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Veterinary Medicine and Science Jul 2024Although salmonellosis is considered to be a foodborne zoonotic disease, pets can play a significant role in the dissemination of antimicrobial-resistant Salmonella...
BACKGROUND
Although salmonellosis is considered to be a foodborne zoonotic disease, pets can play a significant role in the dissemination of antimicrobial-resistant Salmonella organisms to humans because of close contact with their owners.
OBJECTIVES
To determine the prevalence, risk factors, virulence factors, serotypes, and antimicrobial resistance profile of Salmonella in pet dogs and cats in Turkey and to assess the public health risk. Furthermore, to perform macroscopic comparison of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in Salmonella-positive and Salmonella-negative animals.
METHODS
International Standards Organization (ISO) 6579-1:2017 and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) methods were used to compare the effectiveness of culture methods in the identification of Salmonella in 348 rectal swabs. Positive isolates were serotyped using the slide agglutination method according to the White-Kauffmann-Le Minor scheme and the presence of virulence genes (invA and stn) were evaluated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Antimicrobial activity was tested by Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines.
RESULTS
Salmonella prevalence was 5.73% (9/157) in dogs and 0.0% (0/191) in cats. Eight (8/9) isolates were cultured with the ISO method and 5 (5/9) isolates were cultured with the FDA method. Macroscopic results revealed that Salmonella agents had no effect on LAB. Three different serotypes were detected and all isolates were positive for virulence genes. Antibiotic resistance profiling indicated that 11.1% of the isolates were MDR and the highest resistance was found for ciprofloxacin. MDR-resistant S. Virchow and carbapenem-resistant S. Enteritidis were detected from dog isolates. There was a significant difference between raw meat consumption and Salmonella carriage (p < 0.01).
CONCLUSIONS
Dogs could be potential carriers of Salmonella infection. The isolation of Salmonella in healthy dogs instead of dogs suffering from diarrhoea indicates that attention should be paid to asymptomatic carriage. The emergence of resistance among zoonotic Salmonella isolates poses a significant threat to public health.
Topics: Salmonella; Dog Diseases; Salmonella Infections, Animal; Turkey; Cat Diseases; Pets; Prevalence; Serogroup; Rectum; Virulence Factors; Risk Factors; Risk Assessment; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Drug Resistance, Bacterial; Lactobacillales; Animals; Cats; Dogs
PubMed: 38924270
DOI: 10.1002/vms3.1513 -
Angewandte Chemie (International Ed. in... Jun 2024Electrolyte cations have been demonstrated to effectively enhance the rate and selectivity of the electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR), yet their...
Electrolyte cations have been demonstrated to effectively enhance the rate and selectivity of the electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR), yet their implementation in electrolyte-free membrane electrode assembly (MEA) electrolyzer presents significant challenges. Herein, an anchored cation strategy that immobilizes Cs+ on carbon vacancies was designed and innovatively implemented in MEA electrolyzer, enabling highly efficient CO2 electroreduction over commercial silver catalyst. Our approach achieves a CO partial current density of approximately 500 mA cm-2 in the MEA electrolyzer, three-fold enhancement compared to pure Ag. In-situ Raman and theoretical analyses, combined with machine learning potentials, reveal anchored Cs induces an electric field that significantly promotes the adsorption of *CO2- intermediates through performing muti-point energy calculations on each structure. Furthermore, reduced adsorption of *OH intermediates effectively hampers competing hydrogen evolution reaction, as clarified by disk electrode experiments and density functional theory studies. Additionally, coupling our system with commercial polysilicon solar cells yields a notable solar-to-CO energy conversion efficiency of 8.3%. This study opens a new avenue for developing effective cation-promoting strategy in MEA reactors for efficient CO2RR.
PubMed: 38923695
DOI: 10.1002/anie.202410802 -
Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) May 2024The occurrence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in foodstuff involves a human health risk. Edible insects are a precious resource; however, their consumption raises food...
