ZAHED, L.-M. (2020). HOMOSEXUALITY, TRANSIDENTITY, AND ISLAM: A STUDY OF SCRIPTURE. CONFRONTING THE POLITICS OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY. AMSTERDAM: AMSTERDAM UNIVERSITY PRESS

The book under review is authored by Ludovic-Mohammed Zahed (b. 1977), a French scholar of social psychology and the founder of Homosexuels musulmans de France, an association for gay and queer Muslims in France. With his work Zahed, who identifies as a feminist, gay Muslim and holds a position of an imam in an inclusive mosque in Paris, seeks to contribute to the expanding body of academic work that engages with issues of gender and sexuality in Islam. As his sources of inspiration, he names Islamic feminist scholars Fatima Mernissi (e.g. 1987; 2003) and Amina Wadud (1999; 2008), as well as a prominent scholar on sexual diversity in Islam, Scott Siraj Kugle (2010; 2013). If Islamic feminist studies have already evolved into an established field that has its roots in the 1980s, topics of homosexuality and non-binary gender identity in Islam have begun attracting scholarly interest only relatively recently. Particularly in the last decade, there has been a visible growth in the number of published works that have engaged with these topics from theological, sociological, and historical perspectives (e.g., Roscoe & Murray, 1997; El-Rouayheb, 2009; Habib, 2010; Shah, 2018). Challenging the premise that homophobia and misogyny are in compliance with Islamic ethical values, Zadeh’s book clearly draws on the arguments developed in these trailblazing works.

Statistical analysis used in LIS research produced by Pakistani authors

PurposeStatistical methods are important for meaningful analysis, critique and interpretation of results. The current study aims to investigate the use of statistical methods used in LIS research articles produced by Pakistani authors during 2001–2016.Design/methodology/approachContent analysis method with both the qualitative and quantitative components was used. LIS articles published by Pakistani authors in national and international journals from 2001 to 2016 were selected. The descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the usage of statistical techniques.FindingsThe findings show that use of descriptive statistics remained higher as compared to inferential statistics in the LIS research produced by Pakistani authors. However, a visible growth trend in the use of inferential statistical techniques is found. Males are two times more likely to use inferential statistics as compared to female authors. Articles published in foreign journals and impact factor journals used more inferential statistics as compared to local and nonimpact factor journals. Parametric inferential statistics is more popular among Pakistani authors as compared to nonparametric. Faculty was more inclined toward using parametric statistic. The percentage of collaboration was higher in the papers using parametric statistics. Few articles reported the tests to fulfill the assumptions of parametric and nonparametric statistics.Originality/valueThis study can be used to better understand the trends of statistical techniques used in LIS research and authors' orientation in this regard. It will be helpful for future researchers in the selection of appropriate statistical techniques to be used.

656. Sulbactam-Durlobactam MIC Determination: Comparative Evaluation of the New ETEST® SUD to the CLSI 2021 Broth Microdilution Method

