culture and sensitivity tests

Cancer screening behaviors in Muslims are under-researched, and there is limited data on how it relates to their unique cultural and religious beliefs. We assessed cancer prevention and screening-related health needs in the Washington DC area. We developed the needs assessment questionnaires and recruitment strategy in collaboration with key faith leaders from four mosques in our catchment area. A total of 203 participants were recruited through community outreach and engagement approaches and were included in the discussion when developing the needs assessment to ensure questions were religiously and culturally sensitive...

Sugarcane smut, caused by the fungal pathogen Sporisorium scitamineum , is a prominent threat to the sugarcane industry. The development of smut resistant varieties is the ultimate solution for controlling this disease, due to the lack of other efficient control methods. Artificial inoculation method is used to evaluate the virulence differentiation of pathogens. The mostly used artificial inoculation methods are soaking of the seed canes in the teliospore solution and injection of teliospores or haploid sporidia into the sugarcane sprouts...

INTRODUCTION: Lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) are a common cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Accurate identification of the pathogens causing LRTIs is crucial for ensuring of diagnostic and antibiotic stewardship. The Biofire Pneumonia Panel (BFPP) is a molecular diagnostic test that allows rapid detection of various bacterial and viral pathogens. In this study, we compared the performance of BFPP with standard culture methods for the detection of pathogens. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Respiratory samples from 70 patient with suspected LRTIs were tested using both BFPP and standard culture methods...

PURPOSE: Naming difficulty is associated with temporal lobe epilepsy and a decline in naming ability is reported following dominant temporal lobe resections. The Boston Naming Test (BNT) is the most frequently used test for assessing naming ability. Evaluating naming ability in bilingual/multilingual populations is a challenge when participants are restricted to responding in one language. The study aimed to adapt and standardize the BNT as a valid clinical tool for evaluating bilingual/multilingual people undergoing epilepsy surgery in urban India...

Infectious diseases pose a formidable global challenge, compounded by the emergence of antimicrobial resistance. Consequently, researchers are actively exploring novel antimicrobial compounds as potential solutions. This endeavor underscores the pivotal role of methods employed for screening and evaluating antimicrobial activity-a critical step in discovery and characterization of antimicrobial agents. While traditional techniques such as well-diffusion, disk-diffusion, and broth-dilution are commonly utilized in antimicrobial assays, they may encounter limitations concerning reproducibility and speed...

OBJECTIVE: To identify the profile of organisms causing neonatal sepsis and their antibiotic susceptibility pattern in recent years. METHODS: In this prospective study, authors included neonates with blood culture proven sepsis. Antibiotic resistance patterns that were identified were extended spectrum β-lactamase, AmpC β-lactamase and possible carbapenamase producer. Xpert CARBA-R test was performed to identify genes causing carbapenem resistance. RESULTS: There were 210 neonates with 216 episodes of blood culture proven sepsis...

INTRODUCTION: Veterinary vaccines against Clostridium perfringens type C need to be tested for absence of toxicity, as mandated by pharmacopoeias worldwide. This toxicity testing is required at multiple manufacturing steps and relies on outdated mouse tests that involve severe animal suffering. Clostridium perfringens type C produces several toxins of which the β-toxin is the primary component responsible for causing disease. Here, we describe the successful development of a new cell-based in vitro assay that can address the specific toxicity of the β-toxin...

BACKGROUND: Leptomeningeal metastasis (LM) of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a highly detrimental occurrence associated with severe neurological disorders, lacking effective treatment currently. Proteolysis-targeting chimeric molecules (PROTACs) may provide new therapeutic avenues for treatment of podophyllotoxin derivatives-resistant SCLC with LM, warranting further exploration. METHODS: The SCLC cell line H128 expressing luciferase were mutated by MNNG to generate H128-Mut cell line...

Two recently discovered DRD2 mutations, c.634A > T, p.Ile212Phe and c.1121 T > G, p.Met374Arg, cause hyperkinetic movement disorders that have overlapping features but apparently differ in severity. The two known carriers of the Met374Arg variant had early childhood disease onset and more severe motor, cognitive, and neuropsychiatric deficits than any known carriers of the Ile212Phe variant, whose symptoms were first apparent in adolescence. Here, we evaluated if differences in the function of the two variants in cultured cells could explain differing pathogenicity...

Foodborne illness caused by Salmonella spp. is one of the most prevalent public health problems globally, which have brought immeasurable economic burden and social impact to countries around the world. Neither current nucleic acid amplification detection method nor standard culture method (2-3 days) are suitable for field detection in areas with a heavy burden of Salmonella spp. Here, we developed a highly sensitive and accurate assay for Salmonella spp. detection in less than 40 min. Specifically, the invA gene of Salmonella spp...

