Estimation de la distribution des concentrations minimales inhibitrices d'antibiotiques pour des souches sauvages au sein du groupe Lactobacillus delbrueckii

Determination of antimicrobial wild-type minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) distributions is a prerequisite before differentiating susceptible bacteria from bacteria with acquired resistance. The antimicrobial susceptibility was determined for 190 strains of eight species of the Lactobacillus delbrueckii group. These were L. acidophilus, L. amylovorus, L. crispatus, L. delbrueckii, L. helveticus, L. gallinarum, L. gasseri and L. johnsonii. For most antimicrobial agents a clear distinction between susceptible and resistant bacteria was observed. Tetracycline resistance was abundant among L. johnsonii and L. amylovorus strains isolated from animals, while the L. delbrueckii and L. helveticus strains isolated from dairy products, and L. gasseri isolated from humans, rarely contained acquired resistance.La détermination de la distribution des concentrations minimales inhibitrices d'antibiotiques sur des souches sauvages est un préalable pour différencier les bactéries sensibles de celles qui ont acquis une résistance. La sensibilité aux antibiotiques a été déterminée chez 190 souches de 8 espèces du groupe Lactobacillus delbrueckii  : L. acidophilus, L. amylovorus, L. crispatus, L. delbrueckii, L. helveticus, L. gallinarum, L. gasseri et L. johnsonii. Pour la plupart des antibiotiques, une distinction claire entre bactéries sensibles et bactéries résistantes était observée. La résistance à la tétracycline était abondante parmi les souches de L. johnsonii et de L. amylovorus isolées d'animaux, alors que la résistance acquise des souches de L. delbrueckii et L. helveticus isolées de produits laitiers, et de L. gasseri isolées d'humains, était rare

Complementary and Alternative Therapies in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Given the severity of their illness and lack of effective disease modifying agents, it is not surprising that most patients with ALS consider trying complementary and alternative therapies. Some of the most commonly considered alternative therapies include special diets, nutritional supplements, cannabis, acupuncture, chelation and energy healing. This chapter reviews these in detail. We also describe 3 models by which physicians may frame discussions about alternative therapies: paternalism, autonomy and shared decision making. Finally, we review a program called ALSUntangled which using shared shared decision making to review alternative therapies for ALS

Comparative physiology of elemental distributions in plants

Background Plants contain relatively few cell types, each contributing a specialised role in shaping plant function. With respect to plant nutrition, different cell-types accumulate certain elements in varying amounts within their storage vacuole. The role and mechanisms underlying cell-specific distribution of elements in plants is poorly understood. Scope The phenomenon of cell-specific elemental accumulation has been briefly reviewed previously (Karley et al., 2000a), but recent technological advances with the potential to probe mechanisms underlying elemental compartmentation have warranted an updated evaluation. We have taken this opportunity to catalogue many of the studies, and techniques used for, recording cell-specific compartmentation of particular elements. More importantly, we use 3 case-study elements (Ca, Cd, and Na) to highlight the basis of such phenomena in terms of their physiological implications and underpinning mechanisms; we also link such distributions to the expression of known 17 ion or solute transporters. 18 19 Conclusions Element accumulation patterns are clearly defined by expression of key ion or solute transporters. Although the location of element accumulation is fairly robust, alterations in expression of certain solute transporters, through genetic modifications or by growth under stress, result in perturbations to these patterns. However, redundancy or induced pleiotropic expression effects may complicate attempts to characterise the pathways that lead to cell-specific elemental distribution. Accumulation of one element often has consequences on the accumulation of others which seems to be driven largely to maintain vacuolar and cytoplasmic osmolarity and charge balance, and also serves as a detoxification mechanism. Altered cell specific transcriptomics can be shown, in part, to explain some of this compensation.Simon Conn and Matthew Gilliha