The relationship between enterotoxigenic {\it Escherichia coli\/} infection and environmental risk factors in Bilbeis, Egypt, 1981--1983

Diarrheal disease associated with enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) infection is one of the major public health problems in many developing countries, especially in infants and young children. Because tests suitable for field laboratories have been developed only relatively recently, the literature on the environmental risk factors associated with ETEC is not as complete as for many other pathogens or for diarrhea of unspecified etiology.^ Data from a diarrheal disease surveillance project in rural Egypt in which stool samples were tested for a variety of pathogens, and in which an environmental questionnaire was completed for the same study households, provided an opportunity to test for an association between ETEC and various risk factors present in those households. ETEC laboratory-positive specimens were compared with ETEC laboratory-negative specimens for both symptomatic and asymptomatic children less than three years of age at the individual and household level using a case-comparison design.^ Individual children more likely to have LT infection were those who lived in HHs that had cooked food stored for subsequent consumption at the time of the visit, where caretakers used water but not soap to clean an infant after a diarrheal stool, and that had an indoor, private water source. LT was more common in HHs where the caretaker did not clean an infant with soap after a diarrheal stool, and where a sleeping infant was not covered with a net. At both the individual and HH level, LT was significantly associated with good water supply in terms of quantity and storage.^ ST was isolated more frequently at the individual level where a sleeping infant was covered with a net, where large animals were kept in or around the house, where water was always available and was not potable, and where the water container was not covered. At the HH level, the absence of a toilet or latrine and the indiscriminate disposal of animal waste decreased risk. Using animal feces for fertilizer, the presence of large animals, and poor water quality were associated with ST at both the individual and HH level.^ These findings are mostly consistent with those of other studies, and/or are biologically plausible, with the obvious exception of those from this study where poorer water supplies are associated with less infection, at least in the case of LT. More direct observation of how animal ownership and feces disposal relates to different types of water supply and usage might clarify mechanisms through which some ETEC infection could be prevented in similar settings. ^

Implementation of active surveillance cultures and associated infection control practices for the reduction of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus in the healthcare setting: An interrupted time series analysis

OBJECTIVE. To determine the effectiveness of active surveillance cultures and associated infection control practices on the incidence of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in the acute care setting. DESIGN. A historical analysis of existing clinical data utilizing an interrupted time series design. ^ SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS. Patients admitted to a 260-bed tertiary care facility in Houston, TX between January 2005 through December 2010. ^ INTERVENTION. Infection control practices, including enhanced barrier precautions, compulsive hand hygiene, disinfection and environmental cleaning, and executive ownership and education, were simultaneously introduced during a 5-month intervention implementation period culminating with the implementation of active surveillance screening. Beginning June 2007, all high risk patients were cultured for MRSA nasal carriage within 48 hours of admission. Segmented Poisson regression was used to test the significance of the difference in incidence of healthcare-associated MRSA during the 29-month pre-intervention period compared to the 43-month post-intervention period. ^ RESULTS. A total of 9,957 of 11,095 high-risk patients (89.7%) were screened for MRSA carriage during the intervention period. Active surveillance cultures identified 1,330 MRSA-positive patients (13.4%) contributing to an admission prevalence of 17.5% in high-risk patients. The mean rate of healthcare-associated MRSA infection and colonization decreased from 1.1 per 1,000 patient-days in the pre-intervention period to 0.36 per 1,000 patient-days in the post-intervention period (P<0.001). The effect of the intervention in association with the percentage of S. aureus isolates susceptible to oxicillin were shown to be statistically significantly associated with the incidence of MRSA infection and colonization (IRR = 0.50, 95% CI = 0.31-0.80 and IRR = 0.004, 95% CI = 0.00003-0.40, respectively). ^ CONCLUSIONS. It can be concluded that aggressively targeting patients at high risk for colonization of MRSA with active surveillance cultures and associated infection control practices as part of a multifaceted, hospital-wide intervention is effective in reducing the incidence of healthcare-associated MRSA.^

Preliminary results and documentation of sediment core CRP-1 from the Ross Sea off Cape Roberts, Antarctica

The first hole of the Cape Roberts Project, CRP-1, was drilled in October, 1997, to a depth of 148 metres below the sea floor (mbsf) before being terminated unexpectedly the loss of fast sea-ice seaward of the rig following a severe storm. The site lies in 150 m of water at 77.008°S and 163.755°E, 16 km off Cape Roberts. This part of the report outlines the geologic setting, a gently tilted sequence near the margin of the Victoria Land Basin, and describes the history of the growth of sea ice, which provided the drilling platform, as well as the history of the drilling itself. Core recovery was around 77% in soft and brittle strata to 100 m and 98% below that. The sequence was found to comprise a Quaternary glacigenic interval down to 43.55 mbsf and below this an early Miocene interval that was also glacigenic. Core properties that were studied include fracture patterns, porosity, sonic velocity and magnetic susceptibility. Velocity in particular was useful in relating the cored sequence to the regional seismic stratigraphy. A preliminary assessment suggests that the bottom of the hole is 15 m short of the boundary between seismic sequences V3 and V4. Analytical facilities new to the Antarctic and used for processing samples for the project are described here and include a bench top palynological processing system and a palaeomagnetic laboratory. The core management and sampling system, which recorded over 2000 samples, is also outlined.

