scholarly journals 1232. Phylogenomics of Enterococcus faecium From South America: Revisiting Worldwide VRE Population Structure

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (suppl_1) ◽  
pp. S374-S374
Author(s):  
Rafael Rios ◽  
Jinnethe Reyes ◽  
Lina P Carvajal ◽  
Sergios-Orestis Kolokotronis ◽  
Paul Planet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Population Structure ◽  
South America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Animal Origin ◽  
Research Support ◽  
Worldwide Population ◽  
Clade B ◽  
Geographical Regions ◽  
Wide Range

Abstract Background Previous studies have suggested that the population structure of E. faecium is composed of two main clades; a commensal clade (designated clade B) and a hospital-associated clade (Clade A) that encompass most of the clinical and animal isolates. The phylogenetic analyses leading to these results have been accomplished with the notable absence of isolates from diverse geographical regions (including South America). We aimed to refine the worldwide population structure of E. faecium by including 55 representative genomes from isolates obtained from five Latin American countries recovered between 1998 and 2014. Methods We sequenced our 55 representative isolates and selected other 285 genomes, from public databases, obtained across different regions (36 countries), different sources (animal, commensal, and clinical strains) and a wide range of dates of isolation (1946–2017). We characterized the genomes by presence/absence of resistance, virulence and mobile elements, and of CRISPR-cas systems. We analyzed the phylogeny of the entire population, selected the genomes belonging to clade A to examine recombination patterns and performed Bayesian molecular clock analysis excluding recombinant regions. Results Two major clades were identified, as previously reported. However, a higher degree of variation in clade A was found. Indeed, we identified a subclade (subclade I) that diverged ~894 years ago, and clearly distinguished clinical isolates from those of animal origin (distributed among a number of smaller early-branching subclades). A further split within the clinical subclade (subclade II) that diverged around ~371 years ago was also evident. Latin American isolates were distributed within subclades I (48%) and II (42%). Isolates in “animal” branches exhibited an average recombination of 34 Kbp, where it was 5 Kbp and 21 Kbp for subclades I and II, respectively. More resistance determinants were found in subclade II (62%), followed by I (54%) and absence of cas was the norm in the clinical subclades. Conclusion Inclusion of E. faecium isolates from diverse geographical region supports a continuous evolution of these organisms causing human infections. Important evolutionary events seem to favor emergence of novel subclades capable to cause important morbidity and mortality. Disclosures J. Munita, Pfizer: Grant Investigator, Research grant. C. Arias, Merck & Co., Inc.: Grant Investigator, Research support. MeMed: Grant Investigator, Research support. Allergan: Grant Investigator, Research support.

Latin American Connections: Recent Work on German Interactions with Latin America

2013 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 362-394 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Glenn Penny
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
South America ◽  
Early Modern ◽  
Central Europe ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Mining Operations ◽  
Almost Everywhere ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
German Speaking

German interactions with Latin America have a long history. Indeed, early modern historians have demonstrated that people from German-speaking central Europe took part in all aspects of the European conquest of Central and South America. They have shown that these people were critical to mining operations and publishing in sixteenth-century Mexico; they have found them among Portuguese and Spanish sailors and soldiers almost everywhere; and they have located them playing important roles in a wide range of professions from Mexico to the south of Chile.

scholarly journals Population structure across scales facilitates coexistence and spatial heterogeneity of antibiotic-resistant infections

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madison S. Krieger ◽  
Carson E. Denison ◽  
Thayer L. Anderson ◽  
Martin A. Nowak ◽  
Alison L. Hill
Keyword(s):  
Population Structure ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Resistance Management ◽  
Antibiotic Use ◽  
Antibiotic Consumption ◽  
Host Population ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant ◽  
Resistance Risk ◽  
Geographical Regions ◽  
Wide Range

ABSTRACTAntibiotic-resistant infections are a growing threat to human health, but basic features of the eco-evolutionary dynamics remain unexplained. Most prominently, there is no clear mechanism for the long-term coexistence of both drug-sensitive and resistant strains at intermediate levels, a ubiquitous pattern seen in surveillance data. Here we show that accounting for structured or spatially-heterogeneous host populations and variability in antibiotic consumption can lead to persistent coexistence over a wide range of treatment coverages, drug efficacies, costs of resistance, and mixing patterns. Moreover, this mechanism can explain other puzzling spatiotemporal features of drug-resistance epidemiology that have received less attention, such as large differences in the prevalence of resistance between geographical regions with similar antibiotic consumption or that neighbor one another. We find that the same amount of antibiotic use can lead to very different levels of resistance depending on how treatment is distributed in a transmission network. We also identify parameter regimes in which population structure alone cannot support coexistence, suggesting the need for other mechanisms to explain the epidemiology of antibiotic resistance. Our analysis identifies key features of host population structure that can be used to assess resistance risk and highlights the need to include spatial or demographic heterogeneity in models to guide resistance management.

