Acinetobacter baumannii extracted silver nanoparticles: A study on the characterization and antibacterial activity

Background: Antibiotic resistance is a worldwide problem, associated with increased mortality. Biosynthesized silver nanoparticles are promising solution. Aim: To improve the anti-microbial resistance using Acinetobacter baumannii  (A. baumannii) biosynthesized silver nitrate.Methods: Optimization of biosynthesis condition and characterization by Ultraviolet-Visible spectroscopy (U-V-Vis) at a wavelength from 300 to 400 nm, ±1.67 nm. The Acinetobacter baumannii biosynthesized silver nitrate was examined using transmission electron microscope (TEM).  Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy was done to study the capping material, X-ray spectroscopy confirm silver nanoparticles synthesis with particle size match TEM measuring and testing its antibacterial effect was done. Results: The obtained U.V Spectroscopy and TEM characters of silver nitrate biosynthesized A.baumannii. Acinetobacter baumannii biosynthesized silver nitrate was obtained indicated. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was from 1-3 mg/ml against extreme drug resistance bacteria. the size of silver nanoparticles was found to be between 18 nm and 50 nm. The AgNPs were found to be stable for over 6 months at 37°C.The MIC for AgNPs formed from A. baumannii CFF was detected as 2.85 mg/ml, MBC (minimal bactericidal concentration) was 3 mg/ml for K. pneumonia, MIC was 1 mg/ml, MBC was 0.5 mg/ml for P. aeruginosa and MIC was 1.5 mg/ml and MBC was 1 mg/ml for A. baumannii isolates. Lethal concentration (LC) 50% was 60.584 ug/ml) assessed by Sulforhodamine-B assay on hepatocellular carcinoma cell line. Conclusion: Acinetobacter baumannii extracted silver nitrate has A promising antibacterial action that may help in solving the multidrug resistance bacteria

Design and structural dynamic characteristics of an irregular staircase under earthquake loading

Reinforced concrete staircases are structurally designed as cantilevered, slab type or beam-slab type. Within this study an irregular cantilevered staircase is studied and its structural dynamic characteristics are explored. An eigen-value modal analysis is performed to determine the mode shapes, their corresponding modal participation factors and natural periods of vibration. The highest modes of interest are identified. Following on that, a scaled record of a previous historical earthquake was applied within a direct integration time-history analysis in order to assess the performance of that irregular stair case under earthquake loading. That load was applied within two perpendicular load cases representing the different possible directions of earthquake vibrations in which the effect of the structure irregularity was assessed per direction. The structure was found to have large drifts creating a need to change the structural system

BACTERIAL PATHOGENS OF NOSOCOMIAL INFECTIONS IN ICUS AND THEIR ANTIBIOTICS RESISTANT PATTERN AT KING KHALID HOSPITAL IN AL-KHARJ/SAUDI ARABIA

Background:The intensive care unit [ICU] is considered as infection epicenter because vulnerable population of critically ill patients and use of different invasive devices. Consequently, the ICU population has one of the highest occurrence rates of nosocomial infections leading to an enormous impact on morbidity, hospital costs, and often survival. In addition, the increasing problem of antibiotic resistance loads the burden of nosocomial infection in the ICU. Constant and careful global monitoring for multidrug-resistant bacteria is needed to minimise the possibility of appearance and dissemination of new resistant isolates and to avoid complications in treatment choices. Methods:This study was carried out from March to June 2016 in King Khalid Hospital [Al-Kharj-KSA] to explore the multidrug-resistant bacteria, Extended Spectrum - lactamase bacteria [ESBLs] and the possibility of carbapenems resistant bacteria isolated from clinical samples of patients in the ICUs. A total of 317 different clinical samples were received for cultivation and antibiogram during the study period. Samples were cultivated on Blood agar, MacConkey agar, CLED, EMB agar and Mannitol salt agar. Gram stain, colony morphology and biochemical tests were done.The final identification results of the causative agents and its sensitivity profile were obtained by automated procedures "Phoenix 100/BD company". Minimum inhibitory concentration [MIC] results were interpreted according to Clinical and laboratory standard institute [CLSI] guidelines. Results:Out of 317 total samples processed during the study, significant growth was shown in 62 samples [19.5%]. Respiratory samples showed the highest rate of positive growth [40.3% out of 62] followed by urine [20.96% out of 62]. Fifty-seven isolates [91.94 %] were gram-negative and five isolates [8.06%] were gram-positive. K. pneumoniae was the most frequently isolated among Gram-negative with16 isolates [28%] followed by P. aeruginosa 12 [21%]. All isolates of P. aeruginosa, Acinetobacter spp., Providencia spp., Enterobacter spp., Citrobacter spp., Serratia spp. were MDR [100%] while five isolates [71.4%] of Proteus mirabilis, and 11 [69%] of K. pneumoniae were MDR. ESBLs were confirmed in 39 [83%] isolates out of 47 MDR gram-negatives; among them, 11[28.2%] were K. pneumoniae and10 [25.64%] isolates of P. aeruginosa. Resistance to carbapenems was detected in 23 [48.94%] isolates of MDR gram-negative bacteria; among them, 10 [43.48%] isolates of P. aeruginosa, and 6[26.1%] isolates each of Acinetobacter spp. and K. pneumoniae. Conclusion:Considerable efforts and regular evaluation of ESBL and carbapenems resistant bacteria are of great importance both in hospital and community to avoid the appearance of new bacterial isolates which may resist all clinically used antibiotics. Keywords: Nosocomial infection, MDR, ESBL, Carbapenems, Resistance, Bacteria

