In vitro detoxification of aflatoxin B1 by Lactiplantibacillus plantarum isolated from the north of Iran: A pioneering insights into the origin of fermented beverages.

The contamination of food and animal feeds with mycotoxions, particularly aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), poses significant risks to human health and causes economic losses. This study investigated bacteria from various fermented milk products to assess their ability to detoxify AFB1. A variety of household fermented kefir milk, kefir-like beverages, and kefir grains were collected from rural areas and subjected to microbiological analysis.

Effect of phenylalanine arginyl β-naphthylamide on the imipenem resistance, elastase production, and the expression of quorum sensing and virulence factor genes in Pseudomonas aeruginosa clinical isolates.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is one of the most important nosocomial pathogens that possess the ability to produce multiple antibiotic resistance and virulence factors. Elastase B (LasB) is the major factor implicated in tissue invasion and damage during P. aeruginosa infections, whose synthesis is regulated by the quorum sensing (QS) system.

A sustainable and healthy diet: Personality, motives, and sociodemographics.

Background: Sustainable and healthy food choices have usually been studied by investigating either consumer choices concerning one product or product group. To investigate dietary patterns are more complex but may be more useful to promote dietary changes among consumers.

Objectives: To identify existing dietary patterns, and to investigate the importance of personality traits, food choice motives, and sociodemographic variables in adopting these patterns.

Absence of E2f1 Negates Pro-osteogenic Impacts of p21 Absence.

Loss of p21 leads to increased bone formation post-injury; however, the mechanism(s) by which this occurs remains undetermined. E2f1 is downstream of p21 and as a transcription factor can act directly on gene expression; yet it is unknown if E2f1 plays a role in the osteogenic effects observed when p21 is differentially regulated. In this study we aimed to investigate the interplay between p21 and E2f1 and determine if the pro-regenerative osteogenic effects observed with the loss of p21 are E2f1 dependent.

Antimicrobial photodynamic effect of the photosensitizer riboflavin, alone and in combination with colistin, against pandrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa clinical isolates.

Introduction: Development of multi-, extensively-, and pandrug-resistant (MDR, XDR, and PDR) strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa remains a major problem in medical care. The present study evaluated the effect of antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) as a monotherapy and in combination with colistin against P. aeruginosa isolates.

Combination antimicrobial therapy: in vitro synergistic effect of anti-staphylococcal drug oxacillin with antimicrobial peptide nisin against Staphylococcus epidermidis clinical isolates and Staphylococcus aureus biofilms.

The ability of Staphylococcus epidermidis and S. aureus to form strong biofilm on plastic devices makes them the major pathogens associated with device-related infections (DRIs). Biofilm-embedded bacteria are more resistant to antibiotics, making biofilm infections very difficult to effectively treat.

Polymyxin combination therapy for multidrug-resistant, extensively-drug resistant, and difficult-to-treat drug-resistant gram-negative infections: is it superior to polymyxin monotherapy?

Introduction: The increasing prevalence of infections with multidrug-resistant (MDR), extensively-drug resistant (XDR) or difficult-to-treat drug resistant (DTR) Gram-negative bacilli (GNB), including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter species, and Escherichia coli poses a severe challenge.

Areas Covered: The rapid growing of multi-resistant GNB as well as the considerable deceleration in development of new anti-infective agents have made polymyxins (e.g.

Antimicrobial resistance, virulence factors, and genotypes of Pseudomonas aeruginosa clinical isolates from Gorgan, northern Iran.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an important nosocomial pathogen with a capacity of resistance to multiple antibiotics and production of various extracellular and cell-associated virulence factors that clearly contribute to its pathogenicity. The objective of this study was to investigate the antibiotic susceptibility, virulence factors, and clonal relationship among clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa.

Acinetobacter baumannii: An overview of emerging multidrug-resistant pathogen.

The emergence of infections caused by Acinetobacter baumannii, a multidrug-resistant bacterium, has been a concern worldwide. This bacterium is an important hospitalacquired pathogen that causes several diseases including ventilator-associated pneumonia, bloodstream infections, and meningitis. This study aimed to determine antibioticresistant mechanisms in the pathogenesis of A.

In vitro activities of cellulase and ceftazidime, alone and in combination against Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms.

Background: Biofilms are a main pathogenicity feature of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and has a significant role in antibiotic resistance and persistent infections in humans. We investigated the in vitro activities of antibiotic ceftazidime and enzyme cellulase, either alone or in combination against biofilms of P. aeruginosa.

Antiviral Therapeutic Potential of Curcumin: An Update.