Sporomorphs and quantitative analysis of the Eocene record from IODP Hole 318-U1356A

The early Eocene epoch was characterized by extreme global warmth, which in terrestrial settings was characterized by an expansion of near-tropical vegetation belts into the high latitudes. During the middle to late Eocene, global cooling caused the retreat of tropical vegetation to lower latitudes. In high-latitude settings, near-tropical vegetation was replaced by temperate floras. This floral change has recently been traced as far south as Antarctica, where along the Wilkes Land margin paratropical forests thrived during the early Eocene and temperate Nothofagus forests developed during the middle Eocene. Here we provide both qualitative and quantitative palynological data for this floral turnover based on a sporomorph record recovered at Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Site U1356 off the Wilkes Land margin. Following the nearest living relative concept and based on a comparison with modern vegetation types, we examine the structure and diversity patterns of the Eocene vegetation along the Wilkes Land margin. Our results indicate that the early Eocene forests along the Wilkes Land margin were characterized by a diverse canopy composed of plants that today occur in tropical settings; their richness pattern was similar to that of present-day forests from New Caledonia. The middle Eocene forests were characterized by a canopy dominated by Nothofagus and exhibited richness patterns similar to modern Nothofagus forests from New Zealand.

Probability inundation map for a scenario combining storm surge and sea-level rise

Coastal managers require reliable spatial data on the extent and timing of potential coastal inundation, particularly in a changing climate. Most sea level rise (SLR) vulnerability assessments are undertaken using the easily implemented bathtub approach, where areas adjacent to the sea and below a given elevation are mapped using a deterministic line dividing potentially inundated from dry areas. This method only requires elevation data usually in the form of a digital elevation model (DEM). However, inherent errors in the DEM and spatial analysis of the bathtub model propagate into the inundation mapping. The aim of this study was to assess the impacts of spatially variable and spatially correlated elevation errors in high-spatial resolution DEMs for mapping coastal inundation. Elevation errors were best modelled using regression-kriging. This geostatistical model takes the spatial correlation in elevation errors into account, which has a significant impact on analyses that include spatial interactions, such as inundation modelling. The spatial variability of elevation errors was partially explained by land cover and terrain variables. Elevation errors were simulated using sequential Gaussian simulation, a Monte Carlo probabilistic approach. 1,000 error simulations were added to the original DEM and reclassified using a hydrologically correct bathtub method. The probability of inundation to a scenario combining a 1 in 100 year storm event over a 1 m SLR was calculated by counting the proportion of times from the 1,000 simulations that a location was inundated. This probabilistic approach can be used in a risk-aversive decision making process by planning for scenarios with different probabilities of occurrence. For example, results showed that when considering a 1% probability exceedance, the inundated area was approximately 11% larger than mapped using the deterministic bathtub approach. The probabilistic approach provides visually intuitive maps that convey uncertainties inherent to spatial data and analysis.

The observatory of intelligence and territorial development, tool for innovation in processes of territorial planning in municipalities of the province of Jujuy

El municipio es considerado como un espacio donde sus habitantes comparten no sólo el territorio sino también los problemas y los recursos existentes. La institución municipal -como gobierno local- es el ámbito en el cual se toman decisiones sobre el territorio, que implican a sus habitantes. En cuanto a los actores, estos pueden ser funcionarios, empleados y la comunidad (individual y organizada en ongs), todos aportan sus conocimientos y valores, pero tienen diferentes intereses y diferentes tiempos. Vinculada a las decisiones, encontramos que la forma en que se gestiona la información territorial, es determinante si se pretende apuntar hacia acciones con impacto positivo, y sustentables en lo ambiental y en el tiempo. Este trabajo toma tres municipios: San Salvador de Jujuy, capital de la provincia localizada en los Valles Templados; San Pedro de Jujuy, principal municipio de la región de las Yungas y Tilcara en la Quebrada de Humahuaca. El aporte de la Inteligencia Territorial, a través del observatorio OIDTe, permite analizar los modos de gestión de la información, especialmente mediante el uso de las tecnologías de la información y comunicación (pagina web municipal, equipamiento informático en las oficinas, estrategias de comunicación y vinculación con la población) y mediante la organización de las estructuras administrativas (organigrama) por las cuales circula la información municipal. Además, con la participación enriquecedora de equipos multidisciplinarios en las diferentes etapas. Se busca, a partir de un diagnóstico, generar estrategias para la introducción de innovaciones con los propios actores municipales, a partir de las situaciones y modos culturales propios de cada lugar, incorporando los marcos conceptuales de la Inteligencia Territorial. En este sentido el OIDTe al promover el entendimiento entre los actores, institucionales y la sociedad, facilita la coordinación de diferentes intereses propiciando la toma de decisiones por acuerdos. Asimismo, el método Portulano, puede orientar la introducción de innovaciones en la coordinación de la información cartográfica, para que las diferentes oficinas puedan complementar sus aportes y la comunicación hacia fuera de la institución. En la fase de diagnóstico, se aplicaron entrevistas a informantes claves, se realizó un workshop con técnicos de planta permanente y funcionarios de áreas que manejan información territorial, y de planificación. También por la importancia de la capacidad instalada de recursos humanos, se analizó el nivel de instrucción y la capacitación con que cuenta el personal de planta permanente de cada área

Enrique Mariano Barba y los estudios sobre la propiedad de la tierra (1972-2009)

Este artículo se propone comentar las líneas de investigación sobre la ocupación del territorio bonaerense y las políticas públicas para el reparto de tierras, iniciadas en los años 1970s por Enrique Mariano Barba en la Universidad Nacional de La Plata. En el marco de una historiografía renovada en el uso de las fuentes, perspectivas espacio-temporales y múltiples préstamos interdisciplinarios, nos interesa analizar estos estudios pioneros en cuanto al enfoque y las fuentes utilizadas, destacando la continuidad y enriquecimiento en las metodologías de trabajo hasta el presente.

Edouard Glissant e o legado de William Faulkner

Este trabajo se propone analizar el intertexto que une al escritor Edouard Glissant con William Faulkner a través de dos obras: el ensayo Faulkner, Mississipi (1996) y la novela Sartorius (1999). En el primer texto, el autor enfatiza cuestiones presentes en su propia obra novelesca: la genealogía, la relación con el espacio de la plantación, el mestizaje, la (i)legitimidad de derechos con respecto a la posesión de la tierra, la opacidad. En el segundo, traza una línea genealógica de un personaje perteneciente a una etnia africana imaginaria, haciéndolo llegar hasta las plantaciones del sur de los Estados Unidos; paralelamente, presenta la línea genealógica de los Sartoris. En esta dirección, busco mostrar cómo el proyecto literario de Glissant dialoga con la obra de Faulkner, indagando e inventariando las mismas problemáticas con respecto al transplante de poblaciones y su inserción en el espacio de las plantaciones, tanto en el sur de los Estados Unidos como en las islas del Caribe. En las obras de ambos escritores puede percibirse el mismo vértigo trágico que persigue a los personajes, conduciéndolos a la locura, el sufrimiento y la muerte

El noroeste : Entre la globalización y la marginación

El trabajo es un análisis de las condiciones de formación y desarrollo de la región del Noroeste de Argentina, ubicando los cambios generados en diferentes sectores económicos y sociales en los últimos 30 años, básicamente en la producción agraria, la minería y el turismo, y que impacta en el ambiente y la propiedad de la tierra

Los empresarios de la soja : Cambios y continuidades en la fisonomía y composición interna de las empresas agropecuarias

Un rasgo fundamental del nuevo modelo productivo que se consolidó en las últimas dos décadas es la centralidad que adquieren las capas empresariales. Este hecho encierra una serie de interrogantes en los que conviene detenerse, en tanto aluden al análisis de los procesos de constitución de estas capas, que involucran tanto la identificación de los rasgos que les dan unidad, como su grado de diversidad. En este trabajo, interesa fundamentalmente explorar la importancia y el papel que la propiedad de la tierra retiene en estos sectores, tanto en términos de la configuración de su capital y patrimonio como en las estrategias técnico-productivas, y de inversión que definen. El tema es un punto controversial que remite al interrogante sobre el tipo de actores que sostienen la expansión sojera, debate que vuelve a poner en juego la importancia de la renta de la tierra en la acumulación del sector, vis a vis la tecnología, el conocimiento científico, y las lógicas de puesta en red de los espacios agrícolas, a través de de asociaciones y contratos entre diferentes actores. El trabajo aborda estas cuestiones a partir del análisis de información cuantitativa y cualitativa de un conjunto de empresarios de la región pampeana

De ocupantes a propietarios, los conflictos entre vecinos de la frontera bonaerense. Chascomús y Ranchos, 1800-1840

En esta perspectiva, que intenta desentrañar las continuidades y rupturas entre el orden colonial y el entramado político y social del rosismo, nuestra intención es aportar un análisis sobre los litigios entre vecinos cuando la posesión de hecho sobre un terreno estaba en vías de convertirse en propiedad plena, cada vez que se accedía a los títulos mediante los distintos sistemas de otorgamiento de tierras públicas, desde los últimos años del período colonial hasta la finalización de la aplicación de la enfiteusis en la década de 1840, centrando la atención en la ocupación del territorio y los derechos adquiridos en los partidos de Chascomús y Ranchos. Aquí se pone de manifiesto el reconocimiento local de los estancieros y hacendados y los motivos de las disputas. A partir del análisis de los litigios se aprecia el juego de intereses de los hacendados y las conexiones con el poder civil en la frontera que se definen en la resolución extrajudicial del conflicto. Por otro lado se examinará el rol de las autoridades y los fundamentos de los dictámenes

Los títulos coloniales y la propiedad plena en la región pampeana cordobesa a fines del siglo XIX

El objetivo del artículo es analizar la apropiación de la tierra a través de la legalización de títulos precarios ocurrida en la segunda mitad del siglo XIX en la región pampeana argentina. Para ello, se recurrió a un recorte temporal y espacial y aun abordaje cualitativo de documentación judicial, notarial y catastral, relacionada con los inmuebles afectados por mercedes o denuncias coloniales, correspondientes al departamento Rio Cuarto.
Una de las principales conclusiones alcanzadas es que por medio de la legitimación de derechos precarios se constituyó un grupo de grandes propietarios de reciente vinculación con la tierra

Marine and terrigenous lipids in ODP Leg 175 holes

Lipid compositions of sediments recovered during Ocean Drilling Program Leg 175 in the eastern South Atlantic reflect a variety of oceanographic and climatological environments. Most of the identified lipids can be ascribed to marine sources, notably haptophytes, eustigmatophytes, dinoflagellates, archaea, and diatoms. Elevated concentrations of cholesterol suggest zooplankton herbivory, characteristic for sites influenced by upwelling. At these sites, sulfurized highly branched isoprenoids from diatoms are also present in high amounts. Sterols, sterol ethers, hopanoids, and midchain hydroxy fatty acids could also be detected. Terrigenous lipids are n-alkanes, fatty acids, n-alcohols, and triterpenoid compounds like taraxerol and -amyrine. n-Alkanes, fatty acids, and n-alcohols are derived from leaf waxes of higher land plants and transported to the sea by airborne dust or fresh water. Triterpenoid compounds are most probably derived from mangroves and transported solely by rivers. Lipid compositions below the Congo low-salinity plume are strongly influenced by terrigenous material from the Congo River. Elevated organic carbon contents and predominantly marine lipid distributions at the Angola margin may indicate a highly productive plankton population, probably sustained by the Angola Dome. Sedimentary lipids in the Walvis Basin contain an upwelling signal, likely transported by the Benguela Current. Sedimentary lipids off Lüderitz Bay and in the southern Cape Basin are dominated by plankton lipids in high to intermediate amounts, reflecting persistent and seasonal upwelling, respectively.

El noroeste : Entre la globalización y la marginación

El trabajo es un análisis de las condiciones de formación y desarrollo de la región del Noroeste de Argentina, ubicando los cambios generados en diferentes sectores económicos y sociales en los últimos 30 años, básicamente en la producción agraria, la minería y el turismo, y que impacta en el ambiente y la propiedad de la tierra

Pollen record and dating of a sediment profile from Ahlequellmoor in Germany

A pollen diagram from the Ahlequellmoor in the Solling area shows the history of vegetation and settlement over the last 7,800 years. In the early Atlantic period mixed deciduous forest with mainly Tilia together with Ulmus and Quercus grew in the area. In the late Atlantic period Quercus became most abundant. Fagus spread in the Sub-boreal period at about 2700 B.C. Since ca. 900 B.C. the Solling was covered by beech forests with some oak. In prehistoric times woodland grazing is indicated. Only in Medieval times are two settlements in the vicinity of the Ahlequellmoor reflected in the pollen diagram. The earlier one is dated to about A.D. 750-1020, and may be connected with the former Monastery of Hethis, which is thought to have existed close to the fen from A.D. 815 to 822. The second Medieval settlement dates to the 11th-12th century. The large-scale woodland destruction of late Medieval and modern times is not clearly visible. The silvicultural measures of the last 200 years are reflected by increasing values of spruce and grassland taxa.