Investigation and analysis of a human orf outbreak among people living on the same farm

Human orf is a viral zoonotic infection caused by Parapoxvirus. The skin lesions of human orf can be misdiagnosed as cutaneous anthrax leading to overtreatment and also fear. This study was conducted to analyze an outbreak which led to deaths among kids and lambs in the same flock, and skin lesions in some persons who were living on the same farm that were initially diagnosed as cutaneous anthrax by a practitioner. Eight patients with skin lesions and eleven persons who had no skin lesion were considered as patients and control groups, respectively. The cultures obtained from the lesions of all patients were negative for Bacillus anthracis. The diagnosis of skin lesions was done by clinical findings, histopathological examination and PCR as human orf. To be under 20 years of age, direct contact with the animals, and contact with flayed skin of sick animals were the risk factors for human orf (Odds Ratio 7.5; 95% Confidence Interval 1.02-54.54, OR 12.25; 95% CI:1.3-100.9, OR 16.67; 95% CI:1.65-148.20, respectively). Orf should be kept in mind in the differential diagnosis of skin lesions resembling anthrax. For control and prevention of orf, transmission routes should be known; good hand hygiene and other personal protective measures have to be implemented.     

Comparison of the effects of Artemisia vulgaris and Artemisia absinthium growing in western Anatolia against trichinellosis (Trichinella spiralis) in rats

Trichinellosis often causing diarrhea and more rarely fever, periorbital edema and myositis in human, is commonly treated with benzimidazole derivatives. The Artemisia genus has been found to be effective against a variety of parasites. In the present study, the efficacy against trichinellosis (Trichinella spiralis) of Artemisia vulgaris and Artemisia absinthium was examined for the first time in rats. The results of trichinoscopy and artificial digestion, during the enteral (adult) phase of the illness show that 300 mg/kg doses of methanol extracts of the aerial parts of A. vulgaris and A. absinthium reduced the larval rate by 75.6% and 63.5% in tongue, 53.4% and 37.7% in diaphragm, 67.8% and 46.2% in quadriceps, and 66.7% and 60.5% in biceps-triceps muscles of rats, respectively. Furthermore, during the parenteral (encapsulated larvae) phase, 600 mg/kg doses of A. vulgaris and A. absinthium extracts decreased the larval rate by 66.4% and 59.9% in tongue, 57.4% and 50.0% in diaphragm, 47.6% and 43.7% in quadriceps, 60.2% and 46.4% in biceps-triceps muscles of rats, respectively. Analysis of antibody also showed that A. vulgaris significantly reduced the antibody response (P < 0.05) during the enteral and parenteral phases. Thus, the results of the present study revealed that A. vulgaris could be an alternative drug against trichinellosis.     

Use of urinary gram stain for detection of urinary tract infection in childhood

In this study, urinary culture, urinary Gram stain, and four tests within the urinalysis, leukocyte esterase, nitrite, microscopyfor bacteria, and microscopyforpyuria, were examined in 100 children with symptoms suggesting urinary tract infection. Our purpose was to determine the validity of the urinary Gram stain compared with a combination of pyuria plus Gram stain and overall urinalysis (positiveness of nitrite, leukocyte esterase, microscopy for bacteria, or microscopy for white blood cell). Of 100 children, aged two days to 15 years, 70 (70 percent) had a positive urinary culture: 40 girls (57 percent) and 30 boys (43 percent). Escherichia coli was the most common isolated agent. The sensitivity and specificity of the urinary Gram stain were 80 percent and 83 percent, and that of the combination of pyuria plus Gram stain 42 percent and 90 percent, and that of the overall urinalysis 74 percent and 3.5 percent respectively. Our findings revealed that neither method of urine screen should substitute for a urine culture in the symptomatic patients in childhood.     

Disruption of AtMRP4, a guard cell plasma membrane ABCC-type ABC transporter, leads to deregulation of stomatal opening and increased drought susceptibility

ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters are membrane proteins responsible for cellular detoxification processes in plants and animals. Recent evidence shows that this class of transporters may also be involved in many other cellular processes. Because of their homology with human multidrug resistance-associated proteins (MRP), cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) and sulfonylurea receptor (SUR), some plant ABC transporters have been implicated in the regulation of ion channel activities. This paper describes an investigation of the AtMRP4 gene and its role in stomatal regulation. Reporter gene studies showed that AtMRP4 is highly expressed in stomata and that the protein is localized to the plasma membrane. Stomatal aperture in three independent atmrp4 mutant alleles was larger than in wild-type plants, both in the light and in the dark, resulting in increased water loss but no change in the photosynthetic rate. In baker's yeast, AtMRP4 shows ATP-dependent, vanadate-sensitive transport of methotrexate (MTX), an antifolate and a substrate of mammalian MRPs. Treatment with MTX reduced stomatal opening in wild-type plants, but had no effect in atmrp4 mutants. These results indicate the involvement of AtMRP4 in the complex regulation of stomatal aperture.     

