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Background: Carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (CRPA) is one of the main Gram-negative bacterium causes of infections in hospital settings, and the spread of them is a significant challenge to public health. Methods: A total of 30 non-duplicate isolates of CRPA were collected. Antibacterial susceptibility of isolates to antibiotic agents, AmpC β-lactamase production, and biofilm formation were determined. Minimum biofilm inhibitory concentrations (MBIC) of isolates to cefepime (FEP), imipenem (IPM), ceftazidime (CAZ), and meropenem (MEM) were evaluated with/without cloxacillin (CLX). The carbapenemase and 16 S rRNA methylase genes were identified by PCR, and the transcription levels of oprD, ampC, and mexA genes were determined by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). ERIC-PCR was used to detect genetic relationships among isolates. Results: All isolates were multidrug resistant (MDR) and strong biofilm producers. The resistance genes including blaNDM, blaIMP, blaVIM, blaSIM, blaGES, and armA were detected in 21 (70%), 6 (20%), 3 (10%), 2 (6.6%), 1 (3.3%), and 17 (56.6%) of the isolates, respectively. CLX at 500 and 1000 µg/mL significantly reduced the level of MIC to MEM, IPM, CAZ, and FEP, also at 2000 µg/mL significantly reduced the level of MBIC to MEM, IPM, CAZ, and FEP. In all isolates, the transcription levels of oprD were significantly downregulated as well as significantly increased for ampC and mexA. ERIC-PCR typing results divided 30 isolates into four clusters A to D. Conclusion: In this study, we reported the spread of different clones of CRPA harboring co-existence of various carbapenemase genes with armA 16 S rRNA methylase for the first time in Kerman, Iran. Also, our isolates had several mechanisms of resistance to carbapenems as well as ability biofilm formation along with resistance to aminoglycosides, the further spread of which could cause serious challenges in our hospital settings. Therefore, serious monitoring is necessary to reduce their prevalence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To test the reasonability of applying journal-specific indicators with the purpose of evaluating individual researchers, the present study attempted to examine the structural similarities between journal-evaluation indicators (i.e. JIF, SNIP and SJR) and authorevaluation ones (i.e. publication counts, citation per paper, and H and G indices) through factor analysis. The Iranian papers having published in SCI in 2008 were chosen as the corpus of this study to be analyzed. The results showed that the author- and journalevaluation indicators belong to two totally different factor groups, and share no structures. On this basis, one may conclude that what the journal- evaluation indices evaluate is completely different from what the author-level ones do. It would be, therefore, illogical to use these two groups of indices interchangeably and for purposes they have not been designed for. Otherwise, consistent results cannot be expected to come out of such endeavors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (CRPA) is one of the main Gram-negative bacterium causes of infections in hospital settings, and the spread of them is a significant challenge to public health., Methods: A total of 30 non-duplicate isolates of CRPA were collected. Antibacterial susceptibility of isolates to antibiotic agents, AmpC β-lactamase production, and biofilm formation were determined. Minimum biofilm inhibitory concentrations (MBIC) of isolates to cefepime (FEP), imipenem (IPM), ceftazidime (CAZ), and meropenem (MEM) were evaluated with/without cloxacillin (CLX). The carbapenemase and 16 S rRNA methylase genes were identified by PCR, and the transcription levels of oprD, ampC, and mexA genes were determined by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). ERIC-PCR was used to detect genetic relationships among isolates., Results: All isolates were multidrug resistant (MDR) and strong biofilm producers. The resistance genes including bla NDM , bla IMP , bla VIM , bla SIM , bla GES, and armA were detected in 21 (70%), 6 (20%), 3 (10%), 2 (6.6%), 1 (3.3%), and 17 (56.6%) of the isolates, respectively. CLX at 500 and 1000 µg/mL significantly reduced the level of MIC to MEM, IPM, CAZ, and FEP, also at 2000 µg/mL significantly reduced the level of MBIC to MEM, IPM, CAZ, and FEP. In all isolates, the transcription levels of oprD were significantly downregulated as well as significantly increased for ampC and mexA. ERIC-PCR typing results divided 30 isolates into four clusters A to D., Conclusion: In this study, we reported the spread of different clones of CRPA harboring co-existence of various carbapenemase genes with armA 16 S rRNA methylase for the first time in Kerman, Iran. Also, our isolates had several mechanisms of resistance to carbapenems as well as ability biofilm formation along with resistance to aminoglycosides, the further spread of which could cause serious challenges in our hospital settings. Therefore, serious monitoring is necessary to reduce their prevalence., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The emergence of multiple drug-resistant (MDR) Acinetobacter baumannii strains has become a global problem. This study aimed to evaluate the occurrence of antibiotic resistance and to investigate the presence of antibiotic resistance determinants among A. baumannii isolates obtained from hospitalized patients in Iran. This cross-sectional study was performed on 92 A. baumannii isolates in the years 2015-2016. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was carried out by the disk diffusion method. The presence of antibiotic resistance determinants was detected by the PCR method. All the A. baumannii isolates were resistant to tested carbapenems, fluoroquinolones and sulfonamide agents, and susceptible to polymixins. Of the isolates 92.4% were extensive drug-resistant (XDR) and 7.6% were MDR. PCR screening for the presence of integron genes revealed that class 1 integron presented in 46.7% of isolates and class 2 in 18.5% isolates. Of the investigated antibiotic resistance genes, bla vim, bla imp, bla spm, sul1 and sul2 were positive in 75%, 12%, 12%, 47.8%, and 67.4% of isolates, respectively. The high prevalence of metallo-beta-lactamase (MBL) and sul genes in our results may indicate the importance of these genes in the dissemination of carbapenem- and sulfonamide-resistant A. baumannii isolates. Rational and restricted prescription of carbapenems may be an effective way to minimize the emergence and spread of MBL-harboring strains.