February 2014
Antagonism of marine macro alga Kappaphycus alvarezii extract against luminescence disease causing Vibrio harveyi during Penaeus monodon larviculture
Bio-luminescence disease is caused by Vibrio harveyi, it is one of the major diseases in shrimp hatcheries and grow-out practices. V. harveyi produces virulence factors responsible for pathogenicity. The use of antibiotics as therapy for luminescence causes development of antibiotic resistance among the bacterial strains. Henceforth, it is indispensable to use bio-inhibitory agents as substitute...
February 2014
An investigation of the distribution of Candida species in genitourinary candidiasis and pelvic inflammatory disease from three locations in Ghana
The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of various Candida species in cases of genitourinary candidiasis and pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) in Ghana. To achieve this, Candida isolates were recovered from high vaginal swabs of patients with vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC), urine samples from patients with urinary tract infections (UTIs) and endocervical swabs from patients with PID, from three teaching...
February 2014
Antifungal activity and bioactive compounds produced by Bacillus mojavensis and Bacillus subtilis
The soil bacteria, CWBI-B1567 and CWBI-B1568, isolated from arid regions and identified as Bacillus subtilis (accession number KC341751) and Bacillus mojavensis (accession number KC341749) respectively, were screened and evaluated for their antifungal activity against Candida albicans, one of the most important human fungal pathogens. In vitro assay with the antagonists and their cell-free culture supernatants on agar...
February 2014
Quantification of YopE protein of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis reveals differential secretion rates in other Yops deleted strains
Gram negative pathogenic bacteria Yersinia pseudotuberculosis use a type III secretion system (T3SS) to translocate toxic proteins into the eukaryotic cell. Once these proteins are inside the host cell, they interfere with the cell signalling pathways and alter the cellular response. The genes for the bacterial T3SS are located on the 70-kbp virulence plasmid that is common in all pathogenic species of Yersinia. A...
February 2014
Microbiological quality of fresh lettuce sold at Lilongwe market, Malawi: Does purchasing time matter?
Fifteen (15) samples of fresh lettuce were bought from Lilongwe city market, Malawi in the morning, afternoon and evening and were examined for microbiological quality. Counts ranged from 1.2×105 to 6.9×105 cfu/g for total Enterobacteriaceae and 1.5×104 to 1.1×106 mpn/g for total coliforms. Higher total Enterobacteriaceae and total coliform counts in the afternoon samples and presence of fecal...
February 2014
Molecular diagnosis of vaginal candidiasis by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and random amplification polymorphism DNA (RAPD-PCR) in Babylon Province, Iraq
Most women suffer from severe vaginal candidiasis caused by Candida spp. Vaginal infections represent a second type of common disease. This infection occurs commonly in married and pregnant women and immunocompromised patients. This study aimed to survey, isolate and diagnose the vaginal Candida spp. using phenotypic and molecular assays. Candida isolates were recovered from patients attending main hospital in Babylon...
February 2014
Effect of trophically different water bodies on the straminipilous fungal infection of Stenodus genus (Coregoninae) eggs
The authors investigated the growth of straminipilous organisms on the eggs of inconnu (Stenodus leucichthys) and nelma (Stenodus nelma) in water from three different eutrophication levels. Thirty (30) straminipilous species were found growing on the investigated eggs (of both fish species) used as baits. The majority of species has been found on the eggs of inconnu (20) in comparison with those found on the eggs of...
February 2014
Cytotoxicity and antimicrobial activity of Pyrus pyraster Burgsd. and Pyrus spinosa Forssk. (Rosaceae)
The cytotoxicity of Pyrus pyraster and Pyrus spinosa leaf and bark extracts, as well as their major compound, arbutin was tested against melanoma cell line (Fem-x) and healthy human embryonic lung fibroblast (MRC-5). The methanol extracts of P. pyraster (leaves and bark) exhibited significant cytotoxic effects towards Fem-x cells, with IC50 ranging from 11.55 to 46.78 μg/ml, and the corresponding dichlormethane...
February 2014
Inhibition of melanogenesis in murine melanoma cells by Agaricus brasiliensis methanol extract and anti-reactive oxygen species (ROS) activity
Agaricus brasiliensis is a valuable food mushroom that exhibits several pharmacological activities. The beneficial effects of the A. brasiliensis methanol extract on skin health have never been investigated. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential skin care effects of extract from A. brasiliensis. The results reveal that A. brasiliensis methanol extract exhibited apparent inhibitory effects on melanin...
February 2014
Metallo-β-lactamase producing Enterobacter cloacae: An emerging threat in neonates
Enterobacter cloacae is not a primary human pathogen but has obtained an important role as a nosocomial pathogen. Acquiring this property of metallo-β-lactamases (MBL) producers, the pathogen becomes very virulent for the susceptible neonates and leaves little choice of antibiotics for its management. Blood samples (n=103) were collected in peadriatic blood culture bottles from suspected neonates aseptically. The...
