Analysis of Aminoglycoside Modifying Enzyme Genes Responsible for High-Level Aminoglycoside Resistance among Enterococcal Isolates

Enzymatic modification results in high-level resistance to aminoglycoside (HLAR), which eliminates the synergistic bactericidal effect of combined exposure to a cell wall-active agent and an aminoglycoside. So aim of the study was to determine prevalence of HLAR enterococcal isolate and to study distribution of aminoglycoside modifying enzyme genes in them. A total of 100 nonrepeat isolates of enterococci from various clinical samples were analyzed. As per Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines enterococci were screened for HLAR by Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. Minimum inhibitory concentration of all isolates for gentamicin and streptomycin was determined by E-test. Multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was carried out for HLAR enterococcal isolates to identify aminoglycoside modifying enzymes genes responsible for resistance. 60% isolates were found to be high-level gentamicin resistant (HLGR) whereas 45% isolates were found to be high-level streptomycin resistant (HLSR). By multiplex PCR 80% HLGR isolates carried bifunctional aminoglycoside modifying enzyme gene aac(6′)-Ie-aph(2′′)-Ia whereas 18 out of 45 high-level streptomycin resistant, that is, 40%, isolates carried aph(3′)-IIIa. However, aph(2′′)-Ib, aph(2′′)-Ic, aph(2′′)-Id, and ant(4′)-Ia genes which encode other aminoglycosides modifying enzymes were not detected. Bifunctional aminoglycoside modifying enzyme gene aac(6′)-Ie-aph(2′′)-Ia is the predominant gene responsible for HLAR

Seven-year microbiological profile and antibiotic sensitivity pattern of burn wound infections in a tertiary care hospital in New Delhi

Introduction: Burn patients are vulnerable for opportunistic colonization by organisms of endogenous and exogenous origin. Hence, it is necessary to evaluate the flora obtained from wounds of burn patients to determine the most effective treatment. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of various bacteria isolated from burn patients and to determine their antimicrobial susceptibility and resistance pattern spanning 7 years. Materials and Methods: The retrospective study included all the culture reports obtained over a period of 7 years (2012–2018). Results: Out of the total 1474 positive samples analyzed, the most common sample reported was pus (n = 816), followed by blood culture (n = 314), tissue (n = 188), and urine (n = 156). The most common organism cultured was Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n = 377), followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (n = 309). Other commonly isolated organisms were Acinetobacter baumannii (n = 206), Escherichia coli (n = 89), coagulase-negative staphylococci (n = 88), Proteus mirabilis (n = 55), Burkholderia cepacia (n = 54), Staphylococcus aureus (n = 42), Candida spp. (n = 39), and Enterococci spp. (n = 36). Pseudomonas was seen to be sensitive to only colistin with resistance to all other major antibiotic classes. Klebsiella was sensitive to colistin, tigecycline, and cefoperazone/sulbactam. A. baumannii was observed to be sensitive only to colistin and tigecycline by the end of 2018 and E. coli was sensitive to amikacin, colistin, meropenem, and tigecycline. Conclusion: Antibiotic resistance is rampant, rapidly progressing and devouring down all the antibiotic classes one after other. The high antimicrobial resistance may be ascribed to the inappropriate use of broad-spectrum antibiotics and lack of a definite antibiotic policy in hospitals. Treating surgeons should frequently evaluate the burn patient and run regular tests to localize the most common organisms causing the infections with their antibiotic sensitivity profiles

Randomized controlled study of CBT in bronchial asthma

The aim of the present study was to find out efficacy of cognitive behavior therapy, as an adjunct to standard pharmacotherapy, in bronchial asthma. In a random-ized two-group design with pre-and post assessments, forty asthma patients were randomly allotted to two groups: self management group and cognitive behavior therapy group. Both groups were exposed to 6-8 weeks of intervention, asthma self management program and cognitive behavior therapy. Assessment measures used were-Semi structured interview schedule, Asthma Symptom Checklist, Asthma di-ary, Asthma Bother Profile, Hospital Anxiety & Depression Scale, AQLQ and Peak Expiratory Flow Rate. Within group comparison showed significant improvement in both groups at the post assessment. Between group comparisons showed that CBT group reported significantly greater change than that of SM group. Cognitive behavior therapy helps in improving the managment of asthma

Phenotypic detection and molecular characterization of beta-lactamase genes among Citrobacter species in a tertiary care hospital

Objective: To examine the distribution, emergence, and spread of genes encoding beta-lactamase resistance in Citrobacter species isolated from hospitalized patients in a tertiary care hospital. Methods: A prospective study was conducted in a 1000-bed tertiary care center in Pune, India from October 2010 to October 2013. A total of 221 Citrobacter spp. isolates were recovered from clinical specimens from different patients (one isolate per patient) admitted to the surgical ward, medical ward and medical and surgical Intensive Care Units. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays and sequencing were used to determine the presence of beta-lactamase encoding genes. Conjugation experiments were performed to determine their transferability. Isolate relatedness were determined by repetitive element based-PCR, enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus-PCR and randomly amplified polymorphic DNA. Results: Among 221 tested isolates of Citrobacter spp. recovered from various clinical specimens, 179 (80.9%) isolates showed minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) >4 μg/ml against meropenem and imipenem. One hundred and forty-five isolates with increased MICs value against carbapenems were further processed for molecular characterization of beta-lactamase genes. Susceptibility profiling of the isolates indicated that 100% retained susceptibility to colistin. Conjugation experiments indicated that blaNDM-1was transferable via a plasmid. Conclusion: The ease of NDM-1 plasmid transmissibility may help their dissemination among the Citrobacter species as well as to others in Enterobacteriaceae. Early detection, antimicrobial stewardship and adequate infection control measures will help in limiting the spread of these organisms

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Not AvailableAbiotic stress is an important factor affecting the agricultural productivity as well as human health. We have assessed the statistical significance of the difference between the maximum computational capacity of the proteins associated with abiotic stress (heat drought and salinity stress) and not associated with the abiotic stress. The maximum computational capacity of the proteins involved in various sub-processes of the heat stress response was also compared. Our results show that there is a statistically significant difference in the maximum computational capacity of the proteins associated with abiotic stress and proteins not associated with the abiotic stress. Besides this it is also apparent from our studies that the mean maximum computational capacity of the proteins involved in various sub-processes of heat stress response is different. The concept of maximum computational capacity has been applied to the proteins for the first time in this study.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableHalophilic archaea/bacteria adapt to different salt concentration, namely extreme, moderate and low. These type of adaptations may occur as a result of modification of protein structure and other changes in different cell organelles. Thus proteins may play an important role in the adaptation of halophilic archaea/bacteria to saline conditions. The Halophile protein database (HProtDB) is a systematic attempt to document the biochemical and biophysical properties of proteins from halophilic archaea/bacteria which may be involved in adaptation of these organisms to saline conditions. In this database, various physicochemical properties such as molecular weight, theoretical pI, amino acid composition, atomic composition, estimated half-life, instability index, aliphatic index and grand average of hydropathicity (Gravy) have been listed. These physicochemical properties play an important role in identifying the protein structure, bonding pattern and function of the specific proteins. This database is comprehensive, manually curated, non-redundant catalogue of proteins. The database currently contains 59 897 proteins properties extracted from 21 different strains of halophilic archaea/bacteria. The database can be accessed through link. Database URL: http://webapp.cabgrid.res.in/protein/Not Availabl