Three years incidence of dermatophytes in a hospital in Porto (Portugal)

Rev Iberoam Micol. 2002 Dec;19(4):201-3. [Three years incidence of dermatophytes in a hospital in Porto (Portugal)]. [Article in Spanish] Lopes V, Velho G, Amorim ML, Cardoso ML, Massa A, Amorim JM. SourceServiço de Microbiologia, Hospital Geral Santo António, Largo Prof. Abel Salazar, 4099-001 Porto, Portugal. Abstract We evaluated the incidence of dermatophytes isolated at our hospital in the years of 1997 to 2000 and correlated it with anatomical site and age. Trichophyton rubrum was the predominant species in all anatomical sites, excluding scalp, followed by Microsporum canis, the leading agent of tinea capitis. All dermatophytosis, except tinea capitis by M. canis and Trichophyton schoenleinnii appeared mainly in adult patients. Our results revealed no substantial differences to other portuguese studies regarding the major agents. We found a relatively high incidence of T. schoenleinnii as second tinea capitis agent

Exopolysaccharides production by aerobic granular sludge upon exposure to dual anthropogenic stresses

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Bioprospecting microalgae for treatment of marine aquaculture wastewater

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Performance of microalgae-bacteria granular sludge for nutrient removal of freshwater aquaculture wastewater

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Bacterial community and system performance of an aerobic granular sludge reactor treating pharmaceutical wastewater

Pharmaceuticals often reach wastewater treatment systems where low removal rates are observed. In the present study the potential impact of a mixture of such micro-pollutants on an aerobic granular sludge-sequencing batch reactor (AGS-SBR) was investigated using a lab-scale bioreactor. COD and P- removals were affected due to the load of pharmaceuticals resulting in a decrease of the COD uptake and the P-release during the anaerobic feeding phase, but the discharge limits were not exceeded. Nevertheless, both processes returned to its normal operation after resuming the pharmaceuticals feeding. The nitrification process was also affected but the activity of bacteria responsible for both nitrification steps was able to recover. The exposure to the pharmaceuticals induced alterations in the bacterial community structure

Strategies to enhance the removal of Fluoroquinolones

Fluoroquinolones (FQs) are broad-spectrum antibiotics that play an important role in the treatment of serious bacterial infections. Currently, several FQs are available but ciprofloxacin (CPF), ofloxacin (OFL) and norfloxacin (NOR) are amongst the most worldwide prescribed antibiotics. Antibiotics can reach wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) from different routes. Thus removal of these contaminants during the biotreatment process is of major importance in order to avoid their release to other environmental matrices. Granular sludge sequencing batch reactors (SBR) constitute a novel biofilm technology for wastewater treatment extremely promising for the treatment of effluents containing toxic compounds. Therefore, in this study a granular sludge SBR, established with activated sludge from a WWTP, was operated for the treatment of an aqueous stream containing FQs. No evidence of FQ biodegradation followed by HPLC with Fluorescence Detection was observed but FQs adsorbed to the aerobic granular sludge, being gradually released into the medium after withdrawal of the FQs in the inlet stream. In a previous study, Labrys portucalensis F11 demonstrated to be able to degrade FQs, namely OFL, NOR and CPF, when supplied individually or as a mixture, in the presence of an easy degradable carbon source. Different removal extents were obtained for the tested concentrations (ranging from 0.8 to 30 μM), but overall the uptake capacity of strain F11 for individual FQs decreased with increasing the initial FQ concentration. When supplied with a mixture FQs, strain F11 concomitantly removed each target antibiotic but a decrease on the biodegradability of FQs was observed which could be explained by competition mechanisms. The ability of Labrys portucalensis F11 to grow using the readily available carbon source while maintain its ability to degrade FQs reinforce the potential of this strain in bioaugmentation processes. As the indigenous microbial communities in biotreatment processes rarely are able to remove such contaminants, using this promising FQ-degrading strain, bioaugmentation strategies such as inoculation of the degrading strain, as a suspension or immobilized on carrier material, or using a plasmid donor strain carrying the degradative genes, could be assessed to improve FQ removal. Acknowledgments: C.L. Amorim, A.S. Maia and I.S. Moreira wish to acknowledge the research grants from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal (Ref. SFRH/BD/47109/2008, SFRH/BD/86939/2012 and SFRH/BPD/87251/2012, respectively) and Fundo Social Europeu (Programa Operacional Potencial Humano (POPH), Quadro de Referência Estratégico Nacional (QREN))). This work was supported by FCT through the projects PTDC/EBB-EBI/111699/2009 and PEst-OE/EQB/LA0016/2011

