Monitoring of Vibrio species by blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus) was carried out during the winter period in a selected area of the Belek, Antalya Gulf. Eighty-three blue crabs were examined for Vibrio species. V. alginolyticus (30.1%), V. fluvialis (10.8%), V. damsela (9.6%), V. harveyi (3.6%), V. metschnikovii (3.6%) and V. vulnificus (2.4%) were isolated. V. vulnificus was the highest concentration (5×10⁸ Vibrio ml⁻¹) although it was only 2.4% isolated from blue crabs. The strains of different vibrio species were highly susceptible to doxycycline, tetracycline and ciprofloxacin.

Background: Training of infectious disease (ID) specialists is structured on classical clinical microbiology training in Turkey and ID specialists work as clinical microbiologists at the same time. Hence, this study aimed to determine the clinical skills and knowledge required by clinical microbiologists. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out between June 1, 2010 and September 15, 2010 in 32 ID departments in Turkey. Only patients hospitalized and followed up in the ID departments between January-June 2010 who required consultation with other disciplines were included. Results: A total of 605 patients undergoing 1343 consultations were included, with pulmonology, neurology, cardiology, gastroenterology, nephrology, dermatology, haematology, and endocrinology being the most frequent consultation specialties. The consultation patterns were quite similar and were not affected by either the nature of infections or the critical clinical status of ID patients. Conclusions: The results of our study show that certain internal medicine subdisciplines such as pulmonology, neurology and dermatology appear to be the principal clinical requisites in the training of ID specialists, rather than internal medicine as a whole.

An incisional hernia is a common complication following abdominal surgery. Polypropylene mesh is frequently used in the repair of such defects and has nearly become the standard surgical treatment modality. Though they are very effective in reducing recurrence, mesh materials exhibit a strong stimulating effect for intraabdominal adhesion. The thymoquinone (TQ) extracted from Nigella sativa seeds has potential medical properties. TQ has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antibacterial properties. The aim of this study is to coat polypropylene mesh with TQ in order to investigate the effect of surface modification on intraabdominal adhesions. TQ-coated polypropylene mesh material was tested for cytotoxicity, contact angle, surface spectroscopy, TQ content, sterility, and electron microscopic surface properties. An experimental incisional hernia model was created in study groups, each consisting of 12 female Wistar rats. The defect was closed with uncoated mesh in control group, with polylactic acid (PLA) coated mesh and PLA-TQ coated mesh in study groups. Adhesion scores and histopathologic properties were evaluated after sacrifice on postoperative 21th day. Granuloma formation, lymphocyte and polymorphonuclear leukocyte infiltration, histiocyte fibroblast and giant cell formation, capillary infiltration, collagen content were significantly reduced in the PLA-TQ coated mesh group (p < 0.05). Though not statistically significant, likely due to the limited number of study animals, adhesion formation was also reduced in the PLA-TQ coated mesh group (p: 0.067). TQ coated mesh is shown to reduce adhesion formation and TQ is a promising coating material for mesh surface modification.

The aim of this study was the preparation and characterization of fusidic acid-impregnated peripheral catheters. In the first part of the study, in vitro drug release studies were performed, and the effect of fusidic acid impregnation on adherence of slime positive Staphylococcus epidermidis to catheters was evaluated as in vitro studies. Fusidic acid-impregnated and naïve catheters were incubated with 10⁸ colony forming unit/mL (cfu/mL) slime positive S. epidermidis during the in vitro experiment. After incubation for 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 24, 48, and 72 h, the number of colonies were determined in an aliquot and adhered to the catheter. During the in vivo experiment, contaminated naïve and fusidic acid-impregnated catheters ( n = 10 rats in both groups) were implanted subcutaneously in the back of the rats. Rats were killed at the end of the seventh day and catheters were removed. Microbiologic assessments from the explanted catheter segments were performed. Fusidic acid impregnation decreased the number of adherent bacteria to the catheters and the number of free bacteria within the liquid medium significantly. There were 3 positive catheter cultures out of 10 in rats implanted with fusidic acid-impregnated catheters, whereas all explanted catheters from naïve group yielded bacterial growth. The mean cfu counts were significantly less in the fusidic acid-impregnated catheter group. In vitro release studies and antibacterial activity studies correlated well. Additionally, morphological evaluations by scanning electron microscopy showed that fewer bacteria were evident on the fusidic acid-impregnated catheters compared with naïve catheters. As a conclusion, catheter impregnation with fusidic acid is effective in preventing colonization in these in vitro and in vivo sets of experiments, with slime-producing S. epidermidis.