Medicinal plants grown in soil amended with struvite recovered from anaerobically pretreated poultry manure wastewater

ABSTRACT 3--P = 1:1:1, pH = 9.0) was tested as a slow release fertilizer on the growth of four medicinal plants including garden rocket (Eruca sativa), dill (Anethum graveolens), fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) and parsley (Petroselinum crispum) in a series of labscale greenhouse experiment. Pot trial tests indicated that rates of increase in fresh weights, dry weights and fresh heights of plants grown in soil fertilized with the recovered struvite were determined as 405%, 488%, and 51% for garden rocket; 154%, 191%, and 44% for dill; 152%, 379%, and 27% for fennel; 141%, 208%, and 22% for parsley, respectively, compared to the control pot. Results of a static bioassay test proved that the use of plants cultivated in MAP pots as the feeding material did not cause any acute toxicity symptoms or mortality in guppy fish (Lebistes reticulatus), and all survived and exhibited normal visual responses at the end of 170-h exposure. Findings of this study confirmed that the recovered struvite from UASB effluent provided a valuable slow release fertilizer for the agricultural use, resulting an edible multi-nutrient animal feed

Evaluation of virulence factors in enterococcus species

Enterococci have recently become important due to their increased isolation rates in community-based and nosocomial infections and resistance to many antibiotics, including glycopeptides. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial susceptible patterns and virulence factors of various clinical specimens; urine (n= 149), blood (n= 38), wound (n= 17), stool (n= 13), and other (n= 12) with a total of 229 enterococci including 138 E. faecalis and 91 E. faecium isolates. Aggregation factor (AF), enterococcus surface protein (esp), cytolysins and gelatinase encoding genes (asa1, esp, cylM, cylBcyl A, cylll, cylls, gelE, respectively) were investigated by molecular methods. Haemolysin production and gelatinase were studied phenotypically. A total of 30 isolates, 29 of E. faecium and one of E. faecalis isolates were resistant to vancomycin. High-level gentamicin and high-level streptomycin resistance in E. faecalis were 40.7% and 63.7% however, they were 47.1% and 55.8% in E. faecalis isolates. All strains were susceptible to linezolid. Ampicillin, penicillin and vancomycin resistance in E. faecium isolates were found to be higher than E. faecalis isolates (p= 0.001, p= 0.008 and p< 0.001). Asa1 (p< 0.001), cylll (p= 0.002) and cylls (p< 0.001) as well as gelatinase activity in isolates of E. faecalis were significantly higher than the isolates of E. faecium (p< 0.001). The most common virulence genes in our study were asa1 gene (45%), cyLs gene (33.2%) and esp gene (32.3%). Ciprofloxacin resistance in cylLL and cyLs gene positive isolates of E. faecalis were significantly higher compared to isolates that do not contain these genes (p= 0.035 and p= 0.047). Likewise, haemolysin producing E. faecium isolates were significantly more resistant to vancomycin compared to isolates that do not produce hemolysin (p< 0.001). When the virulence factors of vancomycin resistant and susceptible isolates were compared, the esp gene level in VRE E. faecium isolates was found to be 24.1%, while no esp gene was found in VRE E. faecalis isolates. The existence of asa1was negative in both VRE E. faecium and VRE E. faecalis isolates. The activity of hemolysin was found 42.3% for E. faecalis and 19.3% for E. faecium. In vancomycin-sensitive enterococcus (VSE) species, esp gene activity was 35.1% for E. faecalis, 29.4% for E. faecium, asa1 gene activity was 60.8% for E. faecalis and 47.1% for E. faecium, hemolysin activity was 52.8% for E. faecalis and 23.5% for E. faecium. In our study, it was found that VSE isolates have more virulence genes than VRE isolates. It should be kept in mind that VRE can causeinfections which are difficult-to-treat especially in hospitalized patients and VSE have significant virulence factors that can cause severe infections

Editorial of Special Issue of National Identities: Alevism as an ethno-religious identity: Contested boundaries

