Donor management in intensive care unit: Practices at our center.

Int Soc Organ Donat & Procuremen

Ramalina Lichens and Their Major Metabolites as Possible Natural Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Agents

Three lichen species of Ramalina (R.farinacea, R.fastigiata and R.fraxinea) were examined. Evernic, fumarprotocetraric, lecanoric, stictic and usnic acid levels were determined by high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection. Acetone, methanol and ethanol were used to examine the efficiencies of different solvent systems for the extraction of lichen acids. The total phenol contents in the extracts were determined by the Folin-Ciocalteu method. The antioxidant capacities were determined by the ABTS (2,2-azino-bis[3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid]) method. The methanol extracts of the Ramalina species showed the highest antioxidant capacities. Broth microdilution testing was performed to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the methanol extracts of the three Ramalina species. The MIC values of all extracts ranged from 64 to 512g/mL for all bacterial strains tested in this study

Successful liver and kidney transplantations from a donor with left ventricular assist device.

Int Soc Organ Donat & Procuremen

Cardioprotective Effect of Selenium Against Cyclophosphamide-Induced Cardiotoxicity in Rats

Gunes, Sibel/0000-0003-0846-1170; Sahinturk, Varol/0000-0003-2317-3644WOS: 000398712400014PubMed: 27709497The objective of this study is to evaluate the possible protective effects of selenium (Se) against cyclophosphamide (CP)-induced acute cardiotoxicity in rats. A total of 42 male Spraque-Dawley rats were divided into six groups (n = 7). Rats in the first group were served as control. Rats in the second group received CP (150 mg/kg) at the sixth day of experiment. Animals in the third and fourth groups were treated with only 0.5 and 1 mg/kg Se respectively for six consecutive days. Rats in the fifth and sixth groups received respective Se doses (0.5 or 1 mg/kg) for 6 days and then a single dose of CP administered on the sixth day. On day 7, the animals were sacrificed; blood samples were collected to measure malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB), and ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) levels. Heart tissues were processed routinely and tissue sections were stained with H + E for light microscopic examination. In the CP-treated rats MDA, LDH, CK-MB, and IMA serum levels increased, while GSH levels decreased. Microscopic evaluation showed that tissue damage was conspicuously lower in CP plus Se groups. Moreover, 1 mg/kg Se was more protective than 0.5 mg/kg Se as indicated by histopathological and biochemical values. In conclusion, Se is suggested to be a potential candidate to ameliorate CP-induced cardiotoxicity which may be related to its antioxidant activity.Eskisehir Osmangazi University Scientific Research Project, Turkey [P.N 2014-254]This study was financially supported by grants (P.N 2014-254) from the Eskisehir Osmangazi University Scientific Research Project, Turkey

The in vitro activity of danofloxacin plus ceftiofur combination: implications for antimicrobial efficacy and resistance prevention

Due to the high prevalence of multi-drug resistant bacteria, combination therapy is an efficient choice for treatment of infections caused by highly resistant strains. In this study, the efficacy of ceftiofur plus danofloxacin combination was investigated against resistant Escherichia coli. The interaction between the two drugs was determined by checkerboard tests and time-kill assays. The combination was defined as bactericidal or bacteriostatic based on the minimum bactericidal concentration test results. Mutant prevention concentration test was used to evaluate the resistance tendency suppression potential of the combination. The combination had a synergistic effect against 83.00% of the isolates as verified by the checkerboard and time-kill assays. The combination was defined as bactericidal against all E. coli strains, since minimum bactericidal concentration: minimum inhibitory concentration ratios were below four thresholds and also markedly reduced mutant prevention concentration values of ceftiofur up to 4000-fold compared to its single use. Ceftiofur plus danofloxacin combination inhibited growth of E. coli strains which were resistant to ceftiofur or newer generation of fluoroquinolones. Our results suggest that ceftiofur plus danofloxacin combination has a bactericidal characteristic and can be an important alternative for the treatment of infections caused by resistant E. coli

Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Potential, and HPLC Analysis of Stictic and Usnic Acids of Three Usnea Species from Uludag Mountain (Bursa, Turkey)

In this study, antioxidant and antimicrobial potentials of Usnea intermedia, U. filipendula, and U. fulvoreagens and their stictic and usnic acid contents were investigated. Antioxidant activity and total phenolic contents were evaluated in acetone, ethanol, and methanol extracts of these three species. Antioxidant activity was measured by ABTS [2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline- 6-sulphonic acid)] method and total phenolic contents were measured by Folin-Ciocalteu method. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used for the determination of lichen acids. It can be concluded from stictic and usnic acids contents that the order of solvent efficiency is acetone > ethanol > methanol and acetone > methanol > ethanol, respectively. Broth microdilution method was performed to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the methanol extracts of three Usnea species. The MIC values of all the extracts ranged from 64 mu g/mL to 512 mu g/mL for all the bacterial strains that were tested in this study, and all the Fluoro quinolone-resistant Escherichia coli isolates (except for E101) were sensitive to the methanol extracts of the three Usnea species. This paper is the first study to determine the stictic acid content in U. intermedia and U. filipendula. Our findings indicate that these three Usnea species could be used as antioxidant and antimicrobial agents