Arabidopsis immunophilin-like TWD1 functionally interacts with vacuolar ABC transporters

Previously, the immunophilin-like protein TWD1 from Arabidopsis has been demonstrated to interact with the ABC transporters AtPGP1 and its closest homologue, AtPGP19. Physiological and biochemical investigation of pgp1/pgp19 and of twd1 plants suggested a regulatory role of TWD1 on AtPGP1/AtPGP19 transport activities. To further understand the dramatic pleiotropic phenotype that is caused by loss-of-function mutation of the TWD1 gene, we were interested in other TWD1 interacting proteins. AtMRP1, a multidrug resistance-associated (MRP/ABCC)-like ABC transporter, has been isolated in a yeast two-hybrid screen. We demonstrate molecular interaction between TWD1 and ABC transporters AtMRP1 and its closest homologue, AtMRP2. Unlike AtPGP1, AtMRP1 binds to the C-terminal tetratricopeptide repeat domain of TWD1, which is well known to mediate protein-protein interactions. Domain mapping proved that TWD1 binds to a motif of AtMRP1 that resembles calmodulin-binding motifs; and calmodulin binding to the C-terminus of MRP1 was verified. By membrane fractionation and GFP-tagging, we localized AtMRP1 to the central vacuolar membrane and the TWD1-AtMRP1 complex was verified in vivo by coimmunoprecipitation. We were able to demonstrate that TWD1 binds to isolated vacuoles and has a significant impact on the uptake of metolachlor-GS and estradiol-beta-glucuronide, well-known substrates of vacuolar transporters AtMRP1 and AtMRP2.     

Antimicrobial susceptibilities of Bacteroides fragilis and Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron strains isolated from clinical specimens and human intestinal microbiota

Species of Bacteroides fragilis group bacteria are the most prevalent pathogens and have the highest resistance rates to antimicrobial agents among anaerobic bacteria. Infections due to these micro-organisms often originate from patient's own intestinal microbiota. The objective of the study was to determine and compare the susceptibility profiles of clinical and intestinal B. fragilis and B. thetaiotaomicron strains against certain antimicrobials. Isolates were identified by conventional methods and API-20 A. Susceptibility tests were performed according to recommendations of NCCLS (M 11-A4) agar dilution methods. Beta-lactamase production was determined with nitrocefin discs. Forty-five clinical isolates (33 B. fragilis and 12 B. thetaiotaomicron) were from following sites: blood (n:8), intra-abdominal abscess (n:7), soft tissue (n:26), and miscellaneous foci of infection (n:4). Fifty B. fragilis and 60 B. thetaiotaomicron isolates from intestinal microbiota of individuals with no history of antimicrobial treatment within last 30 days were also examined. Beta-lactamase production was detected in 93% of clinical and 99% of intestinal isolates. The organisms including intestinal isolates were uniformly susceptible to metronidazole. The MIC90s of other antibiotics and resistance rates of all clinical isolates to those antibiotics were as follows: 256 microg/mL (93%) for ampicillin, 128 microg/mL (13%) for piperacillin, 64 microg/mL (11%) for cefoxitin, 1 microg/mL (2%) for amoxicillin-clavulanate, 0.5 microg/mL (2%) for imipenem, >256 microg/mL (36%) for clindamycin, 8 microg/mL (2%) for chloramphenicol. Intestinal isolates demonstrated similar resistance rates and MIC90s. Metronidazole, imipenem, amoxicillin-clavulanate seem to be effective drugs against these bacteria in Turkey.     

Deletion of glycine decarboxylase in Arabidopsis is lethal under nonphotorespiratory conditions

The mitochondrial multienzyme glycine decarboxylase (GDC) catalyzes the tetrahydrofolate-dependent catabolism of glycine to 5,10-methylene-tetrahydrofolate and the side products NADH, CO(2), and NH(3). This reaction forms part of the photorespiratory cycle and contributes to one-carbon metabolism. While the important role of GDC for these two metabolic pathways is well established, the existence of bypassing reactions has also been suggested. Therefore, it is not clear to what extent GDC is obligatory for these processes. Here, we report on features of individual and combined T-DNA insertion mutants for one of the GDC subunits, P protein, which is encoded by two genes in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). The individual knockout of either of these two genes does not significantly alter metabolism and photosynthetic performance indicating functional redundancy. In contrast, the double mutant does not develop beyond the cotyledon stage in air enriched with 0.9% CO(2). Rosette leaves do not appear and the seedlings do not survive for longer than about 3 to 4 weeks under these nonphotorespiratory conditions. This feature distinguishes the GDC-lacking double mutant from all other known photorespiratory mutants and provides evidence for the nonreplaceable function of GDC in vital metabolic processes other than photorespiration.     

Genomics of plant ABC transporters: the alphabet of photosynthetic life forms or just holes in membranes?

The large number of ABC transporters in the Arabidopsis genome was made responsible for known as well as unexpected aspects in plant development. The combination of classical transport experiments with functional genomics approaches helped unravel some of these effects. Yet questions concerning the importance of this large number of ABC transporters in eukaryotic photosynthesizing organisms remain open. Phylogenomic analyses of whole genome sequence data reveal comparable sizes and composition between algae and higher plants within this protein family. Although this indicates the significance of ABC transporters in plants, several other questions remain to be answered.