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Title : Atypical coinfection by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium fortuitum in an immunosuppressed patient: case report
Name : Suzamar Hipólito Simiema
University : Universidade Nove de Julho- Conjunto Hospitalar Mandaqui
Country : Brazil
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Introduction Pulmonary tuberculosis remains an important respiratory infectious disease, mainly caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, whose transmission occurs predominantly through the inhalation of aerosols containing the bacillus. Despite advances in diagnosis and treatment, it continues to represent a global challenge, particularly among vulnerable and immunosuppressed populations. Non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) comprise a heterogeneous group of microorganisms found mainly in environmental sources, such as water, soil, and biofilms. Among these species, Mycobacterium fortuitum stands out as a rapidly growing mycobacterium capable of causing opportunistic infections. Its transmission may occur through inhalation of aerosols, ingestion of contaminated water or food, and direct inoculation following invasive procedures. The most commonly described clinical manifestations include skin and lymph node infections, while pulmonary involvement is considered uncommon, especially in individuals without previous structural lung abnormalities. Pulmonary disease caused by NTM is frequently associated with predisposing conditions such as immunosuppression, chronic diseases, pulmonary anatomical alterations, or prolonged use of immunomodulatory therapies. Diagnosis can be challenging, requiring correlation between clinical, radiological, and microbiological findings to differentiate active infection from colonization.
The simultaneous occurrence of infection by M. tuberculosis and M. fortuitum is rare and represents a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge, as it requires accurate identification of the involved pathogens and individualized antimicrobial treatment. In this report, we describe an atypical case of pulmonary mycobacterial coinfection in an immunosuppressed patient, highlighting the diagnostic and therapeutic challenges involved.
Case Description A 52-year-old female patient, born in Bolivia and residing in São Paulo, Brazil, with a history of smoking (20 pack-years), was admitted to the hospital emergency department due to diabetic ketoacidosis associated with unexplained respiratory failure. She had a previous diagnosis of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus secondary to pancreatectomy and was using metformin and insulin therapy. Due to clinical instability, she was transferred to the intensive care unit. During the investigation of metabolic decompensation, chest radiography and computed tomography revealed pulmonary cavitation in the left upper lobe. Further investigation for infectious pulmonary etiology was initiated. Sputum testing for acid-fast bacilli (AFB) in a mucopurulent sample was positive, and standard treatment for pulmonary tuberculosis was started with rifampicin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol (RIPE regimen). The patient showed favorable but slow clinical progression, with resolution of diabetic ketoacidosis, metabolic improvement, and subsequent transfer from the intensive care unit to a respiratory isolation bed in the Internal Medicine ward. During case review and investigation with Epidemiological Surveillance, previous records of infection with M. tuberculosis and M. fortuitum were identified, both without complete treatment through the primary healthcare system. New specific mycobacterial cultures and bacterial resistance tests were performed, confirming active coinfection by M. tuberculosis and M. fortuitum.
Following microbiological confirmation, combined antimicrobial therapy was initiated based on recommendations from the Sanford Guide, including imipenem, amikacin, and levofloxacin for coverage of M. fortuitum, associated with the RIPE regimen for treatment of M. tuberculosis. The therapeutic approach considered the susceptibility profile of the identified pathogens and the need for simultaneous management of both infections.
After targeted treatment, the patient showed significant clinical improvement and favorable laboratory evolution, with recovery from the pulmonary infectious condition and metabolic stabilization. She was discharged with specialized outpatient follow-up and prolonged maintenance therapy for M. fortuitum, consisting of clarithromycin, doxycycline, and sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim, with planned clinical and laboratory monitoring and repeat cultures to assess therapeutic response.
Discussion and Conclusion Coinfection by M. tuberculosis and M. fortuitum is rare but should be considered in patients with predisposing factors, especially immunosuppressed individuals, such as those with long-standing diabetes mellitus or a history of pancreatic surgery. Differentiating colonization from active NTM infection can be complex, requiring integration of clinical, radiological, microbiological, and immunological data. This case reinforces the importance of active surveillance in immunocompromised patients with infectious respiratory conditions, emphasizing the need to consider the association of different etiological agents. Early diagnosis and appropriate management of coinfection by tuberculous and non-tuberculous mycobacteria are essential to prevent complications and unfavorable outcomes.
Title : :Segmentation-Aware Multi-Attention Learning for Enzyme kcat Prediction
Name : Ramesh Chandra
University : Birla Institute of Technology
Country : India
Download AbstractAbstract: One of the key kinetic parameters describing catalytic efficiency of the enzyme, the enzyme turnover number (kcat), plays an important role in enzyme engineering, metabolic engineering, systems biology, synthetic biology, and pharmaceutical research. Estimation of metabolic flux, identification of pathway bottlenecks, enzyme redesign and rational optimization of these enzymes necessitate these essential kcat values. However, for many years these values are estimated experimentally and experimental determination of kcat is a costly, time-consuming, and technically challenging task. In other side, the kinetic annotation of available protein sequences is still extremely limited despite the exponential growth of available protein sequences in databases since years. In comparison to these traditional methods, the recent deep learning approaches have shown promising predictive capabilities with low cost and utilising less time. Yet their performance is often limited due to some of the reasons like, inadequate representation of long protein sequences, poor capture of local catalytic motifs, and poor biological interpretability. These limitations highlight the need for an interpretable computational framework, capable of simultaneously capturing both local sequence characteristics and long-range contextual dependencies with better performance scores.
