J Am Vet Med Assoc, 1993 Sep 15, 203(6), 834 - 7 Clinical and laboratory findings in chronic conjunctivitis in cats: 91 cases (1983-1991); Nasisse MP et al.; Clinical findings and laboratory test results from 91 cats with chronic conjunctivitis were studied to determine the causes of the disease and the sensitivity of diagnostic procedures used, and to identify correlations between results of various diagnostic procedures and clinical or signalment variations . Mean age of affected cats was 2.9 +/- 2.7 years (+/- SD), with a range from 1 month to 11 years . Conjunctivitis was more likely to be bilateral (56 cats) than unilateral (35 cats) . In cats tested for FeLV or feline immunodeficiency virus infection, 15 and 8.5%, respectively, of the results were positive, compared with 4 and 2.6% for the general hospital population . Culturing or immunofluorescent assay (IFA) for feline herpesvirus 1 (FHV-1) and Chlamydia psittaci IFA resulted in identification of pathogens (positive test results) in 19% (FHV-1) and 18% (C psittaci) of tested cats . For FHV-1, culturing was more sensitive than was IFA, yielding positive results in 19 vs 8.8% of cases . In only 1 cat were FHV-1 and chlamydiae recovered . The probability of positive test results for FHV-1 or chlamydiae was unrelated to concurrent corneal disease, unilateral vs bilateral involvement, or age . Cause of conjunctivitis could not be definitively determined in the remaining 35 cases tested for both agents . Bacterial species considered to be potentially pathogenic were isolated from conjunctival sac specimens in only 1 of 38 attempts . Cytologic changes considered compatible with chlamydial or FHV-1 infection (intracytoplasmic inclusions or multinucleated epithelial cells, respectively) were found in 8 and 5 cases, respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS) Biochim Biophys Acta, 1993 Sep 13, 1144(2), 221 - 4 Intimate relationships of the large and the small subunits of all nickel hydrogenases with two nuclear-encoded subunits of mitochondrial NADH: ubiquinone oxidoreductase; Albracht SP; The sequence pattern CxxCxnGxCxxxGxmGCPP, thus far found in the small subunits from 21 different nickel hydrogenases, appears also to be present in the PSST polypeptide from NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase (Complex I) of beef-heart mitochondria . There is only one difference: the first cysteine residue is a leucine in the PSST subunit . The large nickel-binding subunit of nickel hydrogenases shows a surprising homology with the 49 kDa subunit of mitochondrial Complex I. Vet Rec, 1993 Sep 11, 133(11), 260 - 3 Feline bordetellosis: challenge and vaccine studies; Jacobs AA et al.; Four eight-week-old cats, shown to be free from feline calicivirus, feline herpesvirus and Chlamydia psittaci were challenged with an aerosol of Bordetella bronchiseptica . Within five days the cats developed signs of respiratory disease, characterised by nasal discharge, sneezing, spontaneous or induced coughing and dry or wet rales at auscultation . These signs were present for about 10 days, after which they began to resolve . To test the protective capacity of an experimental fimbrial antigen-based subunit vaccine, 10 kittens were vaccinated twice, with two weeks between the vaccinations, and five kittens were left unvaccinated . Two weeks after the booster the 15 kittens were challenged with an aerosol of B bronchiseptica as the sole pathogen . On the day of challenge the vaccinated kittens had a mean bordetella antibody titre of 2(9.5) whereas the control cats remained seronegative (titre < 2(2)) . The control cats developed signs of respiratory disease after challenge, whereas the vaccinated cats were almost completely protected . The degrees of protection against rhinitis, sneezing, spontaneous or induced coughing, and dry or wet rales at auscultation were 100 per cent, 95 per cent, 95 per cent and 100 per cent, respectively . Furthermore, the vaccinated kittens cleared the challenge bacteria more quickly than the controls, resulting in a reduction of 80 per cent on days 15 and 18 after challenge and a reduction of 99 per cent on days 22 and 29 after challenge . The results show that B bronchiseptica can act as a primary pathogen in cats and that a vaccine containing the fimbrial antigen induces a protective immune response. Biochemistry, 1993 Sep 7, 32(35), 9199 - 208 Protein conformational changes in tetraheme cytochromes detected by FTIR spectroelectrochemistry: Desulfovibrio desulfuricans Norway 4 and Desulfovibrio gigas cytochromes c3; Schlereth DD et al.; The conformational change coupled to the redox processes of two tetraheme cytochromes c3 from bacteria of the genus Desulfovibrio have been studied by UV-vis and FTIR difference spectroscopy combined with protein electrochemistry . Two pairs of equivalent hemes were found in Desulfovibrio desulfuricans Norway 4 cytochrome c3 by UV-vis spectroelectrochemical redox titration in an optically transparent thin-layer electrochemical cell . In contrast to this, Desulfovibrio gigas cytochrome c3 showed a UV-vis difference spectrum for the highest potential heme different from that of the others . The redox titrations were monitored by FTIR difference spectroscopy using the same spectroelectrochemical cell . They show that in both cytochromes the overall redox process from the fully oxidized (III4) to the fully reduced oxidation state (II4), III4<==>II4, proceeds via an intermediate oxidation stage (III2II2) which is formed after the second electron uptake . The small amplitude of the difference signals in the reduced-minus-oxidized FTIR difference spectra obtained for the overall redox process in both Desulfovibrio cytochromes indicates a very small conformational change induced by the redox transition . Nevertheless, by application of potential steps from the fully oxidized or reduced form to the midwave potential (as obtained from the UV-vis redox titrations), the reduced-minus-oxidized IR difference spectra corresponding to the intermediate redox transitions (III4<==>III2II2 and III2II2<==>II4) were obtained, reflecting separately the contributions of the high- and low-potential heme pairs to the overall redox-induced conformational change . The overall redox process and both intermediate redox transitions were fully reversible . In the spectral region between 1500 and 1200 cm-1 the IR difference spectra of both cytochromes show several signals previously observed in the reduced-minus-oxidized IR difference spectra of spinach cytochrome b559 and iron-protoporphyrin IX-bis(imidazole) model compounds {Berthomieu, C., Boussac, A., Mantele, W., Breton, J., & Nabedryk, E . (1992) Biochemistry 31, 11460-11471} . Moreover, Raman spectra of Desulfovibrio vulgaris cytochrome c3 and cytochrome b5 show signals attributed to Raman active heme skeletal modes at nearly the same positions {Kitagawa, T., Kyogoyu, Y., Izuka, T., Ikeda-Saito, M., & Yamanaka, T . (1975) J . Biochem . 78, 719-728}, thus allowing their assignment to signals arising from heme vibrational modes . Comparatively strong IR difference signals at 1618 cm-1, which are tentatively assigned to phenylalanine residues, were found in D . desulfuricans cytochrome c3 . In the spectra of D . gigas cytochrome c3, IR signals at 1614 cm-1 were detected only for the first redox transition (III4<==>III2II2).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS) Biochemistry, 1993 Sep 7, 32(35), 8981 - 6 2'-Hydroxyl groups important for exon polymerization and reverse exon ligation reactions catalyzed by a group I ribozyme; Berzal-Herranz A et al.; The functional importance of ribose moieties in both exons and in intron sequences proximal to the 3' splice site of a group I intron has been analyzed using a novel exon polymerization reaction . The ribozyme is a modified version of a self-splicing bacterial tRNA intron (I) that attacks a 20-nucleotide synthetic ligated exon substrate (E1.E2), yielding E1 and I.E2 by reverse exon ligation . A series of repetitive reactions then polymerize E2 on the 3' end of the intron; attack by E1 subsequently generates E1.(E2)n . Systematic deoxyribonucleotide substitution within E1.E2 was used to probe the function of 2'-hydroxyl groups in each exon and the 3'-terminal nucleotides of the intron . We find that ribose at the splice junction (U-1) and at the two adjacent positions with E1 (A-2, C-3) is important for reverse exon ligation . Within E2, deletion of 2'-hydroxyl groups of the nucleotides that form P10 does not affect reactivity . In contrast, ribose at the 3' end of the intron is essential for reverse exon ligation, and the presence of a 2'-OH group in each of the nucleotides comprising P9.0{3'} contributes to reaction efficiency . These results support a model in which specific 2'-hydroxyl groups at and adjacent to the reaction sites form tertiary contacts that serve to stabilize interactions with the catalytic core of the ribozyme . Furthermore, they suggest that the mechanism by which guanosine at the 3' end of the intron is activated for reverse exon ligation is the same as that by which guanosine mononucleotide is activated in the first step of splicing. Oncol Nurs Forum, 1993 Sep, 20(8), 1241 - 50 Influences of nutrition and stress on people at risk for neutropenia: nursing implications; Carter LW; Neutropenia may be influenced by malignancy type, treatment, age extremes, inadequate nutrition, or psychological stress . Of these five factors, only nutrition and stress are amenable to nursing intervention and management . The increasing trend of providing treatment in the outpatient setting and managing the patient with neutropenia in the home challenges nurses to develop innovative methods of care . This article offers suggestions to assist nurses in the creative management of individuals at risk for neutropenia by maximizing nutrition and minimizing psychological stress . This discussion addresses the physiology of the inflammatory immune response; pathophysiology of neutropenia; factors that may influence the risk of infection, such as sustained stress, dietary fiber, antioxidant vitamins, and food-borne bacteria; and interventions that reduce the potential for neutropenic sepsis . Nursing implications that reduce the risk of neutropenic infection include patient education related to nutrition, stress management, and self-care. Pediatr Infect Dis J, 1993 Sep, 12(9), 726 - 32 A comparative evaluation of cefaclor and amoxicillin in the treatment of acute otitis media; Mandel EM et al.; In an earlier study of 214 children with acute otitis media (AOM) randomly assigned to a 14-day course of either cefaclor or amoxicillin, 55.7% of cefaclor-treated subjects were effusion-free compared with 41.2% of amoxicillin-treated subjects at the end of treatment . The present study was conducted to determine whether, in a 1-year period, subjects treated with cefaclor for each episode would have middle ear effusion for significantly less time than those treated with amoxicillin for each episode . One hundred fifty-seven subjects with AOM were enrolled . No statistically significant differences were found between the cefaclor-treated and amoxicillin-treated groups in number of subjects effusion-free immediately after first treatment (47.9% vs . 42.3%, respectively), average percent of time with effusion (22.2% vs . 23.4%, respectively), or in rate of new episodes of AOM (3.05 vs . 3.26, respectively) . We conclude that there is no clinically significant advantage to the use of cefaclor rather than amoxicillin as the routine first line drug in the treatment of AOM. Neurosurgery, 1993 Sep, 33(3), 424 - 30; discussion 430-1 Duration of intracranial pressure monitoring does not predict daily risk of infectious complications; Winfield JA et al.; A group of 205 patients (115 children and 90 adults) with a total of 212 intracranial pressure (ICP) monitors were retrospectively studied with attention to daily cerebrospinal fluid cultures, duration of monitoring, associated cranial injuries, and hospital site of the ICP monitor (intensive care unit or operating room) . Only closed ICP monitoring systems without irrigation or compliance testing were used, and all patients received antibiotics as prophylaxis throughout the monitoring period . There were no complications associated with monitor placement . Incidence histograms and regression analysis were used to determine the daily risk of subsequent infections, in addition to evaluating the cumulative risk of infection, as has been previously described in the literature . No relation between the duration of ICP monitoring and the rate of daily infection through the period of maximal monitoring (1-2 weeks) was found in this series . The overall incidence of infection was 7.1% with a median duration of monitoring of 7.2 days . The age of the patient (adult vs . child), site of ICP monitor placement, and nature of the underlying disease (trauma vs . nontrauma) had no significant effect on the development of monitor-related infections in our study . These data indicate that the decision to continue ICP monitoring can be based solely on the clinical necessity for further monitoring rather than on concerns for monitor removal to prevent infection. J Lab Clin Med, 1993 Sep, 122(3), 333 - 40 Effects of alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor on chemotaxis and chemokinesis of polymorphonuclear leukocytes: its possible role in regulating polymorphonuclear leukocyte recruitment in human subjects; Aoshiba K et al.; A variety of biologic products derived from bacteria, inflammatory cells, and active degraded proteins have been identified as having chemotactic activity essential for polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) recruitment to the site of inflammation . Little is known, however, concerning factors responsible for regulating the intensity and duration of PMN recruitment . Evidence is growing that proteinase inhibitors modify the migrating ability of PMNs, although the physiologic implications of this have eluded clarification . In an attempt to hypothesize a role of alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor (alpha 1-Pi) in PMN recruitment to inflammatory sites, we examined the effects of alpha 1-Pi in different physiologic