Comparative hemodynamic effects of coronary vasodilators and contrast material on the normal and ischemic canine myocardium: determination of the optimal agent for clinical augmentation of coronary blood flow. The systemic hemodynamic and myocardial effects of potent vasodilators administered directly into the left coronary artery were determined and compared with the actions of contrast material in 10 anesthetized dogs in the normal state and in the presence of segmental myocardial ischemia. Contrast material (Renografin 76) caused systemic hypotension, rise in left ventricular diastolic pressure and decreases in LV dp/dt and dp/dt/LVP in both states. Doses of ATP (7.2 microgram/kg and 20 microgram/kg/min) which are maximally effective in augmenting coronary blood flow caused only mild arterial hypotension and minimal inotropic effects in both states. Nitroglycerin (3 microgram/kg and 10 microgram/kg/min) induced no inotropic effects but slightly greater arterial hypotension than ATP in both states. On the other hand, papaverine HCl (300 microgram/kg and 800 microgram/kg/min) induced profound increases in LV dp/dt and dp/dt/LVP, decreases in LVEDP and arterial hypotension in the non-ischemic state. In the presence of segmental ischemia, papaverine HCl caused significantly less increases in LV dp/dt and dp/dt/LVP, paradoxical increases in LVEDP in 5 dogs and ventricular fibrillation in 3 dogs. Thus, maximally effective vasodilatory doses of ATP causes only small alterations in hemodynamics and myocardial contractile state of the normal and ischemic heart. Similar doses of papaverine induce profound positive inotropic effects which are apparently deleterious to the ischemic heart.


Microangiography in the perfusion-fixed rabbit kidney: a single injection technique for the study of the nephron. Through the modification of a technique developed by Beeuwkes, microangiography, using barium sulfate, was performed on rabbit kidneys following perfusion fixation with gluteraldehyde. Gluteraldehyde is a rapid fixative which preserves tissues while creating few artifacts on the electron microscopic level. The vessels and tubules are preserved in an open-lumen state with sufficient hardness to resist the artifacts caused by high pressure renal artery injections. By injecting barium sulfate at high pressure through the renal artery it is postulated that microruptures are created in the glomerular tuft. This leads to opacification of the tubules and the demonstration of various anatomic configurations. Low pressure injections were used to selectively demonstrate the vascular anatomy. This method allows the demonstration of the vascular and tubular anatomy without specialized techniques. The mechanism of failure of opacification of the renal vein on conventional microangiography are discussed.


Metrizamide in urography. II. A comparison of 51Cr-EDTA clearance and metrizamide clearance in man. In nine subjects undergoing urography with metrizamide measurements of total serum clearance of 51Cr-EDTA have been made before, during, and after the urography. During the urography both total serum clearances and renal clearances were determined for 51Cr-EDTA and metrizamide. The present study in man confirms the previous results from investigations in rabbits, that most of the intravenously injected metrizamide is excreted through the kidneys, that tubular reabsorption of metrizamide occurs and suggests that metrizamide might be used with advantage for urography.


Total intravenous feeding of calves.

Total intravenous feeding of calves. Total intravenous feeding was accomplished for 5 clinically normal calves and for 1 calf with atresia coli. During the trials, which lasted 8 to 14 days (mean of 12 days), calves were not permitted to ingest any food or water. Body weight and state of hydration remained essentially constant. Plasma protein content decreased, but there were only minor changes in other physiologic measures. Calves were clinically normal at the conclusion of the trials.


Naturally occurring trypanosomiasis (Chagas' disease) in dogs. Nine fatal cases of canine American trypanosomiasis (Chagas' disease) were encountered from November, 1972, through November, 1975. Of the 9 cases, 7 occurred in dogs from 5 central Texas counties, and all but one case was diagnosed during the months of September, October, or November. The source of infection was discovered in only one case--that being a doghouse heavily infested with Triatoma lectularius occulta. Each of 6 bugs collected had infective forms of the protozoan, Trypanosoma cruzi. Trypanosomiasis usually is not considered in the differential clinical diagnosis of cardiac dysfunction in man or other mammals in the United States. An antemortem diagnosis was made in only 1 of the 9 dogs, with diagnosis in the remaining dogs being made at necropsy. The predominant microscopic lesion in all dogs was necrotizing granulomatous myocarditis associated with the amastigotes of T cruzi.


Ambruticin (W7783), a new antifungal antibiotic. Ambruticin represents a new class of antibiotics isolated from a strain of Polyangium cellulosum var, fulvum, a bacterium belonging to the class Myxobacteriales. This antibiotic is a cyclopropyl-polyene-pyran acid and is active in vitro against fungi.


Glycinothricin, a new streptothricin-class antibiotic from Streptomyces griseus. Glycinothricin is a streptothricin-class antibiotic obtained for the first time from the culture broth of a strain of Streptomyces griseus. Glycinothricin, the deformimino derivative of antibiotic LL-AB664, gives N-methylstreptolidine, N-methyl-D-glucosamine and glycine on acid hydrolysis. In comparison with LL-AB664, glycinothricin is less active against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria and less toxic to mice.


Porphyrin and corrinoid mutants of Bacillus subtilis. Porphyrin auxotrophs of Bacillus subtilis can be divided into two groups. Strains belonging to the first group (hemA, hemB, or hemC) are not able to synthesize or metabolize porphobilinogen. These strains require cysteine, cystine, and methionine, respectively. Traces of aminolevulinic acid, in a hemin-containing medium, can replace the cysteine requirement in a mutant lacking aminolevulinic acid synthetase. In bacteria belonging to the second group (hemE, hemF, or hemG), porphyrin biosynthesis is blocked at later steps, and the amino acids mentioned above are not required. It is of interest that both the activity of ribonucleotide reductase and the amount of vitamin B12 were significantly lower in the first group. The addition of vitamin B12 to the medium did not promote the growth of strains examined. We assume that porphobilinogen deaminase is essential for the synthesis of corrinoids.


Host cell reactivation of Bacillus subtilis bacteriophages. Host cell reactivation of ultraviolet-irradiated phage can be used as a probe of the bacterial repair system and to determine phage and cellular contributions to the repair process. Using the Bacillus subtilis phages SPP1, SP01, phie, and phi29, we found that the uvr-1 and polA functions are involved in the host cell reactivation of the four phages. SPP1 was the only phage whose reactivation was also decreased in recA, recD, and recF mutant cells. We studied variations of host cell reactivation for SPP1 during spore outgrowth; at high ultraviolet doses the activity of a spore repair system requiring deoxyribonucleic acid polymerase I became evident. The spore repair system was completely replaced by the vegetative one by 120 min of outgrowth.


Isolation and characterization of a Bacillus subtilis mutant with a defective N-glycosidase activity for uracil-containing deoxyribonucleic acid. Crude cell extracts of Bacillus subtilis 168T exhibit enzyme activity capable of releasing free uracil from phage PBS1 deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in the presence of ethylenediaminetetraacetate. By measuring the enzyme activity in 300 clones that emanated from mutagenized cells, we obtained a mutant strain that did not show this N-glycosidase activity. The mutant strain, designated as TKJ6901 (urg-1) exhibited no physiological abnormalities. We observed the intracellular action of the enzyme by following the fate of uracil-containing DNA in cells from wild-type and mutant cultures. When infection with phage PBS1 was allowed in the presence of chloramphenicol, extensive degradation of phage DNA was observed only in the wild-type cells. When bromouracil residues were converted to uracil residues by ultraviolet light irradiation in the presence of cysteamine, the DNA was extensively fragmented in the wild-type cells. These single-strand breaks were rejoined upon postirradiation incubation. In contrast, such fragmentation of the DNA was not observed in the mutant cells, indicating that the uracil residues were not removed from the DNA. This demonstrated that the N-glycosidase activity was involved in the excision of uracil in DNA. A transformation assay with four types of recipient strains with combinations of N-glycosidase and DNA polymerase I deficiencies indicated that DNA polymerase I was involved in the later steps of this base excision repair pathway initiated by the action of the N-glycosidase.


Function of cell wall teichoic acid in thermally injured Staphylococcus aureus. Thermally injured cells of Staphylococcus aureus lack the ability to grow on tryptic soy agar containing 7.5% NaCl. This injury phenomenon was examined in three strains of S. aureus: MF-31; H (Str); and, isolated from H (Str), 52A5, a mutant which lacks teichoic acid in the cell wall. Temperatures for sublethal heat treatment were selected to produce maximum injury with minimum death for each strain. Examination of isolated cell walls showed that magnesium was lost from the wall during heating, and that the degree of cell injury was accentuated when magnesium ions were either removed from or made unavailable to the cell. S. aureus 52A5 was more heat sensitive than its parent strain. Cells containing higher levels of wall teichoic acid generally showed less injury than normal cells. Cells with the weaker cation-binding polymer, teichuronic acid, in the cell wall generally showed greater injury. These data suggest that cell wall teichoic acid of S. aureus aids in the survival of the cell by the maintenance of an accessible surface pool of magnesium.


Outer membrane phospholipase A from Acinetobacter sp. HO1-N. A phospholipase A1 activity that hydrolyzed cardiolipin to triacyl- and diacyl-lysocardiolipin was localized in outer membrane preparations derived from Acinetobacter sp. HO1-N. The specific activity of the enzyme derived from hexadecane-grown cells was 2.5 to 3 times higher than that derived from NBYE-grown cells. An apparent Km of 2.22 mM was determined, although inhibition kinetics resulted at the higher cardiolipin substrate concentrations. Optimal reaction conditions established on metal requirements. Enzyme activity was obligately dependent on Triton X-100 (0.5%) and was inhibited by cationic and anionic detergents. Cardiolipin-specific phospholipase D converted triacyl-lysocardiolipin to lysophosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidic acid. The specific activity of this enzyme was approximately 100 times greater than that reported for other membrane preparations derived from microorganisms.


Transfer of chromosomal genes mediated by plasmid r68.45 in Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides. Plasmid R68.45 was transferred from Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO25 to the photosynthetic species Rhodopseudomonas gelatinosa and Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides by selection for resistance to antibiotics. R. sphaeroides strains carrying the plasmid could transfer the plasmid and also chromosomal genes to other strains of R. sphaeroides.


Molecular characterization of two beta-lactamase-specifying plasmids isolated from Neisseria gonorrhoeae. The molecular nature of two distinct gonococcal R plasmids, 4.4 X 10(6) and 3.2 X 10(6) daltons, encoding beta-lactamase activity were examined. Both plasmids contained about 40% of the transposable ampicillin resistance sequence Tn2. Deoxyribonucleic acid-deoxyribonucleic acid polynucleotide sequence studies have shown that the two gonococcal plasmids share about 70% of their sequences and are closely related to RSF0885, a 4.1 X 10(6)-dalton plasmid found in a beta-lactamase-producing strain of Haemophilus influenzae. All three of these R plasmids possess a guanine-plus-cytosine content of 0.40 to 0.41 mol fraction and are present as multicopy gene pools in their bacterial hosts.


