http://blogs.najah.edu/author/emp_2032 An-Najah Blogs :: en-us Sat, 27 Jul 2024 15:00:26 IDT Sat, 27 Jul 2024 15:00:26 IDT [email protected] [email protected] http://blogs.najah.edu/staff/emp_2032/article/Nosocomial-Infection-Caused-by-Methicillin-Resistant-Staphylococcus-aureus-in-PalestinePublished ArticlesThis report presents the prevalence of Palestinian isolates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus MRSA in nosocomial infections and their antibiotic resistant pattern A total of 321 clinical isolates of S aureus were identified from different patients The prevalence of methicillin resistance among S aureus isolates was 87 28 isolates Resistance rates of MRSA to other antibiotics were as follows: 821 resistant to erythromycin 679 to clindamycin 643 to gentamicin and 321 to ciprofloxacin No co-trimoxazole- and vancomycin-resistant isolates were identified in this study The proportion of methicillin resistance was highest among S aureus isolates associated with upper respiratory specimens 428; the proportion of methicillin resistance was 393 among skin ulcer isolates 107 among urinary tract infection isolates and lowest among isolates associated with blood and prostate discharge 36 each Microbial Drug Resistance March 1 2005 111: 75-77 doi:101089mdr20051175 http://blogs.najah.edu/staff/emp_2032/article/Typing-of-Methicillin-Resistant-Staphylococcus-aureus-by-Ribosome-Spacer-and-Arbitrarily-Primed-Polymerase-Chain-ReactionPublished ArticlesThirty-five methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus MRSA clinical isolates were collected from 3 hospitals in the northern and southern parts of Palestine between February and May 1998 These isolates were typed by ribosome spacer PCR RSPCR and arbitrarily primed PCR AP-PCR RS-PCR generated 9 different genotypes The use of APPCR provided a high resolution typing method and allowed us to define 11 different clusters Three major clusters however based on the combination of both typing methods spread throughout the neonatal and intensive care units of Rafidya Hospital during the entire periodhttp://blogs.najah.edu/staff/emp_2032/article/Isolation-and-characterisation-of-Shiga-toxigenic-Escherichia-coli-strains-from-northern-PalestinePublished ArticlesShiga toxigenic Escherichia coli STEC isolates from symptomatic and asymptomatic patients in northern Palestine in 1999 were screened for serotype O157 and characterised for virulence genes by multiplex PCR assay Of the 176 STEC isolates 124 705 were of serotype O157 All these isolates carried the gene for Shiga toxin type 1 stx1 and 112 903 carried s tx2 The intimin encoding gene locus eae was detected in 16 isolates 129 and the enterohaemolysin encoding gene hlyA in 18 145 Statistical analysis showed a significant association between the presence of eaeA and hlyA either alone or combined with stx1 and stx2 genes in O157 isolates from symptomatic infection ERIC-PCR analysis of DNA from 80 serotype O157 isolates revealed three major clonal populations The Journal of Medical Microbiology:Volume 514April 2002pp 332-335 http://blogs.najah.edu/staff/emp_2032/article/Human-cystic-echinococcosis-in-the-West-Bank-of-Palestine-surgical-incidence-and-seroepidemiological-studyPublished ArticlesThe surgical incidence of cystic echinococcosis CE due to Echinococcus granulosus was investigated in hospitals of the West Bank Palestinian Authority between January 1990 and December 1997 Serum samples from school-children in Yata town which showed the highest surgical incidence were tested for anti-hydatid antibodies A total of 390 surgically confirmed cases were recorded throughout the 8-year period with an overall mean annual surgical incidence MASI of 31 per 100000 A high MASI of 49 50 and 51 per 100000 was found in Hebron Jericho and Bethlehem Governorates respectively Yata town Hebron governorate showed the highest MASI at 168 per 100000 The highest incidence was found in age groups 11-20 and 21-30 years at 274 and 215 of the total number of cases While there was no significant gender difference in the number of cases in the age groups of 20 years or less the male to female case ratio was 1:32-41 in the older age groups The liver was the most common site of hydatid cysts in 699 of cases Lung cysts were predominant in younger age groups 20 years or less The seropositivity for CE in the school-children of Yata was 24 and 21 using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and the indirect haemagglutination test respectively CE is a significant endemic disease throughout the West Bank The disease is acquired early in life and is more prevalent among females than males Behaviour and life-style favour the spread of the disease Parasitology Research Volume 88 Number 2 February 2002 http:wwwspringerlinkcomcontent7xbglv2g11qvd762 http://blogs.najah.edu/staff/emp_2032/article/High-incidence-of-penicillin-resistance-amongst-clinical-isolates-of-Streptococcus-pneumoniae-in-northern-PalestinePublished