Simultaneous detection of Apple mosaic virus in cultivated hazelnuts by one-tube RT-PCR

The most economically damaging ilarvirus affecting hazelnut on a worldwide scale is the related apple mosaic virus (ApMV). Attempts were made to isolate the virus RNA from hazelnut tissues using different extraction methods. The most suitable extraction method that could detect the virus occurring naturally in hazelnut by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) methodology was selected. RT-PCR was applied successfully using flower, husk and leaf tissues. The most suitable extraction method and hazelnut tissues determined were sensitive, simple, rapid and reliable for simultaneous detection of ApMV in hazelnut tissues. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the simultaneous detection of the virus by RT-PCR, an alternativedetection of ApMV in hazelnut hosts

Molecular Identification of Vancomycin Resistance and Virulence Genes in Foodborne Enterococci

ΔΕΝ ΔΙΑΤΙΘΕΤΑΙ ΠΕΡΙΛΗΨΗThe study was performed to determine the presence of vancomycin phenotyping genes and some virulence traits in enterococci species. For this purpose, a total of 42 enterococci including 6 vancomycin-resistant and 36 vancomycin-susceptible strains originated from meat/meat products and milk/dairy products were assessed for the vanA, vanB and vanC genes and agg, esp, gelE, ace and efaA virulence genes by using polymerase chain reaction or multiplex polymerase chain reaction. The vanA gene was found in 12% (n=5) of the strains and vanC gene in 50% (n=21). From these, three vanA- (E. faecalis, E. durans, E. casseliflavus) and two vanC-positive (E. durans) strains had a minimum inhibitory concentration of > 256 μg/ml as previously determined with the E-test. The strains expressing vancomycin susceptibility originating from ready-to-eat food were found to carry vanA (n=1) and vanC (n=5) genes. On the other hand, the vanB gene was not detected among strains. Moreover, no strain was found to harbor virulence traits studied. Our results indicated that resistant or susceptible enterococci from foods of animal origin can be a possible reservoir for resistance genes and may have a potential role for transfer of genetic elements among enterococci or to other bacteria. Furthermore, to develop epidemiological surveillance systems for foodborne antibiotic resistant pathogens as vancomycin-resistant enterococci and their genes responsible for resistance, primarily vanA, vanB, continues to be an essential issue all around the world. The present work provides data for foodborne enterococci isolates harboring vanA gene from Turkey

Molecular Identification of Vancomycin Resistance and Virulence Genes in Foodborne Enterococci

ΔΕΝ ΔΙΑΤΙΘΕΤΑΙ ΠΕΡΙΛΗΨΗThe study was performed to determine the presence of vancomycin phenotyping genes and some virulence traits in enterococci species. For this purpose, a total of 42 enterococci including 6 vancomycin-resistant and 36 vancomycin-susceptible strains originated from meat/meat products and milk/dairy products were assessed for the vanA, vanB and vanC genes and agg, esp, gelE, ace and efaA virulence genes by using polymerase chain reaction or multiplex polymerase chain reaction. The vanA gene was found in 12% (n=5) of the strains and vanC gene in 50% (n=21). From these, three vanA- (E. faecalis, E. durans, E. casseliflavus) and two vanC-positive (E. durans) strains had a minimum inhibitory concentration of > 256 μg/ml as previously determined with the E-test. The strains expressing vancomycin susceptibility originating from ready-to-eat food were found to carry vanA (n=1) and vanC (n=5) genes. On the other hand, the vanB gene was not detected among strains. Moreover, no strain was found to harbor virulence traits studied. Our results indicated that resistant or susceptible enterococci from foods of animal origin can be a possible reservoir for resistance genes and may have a potential role for transfer of genetic elements among enterococci or to other bacteria. Furthermore, to develop epidemiological surveillance systems for foodborne antibiotic resistant pathogens as vancomycin-resistant enterococci and their genes responsible for resistance, primarily vanA, vanB, continues to be an essential issue all around the world. The present work provides data for foodborne enterococci isolates harboring vanA gene from Turkey

Thoracic vertebra and rib destruction: What if not cancer?

