Drugs, 1995, 49 Suppl 2, 43 - 7 Epidemiology of quinolone resistance . Eastern hemisphere; Turnidge J; Both nalidixic acid and fluoroquinolones are used widely in the Eastern hemisphere for a variety of infectious diseases . A surveillance programme for antibiotic resistance in common pathogens has been conducted in the Western Pacific Region of the World Health Organization since 1989 . Data on resistance to fluoroquinolones for the years 1992 and 1993 from the 16 participating countries in the Western Pacific, plus published data from Thailand, were collated for common and important pathogens in this region . Overall, fluoroquinolone resistance levels were highest in developing countries and lowest in developed countries, with transitional countries undergoing rapid economic improvement showing intermediate levels of resistance . There was also a trend towards increasing levels of fluoroquinolone resistance between 1992 and 1993 . In developed countries, levels of resistance to fluoroquinolones exceeded 10% for only Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Acinetobacter and Providencia species . Resistance levels of 25% or more in Escherichia coli were noted in 3 countries in 1993 . In contrast, resistant strains of Salmonella typhi and S . paratyphi A were rare or nonexistent in any country, and only low levels of resistance were detected in Shigella species . Fluoroquinolone resistance appears to be emerging slowly in developed countries and more rapidly in transitional and developing countries . Strenuous efforts will be required in some countries in order to prevent the early obsolescence of these valuable agents. Drugs, 1995, 49 Suppl 2, 36 - 42 Epidemiology of quinolone resistance: Europe and North and South America; Goldstein FW et al.; After nearly 10 years of fluoroquinolone usage for a wide range of bacterial infections, a striking difference has been observed in the incidence of bacterial resistance to fluoroquinolones between bacteria responsible for community- and hospital-acquired infections, respectively . Resistance is only rarely encountered among common pathogens . In most studies, 97 to 100% of all pathogens are fully susceptible to fluoroquinolones . In contrast, resistance to fluoroquinolones has emerged and increased among bacteria responsible for nosocomial infections . The incidence of resistance to fluoroquinolones varies between bacterial species, clinical settings and countries, and is related to local epidemic spread of a few clones . The highest incidence of resistance is observed in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter spp., Serratia marcescens and, particularly, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA): some investigators have reported 95 to 100% fluoroquinolone resistance among MRSA . Follow-up of trends in the resistance to fluoroquinolones based upon surveillance programmes are needed. Chemosphere, 1995 Jan, 30(1), 103 - 16 Degradation of propanil by bacterial isolates and mixed populations from a pristine lake; Correa IE et al.; The microbial transformation rates of propanil, a commonly used herbicide, were investigated using water from a pristine lake in northeast Georgia . Microbial degradation rates were measured using natural water microflora, the natural water microflora amended with five bacterial species (Aerobacter aerogenes, Aeromonas hydrophila, Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, Proteus mirabilis, and Aeromonas salmonicida) isolated from the same lake, and the five isolates individually . Transformation rate constants for propanil were compared for the mixed microbial assemblages and isolates at similar initial bacterial concentrations (approximately 5.0 x 10(-3) bacteria/mL) . Degradation started within 60 hours and was completed by 160 hours in all experiments . The mean first-order rate constant for natural microflora was -(4.80 +/- 0.620) x 10(-3) h-1 . Natural waters amended with the bacterial isolates yielded rate constants ranging from -(0.39 +/- 0.186) x 10(-3) h-1 to -(2.13 +/- 0.029) x 10(-3) h-1 with an overall mean of -(1.63 +/- 0.242) x 10(-3) h-1 . After 660 hours following the first amendment of propanil, (i.e., 500 hours after propanil degradation was complete), each sample was again amended with propanil . Subsequent degradation rates ranged from -(21.3 +/- 0.186) x 10(-3) h-1 to -(64.2 +/- 0.786) x 10(-3) h-1 and the mean rate constant was -(37.5 +/- 0.922) x 10(-3) h-1 . No significant differences were observed between first-order rate constants among isolates following the first or the second addition of propanil . After the second spike, however, the average of rate constants was approximately 20 times greater than that following the first spike . Rates for the individual isolates varied greatly from one isolate to another, ranging from virtually no degradation with A . calcoaceticus to -(21.6 +/- 0.332) x 10(-3) h-1 for the composite treatment of all isolates. FEMS Microbiol Lett, 1995 Jan 1, 125(1), 95 - 100 Variability of peptidoglycan structural parameters in gram-negative bacteria; Quintela JC et al.; Muropeptide composition of peptidoglycan from the Gram-negative bacteria Aeromonas sp., Acinetobacter acetoaceticus, Agrobacterium tumefaciens, Enterobacter cloacae, Proteus morganii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas putida, Vibrio parahaemolyticus Yersinia enterocolitica and Escherichia coli, was analyzed by HPLC . In all instances peptidoglycan was built up from the same subunits . A wide disparity in the relative abundance of muropeptides and all structural parameters was observed . The contribution of LD-A2pm-A2pm cross-linked muropeptides was extremely variable; from 1 to 45% of cross-linked muropeptides . Muropeptides with the dipeptides Lys-Lys or Arg-Lys, indicative of murein-bound (lipo)proteins, were detected in all instances although abundance was very variable. Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis, 1995 Jan, 21(1), 33 - 45 Multicenter in vitro comparative study of fluoroquinolones against 25,129 gram-positive and gram-negative clinical isolates; Prosser BL et al.; In vitro activities of fleroxacin, ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin, and lomefloxacin were evaluated against 25,129 fresh bacterial isolates from 51 US hospital or medical center laboratories, beginning in October of 1990 . Susceptibility rates were > or = 85% against most species of Gram-negative bacteria . Notable exceptions were Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter, Xanthomonas, and Providencia . The study drugs displayed similar activity against most Gram-negative species . At least 90% of oxacillin-susceptible staphylococci were susceptible but, of oxacillin-resistant strains, only approximately 60% of Staphylococcus epidermidis and 25% of Staphylococcus aureus were susceptible to the quinolones tested . Staphylococcus saprophyticus strains were less susceptible to fleroxacin (42%) than to the other compounds (79%-97%) . Ofloxacin and ciprofloxacin were more active against streptococci, and none of the compounds demonstrated appreciable activity against enterococci . Thus, the spectra of activity of fluoroquinolones illustrate that they remain effective agents for the treatment of many types of infections caused by Gram-negative pathogens. Przegl Lek, 1995, 52(2), 39 - 41 {Respiratory infections in the surgical intensive care unit}; Kubisz A et al.; The purpose of the study was to assess microbiological structure and the influence of the predisposing factors on frequency of lower respiratory tract infections . The study group consisted of 72 patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit between January and October 1994 . We found that 27 pts . (39%) developed respiratory infections . The risk of an infection was much higher in the group with long (over 5 days) stay on ICU, which required artificial ventilation as well as in the group of patients treated due to acute pancreatitis . More than 75% of isolated strains were Gram negative bacteria . Using susceptibility tests we conclude that Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Serratia, and Acinetobacter baumanii are highly resistant to antibiotics . The results suggests that 3rd generation cephalosporins and imipenem are most efficient in vitro. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol, 1995 Jan, 42(5), 738 - 43 The glucose dehydrogenase-mediated energization of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus as a tool for evaluating its susceptibility to, and defence against, hazardous chemicals; Loffhagen N et al.; Cells of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus 69-V could be energized by glucose oxidation after the growth on acetate, ethanol, hexanol and benzoate . The velocities of glucose oxidation-driven ATP syntheses were relatively constant in the range from pH 5.4 to 7.5 . With decreasing pH values (7.0, 6.0, 5.4) ATP synthesis was inhibited more strongly by the action of 2,4-dinitrophenol and at the same pH value glucose oxidation was nearly unimpaired or inhibited more weakly . This finding is expressed by a decrease of the P/O ratios, indicating the uncoupling of the electron-transport phosphorylation by 2,4-dinitrophenol . The sensitivity towards this uncoupling effect was higher in ethanol-grown cells of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus 69-V than in hexanol- or acetate-grown cells . This increase in sensitivity was accompanied by a decrease of the ratio of saturated (mainly C16:0) to unsaturated (C16:1, C18:1) fatty acids in ethanol-grown cells compared with hexanol-grown ones . The knowledge of such differences in the susceptibility and its molecular background, e.g . possible substrate-induced changes of the fatty acid composition of the cytoplasmic membranes, should help elucidate mechanisms of poisoning by membrane-active hazardous chemicals and develop defence strategies. Curr Microbiol, 1995 Jan, 30(1), 7 - 10 Acinetobacter calcoaceticus liberates chromosomal DNA during induction of competence by cell lysis; Palmen R et al.; A transformation assay was used to assay the amount of DNA present in the extracellular medium of a growing culture of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus . It was observed that small amounts of DNA were liberated during the entire exponential growth phase in a batch culture . Release of DNA could be fully accounted for by lysis of cells . Lysis was quantified via simultaneous measurement of beta-galactosidase activity of cells and supernatant, with a strain that contained a plasmid (pAPA100) with lacZ under control of a constitutive beta-lactamase promoter . In conclusion, no evidence could be obtained indicating that Acinetobacter calcoaceticus actively excretes DNA, to be used for DNA exchange. J Basic Microbiol, 1995, 35(1), 21 - 31 A periplasmic insulin-cleaving proteinase (ICP) from Acinetobacter calcoaceticus sharing properties with protease III from Escherichia coli and IDE from eucaryotes; Fricke B et al.; A periplasmic insulin-cleaving proteinase (ICP), purified to its electrophoretic homogeneity in the SDS-PAGE from the Gram-negative bacterium Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, was examined and compared in its properties with the protease III (protease Pi, pitrilysin, EC 3.4.99.44) of Escherichia coli and the insulin-destroying proteinase (IDE, insulinase, EC 3.4.99.45) from eucaryotes . The enzyme was proven to be a metalloprotease like protease III and IDE, as was shown by the inhibitory effects exerted by EDTA and o-phenanthroline . Furthermore, dialysis against EDTA and o-phenanthroline led to a complete loss of activity, which could be restored by addition of Co2+, and, to a lesser extent, but at a lower metal ion concentration by Zn2+ . Similar to protease III and IDE, ICP prefers the cleavage of small polypeptides (insulin, insulin B-chain, glucagon) to the cleavage of proteins (casein, human serum albumin, globin) and was inactive against synthetic amino acid derivates (esters, p-nitranilides, and furoylacroleyl substrates) of subtilisin, thermolysin, trypsin, and chymotrypsin . The peptide-bond-specificity of the ICP in the cleavage of the oxidized insulin B-chain was investigated and the results were compared to the specificity of protease III of E . coli, IDE, protease-24,11, and thermolysin . Cleavage sites in the oxidized insulin B-chain generated by ICP are Asn3-Gln4, His10-Leu11, Ala14-Leu15, Leu17-Val18, Gly23-Phe24, Phe24-Phe25, and Phe25-Tyr26 . Principally, ICP cleaves between hydrophobic amino acids and amides . The ICP shares one of the only two cleavage sites with the protease III and four sites with the IDE. J Clin Microbiol, 1995 Jan, 33(1), 11 - 5 Identification of Acinetobacter genomic species by amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis; Vaneechoutte M et al.; A total of 53 field and reference strains, including the type strains of the seven named species (nomenspecies) and belonging to the 18 described genomic species (DNA groups) of the genus Acinetobacter, were studied by amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA) . Restriction analysis with the enzymes AluI, CfoI, MboI, RsaI, and MspI of the enzymatically amplified 16S rRNA genes allowed us to identify all species except the genomic species 4 (Acinetobacter haemolyticus) and 7 (A . johnsonii), 5 (A . junii) and 17, and 10 and 11, which clustered pairwise in three respective groups . Further analysis with the enzyme HaeIII, HinfI, NciI, ScrFI, or TaqI did not allow us to differentiate the species within these three clusters . However, use of a few additional simple phenotypic tests (hemolysis, growth at 37 degrees C, production of acid from glucose, and gelatin hydrolysis) can be used to differentiate between the species within these clusters . ARDRA proved to be a rapid and reliable method for the identification of most of the Acinetobacter genomic species, including the closely related DNA groups 1 (A . calcoaceticus), 2 (A . baumannii), 3, and 13 . The results of this study suggest that ARDRA can be used for the identification of Acinetobacter species and as such may help to elucidate the ecology and clinical significance of the different species of this genus . Since ARDRA uses universal 16S rRNA gene primers, it is expected to be applicable to the identification of most bacterial species . Furthermore, ARDRA is less prone to contamination problems than PCR for detection, since the use of cultured organisms results in a large initial quantity of target DNA. Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 1995 Jan, 39(1), 264 - 7 Amikacin levels in bronchial secretions of 10 pneumonia patients with respiratory support treated once daily versus twice daily; Santre C et al.; In this study, concentrations of amikacin in blood and bronchial secretions of 10 patients with mechanical ventilation for acute respiratory failure due to pneumonia were measured . One-half of the patients received amikacin twice daily, and the others received once-daily administration . Concentrations in bronchial secretions of the patients treated twice daily ranged from 3 to 4 mg/liter, i.e., they were similar to those in previously published reports . Peak concentrations in bronchial secretions occurred between 3 and 4 h after the onset of infusion, and they reached 4.8 +/- 2.6 mg/liter on day 1 and 4.0 +/- 2.7 mg/liter on day 3 . For the patients treated with amikacin once daily, concentrations in bronchial secretions were more than twofold higher, above 8 mg/liter for 12 h . Peak concentrations in bronchial secretions occurred between 3 and 4 h after the onset of infusion and reached 13.6 +/- 9.3 mg/liter on day 1 and 10.4 +/- 3.5 mg/liter on day 3 . These concentrations are higher than the MICs for less sensitive bacterial strains, such as Acinetobacter spp . and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Przegl Epidemiol, 1995, 49(1-2), 65 - 71 {Effectiveness of endoscope disinfection process}; Dabrowiecki S et al.; The effectiveness of flexible endoscopes disinfection was evaluated . Since 1991 to 1994--157 inoculations were taken from endoscopic equipment--right after the examination and after their disinfection . Following the endoscopes examinations were contaminated by microorganisms normally resident in the throat, respiratory and digestive tracts, but also with bacteria (Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas, Proteus) which could be source of severe nosocomial infections . Three times there was Ps . aeruginosa on an endoscope after its disinfection, which demonstrates ineffectiveness of the whole sanitary process . Constant surveillance demands sterility of the fluids employed during the disinfection process . The improvement in sanitary level is achieved when endoscope exposition to glutaraldehyde has been elongated, to each endoscope a new solution of detergent has been applied, and sterile water handling (its production, storage, and use) has been polished up. Vestn Ross Akad Med Nauk, 1995, (6), 42 - 5 {Nosocomial infections in present-day traumatological-orthopedic hospitals}; Shaposhnikova IuG et al.; Nosocomial infection remains a significant problem in modern traumatology and orthopedics . Staphylococcus prevails in its etiological pattern . The activation of microorganisms such as Acinetobacter is noted . In addition to aerobic microorganisms, anaerobic bacteria, nonsporulating ones, play an important etiological role . Anaerobic infection is seedy in 30.4% of patients' blood samples . Great emphasis is placed on microbial adhesiveness in the pathogenesis of an infectious process . The authors' investigations have shown that highly adhesive Staphylococci are common in severe pathological processes . The adhesiveness of the bacteria has been shown to depend on environmental conditions and the patient's status . Among the nonsporulating anaerobes there are bacteroids which are most highly adhesive. West Afr J Med, 1995 Jan-Mar, 14(1), 59 - 60 Hydrocephalus and cerebral palsy due to Acinetobacter meningitis in neonate; Ibrahim M; Earlier reports on acinetobacter infections in neonates described the infections as essentially opportunistic and indolent . We described here a case of acinetobacter infection in a neonate, which ran a relentless course and resulted in hydrocephalus and cerebral palsy . The difficulty encountered in establishing a bacteriological diagnosis in the absence of a qualified microbiologist is stressed. Pathology, 1995 Jan, 27(1), 67 - 70 Antimicrobial resistance problem in a university hospital; Kumarasinghe G et al.; In a study conducted in 1991 in the National University Hospital, Singapore, the susceptibilities of a total of 2156 recent clinical isolates were tested against 25 antimicrobial drugs . The organisms were those isolated from routine specimens received in the microbiology laboratory . About 40% Staphylococcus aureus isolations in the hospital were resistant to methicillin . A high incidence of the resistance was noted among Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase negative staphylococci to antistaphylococcal drugs . Acinetobacter sp . and Klebsiella sp . are becoming major threats with regard to antimicrobial treatment as they are multi-drug resistant . Pseudomonas aeruginosa did not show a resistance problem except to pefloxacin (74%) . Ampicillin resistance of Acinetobacter sp . (93%) was reduced to 71% by ampicillin/clavulanic acid and to 7% by ampicillin/sulbactam . With regards to the urinary isolates higher rates of resistance were noticed with Pseudomonas aeruginosa to antipseudomonas drugs and for co-trimoxazole with other Gram negative organisms, compared to non-urinary isolates. Zhonghua Zheng Xing Shao Shang Wai Ke Za Zhi, 1995 Jan, 11(1), 49 - 52 {Analysis of 1116 strains of pathogens isolated from infected burn wounds}; Zhang J et al.; We report the analysis of 1,116 strains of pathogens isolated from infected burn wounds of 536 patients hospitalized from 1989 to 1991 . From the 1,116 strains of pathogens, 39 species of aerobes and fungi were found, including 217 strains of staphylococcus aureus, 208 strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and 119 strains of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus . The positive rates of the above three bacteria were 19.4%, 18.6% and 10.6% respectively . Some opportunistic pathogens, such as bacillus cercus, aerococcus virdans and aspergillus etc . were also isolated from the burn wounds as well as the ward environments . The drug sensitivity of some of the common bacterial was determined. Biosens Bioelectron, 1995 Fall, 10(8), 717 - 22 Biosensor based on an enzyme modified electrode for highly-sensitive measurement of polyphenols; Eremenko A et al.; The use of glucose dehydrogenase from Acinetobacter calcoaceticus for highly sensitive measurement of polyphenols, based on bioelectrocatalytic analyte recycling, has been demonstrated . A polyphenol (analyte) is oxidized on the surface of a glassy carbon electrode at an anodic potential and is regenerated by immobilized glucose dehydrogenase (GDH) in the presence of glucose, resulting in an amplified response . The dynamic properties of the enzyme-modified glassy carbon electrode allow the convenient monitoring of subnanomolar analyte concentration . The detection limits for p-aminophenol and norepinephrine are 0.2 nM and 0.5 nM, respectively. Wiad Parazytol, 1995, 41(2), 139 - 47 {Occurrence of parasites, bacteria, viruses and fungi in fish that are pathogenic to men and fish}; Myjak P et al.; Parasitological examinations comprised above 20,000 fish which were searched for parasitic nematoda of Anisakidae . It was evidenced that herring were infected with anisakid larvae in 8%, cod and flatfish in 4% and the eelpouts in as many as in 52% . The species that prevails in these fish were: Anisakis simplex, Contracaecum osculatum C, Hysterothylacium auctum and Pseudoterranova decipiens, respectively . In direction of the bacteria pathogenic to man 765 fish were examined; in 38% there were found pathogenic strains such as coagulase-positive staphylococci, even Salmonella and Shigella . Besides there were cultivated 109 strains of bacteria pathogenic to fish belonging to the genera: Aeromonas, Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter and Moraxella Virological evaluation comprised 527 fish, in that number Enteroviruses (Coxsackie, ECHO) were identified in 31% fish and viral agent, likely to be pathogenic to fish in 8% specimens . Not a one case of infection with Ichthyophonus hoferi fungus in the herring hitherto examined was noted. FEMS Microbiol Lett, 1994 Dec 15, 124(3), 349 - 53 The phylogenetic structure of the genus Acinetobacter; Rainey FA et al.; 16S rDNA sequence analysis was performed on the type strains of all validly described Acinetobacter species and five unnamed Acinetobacter strains . The phylogenetic analyses confirm that Acinetobacter is a coherent genus within the gamma subclass of Proteobacteria and that the species are phylogenetically well defined . A . calcoaceticus, A . lwoffii, A . johnsonii and A . haemolyticus form one cluster of closely related species, the pair A . junii and A . baumannii forms a second cluster . A . radioresistens stands phylogenetically isolated . The study reveals that three undescribed strains can be assigned to individually described species, while strains DSM 30009 and DSM 590 may represent two novel Acinetobacter species. J Bacteriol, 1994 Dec, 176(24), 7659 - 66 The pca-pob supraoperonic cluster of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus contains quiA, the structural gene for quinate-shikimate dehydrogenase; Elsemore DA et al.; An 18-kbp Acinetobacter calcoaceticus chromosomal segment contains the pcaIJFBDKCHG operon, which is required for catabolism of protocatechuate, and pobSRA, genes associated with conversion of p-hydroxybenzoate to protocatechuate . The genetic function of the 6.5 kbp of DNA between pcaG and pobS was unknown . Deletions in this DNA were designed by removal of fragments between restriction sites, and the deletion mutations were introduced into A . calcoaceticus by natural transformation . The mutations prevented growth with either quinate or shikimate, growth substrates that depend upon qui gene function for their catabolism to protocatechuate . The location of quiA, a gene encoding quinate-shikimate dehydrogenase, was indicated by its expression in one of the deletion mutants, and the position of the gene was confirmed by determination of its 2,427-bp nucleotide sequence . The deduced amino acid sequence of QuiA confirmed that it is a member of a family of membrane-associated, pyrrolo-quinoline quinone-dependent dehydrogenases, as had been suggested by earlier biochemical investigations . Catabolism of quinate and skikimate is initiated by NAD(+)-dependent dehydrogenases in other microorganisms, so it is evident that different gene pools were called upon to provide the ancestral enzyme for this metabolic step. J Bacteriol, 1994 Dec, 176(23), 7352 - 61 Inducible cell lysis system for the study of natural transformation and environmental fate of DNA released by cell death; Kloos DU et al.; Two novel conditional broad-host-range cell lysis systems have been developed for the study of natural transformation in bacteria and the environmental fate of DNA released by cell death . Plasmid pDKL02 consists of lysis genes S, R, and Rz from bacteriophage lambda under the control of the Ptac promoter . The addition of inducer to Escherichia coli, Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, or Pseudomonas stutzeri containing plasmid pDKL02 resulted in cell lysis coincident with the release of high amounts of nucleic acids into the surrounding medium . The utility of this lysis system for the study of natural transformation with DNA released from lysed cells was assessed with differentially marked but otherwise isogenic donor-recipient pairs of P . stutzeri JM300 and A . calcoaceticus BD4 . Transformation frequencies obtained with lysis-released DNA and DNA purified by conventional methods and assessed by the use of antibiotic resistance (P . stutzeri) or amino acid prototrophy (A . calcoaceticus) for markers were comparable . A second cell lysis plasmid, pDKL01, contains the lysis gene E from bacteriophage phi X174 and causes lysis of E . coli and P . stutzeri bacteria by activating cellular autolysins . Whereas DNA released from pDKL02-containing bacteria persists in the culture broth for days, that from induced pDKL01-containing bacteria is degraded immediately after release . The lysis system involving pDKL02 is thus useful for the study of both the fate of DNA released naturally into the environment by dead cells and gene transfer by natural transformation in the environment in that biochemically unmanipulated DNA containing defined sequences and coding for selective phenotypes can be released into a selected environment at a specific time point . This will allow kinetic measurements that will answer some of the current ecological questions about the fate and biological potential of environmental DNA to be made. FEMS Microbiol Lett, 1994 Dec 1, 124(2), 225 - 8 Cloning and expression in Escherichia coli of the gene encoding a novel L-2,4-diaminobutyrate decarboxylase of Acinetobacter baumannii; Ikai H et al.; The gene encoding L-2,4-diaminobutyrate decarboxylase (DABA DC) was cloned from Acinetobacter baumannii ATCC 19606 . The gene was evidently under the control of its own promoter . Interestingly, the host carrying this clone also produced an appreciable amount of 1,3-diaminopropane . Restriction mapping and subsequent subcloning of the cloned insert localized the DABA DC gene within a 2.45-kb SphI/EcoRI fragment . For endogenous production of DAP, a 1.75-kb EcoRI/PstI region downstream from the DABA DC gene was further required . Southern blot hybridization revealed some heterogeneity in the DABA DC genes among other Acinetobacter species. J Chemother, 1994 Dec, 6(6), 399 - 403 Comparative in-vitro activity of fleroxacin against 480 nosocomial isolates; Sofianou D et al.; A total of 480 recent clinical isolates were tested for their susceptibility to fleroxacin, norfloxacin, ofloxacin, gentamicin, piperacillin, cefoxitin, cefotaxime and imipenem . Fleroxacin showed potent activity against strains of Enterobacteriaceae, Acinetobacter spp . and gentamicin-sensitive Pseudomonas aeruginosa with MIC90s ranging from 0.06 to 2 mg/l, although the MIC90 for gentamicin-resistant P . aeruginosa strains was as high as 32 mg/l . The drug exhibited excellent activity against staphylococci, both methicillin-sensitive and -resistant . The overall activity of fleroxacin was comparable with that of norfloxacin and ofloxacin and higher than that exhibited by gentamicin and beta-lactam antibiotics tested. Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 1994 Dec, 38(12), 2925 - 8 Detection of aac(6')-I genes in amikacin-resistant Acinetobacter spp . by PCR; Ploy MC et al.; The distribution of aac(6')-I genes in 62 strains of Acinetobacter spp . resistant to amikacin, netilmicin, and tobramycin and susceptible to gentamicin, a phenotype compatible with synthesis of an AAC(6')-I enzyme, was studied by PCR and by DNA hybridization . Both methods gave similar results . Among the 51 Acinetobacter baumannii strains, aac(6')-Ib was found in 19 isolates and aac(6')-Ih was found in the remaining strains . The aac(6')-Ig gene was present in all 10 A . haemolyticus strains studied and was detected only in this species . A pair of degenerate oligonucleotides complementary to conserved regions of aac(6')-Ic, -Id, -If, -Ig, and -Ih enabled detection of these genes and also of aac(6')-Ij, recently recognized in Acinetobacter sp . strain 13. J Biol Chem, 1994 Nov 25, 269(47), 29636 - 41 Purification and properties of a novel type of malonate decarboxylase from Acinetobacter calcoaceticus; Kim YS et al.; A novel type of malonate decarboxylase which is induced and located in periplasm of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus grown on malonate as sole carbon and energy source was purified to homogeneity . The purified 185-kDa decarboxylase was found to be an oligomer composed of three different polypeptides in a ratio of 2:1:1, designated alpha (65 kDa), beta (32 kDa), and gamma (25 kDa) . Optimum pH was 6.8, while pI was 6.39 . The enzyme was highly specific for malonate with Km 1.4 mM . This enzyme contained a biotin prosthetic group on alpha subunit which does not seem to be directly related to malonate decarboxylation . The purified enzyme showed almost no activity; activity was restored, however, by treatment with acetic anhydride or malonyl-CoA, which formed an acetyl-enzyme . The 14C-acylated enzyme was isolated by a gel filtration from the reaction mixtures containing {2-14C}malonyl-CoA and the enzyme or {2-14C}malonate, malonyl-CoA, and the enzyme . When treated by thiol-specific reagents, such as N-ethylmaleimide, 5,5'-dinitro-bis(2-nitrobenzoic acid), and 2-nitro-5-thiocyanobenzoic acid, the purified enzyme showed no increase in activity after the acetic anhydride treatment . The thiol-specific reagents failed to inhibit, however, the catalytically active acetyl-enzyme, suggesting that the site of acylation is the thiol group . Further evidence was provided when sodium borohydride inactivated the acetyl-enzyme . These results suggest that malonate decarboxylation by this enzyme may proceed by a catalytic cycle in which the acetyl group on the active enzyme is displaced by malonate, which binds covalently to a thiol group on the enzyme and is subsequently decarboxylated. J Biol Chem, 1994 Nov 25, 269(47), 29509 - 14 Generation of a proton motive force by the excretion of metal-phosphate in the polyphosphate-accumulating Acinetobacter johnsonii strain 210A; van Veen HW et al.; The strictly aerobic, polyphosphate-accumulating Acinetobacter johnsonii strain 210A degrades its polyphosphate when oxidative phosphorylation is impaired . The endproducts of this degradation, divalent metal ions and inorganic phosphate, are excreted as a neutral metal-phosphate (MeHPO4) chelate via the electrogenic MeHPO4/H+ symport system of the organism . The coupled excretion of MeHPO4 and H+ in A . johnsonii 210A can generate a proton motive force . In membrane vesicles and deenergized cells, a membrane potential of about -70 mV and transmembrane pH gradient of about -8 mV were formed in response to an imposed outwardly directed MeHPO4 concentration gradient of 120 mV (initial value) . The MeHPO4 efflux-induced proton motive force could drive energy-requiring processes, such as the accumulation of L-proline and L-lysine and the synthesis of ATP via the membrane-bound F0F1 H(+)-ATPase . In vivo 31P NMR studies of polyphosphate degradation in anaerobic cell suspensions revealed the presence of a considerable outwardly directed phosphate gradient across the cytoplasmic membrane corresponding to a MgHPO4 concentration gradient of at least 100 mV . This MgHPO4 concentration gradient was maintained for several hours . Thus, energy recycling by MeHPO4/H+ efflux will contribute significantly to the overall production of metabolic energy from the degradation of polyphosphate in A . johnsonii 210A. Biochim Biophys Acta, 1994 Nov 22, 1219(3), 601 - 6 A gene of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus BD413 encodes a periplasmic peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase of the cyclophilin sub-class that is not essential for growth; Kok RG et al.; Downstream of the Acinetobacter calcoaceticus estA gene, encoding a cell-bound esterase, an open reading frame (orf) was identified, which may encode a protein with a mass of 20.4 kDa . This protein shows extensive similarity to both prokaryotic and eukaryotic peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerases (PPIases) of the cyclophilin sub-class, especially to the periplasmic rotamase (RotA) of Escherichia coli . A putative signal sequence suggests that the product of the Acinetobacter gene, we termed rotA, is located outside the cytoplasm . Transcription of the gene is initiated from a promoter, just upstream of the rotA orf . The observation that two A . calcoaceticus rotA deletion mutants display no apparent mutant phenotype, suggests that this PPIase is not essential for growth of the organism . These mutants, to our knowledge, are the first prokaryotic PPIase mutants reported. FEMS Microbiol Lett, 1994 Nov 15, 124(1), 49 - 54 Characterization of the aac(6')-Ik gene of Acinetobacter sp . 6; Rudant E et al.; The aac(6')-Ik gene which confers resistance to aminoglycosides in Acinetobacter sp . 6 CIP A165 was characterized . The resistance gene was identified as a coding sequence of 438 bases pairs corresponding to a protein with a calculated mass of 16627 Da . Alignment of aac(6')-Ik with aac(6')-Ig from Acinetobacter haemolyticus indicated 83% identity . Like aac(6')-Ig of A . haemolyticus and aac(6')-Ij of Acinetobacter sp . 13, the aac(6')-Ik gene was apparently located in the chromosome and was species specific . The high degree of identity between aac(6')-Ig and -Ik, compared with genomic DNA relationships between the host species, indicated that these genes have diverged from a common ancestor in a parental Acinetobacter species. Lancet, 1994 Nov 12, 344(8933), 1329 - 32 Clinical and molecular epidemiology of acinetobacter infections sensitive only to polymyxin B and sulbactam; Go ES et al.; A nosocomial outbreak of infections due to imipenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii occurred in a New York hospital after increased use of imipenem for cephalosporin-resistant klebsiella infections . We identified all A baumannii isolates over 12 months, reviewed corresponding patient records, and compared strains with different antibiotic susceptibility patterns by restriction endonuclease analysis . Environmental surveillance cultures were done before and after institution of control measures . 59 patients harboured imipenem-resistant A baumannii, and 18 were infected . Isolates from patients were resistant to all routinely tested antibiotics, including imipenem . Further studies showed susceptibility to polymyxin B and sulbactam . These isolates were identical by restriction endonuclease analysis to A baumannii isolates susceptible to imipenem alone, or to imipenem and amikacin, but differed from broadly susceptible isolates . Surveillance cultures showed hand and environmental colonisation by imipenem-resistant strains . Infection and colonisation were eliminated by intensive infection control measures, and irrigation of wounds with polymyxin B . Increased use of imipenem against cephalosporin-resistant klebsiella may lead to imipenem resistance among other species, particularly acinetobacter . Such resistance appears to derive from a prior multi-resistant clone, in contrast to one which retains susceptibility to several antibiotics. Appl Environ Microbiol, 1994 Nov, 60(11), 4066 - 71 Characterization of Acinetobacter type strains and isolates obtained from wastewater treatment plants by PCR fingerprinting; Wiedmann-al-Ahmad M et al.; Acinetobacter type strains and isolates from wastewater treatment plants were differentiated by PCR fingerprinting . On the first level, PCR fingerprinting with two tRNA-gene specific primers (T5B and T3A) was used for the identification of species (genospecies 1 to 17) . On the second level, a single arbitrary primer (DAF 4) was employed for strain differentiation . Upon comparison of Acinetobacter type strains with 28 sewage sludge isolates, 2 could be classified as belonging to A . johnsonii, 8 isolates could be classified as A . lwoffii, 8 could be classified as A . baumannii, and 9 isolates were very closely related to the Acinetobacter species A . junii; only 1 isolate could not be classified as one of the Acinetobacter type strains . The PCR fingerprinting method was found to be a reproducible and fast method for differentiation and identification of Acinetobacter isolates . Because of some resulting discrepancies compared with previously described identification schemes, e.g., DNA-DNA hybridization methods, the original identification experiments should be repeated and the results should be reassessed. Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis, 1994 Nov, 20(3), 151 - 8 Antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of bacterial isolates at the American University Medical Center in Lebanon; Araj GF et al.; In Lebanon, knowledge of the prevailing pattern of bacterial resistance to antimicrobial agents has been limited, particularly because of 15 years of civil strife . Thus, the current study was conducted to determine the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of nonselected bacterial isolates recovered from recent clinical specimens, using the standardized disk agar diffusion technique . A total of 5216 isolates (1443 Gram positive and 3773 Gram negative) were examined . Over 92% of Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) were resistant to penicillins . Methicillin resistance was more frequently noted among CNS (28%) compared with S . aureus (18%) . For the pneumococci, 27% of the isolates were resistant to penicillin G . High but variable rates of multidrug resistance were encountered among Acinetobacter spp., Pseudomonas spp., Serratia spp., Citrobacter spp., and Enterobacter spp . Ampicillin resistance was detected in 65% of Escherichia coli and in 20% of Haemophilus influenzae isolates . Although one resistant Salmonella typhi strain was observed, 17% of other Salmonella spp . and 60% of Shigella spp . proved to be resistant to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, and cotrimoxazole . Among Vibrio cholerae isolates, high resistance to tetracycline (71%) and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (94%) was observed . The overall antimicrobial resistance rates in Lebanon seem to fall between figures reported from the Arabian Gulf countries (higher) and those from medical centers in the United States (lower). Am J Hosp Pharm, 1994 Nov 1, 51(21), 2671 - 5 Emergence of multidrug-resistant isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii; Okpara AU et al.; Patterns of antimicrobial resistance during an outbreak of nosocomial infections caused by Acinetobacter baumannii were studied . The medical records of all patients admitted to the hospital between February 1993 and February 1994 from whom A . baumannii was cultured were reviewed for demographic data, confirmation of the isolation report, admission date, date of first isolation of the organism, and antimicrobial use before and after the culture and susceptibility test results were obtained . The culture and susceptibility test data were reviewed for all specimens submitted to the laboratory during the review period . A total of 87 patients (mean +/- S.D . age, 37.9 +/- 8.7 years) with nosocomial infection or colonization with A . baumannii were identified . All the patients were surgical intensive care unit residents and had predisposing factors for acinetobacter infection . A total of 107 isolates of the organism were cultured from various sites; sputum was the most common source . The number of isolates per month increased steadily beginning in September 1993 and then declined over the winter . The median time between admission and first isolation of resistant A . baumannii was 11 days . Infections were manifested clinically as pneumonia (36 patients), bacteremia (8), wound infection (6), and urinary-tract infection (2) . Of the 107 isolates, all were resistant to formulary cephalosporins, extended-spectrum penicillins, quinolones, and aztreonam . Only nine isolates were susceptible to one or more aminoglycosides . All the isolates were susceptible to imipenem-cilastatin . During an outbreak of nosocomial infections with A . baumannii, all or nearly all of the 107 isolates were resistant to a broad range of antimicrobials with the exception of imipenem-cilastatin, to