in the United States generated 221 kg of plastic waste a year, compared to 114 kg in Europe.
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It also claimed most plastic pollution comes from inadequate collection and disposal of larger plastic debris known as macroplastics, but it conceded the leakage of microplastics is also a serious concern.
The report also found that the Covid crisis led to a 2.2% decrease in plastics use in 2020 as economic activity slowed, but a rise in littering, food takeaway packaging and plastic medical equipment such as masks has driven up littering.
But as economic activity resumed in 2021, it noted the amount of plastics consumed also rebounded.
A report published last month by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) also highlighted concerns about chemical-based ways of recycling plastic, which it concluded could even pose risks to human health.
Commenting on the UNEP announcement, the WWF’s chief conservation officer, Nik Sekhran, said: “As we strive toward securing a healthier future for people and the planet, today’s decision sets us on an ambitious mission to solve our plastic pollution crisis and to achieve a strong circular economy.
“In the next two years, we must work to ensure this treaty reaches its full potential. We are committed to ending plastic pollution and to working with governments, businesses and civil society to meet the commitments laid out in this impressive framework.”
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Most people consume vitamins and supplements to boost their bodily functions. Vitamin C, for instance, is a natural antioxidant that fights cell-damaging free radicals in the body. Some food supplements actually harm the body by reducing antibodies -- the proteins that the body produces to attack antigens such as bacteria, fungi or viruses that cause illness. Although vitamin C and other nutrients can fight disease, there are some supplements that affect the body's immune system negatively by reducing antibodies.
Omega-6 Fatty Acids
Omega-6 fatty acid is one of the chemicals necessary for survival that the body is incapable of producing. Foods high in omega-6 fatty acids, including oils, shortening, walnuts and sunflower seeds, can also negatively impact immune response. The European Union Food Information Council reports that diets high in fat can harm immune response by suppressing antibody production. The council's report states, "Diets that are high in fat seem to depress the immune response and thus increase the risk of infections. Reducing fat content in the diet can increase immune activity."
Vitamins and Calcium from Milk
Milk is one of the best nutritional sources of calcium, and vitamins A and D. People who drink milk for calcium and vitamins also feel the effects of bovine growth hormones fed to dairy cattle. These hormones, which are used to increase milk production, may reduce immune response. The Physicians for Social Responsibility cite a Health Canada study, which found negative immune system responses in 20 to 30 percent of laboratory animals tested.
Vitamins and Supplements with Gluten
Over-the-counter nutritional supplements are typically coated to prevent indigestion. The coating typically contains gluten, a health hazard for people diagnosed with celiac disease. Celiacs have a digestive intolerance to gluten, rendering coated vitamins a hindrance rather than a help. People with celiac disease that consume gluten shred their own immune system. When digested and dispersed in the bloodstream, gluten triggers the immune system to release specific anti-gluten antibodies. These antibodies become confused and begin attacking healthy tissues and other antibodies in the bloodstream. The cannibalization of the antibodies renders the nutrition gained from the gluten-coated vitamin useless.
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| 0.928246 | 447 | 3.359375 | 3 |
Want to know how old your dog is in human years? A new study states that calculating every dog year isn't equal to 7 human years.
That's because your dog ages differently than you.
Researchers at the University of California San Diego’s school of medicine said in a news release that a 1-year-old dog is similar to a 30-year-old person. But a 4-year-old pup is identical to a 52-year-old human.
"The formula is based on the changing patterns of methyl groups in dog and human genomes — how many of these chemical tags and where they’re located — as they age," researchers said in the release. "Since the two species don’t age at the same rate over their lifespans, it turns out it’s not a perfectly linear comparison, as the 1:7 years rule-of-thumb would suggest."
This graph formula, which was created from the study, will match up the age of your dog with the comparable human age.
Lead researcher Trey Ideker said that dogs that are younger age faster compared to humans.
“This makes sense when you think about it — after all, a nine-month-old dog can have puppies, so we already knew that the 1:7 ratio wasn’t an accurate measure of age," Ideker said.
For the new study, which was published in the journal Cell Systems, samples of blood from 105 Labrador retrievers were studied.
Researchers plan to study other dog breeds to see if their method holds up.
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A group of plaintiffs from Estonia, France, Ireland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, and the US are filing a lawsuit against the European Union on Monday (4 March) to challenge the inclusion of forest biomass in the bloc’s renewable energy directive. If the case is won, wood biomass will no longer be counted in the EU’s 2030 target for renewables.
If they get their way, this could deprive the EU of an energy source which currently makes up close to 60% of the bloc’s renewables, more than solar and wind power combined.
The precedent-setting case was filed with the EU court in Luxembourg on the 4th of March by a group of affected individuals and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
The group argues that EU institutions have failed to take account of scientific evidence showing that forest biomass harvesting and combustion for energy purposes exacerbates climate change by causing deforestation outside of Europe.
“The treatment of biomass as carbon neutral runs counter to scientific findings” showing that burning wood for energy typically emits 1.5 times more CO2 than coal and 3 times more than natural gas, the plaintiffs point out.
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What Constitutes Sexual Abuse?
Abuse can constitute many things, but in general it’s categorized by the cruel and or violent treatment of a person — often repeatedly. Most sexual abuse cases feature a person in a power role — either perceived or actual — taking advantage of this role in order to inflict harm of sexual nature. This sort of abuse can and often does, include physical and mental abuse.
While there are many similarities in abuse cases, no two are the same and as such the treatment for abuse needs to be catered to the victim.
How to Handle Sexual Abuse.
The first step for handling abuse is to cut ties with the abuser. While this is often the most difficult step, it’s necessary in order to effectively treat the victim. In many cases, the victim seeks therapy, but isn’t completely separated from the abuser and this sort of behavior is often detrimental to therapy.
It’s not uncommon for victims of sexual abuse to experience more than one type of abuse. Whether it’s physical, mental, or sexual abuse, cutting ties with the abuser is often difficult, as the form of abuse is generally a symptom of the root cause, which is control. The abuser typically makes it difficult to cut ties by using threats of violence or manipulating the victim into believing they caused the abuse in the first place. This leads to the victim blaming themselves or the environment factors (drinking, dressing a certain, way, etc.) rather than the abuser, which keeps them in the precarious position of remaining in an abusive environment.
After cutting ties, it’s necessary to begin the healing process through treatment.
Psychological Repercussions of Sexual Abuse
All forms of abuse have a negative impact on an individual’s life and victims often experience severe emotional and psychological problems as a result. Sexual abuse is no different. Children who have been sexually abused often experience emotional or developmental problems that make it difficult to develop relationships, focus, or control behavioral issues, as well as reducing performance in academic and social settings. Adults, on the other hand, often have problems trusting new people, forming healthy relationships in the future (they’ll often seek abusive behavior unknowingly) and increased risk of developing mental health issues, such as depression.
Sexual abuse has been linked to anxiety, anger issues, disassociation, mood and behavioral issues, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), shame, guilt, self-destructive behaviors, trust issues and even thoughts of suicide.
Methods Typically used in Therapy for Sexual Abuse.
As no two sexual abuse cases are exactly the same, the treatments vary wildly depending on the patient and the exact details of the assault. For example, a therapist wouldn’t often treat a rape college-aged date rape victim the same way he’d treat a child that suffered abuse at the hands of a family member.
Common treatments for abuse are:
Psychotherapy — or talk therapy — is often successful at treating victims of sexual abuse. The therapy revolves around the one on one relationship with the victim and the therapist. In the early stages of therapy, the therapist is more inclined to just listen which ensures that the victim moves at a pace in which they are comfortable with while developing trust in the process, and the therapist himself. This trust leads to the victim being more open and vocal about the situation so that the therapist can assess and determine the best course of treatment.
Medication – such as anti-depressants – are often used in accordance with therapy for victims of sexual abuse and/or assault. While these are rarely prescribed without on-going psychotherapy, the medication often helps to reduce thoughts of suicide or self-harm in the most extreme cases.
On-going support — such as group therapy — is typically the next step in the process. As the patient begins to heal the mental and physical wounds brought on by sexual misconduct, the therapist will often suggest group therapy as a supplemental therapy to their one-on-one sessions. Hearing the stories of other sexual abuse survivors as well as being able to provide support in a safe setting often helps the victim to put the pieces of their life back together and form new relationships.
Reasons for Hiring a Therapist.
Sexual abuse is a tricky subject, and it’s often difficult for the victim to regain their “normal†life after experiencing such a traumatic event or series of events. Finding the right therapist will help you to regain a sense of normalcy that is often missing after victims recognize and separate from situations that could lead to additional trauma.
It’s not uncommon for the victim to blame themselves or feel their own flaws or actions led to them being sexually assaulted or abused. A therapist will help you to recognize the actual patterns of abuse and show that the fault lies within the hands of the sexual abuser — not the victim. Through recognition of these behaviors, it also leads the affected party into healthy ways to form new relationships as opposed to subconsciously gravitating toward other abusers or those that display abusive behavior or patterns. It’s not uncommon for sexual abuse survivors to gravitate toward non-sexual abusive behavior after treatment. Since the sexual abuse is merely a symptom of the control that the abuser seeks, the victim will often subconsciously seek this sort of dangerous behavior after treatment.
What to Look for in a Sexual Abuse Therapist.
