Antibiotic susceptibility and high prevalence of extended spectrum beta-lactamase producing Escherichia coli in iranian broilers

Extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) producing Escherichia coli have rapidly spread worldwide and cause serious threats for public health. The study was conducted to determine the antibiotic resistance and characterization of ESBL producing E. coli strains isolated from broilers in Northern Iran. Antibiotic susceptibility test was done for a total of 100 isolates of E. coli, recovered from 240 broiler fecal samples at the slaughterhouse stage. ESBL production was screened using double-disc synergy test (DDST) and presence of four ESBL genes including blaPER, blaVEB, blaTEM and blaCTX-M was tested using PCR. Among 100 strains isolated from broilers, 53 were identified as ESBL-producing E. coli. All (100) ESBL positive isolates were typed according to the presence of one or two ESBL-associated genes. The most prevalent gene among ESBLs was CTX-M (60.3) and the PER gene was not present among isolates. All isolates in this study were resistant to colistin and nalidixic acid but were 100 sensitive to cefalexin and furazolidone. The results demonstrated the high prevalence of antibiotic resistant and ESBL producing E. coli among broilers which representing the risk of increasing these strains in human infections associated with food animals

Occurrence of Campylobacter, Salmonella, and Arcobacter in pet birds of northern Iran

ΔΕΝ ΔΙΑΤΙΘΕΤΑΙ ΠΕΡΙΛΗΨΗPet birds can harbor human pathogens and contribute to the transmission of infectious agents to human. Since many people are interested in keeping pet birds, this study was conducted in pet birds from Mazandaran province, northern Iran. Totally, 174 fecal samples of pet birds (cockatiel, canary, lovebird, parrot, mynah, goldfinch, budgerigar, macaw, dove, pigeon, and bulbul) were collected with sterile cotton swabs and submitted to Faculty ofVeterinary Medicine, Department of Pathobiology (Amol, Iran). After extraction of total DNA, the samples subjected to molecular detection of the Campylobacter, Salmonella, and Arcobacter using polymerase chain reaction. A total of 114 (65.5%), 28 (16%), and 86 (49.4%) samples were found positive for Campylobacter, Salmonella, and Arcobacter, respectively. Furthermore, some birds showed contamination with two or all three of these bacteria. Results showed that mentioned bacteria can be detected from the apparently healthy pet birds. Therefore pet birds can be considered as potential carriers of these enteropathogens

A Case Report of Mucopolysaccharidosis Type VI

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Mucopolysaccharidosis type VI (MPS VI) is a lysosomal storage disorder and autosomal recessive caused by arylsulfatase B deficiency in the body and progressive accumulation of glycosaminoglycan in different organs. Considering that this disease has low prevalence in Iran and worldwide, we report a case of MPS VI diagnosis in this study. CASE REPORT: A five-year-old boy was referred to Imam Khomeini Clinic in Esfarayen due to impaired growth and dyspnea. In the biography of this boy, there is the history of previous hospitalization due to dyspnea when he was three months, two years and three years old and was treated with antibiotics and salbutamol spray for three days each time. The pediatrician got suspicious of MPS because of the child's peculiar face. Blood tests were performed in terms of the levels of lysosomal enzymes and the urine sample was sent to the Metabolic Laboratory of Hamburg University Medical Center to study the glycosaminoglycan levels. After six months, the results of the tests indicated low levels of serum arylsulfatase B and the increase in chondroitin and urinary levels of dermatan sulfate. To investigate the presence of complications, echocardiography, electromyography, eye and ear examinations as well as radiography for chest, back, hip and hand were performed. Clinical and paraclinical findings confirmed the MPS VI disease and therefore, treatment with naglazyme enzyme was started for the patient. CONCLUSION: Based on the results of this case report, growth impairment, history of hospitalization due to respiratory problems and the patient’s peculiar face are key points for further investigation regarding MPS VI disease

Phase synchronization on scale-free and random networks in the presence of noise

In this work we investigate the stability of synchronized states for the Kuramoto model on scale-free and random networks in the presence of white noise forcing. We show that for a fixed coupling constant, the robustness of the globally synchronized state against the noise is dependent on the noise intensity on both kinds of networks. At low noise intensities the random networks are more robust against losing the coherency but upon increasing the noise, at a specific noise strength the synchronization among the population vanishes suddenly. In contrast, on scale-free networks the global synchronization disappears continuously at a much larger critical noise intensity respect to the random networks

Collective oscillations of excitable elements: order parameters, bistability and the role of stochasticity

