Advances on concrete strength properties after adding polypropylene fibers from health personal protective equipment (PPE) of COVID-19: Implication on waste management and sustainable environment.

Using Health personal protective equipment (PPE) such as face masks, safety foot shoes and protective suits has expanded dramatically due to COVID-19 pandemic leading to a widespread distribution of the PPE, particularly the face masks, in the environments including streets, dump sites, seashores and other risky locations. The environmental degradation of polypropylene, the essential plastic component in single-use face masks (SUM), takes between 20 and 30 years and thus it is essential to develop experimental approaches to recycle the polypropylene or to reuse it in different ways. This paper explores the integration of SUM into concrete structures to improve its mechanical properties. We first to cut the inner nose wire and ear loops, then distribute the PPE material among five different mixed styles. The PPE were applied by volume at 0%, 1%, 1.5%, 2.0%, and 2.5%, with tests focusing on UCS, STS, FS, and PV to determine the concrete's overall consistency and assess the improvement in its mechanical properties. The results showed that adding PPE improves the strength properties and general performance of the concrete specimens. The pattern of rising intensity started to fade after 2%. The findings demonstrated that adding PPE fibers enhanced the UCS by 9.4% at the optimum 2% PPE. The PPE fibers, on the other side, are crucial in calculating the STS and FS of the reinforcement concrete.

Early γ-irradiation and subsequent storage of red cells in SAG-M additive solution potentiate energy imbalance, microvesiculation and susceptibility to stress-induced apoptotic cell death.

γ-Irradiation of red blood cell (RBC) concentrates prevents transfusion-associated graft-versus-host disease but may diminish RBC quality. Herein, we show that early γ-irradiation (25 Gy) of RBC units and their subsequent storage in SAG-M additive solution altered membrane microvesiculation, supernatant haemoglobin and cytosolic ATP. γ-Irradiation did not influence phosphatidylserine externalization, a marker of erythrocyte apoptotic cell death (eryptosis), in RBC stored for 42 days. However, shorter periods (4-21 days) of storage accentuated eryptosis in γ-irradiated RBC versus untreated RBCs following energy depletion, suggesting that γ-irradiated RBC is primed for stress-induced eryptosis during storage.

Geochemical Evaluation of Paleocene Source Rocks in the Kohat Sub-Basin, Pakistan.

The Kohat sub-basin is one of the main hydrocarbon-producing sedimentary basins located in the northwest extension of the Indus Basin in Pakistan. It contains numerous proven and potential petroleum from the Cambrian to the Miocene. Conventional petroleum resources have been depleting rapidly over the last couple of years. Therefore, unconventional resources should be explored using a variety of geochemical and geophysical techniques to address the energy demands. Geochemical techniques, including total organic carbon (TOC) assessment, Rock-Eval pyrolysis, organic petrography, and biomarker studies, are essential for evaluating the potential of shale gas reservoirs to delineate future prospects in a basin. The source rock potential of the Paleocene rocks, including the Patala, Lockhart, and Hangu formations of the sub-basin, is evaluated using geochemical analyses on well cuttings from the Tolanj-01 well. The analyses include estimation of total organic carbon (TOC), Rock-Eval pyrolysis, and organic petrography (vitrinite reflectance) to evaluate the organic richness, thermal maturity, kerogen type, hydrocarbon type, and environment of deposition. Other techniques for extractable organic matter (EOM) include solid-liquid chromatographic separation of fractions, gas chromatography (GC-FID)/whole oil chromatography, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The organic matter (TOC, wt %) analysis reveals that 18 (18) samples of the Hangu formation (0.08-1.8 wt %) show poor values, 12 (12) samples of the Lockhart formation (0.05-0.5 wt %) have poor to fair content, and 26 (26) samples of the Patala formation have poor to fair (0.08-0.19 wt %) TOC content. Rock-Eval pyrolysis studies including hydrogen index, oxygen index, Tmax, quantities of free hydrocarbons (S1, mg/g), and hydrocarbons produced from pyrolysis (S2, mg/g) are determined for the well-cut samples (56) of the Paleocene rocks. The hydrogen index values for the Hangu formation are lower than 200, and those for the Lockhart and Patala formations range between 100 and 250. A maceral analysis is also conducted on these samples, which reveal that the majority of the samples of the Paleocene units present in the basin belong to kerogen types II/III. The thermal maturity of the Hangu and Lockhart formations falls in the late-stage oil window, while that of the Patala formation falls in the peak to late oil window. The genetic potential (GP) for these rock units is also determined based on S1 and S2 values, which reveals that it is generally poor except for a few samples of the Hangu and Lockhart formations, which show fair GP values. For the organic petrography (vitrinite reflectance, R0), one sample from each unit is selected, which shows that the Hangu, Lockhart, and Patala formations fall in the category of the mature oil window with their R0 (%) values being 0.95, 0.89, and 0.82, respectively. The extracts (EOM) from these rock units are also analyzed to assess the depositional settings, biological source input, biodegradation, thermal maturity, etc. The greater values of pristine to phytane (Pr/Ph > 1) ratios for Hangu (1.33), Lockhart (1.23), and Patala (1.8) indicate an intermediate condition (suboxic), while a cross-plot of Pr/n-C17-Ph/n-C18 shows that the organic matter is deposited in a transitional setting. The ratios between C19TCT/C19 TCT + C23 TCT and C24 TeCT/C24TeCT + C23TCT biological source inputs are mainly of marine origin. Similarly, the ternary diagram of regular steranes (C27-C28-C29) shows a greater marine input. Lower values of the carbon preference index (CPI1) for Hangu (0.95), Lockhart (0.91), and Patala (1.04) indicate higher thermal maturity of the Paleocene rocks. Similarly, the methylphenanthrene index (MPI-1) values, Moretane index, and Pr/n-C17 vs Ph/n-C18 plots also show higher thermal maturity for these rock extracts.

