The antimicrobial susceptibility of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia isolates using three different methods and their genetic relatedness

BACKGROUND: Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is inherently resistant to many antimicrobials. So far, antimicrobial susceptibility tests for S. maltophilia have not been fully standardized. The purpose of the study was to compare the susceptibility of S. maltophilia isolates against seven different antimicrobials using three different methods and to investigate their genetic relatedness. RESULTS: Although trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (SXT) and ciprofloxacin have the lowest MIC values, SXT (98.1%) and ticarcillin/clavulanate (TLc) (73.1%) were found to be the most effective antimicrobials by agar dilution method, which was in accordance with the breakpoints established by NCCLS. Disc diffusion and E-test was in agreement with agar dilution method for SXT. When the isolation dates, clinics, antibiotyping, and AP-PCR data were investigated, two small outbreaks consisting of five and three cases were determined. CONCLUSION: By using the NCCLS criteria, disc diffusion and E-test were unreliable alternative methods for S. maltophilia, except for SXT. However, the significance of these data should be confirmed by further experimental and clinical studies

The effect of extended incubation of stool cultures on the isolation rates of Salmonella species

Amaç: Bu çalışmada, dışkı kültürlerinde inkübasyon süresinin uzatılmasının Salmonella cinsi bakterilerin izolasyon oranına katkısı araştırıldı. Çalışma Planı: Toplam 1207 dışkı örneği ayırtıcı, seçici ve çoğaltıcı besiyerlerine ekildi. Katı besiyerleri (Salmonella-Shigella agar, eosin metilen blue agar) ve sıvı besiyerinden (selenite broth) yapılan altkültürler 24 ve 48. saatlerde değerlendirilmek üzere inkübe edildi. Bulgular: Dışkı örneklerinin 1150’sinde (%95.3) üreme görülmedi, 55’inde Salmonella (%4.6), ikisinde Shigella (%0.2) cinsi bakteri üredi. Üreme olmayan 1150 dışkı örneği 16-18 saat daha inkübe edildiğinde ek olarak 10 Salmonella cinsi bakteri izolasyonu elde edildi. Bunların selenite broth ve eosin metilen blue agar besiyerinden izole edilen bir suş dışında tamamının selenite broth besiyerinden izole edildiği görüldü. İnkübasyon süresinin 24 saatten 48 saate uzatılmasının Salmonella cinsi bakteri izolasyonunu %18.2 oranında artırdığı görüldü. Sonuç: Bu çalışmada mikrobiyoloji laboratuvarlarındaki rutin dışkı kültürlerinde inkübasyon süresinin uzatılmasının izolasyon oranını artırdığı ve bu nedenle kullanılması gerektiği sonucuna varıldı.Objectives: We investigated the contribution of extended incubation period of stool cultures to the isolation rates of Salmonella species. Study Design: A total of 1207 stool specimens were inoculated into differential, enrichment, and selective media. The solid media (Salmonella-Shigella agar, eosin methylene blue agar), and subcultures from liquid media (selenite broth) were incubated for 24 and 48 hours. Results: No growth was observed in 1150 cultures (95.3%) of stool specimens. Salmonella strains were isolated in 55 specimens (4.6%) and Shigella (0.2%) in two specimens. Reincubation of 1150 specimens for another 16-18 hours yielded Salmonella growth in 10 samples, all of which were isolated in selenite broth except one which was isolated in both eosin methylene blue agar and selenite broth. It was found that extending the incubation period to 48 hours resulted in a 18.2% increase in the isolation of Salmonella strains. Conclusion: Based on our findings, we suggest that the system of extended incubation be a routine practice for stool cultures in clinical microbiology laboratories

The prevalence of pediculus humanus capitis and tinea capitis among elementary school students in Edirne

