Detection of Antibiotic Resistance in Feline-Origin ESBL Escherichia coli from Different Areas of China and the Resistance Elimination of Garlic Oil to Cefquinome on ESBL E. coli.

The development of drug-resistance in the opportunistic pathogen Escherichia coli has become a global public health concern. Due to the share of similar flora between pets and their owners, the detection of pet-origin antibiotic-resistant E. coli is necessary. This study aimed to detect the prevalence of feline-origin ESBL E. coli in China and to explore the resistance elimination effect of garlic oil to cefquinome on ESBL E. coli. Cat fecal samples were collected from animal hospitals. The E. coli isolates were separated and purified by indicator media and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). ESBL genes were detected by PCR and Sanger sequencing. The MICs were determined. The synergistic effect of garlic oil and cefquinome against ESBL E. coli was investigated by checkerboard assays, time-kill and growth curves, drug-resistance curves, PI and NPN staining, and a scanning electronic microscope. A total of 80 E. coli strains were isolated from 101 fecal samples. The rate of ESBL E. coli was 52.5% (42/80). The prevailing ESBL genotypes in China were CTX-M-1, CTX-M-14, and TEM-116. In ESBL E. coli, garlic oil increased the susceptibility to cefquinome with FICIs from 0.2 to 0.7 and enhanced the killing effect of cefquinome with membrane destruction. Resistance to cefquinome decreased with treatment of garlic oil after 15 generations. Our study indicates that ESBL E. coli has been detected in cats kept as pets. The sensitivity of ESBL E. coli to cefquinome was enhanced by garlic oil, indicating that garlic oil may be a potential antibiotic enhancer.

Detection of antibiotic-resistant canine origin Escherichia coli and the synergistic effect of magnolol in reducing the resistance of multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli.

Background: The development of antimicrobial resistance in the opportunistic pathogen Escherichia coli has become a global public health concern. Due to daily close contact, dogs kept as pets share the same E. coli with their owners. Therefore, the detection of antimicrobial resistance in canine E. coli is important, as the results could provide guidance for the future use of antibiotics. This study aimed to detect the prevalence of antibiotic-resistance of canine origin E. coli in Shaanxi province and to explore the inhibition effect of magnolol combined with cefquinome on MDR E. coli, so as to provide evidence for the use of antibiotics. Methods: Canine fecal samples were collected from animal hospitals. The E. coli isolates were separated and purified using various indicator media and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Drug-resistance genes [aacC2, ant(3')-I, aph(3')-II, aac(6')-Ib-cr, aac(3')-IIe, bla KPC , bla IMP-4 , bla OXA , bla CMY , bla TEM-1 , bla SHV , bla CTX-M-1 , bla CTX-M-9 , Qnra, Qnrb, Qnrs, TetA, TetB, TetM, Ermb] were also detected by PCR. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined for 10 antibiotics using the broth-microdilution method. Synergistic activity of magnolol and cefquinome against multidrug-resistant (MDR) E. coli strains was investigated using checkerboard assays, time-kill curves, and drug-resistance curves. Results: A total of 101 E. coli strains were isolated from 158 fecal samples collected from animal hospitals. MIC determinations showed that 75.25% (76/101) of the E. coli strains were MDR. A total of 22 drug-resistance genes were detected among the 101 strains. The bla TEM-1gene exhibited the highest detection rate (89.77%). The TetA and Sul gene also exhibited high detection rate (66.34 and 53.47%, respectively). Carbapenem-resistant E. coli strains were found in Shangluo and Yan'an. Additionally, in MDR E. coli initially resistant to cefquinome, magnolol increased the susceptibility to cefquinome, with an FICI (Fractional Inhibitory Concentration Index) between 0.125 and 0.5, indicating stable synergy. Furthermore, magnolol enhanced the killing effect of cefquinome against MDR E. coli. Resistance of MDR E. coli to cefquinome decreased markedly after treatment with magnolol for 15 generations. Conclusion: Our study indicates that antibiotic-resistance E. coli has been found in domestic dogs. After treatment with magnolol extracted from the Chinese herb Houpo (Magnolia officinalis), the sensitivity of MDR E. coli to cefquinome was enhanced, indicating that magnolol reverses the resistance of MDR E. coli. The results of this study thus provide reference for the control of E. coli resistance.

