March 2012
Leflunomide therapy-associated tuberculosis infection
Leflunomide is a new type of immunosuppressive agent for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and good efficacy has been obtained in clinical practice. These past years, leflunomide has been used for treatments of not only rheumatoid arthritis but also glomerulonephritis and ankylosing spondylitis. A case is presented that a male patient diagnosed ankylosing spondylitis and treated with leflunomide experienced tuberculosis...
March 2012
Effects of Bacillus subtilis extracts on weed seed germination of Sorghum halepense and Amaranthus hybridus
The effects of cell-free supernatants (S) and anionic fractions (Q) from three different strains of Bacillus subtilis were evaluated on weed seed germination. The plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) strains DN and Car13, as well as a non-promoting strain (PY79), were tested on pigweed (Amaranthus hybridus L.) and Johnson grass (Sorghum halepense L. pers). The application of anionic fractions...
March 2012
Comparing therapeutic and adverse effects of moxifloxacin and levofloxacin in treatment of community acquired pneumonia: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
The aim of this study was to compare more conclusively the efficacy and safety of moxifloxacin, a new respiratory fluoroquinolone antibiotic with levofloxacin therapy which has been reported to possess good efficacy for community acquired pneumonia (CAP) in hospitalized elderly patient. The entire patients were mild to moderate by CAP. All the trials administered intravenously moxifloxacin (400 mg daily) and...
March 2012
Screening the in vitro modulation of antibiotic activity of the extracts and fractions of Ocimum gratissimum L.
Escherichia coli is known to produce enterotoxins whose properties and roles in diarrheal disease have been extensively investigated. Some species of Staphylococcus are often recognized as etiological agents of many animal and human opportunistic infections. This study is the first test of change in the resistance of antibiotic activity by Ocimum gratissimum L. against multi-resistant...
March 2012
Evaluation and comparison of SYBR Green I Real-Time PCR and TaqMan Real-Time PCR methods for quantitative assay of Listeria monocytogenes in nutrient broth and milk
Specific traditional plate count method and real-time PCR systems based on SYBR Green I and TaqMan technologies using a specific primer pair and probe for amplification of iap-gene were used for quantitative assay of Listeria monocytogenes in seven decimal serial dilution series of nutrient broth and milk samples containing 1.58 to 1.58×107 cfu /ml and the real-time PCR methods were compared...
March 2012
Effect of feeding rapeseed meal on the liver weight and hepato-somatic index (HIS) content of liver of Japanese quail
A detailed study was undertaken in order to determine the safe dose of mustard seed meal in the diet for Japanese quails which can be used at the production level without having deleterious effects on the growth of this bird. For this purpose, some 1500 birds were fed different levels of mustard seed meal in isocaloric and isonitrogenous diets. The results of feeding of these diets for 30 days show that there are no...
March 2012
Isolation, screening and characterization of potential probiotics from farmed tiger grouper (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus)
A study was conducted to isolate, screen and characterize some potential probiotics from tiger grouper (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus). Collection of bacterial strains was isolated from intestines of 51 juveniles tiger grouper. Preliminary screening on 123 isolates demonstrated that 40 (32.5%) bacteria displayed strong antagonistic activity when tested against four fish pathogens. Most of them (n=32; 80%) are Gram-positive....
March 2012
Characterization of morphological forms of Aspergillus carbonarius and the effect of inoculum size on raw starch digesting amylase (RSDA) production
The effect of spore inoculum level and mycelia morphology on raw starch digesting amylase production by Aspergillus carbonarius in submerged culture was investigated. Shake flask cultures were inoculated directly with spore concentration range of 104 to 109spores/ml. Morphology was differentiated into, pellets, clumps, branched and free filaments. Results on the percentage morphological occurrences...
March 2012
Incidence of Aspergillus flavus and extent of aflatoxin contamination in peanut samples of Pothwar region of Pakistan
Incidence of aflatoxin producing fungi and level of aflatoxin was examined in peanut samples from main markets of Pothwar region that is, districts of Chakwal, Rawalpindi, Attock and Jehlum. Total number of collected samples was 40 having 10 samples from main market of each district. Seeds were plated on PDA, water agar and filter paper and incubated at 29°C. Aspergillus parasiticus was not found on...
March 2012
Assessment of genetic diversity among different indigenous Xanthomonas isolates via randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR)
The genetic diversity among seven Xanthomonas isolates representing four species was assessed using randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) PCR-based techniques. Both techniques revealed high degrees of polymorphisms among the studied isolates. Cluster dendrogram based on combined data of RAPD and ISSR showed that genetic diversity exists in local isolates...
March 2012
Development of a portable plant nutrition test instrument based on spectroscopic technique
A portable plant nutrition test instrument with global positioning system (GPS) module was designed for the fast and noninvasive measurement of the field crop nutrition content and distribution. Two Light Emitting Diode (LED) light resources at 650 and 940 nm were used to obtain the transmittance spectra of leaves. The chlorophyll content prediction model was established according to the relationship between...
March 2012
Yaoundé-like virus in resident wild bird, Ghana
Tissue and swab samples from 551 wild birds collected in Ghana (October-November 2007) were assayed for alphaviruses, flaviviruses, and influenza A viruses using polymerase chain (PCR) techniques. One pool sample tested positive for Flavivirus RNA; further testing revealed that the amplified sequence was Yaoundé virus (YAOV), or closely related to it. YAOV is an apparently...
March 2012
A combination of two molecular typing methods for characterization of Pnemococci isolates from Saudi
Streptococcus pneumonia is a major worldwide causative agent of morbidity and mortality among young children, adults and old patients. The ability of pneumococci to cause disease is directly related to its capsule which is a major virulence factor of pneumococcal pneumonia. The aim of the present study was to characterize epidemiologically important Pneumococcus by using two molecular typing. A total of 266...
March 2012
An outbreak of pneumonia in a thermal water spa contaminated with Pseudomonas aeruginosa: An epidemiological and environmental concern
This article described an outbreak of bacterial pneumonia/bronchopneumonia in a group of visitors to a mineral water spa contaminated with Pseudomonas aeruginosa in summer 2009. The epidemiologic investigation was activated after the hospitalization for pneumonia of three people who had undergone therapy at the spa. Discharge with a diagnosis of pneumonia/bronchopneumonia in weeks 27 to 39 of 2009 of four...
March 2012
Seroprevalence study of brucellosis among high-risk groups in comparison with other people of the population in Sanandaj (West of Iran)
Brucellosis is a zoonosis disease caused by Brucella. The burden of human brucellosis in Kurdistan province was 83.5 cases per 100.000 people; occupying the second place of point of infection rate in Iran. This study aims at evaluating the seroepidemiology of brucellosis among high-risk groups in comparison with the rest of population in Sanandaj city. The data is collected using a questionnaire. Blood samples were...
March 2012
Cloning and characterization of the 14-3-3 protein gene from Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam
The 14-3-3 proteins are a group of highly conserved and widely distributed eukaryotic proteins with diverse functions. In plants, it regulates basal metabolism, ion transport, cell passage, enzyme activity and gene expression, and it is also important in disease resistance, anti-oxidation and drought resistance. Based on assembled sequences...
March 2012
Effect of Calcium Chloride (CaCl2) on some quality characteristic of apple fruits in Shirvan region
Consumers demand for high quality fruit is leading to a greater awareness of the need to apply management techniques that enhances the quality of fruits by the fruit growing industry. In order to study the effect of calcium chloride on some characters of apple Sheikh Amir variety fruits, an experiment was conducted during 2010 and 2011 cropping season in apple orchard at Shirvan region. The experimental design...
March 2012
Molecular detection and characterization of avian infectious bursitis virus (AIBV) in poultry farms of Northeast Mexico
The detection and characterization of the avian infectious bursitis virus (AIBV) genetic type circulating in flocks of a specific geographic areas is a basic tool for its monitoring, control and eradication. In this work, the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction technique (RT-PCR), coupled with restriction enzyme analysis (REA) of the hyper variable region of viral protein 2 (VP2) in AIBV was adapted for the...
March 2012
Deeper in the antibiotics paradigm: Microbes react individually and collectively for spreading the resistance
There are exponential increases in the number of microbes acquired or which build resistance against various antibiotics. In this study we show that, a single strain, (Escherichia coli ATCC 8739 found in the protein database) has different β-lactamases. By investigating the Blast protein database for the existence of one of that different E. coliβ-lactamases, the result shows that this protein...
March 2012
Effect of agricultural and industrial developments on the quality of water at UMhlathuze River (Northern Coast of Kwa-Zulu Natal, RSA)
UMhlathuze River is the main recipient of domestic, sewage, industrial and agricultural waste from local industrial and agricultural practices. Scarcity of water resources and the contamination of UMhlathuze River by agricultural and industrial developments make communities around UMhlathuze area susceptible to potential outbreaks of water-borne diseases as well as the risk of ingesting carcinogenic substances. In...
