Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

PLoS One 2019 19;14(2):e0211781. Epub 2019 Feb 19.

Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Research Centre for Emerging and Reemerging infectious diseases, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran.

Background: Q fever is a zoonotic disease of great public health importance in Iran. This disease is presented with high phase I antibody development in chronic and high phase II antibody in the acute form of illness. This study was conducted to evaluate the seroprevalence of Q fever among high-risk occupations in the Ilam province in Western Iran. Read More

J Clin Lipidol 2019 Jan - Feb;13(1):4-14

Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Nutrition, Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA. Electronic address:

Computed tomographic (CT) coronary calcium scoring has been established by large prospective, population-based studies as the single best noninvasive predictor of atherosclerotic cardiovascular risk available today. The calcium score correlates highly with the total burden of coronary atherosclerosis demonstrated at autopsy. It adds significantly to traditional risk calculators such as the Framingham Risk Calculator or the Pooled Cohort Equations. Read More

Klin Lab Diagn 2018 ;63(10):651-657

Volgograd Anti-Plague Institute of the Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare, 40013, Volgograd, Russia.

The polymorphism of clinical manifestations of melioidosis and glanders and their high mortality require improvement of diagnostics for detection of this agents. The perspectivity of development of transcription-based amplification real-time NASBA diagnostic kits is determined by high analytical sensitivity and the opportunity to perfom the verification of the results of other methods for pathogenic Burkholderia species detection. The fragment of 23S rRNA gene was selected as the target for development of real-time NASBA kit. Read More

Klin Lab Diagn 2018 ;63(10):630-635

Irkutsk Antiplague Research Institute of Siberia and Far East, 664047, Irkutsk, Russian Federation.

Experimental serological tests were developed to determine anti-tularensis antibodies in humans in immunochromatography formats (LF-test LPS Ft15) and enzyme immunoassay (ELISA LPS Ft15) using as an antigen highly purified LPS F. tularensis 15 NIIEG. Analysis was conducted of the sensitivity and specificity of the developed tests and commercial tularemia antigen «RNGA-Tul-AG» (production Stavropol research anti-plague Institute) in comparison with the commercial reference antigen, registered in the Russian Federation for the quantitative determination of human IgG tularemia - «ELISA classic Francisella tularensis IgG» SERION, Germany (IgG SERION ELISA). Read More

Eur J Hum Genet 2019 Feb 14. Epub 2019 Feb 14.

Departament de Ciències Experimentals i de la Salut, Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-UPF), Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain.

In this study, we seek to understand and to correlate the genetic patterns observed in the population of the island of Ibiza in the Western Mediterranean basin with past events. Genome-wide genotypes of 189 samples representing 13 of 17 regions in Spain have been analyzed, in addition to 105 samples from the Levant, 157 samples from North Africa, and one ancient sample from the Phoenician Cas Molí site in Ibiza. Before the Catalans conquered the island in 1235 CE, Ibiza (Eivissa) had already been influenced by several cultures, starting with the Phoenicians, then the Carthaginians, followed by the Umayyads. Read More

JMIR Public Health Surveill 2019 Jan 18. Epub 2019 Jan 18.

Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, IL.

Background: Plague is a highly infectious zoonotic disease caused by the bacillus Yersinia pestis. Three major forms of the disease are known: bubonic, septicemic, and pneumonic plague. Though being strictly related to past history, plague still represents a global public health concern. Read More

Sci Rep 2019 Feb 13;9(1):1930. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

USDA-Agricultural Research Service Center for Medical, Agricultural, and Veterinary Entomology, Gainesville, Florida, USA.

Interannual climate variability patterns associated with the El Niño-Southern Oscillation phenomenon result in climate and environmental anomaly conditions in specific regions worldwide that directly favor outbreaks and/or amplification of variety of diseases of public health concern including chikungunya, hantavirus, Rift Valley fever, cholera, plague, and Zika. We analyzed patterns of some disease outbreaks during the strong 2015-2016 El Niño event in relation to climate anomalies derived from satellite measurements. Disease outbreaks in multiple El Niño-connected regions worldwide (including Southeast Asia, Tanzania, western US, and Brazil) followed shifts in rainfall, temperature, and vegetation in which both drought and flooding occurred in excess (14-81% precipitation departures from normal). Read More

Trop Anim Health Prod 2019 Feb 11. Epub 2019 Feb 11.

