Didem Berber

• Assoc. Prof.
• Maltepe University

Spent coffee grounds (SCG) were used as a flour substitute at different ratios (5, 10, 15, 20 and 25%) in the production of the şekerpare. Baking and textural properties, nutritional content (moisture, fat, ash, protein, dietary fiber amount, total phenolic content, and antioxidant activity), color and sensory properties were investigated. SCG-adde...

ABSTRACT Foodborne illness is a significant global health problem, with data suggesting that 420,000 people die each year as a result of consuming contaminated food. One of the most frequently identified causative agents of gastroenteritis resulting from food poisoning is Staphylococcus aureus. The contamination of food with S. aureus has become a...

As stated by the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 600 million cases of illness and 420,000 associated deaths worldwide are caused by contaminated food annually. The bacteria Bacillus cereus and Escherichia coli O157:H7 are frequently identified as the causative agents in foodborne outbreaks. Gram-positive B. cereus and Gram-negative E...

Diabetic foot infections and diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are major complications of diabetes, with a high incidence of morbidity and mortality. The global annual prevalence of DFUs has been estimated to be between 9.1 and 26.1 million cases. Furthermore, the mortality rate has been demonstrated to be 2.5 times higher in patients with DFU. The annua...

The aim of this study was to investigate the antibacterial, antibiofilm, antioxidant and shelf life protective potentials of infusion, decoction, and room temperature samples of sumac fruits prepared as used by the local people against three foodborne pathogens including Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Staphylococcus aureus isolated...

According to the United Nations, more than 800 million people are exposed to starvation. It is predicted that the world population will face much more serious starvation for reasons such as global warming, diseases, economic problems, rapid urbanization, and destruction of agricultural areas and water resources. Thus, there are significant hesitati...

In the leather industry, animal skins/hides are salted immediately after the animal is slaughtered to prevent the enzymatic activities of bacteria. Although leather is salted to prevent the development of microorganisms, halophilic bacteria can proliferate in the salty and nutrient-rich leather structure. Bacterial growth may cause problems such as...

Geleneksel tarımda bilinçsiz kimyasal kullanımının toprak yapısında değişikliklere yol açarak, toprak verimliliğini olumsuz yönde etkilediği belirtilmektedir. Ayrıca gittikçe artan dünya nüfusu nedeniyle gıda taleplerinin karşılanması için önlemlerin alınması gerekliliği de vurgulanmaktadır. Son yıllarda, alternatif bir çözüm olarak topraksız tarım...

The incidence of foodborne diseases is increasing worldwide due to the increasing consumption of ready-to-eat food, meat, and dairy products. Recently, natural biological sources are being studied for their antibacterial effects, as well as for the effects of extending the shelf life of food products. The sumac plant, which has ethnobotanical value...

Food safety is of great importance all over the world as it concerns consumer health. All employees in the food chain must comply with the hygiene rules. One of the important issues that threaten food safety is contamination with microorganisms. Numerous people are affected by contaminated and/or poorly preserved food and outbreaks have occurred. T...

The increase in the incidence of foodborne diseases has been demonstrated by epidemiological studies, and the adverse impact on the socio-economic development of countries has been also reported by health authorities. The combat against foodborne pathogens through the use of natural biosources has become the focus of recent research. Lichens produc...

The diabetic patients may sometime suffer from foot lesions, foot ulcers and amputation that adversely affect their quality of life. In this respect, good footwear has a critical significance for diabetic foot patients. The aim of this study to evaluate the potential efficacy of mimosa, quebracho, and essential oils of Origanum onites, Origanum oni...

The increase in the incidence of foodborne diseases has been demonstrated by epidemiological studies, and the adverse impact on the socio-economic development of countries has been also reported by health authorities. The combat against foodborne pathogens through the use of natural biosources has become the focus of recent research. Lichens produc...

Foot lesions, foot ulcers, and even amputations can be observed in diabetic patients, which adversely affect their quality of life. Medicinal plants have been used in the treatment of diseases for centuries and are known to have various phytochemicals with potential effects. In this study, the antibacterial activity of Tilia spp. (linden) and Hibis...

According to the data of the World Health Organization in 2015, approximately 600 million people, that is, 1 out of every 10 people, experience food poisoning, and an average of 420.000 people die each year due to foodborne diseases. It has been reported that 240 thousand people in the U.S.A experience food-borne S. aureus poisoning each year. B. c...

It is well known that possible undesirable defects in finished leathers can result from microbial activities on the salted raw hides/skins during storage. The traditionally used salt curing method can control bacterial activities on the raw stock, but it does not seem possible to completely eliminate microbial attacks. Moderately halophilic bacteri...