Permeability of the cell envelope and osmotic behavior in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Bakers' yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) was equilibrated with distilled water and then packed into standardized pellets by centrifugation. The fractional space (S value) that was accessible to passive permeation was probed with a variety of mono- and divalent salts, mono- and disaccharides, polyols, substrates and products of beta-fructofuranosidase (EC 3.2.1.26) and acid phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.2), and a cross-linked polymer of sucrose (Ficoll 400). A simple but very reproducible method was developed to measure pellet volume. At the limit of zero osmolality for bathing medium, the interstitial space was 0.223 ml/ml of pellet, and the aqueous volume of cell envelopes was 0.117 ml/ml of pellet. Thus the cell envelope for this yeast, under these conditions, was approximately 15% of the total cell volume. At a finite osmolality, the space in a yeast pellet that was accessible to salt was accounted for by the sum of initial interstitial space, the volume of the cell envelopes, and the volume of water abstracted from the cells by osmosis. Plots of S value versus osmolality were linear for uncharged probes and curvilinear for all salts. When Ficoll and potassium thiocyanate were presented to the yeast in admixture, the S values for the salt increased continuously over the range of osmolality studied. However, the S values for Ficoll 400 (which did not penetrate the cell wall) were lower by an amount equilivalent to the cell envelopes; they increased in parallel with the S curve for salt up to 1.15 osmol/kg and then plateaued. The results support the concept of incipient plasmolysis at 1.15 osmol/kg, and the separation of protoplasm from the cell wall is indicated with more concentrated solutions. Such cells were still viable if slowly diluted in distilled water, but they were injured by the shock of rapid dilution. However, shocking the cells did not release beta-fructofuranosidase into the medium. The complete accessibility of salts toward killed cells was demonstrated with yeast that had been pretreated with heat, organic solvents, or glutaraldehyde.


Purification and properties of the periplasmic glucose-binding protein of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. A glucose-binding glycoprotein (GBP) from the periplasm of Pseudomonas aeruginosa was purified to homogeneity as judged by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, molecular sieve chromatography, and double-diffusion gel precipitation. It had an average molecular weight of 44,500 and an isoelectric point of 4.7. One mole of glucose was bound per mole of GBP with a dissociation constant of 0.35 muM. The binding of radioactive glucose by GBP was not significantly inhibited by 10-fold-higher concentrations of other carbohydrates; however, a number of related compounds were found to compete at 100-fold-higher concentrations. Amino acid analyses revealed predominant amounts of alanine, glutamate, and glycine and a low content of sulfur-containing amino acids. The carbohydrate moiety of GBP, comprising nearly 16% of the total weight, contained galactosamine, glucosamine, fucose, galactose, glucose, and mannose. A GBP-deficient mutant, strain MB723, was found to be defective in both membrane transport and glucose chemotaxis. Strain MB724, a revertant to GBP-positive phenotype, simultaneously recovered normal levels of both membrane functions.


Conversion by trypsin of nonsense suppressor-produced isozymes of triosephosphate isomerase to isozymes resembling the wild type. Nonsense suppressor genes caused the synthesis of new triosephosphate isomerase isozymes in Bacillus subtilis. Incubation with trypsin produced a large decrease in the apparent molecular weight of one such isozyme and simultaneously changed the electrophoretic behavior such that it resembled that of the wild-type enzyme.


Isolation and characterization of four types of plasmids from Bacillus subtilis (natto). Covalently closed circular deoxyribonucleic acids were found in 10 strains of Bacillus natto. The plasmids could be classified into four types on the basis of the molecular weights as well as the patterns in agarose gel electrophoresis after digestion with restriction endonucleases: (i) plasmids (seven were detected) with a molecular weight of 3.6 X 10(6); (ii) plasmids (two were detected) with a molecular weight of 4.0 X 10(6); (iii) plasmids (eight were detected) with a molecular weight of about 34 X 10(6); and (iv), a plasmid with an approximate molecular weight of 46 X 10(6). Out of the 10 plasmid-carrying strains, 6 (IFO3009, IFO3013, IFO3335, IFO13169, IAM1143, and IAM1207) harbored both type 1 and 3 plasmids; 2 (IAM1114 and IAM1168) harbored both type 2 and 3 plasmids, and IFO3936 and IAM1163 carried type 1 and 4 plasmids, respectively.


Production of copper coproporphyrin III by Bacillus cereus. I. Purification and identification of copper coproporphyrin III. Bacillus cereus strains 2 and T did not form spores and accumulated a large amount of purple pigment inside the cells, when cultured in a yeast extract-ammonium salt medium with excess glucose. The pigment was extracted and crystallized as the ethyl ester. It was identified as copper coproporphyrin III.


Production of copper coproporphyrin III by Bacillus cereus. II. Regulation of the biosynthesis of coproporphyrin III and its copper complex by oxygen and heavy metal ions. The effects of oxygen and heavy metal ions on the production of copper coproporphyrin III were studied in Bacillus cereus strain 2. The formation of copper coproporphyrin III was found to be maximum when the cells were cultivated in G-medium at a low level of oxygen supply, but it was suppressed at extremely low oxygen supply levels. When the cells were cultured in metal-free G-medium, neither metal-coproporphyrin III nor coproporphyrin III was formed. In the presence of copper in the medium (400-100 micrometers), the formation of coproporphyrin III copper salt was maximum, but the addition of various heavy metal ions other than copper to the copper-free medium resulted in the formation of neither coproporphyrin III nor its metal chelates. Copper ions appear to be specifically required for coproporphyrin III formation.


Purification of immunuglobulin light chain messenger RNA by immunoprecipitation from mouse myeloma tumor, MOPC-31C. Polysomes producing IgGl(kappa) myeloma protein were specifically selected by an immunoprecipitation method, and immunoglobulin light chain mRNA was purified from the precipitated polysomes. The purified mRNA migrated predominantly as a single band and the molecular weight of this mRNA was calculated to be 410.000 by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in 98% formamide. A protein possessing a molecular weight of 25,000, which is the size of the light chain precursor, was synthesized as a major product of translation in a wheat germ cell-free system. DNA complementary to the mRNA (cDNA) was prepared with avian myeloblastosis virus RNA-dependent DNA polymerase. This cDNA had an average size of 8.3S as determined by sedimentation through an alkaline sucrose gradient. Using this cDNA, Crt 1/2 values of template RNA and RNA from various preparations were calculated from the results of molecular hybridization. The relative content of the mRNA increased 4,4-fold during the immunoprecipitation of polysomes.


Purification of immunoglobulin heavy chain messenger RNA by immunoprecipitation from the mouse myeloma tumor, MOPC-31C. Immunoglobulin heavy chain mRNA was purified from immunoprecipitated polysomes derived from the mouse myeloma tumor, MOPC-31C. The purified mRNA migrated predominantly as a single band upon polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in 98% formamide and the molecular weight of this mRNA was calculated to be 700,000. This mRNA was as active as the purified light chain mRNA when it was employed as a template in a cell-free protein synthesizing system from wheat germ. The translation product had a molecular weight of 55,000 daltons, and migrated slightly faster than mature heavy chain upon polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in sodium dodecylsulfate. The protein synthesized by the direction of this mRNA was shown to yield tryptic peptides corresponding to those derived from the mature heavy chain protein except that one missing peptide was replaced by another additional peptide. DNA complementary to the mRNA was synthesized by RNA-dependent DNA polymerase from avian myeloblastosis virus. Hybridization kinetic analysis between the heavy chain mRNA and its complementary DNA indicated that the RNA was essentially homogenous with rabbit globin mRNA as a standard.


Approaches to the validation of animal test systems for assay of protective potency of BCG vaccines. Three animal test systems, two in guinea-pigs and one in mice, have been examined to differentiate the ability of three BCG vaccines with respect to their ability to protect the animals against infection when challenged with virulent bacilli. One test system showed great promise and was examined in greater detail in order to explain the mechanism of protection. These studies are continuing in order to test a series of BCG vaccines that will be given to groups of children and their protective effect observed.


Loss of DNA repair capacity during successive subcultures of primary rat fibroblasts. Cultures of fibroblasts from newborn rats and successive subcultures of these cells were treated with 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide to induce DNA repair. DNA from the cultures was examined by velocity sedimentation in alkaline sucrose gradients immediately after drug treatment and after a post-treatment incubation period of 3 h. Early passage cells were able to repair the damage that appeared as single strand breaks, however, by the seventh subculture this activity was not apparent. Measurements of repair synthesis showed a partial loss of this capacity with successive subculture. The results fit a model in which 4NQO causes two kinds of DNA modification, one of which is alkali labile and appears as a single-strand break. Both modifications are subject to excision repair, but each is recognized initially by a specific endonuclease. In the late passage cells, the endonuclease specific for the alkali labile modification is absent.


Adhesion of phospholipid vesicles to Chinese hamster fibroblasts. Role of cell surface proteins. The adhesion of artificially generated lipid membrane vesicles to Chinese hamster V79 fibroblasts in suspension was used as a model system for studying membrane interactions. Below their gel-liquid crystalline phase transition temperature, vesicles comprised of dipalmitoyl lecithin (DPL) or dimyristoyl lecithin (DML) absorbed to the surfaces of EDTA- dissociated cells. These adherent vesicles could not be removed by repeated washings of the treated cells but could be released into the medium by treatment with trypsin. EM autoradiographic studies of cells treated with[(3)H]DML or [(3)H]DPL vesicles showed that most of the radioactive lipids were confined to the cell periphery. Scanning electron microscopy and fluorescence microscopy further confirmed the presence of adherent vesicles at the cell surface. Adhesion of DML or DPL vesicles to EDTA-dissociated cells modified the lactoperoxidase-catalyzed iodination pattern of the cell surface proteins; the inhibition of labeling of two proteins with an approximately 60,000- dalton mol wt was particularly evident. Incubation of cells wit h (3)H-lipid vesicles followed by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)- polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed that some of the (3)H-lipid migrated preferentially with these approximately 60,000-mol wt proteins. Studies of the temperature dependence of vesicle uptake and subsequent release by trypsin showed that DML or DPL vesicle adhesion to EDTA- dissociated cells increased with decreasing temperatures. In contrast, cells trypsinized before incubation with vesicles showed practically no temperature dependence of vesicle uptake. These results suggest two pathways for adhesion of lipid vesicles to the cell surface-a temperature-sensitive one involving cell surface proteins, and a temperature-independent one. These findings are discussed in terms of current models for cell-cell interactions.


