• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.587-593
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• 2021

Infertility is a key issue affecting mood and behavior in men. Microorganisms are one of the primary etiological agents that may be associated with infertility. The objective of the present study was to identify bacterial causative agents from the semen of infertile subjects and determine the effect of bacterial infection on sperm quality, as well as determine the susceptibility of these bacteria to drugs. Forty semen samples from 30 infertile patients and 10 fertile individuals were collected. The pH, volume, motility, and concentration of semen were analyzed. The samples were processed and identified by biochemical testing using API identification kits. The antibiotic susceptibility pattern was determined using the disc diffusion method. Abnormal sperm quality was observed. The mean age of the individual and their sperm morphology, concentration, progressive motility, pH level, and pus cell content were 31.9 years, 2.7%, 10.4 million/ml, 27.3%, 8.3, and 5.7, respectively. Among the tested samples, oligoasthenozoospermia was found to show the highest occurrence, at 27/30 samples, followed by teratozoospermia, at 25/30 samples, and asthenozoospermia, at 22/30 samples. Of the tested infertile patients' sperm, 19, 6, and 5 isolates were identified as Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, and Staphylococcus epidermidis, respectively. The results also revealed multi-drug resistance in the bacteria. Compared to that shown by the other tested antibiotics, amikacin showed higher activity against all isolated bacteria. However, the bacteria exhibited maximum resistance against gentamicin, cefotaxime, levofloxacin, and ampicillin. In conclusion, leukocytospermia and bacterial infections are possibly responsible for sperm abnormalities. Multi-drug resistant bacteria were detected. Gentamicin, cefotaxime, levofloxacin and ampicillin were shown the highest resistance, while amikacin was the most effective antimicrobial agent against the isolated bacteria.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.33 no.7
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• pp.492-500
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• 2011

Antibiotic resistant microbes were isolated in catfish, trout, eel and loach aquaculture effluent. The distribution of antibiotic resistant microbes in aquaculture effluent and the disinfection efficiency of antibiotic resistant microbes by electron beam irradiation were investigated. It was shown that the multi-drug resistant bacteria were Aeromonas sp., Citrobacter sp., Bacillus sp., Marinobacter sp., Pantoea sp., Pseudomonas sp. and Enterobacter sp. in aquaculture effluent. 41.7% of total strains showed the resistance against one antibiotic agent, and 58.3% of total strains showed the resistance against more than two antibiotics. It was evidently shown that the toxicity and physicochemical properties of antibiotics can be estimated using Quantitative Structure Analysis Relationship (QSAR). Electron beam irradiation was very effective for the disinfection of antibiotic resistant bacteria from aquaculture effluent, in which the disinfection efficiency was approximately 99.9% with electron beam of 1 kGy.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.77-84
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• 2014

Periodic analysis of local epidemiologic data of prevalent pathogens of blood culture can provide clinicians with relevant information to guide empirical antibiotic therapy. In this study, we analyzed a pattern of change of causative microorganisms and antimicrobial resistance at a tertiary medical center in Chungcheong province from 2003 to 2012, retrospectively. Of 70,258 blood specimens cultured, 6,063 (8.6%) were positive. Among the positive isolates, 95.9% were aerobic or facultative anaerobic bacteria, 0.1% were anaerobes, and 3.9% were fungi. Coagulase-negative Staphylococci (CoNS) (32.9%), Escherichia coli (16.7%), Staphylococcus aureus (9.1%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (6.4%), and ${\alpha}$-hemolytic Streptococcus (5.9%) were commonly isolated bacteria, and Candida albicans (1.4%) was the most commonly isolated fungi. Enterococcus faecium progressively increased but Streptococcus pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii and Proteus species gradually decreased over a period of 10 years. The multidrug-resistant microorganisms such as methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), cefotaxime-resistant E. coli, imipenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (IRPA) and imipenem-resistant A. baumannii (IRAB), were significantly increased. Therefore, there is a need for a more strict control of antibiotics and a more updated guideline for the treatment of bloodstream infection.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.226-232
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• 2006