Molecular SPECT Imaging: An Overview

Molecular imaging has witnessed a tremendous change over the last decade. Growing interest and emphasis are placed on this specialized technology represented by developing new scanners, pharmaceutical drugs, diagnostic agents, new therapeutic regimens, and ultimately, significant improvement of patient health care. Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and positron emission tomography (PET) have their signature on paving the way to molecular diagnostics and personalized medicine. The former will be the topic of the current paper where the authors address the current position of the molecular SPECT imaging among other imaging techniques, describing strengths and weaknesses, differences between SPECT and PET, and focusing on different SPECT designs and detection systems. Radiopharmaceutical compounds of clinical as well-preclinical interest have also been reviewed. Moreover, the last section covers several application, of μSPECT imaging in many areas of disease detection and diagnosis

Deep Learning based Defect classification and detection in SEM images: A Mask R-CNN approach

In this research work, we have demonstrated the application of Mask-RCNN (Regional Convolutional Neural Network), a deep-learning algorithm for computer vision and specifically object detection, to semiconductor defect inspection domain. Stochastic defect detection and classification during semiconductor manufacturing has grown to be a challenging task as we continuously shrink circuit pattern dimensions (e.g., for pitches less than 32 nm). Defect inspection and analysis by state-of-the-art optical and e-beam inspection tools is generally driven by some rule-based techniques, which in turn often causes to misclassification and thereby necessitating human expert intervention. In this work, we have revisited and extended our previous deep learning-based defect classification and detection method towards improved defect instance segmentation in SEM images with precise extent of defect as well as generating a mask for each defect category/instance. This also enables to extract and calibrate each segmented mask and quantify the pixels that make up each mask, which in turn enables us to count each categorical defect instances as well as to calculate the surface area in terms of pixels. We are aiming at detecting and segmenting different types of inter-class stochastic defect patterns such as bridge, break, and line collapse as well as to differentiate accurately between intra-class multi-categorical defect bridge scenarios (as thin/single/multi-line/horizontal/non-horizontal) for aggressive pitches as well as thin resists (High NA applications). Our proposed approach demonstrates its effectiveness both quantitatively and qualitatively.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2206.1350

Pattern of community and hospital acquired pneumonia in Egyptian military hospitals

AbstractBackgroundCommunity-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is one of the most common infectious diseases addressed by clinicians. CAP is an important cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide.Aim of the workThe aim of this study was to identify the causative bacteria, antibiotic sensitivity and antibiotic resistance of community and hospital acquired pneumonia in a group of Egyptian military hospitals.Patients and methodsThis study included 239 patients who were admitted to five major Egyptian Military Hospitals (Kobbry El kobba, El-Maadi, Masr Elgadida, El-Galaa and Ghamra) during the period from March 2012 to August 2012 and were selected due to suspicion of developing pneumonia either community or acquired due to hospital stay according to clinical, laboratory and/or radiological evidence.ResultsThis study consists of (239) patients, (187) patients were CAP and (52) patients were HAP divided in five hospitals. The obtained results showed insignificant relationship between type of organisms and concomitant illness of these patients with the highest incidence in patients below 60years (71.6% in CAP and 44.2% in HAP), patients receiving immunosuppressive drugs (40.1% in CAP and 22.3% in HAP) and diabetics (40.4% in CAP and 40.3% in HAP).ConclusionOur study showed that Gram positive organisms were the most prevalent in CAP especially Streptococcus pneumonia followed by Staphylococcus aureus, while Klebsiella was the most prevalent Gram negative organism. On the other hand our study showed that Gram negative organisms were the most prevalent in HAP especially Klebsiella followed by Pseudomonas aerginosa, while Staphylococcus haemolyticus was the most prevalent Gram positive organism

