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This report updates previous CDC guidelines and recommendations on preferred prevention and treatment regimens regarding naturally occurring anthrax. Also provided are a wide range of alternative regimens to first-line antimicrobial drugs for use if patients have contraindications or intolerances or after a wide-area aerosol release of Bacillus anthracis spores if resources become limited or a multidrug-resistant B. anthracis strain is used (Hendricks KA, Wright ME, Shadomy SV, et al.; Workgroup on Anthrax Clinical Guidelines. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expert panel meetings on prevention and treatment of anthrax in adults. Emerg Infect Dis 2014;20:e130687; Meaney-Delman D, Rasmussen SA, Beigi RH, et al. Prophylaxis and treatment of anthrax in pregnant women. Obstet Gynecol 2013;122:885-900; Bradley JS, Peacock G, Krug SE, et al. Pediatric anthrax clinical management. Pediatrics 2014;133:e1411-36). Specifically, this report updates antimicrobial drug and antitoxin use for both postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) and treatment from these previous guidelines best practices and is based on systematic reviews of the literature regarding 1) in vitro antimicrobial drug activity against B. anthracis; 2) in vivo antimicrobial drug efficacy for PEP and treatment; 3) in vivo and human antitoxin efficacy for PEP, treatment, or both; and 4) human survival after antimicrobial drug PEP and treatment of localized anthrax, systemic anthrax, and anthrax meningitis. Changes from previous CDC guidelines and recommendations include an expanded list of alternative antimicrobial drugs to use when first-line antimicrobial drugs are contraindicated or not tolerated or after a bioterrorism event when first-line antimicrobial drugs are depleted or ineffective against a genetically engineered resistant B. anthracis strain. In addition, these updated guidelines include new recommendations regarding special considerations for the diagnosis and treatment of anthrax meningitis, including comorbid, social, and clinical predictors of anthrax meningitis. The previously published CDC guidelines and recommendations described potentially beneficial critical care measures and clinical assessment tools and procedures for persons with anthrax, which have not changed and are not addressed in this update. In addition, no changes were made to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommendations for use of anthrax vaccine (Bower WA, Schiffer J, Atmar RL, et al. Use of anthrax vaccine in the United States: recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, 2019. MMWR Recomm Rep 2019;68[No. RR-4]:1-14). The updated guidelines in this report can be used by health care providers to prevent and treat anthrax and guide emergency preparedness officials and planners as they develop and update plans for a wide-area aerosol release of B. anthracis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses health benefits, safety and various food applications of Bacillus coagulans Unique IS2. Topics discussed include increase in consumption of probiotic foods and beverages in the global food market, isolation of the strain Unique IS2 by Unique Biotech, cytotoxicity assay of the strain conducted using the MTT straining method, and its use in treatment of acute diarrhoea, bacterial vaginosis and its hypocholesterolemic activity.

The article presents a study on the symptoms, pathophysiology, and treatment and management of endophthalmitis. Topics include hypotony, hypopyon and ocular perforation or surgical wound leak as symptoms of endophthalmitis, role of microorganisms such as Staphylococci, Streptococcus and Bacillus in the penetration of globe injuries and use of cefuroxime in reducing postoperative endophthalmitis.

The article discusses the concept of self-healing of concrete cracks by stopping crack formation and initiating a healing mechanism based on the biomineralization characteristics of some bacteria. The Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is reportedly looking at the possible use of Bacillus pasteurii to add a self-healing component to concrete. It notes that the specific goal of the study is to restore the strength of the concrete.

The article reports on the conversion of grass into silage to feed the 260 cows and produce 10,000 liters of milk everyday, according to James and Anne Rogerson of Game Farm in Lancashire, England. The couple uses additives for the feed to improve the quality of the silage, increase the protein level and decrease the lactic acid. The addition of enzymes and Bacillus bacteria improves the palatability and stability of the silage.

The article discusses several issues concerning the development of a second Bacillus thuringiensis or Bt gene for the next generation of its transgenic cotton plants. It presents the research conducted by Bruce Tabashnik, professor of entomology at the University of Arizona, which highlights the first documented case of field-evolved resistance in Helicoverpa zea or bollworm to the Bt insecticidal protein in Bollgard cotton.

The article focuses on the development of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) gene for the next generation of its transgenic cotton plants in the U.S. The development aims to broaden the spectrum of control provided when the target pests fed with Bt proteins and extend life's technology through a two-gene approach. Study suggests that resistance decrease in pest susceptibility measured over human experience. The resistance was found to be a possibility for most control measures for insects.

This article reports that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has granted deregulated status for Dow AgroSciences LLC's WideStrike Insect Protection cotton. WideStrike is the company's first cotton insect protection trait. WideStrike Insect Protection is a new, stacked insect-protection trait heing researched, developed and introduced for use in the cotton market by Dow AgroSciences. The stacked trait expresses the Cry IF and Cry 1 Ac proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis in cotton plants. Extensive field trials show seasonlong protection from a broad spectrum of lepidopteran pests such as cotton bollworm, tobacco budworm, pink bollworm, beet armyworm, fall armyworm, southern armyworm, cabbage loopers and soybean loopers.

The article reports on the space-based bacteria strain called Bacillus stratosphericus that was identified by scientists at England-based Newcastle University that is used as a modern element of a biofilm for use in microbial fuel cells (MFC).

The article discusses a study on the incidence for multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacilli in cancer patients. Results showed that 27 cases were due to multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacilli bacteremia. In addition, infections were more frequently found in patients with previous intensive care unit admission or urinary catheter. Poor outcome and inappropriate empirical antibiotic therapy were observed among patients with bacteremia.

The article focuses on the closure of Novozymes AS hyaluronic acid plant in Shandong province, China. The plant produces this acid through Streptococcus bacteria fermentation and employs 132 people. It was brought in 2006 to complement its existing Bacillus-based production. However, it has encountered price erosion in the dietary supplement market and a low-growth prospect in technical market. It hopes to develop its Bacillus products for high-end applications.

The article reports that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has fined Syngenta for accidentally selling and distributing corn seed that contained the unregistered pesticide Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt 10). EPA has issued the 2007 critical use exemptions to the ban on methyl bromide, which will be applied by strawberry and tomato growers, as well as for commodity fumigation.

The article chronicles how the Ames strain, which was implicated in the 2001 anthrax-laden letter attacks, was misnamed by researchers working at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland. The Ames is one of the 89 strains of Bacillus anthracis, the bacterium that causes anthrax. The strain was isolated from a sick cow that died in Texas in 1980.

Reports on the achievement of the first total synthesis of surface tetrasaccharide from anthrax bacterium's surface glycoprotein. Characteristics of the terminal tetrasaccharide of the Bacillus anthracis; Significance of the research for vaccine development against anthrax; Method used by researchers in examining the bacterium's surface glycoprotein.

Comments on the status of refuge rules from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for corn and cotton containing the Bacillus thuringiensis gene from 2000 to 2003. Condition proposed to companies that developed the technology to implement extensive refuge plans for receiving registration renewals; Percentage of cotton farmers complying with refuge requirements; Pressure from environmentalists faced by the agency.

Discusses the impact of using low quality silage for feeding beef cattle. Problem of breeding of bacillus lichenformus in poor quality silage; Impact of soil contamination on silage.