Microorganisms

J Bacteriol, 1986 Nov, 168(2), 851 - 9
Multigeneric aggregations among oral bacteria: a network of independent cell-to-cell interactions; Kolenbrander PE et al.; A radioactivity-based assay was developed to define the participation of radioactively labeled cell types within the milieu of unlabeled partners in multigeneric aggregates . The cell types in these multigeneric aggregations consisted of various combinations of 21 strains representing five genera of human oral bacteria . The coaggregation properties of each cell type, when paired individually with various strains, were delineated and were unchanged when the microbes took part in the more complex multigeneric aggregations . Competition between homologous labeled and unlabeled cells for binding to a partner cell type was achieved only when the homologous cells were mixed together before the addition of their partner cells . Attempts to displace a labeled cell type from an aggregate by subsequent addition of a large excess of the same unlabeled cell type were unsuccessful, which suggested that the forces that bound different cell types together were very strong and the cell-to-cell interactions were stable . However, a cell type that exhibited only lactose-reversible coaggregations with partners was easily and selectively released by the addition of lactose to multigeneric aggregates otherwise consisting solely of lactose-nonreversible cell-to-cell interactions . This not only indicates the independent nature of individual coaggregations but also suggests the involvement of lectinlike adhesins in these sugar-inhibitable coaggregations . Although the molecular mechanisms responsible for multigeneric aggregations are unknown, the principle of a common partner cell type serving as a bridge between two otherwise noncoaggregating cell types was firmly established by the observation of sequential addition of one cell type to another . Thus, competition, bridging, coaggregate stability, independent nature of interactions, and partner specificity are the key principles of adherence that form the framework for continued studies of multigeneric aggregates . While the human oral cavity is a prime example of a complex microbial community, collectively the community appears to consist of simple and testable individual interactions.

Exp Cell Res, 1986 Nov, 167(1), 95 - 105
Possible translocation of actin and alpha-actinin along stress fibers; McKenna NM et al.; We have employed fluorescent analogue cytochemistry and fluorescence photobleaching to study the mobility of actin and alpha-actin along stress fibers . Rhodamine-labeled actin or alpha-actinin microinjected into embryonic chick cardiac fibroblasts soon became incorporated into stress fibers . A pulse of a laser microbeam was used to photobleach small spots on the fluorescent stress fibers . Images of the bleached fiber were recorded with an intensified image processing system at 2-3 min intervals . The distance between the bleached spot and the terminus of the stress fiber, which remained stationary throughout the experiment, was then measured in the successive images . Movement of bleached spots was detected along stress fibers located in the apparently trailing processes of polygonal fibroblasts, and only occurred in one direction: away from the distal tip of the stress fiber . The rate of movement calculated for alpha-actinin-injected cells was 0.24 +/- 0.12 micron/min, for actin-injected cells, 0.29 +/- 0.11 micron/min . The rate did not seem to be affected by the location of the spot relative to the distal end of the stress fiber unless the spot was located within the most distal 5 microns of the stress fiber . Anti-myosin antibody staining indicated that stress fibers which demonstrated translocation were relatively depleted of myosin . The apparent translocation of proteins along stress fibers, possibly generated by stretching, may be related to the retraction of cell processes during locomotion.

Tsitologiia, 1986 Nov, 28(11), 1234 - 9
{Interdependence of the cell cycles of mammalian sister cells in monolayer cultures detected through their desynchronization by UV microirradiation}; Sakharov VN et al.; The duration and variability of cell cycles in epithelial and fibroblast-like mammalian sister cells with different types of intercellular contacts were estimated using time-lapse cinemicrographic technique . To study a possible interrelation between cell cycles of the sister cells, one cell in each pair of sister cells was inactivated by selective UV microbeam irradiation at the beginning of its cell cycle . It is shown that this action may delay the cycle of the intact cell as well . Such an interrelation of sister cells was found only at the G1 phase of the cell cycle and only in epithelial cells.

Microbiol Sci, 1986 Nov, 3(11), 330 - 3
Microbes and heavy metals: an ecological overview; Duxbury T; Heavy metals are ubiquitous in nature in a wide range of concentrations . They have the potential to influence the ecology of microorganisms in many different ways; as trace elements some are essential for many natural processes but, as pollutants, most can severely disrupt ecosystem functioning.

Antibiot Med Biotekhnol, 1986 Nov, 31(11), 855 - 60
{Use of immunospecific components labelled with beta-lactamase and horseradish peroxidase for immunoenzyme analysis}; Vorob'ev SM et al.; A system for enzyme immunoassay with the use of beta-lactamase as an enzyme marker is described . Similar sensitivity of the enzyme immunoassays with the use of beta-lactamase and horse-raddish peroxidase as enzyme markers was shown . The data on decrease of the antigen binding capacity of the antibodies in the conjugates with beta-lactamase are presented . It is suggested that such a decrease may be associated with glutaric dialdehyde conjugation . The use of the schemes for enzyme immunoassay with simultaneous application of two independently recorded enzymes i . e . horse-raddish peroxidase and beta-lactamase provided confirmation of univalency of the conjugate of the melted capsular antigen of the plague causative agent with beta-lactamase . Identity of the antigenic determinants of the melted antigen and capsular antigen of the plague microbe was demonstrated.

