Susceptibility Categories Research Articles

The application of an expert knowledge‐driven approach for assessing gully erosion susceptibility in the subtropical Nigerian savannah

This study assessed gully erosion susceptibility in Southern Gombe State, Nigeria. The objectives of the study were to: (1) prepare gully inventory of Southern Gombe State, (2) apply the Analytical Hierarchy Process to assess the contribution of gully erosion predisposing factors, and (3) produce a gully erosion susceptibility map of Southern Gombe State. Based on geomorphological study involving interpretation of Google Earth images and field surveys, 127 gullies were identified and 13 gully erosion predisposing factors assumed to influence gully erosion susceptibility were selected. Identified gullies were randomly split into training (89 or 70 per cent) and validation (38 or 30 per cent) datasets. The contribution of each gully erosion predisposing factor was obtained using the Analytical Hierarchy Process. The results indicated that slope (0.130), stream density (0.121), and distance from stream (0.121) play crucial roles in gully erosion susceptibility. By overlaying the gully erosion susceptibility factor maps, a gully erosion susceptibility map was created. A natural break method was then used to classify gully erosion areas into relatively safe (6.04 km2), less susceptible (3332.46 km2), moderately susceptible (1811.49 km2), highly susceptible (1146.35 km2), and extremely susceptible (1726.77 km2) categories. Field verification confirmed that the map accurately classified 92.11 per cent of the validation datasets, signifying the Analytical Hierarchy Process as a reliable method for gully erosion susceptibility assessment. The created gully erosion susceptibility map can assist land planners to identify critical gully erosion areas where prevention and mitigation actions should be implemented.

Risk and Protective Factors in the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Rapid Evidence Map.

Background: Given the worldwide spread of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), there is an urgent need to identify risk and protective factors and expose areas of insufficient understanding. Emerging tools, such as the Rapid Evidence Map (rEM), are being developed to systematically characterize large collections of scientific literature. We sought to generate an rEM of risk and protective factors to comprehensively inform areas that impact COVID-19 outcomes for different sub-populations in order to better protect the public.Methods: We developed a protocol that includes a study goal, study questions, a PECO statement, and a process for screening literature by combining semi-automated machine learning with the expertise of our review team. We applied this protocol to reports within the COVID-19 Open Research Dataset (CORD-19) that were published in early 2020. SWIFT-Active Screener was used to prioritize records according to pre-defined inclusion criteria. Relevant studies were categorized by risk and protective status; susceptibility category (Behavioral, Physiological, Demographic, and Environmental); and affected sub-populations. Using tagged studies, we created an rEM for COVID-19 susceptibility that reveals: (1) current lines of evidence; (2) knowledge gaps; and (3) areas that may benefit from systematic review.Results: We imported 4,330 titles and abstracts from CORD-19. After screening 3,521 of these to achieve 99% estimated recall, 217 relevant studies were identified. Most included studies concerned the impact of underlying comorbidities (Physiological); age and gender (Demographic); and social factors (Environmental) on COVID-19 outcomes. Among the relevant studies, older males with comorbidities were commonly reported to have the poorest outcomes. We noted a paucity of COVID-19 studies among children and susceptible sub-groups, including pregnant women, racial minorities, refugees/migrants, and healthcare workers, with few studies examining protective factors.Conclusion: Using rEM analysis, we synthesized the recent body of evidence related to COVID-19 risk and protective factors. The results provide a comprehensive tool for rapidly elucidating COVID-19 susceptibility patterns and identifying resource-rich/resource-poor areas of research that may benefit from future investigation as the pandemic evolves.

