Anatomo-clinical correlation. A case of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis]

This report describes a case of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis affecting a young female patient who had benefited from a liver transplantation for a fulminant hepatic failure. Infections following liver transplantation can happen but in this case the short delay to the fatal outcome is unusual (6 days). Corticotherapy given prior to transplantation could have impaired the immune system. The authors discuss the infections due to Aspergillus species and particularly invasive pulmonary aspergillosis.     

Pathology of female infertility

This review focuses on infertility-related anatomical (ligneous cervicitis and postsurgical stenosis) and functional (abnormal mucus production, local cervical isoimmunity, and incompetence) disorders of the cervix, congenital anomalies, and underperfusion of the uterine corpus, myometrial lesions, endometrial failure, tubal obstruction, polycystic ovary syndrome, and endometriosis.     

Molecular identification and pectate lyase production by Bacillus strains involved in cocoa fermentation

We have previously reported the implication of Bacillus in the production of pectinolytic enzymes during cocoa fermentation. The objective of this work was to identify the Bacillus strains isolated from cocoa fermentation and study their ability to produce pectate lyase (PL) in various growth conditions. Ninety-eight strains were analyzed by Amplified Ribosomal DNA Restriction Analysis (ARDRA). Four different banding patterns were obtained leading to the clustering of the bacterial isolates into 4 distinct ARDRA groups. A subset of representative isolates for each group was identified by 16S rRNA gene partial sequencing. Six species were identified: Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus pumilus, Bacillus sphaericus, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus thuringiensis, together with Bacillus fusiformis which was isolated for the first time from cocoa fermentation. The best PL producers, yielding at least 9 U/mg of bacterial dry weight, belonged to B. fusiformis, B. subtilis, and B. pumilus species while those belonging to B. sphaericus, B. cereus and B. thuringiensis generally showed a low level of activity. Two kinds of PL were produced, as revealed by isoelectrofocusing: one with a pI of 9.8 produced by B. subtilis and B. fusiformis, the other with a pI of 10.5 was produced by B. pumilus. Strains yielded about 2 fold more PL in a pectic compound medium than in glucose medium and maximum enzyme production occurred in the late stationary bacterial growth phase. Together all these results indicate that PL production in the bacilli studied is modulated by the growth phase and by the carbon source present in the medium.