Background Species belonging to the Acinetobacter baumannii-calcoaceticus (ABC) complex, such as A. baumannii, A. pittii and A. nosocomialis, are a major cause of hospital acquired infections and outbreaks with increasing occurrence of multidrug-resistance. Sulbactam-durlobactam (SUD), a combination of one active β-lactam antibiotic (sulbactam) with a new β-lactamase inhibitor (durlobactam), is currently being tested in a phase 3 clinical trial by Entasis Therapeutics for the treatment of serious infections caused by ABC, including multidrug-resistant strains. At the same time, an ETEST® SUD (sulbactam-durlobactam - MIC range 0.004/4-64/4 µg/mL) has been developed and calibrated versus the broth microdilution reference method (BMD) as described by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI). This test is intended to determine the MIC of sulbactam-durlobactam for species of the ABC complex. The aim of this study was to perform a first comparative study of ETEST SUD with the CLSI BMD method on a panel of 263 isolates. Methods The panel consisted of 204 A. baumannii, 29 A. pittii, 30 A. nosocomialis, including 24 SUD-resistant strains, and one CLSI QC strain. BMD was performed using the 2021 CLSI guidelines. ETEST SUD was evaluated using the standard ETEST procedure for Acinetobacter spp. (inoculum 0.5 McFarland, Mueller Hinton medium, incubation at 35°C for 20-24h). For each method, the MIC was read at complete inhibition of visible growth. To determine category agreement (CA) and error rates, the sulbactam-durlobactam provisional breakpoint of 4 µg/mL was applied. Results The QC strain MICs were in the expected range with reproducible results. The essential MIC agreement [EA, ±1 dilution] was 97.7% without any tendency to over- or underestimate the MIC when compared to BMD. The CA was 98.5%. Two Very Major Errors, both within the EA, and two Major Errors, one within the EA, were observed. Conclusion In this study, the ETEST SUD was found to be equivalent to the CLSI reference method. MIC end points were easy to read. With a 15-dilution range and simplicity of use, ETEST SUD could represent a valuable tool for MIC determination and could be an alternative to BMD. For Research Use Only. The performance characteristics of this product have not been established yet. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures

Corporate social responsibility in Vietnam: Systematic review of research and future directions

Purpose Whilst research on corporate social responsibility (CSR) is reaching new territories, the extent to which such literature manifests itself in developing countries is yet to be fully understood. To that end, this study aims to investigate the understanding, evolution and practice of CSR in Vietnam. Design/methodology/approach A systematic review of the current literature in the recent past (2000–2020) has been embraced in this research. By analysing a total of 143 articles, the authors demonstrate that there has been visible growth in published articles related to CSR in Vietnam over the past 21 years. Findings The authors demonstrate that CSR research in Vietnam has significantly grown in the recent past. The results highlight the in-depth distribution of publications by year, journal, industry, nature and focus of CSR research in the country. Originality/value This study is not only the first to provide an enhanced overview of the current state of CSR knowledge in the country but also sets out directions within the CSR research agenda related to Vietnam and potentially other emerging and developing countries.

Enumeration of Brettanomyces in Wine Using Impedance

Brettanomyces bruxellensis is a wine spoilage concern in wineries around the world. In order to maintain wine quality during storage and ageing, it is imperative to control and monitor this yeast. Being a fastidious slow growing yeast, which requires 5 to 14 days of incubation for visible growth in agar plates, it is difficult to detect growth (colonies) by conventional agar plate count method. Yeast enumeration by impedance was investigated because previous research using other microorganisms has shown that it is potentially faster than plate counting. The relationship between plate counting and impedance detection times was investigated for Brettanomyces inoculated in red wine samples. A linear relationship between log plate count concentrations and impedance detection times was found. Incubation time was reduced from 120 h down to 0.9 and 57.7 h for samples with 6.7 × 107 and 1.8 × 102 cfu/mL, respectively, using the ‘indirect’ impedance method. The ‘direct’ method also reduced the incubation times to 9.5 and 81.9 h, for the same concentrations. The ‘indirect’ impedance method has the potential to be used by the wine industry to control and monitor the Brettanomyces numbers in wines.

Prediction of Minimal Inhibitory Concentration of Meropenem Against Klebsiella pneumoniae Using Metagenomic Data

Minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) is defined as the lowest concentration of an antimicrobial agent that can inhibit the visible growth of a particular microorganism after overnight incubation. Clinically, antibiotic doses for specific infections are determined according to the fraction of MIC. Therefore, credible assessment of MICs will provide a physician valuable information on the choice of therapeutic strategy. Early and precise usage of antibiotics is the key to an infection therapy. Compared with the traditional culture-based method, the approach of whole genome sequencing to identify MICs can shorten the experimental time, thereby improving clinical efficacy. Klebsiella pneumoniae is one of the most significant members of the genus Klebsiella in the Enterobacteriaceae family and also a common non-social pathogen. Meropenem is a broad-spectrum antibacterial agent of the carbapenem family, which can produce antibacterial effects of most Gram-positive and -negative bacteria. In this study, we used single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) information and nucleotide k-mers count based on metagenomic data to predict MICs of meropenem against K. pneumoniae. Then, features of 110 sequenced K. pneumoniae genome data were combined and modeled with XGBoost algorithm and deep neural network (DNN) algorithm to predict MICs. We first use the XGBoost classification model and the XGBoost regression model. After five runs, the average accuracy of the test set was calculated. The accuracy of using nucleotide k-mers to predict MICs of the XGBoost classification model and XGBoost regression model was 84.5 and 89.1%. The accuracy of SNP in predicting MIC was 80 and 81.8%, respectively. The results show that XGBoost regression is better than XGBoost classification in both nucleotide k-mers and SNPs to predict MICs. We further selected 40 nucleotide k-mers and 40 SNPs with the highest correlation with MIC values as features to retrain the XGBoost regression model and DNN regression model. After 100 and 1,000 runs, the results show that the accuracy of the two models was improved. The accuracy of the XGBoost regression model for k-mers, SNPs, and k-mers & SNPs was 91.1, 85.2, and 91.3%, respectively. The accuracy of the DNN regression model was 91.9, 87.1, and 91.8%, respectively. Through external verification, some of the selected features were found to be related to drug resistance.

PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING AND ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF DIOSCOREA BULBIFERA L. FRUITS

Dioscorea bulbifera (Pita aalu) is a medicinal plant belongs to famility Dioscoreaceae, used to cure various diseases like malaria, diarrhoea, diabetes, dysentery, cancer, piles and skin infections. We designed the present study to analyse phytochemical and antibacterial activity of D. bulbifera fruit so as to conform its edible property. For this we followed phytochemical screening of the fruit extracts and found that it is consist of tannin, saponin, phenols, steroids, terpenoids and some carbohydrates in high concentration. The antibacterial activity of aqueous extract of the fruit against Streptococcus mutans pathogen was determined by using agar well diffusion, disc diffusion and broth dilution assay. From the results it was confirmed that the aqueous extract of the fruits of D. bulbifera showed high inhibition zone at 100µg/ml is 19 mm in agar well diffusion, 14 mm in disc diffusion assay. The minimum inhibitory concentratiom (MIC) of extract of D. bulbifera arranged in respect to the parts from 100 µg/ml, 200 µg/ml, 300 µg/ml, 400 µg/ml, 500µg/ml and inoculums control showed visible growth due to no antimicrobial agents, whereas the broth control showed no growth due to absence of bacteria. Presence of primary and secondary metabolites indicates the nutraceutical value of D. bulbifera fruits. So the fruits of D. bulbifera can be used as a tool against antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

A systematic approach for finding herbicide synergies

ABSTRACTCombining herbicides into a double dose is a common approach to overcome the potential for herbicide resistance by weeds. Many herbicide mixtures can be antagonistic and they are rarely synergistic. Here, 24 commercial herbicides, each representing a mode of action were used to create a matrix of all 276 unique combinations to search for new synergies in agar with Arabidopsis thaliana. Herbicides were used at an appropriate sub-lethal dose such that any synergies gave visible growth inhibition. We found five synergies including three new ones, namely mesotrione-norflurazon, mesotrione-clethodim and paraquat-clomazone. All three new synergies were reproducible in soil-grown conditions. Interestingly, all three new combinations included a bleaching herbicide, suggesting synergy might be a class specific phenomenon. We also found that mesotrione-norflurazon and mesotrione-clethodim combinations remained synergistic against lettuce (Lactuca sativa), but not tef (Eragrostis tef). Our study shows that screening herbicide mixtures against A. thaliana is an efficient approach for finding rare herbicide synergies.

