J Immunol Methods, 1983 Apr 29, 59(2), 217 - 20 A simple quantitative protein A micro-immunoprecipitation method; assay of antibodies to the N and H antigens of poliovirus; Vrijsen R et al.; Staphylococcus aureus (Cowan strain I) was used to absorb immune complexes from antiserum to poliovirus to which labeled N or H poliovirus antigens had been added, and the radioactivity in the pelleted organisms and in the supernatant was measured . Excellent agreement was obtained between values calculated separately from the pellet and supernatant readings, validating the use of supernatant measurements from a microtitration plate method. J Biol Chem, 1983 Apr 25, 258(8), 4890 - 4 Characterization of monoclonal antibodies specific for the Lewis a human blood group determinant; Young WW Jr et al.; Four hybridoma cell lines were derived from the spleen cells of mice immunized with the neutral glycolipids of human meconium . The antibodies secreted by these lines were specific for the Lewis a antigen of the human Lewis blood group system as determined by solid phase immunoassay using synthetic carbohydrate antigens and by plate binding assay and thin layer chromatography-autoradiography using natural glycolipid antigens . Coating protein A-bearing Staphylococcus aureus with one of the antibodies yielded a stable reagent that produced rapid agglutination of Lewis a positive human erythrocytes . The fine structural specificity of these antibodies was assessed by competition radioimmunoassay using synthetic structural analogs of Lewis a conjugated to bovine serum albumin . One antibody was specific for the Lewis a trisaccharide (Gal beta 1 leads to 3(Fuc alpha 1 leads to 4) beta GlcNAc), while a second recognized the entire Lea (1 leads to 3) beta Gal tetrasaccharide . The third and fourth were directed at topography largely provided by only the alpha Fuc and beta GlcNAc units . These monoclonal antibodies not only represent potentially useful reagents for detecting the Lewis a antigen but also provide a system for studying precise relationships between anticarbohydrate antibody structure and binding specificity. J Mol Biol, 1983 Apr 25, 165(4), 754 - 5 Determination of the sequence which spans the beginning of the insertion region in Anacystis nidulans flavodoxin; Tarr GE; Anacystis nidulans flavodoxin is one of the long chain flavodoxins (Mayhew & Ludwig, 1975) . Comparisons of its structure with the structures of shorter chain species (main text: Ludwig et al., 1982) show that in A . nidulans flavodoxin most of the extra residues occupy a region adjoining the third helix and the fifth strand of parallel sheet . The sequences of peptides isolated after cyanogen bromide cleavage and after digestion with Staphylococcus aureus protease, reported here, fit into the electron density map of A . nidulans flavodoxin, starting near the middle of the third helix, and verify that the major insertion interrupts the fifth strand of parallel sheet. Sem Hop, 1983 Apr 21, 59(16), 1249 - 51 {Non-tuberculous abscesses of the psoas . A case of apparently primary abscess of the psoas due to Staphylococcus aureus}; Prier A et al.; Abscess of the psoas, which is a well recognized complication in tuberculous osteoarticular infections, can also occur in certain regional diseases of the bones or viscera: common germ osteitis, diverticulosis, colic cancer, appendicitis and, above all, Crohn disease . Abscess of the psoas can also present as an apparently primary pyogenic muscular infection . A case is reported of an abscess of the psoas due to Staphylococcus aureus, which occurred spontaneously in an apparently healthy 50-year-old woman, was cured by surgical drainage, and whose course confirmed its primary nature. J Am Vet Med Assoc, 1983 Apr 15, 182(8), 814 - 6 Anaerobic bacteria associated with osteomyelitis in domestic animals; Walker RD et al.; Specimens of bony tissue or adjacent soft tissue from 19 animals with osteomyelitis were cultured aerobically and anaerobically . Fourteen specimens (74%) yielded anaerobic bacteria in pure culture or mixed with aerobic or facultative anaerobic bacteria . The most predominant genus encountered was an obligate anaerobe, Bacteroides . The most frequently isolated Bacteroides species was Bacteroides asaccharolyticus, which was isolated 5 times . The most frequently isolated anaerobe was Peptostreptococcus anaerobius, which was isolated 6 times . Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli were the most frequently isolated aerobic bacteria, with 7 and 6 isolates, respectively. Eur J Biochem, 1983 Apr 15, 132(1), 215 - 8 Evidence for homologous repeating segments within the elementary polypeptide chain of guinea pig thyroglobulin; Palumbo G et al.; In this paper we report on the peptide maps of the three polypeptides produced by reduction of denatured 19-S thyroglobulin from guinea pig . These maps were obtained by both chemical cleavage (CNBr) and by limited enzymatic proteolysis (Staphylococcus aureus SV 8 protease) . Analysis of these peptides showed a strict correspondence among the electrophoretic bands produced by cleavage of the guinea pig thyroglobulin components . These results support the idea that thyroglobulin, even though it has an apparently complex molecular structure, contains polypeptide sequences which are repeated in the elementary chain . Since similar structures should correspond to similar functions, each of these regions may work as a functional domain for the biosynthesis of the thyroid hormones. Science, 1983 Apr 15, 220(4594), 316 - 8 Toxic shock syndrome and lysogeny in Staphylococcus aureus; Schutzer SE et al.; Lysogeny, or the presence of temperate bacteriophage, was demonstrated, by means of two Staphylococcus aureus indicator strains, in 11 of 12 strains of S . aureus isolated from patients with toxic shock syndrome . Only 1 of 18 strains of S . aureus that were not associated with toxic shock syndrome showed the presence of bacteriophage . A laboratory strain of S . aureus was lysogenized by bacteriophage from two of the toxic shock-associated strains . These results add support to the theory that lysogeny by one or more bacteriophage in certain strains of S . aureus may be responsible for the pathogenesis of toxic shock syndrome. Virology, 1983 Apr 15, 126(1), 73 - 86 Temperature-sensitive membrane association of pp60src in tsNY68-infected cells correlates with increased tyrosine phosphorylation of membrane-associated proteins; Garber EA et al.; Incubation of membrane vesicles from normal and Rous sarcoma virus-transformed chick embryo fibroblasts (CEF) with {gamma-32P}ATP resulted in the phosphorylation of a large number of proteins . The major differences observed between the membrane vesicles of untransformed and transformed cells were: (1) a 5- to 10-fold increase in the proportion of labeled phosphotyrosine in transformed vesicles and (2) the phosphorylation of pp60src in vesicles from transformed cells . Of the many proteins labeled in vitro, only pp60src was immunoprecipitated by TBR serum . Phosphorylation of the immunoprecipitated pp60src occurred on tyrosine in the 26-kDa carboxy-terminal Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease fragment . pp60src was not phosphorylated in vitro in membrane vesicles prepared from tsNY68-infected cells grown at the nonpermissive temperature . The proportion of labeled phosphotyrosine in membrane proteins from tsNY68-infected cells grown at the nonpermissive temperature was only slightly increased relative to that observed in membranes prepared from normal cells . Subcellular fractionation indicated that while pp60src was membrane associated in tsNY68-infected cells grown at the permissive temperature, pp60src was chiefly soluble in tsNY68-infected cells grown at the nonpermissive temperature . Temperature-sensitive membrane association of pp60src in tsNY68-infected cells was also observed by indirect immunofluorescence microscopy . When membranes were prepared from tsNY68-infected cells that had been downshifted from the nonpermissive to the permissive temperature, the reappearance of in vitro phosphorylated pp60src and the increase in the proportion of labeled phosphotyrosine in membrane vesicles correlated with the kinetics of src immune complex kinase reactivation and membrane association of pp60src. Biochim Biophys Acta, 1983 Apr 13, 751(2), 145 - 52 A comparative study of enzymatic digestion profiles of apolipoprotein B from four human subjects; Easley CW et al.; A methodological approach for comparative structural study of apolipoprotein B has been developed . Low-density lipoproteins from four human subjects were digested in three separate enzyme systems, utilizing trypsin, chymotrypsin and Staphylococcus aureus protease V8, each in the presence of 1% sodium dodecyl sulfate . The peptides were separated by electrophoresis on polyacrylamide gels in SDS; the stained gels were scanned spectrophotometrically to produce characteristic profiles . Comparison of the profiles revealed good reproducibility and a high degree of similarity among the different subjects . Of the four subjects studied, one subject had one apparent difference in the tryptic digest profile and also in the S . aureus protease V8 digest profile . The structural significance of these variations can be evaluated only after a larger number of subjects, including those presented here, have been examined; this study is now in preparation. Biochim Biophys Acta, 1983 Apr 6, 729(2), 249 - 57 Binding of autologous IgG to human red blood cells before and after ATP-depletion . Selective exposure of binding sites (autoantigens) on spectrin-free vesicles; Muller H et al.; Binding of autologous IgG to fresh, ATP-depleted red blood cells as well as to spectrin-free vesicles was studied by a non-equilibrium binding assay using 125I-iodinated protein A from Staphylococcus aureus . IgG binding was 14-times higher to spectrin-free vesicles than to ATP-maintaining red blood cells and 4-times higher than to ATP-depleted erythrocytes from which these vesicles were released . Protein A binding to vesicles that were released from washed and nutrient-deprived erythrocytes, was dependent on added autologous IgG . However, spectrin-free vesicles that were spontaneously released from erythrocytes conserved in whole blood, bound similar amounts of protein A with or without added autologous IgG (0.45-0.55 ng/micrograms band 3 protein) . These findings demonstrate that opsonization of spectrin-free vesicles by autologous IgG occurs not only in the test tube, but also under blood blank conditions . The binding characteristics of IgG to spectrin-free vesicles are indicative of a natural autoantibody rather than an unspecific binding of autologous IgG . The preferential binding of IgG to spectrin-free vesicles implies a selective exposure of corresponding autoantigens in membrane regions that have lost cytoskeletal anchorage and bud off. Am Surg, 1983 Apr, 49(4), 179 - 81 An outbreak of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in a large medical center; Gerken MV; The charts of 100 patients with methicillin-resistant, gentamicin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MSRA) were reviewed after an outbreak of MSRA occurred in our hospital . The location of the patients at the time of first positive culture was studied . The NICU was the most common location (24%) . The burn unit accounted for nine per cent, and the remaining patients were widely distributed among the surgery services . Patterns of transmission were difficult to determine, and even with strict measures, complete eradication of the organism has not yet been achieved . Vancomycin, a potent and nephrotoxic antibiotic, is the treatment of choice. Vet Immunol Immunopathol, 1983 Apr, 4(3), 307 - 17 A radiolabeled staphylococcal protein A assay for detection of anti-erythrocyte IgG in warm agglutinin autoimmune hemolytic anemia of dogs and man; Kaplan AV et al.; A cell wall protein from Staphylococcus aureus, Protein A, (SpA) has been shown to have the ability to bind the Fc region of most mammalian IgG molecules . This study uses this unusual property as the basis for a quantitative assay for erythrocyte (RBC) bound antibodies . Test serum is incubated in a suspension of normal RBC's . The cells are then washed and incubated with 125Iodine-labeled SpA (125I-SpA) . After incubation cells are pelleted and bound radiolabeled SpA counted . This procedure has been performed using canine anti-goat RBC (DagRBC) serum and human anti-D serum (positive controls) to establish the kinetics of the SpA reaction in the above system . The results indicate that SpA binds to red blood cells as a function of membrane bound antibody . RBC's incubated with indirect Coombs positive sera bound 42.6% and 43.3% of the 125I-SpA, as compared to 19.2%, the upper limit of the 95% confidence interval (n = 9) for normal sera . Furthermore, significant binding was observed for certain indirect Coombs negative (direct Coombs positive) sera indicating that the SpA assay is more sensitive than the indirect Coombs test . The SpA system should provide the clinician with an inexpensive, sensitive, quantitative assay for the diagnosis of warm agglutinin autoimmune hemolytic anemia, as well as other autoimmune disorders involving membrane bound IgG. Microbiologica, 1983 Apr, 6(2), 121 - 32 Comparison between five methods for the separation of IgM; Negro Ponzi A et al.; Five serum fractionation methods were examined with regard to their suitability for use in the demonstration of specific IgM antibodies . It was found that Protein A - Sepharose CL - 4B chromatography leads to higher IgM recovery than absorption with whole Staphylococcus aureus (58% as opposed to 40%) . It is also cheaper, since this absorbent can be reused . Contamination with 2-5% IgG and about 70% IgA is encountered with both methods . Quaternary aminoethyl (QAE) - Sephadex chromatography gives excellent IgM recovery (97%) and its cost and execution time are the lowest . IgG and IgA residues are 2% and 53% respectively . Ultrafiltration results in poorer recovery of IgM (31%) . However, the sample volume can be brought back to its initial value, or concentrated still further . IgG and IgA residues are 2% and 14% . The cost of the method and the time needed for its execution are relatively high . Gel chromatography is the only method to give a completely IgG- and IgA-free IgM fraction . The percentage of IgM recovered varies in accordance with the ratio between the volume of the sample and that of the column . Very high values may be obtained, but at the expense of heavy dilution . The cost is low, but the method requires a considerable amount of time . In short, none of the five methods is clearly superior to the others . Whether or not a given method is chosen will thus depend on the relative importance attached to the percentage of IgM recovered, the presence or otherwise of IgA, sample dilution, cost, and rapidity of execution. Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 1983 Apr, 23(4), 571 - 6 In vitro activity of rifampin in combination with oxacillin against Staphylococcus aureus; Maduri Traczewski M et al.; The in vitro activity of rifampin alone and in combination with oxacillin was determined for 75 Staphylococcus aureus strains (64 susceptible and 11 resistant to oxacillin) . Minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) and minimal bactericidal concentrations (MBCs) were determined by broth microdilution; antibiotic combinations were evaluated by microdilution checkerboard and time-kill studies . The 90% MIC of rifampin was less than or equal to 0.015 micrograms/ml after both 24 and 48 h of incubation . The 90% MBC of rifampin was less than or equal to 2.0 micrograms/ml on subculture at 24 h of incubation and less than or equal to 0.5 micrograms/ml on subculture at 48 h . MIC checkerboards with oxacillin-susceptible strains revealed an additive or indifferent effect in 35 strains (55%) and antagonism in 29 strains (45%) . MBC checkerboards performed by subculture at 24 h demonstrated antagonism for all but one of the oxacillin-susceptible strains, with sub-MBCs of rifampin impairing the bactericidal activity of oxacillin . MBC checkerboards performed by 48-h subculture revealed antagonism with 37 strains (58%); in 26 additional strains (40%), a synergistic, additive, or indifferent effect was observed at low antibiotic concentrations, but antagonism was seen at higher concentrations . Time-kill studies tended to show indifference rather than antagonism with oxacillin plus rifampin . In checkerboards performed with oxacillin-resistant strains, the addition of rifampin did not improve oxacillin inhibitory or bactericidal activity to a clinically significant extent; however, the addition of oxacillin improved the bactericidal activity of rifampin at easily achievable serum concentrations. Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 1983 Apr, 23(4), 526 - 30 Membrane potential in anaerobically growing Staphylococcus aureus and its relationship to gentamicin uptake; Mates SM et al.; The electrical potential (delta psi) across the cytoplasmic membranes of Staphylococcus aureus cells growing under aerobic and anaerobic conditions was determined by measuring the equilibrium distribution of {3H}tetraphenyl phosphonium . In conjunction, gentamicin uptake and killing were studied in the same cells under identical conditions . Under aerobic conditions, delta psi was -169 mV, gentamicin uptake was readily demonstrable, and the number of viable cells decreased by almost four orders of magnitude in the presence of antibiotic . In contrast, delta psi was -142 mV anaerobically, gentamicin uptake was essentially nonexistent, and the aminoglycoside had no effect on viability . Remarkably, when the ionophore nigericin was added under anaerobic conditions, delta psi increased to the level observed aerobically, gentamicin uptake tripled to about 18% of the aerobic level, and viability decreased by one order of magnitude . The results are consistent with other observations (Mates et al., Proc . Natl . Acad . Sci . U.S.A . 79:6693-6697, 1982), indicating that the relationship between delta psi and gentamicin uptake is gated, and suggest that diminution of delta psi may be an important factor in aminoglycoside resistance under anaerobic conditions. J Clin Gastroenterol, 1983 Apr, 5(2), 159 - 63 Gastric infarction: a complication of endocarditis due to Staphylococcus aureus; Patel RM et al.; We describe a 62-year-old man with diabetes mellitus and peripheral vascular insufficiency, with an ulcer on his foot which led to staphylococcal septicemia, endocarditis, and disseminated intravascular coagulation . All these factors contributed to thromboembolic occlusion of the terminal arteries and veins supplying the stomach, causing gastric infarction. J Appl Bacteriol, 1983 Apr, 54(2), 257 - 61 Enterotoxin production by atypical Staphylococcus aureus from poultry; Evans JB et al.; Phenotypically typical Staphylococcus aureus was isolated frequently from the necrotic bone and liver of poultry suffering from femoral head necrosis . Occasionally strains were isolated that differed from typical Staph . aureus in one or more of the major diagnostic tests, i.e . coagulase production, anaerobic fermentation of mannitol and production of a heat-stable deoxyribonuclease . Such atypical strains were also isolated from nasal swabs of healthy birds . Tests for enterotoxin production demonstrated that some atypical strains from both sick and healthy birds are capable of producing staphylococcal enterotoxins. J Antibiot (Tokyo), 1983 Apr, 36(4), 391 - 7 Studies on a new antibiotic M-92 produced by micromonospora . V . Mechanism of action of the component VA-2; Tani K et al.; Effects of VA-2, a component of quinoid antibiotic M-92, on the incorporation of radioisotope-labeled compounds into the cells of Staphylococcus aureus were studied . Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) synthesis was immediately inhibited by the addition of VA-2 . Significant inhibitions of ribonucleic acid and protein syntheses and minor reduction of peptidoglycan synthesis were observed after a short delay . VA-2 immediately induced the degradation of DNA prelabelled with {14C}thymidine in the cells of S . aureus . In the examinations using E . coli enzyme and calf thymus DNA as a template, VA-2 prevented DNA-dependent DNA polymerase reaction . The inhibition of DNA polymerase I reaction was fairly reversed by increasing the concentration of template DNA, but slightly by that of the enzyme . Agarose gel electrophoresis showed that VA-2 elicited an extensive cleavage of PM2 cccDNA . VA-2 caused a primary conversion of the cccDNA to ocDNA at a low concentration (0.2 micrograms/ml), while at high concentrations (2.0 and 20 micrograms/ml) it cleaved the cccDNA to ocDNA and linear DNA progressively . These cleavages were observed even at 0 degrees C as well as at 37 degrees C, and were enhanced with the addition of a reducing agent such as 2-mercaptoethanol or sodium borohydride. Drug Intell Clin Pharm, 1983 Apr, 17(4), 283 - 5 A mild case of toxic shock syndrome; Ponte CD et al.; The toxic shock syndrome (TSS) most often is seen in young, healthy women who become symptomatic during menstruation . The association between TSS and the use of tampons is strong . The symptoms usually begin suddenly and are often nonspecific . Prostration and hypotensive shock can occur within 24 hours . Milder forms of the disease also may be seen . The overall mortality rate is approximately 8 percent . This report describes a mild case of TSS in a young, healthy, 16-year-old female who developed symptoms during menstruation . She had been using regular-size tampons, which were changed frequently, but she did not change tampons during the night . A positive cervical culture for Staphylococcus aureus confirmed the diagnosis . The patient responded to supportive care and intravenous oxacillin . Her generalized maculopapular rash disappeared within 24 hours of admission, and her hands began to desquamate by the time of discharge . The patient was urged to avoid the use of tampons for four months subsequent to discharge. Am J Gastroenterol, 1983 Apr, 78(4), 235 - 40 Infectious complications of the peritoneovenous shunt; Prokesch RC et al.; The peritoneovenous shunt has been recently advocated to relieve massive ascites refractory to medical therapy . Several complications of the shunt have been described but the incidence of infection has not been elucidated . We reviewed the records of all patients undergoing peritoneovenous shunt at the Emory University Affiliated Hospitals from 1975 to 1980 . Eighty-five peritoneovenous shunts were done in 56 patients . Eighteen of the shunt insertions (21%) were followed by a major infection--eight bacteremias, eight peritonitis, and nine wound infections . Most infections were caused by aerobic gram-negative bacilli or Staphylococcus aureus . Fever was common (62%) in the immediate postoperative period but was not clearly related to infection, or the administration of antibiotics or antipyretics . Shunt removal appeared to be necessary in treating bacteremic patients but not in patients with only peritonitis or wound infections . Infection is a common complication of the peritoneovenous shunt and may limit its usefulness. Cancer Res, 1983 Apr, 43(4), 1842 - 6 Effects of in vitro hyperthermia on human natural killer cells; Kalland T et al.; The present study demonstrates that human natural killer (NK) cells isolated from peripheral blood of normal individuals are highly sensitive to hyperthermia . The effect was time and dose dependent, and treatment of peripheral blood lymphocytes at 42 degrees for 1 hr almost completely abolished NK activity . The effect was not a consequence of cell death since only a small decrease in cell viability was observed and the viability of density gradient fractions enriched for NK activity was normal . Analysis of NK activity at the single-cell level by application of a conjugation assay in agarose revealed that hyperthermia interfered with target cell binding as well as the lytic cycle . Attempts to rescue NK activity after hyperthermia treatment by incubation overnight with human alpha-interferon or activation in mixed leukocyte culture was unsuccessful, indicating that even pre-NK cells are heat sensitive . In contrast, the proliferative response to alloantigens in mixed leukocyte culture and to the T-cell mitogen concanavalin A was unaffected . Hyperthermia exposure of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte generated in mixed leukocyte culture immediately before assay against allogeneic blast cells strongly inhibited their activity . Some alterations in the kinetics of stimulation with the B-cell mitogen Staphylococcus aureus bacteria were observed after heat exposure although maximal stimulation was at control levels . Thus, NK cells, including their precursors, seem to be preferentially sensitive to hyperthermia among various lymphoid subclasses. Trop Doct, 1983 Apr, 13(2), 57 - 60 Postpneumonic pleural suppuration in children; Anyanwu CH et al.; Postpneumonic pleural suppuration is a common condition seen in paediatric practice in Nigeria . One hundred and twenty cases seen at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, over a 4-year period were reviewed . The patients were aged between 1 1/2 months and 16 years . History of antecedent measles was elicited in 27 of the children, and 70% of the patients presented to the hospital later than 7 days after the onset of symptoms of pleura suppuration . From the pleural aspirates of 106 cases (88.3%) Staphylococcus aureus was cultured in 31.2%, but there were no organisms cultured in 39.4% . Twenty-nine children were treated by chemotherapy only; 11 of them (37.9%) died . Sixty-eight cases had tube drainage of the pleural collections, with 6 deaths (8.8%) . Twenty-three patients had thoracotomy, evacuation of the suppurative lesion and decortication of the lung, with no mortality . There was overall hospital mortality of 14.2%, the highest mortality being in children who had associated measles, gastroenteritis, anaemia or malnutrition . Early surgical drainage by tube thoracostomy or by thoracotomy and decortication in addition to appropriate and adequate antibiotic therapy is the treatment of choice. J Antimicrob Chemother, 1983 Apr, 11(4), 385 - 9 Ventricular cerebrospinal fluid concentrations of trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole; Wang EE et al.; Ventricular cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole (TMP-SMZ) concentrations were measured in 15 patients . At varying times, not exceeding eight hours prior to surgery, each patient received a dose of 5 mg/kg TMP with 25 mg/kg SMZ as a 1 h intravenous infusion . The mean ventricular CSF TMP concentration was 1.1 mg/l with a range of 0.5-3.2 mg/l . The SMZ concentration was 17.9 mg/l with a range of 5-40 mg/l . There was no apparent relationship between achievable CSF concentrations and the time elapsed after drug administration . The CSF concentrations were achieved despite the lack of meningeal inflammation . In 11 of 14 patients, the levels exceeded the minimum inhibitory concentrations for Staphylococcus aureus and Staph . epidermidis. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg, 1983 Apr, 85(4), 527 - 31 Surgical treatment of purulent pericarditis in children; Morgan RJ et al.; Since 1971 we have seen 15 children with the diagnosis of purulent pericarditis . The causative organism was Hemophilus influenzae in seven, Staphylococcus aureus in three, and five were due to other organisms . In one child the diagnosis was unsuspected until autopsy . The other 14 patients were all treated with intravenous antibiotics to which the organism was sensitive . One child had an immediate pericardiectomy because of tamponade . The other 13 patients had pericardiocentesis for diagnosis and initial therapy . Pericardiocentesis alone resulted in recovery of four patients and failed in nine, including all seven patients with H . influenzae . These nine had recurrent tamponade or a persistent picture of sepsis that was unresponsive to repeated pericardiocenteses and necessitated operative intervention . The procedure used was subxiphoid tube drainage in two patients . One recovered and the other required further operation . The remaining seven patients were treated with pericardiectomy . All pericardiectomy patients recovered without complications or recurrent symptoms . Survivors are asymptomatic with no evidence of pericardial constriction . We recommend immediate pericardiocentesis for diagnosis and initial therapy . Early pericardiectomy should be performed if the causative organism is H . influenzae, if tamponade occurs after initial pericardiocentesis, or if fever persists despite appropriate antibiotics. Am J Dis Child, 1983 Apr, 137(4), 361 - 4 Treatment of Staphylococcus aureus infections in children in office practice; Disney FA et al.; One hundred five Staphylococcus aureus infections occurring in 79 children who were seen in a private office practice were evaluated for response to antibiotic therapy . The value of in vitro disk susceptibility testing in directing antibiotic selection in treatment failures was also examined . Of the total episodes studied, the types of infection studied included vesicular pyoderma (48%), secondary pyoderma (13%), bullous pyoderma (5%), furunculosis (14%), carbunculosis (12%), cellulitis (3%), suppurative otitis media (4%), and paronychia (2%) . Comparative treatment efficacy was obtained with perioral erythromycin estolate and erythromycin ethylsuccinate, cefaclor and cephalexin, and clindamycin hydrochloride and dicloxacillin sodium . Penicillin V potassium, ampicillin, and topical bacitracin were generally ineffective . In 23 patients, 27/105 infections were initial treatment failures . Antibiotic disk susceptibility testing predicted these clinical failures and/or the antibiotic that would produce a clinical response in 21 of these 23 patients, suggesting that this office procedure can be of considerable value. J Bacteriol, 1983 Apr, 154(1), 406 - 12 Confirmation of protoplast fusion-derived linkages in Staphylococcus aureus by transformation with protoplast DNA; Stahl ML et al.; Transformation provided definitive evidence for linkage between tyrB282::Tn551 ermB321 and omega (Chr::Tn551)34, and thus between the separate large linkage groups containing these markers, in Staphylococcus aureus NCTC 8325 . Transformation also defined the chromosomal loci for the purC193::Tn551 and omega (Chr::Tn551)42 markers and the linkage of a tetracycline resistance marker (tet-3490) with a fusidic acid resistance marker (fus-149) . The use of DNA isolated from protoplasts under conditions that reduced hydrodynamic shear greatly facilitated the demonstration of most of these linkages . These results provide direct evidence confirming several of the linkages predicted by a microcomputer-assisted protoplast fusion analysis in a previous study (M . L . Stahl and P . A . Pattee, J . Bacteriol . 154:395-405, 1983); those markers whose predicted linkages were not confirmed by transformation are probably separated by chromosomal distances that exceed the limits of detection by transformation, even with protoplast DNA. J Bacteriol, 1983 Apr, 154(1), 395 - 405 Computer-assisted chromosome mapping by protoplast fusion in Staphylococcus aureus; Stahl ML et al.; Protoplasts of genetically marked derivatives of Staphylococcus aureus NCTC 8325 were fused with polyethylene glycol and regenerated without selection . Recombinants possessing one specific resistance marker from each parent were selected from the regenerated population and scored for seven or eight unselected markers . The results of these 9- and 10-factor crosses were entered directly into a programmed microcomputer from prescored replica plates . The data then were condensed into an array of phenotypes, together with the frequency with which each occurred . Further analyses by computer included the calculation of coinheritance frequencies for all possible pairs of markers; after entering a proposed order for the markers being analyzed, the minimum number of crossover events required to generate each phenotypic class was calculated . The linkage relationships of markers, based on the protoplast fusion data, were entirely consistent with the linkage relationships of markers already known to exist within each of the three linkage groups previously defined by transformation . The fusion data defined an arrangement of the three linkage groups into a circular chromosome map and predicted the approximate location of four previously unmapped markers (tet-3490, fus-149, purC193::Tn551, and omega {Chr::Tn551}42) on this map. Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 1983 Apr, 23(4), 610 - 3 Methicillin-resistant septal peptidoglycan synthesis in a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strain; Wilkinson BJ et al.; In a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strain, electron micrographs showed that cell wall septa continued to be formed in the presence of methicillin, although they became distorted and enlarged . The results indicated that peripheral cell wall synthesis was inhibited . It is concluded that a methicillin-resistant mode of septal peptidoglycan synthesis is an important determinant of methicillin resistance. J Clin Microbiol, 1983 Apr, 17(4), 567 - 70 Evaluation of a commercial counterimmunoelectrophoresis kit for detection of Staphylococcus aureus teichoic acid antibodies; West TE et al.; A commercial kit from Diagnostica, Inc., Miami Fla., was studied for its ability to detect antibodies to the teichoic acids of Staphylococcus aureus . A comparative study of the Diagnostica counterimmunoelectrophoresis (CIE) system and our gel double-diffusion method was undertaken with 156 serum samples from 142 patients . Included were 25 cases of staphylococcal and non-staphylococcal endocarditis, 30 cases of S . aureus bacteremia, 19 cases of nonbacteremic S . aureus infection, 39 cases of hospitalized patients without a staphylococcal infection, and 29 normal controls . Agreement between methodologies was attained in 138 (88.5%) of the 156 samples tested and in 127 (89.4%) of the 142 patients . Of 13 patients with culture-proven S . aureus endocarditis, significant antibody titers were found in all patients (100%) by CIE and in 12 patients (92.3%) by double diffusion . No significant titers were found in normal sera by CIE, but four sera were positive by double diffusion . Of 80 sera from patients with no evidence of S . aureus infection, 4 (5.0%) were positive by CIE and 7 (8.8%) were positive by double diffusion . The Diagnostica CIE kit appears to provide a suitable means for the detection of deep-seated S . aureus infections. Exp Eye Res, 1983 Apr, 36(4), 537 - 42 Large-scale preparation of gamma-crystallin and fractionation by chromatofocusing; Bloemendal H et al.; Large quantities of calf gamma-crystallin can be prepared by a single and rapid salting-out procedure . The final product is indistinguishable from the gamma-crystallin fraction obtained after gel filtration of a 15000 g lens protein supernatant over Sephadex G 200 . Further fractionation is achieved by the mild procedure of chromatofocusing yielding six to eight subfractions . The latter have been characterized by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) in 6 M-urea, SDS-gel electrophoresis, partial digestion with Staphylococcus aureus protease and amino acid analysis. Infect Immun, 1983 Apr, 40(1), 284 - 91 Identification of immunogenic and antibody-binding membrane proteins of pathogenic Trichomonas vaginalis; Alderete JF; Characterization of immunogenic Trichomonas vaginalis membrane proteins was accomplished by using extrinsically and intrinsically labeled organisms and a highly sensitive and specific radioimmunoprecipitation procedure . Intact motile trichomonads were compared with detergent extracts as a source of antigen in radioimmunoprecipitation experiments . Approximately 20 proteins accessible to antibody were identified and ranged in molecular weight from 200,000 to 20,000 . Localization on the parasite surface of the highly immunogenic membrane proteins was attempted by using, as the indicator system, formaldehyde-fixed protein A-bearing Staphylococcus aureus pretreated with the various antiserum reagents and incubated with live, motile parasites . Also, indirect immunofluorescence with fluorescein isothiocyanate--anti-rabbit immunoglobulin was also employed after incubation of organisms with either control serum or antiserum from immunized rabbits or after treatment of trichomonads with the immunoglobulin G fraction from each respective serum . No immunoglobulin G antibody appeared to be directed at the anterior trichomonal flagella or the posterior axostyle, whereas strong fluorescence was detected throughout the rest of the T . vaginalis surface . The biological significance of these data is discussed. Pathology, 1983 Apr, 15(2), 169 - 74 Gentamicin resistance in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; Townsend DE et al.; Gentamicin resistance has been studied in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains, from Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH) and Sydney . Gentamicin resistance was transferred in mixed cultures to a plasmid free strain, and the determinants were examined . The Sydney strain had high level resistance to gentamicin, tobramycin, kanamycin and neomycin which was carried on a c.34 megadalton plasmid . The gentamicin resistant RMH isolates all had a determinant which conferred low level resistance to gentamicin, tobramycin and kanamycin and appeared to be chromosomal in one isolate, on a plasmid of c.28.5 megadaltons in another and on a plasmid of c.18 megadaltons in the other isolates . It is suggested that a gentamicin resistance transposon is being transferred in the MRSA at RMH. J Bacteriol, 1983 Apr, 154(1), 479 - 87 Insertional inactivation of staphylococcal methicillin resistance by Tn551; Berger-Bachi B; Transposon Tn551 was translocated into the chromosome of a methicillin-resistant (mec) strain of Staphylococcus aureus by heat inactivation of a thermo-sensitive plasmid carrying Tn551 and selection for erythromycin-resistant (Emr) survivors . Two independent chromosomal insertions of Tn551 were obtained which reduced the level of the methicillin resistance by a factor of 50 to 100, making the strains phenotypically methicillin sensitive (Mecs) . Each of the Tn551 insertions was on the largest fragment produced by EcoRI digestion of the chromosomal DNA of these strains . The integration sites lie about 1 kilobase apart . These Mecs strains reverted to Mecr at frequencies of 2.4 X 10(-8) and 3.6 X 10(-5), respectively . The majority of Mecr revertants still were Emr; only a few lost the Emr phenotype concomitantly with reversion to the Mecr phenotype . Hybridization data with labeled Tn551 showed complex rearrangements and deletions in the region of the insertion . These two Tn551 insertions do not lie on the same linkage group, II, as the mec determinant . The phenotypic expression of methicillin resistance, therefore, is also dependent upon a chromosomal genetic marker not physically linked to the mec determinant. J Virol, 1983 Apr, 46(1), 29 - 41 Mapping of multiple phosphorylation sites within the structural and catalytic domains of the Fujinami avian sarcoma virus transforming protein; Weinmaster G et al.; The phosphorylation sites of the P140gag-fps gene product of Fujinami avian sarcoma virus have been identified and localized to different regions of this transforming protein . FSV P140gag-fps isolated from transformed cells is phosphorylated on at least three distinct tyrosine residues and one serine residue, in addition to minor phosphorylation sites shared with Pr76gag . Partial proteolysis with virion protease p15 or with Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease has been used to generate defined peptide fragments of P140gag-fps and thus to map its phosphorylation sites . The amino-terminal gag-encoded region of P140gag-fps contains a phosphotyrosine residue in addition to normal gag phosphorylation sites . The two major phosphotyrosine residues and the major phosphorserine residue are located in the carboxy-terminal portion of the fps-encoded region of P140gag-fps . P140gag-fps radiolabeled in vitro in an immune complex kinase reaction is phosphorylated at only one of the two C-terminal tyrosine residues phosphorylated in vivo and weakly phosphorylated at the gag-encoded tyrosine and at a tyrosine site not detectably phosphorylated in vivo . Thus, the in vitro tyrosine phosphorylation of P140gag-fps is distinct from that seen in the transformed cell . A comparative tryptic phosphopeptide analysis of the gag-fps proteins of three Fujinami avian sarcoma virus variants showed that the phosphotyrosine-containing peptides are invariant, and this high degree of sequence conservation suggests that these sites are functionally important or lie within important regions . The P105gag-fps transforming protein of PRCII avian sarcoma virus lacks one of the C-terminal phosphotyrosine sites found in Fujinami avian sarcoma virus P140gag-fps . Partial trypsin cleavage of FSV P140gag-fps immunoprecipitated with anti-gag serum releases C-terminal fragments of 45K and 29K from the immune complex that retain an associated tyrosine-specific protein kinase activity . This observation, and the localization of the major P140gag-fps phosphorylation sites to the C-terminal fps region, indicate that the kinase domain of P140gag-fps is located at its C terminus . The phosphorylation of P140gag-fps itself is complex, suggesting that it may itself interact with several protein kinases in the transformed cell. Cell Immunol, 1983 Apr 1, 77(1), 196 - 201 OKT4/8 ratio in the blood and in the graft during episodes of human renal allograft rejection; von Willebrand E; We have analyzed the frequency of T helper (Th) and T suppressor/killer (Ts/k) lymphocytes in the