Fabrication of ternary UiO-66(Ce)/Ag/BiOBr heterojunction for enhanced photocatalytic degradation of ketoprofen via effective electron transfer process: Pathways, DFT calculation and mechanism.

Photocatalytic oxidation technique is considered as one of the most prospective approaches to solve the problem of environmental pollution. Herein, the novel ternary nanocomposite UiO-66(Ce)/Ag/BiOBr was fabricated via simple synthetic strategy. The obtained UiO-66(Ce)/Ag/BiOBr exhibited an excellent performance and photocatalytic efficiency of ketoprofen reached 93.5% after 180 min illumination. The ·OH and ·O2- were main active species and play an important role during the photocatalytic reaction. Furthermore, intermediate products and degradation pathways of ketoprofen were analyzed based on the 3D-EEM, DFT calculation and LC-MS. The possible reaction mechanism was proposed as follows: (1) the successful construction of heterojunction broadened the light absorption range to the visible light region; (2) the design of Ce-based MOFs provided more chances for electron transfer due to the Ce4+/Ce3+ cycling; (3) the combination of plasmon resonance effect, Schottky junction and effect of Ag bridge was an important strategy to accelerate charge transfer and improve photocatalytic efficiency.

Biomass-derived porous material synthesized by one-step calcination method for the magnetic solid-phase extraction of polychlorinated biphenyls in water.

Recent findings unfold that biomass materials with the micro/mesoporous structure were often treated as adsorbents for organic substances. In this work, a one-step calcination method was adopted in the preparation of magnetic porous green bean biomass material. It has the properties of magnetism and porosity after the addition of Co(NO3 )2 and high-temperature calcination. A variety of characterizations have been operated, including energy dispersive X-ray detector, vibrating sample magnetometer, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis, and so on. It has a specific surface area of 168.1611 m2 /g and a pore volume of 0.1764 cm3 /g. The material was used in magnetic solid-phase extraction of three polychlorinated biphenyls: 2-chlorobiphenyl, 4-chlorobiphenyl, and 2,2,5-trichlorobiphenyl. Several factors were investigated, such as material amount, eluents, adsorption time, solution pH, salinity, and reusability. Under optimized conditions, good recoveries (90.24-93.34%) were achieved with the relative standard deviation in a range from 2.30 to 4.83%. Three real water samples (tap, river, and lake water) were tested to verify the accuracy of the method. This method can be successfully used in the analysis of some polychlorinated biphenyls congeners in water.

Fast degradation of phthalate acid esters by polyoxometalate nanocatalysts through adsorption, esterolysis and oxidation.

A novel route was created to facilitate the degradation of diethyl phthalate (DEP) upon micellar polyoxometalate (POM) catalysts and H2O2. The best catalytic activity was obtained using [C16H33N(CH3)3]H4PMo10V2O40 (N-hexadecyl-N,N,N-trimethylammonium tetrahydrogen decamolybdo-divanadophosphate, abbreviated as (CTA)H4PMoV) with 90.2% degradation efficiency within 30 min, while the chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total organic carbon (TOC) removal efficiency were about 77.7% and 74.3% within 40 min. The highest efficiency was attributed to the concentration of DEP by amphiphilic POM catalyst, coupling with its strong Brønsted acidity and higher redox potential to catalyze esterolysis and oxidation of DEP. This allowed the phthalate acid esters (PAEs) with long carbon chains in super low concentration of 0.03 µM to be efficiently decomposed. The above synergistic effects explored DEP being degraded into ethanol, lactic acid and CO2, which were non-toxic to the water surroundings. And the reaction activation energy (Ea) of 12.49 kJ/mol was obtained upon the degradation of DEP with (CTA)H4PMoV followed first-order kinetics. Meanwhile, (CTA)H4PMoV acted as a heterogeneous catalyst, which showed long duration and higher stability with only 3.7% loss amount during ten recycles.