Search results for "Antimicrobials"
showing 10 items of 37 documents
Rational Design of a Carrier Protein for the Production of Recombinant Toxic Peptides in Escherichia coli
2016
Commercial uses of bioactive peptides require low cost, effective methods for their production. We developed a new carrier protein for high yield production of recombinant peptides in Escherichia coli very well suited for the production of toxic peptides like antimicrobial peptides. GKY20, a short antimicrobial peptide derived from the C-terminus of human thrombin, was fused to the C-terminus of Onconase, a small ribonuclease (104 amino acids), which efficiently drove the peptide into inclusion bodies with very high expression levels (about 200-250 mg/L). After purification of the fusion protein by immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography, peptide was obtained by chemical cleavage in d…
In silico identification and experimental validation of hits active against KPC-2 β-lactamase
2018
Bacterial resistance has become a worldwide concern, particularly after the emergence of resistant strains overproducing carbapenemases. Among these, the KPC-2 carbapenemase represents a significant clinical challenge, being characterized by a broad substrate spectrum that includes aminothiazoleoxime and cephalosporins such as cefotaxime. Moreover, strains harboring KPC-type β-lactamases are often reported as resistant to available β-lactamase inhibitors (clavulanic acid, tazobactam and sulbactam). Therefore, the identification of novel non β-lactam KPC-2 inhibitors is strongly necessary to maintain treatment options. This study explored novel, non-covalent inhibitors active against KPC-2, …
Improvement of ALT decay kinetics by all-oral HCV treatment: Role of NS5A inhibitors and differences with IFN-based regimens
2017
Background Intracellular HCV-RNA reduction is a proposed mechanism of action of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs), alternative to hepatocytes elimination by pegylated-interferon plus ribavirin (PR). We modeled ALT and HCV-RNA kinetics in cirrhotic patients treated with currently-used all-DAA combinations to evaluate their mode of action and cytotoxicity compared with telaprevir (TVR)+PR. Study design Mathematical modeling of ALT and HCV-RNA kinetics was performed in 111 HCV-1 cirrhotic patients, 81 treated with all-DAA regimens and 30 with TVR+PR. Kinetic-models and Cox-analysis were used to assess determinants of ALT-decay and normalization. Results HCV-RNA kinetics was biphasic, reflecting …
Inbreeding does not alter the response to an experimental heat wave in a freshwater snail
2019
Global climate change affects natural populations of many species by increasing the average temperature and the frequency of extreme weather events (e.g. summer heat waves). The ability of organisms to cope with these environmental changes can, however, depend on their genetic properties. For instance, genetic load owing to inbreeding could alter organisms’ responses to climate change-mediated environmental changes but such effects are often overlooked. We investigated the effects of an experimental heat wave (25°C versus 15°C) on life history (reproduction, size) and constitutive immune defence traits (phenoloxidase-like and antibacterial activity of haemolymph) in relation to inbreeding b…
Green tea extract assisted low-temperature pasteurization to inactivate enteric viruses in juices.
2020
The current popularity of minimally processed foods is an opportunity for natural antimicrobial agents to be combined with mild heat treatments to act synergistically in reducing viral foodborne pathogens. Viral inactivation by heat-treatments (at 25, 40, 50 and 63 °C for 30 min) combined with aged green tea extract (aged-GTE) was initially evaluated in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) against murine norovirus (MNV-1) and hepatitis A virus (HAV) by cell culture, and against human norovirus by in situ capture RT-qPCR. The combination of aged-GTE and heat treatment at 50 °C for 30 min exerted strong antiviral activity, reducing by more than 5 log MNV-1 infectivity in PBS. Heating at 40 °C for …
Prevalence survey of healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial use at the university hospital "paolo giaccone", palermo, italy
2013
Introduction. Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and antimicrobial resistance are well known major public health threats. The first goal of our study was to describe the prevalence of HAI, while the second goal was to describe the antibiotic consumption at our University Hospital, ?P. Giaccone? in Palermo, Italy. Methods. A standardized methodology for a combined Point Prevalence Survey (PPS) on healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and antimicrobial use in European acute care hospital developed by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) was piloted across Europe. The teaching Hospital ?P. Giaccone? in Palermo, Italy, participated in the study Results. Out of 32…
Acute Gastroenteritis and Campylobacteriosis in Swiss primary care: the viewpoint of general practitioners
2016
Acute gastroenteritis (AG) is frequently caused by infectious intestinal diseases (IID) including food- and waterborne pathogens of public health importance. Among these pathogens, Campylobacter spp. plays a major role. Many European countries monitor selected IIDs within disease surveillance systems. In Switzerland, the information on IIDs is restricted to limited surveillance data, while no data is available for AG. We conducted a qualitative study among Swiss general practitioners (GPs) to investigate the case management of AG and campylobacteriosis patients, the associated disease burden and the determinants leading to registration in the National Notification System for Infectious Dise…
Efficacy and safety of decompressive craniectomy with non-suture duraplasty in patients with traumatic brain injury.
2020
AbstractBackgroundDecompressive craniectomy is an important surgical treatment for patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Several reports have been published on the efficacy of non-watertight sutures in duraplasty performed in decompressive craniectomy. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of dura closure without sutures (non-suture duraplasty) in decompressive craniectomy for TBI.MethodsOne hundred and six patients were enrolled at a single trauma center between January 2017 and December 2018. We retrospectively collected the data and classified the patients into non-suture and suture duraplasty craniectomy groups. We compared the characteristics of patients and their …
Baseline prediction of combination therapy outcome in hepatitis C virus 1b infected patients by discriminant analysis using viral and host factors.
2010
Background Current treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has limited efficacy −especially among genotype 1 infected patients−, is costly, and involves severe side effects. Thus, predicting non-response is of major interest for both patient wellbeing and health care expense. At present, treatment cannot be individualized on the basis of any baseline predictor of response. We aimed to identify pre-treatment clinical and virological parameters associated with treatment failure, as well as to assess whether therapy outcome could be predicted at baseline. Methodology Forty-three HCV subtype 1b (HCV-1b) chronically infected patients treated with pegylated-interferon alpha plus ri…
The Use of Intravenous Fosfomycin in Clinical Practice: A 5-Year Retrospective Study in a Tertiary Hospital in Italy
2023
Fosfomycin in intravenous (IV) formulation has re-emerged as a valuable tool in the treatment of multi-drug resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) infections because of its broad spectrum of antibacterial action and pharmacokinetic characteristics. This retrospective study aimed to evaluate how fosfomycin was used in patients admitted to the Polyclinic of Palermo between January 2017 and July 2022. Clinical indications, therapeutic associations, clinical outcomes, and any side effects were analyzed. Intravenous fosfomycin was used in 343 patients, 63% male, with a mean age of 68 years (range 15–95). Urinary tract infections (UTIs) and hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) were the…