Abnormal head positions due to ocular problems. This paper involves the research of 30 patients, all of whom exhibited a head tilt, turn, or a combination of the two. We report the sensory aspects of 8 of these individuals and demonstrate the fusional ability of each patient. In the majority of the cases, the results were positive. It was found that most abnormal head positions were developed to maintain fusion.


Presumed spontaneously regressed retinoblastoma. A history of blindness in one eye since childhood, the fundus appearance of the other eye, and the family history of elevated plasma levels of carcinoembryonic (CEA) antigen and colorectal carcinoma led us to diagnose bilateral spontaneously regressed retinoblastoma. Massive gliosis of the retina was found in the eye enucleated because of blindness and pain. The diagnosis of regressed retinoblastoma should be considered where the pathologic diagnosis of an enucleated eye is massive gliosis of the retina, but where no known cause is present.


B-scan ultrasonography of retinal detachments. Characteristic ultrasonsographic patterns of retinal detachment in a variety of clinical circumstances are demonstrated and discussed. Uncomplicated retinal detachment consists of ultrasonically detected retinal detachment without associated pathology in the vitreous, subretinal space, or choroid. The simultaneous detection of lesions in one or more of these areas may be a source of diagnostic confusion. Acoustic diagnostic criteria for differentiation of associated conditions in complicated retinal detachments are demonstrated and discussed. High resolution A-scan and B-scan ultrasonography provides a method for detection and diagnosis of retinal detachment, associated ocular pathology, and simulating conditions.


Histocompatibility antigens (HLA) and open angle glaucoma. In 70 patients with primary open angle glaucoma and 70 unrelated controls of identical ethnic origin, the prevalence of different HLA antigens were examined. There were statistically no significant differences in the incidence of the antigens in both groups. There was no association between specific HLA antigen and primary open angle glaucoma.


Occult retinitis pigmentosa simulating central nervous system disease. The case histories of 3 elderly patients with senile pigmentary dystrophy of the retina are presented. Recognition of this occult form of retinitis pigmentosa was obscured by the late onset of symptoms, lack of subjective night blindness, subtle fundus abnormalities, and absence of family history of eye disease. Unexplained visual field loss prompted invasive neurologic studies for suspected brain tumor in 2 patients and long-term anticoagulation administration in the third, who was believed to have primary cerebrovascular disease. Retinitis pigmentosa should be considered when evaluating older patients with field defects. Fluorescein angiography and electrophysiologic and psychophysical techniques are helpful in the differential diagnosis.


Experimental cataract production by high frequency ultrasound. In vivo animal experiments were performed to study the cataractogenic effects of high-frequency, high-intensity ultrasound. A series of anesthetized rabbits was insonified with quantified exposures of ultrasound using a 9.8 MHz focused ultrasonic beam. Ophthalmoscopic and slit lamp examinations revealed small haze cataracts as the first stage of lenticular damage. Larger exposures produced totally opaque cataracts. These first appeared as fine white threads surrounded by haze cataracts. The intensity-exposure time conjugates required to produce haze cataracts were determined over times ranging from 35 msec to 5 sec. At short times (under 100 msec) a relatively constant amount of energy was needed for cataract production. At longer times, the requried energy progressively increased. This observation, together with the physical appearance of these cataracts, suggests that those lesions are the result of thermal phenomena.


Contact lens tolerance and oral contraceptives. Five hundred seventeen persons, 199 women used oral contraceptives, 242 women who served as a control group, and reference group of 76 males, were studied with regard to their tolerance to contact lenses. Statistically no difference was found between the number of persons with regard to good, moderate, and poor contact lens tolerance in each of these 3 groups. A total of 40 females, of which 18 were using oral contraceptives and 22 were not, discontinued the wear of contact lenses as they could not tolerate them at all. Analysis showed that the number of persons in each group did not differ significantly. There was a suggestion of increased intolerance in the older age groups as compared to the younger age groups.


[Incontinentia pigmenti. Chromosomal study of a family (author's transl)]. After lymphocyte culture, chromosomic study has been performed on a woman and her daughter suffering from incontinentia pigmenti as well as on the two healthy brothers. This study has shown a high rate of chromosomic breakage in the four subjects, which confirms the facts mentioned in several previous reports. As far as genetic advice is concerned, the discovery of an excess of chromosomic breakage in a healthy subject who is a close relative of a patient, should prompt caution.


[Pityrosporum folliculitis (author's transl)]. Pityrosporum folliculitis occurs mainly among adult males on the back and may result from antibiotic and steroid administration. The lipophilic yeasts are numerous in the papulo-pustular lesions and can easily be demonstrated in the perifollicular inflammation on histological slides. 8 new cases with typical clinicopathological features are recorded by the authors. The best results are obtained with topically applied amphotericin B or econazol.


[Ulstrastructural study of various evolutive stages of pityriasis versicolor (author's transl)]. Small size, less numerous and sometimes clustered melanosomes, were seen within the melanocytes. The others organites alos showed  abnormalities: smaller mitochondria, abundant cytofilaments. Sometimes total degeneration of the melanocyte was seen. These alterations are variable, depending upon the evolutive stage of pityriasis versicolor: either hypopigmented undergoing treatment or not, or hyperpigmented. Reactions of several cellular types of the dermoepidermal unit could be observed: more numerous Langerhans cells located near the base of the epidermis, abundant nerve fibers in the superficial dermis and active fibroblasts of foetal type. A slight inflammatory infiltrate was present in some cases. It is suggested that a toxic effect of the fungus is responsible for the changes of the morphological aspects of the melanocyte.


[Lupus erythematosus profundus: two cases with ultrastructural study]. Lupus erythematosus profundus (panniculitis) is an unusual clinical variant of lupus erythematosus in which the lesions occur in deeper corium and panniculus. The diagnosis usually causes difficulty. Both reported cases are similar and concern young men with subcutaneous nodules appearing on the face and leaving depressed areas. Histological examination reveals a marked infiltrate in the dermis especially around the skin appendages, reaching the deep dermis and the fat tissue; this infiltarte is composed mainly of lymphocytes and histiocytes. Some moderate epidermal changes are present: liquefaction degeneration of the basal cell layer, epidermal atrophy, thickening of basement membrane (P. A. S.). Direct immunofluorescence of the lesions showed, in one case IgG deposits at the dermo-epidermal junction. Ultrastructural findingd are similar in both cases and may be an important point of diagnosis for isolated forms: -- tubular structures "paramyxo-virus-like-inclusions" are present in dermal infiltrate, endothelial cells and sometimes in keratinocytes of the basal layer; -- the basal lamina has many folds and villous projections;-- vacuoles and concentric lamellar formations are observed inside keratinocytes. No clinical or immunological signs of systemic lupus were found. Antimalaric drugs clear up the nodules.


[Cutaneous dyschromia in three cases of phenylketonuria. Quantitative ultrastructural study of the basal layer of the epidermis (author's transl)]. The authors have studied skin color modifications in 3 cases of phenylketonuria and have observed the characteristic changes; fair skin and fair hair. In addition they noted hundred of pigmented pin point or slightly larger patches in the two more affected patients, in the areas exposed to sunshine. With regard to the ultrastructural study of the epidermis basal layer, the proportion of melanocytes in the two most severe cases was slightly higher than in the normal skin of 6 control subjects. Langerhans cells could not be acertained. The more severe was the disease the greater was the tendency for a lower proportion of keratinocytes containing melanin. There is a  certain parallelism between the skin color modifications the biochemical examinations (blood level of phenylalanin and tyrosine) and the ultrastructural changes. The higher the blood level of phenlalanine and/or the more pronounced the disorders of skin color, the more evident would be the ultrastructural changes: higher proportion of melanocytes that usually do not produce the melanosomes, and lower percentage of keratinocytes with melanin. On the other hand, the ultrastructure of the basal layer would suggest the seriousness of clinical manifestations and/or the intesity of the metabolic error.


[Idiopathic eruptive macular pigmentation (author's transl)]. The feeling of the authors is that their seven reported cases of a pigmented dermatosis are different from the ashy dermatosis and from the erythema dyschromicum perstans. This disease, which affects children and teenagers, males as well as females, is characterized by pigmented macules 5-25 mm in diameter, affecting the neck, the trunk and the limbs. The first symptom is whether a pigmented spot, or an erythematous, papular or achromic lesion; in the latter instance the pigmentation occurs only secundarily. In most of the cases this dermatose is slowly and spontaneously regressive. The histological picture is not really specific. In one case there was a marked intraepidermal dyskeratosis of the sweat duct openings. The etiology remains unknown.


[Rare intracytoplasmic membranous structures of some dermatoses (author's transl]. Rare intracytoplasmic membranous structures were observed in keratinocytes, histiocytes, Langerhans cells and in metastatic cells of several dermatoses. The morphological study is not conclusive of their functional activity. They seem related to the cellular activity, and with no diagnostic value.


[Rudiger (E. E. C.) syndrome: report of a case associated with atopic dermatitis (author's transl)]. The syndrome of ectrodactyly, ectodermal dysplasia and cleft lip-palate is described in a boy aged 3; although inherited in most cases as an autosomal dominant trait, it seems here to be sporadic. An atopic dermatitis clinically evident and particularly resistant to treatment is present, but IgE level is not raised. Ophthalmologic changes are prominent. Systematic intravenous pyelogram showed urinary tract strictures.


[Penile leiomyosarcoma. Ultrastructural study (author's transl)]. A case of leiomyosarcoma of the penis in a farmer aged 70 is described. The patient was treated by excision/biopsy, and six months later three little tumors recurred on the glans and prepuce. A wide local excision and direct suture was carried out. No troubles happened in the next eight months. The ultrastructural study confirmed the histogenesis showing: polymorphic cells, as well as clear and dark ones, reduction of intracytoplasmic myofilaments, anisocytosis and poikilokaryosis and wide infoldings of the nuclear membrane; very vascularized areas with confluent vesicles on the endothelial cells; and intersticial haemorrhages. This tumor is included among the superficial leiomyosarcomas of "low malignancy" of McKenzie Pratt et Ross, for which simple excision that avoid mutilations is suitable. Differential histologic diagnosis includes epithelioid sarcoma of Enzinger. Leiomyosarcoma of the penis is a very rare malinant tumor. Only 15 cases have been described in the literature. A further case is reported and the previous cases are reviewed.