Amaç: Bu çalışmada Edirne Merkez İlköğretim Okulları öğrencilerinde pedikulus humanus kapitis ve tinea kapitisin görülme sıklığı ve tinea kapitis yapan etkenlerin saptanması amaçlandı. Olgular ve Yöntemler: 2003 yılı Nisan ve Mayıs aylarında Edirne merkezindeki 34 ilköğretim okulunda 12.868 öğrenci tarandı. Saç ve saçlı deride lezyon görülenlerin lezyonlu bölgelerinden, saç teli ve saçlı derilerinden kazıntı örneği alındı. Alınan örneklerden KOH ile direkt mikroskobik inceleme ve sikloheksimidli Sabouraud dekstroz agarda mantar kültürü yapıldı. Bulgular: Toplam 698 (%5.4) öğrencinin başında pedikulusun sirke, nimf veya olgun şekli saptandı. Kız öğrencilerdeki pozitiflik (%10.3) erkek öğrencilerdekinden (%0.9) daha yüksekti (p<0.001). Enfestasyon oranı en az yedi yaş altında (%3.4) bulundu (p<0.001). Sosyo-ekonomik düzeyi düşük ailelerin bulunduğu bölgelerde bitlenme oranı daha yüksekti (p<0.001). Hiçbir öğrencide tinea kapitise rastlanmadı. Sonuç: Pedikulus humanus kapitisin Edirne’de bir halk sağlığı sorunu olmaya devam ettiği görüldü. Eradikasyon için aileler, öğretmenler ve sağlık çalışanları tarafından öğrencilerin periyodik kontrollerinin yapılması, hasta kişilerin tedavi edilmesi, alt yapı hizmetlerinin iyileştirilmesi, etkenden nasıl korunulması gerektiği üzerine sürekli eğitim verilmesinin yerinde olacağı sonucuna varıldı.Objectives: In this study, we aimed to determine the prevalences of pediculus humanis capitis and tinea capitis and the causative agents of tinea capitis in elementary school children in Edirne. Materials and Methods: A total of 12,868 students from 34 elementary schools were scanned in April and May 2003. Samples of skin scrapings and hair roots were collected from students with hair and scalp lesions. Specimens were evaluated microscopically by KOH, and were inoculated into agar slants of Sabouraud dextrose agar with cycloheximide. Results: Eggs, nits or adult forms of head lice were detected in 698 (5.4%) students. The prevalence of head lice was significantly higher in girls (10.3%) than in boys (0.9%) (p&lt;0.001). The infestation rate was the lowest below seven years of age (3.4%, p&lt;0.001). Infestation rate was also high in families with low socioeconomic conditions (p&lt;0.001). Tinea capitis was not detected in any of the students. Conclusion: Pediculus humanis capitis was found to continue to be a public health problem in Edirne. The following conclusions were drawn for its eradication: periodic scanning of the students by families, teachers, and health professionals should be implemented; affected children should be properly treated; health facilities should be improved; and continuous education should be given to prevent its spread

Atrial fibrillation designation with micro-Raman spectroscopy and scanning acoustic microscope

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is diagnosed with the electrocardiogram, which is the gold standard in clinics. However, sufficient arrhythmia monitoring takes a long time, and many of the tests are made in only a few seconds, which can lead arrhythmia to be missed. Here, we propose a combined method to detect the effects of AF on atrial tissue. We characterize tissues obtained from patients with or without AF by scanning acoustic microscopy (SAM) and by Raman spectroscopy (RS) to construct a mechano-chemical profile. We classify the Raman spectral measurements of the tissue samples with an unsupervised clustering method, k-means and compare their chemical properties. Besides, we utilize scanning acoustic microscopy to compare and determine differences in acoustic impedance maps of the groups. We compared the clinical outcomes with our findings using a neural network classification for Raman measurements and ANOVA for SAM measurements. Consequently, we show that the stiffness profiles of the tissues, corresponding to the patients with chronic AF, without AF or who experienced postoperative AF, are in agreement with the lipid-collagen profiles obtained by the Raman spectral characterization.Turkiye Cumhuriyeti Kalkinma Bakanlig

Recent Advances in Health Biotechnology During Pandemic

The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which emerged in 2019, cut the epoch that will make profound fluctuates in the history of the world in social, economic, and scientific fields. Urgent needs in public health have brought with them innovative approaches, including diagnosis, prevention, and treatment. To exceed the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, various scientific authorities in the world have procreated advances in real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) based diagnostic tests, rapid diagnostic kits, the development of vaccines for immunization, and the purposing pharmaceuticals for treatment. Diagnosis, treatment, and immunization approaches put for- ward by scientific communities are cross-fed from the accrued knowledge of multidisciplinary sciences in health biotechnology. So much so that the pandemic, urgently prioritized in the world, is not only viral infections but also has been the pulsion in the development of novel approaches in many fields such as diagnosis, treatment, translational medicine, virology, mi- crobiology, immunology, functional nano- and bio-materials, bioinformatics, molecular biol- ogy, genetics, tissue engineering, biomedical devices, and artificial intelligence technologies. In this review, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the development of various scientific areas of health biotechnology are discussed

Mustafa Kemal Üniversitesi Hastanesi’nde izole edilen staphylococcus aureus suşlarında toksin genlerinin araştırılması