Mutat Res, 1986 Oct, 163(1), 33 - 40
Induction of chromosome shattering by ultraviolet light and caffeine: the influence of different distributions of photolesions; Cremer C et al.; Cells of synchronized and of asynchronously growing cultures of a V79 Chinese hamster line were microirradiated with a low power laser-UV-microbeam of wavelength 257 nm . Ultraviolet light was either focused onto a small part of the nucleus (mode I) or distributed over the whole nucleus (mode II) . Following microirradiation, the cells were incubated for 7-20 h with caffeine (1-2 mM) until chromosome preparation was performed . After both modes of microirradiation, shattering of the entire chromosome complement (generalized chromosome shattering, GCS) was observed . It is suggested that the probability by which GCS is induced depends on the total number of DNA lesions rather than on their distribution in the chromatin . The results are consistent with the prediction of a "factor depletion model" which assumes that in a given cell, GCS takes place both in irradiated and non-irradiated chromosomes if the total number of daughter strand-repair sites surpasses a threshold value.

Scand J Immunol, 1986 Oct, 24(4), 381 - 6
Interactions of Thermoactinomyces vulgaris and mouse alveolar macrophages . Loss of mitogenic activity and release of suppressive prostaglandins and interleukin 1; Jagerroos HJ et al.; Interactions of mouse alveolar macrophages from three different inbred strains of mice and Thermoactinomyces vulgaris, a microbe associated with Farmer's lung disease, were studied . Alveolar macrophages were found to abolish the mitogenic activity of T . vulgaris . A prostaglandin synthesis inhibitor indomethacin, could not restore the activity . Alveolar macrophage supernatants generated by T . vulgaris treatment exerted strong suppression in secondary concanavalin A-induced lymphocyte transformation . Indomethacin partly relieved the suppression but a histamine 2 receptor blocker, cimetidine, had no effect . Interleukin 1 activity was practically undetectable by the thymocyte co-stimulation assay unless indomethacin was used . When indomethacin was used, interleukin 1 activity could be detected in all strains of mice tested . Major differences in the abolition of the mitogenic effect, in the suppressive effect, or in the release of interleukin 1 were not detected between inbred strains of mice tested . The results indicate that alveolar macrophages exert suppressive actions in vitro after T . vulgaris treatment but in vivo activities remain to be elucidated.

Nature, 1986 Sep 4-10, 323(6083), 79 - 82
Recombinant human TNF induces production of granulocyte-monocyte colony-stimulating factor; Munker R et al.; Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) is synthesized by macrophages exposed to endotoxin . It produces haemorrhagic necrosis of a variety of tumours in mice and is cytostatic or cytocidal against various transformed cell lines in vitro, but viability of normal human or rodent cells is unaffected . The role of TNF is unlikely to be restricted to the rejection of tumours . Colony-stimulating factors (CSFs) are required for survival, proliferation and differentiation of haematopoietic progenitor cells . The haematopoietic growth factor known as granulocyte-monocyte colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) has the ability to stimulate proliferation and differentiation of normal granulocyte-monocyte and eosinophil stem cells and enhance the proliferation of pluripotent, megakaryocyte and erythroid stem cells . In addition, GM-CSF stimulates a variety of functional activities in mature granulocytes and macrophages, for example inhibition of migration, phagocytosis of microbes, oxidative metabolism, and antibody-dependent cytotoxic killing of tumour cells . We show here that TNF markedly stimulates production of GM-CSF messenger RNA and protein in normal human lung fibroblasts and vascular endothelial cells, and in cells of several malignant tissues.

Vestn Khir Im I I Grek, 1986 Sep, 137(9), 18 - 21
{Vacuum treatment in the surgical management of suppurative wounds}; Kostiuchenok BM et al.; Vacuum treatment was used in 116 patients with purulent wounds . It was established that the vacuum treatment of purulent wounds was effective but after surgical treatment . It considerably decreased the amount of microbes in wound tissues, had no harmful effects and improved clinical results of healing the wounds after putting early sutures.

J Pharm Sci, 1986 Sep, 75(9), 912 - 6
2,3,5-Triphenyltetrazolium chloride as a novel tool in germicide dynamics; Hurwitz SJ et al.; A novel, colorimetric method using 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) in tandem with membrane filtration is described for the determination of death rates of Escherichia coli (E . coli) due to microbiocides . This method enables results to be obtained on the same day in contrast to the 18 h required by the accepted aerobic plate count method . The microbiocides investigated were the preservatives 2-bromo-2-nitro-1,3-propanediol (Bronopol), N-(hydroxymethyl)-N-(1,3-dihydroxymethyl-2,5- dioxo-4-imidazolidinyl)-N'-(hydroxymethyl)-urea (Germall II), phenethyl alcohol, and benzyl alcohol . D values (time required per log reduction of E coli) were determined by this method, and equations relating the D values to preservative concentrations were derived {i.e., eta values (the logarithmic values relating changes in rates of kill for specified changes in concentration) and A values (extrapolated D values at 1% concentration) were determined} . these equations are compared with those previously published using the accepted aerobic plate count method . The potential advantages of this method are that it has a broad range of application as TTC is reduced by a wide variety of microbes; the test is easily done; results can be achieved in one day; dead cells do not cause interference; test sensitivity can be increased by increasing the length of incubation time or by using membrane filtration in tandem with TTC reduction; and preservative inactivation may be achieved by filtration and flushing with an inactivator, or by adding neutralizers to the TTC broth.