The occurrence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in foodstuff involves a human health risk. Edible insects are a precious resource; however, their consumption raises food safety issues. In this study, the occurrence of antibiotic resistant bacteria in laboratory-reared fresh mealworm larvae ( L.) and frass was assessed. Antibiotics were not used during the rearing. and enterococci were isolated from 17 larvae and eight frass samples. In total, 62 and 69 isolates presumed to belong to and spp., respectively, were obtained and tested for antibiotic susceptibility via disk diffusion. Based on the results, isolates were grouped, and representative resistant isolates were identified at species level through gene sequencing. For enterococci resistance, percentages higher than 15% were observed for vancomycin and quinupristin-dalfopristin, whereas resistance higher than 25% was found against cefoxitin, ampicillin, and amoxicillin-clavulanic acid. Based on the species identification, the observed resistances seemed to be intrinsic both for enterococci and , except for some β-lactams resistance in (cefoxitin and aztreonam). These could be due to transferable genetic elements. This study suggests the need for further investigations to clarify the role of edible insects in the spreading of antibiotic resistance determinants through the food chain.
PubMed: 38921754
DOI: 10.3390/pathogens13060456 -
Insects Jun 2024The rearing of saproxylic insects in laboratory conditions is an important task for studying the biology of insects. Through understanding nutritional needs, it is...
The rearing of saproxylic insects in laboratory conditions is an important task for studying the biology of insects. Through understanding nutritional needs, it is possible to optimize beetle rearing in laboratory conditions. In this study, an artificial fungi-based diet (FD) was developed for the cultivation of the darkling beetle (Fabricius, 1775) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) in laboratory conditions as a model object for studying the biology of saproxylophagous beetles. To assess the influence of the diet, a number of physiological parameters were measured, including development time, body size, and weight of all stages of the beetle's life cycle, as well as its immune status. The immune status of was assessed on the basis of larval hemolymph antibacterial activity against six different bacterial strains assessed using disk-diffusion and photometric tests. Our findings show that the FD reduces development time and boosts the immune status as compared to beetles reared on a standard diet (SD). Samples from FD-reared larvae had pronounced antibacterial activity as compared to samples from SD-reared larvae. This work is of fundamental importance for understanding the correlations between nutrition and development of saproxylic Coleoptera and is the first report on immune status regulation in this group of insects.
PubMed: 38921150
DOI: 10.3390/insects15060435 -
Frontiers in Neurology 2024The aim of this study is to develop a predictive model utilizing deep learning and machine learning techniques that will inform clinical decision-making by predicting...
BACKGROUND
The aim of this study is to develop a predictive model utilizing deep learning and machine learning techniques that will inform clinical decision-making by predicting the 1-year postoperative recovery of patients with lumbar disk herniation.
METHODS
The clinical data of 470 inpatients who underwent tubular microdiscectomy (TMD) between January 2018 and January 2021 were retrospectively analyzed as variables. The dataset was randomly divided into a training set ( = 329) and a test set ( = 141) using a 10-fold cross-validation technique. Various deep learning and machine learning algorithms including Random Forests, Extreme Gradient Boosting, Support Vector Machines, Extra Trees, K-Nearest Neighbors, Logistic Regression, Light Gradient Boosting Machine, and MLP (Artificial Neural Networks) were employed to develop predictive models for the recovery of patients with lumbar disk herniation 1 year after surgery. The cure rate score of lumbar JOA score 1 year after TMD was used as an outcome indicator. The primary evaluation metric was the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), with additional measures including decision curve analysis (DCA), accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and others.
RESULTS
The heat map of the correlation matrix revealed low inter-feature correlation. The predictive model employing both machine learning and deep learning algorithms was constructed using 15 variables after feature engineering. Among the eight algorithms utilized, the MLP algorithm demonstrated the best performance.
CONCLUSION
Our study findings demonstrate that the MLP algorithm provides superior predictive performance for the recovery of patients with lumbar disk herniation 1 year after surgery.
