Detection and characterization of extended-spectrum beta-lactamases in Salmonella enterica strains of healthy food animals in Spain.

Objectives: To carry out the characterization of the genes encoding extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) and their genetic environments in four expanded-spectrum cephalosporin-resistant Salmonella enterica isolates (serovars: two Virchow, one Enteritidis, one Rissen) recovered during the monitoring programmes performed in Spain by the VAV Network from faecal samples of pigs, poultry and laying hens at the slaughterhouse level.

Methods: The presence and characterization of ESBL genes as well as their genetic environments in the four S. enterica isolates were investigated by PCR and sequencing.

Detection of clonally related vanB2-containing Enterococcus faecium strains in two Spanish hospitals.

The aim of this study was to characterize the resistance mechanism in four clinical and five intestinal vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium strains with VanB phenotype recovered from unrelated patients confined in two Spanish hospitals and to determine their clonal relationships. MIC values for vancomycin and teicoplanin were 16-32 and 0.5 microg ml-1, respectively.

Assessment of antibiotic susceptibility within lactic acid bacteria strains isolated from wine.

Susceptibility to 12 antibiotics was tested in 75 unrelated lactic acid bacteria strains of wine origin of the following species: 38 Lactobacillus plantarum, 3 Lactobacillus hilgardii, 2 Lactobacillus paracasei, 1 Lactobacillus sp, 21 Oenococcus oeni, 4 Pediococcus pentosaceus, 2 Pediococcus parvulus, 1 Pediococcus acidilactici, and 3 Leuconostoc mesenteroides. The Minimal Inhibitory Concentrations of the different antibiotics that inhibited 50% of the strains of the Lactobacillus, Leuconostoc and Pediococcus genera were, respectively, the following ones: penicillin (2, < or =0.5, and < or =0.

Detection of antimicrobial activities and bacteriocin structural genes in faecal enterococci of wild animals.

The production of antimicrobial activities as well as the presence of bacteriocin structural genes (entA, entB, entP, entQ, cylL, entAS-48, bac31, and entL50A/B) were studied in 140 non-selected faecal enterococcal isolates recovered from wild animals. Eight different indicator strains (including Listeria monocytogenes, Pediococcus pentosaceus, and different enterococcal species) were used for antimicrobial activity detection. Twenty-five of the 140 enterococci (18%) showed antimicrobial activity against L.

Survival, mortality and causes of death in inflammatory myopathies.

Objective: To investigate the causes of death, survival and clinical factors associated with mortality, in a group of Spanish patients with inflammatory myopathies (IM) followed in the same University Hospital during a 25 year period.

Methods: A cross sectional study was performed, including 107 patients diagnosed with IM according to the Bohan and Peter criteria. Demographical and clinical information were extracted from the charts.

Multilocus sequence typing scheme for Enterococcus faecalis reveals hospital-adapted genetic complexes in a background of high rates of recombination.

A multilocus sequence typing (MLST) scheme based on seven housekeeping genes was used to investigate the epidemiology and population structure of Enterococcus faecalis. MLST of 110 isolates from different sources and geographic locations revealed 55 different sequence types that grouped into four major clonal complexes (CC2, CC9, CC10, and CC21) by use of eBURST. Two of these clonal complexes, CC2 and CC9, are particularly fit in the hospital environment, as CC2 includes the previously described BVE clonal complex identified by an alternative MLST scheme and CC9 includes exclusively isolates from hospitalized patients.

Detection of genes encoding virulence factors and bacteriocins in fecal enterococci of poultry in Portugal.

Seventy-six Enterococcus isolates (43 E. faecalis, 30 E. faecium, two E.

Rapid identification of Enterococcus hirae and Enterococcus durans by PCR and detection of a homologue of the E. hirae mur-2 Gene in E. durans.

During an evaluation of PCR for identification of isolates of Enterococcus hirae, a homologue with 82% identity to E. hirae mur-2 was identified in Enterococcus durans and was named mur-2(ed). PCR using primers for two genes (copY and murG) of E.

Antimicrobial resistance and the mechanisms implicated in faecal enterococci from healthy humans, poultry and pets in Portugal.

Antimicrobial resistance and the mechanisms implicated were studied in 440 enterococci (227 Enterococcus faecium, 177 Enterococcus faecalis, 32 Enterococcus hirae and 4 Enterococcus durans) recovered from 220 faecal samples of healthy humans, poultry and pets in Portugal. Higher levels of resistance were detected for ampicillin, tetracycline, erythromycin and chloramphenicol in poultry isolates (10.5%, 97%, 87.

Mechanisms of resistance to expanded-spectrum cephalosporins in Escherichia coli isolates recovered in a Spanish hospital.

Objectives: To characterize the beta-lactamase genes of the expanded-spectrum cephalosporin-resistant Escherichia coli isolates recovered in a Spanish hospital during the March 2002-March 2003 period.

Methods: Thirty-four of the 1700 E. coli isolates recovered from unrelated patients in a Spanish hospital showed expanded-spectrum cephalosporin resistance.

Epithelioid sarcoma with SYT-SSX1 fusion gene expression: molecular and cytogenetic analysis.

