Exacerbations of chronic rhinosinusitis : microbiology and perspectives of phage therapy

The chronically inflamed mucosa in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) can additionally be infected by bacteria, which results in an acute exacerbation of the disease (AECRS). Currently, AECRS is universally treated with antibiotics following the guidelines for acute bacterial rhinosinusitis (ABRS), as our understanding of its microbiology is insufficient to establish specific treatment recommendations. Unfortunately, antibiotics frequently fail to control the symptoms of AECRS due to biofilm formation, disruption of the natural microbiota, and arising antibiotic resistance. These issues can potentially be addressed by phage therapy. In this study, the endoscopically-guided cultures were postoperatively obtained from 50 patients in order to explore the microbiology of AECRS, evaluate options for antibiotic treatment, and, most importantly, assess a possibility of efficient phage therapy. Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci were the most frequently isolated bacteria, followed by Haemophilus influenzae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacteriaceae. Alarmingly, mechanisms of antibiotic resistance were detected in the isolates from 46% of the patients. Bacteria not sensitive to amoxicillin were carried by 28% of the patients. The lowest rates of resistance were noted for fluoroquinolones and aminoglycosides. Fortunately, 60% of the patients carried bacterial strains that were sensitive to bacteriophages from the Biophage Pharma collection and 81% of the antibiotic-resistant strains turned out to be sensitive to bacteriophages. The results showed that microbiology of AECRS is distinct from ABRS and amoxicillin should not be the antibiotic of first choice. Currently available bacteriophages could be used instead of antibiotics or as an adjunct to antibiotics in the majority of patients with AECRS

Prospects for biocontrol of Vibrio parahaemolyticus contamination in blue mussels (Mytilus edulus) – a year-long study

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is an environmental organism normally found in subtropical estuarine environments which can cause seafood-related human infections. Clinical disease is associated with diagnostic presence of tdh and/or trh virulence genes and identification of these genes in our preliminary isolates from retail shellfish prompted a year-long surveillance of isolates from a temperate estuary in the north of England. The microbial and environmental analysis of 117 samples of mussels, seawater or sediment showed the presence of V. parahaemolyticus from mussels (100%) at all time-points throughout the year including the colder months although they were only recovered from 94.9% of seawater and 92.3% of sediment samples. Throughout the surveillance, 96 isolates were subjected to specific PCR for virulence genes and none tested positive for either. The common understanding that consuming poorly cooked mussels only represents a risk of infection during summer vacations therefore is challenged. Further investigations with V. parahaemolyticus using RAPD-PCR cluster analysis showed a genetically diverse population. There was no distinct clustering for ‘environmental’ or 'clinical reference strains although a wide variability and heterogeneity agreed with other reports. Continued surveillance of isolates to allay public health risks are justified since geographical distribution and composition of V. parahaemolyticus varies with future ocean warming and the potential of environmental strains to acquire virulence genes from pathogenic isolates. The prospects for intervention by phage-mediated biocontrol to reduce or eradicate V. parahaemolyticus in mussels was also investigated. Bacteriophages isolated from enriched samples collected from the river Humber were assessed for their ability to inhibit the growth of V. parahaemolyticus strains in-vitro and in-vivo (with live mussels). V. parahaemolyticus were significantly reduced in-vitro, by an average of 1 log - 2 log units and in-vivo, significant reduction of the organisms in mussels occurred in 3 replicate experimental tank set ups with a ‘phage cocktail’ containing 12 different phages. Our perspective biocontrol study suggests that a cocktail of specific phages targeted against strains of V. parahaemolyticus provides good evidence in an experimental setting of the valuable potential of phage as a decontamination agent in natural or industrial mussel processing

Pengaruh Leverage, Ukuran Perusahaan, Kinerja Keuangan dan Keputusan Investasi Terhadap Nilai Perusahaan Pada Perusahaan Mnufaktur Yang Terdaftar Di Bursa Efek Indonesia Pada Periode 2015-2017

Tujuan dari penelitian ini ialah untuk menguji pengaruh leverage, ukuran perusahaan, kinerja keuangan dan keputusan investasi terhadap nilai perusahaan pada perusahaan manufaktur yang terdaftar di Bursa Efek Indonesia (BEI). Sebanyak 33 perusahaanyang terdaftar di Bursa Efek Indonesia periode 2015-2017 menjadi sampel. Variabel Independent dalam penelitian ini adalah leverage, ukuran perusahaan, kinerja keuangan, keputusan investasi. Sementara variabel dependennya adalah nilai perusahaan. Teknik pengambilan sampel dengan purposive sampling. Analisa data dengan regresi linier berganda, hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa leverage secara parsial tidak berpengaruh dan tidak signifikan terhadap nilai perusahaan dengan nilai signifikannya 0.553. Ukuran perusahaan tidak berpengaruh dan tidak signifikan terhadap nilai perusahaan dengan nilai signifikan 0.439. Kinerja keuangan berpengaruh dan signifikan terhadap nilai perusahaandengan nilai signifikan 0.000. Keputusan investasi berpengaruh positif dan signifikan terhaap nilai perusahaan. Dengan nilai signifikan 0.000