The mycobiome constitutes all the fungal organisms within an environment or biological niche. The fungi are eukaryotes, are extremely heterogeneous, and include yeasts and molds that colonize humans as part of the microbiome. In addition, fungi can also infect humans and cause disease. Characterization of the bacterial component of the microbiome was revolutionized by 16S rRNA gene fragment amplification, next-generation sequencing technologies, and bioinformatics pipelines. Characterization of the mycobiome has often not been included in microbiome studies because of limitations in amplification systems. This report revisited the selection of PCR primers that amplify the fungal ITS1 region. We have identified primers with superior identification of fungi present in the database. We have compared the new primer sets against those previously used in the literature and show a significant improvement in read count and taxon identification. These primers should facilitate the study of fungi in human physiology and disease states.

No abstract

No abstract

Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PCP) is a common opportunistic infection. Microscopic diagnosis, including diagnosis using the Merifluor-Pneumocystis direct fluorescent antigen (MP-DFA) test, has limitations.Real-time PCR may assist in diagnosis, but no commercially validated real-time PCR assay has been available to date. MycAssay Pneumocystis is a commercial assay that targets the P. jirovecii mitochondrial large subunit (analytical detection limit, <3.5 copies/l of sample). A multicenter trial recruited 110 subjects: 54 with transplants (40 with lung transplants), 32 with nonmalignant conditions, 13 with leukemia, and 11 with solid tumors; 9 were HIV positive. A total of 110 respiratory samples (92% of which were bronchoalveolar lavage [BAL] specimens) were analyzed by PCR. Performance was characterized relative to investigator-determined clinical diagnosis of PCP (including local diagnostic tests), and PCR results were compared with MP-DFA test results for 83 subjects. Thirteen of 14 subjects with PCP and 9/96 without PCP (including 5 undergoing BAL surveillance after lung transplantation) had positive PCR results; sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values (PPV and NPV, respectively) were 93%, 91%, 59%, and 99%, respectively. Fourteen of 83 subjects for whom PCR and MP-DFA test results were available had PCP; PCR sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV were 93%, 90%, 65%, and 98%, respectively, and MP-DFA test sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV were 93%, 100%, 100%, and 98%. Of the 9 PCR-positive subjects without PCP, 1 later developed PCP. The PCR diagnostic assay compares well with clinical diagnosis using nonmolecular methods. Additional positive results compared with the MP-DFA test may reflect low-level infection or colonization.

No abstract

In the last 2-3 decades, the broad research in the application of benzimidazole derivatives made it important for mankind. Many scientists have worked on benzimidazole derivatives and they found that this compound has a diverse role in the field of medicinal chemistry. Few benzimidazole derivatives are currently in the market as a drug candidate against various diseases. Moreover, the benzimidazole derivatives exhibit pharmacological activities such as anti-tuberculosis, anti-malarial, antihistamine, antimicrobial, antiviral, antidiabetic, anticancer, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anti-HIV, etc. In this review, we have summarized various derivatives of benzimidazole which have been prepared by many researchers to understand the chemistry as well as diverse pharmacological activities. These findings may lead the scientists who are working in the field of medicinal chemistry to the development of benzimidazole based drug candidates in the future.

No abstract

In the current investigation, we prepared a series of novel spiro[indole-thiazolidines] derivatives (5a-5h) from 5-substituted isatin derivatives and thioglycolic acid (TGA) with ZrSiO as an efficient catalyst under microwave irradiation. The significant merits of this protocol have some significant merits such as simplicity in operation, simple, efficient workup, good practical yields of product and the employment of recyclable catalyst. All the new synthesized scaffold has been well characterized by various spectroscopic methods and elemental analysis. All the spiro scaffolds were subjected to in vitro anti-mycobacterial activity against the Mycobacterium tuberculosis (HRv) strain. We have carried out molecular docking study of our synthesized compounds. We also calculated theoretically ADME-Tox parameters for synthesized compounds.