Anti Microbial Resistance Profile of E. coli isolates From Tropical Free Range Chickens

Normal intestinal flora of humans and animals constitute enormous reservoir of resistance genes for potentially pathogenic bacteria and may serve as major indictors of selection pressure exerted by anti-microbial use in a given population. A study was conducted in September 2003 at 3 purposively selected peri-urban sites spread across 3 senatorial zones of Imo state, Nigeria to determines the anti-microbial resistance profile of commensal E. coli isolated from free range chickens. The isolates were screened for anti-microbial resistance profile against 10 antibiotics using the disc diffusion method. E. coli strains from local fowls, recorded 100 and 78.9% resistances against ampicillin and cotrimoxazole respectively, while resistance rates against ciprofloxacin, gentamycin and norfloxacin were 0.0, 5.3 and 5.3% respectively. Isolates from free-range cockerels recorded 100% resistance against norfloxacin, cotrimoxazole and ampicillin and 83.3% against nitrofurantoin. Similarly, isolates from old layers, recorded 100% resistance against nitrofurantoin, cotrimoxazole, tetracycline, chloramphenicol and ampicillin and 80% against nalidixic acid. Similar resistance trends were observed in E. coli isolates from free-range turkeys and broiler roosters against the inexpensive broad-spectrum first line antibiotics (ampicillin, nalidixic acid, cotrimoxazole, nitrofurantoin and chloramphenicol), although values varied slightly across poultry types. Resistances against gentamycin were consistently low in isolates from the different types of poultry. Twenty-nine resistance patterns were observed in the E. coli isolates with predominant patterns being distributed widely across poultry types indicating a striking diversity of resistance patterns in the areas

Evaluation of Salmonella isolates obtained from poultry farms in Abia and Imo States for the presence of plasmids

This study was conducted to determine whether there exists the presence of plasmid from Salmonella isolated from poultry farms in Abia and Imo states southeast Nigeria. Forty Salmonella isolates were used for the study. The alkaline phosphate method of Birnboin and Doly was employed. Three buffers A, B and C made up of different concentrations and volumes with adjusted pH were used. A (400 mM Tris, 200 mM Na Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid), B (3 M Na, acatic acid) and C (10 mM Tris, 2 M Na Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid). The test organisms sub-cultured on MacConkey agar (MCA) were processed at various centrifugation rates and time. The suspected pure plasmid deoxyribonucleic acid was mixed with ethidium bromide and loading dye using agarose gel. The set up was viewed under ultraviolet transillumination with gel documentation apparatus. Plasmid cure was conducted with ten multidrug resistant Salmonella isolates. Danifor Biotechnology method was used for the plasmid curing experiment. Three curing agents, sodium deodecyl sulphate curing agents (100), sodium deodecyl sulphate (10 g or 10%) and nutrient broth (100 ml) were used. Plasmid DNA was detected from the Salmonella isolates evidenced with bands at 100 bp. There was plasmid cure as supported by the zones of inhibition by some of the antibiotics when compared with the original isolates.Keywords: Cure, DNA, multidrug resistant isolates, plasmid, Salmonell

Detection of some resistance genes in Salmonella isolated from Poultry farms in Abia and Imo States, Southeastern Nigeria

Sixteen Salmonella Gallinarum and 24 Salmonella Pullorum strains isolated from chickens were screened for resistance to 11 antibacterial agents using the disc diffusion method. Five of the Salmonella Gallinarum and five of S. Pullorum strains resistant to streptomycin, gentamicin, tetracycline and sulfamethoxazole /trimethoprim were screened for presence of strA/strB, aac (3)-II, aac (3)-1V, tetA and tetB and sul 1 (dfr/A) and sul 3 (dfr/G) resistance genes. A singleplex PCR with resistance gene specific primers was used to ascertain the presence of the target resistance gene. All the Salmonella isolates studied were resistant to ampicillin while 95% were resistant to tetracycline and streptomycin. None of the isolates were resistant to ofloxacin and ciprofloxacin. Three of the sulphamethaxazole/trimethoprim-resistant isolates haboured dfrA and dfrG genes while one of the gentamicin-resistant isolates was positive for aac (3)-II genes. None out of the 10 streptomycin and tetracycline resistant isolates harbored any strA/strB, tetA and tetB genes. In addition, none of the 10 gentamicin resistant isolates harbored aac (3)-IV genes. The high resistance rates recorded in this study may be attributed to indiscriminate use of antibacterial agents.Keywords: Salmonella, antimicrobials, resistance genes, Polymerase chain reaction, Southeastern Nigeri

