The emerging interest in RNA research is due to the discovery that bacterial non-protein-coding RNAs (npcRNAs; often referred to as "non-coding RNAs") are central regulatory molecules. While single npcRNAs have been described in Staphylococcus aureus, mostly based on computational-based approaches, experimental data on npcRNAs and their impact on the formation of different phenotypes of S. aureus are missing. Consequently, two specialized cDNA libraries were constructed from total RNA collected from different growth phases of an isogenic clinical strain pair of S. aureus displaying both the normal and the small-colony variant phenotype. Overall, 142 candidates for novel npcRNAs were identified and their expression analyzed by Northern blot assays. Of these, the presence of 18 novel npcRNAs in S. aureus was experimentally confirmed. In fact, growth phase-specific regulation was detected for almost all of the novel npcRNAs, with different npcRNA expression patterns detectable for both phenotypes. Of particular interest, S. aureus phenotype-specific expression of four novel npcRNAs was documented. Thus, the presence of differentially expressed npcRNAs in S. aureus may help to understand the phenotypic variation and its associated pathogenicity.

The present study demonstrates high occurrence of MDR isolates carrying genes. No specific associations were found between antibiotic resistance, virulence genes and genotypes among MDR isolates.

The aim of this study was to assess factors related to the onset of premature/ early natural menopause among Jordanian women. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in early 2016. Subjects were enrolled based on random drop-off technique to the Obstetrics and Gynecology clinics at the Jordan University Hospital. Women 18 years of age and above were initially eligible to enroll, and women who had surgically induced menopause or specific disease were excluded from the analysis. Relevant data were collected using a questionnaire that included 30 questions. The following variables were collected: socio-demographic, body mass index, chronic conditions, diseases, reproductive characteristics, and health status. Hormone indicators of menopause were tested by measuring estrogen (E2) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels. Age at natural menopause (ANM) was self-reported retrospectively and considered an independent variable against BMI, smoking, hormone therapy, and concomitant diseases. Association analysis and multinomial logistic regression were used to examine the associated factors of ANM with adjusted odds ratios (ORs), and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were reported. Results: A total of 409 women were included in the analysis, aged between 20−75 years. The mean ANM in our sample was 48.5±5.0, with 2.7% of the women experienced premature menopause (ANM <40) and 7.8% early menopause . Within the menopause women (n=242), the percentage of women who had premature menopause was 4.5%, 13.6% with early menopause, and 21.1% with late menopause (ANM >52). Smoking was the major risk factor for premature/early menopausal age among Jordanian women with an OR of 2.46 (95% CI: 1.08-5.59, p<0.05). On the other hand, women with occasional arthritis symptoms and diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and their combination were associated with average (45-52 years) or late menopause (>52 years). Conclusion: Smoking is the main contributor of premature/early menopause in Jordanian women. Increased awareness and public health policy about the adverse effects of smoking on women's reproductive health are needed.

This study demonstrates that S. aureus strains are more frequently colonizing Jordanian outpatient infants than inpatients and all MRSA strains carried 1-3 clinically important staphylococcal toxin genes. Further studies are needed to investigate the role of these toxins in hospitalized infants.

One of the major therapeutic approaches to preventing relapse and accelerating the healing of duodenal and gastric ulcers is the eradication of Helicobacter pylori. Due to the emergence of antibiotic resistance among clinical strains of H. pylori, alternative approaches using newly discovered antimicrobial agents in combination with the standard regimens for the treatment of H. pylori are increasingly needed. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of newly synthesized 8-nitroflouroqunolone derivatives when used either alone or when combined with metronidazole against metronidazole-resistant H. pylori. Based on the standard antimicrobial susceptibility testing methods and checkerboard titration assay, all of the tested compounds showed interesting antimicrobial activity against 12 clinical strains of H. pylori, with the best in vitro effect for compound 3c. In addition, synergistic and additive activities of some of the tested compounds were observed when combined with metronidazole. Furthermore, among the tested nitroflouroquinolone derivatives, compound 3b showed significant urease inhibition activity with IC50 of 62.5 µg/mL. These results suggest that 8-nitroflouroquinolone derivatives may have a useful role in combination with anti-H. pylori drugs in the management of H. pylori-associated diseases.