Probiotics supplementation in patients with colorectal cancer: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials.

Context: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a leading cause of cancer deaths. Recently, much attention has been given to the microbiome and probiotics as preventive and therapeutic approaches to CRC and the mechanisms involved.

Objectives: To interpret the findings of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of probiotics relative to patients with CRC and to outline challenges of and future directions for using probiotics in the management and prevention of CRC.

Role of probiotics in patients with colorectal cancer: a systematic review protocol of randomised controlled trial studies.

Introduction: Colorectal cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related morbidity worldwide and it has been reported to be associated with poor lifestyle habits which include excess tobacco and alcohol intake as well as genetics and age factors. Probiotics such as the lactic acid bacteria and as well as probiotic containing foods (kombucha, kefir, miso etc) have received lots of attention as anticancer agents for prevention and treatment. The effects of the administration of probiotics to patients with colorectal cancer is the primary goal of this systematic review.

Molecular surveillance of methicillin-susceptible (MSSA) isolated over a one-year period from a Malaysian Teaching Hospital.

Introduction: We report the results of a molecular surveillance study carried out on methicillin-susceptible (MSSA) isolated in a one-year duration from Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz (HCTM), a tertiary hospital located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Methods: The first strain isolated from each MSSA infection in HCTM during the year 2009 was included into the study. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing and agr group typing were carried out for all strains; virulence gene (, , TSST-1 and PVL) typing results of the strains were obtained from a previous study.

Activated ADI pathway: the initiator of intermediate vancomycin resistance in Staphylococcus aureus.

Comparative proteomic profiling between 2 vancomycin-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus (VISA) strains, Mu50Ω-vraSm and Mu50Ω-vraSm-graRm, and vancomycin-susceptible S. aureus (VSSA) strain Mu50Ω revealed upregulated levels of catabolic ornithine carbamoyltransferase (ArcB) of the arginine catabolism pathway in VISA strains. Subsequent analyses showed that the VISA strains have higher levels of cellular ATP and ammonia, which are by-products of arginine catabolism, and displayed thicker cell walls.

Antimicrobial resistance profiling and molecular typing of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolated from a Malaysian teaching hospital.

The annual prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in Malaysia has been estimated to be 30 % to 40 % of all S. aureus infections. Nevertheless, data on the antimicrobial resistance and genetic diversity of Malaysian MRSAs remain few.

Molecular epidemiology and phylogenetic analysis of Dengue virus type-1 and 2 isolated in Malaysia.

Objective: Detection of different serotypes of dengue virus and provide information on origin, distribution and genotype of the virus.

Methods: Dengue virus serotypes identified as DEN-1 and DEN-2 were amplified and sequenced with E gene. The consensus sequences were aligned with references E gene sequences of globally available GenBank.

First report on the molecular epidemiology of Malaysian Staphylococcus epidermidis isolated from a university teaching hospital.

Background: Staphylococcus epidermidis is a pathogen associated with nosocomial infections whose medical importance has increased due to progressively invasive medical procedures. In this study, we characterized the molecular epidemiology of S. epidermidis strains circulating in our university hospital situated in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Case series of syphilis and HIV co-infections.

Syphilis and HIV co-infection are indeed dangerous combinations. The present communication describes three different cases of syphilis and HIV co-infection in young men. The first case is a 25-year-old medical graduate with a primary and secondary syphilis lesions at time of presentation.

Simple, time saving pulsed-field gel electrophoresis protocol for the typing of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia.

We developed a time-saving and cost-efficient Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) method for the typing of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia by modifying the conventional procedures. Our modifications related to the cell suspension preparation, lysis of bacterial cells in plugs, washing steps, and consumption of restriction enzyme. Although few rapid PFGE protocols on Gram-negative bacteria are available, the use of comparatively large amounts of costly reagents prompted us to look for other alternative.

Clonal distribution and possible microevolution of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains in a teaching hospital in Malaysia.

Objective: To genotypically characterize methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains isolated from medical and surgical wards in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC) in 2009.

Methods: MRSA strains were collected and molecularly typed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE).

Results: PFGE typing on 180 MRSA isolated in UKMMC identified 5 pulsotypes (A-E) and 6 singletons, where pulsotypes B and C were suspected to be divergent clones originating from a single ancestor.

Draft Genome Sequences of Four Nosocomial Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Strains (PPUKM-261-2009, PPUKM-332-2009, PPUKM-377-2009, and PPUKM-775-2009) Representative of Dominant MRSA Pulsotypes Circulating in a Malaysian University Teaching Hospital.

Here, we report the draft genome sequences of four nosocomial methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains (PPUKM-261-2009, PPUKM-332-2009, PPUKM-377-2009, and PPUKM-775-2009) isolated from a university teaching hospital in Malaysia. Three of the strains belong to sequence type 239 (ST239), which has been associated with sustained hospital epidemics worldwide.

Screening and detection of heterogenous vancomycin intermediate Staphylococcus aureus in Hospital Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, using the glycopeptide resistance detection Etest and population analysis profiling.

In a 3-month study done in Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL), 7 out of 320 methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates were confirmed as heterogeneous vancomycin intermediate S. aureus (hVISA) using the glycopeptide resistance detection e-test and population analysis, giving a prevalence rate of 2.19%.