A longitudinal analysis of social engagement in late-life widowhood.

Very little is known of the longitudinal changes that occur in contact with children and participation in social activities during late-life widowhood. Using data on social networks and activities drawn from the Australian Longitudinal Study of Ageing, trajectories of change in social engagement were modeled for 1266 participants (mean age 76.7 years) over a 16-year period.

Stabilising the aged care workforce: an analysis of worker retention and intention.

Concerns about the capacity of the aged care industry to attract and retain a workforce with the skills required to deliver high quality care are widespread, but poor conceptualisation of the problem can result in strategies to address turnover being poorly targeted. A census of residential and community aged care services conducted by the National Institute of Labour Studies (NILS) in 2007 provided a comprehensive empirical account of the workforce, and estimated turnover on the basis of retention: that is, the proportion of the workforce who had been in their job for 1 year or less. This paper adds the dimension of intention: that is, workers' expectations as to whether in 1 year's time, they would still be working in the same aged care service.

Bacillus Strains Most Closely Related to Bacillus nealsonii Are Not Effectively Circumscribed within the Taxonomic Species Definition.

Bacillus strains with >99.7% 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity were characterized with DNA:DNA hybridization, cellular fatty acid (CFA) analysis, and testing of 100 phenotypic traits. When paired with the most closely related type strain, percent DNA:DNA similarities (% S) for six Bacillus strains were all far below the recommended 70% threshold value for species circumscription with Bacillus nealsonii.

Bacillus acidiceler sp. nov., isolated from a forensic specimen, containing Bacillus anthracis pX02 genes.

Research at the Center for Biological Defense identified plasmid-borne forms of Bacillus anthracis pXO2 genes in a Gram-positive, endospore-forming rod, isolated from a forensic specimen considered a credible threat of harbouring anthrax. Conventional, commercial and molecular-based methods indicated that the isolate (CBD 119(T)) was not B. anthracis and considered not to be a member of the Bacillus cereus group.

Susceptibility of Bacillus anthracis, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus mycoides, Bacillus pseudomycoides and Bacillus thuringiensis to 24 antimicrobials using Sensititre automated microbroth dilution and Etest agar gradient diffusion methods.

Objectives: To examine susceptibilities of Bacillus anthracis and related species to 24 antimicrobials using and concurrently comparing two methods.

Methods: Twenty-four antimicrobials were tested against 95 isolates of the Bacillus cereus group including 18 B. anthracis, 42 B.

Bacillus anthracis virulent plasmid pX02 genes found in large plasmids of two other Bacillus species.

In order to cause the disease anthrax, Bacillus anthracis requires two plasmids, pX01 and pX02, which carry toxin and capsule genes, respectively, that are used as genetic targets in the laboratory detection of the bacterium. Clinical, forensic, and environmental samples that test positive by PCR protocols established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for B. anthracis are considered to be potentially B.