Temperatures above 37°C increase virulence of a convergent sequence type 307 strain.

Background: Convergence of (KP) pathotypes has been increasingly reported in recent years. These pathogens combine features of both multidrug-resistant and hypervirulent KP. However, clinically used indicators for hypervirulent KP identification, such as hypermucoviscosity, appear to be differentially expressed in convergent KP, potential outbreak clones are difficult to identify.

Exploring the Influence of Cold Plasma on Epidermal Melanogenesis In Situ and In Vitro.

Epidermal melanin synthesis determines an individual's skin color. In humans, melanin is formed by melanocytes within the epidermis. The process of melanin synthesis strongly depends on a range of cellular factors, including the fine-tuned interplay with reactive oxygen species (ROS).

The potential of Ethiopian medicinal plants to treat emergent viral diseases.

Ethiopians have deep-rooted traditions of using plants to treat ailments affecting humans and domesticated animals. Approximately 80% of the population continues to rely on traditional medicine, including for the prevention and treatment of viral diseases. Many antiviral plants are available to and widely used by communities in areas where access to conventional healthcare systems is limited.

Antibiotic prophylaxis and hospitalization of horses subjected to median laparotomy: gut microbiota trajectories and abundance increase of .

Introduction: Horse clinics are hotspots for the accumulation and spread of clinically relevant and zoonotic multidrug-resistant bacteria, including extended-spectrum β-lactamase producing (ESBL) Enterobacterales. Although median laparotomy in cases of acute equine colic is a frequently performed surgical intervention, knowledge about the effects of peri-operative antibiotic prophylaxis (PAP) based on a combination of penicillin and gentamicin on the gut microbiota is limited.

Methods: We collected fecal samples of horses from a non-hospitalized control group (CG) and from horses receiving either a pre-surgical single-shot (SSG) or a peri-operative 5-day (5DG) course of PAP.

Quality parameters for the medicinal plant Drosera rotundifolia L.: A new approach with established techniques.

Monographs of the European Pharmacopoeia (Ph. Eur.) are the basis for quality control of medicinal plants and therefore important to ensure the consistency, quality, safety, and efficacy of phytopharmaceuticals.

Natural phenolic compounds as biofilm inhibitors of multidrug-resistant - the role of similar biological processes despite structural diversity.

Multidrug-resistant gram-negative pathogens such as have become increasingly difficult to treat and therefore alternative treatment options are needed. Targeting virulence factors like biofilm formation could be one such option. Inhibition of biofilm-related structures like curli and cellulose formation in has been shown for different phenolic natural compounds like epigallocatechin gallate.

Assessment of the Anticancer Effect of Chlorojanerin Isolated from on A549 Lung Cancer Cells.

The goal of this study was to assess the anticancer efficacy of chlorojanerin against various cancer cells. The effects of chlorojanerin on cell cytotoxicity, cell cycle arrest, and cell apoptosis were examined using MTT assay, propidium iodide staining, and FITC Annexin V assay. RT-PCR was employed to determine the expression levels of apoptosis-related genes.

Improved efficacy of eugenol and -anethole in combination with octenidine dihydrochloride against and .

Introduction And Objective: Candidiasis is a fungal infection caused by yeasts from the Ogenus Candida. Considering increasing antifungal resistance rates the activity was analyzed of natural compounds to eradicate spp. The aim of the study was to check the antifungal activity of selected essential oil compounds (EOCs; thymol, menthol, eugenol [E], carvacrol, trans-anethole [TA]) alone, and in combination with octenidine dihydrochloride (OCT) against and reference, and clinical strains.

Carriage of Extended Spectrum Beta Lactamase-Producing : Prevalence and Factors Associated with Fecal Colonization of Dogs from a Pet Clinic in Lower Saxony, Germany.

Extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing are an emerging problem in veterinary and human medicine. Our study concentrated on the estimation of the prevalence and factors associated with the carriage of ESBL-producing in dogs who visited a veterinary clinic in northern Germany in 2017. For this reason, 1000 patients (healthy and sick dogs) were tested, resulting in 1000 samples originating from rectal swabs.

