Identification of cultured isolates of clinically important yeast species using fluorescent fragment length analysis of the amplified internally transcribed rRNA spacer 2 region

BACKGROUND: The number of patients with yeast infection has increased during the last years. Also the variety of species of clinical importance has increased. Correct species identification is often important for efficient therapy, but is currently mostly based on phenotypic features and is sometimes time-consuming and depends largely on the expertise of technicians. Therefore, we evaluated the feasibility of PCR-based amplification of the internally transcribed spacer region 2 (ITS2), followed by fragment size analysis on the ABI Prism 310 for the identification of clinically important yeasts. RESULTS: A rapid DNA-extraction method, based on simple boiling-freezing was introduced. Of the 26 species tested, 22 could be identified unambiguously by scoring the length of the ITS2-region. No distinction could be made between the species Trichosporon asteroides and T. inkin or between T. mucoides and T. ovoides. The two varieties of Cryptococcus neoformans (var. neoformans and var. gattii) could be differentiated from each other due to a one bp length difference of the ITS2 fragment. The three Cryptococcus laurentii isolates were split into two groups according to their ITS2-fragment lengths, in correspondence with the phylogenetic groups described previously. Since the obtained fragment lengths compare well to those described previously and could be exchanged between two laboratories, an internationally usable library of ITS2 fragment lengths can be constructed. CONCLUSIONS: The existing ITS2 size based library enables identification of most of the clinically important yeast species within 6 hours starting from a single colony and can be easily updated when new species are described. Data can be exchanged between laboratories

Extended-Spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) producing Enterobacter aerogenes phenotypically misidentified as Klebsiella pneumoniae or K. terrigena

BACKGROUND: Enterobacter aerogenes and Klebsiella pneumoniae are common isolates in clinical microbiology and important as producers of extended spectrum β-lactamases (ESBL). The discrimination between both species, which is routinely based on biochemical characteristics, is generally accepted to be straightforward. Here we report that genotypically unrelated strains of E. aerogenes can be misidentified as K. pneumoniae by routine laboratories using standard biochemical identification and using identification automates. RESULTS: Ten clinical isolates, identified as K. pneumoniae or K. terrigena with the routinely used biochemical tests and with API-20E, were identified as E. aerogenes by tDNA-PCR – an identification that was confirmed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing for five of these isolates. Misidentification also occurred when using the automated identification systems Vitek 2 and Phoenix, and was due to delayed positivity for ornithine decarboxylase and motility. Subculture and prolonged incubation resulted in positive results for ornithine decarboxylase and for motility. It could be shown by RAPD-analysis that the E. aerogenes strains belonged to different genotypes. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical E. aerogenes isolates can be easily misidentified as Klebsiella due to delayed positivity for ornithine decarboxylase and motility. The phenomenon may be widespread, since it was shown to occur among genotypically unrelated strains from different hospitals and different isolation dates. A useful clue for correct identification is the presence of an inducible β-lactamase, which is highly unusual for K. pneumoniae. In several instances, the use of genotypic techniques like tDNA-PCR may circumvent problems of phenotypic identification

Postural strategy and back muscle oxygenation during inspiratory muscle loading.

Most healthy individuals show a multisegmental control strategy during challenging standing conditions, whereas others show a rigid ankle-steered strategy, which is assumed as suboptimal. Respiratory-demanding tasks exert a perturbing effect on balance, although the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether inspiratory resistive loading (IRL) affects postural strategy, back muscle oxygenation, and blood volume during postural control

Inspiratory muscle training affects proprioceptive use and low back pain.