concentrations on PMN migration with a microchemotaxis chamber technique . Alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor had both stimulatory and inhibitory effects on cell migration, depending on its concentration . The inhibitor was active in inducing both directed locomotion (chemotaxis) and nondirected locomotion (chemokinesis) in concentrations of 0.02, 0.2, and 2 mg/ml, with maximum potency in both cases at 0.2 mg/ml (corresponding to the normal alveolar surface fluid level in the lung) . Alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor impaired chemotactic responsiveness to known chemoattractants at 2 and 10 mg/ml (corresponding to normal and inflammatory blood levels, respectively) in order of potency . These results suggest that alpha 1-Pi may play a role in regulating inflammatory processes, especially in the lung, through its stimulatory and inhibitory effects, depending on its concentration. J Clin Microbiol, 1993 Sep, 31(9), 2339 - 42 Evaluation of counterimmunoelectrophoresis for serotyping Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae isolates and detection of type-specific antigens in lungs of infected pigs; Mittal KR et al.; A rapid, simple, and accurate counterimmunoelectrophoresis technique was developed for serotyping cultures of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae as well as for detection of their type-specific antigens in the lung tissues of infected pigs . The counterimmunoelectrophoresis test correctly identified all of the reference antigens and more than 99% of 1,200 field isolates of A . pleuropneumoniae representing the 12 established serotypes within 1 h . Counterimmunoelectrophoresis and coagglutination tests did not differ broadly in sensitivity from each other . Both procedures were more rapid and more sensitive than immunodiffusion and indirect hemagglutination tests . A total of 355 lung tissue samples (130 lungs of pigs that died because of acute respiratory problems, 125 lungs of pigs from herds with chronically infected pleuropneumonia, and 100 lungs from apparently healthy pigs at the slaughterhouse) were examined for the presence of A . pleuropneumoniae type-specific antigens by counterimmunoelectrophoresis, coagglutination, and immunodiffusion tests . A . pleuropneumoniae type-specific antigen was found in all 55 samples from which the bacteria had earlier been isolated and in 27 specimens in which they had not been found . Detection of antigen in the lung tissues by coagglutination and counterimmunoelectrophoresis tests was found to be much simpler and much more rapid than conventional culture isolation . Both counterimmunoelectrophoresis and coagglutination tests were found extremely useful in the diagnosis of acute cases of porcine pleuropneumonia . However, these techniques were able to detect only some of the chronically infected carrier pigs. J Anim Sci, 1993 Sep, 71(9), 2432 - 8 Proteolysis and amino acid breakdown of heated and irradiated poultry byproducts and muscle tissue; Urlings HA et al.; As a result of intensification and centralization of poultry slaughtering, the amount of slaughter byproducts produced at a single location is increasing . These byproducts are rich in protein, fat, and vitamins and, therefore, constitute a potentially useful raw material for use as animal feed . To maintain the nutritive value of these byproducts they should be processed to minimize or eliminate degenerative changes that reduce the feed value of the product . In this paper amino acid breakdown in slaughter-fresh poultry viscera, heads, and breast meat is studied as a model . Initial amino acid breakdown in viscera was observed (also when bacterial growth was excluded by gamma-irradiation), which resulted in high levels of total volatile N and cadaverine . Putrescine was produced only in viscera after bacterial proliferation . In heads and breast meat, no production of metabolites of amino acid degradation was observed as a result of initial enzymatic activity . It is concluded that during preservation of poultry byproducts not only bacterial proliferation, but also enzymatic breakdown of amino acids, must be prevented. Gastroenterol Clin North Am, 1993 Sep, 22(3), 483 - 97 Approach to the adult patient with acute diarrhea; Park SI et al.; Acute diarrhea in the adult is caused primarily by acute infectious organisms, mainly viruses but also bacteria and parasites . The majority of cases are self-limited and resolve without sequelae or specific intervention . Diagnostic evaluation should be restricted to those with severe symptoms such as significant volume depletion or dysentery or who are altered hosts due to immunosuppression or chronic illness . Diagnostic testing in less ill patients with probable viral illnesses is unrevealing and wasteful of patient resources . Therapy consists simply of correcting the major harm caused by organisms: volume depletion . Specific therapy with antibiotics should be restricted to situations in which proven efficacy has been demonstrated . The approach to the patient with acute infectious diarrhea is strictly a clinical one, with a careful and thoughful ordering of diagnostic tests in cases in which the information is likely to change management and outcome for the patient. Plant Mol Biol, 1993 Sep, 22(6), 1167 - 71 Characterization of the soybean early nodulin cDNA clone GmENOD55; de Blank C et al.; Two cDNA clones of the soybean early nodulin GmENOD55 were characterized . These clones may represent two members of the soybean early nodulin gene family GmENOD55 . GmENOD55 has an N-terminal signal peptide and it contains an internal domain consisting of proline and serine residues . Analyses of nodules lacking infection threads and intracellular bacteria suggest that the GmENOD55 gene is first expressed after release of Bradyrhizobium japonicum in plant cells . This conclusion is supported by in situ hybridization studies showing that the expression is restricted to the infected cell type. Clin Chem, 1993 Sep, 39(9), 1927 - 33 Automated closed-vessel system for in vitro diagnostics based on polymerase chain reaction; Findlay JB et al.; An automated system for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and detection combats false-positive results caused by "PCR product carryover." The system uses a single vessel for both PCR amplification and the subsequent detection of PCR products, eliminating the need to handle PCR products in an open environment and risk product carryover . The sample and PCR reagents are introduced into one compartment within the vessel, and amplification occurs as they are thermally cycled . Other compartments contain the reagents for detection of PCR products . Pressure from a roller provides for sequential delivery of the contents of the compartments to a detection area . The PCR products are biotinylated at their 5' ends during amplification through the use of biotinylated primers . After delivery to the detection area, they are specifically captured by hybridization with immobilized oligonucleotide probes . Subsequent reaction with streptavidin-horseradish peroxidase conjugate forms a complex that catalyzes dye formation from dye precursor . Wash steps minimize nonspecific background . This format is amenable to multiplexing, permitting internal controls, speciation of bacteria, typing of viruses, and panel testing . An HIV assay performed with this system demonstrated 100% sensitivity and 95% specificity for 64 patients' samples relative to a conventional PCR assay based on 32P solution hybridization . Similarly, an automated closed-vessel assay of cytomegalovirus exhibited 97.5% sensitivity and 100% specificity. J Virol, 1993 Sep, 67(9), 5126 - 38 Protein species of the parvovirus minute virus of mice strain MVMp: involvement of phosphorylated VP-2 subtypes in viral morphogenesis; Santaren JF et al.; The pattern of induced protein species of the prototype strain of the parvovirus minute virus of mice was determined in permissive A9 mouse fibroblast cells by high-resolution two-dimensional gel electrophoresis . Identities of the viral proteins in the gels were assigned by probing two-dimensional blots with antisera raised against either purified capsids (recognizing VP-1 and VP-2) or specific coding regions of the nonstructural proteins (NS-1 and NS-2) expressed as beta-galactosidase fusion products in bacteria . All viral proteins showed posttranslational modifications, phosphate being a common substituent . The NS-1 protein migrated as a basic polypeptide in the pI range of 7.4 to 7.8 with multiple stages of modification and as a likely minor but hyperphosphorylated component in the neutral region of the gel . The NS-2 isoforms were resolved at a pI value close to 5.5 as three groups of unevenly phosphorylated polypeptides, each composed of at least two protein species . Both VP-1 and VP-2 structural polypeptides were induced as heterogeneous phosphoproteins . The major VP-2 protein could be resolved in the form of a consistent pattern of three abundant (a to c), two intermediate (d and e), and one meager (f) neutral isoelectric focusing species or subtypes . This posttranslational modification precedes and is uncoupled from viral assembly, and all of the VP-2 subtypes are packaged into empty capsids at the induced stoichiometry . However, intracellular full virions harbored additional phosphorylated subtypes (g to l) and a subtle rearrangement in the whole VP-2 composition, while mature virions purified from lysed cultures lacked these subtypes, coordinately with the emergence of six neutral VP-3 subtypes . Thus, the virion coat undergoes a chemical transition entailed by genome encapsidation, in which phosphates seem to play a major role, triggering the preferential proteolytic cleavage of the more acidic VP-2 subtypes to VP-3 . Parvoviruses, with small coding capacity, may regulate some morphogenetic steps, such as assembly, genome encapsidation, and maturation, by posttranslational modifications of their structural proteins. J Bacteriol, 1993 Sep, 175(18), 5890 - 8 Characterization of the active site and thermostability regions of endoxylanase from Thermoanaerobacterium saccharolyticum B6A-RI; Lee YE et al.; Deletion mutants were constructed from pZEP12, which contained the intact Thermoanaerobacterium saccharolyticum endoxylanase gene (xynA) . Deletion of 1.75 kb from the N-terminal end of xynA resulted in a mutant enzyme that retained activity but lost thermostability . Deletion of 1.05 kb from the C terminus did not alter thermostability or activity . The deduced amino acid sequence of T . saccharolyticum B6A-RI endoxylanase XynA was aligned with five other family F beta-glycanases by using the PILEUP program of the Genetics Computer Group package . This multiple alignment of amino acid sequences revealed six highly conserved motifs which included the consensus sequence consisting of a hydrophobic amino acid, Ser or Thr, Glu, a hydrophobic amino acid, Asp, and a hydrophobic amino acid in the catalytic domain . Endoxylanase was inhibited by EDAC {1-(3-dimethylamino propenyl)-3-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride}, suggesting that Asp and/or Glu was involved in catalysis . Three aspartic acids, two glutamic acids, and one histidine were conserved in all six enzymes aligned . Hydrophobic cluster analysis revealed that two Asp and one Glu occur in the same hydrophobic clusters in T . saccharolyticum B6A-RI endoxylanase and two other enzymes belonging to family F beta-glycanases and suggests their involvement in a catalytic triad . These two Asp and one Glu in XynA from T . saccharolyticum were targeted for analysis by site-specific mutagenesis . Substitution of Asp-537 and Asp-602 by Asn and Glu-600 by Gln completely destroyed endoxylanase activity . These results suggest that these three amino acids form a catalytic triad that functions in a general acid catalysis mechanism. J Bacteriol, 1993 Sep, 175(18), 5778 - 84 Nucleotide sequence and functional analysis of cbbR, a positive regulator of the Calvin cycle operons of Rhodobacter sphaeroides; Gibson JL et al.; Structural genes encoding Calvin cycle enzymes in Rhodobacter sphaeroides are duplicated and organized within two physically distinct transcriptional units, the form I and form II cbb operons . Nucleotide sequence determination of the region upstream of the form I operon revealed a divergently transcribed open reading frame, cbbR, that showed significant similarity to the LysR family of transcriptional regulatory proteins . Mutants containing an insertionally inactivated cbbR gene were impaired in photoheterotrophic growth and completely unable to grow photolithoautotrophically with CO2 as the sole carbon source . In the cbbR strain, expression of genes within the form I operon was completely abolished and that of the form II operon was reduced to about 30% of the wild-type level . The cloned cbbR gene complemented the mutant for wild-type growth characteristics, and normal levels of ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RubisCO) were observed . However, rocket immunoelectrophoresis revealed that the wild-type level of RubisCO was due to overexpression of the form II enzyme, whereas expression of the form I RubisCO was 10% of that of the wild-type strain . The cbbR insertional inactivation did not appear to affect aerobic expression of either CO2 fixation operon, but preliminary evidence suggests that the constitutive expression of the form II operon observed in the cbbR strain may be subject to repression during aerobic growth. