• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.942-945
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• 2008

There have been concerns about possible pathogenicity and antimicrobial resistance in Enterococcus, which constitute more than 50% of probiotics in the worldwide market. In this study, Enterococcus in sixteen products manufactured by ten different companies was tested for the presence of six virulence genes and two vancomycin resistance genes. Results in this study showed the safety of Enterococcus on the Korean market and the importance of screening vanA, vanE, agg, cylA, esp, and gelE. Pulse-field gel electrophoresis showed that the sixteen isolates tested in this study are originated from three strains.

• Infection and chemotherapy
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.340-345
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• 2018

Frequent isolation of Enterococcus faecalis from root canal treated teeth with apical periodontitis, has proposed the role of this organism in endodontic treatment failures. Different factors have been suggested in the pathogenicity of this organism. In this study, 22 E. faecalis isolates from canals of root-filled teeth were identified, and phenotypic and genotypic characteristics were investigated. No resistance to vancomycin and gentamicin was noted, and most isolates (91%) were susceptible to ampicillin. Biofilm formation was detected in 73% of the isolates and may be considered as the most important virulence factor involved in the pathogenesis of these isolates.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.335-342
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• 2016

Staphylococcus aureus, which is generally susceptible to the involvement route in community, is mostly MSSA. However, CA-MRSA is recently increased. Abuse of antibiotics and glycopeptides may increase VISA and VRSA. This study was conducted to investigate the changes on the antibiotic resistance prevalence and antibiotic susceptibility patterns of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from the wound of patients in a university hospital for the past 10 years. This study showed that antibiotic resistance was higher in males than in females; moreover, the antibiotic resistance rates increased with age. The resistance rate for penicillin, oxacillin, erythromycin, gentamicin, clindamycin, tetracycline, ciprofloxacin, fusidic acid, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, clindamycin, and rifampicin was, respectively, 97.7%, 60.5%, 57.4%, 48.8%, 41.1%, 44.2%, 44.2%, 14.7%, 13.2% and 3.9% in 2006. The resistance rate for penicillin, oxacillin, erythromycin, gentamicin, clindamycin, tetracycline, ciprofloxacin, fusidic acid, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, fusidic acid, clindamycin, and rifampicin was, respectively 95.9%, 62.6%, 55.7%, 28.6%, 50.3%, 34.7%, 38.8%, 34.0%, 2.7% and 8.2% in 2016. Vancomycin, linezolid, quinupristin/dalfopristin, and teicoplanin exhibited 100% in antibiotic susceptibility. In particular, fusidic acid resistance was increased by 19.3% in 2016. Compared with 2006, the decreased point, 12.4% was susceptible and was statistically significant. Therefore, this study suggests that periodic review and understanding of microbial and antibiotic changes should continue to investigate appropriate antibiotic susceptibility.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.135-144
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• 2021

This study determined the antibiotic resistance patterns of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus from the raw meat and feces of three game species from three different farms across South Africa. The Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method was used according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute 2018 guidelines. E. coli was tested against ampicillin, ceftazidime, chloramphenicol, streptomycin, sulphafurazole and tetracycline. S. aureus was tested against tetracycline, erthromycin, vancomycin, penicillin, oxacillin and cefoxitin. There were no significant differences in the E. coli antibiotic resistance profiles between the meat and fecal samples (except towards ceftazidime where 5% of the meat isolates were resistant and 0% of the fecal isolates). The S. aureus meat isolates showed high (75%) resistance towards penicillin and on average, 13% were resistant to oxacillin/ cefoxitin, indicating methicillin resistance. The results from this study indicate that there is incidence of antibiotic resistant bacteria from the feces and meat of wildlife species across South Africa, suggesting that cross contamination of the meat occurred during slaughter by antibiotic resistant bacteria from the abattoir personnel or equipment and or from carcass fecal matter. In addition, the results highlight the importance of food safety and hygiene procedures during slaughter to prevent cross-contamination of antibiotic resistant bacteria, as well as pathogens, onto raw meat.

• 대한예방의학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2005.10a
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• pp.487-487
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• 2005

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.19-28
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• 2000

There are several main antibacterial susceptibility tests, such as agar dilution method, broth dilution method and disk diffusion technique. Especially, for minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) test, agar dilution method has been widely used. But that method is so complicated and bothering that it's difficult to treat a large amount of strains. On the other hand, modified broth dilution method(add 1% glucose and 0.018% phenol red as a pH indicator to broth) is fast and easy to perform. Most of all, it can visualize the result by color. The MICs of 22 antibiotics Including penicillins, aminoglycosides, cephalothin, chloramphenicol, lincomycin, ceftiofur, vancomycin and quinolones, erythromycin, colistin. sul-fadimethoxine, trimethoprim for arcanobacterium pyogenes 14 strains, actinobacillus pleuropneu-moniae 41 strains and pasteurella multocida 37 strains, which were collected from porcine during 1996 ∼ 1999, were determined by modified broth dilution method. Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae was highly susceptible to all kinds of quinolones such as ciprofloxacin, enrofloxacin and norfloxacin and to all aminoglycosides, like gentamicin, apramycin, kanamycin and ampicillin, cephalothin and ceftiofur. But It was quite resistant to solfadimethoxin, colistin and vancomycin. Pasteurella multocida was found to have high susceptibility to ampicillin, cephalothin, chlorampenicol and gentamicin but had mid-degree susceptibility to other aminoglycosides. In addition, it was susceptible to norfloxacin and nalidixic acid, but not to newer fluoroquinolone like ciprofloxacin and enrofloxacin and it was resistant to colistin and kanamycin. Arcanobacterium pyogenes was highly susceptible to most of quinolones such as cipoofloxacin, enrofloxacin and norfloxacin and gentamicin and penicillin G. But it also obtained high resistance against the early quinolone, nalidixic acid and aminoglycosides such as amikacin, apramycin and kanamycin and erythromycin, chlorampenicol, tetracyclin and vancomycin.

• Journal of Korean Medical Science
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• v.33 no.48
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• pp.295.1-295.7
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• 2018

Background: Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) infections have become a major healthcare-associated pathogen problem worldwide. Nosocomial VRE infections could be effectively controlled by screening patients at high risk of harboring VRE and thereby lowering the influx of VRE into healthcare centers. In this study, we evaluated factors associated with VRE colonization in patients transferred to emergency departments, to detect patients at risk for VRE carriage. Methods: This study was conducted in the emergency department of a medical college-affiliated hospital in Korea. Every patient transferred to the emergency department and admitted to the hospital from January to December 2016 was screened for VRE using rectal cultures. In this cross-sectional study, the dependent variable was VRE colonization and the independent variables were demographic and clinical factors of the patients and factors related to the transferring hospital. Patients were divided into two groups, VRE and non-VRE, and previously collected patient data were analyzed. Then we performed logistic regression analyses of characteristics that differed significantly between groups. Results: Out of 650 patients, 106 (16.3%) had positive VRE culture results. Significant variables in the logistic analysis were transfer from geriatric long-term care hospital (adjusted odds ration [aOR]: 8.017; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.378-46.651), hospital days (4-7 days; aOR: 7.246; 95% CI: 3.229-16.261), duration of antimicrobial exposure (1-3 days; aOR: 1.976; 95% CI: 1.137-3.436), and age (aOR: 1.025; 95% CI: 1.007-1.043). Conclusion: VRE colonization in patients transferred to the emergency department is associated primarily with factors related to the transferred hospitals rather than demographic and clinical characteristics.

• Advances in environmental research
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.213-223
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• 2018

Continuous input into the aquatic ecosystem and persistent structures have created concern of antibiotics, primarily due to the potential for the development of antimicrobial resistance. Degradation kinetics and mineralization of vancomycin B (VAN-B) by photocatalysis using $TiO_2$ and ZnO nanoparticles was monitored at natural pH conditions. Photocatalysis (PC) efficiency was followed by means of UV absorbance, total organic carbon (TOC), and HPLC results to better monitor degradation of VAN-B itself. Experiments were run for two initial VAN-B concentrations ($20-50mgL^{-1}$) and using two catalysts $TiO_2$ and ZnO at different concentrations (0.1 and $0.5gL^{-1}$) in a multi-lamp batch reactor system (200 mL water volume). Furthermore, a set of toxicity tests with Daphnia magna was performed to evaluate the potential toxicity of oxidation by-products of VAN-B. Formation of intermediates such as chlorides and nitrates were monitored. A rapid VAN-B degradation was observed in ZnO-PC system (85% to 70% at 10 min), while total mineralization was observed to be relatively slower than $TiO_2-PC$ system (59% to 73% at 90 min). Treatment efficiency and mechanism of degradation directly affected the rate of transformation and by-products formation that gave rise to toxicity in the treated samples.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.247-256
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• 2023

Objectives: Enterococcus faecalis is a gram positive diplococci, highly versatile and a normal commensal of the gut microbiome. Resistance to vancomycin is a serious issue in various health-care setting exhibited by vancomycin resistant Enterococci (VRE) due to the alteration in the peptidoglycan synthesis pathway. This study is thus aimed to detect the VRE from the patients with root caries from the clinical isolates of E. faecalis and to evaluate the in-silico interactions between vanA and the Aegles marmelos bio-compounds. Methods: E. faecalis was phenotypically characterized from 20 root caries samples and the frequency of vanA and vanB genes was detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Further crude methanolic extracts from the dried leaves of A. marmelos was assessed for its antimicrobial activity. This is followed by the selection of five A. marmelos bio-compounds for the computational approach towards the drug ligand interactions. Results: 12 strains (60%) of E. faecalis was identified from the root caries samples and vanA was detected from two strains (16%). Both the stains showed the presence of vanA and none of the strains possessed vanB. Crude extract of A. marmelos showed promising antibacterial activity against the VRE strains. In-silico analysis of the A. marmelos biocompounds revealed Imperatonin as the best compound with high docking energy (-8.11) and hydrogen bonds with < 140 TPSA (Topological polar surface area) and zero violations. Conclusion: The present study records the VRE strains among the root caries with imperatorin from A. marmelos as a promising drug candidate. However the study requires further experimentation and validation.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.24-32
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• 2003

Purpose : Nosocomial infection with Staphylococcus aureus, especially methicillin resistant S. aureus, has become a serious concern in the neonatal intensive care unit. The aim of this study is to investigate the virulence factors, and the relationship between the antibiotic resistance and the associated genes of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from nasal cavity of neonates. Methods : Fifty one isolates of S. aureus were obtained from nasal swab taken in 28 neonates in the NICU and nursery of Pusan National University Hospital between February and May, 2001. They were tested in regard to antibiotic susceptibility, coagulase test and typing, plasmid DNA profile, as well as reactivity to enterotoxin A-E(sea, seb, sec, sed, see) genes and toxic shock syndrome toxin-1(tst) gene by polymerase chain reaction(PCR). Associated genes such as mecA, mecR1, mecI, and femA were also determined by PCR. The origin of MRSA strains was assessed using DNA fingerprinting by arbitrarily-primed polymerase chain reaction(AP-PCR). Results : Twenty three(45.1%) and six(11.8%) isolates were resistant to oxacillin and vancomycin respectively. Multidrug resistance to three or more of the antibiotics tested was observed in 51.0% of the isolates. Forty two isolates were coagulase positive and twenty two isolates had mecA gene. Sixteen isolates had both mecA and femA genes and had type I-III plasmids. 64.7% of isolates carried sec gene, and 80.4% carried tst gene. DNA fingerprinting by AP-PCR for 12 MRSA strains showed 10 distinct patterns, suggesting different origins. Conclusion : We confirmed that the prevalence of nasal carriage of S. aureus and the incidence of antimicrobial-resistant S. aureus, especially vancomycin resistance, is very high in neonates who were admitted in NICU and nursery. It is possible that these pathogens are responsible for serious nosocomial infections in neonates. The need for improved surveillance and continuous control of pathogens is emphasized.