Genomic analysis of the international high-risk clonal lineage Klebsiella pneumoniae sequence type 395.

Background: Klebsiella pneumoniae, which is frequently associated with hospital- and community-acquired infections, contains multidrug-resistant (MDR), hypervirulent (hv), non-MDR/non-hv as well as convergent representatives. It is known that mostly international high-risk clonal lineages including sequence types (ST) 11, 147, 258, and 307 drive their global spread. ST395, which was first reported in the context of a carbapenemase-associated outbreak in France in 2010, is a less well-characterized, yet emerging clonal lineage.

Antibiofilm Activity of Sundew Species against Multidrug-Resistant Strains.

Species of the genus , known for carnivorous plants, such as sundew, have been traditionally used for centuries as medicinal plants. Efficacy-determining compounds are naphthoquinones and flavonoids. Flavonoids possess a broad spectrum of bioactive properties, including biofilm inhibitory activity.

Multidrug-Resistant High-Risk and Clonal Lineages Occur in Black-Headed Gulls from Two Conservation Islands in Germany.

Multidrug-resistant (MDR) , including extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing and , not only emerge in healthcare settings but also in other habitats, such as livestock and wildlife. The spread of these pathogens, which often combine resistance with high-level virulence, is a growing problem, as infections have become increasingly difficult to treat. Here, we investigated the occurrence of ESBL-producing and in fecal samples from two black-headed gull colonies breeding on two nature conservation islands in Western Pomerania, Germany.

A Combined Bayesian and Similarity-Based Approach for Predicting Biofilm Inhibition by Phenolic Natural Compounds.

Screening for biofilm inhibition by purified natural compounds is difficult due to compounds' chemical diversity and limited commercial availability, combined with time- and cost-intensiveness of the laboratory process. prediction of chemical and biological properties of molecules is a widely used technique when experimental data availability is of concern. At the same time, the performance of predictive models directly depends on the amount and quality of experimental data.

Anti-malarial effect of a combination of risedronate and azithromycin against Plasmodium yoelii nigeriensis infection in Swiss mice.

Combination therapy is used to retard the selection of malaria parasite strains resistant to individual components of a combination of drugs. This approach has proved to be a success in the combination of sulphadoxine and pyrimethamine, which targets two different steps in the folate pathway of malaria parasites. However, after the success of this therapeutic combination, the efficacy of other combinations of drugs that target different enzymes in a particular metabolic pathway has, apparently, not been reported.

Regulatory and Enterotoxin Gene Expression and Enterotoxins Production in FRI913 Cultures Exposed to a Rotating Magnetic Field and -Anethole.

The study aimed to examine the influence of a rotating magnetic field (RMF) of two different frequencies (5 and 50 Hz) on the expression of regulatory (, , ) and staphylococcal enterotoxin (SE-, , ) genes as well as the production of SEs (SEA, SEC, SEL) by the FRI913 strain cultured on a medium supplemented with a subinhibitory concentration of -anethole (TA). Furthermore, a theoretical model of interactions between the bacterial medium and bacterial cells exposed to RMF was proposed. Gene expression and SEs production were measured using quantitative real-time PCR and ELISA techniques, respectively.

Extensively Drug-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae Counteracts Fitness and Virulence Costs That Accompanied Ceftazidime-Avibactam Resistance Acquisition.

The ability of extensively drug-resistant (XDR) Klebsiella pneumoniae to rapidly acquire resistance to novel antibiotics is a global concern. Moreover, Klebsiella clonal lineages that successfully combine resistance and hypervirulence have increasingly occurred during the last years. However, the underlying mechanisms of counteracting fitness costs that accompany antibiotic resistance acquisition remain largely unexplored.

Evaluating Tannins and Flavonoids from Traditionally Used Medicinal Plants with Biofilm Inhibitory Effects against MRGN .

In the search for alternative treatment options for infections with multi-resistant germs, traditionally used medicinal plants are currently being examined more intensively. In this study, the antimicrobial and anti-biofilm activities of 14 herbal drugs were investigated. Nine of the tested drugs were traditionally used in Europe for treatment of local infections.

