Hasil untuk "Microbiology"

E. Baron, S. Finegold

A. Varnam, J. Sutherland

M. M. McNeil, June M. Brown

Tatsuya Inukai, Rikuto Watanabe, Yoshiki Murakami et al.

Abstract Aspergillus fumigatus, which causes aspergillosis, has developed resistance to azole antifungal agents in recent years. As only three main classes of antifungal drugs are available, the development of novel therapeutic strategies is crucial. We aimed to control the expression of virulence factors by introducing microRNAs (miRNAs) into fungi as an innovative therapeutic approach. To test our hypothesis, we selected miRNA mimics targeting alb1, which is involved in the synthesis of 1,8-dihydroxynaphthalene (DHN)-melanin, a virulence factor of A. fumigatus, and transfected them into the protoplast of the fungus, resulting in a two-fold reduction in alb1 expression. Next, we created a 3×HA-tagged Alb1 protein (Alb1-HAp)-expressing strain and confirmed the regulation of translation using western blotting with an anti-HA antibody. The protein amount of Alb1-HAp was reduced by one-third after the introduction of the miRNA. Moreover, the reduction in melanin after miRNA transfection promoted the killing of fungus by hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress and sensitised the fungus to neutrophil attack. Additionally, by loading miRNAs into a fungus-targeted delivery system, we demonstrated the potential of transferring miRNAs into intact fungal cells in vitro. These results indicate the potential of miRNAs to regulate target virulence factors in fungi, leading to the development of novel therapies.

Emad Farahat, Holger Gärtner

The southern Mediterranean region, particularly North Africa, is a crucial area for biodiversity conservation. However, the impacts of climate change on plant species in this region are not well understood. Dendroecology, the study of tree rings, is a valuable technique for analyzing the effects of environmental changes on woody plants over time. In this study, we intend to assess the state of the art in dendrochronological research in North Africa and identify knowledge gaps and limitations in the field. The period of analysis spans from 1979 to 2023. We used all the available literature in Dendrobox and Google Scholar during this period. Our study revealed several research gaps in the region, including the need for more studies on the history of forest fires and their relationship to climate conditions in Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, the impact of climate on the anatomical characteristics of growth rings, and the effects of climate change on tree species diversity and forest health. Applying this technique in the future would allow for detailed insights into the effect of climate on the internal structure and growth of forest trees. The findings of this study will help guide future research and contribute to a better understanding of the climate-growth relationship of woody plants in North Africa.

Renata Inglez de Souza Tej, Lilian Maria Lapa Montenegro, Wlisses Henrique Veloso de Carvalho Silva et al.

Introdução/objetivo: A tuberculose (TB) mantém-se como um grave problema de saúde pública, sendo a principal causa de morte por doença infecciosa antes da COVID-19. Em 2022, foram notificados 78.057 novos casos de TB no Brasil, destes, 5.149 de Pernambuco (PE), que ocupa 4° posição em maior incidência e 3° em mortalidade no país. O estudo pretende descrever os aspectos clínicos, epidemiológicos e laboratoriais de portadores de tuberculose pulmonar e extrapulmonar provenientes de serviços públicos do estado de PE. Metodologia: O estudo é realizado na FIOCRUZ-PE, em parceria com serviços públicos de Pernambuco. Os participantes do estudo são indivíduos de idades variadas, ambos os sexos, portadores de tuberculose, diagnosticados pelo médico assistente dos serviços de saúde. Dos participantes foram coletados dados clínico-epidemiológico-laboratoriais através de preenchimento de ficha clínica e TCLE, com esclarecimentos diagnósticos com o médico assistente. As informações foram armazenadas no programa IBM SPSS Statistics 20 para análise estatística. Resultados: Foram selecionados 205 participantes no período de 2016 a 2023, sendo a maioria: pardos (38%), do sexo masculino (70,2%), com faixa etária entre 18-29 anos (24,9%), moradores do Recife (53,7%). Grande parcela não declarou escolaridade (52,2%) ou renda (46,3%), dos que declararam, a maioria não terminou o ensino médio (25,4%), havendo ainda, uma parcela de analfabetos (6%), sobrevivendo com renda inferior a um salário mínimo (39,5%). Alguns tiveram contato com portadores de TB na família (31,7%), possuíam cicatriz da BCG (64,4%), e/ou alguma doença ou agravo (60%), como, tabagismo (17,6%) e PVHIV (15,6%). Uma parcela foi reinfectada pela doença (26,8%). Quanto ao diagnóstico: 74,1% tiveram TB pulmonar e 25,9 % extrapulmonar com maior parcela pleural (8,8%). Sobressaíram os sintomas de perda de peso (80,5%), a tosse (76,1%) e a febre (68,3%). Dos exames solicitados: 66,3% apresentou RX alterado com forma pneumônica (49,8%) e 27,3% com alteração na TC; encontrado BAAR em 54,1% das baciloscopias, havendo crescimento do M.tb em 42% das culturas, sendo detectado M.tb em 33,2% dos submetidos ao TRM-TB/RIF, com resistência em 1,4% dos casos. Observou-se que grande parte dos diagnosticados levou de 1 a 3 meses para fechamento diagnóstico da doença. Conclusão: Observa-se que o diagnóstico é realizado através da associação clínica-epidemiológica-laboratorial que pode ser complexo.