In most cases, a therapist that specializes in sexual abuse is the best course of action for a victim. These therapists are well versed in these sorts of cases and have years of experience in dealing with the victims of sexual crimes or misconduct. If you can’t find a therapist that specializes in sexual abuse, it’s often best to contact a general therapy expert and ask for recommendations, or start attending group therapy sessions in your local area. In situations where none of the above is an option, trauma therapists and relational therapists are also often qualified to treat these types of cases.
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Disadvantages: As long as the motor rotates the carbon […]
Disadvantages: As long as the motor rotates the carbon brush, bai will produce du wear. When the water pump runs to a certain extent, the carbon brush wear gap becomes larger and the sound will increase. After hundreds of hours of continuous operation, the carbon brush will not work The role of commutation.
Advantages: low price. The motor-type brushless DC pumpDC Water Pumps Suppliers in China is composed of a brushless DC motor and an impeller. The shaft of the motor is connected to the impeller.
Disadvantages: There is a gap between the stator and the rotor of the water pump. After a long time of use, the water will penetrate into the motor and the motor will easily burn out.
Advantages: The brushless DC motor has been standardized and mass-produced by specialized manufacturers, with relatively low cost and high efficiency. The magnet and impeller of the brushless DC magnetic drive pump are injection molded to form the rotor of the motor. There is a shaft sleeve directly injection molded in the middle of the rotor, which is fixed in the shell by a high-performance ceramic shaft. The stator and circuit board of the motor are made of epoxy resin. The glue is potted in the pump body, and there is a thin-walled isolation between the stator and the rotor, and there is no need to match with a traditional mechanical shaft seal, so it is completely sealed. The torque of the motor is the magnetic field generated by the coil on the silicon steel sheet (stator) to drive the permanent magnet (rotor) to work. The magnet is magnetized in n (n is an even number) stages so that the magnet parts form a complete coupling magnetic system. When the magnetic poles generated by the stator coils are opposite to the magnetic poles of the magnet, that is, the displacement angle between the two magnetic poles Φ=0, the magnetic energy of the magnetic system is the lowest; when the magnetic poles rotate to the same pole, the displacement between the two magnetic poles The angle Φ=2π/n, the magnetic energy of the magnetic system is the maximum at this time. After removing the external force, since the magnetic poles of the magnetic system repel each other, the magnetic force will restore the magnet to the lowest magnetic energy state. Then the magnet moves and drives the magnetic rotor to rotate.
The brushless DC water pump adopts electronic commutation and does not need to use carbon brushes. The magnet rotor and the stator silicon steel sheet have multi-level magnetic fields. When the magnet rotor rotates an angle relative to the stator, the magnetic pole direction will be automatically changed, so that the rotor always maintains the same level of repulsion So that the brushless DC magnetic isolation pump has a higher speed and efficiency.
The stator and rotor of the magnetic isolation pump are completely isolated, completely avoiding the liquid leakage problem of the traditional motor-type brushless DC pump. And it can be used completely submerged and completely waterproof, which effectively improves the service life and performance of the pump.
Advantages: long life, low noise up to 35dB or less, can be used for hot water circulation. The stator and circuit board of the motor are potted with epoxy resin and completely isolated from the rotor. They can be installed underwater and are completely waterproof. The shaft of the water pump adopts a high-performance ceramic shaft with high precision and good shock resistance.
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| 0.919528 | 736 | 2.578125 | 3 |
For twenty years, President Jimmy Carter held the record for the most number of 11th hour executive orders. Outgoing presidents have been notorious for stepping up their activity in the Oval Office just before they have to turn out the lights. But Jimmy Carter set the bar so high it seemed unlikely that anyone would surpass his record. President Bill Clinton, however, did just that. His flurry of last-minute executive orders broke the Carter record that stood for twenty years.
During his two terms as president, Bill Clinton averaged about one executive order each week. By doing so, he was able to effectively legislate from the Oval Office. He wrote executive orders to set aside large tracts of land as national monuments. He wrote executive orders to restructure federalism. He wrote executive orders adding "sexual orientation" to laws on federal hiring. He wrote executive orders prohibiting federal contractors from hiring permanent striker replacements. In other words, he exercised a legislative function: he made laws.
In the past, presidents have used executive orders in order to move the executive branch of government in a particular direction. Presidents have used executive orders to close banks during the Depression, desegregate the armed forces, intern Japanese-Americans during World War II, protect endangered species, and ban assassination of foreign leaders. President Clinton merely took an existing executive privilege and vastly expanded it to allow him to make laws while sitting in the Oval Office.
And President Clinton followed in the tradition of President Carter in putting out a rash of executive orders during his last few months in office. Just on Jimmy Carter's last day in office alone, the Federal Register (a daily summation of new rules for the executive branch) was three times its normal size. The regulations drafted by President Carter and numerous lame-duck regulators earned the nickname: midnight regulations. By the time all the dust settled, it was estimated that President Carter added about 24,500 pages of last-minute regulations. President Clinton surpassed that record with over 30,000 pages of new regulations in the last 90 days.
The cost of these regulations is still being calculated. One of President Clinton's last-minute regulations concerned "ergonomic standards" for employers. These rules require that typists have wrist pads, adjustable-height chairs, and good lumbar support. Failure to comply with these regulations can result in fines and various legal action. Industry groups estimate that these regulations alone will cost $40 billion a year or more.
Another expensive last-minute action by President Clinton was the executive order that banned new roads on nearly 60 million acres of public lands. For years, environmental groups tried to designate these lands as "wilderness areas." That would require congressional approval. With the stroke of the pen, President Clinton achieved the same result and effectively locked-up vast acres of land from logging, mining, and other commercial enterprises. In the past, President Clinton also locked up valuable natural resources when he created the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument and the American Heritage Rivers Initiative. Both were the result of executive orders and will cost this country significantly in terms of unavailable resources.
The regulatory cost of executive orders is enormous. The National Center for Policy Analysis estimates that all of these executive regulations cost the economy more than $700 billion a year. That is more than the federal government spends on any budget item except Medicare, Social Security, and defense. The annual cost of federal regulations works out to about $7000 per household.
Critics have been calling for President Bush to overturn the flurry of executive orders signed by President Clinton. Doing so will be more difficult than most people realize. Consider the difficulties that President Reagan faced in overturning many of President Carter's executive orders.
President Reagan came into office and put an immediate freeze on Jimmy Carter's midnight regulations. But when it came time to begin to reverse these orders, President Reagan found himself thwarted by federal courts that ruled that existing regulations could not be arbitrarily ignored or revoked. Instead, they required that new regulations be crafted to reverse old ones. And this process is a lengthy one which requires advance notice and public comment.
President Bush will face many of these same obstacles. Like President Reagan, he put a freeze on Bill Clinton's last-minute executive orders. Over the next few months and years, his administration will face the daunting task of rewriting and revising these executive orders according to the dictates of federal court rulings.
By working at each area in a piecemeal fashion, President Bush will probably achieve a level of success. This will be a time-consuming process, but can be successful as long as his administration applies continuous pressure on the process.
President Bush will also be able to achieve greater success by signing his own executive orders that will move his agenda forward. Many of President Clinton's executive orders which are not tied to administrative regulations can be undone by the stroke of President Bush's pen. By following this process of revision and initiation, President Bush will begin to roll back some of the agenda of President Bill Clinton.
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This is part 3 of 8 in a series on administering the Verbal Behavior Milestones and Assessment Protocol (VB-MAPP). If you haven’t yet read part 1 yet, you can start there.
The first step to administering the VB-MAPP is having the required materials . They are listed here again for reference:
- VB-MAPP Protocol
- 10 preferred items that could serve as reinforcers (e.g., chips, M&Ms, toys)
- 10 pictures of everyday things, people, or animals that are familiar to the child (e.g., toys, family members, and pets)
- 10 everyday objects that are familiar to the child (e.g., utensils, toys, snacks). Must include:
- Blocks or Ring Stacker for assessing stacking.
- Small objects for assessing pincer grasp
- 2-3 inset puzzles that involve identical matching (must have 10 pieces total between all puzzles) or 10 pairs of identical items (e.g., pair of identical forks, pair of identical blocks, etc.)
In addition to these materials, you will also need access to similar age peers to assess social skills.
Types of Assessment
Within the VB-MAPP assessment, some skills are assessed with direct testing and marked with a (T). Others are marked with an (O) for observation. Some of the observations have a timed criterion (TO). Finally, some skills can be assessed with either testing or observation. These are marked with an (E).
Once you have all the materials for the VB-MAPP, it is time to start your assessment! The first step is building rapport with the child that you are working with. Take 5-10 minutes to just observe and play with the child you are assessing. While you are building rapport and observing, you can start to take data on the observable skills.
There are a total of 29 observable skills across 8 domains in the first level of the VB-MAPP. These are separated by category as follows:
- Manding Milestones 1, 3, 4, and 5
- Tacting Milestone 4
- Listener Responding Milestones 1 and 3
- Visual Perceptual Skills and Matching to Sample (VP-MTS) Milestones 1-5
- Independent Play Milestones 1-5
- Social Behavior and Social Play Milestones 1-5
- Motor Imitation Milestone 4
- Spontaneous Vocal Behavior Milestones 1-5
As you can see, you can use observation to get more than half of the milestones in this area! However, you will often need to do direct testing in order to evoke the target behaviors.