[Treatment of mycosis fungoides by PUVAtherapy. Report on 18 cases (author's transl)]. A group of 18 patients with mycosis fungoides (M.F.) was treated by PUVAtherapy. According to VanScott classification, they have been set in:--5 parapsoriasis in large plaques = 5 stages I;--6 stages II;--3 stages III;--2 stages IV;--1Sézary syndrom.--1 erythrodermia. There was complete clearing of 12 patients (66 p. 100); 2 patients (11 p. 100) improved cutaneous lesions without a complete clearing, and there was no response to treatment for 3 patients (22 p. 100) (1 with erythrodermia, 1 with Sézary syndrom and 1 stage IV, and 1 forsaking). The method applied here was different in several points: orally administered methoxalen were given according to the body area (mg/m2) and some of the patients had twice a day puvatherapy. Puvatherapy seems to be the least dangerous and most effective treatment for the patients in the early stages of mycosis fongoides (I, II) and nitrogen mustard, electron therapy, corticoids and even mono- or polychimiotherapy could be associated to puvatherapy, if necessary, for the stages III and IV.


[Ecology of the Ceratopogonids of the Alsace plain. I. The genus Culicoides from the humid soils of the Ried (author's transl)]. The Ried of Alsace, a humid landscape of plain, is presented on the gemorophological, pedological and botanical point of view. Fourteen species of Culicoides are studied following numeric importance, topographic distribution, biotop, density per soil surface unit, and specific assoications. C. clastrieri, odibilis, cubitalis, pictipennis and musilator represent 98% of all. Three halophilic species, C. riethi, circumscriptus and salinarius are good indicators of salt pollution of the river Ill.


[Preliminary results on a microsporidosis of Atherina boyeri Risso, 1810, from the Languedoc lagoons (author's transl)]. A most likely new microsporidia parasites Atherina boyeri Risso, 1810 and is found from the lagoons south of Montpellier to the Berre lagoon. This Protist establishes itself in the wall of the digestive tract, it forms numerous cysts, as well as in the general cavity of the fish were it evolves into voluminous xenoma (sometimes reatching centimeter in diameter) which present particular histological characteristics. This preliminary report extends from September 1976 to March 1977. The histological, epidemiological and statistical aspects are discussed. Experimental, biochemical and ultrastructural studies are under way.


[Seroepidemiological survey on toxoplasmosis in Guadeloupe and Martinique (author's transl)]. The examination of 9,950 serums in Guadeloupe and Martinique has revealed the importance and the precocity of infestation by Toxoplasma: 56,9% of the population has complement fixing antibodies, 65,6% haemagglutinating antibodies and from the very first age groups onwards, nearly half the population is found to be infested. Although the consumption of insufficiently cooked meat is most frequently invoked, it would seem that this manner of contamination should not be incriminated in Guadeloupe and Martinique where the population traditionally lives on fish and well-cooked meat. Moreover, the great variability in the rates of infestation observed in the different localities studied leads one to envisage the invtervention of  climatic factors favoring the survival of the oocysts born of the sexed multipilication of the parasite in the external environment.


[Ecology of leishmaniasis in southern France. 9. Sampling methods in the study and analysis of canine enzootic leishmaniasis]. An account is given of the fundamental methods used on an investigation of the canine enzootic of leshmaniasis in the Cévennes. The objective was to determine the relationship between the prevalence of infection on dogs and the density of the sandfly vector. The basis of the work  was a phyto-ecological map of the two parameters. The results are of epidemiological interest as a logical approach which enable comparisons to be made between ecologically homogeneous sectors or strata. In each stratum the methods were carried out in two steps: the rural parishes were designated as statistical units, and were then examined for clusters composed of the dogs of each parish. Strata of small size were more exhaustively examined than the largest. The clustering techniques clearly revealed a heterogeneity in the distribution of canine leishmaniasis and villages in which non infections were found, were next to others where dogs were infected. The development of the enzootic was seen to be by an increase in the number of microfoci, rather than by a spread of the existing foxi. Finally the methods revealed a gradient in the morbidity of dogs from the cost to the highest points of the mountainrange. This gradient was strongly linked to the distribution and density of the vector, Phlebotomus ariasi.


[Invalidation of the genus Austromicrophallus Szidat. 1964 (Trematoda: Microphallidae) (author's transl)]. From the study of generotype, the genus Austromicrophallus is considered as a synonym of the genus Levinseniella Stiles and Hassal, 1901. The species L. (Monarrhenos) anenteron (Szidat, 1964) nov. comb. is fully described. It has four atrial male pokets and a destitute digestive tract.


[The behaviour of Lymnaea (Galba) truncatula Müler non- or infested ny Fasciola hepatica L. in the presence of predators (author's transl)]. Experimental study of behavior of Lymnaea truncatula in the presence of terrestrial or aquatic predators. The presence of predators disturbes the daily rhythm connected with amphibious conditions of non-infested snails. In half-immersed habitats, Zonitoides nitidus, terrestrial predator, produces a progressive immersion of surviving snails; but the latter run away to dry zones in drying habitats or with aquatic predators. The infested snails (phasis E 1) present the same reactions of behaviour in presence of predators, but the reactions are more limited.


[On two filariae from Ungulates, in Malaysia (author's transl]. Redescription of the female of Setaria thomasi Sandosham, 1954, parasite of Sus scrofa jubatus; description of the female of Papillosetaria malayi n.sp. from Tragulus javanicus. The study of the buccal region of Papillosteria leads the authors to consider this genus as an ancestral form of Setaria.


[About the original materials of Cotylurus platycephalus and Cotylurus variegatus (Creplin, 1952) (Trematoda : Strigeidae) (author's transl)]. The examination of the original materials proves that Cotylurus variegatus (Creplin, 1825) is synonymous with C. platycephalus (Creplin 1825), the better known of the two. Their relative priority is determined by our action as first reviser (I.C.Z.N., art. 24) Cotylurus cumulitestis Dubois, 1962 is considered to be a young adult of C. platycephalus.


[On the ultrastructure of the cysticercoid of Hymenolepis stylosa (Cestoda: Cyclophyllidea) (author's transl)]. Electron microscopy of the tegument of H. stylosa cysticercoid as compared with that of H. diminuta reveals great variations in the fine structure of the larval tegument of these two species. On the scolex and the inner cyst wall, the tegument of H. stylosa cysticercoid bears typical microtriches; at the level of the anterior pore, the microtriches are flexuous. The tegument of the outer cyst wall appears as a syncytial band with dense material which accumulates in the region below the unit membrane, and the tegument of the cercomer is increased by branchied microvillies. While, the scolex of H. diminuta cysticercoid is unarmed and the tegument of the outer cyst wall bears branched microvillies. The data permit the conclusion that the differentiation of tegumental structures is graduated from the scolex to the cercomer. This differenciation is more or less important according to the parasite and results of successive inductions which affect parts of the cysticercoid. The significance of these findings is discussed in terms of the possible function of these structures and the penetration of substances.


The genus Clelandia Johnston, 1909 and its affinities with Parvitaenia and Neogryporhynchus (Cestoda, Dilepididae). The diagnosis of Clelandia has been amended. The validity of the genus and its closeness to Parvitaenia and Neogryporhynchus are discussed. On the basis of its morphology and of the specificity of the dilepidid cestodes within the order Ciconiiformes, one many admit that its host belongs to the suborder Ardeae, and that the original doubtful diagnosis of the host was wrong. Clelandia seems to confirm that the genus Parvitaenia is a nucleus of evolutionary radiation among cestodes of the Ciconiiformes, with peculiar traits in the Australian region, and that it isn't a homogeneous unit.


[Hymenolepis nana var. fraterna (Cestoda: Hymenolepididae) in Leucophaea maderae (Dictyoptera: Blattidae): the host-parasite conflict after experimental inhibition of haemocytic reaction (author's transl)]. Development of non-encapsulated cysticercoids of Hymenolepis nana var. fraterna, in the haemocoele of Leucophaea maderae occured after the inhibition of the haemocytic reaction by irradiation or injection of a soluble antigen of Hymenolepis nana. Fine structure of the tegument of free larvae is observed and the mechanism of a possible defence of the parasite by the microvillar coat, discussed.


[Development of cysticercoid larva of Hymenolepis nana var. fraterna in Tenebrio molitor and Leucophaea maderae haemoceles (author's transl)]. When embryos of Hymenolepis nana var. fraterna are injected abdominally, they are able to reach the cysticercoid stage in the haemocele of Leucophaea maderae which naturally resist to infection by ingestion of the eggs. The haemocytic defence reaction of the cockroach and the structure of the surface of larvae are examined and compared with development in a natural host Tenebrio molitor.


[Demonstration of life cycle with four obligatory hosts of the Hemiurid Trematodes]. Research on the transmission of Hemiurid Trematode Halipegus ovocaudatus in experimental and natural conditions demonstrates the following: --the miracidium grows into a sporocyst producing rediae in the Mollusc Planorbis planorbis; -- the cystophorous cercariae become mesocercariae in the hemocoele of Copepodes or finally Ostracodes when swallowed; -- the mesocercariae become matacercariae in the mesenteron of larval Odonates (Zygoptera and Anisoptera) when these larvae swallow the Crustacea; -- the metacercariae become become adults in the Amphibial Rana ridibundal perezi which feeds on dragonflies. The four hosts (Mollusc -- Crustacean -- Odonat -- Amphibian) are obligatory in the life cycle for it is impossible to infect the Insects directly with the cecariae or the frog (tadpoles as well as adults) with the mesocercariae. The different stages of the life cycle of H. oveocaudatus aredescribed and the mode of the transmission is compared with the other species of Halipegus and with the Trematodes in general. The adaptative value of the lengthening of the cycle is discussed from the point of view of the conquest of terrestrial hosts by the Hemiurid Trematodes.


[Ecological research work about Trematodes life-cycles in a Provencal lagoon (France). II. The cycle of Maritrema misenensis (A. Palombi, 1940) (Microphallidae Travassos, 1920)]. The authors point out the ecological conditions required for the life-cycle development of Maritrema misenensis (A. Palombi, 1940). This Microphallid parasite occurs in waveless lagoons as well as along the waved marine coast. The first and second intermediate hosts found in these two habitats are not alike. Along the calm edges of the lagoon edges Cerithium mediterraneum (first host) and Orchestia mediterranea (second host) are found whereas along the rocky sea-coast C. rupestre (first host) and O. montagui (second host) are to be seen. The first intermediate hosts are heavily infected along the margin of the lagoon; the parasitism is decreasing gradually as we go away the edge. The infection of the second host depends on the behaviour both of Orchestia and cercariae. Numerous cercariae accumulate against along the very edge of the lagoon, exactly where Orchestia enter the sea-water. The Orchestia parasitism varies as you go along the coast and according to the seasons; it is also different whether you are dealing with males or females.


