Mariko Ueno

Atividade antibacteriana de óleos essenciais em cepas isoladas de infecção urinária

The antibacterial activity of essential oils extracted from medicinal plants (Ocimum gratissimum, L., Cybopogum citratus (DC) Stapf., and Salvia officinalis, L.) was assessed on bacterial strains derived from 100 urine samples. Samples were taken from subjects diagnosed with urinary tract infection living in the community. Microorganisms were plated on Müller Hinton agar. Plant extracts were applied using a Steers replicator and petri dishes were incubated at 37 degrees C for 24 hours. Salvia officinalis, L. showed enhanced inhibitory activity compared to the other two herbs, with 100% efficiency against Klebsiella and Enterobacter species, 96% against Escherichia coli, 83% against Proteus mirabilis, and 75% against Morganella morganii.

Formigas como veiculadoras de microrganismos em ambiente hospitalar

Concern exists regarding the real possibility of public health threats caused by pathogenic agents that are carried by urban ants. The present study had the objective of isolating and identifying the microorganisms that are associated with ants in hospital environments. One hundred and twenty-five ants of the same species were collected from different units of a university hospital. Each ant was collected using a swab soaked with physiological solution and was transferred to a tube containing brain heart infusion broth and incubated at 35oC for 24 hours. From each tube, with growth, inoculations were made into specific culturing media, to isolate any microorganisms. The ants presented a high capacity for carrying microorganism groups: spore-producing Gram-positive bacilli 63.5%, Gram-negative bacilli 6.3%, Gram-positive cocci 23.1%, filamentous fungi 6.7% and yeast 0.5%. Thus, it can be inferred that ants may be one of the agents responsible for disseminating microorganisms in hospital environments.

Restaurantes self-service: segurança e qualidade sanitária dos alimentos servidos

Foram coletadas quatro amostras, sendo dois alimentos quentes e dois alimentos frios de 16 restaurantes;antes da coleta mediu-se a temperatura dos alimentos expostos nos balcoes de distribuicao. As amostrasforam analisadas quanto aos seguintes parâmetros: contagem de bacterias aerobias mesofilas, determinacaode coliformes a 35oC e a 45oC, contagem deOBJECTIVE: This work aimed to assess the temperature and sanitary quality of the foods available on the buffet table of self-service restaurants located in the city of Taubate (SP), in order to discuss food safety. METHODS: Four samples, two of cold dishes and two of hot dishes, were collected from each of 16 restaurants. The temperature of the foods on the buffet table was measured before the sample was taken. The following parameters were investigated for each sample: aerobic mesophilic bacteria count, determination of coliforms at 35oC and 45oC, coagulase-positive Staphylococcus count and presence of Salmonella. RESULTS: The temperature of 56 (87.5%) foods was inadequate: cold dishes were kept above 10oC and hot dishes were kept below 60oC. Aerobic mesophilic bacteria counts above 106 CFU/g were detected in 11% of the samples, coliforms at 35oC in 76.6% and coliforms at 45oC in 43.7%. Two foods, one cold and one hot, both from the same restaurant, had a coagulase-positive Staphylococcus count above 104 CFU/g. Salmonella was not found in any of the samples. CONCLUSION: Keeping the foods available on buffet tables under incorrect temperatures and a high count of microorganisms that indicate poor sanitary quality of the food can compromise safety and jeopardize the customers health. The instruments used in this study proved to be important tools for assessing food safety.

Bacterial contamination of stethoscopes in pediatric units at a university hospital

Evaluation of the contamination of stethoscopes used in pediatric units of a hospital and emergency service showed that 87% of them presented contaminated diaphragms. Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus was the microorganism most frequently isolated. The resistance to antibiotics indicates that stethoscopes should be considered to be an important vehicle for disseminating bacteria resistant to antibiotics.

Esterilização de limas endodônticas com plasma de oxigênio

No presente trabalho, analisou-se a eficacia de uma nova tecnica de esterilizacao de instrumental odontologico. Limas endodonticas contaminadas com Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa e Staphylococcus aureus foram esterilizadas em plasma de oxigenio formado atraves de uma descarga eletrica continua de 75 mA. Os resultados demonstraram efetiva eliminacao dos microrganismos testados, utilizando-se um processo a baixas temperaturas e em tempos menores que os preconizados para processos convencionais (forno de Pasteur e autoclave). Microrganismos gram-negativos foram destruidos em 1 minuto de exposicao e gram-positivos em 10 minutos.

AVALIAÇÃO DA VIABILIDADE DAS BACTÉRIAS LÁCTICAS E VARIAÇAO DA ACIDEZ TITULÁVEL EM IOGURTES COM SABOR DE FRUTAS Evaluation of lactic acid bacteria viability and titratable acidity variation in fruit flavor yogurt

Este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar a viabilidade das bacterias lacticas, acidez titulavel e o pH, em iogurtes nos sabores: natural, coco, ameixa e morango, pertencentes a 4 marcas,coletadas em 4 supermercados localizados em Taubate-SP. A contagem de bacterias lacticas mostrou tendencia de diminuicao da viabilidade celular com o decorrer da vida util; 41,7% das amostras apresentaram populacao menor que 10 7 UFC/ml. As amostras de iogurte sabor ameixa apresentaram as maiores contagens de bacterias lacticas. A acidez titulavel variou entre 0,58 e 1,60 g de acido lactico/100g de iogurte. O pH variou entre 3,3 e 4,5 e iogurtes sabor coco apresentaram os maiores valores de pH e as menores contagens de bacterias lacticas.