Escherichia coli Antibiotic Susceptibility Patterns for Infants Admitted to NICUs Across the United States from 2009 to 2017

Background:Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a leading cause of infections among term and preterm newborn infants. Continued surveillance of neonatal E. coli antibiotic susceptibility patterns is important to optimize empiric antibiotic prescription for infants at risk for infection, in light of evolving reports of multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria in all settings. Our objective was to determine E. coli epidemiology and antibiotic susceptibility patterns among a large sample of infants admitted to neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) across the United States from 2009 to 2017. Methods: Retrospective observational study using the Premier Database, including infants born from 2009 to 2017 and admitted to academic or community NICUs contributing microbiology data during the study period. We analyzed antibiotic susceptibilities for E. coli isolated from blood, cerebrospinal fluid, and urine. We focused on clinically relevant and priority susceptibility categories: (1) ampicillin nonsusceptible; (2) aminoglycoside nonsusceptible; (3) carbapenem nonsusceptible; and (4) extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL; phenotypic definition). We determined the proportion of infants with nonsusceptible organisms in each category by year and tested for changes over time. Lastly, we assessed susceptibility patterns by specimen source, birthweight, and timing of infection. Results: Of the 117,484 included infants, 733 (0.6%) had at least 1 E. coli episode, of which 721 (98.4%) had available susceptibility results, from 69 centers. Patient and center characteristics of infants with E. coli are shown in Table 1. Most organisms were tested against ampicillin (99.9%), gentamicin (99.6%), and ceftriaxone (91.5%). Figure 1 shows nonsusceptibility rates for the categories of interest. Overall, ampicillin nonsusceptibility ranged from 63.3% to 68.6% per year (mean, 66.8%±1.5%); aminoglycoside nonsusceptibility ranged from 10.7% to 23.2% (mean, 16.8%±4.5%); carbapenem nonsusceptibility was 0% for all years; and ESBL ranged from 1.2% to 11.3% (mean, 5.1%±3.4%). We detected no statistically significant trends for any of the categories of interest over time (all P > .05), and susceptibility trends were consistent when repeated by specimen source, birthweight, and timing of infection. Conclusions: We found stable, yet concerning, patterns of E. coli antibiotic nonsusceptibility among infants admitted to NICUs across the United States from 2009 to 2017. Rates of ampicillin nonsusceptibility and aminoglycoside nonsusceptibility were higher than previous reports. ESBL E. coli rates were low but present among neonatal patients. No carbapenem nonsusceptible E. coli was identified. These findings can inform empiric antibiotic prescription for infants admitted to NICUs across the United States.Funding: NoneDisclosures: None

Approbation of russian test strips for antimicrobial susceptibility testing of microorganisms by gradient diffusion method (E-test).

The most reliable criterion for the microorganisms antibiotic susceptibility is the value of the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). The gradient diffusion method (epsilometric test, e-test), carried out using test strips impregnated with an antimicrobial agent, allows to obtain the quantitative value of MIC, bypassing the time-consuming steps of the traditional method of serial dilutions. We tested strips for the epsilometric test, developed at Saint-Petersburg Pasteur Institute. The quality control, carried by testing the reference strains of E. coli ATCC 25922 and S. aureus 29213, confirmed compliance of the manufacturer's declared antibiotic concentration ranges. The MIC values obtained in the study of the antibiotic susceptibility of 101 clinical isolates of microorganisms of the ESKAPE group, isolated from patients of various hospitals in St. Petersburg, were compared to 8 antimicrobial agents using tested test strips and the corresponding M.I.C. Evaluator of the Oxoid (UK). A high percentage of compliance of MIC values was demonstrated, as well as full compliance of susceptibility categories for all microorganism/antibiotic combinations. The resulting divergences in the MIC values did not exceed one step of a double serial dilution, which is permissible according to GOST R ISO 20776-1-2010. The study showed that the test strips developed at the Saint-Petersburg Pasteur Institute DNT are an acceptable alternative to import tests and, after the registration certificate will be completed, can be offered to determine the susceptibility of microorganisms to antimicrobial agents in bacteriological laboratories.