Identification of the individual polychlorinated biphenyls in a mixture by gas-liquid chromatography. Retention indices were computed for all of the 210 possible chlorinated biphenyls on 13 gas chromatographic liquid phases. All possible pairwise comparisons of retention indices were made for each liquid phase, each pair of liquid phases and each set of three liquid phases. On the basis of a closeness criterion of 10 (deltaRI = RIa - RIb = 10), those combinations of three or fewer liquid phases which could distinguish between nearly all possible pairs of chlorinated biphenyls were selected. Further considerations such as column efficiencies, analysis time required, resolution achievable and availability led to the selection of several common liquid phases for the qualitative and, in some cases, quantitative analysis of the individual components of mixtures of polychlorinated biphenyls. A few specific applications are discussed.


Effect of bromoergocriptine on TRH-induced growth hormone and prolactin release in acromegalic patients. In an attempt to evaluate the dynamics of growth hormone (GH) and prolactin secretion in acromegalic patients, the response of serum GH as well as prolactin to 2-bromo-alpha-ergocriptine (CB154) alone or to CB154 combined with thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) was studied in 8 subjects with this disease. Oral administration of CB154 unequivocally decreased serum prolactin levels in all of the 8 patients, while GH-inhibitory action of the drug was observed only in 6 subjects who responded to TRH with secretion of GH. The response of serum GH to TRH was not qualitatively and quantitatively altered by the treatment of patients with CB154 in a daily dose of 5 mg for two weeks. This treatment, on the other hand, remarkably suppressed basal levels of prolactin and completely blocked TRH-induced prolactin release in all of the subjects. The results suggest that there exists a dissociation between GH and prolactin responses to CB154 in acromegalic patients, and that CB154 and TRH may not share a common site of action on GH release in this pathologic state.


Heterogeneity of prolactin and TSH response to TRH in hypotonadotropic hypogonadism. To evaluate prolactin and TSH secretion in isolated gonadotropin deficiency, thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH), in a dose of 500 microgram, was administered iv to fifteen male subjects with this disorder. In 4 out of 8 untreated patients, TRH-mediated prolactin release was significantly blunted and this attenuated response was not improved in one patient after treatment with testosterone for 1 year. In 7 patients who were treated with testosterone for 2 to 8 years, four failed to show a normal prolactin response after TRH injection. TRH-induced TSH secretion, on the other hand, was attenuated in two out of 8 untreated and in two of 8 treated patients with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism. The decreased TSH reserve was not necessarily associated with the poor prolactin response to TRH. It was concluded that heterogeneity exists in TRH-mediated prolactin and TSH release in "isolated" gonadotropin deficiency syndrome.


Separation of pathogenic from apathogenic Listeria monocytogenes by three in vitro reactions. One-hundred-twelve isolants of Listeria monocytogenes cultured from clinical and nonclinical sources were examined for hemolytic activity by means of the CAMP phenomenon and tested for acidification of xylose and rhamnose. The reactions of the isolants were noted and correlated with the pathogenicity of the organisms. All of the CAMP-negative (nonhemolytic) isolants were apathogenic, and all but one of the CAMP-positive (hemolytic) isolants were pathogenic. All xylose-acidifying isolating isolants were apathogenic, but not all apathogenic isolants were xylose acidifiers. All pathogenic isolants but one were rhamnose acidifiers, but not all rhamnose acidifiers were pathogenic. The pattern of hemolysis, rhamnose acidification, and non-acidification of xylose is associated with pathogenic L. monocytogenes; departure from this pattern is associated with nonpathogenic Listeria, which otherwise share the properties of L. monocytogenes. These in vitro tests should prove useful in screening the apathogenic isolants whose clinical and epidemiological significance should be carefully assessed.


Laboratory evaluation of serological tests for systemic candidiasis: a cooperative study. Three serological tests for candidiasis, agar gel diffusion (AGD-1), whole cell agglutination (AGGL-1), and latex agglutination (LAT), were evaluated by six laboratories with 100 coded sera. In addition, each of six laboratories performed a test of its choice, either the AGD-2, the AGD-3, the AGGL-2, or one of three counterimmunoelectrophoresis (CEP) methods (CEP-1, CEP-2, and CEP-3). Results are presented by laboratory for a group of 53 "candida-involved" cases (33 proven, 14 presumptive, and 6 probable) and 47 negative controls (41 normal and 6 other disease states). The AGD-1 test produced an overall average of 85.1% positive results in the candida-involved group and 5.0% positives in the control group. The LAT produced an overall average of 89.0% positives in the candida-involved group and 17.4% positives in the controls. The AGGL-1 test produced an overall average of 63.8% positives in the candida-involved group, with 12.3% positives in the controls. In the individual tests, the best performance was shown by the CEP-3 test (92.5% positives in the candida-involved group and 2.1% positives in controls) and the CEP-1 test (88.7% positive in the candida-involved group and no positives in the controls). The tests with the highest sensitivity were the AGGL-2 and CEP-2 (94.3 and 96.2%, respectively). These tests were also the least specific (80.9 and 76.6%, respectively). In the three common tests, the AGD-1 was the most reproducible, whereas the AGGL-1 produced considerable laboratory-to-laboratory variation. Since cell-free extracts of mechanically disrupted C. albicans were used for the LAT and all the AGD and CEP tests, the difference in performance was considered to be mainly due to antigenic composition and the conditions of the test. The results of this study confirm the value of serological tests for the diagnosis of systemic candidiasis, but point out the need for standardized reagents.


Serological typing of Pseudomonas aeruginosa: use of commercial antisera and live antigens. A practical slide agglutination test, with commercial antisera (Difco) and live antigens (antigens of live bacteria) taken directly from 24-h antimicrobial susceptibility plates, has been established for serotyping Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Until recently, the lack of both a standard antigenic scheme and a source of commercial antisera has made serological typing of this organism impractical. A simplified procedure with 17 unabsorbed antisera and live antigens prepared from materials readily available in most clinical microbiology laboratories makes epidemiological typing of this organism possible in hospital laboratories. The distribution of each serotype examined in this study was determined by using 425 consecutive patient isolates from six different hospitals. The distribution of O antigen groups (live antigen) was as follows: O1, 11.5%; O2, 1.6%; O3, 3.8%; O4, 7.8%; O5, 4.2% O6, 27.1%; O7,8, 5.9%; O9, 6.8%; O10, 2.4%; O11, 8.2%; O12 through O17, each less than 1%. Ten and six-tenths percent of the above agglutinated in two antisera, 3.3% agglutinated in more than two antisera, and 5.2% did not agglutinate in any antisera. A comparison of live and heated antigens shows that 93.2% were typable with the live antigen, and 94.5% were typable with the heated antigen. When both antigens were used, we typed 96.3% of 725 isolates. The reproductibility and specificity of the serological procedure were examined. We recommend using the live antigen for routine serological typing in clinical microbiology laboratories for "in house" epidemiology and reserving the heated antigen for reference and research typing (and for those few cases where results cannot be obtained using the live antigen). The application of serotyping in the study of outbreaks of P. aeruginosa is also presented.


Smooth phage-resistant Brucella abortus from bovine tissue. Conventional typing, oxidative metabolic, and virulence tests were conducted on a phage-resistant Brucella abortus strain isolated from the supramammary lymph node of a cow.


Automated, rapid identification of bacteria by pattern analysis of growth inhibition profiles obtained with Autobac 1. A scheme for identifying bacteria has been devised which utilizes the inhibition patterns obtained by Autobac 1 with routine and unusual antimicrobial agents and with other differentially inhibitory chemical compounds. Over 600 compounds were initially identified from the literature, and over 125 of these were selected for further testing on the basis of antibacterial activity most conducive to the instrument-generated differential scheme. Numerical growth index information derived by light scatter comparisons from the instrument were analyzed by computer, utilizing the quadratic discriminant function statistical technique. In comparison with conventional methods, accuracy for the 10 bacterial genera studied was 95% or greater. Results indicate a potential for both bacterial identification and antimicrobial agent susceptibility testing in the clinical laboratory within 3 to 5 h when using this automated approach.


Use of glutaraldehyde-fixed goose erythrocytes in arbovirus serology. Goose erythrocytes preserved with glutaraldehyde were compared with fresh cells in hemagglutination and hemagglutination-inhibition tests for arbovirus antigens and antibodies. The glutaraldehyde-fixed cells were as sensitive and specific as theresh erythrocytes and were stable at 4 degrees C for 6 months.


Serum antibody to Pseudomonas aeruginosa exotoxin measured by a passive hemagglutination assay. A passive hemagglutination (PHA) assay for antibody to Pseudomonas aeruginosa exotoxin is described which utilizes chromic chloride-treated ovine erythrocytes coated with purified toxin. PHA antitoxin titers correlated well with those obtained by a cytotoxicity neutralization assay (r = 0.91, P less than 0.001), whereas the PHA assay was four to eight times as sensitive. The mean serum PHA titer of 16 patients convalescing from recent pseudomonas infections (log2 = 9.4 +/- 3.9) was significantly higher (P less than 0.001) than that of 17 healthy controls (2,7 +/- 2.6), and fourfold or greater rises were demonstrated in 5 of 7 patients examined sequentially. The lower levels of PHA antibody in sera from 11 of 17 controls suggested the acquisition of antitoxin secondary to asymptomatic infection.


The relationship of computed tomography and ultrasonography in diagnosis of abdominal disease. A detailed comparison of computed tomography and ultrasonography of the abdomen is presented from a theoretical point of view. The advantages and limitations of both modalities are discussed in terms of scan content, resolution, plane of interrogation, dynamic imaging, examination time, imaging problems, automation, contrast administration, puncture guidance, examination availability, hazards, personnel and space requirements, and cost. Analysis of these factors leads the authors to conclude that ultrasound should be the procedure of choice for sectional imaging of the abdomen. Computed tomography should be reserved for those situations in which the ultrasound examination is not diagnostic (i.e., skeletal system, lungs, mediastinum).


Interobserver variability in echocardiography. High-quality echocardiograms were performed on 146 normal individuals whose ages ranged from 3 to 73 years (mean 27 years). Normal values for mitral diastolic excursion and E-F slope, the chamber dimensions of the right ventricle, left atrium, and left ventricle, the aortic root dimension, and thickness of the interventricular septum and left ventricular posterior wall were determined. Each tracing was then read independently by two experienced echocardiographers. The extent of interobserver variability was calculated and expressed as a percent of the mean. The 95 per cent confidence limits for these estimates were calculated. Small but significant interobserver variability was found for all nine of these commonly measured echocardiographic parameters. Observer variability is a small but potentially important consideration in investigative echocardiography.


