Comparison between E-test and CLSI broth microdilution method for antifungal susceptibility testing of Candida albicans oral isolates

Trinta Candida albicans isoladas de pacientes portadores de candidose oral e 30 Candida albicans isoladas de indivíduos controle foram estudadas. Testes de susceptibilidade in vitro foram realizados com anfotericina B, fluconazol, 5-flucitosina e itraconazol pelo método do Clinical and Laboratorial Standars Institute (CLSI) e por E-test. Os resultados obtidos foram analisados e comparados. Os valores de CIM foram semelhantes para amostras isoladas de pacientes portadores de candidose oral e indivíduos controle. A concordância entre os dois métodos foi de 66,7% para a anfotericina B, 53,33% para o fluconazol, 65% para a flucitosina e 45% para o itraconazol. de acordo com estes resultados, o método do E-test poderia ser uma alternativa para a triagem de casos de rotina pela sua simplicidade. Entretanto, este método não pode ser considerado como um substituto para o método de referência do CLSI.

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may modulate the protease activity of Candida albicans

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

In silico evaluation of the Eucalyptus transcriptome

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Effect of sodium bicarbonate on Candida albicans adherence to thermally activated acrylic resin

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of 5% sodium bicarbonate on the adherence of Candida albicans to thermally activated acrylic resin. Fifty 4 mm specimens of acrylic resin were obtained using a metallic matrix. The specimens received chemical polishing, were sterilized and then immersed in Sabouraud broth, inoculated with Candida albicans standardized suspension. After 24 hours of incubation at 37°C, the specimens were divided into four groups according to the substance used for disinfection (5% sodium bicarbonate, 0.12% digluconate chlorhexidine, vinegar and Corega Tabs). A control group was included, in which distilled water was used. The adhered microorganisms were dispersed, diluted and plated onto culture media to determine the number of colony-forming units (cfu/mL). The results were analyzed through the Mann-Whitney statistical test at the 5% level of significance. Only 0.12% digluconate chlorhexidine and 5% sodium bicarbonate presented a statistically significant difference (p = 0.0010 and p = 0.0156, respectively) compared to the control group, decreasing the number of cfu/mL. However, when the different disinfecting solutions were compared with each other, only 0.12% digluconate chlorhexidine presented a statistically significant difference in the reduction of cfu/mL. It was concluded that although 0.12% digluconate chlorhexidine was more effective in the reduction of Candida albicans adherence values to thermally activated acrylic resin, 5% sodium bicarbonate also proved to be a viable alternative.

Silver colloidal nanoparticles: Effect on matrix composition and structure of Candida albicans and Candida glabrata biofilms

Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of different silver nanoparticles (SN) concentrations on the matrix composition and structure of Candida albicans and Candida glabrata biofilms. Methods and Results: Candida biofilms were developed in 6-well microtiter plates during 48 h. After, these biofilms were exposed to 13·5 or 54 μg SN ml-1 for 24 h. Then, extracellular matrices were extracted from biofilms and analysed chemically in terms of proteins, carbohydrates and DNA. To investigate the biofilm structure, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and epifluorescence microscopy were used. SN interfered with the matrix composition of Candida biofilms tested in terms of protein, carbohydrate and DNA, except for the protein content of C. albicans biofilm. By SEM, Candida biofilms treated with SN revealed structural differences, when compared with the control groups. Further, SN showed a trend of agglomeration within the biofilms. Epifluorescence microscopy images suggest that SN induced damage on cell walls of the Candida isolates tested. Conclusions: In general, irrespective of concentration, SN affected the matrix composition and structure of Candida biofilms and these findings may be related to the mechanisms of biocide action of SN. Significance and Impact of the Study: This study reveals new insights about the behaviour of SN when in contact with Candida biofilms. SN may contribute to the development of therapies to prevent or control Candida infections. © 2012 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

The Development of a Universal In Silico Predictor of Protein-Protein Interactions

Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) are essential for understanding the function of biological systems and have been characterized using a vast array of experimental techniques. These techniques detect only a small proportion of all PPIs and are labor intensive and time consuming. Therefore, the development of computational methods capable of predicting PPIs accelerates the pace of discovery of new interactions. This paper reports a machine learning-based prediction model, the Universal In Silico Predictor of Protein-Protein Interactions (UNISPPI), which is a decision tree model that can reliably predict PPIs for all species (including proteins from parasite-host associations) using only 20 combinations of amino acids frequencies from interacting and non-interacting proteins as learning features. UNISPPI was able to correctly classify 79.4% and 72.6% of experimentally supported interactions and non-interacting protein pairs, respectively, from an independent test set. Moreover, UNISPPI suggests that the frequencies of the amino acids asparagine, cysteine and isoleucine are important features for distinguishing between interacting and non-interacting protein pairs. We envisage that UNISPPI can be a useful tool for prioritizing interactions for experimental validation. © 2013 Valente et al.

Triplet entropy analysis of hemagglutinin and neuraminidase sequences measures influenza virus phylodynamics

The influenza virus has been a challenge to science due to its ability to withstand new environmental conditions. Taking into account the development of virus sequence databases, computational approaches can be helpful to understand virus behavior over time. Furthermore, they can suggest new directions to deal with influenza. This work presents triplet entropy analysis as a potential phylodynamic tool to quantify nucleotide organization of viral sequences. The application of this measure to segments of hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) of H1N1 and H3N2 virus subtypes has shown some variability effects along timeline, inferring about virus evolution. Sequences were divided by year and compared for virus subtype (H1N1 and H3N2). The nonparametric Mann-Whitney test was used for comparison between groups. Results show that differentiation in entropy precedes differentiation in GC content for both groups. Considering the HA fragment, both triplet entropy as well as GC concentration show intersection in 2009, year of the recent pandemic. Some conclusions about possible flu evolutionary lines were drawn. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.

Evaluation of gene expression SAP5, LIP9, and PLB2 of candida albicans biofilms after photodynamic inactivation

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Inactivation of candida albicans by cold atmospheric pressure plasma jet

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Corrective shoeing in horses: analysis of the adaptation period to the new condition imposed

O ferrageamento corretivo é um método comumente ma Dvideow. O nível de significância adotado foi de 5%. No utilizado para alterar o padrão do andamento dos animais, presente estudo, não houve diferença significativa entre os assim como na terapêutica de diversas afecções do siste-dias avaliados, a elevação em seis graus da pinça ou talões ma locomotor dos equinos. No entanto, não existem, até não gerou desconforto durante a passada, portanto, os ani o momento, estudos científicos que revelem o período de mais podem retornar às atividades regulares de exercício e adaptação do andamento dos animais a este tipo de in-treinamento imediatamente após o ferrageamento. tervenção.O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar o período de adaptação à ferraduras com elevação em seis graus da pinça ou talões em equinos caminhando em esteira rolante. O período de adaptação à ferradura foi avaliado nos tempos 0, 48 e 96 horas após cada tipo de ferrageamento proposto. Os animais foram gravados caminhando em esteira rolante. O comprimento da passada e a análise qualitativa do andamento foram realizados com o auxílio do programa Dvideow. O nível de significância adotado foi de 5%. No presente estudo, não houve diferença significativa entre os dias avaliados, a elevação em seis graus da pinça ou talões não gerou desconforto durante a passada, portanto, os animais podem retornar às atividades regulares de exercício e treinamento imediatamente após o ferrageamento.

Application of abrupt cut-off models in the analysis of the capacitance spectra of conjugated polymer devices

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)