Screening of forty Indian Amaranthus hypochondriacus cultivars for tolerance and susceptibility to tropospheric ozone stress

Tropospheric ozone stress adversely affects crop cultivars growth and productivity variably. The variable response of crop cultivars raised the need for identification of ozone (O3) stress-tolerant cultivars as an adaptive option. In the present study, forty cultivars of Amaranthus hypochondriacus were screened for susceptibility and tolerance to ozone stress. The cultivars were exposed to ambient (AO3) and elevated (EO3) ozone levels in free air ozone enrichment (FAOE) facility and monitored for foliar ozone injury symptoms appearance and yield attributes response. Foliar ozone injury symptoms on Amaranthus cultivars were interveinal yellow or black spots. Foliar ozone injury was observed in almost half of the cultivars and the maximum foliar injury (> 75%) was observed in cultivar IC-5527. The maximum yield reduction (> 90%) was observed in cultivars IC-4200 (94.9%) and IC-5569 (91.4%) compared to other cultivars. The results showed that Amaranthus cultivars exhibited variable response towards ozone stress where foliar ozone injury does not always correspond with grain yield reductions. Among the indices, Relative Yield Index (RYI), Stress tolerance (TOL), Abiotic Tolerance Index (ATI), Susceptibility Index (S) and Stress Susceptibility Index (SSSI) were positively correlated with relative yield loss in all the cultivars under ozone stress. With the help of cluster analysis and principal component analysis (PCA), the cultivars were categorized into ozone tolerant, moderately ozone tolerant and ozone susceptible category. The most tolerant cultivars were IC-5527 and IC-1733 which exhibited lower yield losses whereas the most susceptible cultivars were IC-3599 and IC-7924 having high foliar injury and maximum yield losses as compared to other cultivars. The most ozone tolerant cultivars of Amaranthus identified in this study may be recommended for cultivation to farmers in the areas experiencing EO3 during the Amaranthus crop growth period.

Evaluation of Teicoplanin Resistance Detected by Automated System in Coagulase Negative Staphylococci: A Comparison with Gradient Test and Broth Microdilution Methods

Upon the observation of an increase in teicoplanin resistance rates in coagulase negative staphylococci (CoNS) isolates determined by the automated system, we aimed to compare the automated system and gradient test methods with the gold standard broth microdilution method. In addition, the effect of standard antimicrobial susceptibility guidelines on teicoplanin susceptibility test results in CoNS was investigated. A total of 81 CoNS isolates, 52 resistant and 29 susceptible to teicoplanin determined by automated system (Phoenix, Becton Dickinson, USA), were tested. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values were determined by gradient test (M.I.C. Evaluators, OXOID, UK) and broth microdilution methods. Susceptibility categories were determined according to EUCAST and CLSI criteria and the results were compared. Among 29 isolates found to be susceptible by automated system, one isolate was found resistant by gradient and broth microdilution tests. Of the 52 resistant isolates determined by automated system, 12 (23%) were found to be resistant by gradient test and 22 (42.3%) were resistant by broth microdilution. According to CLSI criteria, no resistant isolates were detected by broth microdilution and six isolates were intermediately susceptible while, two isolates were detected to be resistant and five isolates were found to be intermediately susceptible by the gradient test. In conclusion, compared to microdilution, teicoplanin resistance was detected at a higher rate in CoNS isolates by the automated system used. On the other hand, the gradient test method which is frequently used for confirmation was not reliable in MIC values close to the EUCAST breakpoint values (4μg/mL). In addition, lower resistance rates were observed when the CLSI breakpoints were used in gradient test and broth microdilution methods.

Flood susceptibility mapping in Erythropotamos river basin with the aid of Remote Sensing and GIS

Erythropotamos is a tributary of river Evros and during the last decade its drainage basin flooded many times, causing extensive damage on properties. In order to assess flood susceptibility in the aforementioned study area, the inundated areas of floods that occurred in 2010, 2017 and 2018 were initially delineated with the aid of SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) imagery by applying an established flood delineation methodology. Subsequently, flood susceptibility mapping was conducted for the study area by applying the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). Topographical, hydrological and meteorological factors were used and each one of them was classified into three (3) flood susceptibility categories (low, medium and high). The determination of the importance for each factor over the others, which is the main objective of this research, was decided according to the proportion of the 2010 inundated area, captured by ENVISAT/ASAR imagery, which intersected with each factor’s high susceptibility class. Finally, the resulting flood susceptibility map was validated according with the inundated areas of the 2017 and 2018 flood events, captured by SENTINEL – 1 A/B imagery, indicating that approximately 60% of both of these areas intersected with the map’s high susceptibility zone.