ArticlesOne hundred and thirteen consecutive isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae were collected in Nablus Palestine between March and Aug 1997 from childrenvith acute lower respiratory tract infections Resistance rates were: penicillin 88 cefuroxime 85 erythromycin 63 tetracycline 45 chloramphenicol 27 and ofloxacin 2 Resistances to erythromycin and cefuroxime were significantly associated with penicillin resistance Ofloxacin may be useful against pneumococci resistant to traditional antimicrobial agents Factors associated with penicillin resistance included hospitalisation and previous use of beta-lactam antibioticshttp://blogs.najah.edu/staff/emp_2032/article/Analysis-of-neomycin-kanamycin-tobramycin-and-amikacin-resistance-mechanisms-in-gentamicin-resistant-isolates-of-EnterobacteriaceaePublished ArticlesTwenty-four gentamicin-resistant isolates of Enterobacteriaceae obtained from the clinical laboratories of three health centres in Nablus Palestine were tested for susceptibility to neomycin kanamycin tobramycin and amikacin Resistance rates were 292 for neomycin 583 for kanamycin 458 for tobramycin and 83 for amikacin Fourteen 583 isolates were noted to be multiresistant ie resistant to gentamicin and two or more other aminoglycosides; resistance to gentamicin kanamycin and tobramycin was the most common pattern of multiple resistance This pattern implies the involvement of adenyltransferase ANT2 \-I activity Plasmid profiles and curing experiments suggested a plasmid localisation of gentamicin neomycin kanamycin and tobramycin resistance genes However a chromosomal location is proposed for plasmid-deficient strains Cross-resistance in two isolates to all aminoglycosides tested suggested membrane impermeability to aminoglycosides as the mechanism of resistancehttp://blogs.najah.edu/staff/emp_2032/article/Gentamicin-resistance-in-clinical-strains-of-Enterobacteriaceae-associated-with-reduced-gentamicin-uptakePublished ArticlesSeven strains ofEnterobacteriaceae resistant to gentamicin obtained as representatives of the predominant resistance profiles in the clinical laboratories ofRafeidia and Al-Watani Hospitals in Nablus Palestine were included Five strains showed a broad aminoglycoside resistance profile but contained no evidence of gentamicin acetylation adenylation or phosphorylation Gentamicin uptake in two tested strains was significantly reduced compared to that of gentamicin-sensitiveE coli MIC 05 gmL These strains are likely resistant due to a relative reduction of the amount of gentamicin and other aminoglycosides entering the bacterial cell Two strains showed evidence of adenyltransferase ANT 2-I activity Folia Microbiologica Volume 43 Number 4 August 1998 http://blogs.najah.edu/staff/emp_2032/article/Structural-relationships-between-the-isoenzymes-of-human-placental-alkaline-phosphatase-a-serum-factor-converts-M-PLAP-to-A--and-B-PLAPPublished ArticlesA protein factor has been found in serum which converts the M form of placental alkaline phosphatase PLAP to the A and B forms The identity of the conversion products has been confirmed by analysis of their dimers and polypeptides Proteolysis is not implicated in this phenomenon This report establishes microvillous M-PLAP as the precursor of the A and B forms Placenta Volume 8 Issue 3 May-June 1987 Pages 305-318 http://blogs.najah.edu/staff/emp_2032/article/Placental-alkaline-phosphatase-integrates-via-its-carboxy-terminus-into-the-microvillous-membrane-Its-allotypes-differ-in-conformationPublished ArticlesHuman placental microvillous alkaline phosphatase M-PLAP was extracted from microvilli either by butanol extraction or subtilisin proteolysis The data indicate that subtilisin cleavage of PLAP removes a membrane-binding domain of approximately 2000 molecular weight leaving the catalytic site intact and the protein in solution Sequencing studies on the N-terminal 13 amino acids of both the subtilisin-cleaved and uncleaved forms of M-PLAP indicate that the enzyme is anchored to the plasma membranes by its carboxy-terminus The N-terminal 13 amino acids of A-PLAP were the same as those of M-PLAP Trypsin solubilization failed to release M-PLAP from these membranes and it appears to cleave a portion of molecular weight of about 9K from the amino terminus leaving an enzymatically active portion of PLAP associated with the membrane On SDS gels subtilisin-cleaved M-PLAP showed an apparent dimeric molecular size larger than that of the original uncleaved enzyme presumably due to the generation of a less compact conformational state On starch gels cleaved M-PLAP showed a single zone of enzyme activity with a mobility sightly greater than that of A-PLAP which did not require the presence of Triton X-100 to enter the gel Variations in the apparent molecular sizes of the different allelic forms of PLAP were also observed Placenta Volume 6 Issue 5 September-October 1985 Pages 391-404