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr, 1993 Sep, 6(9), 1024 - 9 Prevalence of intestinal protozoans in French patients infected with HIV; Cotte L et al.; To assess the prevalence of intestinal protozoans in French HIV-infected patients, stool samples, duodenojejunal biopsies, and/or colorectal biopsies from 81 patients were studied for parasites, viruses, and bacteria . Pathogens were found in 70.6% of AIDS patients with diarrhea or malabsorption . The respective prevalence of protozoa in AIDS patients with diarrhea was Cryptosporidium sp.: 37.3%, Blastocystis hominis: 13.7%, Giardia intestinalis: 5.8%, Isospora belli: 2%, Enterocytozoon bieneusi: 2% . Microsporidia were noted in one patient with severe malabsorption but no diarrhea . Other pathogens included cytomegalovirus in 27.4% and Mycobacterium avium in 5.8% . Patients with identified pathogens were more immunosuppressed and more severely malnourished than those with unexplained diarrhea . Multiple pathogens were found in 13 of 81 patients (16%) . Twenty-six of 66 identified pathogens (40%) were diagnosed only on biopsy specimens . Chronic diarrhea in HIV patients could be explained in the vast majority by appropriate gastrointestinal investigations . Cryptosporidia played a major role, while microsporidia appeared to be less common. Br J Clin Pract, 1993 Sep-Oct, 47(5), 275 - 6 Intestinal malabsorption presenting with night blindness; Hasan M et al.; Night blindness from vitamin A deficiency was observed in a patient with intestinal malabsorption, which in turn was attributable to duodenal diverticulosis and bacterial growth . Monthly supplementation with vitamin A and correction of bacterial overgrowth with tetracycline resulted in a normalisation of plasma retinol levels and resolution of the night blindness. Diagn Mol Pathol, 1993 Sep, 2(3), 200 - 9 Correlation of viral infection, histology, and mortality in immunocompromised patients with pneumonia . Analysis by in situ hybridization and the polymerase chain reaction; Nuovo MA et al.; The purpose of this study was to determine the occurrence and histologic correlates of viral infections in immunocompromised patients with pneumonia . Of the 44 immunocompromised patients studied, 37 had AIDS . Lung tissue from these patients, including 34 with pneumocystis pneumonia, was evaluated by in situ hybridization for the presence of cytomegalovirus (CMV), adenovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, and herpes simplex virus . Fifteen of the 44 patients were positive for at least one virus (34%); CMV (13 cases) was the most common . In an additional seven cases, CMV DNA was detected using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), for an overall viral detection rate of 22 of 44 (50%) . Histologic features were diagnostic of a viral infection in nine of 15 cases (60%) of the in situ positive cases and in nine of 22 (41%) of the tissues where viral DNA was detected by PCR . Mortality rate was significantly correlated with viral detection: 77% for the viral-positive cases and 27% for the viral-negative cases (p < 0.05) . We concluded that in immunocompromised patients with pneumonitis, the detection of viral DNA is strongly correlated with survival and that histologic features of the inflamed lung tissue are a specific but insensitive means of diagnosing viral presence. Zentralbl Bakteriol, 1993 Sep, 280(1-2), 273 - 8 Influence of omeprazole on urease activity of Helicobacter pylori in vitro; Vogt K et al.; The influence of omeprazole on urease activity of 13 Helicobacter pylori strains was assessed in vitro employing different inocula of the bacteria and various concentrations of omeprazole . Bacteria were grown in liquid culture supplemented with omeprazole for 48 h . Afterwards, bacterial numbers were assessed and urease activity was measured in a spectrophotometric assay . In 10 strains, omeprazole had no influence on urease activity at concentrations up to 8 mg/l; higher concentrations had a bacteriostatic effect . Three strains were more resistant to omeprazole: These showed a marked diminution of urease activity although bacterial numbers were only slightly reduced . Thus a possible inhibitory effect of omeprazole should be taken into account when urease of Helicobacter pylori is measured for diagnostic purposes. Zentralbl Bakteriol, 1993 Sep, 280(1-2), 107 - 12 Adherence of haemagglutinating Helicobacter pylori to five cell lines; Ringner M et al.; Helicobacter pylori causes gastritis and is an important factor for the development of peptic ulcer disease in man . We used two different methods to examine the adhesion of nine H . pylori strains, with different haemagglutinating properties, to five cell lines, HeLa S3, HFI, Vero, SW1222 and WEHI cells . The adhesion studies were performed a) as bacterial adhesion to a monolayer of tissue culture cells, visualizing bacteria with fluorescein-isothiocyanate-labelled antibodies, b) as cell agglutination with bacteria and eucaryotic cells mixed in a suspension . The H . pylori strains were divided into three groups according to their cell adhesion properties . In general, H . pylori strains which showed the best adhesion to the five cell lines were strains which showed the best capability of agglutinating erythrocytes of several animal species . It is likely that the same adhesins are involved in cell adhesion and in haemagglutination . The two methods gave similar results. Microb Pathog, 1993 Sep, 15(3), 187 - 95 Proteinase K-sensitive and filterable phagosome-lysosome fusion inhibiting factor in Afipia felis; Brouqui P et al.; Afipia felis is one of the putative agents of cat scratch disease (CSD) . Its intracellular location was previously demonstrated in tissue sections . It has been recently grown in human monocytes and in HeLa cells . We report that A . felis may infect human macrophages and the P 388 D1 murine macrophage cell line, yet is unable to grow in the cell-free culture medium . In both human macrophages and P 388 D1, the organisms multiply in a vacuole after active inhibition of phagosome-lysosome fusion (P-L) as demonstrated with cationized ferritin-labeled lysosomes . This P-L fusion inhibition is diffusable and is due to a filterable factor which is inactivated by protease digestion . The pathogenic role of A . felis in CSD may result from its ability to invade and multiply in macrophages. J Endod, 1993 Sep, 19(9), 458 - 61 Human saliva penetration of coronally unsealed obturated root canals; Khayat A et al.; Studies have shown significant coronal dye and bacterial leakage following exposure of sealed root canals to artificial and natural saliva . The purpose of this study was to determine the time needed for bacteria in natural saliva to contaminate the entire length of root canals obturated by lateral and vertical condensation techniques . Forty root canals were cleaned and shaped using a step-back technique . Thirty root canals were obturated with gutta-percha and root canal sealer using either lateral or vertical condensation techniques . Forty root canals were obturated without a root canal sealer and served as positive controls . After obturation, the coronal 3 mm of five root canals were sealed with sticky wax and served as negative controls . The coronal portions of the filling materials were placed in contact with human saliva and the number of days required for bacteria in saliva to penetrate the entire root canals were determined . No bacterial leakage occurred in the negative control group . Complete bacterial leakage occurred within 2 days in the positive control group . All root canals were recontaminated in less than 30 days . No statistical significant difference was found between the two methods of obturation. J Physiol Pharmacol, 1993 Sep, 44(3 Suppl 1), 41 - 59 Non-ulcer dyspepsia and gastritis--clinical aspects; Berstad A; Although patients with non-ulcer dyspepsia (NUD) and peptic ulcer disease present similar symptoms, the two diseases are pathophysiologically completely different and should be treated accordingly . The diagnosis of NUD is still based on negative criteria, i.e., organic diseases must be excluded . The majority of the patients with NUD have a functional disorder possibly as a consequence of psychological stress which, by activating processes within the central nervous system, may evoke a sequence of reactions; By suppressing the vagal tone, fundic adaptation to ingested food may be impaired and the gastric antrum abnormally filled . The latter may contribute to largely unrecognized cause of epigastric discomfort . Increased responsiveness or hypersensitivity to visceral (gastric distention) and psychological (mental stress) stimuli may constitute important factors contributing to perception of discomfort, possibly as abnormal perception of normal events . The treatment of such a complex condition is difficult and may not be solved by medical intervention solely . Patients presenting with dyspepsia of unknown origin, should primarily be treated with antacids . Treatment with prokinetics (cisapride) is rational and worth trying . Antacids and H2-receptor antagonists may help in NUD patients with acid reflux . In patients with Helicobacter pylori-induced gastritis Al-Mg-antacids suppress, but alone do not eradicate the bacteria . Antacids in combination with oxytetracycline and metronidazole eradicate H . pylori in about one half of the infected patients. J Appl Toxicol, 1993 Sep-Oct, 13(5), 315 - 9 An attempt to improve the SOS chromotest responses; Hoflack JC et al.; The SOS Chromotest was carried out on leachates of ten industrial wastes with the standard procedure and a miniaturized version with microplates . The two methods gave identical results in nine samples (eight negative and one positive) . A simple additional manipulation is described for the identification of the false positive response that is frequently observed with complex mixtures . It involves challenging the SOS Chromotest bacteria with samples (having previously shown a positive genotoxic response) just before the enzymatic activities (i.e . beta-galactosidase and alkaline phosphatase) are estimated colorimetrically . This additional step eliminates discrepancies between the results for the standard and the miniaturized procedures. Bildgebung, 1993 Sep, 60(3), 176 - 82 {Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy}; Frimberger E; Probes for the percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) are placed by pull-through methods or by direct puncture of the stomach . Depending on the length of the interior branch of the probe, gastral or (duodeno-) jejunal feeding is possible; the latter may also be achieved by direct percutaneous endoscopic jejunostomy (PEJ) . Small calibre endoscopes can be introduced via large-bore PEG probes; after the extraction of such a probe the resulting fistulous tract itself may also be used fur percutaneous endoscopy by using pediatric endoscopes . The usual external fixation of the probes with compresses fixed by sticking plaster creates a humid chamber favouring the growth of bacteria . This can be avoided by an open well-aired fixation using a ring . Indications for the probes are prolonged enteral feeding in patients enable to swallow or to consume adequate nutrition orally, decompression in gastrointestinal obstruction, instillation of percutaneously drained bile and percutaneous endoscopy, e.g . for repeated retrograde laser application as a palliative treatment in patients with tumour obstruction of the oesophagus . Complications due to PEG/PEJ probes are relatively rare; severe are aspiration in cases of gastro-oesophageal reflux and peritonitis. J Nihon Univ Sch Dent, 1993 Sep, 35(3), 171 - 4 Histiocytosis X: evidence for a genetic etiology; Hanapiah F et al.; Histiocytosis X is a rare disorder with no particular predilection for race, age or sex . Since its discovery by Hand in 1893, the etiology has remained unknown, although viruses, bacteria and genetic factors have been implicated . Familial occurrence of this disease is very rare, and only a handful of such cases have been reported . The present study adds further evidence to support the influence of genetic factors in the etiology of histiocytosis X. J Gen Microbiol, 1993 Sep, 139 ( Pt 9), 2197 - 201 Analysis of intra-specific variation in the fatty acid profiles of Borrelia burgdorferi; Livesley MA et al.; Analysis of the fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) of bacteria is a commonly used chemotaxonomic technique . Application of this methodology to spirochaetes associated with Lyme borreliosis revealed distinct clusters corresponding to three genetically distinguished groups: Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, B . garinii, and the VS461 group . However, B . garinii formed a common group with B . hermsii, a relapsing fever spirochaete, and VS461 grouped with B . turicatae and B . parkeri, two other relapsing fever spirochaetes . The diversity in fatty acid profiles of Lyme disease spirochaetes has implications for the protean clinical manifestations of the disease. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis, 1993 Sep, 12(9), 690 - 5 Evaluation of pooled and individual components of Bordetella pertussis as antigens in an enzyme immunoassay for diagnosis of pertussis; He Q et al.; Six different antigen preparations for use in an enzyme immunoassay (EIA) to detect IgM, IgA and IgG antibodies to Bordetella pertussis were evaluated using sera from 13 randomly selected culture-positive patients and from 87 patients with suspected pertussis during a pertussis outbreak . Based on results in 80 healthy control sera a specificity limit of 99.9% was selected . Sera from all culture-positive patients reacted with at least one of the antigens . The sensitivity of the EIA using the individual antigen preparations was 85% for filamentous hemagglutinin, 92% for pertussis toxin, 62% for 69 kDa outer membrane protein, 85% for a pool of these three antigens, 54% for sonicated whole bacteria and 69% for 21 kDa pertussis toxin subunit S1 . In the outbreak patient group 49 (56%) of the initial sera reacted with at least one of five antigen preparations . The EIA using sonicated bacteria detected only 41% of all seropositive cases compared with 51% using filamentous hemagglutinin, 61% using pertussis toxin, 65% using 69 kDa OMP and 65% using pooled antigen . It is concluded that either the pooled antigen or pertussis toxin antigen are suitable antigen preparations for use in the EIA for diagnosis of pertussis. Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 1993 Sep, 37(9), 1877 - 81 Accumulation of a newly developed fluoroquinolone, OPC-17116, by human polymorphonuclear leukocytes; Taira K et al.; The accumulation of OPC-17116 by human polymorphonuclear leukocytes was studied by comparison with three other new quinolones, ofloxacin, levofloxacin, and DR-3354 . The intracellular/extracellular concentration ratio was the highest for OPC-17116, being 66.2, followed by 9.8 for levofloxacin, 7.6 for ofloxacin, and 5.8 for DR-3354 . Furthermore, it was suggested that the accumulation of these new quinolones was partially related to their active transport system . The elution of OPC-17116 and ofloxacin from cells was rapid, but the elution of OPC-17116 decreased at a high extracellular pH and increased at a low extracellular pH . The accumulation of OPC-17116 as well as that of the other new quinolones was satisfactorily high, thus indicating that they are expected to be useful for the treatment of various kinds of infections, particularly infections caused by cytozoic bacteria. Unfallchirurg, 1993 Sep, 96(9), 488 - 92 {Vacuum sealing as treatment of soft tissue damage in open fractures}; Fleischmann W et al.; In 1992, 15 of 152 patients with open fractures were treated with vacuum sealing . Drainage tubes are inserted into polyvinyl foam, which is used to fill in the wound or tissue defect . Polyvinyl foam and adjacent skin are covered with a transparent polyurethane dressing which is impermeable to bacteria . The connection of the drainage tubes to a suction device, such as vacuum bottles, produces negative pressure in the polyvinyl foam, which means a high-contact zone of the foam-wound interface . This results in efficient cleaning and conditioning of the wound, with marked proliferation of granulation tissue . Bone infection did not occur in any of our 15 patients; 1 patient sustained a soft tissue infection due to an insufficient sealing technique . When the correct technique was applied the infection cleared up. Plasmid, 1993 Sep, 30(2), 131 - 40 Relationship between the replication functions of Streptomyces plasmids pJV1 and pIJ101; Servin-Gonzalez L; The essential replication region of the Streptomyces phaeochromogenes plasmid pJV1 was sequenced and compared to the equivalent region of the well-characterized Streptomyces plasmid pIJ101 . The sequence revealed a similar organization in both plasmids, including a conserved region within both plasmid origins, which is just upstream of a gene encoding the replication protein (Rep) . The Rep proteins of pJV1 and pIJ101 are very similar, and both have a conserved motif, also present in Rep proteins of single-stranded DNA plasmids of the low G + C gram+ bacteria that includes a tyrosine residue presumably involved in creating the single-stranded nick that initiates the replication event . A co-integration experiment between these two replicons led to the formation of a novel replicon with a hybrid origin and allowed the identification of the nick site where replication starts, also showing that the replication functions of both plasmids are related. J Neurol Sci, 1993 Sep, 118(2), 202 - 6 Expression of the human groEL stress-protein homologue in the brain and spinal cord; Martin JE et al.; A monoclonal antibody (ML30), previously shown to identify a human mitochondrial protein epitope homologous with the groEL heat-shock protein of bacteria (hsp60), was used in an immunohistochemical survey of the central nervous system in patients dying with no evidence of neurological disease and in tissue from patients dying with various neurological disorders . Staining was performed on frozen tissue sections and on formalin fixed, paraffin embedded tissue . Astrocytes in all areas showed a strong pattern of punctate granular staining, which was increased in astrocytes showing reactive changes . Oligodendrocytes stained lightly in a diffuse granular pattern as did most neurons . Ependymal cells showed apical granular positivity . Expression of the hsp60 epitope recognised by ML30 was not seen in ubiquitinated inclusion bodies in motor neuron disease, neurofibrillary tangles in Alzheimer's disease or Lewy bodies in Parkinson's disease . The epitope recognised by ML30 was stable after formalin fixation and in post mortem tissue up to 96 h after death . Expression of the human groEL stress-protein homologue in brain and spinal cord is consistent with a mitochondrial location and may provide a morphological indicator of the functional or metabolic state of cells, especially glial cells. J Med Virol, 1993 Sep, 41(1), 18 - 23 Two successive outbreaks of SRSV-associated gastroenteritis in South Africa; Taylor MB et al.; Two successive outbreaks of gastroenteritis in South Africa were investigated to identify the aetiological agents . Some patients were involved in both outbreaks . Enteropathogenic bacteria or parasites were not evident in either outbreak . Small round structured viruses (SRSVs) were demonstrated in both outbreaks by direct electron microscopy . SRSV UK3/Hawaii virus was identified by immune electron microscopy as the causative agent in the first outbreak . Using new recombinant Norwalk virus (rNV) immunoassays for antibodies and antigen, Norwalk virus was implicated in the second outbreak . Preexisting antibodies to Norwalk virus were not protective and there was no cross protection between Hawaii and Norwalk viruses . There was no anamnestic response to Norwalk virus following the SRSV UK3/Hawaii outbreak although those affected had preexisting antibodies to Norwalk virus . To our knowledge, this is the first definitive diagnosis of SRSV-associated gastroenteritis in South Africa. Int J Lepr Other Mycobact Dis, 1993 Sep, 61(3), 381 - 8 Relationship between host histones and armadillo-derived Mycobacterium leprae; Pessolani MC et al.; A major protein previously recognized as being primarily associated with the cell walls of Mycobacterium leprae, major wall protein (MWP), is now identified as histoprotein H2b based on N-terminal amino-acid sequencing, electrophoretic comparisons, and several other properties . An avid association between several host/armadillo-derived histones and M . leprae was demonstrated . Since such armadillo-derived M . leprae are the basis of several ongoing vaccine trials, a simple procedure that permits the prompt solubilization and quantification of histones in M . leprae preparations is described . The quantity of histones associated with M . leprae is significant, ranging from 0.6 to 4.8 micrograms of histoprotein H2b per mg of bacteria. J Dairy Sci, 1993 Sep, 76(9), 2804 - 11 Role of carotenoids in the immune response; Chew BP; The well-established provitamin A activities of certain carotenoids have hampered past research into their possible specific functions . More recently, research interests on carotenoids have been revived, largely because of their anticancer activities . beta-Carotene and other carotenoids have been reported to possess immunomodulatory activities in humans and animals . These carotenoids enhance lymphocyte blastogenesis, increase the population of specific lymphocyte subsets, increase lymphocyte cytotoxic activity, and stimulate the production of various cytokines . In addition, carotenoids also stimulate the phagocytic and bacteria-killing ability of blood neutrophils and peritoneal macrophages . The action of these carotenoids is widely accepted to be independent of their provitamin A activity . The immunostimulatory action of carotenoids may be translated into improved health, including mammary and reproductive health in dairy cattle . More studies are needed to establish fully the beneficial effects of supplementation of different carotenoids on the health of dairy cattle . Furthermore, studies on carotenoids other than beta-carotene are needed. Electrophoresis, 1993 Sep, 14(9), 937 - 44 Western blot as a tool in the diagnosis of Lyme borreliosis; Zoller L et al.; Borrelia burgdorferi is the causative agent of Lyme borreliosis, a multisystem disorder, which can mimic numerous immune disorders and inflammatory diseases . Laboratory diagnosis of Borrelia infection relies on immunodiagnostic assays, which, however, are hampered by unsatisfactory specificity . The Western blot technique has been employed to analyze the humoral immune response in Lyme borreliosis and is used as a serodiagnostic confirmation test . The most important immunodominant proteins of Borrelia burgdorferi are the 94 kDa, 60 kDa, 41 kDa (flagellin), 34 kDa (Osp B), 31 kDa (Osp A), 30 kDa, 21 kDa (Osp C), and 17/18 kDa proteins . Whereas the 60 kDa, 41 kDa, and 34 kDa constituents reveal a marked cross-antigenicity with other spirochetes and even more distantly related bacteria, antibodies against the 94 kDa, 31 kDa and 21 kDa proteins are largely species-specific . The early immune response in Lyme borreliosis is triggered mainly by the flagellin . In the later stage a wide range of immunogenic proteins is involved, with the 94 kDa antigen being the best marker for late immune response . If the Western blot is used for diagnostic purposes the differences between early and late-stage immunogenicity of Borrelia proteins must be taken into account . Interpretation criteria for blot positivity in early-stage borreliosis are primarily based on the presence of the 21 kDa band and the semiquantitatively recorded intensity of the 41 kDa band . In the diagnosis of late-stage infection, blot positivity relies on the presence of the 94 kDa, 39 kDa, 31 kDa, 30 kDa and 21 kDa bands. Appl Environ Microbiol, 1993 Sep, 59(9), 3021 - 26 Effect of water and nitrogen additions on free-living nitrogen fixer populations in desert grass root zones; Herman RP et al.; In this study we measured changes in population levels of free-living N2-fixing bacteria in the root zones of potted Bouteloua eriopoda and Sporobolus flexuosus plants as well as the photosynthetic indices of the plants in response to added nitrogen, added water, and added water plus nitrogen treatments . In addition, N2 fixer population changes in response to added carbon source and nitrogen were measured in plant-free soil columns . There were significant increases in the numbers of N2 fixers associated with both plant species in the water and the water plus nitrogen treatments . Both treatments increased the photosynthetic index, suggesting that plant exudates were driving N2 fixer population changes . Population increases were greatest in the water plus nitrogen treatments, indicating that added nitrogen was synergistic with added water and suggesting that nitrogen addition spared bacteria the metabolic cost of N2 fixation, allowing greater reproduction . Plant-free column studies demonstrated a synergistic carbon-nitrogen effect when carbon levels were limiting (low malate addition) but not when carbon was abundant (high malate), further supporting this hypothesis . The results of this study indicate the presence of N2 fixer populations which interact with plants and which may play a role in the nitrogen balance of desert grasslands. Todays OR Nurse, 1993 Sep-Oct, 15(5), 29 - 33 A tuberculosis outbreak from a patient's draining lesion: how did it happen? Jackson MM. 1 . Mycobacterium tuberculosis can be transmitted from a pulmonary source when droplet nuclei in the 1 to 5 micron range are generated by coughing, singing, or even talking . 2 . It is possible for large numbers of droplet nuclei containing M tuberculosis bacteria to be generated during the surgical drainage, debridement, and syringe irrigation of abscesses caused by M tuberculosis . These procedures can produce such a high concentration of droplet nuclei that the ventilation system cannot remove them fast enough to protect the surgical staff from infection . 3 . The unrecognized case of tuberculosis is much more likely to be the source of transmission of M tuberculosis than is the individual who has a diagnosis of TB or "rule-out TB." This is because once a diagnosis is known or suspected, interventions are initiated that make the patient less infectious. Recenti Prog Med, 1993 Sep, 84(9), 592 - 601 Further considerations on the changing face of pneumonia in Marche Region (central Adriatic coast of Italy); Morini A et al.; The present paper provides a more detailed review of some themes already discussed in previous papers concerning the changing face of pneumonia in an area of the central Adriatic coast of Italy, including an ex novo examination of the correlations between radiological findings and serological groups not previously reported . The discussion concentrates particularly on some questions raised by the research, such as the apparent rarity of pneumococcus, the elevated number of seronegatives appearing as atypical pneumonia, the high percentage of "bacterial-type" cases occurring among the viral-like, and the therapeutic problem. Q Rev Biol, 1993 Sep, 68(3), 335 - 86 Menstruation as a defense against pathogens transported by sperm; Profet M; Sperm are vectors of disease . During mammalian insemination bacteria from the male and female genitalia regularly cling to sperm tails and are transported to the uterus . I propose that menstruation functions to protect the uterus and oviducts from colonization by pathogens . Menstrual blood exerts mechanical pressure on uterine tissue, forcing it to shed, and delivers large numbers of immune cells throughout the uterine cavity, directly combating pathogens . The mechanisms of menstruation show evidence of adaptive design . Spiral arteries that open to the lining of the uterus trigger menstruation by abruptly constricting, which deprives the local tissue of blood, and then abruptly dilating, which causes blood to force loose the necrotic tissue . Menstrual blood flows easily, unlike blood at most wound sites, because it lacks the normal level of clotting factors . Overt (externally visible) or covert (not externally visible) menstruation has been documented in many species of primate, including Old World monkeys and apes, New World monkeys, and prosimians, as well as in various species of bat and insectivore . The antipathogen hypothesis predicts that: (1) menstruation (overt or covert) is either universal or nearly so among mammalian species; (2) if the latter, then the existence of menstruation among species varies inversely with the probability of becoming pregnant per estrous cycle (menstruation would be especially adaptive in species with significantly less than 100% probability of becoming pregnant per estrous cycle); (3) among menstruating species, the average degree of menstrual bleeding for a given species is a function of the factors affecting menstruation's costs and benefits--in particular, the degree of bleeding is