Incidence and etiology of septic meningitis in a metropolitan county hospital.

From January 1, 1969 to December 31, 1974, 98,446 patients were admitted to Ben Taub General Hospital, one of the Harris County District Hospitals and a major teaching institution for Baylor College of Medicine. Spinal fluid specimens from 17,638 (17.9%) patients were cultured, and 787 (4.5%) cultures were positive for pathogenic microorganisms. Haemophilus influenzae, type B, was most frequently isolated (23.8%), followed by Streptococcus pneumoniae (16.0%), Staphylococcus aureus (9%), Neisseria meningitidis (7.3%), and Enterococcus (7.3%). Previous studies have indicated that more than 70% of all the septic meningeal infections are caused by H. influenzae, meningococcus and pneumococcus. At this hospital these organisms were isolated from 47% of the specimens studied, indicating a changing pattern in the etiology of purulent meningitis. Although pediatric patients constituted only 11.5% of the admissions, 58.4% of the pathogenic microorganisms were cultured from these patients.

Genetic homogeneity among methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains from Saudi Arabia.

Ninety-four strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) were collected from patients nursed in several hospitals in Saudi Arabia, before they were referred to King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre for tertiary care. The hospitals were from geographically diverse regions and as such the entirety of Saudi Arabia was covered. All strains were genetically typed by random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis using three different primers and a representative subset of the strains was analyzed with pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) as well. It was concluded that 87 out of 94 (93%) belong to a single clonally related lineage of MRSA. In the other 7 cases, the DNA banding patterns were shown to differ only slightly from those determined for the clonal type. PFGE analysis confirmed the homogeneity of the collection of strains. When the RAPD and PFGE fingerprints obtained for the Saudi clone were compared to those generated for a collection of MRSA with a more diverse geographical background, it was shown that the clonal type from Saudi Arabia was not identical to any of these MRSA strains. Our data provide another example of the capacity of certain MRSA clones to expand through entire nations and establish themselves permanently among large number of hospitals and, consequently, even larger numbers of patients.

Antibacterial activity of lomefloxacin against Brucella melitensis.

The in vitro activity of lomefloxacin was tested against 114 clinical isolates of Brucella melitensis. Comparison was made with ciprofloxacin, tetracycline, gentamicin, rifampin, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Lomefloxacin inhibited 113 (99.1%) of the 114 strains tested at less than or equal to 0.5 microgram/ml. It was comparable to ciprofloxacin, tetracycline and gentamicin in antimicrobial potency. One strain that was previously susceptible to ciprofloxacin and had become resistant after the patient was treated with ciprofloxacin showed cross-resistance to lomefloxacin.