Case Series of Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia With Discordant Genotypic and Phenotypic Categorization of Methicillin Susceptibility

Background Methicillin-susceptible/methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA/MRSA) can be directly identified from positive blood culture bottles using molecular methods, but discrepancies with phenotypic testing occasionally occur. We sought to determine the incidence and clinical impact of these discrepancies. Methods Positive blood culture bottles are routinely tested in the hospital laboratory for mecA via the Xpert MRSA/SA blood culture assay which uses real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) via MicroScan PC33 is performed on recovered S. aureus isolates; discrepancies between the Xpert MRSA/SA blood culture assay and AST are resolved by repeat and supplemental testing. A retrospective review of medical and laboratory data from January 2015 to June 2018 was performed on all patients that had discordant Xpert MRSA/SA blood culture assay and AST results. Results Approximately 1410 PCR assays were performed, and there were 6 (0.4%) cases with discordant AST results. Five cases were classified as MSSA by PCR but MRSA by AST, and 1 case was classified as MRSA by PCR but MSSA by AST. For the former group, antimicrobial therapy was changed in 3 patients to cover MRSA, whereas the remaining 2 patients were already being treated for MRSA; for the latter case, the patient was treated for MRSA during the initial hospitalization but was later readmitted with disseminated MSSA. Discrepancies were likely due to presence of an staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec variant (n = 2), borderline oxacillin resistance (n = 1), heterogeneous MRSA (n = 1), or undetermined (n = 2). Conclusions Rapid identification of MRSA bacteremia via PCR provides actionable information to direct empiric treatment. The PCR results are highly accurate, though are infrequently not corroborated by AST due to various reasons.

Susceptibility Profiles of Enterococcus faecalis to Selected Antibiotics

This study was conducted in order to determine the susceptibility of Enterococcus faecalis to the antibiotics penicillin, erythromycin, tetracycline, chloramphenicol and gentamicin through measuring the zone of inhibition. The susceptible, intermediate and resistant categories were assigned on the basis of the critical points recommended by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute. E. faecalis was susceptible to tetracycline as low as 20 μg/20 μl. Starting at a dose of 60 μg/20 μl and 200 μg/20 μl, the bacterium was susceptible to penicillin and erythromycin, respectively. The bacterium was resistant to chloramphenicol even at the highest dosage of 400 μg/20 μl. Meanwhile, from 5 to 100 μg/20 μl, the bacterium was resistant to gentamicin and the classification was changed into intermediate starting at 200 μg/20 μl.
 Keywords: Enterococcus faecalis, antibiotics, susceptibility

Prevalence of susceptibility patterns of opportunistic bacteria in line with CLSI or EUCAST among Haemophilus parainfluenzae isolated from respiratory microbiota

The application of CLSI and EUCAST guidelines led to many discrepancies. Various doubts have already appeared in preliminary stages of microbiological diagnostics of Haemophilus spp. A total of 87 H. parainfluenzae isolates were obtained from throat or nasopharyngeal swabs from adults 18 to 70 years old, both healthy volunteers and patients with chronic diseases between 2013 to 2015 in eastern Poland. Haemophilus spp. were identified by colony morphology, Gram-staining, API NH and MALDI-TOF MS technique. Both susceptibility to various antimicrobials and phenotypes of Haemophilus spp. resistance to beta-lactams were determined. Statistically significant association between applied guidelines and drug resistance patterns were observed to as follows: ampicillin, cefuroxime, cefotaxime, amoxicillin-clavulanate, azithromycin, tetracycline and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Resistance phenotypes according to CLSI vs. EUCAST were as follows: 3.4% vs. 8.0% for BLNAR and 6.9% vs. 19.5% for BLPACR isolates. In conclusion, this is the first study that reports comparative analysis of drug susceptibility interpretation using CLSI and EUCAST of haemophili rods from human respiratory microbiota in Poland. In case of susceptible, increased exposure (formerly intermediate) category of susceptibility within H. parainfluenzae isolates we have observed EUCAST as more restrictive than CLSI. Moreover, BLNAI and BLPAI phenotype isolates have been observed, as well as BLPBR using only CLSI or EUCAST guidelines, respectively.

