This study accentuates the usefulness of katG and inhA promoter mutations as predictive markers of isoniazid resistance. Testing only for katG 315 and inhA -15 mutations would detect isoniazid resistance in 84% of the MDR M. tuberculosis sample. This percentage would increase to 96% if the sequence analysis was extended to the entire katG gene. Analysis of the remaining genetic loci did not contribute greatly to the identification of isoniazid resistance.

Mechanical parameters of Scots pine wood (Pinus sylvestris L.) of low (about 8%) and high (higher than the fiber saturation point) moisture content (MC) subjected to tensile stress along the grains were studied. The measurements were performed for microtome samples sliced from either earlywood or latewood and for samples containing both earlywood and latewood. The effect of MC on the mechanical properties of earlywood and latewood of Scots pine was different. The MC was found to have greater influence on the tensile strength and modulus of elasticity in latewood than in earlywood, but its effect on strain at failure was greater in earlywood. As determined individually for earlywood and latewood, the tensile strength, modulus of elasticity, and the strain at failure that were calculated from the rule of mixtures (the weighted mean for earlywood and latewood) did not differ significantly from the values found in the samples containing both zones. This similarity was observed at low and high MC.

The study emphasizes the potential of AgNPs as a new therapeutic tool for the management of Prototheca infections.

This study revealed 17 mutations, previously unreported, that might be of potential use as new surrogate markers of isoniazid resistance. Their diagnostic accuracy needs to be confirmed on larger strain samples and from different geographical settings. For isoniazid resistance detection, molecular approaches should still be a complement to rather than a replacement for conventional drug susceptibility testing. This is supported by the lack of mutations in any of the nine genetic loci investigated in 18 isoniazid-resistant strains from this study.

Metallic nanoparticles are of great importance because of their unique physical, chemical, antimicrobial, diagnostic, therapeutic, biomedical, sensing, biosensing, catalytic and optical properties. Detailed knowledge of the atomic scale structure of these materials is essential for understanding their activities and for exploiting their potential. This paper reports structural studies of silicasupported silver, gold, palladium and platinum nanoparticles using X-ray diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. Electron microscopy observation allowed the determination of nanoparticle sizes, which were estimated to be in the range of 45-470 Å , and their distribution. The obtained histograms exhibit a multimodal distribution of the investigated nanoparticle sizes. The X-ray diffraction data were analyzed using the Rietveld method in the form of Williamson-Hall plots, the PDFgui fitting procedure and model-based simulation. The Williamson-Hall plots provide evidence for the presence of strain in all investigated samples. The PDFgui fitting results indicate that the investigated nanoparticles consist of atomic clusters with different sizes and degrees of disorder as well as slightly different lattice parameters. The detailed structural characterization performed via model-based simulations proves that all samples exhibit a face-centered cubic type structure with paracrystalline distortion. The degree of disorder predicted by the paracrystalline theory is correlated with the sizes of the nanoparticles. The catalytic properties of the investigated noble metals are discussed in relation to their disordered structure. research papers J. Appl. Cryst. (2018). 51, 411-419 Karolina Jurkiewicz et al. Paracrystalline structure of metallic nanoparticles 415 research papers J. Appl. Cryst. (2018). 51, 411-419 Karolina Jurkiewicz et al. Paracrystalline structure of metallic nanoparticles 417 research papers J. Appl. Cryst. (2018). 51, 411-419 Karolina Jurkiewicz et al. Paracrystalline structure of metallic nanoparticles 419