Online: ISSN 2784 – 0360 | ISSN – L 2784 – 0360 | Print: ISSN 2784 – 0379 ISSN-L 2784 – 0360

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Trincă Lucia Carmen

Prevalence and Characterisation of Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamases and Plasmid-Mediated Quinolones Resistance in Enterobacteriaceae Isolated from Companion Animals

Jan 15, 2024 |

Andreea Paula Cozma, Iulia Elena Măciucă, Cristina Mihaela Rîmbu, Ioana Crivei, Șerban Moroșan, Lucia Carmen Trincă, Dorina Timofte

ABSTRACT. Antimicrobial resistance is a major public health concern worldwide. This study aims to determine the prevalence of Enterobacterales producing beta-lactamase (TEM, SHV, OXA) or extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBL), as well as plasmid-mediated resistance to quinolones (PMQR) (qnrA, qnrB, qnrS) in companion animals from the northeast region of Romania. A total of 124 faecal samples were collected aseptically from healthy dogs attending the veterinary practice for vaccination and cultivated on Brilliance ESBL medium (Oxoid, UK). The ESBL production testing was performed using the combination disc test. The identification of Enterobacterales strains was achieved using molecular identification and based on biochemical tests. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed using the disk diffusion method. Identification of genes encoding for beta-lactamase enzymes and genes encoding plasmid-mediated resistance to quinolones was performed by PCR according to the protocols previously described. After ESBL screening, 31 (31/124; 25%) extended-spectrum cephalosporin (ESC)-resistant Enterobacterales were obtained, and 67.74% (21/31) of them were confirmed as ESBL-producers. Regarding the Enterobacterales species, 27 (27/31; 87.1%) were Escherichia coli and 4 (4/31; 12.9%) strains were Klebsiella pneumoniae. Among the ESBL-producing isolates, the blaCTX-M-1 gene group was predominant (58.82%), followed by the blaCTX-M-9 group (41.18%). The blaTEM, blaSHV and blaOXA gene groups were identified in 54.83%, 29.03% and 3.22% of the analysed strains, respectively. The prevalence of PMQR genes was 22.58% and consisted only of qnrS (19.35%) and qnrA (3.22%) genes. The prevalence of ESBL strains related to the total number of analysed samples was 16.93% (21/124). The findings show a significant prevalence of ESBLs and PMQR genes in Enterobacterales strains isolated from the faeces of healthy dogs, implying that pets may pose a risk of transmitting ESBL strains to other animals or owners.

Keywords: antimicrobial resistance; companion animals; ESBL genes.

Abstract published in Conference Programme dedicated to LIFE SCIENCES TODAY FOR TOMORROW

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Cornhusk Powders as Adsorbents for Nitrites in Solution: A Thermodynamic and Kinetic Approach

Oct 4, 2023 |

Alina Elena Trofin, Elena Ungureanu, Iuliana Motrescu, Lucia Carmen Trincă, Denis Constantin Țopa, Diana Beatrice Eperjessy

ABSTRACT. The retention of nitrite ions in solutions of different concentrations by three cornhusks-based powders was analyzed. Natural cornhusk powder (NCHP), as waste obtained from local market, the alkalized cornhusk powder (ACHP) and the biochar from the original material (CHBC) have been characterized through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and elemental composition EDAX – TEAM analysis (Energy dispersive analysis X-ray – Texture and ele-mental analytical microscopy) and tested for the removal of nitrite ions. The influence of initial nitrite concentration and contact time was studied under slow stirring rate conditions (150 rpm). For all three adsorbents both Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm equations described the process with R2 > 0.95, denoting physical adsorption and chemisorption on the surface. The estimated retained quantities (mg·g-1) determined from isotherms were 4.4783 (NCHP), 8.3542 (ACHP) and 8.7413 (CHBC). The Ho&McKay model was better adjusted to the adsorption data with R2 > 0.985, while the Lagergren model produced regression factors between 0.61 and 0.88. Considering the biggest concentration of nitrite solution of 50 mg·L-1 and the longest contact time of 150 minutes, the equilibrium capacity qe (mg·g-1) predicted by the Ho&McKay model for the considered adsorbents were: 4.5065 (NCHP), 8.5179 (ACHP) and 8.9445 (CHBC) compared to the obtained qt (mg·g-1) of 4.4384 (NCHP), 8.0685 (ACHP) and 8.5753 (CHBC). The nitrite uptake in the experiments reached a maximum of 2.2192 mg·g-1 on NCHP, 4.0342 mg·g-1 on ACHP and 4.2877 mg·g-1 on CHBC. Considering the cost-effective treatment steps, there is the possibility of valorising an important amount of waste as adsorbent materials.

