Role and Function of KPC and MBL Enzymes in Increasing the Pathogenicity of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Isolated from Burn Wounds

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is one of the main causes of hospital infections. Pathogenic factors in this bacterium may play a role in the resistance to carbapenem and beta-lactam. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role and function of KPC and MBL enzymes in increasing the pathogenicity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from burn wounds. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 63 isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from burn wounds of different patients were isolated using biochemical tests such as fermentation of sugars in the OF medium, oxidase test, and so on. Determination of resistance pattern and strains with metallobetalactamase and carbapenema was done by disc diffusion method. The oprD gene was used for molecular confirmation of isolates. PCR method was used to detect pathogenicity genes. FINDINGS: Out of 63 isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from burn patients, 10 isolates (15.83%) had KPC enzyme and 13 isolates (20.63%) had MBL enzymes. Doripenem, Ertapenem and meropenem were the most frequent. Also, the lasB gene was observed in 43 isolates (68.25%), plcN gene in 41 isolates (65.07%), lasA gene in 20 isolates (31.74%), apr in 60 isolates (95.23%), phzI gene in 53 isolates (84.12%), the phzII gene in 38 isolates (60.31%), phzH gene in 30 isolates (47.61%) and plcH gene in 56 isolates (88.88%). CONCLUSION: The results of this study showed that the production of Carbapnemase and MBL enzymes increased the pathogenicity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from burn wounds

Consequences of 1BL/1RS translocation on agronomic and physiological traits in wheat

The 1BL/1RS wheat-rye translocations had been used in wheat breeding programs worldwide. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of the 1BL/1RS translocation in SeriM82 /Babax recombinant population. 167 lines of this population were assayed under well-irrigated, terminal drought, heat and a combination of heat and drought stress conditions in two years. 5S rDNA and Iag95 markers were used to differentiate genotypes with or without the1BL/1RS translocation. Presence of 1BL/1RS translocation reduced grain yield (YLD), grain per spike (GSP) and grain per m2 (GM2). QTLs in 1 BL/1RS segments indicated increased thousand-grain weight (TGW), chlorophyll content, spikelet per spike (SPLS), spike compactness (SCOM) and awn length (AWL) but reduced YLD, GSP and GM2. The 1BL/1RS carrying lines’ response varied between assayed environments. Plants of drought trials were more affected by 1BL/1RS compared to others. Differences in the effects of 1BL/1RS and QTLs suggest that gene expression at translocation loci is restricted to specific environmental conditions. In general, the 1BL/1RS translocation could not be a suitable source of genetic diversity for enhancing grain yield under heat and drought stresses

Investigation of the Relationship between the Presence of Chromosomal and Plasmid-Encoded AmpC Genes and Type of Clinical Specimen in Pseudomonas Aeruginosa

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Different clinical specimens play a decisive role in the type and nature of drug resistance in pathogenic organisms. Occasionally, the presence of certain antibiotic resistance genes is associated with the type of clinical specimen. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between the presence of chromosomal and plasmid-encoded AmpC genes and type of clinical specimen in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. METHODS: In this descriptive and experimental study, 114 isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and clinical specimens including blood, urine, wound secretion, burn injuries were collected from teaching hospitals in Hamadan. The presence of chromosomal and plasmid-encoded AmpC genes was evaluated using multiplex PCR technique. FINDINGS: The plasmid-encoded AmpC genes were observed more than chromosomal genes in Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates. The FOX gene with a value of 29 (37.66%) (p≤0.037) and DHA gene with a value of 5(6.4%) (p≤0.015) in plasmid-encoded AmpC genes, while FOX gene with a value of 39 (48.75%) (p≤0.001) and MOX gene with a value of 2 (7.36%) in chromosomal AmpC genes had the highest and lowest frequency, respectively. CONCLUSION: The results of the study showed that the presence of chromosomal and plasmid-encoded AmpC genes may have various frequencies according to the type of clinical specimen

Utilizing a health-promotion model to predict self-care adherence in patients undergoing coronary angioplasty in Bushehr, Iran

Background: Self-care refers to the conscious actions and behaviors that patients engage in to maintain and promote their own health and to the decisions that they make about managing signs or symptoms. Despite the importance of self-care in improving the health status of patients with cardiovascular disease, such as those undergoing angioplasty, these patients do not implement self-care optimally. This study aimed to identify factors affecting self-care behaviors in cardiac patients undergoing angioplasty based on a health-promotion model. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 200 cardiovascular patients undergoing angioplasty referred to the Bushehr Health Center. Health-promotion-model constructs and self-care behaviors were assessed by a researcher-made questionnaire. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 22 using multiple linear regression analyses. Results: Stepwise regression revealed that three variables – perceived barriers, perceived self-efficacy, and social support – were significant predictors of self-care behaviors among patients undergoing angioplasty. These factors accounted for 43.1% (R2 =0.431) of variance in self-care. Among the health-promotion-model constructs, self-efficacy (β =0.237, P<0.001) was the strongest predictor of self-care behaviors, followed by perceived barriers (β =-0.195, P<0.001) and perceived social support (β =0.13, P<0.001). Perceived benefits did not significantly predict self-care behaviors. Conclusion: According to the results of this study, it is suggested that designing and implementing training programs to improve self-efficacy and perceived social support of cardiovascular patients and also decreasing barriers to self-care may improve self-care behaviors among patients undergoing angioplasty

A statistical atlas-based technique for automatic segmentation of the first Heschls gyrus in human auditory cortex from MR images

Abstract-We present an automatic method for the segmentation of the first transverse temporal gyrus of Heschl (HG), the morphological marker for primary auditory cortex in humans. The proposed technique utilizes a statistical anatomical atlas of the gyrus, generated from a set of training samples using principal component analysis. The training set consists of MRI data from 12 subjects with the corresponding Heschl&apos;s gyri manually labeled in each hemisphere (separate atlases were generated for each hemisphere). We used a leave-oneout approach to automatically segment Heschl&apos;s gyri in both hemispheres from the MR image data using generated atlases. We assessed the accuracy of this atlas-based technique by using it to segment the HG region from several test cases and finding the overlap between the segmented and labeled HG regions. Results demonstrated more than 75% and 83% accuracy in the extraction of the HG volumes in the left and right hemispheres, respectively. It is expected that the proposed tool can be adapted to extract other anatomical regions in the brain