[Research on the life-cycle of Metahaematoloechus exoterorchis (Rees, 1964) (Digenea) parasite of lungs of the frog Dicroglossus occipitalis (Gunther, 1858) in Togoland (author's transl)]. The sporocysts and xiphidiocercariae of Metahaematoloechus exoterorchis evolve in the Planorbid Segmentorbis kanisaensis (Preston); experiment shows that Gyraulus chudeaui (Germain) and Bulinus forskalii (Erhenberg) are possible vectors. Cercariae encyst in larvae of several Dragonflies. M. exoterorchis adult, is usually harboured by Dicroglossus occipitalis, but experimentally develops in the frog Contraua derooi Hulselmans, 1971.


[Long-term results of biological control by predation. Experimental study of population development of several species of snails (author's transl)]. The evolution of malacological fauna, which is subject to prediation of Zonitidae snails, is studied on two types of habitats of Lymnaea truncatula: swampy meadows and banks of river maintained by a periodical grass-mowing. Two years are necessary for obtaining an entire elimination of Lymnaea truncatula. Then other species of Lymanaeidae and Succinea are affected by predation, but Succinea snails do not pass away completely. The other snails are not affected or little by predation.


[An ecological approach to the problem of the responsibility of men and rats in the workings of a transmission site of Schistosoma mansoni in Guadeloupe (Western Indies) (author's transl)]. The study of the rate of contamination of B. glabrata and the cercarial densities of S. mansoni in the chanels of Beaugendre valley (Guadeloupe, French West Indies) concentrates attention on the focalisation of the sites with high risk of contamination. This focalization of the sites of transmission is directly related to the regular deposition of human faeces. A small number of contamined people is enough to maintain high cercarial densities (230 c/1). In the chanel studied, the role of the rat in the transmission of the parasite seems less important than that of the Man. The infection of the rats during consumption of snails can be foreseen.


[Arguments and proposals for a new developmental interpretation of Fasciola hepatica L. in Lymnaea (Galba) truncatula Müller (author's transl)]. The authors study the influence of several factors: temperature, drying up of ground, bodily volume of intermediary host on development of the redial generations of Fasciola hepatica in Lymnaea truncatula. Three redial generations are seen in Lymnaea truncatula, whatever environmental factors. The number of rediae of generations 2 and 3 is correlated with bodily volume of the snail host. The temperature affects synchronism of cercarial maturation in rediae of generations 1 and 2.


[Dynamics of populations in an urban and underground resting place of Culex pipiens L. (Diptera, Culicidae) (author's transl)]. An urban and underground resting place of Culex pipiens has been examinated during one year. Many females (28% in September, 70% in January) do not find sexual partners. The cause is a mixing of autogenous and anautogenous forms in the place even if it seems perfectly closed.


Outcome in papillary carcinoma of the thyroid. During a five-year period, 1958--62, 97 cases of papillary thyroid carcinoma had been diagnosed in Finland. Twenty two of these patients died from this cancer during a follow-up of 13--18 years. Five of them had initially had distant metastases. Of the remainder seven had had no thyroid operation or only a biopsy, nine an operable tumour that invaded through the thyroid capsule (extrathyroid) and only one a primary tumour confined to the thyroid (intrathyroid). The mortality rates were: 83% for patients with distant metastases, 47% for patients with no thyroid operation, 28% for patients with extrathyroid tumours, and 4% for patients with intrathyroid tumours. Death from an intrathyroid or occult papillary carcinoma that does not show initial distant metastases seems to be exceptional, also if the thyroid operation has been unilateral.


Blunt hepatic injury.

Blunt hepatic injury. Fifty-six cases with blunt hepatic injuries occurred in 255 laparotomies on patients with multiple injuries. Pre-operatively, one-half of the patients were in profound shock. In these cases hepatic bleeding was often accompanied by bleeding in other sites, usually from a ruptured spleen or into a retroperitoneal haematoma. Diagnosis was aided by laparocentesis and peritoneal lavage. In 3 cases the diagnosis was delayed for 8--12 hours. The lacerations were sutured in 43 cases, a local resection  was made in 10 cases and a lobar resection in 3 cases. Manual compression of the liver was the best way of achieving temporary haemostasis. In cases where haemodynamic stability was not achieved post-operatively, immediate re-operation to attain haemostasis was definitely advantageous. The mortality from multiple blunt injuries was high (17%) but especially so in cases with hepatic injury (41%). Liver injuries after blunt trauma can often be managed by suturing, and hepatic resection in seldom necessary.


Clinical experience with surgical treatment of chronic intestinal ischaemia. Fourteen patients suffering from abdominal angina have been operated on with different revascularization techniques. Preoperatively all of them had classical symptoms: postprandial pain and all except two had remarkable weight loss. There were six patients with isolated coeliac axis stenosis and in eight cases there were two or three diseased vessels. Liberation and reconstruction of the coeliac axis were carried out in six cases. Aorto-hepatic by pass graft was performed in three patients. Reinsertion of SMA was done in four and reinsertion of IMA in one case. Reconstruction of SMA with a by pass graft was carried out also in one case. There was no operative mortality. One of the patients died five weeks postoperatively at home from myocardial infarction. Another patient operated on in 1965 died seven years later at the age of 78 from myocardial infarction. He had had no further symptoms of abdominal angina postoperatively. The remaining 12 patients were relieved of their symptoms after the operation. They have been followed up for a mean of 5.5 years. The good long term results of arterial reconstructions in contrast to the poor prognosis without operation, favours early operation. The importance of early diagnosis and the importance of early operative treatment are emphasized.


Cardiac disturbances after pneumonectomy--the value of prophylactic digitalization. The incidence of postoperative cardiac disturbances and the value of prophylactic digitalization were studied retrospectively in 143 patients undergoing pneumonectomy for carcinoma of the lung. Cardiac arrhythmias occurred in 29% and tachycardia episodes in 30% of the patients. The incidence of myocardial infarction was 2%. Operative mortality was 4%. The cardiac disturbances developed more often after left than after right pneumonectomy. The age of the patients, a history of angina pectoris or hypertension did not markedly increase the incidence of cardiac disturbances, neither did operative factors, such as pericardiotomy, left atrial resection, major bleeding nor postoperative empyema. Prophylactic digitalization significantly reduced postoperative cardiac disorders, their frequency being 33% in the group of patients who received prophylactic digitalis compared with 65% in the group that did not.


Noradrenaline to adrenaline ratio in amniotic fluid as an index of fetal maturity. Amniotic fluid lecithin to sphingomyelin ratio (L/S) and adrenaline concentration, noradrenaline concentration, and noradrenaline to adrenaline ratio (NA/A) were measured in 50 normal women late in pregnancy. Between gestation weeks 37 and 43 the maturity-linked increase in L/S ratio was accompanied by similar increases in NA/A ratio and noradrenaline but by decreases in adrenaline concentration. Although the amniotic fluid NA/A ratio reflects fetal sympathetic nervous system development rather than pulmonary development as mirrored by the L/S ratio, a high correlation existed between log NA/A and L/S, indicating that the NA/A ratio could provide a further index of fetal maturity.


Assay of tissue free cystine: application to the diagnosis of cystinosis. A fast method for the determination of tissue free cystine is shown. Its usefulness for free cystine assays in leucocytes and muscle biopsies is discussed. The use of muscle biopsy as a means of diagnosis is proposed.


Radioimmunoassay of gastric inhibitory polypeptide. A radioimmunoassay for the measurement of gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP) in unextracted plasma in man has been developed using a rabbit antiserum raised against porcine GIP. Porcine GIP was employed also as standard and to produce a 125I-labelled tracer. The assay was able to distinguish 110 pg/ml GIP from zero in plasma samples. Negligible cross-reactivity was demonstrated with cholecystokinin, insulin, pancreatic polypeptide, glucagon, secretin, and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide. The mean overnight fasting plasma GIP level in 28 normal subjects was 203 pg/ml (range: undetectable--420 pg/ml). Plasma GIP levels rose, within 45 minutes of eating a mixed meal, to a mean level of 1573 pg/ml.


A simple and economical method for the radioimmunoassay of cortisol in serum. A simple, economical method is described for the radioimmunoassay of cortisol in serum. Extraction is avoided by heating the diluted serum to inactivate cortisol-binding globulin. The radioimmunoassay is carried out in a single disposable scintillation vial without centrifugation. Free and bound steroid is separated by partition between ammonium sulphate solution and liquid scintillation fluid. Accuracy, precision and sensitivity are satisfactory. Normal ranges obtained are comparable to those obtained by other radioimmunoassay methods for cortisol.


The influence of heart rate, age, blood pressure, obesity, and work on systolic and diastolic time intervals. Systolic and diastolic time intervals were measured in 655 men who did not have coronary or hypertensive heart disease. The correlation between systolic and diastolic intervals (STI) and the heart rate, age, height, weight, weight/height index, blood pressure and work heaviness were calculated using multiple stepwise regression analysis. There was a significant correlation between heart rate and the majority of STI. Also there was a significant influence of systolic and diastolic blood pressure and age on the ejection variables (QS2, LVET, S1S2). The PEP and ICT were influenced by heart rate, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The PEP/LVET ratio was dependent on diastolic and systolic blood pressure. The height of the A wave of apex cardiogram was significantly dependent on diastolic and systolic blood pressure, obesity, heart rate, and age. The IRT was dependent on heart rate, obesity, and height. When interpreting systolic time intervals one must use systolic time interval indices which are calculated by using the effect of heart rate on them, but in some cases the effect of other factors must be taken into account because blood pressure, age, and obesity also have a significant physiological effect on the STI values.


Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography in a surgical unit. The value of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) in a surgical unit was established by analysing 200 consecutive studies. The selective success rate was 80%. The groups of indications were jaundice (27%), postcholecystectomy pain (22%), recurrent acute pancreatitis (19%), complicated attack of acute pancreatitis (14%), and other (18%). A normal ERC was found and operation thus avoided in 26% of cases with persistent jaundice. In patients with postcholecystectomy pain pathological findings were found in 50% and half of them were operated upon. In pancreatitis demonstration of the pancreatic ducts and grading of the disease facilitated selection of the treatment and enabled preoperative planning of the surgical procedure. The pancreas was resected in 13 of 59 cases with diagnostic ERP. In pancreatic carcinoma ERCP led directly to diagnosis, but only two (ampullary carcinomas) out of ten were operable. The overall complication rate was 4%, including one case of fatal haemorrhagic pancreatitis.


