Carriage of mobilizable plasmid-mediated ?-lactamase gene in ampicillin-resistant Escherichia coli strains with origin of normal fecal flora

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the carriage of ?-lactamase genes in ampicillin-resistant (Ampr) Escherichia coli (E. coli) isolates from human normal fecal flora. Methods: Ten Amp r E. coli strains isolated from the stool samples of 21 healthy persons with no antibiotic use during at least three months were screened for TEM-, SHV-, or OXA-type ?-lactamase genes by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The susceptibility of the strains to antibiotics was determined by disk diffusion method, and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of ampicillin to the strains was determined by agar dilution method. Plasmid transfer assays were performed by broth mating technique. Plasmid DNA was isolated by alkaline lysis method. Digoxigenin-labeled TEM-1 probe was used in hybridization assays. Results: Two of 10 strains were found to be carrier for only TEM-type ?-lactamase gene (blaTEM) by PCR, and their resistances to ampicillin were conjugatively transferred to a recombinant E. coli K-12 strain C600. MIC of ampicillin to two representative strains and their transconjugants was detected as >512 ?g/ml. Moreover, ?-lactamase inhibitor resistance was also observed in these two strains and their transconjugants. Digoxigenin-labeled TEM-1 DNA probe was hybridized to some non-conjugative but mobilizable plasmid DNAs purified from two of the TEM-gene-carrying organisms. Conclusions: These results indicate that commensal E. coli strains carrying ?-lactamase gene in the bowel environment could retain resistance determinants on small-sized resistance plasmids (R plasmids) and become a potential reservoir for resistance genes in the community, even in the absence of recent antibiotic consumption. © TÜBİTAK

Sağlikli ve bakteri?yel vaji?nozlu kadinlardan i?zole edi?len Gardnerella vaginalis suşlarinin bi?yoti?plendi? ri?lmesi? ve anti?bi?yoti?k di?renç durumlarinin beli?rlenmesi?

PubMed: 17427549As Gardnerella vaginalis is accepted as a member of normal vaginal flora, it is one of the dominant species which has been related to bacterial vaginosis (BV). The aim of this study was to determine the isolation rate, biotypes and antibiotic resistance patterns of G.vaginalis from the vaginal swab samples of 408 women who were admitted to the outpatient clinics of Family Planning Center. Hippurate hydrolysis, lipase and ?-galactosidase tests were performed for biotyping the isolates, and agar dilution (for metronidazole) and disk diffusion (for clindamycin) tests were used for the detection of antibiotic resistance patterns. As a result, by Nugent's BV scoring protocol, 122 (29.9%), 20 (29.4%), 137 (33.6%), and 18 (4.4%) of the women were diagnosed as BV, intermediate form, normal vaginal flora (NVF) and mycotic vaginosis, respectively. The overall isolation rate of G.vaginalis was found as 23% (94/408). Of them, 56.4% (53/94) and 8.5% (8/94) were isolated from samples of BV cases and subjects with NVF, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (p<0.05). The biotyping results showed that the most, frequently detected types were biotype 1 (44%), 5 (20%) and 4 (18%). There was no statistically significant difference between the biotype distribution of BV patients and the subjects who have NVF (p=0.687). The results of antibiotic susceptibility tests indicated that 70% and 53% of the isolates were resistant to metronidazole and clindamycin, respectively. It was of interest that MIC values for metronidazole was ?128 ?g/ml in 57% of resistant strains. The data of this study has emphasized that the metronidazole resistance is very high in our population, and the large scale studies are needed to clarify the relationship between BV and G.vaginalis biotypes, which can be found in the normal vaginal flora

Single-, double- and triple-bridged derivatives of cyclotriphosphazenes with an octafluorohexane-1,6-diol

Reaction of hexachlorocyclotriphosphazene, N3P3Cl6 (1), with the sodium derivative of the fluorinated diol, 2,2,3,3,4,4,5,5-octafluorohexane-1,6-diol, (2), in THF solution at room temperature afforded five products, whose structures have been characterised by 1H, 19F and 31P NMR spectroscopy: the mono-ansa compound N3P3Cl4[OCH2(CF2)4CH2O] (3); the single-bridged compound N3P3Cl5[OCH2(CF2)4CH2O]N3P3Cl5 (4), two double-bridged compounds N3P3Cl4(OCH2(CF2)4CH2O)2N3P3Cl4, (5-anti, 5-syn) and the triple-bridged compound N3P3Cl3(OCH2(CF2)4CH2O)3N3P3Cl3 (6). X-ray crystallographic studies confirmed the structures of the ansa compound (3), the double-bridged compound (5-anti) and the first example of a triple-bridged cyclotriphosphazene derivative (6). The results were also compared with those for reactions of (1) with analogous fluorinated shorter diols (1,4-butane- and 1,5-pentane-diols). It is found that on increasing the chain length of the diol, there is a decrease in the relative proportion of intramolecular reactions giving spiro and ansa derivatives and an increase in the amount of bridged cyclophosphazene derivatives via intermolecular reactions

Apium plants: Beyond simple food and phytopharmacological applications

Apium plants belong to the Apiaceae family and are included among plants that have been in use in traditional medicine for thousands of years worldwide, including in the Mediterranean, as well as the tropical and subtropical regions of Asia and Africa. Some highlighted medical benefits include prevention of coronary and vascular diseases. Their phytochemical constituents consist of bergapten, flavonoids, glycosides, furanocoumarins, furocoumarin, limonene, psoralen, xanthotoxin, and selinene. Some of their pharmacological properties include anticancer, antioxidant, antimicrobial, antifungal, nematocidal, anti-rheumatism, antiasthma, anti-bronchitis, hepatoprotective, appetizer, anticonvulsant, antispasmodic, breast milk inducer, anti-jaundice, antihypertensive, anti-dysmenorrhea, prevention of cardiovascular diseases, and spermatogenesis induction. The present review summarizes data on ecology, botany, cultivation, habitat, medicinal use, phytochemical composition, preclinical and clinical pharmacological efficacy of Apium plants and provides future direction on how to take full advantage of Apium plants for the optimal benefit to mankind. © 2019 by the authors