Assessment of minimum inhibitory concentration to vancomycin, tigecycline, linezolid, daptomycin, ceftaroline and mupirocin against methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus clinical isolates by antibiotic gradient strips

Background: Staphylococcus aureus infections are one of the most common and serious hospital-acquired infections seen in developing countries. Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is an important human pathogen and normally colonized in body parts including skin, nose, perineum and throat. MRSA is resistant not only to all β-lactam groups but also other antibiotics including aminoglycosides, tetracycline and macrolides. In the present study the efficacy of agents used in the management of MRSA infections was determined by antibiotic gradient testing. Methods: A total of 60 clinical isolates of MRSA strains were collected from various diagnostic labs in central Kerala. Clinical isolates were reconfirmed as MRSA by gram staining, yellow-coloured colonies on mannitol salt Agar (MSA). Antibiotic susceptibility testing was done by disc diffusion method as recommended by CLSI guidelines. S. aureus isolates resistant to cefoxitin (30 µg) was identified as MRSA. Antibiotic gradient testing was performed to determine the MIC of vancomycin, tigecycline, linezolid, daptomycin, ceftaroline and mupirocin against MRSA isolates. Results: All the 60 MRSA isolates tested were sensitive to vancomycin, tigecycline, linezolid, daptomycin, ceftaroline and mupirocin (100%) and none of the MRSA isolates show resistance.  Conclusions: Results of present study indicates that these agents may be used alongside vancomycin in management of infection caused by MRSA

Synthesis and Thermal Characterization of Lanthanide(III) Complexes with Mercaptosuccinic Acid and Hydrazine as Ligands

Reaction of hydrazine and mercaptosuccinic acid with metal ions forms complexes with general formula [Ln(N2H4)2CH2(COO)CH(SH)(COO)1.5]·(H2O), where Ln = La(III), Pr(III), Nd(III), Sm(III), and Gd(III) at pH 5. The complexes have been characterized by elemental analysis, IR and UV-visible spectroscopic, thermal and X-ray diffraction studies. The IR data reveal that the acid moiety in the complexes is present as dianion due to the deprotonation of COOH groups by lanthanides in these complexes, leaving –SH group unionized and hydrazine as bidental neutral ligand showing absorptions in the range of 945–948 cm−1. The thermoanalytical data evince that the complexes are stable up to 103°C and undergo complete decomposition in the range of 550–594°C resulting in metal oxides. SEM images of La2O3 and Gd2O3 residues show their nano sized clusters suggesting that the complexes may be used as precursors for nano La2O3 and Gd2O3, respectively. X-ray powder diffraction patterns show isomorphism among the complexes. The kinetic parameters of the decomposition of the complexes have been computed by Coats-Redfern equation

Clinical utility of NT-pro BNP in patients with acute cardiac failure: an observational study

Background. BNP along with its inactive N-terminal fragment, NT-pro BNP, plays a crucial role as serum biomarkers in the management of heart failure (HF). Increased levels indicate various pathophysiological processes such as cardiac structural and functional abnormalities, myocardial stretching caused by heightened filling pressure, and activation of neuro-hormones. Aim. To evaluate the clinical use of NT-Pro BNP in cases of suspected cardiac failure and its effectiveness in distinguishing between cardiac and respiratory dyspnea. Materials and methods. The research was carried out at Saveetha Medical College in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, as a case-control study. One hundred patients, between the ages of 40 and 70, who were suspected of having Acute cardiac failure, were recruited for the study from January 2023 to January 2024. Results. The proportion of people with cardiac dysfunction as evaluated by Echocardiography was 69% in the study population, and the mean NT pro-BNP was significantly higher among the cardiac dysfunction group as compared to the pulmonary dysfunction group. The NT PRO BNP's predictive validity was shown to be good (AUC 0.871, 95% CI 0.780 to 0.961, p-value <0.001). Conclusion. The current study has tested the sensitivity and various cut-off values of NT Pro BNP and found the cut-off level of ≥1000 may be the ideal cut-off level, as it provided a better combination of sensitivity and specificity (87% and 74.2% respectively). A lower cut-off value (500) leads to an increase in sensitivity (98.6%), at the cost of specificity (64.5%)

The acid adducts hydrazinium 2-hydroxybenzoate–2-hydroxybenzoic acid (1/1) and hydrazinium 3-hydroxy-2-naphthoate–3-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid (1/1)

The title molecular salts, N2H5+·C7H5O3−·C7H6O3and N2H5+·C11H7O3−·C11H8O3, are acid adducts containing a hydrazinium cation, one molecule of a deprotonated acid and one molecule of a neutral acid. The two compounds contain essentially identical hydrogen-bond networks between the hydrazinium cation and the acid molecules, which define closely comparable two-dimensional layers in the structures. The planes of the aromatic rings within both structures are approximately parallel and the layers are stacked with comparable intermolecular interactions.</jats:p