which all the isolates were susceptible. J Clin Microbiol, 1994 Nov, 32(11), 2677 - 81 Characterization of a hospital outbreak of imipenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii by phenotypic and genotypic typing methods; Tankovic J et al.; During a 13-month period, 31 patients hospitalized primarily in two intensive care units (ICUs) were either colonized or infected by imipenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii . Typing of the isolates by three methods (antibiotyping, biotyping, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis) revealed that two distinct strains were involved in the first 9 cases of the outbreak and that one of these strains, which had acquired a higher level of imipenem resistance as well as resistance to all aminoglycosides, accounted for 21 of 22 cases in the second part of the outbreak . ICU environmental contamination was recognized as an important reservoir of this epidemic strain . The outbreak ceased only after the ICUs were closed for complete cleaning and disinfection. J Clin Microbiol, 1994 Nov, 32(11), 2635 - 40 Discrimination of epidemic and sporadic isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii by repetitive element PCR-mediated DNA fingerprinting; Reboli AC et al.; In 1990, there was a significant increase in the number of lower respiratory tract infections and surgical wound infections in the adult intensive care units of our tertiary care teaching hospital caused by Acinetobacter baumannii compared with the number in 1989 . During the 5-month period from April through August 1990, 84 isolates of A . baumannii were recovered from 50 hospitalized patients . Biotyping, comparison of antibiograms, plasmid analysis, and DNA polymorphisms of 20 isolates from 20 different patients, determined by the use of repetitive element PCR with primers aimed at repetitive extragenic palindromic sequences and enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus sequences, were used to investigate this apparent outbreak . Biotyping, antibiograms, plasmid analysis, and enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus PCR were not useful epidemiologically . Repetitive element PCR-mediated DNA fingerprinting using repetitive extragenic palindromic primers discriminated between epidemic and sporadic strains of A . baumannii and demonstrated four discrete clusters which were unique epidemiologically. Neurosurgery, 1994 Nov, 35(5), 851 - 5; discussion 855 Antibiotic-resistant Acinetobacter meningitis in neurosurgical patients; Nguyen MH et al.; Acinetobacter anitratus has emerged as one of the common pathogens responsible for postneurosurgical meningitis at the authors' institution . Seven patients with Acinetobacter meningitis were identified during the 4-year period of this study, five of whom acquired organisms susceptible only to imipenem and amikacin . Acinetobacter bacteremia occurred concomitantly in five patients . Despite late institution of therapy as a result either of organism misidentification on Gram stain or of unexpected acquisition of a highly resistant organism, the patients' outcome was favorable after the initiation of appropriate antibiotic therapy . Imipenem and amikacin, with or without intrathecal aminoglycosides, were effective in patients with resistant strains of Acinetobacter. Kansenshogaku Zasshi, 1994 Nov, 68(11), 1359 - 66 {Studies on respiratory infections in primary care clinic (V) . The pattern of distribution on bacteria, Mycoplasma pneumoniae and virus isolated from patients with respiratory infections, who were seen in six private clinics, and clinical efficacy of ciprofloxacin and roxithromycin}; Watanabe A et al.; The pattern of distribution of bacteria, Mycoplasma pneumoniae and virus isolated from the same specimen recovered from the throat swab or the sputum of 479 patients with respiratory infections who were seen in six private clinics in Sendai City of Japan during the period from October to November in 1992 (period I) and from January to February in 1993 (period II) was documented . Of the 479 patients, 234 had acute pharyngitis, 145 had acute bronchitis, 96 had influenza, 21 had acute tonsillitis, 5 had acute pneumonia and 9 had other respiratory infections . One hundred (42.4%) strains of potential pathogen and one strain of M . pneumoniae were recovered from 236 cases in period I, and 66 (27.2%) strains of potential pathogen, one strain of M . pneumonae and 73 strains of Influenza virus (30.0%: 43 of type A Hong-Kong and 30 of type B) from 243 cases in period II . Of the 166 strains, major isolates were Staphylococcus aureus (56 strains), Streptococcus pneumoniae (12 strains), Streptococcus pyogenes (15 strains), Haemophilus influenzae (17 strains), Esherichia coli (4 strains), Klebsiella spp . (35 strains), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (4 strains) and Acinetobacter spp . (23 strains) . Only one strain of S . aureus was resistant to methicillin (MIC: 50 micrograms/ml) . None of S . pneumoniae was resistant to 1 microgram/ml of ampicillin . Ciprofloxacin was administered to 113 cases and roxythromycin to 220 cases by doctors in charge.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS) Zentralbl Bakteriol, 1994 Nov, 281(4), 389 - 405 Acinetobacter spp., saprophytic organisms of increasing pathogenic importance; Bergogne-Berezin E; Acinetobacter spp . are Gram-negative non-fermentative bacteria commonly present in soil and water as free-living saprophytes; they are isolated as commensals from skin, throat and various secretions of healthy people . There have been frequent changes in their taxonomy so that their pathogenic role in humans has been understood only recently: Acinetobacter has emerged as an important nosocomial pathogen involved in outbreaks of hospital infections . This ubiquitous organism can be recovered from the hospital environment, from colonized or infected patients or from staff (hand carriage) . Acinetobacter as an opportunistic pathogen is involved in nosocomial urinary tract infections, bacteremia, wound and burn infections . Its predominant role is observed in nosocomial pneumonia, particularly in fan-associated pneumonia . Acinetobacters are responsible for difficult-to-treat infections due to their frequent multiple resistance to major antibiotics available for the treatment of nosocomial infections . Various mechanisms of resistance to beta-lactams and aminoglycosides have been recognized in these bacteria . Combination therapy is usually recommended for the treatment of nosocomial infections . The increasing pathogenic importance of Acinetobacter spp . and the increasing frequency of hospital outbreaks of acinetobacter infections has made the development of reliable typing methods imperative . Beside conventional "phenotypic" methods (serology, phage typing), genotypic systems (ribotyping, plasmid profiles, pulse-field gel electrophoresis) are currently advancing. J Antimicrob Chemother, 1994 Nov, 34(5), 777 - 83 Comparative in-vitro activity of piperacillin-tazobactam against recent clinical isolates, a Dutch national multicentre study; Stobberingh EE et al.; In this Dutch national survey piperacillin-tazobactam had a MIC90 of < or = 8 mg/L for Enterobacteriaceae (Enterobacter cloacae excluded) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 64 mg/L for E . cloacae, and 4 mg/L for Acinetobacter spp . The corresponding MIC90 values for piperacillin alone were < or = 256 mg/L, 256 mg/L, 16 mg/L and 32 mg/L . Only 15 of 93 piperacillin-tazobactam resistant E . cloacae strains were sensitive for ceftazidime, whereas 41 of 93 ceftazidime-resistant E . cloacae were sensitive to piperacillin-tazobactam. Infection, 1994 Nov-Dec, 22(6), 379 - 85 Bacteremia due to Acinetobacter species other than Acinetobacter baumannii; Seifert H et al.; The objective of this study was to describe the clinical features, possible predisposing factors and treatment outcomes associated with bacteremia du to Acinetobacter species other than Acinetobacter baumannii . A review of laboratory and medical charts over a period of 18 months revealed 61 cases of bacteremia due to Acinetobacter species other than A . baumannii occurring in 59 patients . Six of these were considered not significant . Fifty cases represented catheter-related bacteremia, one case was associated with meningitis following brain surgery, and four cases could not be classified . Clinical courses wre usually benign: all but four patients were cured, but death was not related to Acinetobacter bacteremia in any case . Therapy included catheter removal alone (32.8%), appropriate antimicrobials alone (12.7%), or both (49.1%) . Plasmid analysis showed distinct patterns in all strains isolated from different patients and did not reveal any epidemiological relationship among cases . Acinetobacter species other than A . baumannii are clinically significant organisms with limited pathogenic potential . They are almost exclusively involved in devise-related bacteremia . Clinical and epidemiological features of infections due to these organisms are clearly distinct from infections due to A . baumannii. Carbohydr Res, 1994 Nov 1, 264(1), 73 - 81 Structure of the putative O10 antigen from Acinetobacter baumannii; Haseley SR et al.; A polysaccharide containing L-rhamnose, 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-glucose, and 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-mannose was obtained from an aqueous phenol extract of isolated cell walls from the reference strain for Acinetobacter baumannii serogroup O10 . By means of NMR studies and chemical degradations, the repeating unit of the polymer (the putative O10 antigen) was identified as a branched pentasaccharide of the structure shown. Appl Environ Microbiol, 1994 Nov, 60(11), 4100 - 6 Nucleotide sequence and functional analysis of the genes encoding 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid oxygenase in Pseudomonas cepacia AC1100; Danganan CE et al.; Pseudomonas cepacia AC1100 is able to use the chlorinated aromatic compound 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T) as the sole source of carbon and energy . One of the early steps in this pathway is the conversion of 2,4,5-T to 2,4,5-trichlorophenol (2,4,5-TCP) . 2,4,5-TCP accumulates in the culture medium when AC1100 is grown in the presence of 2,4,5-T . A DNA region from the AC1100 genome has been subcloned as a 2.7-kb SstI-XbaI DNA fragment, which on transfer to Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 allows the conversion of 2,4,5-T to 2,4,5-TCP . We have determined the directions of transcription of these genes as well as the complete nucleotide sequences of the genes and the number and sizes of the polypeptides synthesized by pulse-labeling experiments . This 2.7-kb DNA fragment encodes two polypeptides with calculated molecular masses of 51 and 18 kDa . Proteins of similar sizes were seen in the T7 pulse-labeling experiment in Escherichia coli . We have designated the genes for these proteins tftA1 (which encodes the 51-kDa protein) and tftA2 (which encodes the 18-kDa protein) . TftA1 and TftA2 have strong amino acid sequence homology to BenA and BenB from the benzoate 1,2-dioxygenase system of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, as well as to XylX and XylY from the toluate 1,2-dioxygenase system of Pseudomonas putida . The Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 strain containing the 2.7-kb SstI-XbaI fragment was able to convert not only 2,4,5-T to 2,4,5-TCP but also 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid to 2,4-dichlorophenol and phenoxyacetate to phenol. Microbiology, 1994 Oct, 140 ( Pt 10), 2775 - 86 Cloning and sequencing show that 4-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase (PobA) is required for uptake of 4-hydroxybenzoate in Rhizobium leguminosarum; Wong CM et al.; Mutants of Rhizobium leguminosarum bv . viciae MNF300 and R . leguminosarum bv . trifolii WU95 unable to accumulate 4-hydroxybenzoate lack 4-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase . The capacity of these mutants to take up and grow on 4-hydroxybenzoate was restored by a 2.0 kb EcoRI-PstI DNA fragment . This contained only one ORF which had over 60% DNA sequence similarity with the structural gene for 4-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase (pobA) from Pseudomonas spp . and Acinetobacter . Reported effects of metabolic inhibitors and substrate analogues on the apparent uptake of 4-hydroxybenzoate have now been shown to be due to their direct effect on 4-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase . We propose that uptake of 4-hydroxybenzoate is via a metabolic 'drag' mechanism dependent on the activity of the pobA gene product. J Antimicrob Chemother, 1994 Oct, 34(4), 529 - 44 Microbiological surveillance during selective decontamination of the digestive tract (SDD) Saunders GL, Hammond JM, Potgieter PD, Plumb HA, Forder AA. The use of selective decontamination of the digestive tract (SDD) as prophylaxis against nosocomial respiratory tract infection remains controversial, largely because of concerns that, in the long term, it may promote the emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains . This report describes the results of surveillance cultures and susceptibility testing undertaken during the course of a 2-year, double-blind study of the efficacy of SDD which was conducted in a respiratory intensive care unit (ICU) . Surveillance specimens from the alimentary tract and trachea were obtained from each patient on admission and then twice weekly until 48 h after discharge from the unit . Specimens were cultured semiquantitatively and organisms from morphologically distinct colonies were identified by standard methods; the susceptibilities of these isolates were determined by the disc diffusion method . Five thousand, nine hundred and sixty surveillance samples from 239 patients were processed in this way . Compared with the placebo group, SDD caused a significant