Typhoon Awareness and Flood Management Measures: The Case of Barangay Santo Domingo, Bay, Laguna, Philippines

The Philippines is prone typhoons due to its geographical location. The municipalities of Los Baños and Bay in the province of Laguna are highly flood-prone due to their proximity to Laguna de Bay or Laguna Lake. Large areas of Bay fall within the watersheds of Mt. Makiling Forest Reserve (MMFR) which are tributaries to the lake. The back flow of water into the trubutaries during heavy rainfall can cause flooding and result to socio-economic and physical impacts. The study aims to: determine the association of typhoon awareness, mitigation practices, and resilience practices with the socio-economic and socio-demographic profile of Barangay (village) Santo Domingo residents; generate a Flood Susceptibility Map, map the designated evacuation sites using Geographic Information System (GIS); and provide recommendations to promote awareness and reduce the impacts of typhoon. Ninety-six households were selected randomly based on the sampling design with 95% confidentiality. Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) and Socio-economic surveys (SES) were also conducted. STATA ver. 12 and Fisher’s exact test were used to evaluate the significance of the socio-economic and socio-demographic components in relationship to awareness, mitigation, and resilience. Barangay Santo Domingo has high level of awareness (0.9647), high level of mitigation practices (0.8303) and high level of resilience (0.8842). The monthly income of respondents has a strong correlation with mitigation practices while house ownership signifies moderate association to resilience practices. Chi-square test of independence showed that there is no significant difference among the puroks (zones within the barangay). Based on the generated Flood Susceptibility Map, majority of the land area (197.23 hectares) of Barangay Santo Domingo belongs to the high susceptibility category which led to the identification of six evacuation sites. Awareness is necessary for disaster preparedness. Effective planning and management are essential to increase awareness and reduce the detrimental effects of flooding.

Федеральные военные и юнармейские учреждения культуры как инструмент военно-патриотического воспитания молодежи

The relevance of the paper lies in the fact that now-adays a global information war is being waged against Russia. The youth became a particular ob-ject, including children and adolescents, as the most susceptible and vulnerable categories of the popula-tion. Due to the lack of life experience and strong beliefs, they are not able to perceive and evaluate information correctly, resist harmful influences, es-pecially moral, and even more so of a political and ideological content, without the help of adults. In this regard, the task of implementing the state youth policy, aimed at forming a state-patriotic conscious-ness, among the younger generation is of particular relevance. The great potential of military-patriotic education of youth is possessed by cultural institu-tions of federal military and «yunarmia», which can be called «youth Army», a youth military-patriotic movement. The paper presents the authors’ vision of the structure of cultural institutions of federal military and «youth army», which are designed to participate in the implementation of the state pro-gram of patriotic education of citizens of the Rus-sian Federation.

Scale insect Melanaspis glomerata (Green) (Homoptera: Diaspididae) in world collection of Saccharum spontaneum L.