High incidence of false positives by a latex agglutination test for the diagnosis of Clostridium difficile associated colitis in compromised patients.

Detection of Clostridium difficile cytotoxin using cell culture assays for the diagnosis of antibiotic-associated colitis has been used for over a decade. Because the methodology is time consuming and cumbersome, a recently introduced commercial latex agglutination (LA) kit has attracted much attention. We compared the sensitivity and specificity of this method with the cytotoxic assay (CTA) using diarrheal stools from 652 patients at a referral tertiary care center. Specimens from 71 (10.9%) patients were found positive with CTA and 98 (15%) by LA. Of these, 67 stools were positive by both methods. Four specimens showed cytotoxicity but were negative by LA. Of the 31 patient specimens that were positive by LA but negative by CTA, 22 were obtained from leukemic bone marrow transplant and four from renal transplant patients [corrected]. Sixteen of these patients had Giardia lamblia (four), Salmonella enteritidis (three), Blastocystis hominis (five), Rotavirus (two), and Shigella boydii (two) in their stools [corrected]. No significant organisms were found in the rest of the LA-positive and CTA-negative specimens.

Detection of herpes simplex virus by biotinylated DNA probes.

Clinical specimens from 159 patients suspected with herpes simplex virus (HSV) were examined by monoclonal antibody immunofluorescence (IF) and by a commercial biotinylated DNA probe kit following cell culture isolation. Herpes simplex virus was isolated from 57 samples. All cultures were positive by IF when the cytopathic effect (CPE) was less than 1+ but only 49 (86%) yielded positive reaction with the DNA probe when CPE was at least 1+. A total of 54 clinical specimens was also examined directly by immunoperoxidase histopathology (IHP), IF, and DNA hybridization. Of these, 16 were positive by IHP, 15 by IF, and only five by DNA probe. The DNA probe kit was found to be reasonably sensitive only after cell culture isolation of HSV. Compared to the IF procedure, the DNA probe kit was found to be costly, labor intensive, and time consuming.

In vitro activity of Ro 23-9424, a dual-acting cephalosporin-quinolone antimicrobial agent.

In vitro activity of new dual-acting antibacterial Ro 23-9429 was tested against 1294 bacterial isolates from patients in a major tertiary care referral hospital in Saudi Arabia. Its activity was compared with that of ciprofloxacin, fleroxacin, ampicillin, cephalothin, cefoxitin, cefotaxime, ceftazidime, piperacillin, oxacillin, gentamicin, amikacin, imipenem, and vancomycin. Of the 621 members of Enterobacteriaceae tested, every single isolate was inhibited by Ro 23-9429 at minimum inhibitory concentration ranging between < .03 and 8 micrograms/mL. No other antimicrobial tested was as active as this dual-acting cephalosporin-fluoroquinolone. Similarly, all of the 255 isolates of Acinetobacter, Aeromonas hydrophila, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Xanthomonas maltophilia were susceptible to Ro 23-9429. It inhibited all the 120 isolates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Its in vitro activity against coagulase-negative staphylococci and enterococci was superior or comparable to that of other drugs that are commonly used in clinical practice.

Bacteriologic profile and drug resistance in pediatric patients with symptomatic bacteriuria.

The bacteriologic profile in 1081 pediatric patients with culture-positive symptomatic bacteriuria was studied over a 30-month period in a 500-bed acute care hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Microbial isolates were considered significant if their numbers equaled or exceeded 10,000 colony-forming units/mL in symptomatic patients. Escherichia coli was the most common causative agent of urinary tract infections (55.1%), followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (11.9%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (10.0%), and Enterococcus species (6.1%). Results of antimicrobial susceptibility testing indicated that nitrofurantoin and cephradine may be used as empiric therapy pending laboratory investigation; gentamicin can be added in the treatment in severely ill inpatients, and treatment can be modified when microbiologic results become available.

Comparative in vitro activity of Ro 09-1428, a novel cephalosporin with a catechol moiety.