Echocardiographic spectrum of posterior systolic motion of the mitral valve in the general population. The prevalence of mitral valve prolapse has been established in selected groups of patients but not in the general population. The present study was designed to define the echocardiographic spectrum of mitral valve motion in a population of young individuals without clinical evidence of significant cardiac disease or hypertension. Echocardiograms were performed on 136 normal volunteers. Six subjects (4.4 per cent) had mitral valve prolapse. Eighteen subjects (13.2 per cent) had a lesser degree of posterior systolic motion of the mitral valve leaflets which was suggestive but not diagnostic of prolapse. Minor degrees of posterior systolic mitral valve motion may represent a variant of normal. Caution should be exercised in making the echocardiographic diagnosis of mitral prolapse until this question is settled.


Ultrasonographic assessment of neck masses. Fourteen patients are presented to illustrate the usefulness of ultrasonography in assessing masses of the neck. Included are five patients with primary tumors, two with metastasis to a cervical node, three with cervical adenitis, two with simple cysts, and two with hematoma related to endarterectomy for occlusive disease of the carotid artery.


Improvement in the ultrasonic evaluation of the gall bladder by using the left lateral decubitus position. The authors discuss the value of routinely using the left lateral decubitus position for ultrasound evaluation of the gall bladder. This technique often affords improved visualization, clarifies abnormalities suspected in the supine position, and in some cases demonstrates a gall bladder that cannot be seen in the supine position.


Chronic ectopic pregnancy: ultrasonic diagnosis. The classical ultrasonic description of a chronic ectopic pregnancy is a slightly enlarged uterus with uniform internal echoes and no evidence of an intrauterine pregnancy, combined with an extrauterine semicystic mass, gestational sac, or fetal structures. It is our experience that the ultrasonographer more commonly finds a midline pelvic mass containing irregular echo patterns and cystic areas. The mass may also be associated with abdominal or pelvic fluid and obliteration of normal anatomical structures. We wish to emphasize these variations from the classical description with illustrations that demonstrate the differences in the ultrasonic presentation of chronic ectopic pregnancy.


The atrophic postmenopausal uterus.

The atrophic postmenopausal uterus. The size of postmenopausal uterus varies, but after 65 years of age, it routinely appears atrophic. A pelvic mass in this age group should not be assumed to be within the uterus unless a careful search excludes an atrophic uterus. Single sweep longitudinal ultrasound sections are the best method of localizing a small uterus, but sometimes gain settings must be varied to demonstrate the organ.


Atypical cholesonograms in primary and secondary malignant disease of the biliary tract. Hepatic metastases or mass lesion near the head of the pancreas are usually found when echograms are performed on patients with malignant diseases of the biliary tract. Atypical cholesonograms may result when the gall bladder itself is deformed or invaded by tumor, when tumor obstructing the bile duct is plaquelike and not detectable as a mass lesion, or when gall stones coexist as a purely incidental finding.


Antenatal diagnosis of hydranencephaly by ultrasound: correlation with ventriculography and computed tomography. A case of hydranencephaly was demonstrated antenatally by ultrasound and correlated with ventriculography and computed cranial tomography. Prenatal diagnosis of intracranial abnormalities by careful attention to intracranial anatomy is possible and can facilitate obstetrical management.


Antepartum diagnosis by ultrasound of placental implantation on a uterine septum. A routine ultrasound examination in a 23 year old female at 34 weeks' gestation revealed placental implantation on a uterine septum. The clinical significance and potential complications of this unusual placental location are discussed.


Ultrasound diagnosis of the hyperextended head in breech presentation. Hyperextension of the fetal head in the breech presentation can be diagnosed by ultrasound. Straightening of the fetal spine and the widest diameter of the skull posterior to the long axis of the spine is diagnostic. Face presentation should also be diagnosable by these criteria.


Echocardiographic diagnosis of left atrial thrombus - a case report. We report a case of mitral stenosis with echocardiographic findings we consider diagnostic of left atrial thrombus. Scanning of the ultrasound beam from the left ventricular basalward to the left atrium (LA) demonstrates a consistent group of strong echoes within the LA and extending into the mitral orifice. Massive left atrial thrombosis was confirmed at operation.


Comparison of thyroid stimulating hormone and triiodothyronine response to thyrotrophin releasing hormone in the assessment of thyroid status. The response to an intravenous dose of 200 microng of thyrotrophin releasing hormone (TRH) has been studied by estimating, by radioimmunoassay, baseline levels followed by further estimations of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) 20 minutes after the injection and triiodothyronine (T3) three hours after the injection in 112 patients referred for routine thyroid assessment. Comparison of diagnostic accuracy of the response to TRH gave similar results with both procedures but slightly better overall accuracy for the response measured by TSH assay. However, estimation of baseline T3 is a valuable test for hyperthyroidism, in contrast to baseline TSH, and combined with the estimation of T3 three hours after TRH injection provides an accurate additional test in borderline cases.


Measurement of serum folate: experience with 75Se-selenofolate radioassay. Three hundred and eighty-two serum samples were assayed for folate content by a standard Lactobacillus casei microbiological assay and by radioassay using the 75Se-selenofolate radioassay kit from the Radiochemical Centre, Amersham. Results showed encouraging concordance. Explanations were discovered for the few disparities. The radioassay procedure is simple and an assay batch can be completed in one working day.


Two cases of alpha chain disease from Nigeria. The first two cases of alpha chain disease from Central Africa are reported from Nigeria. Both patients show the classical features of the disease with diffuse involvement of the small bowel and malabsorption. The patients were lost to follow-up but died soon after diagnosis.


Fluoride activation of rat brain adenylate cyclase: the requirement for a protein co-factor. Activation of particulate adenylate cyclase and detergent-soluble (lubrol PX) adenylate cyclase occurred when the enzyme was preincubated at 37 degrees in the presence of 5 mM NaF and 5mM MgSO4. Under these conditions the specific activity of the enzyme increased more than twofold in 8 to 12 min. Activation also occurred in the presence of 5 mM NaF alone, but the rate of activation was slower. Under these conditions, activation was inhibited by 1mM EDTA, but this inhibition was prevented byMg++. No activation was observed at 0 degrees or in the absence of F. After repeated extraction with detergent, particulate adenylate cyclase was not stimulated by mM NaF, and activation by preincubation with Mg++ and F- was significantly reduced. Activation was restored by recombination of this particulate fraction with the initial detergent extract. This activating effect appeared to be mediated by one or more proteins present in the detergent extract.


Aspects of the humoral response to laboratory white mice infected with the metacestodes of Taenia crassiceps. Two strains of laboratory white mice, CFLP and LACA, were infected with the metacestodes of Taenia crassiceps. The serum from each infected mouse was tested for antibodies on double-diffusion gel plates and the number of antigen-antibody precipitin lines formed related (a) to the duration of the infection and (b) to the volume of metacestodes. There was a significant increase in the number of antigen-antibody precipitins with regard to the time infected but not to the volume of metacestodes. The pattern of development of the antigen-antibody precipitation system was also examined.


Salmonellosis in Indonesia: phage type distribution of Salmonella paratyphi A. The distribution of phage types among 221 human strains of Salmonella paratyphi A in Indonesia was studied. Approximately 50% were phage type 5, a rare type elsewhere in the world. Most other isolates were the cosmopolitan phage type 1. The ratio of phage type 1-5 was compared for two cities on Java, Jakarta and Yogyakarta. The ratios were significantly different, phage type 5 predominating in Jakarta. The ratio of phage types among 10 S. paratyphi A strains isolated from Jakarta river water was similar to that found in Jakarta patients.


Water beds - a potential source of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Water beds in use in this hospital were found to be contaminated with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The addition of sodium hypochlorite, giving a final concentration of 200 parts/10(6) available chlorine, was found to be effective in preventing microbial contamination over a 6-month study period.


Isolation and immunochemical characteristics of the immunodepressive substance from Escherichia coli. A substance, inhibiting the production of haemolysins against sheep erythrocytes in mice was isolated from two non-pathogenic strains of E. coli, 020:K4 and M-17,  by the methods of differential centrifugation and gel filtration. Spectrophotometric studies and chemical analysis have shown the isolated substance to be glycolipid. The immunodepressive substance is localized in the cytoplasm of the microbial cell. The isolated and partly purified immunodepressive substance did not contain any admixture of O-antigen (endotoxin) of the cell wall or of antigens giving cross reactions with sheep erythrocytes. The isolated substance exhibited weak antigenic properties and was not toxic for mice when administered in a dose of 2 mg (dry weight).


Murine plasma cells secreting more than one class of immunoglobulin heavy chain. III. Immunoglobulin production by established cultures and cloned lines of SAMM 368. SAMM 368, a plasmacytoma which produces IgA-kappa and IgG2b-kappa was established  in vitro from primary explants or after animal passage. The 9 lines that were established produced both paraproteins. The production of both immunoglobulins by single cells was demonstrated by immunofluorescent staining and cloning. Continuous culture of 3 parent lines for 18 months and 11 cloned lines for periods from 5 to 7 months demonstrated that double production is a stable characteristic of this plasmacytoma. Two single paraprotein-producing varients (IgG2b or IgA) were derived when cells were cultured in the presence of Fungizone. Chromosomal analysis of SAMM 368 indicates that this double producing tumor has a modal number similar to those observed in myelomas producing a single immunoglobulin class.


The amino acid sequence of a human immunoglobulin G3m(g) pFc' fragment. Amino acid sequence analysis of the pFc' fragment obtained by pepsin digestion of an IgG3; G3m(g) human myeloma protein HER shows it to consist of 112 residues. It starts at position 334 (gamma1 numbering), contains eight residues of the Cgamma2 region, and the whole Cgamma3 domain. Comparison with the sequence of gamma1 shows five differences including an extra Met at 397. Each is accountable by a single base substitution. The sequence is identical to that of a G3m(b0) molecule except for the previously noted allotype related Tyr/Phe exchange at position 436. The high degree of homology (95%) among gamma-chain subclasses suggests a recent diversification.


A possible difference in the heterogeneity of the heavy and light chains from a rabbit anti-p-azobenzoate antibody preparation. CNBr cleavage of rabbit heavy (H) chains leads to the formation of a fragment, C-1, which consists of the N-terminal half of the H chain. Fragment C-1 is cleaved at methionyl residues but held together by intrachain S-S bonds so that smaller fragments can be liberated by total reduction and alkylation. In the case of the C-1 fragment from an anti-p-azobenzoate antibody preparation, which has a light (L) chain of markedly restricted heterogeneity, total reduction and alkylation liberated seven major fragments in good yield. The N-terminus of two of these fragments corresponds to position 35 of the H chain but their N-terminal sequences are clearly different. The H chain regions represented by the other fragments implied that they were derived from H chains having different distributions of methionyl residues. This hypothesis was supported by isolating six different antibody components from the antibody preparation by isoelectric focusing and then digesting them with CNBr. Comparison of the products showed that the six components all appeared to behave differently. These results are interpreted as suggesting that the process whereby H and L chains are paired in vivo may not be completely specific and may provide a simple means of generating a significant contribution to antibody diversity.


