Serotype Distribution of Clinical Isolates before the Introduction of the 13-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine in Cambodia.

Childhood vaccination with the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) was introduced in Cambodia in January 2015. Baseline data regarding circulating serotypes are scarce. All microbiology laboratories in Cambodia were contacted for identification of stored isolates of from clinical specimens taken before the introduction of PCV13.

Antimicrobial resistance genotypes and phenotypes from multidrug-resistant bacterial wound infection isolates in Cambodia.

This study aimed to identify the molecular determinants responsible for antibiotic resistance among human wound isolates in Cambodia. Staphylococcus spp. (n=10) and a variety of Gram-negative isolates (n=21) were taken from a larger collection of wound isolates collected during 2011-2013 and were analysed for the presence of >230 resistance determinants using a broad-spectrum DNA microarray.

Drug resistance in bacteria isolated from patients presenting with wounds at a non-profit Surgical Center in Phnom Penh, Cambodia from 2011-2013.

Background: Emerging antibiotic resistance amongst clinically significant bacteria is a public health issue of increasing significance worldwide, but it is relatively uncharacterized in Cambodia. In this study we performed standard bacterial cultures on samples from wounds at a Non-Governmental-Organization (NGO) Hospital in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Testing was performed to elucidate pathogenic bacteria causing wound infections and the antibiotic resistance profiles of bacterial isolates.

Multiplex PCR analysis of clusters of unexplained viral respiratory tract infection in Cambodia.

Background: Fevers of unknown origin constitute a substantial disease burden in Southeast Asia. In majority of the cases, the cause of acute febrile illness is not identified.

Methods: We used MassTag PCR, a multiplex assay platform, to test for the presence of 15 viral respiratory agents from 85 patients with unexplained respiratory illness representing six disease clusters that occurred in Cambodia between 2009 and 2012.

Etiologies and resistance profiles of bacterial community-acquired pneumonia in Cambodian and neighboring countries' health care settings: a systematic review (1995 to 2012).

Objectives: Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is one of the most important causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Etiological data for Cambodia is scarce. We aimed to describe the main etiological agents causing CAP, and their resistance patterns in Cambodia and the greater Mekong region.

Screening for bacterial-fungal associations in a south-eastern US salt marsh using pre-established fungal monocultures.

Both bacteria and fungi play critical roles in decomposition processes in many natural environments, yet only rarely have they been studied as an integrated community. We examined whether physical associations exist between individual bacterial and fungal species that co-occur on decaying smooth cordgrass, Spartina alterniflora, in a south-eastern US salt marsh. Fungal-pervaded decaying Spartina was used as "bait" for potential bacterial associates.

Role of microbes in the smectite-to-illite reaction.

Temperature, pressure, and time have been thought to control the smectite-to-illite (S-I) reaction, an important diagenetic process used for petroleum exploration. We demonstrated that microorganisms can promote the S-I reaction by dissolving smectite through reduction of structural Fe(III) at room temperature and 1 atmosphere within 14 days. This reaction typically requires conditions of 300 degrees to 350 degrees C, 100 megapascals, and 4 to 5 months in the absence of microbial activity.

Fungal farming in a snail.

Mutualisms between fungi and fungus-growing animals are model systems for studying coevolution and complex interactions between species. Fungal growing behavior has enabled cultivating animals to rise to major ecological importance, but evolution of farming symbioses is thought to be restricted to three terrestrial insect lineages. Surveys along 2,000 km of North America's Atlantic coast documented that the marine snail Littoraria irrorata grazes fungus-infected wounds on live marsh grass throughout its range.

Dynamics of bacterial and fungal communities on decaying salt marsh grass.

Both bacteria and fungi play critical roles in decomposition processes in many natural environments, yet only rarely have they been studied as an integrated microbial community. Here we describe the bacterial and fungal assemblages associated with two decomposition stages of Spartina alterniflora detritus in a productive southeastern U.S.

Mgr, a novel global regulator in Staphylococcus aureus.

The virulence determinants of Staphylococcus aureus are coordinately controlled by several unlinked chromosomal loci. Here, we report the identification of CYL5614, derived from strain Becker, with a mutation that affects the expression of type 8 capsular polysaccharide (CP8), nuclease, alpha-toxin, coagulase, protease, and protein A. This novel locus, named mgr, was linked by transposon Tn917 and mapped by three-factorial transduction crosses.

Misting and nitrogen fertilization of shoots of a saltmarsh grass: effects upon fungal decay of leaf blades.

We conducted a 12-week field manipulation experiment in which we raised the nitrogen availability (ammonium sulfate fertilization to roots) and/or water potential (freshwater misting) of decaying leaf blades of a saltmarsh grass (smooth cordgrass, Spartina alterniflora) in triplicate 11-m plots, and compared the manipulated plots to unmanipulated, control plots. The ascomycetous fungi that dominate cordgrass leaf decomposition processes under natural conditions exhibited a boosting (>2-fold) of living standing crop (ergosterol content) by misting at the 1 st week after tagging of senescent leaves, but afterwards, living-fungal standing crop on misted blades was equivalent to that on control blades, confirming prior evidence that Spartina fungi are well adapted to natural, irregular wetting. Misting also caused 2-fold sharper temporal declines than control in instantaneous rates of fungal production (ergosterol synthesis), 5-fold declines in density of sexual reproductive structures that were not shown by controls, and 2-fold higher rates of loss of plant organic mass.

Water potential of standing-dead shoots of an intertidal grass.

Dead stems and leaves of smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora Loisel.) undergo substantial fungal decay in the standing position. We conducted a series of experiments to determine the probable range of water availabilities that cordgrass-fungal decomposers experience; we determined the effects of duration of wetting and drying, site on shoots, leaching of osmotica, and stage of decomposition on water potential (ψ) of cordgrass shoots.