Degradation of Fluoroquinolone Antibiotics and Identification of Metabolites/Transformation Products by LC-MS/MS

Antibiotics are a therapeutic class widely found inenvironmental matrices and extensively studied due to its persistence and implications for multi-resistant bacteria development. Degradation of four fluoroquinolone antibiotics, namely Ofloxacin (OFL), Norfloxacin (NOR), Ciprofloxacin (CPF) and Moxifloxacin (MOX), at 10 mg L-1 using a mixed bacterial culture, was assessed for 60 days. The assays were followed by a developed and validated analytical method of HPLC with Fluorescence Detection using a Luna PFP (2) 3µm column. The optimized conditions allowed picturing metabolites/transformation products formation and accumulation during the process, stating an incomplete mineralization, also shown byfluoride release. OFL and MOX presented the highest (98.3%) and the lowest (80.5%) extent of degradation after 19 days of assay, respectively. Some of these intermediate compounds were identified by LCMS/MS in selected degradation samples. Most of the intermediates were already described as biodegradation and/or photodegradationproducts in different conditions, but new and/or unknown metabolites were also present

Clinicobiological, immunophenotypic, and molecular characteristics of monoclonal CD56‐/+dim chronic natural killer cell large granular lymphocytosis.

Am J Pathol. 2004 Oct;165(4):1117-27. Clinicobiological, immunophenotypic, and molecular characteristics of monoclonal CD56-/+dim chronic natural killer cell large granular lymphocytosis. Lima M, Almeida J, Montero AG, Teixeira Mdos A, Queirós ML, Santos AH, Balanzategui A, Estevinho A, Algueró Mdel C, Barcena P, Fonseca S, Amorim ML, Cabeda JM, Pinho L, Gonzalez M, San Miguel J, Justiça B, Orfão A. Serviço de Hematologia, Unidade de Citometria, Hospital Geral de Santo António, Rua D Manuel II, s/n, 4099-001 Porto, Portugal. [email protected]. Abstract Indolent natural killer (NK) cell lymphoproliferative disorders include a heterogeneous group of patients in whom persistent expansions of mature, typically CD56(+), NK cells in the absence of any clonal marker are present in the peripheral blood. In the present study we report on the clinical, hematological, immunophenotypic, serological, and molecular features of a series of 26 patients with chronic large granular NK cell lymphocytosis, whose NK cells were either CD56(-) or expressed very low levels of CD56 (CD56(-/+dim) NK cells), in the context of an aberrant activation-related mature phenotype and proved to be monoclonal using the human androgen receptor gene polymerase chain reaction-based assay. As normal CD56(+) NK cells, CD56(-/+dim) NK cells were granzyme B(+), CD3(-), TCRalphabeta/gammadelta(-), CD5(-), CD28(-), CD11a(+bright), CD45RA(+bright), CD122(+), and CD25(-) and they showed variable and heterogeneous expression of both CD8 and CD57. Nevertheless, they displayed several unusual immunophenotypic features. Accordingly, besides being CD56(-/+dim), they were CD11b(-/+dim) (heterogeneous), CD7(-/+dim) (heterogeneous), CD2(+) (homogeneous), CD11c(+bright) (homogeneous), and CD38(-/+dim) (heterogeneous). Moreover, CD56(-/+dim) NK cells heterogeneously expressed HLA-DR. In that concerning the expression of killer receptors, CD56(-/+dim) NK cells showed bright and homogeneous CD94 expression, and dim and heterogeneous reactivity for CD161, whereas CD158a and NKB1 expression was variable. From the functional point of view, CD56(-/+dim) showed a typical Th1 pattern of cytokine production (interferon-gamma(+), tumor necrosis factor-alpha(+)). From the clinical point of view, these patients usually had an indolent clinical course, progression into a massive lymphocytosis with lung infiltration leading to death being observed in only one case. Despite this, they frequently had associated cytopenias as well as neoplastic diseases and/or viral infections. In summary, we describe a unique and homogeneous group of monoclonal chronic large granular NK cell lymphocytosis with an aberrant activation-related CD56(-/+dim)/CD11b(-/+dim) phenotype and an indolent clinical course, whose main clinical features are related to concomitant diseases. PMID: 15466379 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]PMCID: PMC161863