BACKGROUND: Melioidosis is an infectious disease caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei. Septicemic melioidosis patients have a high mortality rate within 48 hours. OBJECTIVE: To develop a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) combined with a lateral flow dipstick (LFD) assay for detection of B. pseudomallei in blood samples. METHODS: The PCR with wcbG gene primers and a PCR-LFD test were developed. The specificity and sensitivity were determined using the B...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the diagnostic value of metagenomic sequencing technology based on Illumina and Nanopore sequencing platforms for patients with suspected lower respiratory tract infection whose pathogen could not be identified by conventional microbiological tests. METHODS: Patients admitted to the Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine in Shanghai Ruijin Hospital were retrospectively studied from August 2021 to March 2022. Alveolar lavage or sputum was retained in patients with clinically suspected lower respiratory tract infection who were negative in conventional tests...

BACKGROUND: Sepsis is a major health problem worldwide and is associated with high morbidity and mortality with every hour delay in initiation of therapy. A conventional method of blood culture and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (AST) takes around 48-72 hours. Empirical antibiotics need to be administered until the sensitivity report is made available. It has been estimated that 20-50% of the empirical antibiotics are inappropriate, resulting in prolonged hospital stays, adverse effects, and emergence of drug resistance...

INTRODUCTION: Diabetic foot infection (DFI) is one of the complications of diabetes mellitus. Clindamycin (CLY) is one of the antibiotics recommended to treat DFI, but CLY given orally and intravenously still causes many side effects. METHODS: In this study, we encapsulated CLY in a bacteria sensitive microparticle system (MP-CLY) using polycaprolactone (PCL) polymer. MP-CLY was then delivered in a separable effervescent microarray patch (MP-CLY-SEMAP), which has the ability to separate between the needle layer and separable layer due to the formation of air bubbles when interacting with interstitial fluid in the skin...

INTRODUCTION: Candida albicans and Aspergillus fumigatus are two important agents of Healthcare-associated infections. This study aimed to evaluate the antifungal activity of ozone (O3) gas produced by two commercial devices against cultures of these two species. METHODOLOGY: Sterile plastic plates were inoculated with C. albicans and A. fumigatus and placed on a countertop at three distances (30 cm, 1 m, and 2 m) and three positions in relation to the wall (near, middle, and away), considering the source of O3...

INTRODUCTION: Tubercular meningitis (TBM) is a serious public health problem in developing countries as it leads to significant mortality and residual neurological sequelae. The estimated mortality due to TBM in India is 1.5 per 100,000 population. In resource-limited settings, only the Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) stain, which has very little sensitivity, is available. The World Health Organization recommended the Loop Mediated Isothermal Amplification (TB LAMP) assay for pulmonary tuberculosis only...

Early recognition of bloodstream infection (BSI) in infants can be difficult, as symptoms may be non-specific, and culture can take up to 48 h. As a result, many infants receive unneeded antibiotic treatment while awaiting the culture results. In this study, we aimed to develop a model that can reliably identify infants who do not have positive blood cultures (and, by extension, BSI) based on the full blood count (FBC) and C-reactive protein (CRP) values. Several models (i.e. multivariable logistic regression, linear discriminant analysis, K nearest neighbors, support vector machine, random forest model and decision tree) were trained using FBC and CRP values of 2693 infants aged 7 to 60 days with suspected BSI between 2005 and 2022 in a tertiary paediatric hospital in Dublin, Ireland...

BACKGROUND OBJECTIVES: The persistent threat of drug resistant malaria demands new cures. Low prevalence of malaria in the Indian state of Kerala compared with other proximal states made us explore if there is any traditional practice in Kerala which may confer protection against malaria. In this context, our attention was drawn to 'Pathimugam' i.e., Ceasalpinia sappan whose heartwood is used to prepare a red aqueous extract which is a uniquely popular drink in Kerala. METHODS: Aqueous and methanolic extracts of various organs of C...

BACKGROUND: The high summer mortality in many fish farms, which had detrimental economic and social implications, was a serious challenge that the fish industry had to deal with. AIM: With an examination of the most effective antibiotic, the ongoing research was intended to shed light on the identification of the main bacterial pathogens associated with the summer mortality syndrome in the diseased farmed Nile tilapia. METHODS: Six hundred dead Nile tilapia samples that had suffered from summer mortality were collected from several fish farms between May and October of 2022...

BACKGROUND: Mastitis in goats is unquestionably a grave concern, with far-reaching implications for both animal well-being and productivity, while also presenting a potential threat to public health. AIM: The study aimed to compare culture methods and multiplex PCR (m-PCR) in the detection of the most three common mastitis-causing pathogens ( Staphylococcus aureus , Escherichia coli , and Streptococcus spp.) and investigate the gene expression, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), serum concentrations of immunological and antioxidant indicators linked to mastitis in Shami goats...