Assessment of handwashing impact on detection of SARS-CoV-2, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli on hands in rural and urban settings of Côte d'Ivoire during COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Handwashing is the first line of hygiene measures and one of the oldest methods of preventing the spread of infectious diseases. Despite its efficacy in the health system, handwashing is often inadequately practiced by populations. This study aimed to assess the presence of SARS-CoV-2, Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) on hands as indicators of lack of hand hygiene during COVID 19 pandemic. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in rural Taabo and urban Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire) from January to September 2021. A total of 384 participants from 384 households were included in the study. The total households were distributed proportionally within various municipalities in the two study areas according to the number of households in each municipality, based on data of the National Institute of Statistics from the 2014 general population census. Hand swabbing of the 384 participants within households (320 in Abidjan and 64 in Taabo) was performed for the enumeration of E. coli and S aureus, using laboratory standard method and for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 by RT-qPCR. A binary logistic regression model was built with the outcome variable presence of Staphylococcus spp. on hands of respondents that was categorized into binary variables, Staphylococcus spp. (1 = presence, 0 = absence) for the Risk Ratio estimation. Place of living, sex, handwashing, education and age group were used to adjust the model to observe the effects of these explanatory variables. RESULTS: No presence of SARS-CoV-2 virus was detected on the hands of respondents in both sites. However, in urban Abidjan, only Staphylococcus spp. (Coagulase Negative Staphylococci) was found on the hands of 233 (72.8%, 95%CI: 67.7-77.4) respondents with the average load of 0.56 CFU/ Cm2 (95% CI, 0.52-0.60). Meanwhile, in rural Taabo, Staphylococcus spp. (Coagulase Negative Staphylococci) and E. coli were found on the hands of 40 (62.5%, 95%CI: 50.3-73.3) and 7 (10.9%, 95%CI: 5.4-20.9) respondents with the respective average load of 0.49 CFU/ Cm2 (95% CI, 0.39-0.59) and 0.08 CFU/ Cm2 (95% CI, 0.03-0.18). Participants living in rural Taabo were less likely to have Staphylococcus spp. on their hands (RR = 0.811; 95%IC: 0.661-0.995) compared to those living in urban Abidjan. CONCLUSIONS: No SARS-CoV-2 was detected on the hands of participants in both sites, suggesting that our study did not show direct transmission through hands. No E. coli was found in urban Abidjan while E. coli was found on the hands of participants in rural Taabo indicating poor hand washing and disinfection practices in rural Taabo. Living in urban Abidjan is statistically associated to having Staphylococcus spp. on hands. Further studies are necessary especially to understand to what extent the presence of Staphylococcus spp. on hands indicates a higher infection or fecal colonization rates in the case of E. coli.

Virulence factors and determination of antifungal susceptibilities of Candida species isolated from palm wine and sorghum beer.

Since it has been considered that Candida species in food or drinks may, following ingestion, enter the bloodstream and cause fungaemia, the presence of these yeast species in traditional alcoholic beverages may be of some clinical significance. Thus we attempted to assess virulence factors and antifungal susceptibility profile of Candida strains and other potential pathogenic yeasts isolated from palm wine and sorghum beer (tchapalo). Of the 23 yeast isolates from palm wine, phospholipase, esterase and haemolysin production was revealed amongst 69.6%, 65.2% and 100% isolates respectively with high activity belonging to Candida tropicalis strains. All the isolates were biofilm producers at variable degree but none showed proteinase activity. When the isolates were tested for their susceptibility to five antifungal agents, we found that ketoconazole (91.3%) followed by fluconazole (78.3%) and amphotericin B (73.9%) were the most potent agents. Of the 14 isolates from tchapalo, 57.1%, 87.5% and 57.1% exhibited phospholipase, haemolysin and esterase activity respectively. They did not also show proteinase activity while 87.5% produced biofilm. The majority of the isolates were susceptible to azoles (92.7%) and amphotericin B (85.3%) but they were 5-flucytosine resistant like palm wine strains.

Succinate Pathway in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Potential as a Diagnostic and Prognostic Marker.

