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Rhodococcus equi emerged as a zoonotic pathogen of human immunodeficiency virus‐infected patients over the last three decades. Two virulence plasmid types of R. equi, pVAPA and pVAPB associated with equine and porcine isolates, have been recognized, and more recently, pVAPN, a novel host‐associated virulence plasmid in R. equi, was found in bovine and caprine isolates. We reinvestigated 39 previously reported isolates of R. equi from patients with and without acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) by detecting vapA, vapB and vapN using PCR and plasmid profiling. After excluding one isolate that could not be cultured from frozen storage, eight isolates carried a virulence plasmid encoding vapA (pVAPA), 10 carried a virulence plasmid encoding vapB (pVAPB), seven carried a virulence plasmid encoding vapN (pVAPN) and 13 were negative for those genes. Of the 29 isolates from patients with AIDS, 7, 10 and 5 harboured pVAPA, pVAPB and pVAPN respectively. Among nine isolates from patients without AIDS, one and two harboured pVAPA and pVAPN respectively. This study demonstrated that pVAPN‐positive R. equi existed in human isolates before 1994 and reaffirmed that equine‐associated pVAPA‐positive, porcine‐associated pVAPB‐positive and bovine‐ or caprine‐associated pVAPN‐positive R. equi are widely spread globally. Because domestic animals might be major sources of human infection, further research is needed to reveal the prevalence of pVAPN‐positive R. equi infection in cattle and goats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-destructive measurements by laser Doppler velocimetry is employed to study unsteady flow in a hollow drum filled with liquid. The drum is suddenly accelerated from rest or is suddenly decelerated from a steady rotation to rest. Pure water and glycerin-water mixtures are used as the test liquid in which polyethylenelatex particles are mixed as the light scattering tracer. The boundary layer formation, the time history of velocity, momentum and kinetic energy of the liquid, the wall-to-fluid force transfer, and the transient response time are determined. Also determined are the effects of side walls and fluid viscosity on the transient flow response. Of importance is the disclosure of Ekman layer instability near the inner radial wall of the test drum. It is actuated by the centripetal acceleration-induced buoyancy force. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]