A method for estimating bias introduced into epidemiological investigations by those who refuse to participate. Several methods have been suggested for estimating the error introduced into epidemiological investigations by potential participants who decline participation. As these could not be applied to our present epidemiological case-control breast cancer study, a new and simple method was developed based on information gathered from those controls who participated only relunctantly. A formula is given for calculating an adjusted mean for the sample and corresponding p-value. Our own data were used to illustrate the method. The calculations then indicated that those who declined participation were slightly selected in some aspects, but not to such a degree as to obscure or cause any significant differences between patient and control groups.


Inherited systemic amyloidosis (Finnish type): ultrastructure of the skin. Ultrastructural study of skin biopsies from two patients suffering from inherited systemic amyloidosis (Finnish type) showed amyloid deposits between epidermal basal cells and dermal fibroblasts. Amyloid was seen on the epithelial side of the fibroblasts, and material resembling basal laminae was embedded in the aggregates of amyloid. Also amyloid deposits were found adjacent to other cells with a basal lamina such as epithelial cells of the sweat glands or sebaceous glands, Schwann cells, capillary endothelial cells, and even smooth muscle cells in the dermis. Amyloidogenetic interaction of cells with a basal lamina and fibroblasts is suggested and the potential role of structural glycoproteins in the genesis of amyloid is discussed.


Calcification in cervical arteries in life and at autopsy. In the clinical part of the study routine neck PA radiographs taken with the mouth open were compared with soft tissue films with the mouth closed for detection of calcification in the carotid arteries. Only 5.5% of 90 hospitalized patients showed foci of calcification in routine films. But foci of calcification were seen in 22% of the soft tissue radiographs of the whole series. In the autopsy part of the study large foci of calcification were found at the carotid bifurcations in 12 out of 20 cadavers by radiography. In an additional five cases contact radiographs also showed smaller foci of calcification. The vascular endothelium over the calcification was often ulcerated. The significance of the large arterial foci of calcification demonstrated in the neck radiographs as a sign of atherosclerosis and as a source of cerebral thromboembolism is discussed.


Malignant histiocytosis. A clinical and morphological study of four cases. Four patients with malignant histiocytosis are described. Major clinical signs were fever, lymphadenopathy, hepatomegaly and splenomegaly. Laboratory studies showed leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, low leukocyte alkaline phosphatase (LAP) score, normal erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and elevated serum triglycerides. There was evidence of bone marrow involvement in all four cases. Typical changes were seen in the histological study.


Oil myelography in cervical spondylosis. Oil myelograms were performed on 62 patients with cervical spondylosis and signs of cervical root compression; 185 abnormal roots were seen. A filling defect of greater than or equal to 50% of the thickness of the lateral oil column usually coincided with clinical symptoms from the same root (42/52); 23 such patients were operated on, and 18 had their symptoms relieved. Of 133 roots with less severe abnormalities, only 53 were presumed to be the cause of the clinical symptoms or signs; 16 such patients were operated on, and 7 of them benefited from the operation.


Chronic respiratory disease in rural men. An epidemiological survey at Hankasalmi, Finland. To discover the prevalence of chronic respiratory disease and the various factors associated with it, 1162 men (85% of the defined population) aged 25 to 69 years were surveyed using a questionnaire, chest radiograph and spirometry. 112 men with pulmonary tuberculosis or "other respiratory disease" were excluded from the analysis. Excluding the youngest age group (25 to 39 years), the smokers were thinner than the non-smokers. The percentages of overweight men among the non-smokers, ex-smokers and smokers were 22%, 27% and 14%, respectively (P less than 0.001). Almost all respiratory symptoms were more common in the smokers than in the non-smokers, and the prevalence of cough, phlegm, severe breathlessness and the effect of weather on respiratory symptoms significantly increased with age. Asthma was not associated with age or smoking, nor was socioeconomic status associated with chronic respiratory disease. The ventilatory function, measured by FEV1, FVC and FEV%, was worse in the smokers than in the non-smokers. In addition the slope of FEV% on age was significantly steeper in the ex-smokers and the various groups of smokers than in the non-smokers.


Chronic respiratory disease in rural women. An epidemiological survey at Hankasalmi, Finland. To discover the prevalence of chronic respiratory disease and its association with various factors, 1217 women (84% of the defined population) aged 25 to 69 years were surveyed using a questionnaire, chest radiograph and spirometry. 71 women with pulmonary tuberculosis or "other respiratory disease" were excluded from the analysis. At all ages the smokers were thinner than the non-smokers. The percentages of overweight women among the non-smokers, ex-smokers and smokers were 50%, 42% and 19%, respectively (P less than 0.001). Nasal catarrh was significantly more common in the smokers than in the non-smokers but for other symptoms no definite association with smoking was found. Breathlessness, wheezing and the effect of weather were significantly more common at older ages. Socioeconomic status did not seem to influence the occurrence of chronic respiratory disease. No significant effect of smoking on FEV1, FVC or FEV1 % was found.


The normal magnetocardiogram: I Morphology. This paper presents a morphological study of the real-time magnetocardiogram (MCG) of normal subjects. The MCGs were obtained using a gradiometric measurement technique, and the magnetic field component perpendicular to the frontal plane (z-compenent) was studied. Forty-one healthy men and women were mapped from 51 positions on the chest, and the statistics of the waveforms of the MCG were computed. In 21 of the subjects both the MCG and the ECG were analyzed. The general behaviour of the MCGs is discussed and proposals for the standardization of the measurements are made.


Nonsurigcal cure of brain abscess: early diagnosis and follow-up with computerized tomography. Four patients with clinical findings and computerized tomographic brain scan evidence of brain suppurative disease were treated and cured with high-dose intravenous antibiotics without neurosurgical intervention. More data are required before any statement can be made regarding the long-term efficacy of nonsurgical versus surgical management of brain abscess.


Diffuse cerebral ischemia in the cat: I. Local blood flow during severe ischemia and recirculation. The effects of severe cerebral ischemia on postischemic brain perfusion were examined in a series of pentobarbital-anesthetized cats. Ischemia of 15 or 30 minutes' duration was produced by occlusion of both common carotid arteries and the basilar artery and was coupled with mild systemic hypotension. A 90-minute period of normotensive postischemic recirculation was permitted in some animals. In 9 of 10 animals studied at the end of the ischemic insult and not allowed to recover, blood flow in the cerebral hemispheres was greatly reduced, with minimal flow (0.01 to 0.11 ml gm-1 min-1) persisting only in scattered perisulcal regions in 4 animals. Following 15 minutes of ischemia, blood flow was restored uniformly during recirculation, though at subnormal levels (31 to 35% of control). In contrast, 30 minutes of prior ischemia led to marked heterogeneities of local cerebral perfusion during recirculation, with multiple zones of persistent severe ischemia. Thus, while recirculation was suboptimal following both 15 and 30 minutes of ischemia, the 30-minute insult led to focal postischemic perfusion abnormalities that were sufficiently severe to make the possibility of functional recovery appear unlikely.


Diffuse cerebral ischemia in the cat: II. Regional metabolites during severe ischemia and recirculation. Metabolite levels were measured in seven brain regions in cats after 15 or 30 minutes of a severe ischemic insult and after a 90-minute period of recirculation following 15 or 30 minutes of ischemia. Brain levels of phosphocreatine were depleted after a 15- or 30-minute insult, and lactate levels were extremely high at both times. The adenosine triphosphate (ATP) content in many brain areas and the presence of microregions of low reduced nicotinamine-adenine dinucleotide in the brains of the animals that had 15 minutes of ischemia suggested that the ischemia, though severe, was not complete. Recirculation following a 15-minute insult restored brain levels of ATP and phosphocreatine to 70 to 100% of control values in all regions analyzed. In contrast, metabolic recovery from a 30-minute insult was regionally heterogeneous. Thus, there was persistent depression of ATP and phosphocreatine and elevation of lactate, which was localized in discrete cortical foci near the longitudinal midline. The factors governing the localization of metabolic failure must have become manifest during the recirculation period since the ischemic insult itself caused similar metabolic perturbations in all cortical regions.


Kearns-Sayre syndrome with hypoparathyroidism. The history, clinical findings, and postmortem examination of a patient with Kearns-Sayre syndrome are presented. In addition to the usuual symptoms, the patient also had hypoparathyroidism. There is increasing evidence that the syndrome is frequently associated with involvement ofthe endocrine system. Central nervous system involvement consists of a spongy encephalopathy.


[Specific blast transformation of rabbit spleen cells induced by a bacterial polysaccharide and inhibitory effect of peripheral blood lymphocytes (author's transl)]. Following immunization with bacteria (i.e. Salmonella johannesburg), rabbit spleen lymphocytes developed a specific blast response when the lymphocytes were stimulated with polysaccharide, the haptenic moiety of lipopolysaccharide. A clear cut dissociation was noted in the blast response induced by polysaccharide compared with those induced by lipopolysaccharide and lipid A. There was no correlation between the magnitude of the cellular responses and that of the antibody response. Moreover, there was less specificity at the cellular level than at the level of antibody secreted by cells. A decrease of 3H-thymidine incorporation was often observed after immunization, at the level of peripheral blood lymphocytes. An inhibitory effect of these cells was shown on the blast response of spleen lymphocytes with polysaccharide. A high blast response to Salmonella polysaccharide which could be observed in some non-immunized rabbits might be related to a natural sensitization of animals with the same or related unknown antigens which could not be recognized by anti-S. johannesburg antibodies.


Differences in reaction times and average evoked potentials as a function of direct and indirect neural pathways. Average evoked potentials and manula response latencies were collected during a simple detection task in which brief visual stimuli were presented to the left and right visual fields. Latencies generated by the ipsilateral stimulus-hand combinations were shorter than contralateral combinations only under certain conditions, impugning the hypothesis that the reaction time difference reflects interhemispheric transfer time. Certain evoked potential components recorded contralateral to the stimulus occurred earlier than their ipsilateral counterparts, but whether this difference can be interpreted as representing interhemispheric transfer time is also questioned.