The interaction of immunoglobulin heavy and light chains in the absence of the VH domain. Recent studies of the micron- and kappa-chains of the first patient (GLI) with micronHCD indicated that the observed defect was the result of the failure of assembly of the intact kappa-chain to the micron-chain, which lacked the VH domain but had the CH1 Cys normally linked to the light chain. To explore the possibility that the VH region is necessary for the formation of the HL disulfide bond, in vitro studies were performed with GLI micron- and kappa-chains and with the CH1 domain and kappa-chain derived from an IgG3 myeloma protein, KUP, which yields separate VH, CH1, and kappa-chains after papain digestion and reduction. The proteins were reduced and allowed to reoxidize, and the combination products were assessed by gel chromatography under dissociating conditions by SDS-PAGE and by immunoprecipitation techniques. The results suggest that, although in vitro covalent and noncovalent combinations are possible between intact light chains and their autologous heavy chains even in the absence of the VH domain, the efficiency is less than that when the intact Fd region is used. Hence, it seems likely that lack of VH alone is not sufficient to explain the failure of assembly observed in muHCD.


Receptors for C3 on rat peritoneal mast cells. Purified rat peritoneal mast cells adhere to schistosomula of Schistosoma mansoni which have been pre-incubated in fresh normal rat serum. This cytoadherence reaction is dependent on complement and in particular on components of the alternative pathway. Since antibodies to rat C3 but not IgG block the attachment of the cells to the complement-treated larvae, it appears that C3-specific receptors on the mast cell surface are responsible for the adherence phenomenon. These receptors can also be demonstrated by the rosetting of mast cells with rat complement-treated zymosan particles or fluoresceinated bacteria. The key properties of the receptors are their specificity for homologous (rat) complement, their sensitivity to digestion with trypsin, and their functional dependence on Mg++ ions. Thus, the rat mast cell receptors share many of the characteristics of the C3 receptors previously identified on monocytes, macrophages, and polymorphonuclear leukocytes.


Purine nucleoside phosphorylase, a possible histochemical marker for T-cells in man. A procedure is described for the histochemical detection of purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP) activity in circulating lymphocytes of man. The number of PNP-positive cells, as evaluated on smears of Ficoll--Hypaque purified cells, correlated well with the number of E-rosette-forming cells of the same blood samples of healthy and diseased people with normal or abnormal numbers of E-rosettes. In healthy people, the number of PNP-positive cells was within the range of 70-80% of the total lymphocyte population, whilst the corresponding E-rosette-forming cells were scored between 60-75%. Patients with unusually low or high E-rosettes had equally low or high numbers of PNP-reactive cells. More substantial evidence for the presence of PNP activity in T-cells and not in B cells was gathered from experiments in which PNP activity and surface membrane immunoglobulins (SMIg) were simultaneously demonstrated on the same preparation. These results showed, on the one hand, that the bulk of lymphocytes that are reactive for PNP do not reveal SMIg and, on the other hand, that most Ig-bearing cells were unreactive for PNP.


An epidemic of disease due to serogroup B Neisseria meningitidis in Alabama: report of an investigation and community-wide prophylaxis with a sulfonamide. An epidemic of disease due to sulfonamide-sensitive serogroup B Neisseria meningitidis occurred in 1975-1976 in southwestern Alabama. Ten cases occurred in a circumscribed area and resulted in an annual attack rate of 20 cases per 100,000 population. None of the cases were in siblings, and none of the patients had had direct contact with each other. A case-control household study suggested that crowding and person-to-person transmission via carriers may have been contributing risk factors. Seven of the patients were from a triracial ethnic group concentrated in a small isolated rural community within the epidemic area. When three additional cases occurred in this community, a program of community-wide prophylaxis was undertaken as an epidemic control measure, and a large portion of the population participated. No serious side effects were reported. Carrier surveys before and after treatment indicated that compliance with the drug regimen was good and that the drug regimen was associated with a sharp reduction in carriage of N. meningitidis. No cases occurred in the treated population in the five months after treatment.


Detection of IgG antibodies to type-specific Pseudomonas aeruginosa  lipopolysaccharides by solid-phase radioimmunoassay. Previous studies have suggested that IgG serotype-specific antibodies are protective against infections with pseudomonas aeruginosa. In the present study, type-specific IgG antibodies to P. aeruginosa were detected by solid-phase radioimmunoassay in sera from 15 volunteers before and after vaccination with lipopolysaccharides from P. aeruginosa and from four patients with endocarditis due to P. aeruginosa. Significant type-specific increases in IgG antibody occurred after both vaccination and infection. The correlation coefficients comparing net counts per minute by solid-phase radioimmunoassay with hemagglutination titers in the 15 vaccinees were 0.940, 0.874, 0.792, 0.903, 0.882, 0.869, and 0.704 for serotypes 1--7, respectively.


Discordant e antigen, DNA polymerase activity, and Dane particle responses in two patients representing an index case-contact case pair with hepatitis B virus infection. Discordant results for e antigen, DNA polymerase activity, and Dane particle frequency were noted in the sera of two patients representing an index case-contact case pair with chronic aggressive hepatitis B. The lack of correlation between presence of e antigen and the infecting viral strain, as well as the strong relationship of e antigen to persistent and significant viremia, emphasize the role of the host's immune response in the expression of this antigen.


Effect of a nuclease-resistant derivative of polyriboinosinic-polyribocytidylic acid complex on yellow fever in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). Rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) treated with a newly developed nuclease-resistant complex of polyriboinosinic-polyribocytidylic acid, poly-L-lysine, and carboxymethylcellulose [poly (ICLC)] did not die after challenge with virulent Asibi strain yellow fever (YF) virus. The strain of virus is sensitive to the effects of interferon in vitro and is lethal for rhesus monkeys four to six days after subcutaneous administration of 1,000 plaque-forming units of the virus. The mortality rate was reduced in monkeys initially treated 8 hr before or after inoculation of virus but was unchanged in monkeys initially treated 24 hr after challenge. Treated monkeys developed neutralizing antibody to YF virus. The successful treatment of yellow fever in a primate model with use of poly (ICLC) suggests a meaningful role for the interferon system in the host defense against this viral infection.


Perihepatitis and hepatitis as complications of experimental endocarditis due to Neisseria gonorrhoeae in the rabbit. Seven strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae (colony type 1 or 2) were tested for their ability to produce endocarditis in rabbits with transaortic valve catheters. The gonococci exhibited three auxotype patterns and a broad range of susceptibility to penicillin and to complement-mediated serum bactericidal activity. Only four strains produced endocarditis; infectivity appeared to be related to serum resistance. Neither arthritis nor skin lesions were observed in infected animals, but 40% had hepatitis, often with fibrinous perihepatitis. Hepatic lesions could be induced by the continuous infusion of gonococci without a transvalvular catheter. Suppurative hepatitis in the rabbit endocarditis model is of particular interest in light of the unusual hepatic involvement reported in association with gonococcal endocarditis in humans. Since perihepatitis also occurs as a complication of experimental gonococcal bacteremia, perhaps the Fitz-Hugh-Curtis (gonococcal perihepatitis) syndrome appearing in women occurs more often as a function of undiagnosed bacteremia than has heretofore been suspected.


Study of platelet aggregation in vivo. III. Effect of pentoxifylline. Pentoxifylline (Trental) a new vasoactive agent was shown to be a powerful inhibitor of ADP and serotonin induced platelet aggregation of monkey platelets in vivo. A linear dose response curve was demonstrated between 6 and 24 mg/kg of i.v. pentoxifylline.


Influence of collimating design on central axis depth dose of 10-40 MeV electron beams. Electron beam measurements were performed in this investigation on three different collimating arrangements in order to study their effect on central axis depth doses. The relative central axis doses for 10, 20 and 34 MeV as a function of area from 10 to 200 cm2 for rectangular, square and circular field sizes were studied at 2.6 and 4.8 gm/cm2 depths in a lucite phantom. Results are presented and are discussed in terms of electron contamination produced by the internal structure of the collimator used.


Quantitative aspects of proliferation in the nasal epithelium of the rhesus monkey embryo. Proliferation was studied in the nasal epithelium of rhesus monkey embryos ranging in age from 26 through 41 days of gestation (stages 13-20). Labeling indices were tabulated 1 h after an intrachorionic injection with [3H]thymidine, and the distribution of labeled cells was determined at intervals ranging from 1h to 11h after injection. The labeling index showed a chronological decrease from 69-4% in the nasal placode at stage 13 to 31-6% in the nasal pit at stage 20. The vomeronasal epithelium was distinctive in that the basal cells lost their ability to incorporate [3H]thymidine as early as stage 18. In the remainder of the nasal epithelium, mitotic figures were initially confined to apical regions but later occurred in basal regions as the embryonic pattern of proliferation became converted to the adult type.


Developmental effects of X-irradiation of early Drosophila embryos. Drosophila embryos were treated at specific stages during early embryogenesis with various doses of X-irradiation. The lethality at various times during development was established and pattern defects in the adults noted. It was observed that the most sensitive stages of embryogenesis to X-ray-induced lethality were also the stages where most morphological defects were found in the adults which emerged. This suggests that presumptive larval and adult cells are sensitive to X-rays at the same stages of embryogenesis.


Single radial immunodiffusion test for detecting antibodies against surface antigens of intracellular and extracellular vaccinia virus. Antibodies to surface antigens of intracellular naked vaccinia virus (INV) and in limited studies extracellular enveloped virus (EEV) were determined by single radial immunodiffusion tests (SRDT) with immobilized virions in agarose gels. Antibodies to INV were demonstrable in rabbit hyperimmune sera (one to four visible zones), smallpox convalescent sera and sera from re-vaccinated individuals. A difference in specificity of antibodies reacting with INV and EEV was detectable by SRDT. The SRDT provides a simple, reproducible and specific test for detection of antibodies against vaccinia or variola virus, but the technique requires large quantities of virions.


Demonstration of size variation of RNA segments between different isolates of calf rotavirus. Polyacrylamide gel electrophosesis of RNA extracted from wild rotavirus isolates and cell culture adapted virus revealed a significant variation in the molecular weight of individual RNA segments. The major differences were observed between wild isolates on the one hand and the adapted strain on the other hand. The slight variations that were observed between different wild isolates were found regularly and appeared to be related to the origin of the samples.


