Molecular survey of aminoglycoside-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii isolated from tertiary hospitals in Qazvin, Iran.

Aminoglycoside-modifying enzymes (AMEs) and 16S rRNA methylases (16S RMTase) are two main resistance mechanisms against aminoglycosides. This study aimed to evaluate the frequency of AMEs and 16S rRNA methylase genes among aminoglycoside non-susceptible Acinetobacter baumannii isolates and to assess their clonal relationship using repetitive extragenic palindromic-PCR (rep-PCR). In this cross-sectional study, a total of 192 A. baumannii isolates were collected from the patients hospitalized in Qazvin, Iran (January 2016 to January 2018). Identification of isolates was performed by standard laboratory methods and API 20E strips. Antimicrobial susceptibility was determined by Kirby-Bauer method followed by examination of the genes encoding the AMEs and 16S RMTase by PCR and sequencing methods. The clonal relationship of isolates was carried out by rep-PCR. In total, 98.4% of isolates were non-susceptible to aminoglycosides, 98.4%, 97.9% and 83.9% of isolates were found to be non-susceptible against gentamicin, tobramycin and amikacin, respectively. The frequencies of aph(3')-VI, aac(6')-Ib, aac(3)-II, aph(3')-Ia and armA genes were 59.3%, 39.2%, 39.2%, 31.7% and 69.8%, respectively, either alone or in combination. Rep-PCR results showed that the aminoglycoside non-susceptible isolates belonged to three distinct clones: A (79.4%), B (17.5%) and C (3.2%). The findings of this study showed a high frequency for AMEs with the emergence of armA genes among the aminoglycoside non-susceptible A. baumannii isolates. Rational administration of aminoglycosides as well as using an appropriate infection control policy may reduce the presence of resistance to antibiotics in medical centres.

Effects of Education Based on Health Belief Model on Dietary Behaviors of Iranian Pregnant Women.

INTRODUCTION: Mothers and children are the most vulnerable members of every society. As a result many deaths occur in these two groups, so caring for these two groups is very important. Today, it is believed that the health of an infant is related to the health of their mother. Maintaining a healthy weight before pregnancy, and optimal weight gain during pregnancy by appropriate and sufficient nutrition, are two effective measures for the prevention of low birth weight.To provide successful health interventions, it is essential to design and implement effective health education programs. Successful education also depends on the proper use of theories and models in health education. The Health Belief Model is a model that illustrates the relationship between beliefs and health, and it is based on the hypothesis that preventive health behavior consists of personal beliefs .The aim of this study was to assess the effects of training on the Health Belief Model on dietary behaviors of a sample of pregnant Iranian women. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was a randomized controlled clinical trial, involving 130 pregnant women who attended two health care centers of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. Data was collected by a structured questionnaire in three parts and seven sub-scales (including demographic characteristics, knowledge and dietary behaviors) based on the Health Belief Model. Principles of education were based on the Health Belief Model and performed twice during two-hour sessions in the intervention group. Women in the control group received routine care and did not receive training on the above model. In order to evaluate the intervention, the previously mentioned questionnaire was administered one month after completion of the intervention, and filled by participants in both groups. Data were analyzed by SPSS software and reported with diagrams and tables. RESULTS: The mean score for each variable before the intervention, except for the performance guide variable, was not significantly different between the two groups (p<0.05). A month after the intervention, the mean scores of the knowledge, perceived severity, perceived benefits in each group, were significantly different. These results demonstrated that there were significant differences between the two groups in terms of mean scores of knowledge, perceived severity, perceived barriers, performance guide and individual performance, and the means of these variables in the intervention group were also higher than the control group. On the other hand, after the intervention, there was no statistically significant difference found in the mean scores of perceived benefits and perceived susceptibility between the two groups (two independent samples t-test, P <0/001). CONCLUSION: Educational interventions based on health promotion patterns can be effective in enhancing awareness, better understanding of risks, reducing barriers to healthy behavior and ultimately, improving women's health and nutritional performance during pregnancy.

Prevalence of hepatitis A virus in sea food in Iran / Prevalência de vírus da hepatite A em frutos do mar no Irã

The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of Hepatitis A Virus (HAV) in sea food samples in the Isfahan and Shahrekord townships in Iran. From September 2010 to April 2011, a total of 300 samples of fresh fish, shrimp, crab and lobster were obtained from randomly selected retail stores in the Isfahan and Shahrekord townships in Iran. The samples were tested for the presence of HAV using a reverse transcriptase- polymerase chain reaction method. Out of the total number of samples examined, 8 (2.7%) were found to be positive for HAV. This virus was detected in 5% and 1.7% of fresh fish and shrimp, respectively. This study shows the importance of sea food as potential sources of HAV infection in people in Iran.

O objetivo deste estudo foi determinar a prevalência do vírus Hepatitis A (HAV) em amostras de frutos do mar nas cidades de Isfahan e Shahrekord no Iran. De setembro de 2010 a Abril de 2011 um total de 300 amostras de peixe fresco, camarão, caranguejo e lagosta foram obtidas de lojas de varejo aleatoriamente escolhidas nas cidades de Isfahan e Shahrekord no Iran. As amostras foram testadas para presença de HAV usando o método de reação em cadeia em transcriptase reversa. Do total de amostras examinadas, 8 (2.7%) foram positivas para HAV. Este vírus foi detectado em 5% e 1.7% de peixe fresco e camarão, respectivamente. Este estudo mostrou a importância de frutos do mar como fontes potenciais de infecção HAV em pessoas no Iran.

Evaluation of the effects of galbanic acid from Ferula szowitsiana and conferol from F. badrakema, as modulators of multi-drug resistance in clinical isolates of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus.

Galbanic acid, a sesquiterpene coumarin from Ferula szowitsiana, and conferol, another sesquiterpene coumarin from F. badrakema, were evaluated for their effects on the reversal of multi-drug resistance in clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, respectively. Neither galbanic acid (up to 1000 µg/ml) nor conferol (up to 400 µg/ml) by itself shows any antibacterial activities against tested strains. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of ciprofloxacin and tetracycline were determined using macrodilution technique in the presence and absence of sub-inhibitory concentrations of galbanic acid (31.25-1000 µg/ml) or conferol (50-400 µg/ml), however they caused no change in MICs of the antibiotics. Galbanic acid did not show any inhibitory effect on efflux phenomenon of E. coli. This can be related to the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria which is impermeable to lipophilic compounds or another mechanism rather than efflux responsible for resistance in tested E. coli strains. An inhibitory effect of conferol on the efflux was compared with verapamil as a positive control. Because efflux is the only known mechanism of resistance to ethidium bromide (model efflux substrate) and verapamil reduced MIC of ethidium bromide, efflux mechanism can be considered as one of the resistance mechanisms in tested S. aureus strains. Conferol, however, did not enhance the antibiotic efficacy mediated by inhibiting efflux pumps in bacteria.