January 2018

Direct identification of yeasts from blood culture by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry

This study aimed to identify yeasts directly from positive blood cultures by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. This was a 5-month prospective study (February to June, 2015) carried out on bottles of blood cultures from in-patients at the Hôpital de l’ARCHET at the CHU, Nice. Positive blood culture broth was analysed by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry using Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate (SDS) as the lysis buffer. Out of 64...

Author(s): C. G. Kouadio-Yapo, L. Hasseine, P. Delaunay, P. Marty and M. Gari-Toussaint  

January 2018

Phenotypic characteristics of rhizobial and non-rhizobial isolates recovered from root nodules of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) grown in Ethiopia

Fifty endophytic bacteria recovered from surface sterilized root nodules of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) grown in Ethiopia were authenticated using three chickpea cultivars (Natoli, ICC-4918 and ICC-5003). These isolates were characterized based on morphological and phenotypic traits. The test isolates were divided into two: bacteria nodulating chickpea (27 isolates, Group I] and endophytic non-nodulating bacteria (23...

Author(s): Negash Demissie, Tulu Degefu, Alazar Ergena and Chris Ojiewo  

January 2018

Nosocomial infections are still a major concern in peri-urban polyclinics in Ghana

The study assessed potential sources of nosocomial infections as well as the knowledge of healthcare workers about these infections in a peri-urban polyclinic of Ghana. Swabs were taken in duplicates from beds in the wards, door knobs, sinks, nurses’ desks, taps handles, delivery beds, wound dressing rooms, and door and flashing handles of lavatories. After overnight incubation, the samples were serially diluted...

Author(s): Samuel Essien-Baidoo, Benjamin Ansah Agyei, Anna Hayfron Benjamin, Loretta Betty Blay Mensah and Justice Afrifa  

January 2018

Quorum sensing: An imperative longevity weapon in bacteria

Bacterial cells exhibit a complex pattern of co-operative behaviour as shown by their capacity to communicate amongst each other. Quorum sensing (QS) is a generic term used for bacterial cell-to-cell communication which secures survival of its species. Many QS bacteria produce and release autoinducers like acyl-homoserine lactone-signaling molecules to regulate cell population density. Different species of bacteria...

Author(s): Shrikant Pawar and Chandrajit Lahiri