Imaging technologies for preclinical models of bone and joint disorders

Preclinical models for musculoskeletal disorders are critical for understanding the pathogenesis of bone and joint disorders in humans and the development of effective therapies. The assessment of these models primarily relies on morphological analysis which remains time consuming and costly, requiring large numbers of animals to be tested through different stages of the disease. The implementation of preclinical imaging represents a keystone in the refinement of animal models allowing longitudinal studies and enabling a powerful, non-invasive and clinically translatable way for monitoring disease progression in real time. Our aim is to highlight examples that demonstrate the advantages and limitations of different imaging modalities including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), positron emission tomography (PET), single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and optical imaging. All of which are in current use in preclinical skeletal research. MRI can provide high resolution of soft tissue structures, but imaging requires comparatively long acquisition times; hence, animals require long-term anaesthesia. CT is extensively used in bone and joint disorders providing excellent spatial resolution and good contrast for bone imaging. Despite its excellent structural assessment of mineralized structures, CT does not provide in vivo functional information of ongoing biological processes. Nuclear medicine is a very promising tool for investigating functional and molecular processes in vivo with new tracers becoming available as biomarkers. The combined use of imaging modalities also holds significant potential for the assessment of disease pathogenesis in animal models of musculoskeletal disorders, minimising the use of conventional invasive methods and animal redundancy

Hemodialysis associated dysautonomia; Effect of optimization of dialysis and nutrition: A prospective study

Background: Autonomic neuropathy is common among hemodialysis patients, even if they are asymptomatic. The aim of this study is to assess the effect of optimization of patients' dialysis and nutrition on the presence of autonomic dysfunction in these patients guided by sympathetic skin response (SSR) test. Methods: Fifteen patients on maintenance hemodialysis (12 males and 3 females) their age ranged from 24 to 67 years, most of them were on bicarbonate dialysis were included in our study. Initially, the patients were assessed clinically and by laboratory investigations and their dialysis was assessed by studying their urea kinetic modeling. Their nutrition was assessed by laboratory parameters and by calculating the normalized protein catabolic rate (nPCR). Their autonomic functions were assessed by clinical examination, hand grip and SSR test. Dialysis dose was readjusted to achieve a target kt/v value of 1.3/session thrice weekly. Also, their nutrition was reviewed to achieve nPCR of 1.2 gm/kg/day and caloric intake of 30-40 KCal/kg/day through diet manipulation and support. They were reassessed after 3 months. Results: Analysis of the data showed a statistically significant improvement of the observed subclinical autonomic neuropathy evidenced by a significant change in the hand grip (p = 0.044), and a high statistically significant improvement in the sympathetic skin response test parameters (both amplitude and latency) (p=0.001) after optimization of both hemodialysis and nutrition status. Conclusion: Improving dialysis and patients nutrition by using urea kinetic modeling is valuable in improving their autonomic functions as assessed by SSR test

Ecological Agro-ecosystem Sustainable Development in Relationship to Other Sectors in the Economic System, and Human Ecological Footprint and Imprint☆

Abstract Sustainable agriculture is the major economic sector (i.e. about 30% of Global economy) with the industrial and trading system in the world's economy. It is important to understand why the sustainable development is very important to the point of view of improving of human life and reducing the poverty. Additionally, we need to sustain our natural resources to be replenished and continue support our human population growth that is continued to increase in alarming rate rather than development, which is in a slow rate that does not meet the demands. This paper is to discuss the importance of global agro-ecosystems, to support humans' needs for feeding and continue their lives in a healthy and sustainable life and to function within the society. In addition, the paper will show the availability of the agriculture natural resources in terms of global ecological biological capacities in hectares and the trends in using these resources in terms of an ecological footprint in hectares. Additionally, we study the term of ecological human imprint in relation to the agro-ecosystem as suggested by Shakir Hanna et al., 2014 . Further the paper will address the impacts of agro-ecosystem on global economy and, further discuss the impacts of human technological advances on agro-ecosystems ecologically, economically, and social importance. Our results show that the global population will be 10.50 billion people in 2050 (i.e. 1.1% the current population growth). The available global cropped land is 2.36 billion global hectares in 2008.The question is the Earth able to provide food and other agricultural products to support the healthy living of all human beings in year 2050 at the current growth rate? The paper is discussing these concerns