The status of the sugarcane scale Melanaspis glomerata (Green) (Homoptera: Diaspididae) in an international collection of Saccharum spontaneum L., maintained as a part of world sugarcane germplasm at the ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute Research Centre, Kannur, Kerala state, India, was examined in 2016 and 2017. The scale appeared in May coinciding with cane formation and the infestation started increasing during the post-monsoon period (September–December) which continued until harvest (January). Scale infestation varied widely among the accessions of S. spontaneum in the two experimental years. Infestation rates (cane basis) were significantly higher in 2017 than in 2016. Infestation rate and intensity (internode basis) were positively correlated in 2017. When the 79 accessions examined were grouped into three categories on the basis of higher infestation rate in the two study years, 21 (26.6%) were placed in least susceptible, 38 (48.1%) in moderately susceptible and 20 (25.3%) in highly susceptible categories. The highest infestation rate (100.00%) was recorded in the accession US 56–10-14 and lowest (2.94%) in SES 106B; two accessions, namely SH 61–4-1 and SH 61–4-3 were totally free from infestation. Non-parametric analysis of infestation parameters indicated higher intensity in foreign than Indian accessions. Plant height was positively and number of internodes negatively correlated with infestation rate in the low infestation year (2016). Also, infestation rate (2016) was significantly higher in accessions with inconspicuous wax band than those with prominent wax band; intensity (2017) was significantly highest in accessions with conoid internode shape in comparison with cylindrical and obovate shapes. However, canopy and leaf characteristics did not influence attack rates.

Induksi Ketahanan Tanaman Kedelai (Glycine max (L.) Merril) dengan Cendawan Endofit Trichoderma harzianum dan Beauveria bassiana untuk Menekan Penyakit Busuk Pangkal Batang (Sclerotium rolfsii)

Sclerotium rolfsii is a pathogen that causes stem rot disease that causes a decrease in soybean production. This stem rot disease can cause damage to all parts of the plant both in the vegetative and generative phases. Proper control is needed to reduce stem rot disease by induction of plant resistance using endophytic fungi such as Trichoderma harzianum and Beauveria bassiana. This experiment used a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with 4 treatments that were repeated 5 times, namely P1 = control, P2 = T. harzianum application + S. rolfsii inoculation, P3 = B. bassiana application + S. rolfsii inoculation, and P4 = Combined application (T. harzianum + B. Bassiana) + S. rolfsii inoculation. Based on research that has been done shows that the incubation period and phenol analysis in soybean plants did not significantly affect soybean crop resistance while in the incidence of disease and disease severity showed a very significant effect on soybean crop resistance. In this study the plants that were applied with T. harzianum and B. bassiana were included in the category of resistant to S. rolfsii pathogens, while the control treatment was included in the susceptible category to S. rolfsii pathogens.

600-ns pulsed electric fields affect inactivation and antibiotic susceptibilities of Escherichia coli and Lactobacillus acidophilus

Cell suspensions of Escherichia coli and Lactobacillus acidophilus were exposed to 600-ns pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) at varying amplitudes (Low-13.5, Mid-18.5 or High-23.5 kV cm−1) and pulse numbers (0 (sham), 1, 5, 10, 100 or 1000) at a 1 hertz (Hz) repetition rate. The induced temperature rise generated at these exposure parameters, hereafter termed thermal gradient, was measured and applied independently to cell suspensions in order to differentiate inactivation triggered by electric field (E-field) from heating. Treated cell suspensions were plated and cellular inactivation was quantified by colony counts after a 24-hour (h) incubation period. Additionally, cells from both exposure conditions were incubated with various antibiotic-soaked discs to determine if nsPEF exposure would induce changes in antibiotic susceptibility. Results indicate that, for both species, the total delivered energy (amplitude, pulse number and pulse duration) determined the magnitude of cell inactivation. Specifically, for 18.5 and 23.5 kV cm−1 exposures, L. acidophilus was more sensitive to the inactivation effects of nsPEF than E. coli, however, for the 13.5 kV cm−1 exposures E. coli was more sensitive, suggesting that L. acidophilus may need to meet an E-field threshold before significant inactivation can occur. Results also indicate that antibiotic susceptibility was enhanced by multiple nsPEF exposures, as observed by increased zones of growth inhibition. Moreover, for both species, a temperature increase of ≤ 20 °C (89% of exposures) was not sufficient to significantly alter cell inactivation, whereas none of the thermal equivalent exposures were sufficient to change antibiotic susceptibility categories.

Tentative breakpoints and areas of technical uncertainty for early reading automated disc diffusion for Enterobacterales.

