Host association of Campylobacter genotypes transcends geographic variation.

Genetic attribution of bacterial genotypes has become a major tool in the investigation of the epidemiology of campylobacteriosis and has implicated retail chicken meat as the major source of human infection in several countries. To investigate the robustness of this approach to the provenance of the reference data sets used, a collection of 742 Campylobacter jejuni and 261 Campylobacter coli isolates obtained from United Kingdom-sourced chicken meat was established and typed by multilocus sequence typing. Comparative analyses of the data with those from other isolates sourced from a variety of host animals and countries were undertaken by genetic attribution, genealogical, and population genetic approaches.

Health care-associated and community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections: A comparison of definitions.

Background: Different approaches are used to classify methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections as either community-acquired (CA-MRSA) or health care-associated MRSA (HA-MRSA).

Methods: We collected information on patients seen at the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center with MRSA infections from June 2007 through May 2008. We classified MRSA infections as either HA or CA using an epidemiologic definition and an antibiotic susceptibility phenotype rule.

Outbreak of Bordetella pertussis among oncology nurse specialists.

We describe an outbreak of pertussis with transmission between health care workers (HCWs) in a hospital oncology department and a patient identified as a possible source. Three of the four HCWs testing positive for pertusssis had received primary immunization as children, consistent with waning immunity into adulthood. The fourth health care worker was unimmunized.

Comparison of Campylobacter populations isolated from a free-range broiler flock before and after slaughter.

Relatively little is known about the Campylobacter genotypes colonizing extensively reared broiler flocks and their survival through the slaughter process, despite the increasing demand for free-range and organic products by the consumer. Campylobacter isolates from a free-range boiler flock, sampled before and after slaughter, were genotyped by MLST (multilocus sequence typing) and sequence analysis of the flaA short variable region (SVR). The Campylobacter genotypes isolated before and after slaughter were diverse, with up to five sequence types (STs) (seven-locus allelic profiles resulting from MLST) identified per live bird, up to eight STs identified per carcass and 31 STs identified in all.

Topically resolved intramolecular CH-pi interactions in phenylalanine derivatives.

NMR spectra of imines and nitrones derived from benzophenone and phenylalanine or tyrosine show clear evidence of an aromatic edge-to-face interaction in solution. At low temperatures the two ortho protons of the edge interacting phenyl ring become topically resolved with the ortho proton NMR signal involved in the CH-pi interactions shifted well upfield (delta 5.4-5.

Invasive meningococcal disease: completeness and timeliness of reporting of confirmed cases in Thames Valley, 2006-2007.

Objectives: Regular evaluation of disease surveillance systems is essential. This study assessed the completeness and timeliness of reporting of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) in Thames Valley in 2006-2007.

Study Design: Retrospective review of two data sources used in disease surveillance: the list of notified cases to the Thames Valley Health Protection Unit (TVHPU) and the list of confirmed cases at the reference laboratory during 2006-2007.

TRIO-012: a multicenter, multinational, randomized, double-blind phase III study of IMC-1121B plus docetaxel versus placebo plus docetaxel in previously untreated patients with HER2-negative, unresectable, locally recurrent or metastatic breast cancer.

In this multinational, placebo-controlled, randomized phase III trial, Translational Research In Oncology (TRIO) will define the efficacy and safety of adding a novel antiangiogenic agent, IMC-1121B (ramucirumab), to standard first-line docetaxel chemotherapy for women with HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer. We will evaluate whether the addition of IMC-1121B prolongs progression-free survival and whether its use improves overall survival. Accrual is under way.

Risk factors associated with methicillin resistance among Staphylococcus aureus infections in veterans.

Background: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is an emerging concern in infectious disease practice. Although MRSA infections occur in a wide variety of anatomic sites, the majority of studies considering the risk factors for methicillin resistance among S. aureus infections have focused on MRSA bacteremia.

Spatiotemporal bessel beams: theory and experiments.

We describe a family of dispersion-free and diffraction-free optical beams consisting in two-dimensional wave packets with a spatiotemporal Bessel (STB) profile propagating in media with anomalous dispersion. We also describe quasi-invariant optical beams with a spatiotemporal Bessel-Gauss (STBG) profile; these wave packets have finite dimensions and energy, conditions to be representative of physical beams. The paper provides a detailed account of the properties of STB and STBG beams, including their spatially resolved frequency spectrum, their far-field behaviour and a comparison of the propagation of STBG beams with that of Gaussian wave packets.

Sensitive and rapid molecular detection assays for Salmonella enterica serovars Typhimurium and Heidelberg.

Salmonella enterica is a significant cause of gastroenteritis worldwide, with serovars Typhimurium and Heidelberg being particularly prevalent, which have broad host ranges infecting poultry, dairy animals, and humans. Traditional methods used for the detection of Salmonella from contaminated food products are time-consuming and labor-intensive. The aim of this study was to develop a sensitive and rapid PCR-based detection method with optimized specificity for high-throughput screening of food and clinical samples.

Technique for continuous tuning of an extended-cavity diode laser.

Mode-hop-free operation of an extended-cavity diode laser is achieved with an innovative technique. A chirped (varied-line-space) diffraction grating is used as an external coupler. Continuous tuning is obtained by a simple linear translation of the grating.

Challenges in investigating transient rash illness in nursery children.

Introduction: In October 2007, the Thames Valley Health Protection Unit (TVHPU) was notified by a parent that her child developed a transient rash after eating lunch at a nursery in Oxfordshire. An initial investigation undertaken by TVHPU was escalated when similar incidents were reported in nurseries in other parts of England.

Methods: A detailed epidemiological and food tracing investigation was conducted to ascertain the aetiology.

MLST clustering of Campylobacter jejuni isolates from patients with gastroenteritis, reactive arthritis and Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Aims: To determine the diversity and population structure of Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni) isolates from Danish patients and to examine the association between multilocus sequence typing types and different clinical symptoms including gastroenteritis (GI), Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and reactive arthritis (RA).

Methods And Results: Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) was used to characterize 122 isolates, including 18 from patients with RA and 8 from patients with GBS.

A case of verocytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli O157 from a private barbecue in South East England.

The following case report describes a cluster of Escherichia coli O157 cases in the United Kingdom related to undercooked beef at a barbecue, resulting in an intensive care admission in France with haemolytic uraemic syndrome and highlighting the need to cook beef properly.

Campylobacter genotyping to determine the source of human infection.

Background: Campylobacter species cause a high proportion of bacterial gastroenteritis cases and are a significant burden on health care systems and economies worldwide; however, the relative contributions of the various possible sources of infection in humans are unclear.

Methods: National-scale genotyping of Campylobacter species was used to quantify the relative importance of various possible sources of human infection. Multilocus sequence types were determined for 5674 isolates obtained from cases of human campylobacteriosis in Scotland from July 2005 through September 2006 and from 999 Campylobacter species isolates from 3417 contemporaneous samples from potential human infection sources.

Campylobacter genotypes from food animals, environmental sources and clinical disease in Scotland 2005/6.

A nationwide multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) survey was implemented to analyze patterns of host association among Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli isolates from clinical disease in Scotland (July 2005-September 2006), food animals (chickens, cattle, sheep, pigs and turkey), non-food animals (wild birds) and the environment. Sequence types (STs) were determined for 5247 clinical isolates and 999 from potential disease sources (augmented with 2420 published STs). Certain STs were over represented among particular sample sets/host groups.