Once you have completed the rapport-building and observation portion of the assessment, it is time to begin direct testing. In this portion, you will also assess any milestones that you were not able to observe occurring spontaneously in the observation portion. You will also directly test any milestones that require direct testing. For convenience, these are listed below:
- Manding Milestone 2
- Tacting Milestones 1-3 and 5
- Listener Responding Milestones 2, 4, and 5
- Motor Imitation Milestones 1-3 and 5
- Echoic Milestones 1-5
For taking data on these milestones, we recommend writing directly on the VB-MAPP protocol.
Completing Level 1
Once you have completed the entirety of the level 1 assessment, it is time to determine if you should go on to level 2 of the VB-MAPP. There are two primary considerations:
- Has the child mastered any of the nine domains in the first level (e.g., Manding, Echoics, etc?) If so, continue on to Level 2.
- Is the child older than 18 months? If so, he or she may have skills that are beyond level 1. It is worth at least briefly skimming level 2 and level 3 to check if the child may have any “splinter skills” — i.e. skills that are out of proportion with the child’s other abilities. For example, independent play skills are often at higher levels than other skills for children with Autism.
Thank you this was very straight to the point yet informative … clear and concise.
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As the Prairies face wind chill temperatures of -40, officials issue an extreme cold alert.
But head east, and the City of Toronto does the same when it gets below -15 C. And halfway across the country, the City of Vancouver’s threshold is even less: at 0 C.
All across Canada, there are different criteria for what constitutes an emergency cold.
That’s because Environment Canada bases it on climatological norms instead of one specific criteria, Global News meteorologist Ross Hull explained.
“For instance, temperatures on average are much lower during the winter in a city such as Winnipeg compared to Toronto. So the warnings are tailored to what are considered weather extremes for a particular area,” he said.
Across the southern Prairies, the criteria for an extreme cold warning is a wind chill of -40 or colder for at least two hours, but in southern Ontario, the criteria is a wind chill of -30 or colder for at least two hours.
WATCH: Drastic cold snap in Edmonton brings out warmth in humanity
It’s worse in Yellowknife, where the criteria is a wind chill of -50 for at least two hours before issuing an extreme cold weather alert.
The alerts are meant to allow Canadians to prepare and avoid frostbite, frostnip and hypothermia.
Here’s how cold it needs to be before Environment Canada issues an extreme cold warning:
But Environment Canada isn’t the only one that issues emergency cold warnings – many municipalities and cities do as well – but those alerts have a more specific purpose.
According to officials from the City of Toronto, the alerts activate services that help vulnerable communities like the homeless access to shelters.
“A warming centre is open at Metro Hall by 7 p.m. the day an alert is called, and remains open continuously until noon on the day an alert is terminated,” a statement from the city reads.
“Other services include notification to community agencies to relax any service restrictions, availability of transit tokens in some drop-ins, and additional overnight street outreach.”
READ MORE: Toronto under extreme cold weather alert
Toronto’s criteria for an alert is -15 C, or -20 with the wind chill.
According to the City of Vancouver, the threshold is less extreme; an extreme cold alert is activated when temperatures are near zero, when there’s sleet or freezing rain, or sustained winds.
Once an alert is activated, additional shelter beds are opened.
Extreme cold to continue across Canada
As February comes to a close, an arctic ridge of high pressure is bringing bitterly cold conditions across Western Canada, Hull explained. That cold air is moving also through parts of Eastern Canada.
“The extreme cold should let up midweek across the west but temperatures will still be below average — just not the extreme cold being experienced right now,” Hull said.
“However, another arctic ridge looks to set up later in the week into the weekend bringing more extreme cold.”
How to prepare for extreme cold
Follow the weather forecast and be aware of any extreme cold warnings issued by Environment Canada.
When going outside, wear layers to avoid the health hazards mentioned above.
Boots should be waterproof, and it’s recommended that people wear two or three layers of pants and shirts.
Finally, protect exposed skin with gloves, a toque and a scarf.
For more information on extreme cold and how to spot the symptoms of frostbite, consult Environment Canada‘s website.
*with files from Karen Bartko
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Prepare your garden for spring: be careful with cocoa shell mulch and fertiliser
Most people are aware that chocolate is dangerous for dogs. A lot of dog owners take additional precautionary measures during Easter and Christmas, to prevent their furry friend from eating chocolate. However, plenty of people do not know that a harmful substance called theobromine can be found in various fertilisers and soil improvers. This is why we would like to make you aware of the dangers of this substance, which is often used when people prepare their gardens for the upcoming spring.
Cocoa shell mulch toxic to dogs
Cocoa shells are a by-product of the production process of chocolate. When cocoa beans are roasted, these shells separate from the bean. Because cocoa shells are a by-product, they are a cheap and sustainable way to improve your garden's soil quality. Cocoa shell mulch is also used as a ground cover to fight off and prevent weeds.
Cocoa shell mulch are of great risk when speaking about harmful soil improvers. This is because they, just like chocolate, contain theobromine, which can be harmful for dogs, cats and horses.
Often times, pets are instinctively not attracted to substances that can harm them. Unfortunately, this is different in the case of chocolate (cocoa). Cocoa shells can even have a strong attractive smell to curious dogs, especially when they are just spread onto the soil and contain a strong smell. The dangerous aspect is that theobromine is harmful in even a very small amount. When a 30kg dog eats 450 grams of fertiliser or 150 grams of soil improver, serious poisoning symptoms can arise, which can ultimately lead to death.
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This article is devoted to the Arabic translation; it lay in the light of the definition of translation, it is important Arabic translation of idioms is difficult for the translators, the qualities of a good compiler and the need for translation in general.
Translation Dr. Hasanuddin Ahmed's words is: "the action or process of granting one language to another is the expression or rendering meaning of words, phrases, and even more so from one language to another.." Ulm-ul-Quran, Dr. Hasanuddin Ahmed, IAS
The Columbia Encyclopedia defines translation for the rendering of text to another language.
Katharine Barnwell (1986, p. 8) .defines as follows: the translation is again strong, as far as possible, the meaning of the original message so that this is not the language in which the translation prepare.
Translation is more than an interpretation of the text of a new, equivalent text in another language, or the substitution of the words in a language the words of one language and the production of meaning in another language, or the rendering of text or even from one language to another, this bridge of respect and understanding between people of different cultural groups, this means of communication to different groups of people, the means of cultural exchange, the assets of the cultural heritage of any nation, forming relationships and friendships are the tools of the different groups of people, or is that understanding and peace.
after all, human beings can not live alone, and all the people of the necessity and desirability of people to know each other trying to learn what others are doing, how they live, how they lived. We want to know, apart from the various ethnic, color, language and culture that we share the same understanding of love, passion, sorrow, aspiration, sympathy, jealousy and many other aspects of human nature. So long as the desire to exist, translation is the only bridge that carried out the goals, and desires.
In general terms, the aim is to build bridges between the translation of different groups of people, but the goal is the translation of theoretical sense to establish a connection to the equivalence of the source and target language; to ensure that both texts communicate the same message.
There was debate as to whether the translation of art, science, or Skill. I think a combination of all of Translation. It is a science in the sense that it needs a complete knowledge structure, grammar, syntax and semantics, and in general make-up of the two languages involved. This is art, not only because of their artistic talent to reconstruct the original text in the form of a product that is presentable to the reader who does not need to be familiar with the original. It's also a skill, it requires attention to the relationship between meaning and a solid understanding of syntax and semantics to detail, coupled with a wide range of cultural backgrounds and the ability to see the translation of something that is not equal to the target language.
is a human skill, it allows people to exchange ideas and thoughts regardless of the different languages used. Man is endowed with the ability to convey the feelings and experience to others through language. Because it is in the process of human communication received both spoken and written language, but if you spread on the ground, their language is different, and the need for a tool through which you can communicate and interact with each other. Thus, the need for translation to convey one's feelings and experiences felt in the other language.
Sometimes we ask ourselves, why translation between English and Arabic is it important? Both Arabic and English is the world's major languages, the book "spread of the English, page 77, the writer says:" Today the major languages language of empire, past and present. Only two, Mandarin Chinese and Russian remains the language of administration, a single ethno-linguistically diverse states. -Arab the others, English, French and Spanish imperial legacy that survived the disintegration of empires helped them. "
Arabic language is one of the world's major languages. There has been great great empires language did not survive as a major language like Turkish, for example, when compared with the Turkish, Arabic, we find that the Arabs survived the disintegration of the Arab Islamic empire and therefore remains one of the major world language today, while the Turkish language that is the language of administration and authority in the Middle east, the Balkans, and in different parts of the world that was under Ottoman rule thousands of years, but in the words of the Turkish Fishman on page 77 of the book "spread of the English" 'flowed back to Anatolia collapse of the Ottoman empire. "but these words are not 100% accurate, because Turkish is spoken throughout Turkey and Northern Cyprus, not only in Anatolia which is only one part of Turkey. also the Turkish minority in the former Soviet Union republics, Bulgaria, Russia, Greece and Romania to use Turkish as their mother tongue. in addition, the language in Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan both branches of the Turkic language family. Still, it does not deny that the Turkish language has lost a lot of importance after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.