Rajaie Cardiovascular Medical and Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Q fever is a major zoonotic disease in the world. The aim of this meta-analysis was to estimate the prevalence of Coxiella burnetii in animal milk in Iran. We systematically reviewed the literature to identify eligible studies from January 2008 to June 2016 in English or Farsi (Persian) databases. Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2019 Feb 11;13(2):e0007181. Epub 2019 Feb 11.

Rajaie Cardiovascular Medical and Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Mounting evidence suggests that Q-fever is more prevalent in Iran than originally believed. However, in most parts of the country, clinicians do not pay enough attention to Q fever in their differential diagnosis. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of Coxiella burnetii in suspected cases of acute Q fever in north-western Iran using molecular techniques. Read More

Tetrahedron 2018 Jun 18;74(26):3246-3252. Epub 2018 Apr 18.

Department of Chemistry, University of Michigan, 930 N. University Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.

The use of lithium bis-catechol borate (LiB(cat)) as a reductive quencher for the photoredox mediated intermolecular C-H functionalization of various heteroaromatics with bromopyrroloindolines is described. LiB(cat) offers a financial benefit over state-of-the-art quenchers currently in use while eliminating the side reactions that typically plague these couplings. The advantage of this methodology is highlighted by the synthesis of C3-C2' (-) gliocladin C. Read More

Cell Mol Gastroenterol Hepatol 2018 Nov 3;7(2):447-456. Epub 2018 Nov 3.

Department of Physiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Institute for Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Electronic address:

Insulin resistance is associated with numerous metabolic disorders, such as obesity and type II diabetes, that currently plague our society. Although insulin normally promotes anabolic metabolism in the liver by increasing glucose consumption and lipid synthesis, insulin-resistant individuals fail to inhibit hepatic glucose production and paradoxically have increased liver lipid synthesis, leading to hyperglycemia and hypertriglyceridemia. Here, we detail the intrahepatic and extrahepatic pathways mediating insulin's control of glucose and lipid metabolism. Read More

Nat Commun 2019 Feb 7;10(1):626. Epub 2019 Feb 7.

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and the Center for Blood Research, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Many Gram-negative bacteria, including causative agents of dysentery, plague, and typhoid fever, rely on a type III secretion system - a multi-membrane spanning syringe-like apparatus - for their pathogenicity. The cytosolic ATPase complex of this injectisome is proposed to play an important role in energizing secretion events and substrate recognition. We present the 3. Read More

BMC Ecol 2019 Feb 6;19(1). Epub 2019 Feb 6.

Division of Epigenetics, DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 580, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany.

Background: The marbled crayfish (Procambarus virginalis) is a monoclonal, parthenogenetically reproducing freshwater crayfish species that has formed multiple stable populations worldwide. Madagascar hosts a particularly large and rapidly expanding colony of marbled crayfish in a unique environment characterized by a very high degree of ecological diversity.

Results: Here we provide a detailed characterization of five marbled crayfish populations in Madagascar and their habitats. Read More

Rev Med Chil 2018 Sep;146(9):1050-1058

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, New York Medical College, USA.

Northern Europe at the beginning of the 16th Century was in turmoil as a result of religious and political dissention, epidemics of plague, syphilis, ergotism, and famine, and the threat of the Ottoman Empire. In Alsace, a fulcrum between Germany, France, Switzerland and the Netherlands, Grünewald painted his celebrated and complex altarpiece at Isenheim in a convent chapel of the Antonine religious order that kept a hospital for the care of patients suffering from ergotism, plague, syphilis and other illnesses. The ten paintings of this altarpiece convey a series of religious, medical and political meanings, with the scenes of the Crucifixion and the Resurrection being thought to play an integral part of the curative process. Read More

Vet Pathol 2019 Feb 5:300985819826308. Epub 2019 Feb 5.

1 Department of Experimental Animal Facilities and Biorisk Management, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute, Greifswald-Island of Riems, Germany.

Surg Infect (Larchmt) 2019 Jan 31. Epub 2019 Jan 31.

