Fungi are important causal agents of nosocomial infections, that usually have high mortality rates.
To evaluate the species distribution and susceptibility patterns of deep yeast infections in a ...General Hospital and to correlate those results with patient survival.
Twenty one strains (from five pediatric and 16 from adult patients) were studied. Antifungal Susceptibility Testing (AST) to Amphotericin B (Anfb), Fluorocytosine (5FC), Fluconazole (FZ) and Itraconazole (IZ) was performed according to the EUCAST document. Clinical data of patients was obtained and survival to the infection was recorded.
C. albicans was isolated in 11 samples (52%), C. parapsilosis in three samples (14%), C. glabrata in two samples (9%), C. tropicalis in one sample (5%) and C. neoformans in four samples (19%). Twenty three percent of fungi were recovered at the Surgical Intensive Care Unit. The MICs ranged between 0.25 and 0.5 microgram/mL for Anfb; between 0.25 and 16 micrograms/ml for SFC, between 0.12 and 32 micrograms/mL for FZ and 0.015 and 0.5 microgram/mL for IZ. No association between antifungal susceptibility and patient survival was observed.
C. albicans continues to be the most frequently isolated yeast, however, non-albicans species are an emergent group causing nosocomial infections. Surgical procedures are the main source of fungal infections in this sample.
As a first step towards applying biotechnology to blue grama, Bouteloua gracilis (H.B.K.) Lag. ex Steud., we have developed a regenerable tissue culture system for this grass. Shoot apices were ...isolated from 3-d-old seedlings and cultured in 15 different growth regulator formulations combining 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), Picloram (4-amino-3,5,6-trichloropicolinic acid), N super(6)-benzyladenine (BA) or adenine (6-aminopurine). The highest induction of organogenic callus was obtained with formulations containing 1 mg l super(-1) (4.52 mu M) 2,4-D plus 0.5 mg l super(-1) (2.22 mu M) BA, and 2 mg l super(-1) (8.88 mu M) BA plus 1 mg l super(-1) (4.14 mu M) Picloram with or without 40 mg l super(-1) (296.08 mu M) adenine. Lower frequencies of induction were obtained for embryogenic as compared to organogenic callus. The most efficient treatments for induction of embryogenic callus contained 2 mg l super(-1) (9.05 mu M) 2,4-D combined with 0.25 (1.11 mu M) or 0.50 mg l super(-1) (2.22 mu M) BA, or 1 mg l super(-1) (4.52 mu M) 2,4-D with 0.50 mg l super(-1) (2.22 mu M) BA. Regeneration was achieved in hormonefree Murashige anmd Skoog (MS) medium, half-strength MS medium or MS medium plus 1 mg l super(-1) (1.44 mu M) gibberellic acid. The number of plantlets regenerated per 500 mg callus fresh weight on MS medium ranged from 9 for 2 mg l super(-1) (9.05 mu M) 2,4-D to 62.2 for induction medium containing 2 mg l super(-1) (8.28 mu M) Picloram, 1 mg l super(-1) (4.44 mu M) BA and 40 mg l super(-1) (296.08 mu M) adenine. Regenerated plants grown in soil under greenhouse conditions reached maturity and produced seeds.
We present optical integral field spectroscopy (IFS) observations of the Mice, a major merger between two massive (>10^11Msol) gas-rich spirals NGC4676A and B, observed between first passage and ...final coalescence. The spectra provide stellar and gas kinematics, ionised gas properties and stellar population diagnostics, over the full optical extent of both galaxies. The Mice provide a perfect case study highlighting the importance of IFS data for improving our understanding of local galaxies. The impact of first passage on the kinematics of the stars and gas has been significant, with strong bars likely induced in both galaxies. The barred spiral NGC4676B exhibits a strong twist in both its stellar and ionised gas disk. On the other hand, the impact of the merger on the stellar populations has been minimal thus far: star formation induced by the recent close passage has not contributed significantly to the global star formation rate or stellar mass of the galaxies. Both galaxies show bicones of high ionisation gas extending along their minor axes. In NGC4676A the high gas velocity dispersion and Seyfert-like line ratios at large scaleheight indicate a powerful outflow. Fast shocks extend to ~6.6kpc above the disk plane. The measured ram pressure and mass outflow rate (~8-20Msol/yr) are similar to superwinds from local ULIRGs, although NGC4676A has only a moderate infrared luminosity of 3x10^10Lsol. Energy beyond that provided by the mechanical energy of the starburst appears to be required to drive the outflow. We compare the observations to mock kinematic and stellar population maps from a merger simulation. The models show little enhancement in star formation during and following first passage, in agreement with the observations. We highlight areas where IFS data could help further constrain the models.
Intact ungerminated spores or germinating swollen spores of
Mucor circinelloides were biolistically transformed to leucine
prototrophy
with the autonomous replicating plasmids pLeu4 and pMCL1302. The ...former
developmental stage was efficiently transformed with
both plasmids. The existence of pLeu4 sequences, as selfreplicating elements,
within Leu+ transformants was established by Southern
analysis and by the recovery of plasmid pLeu4 in bacteria transformed with
total DNA from M. circinelloides transformants. This is
the first report of the transformation of intact cells of a member
of the Zygomycetes.
