Genotypic variability and antifungal susceptibility of Candida spp. isolated from hospital surfaces and hands of healthcare professionals

Objectives Candida spp. are responsible for 9095% of hematogenous fungal infections. In Brazil and Latin America, C. albicans is the most common specie, followed by C. parapsilosis and C. tropicalis. Infections caused by Candida spp. may have their origin in exogenous sources, transmitted to patients via contaminated infusions, biomedical devices or even by the hands of the hospital staff members. Molecular biology techniques such as Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) can show that the strains found in anatomical sites or abi- otic surfaces have the same pattern genome.Moreover, in the last decades it has been observed increasing the number of yeasts isolated from hospital environment resistant to antifungals. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the susceptibility to antifungals and intraspecies similarity among isolates of different hospital surfaces and hands of healthcare professionals. Methods The study was conducted with 25 isolates of Candida spp.: 5 strains of C. albicans and 5 strains of C. parapsilosis isolated from hospital surfaces. 5 strains of C. albicans, 5 strains of C. parapsilosis and 5 strains of C. tropicalis isolated from hands of healthcare professionals. Professionals and surfaces belonged to intensive care units. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined to voriconazole (VOR), fluconazole (FLZ), amphotericin B (AMB) and micafungin (MFG) according to M27-A3 of the Clinical and Labora- tory Standards Institute (CLSI). To determine the intra-species similarity, 3 primers were used: P4 (50 -AAGAGCCCGT-30 ), OPA-18 (50AGCTGACCGT30) and OPE-18 (50GGACTGCAGA 30). RAPD pro- files were analyzed using BioNumerics software version 4.6. The study was approved by the Ethics in research involving human subjects, CAAE 0448.0.093.000-11 protocol. Results In relation to susceptibility testing (Table 1), it is important to highlight that C. parapsilosis showed 80% of MFG resistance. C. albicans and C. tropicalis showed reduced susceptibility to VOR, and resistence of the AMB was observed for C. albicans (20%). All amplifi- cations revealed distinct polymorphic bands. Genetic distances between each of the isolates were calculated and cluster analysis was used to generate a dendrogram showing relationships between them. The analysis of all primers showed similarity greater than 80% between strains of hands and hospital surfaces for intraspecies. Conclusion Our work shows that, healthy people and hospital surfaces may be colonized by different species yeast. Furthermore, the strains studied had relative resistance to antifungal drugs most frequently used in clinical practice. Finally, there was a high similarity between samples from hands (hospital staff members) and surfaces, providing an infection risk to susceptible individuals. Healthy people working in hospitals can carry yeasts on their hands with the same potential virulence, and which therefore offer the same risk of infection. This information should be considered when preventive measures are established. Attention to the colonization of hands and surfaces should not be restricted to high-risk units such as NICUs, but should also include other sections of hospitals

Assessment of in vitro biofilm formation and antifungal susceptibility of Candida albicans isolates from vulvovaginal candidiasis

Objectives Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) is an inflammation of the genital mucosa, which mainly affects the vulva and vagina. Candida spp. are considered commensal fungus, however, when there is imbalance in the microbiota or the host immune system is compromised, these can become pathogenic. C. albicans is responsible for most cases of VVC and is able of expressing mechanisms which allow the colonization or infection in the host. These factors related yeasts, including the growth of strains resistant to antifungal agents and virulence attributes (such as biofilm formation) are important in the development of VVC. In this sense, the objective of this study was to evaluate the in vitro biofilm formation and susceptibility to antifungal of C. albicans isolates from patients with vulvovaginal candidiasis. Methods For the study were analyzed 30 clinical isolates of Candida albicans. The clinical isolates were separated in groups of 10 samples of the according to symptoms presented by the patients: asymptomatic (AS), vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) and recurrent vulvo- vaginal candidiasis (RVVC). For all isolates were analyzed biofilm formation and minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) for fluconazole and nystatin. The MIC was performed according to M27-A3 protocol of the Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute. Biofilm forming ability was assessed through quantification of total biomass by crystal violet (CV) staining, performed on 96-well microplates containing a cellular suspension of 1 9 107 cells ml1 and incubated for 24 h at 37°C. Results Antifungal susceptibility testing is showed in table 1. The isolates were tested to the two antifungals. The MIC raging from 0.125 to 2 lg ml1 for fluconazole and 1 to 4 lg ml1 to nystatin. The figure 1 show the quantification of the total biomass. It was evident that all the C. albicans isolates were able to form biofilm, although differences occurred depending on the isolated and consequently the group. Importantly it was noted that, in general, VVC and RVVC groups had similar capacity biofilm formation. On the other hand, these groups had less total biomass (average Abs = 1,091 ` 0.88) compared with AS group (average Abs = 1,521 ` 1.32). Conclusion Although all the samples analyzed are sensitive to anti- fungals tested research of resistant strains is relevant, since recurrences are related to cases of VVC. Nystatin and fluconazole were effective in small concentrations for the isolates analysed. All samples were able to form biofilm and the average of the group of asymptomatic patients greater than the others. Thus, the capacity to form- ing biofilm is an important virulence factor in the persistence of microorganisms in infectious processes and represent an increase in resistance to antifungal and host defense

