Rhizobacterial inoculation to improve the responses of olive cultivars to drought stress.

Tunisia is known as an underprivileged country in water resources, and water scarcity is evident in certain regions. In the long term, this situation could become more exacerbated, considering the increased risk of aridity. In this context, this work was carried out to study and compare the ecophysiological behavior of five olive cultivars facing drought stress and to evaluate the contribution of rhizobacteria to mitigate the effects of drought stress on these cultivars.

The Diagnostic and Prognostic Values of C-Reactive Protein and Procalcitonin during Bacterial Infections in Decompensated Cirrhosis.

Background: Bacterial infection (BI) represents the main cause of decompensation and death in cirrhotic patients. Procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) are two widely used biomarkers that may be helpful for early detection of BI especially in the presence of inflammation. Their accuracy for the diagnosis of BI in patients with chronic liver disease has been a subject of debate.

The prevalence of healthcare-associated infection in medical intensive care units in Tunisia. Results of the multi-centre nosorea1 study.

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of Healthcare-Associated Infection (HAI) in medical Intensive Care Unit (ICU), risk factors for these infections and identify the predominant infecting organisms.

Methods: A 1-day point-prevalence study within all medical ICUs in Tunisia, all patients occupying an ICU bed over a 48-hour period were included. Rates of HAI, resistance patterns of microbiological isolates and potential risk factors for HAI were recorded.

Night work and prostate cancer risk: results from the EPICAP Study.

Objective: To investigate the role of night work in prostate cancer based on data from the EPICAP Study.

Methods: EPICAP is a French population-based case-control study including 818 incident prostate cancer cases and 875 frequency-matched controls that have been interviewed face to face on several potential risk factors including lifetime occupational history. Detailed information on work schedules for each job (permanent or rotating night work, duration, total number of nights, length of the shift, number of consecutive nights) as well as sleep duration and chronotype, was gathered.

Comparative analysis of the susceptibility/tolerance of Spodoptera littoralis to Vip3Aa, Vip3Ae, Vip3Ad and Vip3Af toxins of Bacillus thuringiensis.

The cotton leaf worm Spodoptera littoralis is known for causing serious damages to various crops. In this study, the susceptibility/tolerance of this larvae to four Vip3A (Vip3Aa, Vip3Ae, Vip3Ad and Vip3Af) toxins was investigated. UnlikeVip3Ad which showed no activity to S.

Occupational exposure to textile dust and lung cancer risk: Results from the ICARE Study.

Background: To investigate the association of lung cancer with occupational exposure to textile dust and specifically to cotton dust in the population-based case-control study ICARE.

Methods: Lifelong occupational history of 2926 cases and 3555 controls was collected using standardized questionnaires, with specific questions for textile dust exposure. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using unconditional logistic regression models controlling for confounding factors including smoking and asbestos exposure.

Improvement of Vip3Aa16 Toxin Production and Efficiency Through Nitrous Acid and UV Mutagenesis of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bacillales: Bacillaceae).

Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner (Bacillales: Bacillaceae) strain BUPM95 was known by the efficiency of its vegetative insecticidal protein (Vip3Aa16) against different Lepidoptera such as Spodoptera littoralis (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). To overcome the problem of the low quantities of Vip3 proteins secreted by B. thuringiensis strains in the culture supernatant, classical mutagenesis of vegetative cells of BUPM95 strain was operated using nitrous acid and UV rays.

Hepatic hydrothorax: About a hospital serie of 63 cases.

Background: Hepatic hydrothorax is a less common complication of cirrhosis with an estimated prevalence of 10- 15%. In the vast majority of cases, ascites are also present but significant pleural effusion may develop in patients without ascites. Hepatic hydrothorax is associated with cirrhosis whatever its etiology.

Chemical composition and biological activities of Salvia officinalis essential oil from Tunisia.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the chemical composition, antioxidant, antimicrobial, insecticidal and allelopathic activities of Tunisia essential oil (SoEO). The SoEO was characterized by the presence of 49 components with camphor (25.14 %), α-thujone (18.

Occupational exposure to endotoxins and lung cancer risk: results of the ICARE Study.

Objectives: To investigate the role of occupational exposure to endotoxins in lung cancer in a French population-based case-control study (ICARE (Investigation of occupational and environmental causes of respiratory cancers)).