J Acoust Soc Am, 1986 Sep, 80(3), 951 - 4
A computer model for simulating reflected ultrasound signals; Kuc R et al.; This letter describes a model for simulating an ultrasound signal reflected from a medium composed of randomly distributed scatterers, as typified by soft biological tissue, such as liver . The model is specified in terms of the effective transducer beam radius B and the mean scatterer spacing S . The novel feature of the model is that the transducer field is partitioned by packing cylinders, called microbeams, into concentric annular regions that lie parallel to the transducer axis . The radii of the microbeams and the annuli are related to S . An independent reflector sequence is generated for each microbeam, the microbeam sequences in each annulus are summed and convolved with the impulse response of a point reflector . The reflected waveform sequence is then generated by summing the annular contributions and convolving with a band-limited pulse waveform . Simulated signals were generated for different values of B and S and compared with actual signals reflected from two in vivo livers and a tissue-equivalent phantom . Estimates of the kurtosis for the simulated signals indicate the range of signals that can be generated by varying the values for S and B.

Vopr Med Khim, 1986 Jul-Aug, 32(4), 59 - 62
{Creatine kinase activity in guinea pig tissues in experimental pseudotuberculosis}; Krutetskaia NI et al.; Dynamics of creatine kinase activity was studied in heart muscle, liver tissue, lymphatic glands, intestine and spleen of guinea pigs infected with pseudotuberculosis microbes . The maximal increase in creatine kinase activity was observed in lymphatic glands and in heart muscle within the first day after the pseudotuberculosis infection . The enzymatic activity increase in liver tissue occurred within the fifth day, while in spleen--within twelfth day after pseudotuberculosis infection . The data obtained were considered in correlation with the clinical manifestations of experimental pseudotuberculosis.

Antibiot Med Biotekhnol, 1986 Jul, 31(7), 533 - 7
{Various ways of standardizing and unifying biological methods of determining the activity of antibiotics}; Bershtein EM et al.; It was shown possible to use nutrient media containing only salt components and agar-agar for determination of biological activity of tetracyclines (tetracycline, morphocycline, oxytetracycline and chlortetracycline), erythromycin and oleandomycin . A uniform nutrient medium containing ammonium chloride, trisubstituted sodium citrate, disubstituted sodium phosphate and agar-agar was developed . Glucose is added to this medium simultaneously with the test microbe, B . subtilis ATCC 6633 . The medium of the above composition provided readily reproducible results.

Jikken Dobutsu, 1986 Jul, 35(3), 279 - 92
{Serodiagnosis of microbiosis in mice with a quantitative assay of immunoglobulins by a microcomputer-introduced ELISA system . 1 . Anti-Sendai virus antibodies in naturally infected mouse sera}; Yanabe M et al.; An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay system combined with microcomputer data analysis was established as a quantitative assay method of immunoglobulins . The assay system was applied to measure IgG and IgM levels of anti-microbe antibodies in animals, especially mouse and rat . And now the measurement of IgG and IgM levels (ng/ml) of anti-Sendai virus (HVJ) antibodies in naturally infected mice is available . The assay system could improve serodiagnosis in the specificity and sensitivity and in the rapid treatment of many serum samples . The operation of this system was performed by a microcomputer, FM 8 connected Titertek Multiskan MC . The limited sensitivity of this assay for IgG and IgM was 10 ng/ml and 30 ng/ml, respectively . Ninety-one of serum samples were positive for IgG and/or IgM (45 samples for IgG and IgM, 44 samples for IgG, 2 samples for IgM) to Sendai virus in the tested 279 mouse sera, and serum titers were ranged from 1: 10 to 1: 12,800 in the IgG, and from 1: 20 to 1: 160 in the IgM . In these titers, serum IgG and IgM amounts were estimated to be 0.1 to 154 micrograms/ml and 0.5 to 4.8 micrograms/ml, respectively . Relationships of serum titers and antibody amounts were almost consisted, being judged like that approximately 10 micrograms/ml is 1: 400, 30 micrograms/ml is 1: 1,600 in IgG, and 2.4 micrograms/ml is 1: 80, 4 micrograms/ml is 1: 160 in IgM.

Am J Med, 1986 Jun 30, 80(6B), 15 - 21
Aminoglycoside resistance: a worldwide perspective; Young LS et al.; Two concerns, neither of which is particularly new, underlie the current reluctance to use aminoglycosides more broadly . First, an undeniable fact is that these compounds can be toxic, particularly in patients with impaired renal function or those receiving other nephrotoxic medications . Second, a more emotional concern is that widespread use of aminoglycosides, particularly the newer compounds that are more resistant to enzymatic inactivation, may engender widespread resistance . In fact, several sources lead one to doubt whether widespread use of potent and highly effective agents like amikacin will by itself increase a clinical reservoir of more resistant microbes . First, the surveillance studies undertaken in many hospitals show some modest reduction in overall aminoglycoside resistance even when a drug like amikacin is used to supplant antecedent compounds of the same class . Second, in institutions where no official surveillance programs have been undertaken but where ongoing surveillance has been maintained, susceptibility to amikacin has remained constant when recent blood isolates are compared with blood isolates from more than 10 years ago . Third, in controlled clinical trials, particularly in immunocompromised patients, the overall emergence of resistance has been remarkably low and contrasts rather strikingly with what has been observed in some monotherapeutic studies of beta-lactam agents . The presence of aminoglycoside-resistant strains cannot be denied, but the circumstances leading to the emergence of such resistance must be carefully assessed, particularly outside of the setting in which these drugs are used as first-line therapy for critically ill patients . For instance, there is substantial evidence to suggest that the topical use of aminoglycosides or the use of these agents when there may be environmental contamination could lead to the emergence of resistance . Before one incriminates the use of any one drug as predisposing to the emergence of resistance, one needs to have more information about the total exposure of a given bacterial population to aminoglycoside therapy . The emergence of resistance to aminoglycosides has been associated with exposure to the more commonly used agents such as gentamicin or tobramycin . With some of the newer beta-lactam agents, the rate of emergence of resistance, unlike that of the aminoglycosides, has appeared to be remarkably high . If the concern about emergence of resistance is genuine, and to maintain consistency of approaches, the infectious disease community should focus more attention on limiting or restricting the use of the more widely used beta-lactam compounds.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

