- Volume 41, Issue 2, 1994
Volume 41, Issue 2, 1994
- Editorial
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- Review Article
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- Clinical Mycology
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The effect of nebulised pentamidine on the concentration of intra-oral Candida albicans in HIV-infected patients
More LessSummaryThis prospective study investigated whether oral candidal carriage in HIV-infected patients was altered by pentamidine therapy. Repeated oral rinses were taken from 56 HIV-positive patients over a 2-year period. Oral candidal carriage was investigated in two groups of patients, one receiving prophylactic pentamidine therapy and the other not receiving regular prophylaxis. Patients receiving pentamidine had lower concentrations of Candida albicans intra-orally than patients who did not receive it. Furthermore, patients who received pentamidine at one stage of the study, but not another, also had lower concentrations of C. albicans intra-orally when receiving pentamidine. These findings indicate that pentamidine is useful as a local agent for prophylaxis against intra-oral candidosis in HIV-infected patients.
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Rapid characterisation of Candida albicans by pyrolysis mass spectrometry
More LessSummaryClinical isolates (41) of Candida spp. from three possible outbreaks of nosocomially-acquired infection were compared by pyrolysis mass spectrometry (PMS) and by a combined morphotyping and resistotyping (M-R typing) method. Both systems characterised all the isolates and distinguished one isolate of C. tropicalis and another of C. glabrata from the 39 isolates of C. albicans. Results from both systems suggested that crossinfection with a single strain contributed to two of the outbreaks. In several instances, more than one strain of C. albicans was found amongst multiple isolates from the same patient. PMS is a simple, rapid and objective technique capable of characterising C. albicans isolates; discrimination was similar to M-R typing.
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- Characterisation And Typing Of Bacteria
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Application of pyrolysis mass spectroscopy and SDS-PAGE in the study of the epidemiology of Pseudomonas cepacia in cystic fibrosis
More LessSummaryRepresentative isolates of Pseudomonas cepacia from 15 cystic fibrosis (CF) patients attending the Respiratory Unit of Alder Hey Childrens’ Hospital were investigated by SDS-PAGE of whole-cell polypeptides and by pyrolysis mass spectroscopy (PMS). SDS-PAGE was less discriminatory than PMS. Eleven isolates were indistinguishable by PMS and considered to represent re-isolates of an endemic strain; four isolates were distinct from this group, and from one another. P. cepacia was first isolated on the unit in July 1989 from a patient who had attended a UK selection meeting for a Canadian CF camp. A ward and outpatient segregation policy was introduced, but colonisation of further patients occurred. In August 1991, the Adult CF Association recommended that all social activities involving colonised patients should cease. This, and an increased awareness amongst older CF patients of the risks of person-to-person transmission, was associated with a marked decline in new cases. Social activity and hospital admissions were compared for colonised patients during the year before colonisation with P. cepacia, and matched patients who did not acquire the endemic strain. This showed a significantly higher attendance at CF social events for colonised patients, but no significant association between colonisation and hospital admission. These results are strong indirect evidence that transmission of P. cepacia occurs through social contact outside the hospital environment.
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A framework for IS200, 16S rRNA gene and plasmid-profile analysis in Salmonella serogroup D1
More LessSummaryChromosomal fingerprinting of the type strains of serotypes of Salmonella O-serogroup D1 with the DNA insertion sequence IS200 generated patterns which were either serotype-specific (e.g., Typhi), or conserved among groups of related serotypes (e.g., Dublin, Rostock and certain phage types of Enteritidis). The number of IS200 copies varied considerably, and the IS200 patterns of type strains of serotypes associated with systemic infections in man were specific and suitable for identifying strains within those serotypes. Polymorphism at 16S rRNA gene loci was examined among type strains and 11 16S rRNA gene profiles were characterised. The most prevalent of these was conserved among type strains of 11 serotypes, and the next most prevalent among type strains of nine serotypes; together, they encompassed 15 unique IS200 profiles. The distribution and mol. wts of plasmids carrying spvBC (virulence) genes could be directly related to certain chromosomal genotypes defined by IS200 patterns. The presence of virulence plasmids in serotypes Lomalinda, Antarctica and Wangata is reported for the first time. Comparison of 16S rRNA gene profiles and IS200 patterns provides a definition of genotype that is applicable to epidemiological studies of various group D1 serotypes and should prove particularly useful for those lacking plasmid DNA.