The use of 4,4'-biphenylbisdiazonium fluoroborate as a coupling agent for passive haemolysis tests. The possibility of use a stable diazonium compound, to replace bisdiazotized benzidin (BDB) for conjugating antigens to red blood cells was investigated. Five different batches of 4,4'-biphenylbisdiazonium fluoroborate (BDF) were prepared and tested in conjugation experiments. The sensitivity to specific lysis of red cells coated with different antigens (EG cells) was assayed by both direct and indirect passive haemolysis tests. Optimal conditions for the preparation of EG cells with different protein antigens were established. With the exception of the concentration of the bifunctional reagent, these conditions were similar to those previously reported for BDB. The antibody content of different anti-protein sera could be determined, with a 10 % error, by using EG cells prepared under optimal conditions in indirect passive haemolysis tests. The amount of antibody detected by this method varied from 7 to 12 ng N Ab/ml, depending upon the nature of the antigen fixed to red cell. The content of BSA in dilute solutions could be estimated by the specific inhibition of the indirect passive haemolysis tests. Testing different samples of BDF maintained at different conditions showed that the compound could be kept at room temperature, during the least four years, without appreciable loss of the conjugating properties, provided it was kept in the dry state and in the dark.


Effects of acetazolamide on myotonia.

Effects of acetazolamide on myotonia. Myotonia can occur in the periodic paralyses, particularly the hyperkalemic form. The beneficial response to acetazolamide in hypokalemic and hyperkalemic periodic paralysis has led us to study the effect of acetazolamide in 9 patients with disorders having myotonia as the major problem, 7 with myotonia congenita and 2 with paramyotonia congenita. Patients were studied before acetazolamide administration with glucose and potassium loading tests. All patients had an increase in myotonia with potassium, but no weakness occurred with either test. Acetazolamide treatment decreased myotonia in all patients and in 3 proved the most satisfactory therapy. Side-effects during acetazolamide therapy included paresthesias in 5 patients and renal calculus in 1. Flaccid weakness occurred in a patient with paramyotonia congenita. Acetazolamide treatment was associated in all patients with partially compensated metabolic acidosis and lowering of serum potassium within the normal range. Kaliuresis was also noted during introduction of therapy. Acetazolamide appears to be an acceptable treatment for occasional patients with myotonia who are unresponsive to or intolerant of other therapies.


Anatomical correlates of electrical and behavioral events related to amygdaloid kindling. Anatomical structures demonstrating increased glucose uptake during the various stages of amygdaloid kindling in rats were identified by the 14C-2-deoxyglucose (DG) autoradiographic technique. Partial (stages 1 and 2) seizures were correlated with increased DG uptake in the ipsilateral amygdala and its direct projection fields. The appearance of generalized motor (stages 3,4, and 5) seizures was accompanied by less limbic involvement and recruitment of a bilateral system including substantia nigra, specific and nonspecific thalamic nuclei, globus pallidus, and neocortex. Increased hippocampal DG uptake was correlated with prolonged amygdaloid after discharge duration but not with the behavioral seizure stage. This study does not reveal which of these structures are responsible for the observed behavioral and electrical events and which are activated by them. It does suggest, however, that three discrete anatomical systems underlie the generation of partial seizures, generalized motor seizures, and local after discharge.


Alexia and left homonymous hemianopia in a non-right-hander. A non-right-handed patient developed alexia without agraphia from a right occipital lobe infarction. An intracarotid amobarbital test showed left hemispheric dominance for speech. The cause of alexia in this patient could not be explained simply by the accepted disconnection hypothesis, which proposes that speech, handedness, and reading functions reside in the same hemisphere. The findings in this patient suggest that his speech function is located on the left, whereas his functions for reading and writing are located in the right hemisphere.


The malignancy of dementias.

The malignancy of dementias. Sruvival times were determined for 982 patients admitted over a ten-year period to the Geneva Psychiatric Clinic. Patients with dementia had one-third the life expectancy of controls. Among patients classed as having Alzheimer disease, the longest survival times were in those with neurofibrillary tangles involving the neocortex, while those lacking this anatomical abnormality had the shortest survival times. Except for women with Alzheimer disease, patients with dementia had less than 10% life expectancy from the time of their admission to the clinic compared to the life expectancy of Geneva's population.


[Formation of the anthracycline antibiotics, beromycin and nogalamycin, by a new actinomycete species, Streptomyces glomeratus sp. nov]. Culture 3980 was isolated from a soil sample and described as a new species, Streptomyces glomeratus sp. nov. It was found that the culture produced simultaneously 2 close anthracycline antibiotics, i. e. nogalamycin and beromycin, which were synthesized mainly in the mycelium. S. glomeratus differed from the nogalamycin and beromycin-producing organisms described earlier.


[Quantitative determination of the phenolic ester of phenylmalonic acid by an IR spectroscopy method]. A quantitative method was developed for determination of phenyl ether of phenylmalonic acid (I) in the presence of phenol. The method is based on measurement of the optic density of the characteristic absorption bands of I at 1133 and 1770 cm-1 of IR-spectrum. Absorption of I at the above frequencies responded to Ber's law. Determination of I (solution in methylen chloride) was carried out on a standard curve in accordance with equation y : bx for the both frequencies. The value of constants b of the direct regressions for the frequencies of 1133 and 1770 cm-1 were determined with relative errtor of +/- 1.2 and 2.3 per cent respectively. The correlation coefficients were equal to 0.98 and 0.95.


[Equilibrium distribution of weak electrolytes in an organic solvent-water system]. Distribution of cephalotin, 2-tienylacetic acid, phenacetyl-D-(--)-alpha-aminophenylacetic acid, weak acids and D-(--)-alpha-amino-phenylacetic acid methyl ether, a weak base in two-phase systems containing two immiscible liquid phases was studied. The constants of the intraphase and interphase equilibrium necessary for complete quantitative description of the system of electrolyte aqueous solution-organic solvent were determined.


[Dependence of the component makeup of the gentamicin complex on Micromonospora purpurea var. violacea 1935 cultivation conditions]. Dependence of biosynthesis of gentamicin and vitamin B12 on complex and "synthetic" media under conditions of decreased aeration, increased phosphorus levels and non-optimal content of carbon source was studied. The decreased levels of vitamin B12 production under conditions of the non-optimal content of the carbon source and increased phosphorus levels in the medium resulted in decreased production of the antibiotic complex as a whole and decreased relative content of the most methylated gentamicins C1 and C2 in the complex. Decreased aeration lowered the mycelium productivity with respect to the antibiotic production without changing the ratio of the components in the complex and the level of vitamin B12 production.


[Method of partitioning polyene macrolide antibiotics]. Levorin and mycoheptin, polyenic antibiotics were separated into 3 and 7 heptaenic components respectively by the method of disc electrophoresis in 7.5 per cent polyacryl amide gel prepared with tris-HCl buffer, pH 8.9. It was shown that nystatin had different composition as dependent on the organism producing it. The results of electrophoresis confirmed the data of the counter-current distribution.


[Antibacterial activity and bacteriophages of Bacillus pumilus]. Inducable defective phages analogous to those in Bac. subtilis were found in 5 strains of Bac. pumilus, 3 of which possessed antibacterial activity. A moderate bacteriophage was also induced in addition to the defective phage in strain ATCC 12140 not producing the antibiotic. It was found that the antibacterial activity was not associated with the presence of phages in the cultures. The data on the electron microscopic investigations are presented.


[Bacteriocinogenic activity of strains of the genus Erwinia]. Antibacterial activity of 272 Erwinia strains was studied. It was found that 182 or 66.9 per cent of the strains were capable of producing spontaneously antibacterial substances belonging to the class of bacteriocins; 125 bacteriocynogenic strains were divided into 25 groups on the basis of their antibacterial spectrum similarity; 57 bacteriocynogenic strains were not included into any of these groups because of their significant heterogenicity with respect to the feature studied. It was shown that most of the strains inhibited viability of the bacteria of both its own and other species. Investigation of the antagonistic activity of the Erwinia strains with broad antibacterial spectra with respect to E. coli indicative for colicins gave negative results. The study of the Erwinia strains sensitivity to the antibacterial effect of the bacteriocynogenic cultures showed that 210 out of 272 cultures were sensitive to separate bacteriocins.


[Standardization of the methods of determining microorganism sensitivity to antibiotics. The effect of the size of the inoculate on the results of determining microorganism sensitivity to antibiotics and its standardization]. The literature data and personal observations of the authors on the effect of the inoculate amount on the results of determination of microbial sensitivity to antibiotics by the methods of serial dilutions in the liquid and solid nutrient media and agar diffusion are discussed. It was shown that the inoculate of the density of 3.6.10(7) to 4.25.10(7) microbial bodies per 1 ml was optimal for the methods of agar diffusion and serial dilutions in agar. Recommendations for simplifying standardization and dilution of the inoculate are presented.


[Sodium nucleinate increase of nonspecific macroorganism resistance to conditionally pathogenic and pathogenic microorganisms]. Sodium nucleinate significantly increased the non-specific resistance of mice to E. coli O26, Ps. vulgaris, Ser. marcesens, Ps. aeruginosa, Kl. ozaenae and their associations and total resistance also accompanied by a significant decrease in the number of the bacteria in the spleen and blood, the total number of the cells in the peritoneal exudate and the number of the cells adhering to the glass (macrophages). The preparation is a low molecular RNA consisting mainly of fraction 3S and a small amount of fraction 4S. It contains 1.5 per cent of protein and 2 per cent of DNA and does not contain any polysaccharides. Repeated purification of sodium nucleinate lowering the levels of the admixtures 5 times did not change its efficacy. The low molecular RNA of the rat liver (4S) had a pronounced stimulating activity. On infection of the host stimulated with sodium nucleinate, formation of the post-infection immunity was not decreased.


[Pharmacokinetics of rifamycin].

[Pharmacokinetics of rifamycin]. Rifamycin pharmacokinetics was studied on experimental animals after the antibiotic administration by various routes. Parenteral use of the antibiotic resulted in its high levels in rats and rabbits. Irrespective of the administration route, i. e. intravenous, intramuscular or oral rifamycin satisfactorily penetrated into the rat tissues. The highest antibiotic levels were found in the animal liver. In small amounts the antibiotic was excreted with the urine (about 6 per cent for 4 hours). The extrarenal clearance of rifamycin was lower than the plasmic clearance only by 3 per cent and higher than the kidney clearance almost by 40 times. Rifamycin was bound in close amounts by the blood serum of humans, oxen and rabbits, i. e. by 68, 64 and 56 per cent respectively. The rat organ homogenates bound the antibiotic by 34--72 per cent.


[Comparative toxicity of oxytetracycline and its semisynthetic derivatives, methacycline and doxycycline]. The acute toxicity parameters of oxytetracycline and its semisynthetic derivatives was determined on laboratory animals of various species. The three antibiotics were described as belonging to the group of low toxic compounds according to the classification adopted in industrial toxicology. However, the absolute values of LD50 indicated that doxycycline was 5.6 or 2.8 times more toxic than oxyteyracycline or methacycline respectively. In addition, doxycycline had the most pronounced hepatoxic effect.


