Monitoring and Investigation of Resistance Genes gyrA, parC, blaZ, ermA, ermB, and ermC in Staphylococcus saprophyticus Isolated from Urinary Tract Infections in Mazandaran Province, Iran
Investigating the Association between COVID-19 Prognosis and Demographic and Clinical Features, Underlying Diseases, and Drug and Supplement Use in Patients Hospitalized in Zabol, Iran: A Single-Center Retrospective Study
Backgrounds:In developing countries like Nigeria, screening of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection in pregnant women remains limited due to a lack of diagnostic facilities and non-specific symptoms, leading to potential misdiagnosis of the disease as other febrile illnesses such as malaria or typhoid.Materials & Methods: To address this issue, this study aimed to investigate the prevalence of anti-ZIKV IgM antibodies in pregnant women using enzyme-linked immunoassay.Additionally, the quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) assay targeted a specific region of the membrane protein (prM) gene to detect Zika virus presence in the collected serum samples.For a period of four months from December 2021 to March 2022, a total of 360 serum samples were collected from pregnant women attending antenatal care units in two tertiary hospitals located in different regions of Nigeria.Findings: The results of this study revealed a prevalence of 17.2% (62 samples) for anti-ZIKV IgM antibodies among pregnant women.Further analysis using the RT-qPCR method detected Zika virus (prM gene) in 1.9% (7/62) of the serum samples.In addition to these virological results, the statistical analysis of sociodemographic data, clinical characteristics, and risk factors for ZIKV infection demonstrated a significant correlation between seropositivity and various factors including ethnicity, residence, occupation, and history of arboviral diseases (p< .005).Conclusion: Given the potential consequences of ZIKV infection in pregnant women, early diagnosis and intervention could improve maternal outcomes and prevent fetal abnormalities.
Molecular Typing of Multidrug-Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa Isolates Obtained from Hospitalized Burn Patients by Rep-PCR
Impact of Serum 25(OH) D Levels on Immune Responses to Hepatitis B Virus Vaccination in Healthy Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study in Mane and Samalghan City, Iran
Prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis Sequence Types 4 and 80 in Infertile Couples in North Khorasan, Iran
Screening of Influenza Virus A and B among COVID-19 Patients in a Tertiary Care Hospital, Southern India
Inhibition of Bacterial growth, mineral, proximate and vitamin contents of a syrup prepared from Vitex doniana fruits
Backgrounds: Syzygium aromaticum L (S. aromaticum, clove) is a plant species belonging to the Myrtaceae family.It is cultivated in many African and Asian countries.Folk medicine practitioners use different parts of this plant to treat gastrointestinal problems, diarrhea, dental pain, ulcer, and other chronic diseases.Experimental data on phytochemicals and pharmacological activities of this plant are scattered or unsystematic.Therefore, this review aimed to explore the available data on phytochemicals and pharmacological activities of S. aromaticum essential oil and extracts with various polarities. Materials & Methods:The literature review showed that only a few studies were conducted on this plant; consequently, there is not enough documented information about its bioactive phytochemicals and pharmacological activities.Findings: Most previous studies reviewed reported significant bioactive phytochemical contents, namely eugenol (49.7%), caryophyllene (18.9%), benzene, and 1-ethyl-3-nitro (11.1%), along with minor amounts of phytochemicals including carotenoids, gallic acid, flavonoids, oxalic acid, tannins, amino acids, fatty acids, and cyanidin glycoside.Sugars, coumarins, oleanolic acid, saponins, glycosides, and lipids were also identified in this species.The methanol extract of this plant and its different polar fractions were shown to exhibit significant antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-allergic, antidiabetic, antihypertensive, antiinflammatory, antifungal, and anticancer activities.Furthermore, the plant extracts were also shown to have chemoprotective and hepatoprotective properties. Conclusion:This review provides comprehensive data on botanical aspects, phytochemicals, and pharmacological activities of this plant to researchers to explore traditional/ medicinal uses and commercial drug production from S. aromaticum.
Thromboembolic Manifestations in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients in India- A Single-Centre Retrospective Study
Investigation of Metallobetalactamase (blaIMP & blaVIM) and Carbapenemase (blaKPC & blaGES) Genes in Gram Negative Rods Isolated from Cancer Patients
Characteristics of Prophage Patterns and Virulence Gene Profiles among Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Isolates from Patients with Diabetic Foot Infections in a Referral Hospital in Tehran, Iran
Backgrounds: This study aimed to analyze the applicability of platelet parameters in assessing the severity of COVID-19 disease. Material(s) and Method(s): Patients with RT-PCR confirmed COVID-19 in the Pathology department of a tertiary care hospital in south India from June to December 2020 were included in this study. Clinical details and laboratory parameters of these patients were obtained. The difference between the studied variables in two groups was assessed using independent t-test. The optimum cut-off value of platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) to differentiate between the tested groups was estimated using ROC (receiver operator curve) analysis. Finding(s): This study was conducted on 218 COVID-19 patients, of whom 17.9% showed thrombocytopenia at the time of admission. Among the hematological parameters, PLR, absolute lymphocyte count (ALC), platelet distribution width (PDW), D-dimer, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) were significantly different between the ICU (intensive care unit) and non-ICU groups. Increased PLR values were associated with the disease severity. Conclusion(s): PLR could be used as an additional biomarker in assessing the severity of COVID-19 disease, and a cut-off value of 210.27 is optimal to differentiate severe COVID-19 disease from its mild and moderate forms with 79% specificity.Copyright © 2023, TMU Press.
