Binary typing of staphylococcus aureus

This thesis describes the development. application and validation of straindifferentiating DNA probes for the characterization of Staphylococcus aureus strains in a system. that yields a binary output. By comparing the differential hybridization of these DNA probes to staphylococcal genomes. further insight in the genomic flexibility. the evolutionary clock-speed. the route of transmission. or the possible role of pathogenicity of a given S. aureus strain can be obtained. The generation. and development of the strain-discriminating DNA probes. constituting the binary typing (BT) system. will be introduced in chapter II. Chapters III. IV and V provide examples of application of the BT system. The genetic diversity of methicillinresistant S. aureus (MRSA) strains as measured with the BT system is described in chapter III. The nationwide spread of a MRSA clone (chapter IV). and the epidemiology of bovine S. aureus strains (chapter V) was monitored with the BT system. and the results were compared with other genotyping approaches. The validation of the binary probes as stable epidemiological markers. described in chapter VI. was determined according to generally accepted evaluation parameters. The final technical protocol of the BT system is outlined in chapter VII. The feasibility and technical reproducibility of current BT protocol as measured in a multicenter study is presented in chapter VIII. Finally, chapter IX integrates the data presented in the previous chapters and provide future perspectives in the typing of S. aureus

Sociale ondernemingen in Noord-Nederland: een verkenning:onderzoek naar belemmeringen en ondersteuningsbehoefte

In Noord-Nederland zijn sociale ondernemingen in opkomst, net als in de rest van Nederland. We hebben een eerste regionale verkenning van de aard en omvang van deze sector uitgevoerd. Hoe ziet de groep van sociale ondernemingen in deze regio er uit? Welke belemmeringen komen ze tegen en aan welke ondersteuning hebben ze behoefte

Toward an Empirical Theory of Pulsar Emission XII: Exploring the Physical Conditions in Millisecond Pulsar Emission Regions

The five-component profile of the 2.7-ms pulsar J0337+1715 appears to exhibit the best example to date of a core/double-cone emission-beam structure in a millisecond pulsar (MSP). Moreover, three other MSPs, the Binary Pulsar B1913+16, B1953+29 and J1022+1001, seem to exhibit core/single-cone profiles. These configurations are remarkable and important because it has not been clear whether MSPs and slow pulsars exhibit similar emission-beam configurations, given that they have considerably smaller magnetospheric sizes and magnetic field strengths. MSPs thus provide an extreme context for studying pulsar radio emission. Particle currents along the magnetic polar flux tube connect processes just above the polar cap through the radio-emission region to the light-cylinder and the external environment. In slow pulsars radio-emission heights are typically about 500 km around where the magnetic field is nearly dipolar, and estimates of the physical conditions there point to radiation below the plasma frequency and emission from charged solitons by the curvature process. We are able to estimate emission heights for the four MSPs and carry out a similar estimation of physical conditions in their much lower emission regions. We find strong evidence that MSPs also radiate by curvature emission from charged solitons.Comment: 14 pages, published in Ap

Variable number of tandem repeats in clinical strains of Haemophilus influenzae

An algorithm capable of identifying short repeat motifs was developed and used to screen the whole genome sequence available for Haemophilus influenzae, since some of these repeats have been shown to affect bacterial virulence. Various di- to hexanucleotide repeats were identified, confirming and extending previous findings on the existence of variable-number-of-tandem-repeat loci (VNTRs). Repeats with units of 7 or 8 nucleotides were not encountered. For all of the 3- to 6-nucleotide repeats in the H. influenzae chromosome, PCR tests capable of detecting allelic polymorphisms were designed. Fourteen of 18 of the potential VNTRs were indeed highly polymorphic when different strains were screened. Two of the potential VNTRs appeared to be short and homogeneous in length; another one may be specific for the H. influenzae Rd strain only. One of the primer sets generated fingerprint-type DNA banding patterns. The various repeat types differed with respect to intrinsic stability as well. It was noted for separate colonies derived from a single clinical specimen or strains passaged for several weeks on chocolate agar plates that the lengths of the VNTRs did not change. When several strains from different patients infected during an outbreak of lung disease were analyzed, increased but limited variation was encountered in al

Rapid detection of methicillin resistance in Staphylococcus aureus isolates by the MRSA-screen latex agglutination test

