This study assessed the effect of an 8 week consumption of dried cranberry juice (DCJ) on 65 healthy young women. Basic biochemical and hematological parameters, antioxidant status, presence of metabolites in urine, and urine ex vivo antiadherence activity were determined throughout the trial. A 400 mg amount of DCJ/day had no influence on any parameter tested. A 1200 mg amount of DCJ/day resulted in a statistically significant decrease in serum levels of advanced oxidation protein products. This specific protective effect against oxidative damage of proteins is described here for the first time. Urine samples had an inhibitory effect on the adhesion of uropathogenic Escherichia coli strains, but no increase in urine acidity was noted. Hippuric acid, isomers of salicyluric and dihydroxybenzoic acids, and quercetin glucuronide were identified as the main metabolites. In conclusion, cranberry fruits are effective not only in the prevention of urinary tract infection but also for the prevention of oxidative stress.

Thermotolerant Campylobacter spp., in particular Campylobacter jejuni, are among the most frequently identified pathogens, found to be causing human gastrointestinal infections in Europe, with the Czech Republic being no exception. The presented work aimed at assessing results of the first nationwide monitoring of prevalence and antibiotic resistance of Campylobacter spp. in broiler flocks in the Czech Republic, including a comparison of antibiotic resistance of C. jejuni isolates collected from poultry and the human community. The monitoring was carried out in poultry slaughterhouses in 2006 and 2007. From broilers, cloacal swabs were collected and examined. The human isolates of C. jejuni were acquired from rectal swabs in community patients with diarrhoeal diseases. Suspected isolates of both animal and human origin were confirmed by the PCR methods. Antibiotic resistance to selected anti-microbial agents was tested by the microdilution method. In the monitored period, the prevalence of thermotolerant Campylobacter spp. in broilers in the Czech Republic reached almost 50%. In 2006, C. jejuni was detected in 46% and Campylobacter coli in 3% of the tested samples. In 2007, C. jejuni was found in 43% and C. coli in 2% of the samples. The results of anti-microbial susceptibility testing of C. jejuni showed higher resistance in animals when compared with humans. The only exception was tetracycline with higher resistance in isolates of human origin. The highest resistance detected was to quinolone antibiotics. Resistance to oxolinic acid was 77% in animal and 60% in human isolates, to ciprofloxacin 72% in isolates from poultry and 55% in those from humans. In ampicillin, 26% of poultry isolates and 16% of human isolates were resistant. Moreover, 9% of animal isolates demonstrated resistance to streptomycin, undetected in human isolates. In erythromycin, resistance was found in 6% of poultry and 1% of human isolates.

A rather fast and complicated progression of an infection caused by some strains of Staphylococcus aureus could be associated with the expression and co-action of virulence factor complexes in these strains. This study screened the antibiotic susceptibility and prevalence of virulence markers in isolates of meticillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) obtained from patients hospitalized at the University Hospital in Olomouc, Czech Republic. A total of 100 isolates was screened for 13 genes encoding extracellular virulence determinants (tst, pvl, eta, etb, sea, seb, sec, sed, see, seg, seh, sei and sej) and for their distribution in sample types. Eighty-nine isolates were positive for at least one of the genes. Genes for etb, pvl, see and seh were not detected in any of the MRSA isolates. No statistically significant differences in the occurrence of the determinants studied among sample types were found. INTRODUCTIONStaphylococcus aureus is one of the major nosocomial pathogens. Particular attention should be paid to meticillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). Resistance to meticillin is determined by the presence of the mecA gene encoding penicillin-binding protein with very low affinity to blactam antibiotics (Chambers, 1997). S. aureus produces a broad spectrum of extracellular and cell wall-associated virulence determinants (Foster, 2002). Among them, a wide variety of surface adhesins known as microbial surface components recognizing adhesive matrix molecules (MSCRAMMs) has been described (Patti et al., 1994).The most common staphylococcal proteins anchored in the cell wall are proteins with affinity to fibrinogen (i.e. clumping factors A and B, encoded by the clfA and clfB genes, respectively), fibronectin (fnbA), collagen (cna), sialoprotein (bbp), elastin (ebpS) and adhesins with unknown function (sdrC and sdrE) (Jonsson et al., 1991;Josefsson et al., 1998; McDevitt et al., 1997;Ní Eidhin et al., 1998; Park et al., 1996;Speziale et al., 1986;Tung et al., 2000). The second group of virulence factors is represented by a family of bacterial proteins with superantigen activity: enterotoxins A-E, G-R and U (encoded by the genes seasee, seg-ser and seu), toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 (TSST-1, encoded by tst), exfoliative toxins A and B (eta and etb) and other toxins such as a-, b-, c-and d-toxin and the Panton-Valentine leukocidin (pvl) (Arbuthnott et al., 1982;Bhakdi & Tranum-Jensen, 1991;Bohach et al., 1990;Prevost et al., 1995).Apart from syndromes caused by toxin production, S. aureus pathogenesis results from synergistic interactions of a variety of the above-mentioned factors. Exfoliative toxin and pyrogenic toxin superantigen production enables S. aureus to cause staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome (SSSS), staphylococcal toxic shock syndrome and staphylococcal food poisoning. Experimental models indicate that the expression of receptors for fibrinogen and fibronectin is associated with endocarditis, whereas the presence of adhesins for sialoprotein, collagen and fibronectin is associated with arthritis and osteomyel...

