Evaluation of Petrifilm? Select E. coli Count Plate medium to discriminate antimicrobial resistant Escherichia coli

Background

Screening and enumeration of antimicrobial resistant Escherichia coli directly from samples is needed to identify emerging resistant clones and obtain quantitative data for risk assessment. Aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of 3M™ Petrifilm™ Select E. coli Count Plate (SEC plate) supplemented with antimicrobials to discriminate antimicrobial-resistant and non-resistant E. coli.

Method

A range of E. coli isolates were tested by agar dilution method comparing the Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) for eight antimicrobials obtained by Mueller-Hinton II agar, MacConkey agar and SEC plates. Kappa statistics was used to assess the levels of agreement when classifying strains as resistant, intermediate or susceptible.

Results

SEC plate showed that 74% of all strains agreed within ± 1 log₂ dilution when comparing MICs with Mueller-Hinton II media. High agreement levels were found for gentamicin, ampicillin, chloramphenicol and cefotaxime, resulting in a kappa value of 0.9 and 100% agreement within ± 1 log₂ dilution. Significant variances were observed for oxytetracycline and sulphamethoxazole. Further tests showed that the observed discrepancy in classification of susceptibility to oxytetracycline by the two media could be overcome when a plate-dependent breakpoint of 64 mg/L was used for SEC plates. For sulphamethoxazole, SEC plates provided unacceptably high MICs.

Conclusion

SEC plates showed good agreement with Mueller-Hinton II agar in MIC studies and can be used to screen and discriminate resistant E. coli for ampicillin, cephalothin, streptomycin, chloramphenicol, cefotaxime and gentamicin using CLSI standardized breakpoints, but not for sulphamethoxazole. SEC plates can also be used to discriminate oxytetracycline-resistant E. coli if a plate-dependent breakpoint value of 64 mg/L is used.     

Osteophytosis, subchondral bone sclerosis, joint effusion and soft tissue thickening in canine experimental stifle osteoarthritis: comparison between 1.5 T magnetic resonance imaging and computed radiography

Objective— To compare use of 1.5 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed radiography (CR) for morphologic and temporal evaluation of osteophytosis, subchondral sclerosis, joint effusion, and synovial thickening in experimentally induced canine stifle osteoarthritis (OA).
Study Design— Prospective study.
Animals— Dogs (n=8).
Methods— CR (mediolateral and caudocranial projections) and MRI (dorsal 3D T1-weighted gradient echo, sagittal 3D SPGR and T2-weighted fast spin echo with fat saturation) were performed at baseline (n=8) and at week 4 (n=5), week 8 (n=8), and week 26 (n=5) after cranial cruciate ligament transection. Osteophytosis, subchondral bone sclerosis, and joint effusion were scored on CR and MRI, and synovial thickening on MRI.
Results— MRI was more sensitive than CR for detection of osteophytosis and could better discriminate joint effusion from soft tissue thickening, although scores for these variables strongly correlated between modalities (ρ=0.94 [osteophytosis] and 0.80 [effusion]; P <.001). Scores for subchondral bone sclerosis also correlated (ρ=0.54, P <.004), although this variable may have been over interpreted on CR. Joint effusion and synovial thickening peaked at week 8, before partially regressing at week 26. Conversely, osteophytosis and sclerosis progressed semi-linearly over 26 weeks.
Conclusion— MRI is more sensitive than radiography in assessing onset and progression of osteophytosis in canine experimental stifle OA and provides enhanced discrimination between joint effusion and synovial thickening.
Clinical Relevance— MRI is as a more powerful imaging modality that should be increasingly used in animals to assess the joint related effects of disease-modifying OA drugs.     

An optimized and simplified method for analysing urea and ammonia in freshwater aquaculture systems

This study presents a simple urease method for analysis of ammonia and urea in freshwater aquaculture systems. Urea is hydrolysed into ammonia using urease followed by analysis of released ammonia using the salicylate‐hypochlorite method. The hydrolysis of urea is performed at room temperature and without addition of a buffer. A number of tests were performed on water samples obtained from a commercial rainbow trout farm to determine the optimal urease concentration and time for complete hydrolysis. One mL of water sample was spiked with 1.3 mL urea at three different concentrations: 50 μg L^?1, 100 μg L^?1 and 200 μg L^?1 urea‐N. In addition, five concentrations of urease were tested, ranging from 0.1 U mL^?1 to 4 U mL^?1. Samples were hydrolysed for various time periods ranging from 5 to 120 min. A urease concentration of 0.4 UmL^?1 and a hydrolysis period of 120 min gave the best results, with 99.6–101% recovery of urea‐N in samples spiked with 100 or 200 μg L^?1 urea‐N. The level of accurate quantification of ammonia using the method is 50 μg L^?1 NH₄⁺‐N, and the detection level is 5–10 μg L^?1 NH₄⁺‐N.     

Early colonization of constructed Technosols by macro-invertebrates

Journal of Soils and Sediments - Anthropogenic activities lead to soil degradation and loss of biodiversity, but also contribute to the creation of novel ecosystems. Pedological engineering aims at...     