blood and in the renal allograft during episodes of rejection and during quiescence . Monoclonal OKT4 and OKT8 antibodies were used to mark the Th and Ts/k cells, respectively . Density centrifugation-separated mononuclear leukocytes and FACS IV cell sorter or the Staphylococcus aureus rosette assay were used to determine the ratio in the blood, with concordant results . Fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) and the Staph . assay were used to demonstrate the lymphocyte subtypes in the graft . The mean OKT4/8 ratio in the blood was significantly lower in the transplant recipients than in healthy controls (1.1 +/- 0.7 vs 1.8 +/- 0.2, respectively, P = 0.000) . The individual variation was, however, high and no correlation between the OKT4/8 ratio in the blood and the inflammatory episodes in situ was observed . During 19 of the 25 episodes of inflammation, the dominant lymphocyte subtype in the graft was the Ts/k cell . In the remaining six cases it was the Th cell . All rejection episodes of the former type were reversible, in the latter type, four out of six were irreversible. J Biol Chem, 1983 Mar 25, 258(6), 4019 - 25 The distribution of phosphorylation sites among identified proteolytic fragments of mammalian neurofilaments; Julien JP et al.; Neurofilaments were treated with chymotrypsin or with Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease (V8 protease) and the proteolytic fragments in soluble and particulate centrifugal fractions were identified by immune blotting, using antibodies raised against the Mr = 68,000 (P68), 145,000 (P145), and 200,000 (P200) subunits . The data provide further evidence that each of the three subunits has a different disposition within the filament . A Mr = 160,000 fragment of P200, which may correspond to the side arm projections on neurofilaments, was released into solution by chymotrypsin . In contrast, the proteolytic fragments of P68 and P145 were recovered mainly in the particulate centrifugal fraction, indicating that the two subunits are more closely associated with the filament backbone . Proteolytic cleavage studies on neurofilaments that were 32P-labeled in vivo indicated that the phosphorylated domains in P200 and P145 are localized in a restricted segment of each subunit, which occurs between the chymotryptic and V8 protease cleavage sites . No 32P was associated with the bulk of chymotryptic fragments, which are found in the particulate fraction, are about 40,000 daltons in size, and derive from all three neurofilament subunits . Most of the phosphorylation sites in neurofilaments are peripherally located in the projection domain of P200, suggesting that phosphorylation may modulate interactions between neurofilaments and other neuronal components. J Biol Chem, 1983 Mar 25, 258(6), 3936 - 41 Isolation and characterization of actin from Entamoeba histolytica; Meza I et al.; Actin has been identified and purified partially from trophozoites of Entamoeba histolytica HMI-IMSS by a procedure that minimizes proteolysis . In cellular extracts, Entamoeba actin would copolymerize with muscle actin, but would not bind to DNase I or form microfilaments . Fractionation of the extracts by DEAE-cellulose and Sephadex G-150 chromatography yielded a purified actin that would copolymerize with rabbit skeletal muscle actin or polymerize alone into long filaments at 24 degrees C upon addition of 100 mM KC1 and 2 mM MgCl2 . These filaments are not cold-stable and will depolymerize at 4 degrees C in 1 or 2 h . Entamoeba actin filaments bind phallotoxin with the same affinity as muscle actin and decorate with rabbit skeletal muscle heavy meromyosin . Entamoeba actin filaments activate the Mg2+ ATPase of heavy meromyosin to the same Vmax as muscle actin, but the Kapp is 2.8 times higher . Entamoeba actin is a single species with a slightly higher molecular weight than muscle actin (45,000) and a more acidic pI (5.4) . The purified actin does not bind to DNase I, produce inhibition of the enzymatic activity, or block the binding of muscle actin . Comparison of the peptides obtained by limit digest with protease V8 from Staphylococcus aureus shows sequences with common mobility between alpha-actin and Entamoeba actin, but additional peptides are present which may account for the different properties of the Entamoeba actin . Finally, in vitro translation of mRNA from trophozoites produces a single polypeptide equivalent to the molecule purified from Entamoeba extracts. Lancet, 1983 Mar 19, 1(8325), 615 - 8 Growth of toxic-shock-syndrome strain of Staphylococcus aureus after enzymic degradation of 'Rely' tampon component; Tierno PM Jr et al.; beta-glucosidase, cellulase, alpha-mannosidase, beta-galactosidase, and N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase were tested for their ability to hydrolyse the carboxymethylcellulose contained in 'Rely' tampons (R-CMC) . The end-products of the hydrolysis were determined by chromatography . Only beta-glucosidase and cellulase hydrolysed R-CMC and the major product detectable after enzymic degradation was glucose, as confirmed chromatographically and by the glucose oxidase test . The enzymic-degradation products of R-CMC were able to support the growth of a toxic-shock-syndrome strain of Staphylococcus aureus . This finding suggests that as it is degraded by enzymes in the vaginal cavity R-CMC may become an exogenous source of nutrients for pathogenic organisms. Eur J Biochem, 1983 Mar 15, 131(2), 383 - 6 Physicochemical characterization of a fast refolding monomeric class I fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase from Staphylococcus aureus; Rudolph R et al.; The class I fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase from Staphylococcus aureus is proposed as a good candidate for thermodynamic and kinetic studies on protein folding . The monomeric enzyme (molecular weight 35 000 +/- 1000) has been previously described as 'unusually heat-stable' {F . Gotz et al . (1980) Eur . J . Biochem . 108, 295-301} . In the present paper we show that the enzyme is reversibly denatured at relatively low temperature (26-39 degrees C), as determined by protein fluorescence and far ultraviolet circular dichroism; the van't Hoff enthalpy of the thermal unfolding is 355 +/- 63 kJ/mol . The dichroic absorption shows that the aldolase is extensively unfolded in 6 M guanidine/HCl . Complete reactivation of the guanidine-denatured enzyme in the test solution is extremely fast (less than 10 s in the temperature range from 24.6 degrees C to 7.7 degrees C) . Reactivation ought to be much slower if isomerization reactions around at least some of the ten Xaa-Pro peptide bonds were rate-limiting for reactivation. Sem Hop, 1983 Mar 10, 59(10), 671 - 5 {Clinical and etiological aspects of erythema multiforme . A propos of 40 cases}; Maleville J et al.; The authors analyse 40 cases of erythema multiforme (including twenty children under fifteen) seen over a five-year period at the Sick Children's Hospital in Bordeaux, Bullous erythematous target lesions of the skin were associated, in most cases, with pluri-orificial ulcerations on the mucous membranes and, less frequently, with more or less severe systemic or visceral symptoms . Borderline cases were observed, associating features of erythema multiforme simplex and of Lyell disease with variable degrees of dermoepidermal blistering and epidermal necrosis . Infection (32.5% of cases) is a more common etiology in children than in adults; the main pathogens are herpes simplex virus, vaccinia pox virus, and Mycoplasma pneumoniae . Drug-induced forms (37% of cases), which are more often seen in adults than in children, are usually due to sulfonamides or antiinflammatory agents . In 30% of cases, no etiology could be demonstrated . Attention is drawn to the frequency of facial vespertilial erythema, as well as the possible occurrence of severe conjunctival sequellae . The connections between erythema multiforme, fixed drug-induced eruptions, and Lyell disease are discussed: only the last, which implies dermoepidermal cleavage, can be categorized with erythema multiforme . The staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome, in which the epidermolysin of Staphylococcus aureus type II 71 is responsible for a superficial cleavage, proceeds from entirely different mechanisms and should be regarded as totally distinct from erythema multiforme. Bull Eur Physiopathol Respir, 1983 Mar-Apr, 19(2), 107 - 10 {Effects of a controlled Staphylococcus aureus infection on the renewal of endoalveolar cells}; Fritsch P et al.; We have studied, in rats, the influence of the intratracheal injection of 30 X 10(6) Staphylococcus aureus upon the differential count and renewal of the cell populations extracted by pulmonary lavage . In vivo labelling of alveolar macrophages was performed by intratracheal injection of 125I iododeoxyuridine, and the evolution of the labelled population was quantitatively followed up after scheduled sacrifice . Dividing cells were also identified at all times in the lavage population, after incorporation of (3H)-thymidine in vitro and autoradiography . The injection of Staphylococcus aureus induced an acute inflammatory process followed by the migration of polymorphonuclears, lymphocytes and macrophages mainly during the first 24 hours . Later on, no viable bacteria were observed and the cell populations returned to control values . Kinetic parameters were found varying as a function of the cell type . The early increase of macrophages was mainly produced by the migration of monocytes, which exhibited a shorter lifespan in alveolus than did resident macrophages . The inflammatory reaction observed, whilst inducing a considerable modification of the cell distributions, did not significantly modify the lifespan of macrophages located within alveolus before the aggression. Ann Microbiol (Paris), 1983 Mar-Apr, 134A(2), 169 - 75 {Demonstration by electrosyneresis of 2 exfoliation serotypes produced by Staphylococcus aureus}; Piemont Y et al.; The method described allowed a rapid, easy and reliable detection of exfoliative toxin produced by Staphylococcus aureus . A new culture technique of S . aureus strains and the detection of exfoliative toxin by electrosyneresis are described . This could replace the new-born mouse test . Such a method was useful for epidemiological studies because a lot of strains of S . aureus could be screened for exfoliative toxin production; thus the serotype of the toxin (ETA or ETB) was also determined. Infection, 1983 Mar-Apr, 11(2), 77 - 83 The role of antibodies against alpha-toxin and teichoic acid in the diagnosis of staphylococcal infections; Julander IG et al.; An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used with purified alpha-toxin and teichoic acid preparations to measure the IgG and IgM response in Staphylococcus aureus infections . After determining antibodies in a normal population, cut-off levels were set for all age groups . ELISA with alpha-toxin was more sensitive than the antistaphylolysin neutralization test (ASTA) . Determining IgM antibodies with the two antigens was found to be of limited diagnostic value . Positive IgG titers against alpha-toxin were found in 21 of 27 patients (78%) with endocarditis, 11 of 14 (79%) with complicated septicemia, eight of 20 (40%) with uncomplicated septicemia and in 12 of 22 (54%) with chronic osteomyelitis . The IgG responses to teichoic acid and alpha-toxin were somewhat different when measured by ELISA, and the parallel performance of the two assays resulted in improved serological diagnostics . The number of positive patients increased to 89%, 86%, 65% and 64%, respectively, in the four groups with a diagnostic specificity of 93% . In septicemic staphylococcal infections, the diagnosis could be established in all patients (28 of 28) with adequately spaced paired samples. Pediatr Infect Dis, 1983 Mar-Apr, 2(2), 105 - 9 Median sternotomy wound infections in children; Edwards MS et al.; Nine children (25 days to 15 years of age) with infectious complications of median sternotomy are described . Six infections were superficial and in three the sternum and/or mediastinum was involved . Risk factors predisposing to sternal wound infections in six patients were a pump bypass time in excess of 1 hour, excessive postoperative bleeding, low cardiac output for 24 hours or more postoperatively, reexploration for control of bleeding and inadequate antimicrobial prophylaxis . Eight infections were diagnosed at a mean of 15 days postoperatively (range, 5 to 30 days), and chronic sternal osteomyelitis was diagnosed 4 years after operation in one patient . Stability of the sternum was a critical feature differentiating between superficial and deep wound infections . Staphylococcus aureus or Staphylococcus epidermidis was isolated from the wound and/or blood of five patients, and Gram-negative enteric rods were isolated in three patients (two with sternal osteomyelitis and mediastinitis) . Local debridement was sufficient for adequate drainage in four patients, but reexploration for debridement and rewiring of the sternum or drainage of mediastinal contents was required in four . All patients improved initially following drainage and administration of parenteral antibiotics for a mean of 12 (superficial infection) or 28 (deep infection) days . Two patients developed chronic sternal osteomyelitis, and one died due to rupture of a mycotic aneurysm of the aorta 7 years postoperatively. Can J Microbiol, 1983 Mar, 29(3), 297 - 302 Survival in foods of Staphylococcus aureus grown under optimal and stressed conditions and the effect of some food preservatives; El-Banna AA et al.; Staphylococcus aureus was grown in a rich peptone medium which became alkaline with continued incubation . Cells were grown at 37 degrees C and in the same medium containing 1 M NaCl at 46 degrees C, a temperature at which this organism can grow only when protected by NaCl . Cells of these cultures are hereafter called 37 degrees C-cells and 46 degrees C-cells, respectively . The 37 