No abstract for editorial but this is the opening paragraph: This special issue on Alevism and trans/national Alevi identity critically engages with the relationship between religion, ethnicity and national identity. The core issues are as follows: • how ethnicity and religion are conceptualised for a relatively invisible ethnic group in different national contexts; • how religion and ethnicity intersect when Alevism is both a faith and an ethnic identity, especially when conceptions of that identity are contested; • how identity is shaped through state policies within different national policy contexts and how etic definitions of minority communities are constructed by the state or other agencies with the power to impose them on the community in contrast to the emic or self-definitions of Aleviness from within the Alevi community; • how despite the fragmented, heterogeneous nature of Alevi communities, there is also a sense of a single, transnational imaginary community, at least for the purposes of political assimilation/integration and activism; • how education and other arenas of political, religious and cultural engagement at local, national and transnational levels create the possibilities, both positively and negatively, for future action/policy to situate minority ethnic communities

[Evaluation of direct microscopic examination, acridine orange staining and culture methods for studies of Trichomonas vaginalis in vaginal discharge specimens].

Trichomonas vaginalis is the causative agent of human trichomoniasis which is a sexually transmitted disease mainly in women. The infection may be asymptomatic or symptomatic such as severe vaginitis and cervicitis. The aim of this study was to compare direct microscopic examination, acridine orange stained examination and culture in Modified Diamond medium, for the detection of T. vaginalis from the vaginal swab samples of 310 patients (age ranges: 17-45 years old) who were complaining from vaginal discharge. Of them 40 (12.9%) samples were found positive with culture, 20 (6.5%) were positive with direct microscopy and 19 (6.1%) were positive with acridine orange staining method. The positive results were obtained in 17 cases by each of the three methods, in 3 cases by direct microscopy and culture, in 2 cases by acridine orange staining and culture, and in 18 cases by culture only. T. vaginalis has been detected in 19.5% of 41 patients with itching, 15.7% of 190 patient with groin pain and 23.2% of 43 patients with cervical erosion, in addition to vaginal discharge, by at least one of the methods. In conditional evaluation, there were no statistically significant differences between T. vaginalis positivity with age groups and the contraceptive methods used. As a result, it was concluded that for the laboratory diagnosis of T. vaginalis, acridine orange staining technique does not have any superiority over direct microscopy. Although direct microscopy is a practical and economical method, it has low sensitivity, so all of the suspected samples which are found negative by this method, should be cultivated for a definite diagnosis

[Investigation of human papillomavirus DNA in cervical specimens by hybrid capture assay].

The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of human papillomavirus DNA (HPV-DNA) in cervical specimens of those randomly selected women, age between 18-62 years and applied to Gynecology and Obstetric Clinics in a six months period. Two hundred and six women were enrolled during the study. HPV-DNA in the cervical specimens were investigated with Hybrid Capture System (Digene Hybrid Capture System, UK) and also the cytologic specimens were examined simultaneously. HPV-DNA positivity was 4.9% overall. HPV-DNA positivity was found to be higher among younger population (30-39 age group: 7.3%), women with lower education level (6.9 %) and with lower income level (11.8%). Additionally, HPV-DNA positivity rate was found higher among women who experienced their first sexual intercourse at lower ages (15-19 age group: 6.3%) and who use oral contraceptives (7.7%). HPV-DNA positivity was found to be 2.1% in women with normal cervical cytology and 42.9% in women with epithelial cell abnormalities, and this difference was statistically significant (p=0.000). The presence of HPV together with high rates of epithelial cell abnormalities leading to cervical cancer, supported the association between HPV and malignancy. Thus, HPV-DNA testing should be included in the cervical cancer screening programmes

[Species distribution and antibiotic resistance of enterococci isolated from cattle farmers and cattles].