Eight coagulase-negative, oxidase-negative and novobiocin-susceptible staphylococcal strains were isolated from the gastrointestinal tracts of South American squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus L.). These strains were differentiated from known staphylococcal species on the basis of 16S rRNA gene and hsp60 gene sequencing, and from the most closely related species by using DNA-DNA hybridization, ribotyping, whole-cell protein profiles and biotyping. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences confirmed that these strains are members of the Staphylococcus aureus species group (99 % similarity) but are biochemically similar to Staphylococcus piscifermentans, from which they can be phenotypically distinguished by resistance to polymyxin B, acid production from D-mannitol, the inability to hydrolyse aesculin and DNA and the absence of a-glucosidase. On the basis of these analyses, a novel species of the genus Staphylococcus is described, for which the name Staphylococcus simiae sp. nov. is proposed, with CCM 7213 T (=LMG 22723 T ) as the type strain.Staphylococci are among the most widespread of the pathogenic and opportunistic pathogenic bacteria (Kloos et al., 1992). At present, 36 staphylococcal species are known: nine of them include two subspecies, and one of them includes three subspecies (Garrity et al., 2004;Spergser et al., 2003;Place et al., 2003; Švec et al., 2004). Several Staphylococcus species have been isolated from non-human primates and in some cases were associated with illness and mortality, particularly in newly imported animals (Padovan & Cantrell, 1983;Crouch et al., 1984;Stasilevich et al., 1986). An unnamed coagulase-negative and novobiocin-resistant 'Staphylococcus sp. 5' isolated from skin of squirrel monkeys has been reported previously by Kloos et al. (1976). During an outbreak of diarrhoeal disease in squirrel monkeys in a zoo in Olomouc, Czech Republic, staphylococcal strains with atypical features were isolated from both ill and healthy animals. The South American squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciureus L.) is an arboreal, small-sized, non-human primate from equatorial South America; it has always been a common sight in zoos, and laboratory-bred squirrel monkeys have long been used as an animal model in various fields of biomedical research (Rosenblum & Coe, 1985). (Freney et al., 1999; Pantů ček et al., 1999;Mannerová et al., 2003). Additional biochemical profile data were obtained by using the ID32 Staph, API Staph and API ZYM systems (bioMérieux). Susceptibility to other antibiotics was determined on Mueller-Hinton agar (Oxoid) by using a standard diffusion technique with a standard set of antibiotic discs for staphylococci (Oxoid).The characteristics of the novel isolates are summarized in the species description below. The squirrel monkey strains are phenotypically close to S. piscifermentans (Tanasupawat et al., 1992; Pantů ček et al., 1999) but differ from the latter in terms of the following biochemical characteristics: aesculin hydrolysis, DNA hydrolysis, a-and b-glucosid...