positively correlated with the average body size and sexually transmitted pathogen load of that species (profuse bleeding would be especially adaptive in large-bodied species with either promiscuous breeding systems or continuous sexual receptivity); and (4) other forms of normal uterine bleeding--proestrous, periovulatory, implantation, and postpartum--also have an antipathogen function . The hypothesis presented in this article has implications for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of uterine infection and, therefore, for the prevention of pathogen-induced infertility . The uterus appears to be designed to increase its bleeding if it detects infection: Human uteri that become infected (or otherwise inflamed) bleed more profusely, bleed on more days per cycle, and often bleed intermittently throughout the cycle . Thus artificially curtailing infection-induced uterine bleeding may be contraindicated. Cytokine, 1993 Sep, 5(5), 448 - 53 High levels of portal TNF-alpha during abdominal aortic surgery in man; Cabie A et al.; During shock or multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, translocation of bacteria and/or lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from the ischaemic gut might occur and could explain the excess of cytokine production detectable in plasma . To test this hypothesis, we studied a model of mild gut ischaemia due to bowel manipulation and aortic clamping in patients undergoing abdominal aortic surgery (n = 14) . Per-operative levels of LPS and cytokines were measured before clamping and after reperfusion, and compared in systemic and portal blood . Systemic levels of LPS and cytokines were measured in a control group of patients undergoing internal carotid surgery (n = 7) . Portal LPS was detectable (i.e., > 12 pg/ml) in 36% of the patients undergoing aortic surgery after bowel manipulation, and in 71% after clamp release . Similar levels of LPS were observed in portal and systemic blood after clamp release . Circulating tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) was observed in all patients undergoing aortic surgery . Levels of portal TNF-alpha were higher than those in systemic blood after bowel manipulation as well as after reperfusion (P = 0.02 and 0.007, respectively) . LPS was never detected in control patients and TNF-alpha was detectable in only two out of seven patients . Mean levels of IL-6 were similar in the two groups, with a peak on the day following surgery, confirming that circulating IL-6 is associated with any surgical procedures . Our data indicate that bowel manipulation, aortic clamping and reperfusion lead to similar levels of portal and systemic circulating LPS.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS) Pediatr Res, 1993 Sep, 34(3), 318 - 22 Colonic acetate in the circulating acetate pool of the infant pig; Freeman K et al.; To identify potential sites of acetate utilization and synthesis, we studied the contribution of colonic acetate to the circulating acetate pool in six neonatal pigs by the simultaneous i.v . infusion of {3H}acetate and colonic infusion of {14C}acetate . In the fasting state, the mean (+/- SEM) acetate concentration was 17 +/- 1 mumol/L in peripheral venous blood, 28 +/- 4 mumol/L in the femoral artery, and 46 +/- 4 mumol/L in portal blood . This concentration gradient implies that acetate was utilized either by peripheral tissues alone or by both liver and peripheral tissues . At the end of the 2-h intracecal acetate infusion, mean acetate concentration increased in the femoral artery to 186 +/- 20 mumol/L and in the portal vein to 333 +/- 31 mumol/L . In the fasted state, mean acetate concentration in the portal vein was on average 63% higher than the acetate concentration of the femoral artery, whereas specific radioactivity of the {3H}acetate in the portal vein was only 5% of that in the femoral artery . It is possible, therefore, that a high proportion of the arterial input of acetate is utilized by the portal-drained viscera . Our study identified the gastrointestinal tract as an important site of acetate utilization in the fasted state . Further, it showed that colonic acetate was efficiently absorbed and utilized in the gastrointestinal tract of infant pigs. Semin Respir Infect, 1993 Sep, 8(3), 177 - 82 Diagnosis of pulmonary infections in patients with organ transplants using noninvasive diagnostic laboratory tests; Peterson LR; Lower respiratory-tract infection in patients with transplants or other forms of immune compromise is a serious disease with high mortality . Rapid, accurate diagnostic tests are essential for these patients . The required tests include those for Pneumocystis carinii, mycobacteria, fungi, legionella, viruses, and bacteria . Using currently available technology, a combination of new and conventional tests for these various pathogens can provide comprehensive information within the first 24 hours of evaluation . By 48 hours, even results on important viral pathogens (such as cytomegalovirus and influenza virus) should be available . A cost-efficient strategy must be developed between the practitioner and laboratory to maximize an effective diagnostic approach for these patients. Mol Microbiol, 1993 Sep, 9(6), 1267 - 74 Multiple novel promoters from the early region in the Streptomyces temperate phage phi C31 are activated during lytic development; Ingham CJ et al.; Evidence is presented that transcription of most of the early genes in the Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) phage phi C31 is from a series of unusual promoters that depend on a function expressed early in the phi C31 lytic cycle . Primer extension analysis on the 5' ends of three early mRNAs, from samples prepared 10 min after induction of a thermosensitive phi C31 lysogen, showed that the 5' ends all mapped close to highly similar sequences, which are proposed to be an important part of phage-specific promoters . In a shotgun cloning experiment, a fragment containing one of these sequences strongly activated transcription of the xyIE reporter gene in plaques of a phi C31-derived promoter-probe vector . Another of the sequences was inserted into a xyIE-containing promoter-probe plasmid vector, and promoted xyIE expression only when the host was supporting the lytic cycle of phi C31 . This suggested that a transcription factor needed for activity of the promoters was present only in phi C31-infected cells . Examination of published and unpublished phi C31 sequence data revealed several more sequences that closely resemble the conserved region of the characterized promoters . Most of these are found in positions close to apparent transcription start sites mapped previously by low-resolution S1 mapping . An overall consensus sequence for the conserved region suggests a general organization (though not a primary sequence) resembling that of promoters recognized in other bacteria by the sigma 54 form of RNA polymerase. Klin Padiatr, 1993 Sep-Oct, 205(5), 317 - 24 {Pathogenetic concepts of neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis}; Richter A et al.; The pathogenesis of neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis is still unknown today . Only prematurity has been confirmed as a primary risk factor . Previous studies demonstrated the special pathophysiological conditions in prematurity . Differences in intestinal permeability, blood flow in anemia and hypoxemia, the uptake, transport, delivery and consumption of oxygen, the digestion of carbohydrates and proteins and in intestinal motility between premature and term infants exist . The diving-reflex too is important for intestinal pathophysiology in these patients . The central key of the pathogenesis is the evident vascular damage . Infectious agents, inflammatory mediators, circulatory insufficiency, feeding excess is followed by the initial mucosal damage . This results in an increased intestinal permeability also for inflammatory mediators, endotoxins, bacteria and gas . Ileus, stasis and gas production cause endotoxinemia and abdominal distension . Increased intraluminal pressure with or without activation of inflammatory mediators leads to an important vascular dysregulation . Consecutively these multiple facts cause the "ischemic looking" hemorrhagic necrosis, we call necrotizing enterocolitis. J Gen Virol, 1993 Sep, 74 ( Pt 9), 1955 - 8 An epitope within the DNA-binding domain of the herpes simplex virus immediate early protein Vmw175 is conserved in the varicella-zoster virus gene 62 protein; Everett R et al.; We have isolated a panel of monoclonal antibodies that recognize the DNA-binding domain of the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) immediate early polypeptide Vmw175 . The mice used for the fusions had been immunized with the isolated Vmw175 DNA-binding domain . This had been purified from bacteria that carried a phage T7 expression plasmid with the DNA-binding domain coding region . The epitopes recognized by the monoclonal antibodies were mapped by using a family of truncated versions of the DNA-binding domain, which had also been expressed in the bacterial expression system . The monoclonal antibodies divided into at least four different groups according to this mapping . Several of the monoclonal antibodies recognized Vmw175 expressed in infected BHK cells by HSV-1 strain 17 in Western blots . One of them also recognized the corresponding protein of varicella-zoster virus gene 62 . This is further illustration of the relatedness of the two polypeptides. Mol Cell Biol, 1993 Sep, 13(9), 5225 - 32 The v-Src SH3 domain binds phosphatidylinositol 3'-kinase; Liu X et al.; Fibroblasts transformed by v-src or by related oncogenes encoding activated tyrosine kinases contain elevated levels of polyphosphoinositides with phosphate at the D-3 position of the inositol ring, as a result of the activation of phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3'-kinase . v-src-transformed cells also contain increased levels of PI 3'-kinase activity immunoprecipitable with anti-phosphotyrosine antibodies; furthermore, PI 3'-kinase can be detected in association with the v-Src tyrosine kinase . To identify regions of v-Src that can interact with PI 3'-kinase, the v-Src SH2 and SH3 domains were expressed in bacteria and incubated with lysates of normal chicken embryo fibroblasts . In vitro, the v-Src SH3 domain, but not the SH2 domain, bound PI 3'-kinase in lysates of uninfected chicken embryo fibroblasts . Substitutions of two highly conserved SH3 residues implicated in ligand binding abolished the ability of the v-Src SH3 domain to associate with PI 3'-kinase . Furthermore, the v-Src SH3 domain bound in vitro to the amino-terminal region of the p85 alpha subunit of PI 3'-kinase . These results suggest that the v-Src SH3 domain may mediate an interaction between the v-Src tyrosine kinase and PI 3'-kinase, by direct binding to p85. EMBO J, 1993 Sep, 12(9), 3599 - 605 Novel RNA polymerization reaction catalyzed by a group I ribozyme; Chowrira BM et al.; We have converted a bacterial tRNA precursor containing a 205 nt self-splicing group I intron into a RNA enzyme that catalyzes polymerization of an external RNA substrate . The reaction involves transesterification steps analogous to both the forward and reverse exon ligation steps of group I splicing; as such it depends entirely on 3' splice site reactions . The RNA substrate is a 20 nt analogue of the ligated exons (E1.E2), whose 3' end resembles the 3' terminus of the intron RNA enzyme (IVS) . The splice junction of the substrate is attacked by the 3' end of the intron, then the molecule displaces the original 3' terminal guanosine so that the new 3' terminus is brought into the active site and used as the attacking nucleophile in the next reaction . Polymerization occurs via a series of covalent enzyme-linked intermediates of the structure IVS.(E2)n, where n = 1 to > or = 18 . The 5' exon accumulates during the course of the reaction and can attack the covalent intermediates to produce elongation products of structure E1.(E2)n, regenerating the intron RNA enzyme in unchanged form . In this manner, the enzyme converts 20 nt oligoribonucleotides into polyribonucleotides up to at least 180 nt by 10 nt increments . These results have significant implications for the evolution of RNA-based self-replicating systems. Cell, 1993 Aug 27, 74(4), 735 - 42 Sigma F, the first compartment-specific transcription factor of B . subtilis, is regulated by an anti-sigma factor that is also a protein kinase; Min KT et al.; The establishment of compartment-specific transcription in sporulating cells of B . subtilis is governed at the level of the activity of transcription factor sigma F . Genetic experiments have suggested that SpoIIAA and SpoIIAB, the other products of the sigma F operon, are involved in regulating sigma F activity . This activity is inhibited in the predivisional cell but specifically released from inhibition in the prespore about 1.5 hr after sporulation is induced . We now show that purified SpoIIAB inhibits transcription directed by sigma F in vitro . We note that the amino acid sequence of SpoIIAB shows some similarity to a group of bacterial histidine protein kinases, and we find that SpoIIAB is indeed a protein kinase that phosphorylates SpoIIAA on a serine residue . We suggest that this phosphorylation is responsible for the compartment-specific release of sigma F activity, perhaps through the formation of a tight complex between SpoIIAB and phosphorylated SpoIIAA. Nucleic Acids Res, 1993 Aug 25, 21(17), 4005 - 10 Streptolysin O-permeabilized cell system for studying trans-acting activities of exogenous nuclear proteins; Liu SH et al.; Efficient transfer of exogenous proteins into culture animal cells can be achieved by Streptolysin O (SLO) permeabilization of plasma membranes . We used this method to establish an in vitro transcription system for early response genes . The promoters of many early response genes contain an essential DNA motif known as the Serum Response Element (SRE) . Recent data has shown that this DNA sequence is recognized by Serum Response Factor (SRF) and its associated proteins . Our initial experiments showed that HeLa nuclear extracts induced the transcription of the c-fos gene