Fate and risks of potentially toxic elements in wastewater-fed food production systems—the examples of Cambodia and Vietnam

Non-treated wastewater is used for irrigation of aquatic food production systems in the peri-urban areas of the major cities in Southeast Asia. This paper complement the knowledge on agricultural soil-based crops irrigated with low quality water, by reviewing the research findings on the wastewater-fed aquatic productions with special focus on heavy metals and other potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in the production systems of Hanoi in Vietnam and Phnom Penh in Cambodia. In Hanoi, sediments in the wastewater exposed rivers of Hanoi were reported to be polluted with PTEs, in particular with Cadmium (Cd). The river sediment had a high retention capacity for PTEs which seems to prevent the transport of PTEs to the wastewater-fed production systems. In Phnom Penh, domestic and industrial wastewater is pumped into the Cheung Ek Lake located south of the city. A major part of the water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica Forssk.) consumed in the city is produced in the lake. The concentrations of some PTEs were elevated at the wastewater inlets to the lake compared to concentrations at the lake outlet and at the control site. Water spinach is by far the major vegetable produced in the wastewater-fed systems in Hanoi and Phnom Penh, but did only contain PTEs in concentrations within or slightly above the concentration range observed for water spinach grown in agricultural soil not exposed to wastewater. PTE concentration in fish grown in wastewater-fed systems in Hanoi and Phnom were low. However, mean PTE concentrations in liver and skin of some fish were high. Consumption of muscle tissue from fish produced in wastewater-fed systems in Hanoi and Phnom Penh resulted in an estimated intake of PTEs amounting to less than 9% of the tolerable intake. It was concluded, that the PTE concentrations in fish and water spinach from Hanoi and Cheung Ek Lake in Phnom Penh constituted low food safety risks for consumers.     

Evaluation of antimicrobial products used in tilapia (Oreochromis spp.) and whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) aquaculture

Despite the importance of aquaculture increases for feeding the growing world population, professional farm management and proper use of aquaculture products or drugs are needed. It is important to know the quality of commercial antimicrobial products on the market while there is wide use of antimicrobials to treat fish diseases. The most commonly used antimicrobial products were identified from a previous survey, included amoxicillin, enrofloxacin, florfenicol, sulphadiazine, sulphamonomethoxine and sulphadimidine. Eight local chemical supply shops were randomly sampled in representative aquaculture areas in Maoming and Zhanjiang districts of south China in 2013. In this study, only eight products contained active substances within ±10% of the concentration declared on the product label among the 30 different most used commercial products; while six products did not contain any of the declared antimicrobials. Three products without labels were sold as ‘pure antimicrobial’ and had high concentrations of active antimicrobials. Furthermore, most products only provided ambiguous information on the packages on both antimicrobial usage and dosage; and only one product stated how to prepare medicated feed which is important for efficient usage. The results of this study showed that the aquaculture antimicrobial products sold on the market were of low quality and thus compromised effective fish disease treatment. Moreover, insufficient information on products’ labels would provide limited instruction on correct antimicrobial usage. Inspection and supervision by both private companies and the government's sector require strengthening.     

Duration of load revisited

A duration of load study representing 13 years of testing was recently terminated. Preliminary results have been published over the years. This paper represents the final account of the study, which was focused on the influence of moisture content on time to failure for structural timber subjected to bending under constant load conditions. Two constant moisture conditions (MC = 11 and 20%) and one condition of varying moisture (MC between 11 and 20%) were applied. A total of 816 Norway spruce boards of dimensions 44 × 95 × 1,800 mm³ were included. Eight groups of non-destructively matched samples were formed. Four groups were subjected to short-term strength tests, and four groups were subjected to long-term tests. Creep and time to failure were monitored. Time to failure as a function of stress level was established and the reliability of stress level assessment was discussed. A significant mechanosorptive effect was demonstrated both in terms of increased creep and shortening of time to failure. The test results were employed for the calibration of four existing duration of load models. The effect of long-term loading was expressed as the stress level SL₅₀ to cause failure after 50 years of loading. SL₅₀ was found to be of the order 0.60 for MC = 11%, 0.50 for MC = 20% and 0.44 for MC varying between 11 and 20%. The test results revealed no evidence of a threshold stress level. A reliability based calibration of load-duration factors was performed using probabilistic models of loads and of the short-term and long-term strengths. For permanent and imposed library loads, reliability-based estimation of the load duration factor gave almost the same results as direct, deterministic calibration.     

Diseases and Injuries Associated with Mortality of Hatchery Reared Baltic Cod (Gadus morhua L.) Larvae

A cod hatching plant was established in 1992 on the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea in order to elucidate the possibilites for restocking of cod fry in this brackishwater system. The disease prevalence in 3 batches of hatchery-reared yolksac larvae from the Baltic cod (Gadus morhua L.) was monitored during the posthatch period. High prevalences of bacteriosis/mycosis, lordosis/scoliosis, injuries and protozoan endoparasitism were recorded. Vibrio sp. and Vibrio anguillarum serovar 04, 06, 08 in addition to nontypable strains and saprolegniaceous fungi were isolated from the larvae. The dinoflagellate-like endoparasites were located in the yolksac of the cod larvae.     

Comparative long-term efficacy of ivermectin and moxidectin over winter in Canadian horses treated at removal from pastures for winter housing

The impact of a late fall treatment on the spring rise of fecal egg counts was evaluated in a controlled study with Canadian horses treated with 2 different dewormers immediately after removal from pasture for winter housing. The horses were stabled until the end of the trial period. Seventeen weanlings, 20 yearlings, and 15 2-year-old horses located in Ontario, which were presumed to be naturally infected with cyathostomins after pasture grazing, were randomly allocated to either a group treated with 0.4 mg/kg of moxidectin and 2.5 mg/kg of praziquantel or a group treated with 0.2 mg/kg of ivermectin and 1.5 mg/kg of praziquantel. Three weeks after treatment, all strongyle fecal egg counts were reduced to zero for both treatment groups. However, at 5 months post-treatment, mean geometric fecal egg counts were statistically higher for the yearlings and 2-year-old horses treated with ivermectin than for the yearlings and 2-year-old horses treated with moxidectin (P < 0.0001).