Returning to the Arabs, to accept one of the six official languages of the United Nations. Arabic language is rich in culture and civilization dating back several centuries, it was the language of Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah and the Prophet (Allah is the Arabic word of God), and it is the language of the Holy Qura & # 39; n. It has produced great figures such as Averroes (Ibn-Roshan), the medieval philosopher Aristotle; Ibn Khaldun, the first social historian; and Khalil Jibran. Between the eighth and fifteenth century, the volume of literary, scientific and academic books in Arabic and urban literacy levels among Arab readers was the largest in the world has ever known at that time. Islamic art is used Arabic script as the main art form for centuries the beauty of the work will be visible to anyone through the study of Arabic. Arab members of the members of the Semitic language family, closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic languages of the Christ spoke. In fact, Arabic is widely spoken; Total speaking Arabic exceed EUR 350 million.
According to the Wikipedia encyclopedia, Arabic was the main vehicle of culture, especially in science, mathematics and philosophy during the Middle Ages, so many words borrowed from a number of European languages.
J.Farris Pamela says in Linguistics, page 99
"English borrowed from Arabic algebra, candy, lemon, orange, sugar, and journals."
Not only are these words English borrowed from Arabic, but hundreds of other words borrowed from Arabic, there are a few hundred words English borrowed from the Arabic Al Mawr English-Arabic Dictionary as the typhoon, which means in Arabic 7HA & # 39; D spinach 3 (F, which means in Arabic and sesame 3E3E.
Thus, in Arabic, that is one of the world's major languages makes translation between the languages is very important, especially Arabic translation.
There is no doubt that English is the world language, nowadays it is the language of science, aviation, computing, diplomacy, and tourism. this is stated in the official or the official language .As many countries and the Arab, one of the six official language of the United Nations
Therefore, knowledge is one of the most important tools in the English language in achieving scientific and technological knowledge; moreover, it is a tool for communication between the different countries, different cultural groups, various companies and organizations, communities and friends .
The translation device that takes advantage of new technology and science. Scientific knowledge and multiple languages and cultures are increasingly important in an expanding global economy and global well-being. It is clear that Britain and the US at the forefront of new ideas in science and technology. US pioneer in all fields of technology and science; British and American technological achievement in English, it is very important to know English to such technology and science.
Also political relations, wars and conflicts make translation is so important to have access to what is going on in different parts of the world, particularly in the Arabic translation as the English language of the great powers of the world and the Arab region the theater where vital events are taking place at present.
There is no denying that English is the cornerstone of the world's media, many important news sources in English, page 34 of the spread of the book English writer says, "the British newspaper non-English speaking countries, an indication English broad state of the world".
If anyone speaks English, you can read the news, and perspectives of a number of writers in the world, making it possible to expand your knowledge and get a broader outlook and look at the issues surrounding broader perspective. In my opinion knowing any English language specifically international passport.
English is the language of communication, the Internet spread, English was the language of communication, hundreds of millions of different races are communicating with each other via the Internet in English, so English will help strengthen ties and make friends with different cultural groups a variety of spots on the planet.
So that the language of science and technology for communication, the age of the Internet, English is so widespread, there has never been a language so prevalent, so in a short time, such as English.
between language pairs
as mentioned above, both the Arabic and English major world languages, so translation is important and relevant because of the many reasons previously mentioned.
Translation was, and continues to be the means of cultural and knowledge exchange between people throughout history, as well as to the preservation of cultural heritage.
Because the Arab Islamic empire spread of the Arabic language, in fact, the culture was enriched by contact with other civilizations: Greeks, Persians, Copts, Romans, Indians and Chinese. The large-scale movement of the ninth and tenth centuries, centered in Baghdad was in force, in which many ancient scientific and philosophical standards planted in ancient languages, especially Greek, Arabic. Many of the new wisdom increases proposed by Arab thinkers; Other texts simply surviving, only to re-emerge in Europe during the Renaissance.
Modern European languages such as Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian and English owe a great debt Arabic. The English language itself contains many words borrowed from Arabic: algebra, alchemy, admiral, genius, ghoul, mare sherbet, soda, and many others. "
The device for translating cultural heritage conservation and new civilizations evolved and flourished, as Western civilization was established on the Arab and Islamic civilization, science books translated from Arabic in various European languages and it was the essence of the current Western civilization.
book "Muslim contributions to World civilization" on page 118, we find that, "the 1154 AC, in the sixteenth century, the Jewish, Christian and Muslim scholars in Western Europe and in Spain translated books in Arabic into Latin in Toledo created by Academy Alfonso the Wise Sabio. The translations are then distributed to academic centers in Europe, where it became the foundation of the Renaissance, the revival of knowledge in Europe. "
Stanwood Cobb says:" Europe is indebted for all the beginnings of alchemy and chemistry in chemistry the Arabs that they have reached a translation of Arabic works into Latin. In science, as in other arts and disciplines that are practiced, it has developed into a more objective and experimental approach, as opposed to purely speculative method of the Greeks. "
"The science of algebra owes a lot of talented mathematicians
Islamic era. The name itself is a proof of the scale of the debt, the name itself is the Arabic al gebr, "a binding together."
"In addition to the volumes of Greek science, a number of scientific works in the Arabian Avicenna, Averroes and Rhazes particular, translated."
So it was in English-Arabic translation, and continues to be of great importance , the causes of past and present just different. Currently, it is known that the English translation Arabs are increasingly the subject of great concern and importance these days. Oil, strategic location, the history of Islam and the different civilizations that took place in the Arab region and the current events in the Middle East, the Arab side, and the Western desire to have the oil and dominate the western side of the region, contributing to this importance . This study highlights the Arabic translation, especially the translation of two English words into Arabic speech; the English language is full of native English speakers use idioms in many terms and expressions of everyday conversations, books, newspapers, magazines, TV shows on the Internet, because expression facet of the language, but at the same time, expressions difficult to understand, because the meaning is not what it seems at first sight. This imposes serious difficulties for translators from English to Arabic.
For example, the text of the Telegraph dated 09.19.2006 One of the headline "Pope stepped up police patrols in Temple Row"
idiom "step-up used in this article, the Idiom Connection defines the idiom" enhance " as follows: "rise to a higher or more important position, to support"
Al Mawr dictionary translates idiom "enhance" the J2J / – J6 & # 39; 9a J2 / & # 39; / – J * 6 & # 39; 9a JF / A9 J * B / E
In the context of the previous article, the idiom "enhance" can be translated to – J2 / & # 39; / is the translation of the idiom meaning.
Another example in April, the Sunday Times dated 30, 2006, the idiom "fall back" refers to the following articles:
Iran's psychopath editor, Israel
"Britain, France Germany and the United States hope to pass the motion in the UN security Council this week requires Iran to suspend the work of uranium enrichment. If Iran refuses to back down, the security Council's targeted sanctions. "
also in the Mail guardian Online dated november 7, 2005 we will find the heading
& # 39; Blair to give way to anti-terror laws "
British Prime Minister Tony Blair reluctantly accepted on Monday that he would back off the proposed anti-terror laws that would allow police to hold people up to 90 days in charge of them.
Home Secretary Charles Clarke, announcing what it is a Climbdown, however, said that the new deadline will not be as short as 28 days called on the critics of the new terrorism Bill, which Parliament is about to vote on Wednesday.
"we do not want to compromise any of the 90 days. It will compromise the security of the nation," Blair told his monthly Downing Street press conference, where he held the hope that he can minimize the impact even on order.
American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms – defines the idiom "" back to & # 39; reverse the upward course of people descend. For example, when he saw a hornet's nest on the roof, hastily backed down the ladder. This use of the term usually refers to something of a climb like a mountain or a ladder. [Mid-1800s]
Al Mawr idiom dictionary translates to "return" as –J F * & # 39; 9F 2D E7D (
Also .DJ 9F 9F J * – J * 1 & # 39 ;, 9 a suitable translation
In previous articles can be translated as .DJ 9F 9F J * – J * 1 & # 39 ;, 9, and that the translation of the idiom meaning.
Idioms is one factor that translation remains of human activity, although attempts have been made to automate and translation of computerization of natural language text, or use computers as an aid translation, but translation is primarily human activity requires skill, intelligence, human feeling, to retain the life and spirit of the original language of the translated text phrases challenge for any compiler. Because many may not be translated literally.
A better understanding of Idioms is the key to a good translation from English to Arabic. English is full of words; native English speakers use a lot of terms and phrases during the speech and writing, in other words, idioms-native English speakers use all the time. Idioms of fat that is going on in the language, but it is difficult to understand the expression, an idiom for "a phrase whose meaning can not be inferred from the meaning of the words that make it up." Webster's Online Dictionary, but some easier to find out if there is some relationship between the original meaning of the individual words. Thus, the translator must be aware of the idioms.
The idiom of "cold feet", which is defined as the Cambridge Advanced learners dictionary defines "sudden too scared to do what it was designed to do, especially something as important as a marriage," while the American Heritage Dictionary idiom as "cold leg" as
"Fear or timidity prevents after completing a course of action."
It is used in an article in the Guardian on Saturday March 25, 2006 is as follows:
& # 39; Iraq hostages rescued from crevice kidnappers
o Guards got cold feet after the US shot down
o Returning Kember, "we do not want to thank the rescuers'
Jonathan Steele Amman, Ewen MacAskill and Richard Norton-Taylor
Saturday, March 25th, 2006
the British hostage Norman Kember and two Canadian colleagues owe the freedom of a rift among Iraqi kidnappers of Western security source close to the rescue operation said yesterday.