[Comparative cytogenetic action of the antitumor antibiotics, carminomycin and rubomycin]. A comparative mutagenic effect of karminomycin and rubomycin in LD50 on the cells of the rat bone marrow (71 animals) was studied. It was found that karminomycin had a higher and more prolonged mutagenic effect than rubomycin. Both antibiotics induced mainly chromatin deletions and not so frequent reconstructions. They are probably identical with respect to their mechanism of action on chromosomes.


[Transplantability, development and methotrexate sensitivity of mouse leukemia L1210 resistant to olivomycin]. A total of 52-fold passages of leukemia L-1210 were carried out for a year on mice treated intraperitoneally with olivomycin. Prolonged exposure to olivomycin resulted in decreased transplantability of the tumor cells. The tumor cells obtained under the effect of olivomycin were more sensitive (collateral sensitivity) to methotrexate as compared to the cells of the initial strain L-1210. An intramuscular route for transplantation of the tumor cells of leukemia L-1210 is recommended. The dosage intramuscular transplantation of the tumor cells provided simultaneously data on transplantability, tumor size and lifer-time of mice.


[Physiochemical properties of LIA-0191 A and B antibiotics]. An antifungal antibiotic LIA-0191 was isolated from the mycelium by methanol extraction. It was shown with thin-layer chromatography that it consisted of components A and B. Component A was isolated with collumn chromatography on silica gel, recrystalization from the solvent mixture as a monocomponent crystalline substance. On the basis of the physicochemical and biological properties it was identified with sentacidin. Component B was obtained from preparation LIA-0191 by the method of counter-current distribution and recrystalization from methanol. Comparison of its physico-chemical and biological properties with those of the known purines and pyrimidine pyrrol showed that antibiotic LIA-0191 B is new.


[Chemical characteristics of the antibiotic, memomycin (LIA-0775)]. By its physico-chemical and biological properties memomycin was classified as belonging to the group of hydrostatin-nifimycin. Memomycin contained  ester (or lactone) and amide, 7 C-methyl and 10-12 acetylating groups. Oxidation of the antibiotic with an excess of alkaline permanganate solution revealed the presence of an unbroken chain consisting at least of 8 methylen groups in the carbon skeleton of memomycin. Acid hydrolysis revealed no sugars and ninhidrine-positive components. Memomycin differed from the antibiotics close to nifimycin mainly in the UV-spectra. It differed from hydrostatin, muzarine, rinamycin and azalomycin by a complete set of physico-chemical properties and biological spectrum. On the basis of these data memomycin may be considered an original antibiotic.


[Hydrolysis of the amidine analogs of penicillins]. The products of the hydrolytic degradation of 6-beta-(hexahydro-IH-azepenyl-1)methylenamino) penicillanic acid, 6-beta-(N,N-dimethylformamidino-N1)-penicillanic acid and 6-beta-(morpholinyl-1)methylenamino penicillanic acid were identified with the method of thin-layer chromatography and paper electrophoresis in neutral, acid and alkaline solutions and in the presence of penicillinase. The data of the study showed that acid hydrolysis of the amidine analogues of penicillins resulted in cleavage of the beta-lactame cycle and formation of the respective penicillanic acids. In the alkaline medium the secondary amine (hexamethylenimine, dimethylamine, morpholine) was cleaved from the antibiotic side chain and the resulting N-formyl-6-aminopenicillanic acid was further cleaved up to peniciec acid. The beta-lactame cycle of the antibiotics was cleaved under the effect of penicillinase and the resulting penicilloinic acids degraded into peniciec acid, N-formylpeniciec acid and secondary amines. In the nutral solution the antibiotics were transformed into N-formyl-6-aminopenicillanic acid and penicilloinic acids at the first stage of the hydrolysis followed by their further degradation with formation of N-formylpeniciec acid, peniciec acid and secondary amines.


[Salmonella sensitivity to antibiotics]. Antibiotic sensitivity of 142 strains of Salmonella isolated from patients within 1974-1976 was studied. An increase in the number of the pathogenic microbes resistant to streptomycin was noted. Rare isolates highly resistant to ampicillin were registered. The number of Salmonella sensitive to other antibiotics did not practically change. Levomycetin proved to be a rather active drug in vitro. Still, its use in therapy of salmonelleses did not always produce positive results. The use of levomycetin in clinics is expedient only after careful and repeated estimation of antibioticograms.


[Bacteriostatic and bactericidal action of bile acids and antibiotics on staphylococci]. It was found in vitro that desoxycholic, cholic, glycocholic and choleinic acids inhibited the growth and development of staphylococci. The staphylococci isolated from bile were more resistant to the bacteriostatic and bactericidal effect of bile acids than the microorganisms isolated from other sources not containing cholates. Under the effect of these substances the activity of some antibiotics especially those from the group of aminoglycosides markedly increased.


[Distribution of 3H-carminomycin in the body of mice]. Distribution of 3H-carminomycin with the specific activity of 390 mCu/g prepared by the method of isotope exchange in 3H2O was investigated on mice treated with the antibiotic administered intravenously in a dose of 2 mg/kg. It was shown that the antibiotic rapidly accumulated in the mouse tissues, mainly in the liver, kidneys, lungs and spleen. The carminomycin blood levels markedly decreased within the first 5 minutes after the drug administration and remained rather stable during the following 6 hours. The concentrations of carminomycin in the heart muscle were comparatively low. Still, at early periods they were much higher than those in the skeletal muscles. The difference disappeared by 24 hours. Carminomycin penetrated into the tissues of the brain.


[Effect of the multiple peroral administration of carminomycin on the body of animals]. Toxicity of carminomycin used orally for many times was mainly evident from suppression of blood formation, the level of the suppression being dependent on the antibiotic dose. Carminomycin had a low suppressing effect on the white blood in rats. At low doses even moderate leucocytosis was observed. The indices of the functional state of the liver, kidneys, sugar blood levels, content of glycogen and fat in the liver, relative mass of the rat organs after repeated oral administrations of karminomycin to the animals remained mainly unchanged. A change in wave T on the ECG of the dogs treated with high doses of the antibiotic was registered. Histological examination of the organs and tissues of the animals killed after repeated oral administrations of carminomycin revealed pathological changes only in the spleen and thin intestine. Such changes were not more pronounced than those after repeated intravenous administration of the equivalent doses of the antibiotic (by the effect on the blood formation). This allowed the author to recommend the oral administration route for carminomycin trials in clinics.


[Components of a native solution that displace the equilibrium distribution of oleandomycin during extraction]. A marked decrease in the coefficient of oleandomycin distribution in the system of the fermentation broth filtrate-butyl acetate was observed during the transfer from the 1st to the following extraction stages. It was supposed that the oleandomycin fermentation broth filtrate contained admixtures affecting significantly the antibiotic distribution between the aqueous phase and organic solvent.


[Disinfection of surgical silk with decamethoxin, antibiotics and their combinations]. The disinfecting effect of decametoxin, antibiotics, such as bensylpenicillin, streptomycin, monomycin and their combinations was studied on surgical threads of various thickness previously infected with Staph. aureus, Pr. vulgaris, Bac. anthracis, E. coli, Ps. aeruginosa and Bac. subtilis. It was shown that disinfection of the surgical silk with 0.1% solution of decametoxin for 15 minutes followed by its treatment with an antibiotic solution for 105 minutes provided absolute sterility. Treatment of the surgical silk with decametoxin and antibiotic combinations alone did not provide absolute destruction of the above test-microbes. It was found that treatment of the silk with 0.1% decametoxin solution for 24 hours did not decrease its strength.


[Case of the successful use of carminomycin in combination with cyclophosphane and vincristine in treating ectopic chondrosarcoma of rare localization in a 5-month-old infant]. Two relapses of ectopic chondrosarcoma of rare localization were registered at early periods in a 5-month child after surgical operation. Complete regression of the tumor was observed after the 1st course of combined therapy with karminomycin, vincristin and cyclophosphan. Subsequent observations for 2 years showed that the child was practically healthy.


[Significance of a urinary infection for the diagnosis, clinical course and histological characteristics of epithelial bladder tumors. The results of antibacterial therapy]. Examination of the case records and histological preparations of 1150 patients with epithelial tumors of the bladder revealed urine infection with inflammation in the bladder wall in 12.1% of the cases. The inflammation not only aggravated the clinical progress of the disease but also interfere with determination of the real tumor size on cytoscopy and cystotomography. Leucocytes, macrophages, edema zones in the granulation tissue were found in great numbers in addition to the usual lympho-plasmocytal infiltration in the cases with intravesical infection in the tumor stroma and perifocally. The signs of cystic or grandular cystitis and more seldom the foci of the transitional epithelium epidermization were found at a distance of 2-4 sm from the tumor in 66.6% of the patients. The signs of the infection and inflammation disappeared after antibacterial therapy in 96.8% of the patients. It was not possible to eliminate the infection and inflammation in 1/3 of the patients with exoendophite and endophite tumors, especially in those predisposed to necrosis.


[Effect of inhalatory therapy with antibacterial preparations on the fungal-yeastlike flora of the respiratory tracts in pulmonary tuberculosis]. A total of 254 patients with various forms of the lung tuberculosis were examined on the presence of the yeast-like flora; 130 patients out of them (the main group) were subjected to complex antibacterial therapy including inhalation with antitubercle drugs and 124 patients (control) were not treated with inhalation. On acceptance to the stationary the fungal flora was registered in 22.4% of the patients including 20.9% of the males and 29.2% of the females. The fungi were found more often in old patients (33.3%), patients with diseases of long duration (29.7%) and patients with fibrous cavernous tuberculosis of the lungs (27.1%). It was shown that the local treatment of the patients suffering from the lung tuberculosis with antitubercle drugs including streptomycin had no significant effect on either the period of the fungi carrying (22.3% before the treatment and 21.5% after the treatment, P less than 0.05), or development of the fungal diseases (1.9% in the main group and 1.6% in the control group, P greater than 0.05).


Cerebrospinal fluid penetration of amikacin. Adult volunteers underwent a single lumbar puncture 1 to 8.5 h after one 7.5-mg/kg intramuscular amikacin injection. Eighteen showed no detectable drug in cerebrospinal fluid; six had concentrations <0.5 mug/ml.