J Anim Sci, 1986 Jun, 62(6), 1732 - 6
Protein degradation by rumen microbes of heat-treated whole cottonseed; Tagari H et al.; In vitro and in situ rumen digestion trials were conducted to measure the effect of heat treatment on protein degradation by rumen microbes of cottonseed autoclaved and dry-heated (120, 140, 160 and 180 C) for different lengths of time (20, 40, 60, 90 and 120 min) . Autoclaving (120 C, 1 kg/cm2 of pressure for 60 min) was effective in reducing ammonia nitrogen concentration in vitro, but dry heat at this temperature was without effect . Dry heating caused a linear decrease of in vitro ammonia concentration as temperature increased from 140 to 180 C and as exposure time increased from 20 to 120 min . The in situ results corroborated the in vitro findings . Crude protein disappearance from dacron bags decreased from 87 to 48% as temperature increased from 140 to 180 C after 20 min of heating.

EMBO J, 1986 Jun, 5(6), 1403 - 10
Replication occurs at a nucleoskeleton; Jackson DA et al.; The site of S-phase DNA synthesis has been the subject of recurring controversy . All recent evidence supporting a site fixed to some nuclear sub-structure is derived from studies in which cells or nuclei have been extracted in hypertonic salt concentrations . The controversy centres on whether the resulting nuclear matrices or cages have counterparts in vivo or are simply artefacts . Using isotonic conditions throughout the isolation and analytic procedures we have now reinvestigated the site of replication . Cells are encapsulated in agarose microbeads and lysed to leave encapsulated nuclei which are nevertheless completely accessible to enzymes . After incubation with endonucleases, most chromatin can be electroeluted from beads: however, nascent DNA and active DNA polymerase remain entrapped . Since chromatin particles containing DNA the size of 125 kbp can electroelute, we conclude that the polymerizing complex is attached to a nucleoskeleton which is too large to escape . We have also studied various artefacts induced by departure from isotonic conditions . Perhaps surprisingly, the hypotonic conditions used during isolation of nuclei by conventional procedures are a significant source of artefact.

Cell Struct Funct, 1986 Jun, 11(2), 205 - 7
Novel method for substance injection into the cell by laser beam--a study of the injection volume; Kurata S et al.; A DNA transfection method by laser microbeam pricking has been recently reported (Kurata, S . et al . Exp . Cell Res . 162, 372 (1986} . The volume of external fluid transferred into the cell by the method was determined through the injection of diphtheria toxin fragment A (Yamaizumi, M . et al . Cell 15, 245 (1978} . Using these results and the results on laser DNA transfection efficiency (Kurata, S . et al . Exp . Cell Res . 162, 372 (1986}, the approximate number of DNA molecules necessary to transform the recipient cell was estimated.

Burns Incl Therm Inj, 1986 Jun, 12(5), 325 - 9
Endogenous microbial dissemination following severe burns in rats; Ma L et al.; This study suggests that damage to the intestinal lining, an important mechanical barrier against bacterial invasion, is the main factor leading to the dissemination of endogenous microbes . Reduced phagocytic activity of Kupffer cells and compromised opsonic function also appear to contribute to the process.

Hum Nutr Clin Nutr, 1986 May, 40(3), 197 - 204
Pathogenesis of corneal lesions in measles; Bhaskaram P et al.; The mechanism of pathogenesis underlying the development of corneal lesions in measles was investigated in 125 children suffering from measles and 66 age- and sex-matched healthy controls . Forty age-matched children with bronchopneumonia were investigated on similar lines to delineate the role played by vitamin A and measles individually in the development of corneal lesions . The results indicate that the pathogenesis of corneal lesions in measles is indeed multifactorial . Vitamin A deficiency alone or measles keratitis per se may not explain the mechanism completely . The immunosuppression induced by the local proliferation of the measles virus in the eye might trigger the invasion of pathogenic microbes which damage the cornea . The structural integrity of the cornea is already compromised by vitamin A deficiency and lesions of measles keratitis.

Br J Haematol, 1986 May, 63(1), 85 - 91
G6PD-deficiency infectious haemolysis: a complement dependent innocent bystander phenomenon; Kasper ML et al.; Dramatic haemolysis may accompany viral hepatitis and pneumococcal pneumonia in G6PD-deficient patients . Since red blood cells (RBCs) are richly endowed with receptors for activated complement, particularly C3b, we hypothesized that bulky, complement-activating immune complexes (IC) consisting of microbes and antibody might attract granulocytes (PMNs), facilitating oxidative 'innocent bystander' RBC damage . Indeed, opsonization with only two type-2 pneumococcus (PN3)/anti-PN3/C3b complexes per RBC caused agglutination of RBC, a phenomenon termed immune adherence . Addition of as few as one PMN per 20 opsonized RBCs caused the glutathione (GSH) levels of co-incubated G6PD-deficient RBCs to fall by 30% (from 3.5 to 1.8 +/- 0.8 mumoles GSH/g Hb) compared to identically incubated, but nonopsonized, G6PD-deficient RBCs . GSH levels remained normal (5.2 +/- 0.4 mumoles/g Hb) in PMN-exposed opsonized normal RBCs . GSH depletion in G6PD-deficient RBC was directly related to disease severity--falling a mean 33% in RBCs from two Black G6PD A- subjects but 59% in two Caucasian G6PD deficient RBCs . Prevention of C3b generation (with 10 mM EDTA) during opsonization abrogated both immune adherence and PMN-mediated GSH decline in oxidant-sensitive cells . Similarly, removal of C3b receptors by brief trypsin incubation of RBCs eliminated immune adherence and GSH decline . Thus, both phenomena are dependent on IC complement activation and subsequent binding of the bacterial IC to the RBC complement receptors . Although clearance of IC by RBCs may be beneficial in protecting other tissues from inflammatory damage, G6PD-deficient RBCs are vulnerable to oxidants generated by juxtaposed phagocytes--cells attracted to, and stimulated by, the immune complex/C3b combination . It is suggested that this 'Good Samaritan' activity of RBCs may lead to haemolysis during periods of exuberant antibody response to microbes.