This idiom used in the previous article may be paid, AB / "F" D-E & # 39; 3 DA9D 4 E & # 39; – FB5 "F" D4 "9G #H" D + B ) DA9D 4 & E ", the translation of paraphrase idiom, according to the definitions given above Therefore, better understanding idioms is the key to translate well
idiom studied and used as a unit of language;.. and to be translated in the same way. to translate expressions to the translator must first recognize expressions, to understand them, know the culture that comes with the idiom, the origin and the atmosphere in which it is used, you should do the translator / her best, at first found adequate or appropriate phrase in the target language that retains the flavor of the original, if there is no corresponding idiom or expression compiler analyzes the idiom and translates the meaning of the phrase the word to keep the color and flavor of the idiom of the source language
all colloquial language, every language is a certain rules that govern the way words together to express the facts, thoughts and feelings. The rules and exceptions unique language, despite the possible similarity to other languages. In this sense, language is always idiomatic. Within this general point of view, they usually think of "terms" as an individual phrases we use them to express something that other, more general statements can not be expressed in the same way. It is important to learn idioms to be able to communicate well. It is also interesting to study because they give us an insight into the language and the people who use them. These terms are derived from the history, literature, religion and traditions of a particular community. For this reason, expressions reveal the mindset of a community.
Because idiomatic expressions so frequently occur in both spoken and written discourse, they require special attention in the translation
Oxford Advanced Learner Dictionary defines "idiom" as the group, whose meaning differs from the meaning of individual words. That is, if anyone knows the meaning of every word; one can not understand the idiom. So it's not translated according to the terms, if we are not aware of their meaning. If we consider the idiom "New blood and translate Arabic (/ E / J /) literal, (/ E / J /) is sometimes used in Arabic means for young people. On the one hand it can be seen as an equal, on the other hand, sometimes hard to guess that the word actually means "people with a lot of energy and fresh ideas who are brought into the organization in order to improve it" as Cambridge Advanced defined Learner Dictionary as the F * "," DJ / E , / J / – this may mean that new blood in the hospital, for example, but sometimes it is misunderstood
previous definition Cambridge advanced Learner Dictionary, the correct translation of the idiom of the # 4 & # 39;.. 5 EDJ &) (D7 & # 39; B) H & # 39; D JHJ) H & # 39; D # AC & # 39; 1 "AC & # 39; 1 H 7 & # 39; B & # 39; * / J /) .The translation in paraphrase.
As a matter of fact, the literal translation of the idiom is often absurd or comical. The literal translation of the idiom "Back writers' Arab & # 39; D – & # 39; 1B" D.DAJ "
the literal translation of the Arabic sounds comical. The dictionary defines it as follows in the English Idioms and idiomatic expressions: If an issue on the back burner, you get low priority, "then the right translation – & # 39; D EF 9 / E & # 39; D & # 39; G * E & # 39; E -BDJD & # 39; D & # 39; GEJ)
sometimes it is an image created by the comic idiom, but sometimes it also helps to remember that idiom.
Here is an example of the English phrases that should be easy to understand the image they evoke. The English idiom literally translates in Arabic as double-faced 0H H GJF- (two-faced) in Arabic. So idiom created by the image helps to remember and understand. So we can translate EF & # 39; AB "hypocrite" or the Arab-E. "/ 9 cheater (Arabic), which will be the correct translation. Idiom created by the images of double-faced make us think of a person with two faces, which means hypocritical .Even though the images literal translation learning effective and fun way to English expression, the literal translation of itself is misleading in many cases
the true meaning of the English idiom you need to learn proper interpretation of the context have to learn within idioms sentences suitable example of a report and use is clear… for example idiom sitting duck which means "easy target" when we learn that phrase in a sentence like "His arguments are so simple was able to knock them off like sitting ducks." it will be easy to understand the idiom means "easy target" and translate properly in Arabic, if translated literally would be in Arabic (7) and "D3), which has no meaning in Arabic, but the translation of the corresponding translation paraphrase idiom that G / a 3GD
translation of ideas and meaning from one language to another leaves a lot of freedom to the translator, but translated phrases need not only translation of the ideas and the report should be given to the effect of expression language translators as possible as a translator. To translate phrases word-for-word "translation inappropriate and confusing to translate expressions, the compiler must recognize idioms to idioms, the translator must understand the goals and intentions of the author of the original work and the environment in which they are used then s / he must understand the meaning of the terms, s / he should look it up in the dictionaries to search the Internet, check with native speakers and understand a massage in the idiom and in what context is used. it's good to find a similar idiom in Arabic that carries . same meaning in the English idiom, if the compiler can not find, so it is good to analyze idiom into its meaning and translate the meaning of
Katharine Barnwell says the task is to translate the meaning of the translation of the message and not the words .
Bible translation, Katharine Barnwell, 1986, p. 12
in order to make a good translation, there must be a good translator who is fluent in two languages to translate between searches. You need to understand the language which the compiler and the language in which the translation of his work. In fact, a good translator because it is extremely good communicator in the target language. A good translator must have knowledge and experience in this field; In fact, the translator is a very serious responsibility not to change the word in any way. We need to be careful not to give anything to report or leave under any part of it. In fact, the task translator more difficult than the writer, the writer free to express their opinions and views, as he sees fit and your vocabulary is like, but the translator made up his mind that the words of the writer to use, and you have to be careful not to give nothing in the report, or leave under any part of it.
From what has been stated above, it is obvious that the translation of the bridge appreciation, love and friendship among nations, it is necessary for progress and prosperity .This means translation new civilizations have evolved in Western civilization has been established in the Arab and Islamic civilization, science, Arabic books translated into Latin, and it was the foundation of Western civilization.
Arabic translation was, and remains important because languages are the major world languages, and even current events, wars, conflicts and struggles in our world to this important; The English version of the Arabic language and the major powers in the region where conflicts are taking place, said before several reasons
Idioms challenge for translators from English to Arabic. English is full of expressions that can not be understood as individual words .The Arabic translation of the English phrases you need a good knowledge of the two languages and a good knowledge of both cultures .Idioms reflect cultural traditions, cultural identity and the history of any nation. They give an insight into the history, culture, traditions and values, morality. So freedom of speech are reflected through common human language.
Source by Fatima Ibrahim Ahmed Al Menoufy
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Network Analysis Mastery: Your Roadmap to Success in Computer Network Assignments
In the ever-evolving landscape of computer networks, mastering network analysis is a crucial skill for students and professionals alike. Whether you're a student working on assignments or a network administrator troubleshooting issues, the ability to dissect and understand network traffic is invaluable. In this comprehensive guide, we will delve into the world of network analysis, providing you with the knowledge and tools necessary to complete your network protocols assignment and excel in your computer network assignments
Understanding the Importance of Network Analysis
Network analysis is the cornerstone of effective network management and operation. It involves the meticulous examination of data traffic within a computer network to gain valuable insights into its performance, security, and overall functionality. In the increasingly interconnected world we live in, the significance of network analysis cannot be overstated. Let's delve deeper into why this skill is so critical:
- Diagnosing Network Problems
- Identifying Slow Connections: Slow internet connections can be frustrating and costly, particularly in business environments. Network analysts use diagnostic tools to locate the source of the sluggishness, whether it's a congested router, a misbehaving application, or even an external issue with the internet service provider.
- Packet Loss: Packet loss can disrupt communication and cause data to go missing in transit. By examining network traffic, analysts can identify patterns of packet loss and determine whether it's a localized or systemic issue.
- Downtime Mitigation: In the world of network operations, downtime is often the enemy. Network analysts are equipped to rapidly identify the root cause of outages, be it a hardware failure, a power outage, or a cyberattack. This ability to swiftly diagnose issues enables quick resolutions, minimizing the impact on users and businesses.
- Optimizing Performance
- Identifying Bottlenecks: Network traffic analysis helps in identifying bottlenecks, points in the network where data flow slows down due to congestion or inefficient routing. Once identified, these bottlenecks can be alleviated through adjustments in network configurations, load balancing, or infrastructure upgrades.
- Resource Allocation: By examining network data, analysts can gauge resource utilization. This information allows for strategic allocation of resources like bandwidth, ensuring that critical applications receive the necessary throughput while non-essential traffic is appropriately managed.
- Quality of Service (QoS): QoS policies can be implemented based on network analysis findings to prioritize specific types of traffic, such as voice or video, to guarantee their timely delivery and minimize latency.
- Ensuring Security
- Intrusion Detection: Network analysts employ specialized tools and techniques to detect unauthorized access attempts, abnormal network behavior, and suspicious activities. These activities could be indicative of cyberattacks or data breaches, and early detection is critical for mitigation.
- Malware Analysis: Malicious software often communicates with remote servers for command and control. Network traffic analysis can help identify these communications, enabling the isolation of infected systems and the removal of malware.
- Anomaly Detection: Network analysts use baseline network behavior to identify anomalies. Unusual patterns, such as a sudden increase in data exfiltration, can trigger alerts and investigations, preventing potential security breaches.
- Capacity Planning
- Forecasting Future Needs: Through historical data analysis, network analysts can predict future network requirements. This information helps organizations plan for necessary upgrades and expansions proactively.
- Scalability: Scalability is a key consideration in network design. Network analysis informs decisions on infrastructure scaling, ensuring that networks can accommodate increased traffic and new applications without major disruptions.
- Compliance and Auditing
- Regulatory Compliance: Different industries and regions have specific regulations governing data privacy and security. Network analysis can help organizations ensure that their networks comply with these regulations by identifying potential vulnerabilities and providing documentation of network activity.