Noorleta Putri Rizky, Jaladara Vena, Supriyati Supriyati

The mining sector presents various risks that can contribute to the spread of Covid-19, such as confined work areas and high worker mobility. The Indonesian government has made several efforts to prevent the spread of Covid-19, including the implementation of health protocols as mitigation measures in workplaces. Employee compliance is a crucial factor in the successful implementation of health protocols in the workplace. The purpose of this study is to analyze the determinant factors of employee compliance in implementing Covid-19 health protocols at Company X. A cross-sectional study was conducted from July to August 2022 with a self-administered questionnaire. The sample of the study was drawn from mining workers in Company X as research subjects. The finding reveals that out of 185 respondents, 91.4% exhibited high compliance in implementing health protocols in the workplace. There is a relationship between knowledge, attitude, company support, vaccination history, and the level of employee compliance in implementing health protocols in the working environment of Company X. This study revealed that company support was the most dominant factor influencing worker compliance. Therefore, good company support is necessary for ensuring employees’ safety and health compliance behavior.

P. Quinn

G. Brooks

M. Magot, B. Ollivier, B. Patel

Şirin Menekşe, Demet Hacıseyitoğlu, Serap Süzük Yıldız et al.

Introduction: Ralstonia pickettii infections are rare and may be mistaken for other bacteria. This study aims to report a hospital outbreak of R. pickettii at a tertiary hospital, which was initially misidentified as Ralstonia insidiosa, along with its clinical consequences. Methodology: A bacteraemia outbreak occurred between August 14 and October 4, 2019, infecting 22 patients admitted to diverse intensive care units. All isolates were identified with the use of the automated VITEK 2 Compact system and were then subjected to a microbial identification system, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). Bacterial identification and genomic DNA typing was made using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Investigation covered all potential sources of the outbreak. Results: An index patient and five additional patients developed fever while receiving care. Blood cultures of these patients yielded R. insidiosa by the VITEK 2 Compact system. Culture isolates were then submitted to a reference centre for confirmation by the MALDI-TOF MS system, where the bacterium turned out to be R. pickettii. No pathogen was isolated in the commercial products except for three samples of unopened sterile distilled water. Despite its discontinuation, 16 new cases were identified, in which blood cultures grew R. pickettii by the MALDI-TOF MS system. Attempts to uncover the source of the outbreak failed. Clinical manifestation was confined to fever in all the patients. Conclusions: During this outbreak, R. pickettii infections ran a relatively mild course without clinical deterioration or mortality, possibly due to low virulence.

Hongli Liu, Hongli Liu, Bin Zhang et al.

To investigate the effects of heat stress on meat rabbits, we assigned 80 rabbits to the moderate temperature group (24 ± 1°C; Control group) and the continuous high-temperature group (HT group), then monitored the effects using growth performance, carcass characteristics, biochemical assays, UPLC–MS/MS-based metabolomics, and microbiome. The results showed that after continuous high-temperature exposure, the average daily gain, average daily feed intake, and thymus index were significantly decreased (p < 0.05). Contents of HSP70, ALP, and Cortisol in serum were significantly increased, while TP, GLU, T3, and T4 were significantly decreased (p < 0.05). Nine kinds of differential metabolites were screened by serum metabolomics, which can be used as biomarkers of heat stress in meat rabbits. The selected differential metabolites were analyzed by KEGG annotation and enrichment analysis. The results showed that 14 pathways affected by heat stress were identified by KEGG pathway enrichment analysis, including Sphingolipid metabolism, Pyrimidine metabolism, Citrate cycle (TCA cycle)), aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis, and so on. The analysis of the effect of heat stress on the cecal microflora of meat rabbits showed that the abundance of cecal Proteus in the HT group was significantly higher than that in the moderate Control group. The number of Candidatus-saccharimonas in the cecum microflora was significantly higher than that in the moderate temperature group (p < 0.05) which may be related to inflammatory diseases in the heat stress group. These findings indicated that the heat-stressed rabbits were in negative energy balance, which affected protein metabolism, and subsequently affected growth performance and carcass characteristics.