March 2012
The effect of acute exercises on blood hematological parameters in handball players
This study was conducted in order to determine the influence of five-day handball competitions on hematological levels of male handball players. 12 elite male handball players with an average age of 22.16±1.85 years participated in this study on voluntary basis. Physical measurements including body height, body weight, body-mass index and body fat percentages and hematological levels of the handball players were...
March 2012
Demographic and clinical characteristics of tuberculosis: A report of 2404 cases at a referral hospital
The aim of this study was to evaluate the demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with tuberculosis in a state referral hospital for the treatment of tuberculosis. Epidemiological investigation carried out as retrospective, descriptive, observational study based on the medical charts of 2404 consecutive patients diagnosed with tuberculosis between 2003 and 2010. Of these, 1721 (71.6%) were males, 683...
March 2012
Tolerance for heavy metals by filamentous fungi isolated from a sewage oxidation pond
Metal pollution of the environment, especially at elevated concentrations, is known to adversely affect microbial activities. However, microorganisms are a versatile group, as they can adapt and grow under various extreme conditions including high metal concentrations. In the present study, fungal strains isolated from the oxidation pond of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka sewage treatment plant were evaluated for...
March 2012
The possible role of Epstein–Barr virus latent membrane protein 1 in inducing or promoting systemic lupus erythematosus
To investigate the role of latent membrane protein 1 (LMP-1) in the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) induced systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and its possible mechanism, fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was employed to detect the mRNA expressions of LMP1, BcL-2 and Bax in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of SLE patients and healthy controls, and ELISA was performed to measure the serum...
March 2012
Evaluation of antibacterial activity of three Iranian medicinal plants
Medicinal plants are the oldest known source for treatment of disease. Using pharmaceutical plants and plant extracts have been at great attention. In this research, the antibacterial activity of the methanolic and aqueous extracts of three Iranian medicinal plant species namely Capparis spinosa L., Adiantum capillus-veneris L. and Sambucus ebulus L. were tested against six bacteria...
March 2012
A possibility of chitinolytic bacteria utilization to control basal stems disease caused by Ganoderma boninense in oil palm seedling
The utilization of chitinolytic bacterial isolates Enterobacter sp. KR05, Enterobactercloacae LK08, Bacillus sp. BK13, Enterobacter sp. BK15, and Bacillus sp. BK17 to control basal stem rot disease caused by Ganoderma boninense in oil palm seedling was studied. Antagonistic assay of chitinolytic bacterial isolates to G. boninense was conducted in...
March 2012
Identification of Vibrio cholerae as a causative bacterium for an ulcer disease of cultured loach Misgurnus anguillicaudatus in China
A bacterial disease was reported from cultured loach Misgurnus anguillicaudatus in China. Symptoms included haemorrhages at the body surface (including base of fin, head, mouth, and abdomen), ulceration of muscle, and high-level mortalities. The dominant bacterial colonies were isolated in nutrient agar from different infected body parts and confirmed the pathogenicity by challenge experiments. The 3 strains...
March 2012
Phylogenetic analysis of the gut bacterial microflora of the fungus-growing termite Macrotermes barneyi
Termites are an extremely successful group of wood-degrading organisms and are therefore important both for their roles in carbon turnover in the environment and as potential sources of biochemical catalysts for efforts aimed at converting wood into biofuels. To contribute to the evolutional study of termite digestive symbiosis, a bacterial 16S rRNA gene clone library from the gut microbial community of the...
March 2012
Application of silica to suppress the disease infestation of Phytium ultimum and increase growth of Bermudagrass cv Satiri
An experiment was conducted at glasshouse of Unit Latihan Turf, Taman Pertanian, Universiti Putra Malaysia, to find out the effect of different doses of silica (Si) on growth of Bermuda cv Satiri and to suppress the Pythium ultimum disease infestation. Two sources of silica were used in this study: Turf speed® (T. speed), content 15% of potassium silicate (Kâ‚‚SiO₃) and Tune up®, content 10% Sodium...
March 2012
Role of phospholipase C in pathogenesis of Beijing and Non-Beijing strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis
The Beijing strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis bear high transmission potential and there is a significant correlation between Beijing strain and multidrug resistance. Phospholipase of M. tuberculosis plays an important role in its pathogenesis through breaking up phospholipids and production of diacylglycerol (DAG) as an important signaling molecule in infected macrophages as well as a precursor...
March 2012
Mycoflora associated with seeds of Bixa orellana L.
Commercially important natural food grade annatto dye is obtained from seeds of tropical plant Bixa orellana. Fungal contaminations of seeds adversely affect the quality of seeds. We have investigated seed mycoflora of annatto seeds obtained from standing crop of B. orellana. Significant fungal contamination was detected in analyzed seed samples. Fungi most frequently isolated and identified...
