OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to characterize a putative novel macrolide efflux gene located in the vicinity of sul3 in porcine Escherichia coli. METHODS Five sul3-encoding E. coli isolates of porcine origin were investigated by plasmid characterization and random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD) PCR. Unknown DNA adjacent to the sul3 genes was amplified using a PCR approach, fol...

We conducted population-based surveillance for pneumococcal bacteremia within a 5-county region surrounding Philadelphia from October 2001 through September 2008, the period following introduction of the seven-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. Erythromycin resistance increased from 14.7% in 2001-2002 to 20.3% in 2007-2008, while the resistance rate to penicillin (MIC, ≥2 μg/ml) decreased f...

OBJECTIVES Studies were performed to assess resistance mechanisms, multidrug resistance (MDR), genetic relatedness, serotype distribution, heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) coverage and pili virulence factors among macrolide-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae (MRSP) isolated from respiratory samples submitted to hospital laboratories across Canada from 1998 to 2008. METHODS Is...

Stromal fibroblasts are suggested to be a key determinant in the malignant progression of breast cancer. To find an in vitro culture model that best mimics the in vivo tumor microenvironment so we can study the effects of stromal fibroblasts on breast cancer progression, we evaluated several three-dimensional (3D) co-culture models in order to identify the most suitable culture model for our st...

Calsequestrin-2 (CASQ2) is the main Ca2+-binding protein inside the sarcoplasmic reticulum of cardiomyocytes. Previously, we demonstrated that MEF-2 and SRF binding sites within the human CASQ2 gene (hCASQ2) promoter region are functional in neonatal cardiomyocytes. In this work, we investigated if the calcineurin/NFAT pathway regulates hCASQ2 expression in neonatal cardiomyocytes. The inhibiti...

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS Acute otitis media (AOM) is a common bacterial infection in childhood that causes an inflammatory response in the middle ear. Leukocytes produce different inflammatory molecules in vitro when stimulated with Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The major causes of AOM are Streptococcus pneumoniae, nontypeable Haemophilus influenza, and Moraxella catarrhalis. We sought...

Of a total of 192 Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates, 149 (77.6%) were not susceptible to erythromycin. Of these 149 isolates, 117 (79.1%) contained the erm(B) gene, 16 (10.8%) contained the mef(A) gene, and 15 (10.1%) harbored both the erm(B) and mef(A) genes.

In this communication we describe a new approach to the fabrication of fluorescent silver/polymer nanohybrids with thermo-switchable metal enhanced fluorescence (MEF). By manipulating a soft polymer spacer between the silver nanoparticles and the fluorophores a tunable MEF was achieved.

Presenilin 1 (PS1) plays a pivotal role in Notch signaling and the intracellular metabolism of the amyloid beta-protein. To understand intracellular signaling events downstream of PS1, we investigated in this study the action of PS1 on mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways. Overexpressed PS1 suppressed the stress-induced stimulation of stress-activated protein kinase (SAPK)/c-Jun NH(2)-term...

BACKGROUND This study investigated the molecular characteristics of azithromycin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae in Taiwan. METHODS A total of 486 non-duplicate isolates of azithromycin-resistant S. pneumoniae recovered from various clinical sources of patients treated at 22 different hospitals in Taiwan from 2006 to 2010. The presence of erm(B) and mef(A) genes using duplex PCR, multilocu...