Animals studied A total of 46 healthy donkeys housed in 3 locations within the territory of Palermo (Sicily, Italy) were studied. Donkeys ranged from 2 to 13years of age, with a median age of 6years. Procedures Forty-six conjunctival swabs were obtained from both eyes of each animal, and specimens were cultured for aerobic bacteria. Furthermore, the antimicrobial activity of methicillin (1g) and oxacillin (5g) on Staphylococcus spp. isolates was evaluated, and a specific PCR assay, which allows the detection of mecA gene specific for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Kinase Inhibitor Library cell line aureus (MRSA) strains, was performed. Results Forty of 46 (86.9%) donkeys were
positive for bacteria. Eighty bacterial isolates, representing 9 bacteria genera, were successfully cultured. The most frequently recovered bacterial genus was Staphylococcus (52/80 isolates; 65%). Several strains (20/80 isolates; 25%) belonging to the Enterobacteriaceae family were also isolated, among which P5091 the most frequently
isolated genus was Enterobacter (eight isolates). Of the 52 Staphylococcus spp. isolates, 14 (26.9%) strains were oxacillin/methicillin resistant. The mecA gene was detected in 6/52 (11.5%) strains. Conclusions This study contributes to the knowledge about normal ocular flora and MRSA occurrence in donkey farms in Sicily.”
“D-galactose is an attractive substrate for bioconversion. Herein, Escherichia coli was metabolically engineered to convert d-galactose into d-galactonate, a valuable compound in the polymer and cosmetic industries. d-galactonate productions by engineered E. coli strains were observed in shake flask cultivations containing 2 g L-1 d-galactose. Engineered E. coli expressing gld coding for galactose dehydrogenase from Pseudomonas syringae was able to produce 0.17 g L-1 d-galactonate. Inherent metabolic pathways for assimilating both d-galactose and d-galactonate were blocked to enhance the production of d-galactonate. This approach finally led to a 7.3-fold increase with d-galactonate
see more concentration of 1.24 g L-1 and yield of 62.0 %. Batch fermentation in 20 g L-1 d-galactose of E. coli agalKadgoK mutant expressing the gld resulted in 17.6 g L-1 of d-galactonate accumulation and highest yield of 88.1 %. Metabolic engineering strategy developed in this study could be useful for industrial production of d-galactonate.”
“OBJECTIVES: Pneumonectomy with en bloc chest wall resection is often denied because of the procedure-related high risk. We evaluated the short- and long-term outcome of this procedure.
METHODS: From January 1995 to October 2011, 34 patients (30 males and 4 females; mean age: 61.8 years) underwent pneumonectomy with en bloc chest wall resection for 33 non-small-cell lung cancer and 1 metastatic osteosarcoma in two institutions. Data were retrospectively reviewed.
RESULTS: Operative (30-day) mortality was 2.9% (1 of 34), and morbidity was 38.2% (13 of 34).