It is well known that possible undesirable defects in finished leathers can result from microbial activities on the salted raw hides/skins during storage. The traditionally used salt curing method can control bacterial activities on the raw stock, but it does not seem possible to completely eliminate microbial attacks. Moderately halophilic bacteri...

Considering the global economic importance of the leather sector in world trade, overcoming the microbiological problems, especially arise from halophilic bacteria, will greatly reduce product losses. In this study, lichen species including Usnea sp., Platismatia glauca, Ramalina farinacea, Evernia divaricata, Bryoria capillaris, Hypogymnia tubulos...

İnsan gastrointestinal (GI) sistemi yüz trilyon mikroorganizmayı (bakteri, virüs, mantar ve protozoalar) ve binden fazla bakteri türünü barındırmaktadır. Bağırsak mikrobiyotasının insan sağlığı üzerindeki etkisi bugüne dek pek çok hayvan ve insan çalışmasında gösterilmiştir. Yapılan son çalışmalarda, bağırsak florasının bağışıklık sistemi, metaboli...

Recently, misuse or overuse of antibiotics has led to the antibiotic resistance problem, a global healthcare problem. Most virulence factors and biofilm formation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa are controlled by quorum sensing (QS). The inhibition of QS system by inhibitor molecules has been suggested as a novel alternative antivirulence approach in whi...

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is one of the drug-resistant opportunistic pathogens with the ability to form biofilm and to produce a number of virulence factors via Quorum Sensing (QS) regulation. Most researchers have focused on QS inhibition to overcome the drug resistance problem. QS inhibitor molecules are investigated from natural resources. In the p...

Long-term or improper use of antibacterial agents utilized in the soaking process has led to the resistance of some bacteria in the leather industry. New agents may be the solution to combat these antibacterial resistant bacteria in the soaking process. As a natural resource, lichens are known to have many biological activities. In previous studies...

The importance of the antibacterial resistant bacteria in the hide/skin soaking process has been emphasized due to their destructive properties on finished leather.Lichens may be a solution to overcome this resistance problem.Isolate 1 from soak liquor samples was assigned to Enterococcus durans (99.86%).For screening of possible antibacterial effe...

Bacteria forms biofilm to be resistant to antibacterial agents and other unfavorable environment as compared to planktonic bacterial cells. Due to resistance of bacterial biofilms to commonly used antimicrobial agents and adverse effects of these biofilms in different industries, potential natural compounds which can inhibit bacterial biofilms have...

In the leather industry, some bacterial strains may become resistant to antibacterial agents utilized in the soaking process due to long-term use and/or not using in sufficient doses. Alternative approaches or novel agents need to be investigated to overcome antibacterial resistance of bacteria present in the soaking process. These alternative appr...

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that causes high morbidity and mortality rates due to its biofilm form. Biofilm formation is regulated via quorum sensing (QS) mechanism and provides up to 1000 times more resistance against conventional antibiotics. QS related genes are expressed according to bacterial population density via sign...

Antimicrobial properties of ethnobotanically valuable lichens are well recognized but it is not known how exactly their therapeutic effects on microbial infections occur. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic Gram-negative pathogen and its nosocomial strains are responsible for high mortality and morbidity rates. It coordinates pathogenesis an...

Hide quality is adversely affected during salt-curing and soaking processes especially due to bacterial activities of microorganisms. These organisms may cause irreversible grain damage, pinpricks, disruption of collagen fibers, uneven dyeing that cannot be recovered by leather production process. To determine major problems on salted and soaked sk...

Geleneksel antibiyotiklerin tedavide yetersiz kalmasına bağlı olarak, son yıllarda yeni alternatif tedavi yaklaşımı olarak QS inhibisyonu üzerinde durulmaktadır. Bitkilerin QS inhibitörü olarak kullanılabileceği ve zeytinin (Olea europaea) antimikrobiyal, antioksidan ve antikanser gibi etkileri literatürde yer aldığından; çalışmamızda zeytin yaprağ...

We studied QSI potentials of ethyl acetate cell (CE) and cell free supernatant extracts (CFSE) of extremophilic Halomonas pantelleriensis against P. aeruginosa

The soaking process is an ideal environment for bacterial growth and bacterial activity during this process causes severe damages on hides. The use of an effective bactericidal agent during soaking is very important to prevent the detrimental effect of bacteria on hides. A quaternary ammonium compound (QAC) containing 12.5% didecyl dimethyl ammoniu...

