Cefepime/tazobactam as a new treatment option for multidrug resistant gram negative bacilli

Background: Every time an antibiotic is used, whether appropriately or not, the probability of the development and spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria is increased. Thus, multidrug resistant bacteria particularly ESBL (Extended spectrum β­lactamase), Amp C and carbapenemases producing gram negative bacilli have emerged as a major health problem all over the world. Considering new treatment options as a carbapenems sparing and resistance prevention modality, this study was aimed to know the in vitro susceptibility pattern of Cefepime/Tazobactam (CPM/TZ) in comparison to other β-Lactam/ β-Lactamase inhibitors (BL/BLI) and carbapenems against GNB.Methods: A prospective study was conducted on all clinical samples received for a period of about 1 year. Identification and susceptibility of all isolates was done by Vitek 2 Compact system. Susceptibility of CPM/ TZ was done by disc diffusion method on the basis of CLSI guidelines. Both fermenters (E. coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae) and non-fermenters (Acintobacter baumanii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) were included in the study.Results: Out of 550 GNB isolates the most common was E. coli (61.8%), Acintobacter baumanii (16%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (14.9%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (7.3%). Cefepime/tazobactam had a much higher susceptibility of 68% compared to cefepime (28%). Among the BL/BLI combinations tested cefepime/tazobactam (68%) showed the maximum percentage of susceptibility followed by cefoperazone/sulbactam (61.5%) and piperacillin/tazobactam (57.6%). Amongst all GNB isolates cefepime/tazobactam (68%) sensitivity was very much comparable to imipenem (71.8%) and meropenem (69.6%).Conclusions: CPM/TZ exhibited the best in vitro activity in comparison to the other BL/BLI. This new combination of cefepime/tazobactam appears to be a promising alternative therapeutic option to carbapenems. Clinical studies are needed to confirm this in vitro study result

The disappearing brain lesions

A 66-year-old Caucasian female presented with headaches. MRI brain revealed white matter changes confined to her hindbrain that completely resolved within two weeks. Various case reports have been published attributing multiple causes for reversible posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome (RPLE), a condition that this patient had. No obvious causes except for mild hypertension were responsible for her presentation. Even in absence of reported causes, diagnosis of RPLE should be entertained in right clinical scenario and suggestive radiologic findings. Such patients should be closely followed since on rare occasional the condition may be irreversible

Landslide inventory and susceptibility models considering the landslide typology using deep learning: Himalayas, India

Landslide susceptibility modeling is complex as it involves different types of landslides and diverse interests of the end-user. Developing mitigation strategies for the landslides depends on their typology. Therefore, a landslide susceptibility based on different types should be more appealing than a susceptibility model based on a single inventory set. In this research, susceptibility models are generated considering the different types of landslides. Prior to the development of the model, we analyzed landslide inventory for understanding the complexity and scope of alternative landslide susceptibility mapping. We conducted this work by examining a case study of Kalimpong region (Himalayas), characterized by different types of landslides. The landslide inventory was analyzed based on its differential attributes, such as movement types, state of activity, material type, distribution, style, and failure mechanism. From the landslide inventory, debris slides, rockslides, and rockfalls were identified to generate two landslide susceptibility models using deep learning algorithms. The findings showed high accuracy for both models (above 0.90), although the spatial agreement is highly varied among the models

Rapid detection of CO2 using a Raspberry Pi-based field-deployable tunable diode laser spectroscopy system

by Vaibhav Gandhi et al

Meta-Analysis Reveals Reproducible Gut Microbiome Alterations in Response to a High-Fat Diet

Multiple research groups have shown that diet impacts the gut microbiome; however, variability in experimental design and quantitative assessment have made it challenging to assess the degree to which similar diets have reproducible effects across studies. Through an unbiased subject-level meta-analysis framework, we re-analyzed 27 dietary studies including 1,101 samples from rodents and humans. We demonstrate that a high-fat diet (HFD) reproducibly changes gut microbial community structure. Finer taxonomic analysis revealed that the most reproducible signals of a HFD are Lactococcus species, which we experimentally demonstrate to be common dietary contaminants. Additionally, a machine-learning approach defined a signature that predicts the dietary intake of mice and demonstrated that phylogenetic and gene-centric transformations of this model can be translated to humans. Together, these results demonstrate the utility of microbiome meta-analyses in identifying robust and reproducible features for mechanistic studies in preclinical models

The Pharmacological and Therapeutic Activities of Canavalia gladiata (Jacq.) DC.

Canavalia gladiata is a perennial ethnomedicinal climber food plant found throughout the World. It shows many therapeutic properties which can be utilized for the treatment against many human diseases. In this review, we surveyed the recent findings on the pharmacological and therapeutic properties of Canavalia gladiata. The objective of this is to provide detail analysis on active compounds present in this species and to provide information regarding its pharmacological activities on human diseases and safety. Its bioactive compounds possess outstanding pharmacological properties like hemagglutianting activity, HIV-I inhibition, antimicrobial, antiproliferative, hepatoprotective, ROS- inhibitor, anti-cancer and anti-diabetic properties has been studied. The chemical constituents, pharmacological activities and therapeutic studies of C. gladiata showed a promising medicinal plant with various chemical compounds and numerous pharmacological activities. Keywords: Pharmacological activities, Therapeutics, Bioactive compounds, Canavalia gladiata