Najmul Haider, Javier Guitian, David Simons et al.

We explain research gaps on Monkeypox (MPX) virus epidemiology in endemic countries and present hypotheses for the recent increase of MPX cases in West Africa as a possible explanation for the current epidemic in Europe, America, and Australia. The detection of >400 MPX cases in less than a month in May 2022, across many countries underscores the epidemic potential of MPX in humans and demonstrates several important research gaps. First, the true burden of MPX in West and Central Africa is poorly understood, although it is critical for prevention and control of future outbreaks. Second, the diversity and extent of the animal reservoir remain unknown. We hypothesize that the synanthropic rodent population has increased in recent years in Africa leading to more human-rodent interactions and thus increased transmission of MPXV. We further hypothesise that nearly 45 years after the end of routine smallpox vaccination, the larger and more interconnected immune-naïve population has crossed a threshold resulting in more sustainable human-to-human transmission of MPXV. The current epidemic in the Western World is possibly a consequence of increased local transmission of MPXV in Africa. A new estimation of the basic and effective reproduction rate (R0 and Re) in different populations is required. National, regional, and international collaborations are needed to address research gaps related to MPX outbreaks.

Gantasala E, Bhat S, Saralaya V et al.

Elizabeth Gantasala,1 Sevitha Bhat,2 Vishwas Saralaya,2 Madhumitha Jayaram,1 Jeppu Udayalaxmi2 1Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, India; 2Department of Microbiology, Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, 576104, IndiaCorrespondence: Jeppu Udayalaxmi, Department of Microbiology, Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, 576104, India, Tel +91 824-2423452, Email udayalaxmi68@gmail.comAim: To determine the antibiotic resistance patterns, detection of carbapenemase genes in uropathogenic bacilli belonging to the Enterobacteriaceae family and to correlate it with clinical data.Materials and Methods: Identification and antibiotic sensitivity testing of the uropathogenic Enterobacteriaceae was done by using VITEK2 Compact (C) system. Multiplex PCR was used to detect blaIMP, blaKPC, blaNDM1, blaOXA − 48, and blaVIM genes.Results: Out of 1602 urine samples, 417 (26%) showed significant growth, and in these 311 (74.6%) belonged to the Enterobacteriaceae family. Escherichia coli showed a relatively low rate of resistance to nitrofurantoin (17/205; 8.3%), with the majority of the isolates showing a MIC value of ≤ 16 μg/mL when compared to Klebsiella spp. (55/86; 64%), with MIC values for the majority of isolates being 128 μg/mL. Klebsiella spp. showed a relatively low rate of resistance to nalidixic acid (48/86; 55.8%) when compared with E. coli isolates (179/205; 87.3%). Out of 145 isolates tested, we found blaNDM in 11 (7.58%), bla OXA − 48 in 8 (5.51%), bla VIM in 4 (2.75%), bla KPC in one (0.6%) and blaIMP in none of the isolates. Of these 3 isolates were carbapenem sensitive, the rest were resistant.Conclusion: Most of the isolates were sensitive to fosfomycin, carbapenems and resistant to cephalosporins and nalidixic acid. We detected carbapenemase genes in 13 (59%) out of 22 carbapenem resistant isolates and 3 (2.4%) out of 123 carbapenem sensitive isolates.Keywords: antibacterial agents, drug resistance, multiplex polymerase chain reaction, urinary tract infection

Sazonov Fedor

The results of the study of the black currant varieties collection of FSBSI FRC of Horticulture, located in the Bryansk region, by large-fruiting are presented. Genetic sources have been identified for inclusion in the breeding process to increase the average weight of berries (Lentyai, Titania, Gamayun, Dobry Gin, Podarok Veteranam, Podarok Astakhova, Kudmig, Debryansk, Bryanskiy Agat, Dar Smolyaninovoy, Kudesnik, and others). The most productive families for the output of large-fruited seedlings are given, such as Debryansk × Dar Smolyaninovoy, Orloviya × Nara, Rita × Titania, Strelets × Partizanka Bryanskaya, 10-141-2 (Strelets × Golubichka) × Partizanka Bryanskaya. The result of well-chosen combinations of crosses was the creation of new highly productive varieties of black currant Mif, Favorit, and several selected forms.

Tobias Fürch, Matthias Preusse, Jürgen Tomasch et al.

C. A. Reddy, T. Beveridge

Melissa B. Miller, Yi-Wei Tang

B. Brehm-Stecher, Eric A. Johnson