The World Health Organization (WHO) has articulated a priority pathogens list (PPL) to provide strategic direction to research and develop new antimicrobials. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) patterns of WHO PPL in a tertiary health care facility in Southern India were explored to understand the local priority pathogens. Culture reports of laboratory specimens collected between 1st January 2014 and 31st October 2019 from paediatric patients were extracted. The antimicrobial susceptibility patterns for selected antimicrobials on the WHO PPL were analysed and reported. Of 12,256 culture specimens screened, 2335 (19%) showed culture positivity, of which 1556 (66.6%) were organisms from the WHO-PPL. E. coli was the most common organism isolated (37%), followed by Staphylococcus aureus (16%). Total of 72% of E. coli were extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBL) producers, 55% of Enterobacteriaceae were resistant to 3rd generation cephalosporins due to ESBL, and 53% of Staph. aureus were Methicillin-resistant. The analysis showed AMR trends and prevalence patterns in the study setting and the WHO-PPL document are not fully comparable. This kind of local priority difference needs to be recognised in local policies and practices.

Background The soil quality and health of the tea plantations are dependent on agriculture management practices, and long-term chemical fertilizer use is implicated in soil decline. Hence, several sustainable practices are used to improve and maintain the soil quality. Here, in this study, changes in soil properties, enzymatic activity, and dysbiosis in bacterial community composition were compared using three agricultural management practices, namely conventional (CA), sustainable (SA), and transformational agriculture (TA) in the tea plantation during 2016 and 2017 period. Soil samples at two-months intervals were collected and analyzed. Results The results of the enzyme activities revealed that acid phosphatase, arylsulfatase, β-glucosidase, and urease activities differed considerably among the soils representing the three management practices. Combining the redundancy and multiple regression analysis, the change in the arylsulfatase activity was explained by soil pH as a significant predictor in the SA soils. The soil bacterial community was predominated by the phyla Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Chloroflexi, and Bacteroidetes in the soil throughout the sampling period. Higher Alpha diversity scores indicated increased bacterial abundance and diversity in the SA soils. A significant relationship between bacterial richness indices (SOBS, Chao and ACE) and soil pH, K and, P was observed in the SA soils. The diversity indices namely Shannon and Simpson also showed variations, suggesting the shift in the diversity of less abundant and more common species. Furthermore, the agricultural management practices, soil pH fluctuation, and the extractable elements had a greater influence on bacterial structure than that of temporal change. Conclusions Based on the cross-over analysis of the bacterial composition, enzymatic activity, and soil properties, the relationship between bacterial composition and biologically-driven ecological processes can be identified as indicators of sustainability for the tea plantation.

Zeaxanthin, a C40xanthophyll carotenoid, has potential biological applications in nutrition and human health. In this study we characterized carotenoid composition in 5 taxonomically related marine bacterial isolates from the genus Muricauda. The pigment was characterized using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and mass spectrometry, which confirmed the presence of all-trans-zeaxanthin. Muricauda strains produced zeaxanthin as a predominant carotenoid. M. flavescens JCM 11812(T) produced highest yield (4.4 +/- 0.2 mg L(-1)) when cultured on marine broth at 32 degrees C for 72 h. This is the first report on the presence of zeaxanthin among the majority of species from the genus Muricauda.

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