Correlation of ciprofloxacin resistance with the AdeABC efflux system in Acinetobacter baumannii clinical isolates

Background: Acinetobacter baumannii is one of the most important pathogens capable of colonization in burn patients, leading to drug-resistant wound infections. This study evaluated the distribution of the AdeABC efflux system genes and their relationship to ciprofloxacin resistance in A. baumannii isolates collected from burn patients. Methods: A total of 68 A. baumannii clinical strains were isolated from patients hospitalized in Motahari Burns Center in Tehran, Iran. Ciprofloxacin susceptibility was tested by the disk diffusion and agar dilution methods. PCR amplification of the adeRS-adeB drug efflux genes was performed for all resistant and susceptible isolates. To assess the role of the drug efflux pump in ciprofloxacin susceptibility, carbonyl cyanide 3-chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP) was used as an efflux pump inhibitor (EPI). Results: Approximately 95.6% of the Acinetobacter isolates were resistant to ciprofloxacin, with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values ranging from 4 to ≥128 μg/mL. The susceptibility of 86.1% of the resistant isolates increased by factors of 2 to 64 in the presence of CCCP. All resistant isolates were positive for the adeRS-adeB genes, and 73.2% of them had mutations in the AdeRS regulatory system. Conclusions: The results showed that AdeABC genes are common in A. baumannii, which might be associated with ciprofloxacin non-susceptibility, as indicated by the observed linkage to the presence of the genes essential for the activity of the AdeABC, several single mutations occurring in the adeRS regulatory system, and an increase of ciprofloxacin susceptibility in the presence of a CCCP EPI. © The Korean Society for Laboratory Medicin

Integrative analysis of the inter-tumoral heterogeneity of triple-negative breast cancer.

Triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) lack estrogen and progesterone receptors and HER2 amplification, and are resistant to therapies that target these receptors. Tumors from TNBC patients are heterogeneous based on genetic variations, tumor histology, and clinical outcomes. We used high throughput genomic data for TNBC patients (n = 137) from TCGA to characterize inter-tumor heterogeneity. Similarity network fusion (SNF)-based integrative clustering combining gene expression, miRNA expression, and copy number variation, revealed three distinct patient clusters. Integrating multiple types of data resulted in more distinct clusters than analyses with a single datatype. Whereas most TNBCs are classified by PAM50 as basal subtype, one of the clusters was enriched in the non-basal PAM50 subtypes, exhibited more aggressive clinical features and had a distinctive signature of oncogenic mutations, miRNAs and expressed genes. Our analyses provide a new classification scheme for TNBC based on multiple omics datasets and provide insight into molecular features that underlie TNBC heterogeneity

Sharing Alike: French Family Taxation as a Model for Reform

The current system of federal income taxation neither recognizes nor accommodates the realities of the modern American family. The author proposes an alternative method of taxing personal income based on the French method of taxation. The French method of taxing each family member\u27s portion of total family income in the aggregate according to a universal rate schedule is examined as a model that better reflects the actual living arrangements and financial burdens of American taxpayers

Detection of the efflux-mediated erythromycin resistance transposon in streptococcus pneumoniae

Background: The present analysis focuses on phenotypic and genotypic characterizations of efflux-mediated erythromycin resistance in Streptococcus pneumoniae due to an increase in macrolide resistance in S. pneumoniae worldwide. Methods: We investigated the prevalence of efflux-mediated erythromycin resistance and its relevant genetic elements from 186 specimens of S. pneumonia isolated from clinical and normal flora from Tehran, Iran. The presence of erythromycin resistance genes was tested by PCR with two sets of primers, specific for erm(B) and mef(A/E), and their genetic elements with tetM, xis, and int genes. Isolates were typed with the BOX PCR method and tested for resistance to six antibiotics. Results: Antibiotic susceptibility tests revealed that 100 and 47 isolates were resistant to tetracycline and erythromycin, respectively. The erythromycin and clindamycin double-disc diffusion test for macrolide-lincosamide-streptograminB (MLSB) resistance phenotype showed 74 (84) isolates with the constitutive MLSB phenotype and the remaining with the M phenotype. BOX PCR demonstrated the presence of 7 types in pneumococci with the M phenotype. Fourteen (16) isolates with the M phenotype harbored mef(A/E), tetM, xis, and int genes. Conclusion: The present results suggest dissemination of polyclonal groups of S. pneumoniae with the M phenotype carrying resistance genes attributed to transposon 2009. © The Korean Society for Laboratory Medicine

Relationship between social support, quality of life, and Th2 cytokines in a biobehavioral cancer survivorship trial.

