Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
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Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. · Jun 2003
"Candidatus Rickettsia tarasevichiae" in Ixodes persulcatus ticks collected in Russia.
We collected 209 Ixodes persulcatus ticks in various regions of Russia, including the southern Urals and western and eastern Siberia. Using PCR amplification and sequencing of the citrate synthase-encoding gene (gltA), we detected a new rickettsial genotype, which we named "Candidatus Rickettsia tarasevichiae." This bacterium was found in 9.27%, 10.0%, and 20.5% of the ticks collected in western Siberia, eastern Siberia, and the southern Urals, respectively. "Candidatus Rickettsia tarasevichiae" exhibited a 98% and 96% nucleotide sequence homology, with the 16S rDNA and gltA sequence, respectively, of R. canadensis, a rickettsia previously only found in Haemaphysalis leporispalustris ticks in North America. The phylogenetic analysis of "Candidatus Rickettsia tarasevichiae" and other Rickettsia species allowed the creation of a new cluster with high bootstrap values within the Rickettsia genus involving this rickettsia, R. canadensis, and three uncultured rickettsiae from plant insects.
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Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. · Jun 2003
ReviewJuvenile sexual offenders: characteristics, interventions, and policy issues.
The incidence and prevalence of sexual offenses committed by juveniles are examined and current policies regarding juvenile sexual offenders are evaluated by considering the relevant psychological literature. Characteristics of juvenile sex offenders are reviewed, noting the heterogeneity of this population. Recent research on developmental pathways and typologies is presented, intervention strategies are reviewed, and recommendations for research and policy are made.
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Rickettsialpox, a spotted fever rickettsiosis, was first identified in New York City (NYC) in 1946. During the next five years, approximately 540 additional cases were identified in NYC. However, during the subsequent five decades, rickettsialpox received relatively little attention from clinicians and public health professionals, and reporting of the disease diminished markedly. ⋯ The 17-kDa protein gene sequence of R. akari was amplified from eschars of five patients. Four isolates of R. akari were obtained from cutaneous lesions. Possible factors responsible for the increase in clinical samples evaluated for rickettsialpox during this interval include renewed clinical interest in the disease, improved diagnostic methods, epizootiological influences, and factors associated with the recent specter of bioterrorism.
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Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. · Jun 2003
Comparative StudyRickettsia honei: a spotted fever group Rickettsia on three continents.
Rickettsia honei (also known as strain TT-118) has been detected on three continents. Originally isolated in Thailand in 1962 (and confirmed in 2001), it has also been detected on Flinders Island (Australia) in 1993 and in Texas (USA) in 1998. On each continent it has been associated with a different species of tick. ⋯ However, this tick is known to bite humans. The strain from Flinders Island (Australia) described as R. honei, has been isolated from patients with "Flinders Island Spotted Fever" and from Aponomma hydrosauri ticks taken from blue-tongue lizards (Tiliqua nigrolutea), tiger snakes (Notechis ater humphreysi), and copperhead snakes (Austrelaps superbus) on Flinders Island. The ecology of R. honei in this location is unusual in that reptiles, rather than mammals, are the vertebrate hosts.