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is characterized by high rates of mortality and treatment-related morbidity, underscoring the urgent need for innovative and safe treatment strategies and diagnosis practices. Mitochondrial dysfunction is a hallmark of cancer and can lead to the accumulation of tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates, such as succinate, which function as oncometabolites. In addition to its role in cancer development through epigenetic events, succinate is an extracellular signal transducer that modulates immune response, angiogenesis and cell invasion by activating its cognate receptor SUCNR1. Here, we explored the potential value of the circulating succinate and related genes in HNSCC diagnosis and prognosis. We determined the succinate levels in the serum of 66 pathologically confirmed, untreated patients with HNSCC and 20 healthy controls. We also surveyed the expression of the genes related to succinate metabolism and signaling in tumoral and nontumoral adjacent tissue and in normal mucosa from 50 patients. Finally, we performed immunohistochemical analysis of SUCNR1 in mucosal samples. The results showed that the circulating levels of succinate were higher in patients with HNSCC than in the healthy controls. Additionally, the expression of SUCNR1, HIF-1α, succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) A, and SDHB was higher in the tumor tissue than in the matched normal mucosa. Consistent with this, immunohistochemical analysis revealed an increase in SUCNR1 protein expression in tumoral and nontumoral adjacent tissue. High SUCNR1 and SDHA expression levels were associated with poor locoregional control, and the locoregional recurrence-free survival rate was significantly lower in patients with high SUCNR1 and SDHA expression than in their peers with lower levels (77.1% [95% CI: 48.9-100.0] vs. 16.7% [95% CI: 0.0-44.4], p = 0.018). Thus, the circulating succinate levels are elevated in HNSCC and high SUCNR1/SDHA expression predicts poor locoregional disease-free survival, identifying this oncometabolite as a potentially valuable noninvasive biomarker for HNSCC diagnosis and prognosis.

Characterization of lactic acid bacteria isolated from a traditional Ivoirian beer process to develop starter cultures for safe sorghum-based beverages.

The present study aimed to characterize lactic acid bacteria involved in the different processing steps of tchapalo, a traditional Ivoirian beverage, for their potential application as starter cultures in food and beverages. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were therefore isolated and enumerated at different steps of the process on MRS and BEA agars. Of the 465 isolates, 27 produced bacteriocins that inhibit Lactobacillus delbrueckii F/31 strain. Of those, two also inhibited Listeria innocua ATCC 33090, while two others displayed inhibitory activity against L.innocua ATCC 33090, E. faecalis CIP 105042, E. faecalis ATCC 29212, Streptococcus sp. clinical LNSP, E. faecalis CIP 105042 and E. faecium ATCC 51558. The dominant species involved in tchapalo LAB fermentation, as determined by 16S rRNA gene sequencing, were Lactobacillus fermentum (64%), followed by Pediococcus acidilactici (14%). Two strains representing the two dominant species, L. fermentum S6 and P. acidilactici S7, and two potential bacteriocin producers, Weissella confusa AB3E41 and Enterococcus faecium AT1E22, were selected for further characterization. First, genome analysis showed that these strains do not display potential harmful genes such as pathogenic factors or transmissible antibiotic resistance genes. Furthermore, phylogenetic analyses were performed to assess evidence of eventual links to groups of strains with particular properties. They revealed that (i) L. fermentum S6 and P. acidilactici S7 are closely related to strains that ferment plants, (ii) E. faecium AT1E22 belongs to the environmental clade B of E. faecium, while W. confusa is quite similar to other strains also isolated from plant fermentations. Further genome analysis showed that E. faecium AT1E22 contains the Enterocin P gene probably carried by a megaplasmid, whereas no evidence of a bacteriocin gene was found in W. confusa AB3E41. The metabolic and the first step of the probiotic potentials of the different strains were analyzed. Lactobacillus fermentum S6 and P. acidilactici S7 are good candidates to develop starter cultures, and E. faecium AT1E22 should be further tested to confirm its potential as a probiotic strain in the production of sorghum wort.

Fluoxetine-induced androgenic failure impairs the seminiferous tubules integrity and increases ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCHL1): Possible androgenic control of UCHL1 in germ cell death?

The selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor fluoxetine has been used for the treatment of depression. Although sexual disorders have been reported in male patients, few studies have demonstrated the fluoxetine effect on the reproductive histophysiology, and the target of this antidepressant in testes is unknown. We evaluated the impact of short-term treatment with fluoxetine on the adult rat testes, focusing on steroidogenesis by Leydig cells (LC) and androgen-dependent testicular parameters, including Sertoli cells (SC) and peritubular myoid cells (PMC). Since UCHL1 (ubiquitincarboxyl-terminal hydrolase L1) seems to control spermatogenesis, the immunoexpression of this hydrolase was also analyzed. Adult male rats received 20 mg/kg BW of fluoxetine (FG) or saline (CG) for eleven days. In historesin-embedded testis sections, the seminiferous tubule (ST) and epithelial (Ep) areas, and the LC nuclear diameter (LCnu) were measured. The number of abnormal ST, androgen-dependent ST, SC and PMC was quantified. Testicular ß-tubulin levels and peritubular actin immunofluorescence were evaluated. Serum testosterone levels (STL) and steroidogenesis by 17ß-HSD6 immunofluorescence were analyzed, and either UCHL1-immunolabeled or TUNEL-positive germ cells were quantified. In FG, abnormal ST frequency increased whereas ST and Ep areas, androgen-dependent ST number, LCnu, 17ß-HSD6 activity and STL reduced significantly. TUNEL-positive PMC and SC was related to decreased number of these cells and reduction in peritubular actin and ß-tubulin levels. In FG, uncommon UCHL1-immunoexpression was found in spermatocytes and spermatids, and the number of UCHL1-immunolabeled and TUNEL-positive germ cells increased in this group. These findings indicate that LC may be a fluoxetine target in testes, impairing PMC-SC integrity and disturbing spermatogenesis. The increase of UCHL1 in the damaged tubules associated with high incidence of cell death confirms that this hydrolase regulates germ cell death and may be controlled by androgens. The fertility in association with the androgenic status of patients treated with fluoxetine should be carefully evaluated.

Positive/retained SDHB immunostaining in renal cell carcinomas associated to germline SDHB-deficiency: case report.

BACKGROUND: According to WHO, succinate dehydrogenase (SDH)-deficient renal cell carcinoma is characterized by negative immunostaining for SDHB, which remains positive in non-tumor tissue despite germline mutations in the SDHB gene. We now report a patient with a SDHB mutation, c.166_170del (p.Pro56Tyrfs*5) who developed renal cell carcinomas with characteristic morphological features of SDH-deficient renal cell carcinoma but had positive SDHB immunostaining. CASE PRESENTATION: Within a 6-year period, the patient developed two different renal cell carcinomas, which had characteristic morphological features of SDH-deficient renal cell carcinoma (uniform cells characteristically displaying eosinophilic granular material intermixed with fewer cells exhibiting clear intracytoplasmic inclusions and bland centered nuclei) but displayed immunohistochemistry for SDHB with a cytoplasmic granular positivity (mitochondrial pattern) in tumor cells. For the second case, this was initially interpreted as positive by IHC, but on review some subtle differences were identified. CONCLUSIONS: SDHB immunostaining may be positive in renal cell carcinoma associated to germline SDHB deficiency which have other typical morphological features. Immunohistochemistry interpretation may be complex.

Candida species in tchapalo and bangui, two traditional alcoholic beverages from Côte d'Ivoire.

The increase of infections due to non-Candida albicans species made it very necessary to conduct adequate characterization to be able to identify the species of Candida isolated from traditional fermented foods. In this study, based on their hue on Candida Chromogenic Agar medium, a total of 136 yeast strains were isolated from tchapalo and bangui. Molecular identification based on PCR-RFLP of internal transcribed spacers of rDNA (ITS) and sequencing of the ITS and the D1/D2 regions allowed us to assign these isolates to seven species: Candida tropicalis, Candida inconspicua, Candida rugosa, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Kluyveromyces marxianus, Hanseniaspora guilliermondii, Trichosporon asahii. With the respect to each beverage, six species were found among with four species are regarded as opportunistic pathogens. From these, C. tropicalis, C. inconspicua and K. marxianus were the most commonly encountered. The enzyme activities of the potential pathogens assessed using API ZYM system showed that almost strains had esterase, esterase lipase, valine and cystine arylamidase, alpha chymotrypsin, alkaline phosphatase and naphthol phosphohydrolase activities. The activity of α-glucosidase was found only in C. tropicalis and C. inconspicua strains isolated from tchapalo while ß-glucosidase activity was found in all strains from tchapalo and only in C. inconspicua isolated from bangui.