Association between severe periodontitis and dislypidemia

Rezumat. Scopul studiului il reprezinta evaluarea unei posibile corelatii intre parodontitele cronice stadiul sever si nivelul lipidelor serice. Materiale si metoda: Un lot de 59 de pacienti cu varsta intre 45-54 de ani carora li s-au efectuat anamneza si examenul clinic, precum si analize generale (colesterol si trigliceride). Rezultate: 44,8% dintre pacienti prezentau nivele crescute ale trigliceridelor (valoare medie 212 mg/dl), iar 55,17% dintre pacienti prezentau un nivel crescut al colesterolului total (valoare medie 256mg/dl). Concluzii: Exista o corelatie intre parodontitele severe si nivelele serice crescute ale colesterolului si trigliceridelor, fapt ce trebuie sa atraga atentia medicului dentist.Summary. The purpose of the study is the evaluation of a possible correlation between severe stage chronic periodontitis and the level of serum lipids. Materials and method: A sample of 59 patients, between 45 - 54 years old, who underwent clinical dental examination and a set of blood analysis (cholesterol and triglycerides). Results: 44,8% of the patients exhibited high levels of triglycerides (median value of 212 mg/dl), and 55,17% of them exhibited a high level of total cholesterol (median value 256mg/dl). Conclusion: There is a relationship between severe periodontal disease and high serum levels of cholesterol and triglycerides, a fact requires the attention of the dentist

High Genetic Diversity among Community-Associated Staphylococcus aureus in Europe: Results from a Multicenter Study

Background: Several studies have addressed the epidemiology of community-associated Staphylococcus aureus (CA-SA) in Europe; nonetheless, a comprehensive perspective remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to describe the population structure of CA-SA and to shed light on the origin of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) in this continent. Methods and Findings: A total of 568 colonization and infection isolates, comprising both MRSA and methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA), were recovered in 16 European countries, from community and community-onset infections. The genetic background of isolates was characterized by molecular typing techniques (spa typing, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and multilocus sequence typing) and the presence of PVL and ACME was tested by PCR. MRSA were further characterized by SCCmec typing. We found that 59 % of all isolates were associated with community-associated clones. Most MRSA were related with USA300 (ST8-IVa and variants) (40%), followed by the European clone (ST80-IVc and derivatives) (28%) and the Taiwan clone (ST59-IVa and related clonal types) (15%). A total of 83 % of MRSA carried Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) and 14 % carried the arginine catabolic mobile element (ACME). Surprisingly, we found a high genetic diversity among MRSA clonal types (ST-SCCmec), Simpson’s index of diversity = 0.852 (0.788–0.916). Specifically, about half of the isolates carried novel associations between genetic background and SCCmec. Analysis by BURP showed that some CA-MSSA and CA-MRS

Staphylococcus aureus harbouring egc cluster coding for non-classical enterotoxins, involved in a food poisoning outbreak, Romania, 2012 / Staphylococcus aureus purtător de gene codante pentru enterotoxine non-clasice (cluster egc), implicat într-un focar de toxiinfecţie alimentară, România, 2012

În martie 2012, într-un judeţ din România, a fost raportat un focar de toxiinfecţie alimentară ce a afectat un număr de 30 de preşcolari. Debutul simptomelor (vărsături, diaree şi dureri abdominale), la 1-2 ore de la ingestia unui anumit produs alimentar (lapte), a sugerat o posibilă etiologie stafilococică a acestui focar

Enterococcus faecium strains characterization through polymorphism study of VNTR loci

Enterococci are commensally bacteria of the gastrointestinal and female genital tract in humans and some mammals and birds, and one of the significant causes of hospital-acquired infections, especially in immuno-compromised patients. Genetic fingerprinting (DNA fingerprinting) is a tool for identifying, marking and prevention of infectious agents dissemination. SSR (short sequence repeat) are known to suffer frequent variations in the number of repetitive units.MLVA (multiple locus variable number tandem repeats analysis) is a variant of genetic fingerprinting, in epidemiological studies on the pathogenetic Enterococcus faecium. Our study included laboratory Enterococcus faecium strains or isolated from clinical cases or from the environment (2003-2008). All analyzed strains of Enterococcus faecium were sensitive to vancomycin, except BM4147, and resistant to oxacilin. Strains isolated from the birds’ samples have shown a smaller resistance profile than those of human origin. 33 Enterococus faecium strains were analyzed by PCR amplification. 27 MT (VNTR profiles) were obtained: six in the case of the strains isolated from birds, 15 in the case of the strains isolated form humans, 4 in the case of the collection strains and 2 in the case of the strains isolated from water samples. Among the strains isolated from humans and those isolated from animals, identical profiles were not recorded. Within the strains isolated from clinical cases, and those isolated from birds, circulating genotypes were noted, which can be considered as epidemical. The strains used as probiotics proved to be different from those circulating in birds. All MLVA profiles codes compared with those published on line in the UMC Utrecht database proved to be different. Results obtained in this study support the usefulness of the polymorphic VNTR analysis, as genetic marker, inepidemiological investigations