degrees C-cells harvested when the pH was 7.1 to 7.7 had decimal reduction times (D60-value) of 1.8 to 3.1 min in 50 mM pH 7.2 Tris buffer . The D60 value of 46 degrees C-cells tested in the same way, harvested from cultures at pH 6.6 to 7.6, ranged from 5.3 to a maximum of 12.8 min . In milk, green beans, peas, or beef slurry, the D60-value of 46 degrees C-cells was about four times higher than that of 37 degrees C-cells . Length of survival after freeze-drying in skim-milk powder exposed to air was longest for the cells with the highest D-value . In freeze-dried peas and media acidified with acetic and lactic acids, 46 degrees C-cells survived longer than 37 degrees C-cells . However, the sensitivity of the two kinds of cells to potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate, and sodium propionate was essentially the same, but the 46 degrees C-cells were more resistant to butylated hydroxyanisole and sodium nitrite. Appl Environ Microbiol, 1983 Mar, 45(3), 1140 - 3 Modified method for production and purification of Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin B; Melconian AK et al.; A medium containing 4% bio-trypcase and 1% yeast extract was used for the production of Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin B . The yield obtained was estimated at 200 micrograms of enterotoxin per ml of S . aureus S-6 culture supernatant . The purification method involves chromatography on Biorex 70 resin, isoelectric focusing, and gel filtration on Sephadex G-100 . The purified enterotoxin (isoionic point, pH 8.55) was shown to be homogenous protein with a molecular weight of 29,000 when tested by gel electrophoresis. Zh Mikrobiol Epidemiol Immunobiol, 1983 Mar, (3), 68 - 71 {Threshold doses of Staphylococcus aureus and the dynamics of leukocyte phagocytic activity in relation to the concentration of the causative agent in the blood}; Chudner VZ et al.; The study of the phagocytic characteristics of leukocytes at different concentrations of Staphylococcus aureus, carried out in 18 persons, has revealed that the mechanism of phagocytosis cannot be triggered only by the presence of the infective agent in the blood; to trigger this mechanism, the concentration of the infective agent in the blood must reach a definite liminal level (for S . aureus this level is 0.5 X 10(6) microbial bodies per ml) . A further rise in the concentration of the infective agent leads to the increase of the efficiency of phagocytosis as indicated by a curve resembling the exponential logarithmic function . When the concentration of S . aureus in the blood exceeds 1 X 10(9) microbial bodies per ml, no essential effect on the increase of phagocytic characteristics is observed. J Dairy Sci, 1983 Mar, 66(3), 548 - 55 Somatic cell count, electrical conductivity, and serum albumin concentration for detecting bovine mastitis; Sheldrake RF et al.; Cell concentration, electrical conductivity, and serum albumin concentration of milk were evaluated for predicting infection status of quarters in three herds . Probability of misclassifying quarters was lowest for cell concentration . For discriminating quarters infected with Staphylococcus aureus from quarters free from infection, probability of misclassification for cell concentration ranged from 8 to 20% among herds . For electrical conductivity probability of misclassification ranged between 22 and 32%, whereas for serum albumin the range among herds was from 15 to 48% . Among herds there was also considerable variation of the trait, which minimized the probability of misclassification . Cell concentrations for the three herds were 158, 200, and 251 x 10(3) cells/ml whereas for electrical conductivity counts were 4.6, 5.8, and 6.5 mS/cm . For electrical conductivity and serum albumin comparisons within cow by differences and ratios from different quarters yielded little advantage over absolute estimations . For a single sampling, cell concentration provided the most accurate prediction of quarter infection status . We suggest that 200 x 10(3) cells/ml should be the threshold above which quarters are considered likely to be infected with a major pathogen. J Dairy Sci, 1983 Mar, 66(3), 542 - 7 Lactation stage, parity, and infection affecting somatic cells, electrical conductivity, and serum albumin in milk; Sheldrake RF et al.; Effects of stage of lactation and parity on cell concentration, electrical conductivity, and serum albumin concentration of milk from quarters of known infection status were examined . For quarters free from infection, somatic cell concentration rose from 80 to 160 x 10(3) cells/ml between 35 and infected with Staphylococcus aureus the increase was from 250 to about 1000 x 10(3) cells/ml . As lactation number advanced, there was little change in cell concentration for quarters free from infection, whereas for quarters infected with Staphylococcus aureus, cell concentration rose from approximately 450 x 10(3) cells/ml for first lactation to about 1500 x 10(3) cells/ml for cows in their sixth or more lactations . Trends in electrical conductivity were similar to those for cell concentration, with the main influence on electrical conductivity being Staphylococcus aureus infection . For serum albumin concentration only the effect os stage of lactation was significant . Concentration of serum albumin rose from 150 mg/liter at the beginning of lactation to 280 mg/liter at 215 days postpartum . Effects of stage and number of lactation were minor compared with effects of infection by Staphylococcus aureus. J Clin Microbiol, 1983 Mar, 17(3), 524 - 8 Characterization of the hemolytic activity of Staphylococcus aureus strains associated with toxic shock syndrome; Chow AW et al.; The hemolytic activity of 32 vaginal isolates of Staphylococcus aureus from patients with typical toxic shock syndrome (TSS) was contrasted with that of 50 vaginal isolates from patients without TSS, using a standardized inoculum (10(5) CFU) on 5% sheep blood agar after 48 h of incubation under 30% CO2 . Additionally, 7 nongenital isolates from patients with nonmenstrual TSS and 57 strains of nongenital control isolates were included for comparison . Vaginal TSS strains were significantly less hemolytic than non-TSS S . aureus strains of either genital (P less than 0.001) or nongenital (P less than 0.01) origin . Vaginal TSS S . aureus strains were also less hemolytic than were nongenital TSS S . aureus strains (P less than 0.02) . This reduced hemolytic activity of genital TSS S . aureus strains may provide a useful marker for screening and further delineation of toxigenic S . aureus associated with menstrually related TSS. J Antimicrob Chemother, 1983 Mar, 11(3), 263 - 9 Gentamicin resistance in Staphylococcus aureus--a new mechanism? Cutler RR. Six multiply-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus were cured of their gentamicin resistance . For three strains, the loss or reduction of aminoglycoside-modifying enzymes in the sensitive variants was accompanied by an increase in intracellular gentamicin accumulation, confirming that modification of the antibiotic was associated with its impaired uptake . Resistance in the other three strains, however, did not show this association . For one strain the loss of gentamicin resistance was associated with a loss of enzyme production, but both resistant and sensitive variants accumulated {3H} gentamicin at the same rate . The sensitive variants of the two remaining strains showed no increase in {3H} gentamicin accumulation but still produced aminoglycoside-modifying enzymes, and it is suggested that the broad-spectrum aminoglycoside resistance of these two strains is due to some hitherto undescribed mechanisms of resistance rather than an alteration of the ribosomal target. J Antimicrob Chemother, 1983 Mar, 11(3), 233 - 8 Effect of protein binding on antibiotic activity in vivo; Merrikin DJ et al.; Using a group of penicillins all belonging to the same chemical class, antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus was determined in vitro and also in vivo by use of an intraperitoneal infection in mice . The compounds all showed essentially the same level of activity in vitro but differed markedly in their activity in vivo . This activity in vivo could be correlated directly with the extent of binding in mouse serum. Infect Immun, 1983 Mar, 39(3), 1236 - 42 Effect of highly purified coagulase and culture filtrate on virulence and immunity of a coagulase-negative mutant of staphylococcus aureus BB; Hasegawa N et al.; The virulence of the coagulase-deficient mutant BB-Cgl- 1301 (50% lethal dose {LD50} for mice by the intravenous route) was compared with that of its parental strain, Staphylococcus aureus BB . The BB strain produced free coagulase of serotype I, whereas the mutant 1301 did not . Mice were infected with strain 1301, alone or in combination with a highly purified coagulase type I or type II solution, or with concentrated culture filtrates of parent strain BB or mutant strain 1301 . The ratios of the LD50S of 1301 and its combinations to that of BB ranged from 34.9 to 461 . Combining strain 1301 with a concentrated culture filtrate of BB (BB-CF2.5) was the most effective for enhancement of its virulence . When mice were infected with a combination of strain 1301 and BB-CF2.5, the LD50 of strain 1301 (1.72 mg of cells {wet weight}) was decreased to 0.13 mg (1.3 x 10(8) CFU) . This LD50 yielded the smallest ratio, 34.9, as compared with the LD50 of BB (0.00373 mg) . In contrast, when the mice subcutaneously immunized with strain 1301 and BB-CF50 were intravenously challenged by strain BB, the LD50 for the immunized mice was 17.4 times the LD50 for the unimmunized control mice (0.0429 mg as compared with 0.00246 mg), indicating that combination was the most effective for enhancement of mouse immunization with strain 1301 . However, combining strain 1301 with the highly purified sample of coagulase increased neither the virulence nor the immunizing power of mutant strain 1301. Arch Dis Child, 1983 Mar, 58(3), 180 - 3 Pseudomembranous croup; Henry RL et al.; During a 2-year period, 7 children were seen with a severe form of laryngotracheobronchitis associated with sloughing of the respiratory epithelium and profuse mucopurulent secretions . We have called this condition pseudomembranous croup . The children had severe upper airways obstruction, appeared toxic with high fever, and were older than the typical age group for viral laryngotracheobronchitis . Lateral x-ray films of the airways showed subglottic narrowing and often these suggested the presence of radio-opaque foreign material in the tracheal lumen . At endoscopy, in addition to pseudomembrane in the subglottic region and trachea, there was thick mucopus and debris, and in some cases these changes extended into the bronchi . An artificial airway was required in all except one, and even after intubation it proved difficult to maintain the airway . Staphylococcus aureus was the most common pathogen isolated from tracheal cultures but other organisms were grown. Pediatrics, 1983 Mar, 71(3), 392 - 7 Endocarditis in high-risk neonates; Oelberg DG et al.; The clinical spectrum of neonatal endocarditis, including bacterial and nonbacterial types, is examined in five case reports that were drawn from nursery experiences over a recent 2-year period . In contrast to previous reports of 100% mortality from neonatal endocarditis, one patient survived . Changing heart murmur and hematuria were most frequently associated with bacterial and nonbacterial endocarditis in four of the five cases . Pulmonary hypertension, thrombocytopenia, and coagulopathy were also associated with nonbacterial endocarditis . Echocardiograms were performed on four of the patients; only one was suggestive of endocarditis . Staphylococcus aureus was isolated from both cases of bacterial endocarditis, including the single survivor . Thus, it is suggested that the initial antibiotic coverage of any neonate with the clinical syndrome of sepsis, hematuria, and a heart murmur include antistaphylococcal coverage for the possibility of bacterial endocarditis. J Fam Pract, 1983 Mar, 16(3), 616 - 7, 620 Toxic shock syndrome associated with diaphragm use; Hyde L; PIP: A case report is presented of toxic shock syndrome associated wtih diaphragm use . The patient, an 18-year old white woman, gravida 1, para 1, was in good health prior to the reported episode . She had a low transverse cesarean section for fetal distress 3 months prior to admission and had not yet resumed menstruation . 48 hours prior to admission, after unprotected intercourse, she developed a vaginal discharge requiring the use of a pad . 12 hours later she used a diaphragm, left it in place overnight, and failed to remove it the next morning . During the day pelvic and lumbar pain developed, followed by vomiting and a fever as high as 103 degrees Farenheit . That evening, 12 hours before admission, the diaphragm was removed with drainage of copious purulent discharge . The edges of the diaphragm and the discharge were blood streaked . She also developed a diffuse macular blanching rash, sparing only the circumoral region . At the time of admission the following morning her blood pressure was 60/0mmHg; pulse, 180 beats/minute; and temperature, 102 degrees Farenheit . Significant physical findings included the rash, conjunctivitis, a pharyngeal infection, and a lack of adenopathy . Pelvic examination showed a vaginal discharge, a very tender, slightly enlarged warm uterus, and normal adnexa . Cultures of the vaginal discharge were positive for Staphylococcus aureus, resistant to penicillin and ampicillin, and sensitive to methicillin, cephalothin, erythromycin, colistin, chloramphenicol, tetracycline, sulfisoxazole, and aminoglycoside antibiotics . The white blood count rose from 11,000/mm on admission to a high of 13,000/mm with a left shift the next day . The patient received 1.2 million units of intravenous penicillin every 4 hours, 80 mg of gentamicin every 8 hours, and 300 mg of clindamycin every 6 hours, as well as fluid replacement of 2 g of methylprednisolone followed by 1 g every 6 hours . The shock, fever, and rash resolved in the following 48 hours . 