- Audit Trail Creation: Detailed network logs and traffic analysis data serve as an invaluable audit trail. In case of legal disputes or compliance audits, this data can prove that network activities were in compliance with regulations and organizational policies.
Networks are complex ecosystems, and issues can arise for various reasons, ranging from hardware failures to misconfigurations. Network analysts possess the ability to act as digital detectives, pinpointing problems that would otherwise remain hidden. Here's how:
Networks are dynamic environments where the efficient flow of data is paramount. Network analysts act as traffic conductors, ensuring that data moves smoothly and efficiently through the network infrastructure. Here's how they optimize performance:
The digital landscape is fraught with security threats, and network analysis plays a pivotal role in safeguarding networks from these perils. Here's how network analysts contribute to security:
In a world where the demand for network resources is continually growing, capacity planning is essential to meet future needs effectively. Network analysts are instrumental in this process:
In an era of increasing regulations and data protection requirements, compliance and auditing are critical aspects of network management:
Network analysis is not just a skill; it's a necessity in today's digital world. Network analysts play a pivotal role in maintaining the health and security of computer networks. Their ability to diagnose problems, optimize performance, ensure security, plan for future needs, and facilitate compliance and auditing is indispensable. As computer networks continue to evolve and expand, the importance of network analysis will only grow, making it a valuable skill for students and professionals in the field of computer networking.
Getting Started with Network Analysis Tools
In the realm of network analysis, having the right tools at your disposal is paramount. These tools empower you to capture, inspect, and understand network traffic, making them essential for both students working on assignments and professionals managing complex networks. Here's an in-depth look at some of the most widely used network analysis tools:
- Packet Capture: Wireshark allows you to capture network packets on various interfaces. You can filter and save this captured data for later analysis.
- Packet Inspection: The tool provides an intuitive and user-friendly interface for dissecting captured packets. You can delve into packet headers, payloads, and various protocol details.
- Filtering and Searching: Wireshark offers extensive filtering options to narrow down the packets you want to examine. You can search for specific protocols, IP addresses, ports, and more.
- Statistics: It generates detailed statistics and graphs to help you understand network behavior, including packet counts, protocol distribution, and round-trip times.
- Lightweight: Tcpdump is a lightweight and efficient packet sniffer that can capture data with minimal resource consumption.
- Scriptability: Being command-line-based, Tcpdump is scriptable, which means you can automate packet capture tasks and integrate them into scripts or other tools.
- Real-time Output: It can display captured packets in real-time, making it useful for quick network troubleshooting.
- Scriptable Analysis: You can use Tshark to automate packet analysis tasks and integrate them into your custom scripts or workflows.
- Batch Processing: Tshark is well-suited for batch processing of large capture files or for running capture tasks in the background.
- Text Output: Tshark can produce text-based output, which can be useful for parsing and extracting specific data from packet captures programmatically.
- Network Performance Monitoring Tools
- Device Status: These tools can monitor the status of network devices, such as routers, switches, and servers, and provide alerts when they go offline or experience issues.
- Bandwidth Usage: They track bandwidth consumption in real-time and provide historical data, helping you identify trends and potential bottlenecks.
- Alerting: These tools can send alerts via various channels (email, SMS, etc.) when predefined performance thresholds are breached, enabling proactive issue resolution.
- Historical Data Analysis: They store historical performance data, which is valuable for capacity planning and identifying long-term trends.
- Packet Crafting Tools
- Custom Packet Generation: You can create packets with specific characteristics, payloads, and headers for testing network devices, applications, and security measures.
- Protocol Simulation: Packet crafting tools allow you to simulate various network protocols and behaviors to test how network components react.
- Security Testing: They can be used to assess network security by crafting and sending packets to test for vulnerabilities and weaknesses.
- Protocol Research: Researchers and security professionals often use packet crafting tools to explore and experiment with network protocols.
Wireshark is a ubiquitous and powerful open-source packet analyzer that is a must-have for anyone involved in network analysis. Its capabilities include:
Wireshark's versatility makes it indispensable for tasks ranging from diagnosing network issues to analyzing security threats.
Tcpdump is a command-line packet capture tool available on most Unix-like operating systems (including Linux and macOS). While it lacks the graphical interface of Wireshark, it offers its own set of advantages:
Tcpdump is often preferred for situations where a graphical interface is unnecessary, and users are comfortable with command-line tools.
Tshark is the command-line counterpart to Wireshark. It shares many features with Wireshark but is designed for use in scripts and automated tasks. Some notable features of Tshark include:
Tshark is an excellent choice when you need the power of Wireshark in a scriptable form.
While Wireshark, Tcpdump, and Tshark focus on packet capture and analysis, network performance monitoring tools like PRTG, Nagios, and Zabbix take a broader approach. They provide real-time monitoring and alerting for network performance issues, including:
These tools are indispensable for network administrators who need to ensure the smooth and reliable operation of their networks.
Packet crafting tools like Scapy enable the creation and transmission of custom network packets. These tools are particularly useful for testing and analysis. Key features include:
Packet crafting tools are essential for in-depth network analysis, especially when you need to simulate specific scenarios or test the robustness of network defenses.
These network analysis tools are indispensable for both students and professionals working in the field of computer networking. Whether you're capturing packets, monitoring network performance, or crafting custom packets for analysis and testing, having a solid understanding of these tools and their capabilities is essential for mastering network analysis and excelling in computer network assignments and real-world network management scenarios.
Capturing Network Traffic
The first step in network analysis is capturing network traffic. Tools like Wireshark and Tcpdump allow you to capture packets on a network interface. Here are some key considerations:
- Selecting the Right Interface: Ensure you capture traffic on the correct network interface, especially on multi-interface systems.
- Filtering: Use capture filters to narrow down the traffic you want to analyze, focusing on specific IP addresses, ports, or protocols.
- Saving Captured Data: Save captured packets in a file for future analysis, and ensure you have sufficient storage space.
Analyzing Network Packets
Once you have captured network traffic, it's time to analyze the packets. Here are some fundamental aspects to understand:
- Packet Structure: Packets consist of headers and payloads. Headers contain vital information about the packet's source, destination, and type.
- Packet Decoding: Wireshark and similar tools decode packet headers, making it easier to understand the content.
- Flow Analysis: Group related packets into flows to understand communication patterns between devices.
- Timestamps: Pay attention to packet timestamps to analyze delays and response times.
Understanding network protocols is crucial for effective network analysis. Some common protocols to be aware of include:
- TCP/IP: The foundation of the modern Internet, including TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) and IP (Internet Protocol).
- HTTP/HTTPS: The protocols used for web communication.
- DNS: The Domain Name System, responsible for translating domain names into IP addresses.
- FTP: The File Transfer Protocol for transferring files over a network.
- SMTP/POP3/IMAP: Protocols for email communication.
- SSH/Telnet: Protocols for remote access to devices.
- VoIP Protocols: Such as SIP and RTP for voice communication.
Understanding these protocols' behavior and characteristics is essential for network analysis, as it allows you to identify normal and abnormal network traffic patterns.
Troubleshooting Network Issues
Network analysis is often employed to troubleshoot and resolve network problems. Here's a systematic approach to troubleshooting:
- Define the Problem: Clearly identify the issue, such as slow internet, connection drops, or packet loss.
- Gather Information: Use network analysis tools to capture relevant data, including packet captures, logs, and performance metrics.
- Isolate the Issue: Analyze the collected data to pinpoint the source of the problem, whether it's a hardware failure, misconfiguration, or a software issue.
- Implement a Solution: Once you've identified the issue, take steps to resolve it, which may involve reconfiguring devices, replacing hardware, or applying software patches.
- Verify the Fix: After implementing a solution, monitor the network to ensure the problem has been resolved.
Network analysis is not only essential for troubleshooting and optimizing network performance but also for ensuring network security. Here are some security-related aspects to consider:
- Intrusion Detection: Network analysis can be used to detect unauthorized access attempts and suspicious activities.
- Malware Analysis: Analyzing network traffic can help identify malware communications and take action to mitigate threats.
- Firewall Rule Validation: Ensure that firewall rules are correctly configured and that they permit only legitimate traffic.
- Data Encryption: Analyze encrypted traffic (e.g., HTTPS) to ensure that sensitive data is adequately protected.
- Vulnerability Assessment: Identify potential vulnerabilities in network devices and applications.
Mastering network analysis is a vital skill for anyone involved in computer networks, whether you're a student working on assignments or a professional managing complex network infrastructure. By understanding the importance of network analysis, becoming familiar with the necessary tools, and learning to capture, analyze, and interpret network traffic, you'll be well-prepared to excel in your computer network assignments and contribute to the robustness and security of network systems in your future career. Remember that network analysis is a continually evolving field, so staying updated with the latest technologies and security threats is essential to becoming a proficient network analyst.
|
<urn:uuid:509f2316-e5de-48ec-830b-9a4881cf136b>
|
CC-MAIN-2024-10
|
https://www.computernetworkassignmenthelp.com/blog/mastering-network-analysis-for-computer-network-assignments.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-10/segments/1707947474663.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20240226194006-20240226224006-00694.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.887012 | 2,974 | 2.90625 | 3 |
Coal-burning countries could benefit from billions in EU funding even as they fail in their climate commitments, a new report shows.
Every member state is required to phase out coal entirely by 2030 and transition directly to clean electricity to meet the EU’s Paris Agreement target of limiting global temperatures to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
But a briefing released today by climate thinktank Ember finds that seven of the 18 EU member states still using coal to generate electricity have no plans for a phase-out in the next decade.
