Ethyl carbamate (EC), a probable human carcinogen, occurs widely in many fermented foods. Previous studies indicated that EC-induced cytotoxicity was associated with oxidative stress. Wild raspberries are rich in polyphenolic compounds, which possess potent antioxidant activity. This study was conducted to investigate the protective effect of wild raspberry extracts produced before (RE) and aft...

Fifty-eight human isolates of Bacteroides melaninogenicus, 42 from a variety of clinical infections and the rest from normal flora, were studied for pigment production and ultraviolet light fluorescence and by forty biochemical and other tests, including end-product analysis by gas-liquid chromatography. In a number of instances, tests were repeated several times and the results were reproducib...

Linoleic acid hydroperoxide (LOOH) has been reported to cause an increase in the content of 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG), a typical oxidation product of DNA bases, in cultured cells due to coexisting iron(III) ion. We examined whether coumarins are able to suppress the formation of 8-oxodG in the DNA of human diploid fibroblasts, TIG-7 cells, treated with LOOH and iron(III) ion...

Forty-six strains of Malassezia spp. with atypical biochemical features were isolated from 366 fresh clinical isolates from human subjects and dogs. Isolates obtained in this study included 2 (4.7%) lipid-dependent M. pachydermatis isolates; 1 (2.4%) precipitate-producing and 6 (14.6%) non-polyethoxylated castor oil (Cremophor EL)-assimilating M. furfur isolates; and 37 (34.3%) M. slooffiae iso...

As the study of microbes moves into the era of functional genomics, there is an increasing need for molecular tools for analysis of a wide diversity of microorganisms. Currently, biological study of many prokaryotes of agricultural, medical, and fundamental scientific interest is limited by the lack of adequate genetic tools. We report the application of the bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC...

Functional screening of metagenomic libraries is an effective approach for identification novel enzymes. A Caatinga biome goat rumen library was screened using esculin as a substrate, and gene from unknown bacterium encoding GH3 enzyme, BGL11, identified. None the BGL11 closely related genes have been previously characterized. Recombinant obtained kinetically Substrate specificity purified prot...

BACKGROUND Bile esculin azide with vancomycin (BEAV) medium is a sensitive, but slightly less specific method for vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) screening. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) is a rapid method for identification of clinical pathogens. This study aimed to assess the performance of a novel combination screening test ...

A detailed study of the cultural characteristics and cellular fatty acid composition of 27 isolates of Corynebacterium acnes was performed to establish the properties by which this organism may be identified and characterized. The fatty acids were extracted directly from whole cells and examined as methyl esters by gas-liquid chromatography. Each strain possessed a similar fatty acid profile wh...

DNA-DNA reassociation was performed on 15 strains of Globicatella sanguinis to compare their taxonomic status with phenotypic characterization. All 15 strains selected for DNA-DNA reassociation readily met the criteria for species relatedness. The relative binding ratio was 81% or greater at the optimal temperature and 76% or greater at the stringent temperature, and the divergence was less tha...

This study was designed to survey the incidence of Enterococcus faecalis infection in symptomatic and asymptomatic root canals of necrotic teeth using PCR and to isolate the bacterium for further screening. Sixty patients categorized according to their clinical symptoms were used for sampling by insertion of paper points into the root canals and absorbing all the fluids present within them. The...