Iodometric assay method for beta-lactamase with various beta-lactam antibiotics as substrates. The rapid fixed-time assay for penicillinase was modified for measuring beta-lactamase activity with twelve substrates, i.e., benzylpenicillin, ampicillin, cloxacillin, methicillin, carbenicillin, cefazolin, cephalothin, cephaloglycin, cephalexin, cephalosporin C, 7-aminocephalosporanic acid, and cefoxitin. The method depends upon the reduction of iodine by the hydrolyzed substrate. Determined experimentally, 1 mol of hydrolyzed penicillins consumed 3.4 to 4.0 mol of iodine (I(2)). Iodine consumption of hydrolyzed cephalosporins varied widely from 1.7 for cephalothin to 3.7 for cefazolin. The method is useful for routine assay of beta-lactamase activity with various substrates.


Surveillance of gentamicin-resistant gram-negative bacilli in a general hospital. Aerobic gram-negative bacilli isolated from clinical specimens from 1 January to 31 December 1976 were tested for gentamicin and tobramycin resistance by standardized disk testing. For Pseudomonas isolates, gentamicin resistance was 17.1% and tobramycin resistance was 2.8%. For other gram-negative bacilli, gentamicin resistance was 5.5% and tobramycin resistance was 5.4%. Seventy-four patients from whom gentamicin-resistant organisms were isolated from 1 January to 30 June 1976 were studied prospectively. These patients were elderly, had serious underlying diseases, and had received prior antibiotic therapy. Eleven patients carried gentamicin-resistant organisms at the time of transfer to our hospital from community hospitals or nursing homes. Of the 82 isolates from these 74 patients, 52 were from the urine. Pseudomonas was found most frequently (32 isolates), followed by Klebsiella (15 isolates), Enterobacter (10 isolates), Serratia (10 isolates), and Proteus (9 isolates). Only 3 of 32 Pseudomonas isolates caused symptomatic infection, while 16 of 50 other gram-negative bacilli were responsible for symptomatic infection. Although amikacin was the most active drug against gentamicin-resistant gram-negative bacilli and had not been used in our hospital at the time of this study, 25% of Pseudomonas and 18% of all gram-negative bacilli showed resistance to this aminoglycoside.


Azlocillin and mezlocillin: new ureido penicillins. The activity of azlocillin and mezlocillin, new semisynthetic ureido penicillins, was investigated and compared with that of other known beta-lactam antibiotics. At a concentration of 25 mug/ml, azlocillin inhibited 74% of Enterobacter, 97% of Proteus mirabilis, 64% of Citrobacter, 91% of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and 82% of Bacteroides strains tested. Mezlocillin inhibited 86% of Shigella, 96% of Enterobacter, 80% of indole-positive Proteus, 88% of Bacteroides, and 63% of Pseudomonas strains tested. Azlocillin was more active against Pseudomonas than was ticarcillin, carbenicillin, or mezlocillin. Mezlocillin was more active than carbenicillin and ampicillin against Escherichia coli, Klebsiella, Enterobacter, Citrobacter, Acinetobacter, Serratia, and Bacteroides. Azlocillin and mezlocillin were less active than cefazolin against beta-lactamase-producing E. coli and Klebsiella strains but more active than cefazolin against Enterobacter, indole-positive Proteus, Acinetobacter, Citrobacter, and Serratia strains. Both compounds showed activity equivalent to that of cefoxitin against Bacteroides isolates. Both agents were destroyed by many of the beta-lactamases from gram-negative organisms.


In vitro studies of piperacilin, a new semisynthetic penicillin. Piperacillin, a new semisynthetic penicillin, was compared with other semisynthetic penicillins, cephalosporins, and aminoglycosides by the agar dilution method against 3,600 isolates of facultative gram-negative bacilli, Bacteroides fragilis, and enterococci. At 64 mug/ml, piperacillin inhibited 90% of the isolates in each group of organisms tested except for Escherichia coli (83% inhibited by 64 mug/ml). Compared with carbenicillin, piperacillin had a 16-fold increase in activity by weight against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and the enterococcus, an 8-fold increase against Serratia marcescens, and a 4-fold increase against B. fragilis and Enterobacter species. Piperacillin was highly active against carbenicillin-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae and inhibited many aminoglycoside-resistant organisms. Except for P. aeruginosa, the minimum bactericidal concentration of piperacillin was usually within one tube dilution of the minimum inhibitory concentration. Approximately one-third of the gram-negative bacilli were inhibited synergistically by piperacillin plus amikacin, but no synergy could be demonstrated against enterococci. Piperacillin's in vitro activity against gram-negative bacilli was similar to gentamicin's except that it also included B. fragilis, and piperacillin was decidedly superior to presently available penicillins against K. pneumoniae.


Pharmacology of cefaclor in normal volunteers and patients with renal failure. After a 500-mg dose of cefaclor, the mean peak plasma level was 12.4 mug/ml and after a 250-mg dose it was 5 mug/ml in normal volunteers. Food intake significantly reduced absorption. Probenecid prolonged plasma levels. Mean plasma half-life in normal volunteers was 0.8 h. Only about 50% of the dose was excreted in the urine within 4 h in normal volunteers. Plasma half-life in patients with renal insufficiency was only about 3 h, which suggests that cefaclor may be eliminated by nonrenal mechanisms in humans. Urinary levels of cefaclor were adequate to inhibit susceptible pathogens even in patients with moderately severe renal failure. Plasma half-life during hemodialysis was 2.1 h and rose to 2.8 h after dialysis.


Pharmacokinetic comparison of oral bacampicillin and parenteral ampicillin. Bacampicillin is a new oral prodrug which is rapidly converted to ampicillin during absorption from the gastrointestinal tract. High serum peaks of ampicillin are obtained. Bacampicillin orally was compared pharmacokinetically with parenteral ampicillin (intravenously and intramuscularly). A cross-over study on healthy volunteers showed that ampicillin concentrations after equimolar doses of bacampicillin orally and ampicillin intramuscularly were of the same order. The mean of the individual peak values (regardless of time of occurrence) after a dose of 800 mg of bacampicillin was 13.1 +/- 3.8 mug/ml. Absorption rates of the two doses were similar, as were their distribution volumes (approximately 25% of the body weight). Bioavailability was 87% for bacampicillin, compared to 71% for ampicillin.


Excretion of cefamandole, cefazolin, and cephalothin into T-tube bile. The biliary tract excretion of cefamandole, cefazolin, and cephalothin was measured in eight patients with T-tubes inserted into their common ducts after ductal exploration for biliary tract stones. Each patient received 1.0 g intravenously of each cephalosporin on 3 separate days; T-tube bile and serum were collected at selected time intervals thereafter. In seven patients, bile and urine were collected for 6 h after the administration of each drug. Mean peak levels of cefamandole, cefazolin, and cephalothin in bile were 352, 46, and 12 mug/ml, respectively. The respective mean peak serum levels were 55.0, 92.8, and 32.4 mug/ml. Despite the fact that peak serum levels of cefazolin were 1.5 times those of cefamandole, levels in bile of cefamandole were about 8 times those of cefazolin. Over a 6-h period, almost three times as much cefamandole was excreted into bile as was cefazolin. Therefore, in those patients with biliary tract sepsis, in whom a cephalosporin is indicated for therapy, cefamandole appears to be the drug of choice.


Susceptibility of Staphylococcus aureus to cefaclor and cephalothin: laboratory and clinical studies. In vitro susceptibility tests of 201 strains of Staphylococcus aureus by agar dilution revealed 90% to be susceptible to 8 mug or less of cefaclor per ml. Strains from hospitalized children and adults were more often resistant than those from patients with bullous impetigo. Cephalothin was more active than cefaclor against all strains tested. Results with disk tests, including those strains examined from the clinical investigation, revealed some discrepancies in identifying strains more resistant to cefaclor. In clinical studies, cefaclor proved quite effective for the treatment of bullous impetigo. Of 73 patients, 90% were cured and 7% improved after completing 5 or more days of treatment. Prompt improvement was noted among most patients seen 3 to 5 days after treatment was begun. One patient experienced mild diarrhea. There were no other adverse or toxic manifestations attributable to therapy.


Comparison of serum bactericidal activity among three antimicrobial combinations. Three antimicrobial combinations, ticarcillin plus cephalothin (T+C), ticarcillin plus gentamicin (T+G), and cephalothin plus gentamicin (C+G), were administered to 105 febrile granulocytopenic cancer patients at the Baltimore Cancer Research Center as part of a multi-institutional prospective randomized antibiotic trial. The sera from 32 of these patients (T+C-10 patients, T+G-10 patients, and C+G-12 patients) obtained 1 h post-antibiotic administration were examined for bactericidal activity against 11 strains each of the most common pathogens infecting the granulocytopenic host: Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus. Each of the three antibiotic regimens produced a high degree of bactericidal activity in these sera against S. aureus and E. coli. P. aeruginosa was equally, although poorly, killed by sera containing ticarcillin (T+G, T+C), whereas C+G produced no measurable serocidal activity (P < 0.05). Sera with C+G killed K. pneumoniae more effectively than T+G; T+C produced the least killing effect of the three regimens against this organism (P < 0.05). The bactericidal activity of the serum from these 32 patients supplements the overall clinical results of the multi-institutional antibiotic trial and suggests that T+G is a useful initial regimen for empiric therapy of febrile episodes in granulocytopenic cancer patients.


Inclusion of xylan in a medium for the enumeration of total culturable rumen bacteria. The influence of the inclusion of xylan in a medium for enumeration of total culturable rumen bacteria was investigated. Maximum colony numbers were obtained on a medium, GCSX-2, which contained 0.033% each glucose and cellobiose and 0.067% each soluble starch and xylan. This medium gave higher colony counts than either medium 98-5 of Bryant and Robinson (J. Dairy Sci. 44:1446-1456, 1961), medium 98-5 of Chung and Hungate (Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 32:649-652, 1976), containing an added lucerne (hemicellulose + cellulose) fiber substrate, or medium GCSX-2 with the added lucerne (hemicellulose + cellulose) fraction. The time of collection of rumen fluid influenced the colony counts on the media containing the lucerne fiber substrate but was without effect on medium GCSX-2.


Virus accumulation by the rock oyster Crassostrea glomerata. The accumulation of virus by the New Zealand rock oyster Crassostrea glomerata has been studied in a static seawater system using radioactively labeled reovirus type III and Semliki Forest virus. The uptake of virus was found to be less rapid than for the bacterium Escherichia coli and to be unaffected by the presence of the marine alga Dunaliella primolecta in the seawater. Accumulation was dependent on virus concentration, with saturation achieved at 4 X 10(10) reovirus particles per oyster, implying that an oyster possesses a large but finite number of sites for virus adsorption. When the rates of uptake of two viruses of similar size but differing surface properties were compared, the rate of accumulation of the lipoprotein-enveloped Semliki Forest virus was found to be less than that for the protein-enclosed reovirus. This observation, together with the finding that the oyster shell has a strong affinity for virus, suggests that surface properties, rather than size, are the principal factors governing the accumulation of viruses by filter-feeding marine bivalves.