The slide agglutination test MRSA-Screen (Denka Seiken Co., Niigata, Japan) was compared with the mecA PCR ("gold standard") for the detection of methicillin resistance in Staphylococcus aureus. The MRSA-Screen test detected the penicillin-binding protein 2a (PBP2a) antigen in 87 of 90 genetically diverse methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) stock culture strains, leading to a sensitivity of 97%. The three discrepant MRSA strains displayed positive results only after induction of the mecA gene by exposure to methicillin. Both mecA PCR and MRSA-Screen displayed negative results among the methicillin-susceptible S. aureus strains (n = 106), as well as for Micrococcus spp. (n = 10), members of the family Enterobacteriaceae (n = 10), Streptococcus pneumoniae (n = 10), and Enterococcus spp. (n = 10) (specificity = 100%). Producing the same PBP2a antigen, all 10 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis strains score positived in both the latex test and the mecA PCR. Consequently, the MRSA-Screen test should be applied only after identification of the MRSA strain to the species level to rule out coagulase-negative staphylococci. In conclusion, due to excellent specificity and sensitivity the MRSA-Screen latex test has the potential to be successfully used for routine applications in the microbiology laboratory

Genome sequence of Madurella mycetomatis mm55, isolated from a human mycetoma case in Sudan

We present the first genome sequence for a strain of the main mycetoma causative agent, Madurella mycetomatis. This 36.7-Mb genome sequence will offer new insights into the pathogenesis of mycetoma, and it will contribute to the development of better therapies for this neglected tropical disease

Формирование приоритетов интенсификации факторов производства угольного предприятия на основе структурно-иерархического анализа

Проведено оцінку взаємного впливу чинників виробництва і пріоритетів їх формування на базі підприємств вугільної галузі на основі структурно-ієрархічного підходу. Обґрунтовано можливості йі умови аналізу багатоваріантності впливів чинників праці і капіталу на зниження трудомісткості і капіталомісткості очисних робіт. Доведено доцільність застосування методу аналізу ієрархій, за допомогою якого побудовано матриці парних порівнянь. Ключові слова: інтенсифікація чинників виробництва, матриця попарних порівнянь, метод аналізу ієрархій, структурно-ієрархічний метод, чинники виробництва.Проведена оценка взаимного влияния факторов производства и приоритетов их формирования на базе предприятий угольной отрасли на основе структурно-иерархического подхода. Обоснованы возможности и условия анализа многовариантности воздействия факторов труда и капитала на снижение трудоемкости и капиталоемкости очистных работ. Доказана целесообразность применения метода анализа иерархий, с помощью которого построены матрицы парных сравнений. Ключевые слова: интенсификация факторов производства, матрица попарных сравнений, метод анализа иерархий, структурно-иерархический метод, факторы производства.In new economics which is based on the knowledge system the level and complicity of innovation development of industrial complexenterprise is determined by such deep transformational phenomena as change of structure of technological modes in world economy, change of qualitative and quantitative proportions of production factors and, in particular, intensification of production factors, which is able to solve such actual problem as migration to primary intensive way of development. That is why the purpose of this research is development and improvement of methodological approach to formation of priority variants of production factors intensification on the basis of method of hierarchies analysis. For solution ofthis task the method of hierarchies analysis is usedwhich is systematic procedure for hierarchical expressing the elements determining the essence of any problem. The assessment of mutual influence of production factors and priorities of their formation by the example of coal industry enterprise on the basis of structural-hierarchic approach is given in the article. On the basis of structural-hierarchic approach the criteriawere formed, which, each in different ways and with different level of intensity, make influence on meaning of coal enterprise factors. There were proved the possibilities and conditions of multipart influence of labor factors and capital on decrease of labor and capital intensity of coal-face works, which will allow giving rise in increasing effectiveness while securing necessary labor safety. Practicability of method of hierarchies analysis, with the help of which the comparison-of-pairs matrix were built, was proved. Investigation conducted allowed choosing the directions of capital investments for the purpose of getting maximum effect. Keywords: production factors intensification, comparison-of-pairs matrix, method of hierarchies analysis, structural-hierarchic method, production factors

Invasive Species Forecasting System: A Decision Support Tool for the U.S. Geological Survey: FY 2005 Benchmarking Report v.1.6

The National Institute of Invasive Species Science (NIISS), through collaboration with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), recently began incorporating NASA observations and predictive modeling tools to fulfill its mission. These enhancements, labeled collectively as the Invasive Species Forecasting System (ISFS), are now in place in the NIISS in their initial state (V1.0). The ISFS is the primary decision support tool of the NIISS for the management and control of invasive species on Department of Interior and adjacent lands. The ISFS is the backbone for a unique information services line-of-business for the NIISS, and it provides the means for delivering advanced decision support capabilities to a wide range of management applications. This report describes the operational characteristics of the ISFS, a decision support tool of the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Recent enhancements to the performance of the ISFS, attained through the integration of observations, models, and systems engineering from the NASA are benchmarked; i.e., described quantitatively and evaluated in relation to the performance of the USGS system before incorporation of the NASA enhancements. This report benchmarks Version 1.0 of the ISFS