The aims of this study were (a) to determine the prevalence of subjects with semen hyperviscosity (SHV) in a large population of male partners of subfertile couples; (b) to identify any correlation between SHV and infections or inflammation of the genital tract; (c) to assess the effects of therapeutic approaches for treating SHV; and (d) to assess sperm kinetic parameters after successful trea...

Plasmid encoded SHV enzymes represent an important sub-group of class A β-lactamases causing an ESBL phenotype which is increasingly found in Enterobacteriaceae including Klebsiella pneumoniae. The chromosomally encoded β-lactamase LEN and OKP enzymes, which so far only have been found in K. pneumoniae, do not hydrolyse extendedspectrum cephalosporins. In the present study, multiple displacemen...

The worldwide dissemination of extended-spectrum-β-lactamase (ESBL)- and carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae is a major concern in both hospital and community settings. Rapid identification of these resistant pathogens and the genetic determinants they possess is needed to assist in clinical practice and epidemiological studies. A collection of Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Kl...

Extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) are widespread in hospital settings worldwide. The present investigation was undertaken to assess the distribution and prevalence of ESBLs belonging to the TEM and SHV families in 448 ESBL-producing clinical isolates of Enterobacteriaceae collected from 10 different Italian hospitals. The natures of TEM and SHV determinants were identified by direct seq...

Four ceftazidime-resistant Escherichia coli strains were isolated from elderly nursing home patients in a New York hospital during 1993. Strains MCQ-2, MCQ-3, and MCQ-4 were determined to be identical by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and plasmid profiles, whereas strain MCQ-1 was unique. Strain MCQ-1 was determined to produce a TEM-10 beta-lactamase. Strains MCQ-2, MCQ-3, and MCQ-4 were also...

Three families of chromosomally encoded beta-lactamases have been identified so far in Klebsiella pneumoniae clinical isolates: SHV (7), LEN (1), and very recently, OKP (5). These enzymes are closely related to OHIO-1 (10). We determined the sequences of the bla genes of nine isolates of K. pneumoniae producing a penicillinase with an isoelectric point different from 7.6, the pI of the most com...

Extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs), e.g., ESBLs of the TEM or SHV type, compromise the efficacies of expanded-spectrum cephalosporins. An SHV non-ESBL that hydrolyzes only narrow-spectrum cephalosporins can be converted into an SHV ESBL through substitutions at three amino acid positions, 179, 238, or 238--240. In order to improve detection of SHV ESBLs, a novel method, based on real-tim...

The aim of this study was to investigate the presence and prevalence of bla(TEM), bla(SHV), and bla(CTX-M) and bla(GES)-like genes, responsible for extended spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) production in clinical isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae collected from a Brazilian tertiary care hospital. Sixty-five ESBL producing K. pneumoniae isolates, collected between 2005 and 2007, were screened by...