J Pediatr, 1986 May, 108(5 Pt 2), 813 - 6
Lung defense against infection; Quie PG; The human lung has an exquisitely effective and complex defense against infections . Mucus prevents attachment of bacteria to the epithelium, and those bacteria that cannot cross the mucus are cleared by exhalation or by the mucus-ciliary escalator . Alveolar macrophages dispatch microbes that reach the peripheral barriers of the lung . The pulmonary phagocytic system immobilizes, kills, and walls off invading bacteria . The phagocytic system, developed in bone marrow, includes alveolar macrophages, granulocytes, and monocytes . The phagocytic system is amplified by humoral factors, including inflammatory mediators, acute-phase reactants, and opsonins that allow rapid engulfment and killing of microbes . Highly mobile polymorphonuclear granulocytes reinforce the macrophages when invading organisms reach tissue . Sterility of the lower respiratory tract in the normal host is evidence that the defense systems of the lung are highly effective and potently bactericidal . The oxidative and nonoxidative microbicidal mechanisms of alveolar macrophages and granulocytes are lethal for most ordinary microbes . However, certain pathogens have means of preventing phagocytosis, and obligate intracellular species have evolved mechanisms of intracellular survival . Successful biologic detente between microbe and host is the usual situation in the normal human lung, but the relationship is unfortunately short-lived in patients with cystic fibrosis . Mucus is not an adequate barrier in these patients . Bacterial pathogens colonize respiratory tissue and, as a consequence, compromise lung function . Better understanding of local defenses in normal human lungs and of the defects in lung defenses in patients with cystic fibrosis should lead to methods that will provide these patients with successful defense against invading microbes.

Zentralbl Bakteriol Mikrobiol Hyg {B}, 1986 May, 182(3), 267 - 78
{Kinetics of germ killing and damage to selected bacterial enzymes by thermal and chemical influences . I . Theoretical background of killing and enzyme inhibition kinetics}; Senkpiel K et al.; Thermal and chemical influences on microorganisms and the kinetics of microbicidal processes are described in terms suitable to define the resistance of microbes to heat and disinfectants resp . sterilisants . Interactions between active substances (e.g . disinfectants) and enzymes are formulated in equations, and the parameters of kinetics of inactivating enzymes (e.g . Ki-values) are derived . They permit a gradual evaluation of efficacy of microbicidal agents irrespective of their concentration.

Z Hautkr, 1986 Apr 15, 61(8), 515 - 21
{Etiology of acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans and erythema chronicum migrans}; Herrmann WP; In Lyme's disease (LD) as well as in the European form of erythema chronicum migrans (ECM), the etiologic agents are spirochetes . As fas as we know by now, these microbes are closely related but not identical . Consequently, LD and ECM should be regarded as closely related but not as identical diseases . The sera of our 21 patients suffering from acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans (ACA) contained elevated antibody titers directed against the etiological agent found in ECM . These findings strongly suggest that ACA is also induced by spirochetes-possibly by the same microbes found in ECM.

J Microsc, 1986 Apr, 142 ( Pt 1), 95 - 9
Consistent and efficient delineation of reference spaces for light microscopical stereology using a laser microbeam system; Hunziker EB et al.; A serious problem in stereology is to ensure a consistent definition of reference spaces at different levels of magnification whenever the boundaries of such reference spaces are either fuzzy or non-existent, and hence they have to be defined artificially . (It is well known that inconsistent definitions of the reference space leads to unknown amounts of bias in stereological results.) In this paper a new application is found for the laser microbeam system used in microdissection, whereby the required boundaries can be easily and neatly traced (in fact, cut) directly onto uncovered sections for light microscopy . The dangers of bias inherent from inconsistencies of definition are thereby eliminated completely, and alternative, very expensive procedures requiring direct marking of paper prints with a pen are no longer necessary.

J Cell Biol, 1986 Mar, 102(3), 1032 - 8
Analysis of the treadmilling model during metaphase of mitosis using fluorescence redistribution after photobleaching; Wadsworth P et al.; One recent hypothesis for the mechanism of chromosome movement during mitosis predicts that a continual, uniform, poleward flow or "treadmilling" of microtubules occurs within the half-spindle between the chromosomes and the poles during mitosis (Margolis, R . L., and L . Wilson, 1981, Nature (Lond.), 293:705-711) . We have tested this treadmilling hypothesis using fluorescent analog cytochemistry and measurements of fluorescence redistribution after photobleaching to examine microtubule behavior during metaphase of mitosis . Mitotic BSC 1 mammalian tissue culture cells or newt lung epithelial cells were microinjected with brain tubulin labeled with 5-(4,6-dichlorotriazin-2-yl) amino fluorescein (DTAF) to provide a fluorescent tracer of the endogenous tubulin pool . Using a laser microbeam, fluorescence in the half-spindle was photobleached in either a narrow 1.6 micron wide bar pattern across the half-spingle or in a circular area of 2.8 or 4.5 micron diameter . Fluorescence recovery in the spindle fibers, measured using video microscopy or photometric techniques, occurs as bleached DTAF-tubulin subunits within the microtubules are exchanged for unbleached DTAF-tubulin in the cytosol by steady-state microtubule assembly-disassembly pathways . Recovery of 75% of the bleached fluorescence follows first-order kinetics and has an average half-time of 37 sec, at 31-33 degrees C . No translocation of the bleached bar region could be detected during fluorescence recovery, and the rate of recovery was independent of the size of the bleached spot . These results reveal that, for 75% of the half-spindle microtubules, FRAP does not occur by a synchronous treadmilling mechanism.