We study the effects of a probabilistic refractory period in the collective behavior of coupled discrete-time excitable cells (SIRS-like cellular automata). Using mean-field analysis and simulations, we show that a synchronized phase with stable collective oscillations exists even with non-deterministic refractory periods. Moreover, further increasing the coupling strength leads to a reentrant transition, where the synchronized phase loses stability. In an intermediate regime, we also observe bistability (and consequently hysteresis) between a synchronized phase and an active but incoherent phase without oscillations. The onset of the oscillations appears in the mean-field equations as a Neimark-Sacker bifurcation, the nature of which (i.e. super- or subcritical) is determined by the first Lyapunov coefficient. This allows us to determine the borders of the oscillating and of the bistable regions. The mean-field prediction thus obtained agrees quantitatively with simulations of complete graphs and, for random graphs, qualitatively predicts the overall structure of the phase diagram. The latter can be obtained from simulations by defining an order parameter q suited for detecting collective oscillations of excitable elements. We briefly review other commonly used order parameters and show (via data collapse) that q satisfies the expected finite size scaling relations.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figure

Molecular Identification of Campylobacter, Arcobacter, and Salmonella in Japanese Quail (Coturnix japonica) Reared in Farms of Northern Iran

Background: Food animals such as different rearing birds can transmit zoonotic enteropathogenic bacteria, which exist in their intestinal microbiota. This research was designed in order to molecular identification of Campylobacter, Arcobacter, as well as Salmonella in Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) reared in farms of Northern Iran. Methods: Total of 100 cloacal samples were collected from 20 different quail farms. After extraction of total DNA, the samples subjected to molecular detection of the Campylobacter, Arcobacter, and Salmonella using polymerase chain reaction. By Chi-squared, all statistical analyses were performed by SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL (v. 18.0). Results: Totally, the prevalence rates of Campylobacter, Salmonella, and Arcobacter in samples were 95, 65, and 0%, respectively. The prevalence of Salmonella spp. in rural farms was significantly (p<0.05) higher than semi-industrial farms. Conclusion: High occurrence of Campylobacter spp. and Salmonella spp. were found in rearing quail populations of Mazandaran province, Northern Iran. These enteropathogens can contaminate food products obtained from the birds indicating their public health importance

Occurrence of virulence genes and strain diversity of thermophilic campylobacters isolated from cattle and sheep faecal samples

Summary The objective of this study was to investigate the genotypic characteristics of Campylobacter isolates in Shiraz, Iran. A total of 40 Campylobacter isolates including 20 C. jejuni and 20 C. coli were recovered from both cattle and sheep faeces by cultivation methods. The isolates were identified on the basis of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection of 16SrRNA and multiplex PCR to determine two species. For confirmed isolates, PCR was carried out for the presence of virulence genes using specific primers. Other than verifying the genetic diversity of thermophilic Campylobacter isolates, flaA PCR-RFLP was performed. Results showed the high prevalence (100%) of the cadF gene and three genes associated with cytolethal distending toxin (CDT). Plasmid virB11 gene was not found in any Campylobacter isolate, and dissimilarities and discrepancies occurred in pldA, iamA, wlaN, waaC and cgtB genes. Among the 40 Campylobacter isolates studied, nine different types were defined by flaA-typing. Results indicated genetic diversity among Campylobacter isolates recovered from cattle and sheep faecal samples. Findings showed the potential ability of C. jejuni and C. coli with cattle and sheep origins to cause infection in humans

Comparison of the Effect of 1-MCP and Low-Pressure Air on Shelflife of Strawberry Fruit (Fragaria ananassa cv. Camarossa)

Strawberry (Fragaria×ananassa) has tasteful, fragrant and nutritious fruits. But, because of delicate texture and high metabolic activities of the fruits at maturity, are very sensitive and easily decayed, and thus have short shelflife. Ethylene is one of the main causes of postharvest fruit losses, which could reduce the shelflife of strawberry. Therefore, an experiment was carried out to examine the effect of 1 µL/L 1-MCP treatment and low-pressure air pretreatment at 0.2 atm in 2 hours on apparent and physicochemical characteristics of strawberry fruit, cultivar Camarossa, during storage in cold store. The study was performed as split plots in time, based on complete randomized design with 3 replications. The results showed that the highest marketability (90%), fruit firmness (7.95 N), titrable organic acids (1.15 g/100 cc), vitamin C (78.13 mg/100 cc) and total soluble solids (10.48 %) and the lowest amount of apparent decay (13.3 %), acidity (3.63) and taste index (9.04) were obtained in 1-MCP and low-pressure air treatments, which shows the effect of treatments on reducing the rate of biochemical variations in fruit texture. Correlation coefficients between all treatments were significant (P≤0.01). Meanwhile, the positive effect of 1-MCP on appearance and studied physicochemical characteristics was more than low-pressure air pretreatment. Even, the combination of these two treatments had no significant difference with 1-MCp treatment alone. In general, this observation depicts the more positive and significant effect of 1-MCP treatment in delaying the maturity and improving the qualitative traits of strawberry fruits after being stored in cold storage