1,631 research outputs found
Editorial: Diagnostic procedures in veterinary microbiology and infectious diseases, volume II
No full textPreclinical Models of Nontuberculous Mycobacteria Infection for Early Drug Discovery and Vaccine Research
No full textNontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) represent an increasingly prevalent etiology of soft tissue infections in animals and humans. NTM are widely distributed in the environment and while, for the most part, they behave as saprophytic organisms, in certain situations, they can be pathogenic, so much so that the incidence of NTM infections has surpassed that of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in developed countries. As a result, a growing body of the literature has focused attention on the critical role that drug susceptibility tests and infection models play in the design of appropriate therapeutic strategies against NTM diseases. This paper is an overview of the in vitro and in vivo models of NTM infection employed in the preclinical phase for early drug discovery and vaccine development. It summarizes alternative methods, not fully explored, for the characterization of anti-mycobacterial compounds
Schermi. Immagini, corpi, condivisioni
No full textIn this book the author investigates the digital image proliferation of our times from an interdisciplinary point of view. Starting from the Visual Culture theoretical frame, Valentina Mignano explores the ways in which we interact with the screen, dealing with the "screen experience" in the first years of the network societ
Comparison between clinical evaluations and laboratory findings and the impact of biofilm on antimicrobial susceptibility in vitro in canine otitis externa
No full textBackground: In canine otitis externa (OE), biofilm-producing bacteria are frequently present but biofilm may be underdiagnosed clinically. Hypothesis/objectives: The study aimed to investigate an association between clinical and cytological findings with bacteriological data from dogs with OE, to establish, through Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (ESEM) examination, whether the presence of biofilm in vivo can be predicted and to evaluate the impact of biofilm on antimicrobial susceptibility tests. Materials and methods: Fifty-six dogs showing clinical signs of OE were enrolled. One cotton swab each was collected for ESEM, bacterial culture and susceptibility testing and for cytology. Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (n = 42, 48.8%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n = 26, 30.2%) were tested for their ability to form biofilm. Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations (MIC), Minimal Biofilm Inhibitory Concentrations (MBIC) and Minimal Biofilm Eradication Concentrations (MBEC) towards enrofloxacin, gentamicin, polymyxin B and rifampicin were determined. Results: Pseudomonas aeruginosa was positively associated with the biofilm clinical evaluation (p < 0.01) and neutrophils (p < 0.05), nuclear streaks (p < 0.01) and rods bacteria (p < 0.01) on cytology. S. pseudintermedius was associated with a low presence of neutrophils. There was a statistical correlation between clinical and cytological biofilm presence (p ≤ 0.01), but none with the biofilm production assay nor ESEM biofilm detection. No differences were found comparing the results of MIC and MBIC. MBEC results showed higher values than MIC and MBIC for all antimicrobials tested (p ≤ 0.001). Conclusions and clinical relevance: Biofilm presence in OE was often underdiagnosed. Even if there is no specific clinical or cytological pattern related to biofilm, its presence should always be suspected
Next Generation Sequencing of urine exfoliated cells: an approach of prostate cancer microRNAs research
No full textAbstractThere is emerging evidence that microRNAs (miRNAs) dysregulation is involved in the genesis and the progression of Prostate Cancer (PCa), thus potentially increasing their use in urological clinical practice. This is the first pilot study which utilizes Illumina Deep Sequencing to examine the entire miRNAs spectrum existent in urine exfoliated prostate cells (UEPCs) of PCa patients. A total of 11 male patients with histological diagnosis of PCa were enrolled in the present study. First-catch urine (30 mL) was collected following a prostate massage. Total RNA was extracted from urine and sequenced using an HiSeq2500 System (Illumina). QPCR assay was used to validate the highest NGS results in PCA patients and in age-matched, caucasian men. Remarkably, PCA let-7 family was down-regulated (P < 0.01), compared to the controls. The results of our study support the notion of a relatively high diagnostic value of miRNA family for PCa detection, especially in the let-7 family. The present research confirmed the potential use of miRNAs as non-invasive biomarkers in the diagnosis of PCa, potentially reducing the invasiveness of actual clinical strategy.</jats:p