Arkh Anat Gistol Embriol, 1986 Mar, 90(3), 45 - 9
{The microcirculatory bed of the human heart}; Makovetskii VD et al.; Using a complex approach in studying microcirculatory bed of the human heart, possibilities of scanning electron microscopy of corrosive preparations, those of silver nitrate impregnation after V . V . Kuprianov are demonstrated . The silver nitrate impregnation makes it possible to study the wall structure of the microcirculatory pathways, to analyse arrangement of nuclei in the endothelial and muscle cells of the microcirculatory links, to reveal together with the vessels the surrounding tissues . Scanograms of the corrosive preparations of the arterioles demonstrate "circulatory strips", that are absent in the venular part . The relief of the luminal casts of the microcirculatory bed vessels in the human heart is presented as impresses of nuclei of the endothelial and smooth muscle cells . Peculiarities in form and distribution of these nuclei in various links of the microbed are demonstrated.

Infect Control, 1986 Mar, 7(3), 181 - 4
Microbial adherence and infection--clinical relevance; Fishman M; Adherence mechanisms have been described for some microbes, often in direct association with onset of infection . In other cases, the evidence is vague . This article will summarize modes of attachment, and will focus on each anatomical tract in an effort to outline the relationship between microbial adherence, host cells, foreign bodies, and infection.

Arch Inst Pasteur Tunis, 1986 Mar, 63(1), 3 - 14
{Charles Nicolle and the accomplishments of his scientific thought}; Chadli A; The author presents in this study the achievements of the scientific thought of Charles Nicolle, chiefly on the basis of two notions: the asymptomatic diseases and the destiny of infectious diseases . Recalling the factors which prevailing about the career of Charles Nicolle, he shows that the asymptomatic diseases became a fundamental notion in infectious pathology as human, animal, viral, bacterial and parasitic diseases . The notion allowed him to open the study of pathogen agents on the fields of the environment, so enriching the epidemiology, the prophylaxis and the medical ecology . After the notion of specificity of microbes pointed out by Pasteur, Charles Nicolle enlarged their implications and conceived the infinite complexity of microbes . The first he introduced in microbiology the notion of mutation and foresaw the birth, the evolution and the death of the infectious diseases . Not so long time after and now these anticipations has been proved.

Can J Microbiol, 1986 Mar, 32(3), 193 - 200
Microbes, warfare, religion, and human institutions; Doyle RJ et al.; A significant number of practicing microbiologists are not aware of the historical impact of infectious agents on the development of human institutions . Microbes have played a profound role in warfare, religion, migration of populations, art, and in diplomacy . Boundaries of nations have changed as a result of microbial diseases . Infectious agents have terminated some kingdoms and elevated others . There is a need for microbiologists to have a historical perspective of some of the major ways in which a pathogen may influence civilized populations . Conditions may exist in contemporary society for a repeat of some of the kinds of plagues suffered by previous societies . The purpose of this paper is to review examples of situations where pathogenic microbes have forced societal modifications on centers of human population.

Microbiol Sci, 1986 Mar, 3(3), 76 - 8, 83
Inducible DNA repair in microbes; Sedgwick SG; DNA damage can be removed, or tolerated by altered recombination and DNA replication . Often synthesis of extra DNA repair proteins is induced by DNA damage.

Katilolehti, 1986 Feb, 91(1), 18 - 23
{Right to life?}; Serum angiotensin-converting enzyme and lysosomal enzymes in tobacco workers; The activities of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) in people with extrinsic allergic alveolitis (EAA) have been both increased and decreased . These observations suggest that pulmonary macrophages or endothelial cells participate in the disease process . Exposure to molds in the tobacco industry has recently been suspected to be associated with chronic extrinsic allergic alveolitis . In the present study, we analyzed the serum activities of ACE and two lysosomal enzymes, beta-N-acetylglycosaminidase (NAG) and beta-glucuronidase (GLU), among 57 tobacco workers . The tobacco workers not exposed had serum ACE levels similar to those of the reference population workers not occupationally exposed to dust (N = 127) . The tobacco workers' serum levels of NAG (16.0 +/- 2.0 units/L and GLU (2.4 +/- 0.7 units/L) were higher than among the referents (NAG, 9.1 +/- 2.0 units/L; GLU, 1.0 +/- 0.6 units/L; p less than 0.01) . Fifteen tobacco workers with respiratory symptoms compatible with pulmonary diseases caused by organic dust had a trend toward increased ACE, NAG, and GLU levels . The mean level of ACE in serum was higher among the workers with (25.8 +/- 4.5 units/L) than among those without pulmonary fibrosis (20.7 +/- 7.5 units/L; p less than 0.025) . The mean ACE level was also higher among workers with the highest exposure to molds (24.6 +/- 7.1 units/L) compared to those with the mildest exposure (18.3 +/- 5.7 units/L; p less than 0.05) . Tobacco workers with or without antibodies against one or more microbes had similar mean levels of ACE, NAG, and GLU . All of these findings indicate that raw tobacco dust and its contaminants may cause allergic or toxic reactions or both, reflected by the serum levels of ACE, NAG, and GLU.

