Photodynamic and Antibiotic Therapy Impair the Pathogenesis of Enterococcus faecium in a Whole Animal Insect Model

Enterococcus faecium has emerged as one of the most important pathogens in healthcare-associated infections worldwide due to its intrinsic and acquired resistance to many antibiotics, including vancomycin. Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) is an alternative therapeutic platform that is currently under investigation for the control and treatment of infections. PDT is based on the use of photoactive dye molecules, widely known as photosensitizer (PS). PS, upon irradiation with visible light, produces reactive oxygen species that can destroy lipids and proteins causing cell death. We employed Galleria mellonella (the greater wax moth) caterpillar fatally infected with E. faecium to develop an invertebrate host model system that can be used to study the antimicrobial PDT (alone or combined with antibiotics). In the establishment of infection by E. faecium in G. mellonella, we found that the G. mellonella death rate was dependent on the number of bacterial cells injected into the insect hemocoel and all E. faecium strains tested were capable of infecting and killing G. mellonella. Antibiotic treatment with ampicillin, gentamicin or the combination of ampicillin and gentamicin prolonged caterpillar survival infected by E. faecium (P = 0.0003, P = 0.0001 and P = 0.0001, respectively). In the study of antimicrobial PDT, we verified that methylene blue (MB) injected into the insect followed by whole body illumination prolonged the caterpillar survival (P = 0.0192). Interestingly, combination therapy of larvae infected with vancomycin-resistant E. faecium, with antimicrobial PDT followed by vancomycin, significantly prolonged the survival of the caterpillars when compared to either antimicrobial PDT (P = 0.0095) or vancomycin treatment alone (P = 0.0025), suggesting that the aPDT made the vancomycin resistant E. faecium strain more susceptible to vancomycin action. In summary, G. mellonella provides an invertebrate model host to study the antimicrobial PDT and to explore combinatorial aPDT-based treatments.

Effect finishing and polishing procedures on the surface roughness of IPS Empress 2 ceramic

Objective. To evaluate the surface roughness of IPS Empress 2 ceramic when treated with different finishing/polishing protocols. Materials and methods. Sixteen specimens of IPS Empress 2 ceramic were made from wax patterns obtained using a stainless steel split mold. The specimens were glazed (Stage 0-S0, control) and divided into two groups. The specimens in Group 1 (G1) were finished/polished with a KG Sorensen diamond point (S1), followed by KG Sorensen siliconized points (S2) and final polishing with diamond polish paste (S3). In Group 2 (G2), the specimens were finished/polished using a Shofu diamond point (S1), as well as Shofu siliconized points (S2) and final polishing was performed using Porcelize paste (S3). After glazing (S0) and following each polishing procedure (S1, S2 or S3), the surface roughness was measured using TALYSURF Series 2. The average surface roughness results were analyzed using ANOVA followed by Tukey post-hoc tests (α = 0.01) Results. All of the polishing procedures yielded higher surface roughness values when compared to the control group (S0). S3 yielded lower surface roughness values when compared to S1 and S2. Conclusions. The proposed treatments negatively affected the surface roughness of the glazed IPS Empress 2 ceramic. © 2013 Informa Healthcare.

Avaliação de microrganismos antagônicos, Saccharomyces cerevisiae e Bacillus subtilis para o controle de Penicillium Digitatum

Citrus fruits are affected by diverse diseases, mainly the fungal infections, which affect productivity and quality, especially when it targets the market of fresh fruit. Among the fungal diseases that occur in postharvest, there is the green mold caused by Penicillium digitatum. The control measures are based mainly in the treatment of fruits with different combinations of fungicides in packing-house. Due to restrictions on the presence of residues of fungicides in citrus fruits and the increasing development of resistant strains of pathogens to the fungicide used, it is necessary to search for control alternatives such as biological control. Therefore, this study aimed to: (i) verify the antagonistic effect of biological control agents (BCA), being 13 isolates of Bacillus subtilis and 06 isolates of Saccharomyces cerevisiae against P. digitatum, (ii) study in vitro interactions between pathogen and BCA (iii) determine the effect of integration of antagonists with sodium bicarbonate and carnauba wax in the control of green mold. The results showed that the majority of the isolates, and all yeast isolates inhibited the mycelial growth of the phytopathogen. Only one isolate of B. subtilis (ACB-84) was able to inhibit the germination of P. digitatum (72% of inhibition), whereas ACB-K1 and ACB-CR1 (S. cerevisiae) were the most effective with inhibition from 78 and 85.7% respectively. The addition of sucrose (0.5%) favored the inhibition of conidia germination by the yeast isolates. The results from the in vivo control showed the viability of S. cerevisiae ACB-K1 and ACB-CR1 to control P. digitatum in 'Tahiti' lime fruits and orange 'Hamlin' fruits, respectively. The combination of sodium bicarbonate and biocontrol agents did not result in improvements in the curative control of the green mold. Carnauba wax (18% of TSS) favored the antagonistic activity of S. cerevisiae, and this effect depended on the variety of fruits in the study and of the yeast isolate used for the biocontrol.

Estudo da atividade antioxidante de frutas tropicais exóticas sobre espécies reativas de oxigênio de importância biológica em ensaios modelos

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Avaliação qualitativa e quantitativa da resposta tecidual frente aos cimentos: MTA Ângelus cinza e MTA fotopolimerizável experimental: análise microscópica de implantes realizados em subcutâneos de ratos

Pós-graduação em Ciência Odontólogica - FOA

Mudanças dimensionais dos arcos dentários em crianças entre 3 e 6 anos de idade

Pós-graduação em Odontologia - FOAR

Conservação pós-colheita de mangas produzidas na região de Jaboticabal-SP

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Estudo da dilatometria do titânio e das expansões de presa e térmica de revestimentos fosfatados

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Novo formato de pilar protético em zircônia estabilizada por Itría (Y-Tzp) para implantodontia desenvolvido pela técnica de slip casting

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Avaliação da desadaptação marginal de estruturas metálicas obtidas com variações quanto aos tipos de cera e às técnicas de inclusão e fundição

Pós-graduação em Odontologia - FOA

Comparação da desadaptação marginal de infra-estruturas metálicas obtidas com variações na técnica de fundição, revestimentos e material para obtenção dos padrões

Pós-graduação em Odontologia - FOA

Efeito de desinfecções sucessivas com energia de microondas na resistência de união entre dentes artificiais e resinas para bases de próteses

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Morfologia e anatomia foliar de dicotiledôneas arbóreo-arbustivas do cerrado de São Paulo, Brasil

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

Avaliação da difusão de íons hidroxila e da atividade antibacteriana de medicação intracanal á base de hidróxido de cálcio

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Maracujá-amarelo (Passiflora edulis Sims f. flavicarpa Deg.): aspectos relativos à fenologia, demanda hídrica e conservação pós-colheita

Pós-graduação em Agronomia (Irrigação e Drenagem) - FCA