To surmount these obstacles, we introduced KcatNeuroCortex, a hybrid deep learning framework that integrates segmentation-based sequence representation, Bidirectional Gated Recurrent Units (Bi-GRU) and multi-attention mechanism for enzyme turnover number prediction. Protein sequences were divided into overlapping segments so as to preserve local functional motifs and to maintain contextual continuity over the whole sequence. We combined protein representations generated with a transformer model with molecular representations of substrates obtained from a pre-trained molecular transformer network. These complementary features were then processed by Bi-GRU layers to learn bidirectional sequential dependencies, followed by a multi-attention module to dynamically weight catalytically informative sequence regions before regression-based prediction of kcat values. We evaluated the model performance on the popular DLKcat benchmark dataset, containing 16,838 experimentally validated enzyme-substrate pairs from distinct Enzyme Commission classes. We did extensive benchmarking against multiple state-of-the-art machine learning and deep learning methods using coefficient of determination (R2), root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC), and other statistical performance indicators. We also performed extensive ablation studies, attention visualization, enzyme-class analysis, sequence-length robustness evaluation and a biological case study on the terpenoid indole alkaloid biosynthetic pathway in Catharanthus roseus to validate the predictive ability and biological interpretability of the model.
KcatNeuroCortex consistently outperformed previously published computational methods in all major evaluation metrics. The proposed framework resulted in an R2 of 0.74 with an RMSE of 0.77, which corresponded to an approximate 57.45% improvement in the predictive accuracy and a nearly 30% reduction in the prediction error relative to the DLKcat baseline. Comparative analysis showed better generalization than several state-of-the-art models. Ablation experiments proved that the sequence segmentation and the multi-attention module were the main reasons for performance improvement of the KcatNeuroCortex. Reduction by 17.6% in R² and 27.3% increase in RMSE were observed after removal of individual components, which revealed that sequence segmentation was the most influential module, highlighting its critical role in capturing localized catalytic motifs. Similarly, upon excluding multi-head attention mechanism, a 12.2% decline in R² was observed, confirming its importance in identifying biologically relevant sequence regions and improving model interpretability. Furthermore, a substantial deterioration in model performance (R² = 0.52, RMSE = 1.12), after replacing ProT5 embeddings with randomly initialized embeddings demonstrates the the value of transfer learning from protein language models. Furthermore, replacing pretrained ProT5 embeddings with randomly initialized embeddings caused model performance to deteriorate substantially (R² = 0.52, RMSE = 1.12), demonstrating the value of transfer learning from protein language models. These findings confirm that the synergistic integration of enzyme and substrate representations, segmentation-based learning, pretrained embeddings, and multi-attention collectively contributes to the superior predictive capability of the model. To represent the applicability of the model, we further utilized KcatNeuroCortex for predicting the rate limiting enzyme involved on Catharanthus roseus. It also produced biologically meaningful predictions that agree with published experimental evidence, thereby demonstrating the practical applicability of the framework for pathway analysis and metabolic engineering. Evaluation on hydrolase enzymes confirmed that KcatNeuroCortex accurately identified conserved catalytically important sequence regions through its attention mechanism.
In conclusion, the KcatNeuroCortex framework is robust, scalable, and biologically interpretable, with a first-time developed model with segmentation-based and multi-attention learning during feature engineering. Hence, making it a valuable tool for the enzyme engineering community and for researchers interested in the identification of large-scale kinetic parameter estimation. More than its predictive accuracy, the model represents the importance of feature engineering, showing impressive robustness across a variety of enzyme families and sequence lengths, leading towards more generalizability of the model.
Keywords: kcat prediction, Deep learning, Sequence-based features, Enzyme catalysis, Enzyme engineering
Biography: Prof. Ramesh Chandra is a professor at Department of Bioengineering & Biotechnology, Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India. With expertise in area of Enzyme & Bioprocess Engineering, he has contributed significantly to production of glycosylation enzymes, secondary metabolites production and enzyme kinetics. About 50 publications are there to the credit of Prof. Chandra. Six Ph.Ds awarded and six Ph.Ds are ongoing. About 31 years of teaching experience, mainly teaching bioprocess engineering and Pharmacogenomics. Initially (for 13 years), worked in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technology, then shifted to Department of Bioengineering & Biotechnology, Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra.
Ms. Priyanka (Co-Author 1) is a Ph.D scholar (Department of Bioengineering & Biotechnology, Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India) working under supervision of Prof. Chanda in the area of Metabolic Engineering to enhance anticancer compounds production from Catheranthus roseus. She is also working on Enzyme Engineering using Machine Learning.
Md Shah Fahad, Ph.D, (Co-Author 2), Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India, is working in the area of Computational Biology, Genetic Algorithm and AI/ML.
