Small-Colony Variants from Airways of Adult Cystic Fibrosis Patients as Precursors of Adaptive Antibiotic-Resistant Mutations.

Prototypic and their small-colony variants (SCVs) are predominant in cystic fibrosis (CF), but the interdependence of these phenotypes is poorly understood. We characterized isolates from adult CF patients over several years. Of 18 -positive patients (58%), 13 (72%) were positive for SCVs.

Workshop-based learning and networking: a scalable model for research capacity strengthening in low- and middle-income countries.

Science education and research have the potential to drive profound change in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) through encouraging innovation, attracting industry, and creating job opportunities. However, in LMICs, research capacity is often limited, and acquisition of funding and access to state-of-the-art technologies is challenging. The Alliance for Global Health and Science (the Alliance) was founded as a partnership between the University of California, Berkeley (USA) and Makerere University (Uganda), with the goal of strengthening Makerere University's capacity for bioscience research.

Tomatidine Is a Lead Antibiotic Molecule That Targets Staphylococcus aureus ATP Synthase Subunit C.

Methicillin-resistant (MRSA) is a leading cause of deadly hospital-acquired infections. The discovery of anti- antibiotics and new classes of drugs not susceptible to the mechanisms of resistance shared among bacteria is imperative. We recently showed that tomatidine (TO), a steroidal alkaloid from solanaceous plants, possesses potent antibacterial activity against small-colony variants (SCVs), the notoriously persistent form of this bacterium that has been associated with recurrence of infections.

Tomatidine and analog FC04-100 possess bactericidal activities against Listeria, Bacillus and Staphylococcus spp.

Background: Tomatidine (TO) is a plant steroidal alkaloid that possesses an antibacterial activity against the small colony variants (SCVs) of Staphylococcus aureus. We report here the spectrum of activity of TO against other species of the Bacillales and the improved antibacterial activity of a chemically-modified TO derivative (FC04-100) against Listeria monocytogenes and antibiotic multi-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), two notoriously difficult-to-kill microorganisms.

Strong Impact of Smoking on Multimorbidity and Cardiovascular Risk Among Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Individuals in Comparison With the General Population.

Background.  Although acquired immune deficiency syndrome-associated morbidity has diminished due to excellent viral control, multimorbidity may be increasing among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected persons compared with the general population. Methods.

Assessment of new hyaluronic acid assays and their impact on FibroMeter scores.

Background: We compared three hyaluronic acid (HA) assays and analyzed the impact of their variations on FibroMeter scores.

Methods: In a test group of 165 patients, HA levels were assessed with the commonly used ELISA assay from Corgenix, a new ELISA assay from Teco and an immunoturbidimetry assay from Wako, this latter tested across three different instruments. Five different FibroMeter scores were calculated.