IDENTIFICATION OF METHICILLIN RESISTANT STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS USING TOUCHDOWN PCR AND PHENOTYPIC METHODS FROM PATIENTS AND HOSPITALS ENVIRONMENTS IN DIFFERENT IRAQI CITIES

The study was aimed to evaluate the prevalence of MRSA in some Iraqi hospitals and determine the most powerful methods for identification of MRSA, in order to achieve the, 278 samples were collected from different hospitals in Iraq in various intervals, 204 out of 287 were identified as Staphylococcus aureus by conventional cultural methods and microscopic characteristics and 177 isolates are identified as MRSA by using HiCrome MeReSa Agar Base medium, but 154 of 177 (87%) isolates are methicillin resistance in sensitivity test. MRSA isolates were highly resistant to β-lactam antibiotics and considered multidrug resistant (MDR) in percent of (94.9%). Touchdown PCR used to identify the isolates, 97.05% were identified as Staphylococcus aureus, while 80.88% as MRSA.

Central Asian Social Types as an Orientalism Pattern in Leonid Solovyov’s Prose

The literary work of the Russian writer Leonid Solovyov (1906-1962) was widely known in the Soviet period of the twentieth century - but only by means of the novel dilogy about Khoja Nasreddin. His other stories and essays were not included in the readers repertoire or the research focus. One of the reasons for this is that the writer was repressed by Stalinist regime due to his allegedly anti-Soviet activities. In the light of modern post-Orientalist studies, Solovyovs prose is relevant as a subcomponent of Russian Orientalism both in general sense and as its Soviet version. The Oriental stories series, which is the subject of this article, has never been the object of scientific research before. The authors of the article are engaged, in a broad sense, in identifying the features of Solovyovs Oriental poetics, and, narrowly, in revealing some patterns of the Central Asian picture of the world. In particular, the portraits of social and professional types, met by Solovyov there in 1920-1930, are presented. Some of them have sunk into oblivion, others can be found today, in the XXI century. Comparative, typological and cultural methods are used in the interdisciplinary context of the article.

Kinship terms as indicators of identity and social reality: A case study of Syrian Arabic and Hindi

By displaying a certain fragment of reality in the linguistic consciousness of a person, socio-cognitive categories convey important information about the social structure of society, the lingua-cultural identity of its representatives and the values they share. This study focuses on kinship terms in the Syrian Arabic and Hindi languages. It is aimed at identifying similarity and the cultural specificity of kinship terms in two linguistic cultures and explaining the identified features through types of cultures and cultural values. The research is based on kinship terms that name consanguineal (blood) and affinal (non-blood) relatives in Arabic and Hindi. The material was collected through analysis of terms in dictionaries as well as anonymous questionnaires and observation. The collected material was systematized and analyzed using comparative, definitional, semantic and lingua-cultural methods. The results showed that both languages have a rich system of kinship terms, in which the line of kinship (paternal or maternal), the type of kinship (relatives by blood or through marriage), and age are recorded. They testify to the We-identity of the representatives of the cultures under consideration for whom family relations are of great value, and to the importance of determining the place of each member in society in the social system. The revealed features showed that age differences are more important in Indian society than in Syrian, although respect for elders is one of the most important values of both cultures. The results obtained once again confirm the importance of an interdisciplinary approach to the analysis of language, which in turn provides new data for other areas of humanities.

Alternaria leaf spot of broccoli caused by Alternaria alternata in Bangladesh

This study aimed to isolate and characterise the pathogen associated with Alternaria leaf spot on broccoli and to evaluate the inhibitory effects of fungicides against it. We isolated and identified the fungal pathogen as Alternaria sp. using morphological and cultural methods. Based on the aligned sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and molecular phylogenetic analysis by the neighbour-joining method, the isolates (Ab1 and Ab2) were confirmed as Alternaria alternata. The conidia of the isolates were dark brown, cylindrical, obclavate to muriform. The conidiophores were olivaceous brown, septate, and branched. The conidial morphology of the isolates ranged from 52.4–92.4 × 10–20 μm with 2–6 transverse and 0–3 longitudinal septa. Both isolates yielded positive results in the pathogenicity test on broccoli leaves by developing brown and circular spots with concentric rings on the leaves surrounded by yellow halos. The culture studies revealed that the maximum growth of the pathogen was obtained at 30 °C and pH 6.0. Tilt 250 WC showed the highest potential in suppressing the mycelial growth of the A. alternata in vitro at a concentration as low as 50 µg/mL. The results from this study contributed to the positive identification of the pathogen and characterised A. alternata as a destructive pathogen of broccoli which may be successfully controlled by the fungicide Tilt.

