Study on adherence to treatment with imatinib in chronic myeloid leukaemia and its association with therapeutic response

Objective: To assess the level of adherence to treatment with imatinib in patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia and its association with therapeutic response. Materials and methods: Study conducted on October, 2013 - March, 2014, including patients diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia on treatment with imatinib in the hospital. Therapeutic adherence was assessed through the standard Morisky-Green Questionnaire and the medication dispensing record. Those patients who did not complete 6 months of treatment and/or did not complete the questionnaire were excluded. Therapeutic response was assessed following clinical guidelines. The descriptive analysis of variables and correlation was conducted through Pearsons's Chi-Square Test. Results: The study included 31 patients. When assessing the level of association between response variables and therapeutic adherence: 1. The highest molecular response was reached by 68.4% of those patients with high adherence, and by 75% of those patients with intermediate adherence. 2. Complete molecular response was achieved by 57.9% of patients with high adherence, and by 58.3% of patients with intermediate adherence. No statistically significant differences were found in response variables between patients with high and intermediate therapeutic adherence. No association was observed between level of adherence and therapeutic response. Conclusions: We cannot confirm that a different level of therapeutic adherence might have an impact on response to imatinib, though this should be taken into account in cases of therapeutic failure or sub-optimal response.

The prevalence of genotypes that determine resistance to macrolides, lincosamides, and streptogramins B compared with spiramycin susceptibility among erythromycin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis

Coagulase-negative staphylococci, particularly Staphylococcus epidermidis , can be regarded as potential reservoirs of resistance genes for pathogenic strains, e.g., Staphylococcus aureus . The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of different resistance phenotypes to macrolide, lincosamide, and streptogramins B (MLSB) antibiotics among erythromycin-resistant S. epidermidis, together with the evaluation of genes promoting the following different types of MLSB resistance: ermA, ermB, ermC, msrA, mphC, and linA/A’. Susceptibility to spiramycin was also examined. Among 75 erythromycin-resistant S. epidermidis isolates, the most frequent phenotypes were macrolides and streptogramins B (MSB) and constitutive MLSB (cMLSB). Moreover, all strains with the cMLSB phenotype and the majority of inducible MLSB (iMLSB) isolates were resistant to spiramycin, whereas strains with the MSB phenotype were sensitive to this antibiotic. The D-shape zone of inhibition around the clindamycin disc near the spiramycin disc was found for some spiramycin-resistant strains with the iMLSB phenotype, suggesting an induction of resistance to clindamycin by this 16-membered macrolide. The most frequently isolated gene was ermC, irrespective of the MLSB resistance phenotype, whereas the most often noted gene combination was ermC, mphC, linA/A’. The results obtained showed that the genes responsible for different mechanisms of MLSB resistance in S. epidermidis generally coexist, often without the phenotypic expression of each of them.

Sustainable deployment of QTLs conferring quantitative resistance to crops: first lessons from a stochastic model

International audience

Effect of different methods of soil preparation on soil moisture loss, weed growth and soil resistance to penetration.

The effect of different methods of soil preparation on soil moisture loss, weed growth and soil resistance to penetration has been quantified for the Latosols of Bebedouro experiment station of CPATSA-EMBRAPA, Petrolina,PE, Brazil. The methods studied are manual preparation, preparation by animal drawn wheeled tool carrier and tractorized implements. The drying characteristics of three fields with different soil physical properties were studied prior to conducting the experiment. The different methods of soil preparation caused the soil moisture loss differently. The plot prepared by animal drawn tool carrier retained more moisture for longer time even at deeper layers. The soil resistance to penetration on the surface increased with time with little variation at deeper layers.

Primary Antibiotic Resistance to Helicobacter pylori Strains Isolated From Children in Northern Iran: A Single Center Study

Background: Initial resistance to antibiotics is the main reason for the failure of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) eradication in children. Objectives: As we commonly face high antibiotic resistance rates in children, we aimed to determine the susceptibility of H. pylori to common antibiotics. Patients and Methods: In this cross-sectional in vitro study, 169 children younger than 14 years with clinical diagnosis of peptic ulcer underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. Biopsy specimens from stomach and duodenum were cultured. In isolated colonies, tests of catalase, urease, and oxidase as well as gram staining were performed. After confirming the colonies as H. pylori, the antibiogram was obtained using disk diffusion method. Results: Culture for H. pylori was positive in 12.3% of the specimens, urease test in 21.3%, serological test in 18.9% and stool antigen test was positive in 21.9%. We could show high specificity but moderate sensitivity of both histological and H. pylori stool antigen tests to detect H. pylori. The overall susceptibility to metronidazole was 42.9%, amoxicillin 95.2%, clarithromycin 85.7%, furazolidone 61.9%, azithromycin 81.0%, and tetracycline 76.2% with the highest resistance to metronidazole and the lowest to clarithromycin. Conclusions: In our region, there is high resistance of H. pylori to some antibiotics including metronidazole and furazolidone among affected children. To reduce the prevalence of this antibiotic resistance, more controlled use of antibiotics should be considered in children.

