46 research outputs found
With Hot Air Treatment, Bacteria Fly the Coop
No full textWhile being transported in hauling coops on trucks, poultry that have been colonized with bacteria such as Campylobacter can contaminate, through fecal shedding, pathogen-free poultry. Those pathogens can also be passed on to the next group of birds during the next trip, and so forth, unless the cycle is broken.
That’s where Agricultural Research Service microbiologists Mark Berrang and Richard Meinersmann and colleague Charles Hofacre at the University of Georgia in Athens come in. The team has reported a treatment that reduces poultry cross-contamination from transport-cage flooring.
Campylobacter are foodborne pathogens that can be present in raw or undercooked poultry. Since the bacteria are commonly found in the digestive tracts of poultry, they’re readily deposited, through fecal shedding, onto coops and trucks when contaminated animals are transported to processing plants.
Berrang and Meinersmann are in ARS’s Bacterial Epidemiology and Antimicrobial Resistance Research Unit in Athens.
Earlier work has shown that drying soiled or washed cages for 24 to 48 hours could lower or eliminate detectable Campylobacter on cage flooring. But extended drying times are impractical, so the researchers tested the use of hot flowing air to speed the process.
To determine whether the effect was due to heat alone or flowing air alone, hot flowing air was compared with unheated flowing air and static hot air as well as with a control. The numbers of Campylobacter, Escherichia coli, and coliforms on small squares of washed or unwashed fecally soiled transport cage flooring were measured after drying treatments
Postchill Antimicrobial Treatments To Control Salmonella, Listeria, and Campylobacter Contamination on Chicken Skin Used in Ground Chicken
No full textApplication of antimicrobial treatment to whole carcasses during prechill can improve microbial quality of broiler parts
No full textEvaluation of a Triple Buffered Peptone Broth for Detection of Salmonella in Broiler Feed
No full textThe pH of pre-enrichment media containing feed/ingredients can become acidic during incubation due to bacterial utilization of feed carbohydrates. This decrease in pH can result in cell injury or death, negatively impacting the detection of Salmonella. Our objective was to evaluate a new triple buffered peptone (TBP) against buffered peptone water (BPW) and lactose broth (LB) for the recovery of Salmonella from feed. Liquid cultures of nalidixic acid resistant strains of Salmonella (Enteritidis, Heidelberg, Kentucky or Typhimurium) were added to the pre-enrichment media alone, to pre-enrichment media containing feed or to artificially inoculated feed stored 1 or 7 d to evaluate the effect of the medium on the recovery of Salmonella. Three replicates per treatment were conducted. After incubation at 37 °C for 24 h, the pH of the medium was measured prior to plating onto brilliant green sulfa agar plates supplemented with 200 ppm nalidixic acid (BGSNA). Plates were incubated and evaluated for presence of typical Salmonella colonies. The experiment was replicated. TBP was observed to exhibit significantly better buffering capacity than BPW or LB. Additionally, TBP was able to recover Salmonella 100% of the time compared to BPW (97.9%) and LB (61.5%). TBP shows promise to maintain neutral pH during pre-enrichment which may allow for a more accurate detection of Salmonella in feed
The physiological, transcriptional and genetic responses of an ozone-sensitive and an ozone tolerant poplar and selected extremes of their F2 progeny
No full textRelatively little is known about the transcriptional response or genetic control of response and adaptation of trees to tropospheric ozone exposure. Such understanding is needed as up to 50% of forests, globally, may be subjected to phytotoxic concentrations of ozone. The physiological, transcriptional and genetic response to ozone was examined in Populus trichocarpa and P. deltoides, which show extreme sensitivity and tolerance to ozone, respectively. Using an inbred F(2) mapping population derived from these two species, we mapped quantitative trait loci (QTL) for traits associated with ozone response, examined segregation of the transcriptional response to ozone and co-located genes showing divergent responses between tolerant and sensitive genotypes with QTL. QTL were identified linking detrimental effects of ozone with leaf and biomass traits and differential responses were found for key genes involved in ethylene production and response
Passage of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli Subtypes through 0.45- and 0.65-Micrometer-Pore-Size Nitrocellulose Filters
No full textResearch communication for immediate impact: climate adaptation in Australia
No full textAbstract
Research into climate change adaptation is challenged by funding organisations to demonstrate immediate research impact through near term reference in sector- specific communication and policy documents. Critically, research funded to inform decision makers and current policy about adapting to climate change must engage with end users and implement communication initiatives that lead to research adoption. Moreover, researchers need to better understand the components that contribute to effective engagement and communication to plan successful strategies to engage with the range of vulnerable sectors affected by climate change. Given the importance of research application, Primary Investigators for National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility (NCCARF) funded projects had to consider end user engagement and communication. This paper identifies some common factors in three NCCARF cases which successfully demonstrated swift access to climate adaptation research in three sectors; human health, emergency management, and settlements and infrastructure. Early and ongoing engagement between researchers and the intended knowledge users shaped both the research focus and output formats. Stakeholders involved in coordinated and sustained communication programs disseminated and promoted the research through multiple channels. These agents of dissemination included; funders (NCCARF, universities and industry bodies); information users (government agencies and professional bodies), and both mass media and social media
Impact of desiccation and heat exposure stress on Salmonella tolerance to acidic conditions
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