Title : Tuberculous polyserositis in a young woman: a case report
Name : Isabela Moraes Bernal
University : Hospital Regional de Osasco Dr. Vivaldo Martins Simões
Country : Brazil
Download AbstractAbstract: Introduction: Tuberculous polyserositis is an uncommon manifestation of extrapulmonary tuberculosis. The difficulty in obtaining bacteriological confirmation and its nonspecific clinical presentation often delay early diagnosis. This case report describes a young woman presenting with polyserositis whose diagnosis was established based on epidemiological findings, exclusion of alternative diagnoses, and a high clinical suspicion supported by the characteristics of the ascitic fluid. Case Report: A 27-year-old female with a 10 pack-year smoking history and a previous hospitalization for pneumonia four months earlier presented to the emergency department with a five-day history of pleuritic chest pain. Chest computed tomography (CT) revealed enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes and bilateral small pleural effusions, while abdominal CT demonstrated a small amount of free intraperitoneal fluid. During hospitalization, she developed worsening abdominal pain associated with progressive abdominal distension. Abdominal ultrasonography showed a moderate volume of ascites. Diagnostic workup, including serological tests for syphilis, HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C, autoimmune markers, and a molecular test for Mycobacterium tuberculosis, yielded negative results. Transvaginal ultrasonography demonstrated a large amount of fluid in the pouch of Douglas, and echocardiography revealed a small pericardial effusion. Diagnostic paracentesis showed a leukocyte count of 320/mm³ with 74% mononuclear cells, total protein of 5.5 g/dL, glucose of 62 mg/dL, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) of 298 U/L, and adenosine deaminase (ADA) of 53 U/L. Based on these findings, treatment with rifampicin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol was initiated. The patient was discharged after five days with clinical improvement while awaiting the results of ascitic fluid smear microscopy. Discussion: This case highlights the diagnostic challenges of tuberculous polyserositis due to its nonspecific clinical presentation, the difficulty in obtaining cavitary fluid samples, and the low rate of bacteriological confirmation. Although pleural and pericardial effusions were present, their volumes were insufficient for diagnostic sampling. The exclusion of hepatic, autoimmune, and other infectious etiologies, combined with the patient’s epidemiological and socioeconomic background, raised the suspicion of tuberculosis. Elevated ADA levels in the ascitic fluid further supported the diagnosis and justified the initiation of RIPE/HRZE (rifampicin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol) therapy based on clinical criteria. Conclusion: Polyserositis is a rare manifestation of extrapulmonary tuberculosis with nonspecific clinical features. Treatment with the RIPE regimen may be initiated based on a presumptive clinical diagnosis when the overall clinical, epidemiological, and laboratory findings strongly suggest tuberculosis.
Biography: Isabela Moraes Bernal is an Internal Medicine resident at Hospital Regional de Osasco Dr. Vivaldo Martins Simões, São Paulo, Brazil. She participated in an Undergraduate Scientific Research Project at the Santo Amaro University School of Medicine (2019), investigating medical students’ knowledge of antibiotic resistance. She also served as the Local Medical Education Coordinator for IFMSA Brazil (International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations – Brazil). Her research interests include Internal Medicine, Geriatrics, and antimicrobial therapy.
Title : Topical Wound - Care Formulation of Carbopol Hydrogel Loaded with Ellagitannin mediated Selenium Nanoparticles for management of Multidrug resistant wound infections
Name : Dr. Sheela Chandra
University : Birla Institute of Technology
Country : India
Download AbstractAbstract: The increased frequency of chronic and infected cutaneous wounds, compounded by the global development of antibiotic resistance, has escalated the hunt for sustainable, multifunctional wound-care materials. Fruit-processing by-products such as pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) peel, rich in ellagitannins, gallotannins and flavonoids, offer an affordable and renewable feedstock for the green manufacture of therapeutically active nanomaterials. In the present investigation, selenium nanoparticles (PgpSeNPs) were phytofabricated by reducing sodium selenite with an aqueous Punica granatum peel (Pgp) extract acting simultaneously as a reducing and capping agent. The optimised nanoparticles were later integrated into Carbopolbased hydrogels at varied concentrations (PgpSeNHG) to improve topical application and residence time on the wound bed.
The nanoparticles and nanohydrogels were comprehensively characterised using UV–Visible spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS) and zeta potential analysis, field-emission scanning electron microscopy with energydispersive spectroscopy (FESEM-EDS), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and oscillatory rheometry. Antimicrobial activity was tested by disc-diffusion and broth microdilution (MIC) assays against therapeutically relevant bacterial and fungal pathogens. Biocompatibility was examined using the MTT assay on L929 fibroblast cells, while the wound-healing capacity of the nanohydrogels was investigated in Wistar rats employing excision and incision wound models, with a commercially available wound-healing gel employed as the reference standard. The plant-mediated selenium nanoparticles displayed higher antibacterial activity compared with the crude plant extract and precursor solution, and the nanohydrogel formulations preserved their antimicrobial efficacy while displaying improved biocompatibility for topical application. Furthermore, in vivo investigations demonstrated quicker wound healing, greater collagen deposition, improved tissue regeneration, and favourable histopathological characteristics, including fibroblast proliferation, neovascularisation, and re-epithelialization. Overall, the findings demonstrate that the Punica granatum peel-derived selenium nanoparticle nanohydrogel is a promising biocompatible, antimicrobial, and pro-regenerative topical formulation with significant translational potential as a sustainable and cost-effective alternative for wound management.
Biography: Dr. Sheela Chandra is a faculty member in the Department of Bioengineering & Biotechnology at Birla Institute of Technology (BIT), Mesra, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India. She has multidisciplinary research experience spanning pharmaceutical sciences, nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, and biomedical applications. Her current research focuses on the development of plant-derived nanoformulations for Alzheimer’s disease, integrating computational approaches such as molecular docking, AI-assisted drug discovery, and digital twin technology with experimental validation. Her work also includes blood-brain barriertargeted drug delivery, in vitro enzyme inhibition studies, and preclinical evaluation using animal models and advanced imaging techniques. In addition to neurodegenerative disease research, she has contributed to projects involving natural products, wound healing, antimicrobial resistance, and sustainable agricultural biotechnology. She has authored and coauthored several research papers published in peer-reviewed national and international journals and actively participates in scientific conferences and collaborative research initiatives. Her research interests include nanomedicine, neuropharmacology, AI in drug discovery, targeted drug delivery systems, computational biology, and translational pharmaceutical research. She is committed to developing innovative, affordable, and clinically relevant therapeutic strategies for improving human health.
