Per una Carta de Drets Socials com a procés de construcció de la ciutadania social comunitària

El sistema públic de Serveis Socials està patint un atac governamental sense precedents amb l'excusa de la crisi. Es pretén derrocar les conquestes socials que han sigut el fonament de la democràcia, precisament ara que la desigualtat social és cada dia mes descarada. Per açò des del col•lectiu volem aportar el nostre granet de sorra proposant un procés que contribuïsca a reforçar la base comunitària des de la participacióThe public system of Social Services is suffering an unprecedented government attack, using the global crisis as an excuse. Their plan is to ruin the social achievements that are the foundations of our Democracy, just when the social inequality is blatant. Therefore, we would like to do our bit by proposing the implementation of a new process that contributes to strengthen the Community participation

Capsular polysaccharide is a major complement resistance factor in lipopolysaccharide O side chain-deficient Klebsiella pneumoniae clinical isolates

We have previously demonstrated the existence of Klebsiella pneumoniae clinical isolates deficient in the lipopolysaccharide O side chain, the major factor for resistance to complement-mediated killing in this bacterial species. These isolates are complement resistant, and their mechanisms to resist complement were investigated by selecting transposon-generated complement-sensitive mutants. One mutant with a drastically reduced capacity to grow in nonimmune human serum carried the transposon inserted in an open reading frame of a gene cluster involved in capsule synthesis. This mutant produced less capsule, bound more molecules of the complement component C3, and was more sensitive to complement-mediated and opsonophagocytic killings than was the parent strain. Four additional clinical isolates representing four different K serotypes were studied, and results showed that capsular polysaccharide is a major complement resistance factor in these O side chain- deficient isolates.This work was supported by grants from the Comisio´n Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnologı´a (CICYT) and project FEDER 2FD97- 0287. D.A. was supported by a predoctoral fellowship from CICYT.Peer Reviewe

Porin expression in clinical isolates of Klebsiella pneurnoniae

Two porins, OmpK36 and OmpK35, have been described previously in Klebsiella pneumoniae, and they are homologous to the Escherichia coli porins OmpC and OmpF, respectively, at both the DNA and amino acid levels. Optimal resolution of the two K. pneumoniae porins by electrophoresis on polyacrylamide gels is not achieved using gel systems already described for E. coli and requires modifications of the bisacrylamide content of the resolving gels. Once resolved, identification of porins OmpK36 and OmpK35 cannot be based solely on their apparent molecular masses since in some strains the OmpK36 porin migrates faster than the OmpK35 porin, whilst in other strains OmpK35 is the faster-migrating porin. Expression of OmpK35 porin is increased in low-osmolarity medium and, combined with Western blot analysis, this allows for the identification of both porins. Application of this identification system showed that most isolates lacking expression of extended-spectrum /?-lactamases express the two porins, whereas most isolates producing these /?-lactamases express only porin OmpK36, and the OmpK35 porin is either very low or not expressedThis wo rk was supported by grants from Comision Inter- ministerial de Ciencia y Tecnologi'a (CICYT). S.H. -A., D.A., and S.A. were supported by fellowships from CICYT, a n d A.D.-S. was supported by a predoctoral fellowship from CSIC-CAROB SA.Peer reviewe

Klebsiella pneumoniae Lipopolysaccharide O Typing: Revision of Prototype Strains and O-Group Distribution among Clinical Isolates from Different Sources and Countries

We have previously described an inhibition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method for the O typing of O1 lipopolysaccharide from Klebsiella pneumoniae which overcomes the technical problems and limitations of the classical O-typing method. In this study, we have extended the method to all of the currently recognized O types. The method was validated by studying the prototype strains that have defined the O groups by the classical tube agglutinatination O-typing method. Based on these results, we confirmed the O types of 60 of 64 typeable strains, and we propose a revised O-antigenic scheme, with minor but necessary changes, consisting of serogroups or serotypes O1, O2, O2ac, O3, O4, O5, O7, O8, and O12. Application of this typing method to 638 K. pneumoniaeclinical isolates from Denmark, Spain, and the United States from different sources (blood, urine, and others) showed that up to 80% of these isolates belong to serotypes or serogroups O1, O2, O3, and O5, independently of the source of isolation, and that a major group of nontypeable isolates, representing about 17% of the total, consists of half O+ and half O− strains. Differences were observed, however, in the prevalence of the lipopolysaccharide O types or groups, depending on the country and isolation source.This work was supported by grants from the Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnologı́a (CICYT) of the Spanish Government. S.H.A., S.A., and D.A. were supported by predoctoral fellowships/postdoctoral contracts from CICYT.Peer reviewe