in serum-starved murine fibroblasts which were permeabilized by either physical method (glass beads) or cytolytic pore-forming protein (SLO) . Plasma membrane permeabilization presumably permits passive diffusion of macromolecules into target cells and we showed that a truncated SRF expressed in bacteria was translocated into the nucleus within 30 minutes after SLO permeabilization . HeLa crude extracts were fractionated in order to identify the active nuclear factors . SRF was purified by binding to Wheat Germ Agglutinin (WGA)-agarose but the active factors remained in the WGA-unbound fractions . Our results demonstrate that this permeabilized cell in vitro transcription system is simple, efficient and can be used to test crude nuclear fractions as well as purified proteins expressed in bacteria; it will be an useful tool for the reproduction of transcriptional regulation on chromatin templates in vitro as well as the investigation of the biochemical functions of specific transcription factors or signal transduction effectors. J Biol Chem, 1993 Aug 25, 268(24), 18008 - 17 Characterization of the molecularly cloned murine alpha-globin transcription factor CP2; Lim LC et al.; We recently cloned human and murine cDNAs that encode CP2, a transcription factor that interacts with the murine alpha-globin promoter . In this report, we exploited our ability to express CP2 in bacteria and eukaryotic cells to further investigate factor activities in vitro and in vivo . CP2 expressed in bacteria was significantly enriched and used in a series of DNase I footprinting and electrophoretic gel shift assays . The results suggest that CP2 binds a hyphenated recognition sequence motif that spans one DNA helix turn . In addition, the enriched bacterial protein activated transcription of alpha-globin promoter templates approximately 3- to 4-fold in vitro . We then tested the effect of elevating CP2 levels 2.5- to 5.5-fold in vivo using both transient and stable transformation assays . When a reporter construct comprised of the intact murine alpha-globin promoter driving the bacterial chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) gene was introduced into these overexpressing cells, we observed a 3- to 6-fold increase in CAT activity when compared to cells expressing normal levels of CP2 . These results define the CP2 factor binding site in more detail and help characterize the activities of the factor in vivo. Biochemistry, 1993 Aug 24, 32(33), 8487 - 91 Spectroscopic characterization of 57Fe-reconstituted rubrerythrin, a non-heme iron protein with structural analogies to ribonucleotide reductase; Ravi N et al.; Rubrerythrin, a contraction of rubredoxin and hemerythrin, is the trivial name given to a non-heme iron protein isolated from Desulfovibrio vulgaris (Hildenborough) . This protein, whose physiological function is unknown, was first characterized by J . LeGall et al . {(1988) Biochemistry 28, 1636} as being a homodimer of subunit M(r) = 21,900 with four Fe per homodimer distributed as two rubredoxin-type FeS4 centers and one hemerythrin-type diiron cluster . Subsequent analysis of the amino acid sequence of the rubrerythrin gene {Kurtz, D . M., Jr., & Prickril, B.C . (1991) Biochem . Biophys . Res . Commun . 181, 137} revealed an internal homology which suggested that each subunit can accommodate one diiron cluster . Here, we report a procedure for reconstitution of the as-isolated D . vulgaris rubrerythrin with 57Fe . The reconstituted protein was characterized by optical, electron paramagnetic resonance, and Mossbauer spectroscopies . The results indicate successful incorporation of 57Fe into the two types of sites and strongly suggest that each subunit of rubrerythrin can indeed accommodate one diiron cluster as well as one rubredoxin-type center . Combined with amino acid sequence analysis, the spectroscopic characterization further suggests that the rubrerythrin subunit contains a diiron site whose structure is more closely related to that in ribonucleotide reductase than to that in hemerythrin. J Theor Biol, 1993 Aug 21, 163(4), 457 - 71 Influence of diffusion and gravity on the adhesion of a two-component mixture of hard spheres on a flat surface; Senger B et al.; The adhesion of hard spheres, modeling particles of biological interest (proteins, bacteria, cells), on flat surfaces is investigated by means of Monte Carlo simulations . These computations include the Brownian diffusion of the particles in the bulk fluid, as well as the systematic displacement due to the gravitational field . The size of the particles influences directly both diffusion coefficient and net weight, with the consequence that the coverage at the jamming limit depends on this parameter . Results obtained in a former paper based on a lattice model are confirmed by the present continuous space model . In order to gain a better understanding of the adsorption competition of two types of particles, the proposed model is applied to the case of binary mixtures of spheres . For polydispersed suspensions, various parameters determine the final coverage, as well as the distribution of the small and large particles on the surface: the radii of the particles and the respective proportions of them in the infinitely large reservoir from which they are randomly selected . In this way, it is shown that the chronology of the adhesion of the small and large particles strongly influences the final number of each type of spheres fixed on the surface . Qualitatively, the present results resemble those obtained with disks placed by means of a classical random sequential adsorption mechanisms . Quantitatively, however, the number densities and coverage values determined in this way are significantly different due to the inclusion of the gravity and of the diffusion in the model. J Mol Biol, 1993 Aug 20, 232(4), 1211 - 2 Crystallization and preliminary crystallographic study of cytochrome cd1 nitrite reductase from Thiosphaera pantotropha; Fulop V et al.; Single crystals of cytochrome cd1 nitrite reductase from Thiosphaera pantotropha have been grown in the presence of ammonium sulphate by vapour diffusion techniques . Crystals are suitable for X-ray analysis and diffract to dmin = 1.5 A . They belong to space group P2(1) with unit cell dimensions of a = 107.8 A, b = 61.9 A, c = 101.2 A, beta = 112.5 degrees . The crystallographic asymmetric unit contains a dimer. Carbohydr Res, 1993 Aug 17, 246, 291 - 301 Structural studies of the extracellular polysaccharide from Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens strain X6C61; Andersson M et al.; The capsular polysaccharide from Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens strain X6C61 has been investigated using NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, methylation analysis, and partial acid hydrolysis as the main methods . The polysaccharide is composed of hexasaccharide repeating units having the following structure . {formula: see text} The polysaccharide also contains O-acetyl groups, of which approximately 70% are substituted to O-3 of the beta-D-Glc pA residue. Gene, 1993 Aug 16, 130(1), 117 - 9 Vectors lambda 200g and lambda 200c: two useful derivatives of lambda 2001; Koh CG et al.; We describe the construction and uses of two new phage lambda replacement vectors . Both are modifications of lambda 2001 which allows selection of cloned inserts by the Spi- phenotype, following the replacement of a gam+ filler fragment . Vector lambda 200g has a second gam gene with an amber mutation in its right arm which enables the selection of clones with inserts in the normal way in Su0 host bacteria and the maintenance of their genetic stability by subsequent growth in Su+ strains . Vector lambda 200c is designed for complementation studies . It contains a cat gene and the attP site of lambda . Recombinants can be inserted into the bacterial chromosome or into an episome with the aid of appropriate helpers. Biochem Biophys Res Commun, 1993 Aug 16, 194(3), 1124 - 30 Identification of peptide:N-glycanase activity in mammalian-derived cultured cells; Suzuki T et al.; The recent finding of peptide:N-glycanase (PNGase) in medaka embryos (Seko, A., Kitajima, K., Inoue, Y., & Inoue, S., J.Biol . Chem . 266, 22110 (1991)) raised the question of how widespread is the occurrence of this type of de-N-glycosylating enzyme . In experiments designed to identify PNGase in the mammalian system, we searched for its activity in some cultured cell lines . Incubation of a 14C-labeled N-glycopeptide with extracts prepared from cultured cells resulted in producing the free glycan and the peptide . Detailed characterizations of the products, formed upon incubation of a 14C-labeled N-glycopeptide substrate with the enzyme preparation from C3H mouse loose connective tissue-derived L-929 cells, by HPLC, amino acid and carbohydrate composition analyses, and peptide sequence analysis unequivocally established the reaction products to be the free glycan having di-N-acetylchitobiosyl sequence at its reducing end and free peptide in which the originally glycan-linked Asn residue was converted to the Asp residue . This represents the first demonstration of PNGase in mammalian cells and thus PNGase appears to be a very common enzyme expressed in not only plants and bacteria but also a wide range of animals although its functional significance remains to be clarified. FEBS Lett, 1993 Aug 16, 328(3), 235 - 8 Cephalopod alcohol dehydrogenase: purification and enzymatic characterization; Rosario Fernandez M et al.; Octopus, squid and cuttle-fish organs were examined for alcohol dehydrogenase activity . Only one form was detectable, with properties typical of mammalian class III alcohol dehydrogenase . The corresponding protein was purified from octopus and enzymatically characterized . Ion-exchange and affinity chromatography produced a pure protein in excellent yield (73%) after 1600-fold purification . Enzymatic parameters with several substrates were similar to those for the human class III alcohol dehydrogenase, demonstrating a largely conserved function of the enzyme through wide lines of divergence covering vertebrates, cephalopods and bacteria . The results establish the universal occurrence of class III alcohol dehydrogenase and its strictly conserved functional properties in separate living forms . The absence of other alcohol dehydrogenases in cephalopods is compatible with the emergence of the ethanol-active class I type at a later stage, in lineages leading to vertebrates. J Med Chem, 1993 Aug 6, 36(16), 2332 - 4 Synthesis and anaerobic activity of novel 1-carba-1-dethiacephalosporins; Ternansky RJ et al.; The synthesis and biological evaluation of novel 1-carba-1-dethiacephalosporins exhibiting activity against anaerobic pathogens are described . The nitrothiazole substituent was determined to be crucial to maintaining this activity . The pharmacokinetic parameters and initial toxicological profile of the lead compound are discussed. Science, 1993 Aug 6, 261(5122), 715 - 25 Transition metals in control of gene expression; O'Halloran TV; Metalloproteins play structural and catalytic roles in gene expression . The metalloregulatory proteins are a subclass that exerts metal-responsive control of genes involved in respiration, metabolism, and metal-specific homeostasis or stress-response systems, such as iron uptake and storage, copper efflux, and mercury detoxification . Two allosteric mechanisms for control of gene expression were first discovered in metalloregulatory systems: an iron-responsive translational control mechanism for ferritin production and a mercury-responsive DNA-distortion mechanism for transcriptional control of detoxification genes . These otherwise unrelated mechanisms give rise to a rapid physiological response when metal ion concentrations exceed a dangerous threshold . Molecular recognition in these allosteric metal ion receptors is achieved through atypical coordination geometries, cluster formation, or complexes with prosthetic groups, such as sulfide and heme . Thus, many of the inorganic assemblies that otherwise buttress the structure of biopolymers or catalyze substrate transformation in active sites of enzymes have also been adapted to serve sensor functions in the metalloregulatory proteins . Mechanistic studies of these metal-sensor protein interactions are providing new insights into fundamental aspects of inorganic chemistry, molecular biology, and cellular physiology. J Mol Biol, 1993 Aug 5, 232(3), 995 - 6 Crystallization of a chitosanase from Streptomyces N174; Marcotte E et al.; Chitosanases are produced by many soil fungi and bacteria to degrade chitosan present in fungal cell walls . Here, we report the crystallization of a 29,500 dalton protein with chitosan endo-hydrolase activity isolated from Streptomyces N174 . The crystals were grown by vapor diffusion . They are mechanically strong and diffract to at least 1.9 A resolution . The crystals belong to the monoclinic space group P2(1) with unit cell parameters a = 56.4 A, b = 59.6 A, c = 86.1 A and beta = 96.6 degrees . Cell parameters and crystal density are consistent with two chitosanase molecules per asymmetric unit. Pediatr Infect Dis J, 1993 Aug, 12(8), 648 - 52 Stimulation of nonspecific immunity to reduce the risk of recurrent infections in children attending day-care centers . The Epicrèche Research Group; Collet JP et al.; A randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial was performed in 423 children attending day-care centers to assess whether stimulating nonspecific immunity would reduce the incidence of recurrent infections . The drug used for the trial (Imocur) is an extract obtained from eight different species of bacteria . At the end of the total follow-up period (3 months with treatment and 4.5 months without), the risk for > or = 4 episodes of upper respiratory infections was not significantly lower in the treated group than in the placebo group (26.7% vs . 33.8%, relative risk, 0.79; 95% confidence interval, 0.59 to 1.06) . In an exploratory analysis limited to the 3-month treatment period, however, we observed a 48% reduction in the risk of presenting > or = 3 episodes of upper respiratory infections: 9.5% vs . 