Title : Study of Brucellosis among Febrile Malaria-Negative Patients in Different States of Sudan Using LAMP-PCR.
Name : Ms. Maab A. Sharief
University : Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medical Laboratory Science
Country : Sudan
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Background:
Human brucellosis is one of the most important neglected zoonotic diseases worldwide and remains a significant public health problem in livestock-producing countries. In Sudan, where animal husbandry is widespread, the true burden of human brucellosis remains largely unknown because of limited surveillance and diagnostic capacity. The disease is frequently misdiagnosed as malaria or other febrile illnesses due to overlapping clinical manifestations.
Objective:
This study aimed to determine the prevalence of brucellosis among malaria-negative febrile patients from different states of Sudan and to evaluate Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP-PCR) as a rapid molecular diagnostic tool.
Methods:
A cross-sectional study was conducted using 160 serum samples collected from febrile patients who tested negative for malaria. Samples were obtained from eight Sudanese states: Al Jazeera, Atbara, Khartoum, Port Sudan, Dongola, Kassala, El Fasher, and Gedaref. All specimens were initially screened using the Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT). Brucella DNA was extracted using the boiling method and subsequently detected by LAMP-PCR.
Results:
RBPT identified Brucella antibodies in 46 (28.8%) samples, whereas LAMP-PCR detected Brucella DNA in 50 (31.3%) samples, demonstrating a higher detection rate than serology. These findings suggest that LAMP-PCR offers improved sensitivity for the diagnosis of human brucellosis, particularly in patients presenting with acute febrile illness.
Conclusion:
This study represents one of the first multicenter investigations of human brucellosis among malaria-negative febrile patients across different regions of Sudan. The findings highlight that brucellosis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of febrile illnesses in endemic settings. LAMP-PCR provides a rapid, sensitive, accurate, and cost-effective diagnostic method that could substantially improve the diagnosis of brucellosis, particularly in resourcelimited and rural healthcare settings.
Biography:
Ms. Maab A. Sharief is a Medical Microbiologist affiliated with the Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medical Laboratory Science, National University of Sudan. Her research focuses on molecular diagnosis of infectious diseases, particularly zoonotic and emerging pathogens of public health importance. She has experience in conventional microbiological methods, serological assays, and molecular diagnostic techniques including PCR and Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP).
Her research interests include the epidemiology of zoonotic diseases, neglected tropical diseases, and the development of rapid diagnostic tools suitable for low-resource settings. She has participated in research projects investigating brucellosis and other infectious diseases among febrile patients in Sudan, with the aim of improving disease surveillance and laboratory diagnosis. Through her work, she seeks to strengthen laboratory capacity and promote evidence-based approaches for the diagnosis and control of infectious diseases in Sudan and other resource-limited countries.
Title : Advancing vaginal infection diagnosis: Molecular versus conventional methods for detecting T. vaginalis and C. albicans
Name : Shirzad Fallahi
University : Lorestan University of Medical Sciences
Country : Iran
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Background – Trichomonas vaginalis (T. vaginalis) is a motile, flagellated protozoan that exclusively infects humans. It is a significant etiological agent of vaginitis and has been associated with adverse reproductive outcomes such as preterm birth and infertility. Candida albicans (C. albicans) accounts for approximately 85–90 % of fungal vaginitis cases. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of trichomonal and candidal vaginitis among married women attending health centers in Khorramabad, using both conventional laboratory techniques and molecular diagnostics.
Methods – In this descriptive-analytical study, vaginal specimens were collected from 304 married women attending health centers in Khorramabad during 2024. Samples were analyzed using conventional laboratory methods, including direct smear, Giemsa staining, culture on Sabouraud Dextrose Agar (SDA), germ tube test, Corn Meal agar culture, and incubation at 45 °C, as well as molecular techniques (PCR and sequencing). Data were statistically analyzed using SPSS version 27.
Results
- vaginalis was identified in 9 cases (3 %) via PCR and in 2 cases (0.7 %) via direct smear. The kappa coefficient for agreement between direct smear and PCR was 0.36 (p < 0.001), indicating fair concordance. For C. albicans, PCR detected 20 positive cases (6.6 %), while conventional methods yielded the following results: direct smear 56 cases (18.4 %), SDA culture 65 cases (21.4 %), germ tube test 63 cases (20 %), Corn Meal agar culture 58 cases (19.1 %), and incubation at 45 °C 12 cases (3.9 %).
Conclusion – PCR demonstrated superior sensitivity for detecting T. vaginalis, whereas SDA culture exhibited the highest sensitivity for C. albicans. The low prevalence of trichomoniasis (3 %) contrasted with the relatively high prevalence of candidiasis (6.6–21.4 %), underscoring the need for targeted educational and preventive health programs.
