Bioactivity and molecular docking studies of selected plant compounds.

Background: The shortcomings of synthetic pesticides are becoming increasingly evident. In the pursuit of looking for alternative, environmentally friendly pesticides, the potential use of two naturally occurring sesquiterpenes, α-bisabolol and bisabolol oxide A, as bactericides or acaricides, was investigated against three gram-positive and three gram-negative bacteria, and the eggs and larvae of the cattle tick Hyalomma scupense, respectively. The primary targeted site of synthetic insecticides is acetylcholinesterase (AChE), so the inhibitory activity of both sesquiterpenes was evaluated.

Molecular Characteristics of Erythromycin-Resistant Streptococcus pyogenes Strains Isolated from Children Patients in Tunis, Tunisia.

Aim: The aims of our study were to characterize phenotypically and genotypically erythromycin-resistant Streptococcus pyogenes or group A streptococci (ERGAS) isolates, to evaluate macrolide resistance and to analyze the association between emm types and virulence factors. Included in this study were all ERGAS strains isolated from 2000 to 2013 at the Children's hospital of Tunis. Antimicrobial susceptibility was performed according to the CA-SFM guidelines.

Macrolide and tetracycline resistance in clinical strains of Streptococcus agalactiae isolated in Tunisia.

Between 2007 and 2009, 226 clinical strains of Streptococcus agalactiae, recovered from female genital specimens and from gastric fluid or ear specimens from infected newborns, were isolated at the Laboratory of Microbiology of Charles Nicolle Hospital of Tunis. They were investigated to determine the prevalence of antibiotic resistance and to characterize the mechanisms of resistance to macrolide and tetracycline. All strains were susceptible to penicillin, ampicillin and quinupristin-dalfopristin.

Molecular mechanisms of tetracycline and macrolide resistance and emm characterization of Streptococcus pyogenes isolates in Tunisia.

Streptococcus pyogenes or group A Streptococcus, a major human pathogen, remains susceptible to beta-lactams, but resistance to other antibiotics is becoming more common. The purpose of this study was to characterize both phenotypic and genotypic epidemiological markers of group A Streptococcus and to identify the mechanisms of resistance to macrolides and tetracyclines. A total of 103 strains, isolated at Charles Nicolle University Hospital of Tunis, were investigated.

Epidemiological markers of Streptococcus pyogenes strains in Tunisia.

To further understand the epidemiology of Streptococcus pyogenes or group A streptococcus (GAS) infections in Tunisia, phenotypic and genomic markers of GAS isolates, including antibiotic susceptibility, biotypes, T and emm types and toxin gene profiles, have been characterized. A total of 103 isolates, collected between 2000 and 2006, were investigated; 47 were recovered from invasive infections, and 56 from non-invasive infections. Rates of resistance to tetracycline, erythromycin, clindamycin and rifampin were 70.