Swarming has proven to be a good in vitro model for bacterial surface adherence and colonization, and the swarming differentiation of a bacterium has been shown to be coupled with changes in the expression of virulence factors associated with its invasiveness, particularly in the early stages of infection. In this study, we attempted to determine whether the expression of vvhA, which encodes for hemolysin/cytolysin (VvhA), is either upregulated or downregulated during the swarming differentiation of V. vulnificus. The insertional inactivation of vvhA itself exerted no detectable effect on the expression of V. vulnificus swarming motility. However, in our lacZ-fused vvhA transcriptional reporter assay, vvhA expression decreased in swarming V. vulnificus as compared to non-swarming or planktonic V. vulnificus. The reduced expression of vvhA in swarming V. vulnificus increased as a result of the deletional inactivation of luxS, a gene associated with quorum sensing. These results show that vvhA expression in swarming V. vulnificus is downregulated via the activity of the LuxS quorum-sensing system, suggesting that VvhA performs no essential role in the invasiveness of V. vulnificus via the adherence to and colonization on the body surfaces required in the early stages of the infection. However, VvhA may playa significant role in the pathophysiological deterioration occurring after swarming V. vulnificus is differentiated into planktonic V. vulnificus.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.10
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• pp.1383-1392
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• 2021

Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) that produce Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase are increasingly reported worldwide and have become more and more resistant to nearly all antibiotics during the past decade. The emergence of K. pneumoniae strains with decreased susceptibility to carbapenems, which are used as a last resort treatment option, is a significant threat to hospitalized patients worldwide as K. pneumoniae infection is responsible for a high mortality rate in the elderly and immunodeficient individuals. This study used Lactobacillus fermentum as a candidate probiotic for treating CRE-related infections and investigated its effectiveness. We treated mice with L. fermentum originating from the vaginal fluid of a healthy Korean woman and evaluated the Lactobacilli's efficacy in preventive, treatment, nonestablishment, and colonization mouse model experiments. Compared to the control, pre-treatment with L. fermentum significantly reduced body weight loss in the mouse models, and all mice survived until the end of the study. The oral administration of L. fermentum after carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella (CRK) infection decreased mortality and illness severity during a 2-week observation period and showed that it affects other strains of CRK bacteria. Also, the number of Klebsiella bacteria was decreased to below 5.5 log₁₀ CFU/ml following oral administration of L. fermentum in the colonization model. These findings demonstrate L. fermentum's antibacterial activity and its potential to treat CRE infection in the future.

• Journal of the Korea Fashion and Costume Design Association
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.103-111
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to investigate the antibacterial efficacy of cotton and silk/rayon fabrics dyed with Saururus chinensis extract against antibiotic-resistant strains. The concentration of the concentrated dye in the Saururus chinensis extracts was 1.1% (o.w.f), and the liquor ratio was 1:10 at 30-70℃. The mordanting method was a post mordanting method. The concentration of Al2(SO4)3, CuSO4 5H2O and FeSO4 and7H2O mordant was 5% (o.w.f), and the liquor ratio was 1:40. In order to assess the antimicrobial activity of naturally dyed fabrics, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) ATCC 33591, was used by incubating it in Brain Heart Infusion Agar (BHA) including Oxacillin (2㎍/ml) and Fungizone (2.5㎍/ml) and Brain Heart Infusion broth (BHI; Detroit, MI, USA.) The investigation of the reduction of the rate of antibiotic-resistant strains to dyed cotton fabrics and silk/rayon fabrics revealed that Cu mordanting fabric has the highest antimicrobial effects, with the rate of 99.7%, and Fe mordanting fabric has the lowest, with 77.7%. Non-mordant cotton fabrics also show a high reduction rate of strains (94.6%). In the case of dyed silk/rayon fabrics, it indicates a high reduction in the rate of strains in all fabrics with non-mordant treatment (94.2%), Al mordanting (99.6%), and Cu and Fe mordanting(99.9%).

