Investigating the value level of pharmaceutical companies in Tehran Stock Exchange

The main purpose of this research is to examine the relationship between human resources productivity and the value level of companies admitted to the stock market of Tehran Stock Exchange. The methods of library study and review of documents and the content of the materials, as well as the preparation of interviews were used to collect information. By reviewing the subject literature and interviewing managers and experts of some pharmaceutical companies, the components affecting the productivity of human resources have been determined and by brainstorming, the three components of the motivational system, work commitment and job enrichment have been determined in priority. The value level of pharmaceutical company’s stocks, is determined by the ratio of price to profitability, book and accounting value of companies and their market value. With statistical analysis and hypothesis testing, the significant relationship between the productivity components of human resources and the value levels of pharmaceutical companies have been confirmed. The results of the analysis show that unlike other companies accepted in the stock market of Tehran Stock Exchange, where the components of industry, politics and economy are effective in their success and value, for pharmaceutical companies, human resources and especially their level of expertise play a major role in the level of value. Also, high work commitment despite low motivational systems is one of the other obvious results of this research about these companies

Prevalence and Antibiotic Susceptibility Pattern of E. coli Isolated from Urinary Tract Infection in Patients with Renal Failure Disease and Renal Transplant Recipients

Purpose: To determine the common uropathogens found in patients with urinary tract infections and to assess their antibiotic susceptibility patterns.Methods: The prevalence and antibiotic susceptibility pattern of E. coli in urinary tract infection inpatients with renal failure disease and renal transplant recipients (group 1) and in outpatients (group 2), admitted in/attending Imam Reza Hospital in Tabriz, Iran, were determined. Isolates were analyzed by standard methods, and antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed by Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method.Results: A total of 136 E. coli strains from 81 females and 55 males were examined. The high level of antibiotic susceptibility for group 1 was cefuroxime/ceftazidime (100 %) and nitrofurantoin (81.63 %), respectively; and for group 2, it was ampicillin (95.83 %) and nitrofurantoin (93.75 %), respectively.Conclusion: The most important finding of this study is that a considerable proportion of the studied E. coli isolates are resistant to the antibiotics tested, except nitrofurantoin. This finding is useful for clinicians to determine appropriate empirical antimicrobial treatment in similar cases and would also help health authorities to formulate antibiotic prescription policies.Keywords: Urinary tract infection, Antibiotic susceptibility pattern, Uropathogens, Renal failure, Renal transplant, Escherichia col

How Listeria monocytogenes organizes its surface for virulence

Listeria monocytogenes is a Gram-positive pathogen responsible for the manifestation of human listeriosis, an opportunistic foodborne disease with an associated high mortality rate. The key to the pathogenesis of listeriosis is the capacity of this bacterium to trigger its internalization by non-phagocytic cells and to survive and even replicate within phagocytes. The arsenal of virulence proteins deployed by L. monocytogenes to successfully promote the invasion and infection of host cells has been progressively unveiled over the past decades. A large majority of them is located at the cell envelope, which provides an interface for the establishment of close interactions between these bacterial factors and their host targets. Along the multistep pathways carrying these virulence proteins from the inner side of the cytoplasmic membrane to their cell envelope destination, a multiplicity of auxiliary proteins must act on the immature polypeptides to ensure that they not only maturate into fully functional effectors but also are placed or guided to their correct position in the bacterial surface. As the major scaffold for surface proteins, the cell wall and its metabolism are critical elements in listerial virulence. Conversely, the crucial physical support and protection provided by this structure make it an ideal target for the host immune system. Therefore, mechanisms involving fine modifications of cell envelope components are activated by L. monocytogenes to render it less recognizable by the innate immunity sensors or more resistant to the activity of antimicrobial effectors. This review provides a state-of-the-art compilation of the mechanisms used by L. monocytogenes to organize its surface for virulence, with special focus on those proteins that work "behind the frontline", either supporting virulence effectors or ensuring the survival of the bacterium within its host.We apologize to authors whose relevant work could not be cited owing to space limitations. Research in the group of Molecular Microbiology is funded by the project "NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000002-Host-Pathogen Interactions" co-funded by Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (ON.2-O Novo Norte), under the Quadro de Referencia Estrategico Nacional (QREN), through the Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER), the Operational Competitiveness Programme (COMPETE) and FCT (Fundacdo para a Ciencia e Tecnologia), and by projects ERANet Pathogenomics LISTRESS ERA-PTG/0003/2010, PTDC/SAU-MIC/111581/2009FCOMP-FEDER, PTDC/BIA-BCM/100088/2008FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-008860 and PTDC/BIA-BCM/111215/2009FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-014178. Filipe Carvalho was supported by FCT doctoral grant SFRH1BD16182512009, and Sandra Sousa by the Ciencia 2008 and FCT-Investigator programs (COMPETE, POPH, and FCT)