reduction in the incidence of colonization of the alimentary tract with aerobic Gram-negative bacilli (AGNB), and Candida spp . were almost totally eliminated . The incidence of colonization with enterococci increased in both groups, while the incidence of both colonization of the alimentary tract with strains of coagulase-negative staphylococci and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and infection caused by these organisms increased in the SDD group . Acinetobacter spp . were the most common bacteria associated with unit-acquired colonization and lower respiratory tract infection in both groups . The acquisition of strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and cefotaxime- and/or tobramycin-resistant Enterobacteriaceae was significantly greater in the placebo group than in the SDD group, although tobramycin-resistant strains of Proteus, Morganella and Providencia spp . were isolated from three of 114 patients receiving SDD . The use of SDD did not lead to an overall increase in antibiotic resistance amongst the AGNB usually associated with ICU-acquired infection . However, colonization with strains which were either resistant to one or more of the antibiotic components of the regimen or which were not inhibited by the regimen was observed and may subsequently lead to infection. J Antimicrob Chemother, 1994 Oct, 34(4), 457 - 64 High level kanamycin resistance associated with the hyperproduction of AAC(3)II and a generalised reduction in the accumulation of aminoglycosides in Acinetobacter spp; Elisha BG et al.; The clinical isolate of Acinetobacter baumannii strain SAK contains an actively transcribed aacC2 gene and a latent aadB gene that encode the aminoglycoside-modifying enzymes, AAC(3)II and AAD(2"), respectively . In an attempt to activate the aadB gene, the strain was cultured in the presence of kanamycin which is a substrate for AAD(2") . Although it was possible to isolate kanamycin resistant derivatives these were not associated with detectable AAD(2") activity . Instead, there was a marked increase in the level of AAC(3)II activity which was associated with amplification of the aacC2 gene. FEMS Immunol Med Microbiol, 1994 Oct, 9(4), 281 - 5 Studies on the influence of ozone on complement-mediated killing of bacteria; Doroszkiewicz W et al.; The role of ozone in the susceptibility of clinical isolates of Acinetobacter anitratus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa to serum was investigated . It was found that ozone-treated cells were more susceptible to complement-mediated killing serum . These results suggest that ozone damage or change of cell membrane leads to a more rapid penetration of the membrane attack complex of complement. Am J Infect Control, 1994 Oct, 22(5), 319 - 21 Acinetobacter calcoaceticus anitratus outbreak in the intensive care unit traced to a peak flow meter; Ahmed J et al.; BACKGROUND: A cluster of seven cases of Acinetobacter caleoaceticus anitratus in a community teaching hospital intensive care unit was discovered (the seventh case was located in a step-down unit next to an infected patient recently transferred from the intensive care unit.) METHODS: An outbreak investigation, including detailed epidemiologic, clinical, and laboratory investigation, was performed . RESULTS: A single strain of A . calcoaceticus anitratus was responsible for infection in all seven patients . All patients had tracheostomies, were in respiratory failure, and were ventilator dependent . Patients ranged in age from 27 to 81 years . No common causative variable or explanatory findings were present except that the same peak flow meter (manual weaning criteria machine) was used to facilitate weaning all seven patients from mechanical ventilation . Culture of the mouthpiece isolated a A . calcoaceticus anitratus strain with the identical susceptibility pattern and biochemical profile as that from the infected patients . CONCLUSION: A . calcoaceticus anitratus was transmitted by a peak flow meter nosocomially to seven patients receiving mechanical ventilation . Disposable mouthpieces were introduced to prevent cross-contamination . A 2% glutaraldehyde solution was used to disinfect the machine between uses . No further outbreaks of A . calcoaceticus anitratus pneumonia were identified during 3 years of follow-up. Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 1994 Oct, 38(10), 2502 - 3 Antimicrobial susceptibilities of clinical isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii from Singapore; Kuah BG et al.; The in vitro activities of 17 antimicrobial agents alone or in combination against 70 clinical isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii from Singapore were determined by broth microdilution . The MICs of amoxicillin, ampicillin, ceftazidime, ceftriaxone, gentamicin, and piperacillin for 90% of the strains were > or = 128 micrograms/ml . Addition of sulbactam to ampicillin produced improved activity, whereas adding tazobactam to piperacillin did not . The MICs of amikacin, ciprofloxacin, and imipenem for 90% of the strains were 32, 32, and 16 micrograms/ml, respectively. J Clin Microbiol, 1994 Oct, 32(10), 2353 - 8 Description of Leeds Acinetobacter Medium, a new selective and differential medium for isolation of clinically important Acinetobacter spp., and comparison with Herellea agar and Holton's agar; Jawad A et al.; Acinetobacter spp . are responsible for an increasing number of opportunistic, nosocomial infections . They have been isolated from diverse inanimate objects in the hospital environment and are resistant to most of the commonly used antibiotics . Existing media for the isolation of Acinetobacter spp . are either nonselective, allowing the growth of unwanted bacteria, or too inhibitory, inhibiting the growth of many Acinetobacter strains . For the rapid isolation and effective control of Acinetobacter infection, a new selective and differential medium, Leeds Acinetobacter Medium (LAM), has been developed to isolate Acinetobacter spp . from clinical and environmental sources . The concentration of antibiotics and other ingredients in this medium have been determined according to the results of MIC and viable counts performed for these ingredients . LAM was compared with other selective and differential media for the isolation of Acinetobacter spp . from a local hospital environment and proved to be better in terms of recovery and selectivity. J Med Microbiol, 1994 Oct, 41(4), 244 - 9 A comparative study of ribotyping and arbitrarily primed polymerase chain reaction for investigation of hospital outbreaks of Acinetobacter baumannii infection; Vila J et al.; Arbitrarily primed polymerase chain reaction (AP-PCR) and ribotyping were compared in an investigation of an outbreak of Acinetobacter baumannii infections . Twenty-five clinical isolates shown previously by other criteria to belong to two different groups, and nine randomly selected A . baumannii clinical isolates from other hospitals were investigated . Among the strains analysed, nine different EcoRI rRNA gene restriction pattern fingerprints were observed . While similarity was detected between strains of the same group, these fingerprints differed clearly between the two A . baumannii groups defined in the outbreak . Two of the nine strains selected randomly had the same ribotype as those strains involved in the outbreak, whereas the remaining seven strains each had a different ribotype . When the strains were tested by AP-PCR with 0.25, 0.5 or 1 microM of M13 forward primer, 10 different profiles were obtained . However, 11 profiles were observed if two different primer concentrations (0.25 and 1 microM) were used . It was concluded that ribotyping and AP-PCR exhibited a similar discriminatory power, although AP-PCR had the additional advantages of speed and simplicity. Biochemistry, 1994 Sep 27, 33(38), 11645 - 9 Purification and characterization of 4-chlorobenzoyl CoA dehalogenase from Arthrobacter sp . strain 4-CB1; Crooks GP et al.; 4-Chlorobenzoyl coenzyme A dehalogenase was purified to homogeneity from Arthrobacter sp . strain 4-CB1 (previously known as Acinetobacter sp . strain 4-CB1), a bacterium isolated from PCB-contaminated soil . Purification was accomplished by four chromatographic steps, including a novel affinity chromatography step . 4-Chlorobenzoyl CoA dehalogenase is a homotetramer of 33-kDa subunits with an isoelectric point of 6.1 . The enzyme is stable between pH 6.5 and 10 . The optimum pH for kcat is pH 8 . The enzyme is able to dehalogenate substrates bearing fluorine, chlorine, bromine and iodine in the 4-position, although the rate of dehalogenation of 4-fluorobenzoyl CoA is quite slow . The enzyme is specific for dehalogenation at the 4-position, as 3-chloro- and 2-chlorobenzoyl CoA are not dehalogenated . The N-terminal sequence of the Arthrobacter sp . strain 4-CB1 dehalogenase is almost identical to that of the 4-chlorobenzoyl CoA dehalogenase from Arthrobacter sp . strain SU and shows 30% identity to that from Pseudomonas sp . strain CBS-3. Jpn J Antibiot, 1994 Sep, 47(9), 1196 - 201 {Clinical evaluation of sulbactam/cefoperazone for infections during the chemotherapy of hematologic malignancy}; Kawai Y et al.; In 28 patients with hematologic malignancy, the clinical effect and the safety of sulbactam/cefoperazone (SBT/CPZ) were studied on 45 episodes during granulocytopenic stage after antineoplastic chemotherapy . The overall efficacy rate obtained with SBT/CPZ in combination with other drugs was 62% . The rates for sepsis, suspected sepsis and pneumonia were 67%, 94% and 38%, respectively . The efficacy in those cases that showed granulocyte count less than 300/microliters during the course of administration of SBT/CPZ was 53%, and in those cases that showed granulocyte counts recovery to more than 300/microliters was 73% . Prior antimicrobiological treatments had no influence on the efficacy of SBT/CPZ . SBT/CPZ showed an activity spectrum covering frequently isolated microorganism including Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacter cloacae and Staphylococcus aureus . Mild adverse effect were observed in 4 episodes (8.8%) . These result suggested that SBT/CPZ was thought to be a useful drug for empirical therapy in granulocytopenic patients with hematologic malignancies. Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis, 1994 Sep, 20(1), 27 - 32 Comparative in vitro activity of FK-037, a new cephalosporin antibiotic; Clarke AM et al.; The in vitro activity of FK-037, a novel parenteral oxime-type cephalosporin, was compared with that of cefepime, cefpirome, ceftazidime, imipenem, and gentamicin against a total of 668 recent clinical isolates . Minimum inhibitory concentrations were determined by a standard agar dilution procedure, and all isolates were tested at two inocula (10(4) and 10(6) colony forming units) . FK-037 inhibited 90% of isolates of Escherichia coli, Klebsiella species, Proteus mirabilis, P . vulgaris, Morganella morganii, Serratia marcescens, Providencia stuartii, Citrobacter freundii, Salmonella typhi, Shigella sonnei, Yersinia enterocolitica, Aeromonas species, and Haemophilus influenzae at < or = 1 microgram/ml . FK-037 was less active against Enterobacter species, Acinetobacter species, and Pseudomonas species, requiring 16 micrograms/ml to inhibit 90% of isolates, and was inactive against Xanthomonas maltophilia . FK-037 inhibited 90% of methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus at < or = 1 microgram/ml and 90% of methicillin-resistant S . aureus at < or = 8 micrograms/ml. Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 1994 Sep, 38(9), 1883 - 9 Characterization of the chromosomal aac(6')-Ij gene of Acinetobacter sp . 13 and the aac(6')-Ih plasmid gene of Acinetobacter baumannii; Lambert T et al.; The amikacin resistance genes aac(6')-Ih of Acinetobacter baumannii BM2686 and aac(6')-Ij of Acinetobacter sp . 13 BM2689 encoding aminoglycoside 6'-N-acetyltransferases were characterized . The 441-bp coding sequences predict proteins with calculated masses of 16,698 and 16,677 Da, respectively . Analysis of the deduced amino acid sequences indicated that the proteins belonged to a subfamily of 6'-aminoglycoside acetyltransferase type I enzymes from gram-negative bacteria . The aac(6')-Ih gene of BM2686 was located on a 13.7-kb nonconjugative plasmid . The aac(6')-Ij gene from BM2689 was not transferable either by conjugation to Escherichia coli or A . baumannii or by transformation to Acinetobacter calcoaceticus . Plasmid DNA from BM2689 did not hybridize with an intragenic aac(6')-Ij probe . These results suggest a chromosomal location for this gene . The aac(6')-Ij gene was detected by DNA hybridization in all 28 strains of Acinetobacter sp . 13 tested but not in other Acinetobacter strains, including A . baumannii, proteolytic genospecies 4, 6, 14, 15, 16, and 17, and ungrouped strains . The aac(6')-Ih and -Ij probes did not hybridize in dot blot assays with DNA from members of the families Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonadaceae that produced 6'-N-acetyltransferases . These data suggest that the genes are confined to the Acinetobacter genus and that the aac(6')-Ij gene is species specific and may be used to identify Acinetobacter sp . 