TYPING OF LEGIONELLA PNEUMOPHILA SEROGROUP 1 BY SBT, MLVA AND SPOLIGOTYPING

Introduction: The current typing method of Legionella pneumophila recommended by the European EWGLI Consortium is a multi locus sequence typing (MLST)-like protocol called sequence-based typing (SBT).This approach is highly portable and widely used to perform epidemiological surveys and outbreak investigation. Recent studies have demonstrated the values of using the multiple-locus variable-number tandem repeat (VNTR) analysis (MLVA) and the diversity of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)-based typing technique (Spoligotyping) as genotyping markers. In this study we used these three methods for typing the L. pneumpophila isolates and for investigating the origi…

Impiego enologico di un ceppo di Kluyveromyces marxianus isolato a Linosa

Profilo patogenetico e sensibilità ai farmaci di stipiti di S.aureus meticillino-resistente SCCMEC tipo IVa isolati in quattro ospedali palermitani

Acalculous cholecystitis in a patient with plasmodium falciparum malaria and cytomegalovirus infection

Acalculous cholecystitis is a syndrome of gallbladder inflammation without gallstones, recognized within the setting of critically ill patients. Acalculous cholecystitis associated with infectious agents is reported in the literature to be rare. Herein we describe a case of acalculous cholecystitis in a patient with malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum and apparent cytomegalovirus infection, and discuss the possible role of CMV in the pathogenesis of acalculous cholecystitis in patients with malaria.

Farmaco-resistenza in stipiti di Helicobacter pylori isolati da pazienti afferenti a strutture ospedaliere della Sicilia centro-occidentale.

MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF MULTIDRUG-RESISTANT E. COLI ISOLATED FROM BACTEREMIA PATIENTS

Background: Extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC) bacteria have the ability to cause diverse and serious diseases, such as urinary tract infections (UTIs) and bacteremia; incidence of bacteremia is increasing globally. The emergence of multidrug resistance in E. coli is also becoming a global concern, with particular emphasis on E. coli sequence type (ST) 131, which is being increasingly reported in UTIs. Drug resistance is mediated by extended- spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs), mainly of the CTX-M family, particularly CTX-M-15, and less frequently of the SHV and OXA families. Few studies are available regarding the characterization of E. coli strains causing bacteremia. Methods:…

Coinfection of Helicobacter pylori and Epstein-Barr virus in patients with gastric disease in Southern Italy

Helicobacter pylori

High prevalence to resistance of clarithromycin in Helicobacter pylori strains isolated in Sicily .

Induction of IL-8 production by Helicobacter pylori strains with different cagA genotype and oipA functional status.

MOLECULAR EPIDEMIOLOGY OF MYCOBACTERIUM TUBERCULOSIS COMPLEX IN PALERMO, ITALY

Background: We aimed to investigate the molecular epidemiology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) in the province of Palermo, Italy, by characterizing 183 isolates identified in the years 2004-2012. A comparison with 104 MTBC strains identified in the same geographic area in the years 1994-2000 was also carried out. Methods: MTBC isolates were analyzed by spoligotyping and the 24 mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit (MIRU)-variablenumber tandem-repeat (VNTR) method typing. Susceptibility testing to streptomycin, isoniazid, rifampin and ethambutol was also carried out. Furthermore, the spoligotyping dataset obtained from 104 MTBC isolates identified in the years 1994-2000 in …

Detection of CagA EPIYA motifs in H.pylori DNA extracted from recently collected, frozen, or deparaffinized biopsies and clinical samples

CagA is a major virulence factor of Helicobacter pylori that, once injected into the epithelial cells and phosphorylated on specific bacterial tyrosine residues within repeating EPIYA-A,-B,-C, and -D motifs, localizes to the plasma membrane and interacts with a number of intracellular effectors suggested to play an important role in Helicobacter pylori pathogenesis. EPIYA-D (in East Asian CagA) and EPIYA-C motifs (in Western CagA) are the main sites of CagA phosphorylation and the presence both of EPIYA-D or an increasing number of EPIYA-C motifs, rather than the general CagA positivity, has been associated with more severe gastroduodenal disease. With the aim to analyze EPIYA motifs in 24 …

Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast strains from the Linosa Island

Cephalosporin resistant Escherichia coli from cancer patients in Cairo, Egypt.

Cephalosporin-resistant Escherichia coli has been increasingly reported worldwide. In this study, 32 cephalosporin resistant E. coli isolates identified from cancer patients in Cairo, Egypt in 2009-2010 were analyzed. Twenty-three were of phylogenetic group D, seven A and one each B1 and B2. By rep-PCR 15 phylogroup D isolates were grouped in four clusters, one with sequence type (ST) 405 and three ST68. Seventeen isolates showed single patterns. blaCTX-M-15 and aac(6')-Ib-cr were the most common resistance determinants. blaOXA-48 and blaVIM were also detected. Multidrug resistant E. coli seriously affects healthcare, especially in immunocompromised hosts, such as cancer patients.