18.3%, respectively, in the treatment group and the placebo group (relative risk, 0.52; 95% confidence interval, 0.31 to 0.86) . Similar results were found for the risk of > or = 1 episode of gastroenteritis . We also observed a strong correlation between the drug efficacy and age; this observation is coherent with the underlying pathophysiologic model in which the immune system matures with age. J Gen Microbiol, 1993 Aug, 139 ( Pt 8), 1723 - 8 Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae RTX-toxins: uniform designation of haemolysins, cytolysins, pleurotoxin and their genes; Frey J et al.; The three different pore-forming RTX-toxins of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae are reviewed, and new and uniform designations for these toxins and their genes are proposed . The designation ApxI (for Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae RTX-toxin I) is proposed for the RTX-toxin produced by the reference strains for serotypes 1, 5a, 5b, 9, 10 and 11, which was previously named haemolysin I (HlyI) or cytolysin I (ClyI) . This protein is strongly haemolytic and shows strong cytotoxic activity towards pig alveolar macrophages and neutrophils; it has an apparent molecular mass in the range 105 to 110 kDa . The genes of the apxI operon will have the designations apxIC, apxIA, apxIB, and apxID for the activator, the structural gene and the two secretion genes respectively . The designation ApxII is proposed for the RTX-toxin which is produced by all serotype reference strains except serotype 10 and which was previously named App, HlyII, ClyII or Cyt . This protein is weakly haemolytic and moderately cytotoxic and has an apparent molecular mass between 103 and 105 kDa . The genes of the apxII operon will have the designations apxIIC for the activator gene and apxIIA for the structural toxin gene . In the apxII operon, no genes for secretion proteins have been found . Secretion of ApxII seems to occur via the products of the secretion genes apxIB and apxID of the apxI operon . The designation ApxIII is proposed for the nonhaemolytic RTX-toxin of the reference strains for serotypes 2, 3, 4, 6 and 8, which was previously named cytolysin III (ClyIII), pleurotoxin (Ptx), or macrophage toxin (Mat).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS) J Gen Microbiol, 1993 Aug, 139 ( Pt 8), 1701 - 6 Molecular analysis of a flagellar core protein gene of Serpulina (Treponema) hyodysenteriae; Koopman MB et al.; The flaB2 gene encoding a protein located in the core of the periplasmic flagella of Serpulina hyodysenteriae was cloned and sequenced . The FlaB2 protein consists of 285 amino acids and has a calculated molecular mass of 31.1 kDa . Southern blot analysis indicated that at least one, and possibly two genes related to flaB2 are present in the genome of S . hyodysenteriae . Comparison of the amino acid sequence of FlaB2 to sequences present in data banks showed significant similarity with the core flagellins of other spirochaetes, in particular with a FlaB2 protein from Treponema phagedenis. J Dairy Sci, 1993 Aug, 76(8), 2437 - 50 Somatolactogens, somatomedins, and immunity; Arkins S et al.; The neuroendocrine and immune systems participate as active partners in host homeostatic and defense mechanisms . This partnership involves a complex intercommunication system employing an array of shared ligands and receptors . Hormones of the somatolactogen family have marked influences on immune events in vivo, including the maintenance of lymphoid tissue cellularity, the promotion of DNA synthesis in these tissues, and the stimulation of a number of immune effector mechanisms . Both growth hormone and prolactin function to promote erythropoiesis and DNA synthesis in bone marrow precursors . Our results have shown that the somatolactogens and a member of the somatomedin family, IGF-I, are particularly effective in modulating the effector functions in phagocytic cells, including the production of reactive oxygen intermediates and tumor necrosis factor-alpha and the oxygen-dependent killing of bacteria . Evidence indicating a role of IGF-I in modulating immune functions is more recent but nonetheless compelling . Accumulated data suggest that somatolactogenic hormones, as well as one member of the somatomedins, are produced by cells of the immune system and can regulate local immune events . Although the molecular mechanisms by which the somatolactogens and somatomedins exert their effects on immune tissues are only now being explored, the pleiotropic nature of these effects suggests that these hormones participate at endocrine, paracrine, and perhaps autocrine sites of action. Hum Reprod, 1993 Aug, 8(8), 1272 - 3 Vaginal squamous cells in follicular aspirates following transvaginal puncture; Artley JK et al.; Squamous cells are common findings on cytological examination of fluid obtained following transvaginal aspiration of simple ovarian cysts . This prospective study confirms the hypothesis that these cells are commonly introduced as contaminants during puncture of the vaginal wall . The occasional finding of bacteria also suggests a possible mechanism for post-operative pelvic infection. J Virol Methods, 1993 Aug, 43(3), 273 - 86 An avian hepatoma cell line for the cultivation of infectious laryngotracheitis virus and for the expression of foreign genes with a mammalian promoter; Scholz E et al.; Infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV) is the causative agent of a highly infectious upper respiratory tract disease in chickens . Vaccine development and basic studies on ILTV have been hampered by the lack of a cell line for the cultivation of this herpesvirus which was identified in 1930 . Four different avian cell lines were tested for their suitability to propagate ILTV . Here we report the successful growth of ILTV with a chemically-induced avian hepatoma cell line, while retrovirus transformed cell lines derived from permissive primary cells, were found to be non-permissive for ILTV . After multiple passaging of ILTV in the hepatoma cells, the virus could be grown up to a titre of 1 x 10(7) EID50 per ml with a replication cycle comparable to that in primary hepatocytes . Methods of plaque assay, DNA-transfection, and expression of a reporter gene were established . The gene coding for the bacterial beta-galactosidase gene under the control of the cytomegalovirus (CMV) immediate-early promotor was transiently expressed, indicating that a mammalian herpesvirus promotor was recognized by this avian cell line . Infectious ILTV virions were produced after transfecting this cell-line with purified ILTV DNA . The results indicated that the cell line is suitable for the construction of recombinant ILTV and for the molecular biological study of this important avian pathogen. J Antibiot (Tokyo), 1993 Aug, 46(8), 1265 - 78 Synthesis of 3-deoxy-3,4-didehydro derivatives of 5-O-mycaminosyltylonolide, 5-O-(4-deoxymycaminosyl) tylonolide, and desmycosin; Kageyama S et al.; The 3-deoxy-3,4-didehydro derivatives of 5-O-mycaminosyltylonolide, 5-O-(4-deoxymycaminosyl)tylonolide, and desmycosin have been prepared by treatment of the corresponding 3-O-sulfonyl derivatives with NaI in 2-butanone as the key step . The mechanistic difference in the formation of the 2,3- and 3,4-unsaturated derivatives from the same 3-O-sulfonyl derivative is discussed. Eur J Nucl Med, 1993 Aug, 20(8), 708 - 11 Accuracy of a rapid 10-minute carbon-14 urea breath test for the diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori-associated peptic ulcer disease; Kao CH et al.; Urease in the human gastric mucosa is a marker for infection with Helicobacter pylori (HP), an organism which is associated with peptic ulcer disease . To detect gastric urease, we examined 184 patients (144 males, 40 females; mean age: 49.8 +/- 15.6 years) with suspected peptic ulcer disease . Fasting patients were given orally 5 microCi of carbon-14 labelled urea . From each patient only one breath sample was collected in hyamine at 10 min . The amount of 14C collected at 10 min was expressed as follows: {(DPM/mmol CO2 collected)/(DPM administered)} x 100 x body weight (kg) . The presence of HP colonization was determined by examination of multiple endoscopic prepyloric antral biopsy specimens subjected to culture or a rapid urease test . For the purpose of this study, HP-positive patients were defined as those with characteristic bacteria as indicated by a positive result of either the culture or the rapid urease test; HP-negative patients were defined as those with negative findings on both the culture and the rapid urease test . Of the 184 cases, 99 (53.8%) were positive for HP infection, and 85 (46.2%), negative . The sensitivity and specificity of the rapid 10 min 14C-urea breath test for the diagnosis of HP-associated peptic ulcer disease were evaluated by a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve with a variable cut-off value from 1.5 to 4.5 . When a cut-off value of 1.5 was selected, the sensitivity was 100% and the specificity, 83.5%; when a cut-off value of 4.5 was selected, the sensitivity was 54.5% and the specificity, 97.6%. Clin Infect Dis, 1993 Aug, 17 Suppl 1, S187 - 91 Mycoplasmal induction of cytokine production and major histocompatibility complex expression; Stuart PM; The mycoplasmas are a diverse set of bacteria that, in the course of their interactions with cells of the immune system, have a wide range of immunomodulatory effects . These effects include polyclonal stimulation of proliferation of T and B lymphocytes; activation of cytolytic activity of macrophages, natural killer cells, and cytotoxic T cells; and stimulation of production of cytokines (interleukin {IL}-1, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, interferon {IFN}-alpha, IFN-beta, IFN-gamma, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor {GM-CSF}) by immunocompetent cells . Mycoplasmas have also been shown to induce major histocompatibility complex (MHC) expression in macrophage cell lines and cultures . This report demonstrates that induction of MHC expression by mycoplasmas is directly due to increases in the transcriptional activity of MHC genes . Experiments attempting to determine if the mechanism responsible for these increases in MHC expression requires the production of cytokines have demonstrated that production of IFN-gamma, IL-4, and GM-CSF is probably not involved. Int J Exp Pathol, 1993 Aug, 74(4), 357 - 66 Identification and preliminary characterization of a cytotoxin isolated from Mobiluncus spp; Taylor-Robinson AW et al.; Mobiluncus curtisii and M . mulieris are anaerobic curved rods commonly isolated, together with other bacteria, from the vagina of women with bacterial vaginosis (BV) . We have shown that of 11 strains of M . curtisii and four strains of M . mulieris examined, each produced a cytotoxin after growth in three types of liquid media . The toxin present in supernatant fluids after centrifugation of Mobiluncus cultures was active against Vero cells and four other cell lines tested, producing a marked cytopathic effect with destruction within 72 hours . The supernatant fluids could be diluted no more than 8 to 16-fold before toxic activity was lost . In bovine oviduct organ cultures, the supernatant fluids from cultures of eight M . curtisii and two M . mulieris strains that were tested caused loss of ciliary vigour which was usually complete after 60 hours . In addition, there was raggedness of the epithelial cell border with detachment of cells seen histologically and loss of cilia together with bloating and loss of ciliated cells observed by scanning electron microscopy . The toxin was extracellular, relatively thermostable (surviving heating to 56 degrees C for 30 min but not boiling for 20 min) and was inactivated under extremes of pH (pH 9 and pH 3) . The existence of the toxin means that the Mobiluncus spp could have an active role in the development of BV. Eur J Biochem, 1993 Aug 1, 215(3), 817 - 24 Characterization of the haem environment in Methylophilus methylotrophus ferricytochrome c" by 1H-NMR; Costa HS et al.; Two-dimensional NMR techniques have been used to assign proton resonances in the haem cavity of Methylophilus methylotrophus cytochrome c", a monohaem protein with bis-histidinyl ligation which has been shown to couple electron and proton transfer . All the assignments were made directly for the oxidized paramagnetic form of the cytochrome . Nearly all of the haem protons (90%) and the protons of both axial ligands have been assigned; the side-chain protons from four other residues in the haem pocket have also been identified . The data indicate a highly symmetric unpaired-electron distribution in the haem group, which agrees with a perpendicular orientation of the axial imidazole planes . The two haem propionate groups have contrasting degrees of exposure to the solvent, with the propionate group at position 13 being highly exposed . To obtain information on the dynamics of the haem environment, measurements of the 1H/2H-exchange rates of amide protons located in the haem cavity were performed . The two faces of the haem are found to differ markedly with respect to water accessibility . All of this information, together with additional protein sequencing data, indicates that His52 remains attached upon reduction and that the redox-linked protonation occurs via a channel running through the haem cleft on the opposite face. Virology, 1993 Aug, 195(2), 863 - 5 Vaccinia virus encodes a functional dUTPase; Broyles SS; The sequence of the vaccinia virus open reading frame F2L predicts a polypeptide with significant similarity to cellular dUTPases . To determine whether the F2L gene product has this activity, it was expressed in bacteria as a fusion with glutathione S-transferase . Affinity purified fusion protein was shown to hydrolyze dUTP yielding dUMP as the product . While the dUTPase was not completely dependent on the addition of divalent cations, its activity was stimulated markedly by Zn2+, Mg2+, and Mn2+ . The nucleotide substrate specificity of the enzyme was limited to dUTP . These results demonstrate that vaccinia virus encodes a functional dUTPase whose role in viral infection is suggested to be the augmentation of DNA nucleotide precursors and the minimization of cytoplasmic dUTP concentrations. J