An 18-year-old female presented at our hospital with complaints of fatigue for the last 4-5 months, together with numbness and weakness in both lower extremities in the last month. Neurological examination revealed hypoesthesia in the lower right extremity, paraparesis of bilateral lower extremities, a hyperactive deep tendon reflex (DTR) and positive bilateral Babinski sign. The radiology examinations showed septated multiple cystic lesions, with the largest 36x28 mm, destructing the proximal 3rd rib together with the 3 rdthoracic vertebra body, extending to the lower level of 7 th cervical vertebra in the subdural region and compressing the spinal cord. The patient was taken to surgery immediately and the described cystic lesions were removed without being ruptured, together with corpectomy to T3 vertebra and partial resection of the third rib. Posterior transpedicular fusion was performed to the T2-6 spaces. There was no peroperative or postoperative complication. Histopathological examination of the material revealed "hydatid cyst". The patient was followed-up on 10 mg/kg albendazole treatment. Postoperative follow-ups at 1, 2 and 3 months revealed normal function tests and no motor deficit or pathological reflex besides DTR hyperactivity

The early type contact binary system V 382 Cygni

New photometric data set of the early type contact binary V382 Cyg have been analyzed with emphasis on determining the photometric mass ratio of the system. The result (q = 0.68) supports the value given by Popper & Hill (1991). A study of the system using new data shows a period increase of about 3.28 s per century, which corresponds to a very large rate similar to 5.0 10(-6) M./yr of mass transfer from the less massive to the more massive component under the conservative mass transfer hypothesis

Is the Presence of Retinopathy of Practical Value in Defining Cases of Diabetic Nephropathy in Genetic Association Studies?: The Experience With the ACE Insertion/Deletion Polymorphism in 53 Studies Comprising 17,791 Subjects

OBJECTIVE— A key consideration when setting up genetic studies is the case definition. For diabetic nephropathy, the case definition is typically based on the presence of albuminuria. However, it has been long debated whether diabetic nephropathy cases defined in this way may have a high prevalence of nondiabetic kidney disease, especially if diabetic retinopathy is absent

Concern for information privacy:a cross-nation study of the United Kingdom and South Africa

Individuals have differing levels of information privacy concern, formed by their expectations and the confidence they have that organisations meet this in practice. Variance in privacy laws and national factors may also play a role. This study analyses individuals’ information privacy expectation and confidence across two nations, the United Kingdom and South Africa, through a survey of 1463 respondents. The findings indicate that the expectation for privacy in both countries are very high. However, numerous significant differences exist between expectations and confidence when examining privacy principles. The overall results for both countries show that there is a gap in terms of the privacy expectations of respondents compared to the confidence they have in whether organisations are meeting their expectations. Governments, regulators, and organisations with an online presence need to consider individuals’ expectations and ensure that controls that meet regulatory requirements, as well as expectations, are in place

Ex vivo modelling of drug efficacy in a rare metastatic urachal carcinoma

Background Ex vivo drug screening refers to the out-of-body assessment of drug efficacy in patient derived vital tumor cells. The purpose of these methods is to enable functional testing of patient specific efficacy of anti-cancer therapeutics and personalized treatment strategies. Such approaches could prove powerful especially in context of rare cancers for which demonstration of novel therapies is difficult due to the low numbers of patients. Here, we report comparison of different ex vivo drug screening methods in a metastatic urachal adenocarcinoma, a rare and aggressive non-urothelial bladder malignancy that arises from the remnant embryologic urachus in adults. Methods To compare the feasibility and results obtained with alternative ex vivo drug screening techniques, we used three different approaches; enzymatic cell viability assay of 2D cell cultures and image-based cytometry of 2D and 3D cell cultures in parallel. Vital tumor cells isolated from a biopsy obtained in context of a surgical debulking procedure were used for screening of 1160 drugs with the aim to evaluate patterns of efficacy in the urachal cancer cells. Results Dose response data from the enzymatic cell viability assay and the image-based assay of 2D cell cultures showed the best consistency. With 3D cell culture conditions, the proliferation rate of the tumor cells was slower and potency of several drugs was reduced even following growth rate normalization of the responses. MEK, mTOR, and MET inhibitors were identified as the most cytotoxic targeted drugs. Secondary validation analyses confirmed the efficacy of these drugs also with the new human urachal adenocarcinoma cell line (MISB18) established from the patient’s tumor. Conclusions All the tested ex vivo drug screening methods captured the patient’s tumor cells’ sensitivity to drugs that could be associated with the oncogenic KRASG12V mutation found in the patient’s tumor cells. Specific drug classes however resulted in differential dose response profiles dependent on the used cell culture method indicating that the choice of assay could bias results from ex vivo drug screening assays for selected drug classes