Sulphate-reducing bacteria from ulcerative colitis patients induce apoptosis of gastrointestinal epithelial cells.

The human microbiome consists of a multitude of bacterial genera and species which continuously interact with one another and their host establishing a metabolic equilibrium. The dysbiosis can lead to the development of pathology, such as inflammatory bowel diseases. Sulfide-producing prokaryotes, including sulphate-reducing bacteria (SRB) constituting different genera, including the Desulfovibrio, are commonly detected within the human microbiome recovered from fecal material or colonic biopsy samples.

A comparison of DNA fragmentation methods - Applications for the biochip technology.

The efficiency of hybridization signal detection in a biochip is affected by the method used for test DNA preparation, such as fragmentation, amplification and fluorescent labelling. DNA fragmentation is the commonest methods used and it is recognised as a critical step in biochip analysis. Currently methods used for DNA fragmentation are based either on sonication or on the enzymatic digestion.

A novel cassette method for probe evaluation in the designed biochips.

A critical step in biochip design is the selection of probes with identical hybridisation characteristics. In this article we describe a novel method for evaluating DNA hybridisation probes, allowing the fine-tuning of biochips, that uses cassettes with multiple probes. Each cassette contains probes in equimolar proportions so that their hybridisation performance can be assessed in a single reaction.

Correlation between MMP-9 and extracellular cytokine HMGB1 in prediction of human ischemic stroke outcome.

Ischemic stroke (IS) outcome predictors include clinical features, biochemical parameters and some risk factors. The relations between two main players in the ischemic brain, MMPs and HMGB1, were estimated in the plasma of ischemic stroke patients stratified according to the Glasgow Outcome Scale and the Oxfordshire Community Stroke Project classification. IS patients exhibited higher plasma concentration of MMP-9 and the inflammatory cytokine HMGB1 compared with healthy controls.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus transmission in a low-prevalence healthcare setting.

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the nosocomial transmission of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and the predictive role of colonization pressure (CP) in a low-prevalence healthcare setting.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of MRSA infection rates from 2004 to 2009 at the Saudi Aramco Dhahran Health Center, Saudi Arabia, was performed. MRSA patient-days, susceptible patient-days, nosocomial incidence and CP were calculated for each month from January 2008 to December 2009.