Despite this, those seven countries would be set to benefit from two-thirds of the Just Transition Fund, worth up to €40 billion (£36 billion) and set up to support the EU regions most impacted by a transition to a low carbon economy. While two of these countries – Poland and Bulgaria – plan a significant expansion of gas use alongside continued coal burning.
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Charles Moore, Ember’s European Programme Lead, said in a statement: “The majority of EU coal-countries are not ready for a just transition.”
“They have no plans to give up coal by 2030 – or they plan to swap coal for fossil gas – another dead end if the EU is to meet its Paris Agreement commitments. Now is the time to support coal regions in countries genuinely undergoing a rapid energy transition. But the Just Transition Fund looks set to reward inaction rather than real climate ambition.”
Rewarding coal and gas
Ember analysed the countries’ final National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs), proposed by the European Commission as part of its European Green Deal, to assess whether such plans were in line with the EU’s climate pledges.
The research found that “climate laggards” such as Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Romania and Slovenia would be rewarded under the fund, despite coal capacity falling by only 42 percent in the next decade.
A total of 52 gigawatts of coal is currently expected to be operational after that point, around 90 percent of which is in the Czech Republic, Germany and Poland.
Meanwhile Greece, Hungary, Ireland and Italy are all on track to phase out coal by 2030, but this is accompanied by a significant increase in gas use.
The briefing – which comes a couple of days before the European Parliament’s plenary voting on the Just Transition Fund Regulation – calls on the European Parliament, Council and Commission to ensure that support for the fund is conditional on ambitious coal phase-out commitments.
Only seven countries were on track to phase out coal by 2030 without significantly increasing fossil gas use: Denmark, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia and Spain.
In addition, the authors urge that all fossil fuels – in particular gas – are excluded from the fund’s remit. The money should “support the transition of the most vulnerable carbon-intensive regions, primarily in the form of grants, to ensure that no one is left behind in the rapid transition to climate neutrality”.
The European Commission proposed a fund of €40 billion in May, though this could be cut to €17.5 billion (£13.4 billion) in the wake of coronavirus.
Elif Gündüzyeli, Senior Coal Policy Coordinator at CAN Europe, and co-author of the report, called for countries to be held more accountable in their climate ambitions.
“As one of the first pieces of legislation of the European Green Deal, the Just Transition Fund must live up to its name by supporting real transition, not talk,” he said.
“If the EU wants to show commitment to the Paris Agreement, no coal power plant should be operational beyond 2030. Transition means change to clean, renewable energy – not fossil gas. Coal regions need future-proof investments in the new economy, not further entrenchment in fossil-fuel dependency.”
Image credit: Fotopolska.eu/Wikimedia Commons CC BY–SA 2.0
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<urn:uuid:2bd38c05-f7d0-4018-afd2-6d432d001f34>
|
CC-MAIN-2023-40
|
https://www.desmog.com/2020/09/08/coal-and-gas-burning-countries-set-gain-eu-just-transition-fund/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-40/segments/1695233510130.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20230926011608-20230926041608-00424.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.944071 | 846 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Here are the Top 10 Tips to build children’s self-esteem:
- Let them know you love them.
- Teach skills so they feel able to do things.
- Support trying new things.
- Praise effort, not just success.
- Praise what kids can control (hard-work), not genetics (intelligence).
- Listen to and accept their feelings.
- View mistakes as a time to learn.
- Make sure children follow through with things they need to do.
- Use household chores to teach responsibility.
- Find and build upon their strengths.
Self-esteem is the opinion one has of oneself. It is made up of how lovable and capable a child feels. Having these two beliefs helps a child overcome set-backs and persist when the going gets tough. Self-esteem plays a large role in whether a child will be successful.
Henry Ford said “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you are right.” Self-esteem defines how willing a person is to try new things. It impacts how he reacts when bad things happen. It also determines how content he is with his life.
In short, a person’s level of self-esteem shapes his ability to reach his goals.
|
<urn:uuid:f7b975cb-9355-45b3-9a6a-0cfc518e7d62>
|
CC-MAIN-2018-09
|
https://centerforparentingeducation.org/library-of-articles/top-10-tips/how-do-i-build-childrens-self-esteem/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-09/segments/1518891811655.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20180218042652-20180218062652-00180.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.968018 | 266 | 4.25 | 4 |
When rust forms on iron, the mass of the iron object is increased by the mass of the oxygen that has combined with some of the iron. So the mass of the nail will increase!
Building material is any material which is used for construction purposes. Many naturally occurring substances, such as clay, rocks, sand, and wood, even twigs and leaves, have been used to construct buildings. Apart from naturally occurring materials, many man-made products are in use, some more and some less synthetic. The manufacture of building materials is an established industry in many countries and the use of these materials is typically segmented into specific specialty trades, such as carpentry, insulation, plumbing, and roofing work. They provide the make-up of habitats and structures including homes.]citation needed[
Brush structures are built entirely from plant parts and are generally found in tropical and sub-tropical areas, such as rainforests, where very large leaves can be used in the building. These are built mostly with branches, twigs and leaves, and bark, similar to a beaver's lodge. These were variously named wikiups, lean-tos, and so forth.]citation needed[
Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, deep purple, to rusty red. The iron itself is usually found in the form of magnetite (Fe
4), hematite (Fe
3), goethite (FeO(OH)), limonite (FeO(OH).n(H2O)) or siderite (FeCO3).
Ores carrying very high quantities of hematite or magnetite (greater than ~60% iron) are known as "natural ore" or "direct shipping ore", meaning they can be fed directly into iron-making blast furnaces. Most reserves of such ore have now been depleted. Iron ore is the raw material used to make pig iron, which is one of the main raw materials to make steel. 98% of the mined iron ore is used to make steel. Indeed, it has been argued that iron ore is "more integral to the global economy than any other commodity, except perhaps oil".
Health Medical Pharma
Health Medical Pharma
Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon (0.1 to 0.25) content in contrast to cast iron, and has fibrous inclusions, known as slag. This is what gives it a "grain" resembling wood, which is visible when it is etched or bent to the point of failure. Wrought iron is tough, malleable, ductile and easily welded. Historically, it was known as "commercially pure iron"; however, it no longer qualifies because current standards for commercially pure iron require a carbon content of less than 0.008 wt%.
Before the development of effective methods of steelmaking and the availability of large quantities of steel, wrought iron was the most common form of malleable iron. A modest amount of wrought iron was used as a raw material for manufacturing of steel, which was mainly used to produce swords, cutlery, chisels, axes and other edged tools as well as springs and files. Demand for wrought iron reached its peak in the 1860s with the adaptation of ironclad warships and railways, but then declined as mild steel became more available.
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<urn:uuid:fd38f739-b147-4f26-9990-1caf940932e5>
|
CC-MAIN-2015-06
|
http://answerparty.com/question/answer/does-the-mass-decrease-increase-or-stay-the-same-when-nails-rust
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-06/segments/1422115891802.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20150124161131-00108-ip-10-180-212-252.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.966536 | 709 | 3.140625 | 3 |
It is estimated that around 80 percent of dogs and 70 percent of cats more than three-years old have some form of the dental disease. Even though pets are extremely well taken care of, the number of those suffering from dental disease is astonishing. The disease can travel through the bloodstream if left untreated. This causes many problems, including heart, liver, and kidney disease.
There are many products on the market to help owners care for their pet’s teeth. The most ideal way to prevent periodontal disease is for owners to brush their pets teeth daily with a Fluoride free dental toothpaste. There are also dental chews, water additives, and prescription diets specially formulated to help pets with severe reoccurring issues.
Discolored teeth, bad breath, and even difficulty eating are common signs of dental disease. Some owners notice blood in their pet’s mouths, which is another sign they have advanced dental disease. You need to schedule an examination as soon as possible if you notice any of these common signs.
Routine examinations by a veterinarian are very important for good dental health. Once your veterinarian has checked your pets teeth, they can give you an estimate of the grade of tartar build up and address any teeth that may need to be extracted. Extractions are done at veterinarian discretion. The most common causes of extractions are loose teeth, fractures in the tooth, root exposure, and severely diseased teeth.
Your veterinarian may recommend a professional dental cleaning under anesthesia. All pets are completely anesthetized for dental cleanings. This makes the process as safe for your pet as possible. A technician then uses an ultrasonic scaler to remove the tartar buildup. After all of the tartar has been removed, and extractions are finished if needed, all of the remaining teeth are then polished. This seals over any groves in the teeth to help aide in reducing tartar buildup and protect the enamel of your pets teeth.
Feel free to contact us today at (512) 846-1901 if you have any questions about dental health or the services we offer.
DENTAL PRICING FOR CANINE/FELINE
NEW PRICING FOR 2019 undergoing modifications, please call clinic for ACCURATE estimate, Thank you for understanding! ~ Management
|
<urn:uuid:783143a6-a415-4223-8d56-426cd2737391>
|
CC-MAIN-2020-10
|
https://fm685animalhospital.com/veterinary-services/dentistry
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-10/segments/1581875145260.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20200220162309-20200220192309-00411.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.947606 | 468 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Active video games like the Wii seem just the thing to lure children into getting more exercise. But in real life, giving a child active video games doesn’t get them off the couch and moving.
