The genome sequence of E. coli W (ATCC 9637): comparative genome analysis and an improved genome-scale reconstruction of E. coli

Background: Escherichia coli is a model prokaryote, an important pathogen, and a key organism for industrial biotechnology. E. coli W (ATCC 9637), one of four strains designated as safe for laboratory purposes, has not been sequenced. E. coli W is a fast-growing strain and is the only safe strain that can utilize sucrose as a carbon source. Lifecycle analysis has demonstrated that sucrose from sugarcane is a preferred carbon source for industrial bioprocesses

A degenerate primer MOB typing (DPMT) method to classify gamma-proteobacterial plasmids in clinical and environmental settings

Transmissible plasmids are responsible for the spread of genetic determinants, such as antibiotic resistance or virulence traits, causing a large ecological and epidemiological impact. Transmissible plasmids, either conjugative or mobilizable, have in common the presence of a relaxase gene. Relaxases were previously classified in six protein families according to their phylogeny. Degenerate primers hybridizing to coding sequences of conserved amino acid motifs were designed to amplify related relaxase genes from γ-Proteobacterial plasmids. Specificity and sensitivity of a selected set of 19 primer pairs were first tested using a collection of 33 reference relaxases, representing the diversity of γ-Proteobacterial plasmids. The validated set was then applied to the analysis of two plasmid collections obtained from clinical isolates. The relaxase screening method, which we call "Degenerate Primer MOB Typing" or DPMT, detected not only most known Inc/Rep groups, but also a plethora of plasmids not previously assigned to any Inc group or Rep-type

Palliative care in Western Australia: an assessment of information and support needs

Health professionals in rural Western Australia have embraced palliative care, however, to date no information has been available about the issues that face those providing the care. The descriptive study was undertaken to determine what palliative care education and support resources were available to rural health professionals, and to ascertain what further services would be of benefit to their practice. The findings of this study suggests that rural health professionals would welcome increased access to both education and support services when providing palliative care to patients in their communities. Recommendations are made that could enhance the delivery of palliative care education and support to rural Western Australia

A prospective, randomized, controlled trial comparing transparent polyurethane and hydrocolloid dressings for central venous catheters

Background: This study was undertaken to determine the frequency of skin colonization, hub colonization, and central venous catheter colonization in transparent hydrocolloid versus standard polyurethane dressings. Methods: Adult patients requiring the insertion of a multilumen central venous catheter in an intensive care unit were randomized to receive either a standard polyurethane dressing or a transparent hydrocolloid dressing. Cultures were obtained from 125 skin insertion sites, 141 catheter hubs, 128 catheter tips, and blood samples from 132 patients. Extensive data on patient and catheter characteristics were collected. Results: Skin and hub cultures revealed no significant difference in degree of colonization. However, the hydrocolloid group had a significantly higher level of catheter colonization than the polyurethane group (P = .048). Conversely, there was a significantly higher frequency of positive blood cultures in the polyurethane group (P = .03), although the majority were considered to be potential contaminants. There were only 6 cases in which the same species was simultaneously isolated from a positive blood culture and a colonized catheter, 5 from the hydrocolloid group and I from the polyurethane group. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that an increased risk of catheter colonization is associated with the use of hydrocolloid dressings, despite previous research suggesting that they significantly reduce microbial growth compared with standard polyurethane. The clinical significance of increased numbers of positive blood cultures in the polyurethane group requires further examination, although distinguishing between contamination and true infection in intensive care settings continues to be methodologically challenging. Further studies are required to determine whether these findings are generalizable across different study settings and whether similar outcomes are obtained when different brands of hydrocolloid dressing are used