The aim of this study was to detect the species distribution and antibiotic resistance of enterococci with a special view for vancomycin resistance, isolated from stool and rectal swab samples of cattle farmers and cattles in Denizli region, Turkey. All the specimens were inoculated onto Enterococcosel agar plate and into Enterococcosel broth supplemented with and without vancomycin (6 microg/ml). The agar plates were incubated at 37 degrees C for 24 hours, while broth cultures were incubated at 37 degrees C for 48 hours. Enterococcus spp. were isolated from 96 (86.4%) of 111 farmers' and 65 (90.2%) of 72 cattles' specimens. The most commonly isolated species from both humans and animals were E. faecalis (39.6% and %32.3%, respectively), E. faecium (28.1% and 24.6%, respectively) and E. raffinosus (8.3% and 13.8%, respectively). None of the isolates were found to be resistant to vancomycin and teicoplanin. One high-level streptomycin (300 microg) resistant E. faecium, and six (2 E. faecalis, 2 E. durans, 2 E. hirae) high-level gentamicin (120 microg) resistant strains have been isolated from the specimens of cattle farmers and cattles, respectively. There was no significant difference between the rectal swabs and stool specimens for the isolation of Enterococcus spp. (p>0.05). Enterococcosel broth was found to be more sensitive than Enterococcosel agar for the isolation of Enterococcus spp. (p=0.001). It was concluded that the lack of vancomycin resistant enterococci may be related to the prohibition of avoparcin use in our country

Isolation of Cryptococcus neoformans from living tree trunk hollows in Denizli City Center, Turkey

Cryptococcus neoformans is a basidiomycetous yeast leading to life-threatening infections in human and animals. It has been isolated from decaying hollows and fissures from various tree species in different parts of the world. The isolation of the yeast from the environment is less in the eastern part of Mediterranean area. Only one C.neoformans strain from debris of Eucalyptus camaldulensis in the blossoming period, has been reported by consecutive studies done in suspected areas since the last 10 years. In this study, 300 tree including trunk hollows and fissures have been screened for colonization of C.neoformans in Denizli city (located on Aegean part of Turkey) center during July 2008. All samples has been collected by swabbing technique and cultured on minimal Staib agar medium (without creatinine and potassium dihydroden phosphate). Two (0.6%) strains of C.neoformans have been isolated from the total of 300 screened trees. One of these isolates was from Platanus orientalis (plane tree; n= 92) and one from Punka granatum (pomegranate tree; n= 2). Six and three colonies per plate have been isolated from P.orientalis and P.granatum samples, respectively. C.neoformans has not been isolated in the repeat cultures done in the following two months. Although C.neoformans was isolated from previously unaccomplished niches in this study, our results suggested that C.neoformans colonization of trees trunk hollows and fissures was not common in Denizli city center

Production by Escherichia coli isolates of siderophore and other virulence factors and their pathogenic role in a cutaneous infection model.

Escherichia coli isolates from urinary tract infections (UTIs) (n = 124), extra-urinary sites (n = 37) and normal faecal samples (n = 51) were examined for the presence of virulence factors, including siderophores (aerobactin and enterobactin). The proportion of aerobactin producers was significantly higher in UTI (69.4%; p 0.001) and extra-urinary samples (70.3%; p 0.007) than in controls (41.2%), while the proportion of enterobactin producers was significantly lower in the UTI samples than in the controls (p 0.027). In a cutaneous infection model, aerobactin-positive E. coli showed more growth than non-aerobactin and non-enterobactin isolates, even when other virulence factors were identical

ISOLATION OF CRYPTOCOCCUS NEOFORMANS FROM LIVING TREE TRUNK HOLLOWS IN

Cryptococcus neoformons is a basidiomycetous yeast leading to life-threatening infections in human and animals. It has been isolated from decaying hollows and fissures from various tree species in different parts of the world. The isolation of the yeast from the environment is less in the eastern part of Mediterranean area. Only one C.neoformans strain from debris of Eucalyptus comolduleosis in the blossoming period, has been reported by consecutive studies done in suspected areas since the last 10 years. In this study, 300 tree including trunk hollows and fissures have been screened for colonization of Cneoformans in Denizli city (located on Aegean part of Turkey) center during July 2008. All samples has been collected by swabbing technique and cultured on minimal Staib agar ME,dium (without creatinine and potassium clihydroden phosphate). Two (0.6%) strains of Cneoformons have been isolated from the total of 300 screened trees. One of these isolates was from Platonus orientolis (plane tree; n= 92) and one from Punica gronatum (pomegranate tree; n= 2). Six and three colonies per plate have been isolated from Porientolis and Pyronatum samples, respectively. Cneoformans has not been isolated in the repeat cultures done in the following two months. Although Cneoformons was isolated from previously unaccomplished niches in this study, our results suggested that Cneoformons colonization of trees trunk hollows and fissures was not common in Denizli city center