Methods: Detailed information was collected on the occupational history and smoking habits from 2926 patients with histologically confirmed lung cancer and 3555 matched controls. We evaluated each subject's endotoxin exposure after cross referencing International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) codes (for job tasks) and Nomenclature d'Activités Françaises (NAF) codes (for activity sectors).

[Which surgical strategy to adopt for the management of postpartum haemorrhage and how to improve the effects of hypogastric arteries ligation?].

The objective were to identify the success factors of bilateral hypogastric arteries ligation and to assess its role in surgical treatment of postpartum hemorrhages. We conducted a retrospective study of all the cases of postpartum hemorrhage requiring surgical treatment between January 2008 and December 2011. The study included 88 patients (0,47% of all births).

Quantification of Bacillus thuringiensis Vip3Aa16 Entomopathogenic Toxin Using Its Hemolytic Activity.

Vegetative insecticidal proteins produced by some Bacillus thuringiensis strains are specifically toxic to different agricultural pests such as the polyphagous Spodoptera and several other Lepidopteran insects, but one of the major problems found in the use of these biopesticides was the lack of an easy and credible method of quantification of such secreted toxins. Heterologous expression of B. thuringiensis Vip3Aa16 toxin was performed in Escherichia coli then the protein was purified by chromatography.

Vegetative insecticidal protein of Bacillus thuringiensis BLB459 and its efficiency against Lepidoptera.

Bacillus thuringiensis strain BLB459 supernatant showed a promising activity against Lepidopteran pests with extremely damages in the larvae midgut. Investigations of the genes that encode secreted toxin demonstrated that this strain harbored a vip3-type gene named vip3(459). Based on its original nucleotide and amino acid sequences, this gene was cloned into pET-14b vector and overexpressed in Escherichia coli.

Combinatorial effect of mutagenesis and medium component optimization on Bacillus amyloliquefaciens antifungal activity and efficacy in eradicating Botrytis cinerea.

This work is directed towards Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain BLB371 metabolite production for biocontrol of fungal phytopathogens. In order to maximise antifungal metabolite production by this strain, two approaches were combined: random mutagenesis and medium component optimization. After three rounds of mutagenesis, a hyper active mutant, named M3-7, was obtained.

Combinatorial effect of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens AG1 biosurfactant and Bacillus thuringiensis Vip3Aa16 toxin on Spodoptera littoralis larvae.

Spodoptera littoralis, one of the most serious and destructive agricultural pests in the world, is very susceptible to Vip3 toxin. In order to develop a new efficient bioinsecticide and to prevent the development of resistance by the target pest, insecticidal activity of biosurfactant produced by Bacillus amyloliquefaciens AG1 was evaluated against S. littoralis.

Erratum to: 36th International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine: Brussels, Belgium. 15-18 March 2016.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s13054-016-1208-6.].

Involvement of the processing step in the susceptibility/tolerance of two lepidopteran larvae to Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1Aa toxin.

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) Cry1A toxins are known for their effectiveness against lepidopteran insects. In this study, the entomopathogenic activity of Cry1Aa was investigated against two lepidopteran larvae causing serious threat to various crops, Spodoptera littoralis and Tuta absoluta. Contrarily to S.

Bacillus amyloliquefaciens AG1 biosurfactant: Putative receptor diversity and histopathological effects on Tuta absoluta midgut.

The use of biosurfactant in pest management has received much attention for the control of plant pathogens, but few studies reported their insecticidal activity. The present study describes the insecticidal activity of biosurfactant extracted from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain AG1. This strain produces a lipopeptide biosurfactant exhibiting an LC50 of about 180ng/cm(2) against Tuta absoluta larvae.

Overproduction of the Bacillus thuringiensis Vip3Aa16 toxin and study of its insecticidal activity against the carob moth Ectomyelois ceratoniae.

The vip3Aa16 gene of Bacillus thuringiensis strain BUPM95 was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. Optimization of Vip3A16 protein expression was conducted using Plackett-Burman design and response surface methodology. Accordingly, the optimum Vip3A16 toxin production was 170μg/ml at 18h post-induction time and 39°C post-induction temperature.