1 Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Prosthetic contamination and biofilm formation continue to plague implanted materials. With increasing resistance to traditional antibiotic regimens, alternative approaches to preventing bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation have focused on the physiochemical properties of the prosthetics. Roughness, topography, hydrophobicity, porosity, charge, stiffness, and surface area all influence the processes of adhesion and colonization leading to biofilm formation. Read More

BMC Genet 2019 Jan 22;20(1):11. Epub 2019 Jan 22.

State Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, 102206, China.

Background: Rattus tanezumi is a common commensal rat and an important host animal of bubonic plague in South China and Southeast Asia. The northward dispersal of this species in mainland China has been reported in recent decades, along with more recent intercontinental expansion. Population genetics of R. Read More

Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis 2019 Jan 22. Epub 2019 Jan 22.

Department of Biology, University of South Dakota, Vermillion, South Dakota.

Sylvatic plague affects many species in North American prairie ecosystems. Deltamethrin is commonly used to manage fleas in potential outbreak areas. Understanding the role of small mammals and their ectoparasites in sylvatic plague maintenance is pertinent to understanding the ecology of plague and its persistence in nature. Read More

Emerg Infect Dis 2019 Feb;25(2):220-228

Madagascar is more seriously affected by plague, a zoonosis caused by Yersinia pestis, than any other country. The Plague National Control Program was established in 1993 and includes human surveillance. During 1998-2016, a total of 13,234 suspected cases were recorded, mainly from the central highlands; 27% were confirmed cases, and 17% were presumptive cases. Read More

Am J Trop Med Hyg 2019 Jan 14. Epub 2019 Jan 14.

Department of Immunology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.

The current strategy used by many funding agencies for determining how money is spent on research to help prevent infectious disease outbreaks is based on pathogen-specific priority lists. Listing disease threats provides focus for business and research planning conducive to focused goals of developing a drug, or a vaccine, or other particular product. But, this singular type of focus has consequences. Read More

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2019 Feb 30;11(6):6136-6142. Epub 2019 Jan 30.

Materials Science & Engineering Program and Texas Materials Institute , The University of Texas at Austin , Austin , Texas 78712 , United States.

Polyethylene hexasulfide (PEHS) is investigated as a cathode material in lithium batteries. By utilizing a condensation reaction, ethylene groups are inserted between six linear sulfurs in a chain to obtain PEHS while simultaneously exercising control over the polysulfur chain length. Additionally, by selecting a low-molecular-weight organic group, PEHS contains 87 wt % sulfur, thus maximizing the material-level specific capacity to 1217 mA h g. Read More

J Fish Dis 2019 Mar 15;42(3):413-422. Epub 2019 Jan 15.

Veterinary Bacteriology and Pathology Research Unit, OIE Reference Laboratory for Crayfish Plague, Finnish Food Safety Authority Evira, Kuopio, Finland.

Several isolates of an unknown oomycete resembling the genus Aphanomyces were obtained into laboratory culture from samples of noble crayfish (Astacus astacus) in 2016-2017. The crayfish were kept in cages in connection with a study on an eventually persistent crayfish plague infection in a small Finnish lake, following an acute episode of the disease in 2010. Despite the close resemblance of the isolates to the causative agent of crayfish plague, Aphanomyces astaci, and the positive results obtained in OIE recommended A. Read More

Infect Immun 2019 Jan 14. Epub 2019 Jan 14.

Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, University of Missouri, 201 Connaway Hall, Columbia, MO, 65211

cause bubonic, pneumonic and septicemic plague. Although no longer responsible for pandemic outbreaks, pneumonic plague continues to be a challenge for medical treatment and has been classified as a reemerging disease in some parts of the world. In the early stage of infection, inflammatory responses are believed to be suppressed by virulence factors in order to prevent clearance, while later the hyper-activation of inflammation contributes to the progression of disease. Read More

Virology 2019 Mar 4;529:7-15. Epub 2019 Jan 4.

