PURPOSE Although the albumin to globulin ratio (AGR) has been proven to be a prognostic factor in several cancers, no studies have assessed its prognostic significance in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the prognostic value of the pretreatment AGR in the survival in HCC patients. METHODS 150 patients were enrolled, who were confirmed of HCC from Octo...

Introduction. Nasal carriage of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) represents a risk for the spread of bacteria. This study characterized the S. aureus isolated from medical students, who were in their clinical rotation at a hospital in the city of Cali. Materials and Methods. 216 students participated in the study and 63 isolates of S. aureus were evaluated for susceptibility a...

The pretreatment albumin/globulin ratio (AGR) has been used as a prognostic factor in various cancers. This study aimed to evaluate the predictive value of AGR in small-cell lung cancer (SCLC).We tested albumin and total proteins in plasma samples from 276 SCLC patients from our cancer center between January 2003 and December 2006. The AGR was defined by the formula: albumin/(total proteins-alb...

Foot ulceration is a major complication of diabetes. Several microorganisms can colonize these wounds, being Staphylococcus aureus frequently isolated. It produces numerous virulence factors controlled by Quorum-sensing system, encoded by agr (accessory gene regulator). Currently four distinct genetic agr groups have been established. Quorum-sensing system of a collection of 23 S. aureus DFU is...

Staphylococcus aureus contains an autoinducing quorum-sensing system encoded within the agr operon that coordinates expression of virulence genes required for invasive infection. Allelic variation within agr has generated four agr specific groups, agr I-IV, each of which secretes a distinct autoinducing peptide pheromone (AIP1-4) that drives agr signaling. Because agr signaling mediates a pheno...

PURPOSE To evaluate the contribution of toxins to the severity of Staphylococcus aureus endophthalmitis. METHODS Experimental endophthalmitis was established by injecting rabbit eyes with wild type S. aureus ISP479 and the isogenic attenuated strain, ISP546, defective in expression of the global regulator locus agr. agr regulates expression of at least 19 exoproteins that are potentially impo...

PURPOSE Virulent gene expression in Staphylococcus aureus is controlled by regulators such as the accessory gene regulator (agr). Strains can be divided into four major agr groups (agr I-IV) on the basis of agrD and agrC polymorphisms. The purpose of this study was to define the proportion of agr I, II, and III polymorphisms and to compare the clinical characteristics between group I and non-gr...

BACKGROUND Staphylococcus aureus is associated with chronic mastitis in cattle, and disease manifestation is usually refractory to antibiotic therapy. Biofilm production is a key element of S. aureus pathogenesis and may contribute to the treatment failure that is consistently reported by veterinarians. Minas Gerais State is the largest milk-producing state in Brazil, and the characterization o...

The accessory gene regulator (agr) locus, a candidate system for the regulation of the production of virulence factors in Staphylococcus intermedius, has been characterized. Using PCR-based genome walking, we have obtained the first complete sequence (3,436 bp) of the accessory gene regulator (agr) gene in this organism. Sequence analysis of the agr gene has identified five open reading frames ...