Evaluation of the Relative Frequency of Carbapenemase Genes by Phenotypic and Genotypic Methods in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Isolates from Patients with Open Heart Surgery in Iran
Isolation and Molecular Identification of Streptomyces spp. Producing Antibacterial Compounds from Iranian Soil
Backgrounds: Immune-inflammatory responses appear to play a key role in severe SARS-CoV-2 infections. Interleukin-35 (IL-35) and presepsin (PSN) are inhibitory cytokine and pro-inflammatory interleukin, which play a crucial role in the immune system modulation, respectively. Therefore, the study of IL-35 and PSN interaction with other parameters may be critical for managing patients with COVID-19. Material(s) and Method(s): A total of 125 severe/critical COVID-19 patients and 60 healthy persons as a control group were enrolled in this work. These patients were admitted to Marjan medical city and Al-Sadeq hospital in Iraq during February to August 2022 and diagnosed as severe cases depending on the SpO2 percentage according to the guidelines released by the National Health World. Anti-and pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-35 and PSN) were detected by ELISA technique. Finding(s): Presepsin showed a positive correlation with admission to the respiratory care unit (RCU) (r=.022, p=.011). A negative correlation was found between presepsin and C-reactive protein (CRP) (r=.21, p=.018). Both PSN and IL-35 in biochemical tests showed a positive strong effect on glucose levels in COVID-19 patients (r=.234, p=.008 and r=.241, p=.007, respectively). IL-35 had a positive impact on alkaline phosphatase (ALP) (r=.28, p=.002). Hemoglobin (Hb) level showed a positive correlation with presepsin (r=.2, p=.02). Conclusion(s): This study confirms the growing evidence showing the direct role of regulatory pro-inflammatory cytokines in the development and control of COVID-19 through the interaction with other parameters.Copyright © 2023, TMU Press.
Backgrounds: Reinfection among COVID-19 patients is still a challenging issue in the medical literature.Therefore, the current meta-analysis was conducted to estimate the pooled incidence rate of reinfection among COVID-19 patients. Materials & Methods: A comprehensive search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases from July 1 to October 1, 2021.Original studies which estimated the incidence rate of COVID-19 reinfection were included.CASP (Critical Appraisal skills program) was used to assess the quality of studies.Data were analyzed by STATA statistical software Version 15 (StataCorp, College Station, TX, USA).Findings: A total of 3803 articles were found, of which 16 articles remained after title, abstract, and full text screening.The minimum and maximum incidence rates of reinfection were 0.001 and 0.73%, respectively.The pooled estimated incidence rate of COVID-19 reinfection was 0.11% (95% confidence interval: 0.02-0.20,p< .001,I 2 = 100.0).The highest pooled estimated incidence rate of reinfection was observed in people <50 years old (0.14%) (95% CI: 0.001-0.34,p<.001,I 2 = 100).Regarding the time elapsed after the first infection, the highest reinfection rate occurred four months after the first infection (0.12%) (95% CI: 0.001-0.27,p< .001,I 2 = 100). Conclusion:The incidence rate of reinfection among COVID-19 patients is expected to be high.However, it seems that the influence of factors including the age of patients and the time elapsed after the first infection must be considered.
Backgrounds:The burden of bacteremia in febrile cases is still poorly understood in Nigeria as in many sub-Saharan African countries due to diagnostic limitations.This study aimed to determine the prevalence of Salmonella bloodstream infections and antimicrobial resistance patterns of bacterial isolates recovered from febrile patients in Lagos, Nigeria.Materials & Methods: A total of 300 blood samples were collected from febrile patients attending four medical centers in Lagos during August 2020 to July 2021.Clinical isolates were identified using API 20E kit.qPCR was used to detect Salmonella isolates in positive blood culture samples using a specific primer set.All isolates were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility tests using standard procedures.Findings: Totally, 55 bacterial isolates belonging to six bacterial genera were identified, including Salmonella (n=4, 7.27%), Klebsiella species (n=23, 41.82%), Escherichia coli (n=6, 10.91%), Proteus species (n=13, 23.64%), Serratia species (n=7, 12.73%), and Citrobacter species (n=2, 3.64%).In this study, the detection rate of Salmonella isolates in positive blood culture samples using qPCR and invA gene primer set was 100%.Salmonella isolates were %100 resistant to ceftazidime, cefotaxime, and doripenem.Multidrug resistance (MDR) was observed in Salmonella and other bacterial isolates. Conclusion:In this study, qPCR using the invA primer set was found to be highly specific for Salmonella detection.All the bloodstream bacterial pathogens in this study were MDR; thus, there is a need for continuous evaluation of antibiotics in medical settings.Further molecular studies on these bacterial isolates is essential.
Molecular Typing of Streptococcus agalactiae- cMLSB Phenotype Isolates by Enterobacterial Repetitive Intergenic Consensus-PCR (ERIC-PCR) in Isfahan, Iran
