Novel in vitro methods for simultaneous screening of two antagonistic bacteria against multiple fungal phytopathogens in a single agar plate.

Two novel and rapid in vitro agar plate methods for simultaneous screening of two bacterial isolates for antagonism against multiple fungal phytopathogens in a single agar plate are described. In the modified plus streak method (MPS), in a 10 cm diameter PDA agar plate, two different bacterial isolates were screened against four fungal pathogens. The second method used 20 cm diameter PDA agar plate surface and was termed as the parallel multiple streak (PMS) method. Here, two bacterial isolates were screened for antagonism against ten fungal phytopathogens on a single agar plate surface. Our new methods are rapid and more economical, and could reduce the number of agar plates and the medium required for in vitro screening by several fold, compared to that used in the conventional dual culture plate assay.

Ethyl 2-cyano-2-{(Z)-2-[2,2-di-cyano-1-(4-methyl-phen-yl)eth-yl]cyclo-hexyl-idene}acetate.

In the title compound, C22H23N3O2, the cyclo-hexane ring adopts a chair conformation. The methyl-phenyl ring is oriented at an angle of 36.2 (1)° with respect to the best plane of cyclo-hexane moiety. In the crystal, mol-ecules associate via C-H⋯N hydrogen bonds, forming a three-dimensional network.

A Rare Case Report of Sirenomelia Following Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection Embryo Transfer.

Sirenomelia is a very rare developmental abnormality which is characterized by fusion of lower limb to form a single limb. This condition is often associated with internal organ abnormality and is considered incompatible with life. Sirenomelia is sporadically reported from across the world, but no case associated with artificial reproductive technology (ART) has not been reported. We report a case of sirenomelia in a 29-year old woman who conceived by ART, which to our knowledge is the first reported case in ART. The defect was detected early during first trimester and the pregnancy was terminated.

Proteogenomics of Candida tropicalis--An Opportunistic Pathogen with Importance for Global Health.

The frequency of Candida infections is currently rising, and thus adversely impacting global health. The situation is exacerbated by azole resistance developed by fungal pathogens. Candida tropicalis is an opportunistic pathogen that causes candidiasis, for example, in immune-compromised individuals, cancer patients, and those who undergo organ transplantation. It is a member of the non-albicans group of Candida that are known to be azole-resistant, and is frequently seen in individuals being treated for cancers, HIV-infection, and those who underwent bone marrow transplantation. Although the genome of C. tropicalis was sequenced in 2009, the genome annotation has not been supported by experimental validation. In the present study, we have carried out proteomics profiling of C. tropicalis using high-resolution Fourier transform mass spectrometry. We identified 2743 proteins, thus mapping nearly 44% of the computationally predicted protein-coding genes with peptide level evidence. In addition to identifying 2591 proteins in the cell lysate of this yeast, we also analyzed the proteome of the conditioned media of C. tropicalis culture and identified several unique secreted proteins among a total of 780 proteins. By subjecting the mass spectrometry data derived from cell lysate and conditioned media to proteogenomic analysis, we identified 86 novel genes, 12 novel exons, and corrected 49 computationally-predicted gene models. To our knowledge, this is the first high-throughput proteomics study of C. tropicalis validating predicted protein coding genes and refining the current genome annotation. The findings may prove useful in future global health efforts to fight against Candida infections.

Validity of quantitative unspun urine microscopy, dipstick test leucocyte esterase and nitrite tests in rapidly diagnosing urinary tract infections.

OBJECTIVES: Rapid diagnostic tests can screen out negative samples and can save valuable time and money. The study was conducted to assess the usefulness of leukocyte esterase, nitrate reductase and quantitative microscopic unspun urine wet mount examination in rapidly diagnosing urinary tract infections (UTI). METHODS: Four hundred and fifty samples were tested by semi-quantitative culture on cysteine lactose electrolyte deficient medium, microscopic examination of unspun urine for significant pyuria, dipstick leucocyte esterase test (LET) and nitrite test (NT). Culture was used as gold standard to evaluate the performance of direct microscopy and dipstick tests. RESULTS: Urine culture examination revealed significant bacteriuria (>10(5) cfu/ml) 98 (21.8%), in urine samples. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV) and the diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) of the dip-stick LET were 73.5%, 58.5%, 33.0%, 88.8%, and 3.9 respectively; those of the dip-stick NT were 57.1%, 78.7%, 42.7%, 86.8%, and 4.9 respectively; and those for microscopic significant pyuria detection were 68.4%, 60.8%, 32.7%, 87.3%, and 3.4 respectively. Highest sensitivity (95.9%), NPV (97.9%) and DOR (25.7) was obtained on combining microscopy and dip-stick LET and NT (either of them positive). This can potentially cut costs by 79%. CONCLUSION: Quantitative unspun urine wet mount microscopy and dipstick tests for leucocyte esterase and nitrite test should be added into routine laboratory practices for faster diagnosis of UTI.