IN VITRO ANTIBACTERIAL AND ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITIES OF AQUEOUS AND ETHANOLIC LEAF EXTRACTS OF ACACIA AURICULIFORMIS

Objective: The present study focuses on in vitro antimicrobial properties of aqueous and ethanol leaf extract of Acacia auriculiformis tested on Gram-positive cocci, Gram-negative bacilli, multidrug-resistant (MDR) Gram-negative bacilli, and fungus.Methods: Ethanol and aqueous extracts of the leaves of A. auriculiformis were prepared. Agar well diffusion was the method for antimicrobial susceptibility. Freshly grown standard strains of Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) , Escherchia coli (E.coli) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, clinical strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae, Candida albicans (C. ailbicans), and MDR E. coli, and MDR Klebsiella pnuemoniae were used. Ampicillin disc (10 μg) was used as control.Results: The zone of inhibition was measured to determine the antimicrobial activity. Ethanolic extract of A. auriculiformis exhibited antibacterial activity against all the strains including MDR strains of K. pneumoniae and E. coli. Antifungal activity was exhibited by both aqueous and ethanol leaf extracts of A. auriculiformis.Conclusion: Ethanol extract could be used against MDR K. pneumoniae and MDR E. coli. Similarly, aqueous and ethanol extract can be the drug of choice for C. albicans infection. Further study is necessary to evaluate the accurate compound responsible for antibacterial and antifungal activity for pharmaceutical applications

Antibacterial Susceptibility Pattern of Uropathogenic Enterobacter Species from a Tertiary Care Hospital

Background: Urinary tract infection (UTI) caused by Enterobacter species have been increased now a days. Emergence of antibiotic-resistance of these microorganisms are complicating the treatment. Since resistance rates differ from place to place, knowledge on prevailing patterns of antimicrobial resistance becomes essential. Aim and Objectives: This study was carried out to investigate the antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of Enterobacter species, an opportunistic pathogen isolated from patients with urinary tract infection at a tertiary care hospital. Material and Methods: Sixty eight strains of Enterobacter species were isolated from the culture media. Identification of the isolates was done using Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization – Time of Flight (MALDI-TOF) and antibacterial susceptibility testing was done using Vitex automated system. Results: We observed that, males were the most predominantly affected gender groups (57%) compared to that of females (43%). Out of 68 strains, Enterobacter cloacae (53) were identified as the most prevalent organisms followed by Enterobacter aerogenes (15). About 79% of Enterobacter species were found to be resistant to cefuroxime and 84% of the strains were found to be showing resistance to amoxicillin/clavulanic acid. One multidrug resistant strain susceptible to antibiotic colistin, was also identified. Conclusion: From our study, we can conclude that emergence of this unusually rare organism as uropathogen, which is resistant to commonly available antibiotics is alarming. Prompt starting of empirical antimicrobials based on susceptibility pattern is required to significantly reduce the mortality rate caused by these strains

Hybridization between the conduction band and 3d orbitals in the oxide-based diluted magnetic semiconductor In2−x_{2-x}Vx_xO3_3

The electronic structure of In$_{2-x}$V$_x$O$_3$ ($x=0.08$) has been investigated using photoemission spectroscopy (PES) and x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). The V $2p$ core-level PES and XAS spectra revealed trivalent electronic state of the V ion, consistent with the substitution of the V ion for the In site. The V 3d partial density of states obtained by the resonant PES technique showed a sharp peak above the O $2p$ band. While the O $1s$ XAS spectrum of In$_{2-x}$V$_x$O$_3$ was similar to that of In$_2$O$_3$, there were differences in the In $3p$ and 3d XAS spectra between V-doped and pure In$_2$O$_3$. The observations give clear evidence for hybridization between the In conduction band and the V 3d orbitals in In$_{2-x}$V$_x$O$_3$.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

The structural and magnetic properties of (In1-xFex)2O3 (0.0 <= x <= 0.25) system : prepared by gel combustion method

(In1-xFex)2O3 polycrystalline samples with x = (0.0, 0.05, 0.10, 0.15, 0.20 and 0.25) have been synthesized by a gel combustion method. Reitveld refinement analysis of X raydiffraction data indicated the formation of single phase cubic bixbyite structure without any parasitic phases. This observation is further confirmed by high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) imaging, and indexing of the selected-area electron diffraction (SAED) patterns, X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS) and Raman Spectroscopy. DC Magnetization studies as a function of temperature and field indicatethat they are ferromagnetic with Curie temperature (TC) well above room temperature.Comment: 9 pages 3 figure

Burnout among surgeons before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: an international survey

Background: SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had many significant impacts within the surgical realm, and surgeons have been obligated to reconsider almost every aspect of daily clinical practice. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study reported in compliance with the CHERRIES guidelines and conducted through an online platform from June 14th to July 15th, 2020. The primary outcome was the burden of burnout during the pandemic indicated by the validated Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure. Results: Nine hundred fifty-four surgeons completed the survey. The median length of practice was 10&nbsp;years; 78.2% included were male with a median age of 37&nbsp;years old, 39.5% were consultants, 68.9% were general surgeons, and 55.7% were affiliated with an academic institution. Overall, there was a significant increase in the mean burnout score during the pandemic; longer years of practice and older age were significantly associated with less burnout. There were significant reductions in the median number of outpatient visits, operated cases, on-call hours, emergency visits, and research work, so, 48.2% of respondents felt that the training resources were insufficient. The majority (81.3%) of respondents reported that their hospitals were included in the management of COVID-19, 66.5% felt their roles had been minimized; 41% were asked to assist in non-surgical medical practices, and 37.6% of respondents were included in COVID-19 management. Conclusions: There was a significant burnout among trainees. Almost all aspects of clinical and research activities were affected with a significant reduction in the volume of research, outpatient clinic visits, surgical procedures, on-call hours, and emergency cases hindering the training. Trial registration: The study was registered on clicaltrials.gov "NCT04433286" on 16/06/2020