Fatores associados à bacteriúria após sondagem vesical na cirurgia ginecológica

OBJETIVOS: Determinar a frequência e os principais fatores associados à bacteriúria após a sondagem vesical em mulheres submetidas à cirurgia ginecológica eletiva. MÉTODOS: Realizou-se um estudo do tipo coorte em mulheres submetidas à cirurgia ginecológica após sondagem vesical no Instituto de Medicina Integral Prof. Fernando Figueira, no período de janeiro a maio de 2007. As uroculturas foram coletadas até 24 horas após a retirada da sonda e 7/10 dias após a sondagem vesical. A análise estatística bivariada e multivariada foi realizada calculando-se a razão de risco e os seus intervalos de confiança a 95%. RESULTADOS: Foram incluídas no estudo 249 mulheres. A frequência de uroculturas positivas até 24 horas depois da retirada da sonda foi de 23,6%, diminuindo para 11,1% 7/10 dias após a sondagem. Destas, apenas 2,4% eram sintomáticas. Verificou-se menor risco de bacteriúria com 7/10 dias após a sondagem vesical quando a paciente referiu vulvovaginite tratada nos últimos três meses, não permanecendo estatisticamente significativa após a análise multivariada. Não houve associação significativa com idade, escolaridade, número de gestações, paridade, fase da vida reprodutiva, tipo e duração da cirurgia, tipo da anestesia, uso de antibiótico profilático, profissional que colocou a sonda e o tempo de permanência da sonda vesical. CONCLUSÃO: A frequência de bacteriúria foi de 23,6% e 11,1% com 24 horas e 7/10 dias, respectivamente. Não se encontrou associação significativa das variáveis pesquisadas com a bacteriúria evidenciada na urocultura com 7/10 dias.OBJECTIVES: To determine the frequency and risk factors associated to bacteriuria after urinary catheterization in women submitted to elective gynecological surgery. METHODS: A cohort study was carried out among women submitted to gynecological surgery after urinary catheterization. This study took place at the "Instituto de Medicina Integral Professor Fernando Figueira" from January to May of 2007. Uroculture samples were collected during two periods: in the first 24 hours and seven to ten days after catheter removal. To demonstrate the association between risk factors and bacteriuria, the relative risk was calculated with a confidence interval of 95%. RESULTS: This study included 249 women. At 24 hours after catheter removal, 23.6% of the urocultures collected were positive, while on days 7 to 10 this was reduced to 11.1%. Of all participants studied only 2.4% had symptomatic bacteriuria. Risk of bacteriuria at 7/10 days was reduced when the patient reported a positive history of treatment for vulvovaginitis in the previous three months. However this association was not found after multivariate analysis. There was no significant association with age, education, stage of reproductive phase, number of pregnancies and deliveries, type and duration of surgery, type of anesthetics, use of prophylactic antibiotic, professional who introduced the catheter and time of urinary catheterization. CONCLUSION: Frequency of bacteriruria was 23.6% at 24 hours and 11.1% seven days after catheter removal. There was no association between bacteriuria at 7/10 days and any of the variables analyzed