As a growing number of clinical isolates of are resistant to most antibiotics, new treatment options that are effective against these drug-resistant strains are desperately needed. The majority of the linkages in the cell wall peptidoglycan of are synthesized by nonclassical transpeptidases, namely, the l,d-transpeptidases. Emerging evidence suggests that these enzymes represent a new molecular vulnerability in this pathogen. Recent studies have demonstrated that inhibition of these enzymes by the carbapenem class of β-lactams determines their activity against Here, we studied the interactions of β-lactams with two l,d-transpeptidases in, namely, Ldt and Ldt, and found that both the carbapenem and cephalosporin, but not penicillin, subclasses of β-lactams inhibit these enzymes. Contrary to the commonly held belief that combination therapy with β-lactams is redundant, doripenem and cefdinir exhibit synergy against both pansusceptible and clinical isolates that are resistant to most antibiotics, which suggests that dual-β-lactam therapy has potential for the treatment of Finally, we solved the first crystal structure of an l,d-transpeptidase, Ldt, and using substitutions of critical amino acids in the catalytic site and computational simulations, we describe the key molecular interactions between this enzyme and β-lactams, which provide an insight into the molecular basis for the relative efficacy of different β-lactams against .

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Background Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is the first line investigation for pre‐operative diagnosis of salivary gland lesions, but due to its inherent limitations remains a challenge for the cytopathologists. The recently proposed international risk stratification scheme, the Milan System for Reporting Salivary Gland Cytology (MSRSGC) aims to promote and standardise the communication between cytopathologist and clinician thereby improving patient care. Methods A retrospective study of all salivary gland cytology cases was performed over a 3‐year period, reviewed by pathologists and categorised into 1 of the 6 diagnostic categories according to MSRSGC, namely, non‐diagnostic, non‐neoplastic, atypia of undetermined significance (AUS), benign neoplasm, and salivary gland neoplasm of undetermined significance (SUMP), suspicious for malignancy (SFM), and malignant neoplasm. Cyto‐ histological correlation was done wherever possible. Risk of malignancy (ROM) was calculated for each diagnostic category. Results Out of a total of 150 salivary FNAC cases, histopathology was available for 64 cases. The sensitivity of FNAC was 81.8%, specificity was 100% while the diagnostic accuracy was 96.9%. The positive and negative predictive values were 100% and 96.4% respectively. The ROM for non‐diagnostic, non‐neoplastic, AUS, benign neoplasm, SUMP, SFM, and malignant categories were 0%, 10%, 50%, 2.5%, 50%, 100%, and 100% respectively. Conclusion MSRSGC fulfils the critical need for a uniform, internationally acceptable reporting system with ROM specified for each category. However, large scale multi centre studies need to be conducted before its reliability and validity is proven.

Background Preeclampsia is one of the major health problems causing maternal morbidity and mortality, complicating 3–8% of pregnancies. It has been suggested that the alterations in the coagulation and fibrinolysis play a role in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia. The markers of platelet activation include platelet count, platelet distribution width, mean platelet volume and plateletcrit. Study design It was a case-controlled study which included a total of 60 patients (30 cases and 30 controls). Blood samples were collected and the platelet indices – platelet count, plateletcrit, mean platelet volume and platelet distribution width – were evaluated using the Sysmex XN1000 and compared between the two groups. Results The MPV and PDW also showed a significant difference ( p > 0.05) between the two groups, with a significant positive correlation with increasing blood pressure (MPV – r = +0.6126, p < 0.05 and PDW – r = +0.6441, p < 0.05). The PC and PCT had lower values in the preeclampsia patients, however the difference between the two groups was not statistically significant. Conclusion The MPV and PDW showed a significant difference between the two groups and increasing values with increasing BP. However, the PC and PCT in our study did not show a significant correlation with preeclampsia. Thus, the platelet indices, mainly the MPV and PDW, which are economical and easily available, can be reliable in the prediction and early diagnosis of preeclampsia, as well as a marker for the severity of preeclampsia.

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