MIC and Upper Limit of Wild-Type Distribution for 13 Antifungal Agents against a Trichophyton mentagrophytes-Trichophyton interdigitale Complex of Indian Origin.

Dermatophytosis due to the Trichophyton mentagrophytes-Trichophyton interdigitale complex is being increasingly reported across India. Reports of therapeutic failure have surfaced recently, but there are no clinical break points (CBP) or epidemiological cutoffs (ECVs) available to guide the treatment of dermatophytosis. In this study, a total of 498 isolates of the T. mentagrophytes-interdigitale complex were collected from six medical centers over a period of five years (2014 to 2018). Antifungal susceptibility testing of the isolates was carried out for itraconazole, fluconazole, ketoconazole, voriconazole, luliconazole, sertaconazole, miconazole, clotrimazole, terbinafine, amorolfine, naftifine, ciclopirox olamine, and griseofulvin. The MICs (in mg/liter) comprising >95% of the modeled populations were as follows: 0.06 for miconazole, luliconazole, and amorolfine; 0.25 for voriconazole; 0.5 for itraconazole, ketoconazole, and ciclopirox olamine; 1 for clotrimazole and sertaconazole; 8 for terbinafine; 16 for naftifine; 32 for fluconazole; and 64 for griseofulvin. A high percentage of isolates above the upper limit of the wild-type MIC (UL-WT) were observed for miconazole (29%), luliconazole (13.9%), terbinafine (11.4%), naftifine (5.2%), and voriconazole (4.8%), while they were low for itraconazole (0.2%). Since the MICs of itraconazole were low against the T. mentagrophytes-interdigitale complex, this could be considered the choice of first-line treatment. The F397L mutation in the squalene epoxidase (SE) gene was observed in 77.1% of isolates with a terbinafine MIC of ≥1 mg/liter, but no mutation was detected in isolates with a terbinafine MIC of <1 mg/liter. In the absence of CBPs, evaluation of the UL-WT may be beneficial for managing dermatophytosis and monitoring the emergence of isolates with reduced susceptibility.

A novel mutation at ANTXR1 in an Indian patient with growth retardation-alopecia-pseudoanodontia-optic atrophy syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: Growth retardation-alopecia-pseudoanodontia-optic atrophy (GAPO) syndrome (Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man [OMIM] ID 230740) is one of the rarest autosomal recessive syndromes. It is characterized by many phenotypes, including wide anterior fontanel, frontal bossing of the face, depressed nasal bridge, along with the 4 classic phenotypes contained in the name of the syndrome. Recent reports identified nonsense, missense, and splicing mutations at different exons of ANTXR1 responsible for GAPO syndrome in patients from different ethnic populations. Here, we are reporting a mutation at ANTXR1 in an Indian patient with GAPO syndrome. STUDY DESIGN: We describe an inherited mutation at ANTXR1 in a 6-year-old Indian boy with GAPO syndrome. RESULTS: Genomic DNA from the patient with the GAPO syndrome and his family members were screened for previously reported mutations at ANTXR1 by sequencing. Novel homozygous and heterozygous mutations in exon-3 of ANTXR1 (c.265 G > A, p.Gly89 Arg) were identified in the patient and in other members of the family, respectively. However, no mutated allele was identified in genomic DNA from unrelated healthy individuals. Bioinformatic analysis by different tools predicted the deleterious, damaging, or aberrant splicing effect of mutation on the protein. CONCLUSIONS: Functional inefficiency of ANTXR1 as a result of mutation might have led to GAPO syndrome.

Phase behavior and microstructure of microemulsions containing the hydrophobic ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate.

The phase behavior and microstructure of the ternary system water/1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate (bmimPF(6))/Triton X-100 was studied as a function of temperature and ionic liquid (IL) mass fraction alpha. In the present study, a hydrophobic IL instead of commonly used organic solvents such as n-alkanes is used. The fish-shaped region is distorted at low and high values of alpha, whereas it is symmetric at intermediate alpha. With increasing alpha, the extension of the three-phase region decreases regarding the surfactant concentration range, whereas it increases regarding the temperature range. For comparison the phase behavior of two ternary water/bmimPF(6)/alkyl oligoethyleneoxide (C(i)E(j)) systems has been investigated. Our results are compared with those obtained for water/n-alkane/C(i)E(j) and IL/n-alkane/C(i)E(j) systems, respectively.

Radiation grafted membranes: innovative materials for the separation of toxic metal ions from industrial effluent.

Toxic metal ions present in industrial effluent lead to a considerable deterioration of ecosystem. A proper effluent treatment approach has to be realized for the separation and the recovery of such metal ions from the waste water. Membranes have shown a promising way to separate metal ions and clean the effluent before discharging them into drains. The most important aspect of the membrane technology is the designing its matrix which suits to selectively bind metal ions from the waste water. Radiation grafting offers unique feature of modifying virtually any polymer film or hollow fibre into a membrane. Desired ion exchange groups or chelating groups may be introduced into the polymer by proper selection of the monomer to be grafted. This method provides excellent control over membrane structure by careful variation in the reaction conditions such as dose, dose rate of the irradiation. As a result, membranes with useful characteristics such as ion exchange capacity and chelating capacity may be designed. The eventual regeneration of membranes for subsequent use in the metal separation makes this process extremely attractive.