Aims: Recent reports indicate that many coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) strains are resistant to most antimicrobials used against staphylococcal infections. This study was aimed to determine the species distribution of the CoNS isolates in Lokman Hekim Ankara Hospital and determine their antimicrobial resistance characteristics. Methodology and results: The study was conducted at Lokman Hekim University Ankara Hospital between February 2020 and August 2021. The 154 blood cultures included in the study were incubated in the BACTEC FX40 automated blood culture device. Identification and antimicrobial susceptibility tests of the samples with positive catalase tests were performed with the BD Phoenix Automated Microbiology Sensitivity System. The statistical significance level was accepted as p<0.05. Nineteen different types of methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci (MRCoNS) isolated from different age groups were identified. Vancomycin resistance was observed in 20 samples (13%). Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) resistance was seen in 44 of 152 samples (28.6%), linezolid resistance in 15 of 143 samples (10.5%) and daptomycin resistance in 16 of 146 blood samples (11%). Conclusion, significance and impact of study In our investigation, there has been a striking rise in the prevalence of vancomycin, TMP-SMX, linezolid and daptomycin resistance among infections with the MRCoNS. Identifying and classifying multidrug resistance on MRCoNS requires reliable epidemiological data to be collected and compared between healthcare facilities in different countries. The research finding reported in this paper will contribute to the determination of alternative antibiotics for treating MRCoNS.
Methicillin Resistance Staphylococcus aureus ; Staphylococcal Infections ; Drug Resistance, Bacterial ; Turkey

Aims: This study aimed to evaluate and compare the antibacterial activity (AA) of Origanum dubium and Cinnamomum cassia essential oils dissolved in different ratios of three different solvents against Streptococcus mutans. Methodology and results: The essential oils were obtained from O. dubium leaves and C. cassia barks using hydrodistillation method and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analyses were performed to identify the compositions. The obtained essential oils were diluted in dimethylsulphoxide (DMSO), Tween 20 and ethanol with concentrations of 10, 20 and 60% respectively. Each oil mixture was further diluted with distilled water to provide different ratios. Then, the AA of the dilutions were evaluated. Comparison of AA of essential oils showed that C. cassia had higher AA than O. dubium for each dilution ratio for Tween and ethanol. Conclusion, significance and impact of this study: The results obtained in our study lead us to affirm that the AA of both oils are dependent on dilution ratios of the solvents and the AA of C. cassia is higher than that of O. dubium except for the 1:8 and 1:16 dilution ratios of DMSO. Increasing ratios of solvents used to dilute the O. dubium and C. cassia essential oils resulted in a decrease in the antimicrobial activity against S. mutans.

Objective　To study the apoptotic effects of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) on the nigral dopaminergic neurons of mice and 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridium ion (MPP+) on pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells, as well as the antagonism of Eldepryl against MPTP's apoptotic effect. Methods　Three groups of C57BL mice were treated with MPTP, Eldepryl plus MPTP and normal saline, respectively, for 7 days before performing TUNEL (terminal deoxyneucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-x nick end labeling) and FACS (fluorescence activated cell sorting) analyses of neuronal apoptosis in the substantia nigra. The same tests were employed in cell culture to examine apoptosis in PC12 cells treated with MPP+, MPTP or PBS. Results　Intraperitoneal administration of MPTP 30*!mg/kg could induce nigral apoptosis, and oral use of Eldepryl prior to MPTP treatment could completely prevent the nigral apoptosis caused by MPTP. MPP+, an intermediate metabolite of MPTP, could lead to the apoptosis of PC12 cells, whereas MPTP itself had no such effect on PC12 cells. Conclusions　The experiment indicated that the neurotoxin, MPTP, might cause the death of nigral neurons through a mechanism of apoptosis and this effect might be mediated by its bioactive intermediate metabolite MPP+. Eldepryl could protect the neurotoxicity from MPTP.