Epithelioid sarcoma is a rare malignant soft tissue tumor of unknown histogenesis, characterized by the epithelioid morphology of tumor cells and co-expression of epithelial and mesenchymal lineage proteins. A common epithelial and mesenchymal immunophenotype is also found in another soft tissue tumor, the biphasic subtype of synovial sarcoma. Furthermore, the presence of a breakpoint at 18q11 in epithelioid sarcoma, similar to that found in synovial sarcoma, has been reported.

Functional characterization of SDF-1 proximal promoter.

Stromal-cell derived factor 1 (SDF1) is a CXC chemokine that binds and signals through the CXCR4 receptor, playing an essential role in embryonic B lymphopoiesis, myelopoiesis and organogenesis. The CXCR4/SDF1 pathway is associated with several pathologies. CXCR4 serves as a fusion cofactor for lymphotropic strains of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 and SDF1 inhibits viral entry.

Monitoring and characterization of extended-spectrum beta-lactamases in Escherichia coli strains from healthy and sick animals in Spain in 2003.

Genes encoding CTX-M-14, CTX-M-9, CTX-M-1, CTX-M-32, SHV-12, TEM-52, or CMY-2 beta-lactamases were detected in 21 Escherichia coli strains recovered during 2003 from sick animals (11 of 459 [2.4%] strains) and healthy animals (10 of 158 [6.3%] strains) in Spain.

Use of videotaped interactions during pediatric well-child care to promote child development: a randomized, controlled trial.

The authors performed a randomized, controlled trial to assess the impact of the Video Interaction Project (VIP), a program based in pediatric primary care in which videotaped interactions are used by child development specialists to promote early child development. Ninety-three Latino children (51 VIP, 42 control) at risk of developmental delay on the basis of poverty and low maternal education (none had completed high school) were assessed for cognitive and language development at age 21 months. Results differed depending on the level of maternal education; the VIP was found to have a moderate impact on children whose mothers had between seventh and 11th grade education (approximately 0.

Outbreak of SHV-5 beta-lactamase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae in a neonatal-pediatric intensive care unit in Spain.

The objective was to analyze the beta-lactamase genes and the clonal relationship in a series of 12 clinical Klebsiella pneumoniae strains resistant to ceftazidime or cefotaxime (MIC >/=16 microg/ml) recovered in the neonatalpediatric intensive care unit (ICU) ward of a Spanish hospital during a 1-year period. TEM, SHV, CTX-M, CMY, or FOX beta-lactamase genes were analyzed by PCR and sequencing. The clonal study was performed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) using XbaI.

Pediatric infection due to multiresistant Salmonella enterica serotype Infantis in Honduras.

We report the case of a pediatric patient with a Salmonella enterica serotype Infantis infection. Detailed microbiological investigation revealed that this isolate carries four beta-lactamase genes (bla(TEM-1b) variant, bla(SHV-5), bla(CTX-M-15), and bla(CMY-2)) conferring resistance to all beta-lactams but imipenem. This is the first report of a Salmonella isolate with CTX-M and AmpC enzymes on the American continent, the first report of bla(CMY-2) in Salmonella serotype Infantis, and the first report of bla(CTX-M-15) in the genus Salmonella.

Mechanisms of resistance in multiple-antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli strains of human, animal, and food origins.

Seventeen multiple-antibiotic-resistant nonpathogenic Escherichia coli strains of human, animal, and food origins showed a wide variety of antibiotic resistance genes, many of them carried by class 1 and class 2 integrons. Amino acid changes in MarR and mutations in marO were identified for 15 and 14 E. coli strains, respectively.

High tolerance of wild Lactobacillus plantarum and Oenococcus oeni strains to lyophilisation and stress environmental conditions of acid pH and ethanol.

A total of 76 Lactobacillus plantarum and Oenococcus oeni wild strains were recovered from traditionally elaborated Spanish red wines and were investigated with respect to their response to acid pH, lyophilisation, temperature and ethanol concentrations which are normally lethal to lactic acid bacteria. Both L. plantarum and O.

Intestinal colonization by vanA- or vanB2-containing enterococcal isolates of healthy animals in Spain.

Fecal samples of healthy animals (66 pigs, 22 pets) recovered during 1998 in La Rioja, Spain, were analyzed for vancomycin-resistant enterococci colonization. Vancomycin resistance mechanisms were analyzed by PCR and sequencing. vanA-containing enterococci were detected in 3 of 66 samples (4.

Patients' and nurses' perceptions of quality nursing activities.

Nurses and patients come from varying backgrounds and have different life experiences. Their perceptions regarding what comprises quality nursing care may differ. The objective of this article was to determine whether there is a difference in the perceived importance of nursing activities from the point of view of patients and nurses.

Beta-lactamase characterization in Escherichia coli isolates with diminished susceptibility or resistance to extended-spectrum cephalosporins recovered from sick animals in Spain.

A total of 1439 Escherichia coli isolates from sick animals were received from the Spanish Network of Veterinary Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance (VAV) from 1997 to 2001. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests were performed and diminished susceptibility to cefotaxime and ceftazidime was identified in 2.5% and 2.