Alleles of organic acid transporter genes are highly correlated with wheat resistance to acidic soil in field conditions.

2016

Major loci controlling resistance to the angular leaf spot of common bean.

Based on the evidences presented in this paper, results from classical genetic studies, fine-mapping information and physical position analysis using the reference genome sequence of P. vulgaris, the BIC Genetic Committee has formally accepted the proposed new gene symbols.

Resistance to Fusarium wilt in common bean cultivars and lines in pre-commercial stage.

The objective of this study was to identify common bean cultivars with resistance to Fusarium wilt.

Phenotypic and molecular characterization of common bean genotypes for resistance to anthracnose.

This study aimed to perform phenotypic and molecular characterization of cultivars and breeding lines of common bean for resistance to anthracnose.

A pigeonpea gene confers resistance to Asian soybean rust in soybean.

Asian soybean rust (ASR), caused by the fungus Phakopsora pachyrhizi, is one of the most economically important crop diseases, but is only treatable with fungicides, which are becoming less effective owing to the emergence of fungicide resistance. There are no commercial soybean cultivars with durable resistance to P. pachyrhizi, and although soybean resistance loci have been mapped, no resistance genes have been cloned. We report the cloning of a P. pachyrhizi resistance gene CcRpp1 (Cajanus cajan Resistance against Phakopsora pachyrhizi 1) from pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan) and show that CcRpp1 confers full resistance to P. pachyrhizi in soybean. Our findings show that legume species related to soybean such as pigeonpea, cowpea, common bean and others could provide a valuable and diverse pool of resistance traits for crop improvement.

Molecular organization of small plasmids bearing blaTEM-1 and conferring resistance to β-lactams in Haemophilus influenzae

TEM-1 is the dominant β-lactamase of Haemophilus influenzae and can be located on small plasmids. Three distinct plasmids with sizes from 4,304 to 5,646 nucleotides (nt) were characterized: pA1606, pA1209, and pPN223. In addition to TEM-1 and a replication enzyme of the Rep 3 superfamily, pA1606 carries a Tn3 resolvase gene and pA1606 and pA1209 carry an open reading frame (ORF) similar to a plasmid recombination enzyme gene described in Gram-positive bacteria. The plasmids transformed strain Rd to the ampicillin-resistant phenotype.

Novel blaROB-1-bearing plasmid conferring resistance to β-lactams in Haemophilus parasuis isolates from healthy weaning pigs

Haemophilus parasuis, the causative agent of Glässer's disease, is one of the early colonizers of the nasal mucosa of piglets. It is prevalent in swine herds, and lesions associated with disease are fibrinous polyserositis and bronchopneumonia. Antibiotics are commonly used in disease control, and resistance to several antibiotics has been described in H. parasuis. Prediction of H. parasuis virulence is currently limited by our scarce understanding of its pathogenicity. Some genes have been associated with H. parasuis virulence, such as lsgB and group 1 vtaA, while biofilm growth has been associated with nonvirulent strains. In this study, 86 H. parasuis nasal isolates from farms that had not had a case of disease for more than 10 years were obtained by sampling piglets at weaning. Isolates were studied by enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus PCR and determination of the presence of lsgB and group 1 vtaA, biofilm formation, inflammatory cell response, and resistance to antibiotics. As part of the diversity encountered, a novel 2,661-bp plasmid, named pJMA-1, bearing the blaROB-1 β-lactamase was detected in eight colonizing strains. pJMA-1 was shown to share a backbone with other small plasmids described in the Pasteurellaceae, to be 100% stable, and to have a lower biological cost than the previously described plasmid pB1000. pJMA-1 was also found in nine H. parasuis nasal strains from a separate collection, but it was not detected in isolates from the lesions of animals with Glässer's disease or in nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae isolates. Altogether, we show that commensal H. parasuis isolates represent a reservoir of β-lactam resistance genes which can be transferred to pathogens or other bacteria.