March 2012
Effects of methyl bromide fumigation on community structure of denitrifying bacteria with nitrous oxide reductase gene (nosZ) in soil
Soil fumigation can inevitably affect the activity of non-target soil microorganisms, the effects of the methyl bromide fumigation on community structure and activity of denitrifying bacteria in soil were studied by nosZ-PCR-RFLP (restriction fragment length polymorphism) method. The results showed that Margalef index, Shannon-wiener index and Evenness index of methyl bromide fumigation soil...
March 2012
Biosynthesis of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) biopolymer by Bacillus megaterium SW1-2: Application of Box-Behnken design for optimization of process parameters
Bacillus megaterium SW1-2 producing polyhydroxalkanoate (PHA), previously isolated from activated sewage sludge was selected for the study of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) biopolymer production. Preliminary experiment showed that the strain capable of producing 36% cell dry weight (CDW) of the polymer during growth on basal E2 medium supplemented with glucose, followed by 28, 15 and 8% CDW during growth on...
March 2012
Potato virus surveys and wide spread of recombinant PVYNTN variant in Central Tunisia
Surveys in the late season crops of Central Tunisia, one of the main potato growing areas, revealed the presence of the six most economically devastating viruses: potato leaf roll virus: PLRV: (Polerovirus), potato virus S (PVS) and M (PVM) (Carlavirus), potato virus X (PVX: Potexvirus), potato virus A (PVA) and Y (PVY) (Potyvirus) with large differences in incidence. Infection rates at harvest, assessed by...
March 2012
Application of Xylo-oligosaccharide in modifying human intestinal function
The influence of Xylo-oligosaccharide (XOs) to human intestinal flora, feces shape and properties was observed. The most tolerance administration dose (MTD) was determined, which provided guidance to the XOs oral dosage. Different doses of XOs were given to a designated group of healthy volunteers. According to the change of intestinal flora, feces shape and properties, the probiotics function of XOs was...
March 2012
Scale up studies for the production of protease enzyme using Bacillus subtilis adopting response surface methodology
We adopted the technique of response surface methodology (RSM) for maximum alkaline protease production by Bacillus subtilis during the fermentation process. In RSM, Central Composite Design (CCD) was chosen involving 25 full factorial half fractions which were based on 32 independent experiments using various combinations of five nutrient sources at one time. The nutrients provided in the medium...
March 2012
High-level expression, purification and properties of a fully active even glycosylated staphylokinase variant SakfC from Staphylococcus aureus QT08 in Pichia pastoris
Staphylokinase (Sak) (EC 3.4.99.22) is a 136-aa protein secreted by the lysogenic phase of Staphylococcus aureus and functions as potential clot dissolving agent for treating blood-clotting disorders. Sak converts the zymogen human plasminogen (hPg) to its active serine protease form, plasmin (hPm) and forms 1:1 complex with hPm, which activates other hPg molecules. In this report, we described...
March 2012
Un-denatured whey protein expedites wound healing in diabetic mice model by enhancing the expression of β-defensin 2, 3 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the wounded tissue
Impaired wound healing is considered as one of the most serious diabetes-associated complications. Defensins, the anti-microbial peptides, have potent bactericidal activity against a wide spectrum of bacterial and fungal organisms commonly responsible for wound infections. We recently demonstrated that Whey proteins (WPs) enhance immune response during diabetes and have a protective role in some diabetic complications....
March 2012
Two trichodinids of Paratrichodina (Ciliophora, Peritrichida, Trichodinidae) infecting gills of Ietalurus punetaus from Chongqing, China
During a parasitological survey in China, two species of trichodinid ectoparasite (Ciliophora, Peritrichida, Trichodinidae) belonging to genus Paratrichodina, were isolated from letalurus punetaus (Siluridae). One species was identified as a new species and named as Paratrichodina rotundiformis sp. nov. and this new species has round and undeveloped blade with round tangent point, undeveloped...
March 2012
Differential expression of the vacuolar aspartic proteinase (APR1) gene in Candida albicans strains isolated from Malaysian and Iranian human and mice blood
Intracellular proteinase A is an aspartic enzyme in Candida albicans that is expressed byAPR1 gene. The aims of this study were to evaluate and to compare APR1 gene expression in C. albicans strains isolated from Malaysian and Iranian patients and mice infected by C. albicans obtained from Malaysian and Iranian patients. The evaluation ofAPR1 gene expression was...