The in vitro activity of Ro 09-1428, a new parenteral cephalosporin, was compared with that of other beta-lactams and aminoglycosides in 1230 clinical isolates from 1028 consecutive patients. Using an agar dilution method, the drugs were tested against 625 isolates of Enterobacteriaceae, 68 Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 36 Xanthomonas maltophilia, 20 Aeromonas hydrophila, 54 Acinetobacter, 373 staphylococci, and 54 strains of enterococci. More than 98% of Enterobacteriaceae were susceptible to Ro 09-1428, with a minimal inhibitory concentration of less than 0.03 to 4.0 micrograms/ml. Ro 09-1428 also inhibited 99% and 72% of the clinical isolates of P aeruginosa and X maltophilia, respectively. All isolates of methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) were susceptible to this cephalosporin. However, only 46% of the 54 strains of enterococci exhibited in vitro susceptibility. Ro 09-1428 was found to be superior or comparable to most penicillins, cephalosporins, and aminoglycosides against both gram-negative bacteria and MSSA.

Systemic absorption of bacitracin after peritoneal lavage.

Nine patients underwent intraoperative peritoneal lavage with a solution containing 50,000 units of bacitracin in 200 ml of 0.9 per cent sodium chloride. The solution was removed by suction at 2 or 5 minutes, and venous blood samples were obtained at 15 minute intervals for 2 hours after lavage. Concentrations of bacitracin in serum were determined by agar diffusion assay. In the majority of patients, peak concentrations of bacitracin in serum occurred by 15 minutes post lavage. The mean peak serum concentration was 3.8 units/ml, which exceeds peak concentrations after intramuscular injection of 50,000 units. Due to potential nephrotoxicity, bacitracin should be used cautiously in peritoneal lavage solutions and should be abandoned in patients who have renal impairment in whom prolonged elevated serum concentrations could develop.

In vitro induction of tetraploidy in mulberry (Morus alba L.).

A high frequency of tetraploidy was induced in mulberry (Morus alba L.) through apical bud treatment under in vitro conditions. Apical buds from in vitro-grown plants were treated with three different concentrations (0.05, 0.1 and 0.2%) of colchicine in MS medium for 24 h. Tetraploidy at a frequency of 39.4±4.8% was obtained using 0.1% colchicine, whereas the frequency of tetraploidy was significantly reduced to 16.7±2.3% when 0.2% colchicine was used. Morphological, histological and cytological evidence indicated a phenotypic and genomic similarity of in vitro- with ex vitro-induced tetraploids. Rooting of tetraploids was on basal medium containing 2.6 µM NAA. The recovery of tetraploids was 80.8% more efficient using the in vitro method instead of the ex vitro method. The use of the same colchicine medium for up to 4 weeks with additional explants was found to be equally effective for the induction of tetraploidy.

In vitro activity of U-57930E against anaerobic bacteria and its comparison with clindamycin, ampicillin, carbenicillin and tetracycline.

The in vitro activity of U-57930E, a pipecolic acid amide of clindamycin, was compared with those of clindamycin, ampicillin, carbenicillin and tetracycline against 321 anaerobic clinical isolates. The MIC (micrograms/ml) of U-57930E that inhibited 95% Bacteroides fragilis, Peptococcus prevotii, B. melaninogenicus and P. asaccharolyticus was 0.0625; 0.03125 for Peptostreptococcus anaerobius, B. vulgatus, Propionibacterium and Peptococcus species. Clindamycin, on the other hand, gave MIC values of 0.5 microgram/ml for B. fragilis, P. prevotii and P. asaccharolyticus, 0.25 for Propionibacterium sp. All strains of Clostridium perfringens were inhibited by 0.5 microgram/ml of U-57930E. Both clindamycin and U-57930E showed similar MIC values for all strains of Fusobacterium nucleatum and Propionibacterium acnes tested. The MIC values for ampicillin, carbenicillin and tetracycline were within the expected range. U-57930E had a 4 approximately 8 fold lower MIC than clindamycin and is significantly active against anaerobic bacteria.

Antibacterial activity of norfloxacin against 1700 relatively resistant clinical isolates.