Inhibition of Staphylococcus pseudintermedius Efflux Pumps by Using Staphylococcus aureus NorA Efflux Pump Inhibitors
No full textOne promising approach in treating antibiotic-resistant bacteria is to “break” resistances connected with antibacterial efflux by co-administering efflux pump inhibitors (EPIs) with antibiotics. Here, ten compounds, previously optimized to restore the susceptibility to ciprofloxacin (CIP) of norA-overexpressing Staphylococcus aureus, were evaluated for their ability to inhibit norA-mediated efflux in Staphylococcus pseudintermedius and synergize with CIP, ethidium bromide (EtBr), gentamycin (GEN), and chlorhexidine digluconate (CHX). We focused efforts on S. pseudintermedius as a pathogenic bacterium of concern within veterinary and human medicine. By combining data from checkerboard assays and EtBr efflux inhibition experiments, the hits 2-arylquinoline 1, dihydropyridine 6, and 2-phenyl-4-carboxy-quinoline 8 were considered the best EPIs for S. pseudintermedius. Overall, most of the compounds, except for 2-arylquinoline compound 2, were able to fully restore the susceptibility of S. pseudintermedius to CIP and synergize with GEN as well, while the synergistic effect with CHX was less significant and often did not show a dose-dependent effect. These are valuable data for medicinal chemistry optimization of EPIs for S. pseudintermedius and lay the foundation for further studies on successful EPIs to treat staphylococcal infections
Detection of Mycoplasma DNA in 122 cases of abortion, stillbirth and neonatal mortality in dogs and cats
No full textOBJECTIVE Abortion and neonatal mortality are relatively common in dogs and cats and they are linked to several causative factors [1]. Mycoplasma spp. have been involved in canine and feline infertility, although existing studies are limited and somewhat contradictory [2, 3, 4]. Intrauterine inoculation of Mycoplasma spp. had previously been associated to endometritis, abortion, and neonatal mortality in cat [3]. Conversely, several Mycoplasma spp. have been isolated in vaginal swabs of healthy bitch [2]. The purpose of the present study was to retrospectively detect Mycoplasma DNA in a caseload of canine and feline abortion, stillbirth and neonatal mortality.
MATERIALS AND METHODS Specimens from 122 cases (114 dogs and 8 cats) of abortion, stillbirth and neonatal mortality were investigated to detect Mycoplasma DNA by PCR.
RESULTS Eight out of 122 cases (6.6%, all dogs) tested positive for Mycoplasma DNA. From five of them (62.5%), other microorganisms were identified, particularly Canine herpesvirus-1 (2/8, 25%) and Escherichia coli and/or Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (3/8, 37.5%), notoriously responsible for infertility in the bitch. In two different litters, only one puppy of each was positive to Mycoplasma DNA. Moreover, Mycoplasma DNA was identified from vaginal swab and foetal membranes collected during caesarean section of a bitch whelping Mycoplasma-negative puppies, further supporting that Mycoplasma spp. is part of the normal microflora of the female genital tract. No positive case was observed in feline samples, even if a very limited number of cases were collected.
CONCLUSION Mycoplasma DNA was seldom detected from cases of abortion, stillbirth and neonatal mortality in dogs. The detection of Mycoplasma DNA in association with other main pathogens and its detection from the female genital tract in the absence of transmission to puppies support the hypothesis that Mycoplasma is an autochthonous genital microflora or can play a secondary role in the canine infertility
BIOMOLECULAR INVESTIGATION ON BALL PYTHON NIDOVIRUS IN BALL PYTHONS (Python regius) WITH RESPIRATORY DISEASE
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Antilisterial activity of olive-derived polyphenols: an experimental study on meat preparations
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