February 2014
Isolation and characterization of microbial communities from a constructed wetlands system: A case study in Tunisia
Constructed wetlands (CWs) have received increasing attention in the last decade due to their high potential for wastewater treatment. The nitrogen removal performance is always the main focus when evaluating the treatment ability of CWs. In this work, we aimed to isolate and identify the heterotrophic bacteria using the 16S rRNA gene sequencing method and to characterize the microbial communities removing nitrogen from...
February 2014
Relationship between antibody titers from V4-in-cassava vaccination and protection against velogenic virus challenge in laboratory chickens
Unvaccinated laboratory-raised, five week old cockerels were fed V4 newcastle disease vaccine in cassava once, twice or thrice; and tested for hemagglutination inhibition (HI) antibody response. They were subsequently challenged with a local isolate of velogenic newcastle disease virus (NDV). Immune status of the chicken flocks improved with number of vaccinations. Survival from velogenic virus challenge varied...
February 2014
Evaluation of ochratoxin A and fungi in powdered guarana (Paullinia cupana Kunth), a caffeine rich product from Amazon forest
Guarana (Paullinia cupana Kunth) is a Brazilian commodity well known to stimulate human metabolism due to its alkaloid components (mainly caffeine rich) and is used as an ingredient in the beverage industries. Moreover, the processed form (powdered guarana), may have similarities to other products (coffee, tea and cocoa) regarding its effects on ochratoxin A. This study was to evaluate the effect of the alkaloids of...
February 2014
Production, characterization and evaluation of in vitro digestion of phytases, xylanases and cellulases for feed industry
Experiments were conducted to evaluate the biotechnological potential for producing phytase, xylanase and cellulose enzymes by the fungi, Aspergillus tamarii URM 4634 and Aspergillus japonicus URM 5633. Additionally, the effects of temperature, pH and simulation of digestion in vitro, under enzymatic stability, were investigated. Six fermentation systems were produced using the agro-industrial wastes palm extract, inner...
February 2014
Detection of biofilm formation, icaADBC gene and investigation of toxin genes in Staphylococus spp. strain from dental unit waterlines, University Hospital Center (UHC) Tlemcen Algeria
The formation of biofilms on pieces of equipment and dental chair unit waterlines has attracted more interest and concern. This study aimed to assess the reliability of two phenotypic methods used to detect the presence of biofilms and the icaADBC operon, and identify various toxin genes by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in clinical staphylococcal isolates. A total of thirty-one (31) staphylococcal...
February 2014
Diversity and symbiotic performance of peanut rhizobia from Southeast region of Brazil
The use of peanut as a trap-plant for obtaining rhizobia may result in a high diversity of efficient isolates. This study aimed to evaluate the diversity and symbiotic efficiency of peanut rhizobia from the Southeastern region of Brazil. The bacteria were isolated from nodules of two genotypes in soils from the States of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The bacteria were authenticated and evaluated regarding...
February 2014
Physiological and molecular responses of antibiotic-resistant Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium to acid stress
This study was designed to evaluate the antibiotic susceptibility, lactamase activity, gene expression, and protein profiles of antibiotic-sensitive Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. TyphimuriumS) and antibiotic-resistant S. Typhimurium (S. TyphimuriumR) grown at pH 5.5 and 7.3. The antibiotic susceptibility and β-lactamase activity were measured by broth microdilution and nitrocefin assays, respectively....
February 2014
Inhibition of food-borne bacteria by thermo-chemically modified egg white lysozyme
This study investigates the effect of different concentrations (0.50 to 1.50%) of thermo-chemically modified lysozyme on the growth of selected bacteria, that is, Gram-negative Pseudomonas fragi, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis and Gram-positive Listeria innocua, Leuconostoc mesenteroides in nutrient broth. The content of lysozyme polymeric forms after modification was evaluated by sodium...
February 2014
Comparison of three DNA extraction methods for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of bacterial genomic DNA
Rapid isolation of high-purity microbial genomic DNA is necessary for genome analysis. In this study, the authors compared a one-hour procedure using a microwave with enzymatic and boiling methods of genomic DNA extraction from Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. High DNA concentration and purity were observed for both MRSA and ESBL strains (80.1 and 91.1 µg/ml; OD260/280, 1.82 and 1.70, respectively) when...
February 2014
Antibacterial activity of Kumaun Himalayan Biota orientalis L. leaf extracts
The antibacterial property of methanol, ethanol, chloroform and hexane extracts of Kumaun Himalayan gymnospermous plant Biota orientalis leaves were investigated against some pathogenic Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains (Agrobacterium tumefaciens, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Erwinia chrysanthemi and Xanthomonas phaseoli) using disc diffusion method. Methanol extract showed the highest inhibitory...
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