Background and Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the flexural strength, color change and antimicrobial effect of silver–zeolite nanoparticles (NPs) in acrylic resin materials. Methods: Fifty-six disc-shaped acrylic resin samples were divided into four groups (n = 7) according to concentrations of silver–zeolite NPs (0%, 2%, 4%, 5%). Discs were contaminated with C. albicans and S. mutans. The antimicrobial effect was tested by inoculating contaminated discs on Tryptic soy agar (TSA), Sabouraud Dextrose Agar (SDA), Tryptic soy broth (TSB), and Sabouraud dextrose broth (SDB). Forty rectangular 65 × 10 × 2.5 mm acrylic resin specimens were also classified into four groups (n = 10) according to concentrations of silver–zeolite NPs. For the color change, L, a, and b values of rectangular specimens were examined with a spectrophotometer. A three-point bending test was also performed using a Devotrans device to determine the flexural bond strength of rectangular specimens. Scanning electron microscope analysis (SEM/EDX analysis) was also performed. Results: In this study, the antimicrobial effect increased with the concentration of silver–zeolite NPs added to acrylic resin discs. In our study, adding 2% silver–zeolite NPs was more effective against C. albicans. The antimicrobial effect against S. mutans increased with concentration of silver–zeolite NPs (<0.001). The colonization of C. albicans was significantly reduced by silver–zeolite NPs. A significant increase was observed in the color change as the nanoparticle percentage ratio increased (p < 0.001). The flexural strength values of the groups containing 2% and 4% nanoparticles were found to be clinically acceptable. Conclusions: The study showed that bacterial and fungal colonization is significantly reduced by adding silver–zeolite nanoparticles to acrylic resin discs. Based on its antimicrobial, physical, and mechanical properties, we recommend adding 2% silver–zeolite nanoparticles to the acrylic resin material for optimal results.

Aim: This study aimed to investigate the in vitro antimicrobial effect of gold nanoparticles capped with meropenem and imipenem against various strains and to evaluate the cytotoxic effect of gold ...

Introduction: Polymyxins are important antimicrobial agents for the treatment of infections caused by Gram-negative bacteria. The susceptibility testing for polymyxins is a challenge for clinical laboratories due to the difficulty of performance, reproducibility, and accuracy of available methods. Aim: To compare the performance of the colistin susceptibility test of an automated system and a gradient test with the gold standard broth microdilution method (BMD). Materials and Methods: Multidrug-resistant isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii (n=102), Klebsiella pneumoniae (n=40), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa(n=11) were included. The VITEK 2 systems and gradient test were studied according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Broth microdilution tests were performed according to the European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST). Commercial susceptibility testing methods were compared to BMD. Results: Rates of essential agreement of colistin test results between BMD, VITEK 2, and gradient test were 96.1% and 79.7%, respectively. The VITEK 2 and gradient test showed 95.4% and 94.8% of categorial agreement. The very major error rate of VITEK 2 was 3.2%, and the gradient test was 5.2%. The major error rate of VITEK 2 was 1.3%, and there was no major error for the gradient test. Conclusion and Suggestions: The very major error rate was higher in the gradient test (5.2%) than VITEK 2 (3.2%). Even if the very major error rate of VITEK 2 was lower, both resistance and susceptility results of VITEK 2 should be confirmed with the BMD test. Further studies for susceptibility testing are needed with a focus on the correlation of MIC’s results of different tests.

Amaç: Akut gastroenteritler, özellikle çocukluk çağında görülmekle beraber her yaş grubundan insanı etkilemekte ve tüm dünyada yaygın olarak görülen enfeksiyon hastalıkları arasında yer almaktadır. Bu çalışmada, beş yıllık süreçte hastanemizde akut gastroenterit tanısı almış çocuk ve yetişkin hastalarda adenovirüs ve rotavirüs sıklığının retrospektif olarak incelenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Gereç ve Yöntemler: Bu çalışmada, 1 Ocak 2014-31 Aralık 2018 tarihlerinde Tıbbi Mikrobiyoloji Laboratuvarına gönderilen dışkı örneklerinde combo test kullanılarak rotavirüs ve adenovirüs pozitifliği retrospektif olarak değerlendirilmiştir. Bulgular: Bu çalışmaya dahil edilen toplam 18938 dışkı örneğinin 2615 (%13,8)’inde viral antijenler saptanmıştır. Pozitif örneklerin 1686 (%64,5)’sı rotavirüs, 479 (%18,3)’u adenovirüs, 450 (%17,2)’si hem adenovirüs hem de rotavirüs açısından pozitif olarak tespit edilmiştir. Sonuçlar: Sonuç olarak, yaptığımız çalışmada akut viral gastroenterit etkenleri arasında en sık rotavirüs antijenleri saptanmıştır. Viral antijenlerin yarısından fazlası 3 yaş altı çocuklarda saptansada, ileri yaştaki insanlarda da pozitiflik tespit edilmiştir. Akut gastroenteritli hastalardan viral antijenleri hızlı bir şekilde saptanması ampirik antibiyotik tedavisi kullanılmasının önüne geçecektir.