Detection and characterization of Streptococcus downei, a rare bacterial species of mutans streptococci from caries-active patients

Background: The oral bacteria, mutans streptococci (MS), are an etiological agent of dental caries. Of MS, Streptococcus downei are rarely isolated bacteria. Aim: The aim of this study was to isolate and characterize S. downei from caries-active subjects. Materials and Methods: In all, 65 dental plaque samples were collected from dental caries-active subjects. All the isolates were further identified and characterized using 16S rDNA sequencing, biochemical tests, antibiogram, and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). Results: Five isolates have been identified as S. downei using 16S rDNA sequencing. Phylogenetic analysis showed that S. downei was closely related to S. sobrinus. The biotype traits of these five isolates were IV (n = 3), V (n = 1), and variants (n = 2). The study proposed one new biotype, classified as biotype VIII for the variant strain. The antibiogram tests revealed that all the strains of S. downei were susceptible to all the antibiotics used in the study with higher sensitivity to penicillin and ampicillin. The MIC of ampicillin and erythromycin against S. downei was 0.047 and 0.39 μg/mL, respectively. Conclusion: The study reports the prevalence of S. downei in caries-active subjects and recommends further investigations to determine its role in the disease.

Natural Sources of Gooseberry Component used for Microbial Culture Medium (NSM).

Gooseberry are plagued by a number of bacterial and fungi pathogens including Mucor sps, Rhizopus sps, Fusarium sps, Trichoderma sps and Klebsiella pneumonia, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumonia, Shigella sps ,and proteus. We developed a semi solid media, termed natural source medium (NSM), to selectively and rapidly isolate fungi and bacteria pathogenic to and associated with gooseberry and some other fruits. Most strains of interest grow sufficiently on NSM in 24h at 37⁰C for bacteria and 48h at room temperature for fungi tentative identification based on colony morphology, Gram staining and Biochemical characteristic.

Studies on phytoplankton diversity in response to abiotic factors in Veeranam lake in the Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu.

The phytoplankton samples were collected from the Veeranam lake for a period of one year from March-2005 to February-2006. The physico-chemical parameters of water such as air-temperature, water temperature, pH, salinity, dissolved oxygen, electrical conductivity and total dissolved solids were observed and their ranges were: 30.1-36.5 degrees C, 29.0-34.4 degrees C, 7.9-8.4, 1.2-2.5 mgl(-1), 7.6-9.2 microS and 2.5-5.2 mgl(-1). Totally 160 species of phytoplankton belonging to different taxonomic groups were identified. Among these 74 species to belong to Bacillariophyceae, 43 species to Chlorophyceae, 38 species to Cyanophyceae and 5 species to Euglenophyceae. The phytoplankton density was high (1705 cells l(-1)) during the summer season and low (760 cells l(-1)) during the winter season. Bacillariophyceae formed the dominant group. Species diversity index (H'), species richness (SR) and species evenness (J') were calculated.

Late rejection after transabdominal pre-peritoneal inguinal repair: laparoscopic extraction of mesh.

We report a 29-year-old man who developed mesh rejection 3 years after laparoscopic transabdominal pre-peritoneal inguinal repair. The mesh, which was lying in a fluid cavity adherent to the urinary bladder and right iliac vessel, was removed laparoscopically.