Disc diffusion is a reliable, accurate and cost-efficient procedure for antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) but requires long (18-24 h) incubation times. Reading of disc diffusion after short incubation times (6-8 h) by automated systems is feasible but should be categorized with time-adapted breakpoints to reduce errors. This study systematically compared early readings (6 and 8 h) of disc diffusion using an automated system with that of the standard 18 h EUCAST method. Time-adapted tentative breakpoints were proposed to discriminate susceptible from resistant isolates and areas of technical uncertainty were defined to minimize the risk of errors. A total of 1106 Enterobacterales isolates with a wide variety of resistance mechanisms and resistance profiles were included. All isolates were analysed for susceptibility to amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, ceftriaxone, cefepime, meropenem, ciprofloxacin and gentamicin using the automated WASPLabTM system. Part of the collection (515 isolates) was also analysed for susceptibility to an additional 10 antibiotics. Separation between WT and non-WT populations was poorer at early incubation times than following standard incubation. Editing of rapid automated AST results after 6 and 8 h incubation with time-adapted breakpoints resulted in 84.0% and 88.5% interpretable results with assignment to the resistant or susceptible category. Major error and very major error rates for the 6 h readings were only 0.4% and 0.3%, virtually identical to those of 18 h AST reading. Time-adapted clinical breakpoints in disc diffusion testing for Enterobacterales allow for accurate automated AST interpretation after shortened incubation times for a large number of antibiotics, with the additional possibility of subsequent confirmation after 18 h incubation.

Rational Choice of Antibiotics and Media for Mycobacterium avium Complex Drug Susceptibility Testing.

The Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute recommends the use of Mueller Hinton (MH) medium to perform drug susceptibility testing (DST) of Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) using the microdilution method. For MAC, there has been no study on the impact of media on the determination of minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of antibiotics other than clarithromycin. This study aimed at determining the impact of two media used for DST of MAC and at augmenting the number of pertinent MICs for MAC species encountered in clinical practice. MICs of antibiotics used for the treatment of MAC infections were determined for 158 clinical MAC isolates (80 M. avium, 40 M. intracellulare, 35 M. chimaera, two M. yongonense and one M. timonense) in MH and 7H9 broths using the SLOMYCO SensititreTM system (TREK Diagnostic Systems, East Grinstead, United Kingdom). The modal MICs determined in both media were the same for linezolid, moxifloxacin, rifabutin and amikacin but not for clarithromycin, rifampin and ethambutol. The kappa test for MICs converted to susceptibility categories showed an excellent agreement for clarithromycin, a moderate agreement for linezolid and a weak agreement for moxifloxacin and amikacin. For amikacin, 7H9 allowed a better distinction (fewer intermediate strains) of wild-type populations than MH. Existing breakpoints for linezolid and moxifloxacin are spread through the distribution of MICs for wild-type populations. The only breakpoints that can be used rationally are those for amikacin and clarithromycin. For amikacin, 7H9 performs better than MH, whereas both media perform equally for clarithromycin. Given that testing in 7H9, as opposed to MH, allows easier MIC measurements and yields greater reproducibility, we propose the use of 7H9 medium for DST of MAC.

Evaluation of brinjal cultivars against mealybug coccidohystrixinsolita (Green) and its natural enemies

A experiment was conducted to study the response of brinj al cultivars to mealybug Coccidohystrix insolita and its natural enemies at the College of Agriculture, Vellayani, Kerala. Among the tested cultivars, Pusa Uttam recorded the lowest mean incidence (38.58) which was statistically on par with Pusa Purple Long (41.67). The evaluated cultivar, Udit harbored maximum number of mealybugs (127.58) which was statistically on par with Pink Long (116.75) and Haritha (115.50). The tested brinjal cultivars were categorized based on mean % leaf infestation. Pusa Purple Long was included under the category resistant whereas Pusa Uttam and Ponni were in the group moderately resistant; Pusa Kaushal, Pusa Shyamla and Neelima were moderately susceptible whereas hybrids Green Long and Pink Long fell under susceptible category. Cultivars, Udit and Haritha were found to be highly susceptible. The cultivars Haritha (3.92) attracted more number of predatory coccinellid beetles whereas the least occurence of spiders was observed in Pusa Purple Long (1.42).