Biography
Dr. Shirzad Fallahi is a Professor at the Department of Parasitology and Mycology, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Lorestan Province, Iran. With specialized expertise in Molecular Parasitology, he has made substantial contributions to medical education, clinical research, and public health initiatives across western Iran. Over his academic career, he has supervised numerous graduate and doctoral candidates, published extensively in peer-reviewed journals, and led interdisciplinary research projects supported by national health agencies. Dr. Fallahi actively participates in academic committees, journal editorial boards, and collaborative networks focused on improving regional healthcare delivery. His research interests include molecular diagnosis and epidemiology of infectious diseases, especially parasitic diseases, such as Toxoplasmosis, Malaria, and Leishmania, with a consistent emphasis on translating evidence-based findings into practical clinical and policy applications. Recognized for his dedication to scholarly excellence and community health, he continues to mentor emerging healthcare professionals while fostering national and international academic partnerships. Through his teaching, publications, and service-oriented initiatives, Dr. Fallahi remains a committed advocate for sustainable medical education and the advancement of Iran’s health systems.
Title : Rethinking Microbial Biomanufacturing: Lessons from Biological Interactions
Name : Dr. Elnaz Kyavar
University : Green Life ELK, Tehran, Iran
Country : Iran
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Despite remarkable advances in microbial biomanufacturing, progress continues to be driven predominantly by the optimization of individual process variables. Yet microbial production systems operate as integrated biological networks, in which interactions among cultivation factors often influence system behavior more profoundly than the individual variables themselves. Consequently, optimization alone may improve production performance without necessarily advancing our understanding of the biological relationships that govern system-level responses.
This presentation proposes a complementary perspective in which biological interactions are viewed not only as components of optimization models, but also as sources of transferable biological insight. Rather than simply identifying optimal cultivation conditions, interpreting interaction effects can reveal how microbial production systems behave as integrated biological networks whose responses cannot be fully explained by isolated cultivation variables.
To explore this perspective, interaction effects among FeSO₄, NaCl, and NaNO₃ on phycobiliprotein production in Arthrospira platensis were systematically investigated using a multivariable response surface framework. Rather than serving solely as an optimization tool, the experimental design was interpreted as a framework for revealing biologically informative interaction patterns. In this way, interaction effects were considered not merely as statistical descriptors, but as biological clues to system behavior under combined cultivation conditions.
The interaction-driven experimental framework revealed robust interaction patterns, with statistically significant interaction effects demonstrating that microbial production behavior could not be adequately explained by the independent effects of individual cultivation variables alone. Instead, interaction patterns exposed biological dependencies that emerged only when environmental factors were considered collectively, highlighting the inherently context-dependent nature of production optimization. Collectively, these findings suggest that interaction effects should be interpreted not merely as statistical descriptors within optimization models, but as biologically informative clues capable of generating transferable insight into system behavior beyond the identification of optimal cultivation conditions.
Although illustrated through phycobiliprotein production, the perspective presented here extends well beyond a single product or cultivation system. The broader value of biological interactions lies not merely in identifying optimal cultivation conditions, but in deepening our understanding of how microbial production systems behave under combined process conditions. By reframing interaction effects as sources of transferable biological insight rather than solely as optimization outcomes, this perspective invites us to rethink microbial biomanufacturing—not simply as a process of finding better conditions, but as a process of learning how biological systems behave.
Biography
Dr. Elnaz Kyavar is a plant biologist whose research focuses on microbial biomanufacturing, cyanobacterial physiology, and the development of sustainable production strategies for high-value biomolecules. She received her Ph.D. in Plant Biology from the Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran. Her research integrates microbial physiology, cultivation optimization, and systems-level interpretation of biological responses to improve phycobiliprotein production and advance microbial cell factory development.
Her recent work emphasizes understanding biological interactions underlying microbial production systems rather than viewing optimization solely as a process engineering objective. She is particularly interested in translating complex biological phenomena into practical frameworks that support robust, scalable, and application-oriented biomanufacturing. Her research interests include microbial biotechnology, phycobiliproteins, cyanobacterial physiology, process optimization, systems biology, and biological interaction-driven bioprocess design.
Dr. Kyavar also serves as an international peer reviewer for several scientific journals. Through both her research and scientific presentations, she aims to bridge experimental evidence with conceptual understanding, promoting scientific storytelling as a means of making complex biological systems more understandable while maintaining scientific rigor.
Title : Importance of Invasive Diagnostic Techniques in the Early Detection of Pulmonary Mucormycosis in Diabetic Patients: A Case Series
Name : Dr. Rajwinder Kaur
University : Geetanjali Medical College & Hospital, Udaipur, Rajasthan
Country : India
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Background: Pulmonary mucormycosis is an aggressive and potentially fatal angio-invasive fungal infection predominantly affecting immunocompromised individuals, especially those with uncontrolled diabetes mellitus. Early diagnosis remains challenging due to nonspecific clinical and radiological features, often resulting in delayed treatment and high mortality rates.
Objective: To highlight the importance of invasive diagnostic techniques in the early and definitive diagnosis of pulmonary mucormycosis in diabetic patients.
Methods: This case series describes five patients with uncontrolled diabetes mellitus who presented with severe respiratory symptoms and radiological features suggestive of pulmonary infection. Initial sputum microscopy and cultures were inconclusive in most cases. All patients underwent invasive diagnostic procedures including bronchoscopy, transbronchial lung biopsy, bronchoalveolar lavage, or thoracoscopy. Histopathological examination confirmed the diagnosis by demonstrating broad, aseptate, irregularly branching fungal hyphae consistent with Mucorales species.