We have shown that individuals with recurrent nonspecific low back pain (LBP) and healthy individuals breathing against an inspiratory load decrease their reliance on back proprioceptive signals in upright standing. Because individuals with LBP show greater susceptibility to diaphragm fatigue, it is reasonable to hypothesize that LBP, diaphragm dysfunction, and proprioceptive use may be interrelated. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether inspiratory muscle training (IMT) affects proprioceptive use during postural control in individuals with LBP

Artificial weathering of an ordinary chondrite: Recommendations for the curation of Antarctic meteorites

Meteorites are prone to errestrial weathering not only after their fall on the Earth’s surface but also during storage in museum collections. To study the susceptibility of this material to weathering, weathering experiments were carried out on polished sections of the H5 chondrite Asuka 10177. The experiments consisted of four 100-days cycles during which temperature and humidity varied on a twelve hours basis. The first alteration cycle consisted of changing the temperature from 15 to 25 °C; the second cycle consisted of modifying both humidity and temperature from 35 to 45% and 15 to 25 °C, respectively; the third cycle consisted of varying the humidity level from 40 to 60%; and the fourth cycle maintained a fixed high humidity of 80%. Weathering products resulting from the experiments were identified and characterized using scanning electron microscopy–energy dispersive spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. Such products were not observed at the microscopic scale after the first cycle of alteration. Conversely, products typical of the corrosion of meteoritic FeNi metal were observed during scanning electron microscope surveys after all subsequent cycles. Important increases in the distribution of weathering products on the samples were observed after cycles 2 and 4 but not after cycle 3, suggesting that the combination of temperature and humidity fluctuations or high humidity (>60%) alone is most detrimental to chondritic samples. Chemistry of the weathering products revealed a high degree of FeNi metal corrosion with a limited contribution of troilite corrosion. No clear evidence of mafic silicate alteration was observed after all cycles, suggesting that postretrieval alteration remains limited to FeNi metal and to a lesser extent to troilite

AVIS de l'ANSES relatif à " l'évaluation du rapport bénéfice risque des pratiques de lutte anti-vectorielle habituellement mises en oeuvre pour lutter contre la dengue, dans le contexte actuel de confinement global "

Dans le contexte de la gestion de crise liée à l'épidémie de Covid-19 en France, l'Anses a été saisie en urgence le 14 avril 2020 par la Direction Générale de la Santé pour réaliser l'expertise suivante : " Évaluation du rapport bénéfice-risque des pratiques de lutte anti-vectorielle habituellement mises en oeuvre pour lutter contre la dengue, dans le contexte actuel de confinement global "

Le contrôleur général des finances : les faux-semblants d’un pouvoir

Jusqu’en 2004, la thèse générale tendait à démontrer le caractère omnipotent et omniprésent de la charge de contrôleur général des Finances et ceci pour deux raisons : la place prépondérante qu’aurait occupée Colbert auprès de Louis XIV – une vision à nuancer – et la place du ministre des finances en France depuis le Second Empire et la IIIe République. Cette thèse n’a jamais vraiment été remise en cause jusqu’à l’aube du XXIe siècle.Travaillant depuis de nombreuses années sur la période 1689-1789 – je dépasse ce cadre chronologique –, j’ai pu constater la distorsion entre les théories héritées depuis plus d’un siècle et la réalité. Depuis le décès de Colbert, les pouvoirs du contrôleur général des finances étaient grandement restreints. Son champ d’action se bornait à faire entrer les recettes fiscales et à consolider le crédit de l’État. Il n’avait pas les compétences pour contrôler les dépenses. Tout juste pouvait-il émettre des conseils. Il devait composer avec les secrétaires d’État et les financiers, avec des fortunes diverses.Hasta el año 2004, se tendía a afirmar el carácter omnipotente y omnipresente del Veedor General de la Hacienda, por dos razones : primero, el espacio preponderante ocupado por Colbert al lado de Luis XIV – una visión que exige ser matizada –, y luego, el papel del Ministro de Hacienda en Francia desde el Segundo Imperio y la IIIa República. Esta tesis casi nunca fue impugnada hasta principios del siglo XXI.Llevo años trabajando sobre los años 1689-1789, pasando de este marco cronológico, y pude comprobar la distorsión existente entre teorías heredadas desde hace más de un siglo y la realidad. Desde la muerte de Colbert, los poderes del Veedor General de la Hacienda fueron sustancialmente limitados. Su campo de acción se limitaba a procurar ingresar las rentas y consolidar el crédito del Estado. No tenía competencias para controlar los gastos. Como más, podía ofrecer consejos. Tenía que negociar con los Secretarios de Estado y los hombres de negocios, con resultados variables

Pertinence clinique de l’examen neurologique complet systématique au sein d’un service de gériatrie aigue

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe