OBJECTIVES To study the regulatory region of a constitutively expressed erm(A) gene in Streptococcus agalactiae clinical isolates. METHODS Thirty clinical isolates of S. agalactiae which were cross-resistant to erythromycin and clindamycin and with a clindamycin MIC higher than that of erythromycin were studied by PCR, sequencing and molecular typing. RESULTS PCR analysis revealed that all ...

How the developmental potential of differentiating stem cell progeny becomes rapidly and stably restricted following asymmetric stem cell division is unclear. In the fly larval brain, earmuff (erm) uniquely functions to restrict the developmental potential of intermediate neural progenitors (INPs) generated by asymmetrically dividing neural stem cells (neuroblasts). Here we demonstrate that the...

The epiretinal membrane (ERM) is semitransparent; fibrocellular membrane found on the inner surface of the internal limiting membrane (ILM) at the macula [1]. ERM most commonly take place in the elderly population and can lead to distortion, blurring of vision, and in some patients severe vision loss [13]. ERM formation may lead to visual inconveniences, such as metamorphopsia, photopsia, blurr...

Macrolide resistance was detected in 64 of 77 (83.1%) Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates from South Korea. Seven (10.9%) isolates contained only mef(A), 32 (50%) contained only erm(B), and 25 (39.1%) contained mef(A) and erm(B). Nineteen isolates containing mef(A) and erm(B) belonged to serotype 19F, and seven isolates were identical to the Taiwan(19F)-14 clone.

OBJECTIVES To analyse the as yet unexplored genetic elements encoding erm(B)-mediated erythromycin resistance in tetracycline-susceptible pneumococci. METHODS Sixteen Streptococcus pneumoniae clinical isolates sharing erm(B)-mediated erythromycin resistance and susceptibility to tetracycline were used. Gene detection was performed by PCR using both established and specially designed primers. ...

This paper focuses on the product design process and the role played by environmental concerns during this critical stage. Specifically, we explore Environmentally Responsible Manufacturing (ERM) as perceived and acted on by two critical groups within this design process. The first consists of the champions and supporters of ERM. These are the people who either formally or informally act as adv...

The emergence of resistance to most antimicrobial agents in staphylococci indicates the need for new effective agents in the treatment of staphylococcal infections. Clindamycin is considered to be one safe, effective and less costly agent. We analysed 482 staphylococcal isolates. Detection of inducible clindamycin resistance was performed by the D-test, while the presence of methylases genes: e...

PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are thought to silence transposon and gene expression during development. However, the roles of piRNAs in somatic tissues are largely unknown. Here we report the identification of 555 piRNAs in human lung bronchial epithelial (HBE) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines, including 295 that do not exist in databases termed as piRNA-like sncRNAs or piRNA-...

Previously we demonstrated that the sphingolipids ceramide and S1P (sphingosine 1-phosphate) regulate phosphorylation of the ERM (ezrin/radixin/moesin) family of cytoskeletal proteins [Canals, Jenkins, Roddy, Hernande-Corbacho, Obeid and Hannun (2010) J. Biol. Chem. 285, 32476-3285]. In the present article, we show that exogenously applied or endogenously generated S1P (in a sphingosine kinase-...

The symptoms of idiopathic epiretinal membranes (ERM) of the macula are blurred vision caused by the retinal dysfunction including photoreceptor dysfunction and metamorphopsia caused by retinal distortion. Surgical removal of ERM is reportedly associated with few complications, and surgical results are generally good [15]. Furthermore, we reported treating ERM and internal limiting membrane (IL...