Comparative Assessment of Prospective Protein Bases for Microbiological Media

Objective of the work is to carry out comparative assessment of the pancreatic hydrolysates of protein-containing products, both phytogenous and zoogenous, as nutrient base for microbiological media. Gelatine, soy, soy concentrate, maize gluten, fish meal, common kilka, and bovine blood have been used as a feedstock. Protein stuff hydrolysis, hydrolysate purification, and validation of physical-chemical properties were performed in accordance with conventional techniques. Testing of peptone biological parameters has been carried out on the model of nutrient agar using Shigella flexneri 1a 8516, Shigella sonnei “S form”, Pseudomonas aeruginosa 27/99, Serratia plymuthica 1 test strains. Identified have been physical-chemical parameters of the hydrolysates under study. Detected are the variations in quantity, diameter and frequency of dissociation among the colonies of Shigella flexneri 1a 8516, Shigella sonnei “S form”, chromogenesis in Pseudomonas aeruginosa 27/99, Serratia plymuthica 1, cultivated on agar media with hydrolysates under study. Obtained are the comparative data on physical-chemical and biological parameters of all experimental hydrolysates, which offers an opportunity to differentiate their choice when adding them into bacteriological nutrient media

Experimental Solid Medium for Legionella Cultivation

Presented is the principal scheme for preparation of experimental medium for Legionella cultivation on the basis of fermentative hydrolysate of pig lung. Shown is that the culture medium has good growth properties and meets the requirements of regulatory documentation for culture medium used for isolation and cultivation of the causative agent of legionellosis

Analysis of factors affecting the accuracy of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography combined with computed tomography in case of suspected prosthetic valve infective endocarditis

Aim. To analyze the factors affecting the accuracy of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography combined with computed tomography (PET/CT) in case of suspected prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE).Material and methods. The results of PET/CT performed in 66 patients after heart valve replacement were analyzed: 55 patients with suspected PVE (≥3 months after surgery) and 11 comparison groups without PVE (2 months after surgery). In the group with suspected PVE (n=55) at the time of the study, 27% (15/55) had a normal body temperature, 85% (47/55) — no leukocytosis. In 16% (9/55), the examination was performed from 3 to 6 months after surgery and in 67% (37/55)  — against the background of long-term antibiotic therapy (ABT). The final diagnosis of PVE was made on the basis of clinical (including 6±3 followup), laboratory, instrumental, and intraoperative (n=40) data: confirmed  — in 37 patients; ruled out — in 29 patients. In order to determine the influence of factors on obtaining false PET/CT results, the odds ratio was calculated.Results. In the group with suspected PVE (n=55), the PET/CT results made it possible to establish and rule out PVE in 92% (34/37) and 67% (12/18) of patients, respectively. In 16% (9/55) of patients, false positive (n=6) and false negative (n=3) results. Thus, the sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic accuracy of PET/CT in the diagnosis of PVE were 92%, 67% and 84%, respectively; positive and negative predictive values — 85% and 80%. The analysis of the odds ratio did not reveal the relationship of low inflammatory activity, the interval between surgery and PET/CT from 3 to 6 months, and long-term ABT before PET/CT with false PET/CT results (p>0,05). In the comparison group without PVE (n=11), 91% (10/11) received false positive PET/CT results, and one patient received a true negative result.Conclusion. The data obtained indicate the high informative value of PET/CT in the diagnosis of PVE. Interval >2 months between surgery and PET/CT significantly reduces the accuracy of PET/CT results. Other factors analyzed in the presented group did not affect the accuracy of PET/CT results

Development of Nutrient Media out of Vegetable Material for Culturing Particularly Dangerous Infections Agents

5 experimental nutritious bases were prepared out of plant materials (soybeans, soymilk, sugar-beet molasses - sugar syrup), and their physical and chemical parameters and amino-acid composition were studied. Nutrient media developed on experimental basis met the nutritious demands of studied strains of plague, cholera, anthrax microbes and sporogenous saprophytes

18F-FLUORODEOXYGLUCOSE POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY IN CANCER PATIENTS: A WHOLE-BODY EXAMINATION PROCEDURE

Positron emission tomography (PET) is one of the current techniques of molecular radionuclide imaging, which provides a qualitative and quantitative assessment of biochemical processes occurring in a living organism. The paper contains information on how to per- form 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose PET for whole-body examination. It analyzes factors that influence the accuracy of obtained results, methods for PET image analysis, and reasons for possible diagnostic errors