Keywords: cornhusks powder; nitrite removal; waste valorisation.

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Potential Valorisation of Protobind 1000 as Adsorbent for Pb2+ and Zn2+

Oct 25, 2022 |

Alina Elena Trofin, Elena Ungureanu, Lucia Carmen Trincă, Maria Emiliana Fortună, Diana Beatrice Eperjessy

ABSTRACT. The adsorption of metal ions from increasing concentrations in aqueous solutions by modified straw lignin Protobind 1000 was studied. The effect of metallic ion concentrations (from 20.72 to 207.2 mg·L-1 for Pb2+ and from 6.538 to 65.38 mg·L-1 for Zn2+) and contact time (30, 60 and 90 minutes) were studied at pH = 6 and 200C. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm equations were applied to assess equilibrium data and the kinetics of the adsorption processes were analysed using Lagergren pseudo first order and Ho&McKay pseudo second order models. The results show that the adsorption processes reached equilibrium after 90 minutes, but similar values were registered after 60 minutes. The Freundlich isotherm described the process better, denoting chemisorption with the formation of ion-lignin complex structures. The Ho&McKay model fit the adsorption data better with regression coefficients equal to 1 compared to the Lagergren model, where the regression factors varied between 0.72 and 0.95. For the maximum concentration of lead solution and the longest adsorption time of 90 minutes, the Ho&McKay model predicted an equilibrium capacity qe of 13.1406 mg·g-1 compared to the 13.1398 mg·g-1 obtained. For zinc adsorption, the same maximum concentration and time were considered, and the pseudo-second order model predicted a qe of 12.6743 mg·g-1 compared to the obtained value of 12.6714 mg·g-1.
The uptake of lead was greater on 0.15 g of adsorbent (a maximum of 27.23 mg·g-1) than the zinc uptake (a maximum of 8.28 mg·g-1), for all analysed concentrations.

Keywords: adsorption, Protobind 1000 (PB 1000), lead, zinc.

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Evaluation of Phenolic Compounds in White Wines Treated with Enzymes

Jun 8, 2022 |

Elena Cristina Scutarașu, Valeriu V. Cotea, Camelia Elena Luchian, Lucia Carmen Trincă, Andrei Scutarașu

ABSTRACT. Wine’s quality is influenced both by the grape characteristics and winemaking protocols. Awareness of the significant role of enzymes preparations in beverages technologies contributes to the optimization of the manufacturing process, for improving the chemical composition of the resulting wine and its organoleptic properties. This paper focuses on monitoring the impact of different commercial enzymes (pectinases and β-glycosides) on the main phenolic compounds content of Sauvignon blanc wines. For this experiment, ten phenolic compounds were quantified using a liquid-chromatography (LC) system coupled with ion trap mass spectrometer. The results indicated a significant influence of enzymes on wine’s phenolic fraction. Experimental samples presented high content in protocatechuic acid (9.99 – 13.75 μg/mL) and caftaric acid (2.69 – 9.80 μg/mL). The use of pectinases lead to an increase of phenolic compound’s concentration compared to the control.

Keywords: enzymes, wine, phenolic compounds, pectinases, β-glycosides.

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© by the authors; licensee Journal of Applied Life Sciences and Environment, Iasi, Romania. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)