Results: All five patients exhibited severe clinicoradiological disease, including cavitary lesions, ground-glass opacities, pleural effusion, and airway obstruction. Noninvasive diagnostic methods failed to establish the diagnosis in the majority of cases. Invasive modalities enabled early histopathological confirmation, facilitating prompt initiation of antifungal therapy with amphotericin B and management of underlying risk factors. Early diagnosis and aggressive treatment contributed to improved clinical outcomes.
Conclusion: Pulmonary mucormycosis in diabetic patients requires a high index of suspicion. Invasive diagnostic techniques play a crucial role in timely confirmation when noninvasive methods are inconclusive. Early histopathological diagnosis combined with prompt antifungal therapy significantly improves patient outcomes in this life-threatening infection.
Keywords: Pulmonary mucormycosis, Diabetes mellitus, Bronchoscopy, Thoracoscopy, Amphotericin B, Invasive diagnosis.
Title : Comparison of Genotoxic and Cytotoxic Effects of Single-Walled and Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes on Chlorella Vulgaris
Name : Atena Sheibani nia
University : Islamic Azad University
Country : Iran
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Title : Immunohistochemical Characterisation of Dopaminergic and Cholinergic Alterations in the Prefrontal Cortex and Hippocampus of MPTP-Treated Marmosets
Name : Sanaa Khosla
University : King’s College London
Country : United kingdom
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Title : Identification and Evaluation of Blood Transcriptional Biomarker for Tuberculosis Screening
Name : Qian Gao
University : Fudan University
Country : China
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Title : Failed Endovascular Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair due to Mycobacterium Bovis Infection Following Intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guérin Therapy
Name : Toshifumi Kudo
University : Medical and Dental University
Country : Japan
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Title : Multidrug-Resistant Staphylococcus capitis: An Emerging Challenge in Clinical Settings Found in Adult Patients in Saudi Arabia
Name : Nawal Sulaiman Alshammari
University : University of Sheffield
Country : Saudi Arabia
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Title : Antimicrobial peptides from house fly
Name : Yao Liu
University : College of Health and Medicine, University of Tasmania
Country : Australia
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Title : The role of genetic polymorphisms of interleukin-1 (IL-1R1 and IL-1RN) in primary knee osteoarthritis in Indonesia
Name : Imelda Lumban Gaol
University : Nicolaas Institute of Constructive Orthopaedic Research & Education Foundation for Arthroplasty & Sports Medicine at Medistra Hospital
Country : Indonesia
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Title : Bacillus velezensis DSM 33864 reduces Clostridioides difficile colonization without disturbing commensal gut microbiota composition
Name : Ida Søgaard Larsen
University : Novozymes A/S, Bagsværd
Country : Denmark
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Up to 25% of the US population harbor Clostridioides difficile in the gut. Following antibiotic disruption of the gut microbiota, C. difficile can act as an opportunistic pathogen and induce potentially lethal infections. Consequently, reducing the colonization of C. difficile in at-risk populations is warranted, prompting us to identify and characterize a probiotic candidate specifically targeting C. difficile colonization. We identified Bacillus velezensis DSM 33864 as a promising strain to reduce C. difficile levels in vitro. We further investigated the effects of B. velezensis DSM 33864 in an assay including human fecal medium and in healthy or clindamycin-treated mouse models of C. difficile colonization. The addition of B. velezensis DSM 33864 to human fecal samples was shown to reduce the colonization of C. difficile in vitro. This was supported in vivo where orally administered B. velezensis DSM 33864 spores reduced C. difficile levels in clindamycin-treated mice. The commensal microbiota composition or post-antibiotic reconstitution was not impacted by B. velezensis DSM 33864 in human fecal samples, short-, or long-term administration in mice. In conclusion, oral administration of B. velezensis DSM 33864 specifically reduced C. difficile colonization in vitro and in vivo without adversely impacting the commensal gut microbiota composition.
Title : Lack of Association between YEASTONE Antifungal Susceptibility of Cryptococcus Meningitis Cerebrospinal Fluid Isolates and Risk Factors for Poor Prognosis
Name : Jeng-How Yang
University : New Taipei Municipal TuCheng Hospital
Country : Taiwan
Download AbstractBackground: Cryptococcal meningitis (CM) is associated with high mortality. The relation between antifungal susceptibility and treatment outcomes is not well characterized. There is paucity of surveillance data of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) isolates of cryptococcus investigated with YEASTONE colorimetric broth microdilution susceptibility testing.
Methods: This was a retrospective study of laboratory-confirmed CM patients at a single-center between 2010 and 2016. Antifungal susceptibility of CSF isolates was determined by YEASTONE colorimetric broth microdilution. Clinical parameters, CSF laboratory indices, and antifungal susceptibility results were analyzed to identify risk factors for mortality.
Results: There were 53 isolates. High rates of resistance to fluconazole and flucytosine were observed in this cohort. Voriconazole showed the lowest MIC (0.06 µg/mL) and lowest rate of resistance (3.8%). There was no significant correlation between antifungal susceptibility and mortality. On univariate analysis, hematological malignancy, concurrent cryptococcemia, high Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score, low Glasgow coma scale (GCS) score, low CSF glucose level, high CSF cryptococcal antigen titer, and high serum cryptococcal antigen burden were associated with mortality. On multivariate analysis, meningitis with concurrent cryptococcemia, GCS score, and high CSF cryptococcus burden, were independent predictors of poor prognosis.
Conclusion: Concomitant cryptococcemia, low CSF glucose level, high CSF and serum cryptococcus antigen burden were risk factors for mortality. CM patients with fluconazole MIC ≥64 µg/mL showed extremely high mortality. However, both early and late mortality rates were not significantly different between CM wild type and non-wild type species.