J Appl Physiol, 1986 Jan, 60(1), 133 - 40
Effects of arterial pressure on lung capillary pressure and edema after microembolism; Ehrhart IC et al.; The effect of increased arterial pressure (Pa) on microvessel pressure (Pc) and edema following microvascular obstruction (100-micron glass spheres) was examined in the isolated ventilated dog lung lobe pump perfused with blood . Lobar vascular resistance (PVR) increased 2- to 10-fold following emboli when either Pa or flow was held constant . Microbead obstruction increased the ratio of precapillary to total PVR from 0.60 +/- 0.05 to 0.84 +/- 0.02 (SE) or to 0.75 +/- 0.06 (n = 6), as determined by the venous occlusion and the isogravimetric capillary pressure techniques, respectively . Isogravimetric Pc (5.0 +/- 0.7) did not differ from Pc obtained by venous occlusion (3.8 +/- 0.2 Torr, n = 6) . After embolism, Pc in constant Pa decreased from 6.2 +/- 0.3 to 4.4 +/- 0.3 Torr (n = 16) . In the constant-flow group, embolism doubled Pa while Pc increased only 40% (6.7 +/- 0.6 to 9.2 +/- 1.4 Torr, n = 6) with no greater edema formation than in the constant Pa groups . These data indicate poor transmission of Pa to filtering capillaries . Microembolism, even when accompanied by elevated Pa and increased flow velocity of anticoagulated blood of low leukocyte and platelet counts, caused little edema . Our results suggest that mechanical effects alone of lung microvascular obstruction cause minimal pulmonary edema.

Am J Ind Med, 1986, 10(3), 229 - 43
Prevention of dust exposure; Watson RD; Dust exposure on farms can be prevented by changes in work practices and by informing and educating farmers . Ventilation control during handling and prevention of growth of microbes are feasible measures and could be included in regulation schemes . Apart from information on existing work practices, an increased awareness of new technology is necessary.

Parazitologiia, 1986 Jan-Feb, 20(1), 19 - 22
{Pathogenic action of the plague microbe on the flea Xenopsylla cheopis and the ultrastructure of the causative agent at various times of its stay in the vector}; Konnov NP et al.; Pathology of gastro-intestinal tract of Xenopsylla cheopis fleas infected with plague microbe was determined by means of electron microscopy . Ultrastructure of plague microbe during different periods of its stay in the vector was studied.

J Cell Sci Suppl, 1986, 5, 243 - 55
Tubulin isotypes: generation of diversity in cells and microtubular organelles; Gull K et al.; Diversity of tubulin isotypes is illustrated by consideration of the beta-tubulin isotypes of higher plants and the eukaryotic microbe, Physarum polycephalum, and by the alpha-tubulin isotypes of the protozoan, Trypanosoma brucei . The carrot plant expresses six, well-defined beta-tubulin isotypes that possess characteristic two-dimensional gel coordinates . These six beta-tubulin isotypes are differentially expressed during development of the flowering plant . In a similar manner, Physarum expresses three separate beta-tubuli isotypes during its life cycle; of the two beta 1 isotypes, one is expressed solely in the myxamoeba whilst the other is expressed both in the myxamoeba and in the plasmodium . A further beta-tubulin isotype, beta 2, is expressed only in the plasmodium . In carrot and in Physarum the generation of beta-tubulin diversity appears, in the main, to be generated by the differential expression of a beta-tubulin multi-gene family . However, tubulin isotypes can also be generated by post-translational modifications and T . brucei utilizes two different modifications within one cell . First, the primary translation product, the alpha 1-tubulin isotype, can be acetylated to produce the alpha 3 isotype . Second, both the alpha 1 and alpha 3 isotypes appear to exist in both tyrosinated and detyrosinated forms . The generation of these alpha-tubulin isotypes within the same cell and their presence in particular cellular domains, modulated throughout the cell cycle, reveals a complex relationship between alpha-tubulin isotypes produced by post-translational modifications and the dynamics of microtubule construction.

Appl Environ Microbiol, 1986 Jan, 51(1), 143 - 9
Evidence for NH4+ switch-off regulation of nitrogenase activity by bacteria in salt marsh sediments and roots of the grass Spartina alterniflora; Yoch DC et al.; The regulatory effect of NH4+ on nitrogen fixation in a Spartina alterniflora salt marsh was examined . Acetylene reduction activity (ARA) measured in situ was only partially inhibited by NH4+ in both the light and dark after 2 h . In vitro analysis of bulk sediment divided into sediment particles, live and dead roots, and rhizomes showed that microbes associated with sediment and dead roots have a great potential for anaerobic C2H2 reduction, but only if amended with a carbon source such as mannose . Only live roots had significant rates of ARA without an added carbon source . In sediment, N2-fixing mannose enrichment cultures could be distinguished from those enriched by lactate in that only the latter were rapidly inhibited by NH4+ . Ammonia also inhibited ARA in dead and live roots and in surface-sterilized roots . The rate of this inhibition appeared to be too rapid to be attributed to the repression and subsequent dilution of nitrogenase . The kinetic characteristics of this inhibition and its prevention in root-associated microbes by methionine sulfoximine are consistent with the NH4+ switch-off-switch-on mechanism of nitrogenase regulation.