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival

PSEUDOMONAS SPECIES CAUSING URINARY TRACT INFECTION AND ITS ANTIBIOGRAM AT A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

  Objectives: Pseudomonas species cause urinary tract infection (UTI). This study was conducted to isolate Pseudomonas species causing significant bacteriuria and to analyze its antibiogram at a tertiary care hospital.Methods: About 107 urine samples received in the laboratory from August 2015 to July 2016 having significant bacteriuria with Pseudomonas species were tested for antimicrobial activity. Samples were from both inpatients and patients attending as outpatients to a tertiary care hospital with different age groups and gender. Midstream urine samples were inoculated using a standard calibrated loop into blood agar and MacConkey agar following semi quantitative technique using Kass concept. MALD (Biomerio, ElToile, France) was used for speciation, and Vitex automated system (Biomerio, ElToile, France) was used for antibacterial sensitivity testing.Results: About 107 urine samples contained Pseudomonas species by MALDI obtained from 69 male (64.48%) and 38 (35.51%) female patients. Inpatients were 90 (84.11%) and 17 (15.88%) outpatient department (OPD) patients. Isolation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa was from 90 samples (84.11%) and Pseudomonas putida in 17 (15.88%). Significant bacteriuria was more in the age group of ˃60 years in both genders. Susceptibility to gentamicin was 52 (48.59%), ceftazidime 56 (52.33%), and imipenem was 58 (54.20%). Organism was multidrug resistant in 49 (45.79%) samples.Conclusion: P. aeruginosa remains the most common uropathogen among Pseudomonas species. Drug of choice for inpatients suffering from UTI by Pseudomonas species can be gentamicin and for patients attending OPD can be ceftazidime. Imipenem can be the reserve drug. Periodic antibiotic review is required for proper treatment of UTI

PSEUDOMONAS SPECIES CAUSING URINARY TRACT INFECTION AND ITS ANTIBIOGRAM AT A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

  Objectives: Pseudomonas species cause urinary tract infection (UTI). This study was conducted to isolate Pseudomonas species causing significant bacteriuria and to analyze its antibiogram at a tertiary care hospital.Methods: About 107 urine samples received in the laboratory from August 2015 to July 2016 having significant bacteriuria with Pseudomonas species were tested for antimicrobial activity. Samples were from both inpatients and patients attending as outpatients to a tertiary care hospital with different age groups and gender. Midstream urine samples were inoculated using a standard calibrated loop into blood agar and MacConkey agar following semi quantitative technique using Kass concept. MALD (Biomerio, ElToile, France) was used for speciation, and Vitex automated system (Biomerio, ElToile, France) was used for antibacterial sensitivity testing.Results: About 107 urine samples contained Pseudomonas species by MALDI obtained from 69 male (64.48%) and 38 (35.51%) female patients. Inpatients were 90 (84.11%) and 17 (15.88%) outpatient department (OPD) patients. Isolation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa was from 90 samples (84.11%) and Pseudomonas putida in 17 (15.88%). Significant bacteriuria was more in the age group of ˃60 years in both genders. Susceptibility to gentamicin was 52 (48.59%), ceftazidime 56 (52.33%), and imipenem was 58 (54.20%). Organism was multidrug resistant in 49 (45.79%) samples.Conclusion: P. aeruginosa remains the most common uropathogen among Pseudomonas species. Drug of choice for inpatients suffering from UTI by Pseudomonas species can be gentamicin and for patients attending OPD can be ceftazidime. Imipenem can be the reserve drug. Periodic antibiotic review is required for proper treatment of UTI

IN VITRO ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF ROOT EXTRACT OF CLITORIA TERNATEA

  Objective: Infections caused by Gram-negative bacteria are important causes of morbidity and mortality. Extracts of plants and herbs such as Clitorea ternatea are used as diuretic. This work attempts to find out antimicrobial activity of aqueous and alcoholic extract of C. ternatea roots against Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853), Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922), clinical strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Candida albicans.Methods: The agar well-diffusion method was done using Mueller Hinton agar and Sabouraud's dextrose agar. The microorganism grown in peptone water was inoculated into culture medium. 4 mm diameter well punched into the agar was filled with 20 μl of aqueous and alcoholic root extracts C. ternatea extracts in various concentrations (100-25 μg/ml). The plates were incubated and antimicrobial activity was evaluated.Results: Aqueous root extract of C. ternatea with the concentration of 100 μg/ml showed zone of inhibition against E. coli (ATCC 25922) 18 mm, P. aeruginosa (ATCC 27853) 14 mm, multidrug resistant strain of K. pneumoniae 15 mm. Alcoholic extract of C. ternatea with the concentration of 100 μg/ml showed zone of inhibition of 35 mm against E. coli (ATCC 25922), P. aeruginosa (ATCC 27853) 22 mm, and multidrug resistant strain of K. pneumoniae 28 mm. C. albicanswas resistant to both extract of C. ternatea root. Conclusions: Alcoholic extract of C. ternatea is a better antibacterial agent against multidrug resistant Klebsiella species and other Gram-negative pathogens. Further, studies are required to identify active substances from the alcoholic extracts of C. ternatea for treating infections