2 days after admission there was circumoral exfoliation . The discharge and electrolyte and renal abnormalities cleared in 3 days . Laboratory abnormalities corrected in 24-48 hours except for liver function tests . After 8 days in the hospital, the patient was discharged on 500 mg of cloxacillin every 6 hours . This particular case is unusual because it began with development of a vaginal discharge without vaginal obstruction, developed during a 24-hour period when a diaphragm was in place, and was not associated with menstruation . Whether the discharge represented staphylococcal infection is unknown, but the diaphragm certainly seems to have contributed to the course of events . J Allergy Clin Immunol, 1983 Mar, 71(3), 324 - 30 IgE production in vitro by human blood mononuclear cells: a comparison between atopic and nonatopic subjects; Hemady Z et al.; In vitro IgE synthesis by blood mononuclear cells from atopic patients and nonatopic subjects was examined . A total of 1 X 10(6) mononuclear cells cultured in RPMI-1640 and 10% fetal calf serum with or without cycloheximide was found to be optimal to detect de novo synthesis . A modified Phadebas IgE paper radioimmunosorbent test was employed for the quantitation of supernatant IgE concentration . Kinetic studies indicated that about half the peak amount of IgE is secreted within the first 2 days and the maximum concentration is reached at day 7 . Mononuclear cells obtained from six of six atopic patients with eczema and elevated serum IgE levels and 22/33 atopic patients without eczema spontaneously synthesized significant amounts of IgE in vitro . We failed to detect de novo IgE synthesis by the cells obtained from 40 nonatopic controls . Polyclonal activators such as pokeweed mitogen . Staphylococcus aureus Cowan I, concanavalin A, and phytohemagglutinin failed to induce or enhance in vitro IgE synthesis in normal and atopic subjects . These findings indicate that the study of immunoregulation of IgE synthesis in man will be difficult to accomplish until new methods are developed that allow induction of the IgE response in vitro in nonatopic subjects. J Bone Joint Surg Am, 1983 Mar, 65(3), 371 - 80 Experimental osteomyelitis: description of a canine model and the role of depot administration of antibiotics in the prevention and treatment of sepsis; Fitzgerald RH Jr; Osteomyelitis of the proximal portion of the tibia was consistently produced in the dog by the instillation of a suspension of Staphylococcus aureus about an intramedullary foreign body consisting of acrylic bone cement . The clinical, histological, and roentgenographic manifestations of the infectious process were consistent with those of subacute osteomyelitis, such as may be encountered in infections following total joint arthroplasty . The osteomyelitic process persisted in six of the seven tibiae even after removal of the acrylic bone cement . Using this model, gentamicin-impregnated acrylic bone cement (Palacos) prevented the development of osteomyelitis in nine of ten tibiae that were concomitantly exposed to Staphylococcus aureus in concentrations ranging from 1 x 10(3) to 1 x 10(9) organisms . However, Palacos in bulk form was ineffective in the treatment of three of five tibiae in which osteomyelitis caused by Staphylococcus aureus was already established . Clinical Relevance: A variety of new antimicrobial agents has been introduced, but evaluation of the value of these agents in infections of the musculoskeletal system has relied almost exclusively on clinical trials . Preclinical trials in an animal model could permit earlier detection of promising agents and proper dosage schedules . Newer surgical procedures utilized in the treatment of osteomyelitis, such as local muscle flaps and free vascularized flaps, could also be evaluated to determine how they influence the local blood supply and microbial persistence . In addition, the animal model might aid in the evaluation of newer and non-invasive diagnostic scanning techniques used in the study of infection. Zentralbl Bakteriol Mikrobiol Hyg {A}, 1983 Mar, 254(1), 34 - 41 New possibilities of staphylococcin detection in the exfoliatin-producing strains of staphylococcus aureus; Skalka B et al.; C . renale was found to be highly sensitive to the effect of bacteriocin produced by the exfoliatin-positive strains of S . aureus . The sensitivity of other indicator organisms used was determined through descending series of C . pseudodiphtheriticum, C . diphtheriae, S . aureus strains Oxford 209P, UT 0017, and Wood 46 . Strains of C . pyogenes only produced contradictory results which made any satisfactory interpretation impossible . A modification of the simultaneous bacteriocin-detection method of exfoliatin-positive S . aureus strains, which use suspension of an indicator strain in nutrient agar to obtain lawn homogeneity, has been employed . The use of the modified method together with C . renale to serve as the indicator strain represents a rapid and reliable test suitable for routine diagnostics. Plasmid, 1983 Mar, 9(2), 126 - 37 DNA homology between the arsenate resistance plasmid pSX267 from Staphylococcus xylosus and the penicillinase plasmid pI258 from Staphylococcus aureus; Gotz F et al.; A 29.5-kb plasmid, pSX267, from Staphylococcus xylosus DSM 20267 was found to code for arsenate, arsenite, and antimony (III) resistance . The isolated plasmid was transformed into S . aureus, where the same resistances were expressed . It was of special interest to see whether pSX267 showed any DNA sequence homology with the well-studied penicillinase plasmid from S . aureus pI258, also conferring arsenate, arsenite, and antimony III resistance . By the use of the Southern blotting technique, it was found that DNA sequence homology exists in the region of arsenate, arsenite, and antimony resistance, in addition to the region where the origin of replication, the incompatibility, and the replication A function were mapped on pI258 . This finding was confirmed by electron microscope heteroduplex analysis, which allowed a correlation between the genetic and physical maps of pI258 and pSX267 . Duplex DNA was formed at the arsenate operon of pI258, with a length of 2.6 kb, and at the incompatibility and replication A region, comprising a length of 2.5 kb . Adjacent to this latter region, two small regions of DNA homology were present, with lengths of 0.2 and 0.27 kb . Both plasmids share approximately 20% DNA sequence homology . The DNA homology of the arsenate, arsenite, and antimony III resistance coding regions between pI258 and pSX267 indicate that these plasmid-determined resistance markers are highly conserved and distributed among different staphylococcal species. Infect Immun, 1983 Mar, 39(3), 1041 - 7 Antigen analysis of several pathogenic strains of Trichomonas vaginalis; Alderete JF; Analysis of several human strains of Trichomonas vaginalis and one bovine strain of Tritrichomonas foetus was accomplished with standard sodium dodecyl sulfate-gel electrophoresis and fluorography technology . Highly motile, live trichomonads were radiolabeled, and total trichloroacetic acid-precipitated proteins were electrophoresed . Complex protein profiles of the various human strains of T . vaginalis were obtained with proteins ranging in molecular weight from 20,000 to greater than 200,000 . The parasite biosynthesis of the Coomassie brilliant blue-stained protein bands was demonstrated by efficient radiolabeling of trichomonads with {35S}methionine or a 3H-amino acid digest before electrophoresis and fluorography . Immunogenic trichomonal proteins were then identified by a radioimmunoprecipitation method . A detergent extract of {35S} methionine-labeled T . vaginalis proteins was mixed with serum from an immunized rabbit or pooled sera from subcutaneously infected mice and soluble antibody-antigen complexes isolated by adsorption to protein A-bearing Staphylococcus aureus . The radiolabeled protein antigens were then identified by gel electrophoresis and fluorography . Immunized rabbit serum and pooled sera from challenged mice contained high-titered antibody which reacted with numerous high- and low-molecular-weight proteins . Individual subcutaneously infected mice were found to possess identical antibody responses to these immunogenic trichomonal proteins . A high degree of serological cross-reactivity among the various trichomonads was demonstrated . No differences in the composition of immunogenic proteins were observed among cultures grown in vitro for various lengths of time under the experimental conditions employed . Finally, electrophoretic analysis of cloned colonies of T . vaginalis organisms revealed no differences in their protein composition . The biological relevance of these observations is discussed. Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 1983 Mar, 23(3), 450 - 7 In vitro susceptibility patterns of methicillin-resistant and-susceptible Staphylococcus auerues strains in a population of parenteral drug abusers from 1972 to 1981; Markowitz N et al.; Since 1980, infections caused by methicillin-resistant (MR) Staphylococcus aureus have been epidemic among Detroit-area parenteral drug abusers . Because of the increasing importance of this pathogen, in vitro susceptibilities were compared for 39 isolates of MR S . aureus from 1980 to 1981, and for 56 strains of methicillin-susceptible (MS) S . aureus from 1972 to 1981, recovered from drug abusers with community-acquired infections . Agar dilution studies were performed at 35 degrees C, and minimal inhibitory concentrations were determined after incubation for 18 and 48 h . MR S . aureus exhibited cross-resistance to other beta-lactam antibiotics which frequently required 48 h for expression . MR S . aureus isolates were also resistant to tetracycline, clindamycin, tobramycin, and amikacin . All MR S . aureus isolates investigated synthesized an aminoglycoside 4'-nucleotidyltransferase . Emergence of resistance to cefotaxime, tetracycline, and clindamycin was noted among current MS S . aureus isolates . Vancomycin, fusidic acid, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, and rifampin were the most active agents against MR S . aureus and were equally effective against MS S . aureus. JOGN Nurs, 1983 Mar-Apr, 12(2), 94 - 9 Toxic shock syndrome and other tampon related risks; Cibulka NJ; Most of the recent cases of toxic shock syndrome (TSS) reported have occurred in menstruating women and adolescents although some cases have been reported in nonmenstruating women, children, and men . The disease is characterized by sudden onset of high fever, vomiting, and diarrhea and can rapidly progress to hypotension and shock . Tampon use has been linked to development of toxic shock syndrome, and Staphylococcus aureus has been cultured from a significant number of cases . The exact roles played by both Staphylococcus aureus and tampons in the pathogenesis of toxic shock syndrome remains unknown . Tampons also have been associated with other health problems in women . Nurses can advise preventive measures to reduce the risks of developing toxic shock syndrome and other tampon-related problems. Infect Control, 1983 Mar-Apr, 4(2), 100 - 2 Injuries of hospital employees from needles and sharp objects; Jacobson JT et al.; During a 30-month period in our 570-bed private community hospital, employees reported 218 injuries from needles and other sharp objects . Five of these injuries were from needles used on patients known to be hepatitis B surface antigens (HBsAg) positive . Four were from blades or scalpels used on HBsAg positive patients . Another needle injury resulted in serious Staphylococcus aureus infection . Thirty-three percent of the injuries were from improperly disposed objects, generally in trash baskets in patient rooms . Housekeeping employees were the "innocent victims" of more than one-half of the injuries from such improperly disposed objects . A survey of reporting practices revealed housekeepers reported all their injuries . Underreporting was identified as a problem with laboratory personnel and nurses who tended to make their own judgment concerning the extent of the injury . An effective innovation resulting from our survey was the use of plastic irrigation bottles as an inexpensive and readily available container for disposal of sharps. Zh Mikrobiol Epidemiol Immunobiol, 1983 Mar, (3), 36 - 40 {Molecular profile of mitogen-active metabolites of Staphylococcus aureus}; Iliushin VA et al.; A fraction with a molecular weight of 16000-24000 was isolated from 5-day S . aureus broth culture grown in the dialysate of Martin-Hottinger broth . At a concentration of 2-15 micrograms/ml this fraction induced the nonspecific blast transformation of human blood lymphocytes with the stimulation index 99.6 +/- 15.2 (72-hour cultures) . The mitogenic fraction was immunochemically inert and unrelated to the main part of biologically active components, resistant to heating at 100 degrees C for 10 minutes and to lyophilization, inactivated (by 84.2%-73.7%) by pronase and trypsin, not inactivated by specific immunosorption . Mitogenically active metabolites are regarded as a separate type of biologically active S . aureus products. J Neurochem, 1983 Mar, 40(3), 652 - 60 Structural and metabolic relationships between goldfish brain glycoproteins participating in functional plasticity of the central nervous system; Schmidt R et al.; Ependymins beta and gamma (MW 32,000 and 26,000 daltons) are two secreted goldfish brain glycoproteins that exhibit a specifically enhanced turnover rate when the animals successfully acquire a new pattern of swimming behaviour . Both proteins are bound identically to concanavalin A and can be isolated from brain extracellular fluid and from brain cytoplasm by lectin affinity chromatography . Radioimmunoassay data, using purified 125I-labeled ependymins and antisera directed against ependymin beta or ependymin gamma, show complete cross-reactivity between the two proteins . It is demonstrated by Scatchard-plot analysis that the antisera recognize identical immunological determinants in both proteins . The amino acid composition of the ependymins is similar, and several identical polypeptide fragments are obtained after limited proteolysis with Staphylococcus aureus protease . The proteins are capable of forming complexes of the compositions gamma 2, beta gamma, and beta 2 . A protease present in the extracellular fluid of goldfish brain promotes proteolysis of ependymin beta to ependymin gamma . The finding that ependymin gamma is physiologically derived from ependymin beta suggests the possibility that ependymin beta might exert its biological function during consolidation of new behavioural patterns via smaller polypeptide fragments. Bioorg Khim, 1983 Mar, 9(3), 315 - 29 {Primary structure of the elongation factor G from Escherichia coli . VII . Study of peptides generated during hydrolysis of the T4 fragment by glutamic proteinase from Staphylococcus aureus}; Alakhov IuB et al.; For fragment T4, obtained on limited trypsinolysis of the G-factor, the amino acid sequence embracing 76% of its structure has been determined by analysis of peptides resulting from the fragment T4 cleavage with staphylococcal glutamic protease . These data permitted to assemble into one polypeptide chain 7 out of 12 earlier characterized cyanogen bromide peptides contained in the fragment T4. Cancer Res, 1983 Mar, 43(3), 1420 - 5 Modulatory activity of chemotherapeutic agents on phagocytosis and intracellular bactericidal activity of human polymorphonuclear and mononuclear phagocytes; Pruzanski W et al.; Thirteen chemotherapeutic agents were tested for modulatory activity on phagocytosis by human granulocytes and monocytes . Phagocytosis, phagocytic index, and intracellular bactericidal activity were assessed using Staphylococcus aureus, smooth strain of Escherichia coli, and latex particles . Modulation of phagocytic activity depended on the type of particle used and the presence of serum in the medium . Testing granulocytes, only 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea suppressed phagocytosis of all three types of particles used for ingestion . Other drugs suppressed either phagocytosis of E . coli and S . aureus or of one of the bacteria and latex particles . Three drugs enhanced ingestion of latex particles . The most pronounced modulation of phagocytosis was observed in conditions similar to those in vivo, namely, when serum was added to the medium and when the cells were exposed for longer time to the drugs . In the absence of serum, very little modulation of phagocytosis was observed, and only 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea retained strong suppressive activity . Intracellular bactericidal activity was markedly suppressed by 7 of 13 drugs tested . Monocytes were less influenced by chemotherapeutic agents, their phagocytic activity being either suppressed or enhanced . The influence of chemotherapeutic agents on phagocytosis must be taken into consideration when assessing defense mechanisms and susceptibility to infection in patients with malignant diseases. Plasmid, 1983 Mar, 9(2), 147 - 58 Aminocyclitol resistance in Staphylococcus aureus: presence of plasmids and aminocyclitol-modifying enzymes; Gray GS et al.; Aminocyclitol resistance in Staphylococcus aureus has been investigated by the analysis of the plasmids and aminocyclitol-modifying enzymes present in several clinical staphylococcal isolates . All of the strains tested were resistant to a broad range of aminocyclitols and contained large plasmids which encoded a variety of aminocyclitol-modifying enzymes in addition to other antibiotic resistances . All strains expressed multiple aminocyclitol-modifying enzymes . The plasmids present in these strains appear to be related by virtue of their similar restriction endonuclease digestion patterns . The plasmids are related and differ by the gain or loss of small DNA segments, one of which encodes erythromycin and kanamycin resistance. Scand J Immunol, 1983 Mar, 17(3), 241 - 9 In vitro effects of cyclosporin A on human B-cell responses; Berger R et al.; The in vitro effects of cyclosporin A (CsA) on T-cell-dependent and T-cell-independent mitogen responses of human B cells were studied . T-cell-dependent, pokeweed mitogen (PWM)-induced B-cell proliferation and B-cell differentiation to Ig-secreting cells were significantly inhibited by CsA, when purified B cells were cultured with T-cell helper factor containing supernatants instead of T cells . This indicates that the inhibitory effect of CsA on T-cell-dependent, PWM-induced B-cell proliferation and differentiation is not exclusively due to direct effects on helper T cells . B-cell proliferations induced by anti-IgM antibodies and by Staphylococcus aureus bacteria were also found to be sensitive to CsA . Since both types of reactions are T-cell-independent, the concept that responses of human B cells can also be affected by CsA in ways that seem to be independent of the well-documented direct effects of CsA on T cells is further supported . This seems not to be a general phenomenon, however . Epstein-Barr-virus-induced activation of human B cells, as reported previously and also observed by us, is completely insensitive to CsA . It seems, therefore, that certain B-cell activation mechanisms are sensitive to CsA while others remain unaltered . The difference between these two reaction patterns cannot be exclusively explained by a T-cell dependence or T-cell independence of these responses . CsA effects on certain functional B-cell subsets or interference with accessory cell mechanisms might be responsible. Arch Surg, 1983 Mar, 118(3), 281 - 4 Staphylococcus in toxic shock syndrome and other surgical infections . Development of new bacteriophages; Altemeier WA et al.; Recent studies of Staphylococcus aureus isolates from patients with toxic shock syndrome (TSS) have shown the dominance of phage type 29/52 with the capacity to produce pyrogenic exotoxin C and enterotoxin F . They also showed that 29% of the isolates were nontypable and 90% of them had similar toxigenic properties . The existence of unknown and important phages in this disease was postulated . Five new phages were then developed and used for typing three groups of staphylococcal isolates: 236 from patients with TSS, 67 from patients without TSS, and 159 from patients with infected burns . Results showed a high correlation between the lytic action of the new phages and the 29/52 phages, and an additional typing capability in 35% of the previously nontypable TSS isolates, emphasizing further the potential of bacteriophage typing of S aureus in these infections. J Hosp Infect, 1983 Mar, 4(1), 19 - 29 Bacteria isolated from deep joint sepsis after operation for total hip or knee replacement and the sources of the infections with Staphylococcus aureus; Lidwell OM et al.; A wide variety of bacterial species, many usually regarded as of low pathogenicity, were isolated from septic joints after operation for total hip or knee joint replacement in a multi-centre trial of ultraclean air in operating rooms . The prophylactic antibiotics generally used appeared to reduce considerably the rates of infection with most species but to be ineffective against 'gut' organisms . For about half the septic infections involving Staphylococcus aureus nasal swabs had been obtained from the patient and operating staff at the time of operation for insertion of the prosthesis . Strains of Staph, aureus isolated from these and from the infected joints were phage typed and tested for antibiotic sensitivity . A probable source among the carriers was found for seven out of the 14 infections and a possible source for another five . Very small numbers of Staph . aureus were needed to initiate infection. Scand J Immunol, 1983 Mar, 17(3), 211 - 23 Effect of interferon on cell proliferation and generation of cytotoxic potential in mixed autologous and allogeneic lymphocyte cultures; Argov S et al.; Autologous and allogeneic mixed lymphocyte cultures (AMC and MLC) were assayed for blastogenesis, generation of cytotoxic potential, and the effect of interferon (IFN-alpha) on these features . The cells of the mixed cultures lysed K562, Daudi, and autologous and allogeneic phytohaemagglutinin blasts . Stimulator-specific cytotoxicity was observed only in MLC . B blasts induced with Staphylococcus aureus were only affected in a stimulator-specific manner . Short-term IFN treatment of the MLC-derived effectors before the lytic assay enhanced the nonspecific component of cytotoxicity . Cell proliferation was considerably lower in AMC than in MLC . This was decreased when IFN-alpha was added at the initiation of the cultures . The presence of IFN influenced the generation of lytic potential . Comparison of the lysis of the different targets exerted by MLC-activated cells suggested that the specific component was more substantially elevated than the nonspecific one . It is likely that the IFN induced such modifications in the culture conditions that favoured the proliferation of the specific clone . Re-exposure of lymphocytes cultured in the presence of IFN to another dose of IFN before the assay had no influence on their lytic potential. Acta Virol, 1983 Mar, 27(2), 110 - 8 Vesicular stomatitis virus phenotypically mixed with retroviruses: an efficient detection method; Zavada J et al.; Two methods of assaying vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) particles phenotypically mixed with retrovirus-coded antigens were compared . Each of them detected phenotypically mixed particles with different minimum proportion of surface glycoprotein molecules of the donor virus, and consequently also profoundly different proportions of VSV virions containing retrovirus antigens . Only a low proportion (10(-4) of VSV virions grown in XMuLV-infected rabbit SIRC cells behaved as pseudotypes, resistant to anti-VSV serum and neutralized by anti-XMuLV serum . VSV produced in mouse L cells did not contain significant titre of pseudotype particles in the neutralization test . However, when immunoprecipitation was used with corresponding antibody and Staphylococcus aureus cells, almost 100% of the VSV virions produced in L cells and in XMuLV-preinfected SIRC cells were found to contain MuLV-related antigen molecules. J Immunol Methods, 1983 Feb 25, 57(1-3), 99 - 109 Production and characterization of mouse antibodies against the brain lipid sulfatide; Hofstetter W et al.; One of the lipids in the myelin sheet is sulfatide, a galactosphingolipid . Our aim was to develop a test system to detect and characterize antibody against this lipid . Mouse anti-sulfatide antibody was estimated by a solid-phase microtube assay with labeled Staphylococcus aureus protein A . With labeled rabbit anti-mouse Ig antibody, there was no difference between mouse anti-sulfatide serum and control sera from animals immunized with unrelated antigens . Results show that BALB/c mice produce antibodies against sulfatide if this low molecular weight compound is injected together with cholesterol, lecithin and bovine serum albumin . The antisera are specific for sulfatide but crossreact with galactocerebroside . However, mouse IgM antibody binds to sulfatide-coated polyvinyl plates non-specifically . Thus, only test procedures which avoid detection of IgM antibody can be used to estimate antibody specific for sulfatide and probably also for other lipophilic compounds. J Immunol Methods, 1983 Feb 25, 57(1-3), 353 - 61 A micromethod for the separate evaluation of phagocytosis and intracellular killing of Staphylococcus aureus by human monocytes and granulocytes; Marodi L et al.; A micro-assay has been developed for the separate evaluation of phagocytosis and intracellular killing of Staphylococcus aureus by human monocytes and granulocytes . The minimal number of phagocytes required for the investigation of these functional activities of phagocytic cells has been established by performing phagocytosis and intracellular killing experiments at various cell concentrations, bacteria-to-cell ratios, and volumes . The results of these experiments revealed that phagocytosis can be measured in a reliable way, at bacteria-to-cell ratios of 5:1 and 1:1 (cell concentration 5 x 10(6)/ml), in a suspension of 200 microliters . The rate of intracellular killing by monocytes and granulocytes can also be measured with a total phagocytic suspension of 200 microliters and a cell concentration of 5 x 10(6)/ml . From these results it can be concluded that for an independent determination of the phagocytosis and intracellular killing of micro-organisms, 400 microliters of 5 x 10(6) phagocytes/ml is required, i.e., a total of 2 x 10(6) phagocytes . This number of granulocytes can be obtained from 1-2 ml of blood; for monocytes 4-8 ml of blood is required. J Immunol Methods, 1983 Feb 25, 57(1-3), 227 - 33 Crosslinkage of antibodies to staphylococcal protein A matrices; Gyka G et al.; Crosslinkage of anti-human albumin (anti-HSA) with varying concentrations of glutaraldehyde to Staphylococcus aureus Cowan 1 (SpA-Staph) and to staphylococcal protein A-Sepharose (SpA-Sepharose) was tested . A concentration of 0.0075% glutaraldehyde was found efficient for an almost complete covalent binding of IgG to the matrices . The antibody activity of crosslinked anti-HSA SpA-Staph and anti-HSA SpA-Sepharose was more than 60 and 90% respectively compared with the corresponding noncrosslinked immunosorbents . Antigen was recovered with intact antigenic properties by elution with 3.5 M MgCl2. J Biol Chem, 1983 Feb 25, 258(4), 2668 - 73 Peptide mapping of the human transferrin receptor in normal and transformed cells; Stein BS et al.; Human transferrin receptor protein from various human cell lines in tissue culture (phytohemagglutinin-activated lymphocytes, normal embryonic fibroblasts (WI-38), a choriocarcinoma (Be Wo), an epidermoid carcinoma (KB), and a metastatic breast carcinoma (MCF-7)) was metabolically labeled with {35S}methionine and purified by two methods . The first method involves affinity chromatography of the transferrin receptor with a transferrin-linked Sepharose 4B resin . The second method involves direct immunoprecipitation of the receptor protein with a goat polyclonal antibody raised against placental transferrin receptor . Additionally, transferrin receptor from normal gestational placenta was similarly radiolabeled with {35S}methionine and subsequently purified with transferrin-bound resin . Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the reduced receptor isolated by both purification techniques revealed an Mr = 94,000 protein to be present in all cells assayed for this study . Partial proteolytic digestion with Staphylococcus aureus protease followed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed identical mapping patterns of the Mr = 94,000 protein isolated from each cell line, irrespective of the isolation technique employed to purify the receptor . These findings indicate an identical peptide structure of the human transferrin receptor in cells with a differentiated function for iron metabolism, in normal cells undergoing mitosis, and in neoplastic cells in long term culture, within the limits of detectability of the proteolytic digestion maps. N Z Med J, 1983 Feb 23, 96(726), 119 - 22 Hospital-acquired infection: a five year study at Taranaki Base Hospital; Hettiaratchy IG; A five year experience of the incidence of hospital-acquired infection in a 400-bed general hospital is described . The overall rate of nosocomial infection was 4.1 percent with a four-weekly range of 2.1 percent to 6.0 percent . Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were the major pathogens . Multi-resistant and gentamicin-resistant bacteria were distinctly uncommon . Five small clusters of infection were detected. Anal Biochem, 1983 Feb 15, 129(1), 156 - 61 An analytical method for the selective retrieval of iminobiotin-derivatized plasma membrane proteins; Zeheb R et al.; An analytical method for the selective retrieval of surface plasma membrane proteins which have been covalently "tagged" with the low-molecular-weight ligand 2-iminobiotin has been developed . Retrieval is based upon the specific interaction between the 2-iminobiotin molecule, avidin, antiavidin antibody, and insoluble protein A from Staphylococcus aureus . Conditions for the reaction include moderately basic pH (8.0-9.0) and moderately high ionic strength (300 mM NaCl) . The retrieval reaction is insensitive to 4% (w/v) Triton X-100, NP-40, and Lubrols PX and WX and is inhibited by octyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside and Ammonyx-LO . Large numbers of samples can be processed quickly and simultaneously . Immunoprecipitated proteins can be readily released into solution by incubation in the presence of either low pH, biotin, or sodium dodecyl sulfate. J Biol Chem, 1983 Feb 10, 258(3), 1637 - 44 Photoaffinity labeling of the chick progesterone receptor proteins . Similar hormone binding domains detected after removal of proteolytic interference; Birnbaumer M et al.; Chick progesterone receptor subunits A and B have been photoaffinity-labeled using {3H}R5020 ({17 alpha-methyl-3H}17,21-dimethyl-19-nor-pregn-4,9-diene-3,20-dione) by a modification of the procedures previously reported by our laboratory (Dure, L . S., IV, Schrader, W . T., and O'Malley, B . W . (1980) Nature (Lond.) 283, 784-786) . {3H}R5020 binds to the same receptor sites as authentic progesterone, and has an apparent Kdiss of 2.0 nM . Use of a CuSO4 filter raised the coupling efficiency to 5% and labeled exclusively the receptor proteins . Smaller labeled macromolecules were found to be proteolytic fragments of receptors . The protease(s) could not be inhibited by any of the commonly used protease inhibitors . However, the proteolytic activity was completely removed by passage of crude receptor preparations through phosphocellulose columns . Receptor preparations, photoaffinity-labeled after this procedure, showed exclusively one radioactive band at Mr = 79,000 (subunit A) or Mr = 108,000 (subunit B) with no detectable side-reaction products . Labeled receptors A and B were digested with Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease to yield smaller {3H}R5020-protein fragments derived from both . Molecular weight estimates (Mr = 9,500) and apparent isoelectric points indicate similarities of these regions of both A and B . The photoaffinity protocol described here thus provides a method for study of the hormone-binding domain of progesterone receptors and of receptor proteolysis in crude extracts. J Clin Gastroenterol, 1983 Feb, 5(1), 77 - 80 Toxic shock syndrome presenting as postoperative diarrhea in a postmenopausal woman; Brier AM; Three days after laminectomy, toxic shock syndrome (TSS) presented as acute diarrhea, rash, and fever in a 62-year-old postmenopausal woman . Forty-eight hours later, the full syndrome of TSS developed . Exploration of a benign-appearing wound revealed an occult Staphylococcus aureus infection . This report and literature review underscore the need to consider TSS in the differential diagnosis of acute diarrhea regardless of age, sex, race, and menstrual status, particularly when there has been recent soft tissue infection, injury, or surgery of any type. J Dairy Res, 1983 Feb, 50(1), 3 - 8 Use of lyophilized skin for testing the bactericidal activity of teat disinfectants; Bramley AJ et al.; The bactericidal activities of various concentrations of 3 disinfectants commonly used for teat disinfection were compared in vitro using small discs of pig skin previously contaminated with Staphylococcus aureus . Solutions containing 40 g/l Na hypochlorite, 25 or 50 g/l chlorhexidine digluconate or iodophor containing 5 g/l iodine were found to have equivalent or superior bactericidal activity to a solution containing 10 g/l Na hypochlorite . This in vitro technique offers a convenient alternative to in vivo tests for teat disinfectants and with minor modifications could be applicable to the testing of skin antiseptics in general. Hautarzt, 1983 Feb, 34(2), 55 - 8 {Toxic shock syndrome}; Barran W et al.; The toxic-shock syndrome (TSS) is a recently recognized syndrome characterized by sudden onset of high fever, vomiting, and diarrhea with rapid progression to hypotension and shock . It is caused by one or more not yet clearly defined exotoxins from staphylococcus aureus . The disease primarily affects young women using tampons during their menstrual periods, although it occurs also in non-menstruating women and in men . In these cases extragenital staphylococcus aureus infections are found . Since 1981 the toxic-shock syndrome associated with menstruation has occurred less frequently, whereas the non-menses-related toxic-shock syndrome appears with similar frequency . The syndrome resembles Kawasaki disease (mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome) in several aspects, namely fever, rash with subsequent desquamation, and cardiovascular involvement . However, shock, which is prominent in toxic-shock syndrome, is not usually seen in Kawasaki disease. Eur J Radiol, 1983 Feb, 3(1), 1 - 2 CT in idiopathic pyogenic myositis of the iliopsoas muscle . A report of 2 cases; Kvernebo K et al.; Pyogenic myositis of the iliopsoas muscle may occur as a primary clinical entity of an idiopathic nature, or more commonly secondarily to an adjacent disease process . We report 2 cases of idiopathic pyogenic infection caused by Staphylococcus aureus . This disease entity is rare in temperate climates . CT combined with clinical and biochemical information enabled the correct diagnosis, and appropriate treatment could thus be started. Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 1983 Feb, 23(2), 338 - 40 Comparison of concentrations of rifampin and a new rifamycin derivative, DL 473, in canine bone; Iversen P et al.; Constant-infusion experiments were performed in 14 dogs to determine the penetration into bone of rifampin and a new C-3 substituted rifamycin, DL 473 . The drugs were assayed in cortical bone and medulla from tibia-femur and cortical and cancellous bone from rib . After identical dosage, the concentrations of DL 473 appeared to be higher, except in the medulla, although the serum concentrations of rifampin were almost twice as high as those for DL 473 . The concentrations of both drugs in all bone areas were several times higher than their minimum inhibitory concentrations against pathogenic Staphylococcus aureus. Neurosurgery, 1983 Feb, 12(2), 142 - 7 Penetration of nafcillin, methicillin, and cefazolin into human brain tissue; Frame PT et al.; To determine the penetration of the antistaphylococcal antibiotics, nafcillin, methicillin, and cefazolin, into brain tissue, we gave to each of 27 patients undergoing craniotomy and brain biopsy one of the antibiotics in a 2-g intravenous infusion just before operation . At the time of brain tissue removal (30 to 225 minutes after the start of the infusion), a serum specimen was obtained, and tissue and serum were assayed for antibiotic concentration . Eleven of 13 brain specimens contained detectable nafcillin concentrations between 0.36 and 11 micrograms/g of tissue (mean, 2.7 micrograms/g for all 13 specimens) . Fourteen of 18 brain tissue specimens contained detectable methicillin concentrations between 0.56 and 5.0 micrograms/g of tissue (mean, 2.0 micrograms/g for all 18 specimens) . Ten of 11 brain tissue specimens contained detectable cefazolin concentrations between 2.0 and 40 micrograms/g of tissue (mean, 10.6 micrograms/g for all 11 specimens) . Each antibiotic penetrated "abnormal" brain tissue better than "relatively normal" brain tissue . Because nafcillin is more active against Staphylococcus aureus, we conclude that nafcillin is preferable to methicillin for the therapy of central nervous system staphylococcal infections . Cefazolin achieves higher brain tissue concentrations than the penicillins, but has not been clinically evaluated for the therapy of central nervous system infections. J Cell Biol, 1983 Feb, 96(2), 443 - 8 Identification of fodrin as a major calmodulin-binding protein in postsynaptic density preparations; Carlin RK et al.; A major protein of postsynaptic densities (PSDs), a doublet of 230,000 and 235,000 Mr that becomes enriched in PSDs after treatment of synaptic membranes with 0.5% Triton X-100, has been found to be identical to fodrin (Levine, J., and M . Willard, 1981, J . Cell Biol . 90:631) by the following criteria . The upper bands of the PSD doublet and purified fodrin (alpha-fodrin) were found to be identical since both bands (a) co-migrated on SDS gels, (b) reacted with antifodrin, (c) bound calmodulin, and (d) had identical peptide maps after Staphylococcus aureus protease digestion . The lower bands of the PSD doublet and of purified fodrin (beta-fodrin) were found to be identical since both bands co-migrated on SDS gels and both had identical peptide maps after S . aureus protease digestion . The binding of calmodulin to alpha-fodrin was confirmed by cross-linking azido-125I-calmodulin to fodrin before running the protein on SDS gels . No binding of calmodulin to beta-fodrin was observed with either the gel overlay or azido-calmodulin techniques . A second calmodulin binding protein in the PSD has been found to be the proteolytic product of alpha-fodrin . This band (140,000 Mr), which can be created by treating fodrin with chymotrypsin, both binds calmodulin and reacts with antifodrin. Int J Pept Protein Res, 1983 Feb, 21(2), 209 - 15 Complete amino acid sequences of two protease inhibitors in the venom of Bungarus fasciatus; Liu CS et al.; Two analogous protease inhibitors, VIIIb and IX in the venom of Bungarus fasciatus were reduced and carboxymethylated . Tryptic peptides were separated by cellulose thin-layer peptide mapping technique, and amino acid sequences were analyzed by DABITC/PITC double coupling method . Alignment of all tryptic peptides was established by analyses of chymotryptic peptides and further confirmed by Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease digestion . IX consisted of 65 amino acid residues . VIIIb consisted of 62 residues, identical to the N-terminal 62-amino acid sequence of IX. Ann Rheum Dis, 1983 Feb, 42(1), 67 - 74 Concentrations of some antibiotics in synovial fluid after oral administration, with special reference to antistaphylococcal activity; Sattar MA et al.; One of 4 antibiotics with antistaphylococcal activity was given in a conventional oral dose for one day to each of 20 hospitalised patients with synovial effusion of a knee joint requiring aspiration . Serial synchronous samples of serum and synovial fluid (SF) were taken over 36 hours through indwelling cannulae . No morbidity was experienced either during or after this procedure . Satisfactory antistaphylococcal concentrations in SF were achieved with sodium fusidate (500 mg 8 hourly) and amoxycillin (250 mg 8 hourly) . Cephradine (500 mg 6 hourly) frequently failed to reach the minimum inhibitory concentration for Staphylococcus aureus in the SF, and flucloxacillin (250 mg 6 hourly) was unpredictable in its penetration of the synovial space . Wide interpatient variation of both serum and SF concentrations was found . Our results indicate that sodium fusidate is an appropriate early treatment for a nonresistant staphylococcal joint infection . Amoxycillin is a suitable alternative or second antistaphylococcal drug and would also be appropriate initial therapy when the infecting organism is unknown . We strongly recommend that SF antibiotic concentrations be measured, to ensure adequate penetration of the synovial cavity, in the treatment of septic arthritis. J Infect Dis, 1983 Feb, 147(2), 352 - 7 Treatment of experimental chronic osteomyelitis due to staphylococcus aureus with vancomycin and rifampin; Norden CW et al.; Vancomycin was used alone and in combination with rifampin in the treatment of experime