Extracellular potassium activity, evoked potential and tissue blood flow. Relationships during progressive ischaemia in baboon cerebral cortex. Extracellular K+ activity (Ke), local tissue blood flow and the cortical evoked potential (EP) were measured concurrently in the cerebral cortex of baboons anaesthetised with a-chloralose. Flows were progressively reduced from normal by occlusion of the middle cerebral artery and controlled steps of exsanguination. Our data suggest that 3 stages may be identified in the disturbance of K+ homeostasis produced by progressive ischaemia. In the first stage, at flow levels similar to those sufficient to abolish the EP (12-16 ml/100 g/min), small, self-limiting increases in Ke occur, probably reflecting K+ efflux into the extracellular space (ECS) with partial impairment of K+ clearance from the ECS. The second stage occurs at distinctly lower (P less than 0.01) levels of flow (8-11 ml/100 g/min), and is characterized by a massive (30-80 mM) increase in Ke, which we attribute to an increase in ionic permeability of cell membranes with further impairment or overloading of K+ clearance mechanisms. In the third stage, at flows below about 6-8 ml/100 g/min, the data indicate an inverse relationship between flow and Ke with persisting high Ke levels, suggesting complete loss of K+ clearance. Transient increases of Ke also occur in the flow range 4-13 ml/100 g/min, the rate of recovery of Ke in their decay phase being positively corelated with flow (P less than 0.005).


Monkey superior colliculus: properties of single cells and their afferent inputs. 1. Receptive-field (RF) properties of 212 single cells in the superior colliculus of paralyzed macaque monkeys were studied with microelectrodes. Units were divided into superficial (0-1 mm) and deep (1-2.5 mm) layers. Orthodromic action potentials were evoked in these cells by shocking optic chiasm. 2. The vast majority of superficial cells responded to stationary or moving stimuli with transient bursts of activity and were nondirectionally selective. Moving stimuli were most effective and three main cell groups, based on response patterns to leading and trailing stimulus edges, were identified. 3. All cells had chromatically nomopponent RFs, as judged by their spectral response functions in the presence of neutral and chromatic backgrounds and on their lack of response to moving, equal-luminance chromatic borders. 4. With the exception of some very short and very long values, orthodromic latencies were unimodally distributed with a mean of 7.8 ms. The prime determinant of a cell's latency was its depth below the collicular surface rather than a specific RF feature. 5. Cells with shorter latencies (located in superficial layers) were able to reliably signal high-velocity stimulus movement; those with longer latencies (located in deeper layers) reliably signaled low-velocity motion only. 6. Results support the hypothesis that response latency is related to differences in RF organization between layers.


Changes in vitamin A conditioned hamster cheek pouch epithelium on exposure to commercial shell lime (calcium hydroxide) and tobacco. I-Optical histopathology. Epidemiologically a high incidence of oral cancer and addiction to tobacco, singly or in combination with other ingredients of the betel quid, are closely correlated. Attempts at the induction of malignancy in laboratory animals on exposure to these ingredients have hitherto failed. Studies are reported on cheek pouch epithelium of 152 Syrian golden hamsters exposed to commercial shell lime (calcium hydroxide) and tobacco, singly and in combination, with parallel conditioning by Vitamin A palmitate. The abnormal changes found especially in lime and lime-plus-tobacco treated epithelia are massive hyperplasia, keratinization anomalies, marked edema and dysplasia. The most significant findings are (1) greater epithelial alteration caused by lime, lime plus vitamin A, tobacco plus vitamin A, lime plus tobacco and lime plus tobacco and vitamin A, than by tobacco alone; (2) increasing epithelial dysplasia in response to longer periods of exposure to the test substances; and (3) enhancement of tissue changes in the presence of vitamin A.


The effects of feeding a zinc-deficient diet on taste acuity and tongue epithelium in rats. Taste preferences, fluid intake and histology of tongue epithelium were studied in rats fed a zinc-deficient diet and in pair-fed controls. The results of two-bottle preference tests demonstrated that zinc-deficient rats exhibited significantly increased preferences for 1.5 X 10(-1) M HCL and 1.28 X 10(-6) M quinine sulfate as well as a significant increase in relative fluid volume intake. Histologic examination of the tongue epithelium of the zinc-deficient rats showed a hypercellular prickle cell layer and a marked parakeratosis. The fungiform papillae of the zinc-deficient rats exhibited acanthosis and mild parakeratosis. However, the pore region of the taste buds did not seem to be covered by the parakeratotic epithelium. The results suggest that the impaired taste observed in zinc-deficient rats may not be related to blockage of tastants from the pore region.


Neurofibromatosis with central neurofibroma of the mandible: review of the literature and report of case. The clinical, radiographic, and etiological factors of neurofibromatosis have been discussed. A rare case of a large neurofibroma of the mandible in association with systemic neurofibromatosis and a characteristic mandibular dysplasia has been presented. The unique coexistence of mandibular dysplasia associated with sphenoidal and orbital dysplasia should be considered in the diagnosis of multiple neurofibromatosis.


Pulmonary hypoplasia in babies with severe rhesus isoimmunisation: a quantitative study. Analysis of lung weights of 96 infants dying with rhesus isoimmunisation has shown that the lung is considerably retarded in its growth. Detailed analysis of the lungs of six babies after pulmonary artery injection showed in all a reduction in airway number and thus acinar and artery number, suggesting arrest in growth before the 16th week of gestation. The alveoli were also of either abnormal number, size or maturity, suggesting a continuing effect in later foetal life. Total lung volume varied from the normal value in one case to one-quarter normal in the smallest lung.


Hydroxyanisole-induced regression of the Harding-Passey melanoma in mice. The drug p-hydroxyanisole (OHA) was found to inhibit the incorporation of 3H-thymidine in the Harding-Passey melanoma cells in culture. Because the cultured cells had lost some of their pigment-forming capacity, the enzyme tyrosinase was added to the culture. This greatly increased the sensitivity of the cells to OHA, strongly suggesting that cells producing the enzyme would be preferentially killed by the drug. An in-vivo study of the effect of OHA injected into tumour-bearing mice showed a beneficial effect, including increased survival time, reduction in tumour size and in many cases complete loss of tumour and no recurrence. An experiment with animals immunologically suppressed by radiation suggests that the effect is not an immunological one.


Ultrastructure of the cyst of Sarcocystis muris. Cysts of Sarcocystis muris develop within muscle cells and each is bounded by a parasitophorous vacuole membrane. Closely spaced spherical blebs formed from this membrane extend into the muscle cell cytoplasm. A dense substance fills the cavity of the bleb and occupies the vacuolar space immediately adjacent to the membrane. The remainder of the vacuole is filled with a moderately dense matrix within which the parasites develop. At 40 days after infection only metrocytes are present, characterized by their ovoid shape, lightly stained cytoplasm, amylopectin-like granules, and lack of micronemes. Metrocytes divide by a process resembling endodyogeny and eventually produce bradyzoites. By 78 days after infection, at which time the cyst is infective for cats, the few remaining metrocytes are located at the cyst periphery but most organisms are elongated and contain organalles characteristic for bradyzoites including micronemes, dense granules, and amylopectin. Structures indicative of division were not seen in bradyzoites. Rhoptries are few in number. Numerous vesicles of smooth endoplasmic  reticulum accumulate in the cytoplasm of muscle cells adjacent to the periphery of the enlarging cyst but significant destruction of muscle fibers containing cysts with viable organisms was not seen in specimens fixed between 40 and 325 days after infection. Unusual lamellar structures were seen in some parasitized muscle cells and intracystic tubules occurred in some cysts.


Sheep experimentally infected with sarcocystis from dogs. I. Disease in young lambs. Eight Polled Dorset lambs were orally inoculated with Sarcocystis ovicanis sporocysts. Two lambs that received 100,000 or 200,000 sporocysts became clinically ill, recovered, and were killed 67 and 88 days after inoculation (DAI). Numerous intramuscular cysts were found in their skeletal and cardiac muscles. Three lambs received 100,000 sporocysts, three lambs received 1 million sporocysts, and three lambs received no sporocysts. After an acute clinical illness characterized by anemia, inappetence, weight loss, fever, and reduced serum protein, all lambs that received 100,000 sporocysts died 27 to 29 DAI and all that received 1 million sporocysts died 24 or 25 DAI. Hemorrhage involving the striated muscle and visceral organs was the most apparent gross lesion. The heart appeared most severely affected. Schizonts were found in vascular endothelial cells of all six inoculated lambs. Uninoculated lambs remained healthy, and neither lesions nor parasites were found in any tissues. Dogs fed tissues containing S. ovicanis cysts produced sporocytes 11 to 37 days after feeding; cats fed similar stages produced no sporocysts. Dogs fed tissues containing schizonts produced no sporocysts.


Haemoproteus bennetti sp. n. and a review of the haemoproteids from the Picidae (woodpeckers). Haemoproteus velans Coatney and Roudabush 1937 and H. borgesi Tendeiro 1947 are redescribed and illustrated. Haemoproteus bennetti sp. n. is described. Haemoproteid records from woodpeckers are listed.


Myxosporidan parasites for pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus L.) from Ontario. Five species of myxosporideans were found in pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus L.) from Ryan Lake, Algonquin Park, Ontario. Myxobolus osburni Herrick 1936 was found in pancreatic tissue. Myxobilatus ohioensis (Herrick 1941) Davis 1944 was found in the ureters and urinary bladder. Three new species are described, namely, Myxobolus uvuliferis sp. n. (in the fibrous capsule surrounding the metacercariae of Uvulifer ambloplitis (Hughes 1927), Myxobolus magnaspherus sp. n. (in the parietal peritoneum) and Myxobolus dechtiari sp. n. (in the gills). Myxobolus uvuliferis sp. n. is most similar to M. osburni, but its spores are subspherical and not spherical. Myxobolus magnaspherus sp. n. is most similar to Myxobolus gigas Auerbach 1906, but its spores are wider than long, and they have exceedingly long polar filaments. Myxobolus dechtiari sp. n. is similar to Myxobolus karelicus Petruschewsky 1940 but it lacks an intercapsular appendix.


Henneguya episclera sp. n. (Protozoa: Myxosporida), a new myxosporidan from the eye of the pumpkinseed sunfish. Henneguya episclera sp. n. is described from the episclera of the eye of the pumpkinseed sunfish (Lepomis gibbosus). Mean spore dimensions (in micrometers) are: total length 62.6; spore length 21.7; spore thickness 8.0; spore breadth 8.7; tail lengths 37.1 and 40.9; polar capsule lengths 6.0 and 6.5; polar capsule breadths 2.7 and 3.0; polar capsule thickness 3.5; and vacuole 5 by 5.