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) Modified by Nanocellulose and Plasma Treatment for Packaging Applications

In this work, a new eco-friendly method for the treatment of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) as a candidate for food packaging applications is proposed. Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) was modified by bacterial cellulose nanofibers (BC) using a melt compounding technique and by plasma treatment or zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticle plasma coating for better properties and antibacterial activity. Plasma treatment preserved the thermal stability, crystallinity and melting behavior of PHB‒BC nanocomposites, regardless of the amount of BC nanofibers. However, a remarkable increase of stiffness and strength and an increase of the antibacterial activity were noted. After the plasma treatment, the storage modulus of PHB having 2 wt % BC increases by 19% at room temperature and by 43% at 100 °C. The tensile strength increases as well by 21%. In addition, plasma treatment also inhibits the growth of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli by 44% and 63%, respectively. The ZnO plasma coating led to important changes in the thermal and mechanical behavior of PHB‒BC nanocomposite as well as in the surface structure and morphology. Strong chemical bonding of the metal nanoparticles on PHB surface following ZnO plasma coating was highlighted by infrared spectroscopy. Moreover, the presence of a continuous layer of self-aggregated ZnO nanoparticles was demonstrated by scanning electron microscopy, ZnO plasma treatment completely inhibiting growth of Staphylococcus aureus. A plasma-treated PHB‒BC nanocomposite is proposed as a green solution for the food packaging industry

Carbapenemase-Producing Klebsiella pneumoniae in Romania: A Six-Month Survey

This study presents the first characterization of carbapenem-non-susceptible Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates by means of a structured six-month survey performed in Romania as part of an Europe-wide investigation. Klebsiella pneumoniae clinical isolates from different anatomical sites were tested for antibiotic susceptibility by phenotypic methods and confirmed by PCR for the presence of four carbapenemase genes. Genome macrorestriction fingerprinting with XbaI was used to analyze the relatedness of carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates collected from eight hospitals. Among 75 non-susceptible isolates, 65 were carbapenemase producers. The most frequently identified genotype was OXA-48 (n = 51 isolates), eight isolates were positive for bla(NDM-1) gene, four had the bla(KPC-2) gene, whereas two were positive for bla(VIM-1). The analysis of PFGE profiles of OXA-48 and NDM-1 producing K. pneumoniae suggests inter-hospitals and regional transmission of epidemic clones. This study presents the first description of K. pneumoniae strains harbouring blaKPC-2 and blaVIM-1 genes in Romania. The results of this study highlight the urgent need for the strengthening of hospital infection control measures in Romania in order to curb the further spread of the antibiotic resistance

PFGE profiles of 65 carbapenemase-producing <i>Klebsiella pneumoniae</i> isolates.

<p>PFGE profiles of 65 carbapenemase-producing <i>Klebsiella pneumoniae</i> isolates.</p

Hospital origin, number and frequency of carbapenem-non-susceptible <i>K</i>. <i>pneumoniae</i> isolates included in the study and total number of carbapenem susceptible and non-susceptible isolates collected during survey period.

<p>^acarbapenem-non-susceptible isolates (NS)</p><p>^bcarbapenem susceptible isolates (S)</p><p>Hospital origin, number and frequency of carbapenem-non-susceptible <i>K</i>. <i>pneumoniae</i> isolates included in the study and total number of carbapenem susceptible and non-susceptible isolates collected during survey period.</p

European external quality assessments for identification, molecular typing and characterization of Staphylococcus aureus

Objectives: We present the results of two European external quality assessments (EQAs) conducted in 2014 and 2016 under the auspices of the Study Group on Staphylococci and Staphylococcal Infections of ESCMID. The objective was to assess the performance of participating centres in characterizing Staphylococcus aureus using their standard in-house phenotypic and genotypic protocols. Methods: A total of 11 well-characterized blindly coded S. aureus (n = 9), Staphylococcus argenteus (n = 1) and Staphylococcus capitis (n = 1) strains were distributed to participants for analysis. Species identification, MIC determination, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, antimicrobial resistance and toxin gene detection and molecular typing including spa typing, SCCmec typing and MLST were performed. Results: Thirteen laboratories from 12 European countries participated in one EQA or both EQAs. Despite considerable diversity in the methods employed, good concordance (90%-100%) with expected results was obtained. Discrepancies were observed for: (i) identification of the S. argenteus strain; (ii) phenotypic detection of low-level resistance to oxacillin in the mecC-positive strain; (iii) phenotypic detection of the inducible MLSB strain; and (iv) WGS-based detection of some resistance and toxin genes. Conclusions: Overall, good concordance (90%-100%) with expected results was observed. In some instances, the accurate detection of resistance and toxin genes from WGS data proved problematic, highlighting the need for validated and internationally agreed-on bioinformatics pipelines before such techniques are implemented routinely by microbiology laboratories. We strongly recommend all national reference laboratories and laboratories acting as referral centres to participate in such EQA initiatives

Primers used for screening, confirmation and sequencing of carbapenemase encoding genes.

<p>Primers used for screening, confirmation and sequencing of carbapenemase encoding genes.</p