That’s what happened with 78 healthy children in Houston who took part in a study published in the journal Pediatrics. Half of the kids were given games like Mario Kart Wii and Madden NFL 10. The other half got games like Dance Dance Revolution, Wii Sports, or EA Sports Active.
The researchers expected a big spike in activity in the weeks when the 9- to 12-year-olds were handed the active games. But much to their surprise they found no increase in running, jumping and swinging during the 12-week experiment, compared to the children who got typical only-my-thumbs-are-moving video games.
“There was no impact,” says Tom Baranowski, a professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine, who led the study.
Earlier studies that had children play games in laboratory settings found increased exercise, but this study suggests that that doesn’t translate to real life. Other studies of home use found that giving explicit instructions to use the games did increase activity. But these researchers didn’t do that. They wanted to mimic the situation when a family brings home a new video game.
Baranowski isn’t sure why the active games didn’t get the children moving more. He thinks there may be two reasons. One is that they may have played the games with a minimum of effort. Or they may have exercised less during the rest of the day as a result. (The children’s activity was measured by having them wear pedometers on their belts that measured daily activity.)
Public health researchers are putting a lot of effort into trying to deploy children’s love of video games to improve their health.
The lack of behavior change is particularly frustrating to Baranowski and his crew because they’ve had luck getting children to eat more fruits and vegetables by having them play specially-designed video games.
But those custom games have well-developed characters and a strong story line, like “Escape From Diab.” In that game, a motley crew of teenagers band together to evade the evil King Etes, who stuffs his subjects full of free junk food to keep them under control.
“The active video games are very different than other video games in that there’s no story,” Baranowski told Shots. “We think if we could learn to wrap a story around an active video game, we would get more kids active as they try to see how the story plays out.”
Maybe it’s time for a version of Mario Kart that has Luigi and Peach running the New York City marathon while evading Donkey Kong.
|
<urn:uuid:e0040097-14ad-41ef-9135-49e2820791be>
|
CC-MAIN-2014-42
|
http://nepr.net/news/2012/02/27/active-video-games-dont-keep-kids-moving/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-42/segments/1413507445159.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20141017005725-00237-ip-10-16-133-185.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.973905 | 590 | 2.984375 | 3 |
Above is a graceful balustrade behind which is a lofty roof, and at the angles are towers perforated for the passage of the light.
The building, sometimes of huge dimensions, is invariably surrounded by a raised gallery, reached by a flight of steps in the centre of the approach front, the balustrade of which is a continuation of the gallery railing.
The irregularly shaped precinct around the temple was enclosed by a balustrade about 3 ft.
The Dominican church is approached by a sloping flagged lane, having on one side a beautifully ornamented balustrade of the 18th century.
In San Clemente at Rome the presbytery is enclosed with a marble balustrade or screen.
The massively moulded ormolu stair balustrade of Northumberland House, now at 49 Prince's Gate; the candelabra at Windsor and Buckingham Palace, produced in Birmingham by the firm of Messenger; the cast-iron railings with javelin heads and lictors' fasces, the tripods, Corinthian column standard lamps and candelabra, boat-shaped oil lamps and tent-shaped lustres with classic mountings, are examples of the metal-work of a style which, outside the eccentric Brighton Pavilion and excursions into Gothic and Elizabethan, was universally accepted in the United Kingdom from the days of the Regency until after the accession of Victoria.
In medieval architecture the term is applied on the European continent to that portion of a chancel, which, enclosed with a railing or balustrade in front of the altar, is devoted to the celebration of the Holy Eucharist; this in England is generally known as the presbytery.
QUATREFOIL, in Gothic architecture, the piercing of tracery in a window or balustrade with small semicircular openings known as "foils"; the intersection of these foils is termed the cusp.
The columned, round-headed windows are set in deeply between the pillars which carry the massive entablature, and this again is surmounted by a balustrade with obelisks at each angle and figures marking the line of each bay.
The Acropolis Museum (opened 1878) possesses a singularly interesting collection of sculptures belonging to the " archaic " period of Greek art, all found on the Acropolis; here, too, are some fragments of the pedimental statues of the Parthenon and several reliefs from its frieze, as well as the slabs from the balustrade of the temple of Nike.
Approached by a flight of steps partly rock-cut, it had at the rear of the porch a balustrade with marble lions' heads through which the water overflowed.
The elaborate treatment of the drapery enveloping these female figures suggests an approach to the mannerism of later times; this and other indications point to the probability that the balustrade was added in the latter years of the Peloponnesian War.
Its general plan is that of a Greek cross, with two great naves and three aisles, twenty side-chapels and a magnificent high altar supported by marble columns and surrounded by a tumbago balustrade with sixty-two tumbago statues carrying elaborate candelabra made from a rich alloy of gold, silver and copper.
|
<urn:uuid:f5b74021-69f5-42c2-9b09-da94c1b829b1>
|
CC-MAIN-2018-05
|
http://sentence.yourdictionary.com/balustrade
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-05/segments/1516084890928.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20180121234728-20180122014728-00370.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.953432 | 695 | 2.890625 | 3 |
Homeschool spanish is a middle
and high school program for
learning Spanish online while fulfilling
standard based academic requirements.
The language is presented in an
interactive and attractive way through:
YOU can track your PROGRESS AND adjust the pace with communicative levels to fit different learning styles.
HOMESCHOOL SPANISH aims at making a communicative Spanish
curriculum accessible to both parents and students without compromising academic standards, even if you have never studied a foreign language before.
homeschool spanish presents history, geography, culture and grammar with fun videos and stories for learning in an academic context.
|
<urn:uuid:75e76ca1-ce44-4493-a035-099cb111d44f>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-07
|
http://www.homeschoolspanish.info/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-07/segments/1454701158609.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20160205193918-00012-ip-10-236-182-209.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.926199 | 131 | 2.84375 | 3 |
Typhoid fever is a class I legally designated communicable disease in Korea; and if remains as an important public health problem in many developing countries. It takes at least 3-5 days to detect and identify Salmonella Typhi (S. Typhi) by classical diagnostic method. For this reason, multiplex PCR (mPCR) was evaluated in detecting and identifying S. Typhi. In this study, forty-three bacterial strains, which consisted of 42 Salmonella enterica serovars and one Citrobacter freundii. were used to evaluate the promptness of mPCR in detecting and identifying S. Typhi. mPCR was performed with four genes which were known for representing Salmonella spp and/or S. Typhi: invA, fliC-d, viaB and prt. invA and prt gene was amplified in all strains and viaB gene was in only S. Typhi. fliC-d gene was amplified in three serovars: S. Typhi, S. Schwarzengrund and S. Livingstone. After specificity test, mPCR was modified as triplex PCR with three genes (invA, fliC-d, and viaB) and the sensitivity test was performed against S. Typhi-inoculated stool samples. mPCR was able to detect S. Typhi cell suspension of 1x105 cfu/mL. We found that modified multiplex PCR was useful to detect S. Typhi from stool samples within 24h whereas it takes 3-5days to detect by classic diagnosis method.
|
<urn:uuid:c882027b-b75f-4ef5-a82a-4f8dfe52b830>
|
CC-MAIN-2020-10
|
https://koreamed.org/article/1086IC/2010.42.4.237
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-10/segments/1581875147116.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20200228073640-20200228103640-00005.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.961433 | 332 | 2.875 | 3 |
Just like people, our pets have blood pressure too and they also risk developing high blood pressure. While high blood pressure in humans can cause more serious health issues, high blood pressure in animals is usually associated with a more critical health issue, because hypertension is typically the result of an existing underlying disease.
High blood pressure in dogs is often associated with Cushing’s disease or hyperadrenocorticism. Cushing’s disease is when a disorder, usually a benign tumor, allows an excess of cortisone to be released into the blood stream.
Cats often develop high blood pressure as a result of having hyperthyroidism and/ or kidney disease. Hyperthyroidism is an overproduction of a thyroid hormone that results in an increased metabolism.
Taking a Pet’s Blood Pressure
Measuring a pet’s blood pressure is often done the same way as it is with humans. An inflatable cuff is placed on the dog’s leg or tail, and standard blood pressure measuring instruments check the pressure. One difficulty can be keeping the dog still long enough to get an accurate reading, and that’s important.
Veterinarians have to calculate another number when taking a dog or cats blood pressure called MAP or Mean Arterial Pressure. A dog’s or cat’s MAP is calculated by dividing the diastolic pressure + 1/3 by the systolic pressure – diastolic pressure.
|Elephant||178.6 +/- 2.94||118.7 +/- 3.10|
* Some variation depending on breed.
If your pet has already been diagnosed with, and is being treated for, hypertension, your veterinarian will need to treat the underlying condition that caused the high blood pressure. They will probably also want to measure your pet’s blood pressure every three months moving forward. The vet may also suggest performing other tests, such as a complete blood count, blood chemistry panel and a urinalysis, every six months.
For most of us our pets are part of the family, so make sure they get a regular annual check-up with their veterinarian. Don’t ignore your vet’s advice, or at least get a second opinion before you make a potentially life and death decision on your fur-baby’s behalf.
|
<urn:uuid:a78965ea-4f7d-4915-942a-7fe7fd4787ec>
|
CC-MAIN-2017-26
|
http://carrington.edu/blog/medical/blood-pressure/high-blood-pressure-in-animals/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-26/segments/1498128320040.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20170623082050-20170623102050-00227.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.911657 | 476 | 3.484375 | 3 |
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