Identification and characterization of the bacteriocin Carocin S3 from the multiple bacteriocin producing strain of Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum.

BACKGROUND: Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum belongs to the Enterobacteriaceae family, which causes soft-rot disease in numerous plants worldwide resulting in significant economic losses. Results from our previous studies showed that the strain H-rif-8-6 produces low-molecular-weight bacteriocin (LMWB) Carocin S1. Interestingly, TH22-10, the caroS1K:Tn5 insertional mutant in H-rif-8-6, loses Carocin S1 producing ability, but still produces other LMWBs which the indicator strain SP33 can detect. The SP33 is one of the many strains that are sensitive toward the cytotoxic effects of Carocin S3K, but not Carocin S1. The result revealed that H-rif-8-6 is a multiple-bacteriocin producing strain. RESULTS: In this study, a 4.1-kb DNA fragment was isolated from the chromosomal DNA of Pcc strain, H-rif-8-6, by a DNA probe using the caroS1K gene as the template. DNA sequencing and analysis by GenBank revealed two complete open reading frames (ORFs), designated ORF1 and ORF2, which were identified within the sequence fragment. ORF1 and ORF2, similar to the identified carocin S2 genes, encode the killer (Carocin S3K) and the immunity (Carocin S3I) proteins, respectively, which were homologous to the colicin E3 gene. Carocin S3K and Carocin S3I were expressed, isolated, and purified in Escherichia coli BL21 after subcloning of the expression plasmid pGS3KI or pGSK3I. SDS-PAGE analysis showed that the relative masses of Carocin S3K and Carocin S3I were 95.6 kDa and 10.2 kDa, respectively. The results reveal that Carocin S3K has higher antimicrobial and specific antimicrobial activities for Pcc along with a nuclease activity than Carocin S3I. However, Carocin S3I inhibits the activity of Carocin S3K. Interestingly, a high concentration of Carocin S3I protein is also a DNA nuclease, and Carocin S3K also inhibits its activity. CONCLUSION: This study showed that another type of bacteriocin was found in Pectobacterium carotovorum. This new type of bacteriocin, Carocin S3, has the killer protein, Carocin S3K, and the immunity protein, Carocin S3I.

What happened to health service utilization, health care expenditures, and quality of care in patients with acute pancreatitis after implementation of global budgeting in Taiwan?

AIM: Acute pancreatitis is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. In the United States, more than 3,00,000 patients are admitted and about 20,000 die from acute pancreatitis per year. In Taiwan, the incidence rate of acute pancreatitis is 0.03% and the mortality rate among severe acute pancreatitis is 16.3%. The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of the global budgeting system on health service utilization, health care expenditures, and quality of care among patients with acute pancreatitis in Taiwan. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) was used for analysis. Data on patients with acute pancreatitis diagnosed during the period 2000 and 2001 were used as baseline data, and data from 2004 and 2005 were used as post-intervention data. The length of stay (LOS), diagnostic costs, drug cost, therapy costs, total costs, risk of readmission within 14 days, and risk of revisiting the emergency department (ED) within 3 days of discharge before and after implementation of the global budgeting system were compared and analyzed. RESULTS: Data on 2810 patients with acute pancreatitis were analyzed in this study. There was a significant difference in mean LOS before and after introduction of the global budget system (7.34 ±â€Š0.22 days and 7.82 ±â€Š0.22 days, respectively; P < .001)). The mean total costs before and after implementation of the global budget system were Taiwan dollars (NT$) 28,290.66 ±â€Š1576.32 and NT$ 42,341.83 ±â€Š2285.23, respectively. The mean rate of revisiting the ED within 3 days decreased from 9.9 ±â€Š0.9% before adoption of global budgeting to 7.2 ±â€Š0.6% after implementation of the system. The mean 14-day re-admission rates before and after introduction of global budgeting were 11.6 ±â€Š1.0% and 7.9 ±â€Š0.7%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The global budget system was associated with significantly longer length of stay, higher health care expenditures, and better quality of care in patients treated for acute pancreatitis.