Isolation of Fusarium fujikuroi antagonistic bacteria and cloning of its phenazine carboxylic acid genes

Bakanae disease caused by Fusarium fujikuroi is very important in rice. Pseudomonas fluorescens produces a broad-spectrum antibiotic phenazine-carboxylic acid (PCA), which is active against a variety of fungal root pathogens. In this study contaminated rice samples were collected from infected farms of Guilan. 238 bacteria were isolated from rhizosphere and the antagonistic ability of 12 of them was demonstrated with two culture method. Eight of these isolates were identified as P. fluorescens. The effects of volatile metabolites produced by antagonistic P. fluorescens found in the isolates inhibited growth of F. fujikuroi in vitro. Culture filtrate and antibiotics from these isolates inhibited growth of the pathogen. Two genes from seven gene locus of phenazine were cloned in Escherichia coli DH5

Study of antibiotic resistance of staph aureus and coagulase negative staphylococci isolated from patient samples

Introduction: Drug resistant Staphylococci are the most important agents of nosocomial infections. In this survey, effect of different antibiotics on these bacteria and their drug resistance was investigated. Methods: The study included 500 strains of Staphylococci. Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations of all antibiotics was determined by the broth macro dilution technique and standard methods from the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards. Result : Oxacillin resistance of S. aureus was 14.2% and that of coagulase-negative staphylococci was 53.4%. The activity of different antibiotics is presented in detail. Conclusion: Surveillance of strains resistant to methicillin is necessary

Parasitic Infections (Helminth and Protozoa) in Cases Referring to Yazd Central Laboratory, 2002-2004

Introduction: Intestinal parasites have world wide prevalence and are considered to be as one of the leading hygienic and economic problems in the world. It can be said that there is nowhere in the world without parasitic infestations. The present study was conducted to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasites in patients referring to Yazd Central Laboratory in 2000-2002. Methods: The present study was a cross-sectional, analytic and descriptive study including 13388 stool specimens examined by two methods; Formalin-Ethyl Acetate and direct Method for intestinal parasites and Scotch tape method for Enterobius vermicularis. Results: 13388 samples examined included 6913 women and 6475 men. Parasites were observed in 1151 cases (8.6%) including 618 (53.7%) men and 533 (46.3%) women, respectively. Of these, 98.6% were infected with protozoa and 1.4% with helminths. Giardia lambdia (41.05%), E.coli (27.45%) and Blastocystis hominis (15.51%) were the most common infecting organisms. Helminth infections were few, but the highest frequency was related to Hymenolepis nana and Enterobious vermicularis. Maximum frequency was reported in summer. There was a significant association between stool consistency and infestation by intestinal parasites (P=0.002). There was a significant relationship with sex, too (P=0.001) Conclusion: In the present study, the most common parasites were Giardia, E.coli and Blastocystis hominis (higher than five), but the prevalence was less as compared to previous similar studies in other regions, which could be because of the hot and dry weather, better personal hygiene and improved sewage system of Yazd

Research Paper: The Knowledge of Emergency Medical Technicians of Prehospital Care Intensity Index of Spinal Cord Trauma in Ilam Province, Iran

Background: The knowledge of Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) plays a crucial role in the outcomes of traumatic patients. This study aimed to assess the knowledge of EMTs about the prehospital care intensity index of spinal cord trauma in Ilam Province, Iran. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 98 EMTs chosen by the census sampling method. The study data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire on the prehospital care intensity index of spinal cord trauma and were analyzed with SPSS 16. Results: The knowledge of the prehospital care intensity index of spinal cord trauma was at the advanced level in 87.7 of EMTs and the intermediate level in 15.3 of EMTs. There was a significant relationship between the technician’s knowledge score and variables such as age, work record, overtime hours, and the number of missions (P˂0.05). Conclusion: EMTs needed more specialized information on spinal trauma. It was recommended to hold in-service training programs more precisely and consider the training of necessary skills that most EMTs require. © The Authors