May Korachi

Low Temperature Plasma for decontamination of E. coli in milk

Raw milk is a natural, highly nutritious product and a quick and easy supplement for human dietary requirements. Elimination of bacteria in milk has been a problem for decades and new methods with regards to non-thermal applications which do not harm the chemical composition of milk, are currently under investigation. The objective of the study was to determine the potential use of a novel, Low Temperature Plasma (LTP) system for its capability of killing Escherichia coli in milk with different fat contents. The time dependent effect of atmospheric corona discharge generated with 9kV of AC power supply on E. coli ATCC 25922 dispersed in whole, semi skimmed and skimmed milk was examined. Plasma was applied at time intervals of 0, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 and 20min. A significant 54% reduction in the population of E. coli cells after only 3min was observed regardless of the fat content of the milk. The initial pre-plasma bacterial count of 7.78 Log CFU/ml in whole milk was decreased to 3.63 Log CFU/ml after 20min of plasma application. LTP did not cause any significant change to the pH and color values of raw milk samples. No viable cells were detected after one week examination in whole milk samples and remained so over the 6week storage period. The findings of this study show that the novel LTP system tested was able to significantly reduce E. coli in milk by more than a 3 fold log reduction without significantly affecting pH or color properties.

The Effect of Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Corona Discharge on pH, Lipid Content and DNA of Bacterial Cells

Effect of plasma corona discharges on the pH, whole cell lipids and DNA of bacteria is investigated. Results showed an increase in the acidity levels of water due to plasma reactive species which, however, were not responsible for bacterial cell death. No changes in the whole cell lipid contents were observed, while DNA after plasma treatment showed deterioration of the amplified sequences, indicating the possible occurrence of DNA degradation. In conclusion, reactive species produced by plasma discharges affects DNA, possibly contributing to cell death.

Effect of thymol on the antibacterial efficiency of plasma-treated cotton fabric

In this research, the effect of thymol on the antibacterial activity of cotton fabric when modified by low-temperature plasma was investigated. The modification consisted of plasma pre-functionalization followed by one-step wet treatment with thymol. Oxygen and nitrogen were used as the working gases in the plasma reactor. The results showed that plasma-treated samples can absorb more thymol than untreated samples. Thus, the antibacterial activity of the samples in this case, which was analyzed by the bacteria counting test, was increased considerably. Durability of the antibacterial property was also assessed. It was concluded that loading thymol on plasma-treated cotton fabric produced effective durable antibacterial textiles.

An association study of functional polymorphic genes IRF-1, IFNGR-1, and IFN-γ with disease progression, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and viral load in chronic hepatitis B and C.

BACKGROUND Investigational approaches based on genome-wide association studies have proven useful in identifying genetic predictors for many diseases, including susceptibility to chronic hepatitis B and C. In these studies, the majority of genetic variants that have shown a positive association have been identified in genes involved in the immune response. In this study IFN-γ, IFNGR-1, and IRF-1 genes were analyzed for their role in susceptibility to the development of chronic hepatitis B and chronic hepatitis C in a Turkish population. METHODS Polymorphic genes IRF-1 (-410, -388), IFNGR-1 (-56, -611), and IFN-γ (+874) were analyzed in a total of 400 individuals: 100 chronic hepatitis B patients, 100 hepatitis B carriers, 100 chronic hepatitis C patients, and 100 healthy controls. A single base primer extension assay was used. Correlations between genes and gender, viral load, and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels were also investigated. RESULTS The IRF-1 gene at positions -388 and -410 were observed to be candidate gene markers for susceptibility to the development of chronic hepatitis B and C (p<0.05). IFN-γ +874 and IFNGR-1 (-56 and -611) correlated with chronic hepatitis B but not chronic hepatitis C. Correlation of functional genotype with viral load and AST and ALT levels revealed an association of IFN-γ +874 and IFNGR-1 -611 with chronic hepatitis C and IFN-γ +874 with viral load and chronic hepatitis B (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Findings suggest that IFN-γ (+874), IRF-1 (-410, -388), and IFNGR-1 (-56, -611) are candidate gene markers for determining patient susceptibility to the development of chronic hepatitis B and C.

ABCB1 C3435T and CYP2C19*2 polymorphisms in a Palestinian and Turkish population: A pharmacogenetic perspective to clopidogrel

Clopidogrel is an antiplatelet drug used to prevent recurrent ischemic events after acute coronary syndrome and/or coronary stent implantation. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) such as CYP2C19*2 and ABCB1 C3435T have been found to play a role in different individual responses to clopidogrel. Since the prevalence of these SNPs is generally known to differ from one population to another, the aim of this study was to examine their prevalence in both a Palestinian and Turkish population. One hundred unrelated Palestinian subjects and 100 unrelated Turkish subjects were analyzed for CYP2C19*2 and ABCB1 C3435T polymorphisms by the amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS). Results showed an ABCB1 3435 T allele frequency of 0.46 (95% CI 0.391 to 0.529) in the Palestinian sample and 0.535 (95% CI 0.4664 to 0.6036) in the Turkish sample. CYP2C19*2 allele frequency was 0.095 (95% CI 0.0558 to 0.134) in the Palestinian sample and 0.135 (95% CI 0.088 to 0.182) in the Turkish sample. Our results provide information about the prevalence of the polymorphisms related to clopidogrel response in both the Palestinian and Turkish populations, in order to improve the safety and efficacy of clopidogrel through use of genetically guided, individualized treatment. The prevalence of these clinically significant alleles shed light on the importance of testing them before prescribing clopidogrel.