scholarly journals Biological Anthropology of Latin America: Historical Development and Recent Advances

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas H. Ubelaker ◽  
Sonia E. Colantonio
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
South America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Biological Anthropology ◽  
Health And Nutrition ◽  
History Of Development ◽  
Geographical Regions ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Growth Development

<table> <tr> <td> <p>Despite significant positive developments within topics of biological anthropology, archaeology, and related academic areas in Latin America, we noted a lack of coordination and communication among them. Available publications provide syntheses within different areas of biological anthropology, yet few have attempted integration of the distinct subfields. We decided to address the development and current issues of most major areas of Latin American biological anthropology in a single volume with chapters by distinguished, experienced scholars who live and work in Latin America, are knowledgeable about the topics, have published extensively on them, and who were recommended by specialists within six geographical regions of interest: Brazil and northeastern South America, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, northwestern South America, and southern South America. Six subdisciplines within biological anthropology were defined for academic coverage: (1) biodemography and epidemiology; (2) bioarchaeology and skeletal biology; (3) paleopathology; (4) forensic anthropology; (5) population genetics; and (6) growth, development, health, and nutrition. Though these six subdisciplines overlap to an extent, each offers a distinct history of development and presents unique issues to address. Chapters generally cover topics of history, the state of knowledge, methodological perspective, and areas in need of additional research. Although the text is in English, abstracts in English, Spanish, and Portuguese are included.</p> </td> </tr> </table>

scholarly journals 1214. High Frequency of Genes Encoding Resistance to Heavy Metals in Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Endemic Lineages From South America

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (suppl_1) ◽  
pp. S368-S368
Author(s):  
Lorena Diaz ◽  
Juan Solano ◽  
Rafael Rios ◽  
Lina P Carvajal ◽  
Jose M Munita ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Heavy Metal ◽  
South America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Resistance Genes ◽  
Heavy Metal Contamination ◽  
Copper Resistance ◽  
Clinical Isolates ◽  
Mercury Resistance ◽  
Research Support

Abstract Background MRSA-USA300 is a community-associated clone that has spread worldwide, becoming the most successful clone in the USA. Since 2005, the MRSA-USA300 Latin-American Variant (USA300-LV) has disseminated in community and hospitals in Northern South America. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that USA300-LV is not derived from the USA300 (NA-USA300) but rather, the two clones diverged from a common ancestor. During their evolution, NA-USA300 strains incorporated the ACME element and USA300-LV acquired a copper and mercury resistance mobile element designated COMER. Interestingly, contamination by heavy metals in South American has been recently highlighted and could be driving the selection of resistant genetic lineages. We investigated the frequency of merA, merB, and copB in genomes of clinical isolates of S. aureus from Latin America (LA). Methods The presence of merA/merB and copB encoding mercury and copper resistance, respectively, were investigated in 515 S. aureus sequenced genomes recovered from bacteremic patients in hospitals from nine Latin American hospitals trough BLAST searches. Results The prevalence of merAB in S. aureus was 35% (181 out of 515 genomes). Interestingly, among 181 merAB-positive S. aureus, 174 were MRSA (96%). Moreover, 71%, 60%, 59%, and 51% of MRSA genomes from Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela, respectively, harbored mercury resistance genes. Similarly, 65%, 60%, and 22% of MRSA genomes from Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela, contained the copB gene. Among 174 MRSA harboring merAB, ST8 and ST5 were the most predominant lineages in (43% and 45% of genomes, respectively). In contrast, among 95 MRSA carrying copB, ST8 was the most frequent lineage (96% of isolates). MRSA from countries with high prevalence of mercury genes showed association with ST5 and ST8. 88% of Colombian and 87% of Ecuadorian MRSA harboring merAB belonged to ST8 lineage, whereas ST5 was predominant in 88% of Peruvian MRSA. In Venezuela, ST5 and ST8 were found in 44% and 33%, respectively, of MRSA positive for merAB. Conclusion High levels of mercury in rivers of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru has been reported. Thus, the prevalence of heavy metal resistance genes in MRSA clinical isolates suggest an adaptation of endemic genotypes to heavy metal contamination caused by activities like metal mining. Disclosures J. M. Munita, Pfizer: Grant Investigator, Research grant. C. Arias, Merck & Co., Inc.: Grant Investigator, Research support. MeMed: Grant Investigator, Research support. Allergan: Grant Investigator, Research support.

