An evaluation of broth dilution antifungal susceptibility tests was performed by determining both the micro- and macrodilution MICs of amphotericin B, flucytosine, fluconazole, ketoconazole, and cilofungin against 38 isolates of Candida albicans, Candida lusitaniae, Candida parapsilosis, Candida tropicalis, Cryptococcus neoformans, and Torulopsis glabrata. The following preliminary antifungal w...

To improve objectivity and speed of current antifungal mold susceptibility testing, the yeast Rapid Susceptibility Assay (RSA) was adapted for Aspergillus species. The RSA is based on glucose utilization in the presence of an antifungal drug. Aspergillus fumigatus conidia were incubated in 0.2% glucose RPMI 1640 containing 0.03 to 16 micro g of amphotericin B or itraconazole/ml. Drug-related in...

PURPOSE To determine minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of various anti-tuberculosis drugs for Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) strains isolated from clinical samples. METHODS Forty-nine human isolates of MAC were tested for susceptibility to nine chemotherapeutic agents. All isolates were from Indian patients suffering from chronic pulmonary mycobacteriosis. Drug susceptibility was perf...

BACKGROUND Use of essential oils for controlling Candida albicans growth has gained significance due to the resistance acquired by pathogens towards a number of widely-used drugs. The aim of this study was to test the antifungal activity of selected essential oils against Candida albicans in liquid and vapour phase and to determine the chemical composition and mechanism of action of most potent...

This study analyzed the enzymatic basis and molecular epidemiology of amoxicillin-clavulanate-resistant Escherichia coli isolated by the microbiology laboratory of a United States tertiary care hospital. From October 1998 to December 1999, all E. coli isolates were screened for ampicillin-sulbactam resistance. Of 283 isolates that tested resistant to ampicillin-sulbactam, 69 unique patient isol...

The antibody titer of a serum has usually been given in terms of the highest dilution at which it will agglutinate, hemolyze, or precipitate the antigen, in terms of the volume of toxin it will neutralize, in terms of the optimal proportion in which flocculation with antigen takes place, in terms of mouse protection-all relative and often inaccurate measures giving no idea whatsoever of the act...

Oils extracted from fifteen medicinal plants were screened for their activity against A. fumigatus and A. niger by disc diffusion method. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of oils (%v/v) against Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus niger done by agar dilution method and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum cidal concentration (MCCs) data (%v/v) obtained by the broth micro ...

Soils that have been acutely contaminated by heavy metals show distinct characteristics, such as colonization by metal-tolerant plant species and topsoil enrichment in weakly degraded plant debris, because biodegradation processes are strongly inhibited by contamination. Such an organic topsoil, located downwind of an active zinc smelter and extremely rich in Zn (approximately 2%, dry weight), ...