Evaluation of propolis and its subproduct as an inhibitor of growth and biofilm formation in vaginal yeast from pregnant women

Objectives The treatment of vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) is still unsatisfactory, especially in pregnant women, being promising to the utilization of alternative therapies. Propolis extract solution (PES) has demonstrated antifungal efficacy and low toxicity. In addition, the subproduct of propolis extract solution (SPES) is produced during the process of preparing PES and is usually discarded, but can still sub- mit substances responsible for biological effects, such as the polyphenols, responsible for the therapeutic activity of propolis. SPES have not been investigated or used as an antimicrobial agent. Thus, the objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of PES and SPES on Candida spp. isolated from the vaginal material of pregnant women. Methods Vaginal samples from 291 pregnant women were collected and cultivated for yeasts, which were identified by the classical method and performing susceptibility tests against PES, SPES and conventional antifungal agents. The anti-biofilm effect and cytotoxicity tests of the PES and SPES were evaluated. Results In 38.48% (112/291) of culture was positive for Candida species. There were patients with two different species, being a total of 115 yeasts (82.61% C. albicans; 6.08% C. glabrata; 5.22% C. tropi- calis; 5.22% C. parapsilosis and 0.87% C. krusei). PES and SPES were effective, even against isolates resistant to conventional antifungal (Table 1) and reduced about 25% C. tropicalis biofilm, besides presenting its low toxicity in the concentrations of fungicides. Conclusion Thus, in addition to the PES, SPES can also be a promising alternative treatment, especially in this population

Acibenzolar-s-metil, oxicloreto de cobre e fertilizantes foliares no controle da mancha bacteriana do maracujazeiro.

Edição dos resumos do 44º Congresso Brasileiro de Fitopatologia, 2011, Bento Gonçalves. Resumo 1172

Intermediate temperature dynamics of one-dimensional Heisenberg antiferromagnets

We present a general theory for the intermediate temperature (T) properties of Heisenberg antiferromagnets of spin-S ions on p-leg ladders, valid for 2Sp even or odd. Following an earlier proposal for 2Sp even (Damle and Sachdev, cond-mat/9711014), we argue that an integrable, classical, continuum model of a fixed-length, 3-vector applies over an intermediate temperature range; this range becomes very wide for moderate and large values of 2Sp. The coupling constants of the effective model are known exactly in terms of the energy gap above the ground state (for 2Sp even) or a crossover scale (for 2Sp odd). Analytic and numeric results for dynamic and transport properties are obtained, including some exact results for the spin-wave damping. Numerous quantitative predictions for neutron scattering and NMR experiments are made. A general discussion on the nature of T>0 transport in integrable systems is also presented: an exact solution of a toy model proves that diffusion can exist in integrable systems, provided proper care is taken in approaching the thermodynamic limit.Comment: 38 pages, including 12 figure

The Critical Behaviour of the Spin-3/2 Blume-Capel Model in Two Dimensions

The phase diagram of the spin-3/2 Blume-Capel model in two dimensions is explored by conventional finite-size scaling, conformal invariance and Monte Carlo simulations. The model in its $\tau$-continuum Hamiltonian version is also considered and compared with others spin-3/2 quantum chains. Our results indicate that differently from the standard spin-1 Blume-Capel model there is no multicritical point along the order-disorder transition line. This is in qualitative agreement with mean field prediction but in disagreement with previous approximate renormalization group calculations. We also presented new results for the spin-1 Blume-Capel model.Comment: latex 18 pages, 4 figure

Identity of the universal repulsive-core singularity with Yang-Lee edge criticality

Lattice and continuum fluid models with repulsive-core interactions typically display a dominant, critical-type singularity on the real, negative activity axis. Lai and Fisher recently suggested, mainly on numerical grounds, that this repulsive-core singularity is universal and in the same class as the Yang-Lee edge singularities, which arise above criticality at complex activities with positive real part. A general analytic demonstration of this identification is presented here using a field-theory approach with separate representation of the repulsive and attractive parts of the pair interactions.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure

Componentes dos frutos de cultivares de coqueiro-anão (Cocos nucifera L. Var. Nana).

Estabelece as percentagens dos componentes de frutos de coqueiro anao, nos pontos de colheita para agua de coco, seis meses e sete meses, e para albumen solido, doze meses.bitstream/item/91445/1/CPATC-PESQ.-AND.-64-98.pd

Interfacial adsorption phenomena of the three-dimensional three-state Potts model

We study the interfacial adsorption phenomena of the three-state ferromagnetic Potts model on the simple cubic lattice by the Monte Carlo method. Finite-size scaling analyses of the net-adsorption yield the evidence of the phase transition being of first-order and $k_{\rm B} T_{\rm C} / J = 1.8166 (2)$.Comment: 14 page