Key Laboratory of Animal Epidemiology and Zoonosis, Ministry of Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China. Electronic address:

H9N2 avian influenza viruses (AIVs) were prevailing in chickens, causing great economic losses and public health threats. In this study, turkey herpesviruses (HVT) was cloned as an infectious bacterial artificial chromosomes (BAC). Recombinant HVT (rHVT-H9) containing hemagglutinin (HA) gene from H9N2 virus were constructed via galactokinase (galK) selection and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/associated 9 (CRISPR/Cas9) gene editing system. Read More

Methods Enzymol 2019 4;615:77-101. Epub 2018 Dec 4.

Graduate Group in Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States; Johnson Research Foundation and Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States. Electronic address:

Protein hydration is a critical aspect of protein stability, folding, and function and yet remains difficult to characterize experimentally. Solution NMR offers a route to a site-resolved view of the dynamics of protein-water interactions through the nuclear Overhauser effects between hydration water and the protein in the laboratory (NOE) and rotating (ROE) frames of reference. However, several artifacts and limitations including contaminating contributions from bulk water potentially plague this general approach and the corruption of measured NOEs and ROEs by hydrogen exchange-relayed magnetization. Read More

Pan Afr Med J 2018 7;30:257. Epub 2018 Aug 7.

Service d'Urologie, Hôpital Régional de Gao, Gao, Mali.

Hydrocele is an accumulation of fluid between the testis and its vaginal coat. It may be very abundant. It commonly affects people who live in tropical regions. Read More

J Med Microbiol 2019 Jan 11. Epub 2019 Jan 11.

6​Research and Scientific Studies Unit, College of Nursing & Allied Health Sciences, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia.

Madagascar has just emerged from the grip of an acute urban pneumonic plague outbreak, which began in August 2017, before the usual plague season of October-April and outside the traditional plague foci in the northern and central highlands. The World Health Organization reported a total of 2417 confirmed, probable and suspected cases, including 209 deaths between 1 August and 26 November 2017. The severity and scope of this outbreak, which has affected those in higher socioeconomic groups as well as those living in poverty, along with factors including the potential for use of multi-drug-resistant strains of plague in bioterrorism, highlights the ongoing threat posed by this ancient disease. Read More

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2019 Jan 9. Epub 2019 Jan 9.

DUEE, Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, ENEA Casaccia Research Centre, via Anguillarese 301, 00123, Rome, Italy.

The meadow froghopper, Philaenus spumarius L., is endemic in Italy and was not considered a harmful species until 2014, when the olive quick decline syndrome (OQDS) showed up in Apulia (southern Italy). It was immediately suspected and then verified as the main vector of Xylella fastidiosa, the bacterium responsible for the disease. Read More

Malawi Med J 2018 09;30(3):174-179

Medical Rehabilitation College, Kachere Rehabilitation Centre, Malawi.

Aim: The aim of this study was to compare client community reintegration status following discharge from the Kachere Rehabilitation Centre (KRC), Blantyre, Malawi, in 2 consecutive years with client versus guardian perspectives on reintegration status.

Methods: Using quantitative methods, 35 clients with stroke and non-stroke diagnoses (spinal cord dysfunction and neuropathic conditions) and 32 client guardians (the family caregivers in Malawi) were separately interviewed using the WHO Disability Assessment Schedule (DAS) 2.0 (a measure of disability due to reintegration problems back into the community). Read More

PLoS One 2019 9;14(1):e0209478. Epub 2019 Jan 9.

The Pathogen and Microbiome Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, United States of America.

Yersinia pestis was introduced to Brazil during the third plague pandemic and currently exists in several recognized foci. There is currently limited available phylogeographic data regarding Y. pestis in Brazil. Read More

Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2019 01;96:401-413

Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada; Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, Canada; Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Canada. Electronic address:

Adolescence characterizes a period of significant change in brain structure and function, causing the neural circuitry to be particularly susceptible to the environment and various other experiences. Chronic pain and sleep deprivation represent major health issues that plague adolescence. A bidirectional relationship exists between sleep and pain; however, emerging evidence suggests that sleep disturbances have a stronger influence on subsequent pain than vice versa. Read More

Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis 2019 Jan 8. Epub 2019 Jan 8.

5 U.S. Forest Service, Wall, South Dakota.

Plague, a flea-borne disease, hampers efforts to restore populations of black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes), which occupy colonies of prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.) in North America. Plague is managed by infusing prairie dog burrows with DeltaDust 0. Read More

Am J Phys Anthropol 2019 Mar 5;168(3):552-565. Epub 2019 Jan 5.

