Search results for " typing"
showing 10 items of 273 documents
Persistent Endemicity of Salmonella bongori 48:z 35 :− in Southern Italy: Molecular Characterization of Human, Animal, and Environmental Isolates
2002
ABSTRACT From 1984 to 1999, we collected 31 isolates of the rare serovar Salmonella bongori 48:z 35 :− in southern Italy. Twenty-four of the isolates were from cases of acute enteritis in humans. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis analysis showed that all but one of our isolates were at least 80% similar. Our findings suggest that genetically related S. bongori 48:z 35 :− strains are endemically circulating in southern Italy.
Induction of antitoxin responses in Clostridium-difficile-infected patients compared to healthy blood donors
2016
According to the literature Clostridium difficile antitoxins are present in up to 66% of humans. In a survey of ∼400 plasma samples from healthy blood donors we found that less than 6% were positive for anti-TcdA or anti-TcdB antitoxins. Using the same standard immunoassay protocol, we looked for IgG and IgA antitoxins in the blood and stool samples from 25 patients with C. difficile infection (CDI). Some patients with CDI had no antitoxin detected at all, while others had high levels of specific IgG- and IgA-antitoxins against both TcdA and TcdB in blood and IgA-anti-TcdA and -anti-TcdB antibodies in stool. Systemic responses to TcdB and mucosal responses to TcdA predominated. Among patien…
Review with novel markers facilitates precise categorization of 41 cases of diagnostically challenging, “undifferentiated small round cell tumors”. A…
2017
Abstract Background Despite extensive immunohistochemical (IHC) and molecular studies combined with morphologic findings, a group of round/ovoid cell tumors histologically similar to Ewing sarcomas (ES) but lacking EWSR1-rearrangements may remain unclassifiable. Design We retrospectively analyzed 41 Ewing-like tumors (formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded) previously determined as negative or non-informative for EWSR1-rearrangements by FISH and/or RT-PCR. A new histopathology revision and additional IHC and molecular analyses were carried out in order to investigate whether additional IHC and/or molecular testing in combination with the morphological findings may help in reaching a definitive d…
HLA Class I and Class II Polymorphism in Three Sicilian Populations
2007
Two human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I loci (HLA-A and HLA-B) and one class II locus (HLA-DR) were typed at the DNA level in the Sicilian population. Study participants were of Sicilian origin (183 for class I loci and 260 for class II loci) and live in three towns, chosen on the basis of geographic position and different historical events. These towns are Sciacca (southwest Sicily, located at sea level, conquered by Arabs in a.d. 814), Piana degli Albanesi (northwest Sicily, 720 m above sea level, has maintained religious, cultural, and linguistic peculiarities traced to Albanian settlement in 1488), and Troina (northeast Sicily, 1,120 m above sea level, known as the first settlement of…
Genotyping and antifungal susceptibility of human subgingival Candida albicans isolates.
2002
Subgingival colonization by Candida albicans has been described in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals, but subgingival isolates have scarcely been characterized, particularly with respect to genotype and antifungal susceptibility. A series of 29 subgingival strains of C. albicans isolated from nine HIV-infected individuals was typed by electrophoretic karyotyping and tested for susceptibility to fluconazole, itraconazole, the new investigational triazole posaconazole and amphotericin B. DNA typing showed genetic heterogeneity within subgingival isolates, as almost every individual harbored his/her own specific isolate. Genetic identity was usually demonstrated within or…
BYOTYPES AND RANDOMLY AMPLIFIED POLYMORPHIC DNA (RAPD) PROFILES OF SUBGINGIVAL CANDIDA ALBICANS ISOLATES IN HIV INFECTION
2005
ABSTRACT: A group of subgingival isolates of C. albicans recovered from Italian HIV-positive (HIV+) subjects were characterized both phenotypically and genotypically. Phenotyping of the isolates was carried out by a biotyping method based on the enzyme profiles, carbohydrate assimilation patterns and boric acid resistance of the yeasts. Genotyping was performed through randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis. Five biotypes were found among the 29 subgingival C. albicans strains examined. The predominant biotypes were A1R (55.17%), A1S (24.14%), and A2R (13.79%), while the biotypes A11R and A13R were represented by a single isolate each. RAPD profiles identified 15 genotypes among…
Molecular epidemiology of tuberculosis in Sicily, Italy: what has changed after a decade?
2014
Background We aimed to investigate the molecular epidemiology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) isolates in the province of Palermo, Sicily, 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 One hundred eighty-three MTBC isolates identified in Palermo, Italy, in the years 2004-2012 were analyzed by spoligotyping and the 24 mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit (MIRU)-variable-number tandem-repeat (VNTR) method typing. Susceptibility testing to streptomycin, isoniazid, rifampin and ethambutol was also performed. Furthermore, the…
Candidal carriage in the oral cavity of human immunodeficiency virus–infected subjects
2002
Abstract Objectives. We sought to assess asymptomatic oral carriage of Candida species and relative density in human immunodeficiency virus-infected (HIV+) subjects, as well as to determine whether yeast carriage is associated with CD4+cell count, HIV-1 RNA quantity, gender, route of HIV transmission, antiretroviral therapy, or smoking. Study Design. A cross-sectional analysis of oral rinses from HIV+ and healthy subjects was undertaken. Oral candidal carriage and relative species were investigated in 42 HIV+ and 41 healthy individuals, all of whom were seen at the Palermo University Department of Oral Sciences, Italy. Data were managed and analyzed by means of the computer software package…
[Legionella spp. contamination in indoor air: preliminary results of an Italian multicenter study].
2014
Obiettivo. Rilevare la presenza di Legionella spp. nell’aria attraverso un protocollo standardizzato, a fianco dei tradizionali metodi impiegati per la rete idrica. Disegno. In dieci strutture sanitarie è stato selezionato un bagno, la cui acqua presentava una contaminazione da Legionella >1.000 unità formanti colonie (ufc)/litro. La contaminazione dell’aria è stata valutata tramite campionamento attivo (Surface Air System, SAS) e passivo, impiegando piastre di sedimentazione per la valutazione dell’Indice Microbico Aria (Index of Microbial Air, IMA). I campionamenti sono stati effettuati per 8 ore consecutive, a circa 1 m dal pavimento e a 50 cm dal rubinetto. Con il campionamento attivo, …
The Active Human Gut Microbiota Differs from the Total Microbiota
2011
The human gut microbiota is considered one of the most fascinating reservoirs of microbial diversity hosting between 400 to 1000 bacterial species distributed among nine phyla with Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria representing around of the diversity. One of the most intriguing issues relates to understanding which microbial groups are active players in the maintenance of the microbiota homeostasis. Here, we describe the diversity of active microbial fractions compared with the whole community from raw human fecal samples. We studied four healthy volunteers by 16S rDNA gene pyrosequencing. The fractions were obtained by cell sorting based on bacterial RNA concentration. Bacteria…