Towards the identification of transmission pathways and early detection of Enterococcus cecorum infection in broiler chickens.

Enterococcus cecorum (EC) infection is an emerging endemic disease in UK and global broiler poultry with major economic impact and welfare concerns. There are significant research gaps with regards to EC pathogenesis, source of infection, transmission routes and early detection of disease, which this study aimed to address. In this prospective study, 725 environmental samples were collected from 4 broiler farms (A-D) the day before chick placement (d 1) and through the subsequent crop (d 7, 14, and 21). Cecal swabs were collected from birds that died of natural causes during the study period. A sample of birds that had been found dead or were culled for health reasons, were presented for post-mortem and samples were taken from lesions for EC culture. DNA was extracted from all environmental samples and EC detected using a qPCR and MALDI-TOF. Two EC isolates from diseased birds were inoculated on concrete slabs and incubated at 23°C and 32°C followed by swabbing of concrete culturing and determination of EC cfu at defined time points. Alongside environmental and bird sampling commercially available, smart camera systems were installed in selected houses on each farm to monitor bird activity and distribution. No EC outbreak occurred during the study, however, it was detected by qPCR in 215/725 (29.7 %) of all samples collected. Also, EC DNA was detected on average in 37% of samples collected on d 1, with approx. 88% of samples from chick paper being positive. Despite this, it was only cultured from 3 ceca samples and joint fluids of two infected birds from farm B on d 14 and 21. The survival experiments using isolates from infected chickens showed EC can survive on concrete for at least 21 d. This study provides invaluable insights into transmission pathways and tenacity of EC. Further studies are needed to determine strain characteristics in relation to their ability to cause disease and to further elucidate the sources of infection on poultry farms.

Thyroid cancer risk in Belarus among children and adolescents exposed to radioiodine after the Chornobyl accident.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies showed an increased risk of thyroid cancer among children and adolescents exposed to radioactive iodines released after the Chornobyl (Chernobyl) accident, but the effects of screening, iodine deficiency, age at exposure and other factors on the dose-response are poorly understood. METHODS: We screened 11 970 individuals in Belarus aged 18 years or younger at the time of the accident who had estimated (131)I thyroid doses based on individual thyroid activity measurements and dosimetric data from questionnaires. The excess odds ratio per gray (EOR/Gy) was modelled using linear and linear-exponential functions. RESULTS: For thyroid doses <5 Gy, the dose-response was linear (n=85; EOR/Gy=2.15, 95% confidence interval: 0.81-5.47), but at higher doses the excess risk fell. The EOR/Gy was significantly increased among those with prior or screening-detected diffuse goiter, and larger for men than women, and for persons exposed before age 5 than those exposed between 5 and 18 years, although not statistically significant. A somewhat higher EOR/Gy was estimated for validated pre-screening cases. CONCLUSION: 10-15 years after the Chornobyl accident, thyroid cancer risk was significantly increased among individuals exposed to fallout as children or adolescents, but the risk appeared to be lower than in other Chornobyl studies and studies of childhood external irradiation.

Faculty and administrator perceptions of decision making.

This research study was conducted in associate and baccalaureate schools of nursing. This research focused on the extent of faculty participation in decision making; a description and analysis of the characteristics of nurse faculty, nurse administrators, and the organizations of associate and baccalaureate schools of nursing; the interrelationships between opportunities for participation in decision making and the level and type of decision making; the relationships between various personal and situational variables that affect decision making, the relationship between the type of involvement in decision making to the variables of job satisfaction, professional commitment, and job tension; and the relationships among the variables of job satisfaction, professional commitment and job tension. Ninety-three faculty and 10 administrators participated in the research study. Research data were collected by three instruments: the School Information Profile, the Administrative Questionnaire, and the Faculty Questionnaire. The data were subjected to frequency distribution statistics, the RELIABILITY program of SPSS, Pearson correlation coefficients, Canonical correlations, and Multiple Regression analysis. The primary study results were: Faculty reported that their participation in decision making is primarily in the area of making recommendations, not final determinations. Faculty stated that decision making is usually a group process. Administrator perceptions were that faculty possess more decision-making power than faculty believed. Faculty reaffirmed that job satisfaction and professional commitment are positively correlated, and that job tension was found to be negatively correlated to job satisfaction and professional commitment.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Evidence for horizontal and vertical transmission in Campylobacter passage from hen to her progeny.

Campylobacter is an important human pathogen, and consumption of undercooked poultry has been linked to significant human illnesses. To reduce human illness, intervention strategies targeting Campylobacter reduction in poultry are in development. For more than a decade, there has been an ongoing national and international controversy about whether Campylobacter can pass from one generation of poultry to the next via the fertile egg. We recognize that there are numerous sources of Campylobacter entry into flocks of commercial poultry (including egg transmission), yet the environment is often cited as the only source. There has been an abundance of published research globally that refutes this contention, and this article lists and discusses many of them, along with other studies that support environment as the sole or primary source. One must remember that egg passage can mean more than vertical, transovarian transmission. Fecal bacteria, including Campylobacter, can contaminate the shell, shell membranes, and albumen of freshly laid fertile eggs. This contamination is drawn through the shell by temperature differential, aided by the presence of moisture (the "sweating" of the egg); then, when the chick emerges from the egg, it can ingest bacteria such as Campylobacter, become colonized, and spread this contamination to flock mates in the grow house. Improvements in cultural laboratory methods continue to advance our knowledge of the ecology of Campylobacter, and in the not-so-distant future, egg passage will not be a subject continuously debated but will be embraced, thus allowing the development and implementation of more effective intervention strategies.

Paraovarian adrenal rest with MRI features characteristic of an adrenal adenoma.

We report MR and sonographic imaging features of an incidentally detected paraovarian adrenal rest in a 44-year-old woman who was being evaluated for menorrhagia. This is the first report of chemical shift imaging identifying the presence of lipid within an adrenal rest as well as rapid washout of contrast. Both of these MR characteristics are typically seen with an adrenal adenoma.

Erectile dysfunction: is there silent obstructive coronary artery disease?

Erectile dysfunction (ED) has long been ascribed to the ageing process. Patients presenting with ED often have their symptoms ignored in terms of both underlying aetiology and treatment. It is now clear that, in many cases, the pathological processes in ED are common to those involved in vascular disease. Men with proven coronary artery disease (CAD) have a high incidence of ED when directly questioned. In some, the onset of ED pre-dates the symptoms and diagnosis of CAD as exemplified in our two cases. Patient 1 developed ED two months before an acute anterior myocardial infarction. Patient 2 had several cardiovascular risk factors but only the presence of ED prompted investigations which eventually led to an angiographic diagnosis of three-vessel disease. The presence of silent co-existing myocardial ischaemia should be considered in men who present with ED, particularly when they have other cardiovascular risk factors.

Creating a digital radiographic teaching file and database using a PC and common software.

OBJECTIVE: We wanted to design an inexpensive, convenient database to store digital radiographic images of multiple formats. CONCLUSION: We designed a database that could be saved in a standard format using readily available software. Users of our database can save images in a Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) format, allowing their easy incorporation into other programs.