Prevalence of Non-Dermatophytic Molds Associated with Cutaneous Mycoses in Cattle in Abia and Imo States, Nigeria

Aims: To study the prevalence and identification of non-dermatophytic molds associated with cattle in Abia and Imo States, Nigeria. Study Design: The systematic random sampling method was adopted. Place and Duration of Study: A total of 2255 cattle was encountered, out of which 451 skin samples from both infected and asymptomatic animals were sampled from six cattle markets in Abia and Imo States, Nigeria between January and August, 2018. Methodology: The 451 samples were analysed for their colonial and microscopic morphology and molecular analysis. Polymerase chain reaction of the 16SrRNA internal transcriber spacer (ITS) sequence techniques were carried out on the isolates. Pathogenicity of the isolates were determined. Results: A total of 16 non-dermatophytic molds were obtained from 451samples analysed at different frequency of occurrences from the cattle skins in both states and these include Aspergillusfumigatus (3.6%), Aspergillus terreus (2.7%), Aspergillus wewitschiae (13.5%), Aspergillus flavus (10.0%), Aspergillus aculeatus (9.0%), Aspergillus sydowii (5.0%), Fusarium solani (3.2%), Fusarium lichenicola (17.9%), Fusarium succisae (12.0%), Fusarium oxysporum (2.0%), Penicillium citrinum (3.0%), Curvularia kusanol (0.6%), Cladosporium tenuissimum (4.9%), Pestalotiopsis microspora (0.1%), Talaromyces kendrickii (0.1%) and Absidia specie (12.9%). Conclusion: The study revealed that non-dermatophytic molds were highly prevalent and are possible causative agent of cutaneous mycoses in cattle. Pathogenicity evaluation carried out in this study revealed that Aspergillus welwitschiae, Cladosporium tenuissimum and Absidia sp. were highly virulent.

Tetracycline Resistant Genes as Bioindicators of Water Pollution

The current study aimed to investigate the prevalence of tetracycline resistant bacteria isolated from different water samples and the genes responsible for this resistance. Two hundred fifty isolates were isolated from different water samples from two different locations. Isolates were obtained from El-Zamalek site was (n =110) and from Rod El-Farag site was (n = 140). A hundred isolates out of 250 bacterial isolates (40%) were resistant to tetracycline at a concentration of 16 μg/ml. Only 31 (31%) were selected due to their resistance to (32 μg/ml) tetracycline for identification. All selected isolates were identified according to biochemical and the 16S sequence techniques. The 16S rDNA gene sequences of the bacterial isolates which were reported in this study were submitted to the NCBI database. Of the 31 isolates were analyzed by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), results showed that 41.9 % (13/31) harbored tet A gene, 74.2% (23/31) carried tet D gene, while 12.9 % (4/31) carried tet M gene. Whereas tet B, tet C and tet O were not detected. Twenty-one isolates (67.7%) harbored a single tet gene, five isolates (16.1%) harbored two different tet genes while three isolates (9.7 %) harbored three different tet genes. Moreover, two isolates were free from any tested tet genes.

From isolate to answer: how whole genome sequencing is helping us rapidly characterise nosocomial bacterial outbreaks

The occurrence of highly resistant bacterial pathogens has risen in recent years, causing immense strain on the healthcare industry. Hospital-acquired infections are arguably of most concern, as bacterial outbreaks in clinical settings provide an ideal environment for proliferation among vulnerable populations. Understanding these outbreaks beyond what can be determined with traditional clinical diagnostics and implementing these new techniques routinely in the hospital environment has now become a major focus. This brief review will discuss the three main whole genome sequence techniques available today, and how they are being used to further discriminate bacterial outbreaks in nosocomial settings.

Genetic Relationships of Wild Roses, Old Garden Roses, and Modern Roses Based on Internal Transcribed Spacers and matK Sequences

Roses are one of the economically most important groups of ornamental plants. The internal transcribed spacers (ITS) of the nuclear ribosomal DNA and the chloroplast gene matK were used to investigate the genetic diversity and genetic relationships among Rosa germplasm including 39 wild species, 21 old garden roses, and 29 modern cultivars. Three dendrograms based on ITS and matK clustering data indicated that 1) 39 wild genotypes were consistent with their classification into botanical sections with only a few exceptions; 2) most of the wild genotypes were separated from rose cultivars. However, three sections, Synstylae, Chinenses, and Rosa, that contributed to the modern roses generally gathered together with almost all old garden and modern roses on the molecular level; and 3) the relationships between cultivated roses as inferred by ITS and matK sequences do not correlate with horticultural groups. Results demonstrated that both sequence techniques can contribute to clarifying the genetic relationships of rose accessions and germplasm conservation to enhance the ornamental and economic value of rose.

Global Existence of Strong Solutions to a Class of Fully Nonlinear Wave Equations with Strongly Damped Terms

We consider the global existence of strong solutionu, corresponding to a class of fully nonlinear wave equations with strongly damped termsutt-kΔut=f(x,Δu)+g(x,u,Du,D2u)in a bounded and smooth domainΩinRn, wheref(x,Δu)is a given monotone inΔunonlinearity satisfying some dissipativity and growth restrictions andg(x,u,Du,D2u)is in a sense subordinated tof(x,Δu). By using spatial sequence techniques, the Galerkin approximation method, and some monotonicity arguments, we obtained the global existence of a solutionu∈Lloc∞((0,∞),W2,p(Ω)∩W01,p(Ω)).

Filtration-preserving mappings and centralizers within graded Lie algebras

We use spectral sequence techniques to compute centralizers of elements within graded Lie algebras, and the methods are then applied to the calculation of unique normal forms of elements within one-parameter matrix Lie algebras. A finiteness criterion for unique normal forms is presented.

Applicability of recent methods used to estimate spontaneous baroreflex sensitivity to resting mice

Short-term blood pressure (BP) variability is limited by the arterial baroreflex. Methods for measuring the spontaneous baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) aim to quantify the gain of the transfer function between BP and pulse interval (PI) or the slope of the linear relationship between parallel BP and PI changes. These frequency-domain (spectral) and time-domain (sequence) techniques were tested in conscious mice equipped with telemetric devices. The autonomic relevance of these indexes was evaluated using pharmacological blockades. The significant changes of the spectral bandwidths resulting from the autonomic blockades were used to identify the low-frequency (LF) and high-frequency (HF) zones of interest. The LF gain was 1.45 ± 0.14 ms/mmHg, with a PI delay of 0.5 s. For the HF gain, the average values were 2.0 ± 0.19 ms/mmHg, with a null phase. LF and HF bands were markedly affected by atropine. On the same 51.2-s segments used for cross-spectral analysis, an average number of 26.4 ± 2.2 slopes were detected, and the average slope in resting mice was 4.4 ± 0.5 ms/mmHg. Atropine significantly reduced the slopes of the sequence method. BRS measurements obtained using the sequence technique were highly correlated to the spectral estimates. This study demonstrates the applicability of the recent methods used to estimate spontaneous BRS in mice. There was a vagal predominance in the baroreflex control of heart rate in conscious mice in the present conditions.