1259. Activity of eravacycline against staphylococci isolated from periprosthetic joint infections

Background Perirosthetic joint infections (PJIs) are costly and difficult to treat. The most common causes of PJIs are Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis. Eravacycline is a newer tetracycline with promising activity against Gram-positive and negative bacteria which is approved for treatment of complicated intraabdominal infections. Here, the in vitro activity of eravacycline was assessed against bacteria associated with PJI. Methods 185 staphylococcal isolates, including 38 methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), 64 methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA), 62 methicillin-resistant S. epidermidis (MRSE) and 21 methicillin-susceptible S. epidermidis (MSSE) strains were studied. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines (range of 0.06-64 µg/ml tested). Results were analyzed using susceptible breakpoints from EUCAST (≤0.25 µg/ml) and the FDA (≤0.06 µg/ml). Minimum biofilm bactericidal concentrations (MBBCs) were determined using a modification of the Calgary biofilm method. Briefly, biofilms were formed on pegged lids in trypticase soy broth, after which the pegged lids were rinsed in phosphate buffered saline (PBS), transferred to a plate containing dilutions of eravacycline in cation-adjusted Mueller Hinton broth (CAMHB) and incubated for 20-24h. Finally, the pegged lids were again rinsed in PBS and transferred to a plate containing CAMHB and incubated for 24h. The MBBC was the lowest concentration with no visible growth. Results MIC50/90 (range) in µg/ml for MRSA, MSSA, MRSE, and MSSE were 0.125/0.125 (≤0.06-0.25), ≤0.06/0.125 (≤0.06-0.25). 0.125/1 (≤0.06-2), and 0.25/1 (≤0.06-1), respectively. Using the EUCAST susceptible breakpoint, 100% of isolates would be considered susceptible, whereas only 54% would be considered susceptible using the FDA breakpoint. MBBC50/90 (range) in µg/ml for MRSA and MSSA were both 8/16 (4-16); for MRSE and MSSE, the values were 4/16 (2-32) and 8/16 (2-32), respectively. Conclusion Our data suggest that the FDA susceptible breakpoint may need re-evaluation. Eravacycline has low anti-staphylococcal biofilm activity. Disclosures Robin Patel, MD, Accelerate Diagnostics (Grant/Research Support)CD Diagnostics (Grant/Research Support)Contrafect (Grant/Research Support)Curetis (Consultant)GenMark Diagnostics (Consultant)Heraeus Medical (Consultant)Hutchison Biofilm Medical Solutions (Grant/Research Support)Merck (Grant/Research Support)Next Gen Diagnostics (Consultant)PathoQuest (Consultant)Qvella (Consultant)Samsung (Other Financial or Material Support, Dr. Patel has a patent on Bordetella pertussis/parapertussis PCR issued, a patent on a device/method for sonication with royalties paid by Samsung to Mayo Clinic, and a patent on an anti-biofilm substance issued.)Selux Dx (Consultant)Shionogi (Grant/Research Support)Specific Technologies (Consultant)

The Phytochemical Analysis and Synergistic Antifungal Effect of Etlingera elatior Jack. Flowers and Murraya koenigii Spreng. Leaves against Candida albican

Traditional medicinal plant possessed antimicrobial properties. Candidiasis is an infection of Candida albicans which has developed resistance towards antifungal drugs. The extracts of Murraya koenigii Spreng leaves and Etlingera elatior Jack flowers were used as antifungal agents individually and in combination against C. albicans. Both extracts were tested for the presence of phytochemicals (alkaloids, tannins, flavonoids, glycosides and saponins). Individual extracts were examined for antifungal activity using Kirby-Bauer test. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) were evaluated using microdilution broth assay and checkerboard assay. The extracts of both plants were positive for the presence of phytochemicals flavonoids, alkaloids, tannins, glycosides and saponins. The inhibition zone of M. koenigii leaf and E. elatior flower extracts were 8.33 mm and 8.17 mm respectively. The MIC of M. koenigii and E. elatior ranged from 200 mg/mL to 400 mg/mL and in combination, the extracts were indifferent towards C. albicans (FIC=1.0). MFC revealed there was no visible growth of C. albicans on SDA plate. M. koenigii and E. elatior have potential to be used individually or in combination as antifungal agents against C. albicans.