scholarly journals Biological Anthropology of Latin America: Historical Development and Recent Advances

2019 ◽  
pp. iv-385
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
South America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Biological Anthropology ◽  
Health And Nutrition ◽  
History Of Development ◽  
Geographical Regions ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Growth Development

Despite significant positive developments within topics of biological anthropology, archaeology, and related academic areas in Latin America, we noted a lack of coordination and communication among them. Available publications provide syntheses within different areas of biological anthropology, yet few have attempted integration of the distinct subfields. We decided to address the development and current issues of most major areas of Latin American biological anthropology in a single volume with chapters by distinguished, experienced scholars who live and work in Latin America, are knowledgeable about the topics, have published extensively on them, and who were recommended by specialists within six geographical regions of interest: Brazil and northeastern South America, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, northwestern South America, and southern South America. Six subdisciplines within biological anthropology were defined for academic coverage: (1) biodemography and epidemiology; (2) bioarchaeology and skeletal biology; (3) paleopathology; (4) forensic anthropology; (5) population genetics; and (6) growth, development, health, and nutrition. Though these six subdisciplines overlap to an extent, each offers a distinct history of development and presents unique issues to address. Chapters generally cover topics of history, the state of knowledge, methodological perspective, and areas in need of additional research. Although the text is in English, abstracts in English, Spanish, and Portuguese are included.

scholarly journals Genomic epidemiology of vancomycin resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREfm) in Latin America: Revisiting the global VRE population structure

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafael Rios ◽  
Jinnethe Reyes ◽  
Lina P. Carvajal ◽  
Sandra Rincon ◽  
Diana Panesso ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Population Structure ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Enterococcus Faecium ◽  
Genomic Epidemiology ◽  
Geographical Regions ◽  
Genomic Characterization ◽  
Vancomycin Resistant ◽  
Global Population

AbstractThe prevalence of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium varies across geographical regions yet little is known about its population structure in Latin America. Here, we provide a complete genomic characterization of 55 representative Latin American VREfm recovered from 1998-2015 in 5 countries. We found that VREfm population in the region is structured into two main clinical clades without geographical clustering. To place our regional findings in context, we reconstructed the global population structure of VREfm by including 285 genomes from 36 countries from 1946-2017. Our results differ from previous studies showing an early branching of animal related isolates and a further split of clinical isolates into two sub-clades, all within clade A. The overall phylogenomic structure was highly dependent on recombination (54% of the genome) and the split between clades A and B is estimated to have occurred more than 3585 years BP. Furthermore, while the branching of animal isolates and clinical clades was predicted to have occur ∼894 years BP, our molecular clock calculations suggest that the split within the clinical clade occurred around ∼371 years BP. By including isolates from Latin America, we present novel insights into the population structure of VREfm and revisit the evolution of this pathogen.

Diversity and Integration in Private International Law

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
International Law ◽  
Value Systems ◽  
Private International Law ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
And Shifts ◽  
Substantive Law

This book opens a cross-regional dialogue and shifts the Eurocentric discussion on diversity and integration to a more inclusive engagement with South America in private international law issues. It promotes a contemporary vision of private international law as a discipline enabling legal interconnectivity, with the potential to transcend its disciplinary boundaries to further promote the reality of cross-border integration, with its focus on the ever-increasing cross-border mobility of individuals. Private international law embraces legal diversity and pluralism. Different legal traditions continue to meet, interact and integrate in different forms, at the national, regional and international levels. Different systems of substantive law couple with divergent systems of private international law (designed to accommodate the former in cross-border situations). This complex legal landscape impacts individuals and families in cross-border scenarios, and international commerce broadly conceived. Private international law methodologies and techniques offer means for the coordination of this constellation of legal orders and value systems in cross-border situations. Bringing together world-renowned academics and experienced private international lawyers from a wide range of jurisdictions in Europe and South America, this edited collection focuses on the connective capabilities of private international law in bridging and balancing legal diversity as a corollary for the development of integration. The book provides in-depth analysis of the role of private international law in dealing with legal diversity across a diverse range of topics and jurisdictions.