Department of Anthropology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina.

Objectives: Dental plaque is associated with a variety of systemic diseases and mortality risks in living populations. However, bioarchaeologists have not fully investigated the mortality risks associated with plaque (or its mineralized form, calculus) in the past. This study examines the relationship between survivorship and calculus in a medieval skeletal sample. Read More

PeerJ 2018 20;6:e6146. Epub 2018 Dec 20.

Biomathematics Research Centre, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.

Irruptions of small consumer populations, driven by pulsed resources, can lead to adverse effects including the decline of indigenous species or increased disease spread. Broad-scale pest management to combat such effects benefits from forecasting of irruptions and an assessment of the optimal control conditions for minimising consumer abundance. We use a climate-based consumer-resource model to predict irruptions of a pest species () population in response to masting (episodic synchronous seed production) and extend this model to account for broad-scale pest control of mice using toxic bait. Read More

Mol Immunol 2019 Feb 26;106:87-98. Epub 2018 Dec 26.

Research Centre of Avian Disease, College of Veterinary Medicine of Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 611130, PR China; Institute of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 611130, PR China; Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, Sichuan, 611130, PR China. Electronic address:

TLR21 can recognize unmethylated cytosine-phosphate-guanine oligodeoxynucleotides (CpG-ODN) and activates NF-κB immune signaling pathway. However, the function of TLR21 in duck remains largely unclear. Here, the complete duck TLR21 (duTLR21) cDNA was cloned from Cherry Valley duck for the first time, and its immune response was preliminarily studied. Read More

Vopr Pitan 2018 26;87(2):65-76. Epub 2018 Feb 26.

Stavropol Anti-Plague Scientific Research Institute.

The aim of this research was to study the influence of two drying methods: freeze-drying sublimation and dry-air drying on the selected nutritional properties and hypolipidemic potential of fruiting bodies of oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus). The criteria for evaluation of the food properties were the color, the morphological structure, regidratation capacity, the total level of soluble proteins, fats, polysaccharides, free amino acids and monosaccharides. Lipid-lowering potential of oyster mushroom was evaluated by the concentration of lovastatin and the level of antioxidant activity. Read More

Indian J Dent Res 2018 Nov-Dec;29(6):700-704

Department of Dental Hygiene, College of Science and Technology, Kyungpook National University, Sangju, Korea.

Aim: The aim of this study is to assess the effects of professional oral hygiene care in patients with head-and-neck cancer during radiotherapy, a clinical trial was done.

Subjects And Methods: Forty patients were randomly assigned to either the experimental or the control group. For the experimental group, professional oral hygiene care, toothbrushing education, and fluoride varnish application were done once per a week, and for control group, only fluoride varnish application was done once per a week for 8 weeks during radiotherapy. Read More

Lancet Infect Dis 2019 Jan;19(1):34

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019 01 24;116(1):338. Epub 2018 Dec 24.

BMC Cancer 2018 Dec 22;18(1):1284. Epub 2018 Dec 22.

School of Science and Health, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, NSW, 2560, Australia.

Background: Cisplatin has been widely used for the treatment of cancer and its antitumour activity is attributed to its capacity to form DNA adducts, predominantly at guanine residues, which impede cellular processes such as DNA replication and transcription. However, there are associated toxicity and drug resistance issues which plague its use. This has prompted the development and screening of a range of chemotherapeutic drug analogues towards improved efficacy. Read More

Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol 2019 Mar 18;229:81-92. Epub 2018 Dec 18.

School of Biological Sciences, University of Sydney, A08 - Heydon-Laurence Building, NSW 2006, Australia.

Optimal breeding conditions for locust swarms often include heavy rainfall and flooding, exposing individuals to the risk of immersion and anoxia. We investigated anoxia tolerance in solitarious and gregarious adults of the Australian Plague Locust, Chortoicetes terminifera, by measuring the time to enter an anoxic coma after submersion in water, the time for recovery of ventilation and the ability to stand on return to air. We found a longer time to succumb in immature adults that we attribute to a larger tracheal volume. Read More

Ann Ist Super Sanita 2018 Oct-Dec;54(4):370-374

Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico - IRCCS - Fondazione Pascale, Naples, Italy.