13. J Hosp Infect, 1994 Sep, 28(1), 39 - 48 Epidemiological markers of Acinetobacter baumannii clinical isolates from a spinal cord injury unit; Marcos MA et al.; During a period of 28 months, 114 isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii obtained from urine samples of 57 patients, were recovered in a Spinal Cord Unit; an unusual increase in the number of A . baumannii isolates was observed between February 1991 and January 1992 . Six different typing methods {biotyping, antimicrobial susceptibility, whole cell and cell-envelope protein analysis, plasmid analysis and chromosomal DNA analysis by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE)} were used to study the isolates to establish any potential relationships among them . Chromosomal DNA analysis by digestion with ApaI and separation of the fragments by PFGE was the most powerful tool to determine the relatedness of isolates . The results suggest that the isolates from 1991 and 1992 may have originated from strains present in 1990 that subsequently acquired resistance to amikacin and tobramycin during the epidemic. Neurosurgery, 1994 Sep, 35(3), 422 - 6; discussion 426-7 Posttraumatic meningitis: bacteriology, hydrocephalus, and outcome; Baltas I et al.; To investigate the conditions that have developed in the treatment of posttraumatic meningitis with the use of new antibiotics, the authors studied cases with this infection retrospectively for a period of 68 months . Among 860 patients with moderate to severe head injuries, 12 (1.39%) sustained this complication . Of these, nine patients (75%) had a demonstrable basilar skull fracture and seven (58.3%) presented obvious rhinorrhea . Of these seven, four (57.1%) were treated conservatively and three (42.8%) finally underwent surgery for dural repair . The infecting agents were Gram-positive cocci (Staphylococcus haemolyticus, Staphylococcus warneri, Staphylococcus cohnii, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Streptococcus pneumoniae) in five patients and Gram-negative bacilli in six patients (Escherichia coli in two, Klebsiella pneumoniae in two, and Acinetobacter anitratus in two) . In one patient, the culture results were negative . All Gram-negative strains appeared resistant to ampicillin and third-generation cephalosporins, but sensitive to imipenem and to the quinolone ciprofloxacin . Gram-positive strains were sensitive to vancomycin . Hydrocephalus finally developed in the two patients who had received intrathecal infusions of amikacin . No other report of the relation of intrathecal infusion of antibiotics and the development of hydrocephalus was found . All patients survived, indicating that, for the present, posttraumatic meningitis is a nonfatal complication of head injury. Gene, 1994 Aug 19, 146(1), 23 - 30 Contrasting patterns of evolutionary divergence within the Acinetobacter calcoaceticus pca operon; Kowalchuk GA et al.; The six enzymes required for catabolism of protocatechuate to succinate and acetylCoA are encoded by the pca genes in the Gram-bacterium, Acinetobacter calcoaceticus . The clustered A . calcoaceticus cat genes encode an analogous set of enzymes associated with the metabolic dissimilation of catechol . The nucleotide (nt) sequences of pcaIJFB and pcaK, reported here, complete evidence showing that all of the pca structural genes are tightly grouped in the order pcaIJFBDKCHG within a single operon . The pcaIJF region is nearly identical in nt sequence to the A . calcoaceticus catIDJF region which exhibits a G+C content and a codon usage pattern exceptional for A . calcoaceticus . In contrast, pcaD, pcaC, pcaH and pcaG have diverged substantially from their evolutionary counterparts in the cat region; all of these divergent genes exhibit G+C contents and codon usage patterns that are typical for A . calcoaceticus . The pcaIJF and catIJF regions are known to exchange DNA sequence information, and this property may have contributed to their nt sequence conservation . The pcaK gene has no counterpart among known cat genes . The deduced amino-acid sequence of PcaK indicates that it may be a transmembrane protein associated with transport. Surg Neurol, 1994 Aug, 42(2), 98 - 104 Ethmoid sinus carcinomas: results and prognosis after neoadjuvant chemotherapy and combined surgery--a 10-year experience; Roux FX et al.; From June 1982 to June 1992, 144 ethmoido-sphenoido-orbital tumors have been referred to the neurosurgical department of Ste Anne Hospital . One hundred five of them were malignant lesions, among which 83 were included into our therapeutic protocol (1) neo-adjuvant chemotherapy (CDDP + 5-FU), (2) combined surgical procedure (subfrontal and transfacial), (3) postoperative radiotherapy . Fifty nine percent of the patients had no response to chemotherapy; 19% had a partial response (reduction of the tumoral volume > 50% and < 100%), 22% had a complete response . One patient had an immediate and transient postoperative rhinorrhea responsible for meningitis (acinetobacter) that was cured after a 3-day treatment . Four patients had postoperative meningitis without any cerebrospinal fluid leakage; they were also cured . Five patients had a local suppuration that was treated by subcutaneous drainage (n = 1) or the removal of the cranial basis graft (n = 4) . Oncologic results are presented for only adenocarcinomas (n = 63) because they represent the only population of this series large enough to assure significant statistical figures . The global actuarial survival rate was 53% at 3 years and 42.5% at 5 years . The 5-year actuarial survival rate was 80% for T1 tumors, 60% for T2, 40% for T3, and 25% for T4 . Patients with an intracranial extension had a 3-year survival rate of 19%; none survived after 4-year follow-up . Neo-adjuvant chemotherapy seemed to influence the survival: 100% survival rate at 5 and 10 years for the complete responders . We discuss the opportunity of intraorbital exenteration, the indications, and the limits of combined surgery . We emphasize the importance of neo-adjuvant chemotherapy and of combined surgical procedures, even when the patients are complete responders to chemotherapy: complete responders who had only a transfacial approach have a 5-year actuarial survival rate of 80% (instead of 100% when a combined procedure was performed) . Those who were not operated primarily recurred within 3 years and then had to be operated . We propose to follow such a combined surgery for all large ethmoidal cancers (T3 and T4) and for small tumors (T1 and T2) developed superiorly and posteriorly . Anterior T1 and T2 tumors should be operated through a single transfacial route. Isr J Med Sci, 1994 Aug, 30(8), 649 - 51 Ambulatory treatment with ceftriaxone in febrile neutropenic children; Kaplinsky C et al.; We conducted a prospective nonrandomized study of outpatient therapy with ceftriaxone as a single agent in 50 episodes of fever and neutropenia in children treated with various myelosuppressive regimens for different malignancies . All patients underwent clinical and radiological evaluation and blood/urine cultures taken before starting therapy . Patients with dehydration, hypotension, rigor and clinical exit-site infection of indwelling right-sided catheters were excluded . Forty-one patients completed an antibiotic course of 7 days: in 12 patients fever returned to normal on day 2, in 10 patients on day 3, and in 8 patients on day 4 . The duration of neutropenia following the initial febrile episode was 3-10 days . In some patients fever returned to normal after 2 days, but neutropenia persisted up to 10 days . Two patients were bacteremic--Escherichia coli in one, and Acinetobacter/Staphylococcus coagulase negative in another; all isolates were sensitive to ceftriaxone . In nine episodes, antimicrobial therapy was modified because of persistent fever > 39 degrees C in five patients, bacteremia in two, enterocolitis in one, breakthrough fever in two, and bronchopneumonia in one . The low incidence of bacterial isolation is probably attributed to the selection of patients with low risk features . Patients and parents complied with and favored outpatient therapy to hospitalization. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol, 1994 Aug, 15(8), 520 - 8 Plasmid DNA profiles of Acinetobacter baumannii: clinical application in a complex endemic setting; Seifert H et al.; OBJECTIVE: To study the epidemiological, microbiological, and clinical features of infections due to Acinetobacter baumannii in a complex endemic situation over an 18-month period and to determine the clinical usefulness of plasmid DNA analysis of A baumannii in epidemiological investigations . DESIGN: Review of medical and laboratory records . Antibiotic resistance patterns, biotyping, and plasmid profile analysis were used to characterize clinical and environmental isolates . Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) of chromosomal DNA was performed to verify results obtained with the other typing methods . SETTING: Four different intensive care units of an 800-bed tertiary care center in Cologne, Germany . RESULTS: 240 patients were colonized or infected with A baumannii during the study period . No seasonal variations were observed . The majority of isolates (53%) were recovered from the respiratory tract . Major infections occurred in 61 patients; these included 48 bacteremias and eight pulmonary infections . Five different epidemic strains were identified: one each was A baumannii biotype 2 and 6, and three were biotype 9 . A baumannii biotype 9 accounted for the vast majority of isolates (88%), which were clustered into three epidemic strains demonstrating distinct plasmid profiles . Two of these were considered genetically related as shown by PFGE . Epidemic strains were multidrug resistant, being uniformly susceptible to imipenem only . An epidemiological investigation failed to identify any point source of infection . Barrier precautions and improved handwashing was instituted in three of the four units and significantly reduced the incidence of colonization and infection in these units . Attack rates remained unchanged, however, in the burns unit where control measures were not implemented . CONCLUSION: Acinetobacter strains representing multiple biotypes and plasmid types were present in this endemic setting . Multidrug resistance in A baumannii is an important concern . Plasmid DNA analysis proved to be useful in epidemiological typing of A baumannii strains and may serve as a complementary typing system to traditional epidemiological methods. Jpn J Antibiot, 1994 Aug, 47(8), 1030 - 40 {Susceptibilities of glucose non-fermentative gram-negative bacilli to antibiotics}; Tabe Y et al.; Glucose non-fermentative Gram-negative bacilli are important nosocomial pathogens . This study concerned with susceptibilities to antibacterial agents of strains of Glucose non-fermentative Gram-negative bacilli that were isolated from cultures of clinical materials at 123 hospital laboratories throughout Japan from September to December of 1991 . The tests for susceptibilities were performed according to the disk dilution method recommended by NCCLS . The following bacteria were tested: Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas cepacia, Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, Alcaligenes spp., Alcaligenes xylosoxidans, Flavobacterium spp . and Xanthomonas maltophilia . The antibacterial agents tested were as follows: piperacillin (PIPC), ceftazidime (CAZ), aztreonam (AZT), imipenem (IPM), minocycline (MINO), gentamicin, amikacin (AMK) and ofloxacin (OFLX) . 1 . Eighty percent of the strains of P . aeruginosa and P . cepacia were sensitive to CAZ . More than ninety percent of the strains of A . calcoaceticus were sensitive to IPM, MINO, OFLX . To PIPC and IPM, about eighty percent of the strains of Alcaligenes spp . and A . xylosoxidans were sensitive . The strains of Flavobacterium spp . and X . maltophilia showed high sensitivities to MINO . 2 . Annual changes in antimicrobial susceptibility patterns over 4 years (1988-1991) show that there has been a gradual increase in sensitive strains of P . aeruginosa to PIPC, CAZ and AMK . Sensitive strains of P . cepacia to AZT, IPM and MINO, and A . calcoaceticus to CAZ and MINO also have gradually increased . No yearly changes were observed in high sensitivity to MINO of the strains of Flavobacterium spp . and X . maltophilia. Jpn J Antibiot, 1994 Aug, 47(8), 1013 - 29 Evaluation of minocycline and cefuzonam for antimicrobial activity against clinical isolates; Igari J et al.; The Antibacterial activity of minocycline (MINO) and that of cefuzonam (CZON) were assessed with clinical isolates of 19 species, and compared with that of other antibiotics . MINO was highly active against methicilli-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA), Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Moraxella (Branhamella) catarrhalis, Haemophilus influenzae, Helicobacter pylori, Flavobacterium meningosepticum, Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, Peptostreptococcus spp . and Propionibacterium acnes, but not as effective against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas cepacia and Alcaligenes xylosoxidans . CZON was highly active against MSSA, Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus agalactiae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, N . Gonorrhoeae, M(B) . catarrhalis, H . influenzae, H . pylori, P . mirabilis, Peptostreptococcus spp . and P . acnes, but not effective against MRSA . It was minimally active against Gram-negative rods (E . coli, K . pneumoniae, etc.) and bacteria that do not ferment glucose. Immun Infekt, 1994 Aug, 22(4), 142 - 5 {Epidemiology and resistance pattern of Acinetobacter species considering the new nomenclature}; Postulka A; 230 clinical isolates of Acinetobacter species were characterized according to genospecies (new taxonomy), relative frequency of isolation, distribution in clinical samples and resistance pattern . A.baumannii was more frequently found than any other species (42%), followed by A.lwoffii (28%), although only 60% of the former "A.lwoffi" corresponds to the new A.lwoffii . The other 40%, formerly A.lwoffi, were shared by A.junii and A.haemolyticus . Concerning habitat and resistance pattern, remarkable differences between the new biotypes were found . A.baumannii and A.lwoffii were isolated mainly from swabs . A.calcoaceticus was most frequently cultivated from samples of the upper respiratory tract, and from blood cultures preferably A.baumannii and, more rarely, A.lwoffii and A.haemolyticus were isolated . A.baumannii showed multidrug resistance against beta-lactam antibiotics, most of the tested penicillins and cephalosporins . The two most susceptible species in our study were A.junii and A.lwoffii . Resistance to imipenem, aminoglycosides and quinolones was rare with all strains. J Chemother, 1994 Aug, 6 Suppl 3, 19 - 22 {Microbiological aspects of antibiotics with immunomodulating action}; Schito GC et al.; Through the introduction of a 7-mercapto-1,3-thiazole chain at position 3' of the dihydrothiazine ring, cefodizime, which is structurally similar to cefotaxime, has acquired a number of remarkable immunomodulatory properties while retaining a potent antimicrobial spectrum of activity . Cefodizime penetrates in fact readily through the bacterial cell wall and interacts with its molecular targets in such a way that at high concentrations cell death and lysis are rapidly induced . Its spectrum of action encompasses the Enterobacteria, Neisseriae, Haemophilus, Moraxella catarrhalis, methicillin-susceptible staphylococci and streptococci, with pneumococci included . Cefodizime is devoid of useful potency against Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter and enterococci . Given the wide occurrence of strains synthesizing beta-lactamases in several primary pathogens of community-acquired and nosocomial infections, the complete stability of cefodizime towards the most prevalent of these hydrolytic enzymes (TEM-1, TEM-2, SHV-1, BRO-1 and the staphylococcal penicillinases) seems reassuring . Only a few chromosomally-coded and extended spectrum beta-lactamases produced by gram-negative microorganisms inactivate the new cephalosporin . Since the distribution of pathogens carrying these enzymes depends on the local trends of antibacterial consumption and cannot be easily predicted, a large multicenter study in Italy has recently assessed the antibacterial potency of cefodizime, in comparison with suitable drugs, on 1985 selected nosocomial strains . In this survey cefodizime was more effective in vitro than amoxicillin-clavulanate, gentamicin and piperacillin while being substantially similar in the rates of eradication of gram-negative and gram-positive organisms to other third generation cephalosporins like ceftazidime and ceftriaxone.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS) Tohoku J Exp Med, 1994 Aug, 173(4), 405 - 11 The pattern of respiratory infection in patients with lung cancer; Kohno S et al.; We examined retrospectively the pattern of respiratory infection in 579 patients with lung cancer admitted to Nagasaki University Hospital during the past 15 years . A total of 139 patients (24.0%) developed respiratory infection . The rates of pulmonary infection associated with large (36.2%) and small cell carcinomas (33.6%) were significantly higher than those with squamous cell carcinoma (26.0%) and adenocarcinoma (17.3%) . Advanced stages of lung cancer were associated with higher complication rates (stage I: 6.3%, stage II: 15.9%, stage III: 27.9%, and stage IV: 33.8%) . Deceased patients showed a significantly higher rate of pulmonary infection than alive patients during the period of investigation . Isolated organisms in excess of 10(7) cfu/ml in sputum or 10(4) cfu/ml in bronchial aspirate were mainly gram-negative bacteria (68.8%), such as Haemophilus influenzae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter cloacae, Acinetobacter sp . and Pseudomonas aeruginosa . The number of patients infected with gram-positive bacteria increased markedly after 1982 . Our results suggest that a successful control of pulmonary infection associated with lung cancer is important in improving the prognosis of lung malignancy. J Bacteriol, 1994 Jul, 176(14), 4366 - 75 Inability of muconate cycloisomerases to cause dehalogenation during conversion of 2-chloro-cis,cis-muconate; Vollmer MD et al.; The conversion of 2-chloro-cis,cis-muconate by muconate cycloisomerase from Pseudomonas putida PRS2000 yielded two products which by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy were identified as 2-chloro- and 5-chloromuconolactone . High-pressure liquid chromatography analyses showed the same compounds to be formed also by muconate cycloisomerases from Acinetobacter calcoaceticus ADP1 and Pseudomonas sp . strain B13 . During 2-chloro-cis,cis-muconate turnover by the enzyme from P . putida, 2-chloromuconolactone initially was the major product . After prolonged incubation, however, 5-chloromuconolactone dominated in the resulting equilibrium . In contrast to previous assumptions, both chloromuconolactones were found to be stable at physiological pH . Since the chloromuconate cycloisomerases of Pseudomonas sp . strain B13 and Alcaligenes eutrophus JMP134 have been shown previously to produce the trans-dienelactone (trans-4-carboxymethylene-but-2-en-4-olide) from 2-chloro-cis,cis-muconate, they must have evolved the capability to cleave the carbon-chlorine bond during their divergence from normal muconate cycloisomerases. J Bacteriol, 1994 Jul, 176(14), 4277 - 84 Regulation of p-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase synthesis by PobR bound to an operator in Acinetobacter calcoaceticus; DiMarco AA et al.; PobR is a transcriptional activator required for the expression of pobA, the structural gene for p-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase . The pobA and pobR genes are divergently transcribed and separated by 134 bp in the Acinetobacter calcoaceticus chromosome . Primer extension analysis revealed that the pobA transcript begins 22 bp upstream from the structural gene and the pobR transcript begins 69 bp upstream from the regulatory gene . This arrangement requires superimposition of the -10 base pair and -35 base pair RNA polymerase-binding sites for the respective genes . Expression of a pobR-lacZ fusion was found to be repressed three- to fourfold by pobR when the functional gene was carried in trans on a plasmid . The pobR gene was placed under control of a lac promoter in an expression vector, and the recombinant plasmid inducibly expressed high levels of PobR in Escherichia coli . Cell extracts containing this protein were used to conduct gel mobility shift analyses . PobR binds specifically to DNA in the pobA-pobR intergenic region, and this binding does not appear to be influenced by p-hydroxybenzoate, the inducer of pobA expression . DNase I footprinting indicates that the DNA-binding site for PobR extends from about 10 bp to about 45 bp downstream from the site of the beginning of the pobR transcript . Within this putative operator is a region of inverted symmetry . Evidently, interaction of the inducer with the PobR-operator complex triggers elevated expression of pobA, beginning at a position separated by 55 bp of DNA . The general mechanisms by which PobR exerts transcriptional control resemble those that typify the LysR family of transcriptional activators, a group from which PobR is evolutionarily remote. Infection, 1994 Jul-Aug, 22(4), 299 - 305 Bactericidal activity of cefpirome (HR 810) against 513 gram-negative bacteria isolated from blood of septicemic patients; Bergeron MG et al.; The profile of antibacterial activity of cefpirome was compared with that of nine other antimicrobial agents against 513 gram-negative bacteria isolated from septicemic patients . All strains were evaluated for their sensitivity by disc diffusion and broth dilution tests (MIC and MBC) . Cefpirome was compared to cefazolin, cefuroxime, ceftazidime, ceftriaxone, aztreonam, imipenem, ticarcillin, tobramycin and ciprofloxacin . Among the five cephalosporins tested in this study, cefpirome was the most active against all isolates . The MIC50 and MIC90 of eight isolates of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus were 2 and 4 mg/l and those of 89 Pseudomonas aeruginosa were 2 and 8 mg/l, respectively . The MIC90 values of cefpirome for all other groups of bacteria were < or = 1 mg/l . The activity of cefpirome against gram-negative bacteria is at least as good as that of aztreonam and imipenem . The only drug showing a better profile of activity than cefpirome is ciprofloxacin . The scattergram of the 513 isolates for cefpirome MICs and inhibitory zones with the 30 micrograms disc, showed that only eight isolates were not susceptible to cefpirome . These data suggest that the in vitro activity of cefpirome is comparable to if not better than that of other beta-lactams and tobramycin. Intensive Care Med, 1994 Jul, 20 Suppl 3, S1 - 4 Epidemiology of nosocomial infections in adult intensive care units; Trilla A; Patients in intensive care units (ICUs) are a small subgroup of all hospitalized patients, but they account for approximately 25% of all hospital infections . Nosocomial infection rates among ICU patients are 5-10 times higher than among general ward patients . ICU infection rates are higher due to complex interactions between the patients' underlying disease, severity of illness, type of ICU, duration of stay, and invasive devices used . Antimicrobial resistance is a major clinical problem despite potent and newer antibiotics . Organisms that pose a clinically significant resistance problem among ICU patients include methicillin-resistant staphylococci, enterococci, a wide variety of enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas cepacia, Xanthomonas maltophila, Acinetobacter and Candida species . Traditional infection control measures include identification of reservoirs, halting transmission between patients, stopping progression from colonization to infection and modifying host risk . In addition, sound selection procedures and guidelines for antibiotic usage are necessary to control the spread of multi-resistant micro-organisms. J Clin Microbiol, 1994 Jul, 32(7), 1816 - 9 Comparison of four different methods for epidemiologic typing of Acinetobacter baumannii; Seifert H et al.; A set of 103 epidemiologically well-defined Acinetobacter baumannii isolates obtained from nine hospital outbreaks and 21 unrelated strains were characterized by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) of total genomic DNA digested with ApaI . Among outbreak strains, eight different patterns and five possible variants were identified by PFGE . Results were compared with those from traditional typing methods such as plasmid profile analysis, antimicrobial susceptibility, and biotyping . Plasmid analysis revealed six different and two related patterns; one outbreak strain lacked plasmids . A total of 16 of the 21 unrelated strains harbored plasmids and exhibited unique patterns . Epidemiologically unrelated strains were placed into only two biotypes and had similar antimicrobial susceptibility patterns but were clearly distinguished by PFGE . PFGE of A . baumannii chromosomal DNA yielded reproducible and easily readable results and showed excellent discriminatory power . However, plasmid profile analysis may provide a cost-effective first step in epidemiological typing of A . baumannii isolates obtained from well-defined hospital outbreaks. Bioorg Med Chem, 1994 Jul, 2(7), 595 - 604 Microbial Baeyer-Villiger reaction of bicyclo{3.2.0}heptan-6-ones--a novel approach to sarkomycin A; Konigsberger K et al.; Racemic (1 alpha, 2 alpha, 5 alpha)- and (1 beta, 2 alpha, 5 beta)-2- bromobicyclo{3.2.0}heptan-6-one (rac-7, rac-10, respectively), (1 alpha, 2 alpha, 5 beta)- and (1 beta, 2 alpha, 5 beta)-2- benzyloxybicyclo{3.2.0}heptan-6-one (rac-15, rac-13, respectively), (1 beta, 2 alpha, 5 beta)-2-hydroxybicyclo{3.2.0}heptan-6-one (rac-17) and cis-bicyclo{3.2.0}hept-2-en-7-one (rac-18) were subjected to a microbial Baeyer-Villiger reaction by Acinetobacter calcoaceticus NCIB 9871 . In each case both regioisomeric lactones were formed (67-93% yield) having always the opposite configuration (20 to > 99 % e.e.) . Both the ratio of the regioisomers and the enantiomeric excess proved to be dependent on the type of substitution . Analogously cis-bicyclo{3.2.0}heptan-2,6-dione (rac-1) gave besides other products cyclosarkomycin (1b) (7 % yield, 97 % e.e.) . Compound 1b was also obtained from the Baeyer-Villiger product of rac-17 by Swern oxidation (total yield starting from rac-17 9 %, > 98 % e.e.). Int J Syst Bacteriol, 1994 Jul, 44(3), 387 - 91 Phylogenetic relationships between some members of the genera Neisseria, Acinetobacter, Moraxella, and Kingella based on partial 16S ribosomal DNA sequence analysis; Enright MC et al.; We obtained 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) sequence data for strains belonging to 11 species of Proteobacteria, including the type strains of Kingella kingae, Neisseria lactamica, Neisseria meningitidis, Moraxella lacunata subsp . lacunata, {Neisseria} ovis, Moraxella catarrhalis, Moraxella osloensis, {Moraxella} phenylpyruvica, and Acinetobacter lwoffii, as well as strains of Neisseria subflava and Acinetobacter calcoaceticus . The data in a distance matrix constructed by comparing the sequences supported the proposal that the genera Acinetobacter and Moraxella and {N.} ovis should be excluded from the family Neisseriaceae . Our results are consistent with hybridization data which suggest that these excluded taxa should be part of a new family, the Moraxellaceae . The strains that we studied can be divided into the following five groups: (i) M . lacunata subsp . lacunata, {N.} ovis, and M . catarrhalis; (ii) M . osloensis; (iii) {M.} phenylpyruvica; (iv) A . calcoaceticus and A . lwoffii; and (v) N . meningitidis, N . subflava, N . lactamica, and K . kingae . We agree with the previous proposal that {N.} ovis should be renamed Moraxella ovis, as this organism is closely related to Moraxella species and not to Neisseria species . The generically misnamed taxon {M.} phenylpyruvica belongs to the proposed family Moraxellaceae, but it is sufficiently different to warrant exclusion from the genus Moraxella . Further work needs to be done to investigate genetically similar species, such as Psychrobacter immobilis, before the true generic position of this organism can be determined . Automated 16S rDNA sequencing with the PCR allows workers to accurately determine phylogenetic relationships between groups of organisms.