Restrictions and distress in daily, social, and sexual functioning, and intimate relationships in women with pelvic floor complaints: A mixed-method study.

Women with pelvic floor complaints experience restrictions and distress in their daily, social, and sexual functioning, and their intimate relationships. We interviewed forty-eight women to unravel differences between women receiving and not receiving pelvic physical therapy and between pregnant, parous, and nulliparous women in preparation for theory development. We analyzed data in a mixed-method design using NVivo and Leximancer. Sexual dysfunction, relationship dynamics, the nature and severity of restrictions and distress, and coping strategies appear to vary between women receiving and not receiving therapy. Specific combinations of restrictions and distress are present in pregnant, parous, and nulliparous women, and might influence women's decision to seek help.

The Effects of Continuous In Vivo Administration of Nisin on Staphylococcus aureus Infection and Immune Response in Mice.

Mice were intraperitoneally infected with 2 × 10(8) cfu Staphylococcus aureus Xen 36 and treated with 2,130 AU (arbitrary units) nisin (equivalent to 27.7 µg pure nisin), a class Ia lantibiotic, over 7 days. The metabolic activity of S. aureus Xen 36, concluded from changes in cell bioluminescence, declined for the first 3.5 h, but increased over the next 24 h and remained at this level for the remainder of the 7-day trial. Similar results were obtained with heat-inactivated (25 min at 121 °C) nisin, suggesting that the decline in metabolic activity of S. aureus Xen 36 cannot be attributed to the bacteriostatic activity of nisin. The decline in lymphocyte numbers in infected mice was of smaller magnitude after treatment with active nisin compared to inactive nisin, suggesting that active nisin limited the apoptosis of lymphocytes. The drastic increase in neutrophil versus lymphocyte (N:L) ratio observed in the presence of active nisin suggested that the decline in metabolic activity of S. aureus Xen 36 was due to an immune response triggered by the infection. Nisin, active or inactive, stimulated the activity of cytokines interleukin-6, interleukin-10 and tumour necrosis factor. However, the overall immune response triggered by both forms of nisin was too minute to trigger an abnormally high antigenic immune reaction.

Nisin F-loaded brushite bone cement prevented the growth of Staphylococcus aureus in vivo.

AIMS: To determine if nisin F-loaded self-setting brushite cement could control the growth of Staphylococcus aureus in vivo. METHODS AND RESULTS: Brushite cement was prepared by mixing equimolar concentrations of ß-tricalcium phosphate and monocalcium phosphate monohydrate. Nisin F was added at 5·0, 2·5 and 1·0% (w/w) and the cement moulded into cylinders. In vitro antibacterial activity was determined using a delayed agar diffusion assay. Release of nisin F from the cement was determined using BCA protein assays. Based on scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis, nisin F did not cause significant changes in cement structure or chemistry. Cement containing 5·0% (w/w) nisin F yielded the most promising in vitro results. Nisin F-loaded cement was implanted into a subcutaneous pocket on the back of mice and then infected with S. aureus Xen 36. Infection was monitored for 7 days, using an in vivo imaging system. Nisin F prevented S. aureus infection for 7 days and no viable cells were isolated from the implants. CONCLUSIONS: Nisin F-loaded brushite cement successfully prevented in vivo growth of S. aureus. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Nisin F incorporated into bone cement may be used to control S. aureus infection in vivo.

Nisin F, intraperitoneally injected, may have a stabilizing effect on the bacterial population in the gastro-intestinal tract, as determined in a preliminary study with mice as model.

AIMS: To determine if nisin F has an effect on the bacterial population in the gastro-intestinal tract. METHODS AND RESULTS: Six male C57BL/6 mice were intraperitoneally injected with 200 µl sterile saline and six with nisin F (200 µl, equivalent to 640 arbitrary units). Fecal samples were collected before injection and 8, 24 and 48 h after injection, and the bacteria amplified by PCR-DGGE using 16S rDNA primers. The composition of the bacterial population in the gastro-intestinal tract (GIT) of mice that were injected with saline changed during 48 h, whereas the bacterial population in the GIT remained relatively unchanged in animals injected with nisin F. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that nisin F inhibits the growth of specific bacteria in the GIT within the first 4 h. Furthermore, the species remained repressed for at least 44 h after one intraperitoneal injection with nisin F. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: This is the first report suggesting that nisin F may have a stabilizing effect on the bacterial population in the gastro-intestinal tract.

The ability of nisin F to control Staphylococcus aureus infection in the peritoneal cavity, as studied in mice.

AIMS: To determine the ability of nisin F to control systematic infection caused by Staphylococcus aureus, using C57BL/6 mice as a model. METHODS AND RESULTS: Twelve mice were intraperitoneally injected with 1 × 10(8) viable cells of Staph. aureus Xen 36 containing the modified Photorhabdus luminescence luxABCDE operon on plasmid pAUL-A Tn4001. After 4 h, six mice were intraperitoneally injected with 640 arbitrary units (AU) nisin F, and six were injected with sterile saline. Six mice, not infected with Staph. aureus, were treated with nisin F, and six not infected were left untreated. The viability of Staph. aureus Xen 36 was monitored over 48 h by recording photon emission levels. Nisin F suppressed Staph. aureus for 15 min in vivo. No abnormalities were recorded in blood analyses and internal organs of mice treated with nisin F. CONCLUSIONS: Nisin F suppressed the growth of Staph. aureus in the peritoneal cavity for at least 15 min. Re-emergence of Staph. aureus bioluminescence over the next 44 h suggests that nisin F was inactivated, most probably by proteolytic enzymes. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: A single dosage of nisin F administered in the peritoneal cavity controlled the growth of Staph. aureus for at least 15 min in vivo.