A Mycobacterium tuberculosis fingerprint in human breath allows tuberculosis detection.

An estimated one-third of tuberculosis (TB) cases go undiagnosed or unreported. Sputum samples, widely used for TB diagnosis, are inefficient at detecting infection in children and paucibacillary patients. Indeed, developing point-of-care biomarker-based diagnostics that are not sputum-based is a major priority for the WHO.

A Langmuir-Blodgett Study of the Interaction between Amphotericin B and Lipids of .

is a dimorphic, thermal, and nutritional fungus. In the environment and at an average temperature of 28 °C, it develops as a mold that is composed of infecting particles. Once in the host or in cultures at 37 °C, it undergoes a transition into the parasitic form.

Lipid Secretion by Parasitic Cells of Contributes to Disseminated Disease.

is a soil-borne fungal pathogen and causative agent of a human respiratory disease (coccidioidomycosis) endemic to semi-desert regions of southwestern United States, Mexico, Central and South America. Aerosolized arthroconidia inhaled by the mammalian host first undergo conversion to large parasitic cells (spherules, 80-100 μm diameter) followed by endosporulation, a process by which the contents of spherules give rise to multiple endospores. The latter are released upon rupture of the maternal spherules and establish new foci of lung infection.

Fatty acid derivative, chemokine, and cytokine profiles in exhaled breath condensates can differentiate adult and children paucibacillary tuberculosis patients.

The anti-mycobacterial immune response in adults and children with tuberculosis (TB), as well as the response in bacteriologically positive and negative patients, is different. However, knowledge of the immunological events occurring in the lungs in these clinical situations remains scarce. Exhaled breath condensate (EBC) samples may be useful for studying the inflammatory environment of the lower airways in TB patients.

Mononuclear phagocyte accumulates a stearic acid derivative during differentiation into macrophages. Effects of stearic acid on macrophage differentiation and Mycobacterium tuberculosis control.

The fatty acid composition of monocytes changes substantially during differentiation into macrophages, increasing the proportion of saturated fatty acids. These changes prompted us to investigate whether fatty acid accumulation in the extracellular milieu could affect the differentiation of bystander mononuclear phagocytes. An esterified fatty acid derivative, stearate, was the only fatty acid that significantly increased in macrophage supernatants, and there were higher levels when cells differentiated in the presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv or purified protein derivative (PPD).

[The characterization of biosolids produced by the San Fernando wastewater treatment plant in Itagui, Antioquia, Colombia].

ABSTRACT Objective This study was aimed at evaluating pertinent physicochemical and microbiological (bacteria and parasites) parameters regarding the biosolids produced by the San Fernando wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Itagui, Antioquia, Colombia. Methods Twelve samples were collected and evaluated every month from January to December during 2010. The chemical, physical and microbiological tests followed the protocol described in Colombian technical guideline 5167.