Practical approaches to examination of women with abnormal vaginal discharge: a review of evidence-based recommendations 2021

Abnormal vaginal discharge (AVD) is a syndrome that combines conditions of different origin (microbial/non-microbial) and of different anatomical localization (limited to vagina and exocervix/spreading from the endocervix to the pelvic organs) that cause discomfort and changes in the characteristics of vaginal discharge.Review objective: to systematize modern approaches to the diagnosis of the most common causes of AVD – bacterial vaginosis (BV), trichomoniasis, aerobic vaginitis (AV), vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) – in a practical context. Laboratory component of diagnosing the AVD causes should be complex due to the not fully understood mechanisms of regulation of vaginal biocenosis and changes in the virulence of opportunistic and pathogenic flora, leading to an increase in the frequency of mixed forms of vaginosis and their atypical course. The tasks of laboratory tests in AVD are determination of the sexually transmitted infections (gonorrhea, chlamydia, Mycoplasma genitalium) more often as a concomitant asymptomatic infection in combination with BV or another cause of AVD; confirmation of the suspected cause of AVD (BV, trichomoniasis, AV, VVC); differential diagnosis with more rare microbial causes (cytolytic vaginosis) and non-microbial causes.Vaginal pH and microscopy of vaginal discharge with an assessment according to the diagnostic criteria for dysbiosis are first line of available diagnostic tests of BV, AV and VVC. They make it possible to differentiate typical AVD causes from non-microbial AVD causes and rare causes of microbial AVD. Additionally, complex modern molecular methods for assessing the vaginal biocenosis can be used. Cultural methods play an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of recurrent/complicated VVC and AV. PCR for chlamydia, gonorrhea, trichomoniasis and Mycoplasma genitalium is a mandatory component of a comprehensive test in patients with suspected BV, AV or mixed dysbiosis. Patients diagnosed with BV or trichomoniasis has to be tested for HIV and sexually transmitted infections.

Isolation and genomic characterization of “unassigned” Salmonella enterica serovars from poultry in Ilorin, north-central Nigeria

Salmonellosis is an important global foodborne disease caused by Salmonella enterica (S. enterica). Strains that are resistant to a variety of antibiotics were known to constitute major hazard to public health. The objectives of this study are to determine the serovar distributions, genomic antimicrobial resistance, prediction of genes conferring resistance to selected antibiotics, the multi-locus sequence typing (MLST), and plasmid replicon typing of “unassigned” S. enterica isolated from poultry. A total of 300 samples comprised of: post-mortem tissues (n = 150), cloacal swabs (n = 30), and poultry environment (n = 120) were aseptically collected and analyzed between January and June, 2017. Presumptive S. enterica isolates were characterized using conventional cultural methods, biochemical tests, and serotyping. The isolates were characterized, using Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) Method. Five “unassigned” S. enterica serovars were recovered from four matrices (liver, n = 1; water, n = 1; cloacal swab, n = 2; poultry feed, n = 1). Prediction of point mutation in parC (T57S) was reported in two strains which confer resistance to nalidixic acid; in addition to this, prediction of fosA7 that confers resistance to fosfomycin was identified in one of these strains. Three isolates each encoded plasmid mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) qnrB69 and bla-CMY-98 genes expected to confer decreased susceptibility to ciprofloxacin and resistance to ampicillin, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, cefoxitin, and ceftriaxone, respectively. Three sequence types, ST-6111, 6114 and 7073 were detected. None of the isolates harbored plasmid replicon. This study highlights the importance of “unassigned” S. enterica serovars in the emergence and spread of S. enterica in poultry. There is a need for the establishment of national collaborative Salmonella program to further investigate the pathogenic and public health risk to humans, of “unassigned” S. enterica serovars in Nigeria.

Pathetic speech in “Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer

This article is dedicated to the peculiarities of pathetic language in Geoffrey Chaucer's “Canterbury Tales” and rhetorical techniques used for saturating the speech of the narrator and the characters. On the example of the “Man of Law's Tale” and the “Second Nun’s Tale”, in which the vicissitudes of the heroines are in the limelight, the author of this article examines the specificity of pathetic speech and its functions in Chaucer’s text. The goal of this research lies in determination of the cause for using pathetic speech in these two tales. Research methodology employs structural, semantic, and historical-cultural methods of analysis of the literary text. The scientific novelty consists in reference to the analysis of rhetorical techniques in the poetics of Geoffrey Chaucer reflected in the context of the categories of tragic and pathetic, which have not been thoroughly studied in the Russian and foreign research tradition. The following conclusions were made: the abundance of pathetic speech is a means to draw the attention of audience; its heightened expansiveness allows reaching the expected emotional response. In most instances, pathetic speech is associated with the positive characters of the tales, as well as the narrator, who comments on the actions of the heroes and emphasizes the touching episodes in their lives. The speech of the negative characters in these two tales is rather neutral, and in some cases replaced by the speech of the narrator. Granting the word to the negative characters, Chaucer means expansion of their role, allowing the audience to look at them not only as the minister of evil.