A total of 1724 clinical isolates from patients with different infections were tested in vitro to determine their susceptibility to norfloxacin. Antibacterial activity of norfloxacin was compared with other drugs that were commonly used in the hospital. Of the 919 strains of Enterobacteriaceae tested, all except four isolates of Enterobacter, two of Serratia and one of Proteus were susceptible to norfloxacin. Ninety-five percent of the 199 strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were also inhibited by this quinolone. Brucella melitensis (81 strains) was completely susceptible to norfloxacin. All the 250 isolates of Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci were also sensitive to norfloxacin. Pseudomonads other than P.aeruginosa, Acinetobacter/Alcaligenes and group D streptococci were less sensitive to norfloxacin, with 56%, 57% and 20% respectively being inhibited by this antimicrobial agent.

In vitro activity of cefsulodin against multi-resistant isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from 245 patients with different infections were tested to determine their in vitro susceptibility to cefsulodin and other anti-pseudomonad antibiotics. Cefsulodin inhibited 90% of the isolates as compared with 89% by ceftazidime, 84% by piperacillin and 73% by ticarcillin. Of the three aminoglycosides used, gentamycin (60%) and netilmycin (77%) were less inhibitory. Amikacin was the most active, inhibiting 92% of the clinical isolates. Over 60% of the isolates resistant to ticarcillin and piperacillin were susceptible to cephalosporin and aminoglycosides used. Among cefsulodin-resistant isolates, ceftazidime was active against 67% and amikacin and netilmycin against 71% of isolates. Sixty percent of ceftazidime-resistant strains were susceptible to cefsulodin.

Susceptibility of Brucella melitensis to fluoroquinolones.

In vitro activity of four fluoroquinolones and four other antibacterial agents was tested against clinical isolates of Brucella melitensis. Initially all the 146 isolates studied were inhibited by 0.06-0.5 mg/l of ciprofloxacin and fleroxacin and 0.12-0.5 mg/l of pefloxacin or norfloxacin. One of these isolates developed resistance during therapy with ciprofloxacin, with a rise in MIC from 0.06 mg/l to more than 5.0 mg/l. This strain also showed cross-resistance to all other quinolones. All the isolates remained susceptible to tetracycline, gentamicin, rifampicin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. None of the quinolones showed in vitro synergy with other antibiotics.

Susceptibility of recent clinical isolates to temafloxacin (A-63004) and other antimicrobial agents.

In vitro susceptibility of 1008 strains of recent clinical isolates was determined against the new aryl fluoroquinolone temafloxacin (T-167, A-63004) ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, ampicillin, piperacillin, cephalothin, cefoxitin, ceftazidime, gentamicin, amikacin, oxacillin and vancomycin. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of temafloxacin in micrograms/ml required for > or = 90% isolates were 0.13-0.5 for enterobacter, 0.03-0.25 for Escherichia coli, 0.12-0.5 for Klebsiella, 0.5-1.0 for Proteus mirabilis, 0.12-0.5 for Morganella morganii, 0.03-0.12 for Salmonella, 0.25-1.0 for Serratia marcescens, 0.03-0.12 for Shigella, 0.06-4.0 for Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 0.06-0.12 for Aeromonas hydrophila, 0.12-0.5 for Staphylococcus aureus, 0.12-1.0 for coagulase negative staphylococci and 4.0-8.0 for enterococci. The antibacterial activity of temafloxacin was comparable or superior to other drugs tested against most organisms. However, Xanthomonas malthophilia was relatively more susceptible to ciprofloxacin and norfloxacin, and temafloxacin had significantly high antibacterial activity against enterococci as compared to other fluoroquinolones.

Localized pulmonary disease due to Trichosporon beigelii.

A case of pulmonary infection caused by Trichosporon beigelii is reported. The infection occurred in a neutropenic patient with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. His chest radiograph showed a 6-cm pulmonary infiltrate in the right midzone and an apical infiltrate on the left. Repeated cultures of bronchoalveolar lavage grew budding yeast that was identified as T beigelii on the basis of morphological, cultural, and biochemical characteristics. He responded to amphotericin-B therapy. Systemic infections caused by this yeast are rare and its causal relationship in localized lung disease has been reported only seven times previously.

Polymicrobial septicemia due to Shigella flexneri and pseudomonas aeruginosa: first report.

An invasion of the bloodstream by members of the genus Shigella is extremely rare. When it does occur, the etiologic agent is usually a single organism. A report of the first case of Shigella bacteremia that was complicated by Pseudomonas aeruginosa sepsis is reported.