Aim: Th e aim of this study was to investigate the presence of genes encoding staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs), exfoliative toxins (ETAs, ETBs), and toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 (TSST-1) by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from various clinical samples from the Mustafa Kemal University Hospital. In addition, PCRbased restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of the coa gene was employed to genotype the isolates. Materials and methods: A total of 120 S. aureus strains isolated from various clinical samples (blood, wounds, urine, conjuctival swabs, and tracheal aspirate) over a 1 year period, 2007-2008, were used in this study. Results: Almost 65.8% of the isolates possessed at least one toxin gene. Th e genes most frequently found were seg-sei (40.8%), followed by sea (30%) and eta (19.2%). Overall, 35 toxin genotypes were observed, among which the genotypes seg-sei, sea-seg-sei, and sea-see predominated at the rate of 8.3%, 5.8%, and 5%, respectively. Four coagulase genotype patterns were observed, with molecular sizes ranging from 570 to 970 bp. Coa-based RFLP analysis revealed 7 diff erent patterns using AluI. Conclusion: Our results have revealed that toxin genes were very prevalent among S. aureus isolates, and the toxigenic isolates were independent of the genotypes obtained by PCR-RFLP of the coa gene (P &gt; 0.05).Amaç: Bu çalışmanın amacı Mustafa Kemal Üniversitesi Hastanesi’nde farklı klinik örneklerden izole edilen Staphylococcus aureus suşlarında stafi lokokkal enterotoksinler (SE), eksfoliyatif toksinler (ETA, ETB) ve toksik şok sendrom toksin-1’i (TSST-1) kodlayan genlerin Polimeraz Zincir Reaksiyonu (PZR) ile belirlenmesi ve koagulaz genine dayalı restriction fragment length polymorphism (PZR-RFLP) ile tiplendirilmesidir. Yöntem ve gereç: Çalışmada farklı klinik örneklerden (kan, yara, idrar, konjuktival sürüntü örneği ve trakeal aspirat) 2007-2008 yılları arasında izole edilen 120 S. aureus suşu kullanıldı. Bulgular: İzolatların % 65,8’inin en az bir toksin geni taşıdığı saptandı. En yaygın toksin genlerinin seg-sei (% 40,8), sea (% 30) ve eta (% 19,2) olduğu tespit edildi. Çalışmada 35 toksin genotipinden, seg-sei (% 8.3), sea-seg-sei (% 5,8) ve sea-see (% 5) en yaygın genotipler olarak belirlendi. Moleküler büyüklükleri 570-970 bp arasında değişen 4 koagulaz genotipi gözlendi. Koagulaz geninin AluI ile kesilmesi ile yapılan RFLP analizi ile 7 farklı pattern bulundu. Sonuç: S. aureus izolatları arasında toksin genlerinin oldukça yaygın olduğu ve toksijenik suşların coa genine dayalı yapılan PZR-RFLP ile elde edilen genotiplerden bağımsız olduğu sonucuna varılmıştır (P > 0,05)

Veteriner hekim ve veteriner fakültesi öğrencilerinde nazal metisilin dirençli stafilokok (MD-KNS) taşıyıcılığı

Bu çalışmada veteriner hekimler (n=89) ve veteriner fakültesi öğrencileri (n=83) arasında nazal metisilin dirençli koagulaz negatif stafilokok (MD-KNS) taşıyıcılığının saptanması amaçlandı. Ayrıca, izolatların tür dağılımı, antimikrobiyal duyarlılıkları, antibiyotik direnç genleri ve stafilokokal kaset kromozom mec (SCCmec) tipleri de araştırıldı. MD-KNS veteriner hekimlerin %43,8'inden (38/89) ve öğrencilerin %44,6'sından (37/83) izole edildi. MD-KNS suşlarının tamamı kinopristin-dalfopristine duyarlı bulunurken; izolatların %64,5'ı çoğul dirençlilik gösterdi. MD-KNS suşları direnç genlerinin tek veya farklı kombinasyonlarını taşıdı. Hem veteriner hekimlerden hem de öğrencilerden izole edilen MD-KNS suşlarında SCCmec tip IV ve V en yaygın tipler olarak belirlendi. Bu çalışma, veteriner hekimler ve veteriner fakültesi öğrenciler arasında nazal çoğul dirençli MD-KNS taşıyıcılık oranının yüksek olduğunu göstermektedirThe aim of this work was to determine the nasal carriage of methicillin resistant coagulase negative staphylococci (MR-CoNS) among veterinarians and veterinary students. In addition, species distribution, antimicrobial susceptibility, resistance genes and staphylococcal chromosomal cassette mec (SCCmec) type of the isolates were also investigated. MR-CoNS were isolated from 43.8% (39/89) of veterinarians and 44.6% (37/83) of students. While all MR-CoNS isolates were susceptible to quinopristin-dalfopristine, 64.5% of the isolates showed multiresistance. MR-CoNS strains carried single or various combinations of resistance genes. SCCmec type IV and V were the most common in MR-CoNS strains from both veterinarians and students. This study shows that the rate of nasal carriage of multi-resistant MR-CoNS carriage among veterinarians and veterinary students is hig