Title : Pituitary Abscess Causing Panhypopituitarism in a Patient with Neurobrucellosis: Case Report
Name : Gustavo De la Peña-Sosa
University : Salvador Zubirán National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition.
Country : Mexico
Download AbstractBackground: pituitary abscess is a rare but potentially life-threatening disease that could lead to panhypopituitarism. It is important to suspect the diagnosis, especially in regions of the world with endemic infectious diseases.
Clinical Case: a 55-year, farmer, with a history of consumption of unpasteurized dairy products, began in February 2023 with headache, impaired consciousness and fever. Initial tests were consistent with neuroinfection: lumbar puncture with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) with elevated proteins (>200 mg/dL, n <45 mg/dL), decreased glucose (14 mg/dL with a serum glucose of 76 mg/dl), pleocytosis (800 mm3, n <5 mm3). Head CT-scan did not report alterations. Treatment with ceftriaxone, vancomycin, ampicillin and acyclovir was started due to diagnosis of acute meningitis. Later Brain MRI was performed showing ventriculitis; the pituitary gland was heterogeneous with the presence of an 8x8mm abscess. Pituitary axis hormones were evaluated, showing results compatible with panhypopituitarism with central hypothyroidism (normal serum TSH 1.05 mIU/L (n 0.3-5 mIU/L), decreased free T4 0.57 ng/dL (n 0.63-1.34 ng/dL), decreased total T3 0.47 ng/mL (n 0.64-1.81 ng/mL)), central hypocortisolism (decreased morning cortisol levels 5.72 mcg/dL (n 6.7-22.6 mcg/dL) and ACTH 20 pg/mL (n 10-50 pg/ml)), central hypogonadism (decreased LH <0.20 mUI/mL (n 1.24-862 mUI/mL), decreased FSH 0.37 mUI/mL (n 1.27-19.26 mUI/mL), decreased testosterone 0.24 ng/mL (n 1.75-7.81 ng/mL)), growth hormone deficiency (decreased IGF-1 9.99 ng/mL (n 61-206 ng/mL)). Hormone replacement treatment with hydrocortisone and levothyroxine was started. Due to the epidemiological background, Rose Bengal test for Brucella spp. was performed, with positive results (n negative) and 2-mercaptoethanol Brucella agglutination test was also positive >1:20 (n <1:20). Diagnosis of neurobrucellosis was made and treatment with doxycycline, rifampin and ceftriaxone was started. Neurosurgery service suggested conservative management with antibiotics. Patient showed improvement in his
neurological status and infectious symptoms disappeared. Subsequent pituitary MRI showed pituitary intraglandular abscess with a 15% decrease. The patient was discharged six weeks later with prednisone, levothyroxine, somatropin and testosterone, as well as doxycycline and rifampin for another 4 months.
Conclusion: Pituitary abscess should be considered in a differential diagnosis of patients with neuro infection symptoms, panhypopituitarism and heterogenous image in the MRI. Opportune medical management may result in a lower mortality and a higher recovery of pituitary hormone function.
Title : Cyclotides from Cameroonian pharmacopeia: Isolation, Synthesis and antimicrobial activities
Name : Ndogo Eteme Olivier
University : University of Yaoundé I
Country : Cameroon
Download AbstractTraditional medicine and the use of medicinal plants are well established in the African health system. For example, Violaceae plants are used for antimicrobial or anti-inflammatory applications in traditional medicine. This study describes the phytochemical analysis and bioactivity screening of four species of the purple Allexis tribe found in Cameroon. Allexis cauliflora, Allexis obanensis, Allexis batangae and Allexis zygomorpha were assessed for the expression of circular peptides (cyclotides) by mass spectrometry. The unique cystine-rich cyclic motif was identified in several peptides from all four species. Knowing that members of this family of peptides are endowed with antimicrobial properties, the plant extracts and two cyclotides (Alca1 and Alca2) newly isolated and described and synthesized as well as their analogues were evaluated for antibacterial inhibition. These macrocycle peptides and plant extracts were tested against nine strains of microbes. The peptides were specific for Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus with a minimum inhibition concentration of approximately 0.32 microM. Alca1 showed potent activity against Escherichia coli with a minimum inhibitory concentration of 0.82 microM. Both peptides were inactive against Candida albicans. These macrocycles are cytotoxic and lyse human red blood cells with a 40% lethal dose of 400 microM. Modification of the Arg residue in Alca1 with a keto aldehyde significantly reduced its activity against S. aureus, whereas blocking the Arg in Alca2 produced no significant effects. The two-disulfide variants and their scrambled disulfide isomers exhibited antimicrobial profiles and potency similar to their native peptides. However, in high-salt assays (100 mM NaCl), few of these macrocyclic peptides, native or analogues, retained their antimicrobial activity. These results show that macrocyclic peptides possess specific and potent salt-dependent antimicrobial activity and that their initial interactions with microbial surfaces can be electrostatic, an effect commonly observed in defensin antimicrobial peptides. Furthermore, their end-to-end ring structure with a cystine knot motif represents a molecular structure of antimicrobials and may provide a useful model for the design of new peptide antibiotics
Title : Bacterial Keratitis In A Tertiary Hospital In São Paulo: A 21-Year Review Of The Epidemiological, Laboratory, And Clinical Data
Name : Beatriz Avila Zaccaron
University : Private practice as Ophthalmologist in Criciúma
Country : Brazil
Download AbstractAbstract:
Infectious keratitis is a sight-threatening condition that is usually an ocular emergency. The visual outcome depends on prompt and accurate clinical management as well as geographic and epidemiological awareness. We conducted a retrospective observational study to define the epidemiological and laboratory profile, as well as the clinical course of bacterial keratitis in a tertiary hospital in São Paulo over 21 years. Information about age, sex, predisposing factors, topical and surgical treatment, visual acuity, ulcers’ classification, bacterioscopy, culture, and antibiotic sensitivity tests were collected. This study included 160 patients. The mean age was 65,1 ± 18,4 years and risk factors were identified in 83,1% of the patients. Empirical topical fortified cephalosporin with an aminoglycoside or fourth-generation fluoroquinolone was curative for 66,2% of the cases. The mean treatment duration was 22,5 ± 9 days. The mean variation of visual acuity was -0,25 logMAR, p<0,001. Culture revealed 64% of Gram-positive bacteria. All Gram-positive bacteria were sensitive to cephalothin, vancomycin, and quinolones. All Gram-negative bacteria were sensitive to gentamicin, tobramycin, amikacin, and ciprofloxacin. These findings reinforce the importance of prompt empirical treatment of severe corneal ulcers with a fortified cephalosporin and aminoglycoside or a fourth-generation fluoroquinolone as there are equally effective. Collected data was insufficient to evaluate resistance of ocular infections over time in this population.
