Antituberculosis Activity of Brotowali (Tinospora Crispa) Extract and Fractions Against Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Using Microplate Alamar Blue Assay Method

Tuberculosis (TB), in which caused by pathogenic bacteria, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, has become the major causes of death among all of infectious diseases. The increasing incidence of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) has created a need to discover a new antituberculosis drug candidate. The aim of this study was to screen extract and fractions of Tinospora crispa for activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv using the Microplate Alamar Blue Assay (MABA) method. T. crispa extract was prepared by maceration in ethanol (96%) and antituberculosis activity was carried out using MABA method. The result of this study showed that ethanolic extract of T. crispa exhibit antituberculosis activity with minimum inhibition concentration of 12.5 mg/ml

Angka Kuman di Ruang Rawat Inap RSUD Dr. M. Haulussy Ambon

Tujuan: Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui jumlah kuman dan mengidentifikasi faktor-faktor yang berkaitan dengan jumlah kuman di bangsal rawat inap RSUD dr. M. Haulussy Ambon.Metode: Jenis penelitian ini adalah observasional dengan rancangan studi potong lintang dengan objek ruangan yang diambil adalah bangsal interna, bangsal bedah, dan bangsal neurologi.Hasil: Studi ini menunjukkan jumlah kuman udara, dinding, dan lantai di bangsal rawat inap RSUD dr. M. Haulussy Ambon belum memenuhi persyaratan sesuai Kepmenkes no. 1204 / Menkes / SK / X / 2004. Suhu memiliki hubungan yang signifikan dengan jumlah kuman udara pagi. Pencahayaan memiliki hubungan yang signifikan dengan jumlah kuman udara sore dan jumlah kuman lantai pada sore hari.Implikasi praktis: Perlu perbaikan kualitas suhu dan pencahayaan di bangsal rumah sakit sehingga bisa mengurangi jumlah kuman di bangsal rumah sakit.Keaslian: Angka kuman udara pagi hari berhubungan dengan suhu. Pencahayaan berhubungan dengan angka kuman udara sore dan angka kuman lantai pada sore hari

Antituberculosis Activity of Brotowali (Tinospora crispa) Extract and Fractions against Mycobacterium tuberculosis using Microplate Alamar Blue Assay Method

Tuberculosis (TB), in which caused by pathogenic bacteria, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, has become the major causes of death among all of infectious diseases. The increasing incidence of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) has created a need to discover a new antituberculosis drug candidate. The aim of this study was to screen extract and fractions of Tinospora crispa for activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv using the Microplate Alamar Blue Assay (MABA) method. T. crispa extract was prepared by maceration in ethanol (96%) and antituberculosis activity was carried out using MABA method. The result of this study showed that ethanolic extract of T. crispa exhibit antituberculosis activity with minimum inhibition concentration of 12.5 mg/ml

How Do Bacteria Know They Are on a Surface and Regulate Their Response to an Adhering State?

Bacteria adhere to virtually all natural and synthetic surfaces [1,2]. Although there are a number of different reasons as to why bacteria adhere to a surface, the summarizing answer is brief: ‘‘Adhesion to a surface is a survival mechanism for bacteria’’. Nutrients in aqueous environments have the tendency to accumulate at surfaces [1,3], giving adhering bacteria a benefit over free floating, so-called planktonic ones. This is why mountain creeks may contain crystal clear, drinkable water, while stepping stones underneath the water may be covered with a slippery film of adhering microbes. In the oral cavity, adhesion to dental hard and soft tissues is life-saving to the organisms, because microbes that do not manage to adhere and remain planktonic in saliva are swallowed with an almost certain death in the gastrointestinal tract. Bacterial adhesion is generally recognized as the first step in biofilm formation, and for the human host, the ability of

recA mediated spontaneous deletions of the icaADBC operon of clinical Staphylococcus epidermidis isolates: a new mechanism of phenotypic variations

Phenotypic variation of Staphylococcus epidermidis involving the slime related ica operon results in heterogeneity in surface characteristics of individual bacteria in axenic cultures. Five clinical S. epidermidis isolates demonstrated phenotypic variation, i.e. both black and red colonies on Congo Red agar. Black colonies displayed bi-modal electrophoretic mobility distributions at pH 2, but such phenotypic variation was absent in red colonies of the same strain as well as in control strains without phenotypic variation. All red colonies had lost ica and the ability to form biofilms, in contrast to black colonies of the same strain. Real time PCR targeting icaA indicated a reduction in gene copy number within cultures exhibiting phenotypic variation, which correlated with phenotypic variations in biofilm formation and electrophoretic mobility distribution of cells within a culture. Loss of ica was irreversible and independent of the mobile element IS256. Instead, in high frequency switching strains, spontaneous mutations in lexA were found which resulted in deregulation of recA expression, as shown by real time PCR. RecA is involved in genetic deletions and rearrangements and we postulate a model representing a new mechanism of phenotypic variation in clinical isolates of S. epidermidis. This is the first report of S. epidermidis strains irreversibly switching from biofilm-positive to biofilm-negative phenotype by spontaneous deletion of icaADBC

Generation of Variants in Listeria monocytogenes Continuous-Flow Biofilms Is Dependent on Radical-Induced DNA Damage and RecA-Mediated Repair

The food-borne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes is a Gram-positive microaerophilic facultative anaerobic rod and the causative agent of the devastating disease listeriosis. L. monocytogenes is able to form biofilms in the food processing environment. Since biofilms are generally hard to eradicate, they can function as a source for food contamination. In several occasions biofilms have been identified as a source for genetic variability, which potentially can result in adaptation of strains to food processing or clinical conditions. However, nothing is known about mutagenesis in L. monocytogenes biofilms and the possible mechanisms involved. In this study, we showed that the generation of genetic variants was specifically induced in continuous-flow biofilms of L. monocytogenes, but not in static biofilms. Using specific dyes and radical inhibitors, we showed that the formation of superoxide and hydroxyl radicals was induced in continuous-flow biofilms, which was accompanied with in an increase in DNA damage. Promoter reporter studies showed that recA, which is an important component in DNA repair and the activator of the SOS response, is activated in continuous-flow biofilms and that activation was dependent on radical-induced DNA damage. Furthermore, continuous-flow biofilm experiments using an in-frame recA deletion mutant verified that RecA is required for induced generation of genetic variants. Therefore, we can conclude that generation of genetic variants in L. monocytogenes continuous-flow biofilms results from radical-induced DNA damage and RecA-mediated mutagenic repair of the damaged DNA

Ica-status of clinical Staphylococcus epidermidis strains affects adhesion and aggregation: a thermodynamic analysis

Staphylococcus epidermidis is a major nosocomial pathogen associated with infections of indwelling medical devices. One important virulence factor of these organisms is their ability to adhere to devices and form biofilms. In this study, we evaluated the effect of the ica operon on cell surface hydrophobicity, thermodynamics of adhesion, and biofilm formation for seven S. epidermidis strains. The surface free energy parameters of the bacterial cell surface and the substratum were determined by contact angle measurement. Biofilm formation was assayed using crystal violet staining. Results showed that ica-positive strains demonstrated a higher hydrophobic characteristic than ica-negative strains, suggesting that the ica-operon seems to determine the cell surface hydrophobicity of S. epidermidis. Interaction of ica-positive strains with a tissue-culture treated polystyrene surface was energetically favourable (ΔGTot 0). The interfacial free energy of aggregation of S. epidermidis was lower for ica-positive than for ica-negative strains. Our study suggests that, in addition to biofilm formation, adhesion and aggregation of clinical S. epidermidis is stimulated in ica-positive strains by influencing the thermodynamics of interaction