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS) J Biol Chem, 1994 Jun 10, 269(23), 16212 - 6 Substrate specificity of the two phosphate transport systems of Acinetobacter johnsonii 210A in relation to phosphate speciation in its aquatic environment; van Veen HW et al.; In natural waters and domestic waste waters in which divalent metal ions are present in excess of Pi, H2PO4-, HPO4(2-), and MeHPO4 prevail at pH values physiological for Acinetobacter johnsonii 210A (pH 5.5-8.0) . In view of the ability of this organism to extensively accumulate Pi and divalent cations in cytoplasmic polyphosphate granules, the substrate specificity of its two Pi transport systems was studied . The constitutive, proton motive force-driven Pi carrier, previously shown to be dependent on divalent cations, plays a major role in the divalent cation and Pi flux by translocating MeHPO4 rather than Pi . This notion is confirmed by the observation that divalent cations are cotransported with Pi in a 1:1 stoichiometry in proteoliposomes containing reconstituted Pi carrier protein . In contrast, the Pi repressible, periplasmic binding protein-dependent Pi transport system mediates the uptake of H2PO4- and HPO4(2-) . Pi uptake, but not MeHPO4 uptake, was stimulated in cells under Pi limitation, and the periplasmic Pi-binding protein has affinity for H2PO4- and HPO4(2-), but not for MeHPO4 . When operating in concert, both systems enable A . johnsonii 210A to efficiently acquire Pi from its habitat through uptake of the predominant Pi species. J Bacteriol, 1994 Jun, 176(12), 3493 - 9 RpoN (sigma 54) is required for conversion of phenol to catechol in Acinetobacter calcoaceticus; Ehrt S et al.; Members of the sigma 54 protein family, encoded by rpoN, are required for the transcription of genes associated with specialized metabolic functions . The ability to grow with phenol appears to be a specialized trait because it is expressed by few of the microorganisms that grow with catechol, the metabolic product of phenol monooxygenase . A mutation preventing the expression of phenol monooxygenase in the bacterial strain Acinetobacter calcoaceticus NCIB8250 was complemented by wild-type DNA segments containing an open reading frame encoding a member of the sigma 54 protein family . DNA sequencing revealed a second open reading frame, designated ORF2, directly downstream of A . calcoaceticus rpoN . The locations of both ORF2 and the 113-residue amino acid sequence of its product are highly conserved in other bacteria . The mutation preventing the expression of rpoN results in an opal codon that terminates the translation of RpoN at a position corresponding to Trp-91 in the 483-residue amino acid sequence of the wild-type protein . Negative autoregulation of rpoN was suggested by the fact that the mutation inactivating RpoN enhanced the transcription of rpoN . Primer extension revealed independent transcription start sites for rpoN and ORF2. Clin Infect Dis, 1994 Jun, 18(6), 896 - 900 Bacteremia with Acinetobacter species: risk factors and prognosis in different clinical settings; Tilley PA et al.; Acinetobacter species are widespread environmental gram-negative coccobacilli that are associated with nosocomial infections; these bacteria are considered to be of relatively low virulence and rarely cause invasive disease . Fifty-two cases of bacteremic episodes due to Acinetobacter species were reviewed, and risk factors and outcomes of these cases were examined . It was noted that these cases belonged to a few clinical groups with markedly different outcomes . Eighteen patients had malignancies (predominantly hematologic), and bacteremia often developed after respiratory infection . Nine patients suffered traumatic injuries and developed bacteremia with Acinetobacter species after endotracheal intubation in the intensive care unit and respiratory colonization . Four burn patients, three of whom had burns covering > or = 50% of their body surface areas, had burn infections prior to bacteremia . While many patients had central venous catheters, in only four cases were the catheters clearly infected prior to the positive blood culture . Prior use of antibiotics was widespread in all groups of patients, and isolates showed high levels of antimicrobial resistance, particularly to beta-lactam agents . The outcome of infection correlated more closely with the type of underlying illness than with other factors such as biovar, polymicrobial bacteremia, or appropriate therapy . Patients with malignancies and burn patients fared poorly (10 of 18 and 2 of 4 patients, respectively, died), while trauma patients and patients with other illnesses did well. Mol Microbiol, 1994 Jun, 12(5), 779 - 87 Regulation of spvR gene expression of Salmonella virulence plasmid pKDSC50 in Salmonella choleraesuis serovar Choleraesuis; Abe A et al.; The expression regulation of spvR, a regulatory gene on the virulence plasmid (pKDSC50) of Salmonella choleraesuis serovar Choleraesuis, was investigated by spvR-lacZ translational fusion . The spvR gene was found to be positively regulated by its own product, the SpvR protein, and this unusual positive autoregulation was repressed by the products of spvA and spvB, virulence-associated genes present downstream from the spvR gene . Amino acid sequence analysis revealed that the amino-terminal region of SpvB had homology with the CatM repressor protein of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, which belongs to the MetR/LysR protein family . On the other hand, the sigma factor RpoS was required for expression of the spvR gene in the stationary phase of bacterial growth . The SpvR protein was also necessary for self-activation, suggesting that an RNA polymerase holoenzyme containing RpoS requires SpvR protein in order to recognize the spvR promoter. Bioorg Med Chem, 1994 Jun, 2(6), 415 - 20 L-carnitine via enzyme-catalyzed oxidative kinetic resolution; Ditullio D et al.; L-Carnitine of high optical purity was prepared via kinetic resolution using a mutant strain of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus ATCC 39647 . This organism preferentially metabolized the D-enantiomer of the racemate to furnish L-carnitine . Recovery of L-carnitine was 93%, providing a total weight yield of 46.5% in 92% enantiomeric excess . The mode of degradation of carnitine was shown to proceed via a monooxygenase-catalyzed oxidative cleavage resulting in the formation of trimethylamine and malic acid . The data suggest that the stereoselective metabolism of DL-carnitine is probably the result of differential permeability of the cell membrane towards the optical antipodes. Singapore Med J, 1994 Jun, 35(3), 257 - 62 Current logistics of acute burn care in Singapore; Ngim RC et al.; OBJECTIVE: To study logistic requirements in acute burn care in Singapore and to correlate statistics on fire, unnatural deaths and burns . DESIGN: Fire data (from Singapore Fire Safety Bureau), mortality data (from Institute of Science & Forensic Medicine) and burn data (from Burns Centre, Singapore General Hospital) were studied . SETTING: Severe burn victims often require prolonged treatment . Useful data was obtained in a 1,500-bed restructured government hospital . PARTICIPANTS: All reported and investigated fire incidents, coroner enquiries of unnatural deaths and admitted burn patients . INTERVENTION: General burn data obtained retrospectively from 398 burn admissions in 1988 and logistic burn data from 41 patients requiring fluid replacement regime . RESULTS: Fire data showed one burn admission in every 12 fires (398/4718), one burn death in every 314 fires (15/4174) or 55 unnatural deaths (15/828) . Mortality data showed 15 burn deaths, two prior to admission, 7/13 admitted died of suicidal injuries and mortality rate was 3.3% (national annual average is 1.9%) . General burn data showed adults 76% and children 24%, 3:1 male predominance; scalds (46%), fire (32%), explosions (11%) and others (11%) . Seventy-eight patients (adults 58, children 20) required fluid resuscitation . Logistic burn data (average burn 35%, 28 partial thickness and 13 full thickness burns) were: ALOS 19.5 days, 2.4 major operations per patient (range 2-7), 56 minor procedures and 2.9 L blood transfusion per patient (those who were operated required 3.8 L and those not operated, 1 L per patient) . Blood investigations increased with severity and pattern of injury, Acinetobacter species was commonest microorganisms, antibiotics were used in 66% of patients and commonest burn dressings were tullegra (T/G), followed by T/G with silverzine . CONCLUSION: Data presented useful for correlation of fire, mortality and burn statistics, resource allocation and new burn facility establishment. Am J Infect Control, 1994 Jun, 22(3), 149 - 51 Community-acquired bacteremias from tunneled central intravenous lines: results from studies of a single vendor; Brown RB et al.; Tunneled central intravenous catheters are a common method for rendering prolonged outpatient intravenous therapy . Their safety, however, has not been well studied . We conducted a retrospective evaluation of bacteremias associated with tunneled central intravenous catheters managed by a single home health care vendor during a 1-year period . All catheters were inserted in the operating room under sterile conditions . To calculate total line days, the dates of catheter insertion and removal were obtained from either the hospital operating room or the home health care agency . Catheter care was conducted according to written protocols . Total line days were calculated . Community-acquired bacteremia (defined as bacteremia occurring more than 6 days after the patients' discharge from the hospital) was determined from records available in the infection control department . Sixty-eight patients received intravenous therapy from the vendor during the 1-year study period . Total line days were 5548 (median 52 days/patient) . Eleven episodes of bacteremia occurred in five patients, providing an incidence density rate of 2.0 infections/1000 catheter days . The most frequent bacteria encountered were Staphylococcus epidermidis (five), Klebsiella pneumoniae (two), and Acinetobacter calcoaceticus var anitratus (two) . Median time to bacteremia was 103 days . Two patients, both younger than 4 years, accounted for seven of the infections; both had short-bowel syndrome . On the basis of historical comparisons, outpatient intravenous therapy appears to be associated with a lower risk of bacteremia than in-hospital therapy . These data can provide quality improvement information and may be a means for comparing home infusion therapy vendors. Mol Microbiol, 1994 Jun, 12(6), 985 - 92 Properties of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus recA and its contribution to intracellular gene conversion; Gregg-Jolly LA et al.; The Acinetobacter calcoaceticus pcaJ and catJ genes, nearly identical in DNA sequence, differ in transcriptional control and are separated by more than 20 kb of chromosomal DNA . The pcaJ3125 mutation is repaired frequently in organisms containing the wild-type catJ gene . This high-frequency repair is eliminated in strains lacking the catJ gene, which suggests that recombination between the homologous catJ and pcaJ genes contributes to the high-frequency repair of the pcaJ3125 mutation . We report here that the high-frequency repair also requires a functional recA gene . The A . calcoaceticus recA gene was cloned in Escherichia coli by complementation of a recA mutation in the host strain . The nucleotide sequence of a 1506 bp DNA fragment containing A . calcoaceticus recA was determined . The amino acid sequences of RecA from E . coli and A . calcoaceticus shared 71% identity . The DNA sequences differed in that a consensus binding site for binding of LexA repressor, represented upstream from recA in E . coli, is not evident in the corresponding region of the A . calcoaceticus DNA sequence . A Tn5 insertion was introduced into the A . calcoaceticus recA gene . Selection for Tn5-encoded kanamycin resistance allowed the inactivated recA gene to be recombined by natural transformation into the A . calcoaceticus chromosome . Strains that had acquired the mutant gene were sensitive to both MMS and u.v . light, were deficient in natural transformation, and failed to carry out catJ-dependent high-frequency repair of the pcaJ3125 mutation. Microbiol Res, 1994 Jun, 149(2), 115 - 22 Analysis of the interaction between autochthonous bacteria and packaging material in PVC-bottled mineral water; Guerzoni ME et al.; A study with about 10,000 bottles produced by a mineral water company was undertaken in order to identify the causal agent of an off-odour occurrence in the bottled water . Some physiological attributes of the dominant species over an 8-month period, as well as their interaction with packaging material, were investigated . Pseudomonas maltophilia, P . acidovorans, Acinetobacter calcoaceticus var . lowffi, frequently associated with bottles having an off-odour, seemed to play a decisive role in the phenomenon due to their elevated lipolytic activity, their cell hydrophobicity and adhesivity to the PVC walls . Their ability to attack the sodium polysulfide included in the ultramarine blue dye present in PVC, transforming it to H2S was investigated. J Med Assoc Thai, 1994 Jun, 77(6), 298 - 307 Susceptibility patterns of clinical bacterial isolates in nineteen selected hospitals in Thailand; Leelarasamee A et al.; Susceptibility patterns of 3,115 clinical isolates obtained from blood, urine, sputum and pus in 19 hospitals located in each part of Thailand, were studied using ampicillin, ampicillin plus sulbactam, piperacillin, gentamicin, amikacin, cefazolin, cefuroxime, cefotaxime, ceftazidime, ofloxacin and imipenem . E.coli, S.aureus, P . aeruginosa, Klebsiella spp., Acinetobacter spp., Proteus spp . and Salmonella spp., were the seven most common isolates and accounted for 28.3, 15.3, 14.6, 14.5,