Enhancing Nanoparticle-Based Visible Detection by Controlling the Extent of Aggregation

Visible indication based on the aggregation of colloidal nanoparticles (NPs) is highly advantageous for rapid on-site detection of biological entities, which even untrained persons can perform without specialized instrumentation. However, since the extent of aggregation should exceed a certain minimum threshold to produce visible change, further applications of this conventional method have been hampered by insufficient sensitivity or certain limiting characteristics of the target. Here we report a signal amplification strategy to enhance visible detection by introducing switchable linkers (SLs), which are designed to lose their function to bridge NPs in the presence of target and control the extent of aggregation. By precisely designing the system, considering the quantitative relationship between the functionalized NPs and SLs, highly sensitive and quantitative visible detection is possible. We confirmed the ultrahigh sensitivity of this method by detecting the presence of 20 fM of streptavidin and fewer than 100 CFU/mL of Escherichia coli

Plasmon oscillations in ellipsoid nanoparticles: beyond dipole approximation

The plasmon oscillations of a metallic triaxial ellipsoid nanoparticle have been studied within the framework of the quasistatic approximation. A general method has been proposed for finding the analytical expressions describing the potential and frequencies of the plasmon oscillations of an arbitrary multipolarity order. The analytical expressions have been derived for an electric potential and plasmon oscillation frequencies of the first 24 modes. Other higher orders plasmon modes are investigated numerically.Comment: 33 pages, 12 figure

Toll-Like Receptor 8 Agonist and Bacteria Trigger Potent Activation of Innate Immune Cells in Human Liver

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.The study was supported by a Grant core funding from the Agency for Science Technology and Research (A*STAR, Singapore) and a Singapore Translational Research Investigator Award (NRMC/StaR/013/2012) to AB as well as NIHR Biomedical Centre, Oxford, WT 091663MA, NIAID1U19AI082630-01, Oxford Martin School funding and an NIHR Senior Investigator award to PK

Ontological addiction: classification, etiology, and treatment

Despite the fact that there is increasing integration of Buddhist principles and practices into Western mental health and applied psychological disciplines, there appears to be limited understanding in Western psychology of the assumptions that underlie a Buddhist model of mental illness. The concept of ontological addiction was introduced and formulated in order to narrow some of the disconnect between Buddhist and Western models of mental illness, and to foster effective assimilation of Buddhist practices and principles into mental health research and practice. Ontological addiction refers to the maladaptive condition whereby an individual is addicted to the belief that they inherently exist. The purposes of the present paper are to: (i) classify ontological addiction in terms of its definition, symptoms, prevalence, and functional consequences, (ii) examine the etiology of the condition, and (iii) appraise both the traditional Buddhist and contemporary empirical literature in order to outline effective treatment strategies. An assessment of the extent to which ontological addiction meets the clinical criteria for addiction suggests that ontological addiction is a chronic and valid – albeit functionally distinct (i.e., when compared to chemical and behavioral addictions) – form of addiction. However, despite the protracted and pervasive nature of the condition, recent empirical findings add support to ancient Buddhist teachings and suggest that addiction to selfhood can be overcome by a treatment process involving phases of: (i) becoming aware of the imputed self, (ii) deconstructing the imputed self, and (iii) reconstructing a dynamic and non-dual self