A survey of food-borne and antimicrobial resistance-harbouring bacteria in meat by-products from knackeries and associated equipment and kennels.

BACKGROUND: In Ireland, meat by-products (MBP) harvested at knackeries from farmed animals that have not died of an infectious or systemic disease are legally permitted to be fed to dogs in kennels and packs of hounds. There is limited information available on the risks of spreading foodborne bacteria or antimicrobial resistant (AMR) determinants to dogs, their handlers or the associated environment. The aim of this study was to investigate the distribution of Salmonella serovars, Listeria monocytogenes, Campylobacter species, enterococci, their associated AMR determinants and the level of Escherichia coli in samples of MBP from knackeries and associated equipment and kennels. For this purpose, 313 fresh and 208 frozen MBP samples from 22 knackeries, 16 swabs of mincing equipment from two of the knackeries and 138 swabs from kennels adjacent to seven of the knackeries were collected and processed over a 12-month period. RESULTS: From the 521 MBP samples analysed, a total of 77 Salmonella (14.8%), 101 L. monocytogenes (19.4%), 12 Campylobacter (2.3%), 271 Enterococcus faecalis (52.0%) and 127 Enterococcus faecium (24.4%) strains were recovered. The 154 analysed environmental samples from kennels and mincing equipment yielded 194 isolates (3 Salmonella, 85 E. coli, 76 E. faecalis and 30 E. faecium.). E. coli was quantifiable in 423 of the 521 MBP samples with log counts per gram ranging between 1 and 6. AMR characterisation of 168 E. coli, enterococci and Salmonella isolates from MBP and environmental samples showed high levels of AMR including multi-drug resistance (MDR) with 63.6%, 9.1%, 29% and 45.8% of E. coli, Salmonella, E. faecalis and E. faecium isolates, respectively showing resistance to three or more antimicrobials (MDR) CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this survey confirm that MBP from fallen animals contain high levels of zoonotic and AMR-harbouring bacteria that pose a risk of transmission to dogs, their handlers, and the environment.

Endogenous melatonin and sleep in individuals with Rare Genetic Neurodevelopmental Disorders (RGND): A systematic review.

Individuals with Rare Genetic Neurodevelopmental Disorders (RGND) present with significant sleep problems and circadian rhythm abnormalities of uncertain aetiology. Abnormal melatonin secretion may play a role in sleep disturbance in individuals with higher incidence developmental disabilities, however, RGND research is limited. This review compared the melatonin profiles in a range of RGND with that of the general population and considered the impact of any differences on sleep. A systematic search identified 19 studies that met inclusion criteria. Each study was examined to extract data relating to the study design, participant characteristics, objectives, sleep measures and results, and melatonin measures and findings. Studies were evaluated using the BIOCROSS quality appraisal tool. Nine studies focussed on Smith-Magenis syndrome (SMS), the rest included individuals with Angelman (AS), Fragile-X (FXS), Prader-Willi (PWS), septo-optic dysplasia, PAX6/WAGR and Williams (WS) syndromes (N = 349). Individuals with RGND present with a range of sleep problems, particularly dyssomnias. The melatonin profile varied within and between RGND, with low nocturnal melatonin levels commonly reported. Understanding the relationship between specific sleep and melatonin parameters within RGND may help inform sleep intervention.

Fall in circulating mononuclear cell mitochondrial DNA content in human sepsis.

PURPOSE: Loss of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has been described in whole blood samples from a small number of patients with sepsis, but the underlying mechanism and clinical implications of this observation are not clear. We have investigated the cellular basis of the mtDNA depletion in sepsis, and determined clinical correlates with mtDNA depletion. METHODS: Whole blood samples were obtained from 147 consecutive patients with severe sepsis admitted to a General Critical Care Unit in a University Hospital and 83 healthy controls. In a separate study of 13 patients with severe sepsis, blood was obtained for immediate cell sorting by flow cytometry. MtDNA content was determined in whole blood DNA by PCR methods, and subsequently in the 13 samples where white cell subtypes were separated. RESULTS: The mtDNA content of peripheral blood in human subjects was lower in patients with sepsis than controls (P < 0.0001). By studying leukocyte subsets in a subgroup of 13 patients, we showed that this was largely due to an increase in the proportion of circulating neutrophils, which contained approximately 3-fold less mtDNA than mononuclear leukocytes. However, isolated monocytes (P = 0.041) and lymphocytes (P = 0.021) from septic patients showed clear evidence of mtDNA depletion, which correlated with the APACHE II score (P = 0.015). CONCLUSIONS: In severe sepsis much of the apparent whole blood mtDNA depletion is due to a change in the differential leukocyte count. However mtDNA depletion in mononuclear cells occurs in patients with sepsis and correlates with disease severity.