Klebsiella pneumoniae, known as a major threat to public health, is the most common factor of nosocomial and community acquired infections. In this study, 50 K. pneumoniae clinical specimens isolated from bronchial, urea, blood, catheter, rectal, bile, tracheal and wound cultures were collected. These isolates were identified and carbapenem resistance was determined via an automated system, CHROMagar Orientation and CHROMagar KPC. The carbapenemase gene regions (blaIMP, blaVIM, blaOXA, blaNDM and blaKPC) and presence of virulence factors (magA, k2A, rmpA, wabG, uge, allS, entB, ycfM, kpn, wcaG, fimH, mrkD, iutA, iroN, hly ve cnf-1) of these isolates were determined by using Multiplex-PCR. The OXA-48 carbapenemase gene regions were determined in 33 of 50 K. pneumoniae strains. In addition, NDM-1 resistance in one, OXA-48 and NDM-1 resistance in four unusual K. pneumoniae isolates were detected. Virulence gene regions that were encountered among K. pneumoniae isolates were 88% wabG, 86% uge, 80% ycfM and 72% entB, related with capsule, capsule lipoprotein and external membrane protein, responsible for enterobactin production, respectively. Even though there was no significant difference between resistant and sensitive strains due to the virulence gene regions (P≥0.05), virulence factors in carbapenem resistant isolates were found to be more diverse. This study is important for both, to prevent the spread of carbapenem resistant infections and to plan for developing effective treatments. Moreover, this study is the first detailed study of the carbapenem resistance and virulence factors in K. pneumoniae strains.

The aim of this study is to investigate the fungal diversity of green turtle nests and to examine phylogenetic relationships among these isolates. During the nesting season, samples of intra-nest sand and failed eggs were collected from 25% of the surviving nests in Sugözü Beaches, which are amongst the most important nesting beaches for endangered green turtles in the Mediterranean. Twenty-three fungi were identified by molecular techniques. Fungal isolates belonged to genera Aspergillus, Emericella, Rhizopus, Actinomucor and Apophysomyces with two undescribed species. Aspergillus variecolor, Aspergillus quadrilinieatus, Aspergillus tubingensis, Rhizopus oryzae, Actinomucor elegans and Apophysomyces variabilis were firstly detected in all sea turtle nests within this study. Our results demonstrate that 36.4% of the nests had fungal contamination. Also hatching success of the nests contaminated by fungi were significantly lower than the uncontaminated nests (P = 0.029). Also, this may represent a threat to marine turtles and a risk for the health of conservation workers. This study is the first molecular phylogenetic study associated with sea turtle nests in the eastern Mediterranean coast and contributes to the wider body of literature on fungal invasion of sea turtle nests with firstly isolated species. These findings are important for improving potential conservation measures for the nest sites.

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In this study, fifty Escherichia coli strains were analyzed by multiplex polymerase chain reaction for the genes expressed carbapenemase and virulence factors in order to determine the presence of carbapenemase and nine virulence factors and investigate the association between these two characteristics. When carbapenemase susceptibility was taken into consideration, OXA-48 type carbapenemase was determined for 22% of the total strains. Also, the frequency of virulence gene regions in E.coli infections and virulence gene profiles of these isolates were examined and the frequency of pap,

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Heavy metals are naturally present in the environment. As a result of human activities and some natural events, mixing of these metals in water, air and soil is one of the most serious global problems. The toxicity of these metals is also a serious global problem due to their accumulation in living things and non-biodegradable characteristics. Increasing heavy metal pollution in aquatic and terrestrial environments requires improvement strategies such as bioremediation to remove these metals from the environment for human and environmental health. In this study, fungal isolation was performed to examine fungi with heavy metal remediation potential using sand samples from Sugözü Beaches where are subjected to intense environmental effects due to human activities including industrial facilities and marine traffic. This beach is also an important nesting area for the green turtle. Aspergillus alliaceus isolated from this beach was identified using primers of internal transcribed spacer 1 and 4. To determine the tolerance of A. alliaceus to iron, zinc, cobalt and copper, the fungus was inoculated into media containing metal at different concentrations (200, 400, 600, 800, and 1000 ppm). Daily mycelium growths were recorded during a ten day incubation at 30°C. A.alliaceus was found to tolerate Fe and Zn at all concentrations. Besides, it tolerated Co and Cu up to 400 and 600 ppm, respectively. In this study, the tolerance of A. alliaceus to Fe, Zn, and Co was determined for the first time and it is recommended that it can be used efficiently in bioremediation studies.

A ntibiyotikler idrar yolu enfeksiyonlarının tedavisinde önemli bir dayanak noktası olmasına rağmen, bilinçsiz kullanımları antibiyotik direncinin gelişimi için önemli bir risk faktörüdür. Antibiyotik direnci, özellikle çocuk ürolojisinde, artan üropatojen direncinin en önemli sorunlarından bir olarak karşımıza çıkmaktadır. Ampirik reçete uygulamalarındaki eksiklikler bu sorunu daha da kötüleştirmektedir. Bu çalışmada; pediatrik hastaların demografik özellikleri, idrar yolu enfeksiyonu etkenleri ve bu etkenlerin antibiyotik direnç durumları otomatize sistem ile retrospektif olarak değerlendirilmiştir. Çocuklardan izole edilen 719 idrar yolu enfeksiyonu etkeninden elde edilen veriler dört pediatrik yaş grubu (0-2 yaş, 2-6 yaş, 6-12 yaş ve 12-17 yaş) için ayrı ayrı analiz edildi. En sık izole edilen enfeksiyon etkenleri sırasıyla; Escherichia coli (%68.01), Klebsiella pneumoniae (%19.75), Klebsiella oxytoca (%3.34), Enterobacter cloacae (%2.23) ve Pseudomonas aeruginosa (%1,95) şeklindedir. Yaş grupları içerisinde; 0-2 yaş grubu enfeksiyon etkenleri açısından oldukça çeşitlilik göstermektedir. Aynı zamanda; bu grup içerisinde bu etkenlerin sahip olduğu antibiyotik dirençlerinin anlamlı bir şekilde yüksek olduğu saptanmıştır (p<0.05). Antibiyotik direnç durumları incelendiğinde; en dikkat çekici olanlar ampisilin (%70.2), amoksisilin-kluvanat (%49.0), cefixime (%38.2) ve trimetoprim/sülfametoksazol (%37.1)'e olan dirençlerdir. Çalışmamızda, 0-2 yaş grubu çocukların idrar yolu enfeksiyonu etkenleri ve bu etkenlerin sahip olduğu antibiyotik direnç açısından daha fazla risk altında oldukları, yaşın artışı ile bu riskin azaldığı ve grup içerisinde idrar yolu enfeksiyonu olan kız çocuklarının oranının daha fazla olması önemli bulunmuştur. Çalışmamızda; sefalosporinlere, ampisilin, amoksisilin-klavulanat ve trimetoprim/sülfametoksazol'e karşı yüksek direnç bulunurken karbapenem (imipenem, ertapenem, meropenem) direnci düşük düzeyde saptanmış olup anlamlı olabilecek bir artış olmadığı görülmüştür. Anahtar Kelimeler Antibiotik direnci, Escherichia coli, pediatrik üroloji, idrar yolu enfeksiyonu.