Extensively drug-resistant Haemophilus influenzae - emergence, epidemiology, risk factors, and regimen.

Background: Concern about Haemophilus influenzae infection has been increasing over recent decades. Given the emergence of H. influenzae with severe drug resistance, we assessed the prevalence of as well as risk factors and potential therapies for extensively drug-resistant (XDR) H.

Molecular characterization of extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella spp. isolates in Mongolia.

Background/purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the molecular characteristics of β-lactamase genes in extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacteriaceae isolates from Mongolia.

Methods: Fifty-six ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae isolates were collected, of which 46 were Escherichia coli, seven were Klebsiella pneumoniae, and three were K. oxytoca.

PARVA promotes metastasis by modulating ILK signalling pathway in lung adenocarcinoma.

α-parvin (PARVA) is known to be involved in the linkage of integrins, regulation of actin cytoskeleton dynamics and cell survival. However, the role that PARVA plays in cancer progression remains unclear. Here, using a lung cancer invasion cell line model and expression microarrays, we identify PARVA as a potential oncogene.

Heteroresistance of Helicobacter pylori from the same patient prior to antibiotic treatment.

Antibiotic resistance among Helicobacter pylori strains has been increasing worldwide and has affected the efficacy of current treatments. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether treatment failure was due to the presence of antibiotic-susceptible and -resistant H. pylori simultaneously within the same host before eradication.

Gemifloxacin can partially overcome quinolone resistance of H. pylori with gyrA mutation in Taiwan.

Backgrounds: The levofloxacin resistance caused by gyrA gene mutation is rising rapidly to limit wide application for Helicobacter pylori eradication. We investigated whether gemifloxacin has a superior antimicrobial activity to levofloxacin against H. pylori.

Comparative proteomic profiling of human lung adenocarcinoma cells (CL 1-0) expressing miR-372.

Lung cancer is a common malignancy and has a poor overall prognosis. Widespread metastasis is a common phenomenon in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). It has been demonstrated that cancer relapse and survival can be predicted by the presence of a five-microRNA (miRNA) signature independent of stage or histologic type in NSCLC patients.

Heteroresistance to cephalosporins and penicillins in Acinetobacter baumannii.

Heteroresistance to antimicrobial agents may affect susceptibility test results and therapeutic success. In this study, we investigated heteroresistance to cephalosporins and penicillins in Acinetobacter baumannii, a major pathogen causing nosocomial infections. Two A.

Clinical and microbiological characteristics of community-acquired Staphylococcus lugdunensis infections in Southern Taiwan.

Most Staphylococcus lugdunensis strains (49/59, 83%) were related to clinical infections, were susceptible to most antimicrobial agents with an overall oxacillin-resistant rate of 5% (3/58), and carried relatively great genetic diversity. Community-acquired infections (41/49, 84%) were dominant, often developed in patients with comorbidity, and had rather benign clinical courses without mortality.

Identification of clinically important anaerobic bacteria by an oligonucleotide array.

Anaerobic bacteria can cause a wide variety of infections, and some of these infections can be serious. Conventional identification methods based on biochemical tests are often lengthy and can produce inconclusive results. An oligonucleotide array based on the 16S-23S rRNA intergenic spacer (ITS) sequences was developed to identify 28 species of anaerobic bacteria and Veillonella.

Adjuvant effect of vitamin C on omeprazole-amoxicillin-clarithromycin triple therapy for Helicobacter pylori eradication.

Background/aims: To test the impact of vitamin C supplementation on triple therapy for H. pylori eradication.

Methodology: A total of 171 H.

Inducible clindamycin resistance in Staphylococcus aureus isolates causing bacteremia at a university hospital in southern Taiwan.

A major concern while prescribing clindamycin to treat infections caused by inducible macrolide, lincosamide, and group B streptogramin (iMLS(B))-resistant strains is clinical therapy failure. In this study, we determined the prevalence, mechanism, and clonality of the iMLS(B) phenotype in oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (ORSA) and oxacillin-susceptible S. aureus (OSSA).

Characterization of flgK gene and FlgK protein required for H. pylori colonization--from cloning to clinical relevance.

Aim: To characterize the role of flgK and its protein product in H. pylori colonization.

Methods: The PCR cloning method identified the flgK gene.

Use of oligonucleotide array for identification of six foodborne pathogens and Pseudomonas aeruginosa grown on selective media.

Identification of presumptive foodborne pathogens grown on selective media may take one to several days and requires a different battery of biochemical tests for each microorganism. A molecular identification method was developed in which universal primers were used to amplify the 16S to 23S rDNA intergenic spacer of target microorganisms, and PCR products were hybridized to a panel of species-specific oligonucleotides that were immobilized on a nylon membrane. The seven target microorganisms were Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus, and Vibrio parahaemolyticus.

The rdxA gene plays a more major role than frxA gene mutation in high-level metronidazole resistance of Helicobacter pylori in Taiwan.

Background: Metronidazole-resistant H. pylori associating with mutations of rdxA or frxA is still a debated topic. This study investigates whether rdxA and frxA mutations of H.

Higher gastric cycloxygenase-2 expression and precancerous change in Helicobacter pylori-infected relatives of gastric cancer patients.

Purpose: This study was conducted to determine whether relatives of gastric cancer patients (GCF) showed greater gastric cycloxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression or a greater incidence of precancerous lesions after Helicobacter pylori infection and whether H. pylori eradication could reduce COX-2 expression.

Experimental Design: Three hundred subjects were enrolled in this study: half were relatives of 50 H.

Vitamin C and E supplements to lansoprazole-amoxicillin-metronidazole triple therapy may reduce the eradication rate of metronidazole-susceptible Helicobacter pylori infection.

Aim: To test whether vitamin C and E supplements to triple therapy can improve the Helicobacter pylori eradication rate and gastric inflammation.

Methods: A total of 104 H. pylori-infected patients were randomized to receive: either lansoprazole, amoxicillin, and metronidazole twice daily for 1 week (triple-only group) or lansoprazole, amoxicillin, metronidazole plus vitamin C (250 mg) and vitamin E (200 mg) twice daily for 1 week, followed immediately by vitamin C and E once daily for 6 consecutive weeks (triple-plus-vitamin group).