Inactivation of bacterial activity on hides is necessary during brine curing and presoaking processes. Therefore, bactericidal effect of 0.02% quaternary ammonium compound containing didecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride and benzyl dimethyl ammonium chloride on the mixed culture of Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus pumilus, Enterococcus faecium, Staphy...

A high bacterial population belonging to the domains of Bacteria and Archaea originating from inadequate salt curing and soaking processes may cause an important quality reduction in leather. A simple and rapid molecular technique such as Fluorescent In Situ Hybridization technique (FISH) which may be applied in leather making processes may assist...

In this study, the efficacy of the bactericide containing didecyldimethylammonium chloride (quaternary ammonium compound) on the bacteria found in the main soak liquor at tannery was examined at different exposure times of 10 min., 30 min., 60 min., 120 min., 180 min., 240 min., 300 min., 360 min., 420 min. and 480 min. The presence of proteolytic...

This study was performed to evaluate the efficiency of salt curing and soaking methods containing antibacterial agents. The bacteria adversely affecting hide quality because of hide preservation method and soaking process were examined in salt (n=40), salted hide (n=36), soaked hide (n=34) and soak liquor (n=19) samples obtained from different tann...

Cow's milk (CM) hypersensitivity is one of the most frequent hypersensitivities in infants. The objective of our study was to investigate the prevalence of immediate hypersensitivity to CM based on skin prick test results and to evaluate associated allergic conditions ascertained by questionnaire in infants living in Istanbul. All infants born betw...

Egg allergy is one of the most frequent allergies in infants. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of sensitization to egg in infants based on skin prick test results and to evaluate associated allergic conditions by questionnaire. All infants born between June 2001 and May 2002 were recalled to the hospital according to their dates...

Data on the pathogenic mechanisms underlying the development of non-atopic asthma in children are scarce. Our aim was to evaluate the association and compare the atopic status, pulmonary functions, bronchial hyperresponsiveness and serum total immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels of parents of atopic and non-atopic asthmatic children by using objective me...

Although the development of atopy in the newborn is determined by a multitude of factors, an intense Th1 stimulus early in life could be protective by facilitating a switch away from Th2. Aimed to determine the effect of single Mycobacterium vaccae (M. vaccae) immunization to OVA-sensitized pregnant mice on IL-5 and IFN-gamma secretion from placent...

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of intratracheal (i.t.) or subcutaneous (s.c.) Mycobacterium vaccae treatment on lung histopathology and cytokine responses in a murine model of asthma. BALB/c mice were divided into four groups. To establish an asthma model, Groups I, II and III received intraperitoneal (i.p.) ovalbumin (OVA)...

Although sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) is accepted to be a viable alternative of specific-allergen immunotherapy, the efficacy of long-term SLIT in asthmatic children is not well established. The efficacy of 3 yr of SLIT in addition to pharmacotherapy was compared with pharmacotherapy alone in a prospective, open, parallel-group, controlled study...

Mycobacteria are being investigated for modulation of inflammation in asthma and atopic disorders by eliciting particularly strong protective TH1 immune responses. To investigate the long-term effects of intratracheally administered Mycobacterium vaccae on an experimental murine model of asthma. BALB/c mice were placed in 4 groups: long-term M. vac...

Although children, with allergic airway disease, who are sensitized to house-dust mite (HDM) are known to have increased levels of allergen-specific IgE and IgG, the association between the quantity of those immunoglobulins and the clinical features of disease is not yet well established. The purpose of this study was (i) to evaluate Der p1-specifi...

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between parasitosis and allergy. We surveyed all children aged 4-12 years living in poor hygienic conditions in a shantytown of Istanbul. After obtaining data from the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) and an additional questionnaire, performing a skin-prick tes...

Chitin, a natural polysaccharide extracted from shrimp, is a potent T and B cell adjuvant when delivered in the form of chitin microparticles and can shift a polarized T-helper type 2 (Th2) immune response towards a Th1 response. We investigated the beneficial effects of the intranasal application of chitin microparticles in newborn mice before and...

RationaleTo evaluate whether intratracheal M. vaccae administration may provide a therapeutic effect and long-term protection on airway histopathology of already established chronic asthma in BALB/c mice.

RationaleMucosal tolerance is suggested to be one of the most promising therapeutic approaches in treatment of asthma.

RationaleTo test whether the administration of the antigen, OVA IN and IG route after the establishment of chronic asthma model could reverse the characteristicfeatures of lung histopathology in BALB/c mice.

Cured hides are soaked in water for several hours to several days to remove salt, dirt, debris, blood and excess animal fats on the hides. Generally, soaking is the most important process in leather industry. Microbial populations in soak liquors can adversely effect the quality of leather. In this study, the presence of mesophilic bacteria was exa...