Dermatol Surg Oncol, 1993 Aug, 19(8), 753 - 8 Electrical stimulation to heal dermal wounds; Gentzkow GD; BACKGROUND . Numerous human and animal efficacy studies have demonstrated that electrical stimulation of the correct charge, density and total energy causes dramatically improved healing of dermal wounds . The investigations of biological actions (in vitro, animal, and human) demonstrate several effects that go a long way to explaining why electrical stimulation works . OBJECTIVE . To discuss recent research and advances in electrical stimulation of wound healing . RESULTS . Based on the latest scientific understanding of the wound healing process, one would expect a beneficial outcome from a therapy what decreases edema, debrides necrotic tissue, attracts neutrophils and macrophages, stimulates receptor sites for growth factors, stimulates growth of fibroblasts and granulation tissue, increases blood flow, stimulates neurite growth, induces epidermal cell migration, prevents post-ischemic oxygen radical-mediated damage, inhibits bacteria, and reduces numbers of mast cells . CONCLUSION . Taken together, the efficacy studies and the "mechanism of action" studies provide compelling, scientific evidence that electrical stimulation is safe and effective for promoting the healing of dermal wounds. J Bacteriol, 1993 Aug, 175(16), 5286 - 8 Genes for the establishment and maintenance of lysogeny by the temperate coliphage 186; Lamont I et al.; To identify the genes in coliphage 186 that are required for lysogeny, we isolated clear-plaque mutants . Complementation studies and DNA sequencing identified two genes, the cI gene for the immunity maintenance repressor and the cII gene, which is required only for the establishment of lysogeny . One mutant carried a change in the LexA-binding site controlling expression of the antirepression protein Tum. J Bacteriol, 1993 Aug, 175(16), 5066 - 77 Complementation analysis and regulation of CO2 fixation gene expression in a ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase-oxygenase deletion strain of Rhodospirillum rubrum; Falcone DL et al.; A ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase-oxygenase (RubisCO) deletion strain of Rhodospirillum rubrum that was incapable of photolithoautotrophic growth was constructed . Photoheterotrophic growth, however, was possible for the R . rubrum RubisCO deletion strain when oxidized carbon compounds such as malate were supplied . The R . rubrum RubisCO-deficient strain was not complemented to photolithoautotrophic growth by various R . rubrum DNA fragments that contain the gene encoding RubisCO, cbbM . When the R . rubrum cbbM deletion strain harbored plasmids containing R . rubrum DNA inserts with at least 2.0 kb preceding the translational start site of the cbbM gene, RubisCO activity and RubisCO antigen were detected . Lack of RubisCO expression was therefore not the cause for the failure to complement the cbbM mutant strain . Interestingly, DNA fragments encoding either of two complete Calvin-Benson-Bassham CO2- fixation (cbb) gene operons from Rhodobacter sphaeroides were able to complement the R . rubrum RubisCO deletion strain to photolithoautotrophic growth . The same R . rubrum DNA fragments that failed to complement the R . rubrum cbbM deletion strain successfully complemented the RubisCO deletion strain of R . sphaeroides, pointing to distinct differences in the regulation of metabolism and the genetics of photolithoautotrophic growth in these two organisms . A number of cbb genes were identified by nucleotide sequence analysis of the region upstream of cbbM . Included among these was an open reading frame encoding a cbbR gene showing a high degree of sequence similarity to known lysR-type CO2 fixation transcriptional activator genes . The placement and orientation of the cbbR transcriptional regulator gene in R . rubrum are unique. Am J Gastroenterol, 1993 Aug, 88(8), 1266 - 8 Apparent reversal of early gastric mucosal atrophy after triple therapy for Helicobacter pylori; Borody TJ et al.; Helicobacter pylori may be difficult to detect in individuals with intestinal metaplasia or atrophic gastritis, even though bacteria may persist in the mucosa in low numbers, maintaining elevated serum H . pylori antibody levels . We report a patient with marked, endoscopically visible gastric mucosal changes and focal changes of histological atrophic gastritis, who was negative for H . pylori on urease test, culture, and histology, but had positive H . pylori serology . When treated with triple therapy and reassessed at 6 months, his H . pylori antibody titer fell to low/negative levels, abnormal mucosa was replaced by a velvety, normal lining, and the previous evidence of histological atrophic gastritis was no longer detectable. Oncogene, 1993 Aug, 8(8), 2167 - 73 Analysis of the DNA-binding and transcriptional activation functions of human Fli-1 protein; Rao VN et al.; Three of the ets oncogene superfamily members v-ets, Spi-1/PU.1 and Fli-1, have been shown to be directly involved in retroviral-mediated acute erythroleukemias . The Fli-1 gene was found to be rearranged in 75% of the erythroleukemias induced by Friend murine leukemia virus (F-MuLV), suggesting that it could play a key role in cellular transformation . We have previously isolated and characterized the human Fli-1 gene and have found it to be highly homologous (80%) to the human erg-2 gene . Human Fli-1 was also shown to be rearranged in Ewing's sarcoma cases, in which the amino-terminal region of the Fli-1 gene was replaced with a novel coding region of a putative RNA-binding protein, EWS . In this report, we show that the recombinant Fli-1 protein expressed in bacteria binds to DNA in a sequence-specific manner . It appears that Fli-1 and erg proteins fall into the category of ets proteins that recognize limited ets target sequences, unlike c-ets-1, ets-2 and Elk-1 . The Fli-1 gene was found to activate the transcription of the reporter gene that was linked to Fli-1 target sequences, suggesting that Fli-1 is a sequence-specific transcriptional activator . Deletion analysis revealed the presence of two autonomous transcriptional activation domains, one at the amino-terminal region (amino-terminal transcriptional activation domain, ATA) and the other at the carboxy-terminal region (carboxy-terminal transcriptional activation domain, CTA) . Secondary structural analysis of ATA and CTA domains revealed the presence of helix-loop-helix (H-L-H) and/or turn-loop-turn (T-L-T) regions . From these results it appears that a portion of the Fli-1 ATA domain (H-L-H region) was replaced by the amino-terminal domain of EWS gene in Ewing's sarcoma cases . Therefore alteration in the transcriptional activation function of Fli-1 may be responsible for human malignancies such as sarcomas, leukemias and lymphomas in which this gene is rearranged. J Neurochem, 1993 Aug, 61(2), 768 - 71 Rat-1 fibroblasts engineered with GAD65 and GAD67 cDNAs in retroviral vectors produce and release GABA; Ruppert C et al.; We have used a retroviral cDNA expression system to drive the expression of the different forms of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD65, GAD67, or both) . Individual clones of engineered Rat-1 cells make the appropriate GAD mRNAs and GAD polypeptides, show GAD enzymatic activity, and make GABA . Clones expressing GAD65 had higher enzymatic activity than those expressing GAD67 . As is the case for brain GADs and for GADs produced in engineered bacteria, the enzymatic activity of GAD65 is more responsive to added pyridoxal phosphate than that of GAD67 . Immunostaining for both GADs is scattered throughout the cytoplasm . GAD65 immunostaining is less homogeneous than that of GAD67 and also appears to be associated with the surfaces of large vesicle-like structures . Cells expressing GAD65 and GAD67 showed similar immunostaining patterns with anti-GABA antibodies and contained substantial amounts of GABA (ranging from 7 to 18 pmol of GABA/10(6) cells), which was roughly proportional to their levels of GAD activity . GABA is released from the engineered cells into the surrounding medium under resting conditions, suggesting that cells programmed with GAD cDNAs might serve as effective sources of GABA in cell transplantation experiments. J Bacteriol, 1993 Aug, 175(15), 4936 - 40 FrzCD, a methyl-accepting taxis protein from Myxococcus xanthus, shows modulated methylation during fruiting body formation; McBride MJ et al.; The frizzy (frz) genes of Myxococcus xanthus are required to control directed motility during vegetative growth and fruiting body formation . FrzCD, a protein homologous to the methyl-accepting chemotaxis proteins from enteric bacteria, is modified by methylation in response to environmental conditions . Transfer of cells from rich medium to fruiting medium initially caused rapid demethylation of FrzCD . Subsequently, the amount of FrzCD increased, but most remained unmethylated . At about the time of mound formation (9 h), most of the FrzCD was converted to methylated forms . Dispersal of developing cells (10 h) in buffer led to the demethylation of FrzCD, whereas concentration of these cells caused methylation of FrzCD . Some mutants which were unable to form fruiting bodies still modified their FrzCD during incubation under conditions of starvation on a surface. Pharmacol Ther, 1993 Aug, 59(2), 125 - 43 Methionine adenosyltransferase: structure and function; Kotb M et al.; Methionine adenosyltransferase (MAT), a key enzyme in metabolism, catalyzes the synthesis of one of the most important and pivotal biological molecules, S-adenosyl-methionine . In every organism studied thus far, MAT exists in multiple forms; most are encoded by related, but distinct genes . Molecular and immunological studies revealed the presence of considerable conservation in the structure of MAT from different species; however, the various MAT isozymes differ in their physical and kinetic properties in ways that allow them to be regulated differently . Recent studies suggest that human MAT is composed of nonidentical subunits that can assume multiple states of aggregation, each with different kinetic characteristics . The tissue distribution of MAT isozymes and the ability of cells within the same tissue to switch between the different forms of MAT suggest that this mode of regulation is important for cellular function and differentiation . Therefore, understanding the regulation and structure-function relationship of this fascinating enzyme should help us clarify its role in biology and may provide us with tools to effectively manipulate its activity in clinical situations such as cancer, autoimmunity and organ transplantation. Diagn Cytopathol, 1993 Aug, 9(4), 430 - 3 Helicobacter pylori in gastroduodenal diseases: rapid identification by endoscopic brush cytology; De Francesco F et al.; Previous reports showed Helicobacter pylori (H . pylori) in type B gastritis-affected stomachs . This study was carried out to compare H . pylori staining effectiveness on biopsy to brush cytology . Tissue and brush parallel samples of gastric mucosa with abnormal or normal appearances were examined: 57.6% H . pylori-positive pieces from the antrum and 19.2% from the body were found, versus 65.3% and 25% H . pylori-positive brush smears, respectively . H . pylori resembling organisms were mainly related to chronic and acute antral inflammations and were often associated with higher amounts of round-shaped cocco-bacteria . In addition, H . pylori direct stain on brushing is proposed as the most rapid and reliable method for the routine diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection, in both ulcer or nonulcer gastritis. Vet Immunol Immunopathol, 1993 Aug, 37(3-4), 243 - 56 Phagocytosis, killing, and oxidant production by bovine monocyte-derived macrophages upon exposure to Brucella abortus strain 2308; Bounous DI et al.; Phagocytosis and intracellular survival of Brucella abortus, and oxidant production by monocyte-derived macrophages from ten B . abortus-naive cows were studied . Phagocytosis of bacteria opsonized with naive-autologous sera or reactor serum was significantly less than phagocytosis of bacteria opsonized with fetal bovine serum . After phagocytosis, intracellular survival of bacteria opsonized with naive-autologous or reactor sera was significantly less than survival of bacteria opsonized with fetal bovine serum . Production of oxidant by macrophages stimulated with B . abortus opsonized with naive-autologous, reactor, or fetal bovine sera was not significantly different . Although macrophages from one animal showed significantly less phagocytic activity, intracellular killing and oxidant production by macrophages from the ten individual cows toward B . abortus opsonized with naive-autologous, reactor, and fetal calf sera were homogeneous . The abilities of the macrophages to phagocytize and to kill B . abortus were not associated with each other or with oxidant production . Innate resistance or sensitivity to B . abortus was not identified in the cows based on macrophage function. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr, 1993 Aug, 17(2), 176 - 81 Smectite in acute diarrhea in children: a double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial; Madkour AA et al.; Dioctahedral smectite (DS) a natural adsorbent clay capable of adsorbing viruses, bacteria, and other intestinal irritants in vitro, is claimed to possess beneficial "antidiarrheal" properties . This study tested the effect of DS on the duration of diarrhea and the frequency and amount of liquid stools . Ninety well-nourished boys, aged 3-24 months, with acute watery diarrhea and mild, moderate, or severe dehydration were included in a randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled trial . After initial rehydration, they received DS or placebo (1.5 g freshly dissolved in 50 ml of water, four times daily for 3 days) along with oral rehydration solution (ORS) and adequate feeding . The clinical characteristics of both groups were comparable on admission . Patients in the smectite group had a significantly shorter duration of diarrhea (mean +/- SD, 54 +/- 16 vs . 73 +/- 13 h) and significantly fewer stools (2.6 +/- 0.8 vs . 3 +/- 0.7 on second day; 1.9 +/-