Biosensors, 1986, 2(6), 343 - 62
Novel immunosensors; Karube I et al.; The development of practical immunosensors is an important topic for biosensor research . Recently the authors have demonstrated novel immunosensors called, respectively, the reactor-type enzyme immunosensor, the potentiometric sensing system for pathogenic microbes, the piezo-immunosensor, the pulse immunoassay, the bio-image sensor and the photofluctuation immunosensor . These six types of immunosensors based on novel principles are described.

Dev Biol (N Y 1985), 1986, 3, 301 - 37
Guidance of neural crest migration . Latex beads as probes of surface-substratum interactions; Bronner-Fraser M; The experiments reviewed in this chapter examine the translocation of various cell types and latex beads on a neural crest pathway . The cells and beads are implanted into the embryo via an injection technique that can be used to characterize the embryonic pathways or the injected cells themselves . The results demonstrate that postmigratory neural crest cells, undifferentiated neural crest cells, and retinal pigment epithelial cells will translocate to ventral sites after implantation . By contrast, somitic and fibroblastic cells fail to translocate . No correlation was found between the inherent motile ability of a cell and the ability to move along the ventral route . Therefore, the role of cell surface molecules in movement along the neural crest pathway was examined . Latex beads, which lack inherent motility, were used as probes of the neural crest pathway . Uncoated beads as well as latex beads coated with a variety of ECM molecules and polyamino acids were injected into embryos in order to explore interactions between the cell surface and the embryonic substrata that might be involved in neural crest localization . The distribution pattern of the latex beads was altered by the nature of the surface properties of the beads . Two distinct patterns of localization were observed . Those beads coated with FN, cell-binding fragment of FN, laminin, or PL remained primarily associated with the dermamyotomal cells of the implantation site . By contrast, uncoated beads or beads coated with BSA, collagen, or PT translocated to ventral sites, usually around the sympathetic ganglia or dorsal aorta . In order to analyze mechanisms that may be involved in translocation of latex beads along neural crest pathways, we examined the possible effects of (1) bead surface charge; and (2) the removal of endogenous neural crest cells . To examine the effects of electrostatic interactions in bead translocation or restriction, the initial surface charge of beads coated with various macromolecules was measured and compared with their subsequent ability to translocate along the ventral pathway . No correlation was observed between the sign of the surface charge and subsequent distribution of beads, suggesting that initial surface charge properties alone cannot account for the restriction or translocation . To dissect the role of endogenous neural crest cells in bead movement, the host neural crest was ablated using a laser microbeam . After injection of latex beads into ablated embryos, the latex beads translocated ventrally even in the absence of the neural crest . Thus, latex beads are not merely carried ventrally by adhering to migrating neural crest cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Zhonghua Zhong Liu Za Zhi, 1986 Jan, 8(1), 29 - 31
{Cytotoxic effect of hematoporphyrin derivative (HPD) plus light irradiation in vitro}; Liang H; Cytotoxic effect of HPD plus light irradiation on PTK2 and HeLa cells in vitro were studied by laser microbeam irradiation . The dynamic changes, in three different steps as observed in the cells ranged from visible damage to cell lysis, were recorded at the monocellular level . It was found that the speed of the cytotoxic process varied chiefly with the dose of light used . The cytotoxic progress of PTK2 and HeLa cells was compared and analyzed . In addition, the cytotoxic effects of three different laser wavelengths (6328A, 5145A and 4880A) plus HPD were compared . The most significant killing effect occurred at 6328A wavelength of red light.

J Clin Invest, 1986 Jan, 77(1), 157 - 64
A myeloma paraprotein with specificity for platelet glycoprotein IIIa in a patient with a fatal bleeding disorder; DiMinno G et al.; Impaired platelet aggregation, normal shape change, and agglutination and normal ATP secretion and thromboxane synthesis in response to high concentrations of thrombin or arachidonic acid were found in a patient with multiple myeloma and hemorrhagic tendency . The purified IgG1 kappa or its F(ab1)2 fragments induced similar changes when added in vitro to platelet-rich plasma from normal subjects . In addition, the paraprotein inhibited adhesion to glass microbeads, fibrin clot retraction, and binding of radiolabeled fibrinogen or von Willebrand factor to platelets exposed to thrombin or arachidonic acid without affecting intraplatelet levels of cAMP . The radiolabeled para-protein bound to an average of 35,000 sites on normal platelets but it bound to less than 2,000 sites on the platelets from a patient with Glanzmann's thrombasthenia . Immunoprecipitation studies showed that the platelet antigen identified by the paraprotein was the glycoprotein IIIa . Furthermore, binding of radiolabeled prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) to resting platelets as well as binding of von Willebrand factor to platelets stimulated with ristocetin were entirely normal in the presence of patient's inhibitor . These studies indicate that bleeding occurring in dysproteinemia may be the result of a specific interaction of monoclonal paraproteins with platelets . In addition, our data support the concept that the interaction of fibrinogen and/or von Willebrand factor with the platelet glycoprotein IIb-IIIa complex is essential for effective hemostasis.

J Clin Psychiatry, 1986 Jan, 47(1), 22 - 5
The serotonin irritation syndrome--a new clinical entity?
Giannini AJ, Malone DA, Piotrowski TA.
The literature on the possible existence of a "serotonin irritation syndrome" is examined . This syndrome is an anxiety state occurring in the presence of elevated levels of atmospheric or ambient cations and is associated with elevated central and peripheral serotonin levels . Investigation of these cations' effects on microbes, insects, and mammals, including humans, shows a disruption of normal activity . It is suggested that clinicians become acquainted with the potential relationship between cation exposure and serotonin in their treatment of anxious patients . