High Occurrence Rate and Contamination Level of Bacillus cereus in Organic Vegetables on Sale in Retail Markets

Bacillus cereus can cause emetic and diarrheal types of food poisoning, but little study has been done on the toxins and toxin-encoding genes of B. cereus strains isolated from Sunsik, a Korean ready-to-eat food prepared from grains, fruits, and vegetables. In this study, 39 unique B. cereus strains were isolated and identified from Sunsik samples, with an average contamination level of 10 to 200 CFU/g. The detection rates of the hblACD, cytK, and bceT genes among all the strains were 48.7, 66.7, and 87.1%, respectively. All 39 B. cereus strains carried nheABC and entFM genes, and 36 strains also had the ces gene, which encodes an emetic toxin. Nonhemolytic enterotoxin and hemolysin BL enterotoxin were produced by 39 and 26 strains, respectively. The strains were separated into 13 profiles based on the presence or absence of toxins and their genes, as determined by antibody tests and PCR analysis. Profile 1 was the largest group, comprising 30.7% (12 of 39) of the B. cereus strains tested; these strains harbored all toxins and their genes. The B. cereus strains were susceptible to most of the antibiotics tested but were highly resistant to β-lactam antibiotics. The repetitive element sequence polymorphism PCR fingerprints of the B. cereus strains were not influenced by the presence of toxin genes or antibiotic resistance profiles. Our results suggest that B. cereus strains from Sunsik could cause either the diarrheal or emetic types of food poisoning because all strains isolated contained at least one toxin and its gene, although the level of B. cereus contamination in Sunsik was low.

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Prevalence of Bacillus cereus s.l. in ultra-high temperature chocolate milk from selected milk manufacturers in Malaysia

Food Research ◽

10.26656/fr.2017.4(4).417 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (4) ◽

pp. 982-990

Author(s):

Ubong Anyi ◽

C.Y. New ◽

L.C. Chai ◽

Y.Y. Loo ◽

Nor Khaizura M.A.R. ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bacillus Cereus ◽

Foodborne Pathogen ◽

Most Probable Number ◽

Contamination Level ◽

Chocolate Milk ◽

Probable Number ◽

Potential Source ◽

Milk Contamination ◽

Bacillus Spp ◽

Polymerase Chain

Bacillus cereus is a major foodborne pathogen of great concern to the dairy industry owing to its resilient spores as well as the adverse effect of its toxins. At present, there is no informational study available to solve or pinpoint the UHT chocolate milk contamination issue in Malaysia. This work aimed to investigate the prevalence and contamination level of B. cereus s.l. in UHT chocolate milk and to suggest the appropriate solution for the issue. In the present study, B. cereus s.l. prevalence and contamination level in individually packed UHT chocolate milk from processing factories was evaluated. The prevalence and concentration of B. cereus s.l. were determined via MPN-PCR (Most Probable Number-Polymerase Chain Reaction) assay. Results showed that 31.11% from 220 of UHT chocolate milk tested contained Bacillus spp.; of this Bacillus spp. positive samples, 24.30% were also positive for B. cereus s.l. with concentration ranging from less than 3 to more than 1100 MPN/mL. Findings from this study highlighted the possibility of UHT chocolate milk as a potential source of B. cereus s.l. infection. Therefore, findings emphasized the needs to revise, monitor and improve UHT sterilization process to reduce infection risk. Furthermore, it is also essential to maintain the hygiene to minimize initial microbial load and contamination of UHT chocolate milk, beginning from production to retail.

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Planetary Messages in the Doppler Residuals

Symposium - International Astronomical Union ◽

10.1017/s0074180900217415 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 202 ◽

pp. 20-28

Author(s):

Geoffrey W. Marcy ◽

Debra A. Fischer ◽

R. Paul Butler ◽

Steven S. Vogt

Keyword(s):

Magnetic Fields ◽

Time Scales ◽

Extrasolar Planets ◽

Velocity Fields ◽

Occurrence Rate ◽

High Occurrence ◽

Magnetic Stars ◽

Stellar Magnetic Fields ◽

Host Stars

The Doppler residuals to the Keplerian fits for extrasolar planets reveal important properties of the planets and host stars. Stellar magnetic fields modify the photospheric velocity fields, causing Doppler fluctuations with unknown time scales. This Doppler “jitter”, seen prominently in the magnetic stars Epsilon Eridani and ξ Boo A, compromises the detectability of planets. The Doppler residuals during the transit of HD209458 reveal that the planet orbits in the same direction as the star spins. Moreover, the transit path across the star is nearly parallel to the stellar equator. Most interestingly, the Doppler residuals of known planets often reveal additional coherent variations, probably caused by additional companions. Both 55 Cancri and HD168443 reveal such coherent Doppler residuals. Another five planet–bearing stars observed at Lick show trends in the Doppler residuals indicating the presence of additional companions. Remarkably, about half of the known extrasolar planets reveal such coherent variations. This suggests that stars with planets have a high occurrence rate of harboring more distant companions, planetary or otherwise.

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High Occurrence Rate of Glaucoma Among Patients With Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus

Journal of Glaucoma ◽

10.1097/ijg.0b013e3181c29af4 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 19 (3) ◽

pp. 225-226 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Peter Wostyn ◽

Kurt Audenaert ◽

Peter Paul De Deyn

Keyword(s):

Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus ◽

Normal Pressure ◽

Occurrence Rate ◽

High Occurrence

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Application of Bacillus thuringiensis strains with conjugal and mobilizing capability drives gene transmissibility within Bacillus cereus group populations in confined habitats

BMC Microbiology ◽

10.1186/s12866-020-02047-4 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Xiaomin Hu ◽

Doudou Huang ◽

Joseph Ogalo ◽

Peiling Geng ◽

Zhiming Yuan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bacillus Thuringiensis ◽

Bacillus Cereus ◽

Conjugative Plasmid ◽

Occurrence Rate ◽

Mixed Mating ◽

Wide Spread ◽

Bacillus Cereus Group ◽

Physiological And Biochemical Characteristics ◽

Sequence Types ◽

Physiological And Biochemical

Abstract Background Bacillus thuringiensis bacteria share similar genetic, physiological, and biochemical characteristics with other members of the Bacillus cereus group. Their diversity and entomopathogenic origin are related to their mobile genetic elements. However, the effects of wide-spread application of B. thuringiensis-based pesticides on genetically related B. cereus group populations present in the environment remain poorly understood. Results We first identified pBMB76 from B. thuringiensis tenebrionis as a new conjugative plasmid. Mixed mating experiments suggested that pBMB76 may compete with pHT73, another known conjugative plasmid. Applications of single (tenebrionis 4AA1 and kurstaki HD73 carrying pBMB76 and pHT73, respectively) and mixed (4AA1 + HD73) B. thuringiensis strains were performed in confined plot habitats (soil and leaf) over two planting seasons. In total, 684 B. cereus group isolates were randomly selected from different treatment sets, and the transmissibility and occurrence rate of potential conjugative plasmids were surveyed. Results showed that the percentage of isolates with plasmid mobility was markedly enhanced in the B. thuringiensis-sprayed groups. Furthermore, we performed multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) for a subset of 291 isolates, which indicated that the dominant sequence types in the treated habitats were identical or related to the corresponding sprayed formulations. Conclusions The application of B. thuringiensis strains with conjugal and mobilizing capability drove gene transmissibility within the B. cereus group populations in confined habitats and potentially modified the population structure.

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High Occurrence Rate of Glaucoma among Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease

European Neurology ◽

10.1159/000047976 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 47 (3) ◽

pp. 165-168 ◽

Cited By ~ 146

Author(s):

A.U. Bayer ◽

F. Ferrari ◽

C. Erb

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Occurrence Rate ◽

High Occurrence

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Evaluation on Microbiological Contamination Level of Raw Beef from Retail Markets in Seoul, Korea

Korean Journal for Food Science of Animal Resources ◽

10.5851/kosfa.2013.33.3.403 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 33 (3) ◽

pp. 403-410 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Eun-Kyung Ko ◽

Eun Jeong Heo ◽

Young Jo Kim ◽

Hyun Jung Park ◽

Seong-Hwan Wi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Contamination Level ◽

Microbiological Contamination ◽

Retail Markets

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High Occurrence Rate of Multidrug-Resistant ESBL-Producing E. coli Recovered from Table Eggs in District Peshawar, Pakistan

Pakistan Journal of Zoology ◽

10.17582/journal.pjz/20190513220514 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 52 (4) ◽

Author(s):

Tasbihullah Tasbihullah ◽

Sadeeq ur Rahman ◽

Tariq Ali ◽

Umer Saddique ◽

Shakoor Ahmad ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Multidrug Resistant ◽

Occurrence Rate ◽

E Coli ◽

High Occurrence

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Europe-Atlantic jet caused dipole mode of European climate and increased climatic extremes

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-10485 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Guobao Xu ◽

Meko Matthew ◽

Lara Klippel ◽

Isabel Dorado-Liñán ◽

Valerie Trouet

Keyword(s):

Regional Climate ◽

Ring Width ◽

Occurrence Rate ◽

Jet Stream ◽

Dipole Mode ◽

Large Variability ◽

Climatic Extremes ◽

High Occurrence ◽

European Climate ◽

Western Eurasia

The jet stream configuration over the Atlantic Ocean and the European continent substantially affects climatic extremes in Western Eurasia by transporting heat and vorticity. However, how the Europe-Atlantic jet configuration varies and how it affects European climate on the long time-scales are still unclear. We compiled a network of tree-ring width, blue intensity, and maximum density chronologies from Europe to explore past variability in the summer Europe-Atlantic Jet stream and its influence on regional climate. By combining five regional chronologies, we were able to reconstruct July-August jet stream latitude (JSL) PC2 variability over the past millennium (978-2010 CE) for the Europe-Atlantic domain (30&#176;W to 40&#176;E). Our reconstruction explains 40% of summer JSL PC2 variability over the instrumental period (1948-2010 CE) with strong skill. Our millennial-long reconstruction shows that summer JSL is a relevant driver of the temperature, precipitation, and drought dipoles observed between Northwestern and Southern Europe. Positive summer JSL PC2 values (northward jet position) generally lead to a strengthening of the European summer climate dipole, while negative values (southward jet position) lead to a weak or insignificant dipole mode. Our summer JSL reconstruction shows large variability and a high occurrence rate of extremes over the 20th century, as well as 1200-1350 CE Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA). The high occurrence rate of summer JSL extremes corresponds to periods with increased number of climatic extremes. Our results suggest that the summer JSL contributes to the European climate dipole both in a long-term context and in its extremes. We also reveal that the occurrence rate of summer JSL extremes is double during the 20th century compared to other periods, especially for the negative extremes, which might be related to anthropogenic warming. Our results suggest a high occurrence rate of summer JSL extremes during the 20th century, leading to more climatic extremes in Europe, as well as a prevailing northward summer JSL position resulting in a weakening climatic dipole.

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