The treatment of viral disease has become a medical challenge because of the increasing incidence and prevalence of human viral pathogens, as well as the lack of viable treatment alternatives, including plant-derived strategies. This review attempts to investigate the trends of research on in vitro antiviral effects of curcumin against different classes of human viral pathogens worldwide. Various electronic databases, including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar were searched for published English articles evaluating the anti-viral activity of curcumin.

Detection of extensively drug-resistant and hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae ST15, ST147, ST377 and ST442 in Iran.

In this study, we focused on the emergence of extensively drug-resistant (XDR), pandrug-resistant (PDR), and hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (hvKP) in Iran. During 2018 to 2020 a total of 52 K. pneumoniae isolates were collected from different clinical specimens.

Detection of NDM-1 producing Klebsiella pneumoniae ST15 and ST147 in Iran during 2019-2020.

Carbapenems are employed to treat infections caused by Gram-negative bacteria including Klebsiella pneumoniae. This research is aimed to perform phenotypic detection of β-lactamases and molecular characterization of NDM-1 positive K. pneumoniae isolates.

Molecular characteristics of antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae strains isolated from hospitalized patients in Tehran, Iran.

Background: We evaluated the distribution of carbapenem and colistin resistance mechanisms of clinical E. coli and K. pneumoniae isolates from Iran.

Antibiotic resistance, biofilm formation, and biofilm-associated genes among Stenotrophomonas maltophilia clinical isolates.

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the antimicrobial susceptibility pattern, biofilm production, and the presence of biofilm genes among the S. maltophilia clinical isolates. A total of 85 clinical isolates of S.

Tetracycline resistance mediated by tet efflux pumps in clinical isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii.

Acinetobacter baumannii is one of the most frequent nosocomial pathogen capable of acquiring resistance to different antimicrobials. The aim of this study was to investigate the activity of tetracycline, doxycycline and minocycline, the prevalence of tet(A) and tet(B) determinants, and the role of efflux pump in tetracycline resistance among the A. baumannii clinical isolates.

Decreased carO gene expression and OXA-type carbapenemases among extensively drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii strains isolated from burn patients in Tehran, Iran.

A major challenge in the treatment of infections has been the rise of extensively drug resistance (XDR) and multidrug resistance (MDR) in Acinetobacter baumannii. The goals of this study were to determine the pattern of antimicrobial susceptibility, blaOXA and carO genes among burn-isolated A. baumannii strains.

Evaluation of antimicrobial resistance, biofilm forming potential, and the presence of biofilm-related genes among clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Objectives: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is known as a leading cause of nosocomial infections worldwide. Antimicrobial resistance and biofilm production, as two main virulence factors of P. aeruginosa, are responsible for the persistence of prolonged infections.

Heteroresistance to colistin in oxacillinase-producing carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii clinical isolates from Gorgan, Northern Iran.

Objectives: Colistin resistance rates are rising globally among multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacilli, including Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii). A new type of resistance - heteroresistance - has also been reported to colistin in clinical A.

Plastic binding feature of polymyxins: the effect on MIC susceptibility measurements.

The loss of polycationic antimicrobial peptides, polymyxins, due to adhesion to plastics is an important subject matter that influences in vitro susceptibility testing, including minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) assays. This review reminds us that this issue can serve as a significant source of variation in the MIC values for polymyxins against Gram-negative bacteria.

Molecular and serologic characterization of rotavirus from children with acute gastroenteritis in northern Iran, Gorgan.

Background: The pattern and distribution of human rotavirus genotypes in young children in developing countries play an important role in epidemiological studies, as well as providing a strategy for the development of future rotavirus vaccine.

Methods: We evaluated stool samples from 349 children with acute gastroenteritis from Northern Iran (Gorgan city, Golestan province). Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis (PAGE) and Latex Agglutination Test (LAT) were utilized to determine the prevalence of human rotavirus in fecal samples.

Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii isolates carrying bla genes with upstream ISAba1: First report of a novel OXA subclass from Iran.

Objectives: Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) have emerged as a serious threat to public-health worldwide. This study aimed to determine the antimicrobial susceptibility of A. baumannii isolates in Iran and to investigate oxacillinase-encoding determinants and their association with insertion sequence ISAba1 in CRAB isolates.

Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing for Polymyxins: Challenges, Issues, and Recommendations.

Polymyxins, including polymyxin B and polymyxin E (colistin), are now increasingly being used worldwide to treat patients with multidrug-resistant (MDR) Gram-negative bacterial infections. This necessitates that laboratories employ an accurate and reliable method for the routine performance of polymyxin susceptibility testing. A number of reasons have accounted for the difficulties with susceptibility testing for the polymyxins, including their multicomponent composition, poor diffusion in the agar medium, adsorption to microtiter plates, the lack of a reliable susceptibility test, the lack of a specific breakpoint from professional organizations, the synergistic effect of polysorbate 80, and the development of heteroresistance.