March 2012
Isolation and identification a tannin-tolerant fungus producing protopectinase
A strain SHPP01, which produces a protopectinase and has the ability of tannin tolerance, was screened from Shanghai University campus with protopectin as the solo carbon source. It was identified as Aspergillus terreus, and designated as A. terreus SHPP01 based on its morphology and internal transcriptional spacer sequence. Tannin tolerance assay was carried out later to explore the effect on the characters of SHPP01;...
March 2012
Effect of eugenol oil and sauced treatments on fresh carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) fillets during storage at 4°C
In this study, the effect of different concentrations of eugenol added to a sauce containing different spices on sensory, microbiological (total mezophile aerobe bacteria, enterobacteriaceae, lactic acid bacteria, yeast and mould) and chemical (total volatile nitrogen and pH) changes during the storage of raw Cyprinus carpio L. fillets is investigated. 0.5% (A), 1.0% (B) and 1.5% (C) eugenol were added to the...
March 2012
Characterisation of typical Tunisian fermented milk: Leben
Traditional Tunisian fermented milk, “Leben” was produced and analysed for it’s physicochemical, microbiological and microstructure characteristics and compared with industrial Leben. Traditional Leben was characterized by a higher mineral content and was less fatty and acidic than the industrial Leben. Traditional Leben microstructure revealed an open and a branched structure while a compact structure...
March 2012
Effect of some climatic factors on endomycorrhizal symbiotic association in a perennial species (case of Juncus) and an annual species (case of Vicia faba L.) developed in south west of Algeria
Endomycorrhizal symbiotic association plays an important role in the plant life. Except some families such as Cruciferae, Cyperaceae, Juncaceae and Chenopodiaceae, this association is present in all taxons of plant kingdom. During a prospecting on mycorrhizal symbiotic association, carried out with some species which developed in an arid area in south of Algeria (case of Mecheria - Wilaya of Naâma), Juncus...
March 2012
Effects of zinc on metabolism and oxidative enzyme activities of microbe communities during composting
With pig manure and crop straw as the main components for its compost material, the study simulated five levels of heavy metal pollution by adding zinc to the compost material to make it separately have five zinc contents to research on the effects of zinc on the metabolisms and oxidation-reduction enzyme activities of microbe communities of the compost material at the different zinc contents under the aerobic and...
March 2012
Identification of five bronchitis virus (IBV) strains isolated in China and phylogenetic analysis of the S1 gene
Five field isolates of infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) were isolated from chicken flocks in the Hubei province of China. The IBVs were characterized by RT-PCR and phylogenetic analysis. The S1 gene sequence of the spike glycoprotein was compared with previously published gene sequences of IBV strains. Analysis of the nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences revealed that the...
March 2012
Cyclic lipopeptides and other bioactive secondary metabolites from a new terrestrial Streptomyces sp. TN272
The ethyl acetate extract of the new terrestrial Streptomyces sp. isolate TN272 delivered eighteen bioactive compounds, including four homologues cyclic lipopeptides. Structures of the first fourteen compounds (1 to 14) were established on the basis of different spectroscopic techniques, including GC-MS, ESI-MS, HRESI/EIMS, 1D NMR experiments, and by comparison with related compounds. They are: 2,4-bis...
March 2012
Isolation and characterization of a keratinolytic protease from a feather-degrading bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa C11
A feather-degrading bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa C11 was isolated from feather dumping soil with quick plate screening technology and identified based on morphological and biochemical characterization and analysis of 16S rDNA sequences. The keratinolytic protease from P. aeruginosa C11 was purified 17.4-fold through ammonium sulphate precipitation, a sephadex G-75 gel ï¬ltration column and...
March 2012
Trend of antibiotics susceptibility of multidrugs resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Jakarta and surrounding areas from 2004 to 2010
Pseudomonas aeruginosais is an opportunistic Gram negative microorganism, usually related to serious infections within hospital environment and causes significant increase in patient’s morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to report antibiotic susceptibility of P. aeruginosa originated from all kind of specimens received at Clinical Microbiology Laboratory of the Faculty of Medicine, University of...
March 2012
Frequency of hepatitis C virus genotypes in infected patients in Charmahal-O-Bakhtiari Province, Iran
In Iran, limited information exists on the epidemiology of hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes in different districts of the country. In Charmahal-O-Bakhtiari Province, there was no datum on the mentioned issue. In this study, serum samples were collected from 80 clinical patients (suspected to have HCV infection between 2009 and 2010) and tested in a laboratory in Hajar Hospital of Shahre-Kord, Charmahal-O-Bakhtiari...
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