Serum Interleukin 17 Levels in Patients with Crohn’s Disease: Real Life Data

The aim of this study was to investigate serum IL17 levels in patients with Crohns disease (CD) and to investigate the relationship between serum IL17 levels with disease activity. Methods. Fifty patients with CD and sex- and age-matched 40 healthy controls were included in the study. The serum IL17 levels, complete blood count, blood chemistry, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were measured, and Crohns disease activity was calculated using Crohns disease activity index (CDAI). Results. The mean serum IL17 level of CD patients did not differ from those of healthy controls (P > 0.05). There was no difference between the mean serum IL levels of active CD patients and of quiescent CD patients (P > 0.05). However, the mean IL17 level of active patients was lower than of control subjects (P = 0.02). Serum IL17 was not correlated with inflammatory markers (ESR, CRP, white blood count, platelet count, and albumin) and CDAI. Conclusions. Peripheral blood serum IL17 levels of CD patients were not higher than of healthy controls, and also, serum IL17 level was not correlated with clinical disease activity. Peripheral IL17 measurement is not a useful tool for detecting and monitoring Crohns disease which is understood to have complex etiopathogenesis.

Efficacy of doxycycline release collagen membrane on surgically created and contaminated defects in rat tibiae: A histopathological and microbiological study

BACKGROUND The effects of systemic antibiotics on controlling infective pathogens after guided bone regeneration(GBR) procedures especially in membrane exposures are limited. However, local administrations of antibiotics are rare in GBR techniques. AIM The aim of this study was to investigate the osteogenesis potential and the antibacterial effect of a doxycycline releasing collagen membrane in surgically created and contaminated defects in rat tibiae. MATERIAL AND METHODS Defects were created in 20 rats that were randomly divided in to two groups: control group (defect contaminated by Porphyromonas gingivalis, filled with bone graft and covered by collagen membrane); test group (defect contaminated by P. gingivalis filled with bone graft and covered by collagen membrane containing 1mg/cm(2) doxycycline. Animals were sacrificed post surgically on the 14th day for microbiologic evaluation and on the 28th day for histopathological evaluation. RESULTS The degree of osteogenesis in the test group was seen to be significantly higher than control group (p: 0.011; p<0.05). Furthermore in test group, no bacterial growth was observed. The bacteria counts were determined between 1×104 and 268×104CFU/g with a median of 1.32×104 for control group. CONCLUSIONS Within the limitations of this study, the results of the present study suggests that the use of a doxycycline releasing membrane has a positive effect on contaminated GBR procedures for limiting P. gingivalis infections leading to bone formation following GBR procedures in a rat model.

Obtaining useful properties of different materials by using magnetron sputtering

The objective of this work was to alter the surface morphology of materials such as textiles, metals, glass by using magnetron sputtering deposition in order to get new useful properties. This coating technique was chosen because it is very clean, nontoxic, and produces no chemical contamination compared to other methods, such as spraying and electroplating.1 Antibacterial properties of textiles after coating with copper, silver, and titanium were examined using the test microorganisms Escherichia coli ATCC-25922 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC-25923 according to the standard protocol for the parallel streak method (AATCC-TM-147) and suspension test (ASTME-2149). Not only were the antibacterial properties of coated textiles investigated, but their surface wettability was studied as well. It was seen that copper coated textiles gained hydrophobic properties similar to textiles coated with silver.2 The electrical conductivity change of non-woven textiles before and after coating was also studied. A dramatic resistance decrease was observed after silver coating was done on non-woven fabric. The optical transmittance and resistivity of microscope glass slides were also studied after ITO and silver coatings. Cluster formation in the ITO coatings was observed as in previous studies.3 The reduction of sheet resistance of ITO-Ag-ITO multilayer in comparison with ITO monolayer resistance was also observed. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images of coated surfaces were taken to examine their surface morphology.

Expression Profiles of TGF-β and TLR Pathways in Porphyromonas gingivalis and Prevotella intermedia Challenged Osteoblasts.

Background: The presence of certain oral pathogens at implant sites can hinder the osseointegration process. However, it is unclear how and by what microorganisms it happens. Objectives: This study investigated whether the presence of oral pathogens of Porphyromonas gingivalis and Prevotella intermedia individually, play a role in the failure of bone formation by determining the expression profiles of Transforming Growth Factor Beta (TGF-β/Bone Morphogenic Protein (BMP) and Toll-Like Receptor (TLR) pathways in challenged osteoblasts. Materials and Methods: Cell viability of P. gingivalis and P. intermedia challenged osteoblasts were determined by WST assay. Changes in osteoblast morphology and inhibition of mineralization were observed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Von Kossa staining, respectively. Expression of TGF-β and TLR pathway genes on challenged cells were identified by RT profiler array. Both P. gingivalis and P. intermedia challenges resulted in reduced viability and mineralization of osteoblasts. Results: Viability was reduced to 56.8% (P. gingivalis) and 52.75% (P. intermedia) at 1000 multiplicity. Amongst 48 genes examined, expressions of BMPER, SMAD1, IL8 and NFRKB were found to be highly upregulated by both bacterial challenges (Fold Change > 4). Conclusions: P. gingivalis and P. intermedia could play a role in implant failure by changing the expression profiles of genes related to bone formation and resorption.