Electron microscopic studies of the development of kinetes in Theileria annulata Dschunkowsky & Luhs, 1904 (Sporozoa, Piroplasmea). Gamogony of Theileria annulata Dschunkowsky & Luhs occurs within the intestine of nymphs of the tick Hyalomma anatolicum excavatum Koch. After the 5th day post repletionem (p.r.) of the ticks spherical and ovoid parasites were found within the intestinal cells. These stages were thought to represent fertilized macrogametes. These underwent a transformation process leading ultimately to the differentiation of a motile stage, the kinete, which leaves the intestinal cells on the 14th-17th day p.r. and penetrates the alveoles of the salivary glands. The transformation of the stationary into a motile stage takes place by formation of a growing protrusion (= anlage) into an inner, enlarging vacuole. During this process the limiting membrane of the vacuole serves as the outer membrane of the developing motile stage, whereas the 2 inner membranes of its pellicle are newly formed. The steps of this differentiation in T. annulata are compared to the process of ookinete formation in haemosporina.


An ultrastructural investigation of 180 degrees-rotated ciliary meridians in Tetrahymena pyriformis. An ultrastructural investigation has been carried out on 180 degrees-rotated ciliary meridians (inverted meridians) in Tetrahymena pyriformis temperature-sensitive  mutant (mo1b/mo1b), syngen 1, strain B. The longitudinal, transverse and post-ciliary microtubular bands, the kinetodesmal fiber, and the parasomal sac, are shown to be disposed at a 180 degrees angle to their normal positions or orientations. Other abnormalities are as follows: the first 2 basal bodies of the inverted meridian fail to organize into "couplets" and the inverted meridian intrudes into the anterior pole region; an extra longitudinal microtubular band is found in one of the cell lines.


Effects of dimethyl sulfoxide on Tetrahymena pyriformis GL. Fine structural changes and their reversibility. Fine-structural changes are induced in Tetrahymena by exposure to 7.5% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) in the presence of growth medium. Some of these changes (nucleolar, mitochondrial, peroxisomal) resemble those seen during starvation, in agreement with the previously reported inhibitory effect of DMSO on food-vacuole formation; however, changes such as helical formations of polyribosomes indicate additional internal actions of the reagent. The effects vary to some extent within the same group of cells, suggesting that sensitivity to the reagent may differ with the stage in the cell cycle. The structural changes induced by a 1-hr exposure to DMSO are reversible, but recovery of the cells after removal of the reagent is slower than that seen after starvation. The observations suggest that the recovery is associated with renewed synthesis.


Correlation of encystment and Division in Schizopyrenus russelli. Schizopyrenus russelli, a free-living soil ameba, grows and encysts in the presence of bacteria. The encystment occurs with decline in the division rate. This is accompanied by incorporation of [U-14C] glucose into cyst cellulose. The degree of multiplication (but not of encystment) is a function of bacterial concentration. Berenil, a trypanocidal drug, while allowing excystment, completely inhibited multiplication of emerged amebae and their encystment. Addition of this drug after 24 hr, when amebae had gone into a phase of active division failed to check encystment, although it still inhibited further multiplication of the amebae. The findings suggest that a phase of cell division may be a prerequisite for encystment.


Reduced pyridine nucleotide oxidases of Eugena gracilis var. bacillaris. Cell-free extracts of a streptomycin-bleached strain of Euglena gracilis var. bacillaris have been examined for enzyme systems primarily responsible for the oxidation of reduced pyridine nucelotides. NADH lipoyl dehydrogenase, NADH and NADPH oxidase, NADH and NADPH diaphorase, and NADH and NADPH cytochrome c reductase have been demonstrated. The NADPH-linked enzymes had lower activity rates and were less sensitive to N-ethyl maleimide and p-hydroxymercuribenzoate than their NADH-linked counterparts. NADH cytochrome c reductase was the most sensitive to antimycin A. Michaelis-Menten constants (Km) determined were as follows: NADH diaphorase, 350 muM; NADPH oxidase 150 muM ; NADH lipoyl dehydrogenase, 0.35 muM. Enzyme activities after storage at -5 C indicate that the diaphorases are less labile than the other tested enzymes, and the differential activities of the NADH and NADPH linked enzymes suggest that functionally they may have different roles.


Differentiation in human amniotic fluid cell cultures: II: Secretion of an epithelial basement membrane glycoprotein. Cells obtained by amniocentesis for prenatal diagnosis were grown in vitro and examined for the presence of a glycoprotein component epithelial basement membrane. Isolated colonies or clones of amniotic fluid-type cells secrete the glycoprotein, which was identified in association with the cells using indirect immunofluorescent antibody techniques. In addition, the glycoprotein was isolated from tissue culture medium and identified as a component of epithelial basement membranes by passive haemagglutination (PHA) and immunodiffusion assays. Fibroblast-type cells do not secrete the glycoprotein. These results correlate well with the synthesis of type IV collagen by amniotic fluid cells reported in the accompanying paper (Priest et al., 1977) and indicate that amniotic fluid cells are epithelial in origin.


Interrelationships of sodium transport and carbon dioxide production by the toad bladder: response to changes in mucosal sodium concentration, to vasopressin and to availability of metabolic substrate. Active sodium transport and CO2 production were measured simultaneously in toad bladders mounted in membrane chambers. The rate of sodium transport was varied by changing the concentration of sodium in the mucosal bath (substitution with choline), by adding vasopressin, by adding metabolic substrates and by adding malonate, and the ratio of the change of sodium transport and CO2 production was determined Mean values for deltaNa/deltaCO2 (equiv/mole) were: Na in equilibrium choline 18.3 +/- 1.1; vasopressin 15.5 +/- 2.8; and pyruvate (corrected for the increment in "nontransport" CO2) 15.4 +/- 3.5. Based on previously determined values for the respiratory quotient (R.Q.), calculated mean values for deltaNa/deltaO2 ranged between 15.5 and 18.5 equiv/mole. It appears that basal metabolism does not contribute to metabolism supporting sodium transport when the rate of sodium transport is varied. "Transport" metabolism appears much more responsive to changes in the availability of endogenous and exogenous substrates than does "nontransport" metabolism. We conclude that "transport" and "nontransport" metabolism are functionally separated in the toad bladder.


Hydrophobicity of biosurfaces as shown by chemoreceptive thresholds in Tetrahymena, Physarum and Nitella. Responses (chemotaxis and changes in membrane potential) of Tetrahymena, Physarum, and Nitella against aqueous solution of homologous series of n-alcohols, n-aldehydes and n-fatty acids were studied for clarifying the hydrophobic character of chemoreceptive membranes. Results were: (1) All organisms studied responded to homologous compounds examined when the concentration of these chemicals exceeded their respective threshold, Cth, and the response, R, were expressed approximately as R=alpha log (C/Cth) for C greater than Cth. (2) Increase of the length of hydrocarbon chain in homologues decreased Cth. Plots of log Cth against the number of carbon atoms, n, in n-alcohols, n-aldehydes and n-fatty acids showed linear relationships as represented by long Cth=-An+B. A and B are positive constants for respective functional end groups of the chemicals and biological membranes used. The above empirical equation was interpreted in terms of the partition equilibrium of methylene groups between bulk solution and membrane phase. Parameter A was shown to be a measure of hydrophobicity of the membrane, and B represented the sensitivity of chemoreception of the membrane. (3) Thresholds, Cth, for various hydrophobic reagents were compared with those of human olfactory reception, T. Plots of log T against log Cth fell on straight lines for respective organisms with different slopes which were proportional to parameter A.


Action of vasopressin, ouabain, and cyanide on the volume of isolated toad bladder epithelial cells. Toad bladder epithelial cells were isolated under mild conditions in a calcium-free medium; they were found to exclude trypan blue, to consume oxygen, and to respond to vasopressin with an increased rate of oxygen consumption. Since isolated toad bladder epithelial cells are mostly spherical in shape, the cell diameter can be accurately measured with an ocular micrometer of an inverted microscope. Epithelial cells swelled by 29+/-3% in the presence of KCN. This cyanide-induced swelling of cells was prevented by amiloride or, alternatively, by replacing NaCl by equiosmotic amounts of mannitol in the Ringer's fluid. Cells incubated in the presence of vasopressin swelled by 10+/-2%. Vasopressin and KCN acted synergistically in enhancing cell volume. Ouabain caused cells to swell by 9+/-2%, and this effect was not additive to the swelling seen with vasopressin. These observations are in accord with the theory of Leaf and his associates, that the predominant effect of vasopressin is to enhance sodium entry into the transporting epithelial cells of the toad urinary bladder.


Some electrical properties of the membrane of the barnacle muscle fibers under internal perfusion. Intracellular perfusion technique has been applied to the muscle fibers of the barnacle species, Balanus nubilus. In these fibers, generation and the form of the calcium spike was governed by the frequency of stimulation and intra- and extracellular calcium concentrations. Voltage-clamp experiments showed that the magnitude of the potassium outward current was controlled by the intracellular calcium concentration whose increase, nearly 10(3)-fold, raised the resting membrane conductance and the outward potassium current. On the other hand, application of 10 mM zinc ions inside the muscle fiber had no effect on either the resting potential or the outward potassium current but suppressed the early inward calcium current. Similarly, the inward calcium current was decreased by low concentration of sodium ions in the extracellular fluid only when its ionic strength was made low by substituting sucrose for the sodium salt. Measurement of outward current with the muscle fiber in calcium-free ASW solution and intracellularly perfused with several cationic solutions established the selectivity sequence TEA less than Cs less than Li less than Tris less than Rb less than Na less than K for the potassium channel.


Distribution of Mason-Pfizer virus-specific sequences in the DNA of primates. Iodinated Mason-Pfizer virus (MPV) 60-70S RNA has been used in molecular hybridization experiments to determine the distribution of MPV-specific proviral sequences in the DNAs of primates. Approximately 20% of the MPV genome is present as endogenous provirus in rhesus monkeys. Competitive hybridization experiments showed no homology between MPV 60-70S RNA and the 60-70S RNAs of M7, RD-114, and the simian sarcoma virus. No MPV-specific proviral sequences were detected in the DNAs of apparently normal tissues of various species of New World monkeys, apes, and humans. The part of the MPV genome that is endogenous to rhesus is also endogenous to the other species of Old World monkeys examined: baboon, African green, and patas. This was determined as a result of the following observations: (i) C(0)t(1/2) values and final extent of hybridization were the same for all four species. (ii) T(m) values of MPV 60-70S RNA and DNA of all four species were identical. (iii) The removal of MPV sequences endogenous to rhesus tissues by recycling against rhesus DNA resulted in the loss of any hybridizable MPV RNA to the DNAs of baboon, African green, and patas tissues. (iv) Mixing experiments of rhesus, African green, and baboon DNAs resulted in the same kinetics of hybridization as did rhesus DNA alone, when hybridized with MPV 60-70S RNA. These findings demonstrate that sequences that constitute an integral part of the MPV genome are conserved in the DNAs of several different species of Old World monkeys.