Effetto del grado di maturazione sui frutti di ficodindia (O. ficus-indica (L.) Miller) minimamente processati.

Impiego enologico di due nuovi ceppi di lievito Candida zemplinina per il miglioramento qualitativo dei vini rossi.

An Update of the Evolving Epidemic of blaKPC Carrying Klebsiella pneumoniae in Sicily, Italy, 2014: Emergence of Multiple Non-ST258 Clones

Background: In Italy, Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase producing K. pneumoniae (KPC-Kp) strains are highly endemic and KPC producing CC258 is reported as the widely predominating clone. In Palermo, Italy, previous reports have confirmed this pattern. However, recent preliminary findings suggest that an epidemiological change is likely ongoing towards a polyclonal KPC-Kp spread. Here we present the results of molecular typing of 94 carbapenem non susceptible K. pneumoniae isolates detected during 2014 in the three different hospitals in Palermo, Italy. Methods and Results: Ninety-four consecutive, non replicate carbapenem non susceptible isolates were identified in the three largest acute…

Impiego enologico di un ceppo di Kluyveromyces marxianus isolato a Linosa

Polyclonal non multiresistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates from clinical cases of infection occurring in Palermo, Italy, during a one-year surveillance period.

BACKGROUND: The evolving epidemiology of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is characterized by the emergence of infections caused by non multiresistant MRSA carrying staphylococcal chromosomal cassette (SCC)mec IV or V in the healthcare settings. A molecular epidemiological analysis of non multiresistant MRSA isolates from four acute general hospitals was performed in Palermo, Italy, during a one year period. METHODS: For the purpose of the study, MRSA isolates were defined as non multiresistant when they were susceptible to at least three classes of non beta-lactam antibiotics. Seventy-five isolates were submitted to antimicrobial susceptibility testing, multilocus sequenc…

Valuation of Human,B-defensin 2 and 3 in sera of Helicobacter pylori infected patients

In recent years, anti-microbial peptides have emerged as a critical component of host innate defense. These peptides are gene-encoded natural antibiotics expressed by immune and non-immune cell types including epithelia. Human beta defensin are disulphide linked, low molecular weight cationic peptides that are known to be a major components of innate immune defense mechanisms at mucosal surfaces. Their expression level differs between those that are constitutively expressed and those that are induced upon challenge with inflammatory or pathogen-derived stimuli. To date six members of the human-β-defensins (hBD1-6) family have been identified. Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), a pathogenic bu…

Stipiti di Klebsiella pneumoniae resistenti ai carbapenemi circolanti in differenti reparti dell'A.O.U.P. "P. Giaccone" di Palermo

Induction of IL-8 production by H.pylori strains with different cagA genotype and oipA functional status

Analisi dei motivi EPIYA di CagA in campioni bioptici di soggetti con patologia gastrica H.pylori-correlata

Produzione di vini bianchi senza l’uso di solfiti

The making of Sicilian SO2-free wines

Produzione di vini bianchi senza l’uso di solfiti

Isolamento e tipizzazione di stipiti di Dipodascus capitatus: patogeno opportunista emergente

L’incidenza delle infezioni micotiche ha subito negli ultimi decenni un incremento rilevante, sia in ambito ospedaliero che comunitario. In ambiente ospedaliero il problema sta assumendo dimensioni preoccupanti poiché, sebbene Candida spp. si debba considerare il principale responsabile di infezioni correlate ai miceti, emergono altre specie il cui ruolo deve essere accertato. In particolare Dipodascus capitatus, forma teleomorfica di Geotrichum capitatum, microrganismo che può risiedere nel suolo, sulla pelle e nel tratto respiratorio e gastroenterico, nel passato considerato un contaminate o un innocuo colonizzatore, da qualche anno è stato associato ad infezioni soprattutto nei pazienti …

THE ROLE OF HELICOBACTER PYLORI AND EPSTEIN BARR VIRUS IN GASTRIC DISEASE: CORRELATIONS WITH P53 MUTATIONS, DNA METHYLATION AND MICROSATELLITE INSTABILITY

Madura foot: An imported case of a non-common diagnosis

Mycetoma (or "madura foot") is characterized by deformation, cutaneous lesions, infection of tissues extending from the cutaneous layer to the underlying fascia, and an indolent course. A number of fungal or bacterial agents that are introduced through traumatic inoculation can be responsible for the disease, but Actinomadura madurae is among the most common agents of mycetoma occurring worldwide. We report a case of madura foot caused by A. madurae in an immunocompetent young Somali man who was admitted with a diagnosis of skin and soft tissue infection of the left foot with osteomyelitis. The present report emphasizes the importance of the knowledge of this infection, which is sporadic bu…