PubMed: 38919973
DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2024.1255780 -
International Ophthalmology Jun 2024Papilledema is the optic disc swelling caused by increased intracranial pressure (ICP) that can damage the optic nerve and cause subsequent vision loss.... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Papilledema is the optic disc swelling caused by increased intracranial pressure (ICP) that can damage the optic nerve and cause subsequent vision loss. Pseudopapilledema refers to optic disc elevation without peripapillary fluid that can arise from several optic disc disorders, with optic disc drusen (ODD) being the most frequent cause. Occasionally, pseudopapilledema patients are mistakenly diagnosed as papilledema, leading to the possibility of unneeded procedures. We aim to thoroughly examine the most current evidence on papilledema and pseudopapilledema causes and several methods for distinguishing between both conditions.
METHODS
An extensive literature search was conducted on electronic databases including PubMed and google scholar using keywords that were relevant to the assessed pathologies. Data were collected and then summarized in comprehensive form.
RESULTS
Various techniques are employed to distinguish between papilledema and pseudopapilledema. These techniques include Fundus fluorescein angiography, optical coherence tomography, ultrasonography, and magnetic resonance imaging. Lumbar puncture and other invasive procedures may be needed if results are suspicious.
CONCLUSION
Papilledema is a sight-threatening condition that may lead to visual affection. Many disc conditions may mimic papilledema. Accordingly, differentiation between papilledema and pseudopailledema is crucial and can be conducted through many modalities.
Topics: Papilledema; Humans; Diagnosis, Differential; Tomography, Optical Coherence; Fluorescein Angiography; Optic Disk; Eye Diseases, Hereditary; Optic Nerve Diseases; Fundus Oculi; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Optic Disk Drusen
PubMed: 38916684
DOI: 10.1007/s10792-024-03215-5 -
One Health (Amsterdam, Netherlands) Jun 2024Livestock associated antimicrobial resistance (AMR) can reduce productivity and cause economic losses, threatening the livelihoods of poor farming communities in...
Livestock associated antimicrobial resistance (AMR) can reduce productivity and cause economic losses, threatening the livelihoods of poor farming communities in low-income settings. We investigated the practices and risk factors for increased antibiotic use, and AMR in including resistance to human critically important antibiotics like cefotaxime and colistin in semi-intensive and free-range poultry farms in Uganda. Samples and farm management data were collected from 402 poultry farms in two districts between October 2021 to March 2022. Samples were processed to isolate and to quantify cefotaxime (CTX) and colistin (COL) resistant coliforms The identification of presumptive isolated on MacConkey agar without antibiotics, was confirmed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry and subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility testing by disk diffusion using EUCAST guidelines. Our models indicated that antibiotic use was associated with production intensity, and type of feed used. Moreover, semi-intensive farmers had better knowledge on antibiotic use compared to farmers in the free-range system. In semi-intensive farms, 52% harbored COL and 57% CTX coliforms. In free-range farms, 54% had COL and 67% CTX coliforms. Resistance to tetracycline, ampicillin and enrofloxacin were more frequent in semi-intensive farms compared to the free-range farms. Multi-drug resistant were identified in both poultry production systems despite different management and antibiotic use practices. There was no significant relationship between antibiotic use and resistance for the six antibiotics tested.
PubMed: 38910948
DOI: 10.1016/j.onehlt.2024.100762 -
ACS Measurement Science Au Jun 2024Electrochemical advanced oxidation (EAO) systems are of significant interest due to their ability to treat a wide range of organic contaminants in water. Boron doped...
Electrochemical advanced oxidation (EAO) systems are of significant interest due to their ability to treat a wide range of organic contaminants in water. Boron doped diamond (BDD) electrodes have found considerable use in EAO. Despite their popularity, no laboratory scale method exists to quantify anodic corrosion of BDD electrodes under EAO conditions; all are qualitative using techniques such as scanning electron microscopy, electrochemistry, and spectroscopy. In this work, we present a new method which can be used to quantify average corrosion rates as a function of solution composition, current density, and BDD material properties over relatively short time periods. The method uses white light interferometry (WLI), in conjunction with BDD electrodes integrated into a 3D-printed flow cell, to measure three-dimensional changes in the surface structure due to corrosion over a 72 h period. It is equally applicable to both thin film and thicker, freestanding BDD. A further advantage of WLI is that it lends itself to large area measurements; data are collected herein for 1 cm diameter disk electrodes. Using WLI, corrosion rates as low as 1 nm h can be measured. This enables unequivocal demonstration that organics in the EAO solution are not a prerequisite for BDD anodic corrosion. However, they do increase the corrosion rates. In particular, we quantify that addition of 1 M acetic acid to 0.5 M potassium sulfate results in the average corrosion rate increasing ∼60 times. In the same solution, microcrystalline thin film BDD is also found to corrode ∼twice as fast compared to freestanding polished BDD, attributed to the presence of increased sp carbon content. This methodology also represents an important step forward in the prediction of BDD electrode lifetimes for a wide range of EAO applications.