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Analysis by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis of insertion mutations in the transferrin-binding system of Haemophilus influenzae type b
More LessSummaryA mutagenesis system involving the insertion of a non-transposable antibiotic resistance gene cassette was used to generate stable mutations in the chromosome of Haemophilus influenzae type b strain Eagan. The mutations generated were shown by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) to have unique Smal fingerprint patterns and to be located randomly on the chromosome. Of 700 insertion mutants screened, 29 had stable insertions resulting in constitutive expression of transferrin-binding proteins (TBPs). The high proportion of such mutants indicated that numerous regulatory loci could influence the expression of this phenotype. Five such regulatory mutations were analysed in detail by PFGE and DNA hybridisation and were shown to be located at five different chromosomal loci, although three of the five loci were located on the same 330-kb Smal fragment of the wild-type strain Eagan chromosome. This fragment also contains several important virulence determinants, including the capb locus, and one of the five constitutive mutants had concomitantly lost the ability to synthesise a type-b capsule. No DNA homology was demonstrated between H. influenzae chromosomal fragments separated by PFGE and DNA probes for the TBPs from Neisseria meningitidis, but the possibility of shared regulatory mechanisms controlling the expression of TBPs in these two species remains to be investigated.
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- Microbial Pathogenicity
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Virulence-associated factors in Escherichia coli strains isolated from children with urinary tract infections
More LessSummaryOne hundred and sixty-eight strains of Escherichia coli were isolated from cases of pyelonephritis (24) and lower urinary tract infections (UTI) (144) from hospitalised and outpatient children up to 2 years old. These strains were investigated for the expression of P fimbriae (PF), mannose-resistant and mannose-sensitive haemagglutination, cell-surface hydrophobicity, serum resistance and the production of α-haemolysin (AH), colicins and aerobactin. PF, AH, aerobactin production and serum resistance were significantly more frequent amongst strains expressing mannose-resistant haemagglutination. PF and AH production was significantly more frequent in pyelonephritogenic strains than in lower UTI strains. Serotypes O6 and O112 were isolated most frequently and plasmids were found in the majority of strains tested.
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Promotion of Escherichia coli adherence to rubber slices by adsorbed fibronectin
More LessSummaryBiomaterial-associated infections are a problem in the use of endoprosthetic materials in the palliative treatment of malignant obstructive jaundice. Fibronectin has been reported to mediate adherence of bacteria to host tissue and biomaterials. Adsorption of fibronectin to rubber—representing material used for biliary drainage—and subsequent adherence of Escherichia coli strain PSS1 and E. coli strain NG7C (which binds to immobilised fibronectin) were investigated. Quantitative adsorption of fibronectin to rubber slices was studied with 125I-labelled, purified human plasma fibronectin. In buffer solutions, fibronectin showed a high affinity for rubber slices. Adherence of the E. coli strains to uncoated rubber slices was similar and was significantly inhibited by the presence of plasma components and bile. Adherence of E. coli PSS1 to fibronectin-coated slices was poor. In contrast, E. coli NG7C adhered efficiently to coated slices in proportion to the amount of adsorbed fibronectin; adherence was not reduced by the presence of albumin or bile, or the fibronectin-binding ligands gelatin, heparin and fibrinogen. However, pre-digestion of coated slices with trypsin significantly reduced adherence.
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K1, K5 and O antigens of Escherichia coli in relation to serum killing via the classical and alternative complement pathways
More LessSummaryThe sensitivity of Escherichia coli strains to 80 % normal human serum (NHS) and the relative importance of the classical and alternative complement pathways was assessed in relation to K1, K5, and O antigen carriage. Strains of each of the common O-serogroups, O1, O2, O4, O6, O7, O9, O18 and O75, smooth strains not typable (NT) with these antisera and auto-agglutinable (AA) strains were studied. Of the 166 strains studied, 37 carried the K1 antigen and 45 the K5 antigen. The variation in sensitivity to NHS between different O-serogroups reported previously was confirmed. Although carriage of the K1 and K5 antigens varied with O-serogroup, this did not explain the differences either between or within O-serogroups. Strains with the K1 or K5 antigen were significantly more resistant to the alternative complement pathway than strains without these antigens. However, this appeared to be more related to the O-serogroups with which they were associated; 37 of 50 O2, O4, O6 and AA strains were affected by complement through both pathways but 20 of 30 O7, O18 and O75 strains were affected by the classical pathway alone and 16 of 20 O9 and NT strains were affected by the alternative pathway alone.
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Biochemical differences among human and animal streptococci of Lancefield group C or group G
More LessSummaryPyogenic streptococci of Lancefield group C or group G from human or animal sources were examined with a view to increasing the number of diagnostic tests useful for their differentiation. Human strains of group G produced L-prolyl-L-arginine aminopeptidase but isolates of Streptococcus equisimilis (group C) did not. Tests for α-L-glutamate aminopeptidase together with fermentation of glycogen or sorbitol distinguished S. dysgαlαctiαe from strains of S. equisimilis isolated from animals. It was confirmed that fermentation tests were helpful in the study of S. equi and S. zooepidemicus and that enzyme reactions helped distinguish between S. cαnis and the human strains of group G.
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- Announcement
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- Books Received
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Volume 73 (2024)
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