Fragmentation of Bacillus bacteriophage phi105 DNA by complementary single-stranded DNA in the cohesive ends of the molecule. The structure of DNA from the temperate Bacillus subtilis phage phi105 was examined by using the restriction endonuclease EcoRI and by sedimentation analysis. The DNA contains six EcoRI cleavage sites. Although eight DNA fragments were identified in the EcoRI digests, the largest of these was shown to consist of the two fragments that carry the cohesive ends of the phage DNA. In neutral gradients, the majority of whole phi105 DNA sedimented as nicked circles and the remainder as oligomers. No unit-length linear structures were detected. The associated cohesive ends could be sealed by DNA ligase from Escherichia coli and could be cleaved by S1 nuclease. On the basis of these results and previously reported studies, it appears that, as isolated from phage particles, phi105 DNA is a circular molecule that is formed from the linear structure by the association of complementary single-stranded DNA.


Transtracheal aspiration in diagnosis of sputum-smear--negative tuberculosis. Of 4,200 patients admitted to an acute-care county hospital, 126 (3%) were proved to have pulmonary tuberculosis, among whom 35 (28%) had several sputum smears negative for acid-fast bacilli. On transtracheal aspiration, 31 to 35 had acid-fast bacilli in the aspirate. Eighteen of these 35 (51%) patients had associated infections caused by aerobic or anaerobic bacteria. Tuberculin skin tests were negative in 14 of 35 patients with negative sputum specimens (40%). Ten of 18 patients (56%) with associated bacterial infections had negative skin tests to purified protein derivative. Smear and culture of transtracheal aspirate for tubercle bacilli may be invaluable in establishing the diagnosis when pulmonary tuberculosis is suspected.


Tuberculosis bacteriologic reliability. Sputum specimens submitted by mail. The reliability of examining mailed specimens of sputum for tubercle bacilli was studied by dividing 132 sputum specimens. One half of each specimen was examined on the same day as collection (fresh); the other half was examined after a delay of from one to eight days (mailed). There were a few discrepancies, but no advantage was shown for use of the fresh portion of the specimens. The rate of contamination was slightly greater in the mailed portions (6.6%).


Relative lactose intolerance. A clinical study of tube-fed patients. A relative intolerance of lactose was demonstrated in 14 of 16 patients receiving nasogastric tube feedings following surgery for head or neck carcinoma. Two liquid diets differing only in the presence or absence of lactose, were administered for eight to 20 days per patient in a double-blind crossover study. Increased stool frequency, decreased stool consistency, and more frequent flatulence, borborygmi, and distention were found with the lactose diet, although classic lactose intolerance (plasma glucose rise of less than 26 mg/dl) was indicated in only two patients. Differences between amounts and times of peak rise following the glucose tolerance test and lactose tolerance test for each patient indicated the advisability of locating patients on a continuum of ability to hydrolyze lactose. The results indicate that lactose should be reduced or eliminated from tube-feeding diets to improve patient tolerance and comfort and to reduce diarrhea.


Gonorrhea screening in male consorts of women with pelvic infection. Neisseria gonorrhoeae was isolated from 39% of male contacts of women with acute gonococcal pelvic inflammatory disease (PID); 22% of these men were asymptomatic. More than half of those women with gonococcal PID had at least one male sexual consort with gonorrhea. Neisseria gonorrhoeae was isolated from 15% of male contacts of women with nongonococcal PID; 30% were asymptomatic. Since a substantial number of male contacts of women with acute PID will have cultures positive for N gonorrhoeae and are asymptomatic, all male sexual consorts should be examined and have cultures grown for gonorrhea.


Contractile responses of isolated canine blood vessels to ATP and ADP. Effects of ATP and ADP on helically cut strips of canine different blood vessels were studied, in comparison with those of K+ and norepinephrine (N.E.). ATP and ADP were equally effective in causing transient contractions in contrast to sustained contractions induced by K+ and N.E.. The mesenteric, renal arteries and portal veins were sensitive to both nucleotides. The response to the nucleotides was K+ was more dependent on Ca++ and Mg++ concentrations in bathing media than that to N.E.. Treatment of the strips with EGTA in Ca++ -free media quickly abolished the contractile responses to ATP, ADP and K+. Application of 0.1 mM Cd++ attenuated the contractile responses to K+ more markedly than those to N.E., but did not affect ATP action. Verapamil at 0.5 micron inhibited the K+-induced contraction alone, and 2 mM procaine inhibited the response to N.E. alone, but rather intensified the ATP-induced contraction. It may be concluded that ATP and ADP produce a transient contraction of isolated canine blood vessels by a mechanism relating to an increased mobilization of loosely bound Ca++ in cell membranes.


Absorption of inorganic iron- (59Fe2+) in relation to iron stores in pancreatic exocrine insufficiency due to cystic fibrosis. The absorption of 59Fe from a diagnostic 0.56 mg 59Fe2+ dose was measured by 4pi-geometry whole body counting and related to the amount of stainable diffuse cytoplasmatic non heme storage iron in the bone marrow macrophages of children with cystic fibrosis. When the storage iron was within the normal range (+/2+) children with cystic fibrosis absorbed 10-38% (Xa+/-S.D.=21+/-9.3) of the oral 59Fe2+ dose which is identical with the 59Fe-absorption in normal children with normal iron stores (9-45:23+/-8.7%). Depleted iron stores caused an increase of 59Fe-absorption to 43-95% (Xa+/-S.D.=62+/-19) in children with cystic fibrosis and to 45-100% (Xa+/-S.D.=73+/-18) in control children. The interruption or continuation of pancreatin maintenance therapy and the simultaneous administration of 1-1.5 g pancreatin did not influence 59Fe2+ absorption in cystic fibrosis. There is no evidence for a pancreatic factor required for or inhibiting inorganic and food iron absorption in human beings. Iron absorption is controlled also in cystic fibrosis chiefly by the amounts of available storage iron. It is therefore not justified to apprehend the development of hemosiderosis in children with cystic fibrosis who are not or not sufficiently treated with pancreatin.


Respiratory pathogens in non-human primates with special reference to Corynebacterium ulcerans. An investigation of 272 non-human primates (75 Macacca cynomolgus, 97 Macacca mulatta and 100 Cercopithecus aethiops) revealed a high incidence of respiratory disease caused by Corynebacterium ulcerans, Staphylococci, Diplococci and Streptococci. Escherichia coli was also found as a secondary invader. Most of the infections occurred during winter in Macaca cynomolgus and were caused by Corynebacterium ulcerans and Diplococcus pneumoniae. The C. ulcerans strains were phage type VI  G. A phage type III C strain was isolated from a Macacca mulatta. The high incidence of C. ulcerans suggests that this organism plays a significant role in the pathology of respiratory disease in the non-human primate.


The glutaraldehyde-treated heterograft valve: some engineering observations. Two commercially prepared, glutaraldehyde-treated porcine heterograft valves mounted on flexible stents have been tested in a pulsatile-flow water tunnel. Measurements of the radial deflections of the stent posts have been made for various applied pressures across the valve. A previous claim of 90 percent reduction in leaflet stress as a result of stent flexibility is of doubtful validity because the measurement technique used was inappropriate for the magnitude of strain involved. Photographs of the valve at various steady forward flow rates show that the leaflets do not open as readily as the antibiotic-treated homograft valve.


[Device for forming the shaped brehmsstrahlung fields of the B5M25 betatron]. The betatron B5M25 bremsstrahlung is formed only by a rectangularly shaped diaphragm, which results in excessive irradiation of healthy tissues surrounding the pathological focus. An appliance in the form of an additional diaphragm with inserted shaped units (blocks) fastened to the proper betatron diaphragm and permitting formation of a dose field in conformity with the pathological focus outlines has been constructed. The design of the appliance helps avoid "contamination" of the bremsstrahlung beam with electrons and second generation Compton quanta.


[A meningococcal epidemic in Ankara].

[A meningococcal epidemic in Ankara]. The meningococcal meningitis epidemic has been observed in Ankara in the last 3 years. Cases were from all parts of the country. Most of the strains isolated were from group B, while many could not be classified, and some of them were from group C, A and D. Because of fewer cases from group A and more from group B and C, the epidemic was not the classical meningococcal meningitis, but an intermediate one. Many cases could not be classified with the classical A, B, C, and D antisera. This showed that different serological groups existed in the country and should be taken into consideration in laboratory work.


The anticonvulsant action of sodium valproate (Epilim) in 100 patients with various forms of epilepsy. Sodium valproate (Epilim) has been used in the management of 100 patients with previously uncontrolled epilepsy for periods up to 2 years. If all manifestations of epilepsy are considered together, 75% to 100% control of seizures was achieved in 43% of patients, 25% to 74% control in 26%, and no improvement occurred in 31% of patients. Control of 75% to 100% was achieved in 57% of patients with a spike and wave electroencephalogram (EEG) disturbance but only in 35% of those with focal abnormalities, excessive slow activity, or normal records. When the various manifestations of epilepsy were considered individually, the greatest improvement was found among the patients with the minor forms of generalized epilepsy (petit mal absences, myoclonus and atonic attacks) in whom 75% to 100% control was obtained in 67%, compared with 43% of those with major generalized seizures (grand mal) and 30% of those with temporal lobe attacks and other forms of focal epilepsy. Gastrointestinal disturbances and drowsiness were noted as side effects in the early stages of treatment, but the majority of patients tolerated the drug well and many commented on increased mental alertness while taking it. Two patients were over-stimulated and some noticed tremor or twitching as side effects. Some minor abnormalities in blood coagulation studies were noted, but these were transient and did not appear to be of clinical significance. Regular blood counts and biochemical studies have not shown any significant changes. Sodium valproate appears to be a safe and useful anticonvulsant with the advantage that it usually makes patients brighter rather than drowsier. Abnormalities of platelet function have been described in some overseas reports, so that any unexplained bruising or bleeding in a patient taking valproate is an indication for a platelet count and coagulation studies.


[Bacteriocin-like substances produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa]. Cultures of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were tested for the production of bacteriocin-like substances, and differentiated with respect to three various indicator cultures. A technique was elaborated for the isolation of bacteriocin-like substances from a solid medium. Physico-chemical properties of Ps. aeruginosa were studied for the strains 8-H-3, PAO-406, and PAT-2. The molecular weight of bacteriocin-like substances was calculated for the strain 8-H-3.