Association study between ceftriaxone and a synthetic amide against strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a non-lactose fermenting Gram-negative bacteria responsible for causing numerous nosocomial infections. The present research aimed to analyze the anti-Pseudomonas aeruginosa potential of 2-Chloro-N-(4-fluoro-3-nitrophenyl)acetamide (A8). The antibacterial potential of A8 was evaluated from the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC), Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) and Association using the checkerboard method. MIC and MBC values were 512 µg/mL for all P. aeruginosa strains evaluated, demonstrating predominantly bactericidal activity. Furthermore, when A8 was associated with the drug ceftriaxone, pharmacological additivity and indifference were evidenced. In this sense, the synthetic amide was interesting, since it demonstrates the potential to become a possible candidate for an antimicrobial drug.

[Assessment of general practitioners' knowledge of inhalers]. / Évaluation des connaissances des médecins généralistes sur les inhalateurs. Les médecins généralistes savent-ils utiliser les inhalateurs qu'ils prescrivent dans le traitement de l'asthme ?

INTRODUCTION: Inhaled drug delivery is the cornerstone treatment for asthma. General practitioners (GPs) have a key role for educating patient about how to use their inhalers. The purpose of this study was to find out whether GPs know how to use the inhalers they usually prescribe. METHOD: This was a descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study among GPs from the Paris metropolitan area. GPs had to choose the inhalers they usually prescribe and then demonstrate their use. The technique of use was assessed using a scale specific to each type of inhaler. Overall success was defined by the use of prescribed inhalers without critical errors. RESULTS: Thirty-seven GPs were recruited between July 2018 and July 2019. Nineteen GPs (51.4%) were able to use the inhalers they prescribed without critical errors. The success rate without critical error was better with the pressurized metered dose inhalers with spacer than with other inhalers. The overall success rate was better among GPs who had previously used an inhaler on a personal basis (OR 7.58 95%CI [1.86, 37.02]) or who had prescribed only one type of inhaler (OR 4,8 95%CI [1.21, 22.41]). CONCLUSION: Half of the GPs in our study did not know how to use the inhalers they prescribe and therefore may have difficulty educating their patients.

A Listeria monocytogenes strain is still virulent despite nonfunctional major virulence genes.

The low-virulence Listeria monocytogenes strains have been previously assigned to 4 phenotypic groups. This study aimed to characterize the A23 strain, which exhibits a pulsed-field gel electrophoresis profile specific to low-virulence strains. This strain has the same causal mutations as the group III strains and a supplementary mutation in the mpl gene, leading to the absence of internalin A expression and the presence of inactive internalin B, phosphatidyl-inositol phospholipase C, and phosphatidylcholine phospholipase C. Despite these mutations in major virulence genes, the A23 strain formed plaques in cell monolayers and contaminated 100% of inoculated mice, suggesting that it evolved from group III strains by acquiring new virulence genes.

Advances in on-line monitoring and control of mammalian cell cultures: Supporting the PAT initiative.

In recent years, much attention has been directed towards the development of global methods for on-line process monitoring, especially since the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) launched the Process Analytical Technology (PAT) guidance, stimulating biopharmaceutical companies to update their monitoring tools to ensure a pre-defined final product quality. The ideal technologies for biopharmaceutical processes should operate in situ, be non-invasive and generate on-line information about multiple key bioprocess and/or metabolic variables. A wide range of spectroscopic techniques based on in situ probes have already been tested in mammalian cell cultures, such as near infrared (NIR), mid infrared (MIR), 2D fluorescence and dielectric capacitance spectroscopy; similarly, the electronic nose technique based on chemical array sensors has been tested for in situ off-gas analysis of mammalian cell cultures. All these methods provide series of spectra, from which meaningful information must be extracted. In this sense, data mining techniques such as principal components regression (PCR), partial least squares (PLS) or artificial neural networks (ANN) have been applied to handle the dense flow of data generated from the real-time process analyzers. Furthermore, the implementation of feedback control methods would help to improve process performance and ultimately ensure reproducibility. This review discusses the suitability of several spectroscopic techniques coupled with chemometric methods for improved monitoring and control of mammalian cell processes.

First Report of Tomato chlorosis virus Infecting Tomato Crops in Brazil.

During 2006 and 2007 in the region of Sumaré, state of São Paulo, Brazil, surveys were done on tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) virus diseases in three open field-grown crops. The data revealed low incidence (0.25 to 3.42%) of randomly distributed plants exhibiting interveinal chlorosis and some necrosis on the basal leaves. Symptoms were only observed on old fruit-bearing plants. Preliminary analysis of thin sections of symptomatic leaves from one plant by transmission electron microscopy revealed the presence of aggregates of thin, flexible, and elongated particles in some phloem vessels, suggesting infection with a member of the genus Crinivirus, family Closteroviridae. Total RNA was extracted separately from leaves of 10 symptomatic plants and used for one-step reverse transcription (RT)-PCR using the HS-11/HS-12 primer pair, which amplifies a fragment of 587 bp from the highly conserved region of the heat shock protein (HSP-70) homolog gene reported for Tomato infectious chlorosis virus (TICV) and Tomato chlorosis virus (ToCV) (1). The RT-PCR product was subsequently tested by nested-PCR for single detection of TICV and ToCV using primer pairs TIC-3/TIC-4 and ToC-5/ToC-6, respectively (1). Only one fragment of approximately 463 bp was amplified from 7 of the 10 plants with the primer pair specific for ToCV. No amplification was obtained with the primers specific for TICV. Two amplicons of 463 bp were purified and directly sequenced in both directions. Sequence comparisons of the 463-bp consensus sequence (GenBank Accession No. EU868927) revealed 99% identity with the reported sequence of ToCV from the United States (GenBank Accession No. AY903448) (3). Virus-free adults of Bemisia tabaci biotype B confined on symptomatic tomato leaves for a 24-h acquisition access period were able to transmit the virus to healthy tomato plants, which reproduced the original symptoms on the bottom leaves 65 days after inoculation under greenhouse conditions. Infection from transmission was confirmed by RT-PCR using the HS-11/HS-12 primer pair. In addition to B. tabaci biotype B, the greenhouse whitefly, Trialeurodes vaporariorum, has also been reported as a vector of ToCV, although it is less efficient than the B. tabaci biotype B in transmission of this virus (4). T. vaporariorum, which was previously considered limited to greenhouses, was recently reported in tomato and green bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) crops under field conditions in São Paulo State (2). Therefore, it might also contribute to the spread of ToCV in tomato crops in São Paulo. To our knowledge, this is the first report of ToCV in Brazil and South America. References: (1) C. I. Dovas et al. Plant Dis.86:1345, 2002. (2) A. L. Lourenção et al. Neotrop. Entomol. 37:89, 2008. (3) W. M. Wintermantel et al. Arch. Virol. 15:2287, 2005. (4) W. M. Wintermantel and G. C. Wisler. Plant Dis. 90:814, 2006.