Study of southern leaf blight (Bipolaris maydis) on maize genotypes and its effect on grain yield

Southern maize leaf blight is known to be the foremost harmful disease of maize crop which causes significant yield loss. In present investigation, 20 maize genotypes were selected for the test against Southern Leaf Blight (SLB) in the prevailing field conditions at Prithu Technical College, Bangaun, Dang, Nepal with an objective to find the new sources of resistance against southern leaf blight disease. Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) was used with three replications as the experimental design. The total percentage of infected leaf area per plant was studied for the disease scoring. It was conducted consequently 5 days of interval, for 5 times after 60 days after sowing and disease severity, mean AUDPC were estimated and yield recorded. The tested 20 maize genotypes differed significantly in mean AUDPC values and based on AUDPC values, genotypes were categorized as highly susceptible, susceptible, moderately resistance and resistance category. Maize genotype Rampur-S03F08 (AUDPC value 65) appeared most resistant followed by Across-0091(AUDP value 67.08) and TLBRSO7F16 (AUDPC value 70.41). Significantly highest yield (1.8 t/ha) was found on genotype Rampur-SO3FO8 (1.8 t/ha) followed by Across-0091 (1.65 t/ha) and TLBRSO7F16 (1.63 t/ha). Thus indicating the high yielding and resistance maize genotypes Rampur- S03F08, Across-0091 and TLBRSO7F16 could be developed as the resistant varieties to southern leaf blight disease.

Landslide susceptibility assessment in a lesser Himalayan road corridor (India) applying fuzzy AHP technique and earth-observation data

The Kalsi-Chakrata road corridor, located in the Lesser Himalayas, experiences several landslides every year, resulting in a considerable amount of damage to roads, assets, and other infrastructure and even loss of lives. During the monsoon season (June–August), the disruption of routes due to landslide resulted in economic losses and barred villagers from accessing critical and essential facilities, thus impacting the livelihood of the communities residing along the road corridor. Hence immediate requirement was to systematically assess the landslide susceptibility for the study area that would support in the preparation of the planning and mitigation goal, both short and long term. The present study adopted the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (fuzzy AHP) method integrated with geospatial technology that may be highly effective for landslide susceptibility assessment in the landslide-prone Lesser Himalayas. The use of validated landslide inventory data and high-resolution remote sensing images for selection and mapping of landslide conditioning factors gratifies the geospatial aspect of local variations across the Kalsi-Chakrata road corridor. For fuzzy AHP model setup, prominent landslide contributing factors viz., slope, aspect, altitude, lithology, proximity to road, fault & drainage, Stream Power Index (SPI), Topographical Wetness Index (TWI), rainfall, land use/land cover (LULC), soil, and seismicity, were mapped and classified into significant classes. The resultant landslide susceptibility map (LSM) shows that about 55% (45.23 km2) of the study area was categorized as a very high and high landslide susceptibility zone. Of this, about 21% (17.7 km2) was within very high LSM zone, while 33% (27.5 km2) fell under high landslide susceptibility categories. Approximately 17.6% (14.5 km2) areas fall within the moderately susceptible zone, where chances of future landslides may be amplified without periodic observation and prospective study. At the village level, it was observed that Jhutaya village, located nearer foothill of Lesser Himalayas, is most susceptible to landslide followed by Dhaira, Chapanu, and Sairi villages. The fuzzy AHP model shows 86.52% accuracy in landslide prediction evaluated through the ROC curve (at 95% confidence level). Hence, the output LSI may be referred by the planners and engineers for monitoring, prevention, and mitigation of landslide hazards and development of infrastructure in the Kalsi-Chakrata road corridor, and the fuzzy AHP methodology adopted may be applied in other areas of the Lesser Himalayas.