Cultural Methods in Psychology

This volume focuses on cultural methodologies in psychology. Chapters focus on a diverse array of methodologies employed in cultural and cross-cultural psychology, including various interview methodologies, digital tools, use of media representations, exposure to positive exemplars, survey and experience sampling, and participatory action research. Each chapter discusses a particular methodology in the context of a particular topic, such as identity development, racism, implicit bias, immigration, social class, colonialism, trauma, violence, gender, and sexuality. These topics and methods are arranged across three sections that focus on methods that are meant to describe culture and cultural phenomena; methods that transform culture; and a section on broad, overarching issues, such as the colonial harm inflicted by scientific research, diversity in open science, and intersectionality. The volume is meant to enrich the practice of those already engaged in cultural research, and to help to build the skills of those just starting out.

Integrated Pest Management for Cucurbits in Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)

The vegetables belonging to family cucurbitaceae are known as cucurbits. These vegetables are attacked by various insect pests right from seeding to harvest. A lot of money, time, and natural resources are invested to cultivate these vegetables. Sustainable pest management practices can save this investment by avoiding losses. Successful cultivation of cucurbits especially cucumber requires an effective and economical control of insect pests. Commercial vegetable growers must produce quality vegetables that are attractive and safe to the consumer at a minimum cost. Insect pest infestations in cucurbits cause heavy economic losses to farmers through reduction in yield, increased cost of production and lowered quality of produce. Effective and economic and sustainable pest management requires the use of cultural, mechanical, biological, and chemical methods. The integration of these different methods is necessary for achieving good management of pests. In case of cucurbits especially for cucumber pest management can be achieved only by a long-term assurance to integrated pest management practices (IPM). IPM involves the strategic use of resistant varieties, monitoring of pest incidence, cultural methods, mechanical removal of pest, biological control, and need based use of selective pesticides. Integrated pest management (IPM) is the alternative to insecticide and facilitates sustainable environment management.

Characterization of bacterial DNA identified in abscessed and non-abscessed bovine hepatic tissue at the time of harvest

Bacteriological characterization of bovine liver abscesses has been accomplished by cultural methods but DNA methods are still needed, as many bacteria are not conducive to laboratory culture. In addition to this gap in research, there have been no studies which identify the bacterial presence within healthy, non-abscessed liver tissue. The objective of this study was to compare the bacteriome of both abscessed and non-abscessed bovine livers in an observational case-control study design. Fifty-six livers, obtained from Holstein steers, were scored according to a modified Elanco liver abscess score description where A- was partitioned into active abscesses or scarred where only scars were present. Parenchyma tissue was collected from non-abscessed livers (n=22), and scarred livers (n=7), and purulent material was collected from abscessed livers (n=24), and DNA was extracted for 16s rRNA gene sequence-based bacterial analysis. Across liver samples, 21 total phyla were identified with a mean of 14. Predominant phyla, accounting for > 98% of reads, were Fusobacteria (51.7%), Bacteroidetes (26.9%), Proteobacteria (8.03%), Firmicutes (5.39%), Cyanobacteria (3.85 %) and Actinobacteria (2.21%). Proteobacteria, Cyanobacteria and Firmicutes were greater in non-abscessed and scarred livers, whereas Fusobacteria and Bacteroidetes prevailed in abscessed livers. Non-abscessed livers shared 3,059 operational taxonomic units (OTU) with abscessed livers (total OTU of all livers= 4,167), but non-abscessed livers had greater richness and evenness whereas abscessed livers had greater dominance (P ≤ 0.0014). Liver score affected the relative abundance of OTU (R = 0.463; P = 0.001) but abscessed livers shared ≥ 40% similarity and were not different from each other (P ≥ 0.370). Of the predominant OTU (top 10 as a % of reads), three OTU (Fusobacteria necrophorum, Bacteroides spp., and Trueperella pyogenes) were shared across both abscessed and non-abscessed livers. Fusobacterium necrophorum was the dominant OTU regardless of liver score, and the single most abundant OTU, even among non-abscessed livers. We describe bacterial DNA detected in non-abscessed bovine liver tissue for the first time, which indicates possible presence of viable bacteria with pathogenic potential in apparently healthy liver tissue.