Title : High Activity of N-Acetylcysteine in Combination with Beta-Lactams against Carbapenem-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae and Acinetobacter baumannii
Name : Maria Teresa Mascellino
University : Sapienza University of Rome
Country : Italy
Download AbstractIntroduction and aim: Multi-drug resistant Gram-negative bacteria represent a big issue in the management of diseases. Aim of our study was to evaluate the in-vitro activity of N-acetil-cysteine (NAC) alone or in combination with a single antibiotic or more antibiotics.
Material and methods: Fifteen Acinetobacter baumannii (Ab) and 10 Klebsiella pneumoniae (Kp) both resistant to carbapenems isolated from different types of infections, were included. The antibacterial activity of NAC and of the single antibiotics was tested by MIC and MBC measurements. Synergy testing of NAC in association with antibiotics was evaluated by qualitative methods (chekerboard FIC index) and quantitative tests (Time Killing Curves TKC, bactericidal activity). Morphological changes at scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were also examined.
Results: MICs 50/90 (μg/ml) for Ab and Kp were the following: MEM (meropenem) 128/512 and 256/1024, COL (colistin) 0.25/4 and 256/1024, RIF (rifampicin) 2/4 and 32/256 respectively, TIG (tigecycline) 0.5/1 for both, A/S (ampicillin/sulbactam) only for Ab 64/256 and ERT (ertapenem) only for Kp 1024/2048, NAC 2.5/5 and 5/5 mg/ml for Ab and Kp. As for the strains of Ab, NAC alone was bactericidal at 2.5 mg/ml (1/2 MIC) after 2 hrs up to the end of the experiment (24 hrs). The association of NAC resulted as being 100% synergic with MEM and A/S, 93% with RIF whereas was indifferent with COL and TIG. Following the TKC, NAC was able to completely restore the activity of MEM and A/S at concentrations easily achievable in the serum (8-16 μg/ml) which, alone, don’t result effective. As for the strains of Kp, a marked synergism between MEM at 8 μg/ml and NAC at 0.5 MIC was detected. The association COL (2 μg/ml)+0.5 MIC MER (512 μg/ml) was inactive whereas in the presence of NAC at sub-MIC and MEM at 8 μg/ml resulted as fully synergistic. TKC showed that the addition of NAC to MEM at concentrations without bactericidal effect alone, induced a fast and lasting bactericidal activity that persisted overtime. Morphological alterations at SEM (bacterium lengthening and formation of outer membrane vescicles) were strongly evident in the cultures with antibiotics + NAC or with NAC alone compared with the controls.
Conclusions: In summary, NAC not only seems to show a considerable activity against difficult-to-treat bacteria but results as being able to restore the efficacy of the antibiotics associated, at concentrations achievable in the serum.
Title : Anisakiosis & anisakidosis: between zoonosis and safety
Name : Andrea Paloma Zepeda
University : Autonomous University of the State of Hidalgo.
Country : Mexico
Download AbstractAbstract: The Anisakidae family nematodes are potentially zoonotic parasites; that infect a wide variety of aquatic species worldwide, with marine fish being the paratenic hosts. This family of eight genera could infest a wide variety of aquatic hosts during the development of their larval stages, mainly marine mammals, aquatic birds, such as pelicans, and freshwater fish, such crucian carp, these being the hosts where the life cycle is completed. These of clinical importance to human health are highlighted: Anisakis pegreffi, A. simplex sensu stricto, Contracaecum osculatum, Pseudoterranova azarazi, P. cattani, P. decipiens and P. krabbei. The geographical distribution of these genera and species is located mainly in the European continent, Asia, and South America, as well as in North and Central America and Australia. Its ability to adapt to the human organism has led to it being considered as a zoonotic agent. The disease in humans manifests nonspecifically, however the consumption of raw or semi-raw seafood is crucial information to link the presentation of the parasite with the disease. But what we need to know about the zoonosis, how do I know I have possible clinical presentation, and when I need to doubt if maybe I´m sick. We need to focus on knowledge education and clinical strategies.