Background: An "epidemic use" of legal opioids in the USA and other countries has been reported in the last 15 years. We have analysed the database of the Italian Ministry of Health regarding the prescription of opioids for pain management to verify the trend of opioids uses in Italy.

Methods: The amount of opioids prescribed for every single Italian patient in 2013 was anonymously recorded and transformed in daily MED (morphine equivalent dose). Read More

Zhongguo Xue Xi Chong Bing Fang Zhi Za Zhi 2018 Nov;30(5):489-492

School of Public Health, Fudan University, China.

Schistosomiasis is one of the major infectious diseases that seriously endanger the health of people, and social and economic development. Before the year of 1949, Yujiang County of Jiangxi Province was one of hyper-endemic regions for schistosomiasis. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, under the leadership and high attention of the Chinese Communist Party and the government, after the arduous struggle with schistosomiasis, Yujiang County became the first county that reached the standard of eradication of schistosomiasis in 1958. Read More

Trop Anim Health Prod 2018 Dec 18. Epub 2018 Dec 18.

Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Zakir Hossain Road, Khulshi, Chittagong, 4225, Bangladesh.

An epidemiological assessment of clinical poultry cases recorded through the existing passive surveillance at Kishoreganj District Veterinary Hospital during February-March 2016 was performed. A total of 200 cases (87 layers, 80 broilers, 21 ducks, and 12 pigeons) were included in this evaluation. The present study attempted to demonstrate the usefulness of passive surveillance data in quantifying the relative burden of poultry cases and their distribution along with drug prescription patterns. Read More

BMC Microbiol 2018 Dec 18;18(1):218. Epub 2018 Dec 18.

Laboratory of Preparedness and Response Branch, Division of Preparedness and Emerging Infections, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE, MS-H17-5, Atlanta, GA, 30333, USA.

Background: For Yersinia pestis, Burkholderia pseudomallei, and Burkholderia mallei, conventional broth microdilution (BMD) is considered the gold standard for antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) and, depending on the species, requires an incubation period of 16-20 h, or 24-48 h according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines. After a diagnosis of plague, melioidosis or glanders during an outbreak or after an exposure event, the timely distribution of appropriate antibiotics for treatment or post-exposure prophylaxis of affected populations could reduce mortality rates.

Results: Herein, we developed and evaluated a rapid, automated susceptibility test for these Gram-negative bacterial pathogens based on time-lapse imaging of cells incubating in BMD microtitre drug panels using an optical screening instrument (oCelloScope). Read More

BMC Res Notes 2018 Dec 14;11(1):898. Epub 2018 Dec 14.

Unité d'Immunologie, Institut Pasteur de Madagascar, Ambatofotsikely, P.O. Box 1274, Antananarivo, Madagascar.

Objectives: In Madagascar, plague (Yersinia pestis infection) is endemic in the central highlands, maintained by the couple Rattus rattus/flea. The rat is assumed to die shortly after infection inducing migration of the fleas. However we previously reported that black rats from endemic areas can survive the infection whereas those from non-endemic areas remained susceptible. Read More

BMC Genomics 2018 Dec 13;19(1):916. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Department of Cell Biology, College of Biology and Basic Medical Sciences, Soochow University, No. 199 Renai Road, SIP, Suzhou, 215123, China.

Background: Carotenoids are widely distributed in plants and algae, and their biosynthesis has attracted widespread interest. Carotenoid-related research has mostly focused on model species, and there is a lack of data on the carotenoid biosynthetic pathway in U. prolifera that is the main species leading to green tide, a harmful plague of floating green algae. Read More

Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen 2018 12 10;138(20). Epub 2018 Dec 10.

J Parasit Dis 2018 Dec 13;42(4):589-597. Epub 2018 Oct 13.

Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Higher Educational Complex of Saravan, Saravan, Iran.

In this survey, rodents and their endoparasites were investigated in the Jaz Murian depression and adjacent areas, southeast Iran. In total, 146 specimens of rodents belong to 13 species were trapped. In general, 10 different genera of endoparasites including 11 species were collected. Read More