Palestinian Diaspora Communities in Latin America and Palestinian Statehood

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-120
Author(s):  
Yousef M. Aljamal ◽  
Philipp O. Amour
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
South America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Economic Life ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
The Political ◽  
Middle Classes ◽  
Latin Americans ◽  
Political Views ◽  
The Right

There are some 700,000 Latin Americans of Palestinian origin, living in fourteen countries of South America. In particular, Palestinian diaspora communities have a considerable presence in Chile, Honduras, and El Salvador. Many members of these communities belong to the professional middle classes, a situation which enables them to play a prominent role in the political and economic life of their countries. The article explores the evolving attitudes of Latin American Palestinians towards the issue of Palestinian statehood. It shows the growing involvement of these communities in Palestinian affairs and their contribution in recent years towards the wide recognition of Palestinian rights — including the right to self-determination and statehood — in Latin America. But the political views of members of these communities also differ considerably about the form and substance of a Palestinian statehood and on the issue of a two-states versus one-state solution.

scholarly journals Rapid extraction of total lipids and lipophilic POPs from all EU-regulated foods of animal origin: Smedes’ method revisited and enhanced

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Johannes Haedrich ◽  
Claudia Stumpf ◽  
Michael S. Denison
Keyword(s):  
Milk Fat ◽  
Lipid Extraction ◽  
Poultry Meat ◽  
Animal Origin ◽  
Infant Food ◽  
Total Lipids ◽  
Analytical Results ◽  
Official Control ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Chicken Eggs

Abstract Background Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as dioxins, dioxin-like chemicals and non-dioxin-like PCBs causing adverse effects to human health bio-accumulate through the food web due to their affinity for adipose tissues. Foods of animal origin are therefore the main contributors to human dietary exposure. The European Union’s (EU) food safety policy requires checking of a wide range of samples for compliance with legal limits on a regular basis. Several methods of varying efficiency are applied by official control laboratories for extraction of the different classes of lipids and associated POPs, bound to animal tissue and animal products in varying degrees, sometimes leading to discrepancies especially in fresh weight based analytical results. Results Starting from Smedes’ lipid extraction from marine tissue, we optimized the extraction efficiency for both lipids and lipophilic pollutants, abandoning the time-consuming centrifugation step. The resulting modified Smedes extraction (MSE) method was validated based on multiple analyses of a large number of real-world samples, matrix calibration and performance assessment in proficiency testing utilizing both instrumental and bioanalytical methodologies. Intermediate precision in 12 different foods was below 3% in chicken eggs, egg powder, animal fat, fish, fish oil, poultry, whole milk, milk fat and milk powder, and below 5% in bovine meat, liver, and infant food. In comparison to Twisselmann hot extraction, results presented here show an increased efficiency of MSE by + 25% for bovine liver, + 14% for chicken eggs, + 13% for poultry meat, + 12% for fish, 8% for bovine meat, and 6% for infant food. Conclusions For the first time, a fast and reliable routine method is available that enables the analyst to reproducibly extract "total" lipids from any EU-regulated food sample of animal origin within 6 to 8 min. Increased efficiency translates into a considerable increase in both lipid and wet weight-based analytical results measured for associated POPs, reducing the risk of false non-compliant results. Compared to a 4 h Twisselmann extraction, the extraction of 1000 samples using MSE would result in annual savings of about 250 h or 32 working days. Our MSE procedure contributes to the European Commission's objective of harmonizing analytical results across the EU generated according to Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/644.

scholarly journals Expanding the Diversity of the IS630-Tc1-mariner Superfamily: Discovery of a Unique DD37E Transposon and Reclassification of the DD37D and DD39D Transposons

Genetics ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 159 (3) ◽  
pp. 1103-1115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongguang Shao ◽  
Zhijian Tu
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Mosquito Species ◽  
Open Reading Frames ◽  
Inverted Repeats ◽  
Sequence Comparisons ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Multiple Copies ◽  
Catalytic Motif ◽  
Open The Doors ◽  
Reading Frames

Abstract A novel transposon named ITmD37E was discovered in a wide range of mosquito species. Sequence analysis of multiple copies in three Aedes species showed similar terminal inverted repeats and common putative TA target site duplications. The ITmD37E transposases contain a conserved DD37E catalytic motif, which is unique among reported transposons of the IS630-Tc1-mariner superfamily. Sequence comparisons and phylogenetic analyses suggest that ITmD37E forms a novel family distinct from the widely distributed Tc1 (DD34E), mariner (DD34D), and pogo (DDxD) families in the IS630-Tc1-mariner superfamily. The inclusion in the phylogenetic analysis of recently reported transposons and transposons uncovered in our database survey provided revisions to previous classifications and identified two additional families, ITmD37D and ITmD39D, which contain DD37D and DD39D motifs, respectively. The above expansion and reorganization may open the doors to the discovery of related transposons in a broad range of organisms and help illustrate the evolution and structure-function relationships among these distinct transposases in the IS630-Tc1-mariner superfamily. The presence of intact open reading frames and highly similar copies in some of the newly characterized transposons suggests recent transposition. Studies of these novel families may add to the limited repertoire of transgenesis and mutagenesis tools for a wide range of organisms, including the medically important mosquitoes.

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