SpartanamicinsA and B, two antifungal antibiotics, were produced by a culture of Micromonospora spp. strain No. MSU-43097 (ATCC 53803), isolated from a potted soil containing asparagus {Asparagus officinalis L.) plants. The antibiotics were isolated from the mycelial cake using organic solvents. Micromonospora species are well known for their ability to produce biologically active compounds. Calicheamicin, approximately 1,000-fold more active than doxorubicin against murine tumors, is an unusually powerful antitumor compoundisolated from Micromonosporasubsp. echinospora calichenis1 "^. Triglycosidic antibiotics, isolated from M. inositola and M. megalomicea and other antibiotics reported from Micromonosporaspecies are chalcidin complex, everninomicins B and D4 5) and ferrioxamine B6>7).Streptomyces galilaeus produces 21 anthracycline antibiotics out of which aclacinomycins A, B, and their derivatives were studied for their antitumor activities8~14). Wereport the isolation, purification, and identification of potent antifungal compounds belonging to the anthracycline group of antibiotics. Results and DiscussionThe strain 43097 is relatively easy to grow in suspension and solid agar plates. Preliminary taxonomic studies indicated that this organism is a Micromonosporaspp. It is deep red in color on solid YMGplate at 7~8 days and orange at 3-4 days. It also grew well in all the 9 different media studied but produced spartanamicins A and B in YMGmedium only. The pH of the fermentation medium remained virtually unchanged for 12 days and the mycelium can be harvested for spartanamicins A and B between days 3-4.f US Patents 4,977,084;5,013,549;5,066,585.

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Abstract-A total of 117 actinomycetes strains were isolated from the wasteland alkaline and garden soil samples of the Ghaziabad and screened for their anti-bacterial activity. They were evaluated for their inhibitory activities on four test microorganisms. Fifteen actinomycetes isolate which exhibited antimicrobial activity against at least two of the test organisms and were characterized by conventional methods. The cultural characteristics of isolates were also studies in different culture media. The results indicated that six isolates were highly active against Staphylococcus aureus strains. Seven isolates were highly active with an inhibition zone more than 20 mm in diameter. Most of the isolates inhibited growth of the Gram negative bacteria tested. All the antibiotic producing actinomycetes were isolated at different temperatures from non agricultural wasteland alkaline soil and compost rich garden soil. Fifteen isolates showed activity against bacteria in which most of them from wasteland alkaline soil where the less interference by human for agriculture or other purpose. These microorganisms may have capability to produce some of the most important medicines ever developed.

INTRODUCTION:Lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) are among the most common infectious diseases of humans. This study focused on determining the recent trend of bacterial aetiology of LRTIs among the patients attending Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) in Kathmandu. MATERIALS AND METHODS:This was a prospective study conducted over a period of six months in the bacteriology laboratory of TUTH. A total of 1120 specimens representing lower respiratory tract were received from patients with suspected LRTIs. The specimens were collected and processed according to standard methodology. RESULTS:Respiratory pathogens were recovered from 44.4% cases (n=497). Gram-negative bacteria were recovered in 84.1% (n=488). Bacteria were more commonly recovered from endotracheal secretion (41/61, 67.2%) than in sputum (454/1039, 43.7%) and bronchial washing (2/20, 10%). Ninety-one percent (n=454) growth was monomicrobial while the rest accounted for mixed growth. Among the organisms isolated, Haemophilus influenzae (112, 21%) was the most predominant pathogen followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (102, 19.1%), Pseudomonads (91, 17.1%), Acinetobacter baumannii calcoaceticus complex (60, 10.9%), Streptococcus pneumoniae (46, 8.6%), Escherichia coli (37, 6.9%).CONCLUSIONS: H. influenzae and S. pneumoniae were the most common Gram-negative and Grampositive bacterial isolates recovered, respectively from LRTIs urging for monitoring and surveillance of these pathogens.

Advances in telecommunication which started with telephone lines, FAX, integrated service digital network (ISDN) lines and now internet have provided an unprecedented opportunity for transfer of knowledge and sharing of information. The information can be used for overlapping applications in patient care, teaching and research. In medicine there is increasing utilization of telemedicine; radiology and pathology being regarded as mature specialties and emergency medicine as maturing specialties compared to other evolving specialties which include psychiatry, dermatology, cardiology and ophthalmology. Of the emergencies, status epilepticus and stroke have high potential for improving patient management. Administration of tPA was more frequent when carried out under telemedicine guidance. Telemedicine has great potential for medical education. The principles of education are in congruence with those of telemedicine and can be closely integrated in the existing medical education system. Our experience of telemedicine as a medical education tool is based on video conferencing with SCB Medical College, Cuttack. We had 30 sessions during 2001 to 2004 in which 2-3 cases were discussed in each session. The patients' details, radiological and neurophysiological findings could be successfully transmitted. These conferences improved the knowledge of participants, provided an opportunity for a second opinion as well as modified the treatment decisions in some cases. The advances in telemedicine should be utilized more extensively in neurology, especially in emergency management, epilepsy and stroke patients as well, as it may have a role in neurophysiology and movement disorders.

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) has recently been implicated as a cause of insulin resistance (IR) in obesity and non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). To examine mechanisms involved, we induced IR induced IR in H-411 E cells with graded doses of TNF-alpha and measured the ability of insulin (INS) to stimulate both calmodulin (CaM) mRNA and glucose utilization. With TNF-alpha concentration at 1 ng/ml and 10(4) muU/ml INS, metformin 10 microM and pioglitazone 1.5 microM, reversed the IR induced by TNF-alpha restoring biologic response to 100% of INS effect alone. Furthermore, comparable results were obtained with glucose utilization/oxidation experiments in the H-411 E cells using glucose U-14C, trapping 14CO2 release in a hyamine filter and extracting 14C labelled lipids with Dole's reagent. In condusion, these data add scientific support for the use of both metformin and pioglitazone in treatment of IR in NIDDM patients and support a rationale for use of use of these drugs alone, and in conjuction with oral agents and/or INS treatment.

A significant limitation of knowledge regarding BFAT was seen among the general population of Rawalpindi.

Telemedicine (TM) services a process in which expert medical advice from afar is provided using electronic signals to transfer the medical data from one site to another. As a pilot project to assess the efficacy of TM in developing countries like India, a telemedicine center was set up at the main hospital of Mahakumbh mela--a grand religious fair, at Prayag, a city in north India. The daily reporting of the in-patient and outpatient cases at the fair revealed a surge of diarrhea cases among the pilgrims at the fair. This information was communicated to the referral center at Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS), which, with the help of its microbiology department, conducted microbiological examinations of stool samples and rectal swabs of patients along with various water samples. Vibrio cholerae was isolated in 22.6% (7/31) of the samples. This information was immediately relayed to the Main Hospital at the fair online, and then to the health authorities, who took strict and prompt measures to improve hygiene. Subsequently, the number of diarrhea cases decreased considerably in a matter of a few days, and thus an epidemic disaster was averted, which could have created havoc in such a large gathering.