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Introduction: There is an urgent need to develop therapeutic options for biofilm-producing Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). Therefore, the renewed interest in essential oils (EOs), especially carvacrol, linalool and eugenol, has attracted the attention of our research group. Methods: Multidrug resistance and multivirulence profiles in addition to biofilm production of S. aureus strains isolated from cows with mastitis were evaluated using both phenotypic and genotypic methods. The antimicrobial and antibiofilm activities of EOs were tested using both in vitro and molecular docking studies. Moreover, the interactions between commonly used antibiotics and the tested EOs were detected using the checkerboard method. Results: We found that all our isolates (n= 37) were biofilm methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA) producers and 40.5% were vancomycin resistant S. aureus (VRSA). Unfortunately, 73 and 43.2% of the recovered MRSA isolates showed multidrug resistant (MDR) and multivirulence patterns, respectively. The antimicrobial activities of the tested EOs matched with the phenotypic evaluation of the antibiofilm activities and molecular docking studies. Linalool showed the highest antimicrobial and antibiofilm activities, followed by carvacrol and eugenol EOs. Fortunately, synergistic interactions between the investigated EOs and methicillin or vancomycin were detected with fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICI) values = 0.5. Moreover, the antimicrobial resistance patterns of 13 isolates changed to sensitive phenotypes after treatment with any of the investigated EOs. Treatment failure of bovine mastitis with resistant S. aureus can be avoided by combining the investigated EOs with available antimicrobial drugs. Conclusion: We hope that our findings can be translated into a formulation of new pharmaceutical dosage forms against biofilm-producing S. aureus pathogens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Mobile phones are used extensively by healthcare workers (HCWs) who are unaware of the amount of contamination these phones carry and act as reservoirs for organisms causing hospital-acquired infections. This investigation was aimed to find the prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) contamination and antimicrobial resistance patterns of isolates from HCW's cellphones. Methodology and results: This study was a hospital-based cross-sectional study. A total of 120 samples were isolated from HCWs' cellphones and subjected to culture and sensitivity as per the standard guidelines. Five (18.1%) out of 120 collected samples were from 11 lab technicians' phones and were positive for S. aureus and 6.25% were obtained from 48 nurses' cellphone swabs. Conclusion, significance and impact of study: The findings of this study reveal that HCWs' cellphones could be a possible source of infection since a high prevalence of MRSA was found on lab technicians and nurse cellphone sample swabs. On the other hand, all S. aureus isolates were resistant to methicillin and ceftazidime. Also, no significant relationship between the prevalence of MRSA was detected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chiral drug candidates have more effective binding affinities for their specific protein or receptor site for the onset of pharmacological action. Achieving all carbon stereopure compounds is not trivial in chemical synthesis. However, with the development of asymmetric organocatalysis, the synthesis of certain vital chiral drug candidates is now possible. In this research, we have synthesized 3-(((1S,3S)-3-((R)-hydroxy(4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)methyl)-4-oxocyclohexyl)methyl)pentane-2,4-dione (S,S,R-5) and have evaluated it potential as multi-target antidiabetic agent. The stereopure compound S,S,R-5 was synthesized with a 99:1 enantiomeric ratio. The synthesized compound gave encouraging results against all in vitro antidiabetic targets, exhibiting IC50 values of 6.28, 4.58, 0.91, and 2.36 in α-glucosidase, α-amylase, PTP1B, and DPPH targets, respectively. The molecular docking shows the binding of the compound in homology models of the respective enzymes. In conclusion, we have synthesized a new chiral molecule (S,S,R-5). The compound proved to be a potential inhibitor of the tested antidiabetic targets. With the observed results and molecular docking, it is evident that S,S,R-5 is a potential multitarget antidiabetic agent. Our study laid the baseline for the animal-based studies of this compound in antidiabetic confirmation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Expatriate workers usually contribute to the origination of some infectious diseases in the countries they reside. The aim of this study was to identify and analyze available information on filariasis imported into Najran, Saudi Arabia, by expatriate workers. Methodology: Serum (n = 497) were acquired from expatriate workers of both genders from different nationalities and various ages and also from randomly chosen parts and at different time periods of Najran. The serum samples were stored in a deep freezer at a temperature of - 65°C until utilized for the serological diagnosis of filariasis by using filariasis immunoglobulin G/immunoglobulin M (IgG/IgM) combo rapid test and human filariasis antibody (IgG4) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: Based on IgG/IgM rapid test, the prevalence of filariasis IgG was 3.8% (19 out of 497), whereas IgG4 ELISA showed that the prevalence of filariasis was 10.9% (10 out of 92). The highest prevalence of filariasis occurred in Indian workers, in adulthood (30-49 years), and in male workers. There was no significant agreement in results between IgG/IgM rapid test and ELISA. The percentage specificity of IgG/IgM rapid test, relative to filariasis IgG4 ELISA was 80.5%. Conclusions: The possibility of health hazard due to imported filariasis and preeminently the initiation of a novel carrier focal point of the disease are likely to relied upon the abundance of carriers of microfilaria and the density of vector mosquitoes who feed on the carriers. Furthermore, the results of this study underscore the need for screening and therapeutic strategies that guarantee the control and prevention of parasitic infectious diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: As a growing direction, nano-based therapy has become a successful paradigm used to address the phytogenic delivery-related problems in overcoming multivirulent vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA) infection., Methods: Hence, our aim was to develop and assess a novel nanocarrier system (mesoporous silica nanoparticles, MPS-NPs) for free berberine (Free-BR) as an antimicrobial alkaloid against strong biofilm-producing and multi-virulent VRSA strains using in vitro and in vivo mouse model., Results and Discussion: Our outcomes demonstrated vancomycin resistance in 13.7% of Staphylococcus aureus ( S. aureus ) strains categorized as VRSA. Notably, strong biofilm formation was observed in 69.2% of VRSA strains that were all positive for icaA gene. All strong biofilm-producing VRSA strains harbored a minimum of two virulence genes comprising clfA and icaA with 44.4% of them possessing all five virulence genes ( icaA , tst , clfA , hla , and pvl ), and 88.9% being multi-virulent. The study findings affirmed excellent in vitro antimicrobial and antibiofilm properties of BR-loaded MPS-NPs. Real-time quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) assay displayed the downregulating role of BR-loaded MPS-NPs on strong biofilm-producing and multi-virulent VRSA strains virulence and agr genes in both in vitro and in vivo mice models. Additionally, BR-loaded MPS-NPs supplementation has a promising role in attenuating the upregulated expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines' genes in VRSA-infected mice with attenuation in pro-apoptotic genes expression resulting in reduced VRSA-induced apoptosis. In essence, the current study recommends the future scope of using BR-loaded MPS-NPs as auspicious alternatives for antimicrobials with tremendous antimicrobial, antibiofilm, anti-quorum sensing (QS), and anti-virulence effectiveness against problematic strong biofilm-producing and multi-virulent VRSA-associated infections., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Abd El-Hamid, Ibrahim, Elazab, Gad, Shalaby, El-Neshwy, Alshahrani, Saif, Algendy, AlHarbi, Saleh, Alharthi and Mohamed.)