PubMed: 38910859
DOI: 10.1021/acsmeasuresciau.3c00069 -
Vision Research Jun 2024Short-term monocular deprivation in normally sighted adult humans produces a transient shift of ocular dominance, boosting the deprived eye. This effect has been...
Short-term monocular deprivation in normally sighted adult humans produces a transient shift of ocular dominance, boosting the deprived eye. This effect has been documented with both perceptual tests and through physiological recordings, but no previous study simultaneously measured physiological responses and the perceptual effects of deprivation. Here we propose an integrated experimental paradigm that combines binocular rivalry with pupillometry, to introduce an objective physiological index of ocular dominance plasticity, acquired concurrently with perceptual testing. Ten participants reported the perceptual dynamics of binocular rivalry, while we measured pupil diameter. Stimuli were a white and a black disk, each presented monocularly. Rivalry dynamics and pupil-size traces were compared before and after 2 h of monocular deprivation, achieved by applying a translucent patch over the dominant eye. Consistent with prior research, we observed that monocular deprivation boosts the deprived-eye signal and consequently increases ocular dominance. In line with previous studies, we also observed subtle but systematic modulations of pupil size that tracked alternations between exclusive dominance phases of the black or white disk. Following monocular deprivation, the amplitude of these pupil-size modulations increased, which is consistent with the post-deprivation boost of the deprived eye and the increase of ocular dominance. This provides evidence that deprivation impacts the effective strength of monocular visual stimuli, coherently affecting perceptual reports and the automatic and unconscious regulation of pupil diameter. Our results show that a combined paradigm of binocular rivalry and pupillometry gives new insights into the physiological mechanisms underlying deprivation effects.
PubMed: 38909478
DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2024.108449 -
Journal of Applied Microbiology Jun 2024This research focused on assessing the prevalence of plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) determinants and antimicrobial susceptibility in Salmonella strains...
AIMS
This research focused on assessing the prevalence of plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) determinants and antimicrobial susceptibility in Salmonella strains isolated from Thai canal water.
METHODS AND RESULTS
From 2016 to 2020, 333 water samples were collected from six canals across Bangkok, Thailand. Salmonella spp. was isolated, PMQR genes were detected through polymerase chain reactions, and the antimicrobial susceptibility was examined using the disk diffusion method. The results indicated a 92.2% prevalence of Salmonella spp. in canal water, being serogroups B and C the most frequently detected. Overall, 35.3% of isolates harbored PMQR genes, being qnrS the most prevalent gene (97.2%, n = 137/141). Other PMQR genes, including qnrB, qnrD, oqxAB, and aac(6')-Ib-cr, were detected. Notably, six isolates harbored multiple PMQR genes. Furthermore, 9.3% and 3.8% of the overall isolates were resistant to nalidixic acid (NAL) and ciprofloxacin (CIP), respectively. PMQR-positive isolates showed higher rates of non-susceptibility to both NAL (48.2%, n = 68/141) and CIP (92.2%, n = 130/141) compared to PMQR-negative isolates (NAL: 8.9%, n = 23/258; CIP: 11.2%, n = 30/258).
CONCLUSIONS
The high prevalence of Salmonella spp., significant PMQR-positive, and reduced susceptibility isolates in canal water is of public health concern in Bangkok.
Topics: Thailand; Salmonella; Quinolones; Plasmids; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Drug Resistance, Bacterial; Water Microbiology; Bacterial Proteins; Ciprofloxacin; Genes, Bacterial
PubMed: 38908908
DOI: 10.1093/jambio/lxae134