Evaluation of Propionibacterium acnes Isolates Using Contour-clamped Homogeneous Electric Field Gel Electrophoresis

Contour-clamped homogeneous electric field electrophoresis was performed to compare strains ofPropionibacterium acnes isolated from patients with chronic postoperative endophthalmitis. Propionibacterium acnes isolates were obtained from the vitreous humor of nine patients with chronic postoperative endophthalmitis following cataract surgery. In two of the patients, P. acnes isolates were also obtained from the aqueous humor as well as from the vitreous humor. Bacterial DNA was digested using Not I and Spe I restriction endonucleases. The DNA fragments were then subjected to contour-clamped homogeneous electric field electrophoresis and the DNA banding patterns were analysed. Eight nonidentical banding patterns were identified among the nine vitreous isolates of P. acnes. In each of the two cases from which aqueous and vitreous isolates were recovered from the same eye, the banding patterns were identical. Contour-clamped homogeneous electric field electrophoresis is a powerful method to distinguish P. acnes isolates based on DNA banding patterns and could be used in the epidemiological study of clinical processes caused by this organism.     

A clinician's experiences on the Internet.

Dr. John Doyle, a Toronto anesthetist, shares some recent experiences on the Internet. He explains how he became involved and how electronic mail and computer resources help in his daily clinical practice. He also explains how he and other clinicians share opinions, expertise and advice through an Internet-based discussion group devoted to his specialty.     

An algorithm for discriminating sequences and its application to yeast transfer RNA

We describe an algorithm for finding nucleotide residues stronglycorrelated with the amino acid acceptor functions of transferRNAs. The algorithm exploits the fact that each tRNA acceptsonly one of 20 amino acids. The algorithm is applied to 37 Saccharomycescerevisiae transfer RNAs. Received on January 28, 1987