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.223-229
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• 1985

We have previously isolated seven strains of spiral form bacteria, which have shown several similar characteristics to Leptospira from patient with epidemic pulmonary hemorrhagic fever and matural paddy water. Further studies have performed to characterize them. All of the isolated bacteria were aerobic, gram negative and spiral form and their growth were completely inhibited at temperature below $13^{\circ}C\;and\;50^{\circ}C$. In sensitivity test to drugs, the bacteria were resistant to the bile salts, 5-Fu and Amphotericine B, but sensitive to the 8-Azaguanine. The isolated bacteria as well as 5 serotypes of Leptospira interrogans reacted the patient sera and it was also shown that antisera from rabbit immunized with the isolated bacteria reacted with 5 serotypes of Leptospira interrogans. These results suggest that the isolated bacteria may belong to the genus Leptospira.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.1011-1027
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• 2024

Animal-derived foods, such as meat and dairy products, are prone to spoilage by psychrotrophic bacteria due to their high-water activity and nutritional value. These bacteria can grow at refrigerated temperatures, posing significant concerns for food safety and quality. Psychrotrophic bacteria, including Pseudomonas, Listeria, and Yersinia, not only spoil food but can also produce heat-resistant enzymes and toxins, posing health risks. This review examines the characteristics and species composition of psychrotrophic bacteria in animal-derived foods, their impact on food spoilage and safety, and contamination patterns in various products. It explores several nonthermal techniques to combat bacterial contamination as alternatives to conventional thermal methods, which can affect food quality. This review highlights the importance of developing nonthermal technologies to control psychrotrophic bacteria that threaten the cold storage of animal-derived foods. By adopting these technologies, the food industry can better ensure the safety and quality of animal-derived foods for consumers.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.60 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2016

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of quinolone resistant E. coli from retail meat and to characterize the resistant determinants. Determination of minimum inhibitory concentration, the sequence analysis of gyrA, gyrB, parC, and parE quinolone resistance determining regions (QRDR), the presences of plasmid mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) and the expression of efflux pump genes were investigated. Of the total 277 retail meat samples, 67 coli form bacteria were isolated. 15 of 67 isolates showed nalidixic acid resistance and 7 of 15 nalidixic acid resistant isolates were also resistant to ciprofloxacin, moxifloxacin and levofloxacin. 11 of 15 nalidixic acid resistant strains were isolated from chicken, 2 of 15 were isolated from beef and 2 of 15 were isolated from pork samples. 11 of 15 nalidixic acid resistant strains have single mutation at codon 87 (D87N or D87G) in gyrA, 2 of 11 gyrA mutants have double mutations at codon 86 and 87 (L86A and L87I) in parC with mutations at codon 434+445+465 or 429 in gyrB. 2 of 15 resistant isolates harbored qnrS, a PMQR determinant. Over expression of the acrB gene, efflux pump gene (3.93~16.53 fold), was observed in 10 of 15 resistant isolates.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.225-231
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• 2014

In this study, 185 cefotaxime-resistant Escherichia coli were isolated from different stages of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Daegu in Korea. Among them, 99.5% (184 isolates) originated from raw sewage and 0.5% (1 isolates) from the final effluent. Cefotaxime-resistant E. coli were high resistant to ampicillin, piperacillin, cefazolin, cephalothin, cefachlor and cefamandole (99.5~100%). About 93% of the cefotaxime-resistant E. coli were extended-spectrum ${\beta}$-lactamases (ESBL)-producing E. coli. The $bla_{TEM+CTX}$ gene was the most predominant of the ESBL genes (72.5%), followed by $bla_{CTX-M}$ (16.2%), $bla_{TEM}$ (8.7%), $bla_{TEM+CTX+SHV}$ (1.1%), $bla_{TEM+SHV}$, $bla_{TEM+OXA}$, and $bla_{TEM+CTX+SHV}$ (respectvely 0.5%). Class 1 and 2 integron were found in 49.7% and class 3 integron was not found. All of integron positive isolates were multiresistant (i.e. resistant to four or more antibiotics). Our findings showed WWTP is contaminated with antibiotic resistant bacteria with resistance genes.