Bactericidal efficacy of electrochemically activated solutions and of commercially available hypochlorite.

Electrochemical activation (ECA) has been developed as a quick and efficient method of hypochlorite production, and many claim increased efficacy when compared to conventional disinfectant solutions. Numerous potential applications, including hospital disinfection, waste-water treatment, routine drinking water disinfection and biological decontamination have been suggested. In this study, three solutions were produced by electrochemical activation of 0.5% NaCl and compared to commercially available NaOCl. The NaOCl concentration and pH of each solution was measured, and the minimum bactericidal concentration of each was determined using seven common microbial pathogens. All solutions were effective, the most significant of which was the ECA anolyte solution. This is notable due to its neutral pH and antimicrobial efficacy that is four times that of commercially available NaOCl. This process may lead to production of a highly effective yet non-caustic disinfectant that would have countless scientific, medical, military and public health applications.

Actinomyces viscosus postoperative endophthalmitis.

Endophthalmitis, attributable to Actinomyces viscosus, developed in a 78-year-old man after cataract surgery. Postoperative endophthalmitis with this organism is a rare occurrence. This report emphasizes the importance of the Actinomyces species as potential eye pathogens and presents antimicrobial susceptibility data for the isolate.

Molecular epidemiology of an SHV-5 extended-spectrum beta-lactamase in enterobacteriaceae isolated from infants in a neonatal intensive care unit.

Klebsiella oxytoca that produced extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) and were resistant to ceftazidime were isolated from infants in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). During a 30-week period, 3 infants developed infections and an additional 60 infants were colonized with these bacteria. The molecular typing data suggested transmission of a single strain of ceftazidime-resistant K. oxytoca among 48 of the 63 infants. The ESBL of 46 of the 48 similar isolates, 14 of the remaining 15 isolates, and 6 other Enterobacteriaceae appeared to be associated with a conjugative plasmid of approximately 85 kb. The ESBL gene was cloned, and DNA sequencing confirmed that the ESBL was an SHV-5. Hybridization data suggested that the SHV-5 gene was transmitted to other Enterobacteriaceae in vivo. The spread of the ESBL was reduced through adherence to infection control practices.

Simian virus 40 prevents activation of M-phase-promoting factor during lytic infection.

Simian virus 40 (SV40) infection stimulates confluent cultures of monkey kidney cells into successive rounds of cellular DNA synthesis without intervening mitosis. As an initial step in defining the mechanisms responsible for viral inhibition of mitosis, M-phase-promoting factor (MPF) was examined in SV40-infected CV-1 cells passing from G2 phase into a second S phase. MPF is a serine-threonine protein kinase that is essential for mitosis in eukaryotic cells. In SV40-infected cells exiting G2 phase, there was a reduced amount of MPF-associated H1 kinase activity relative to that of uninfected cells passing through mitosis. Both subunits of MPF, cyclin B and the p34cdc2 catalytic subunit, were present and in a complex in infected cells. In uninfected cultures, passage through mitosis was associated with the dephosphorylation of the p34cdc2 subunit, which is characteristic of MPF activation. In contrast, the p34cdc2 subunit remained in the tyrosine-phosphorylated, inactive form in SV40-infected cells passing from G2 phase into a second S phase. These results suggest that although the MPF complex is assembled and modified normally, SV40 interferes with pathways leading to MPF activation.