X-ray structure of the reaction center with an M197 Phe→His substitution clarifies the properties of the mutant complex.

The first steps of the global process of photosynthesis take place in specialized membrane pigment-protein complexes called photosynthetic reaction centers (RCs). The RC of the photosynthetic purple bacterium , a relatively simple analog of the more complexly organized photosystem II in plants, algae and cyanobacteria, serves as a convenient model for studying pigment-protein interactions that affect photochemical processes. In bacterial RCs the bacteriochlorophyll (BChl) dimer P serves as the primary electron donor, and its redox potential is a critical factor in the efficient functioning of the RC.

Clonal Diversity, Antimicrobial Susceptibility and Presence of Genes Encoding Virulence Factors in Staphylococcus aureus Strains Isolated from Cut Wound Infections.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the clonal relatedness and antimicrobial susceptibility in 52 Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from cut wound infections in non-related community patients and to determine the presence of selected virulence genes. To analyse the clonal relatedness of investigated strains, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) of macrorestricted DNA fragments was conducted. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed using the AST-P644 card in the VITEK 2 Compact system.

TRAP transporter TakP: a key player in the resistance against selenite-induced oxidative stress in Rhodobacter sphaeroides.

Almost one-third of all proteins require metal ions as an essential component in key biological processes and approximately half of all enzymes are associated with one or more metal ions. The naturally occurring selenium is very toxic at higher levels, but few bacteria can reduce it into the less toxic insoluble elemental selenium. Selenium is required for the synthesis of selenocysteine, an essential residue involved in the active sites of various enzymes.

Synergistic antimicrobial activities of epigallocatechin gallate, myricetin, daidzein, gallic acid, epicatechin, 3-hydroxy-6-methoxyflavone and genistein combined with antibiotics against ESKAPE pathogens.

Aim: To verify synergistic effects, we investigated the antimicrobial activity of seven phenolic phytochemicals (gallic acid; epicatechin; epigallocatechin gallate; daidzein; genistein; myricetin; 3-hydroxy-6-methoxyflavone) in combination with six antibiotics against multidrug-resistant isolates from the ESKAPE group.

Methods And Results: To investigate single phytochemicals and combinations, initial microdilution and checkerboard assays were used, followed by time-kill assays to evaluate the obtained results. The research revealed that phenolic compounds on their own resulted in little or no inhibitory effects.

Ethiopian Medicinal Plants Traditionally Used for the Treatment of Cancer; Part 3: Selective Cytotoxic Activity of 22 Plants against Human Cancer Cell Lines.

Medicinal plants have been traditionally used to treat cancer in Ethiopia. However, very few studies have reported the in vitro anticancer activities of medicinal plants that are collected from different agro-ecological zones of Ethiopia. Hence, the main aim of this study was to screen the cytotoxic activities of 80% methanol extracts of 22 plants against human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), as well as human breast (MCF-7), lung (A427), bladder (RT-4), and cervical (SiSo) cancer cell lines.

Novel Pharmacokinetic/Pharmacodynamic Parameters Quantify the Exposure-Effect Relationship of Levofloxacin against Fluoroquinolone-Resistant .

Minimal inhibitory concentration-based pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) indices are commonly applied to antibiotic dosing optimisation, but their informative value is limited, as they do not account for bacterial growth dynamics over time. We aimed to comprehensively characterise the exposure-effect relationship of levofloxacin against and quantify strain-specific characteristics applying novel PK/PD parameters. In vitro infection model experiments were leveraged to explore the exposure-effect relationship of three clinical isolates, harbouring different genomic fluoroquinolone resistance mechanisms, under constant levofloxacin concentrations or human concentration-time profiles (≤76 h).

Establishment of a quantification method for β-glucans and their immune activity potential for quality control of β-glucan containing products.

Beta glucans are complex glucose polymers well known for their immune modulatory properties. Therefore they are used and advertised in dietary supplements. Unfortunately there is no standardized test system for quality control of such health-related foods.