Effect of sulfur-containing compounds on anaerobic degradation of cellulose to methane by mixed cultures obtained from sewage sludge. Tests were made to determine the effects of inorganic and organic sulfur sources on the degradation of cellulose to methane in a chemically defined medium with sulfur-poor inoculum prepared from sewage sludge. The results show that a sulfur source of about a 0.85 mM concentration is essential for the degradation of cellulose to CH4. However, the production of CH4 from CO2 and H2 provided in the headspace occurred with 0.1 mM sulfate or sulfide. At a 9 mM concentration, all inorganic sulfur compounds other than sulfate inhibited both cellulose degradation and methane formation, and this inhibition increased in the order thiosulfate less than sulfite less than sulfide less than H2S. It appears that the degradation of cellulose to CH4 in a sulfate-free medium by inoculum maintained in a low-sulfur medium is inhibited because of the lack of availability of sulfur for growth of bacteria and synthesis of cell materials and sulfur-containing cofactors involved in cellulose degradation and methanogenesis. The reduction of methanogenesis by higher levels of sulfate probably occurs as a result of stimulation of reactions converting acetate and H2 to end products other than CH4.


Antimetabolite sensitivity and magnesium uptake by thermally stressed Vibrio parahaemolyticus. Metabolic inhibitors were added to a culture medium inoculated with theramlly stressed Vibrio parahaemolyticus to obtain information pertaining to biosynthetic processes required for recovery from heat damage. Ribonucleic acid and protein syntheses, in addition to membrane repair, were required during recovery of injured cells. Neither nucleic acid nor Mg2+ leakage was noted to occur during the time cells were subjected to heat stress. Studies revealed that Mg2+ was apparently taken up by cells of V. parahaemolyticus during the first 30 min after thermal treatment, indicating a possible increased requirement for Mg2+ for membrane and/or ribosome stability and repair.


Lignocellulose decomposition by selected streptomyces strains. From 30 actinomycete cultures isolated by enrichment technique on agar media containing newsprint as a primary carbon and energy source, three Streptomyces strains were selected for characterization of their lignocellulose-decomposing abilities. All three streptomycetes were capable of oxidizing specifically 14C-labeled lignocelluloses to 14CO2. These Streptomyces were shown to attack primarily the cellulosic (glucan) components, of which between 25 to 40% evolved as 14CO2 during 1,025 h of incubation depending upon the culture used. Lignin labeled lignocelluloses were also attacked, but to a lesser degree, with up to about 3.5% being oxidized to 14CO2 depending upon the culture used. Additionally, it was shown that purified 14C-labeled milled-wood lignin was attacked, with recoveries of up to 17.7% of the label was 14CO2. This is the first conclusive evidence to show that streptomycetes can decompose lignin.


Phytoplankton uptake and excretion of assimilated nitrate in a small Canadian shield lake. Nitrate uptake in the epilemnetic waters of a small eutrophic Canadian Shield lake was studied by using a 15N method during summer stratification. Concurrent with inhibition of primary production, 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea inhibited NO3- assimilation. Nitrate up to 1 mg of N/liter did not affect the rate of primary production during 3 h of incubation. The NO3- fertilizer added to the lake weekly was consumed through algal assimilation in about 3 days. Excretion of the photoassimilated NO3- as dissolved organic nitrogen represented a significant portion of the nutrient incorporated by the cells. Only 40% of the NO3- -15N which disappeared could be accounted for in the particulate fraction. Although the rest was presumably excreted, only 15% of the 15N label was accounted for as cationic dissolved organic nitrogen by isotope assays. These excreted organic forms were predominantly serine and glycine in the dissolved free amino acid fraction. Bacteria as well as algae might be expected to contribute to and modify the extracellular nitrogen pool.


Influence of ammonium chloride on the nitrogenase activity of nodulated pea plants (Pisum sativum). A study was made on the short-term effect of ammonium ions on the nitrogenase activity of pea root nodules. Nodulated pea plants (Pisum sativum), having reached maximum acetylene-reducing activity, were supplied with NH4Cl (20 mM). Nitrogenase activity of intact plants, detached nodules, and isolated bacteroids was measured at differed time intervals. A significant drop (20 to 40%) in the acetylene-reducing activity of treated intact plants and their detached nodules was observed after 1 day. No drop in the nitrogenase activity of bacteroids (assayed aerobically, or anaerobically after treatment with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid-toluene) occurred for 2 to 4 days after the addition of NH4+ to the plants, depending on cultural conditions. From these results it is concluded that the adverse effect of NH4+ on acetylene reduction by intact plants and detached nodules during the first 2 days is not due to a decrease in the amount of nitrogenase in the bacteroids. It is suggested that the effect has to be attributed to a reduced supply to the bacteroids of energy-delivery photosynthates.


Production of cyclochlorotine and a new metabolite, simatoxin, by Penicillium islandicum Sopp. Production of the hepatotoxin cyclochlorotine by Penicillium islandicum was studied under a variety of fermentation conditions. The best system for production was agitated red wheat. A thin-layer chromatographic method was developed for the detection of this cyclic polypeptide. These experiments have resulted in the isolation of a new toxic metabolite, which we call simatoxin.


Airborne bacteria in an urban environment. Samples were taken at random intervals over a 2-year period from urban air and tested for viable bacteria. The number of bacteria in each sample was determined, and each organism isolated was identified by its morphological and biochemical characteristics. The number of bacteria found ranged from 0.013 to 1.88 organisms per liter of air sampled. Representatives of 19 different genera were found in 21 samples. The most frequently isolated organisms and their percent of occurence were Micrococcus (41%), Staphylococcus (11%), and Aerococcus (8%). The bacteria isolated were correlated with various weather and air pollution parameters using the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient method. Statistically significant correlations were found between the number of viable bacteria isolated and the concentrations of nitric oxide (-0.45), nitrogen dioxide (+0.43), and suspended particulate pollutants (+0.56). Calculated individually, the total number of Micrococcus, Aerococcus, and Staphylococcus, number of rods, and number of cocci isolated showed negative correlations with nitric oxide and positive correlations with nitrogen dioxide and particulates. Statistically significant positive correlations were found between the total number of rods isolated and the concentration of nitrogen dioxide (+0.54) and the percent relative humidity (+0.43). The other parameters tested, sulfur dioxide, hydrocarbons, and temperature, showed no significant correlations.


Electrophoretic protein patterns and enzyme mobilities in anaerobic coryneforms. The soluble protein patterns and electrophoretic mobilities of malate and succinate dehydrogenases and catalase have been examined in 25 strains of Propionibacterium acnes, P. granulosum, and P. avidum. A distinctive protein pattern for each species was found, and it was possible also to distinguish the serotypes within P. acnes and P. avidum. Strains of P. acnes, P. granulosum, and P. avidum could be differentiated by the mobilities of their malate dehydrogenases. Catalase activity was detected in the soluble fractions of all strains. Catalases from P. acnes and P. avidum strains had the same mobility, whereas that from P. granulosum was slightly slower. Under the conditions used, succinate dehydrogenase activity could be detected, but the patterns were not distinctive.


Transduction in Bacillus thuringiensis.

Transduction in Bacillus thuringiensis. Bacteriophage CP-51, originally reported as a generalized transducing phage for Bacillus cereus and B. anthracis, has been shown to carry out generalized transduction in several strains of B. thuringiensis. A newly isolated phage, CP-54, which has a broader host range than CP-51, also mediates generalized transduction in B. thuringiensis. CP-51 and CP-54 are similar in size and morphology and are related serologically, but they are not identical. CP-54 is more cold labile than CP-51, and, as with CP-51, its stability both at 0 and 15 degrees C is enhanced by the presence of 0.02 M Mg2+. Some examples of cotransduction of linked markers in B. thuringiensis are presented, demonstrating the feasibility of chromosomal mapping in this organism. The rare occurrence of cross-transduction among strains of B. thuringiensis is probably a reflection of nonhomology rather than restriction, since phage itself did not appear to be restricted when grown on a particular host and assayed with other hosts as indicator.


Survival of bacillus licheniformis on human skin. The colonization and survival of Bacillus species, members of the cutaneous microbial community of humans, were investigated by applying spores of Bacillus licheniformis to the forearms of volunteers. Four strains were tested, including the bacitracin producer ATCC 10716 and its bacitracin-negative mutant. Germination occurred within 24 h. Significant differences in survival population and duration were found among the test strains; however, ATCC 10716 and its mutant produced statistically similar survival curves. In general, an inoculum density of 10(4) colony-forming units per cm2 allowed survival for at least 2 weeks. Individual variation was extreme, for one subject harbored bacilli for over 2 months and another eliminated the microorganism within 3 days. Individuals could be differentiated into long-term (greater than 21 days) and short-term (less than 14 days) carriers. Eight of the 11 volunteers (73%) inoculated with ATCC 10716 carried it for 2 weeks, and 5 subjects (45%) continued to support the bacilli for 3 weeks. Spreading of the organism to other regions of the body occurred, but bacilli were not detected in these areas beyond 6 days.


Interactions of Bacillus licheniformis ATCC 10716 and normal flora of human skin. To determine whether antibiotic production might be ecologically advantageous in the survival of Bacillus species on human skin, we applied spores of a bacitracin-producing strain of Bacillus licheniformis (ATCC 10716) to the forearms of 11 volunteers. Three additional strains of B. licheniformis which did not synthesize antibiotics, including a mutant of ATCC 10716, were used in subsequent control trials. Samples of flora were taken from inoculated and control (opposite forearm) sites during the colonization period, generally 3 weeks. Although population densities were unaltered, changes in the carriage, composition, and bacitracin sensitivity of resident flora were related with the presence of ATCC 10716 only, which suggests that microbial interactions are important in bacillus colonization and in maintenance of normal flora. Interactions were examined in vitro by comparing growth curves of representative skin bacteria, including isolates of Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus saprophyticus, Micrococcus luteus, and a large-colony diphtheroid, grown individually, in mixed culture with each other, and together in presence of each test strain of B. licheniformis. We observed some diminution of growth of M. luteus and the diphtheroid in the first mixed culture, and the diphtheroid was completely retarded in common culture with ATCC 10716. Lesser antibiotic effects were seen on the cocci, whose rank of sensitivity was similar to that in vivo. The growth of the diphtheroid was enhanced in mixed culture with those strains of bacilli which lack antibiotic activity.