ObjectiveBenefits of social support (SS) during cancer survivorship are complex. This study examines change in SS over time in cervical cancer (CXCA) survivors who have completed definitive treatment and how changing SS impacts quality of life (QOL) and T-helper type 2 (Th2) cytokines.MethodsWe conducted a randomized trial in 204 CXCA survivors to test if psychosocial telephone counseling (PTC) could improve QOL compared to usual care (UC). Although PTC did not target SS, data were collected at baseline, 4 and 9 months post-enrollment using the Medical Outcomes Survey Social Support scale. Biospecimens were collected to investigate associations with patient-reported outcomes. Data were analyzed using multivariate linear models and stepwise regression.ResultsParticipants' mean age was 43. PTC participants experienced increasing SS compared to UC at 4 months (PTC-UC = 5.1; p = 0.055) and 9 months (PTC-UC = 6.0; p = 0.046). Higher baseline SS and increasing SS were independently associated with improved QOL at 4 and 9 months after adjusting for patient characteristics (p < 0.05). Differences between study arms were not statistically significant. Improvements in QOL at 4 months were observed with increases in emotional/informational and tangible SS. Increasing SS predicted significant longitudinal decreases in IL-4 and IL-13 at 4 months that were larger in the PTC arm (interactions p = 0.041 and p = 0.057, respectively).ConclusionImproved SS was significantly associated with improved QOL independent of patient characteristics and study arm. Decreasing Th2 cytokines with increasing SS and QOL are consistent with a biobehavioral paradigm in which modulation of the chronic stress response is associated with shifts in immune stance

Multipartite entanglement in fermionic systems via a geometric measure

We study multipartite entanglement in a system consisting of indistinguishable fermions. Specifically, we have proposed a geometric entanglement measure for N spin-1/2 fermions distributed over 2L modes (single particle states). The measure is defined on the 2L qubit space isomorphic to the Fock space for 2L single particle states. This entanglement measure is defined for a given partition of 2L modes containing m >= 2 subsets. Thus this measure applies to m <= 2L partite fermionic system where L is any finite number, giving the number of sites. The Hilbert spaces associated with these subsets may have different dimensions. Further, we have defined the local quantum operations with respect to a given partition of modes. This definition is generic and unifies different ways of dividing a fermionic system into subsystems. We have shown, using a representative case, that the geometric measure is invariant under local unitaries corresponding to a given partition. We explicitly demonstrate the use of the measure to calculate multipartite entanglement in some correlated electron systems. To the best of our knowledge, there is no usable entanglement measure of m > 3 partite fermionic systems in the literature, so that this is the first measure of multipartite entanglement for fermionic systems going beyond the bipartite and tripartite cases.Comment: 25 pages, 8 figure

Efficiency of BclI restriction fragment length polymorphism for detection of hemophilia A carriers in Sistan and Baluchestan province, Southeast of Iran

Background: Indirect genetic diagnosis using polymorphic DNA markers can detect carriers of hemophilia A. This technique is preferable in developing countries because of its simplicity and cost effectiveness compared to direct mutation analysis. In the present study, we examined usefulness of intragenic marker BclI restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) at intron 18, for carrier detection. How this marker is informative was tested in 102 members of 16 hemophiliac families from Sistan and Baluchestan province, Southeast of Iran. Methods: Blood samples were obtained from 29 hemophilia A patients and 73 of their relatives, after taking informed consents. DNA was extracted using proteinase K digestion followed by DNA precipitation. Factor VIII gene polymorphism was identified by the polymerase chain reaction/RFLP which is both sensitive and economical. Results: Our results showed that almost 69.8 of Xchromosomes had restriction site for BclI enzyme. The heterozygosity rate for BclI polymorphism in tested women was 61.4, signifying the usefulness of this marker in carrier detection. The informative rate respecting this polymorphism was 43.7 meaning that a remarkable percent of families from the target population could be diagnosed using this marker alone. Conclusion: In Sistan and Baluchestan province where there is limited access to sophisticated facilities of molecular diagnosis, use of PCR-based analysis of DNA polymorphism in the BclI locus can be used to identify a remarkable percentage of the carriers and even for prenatal diagnosis. Meanwhile, it is necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of other polymorphic DNA markers to enhance the informative rate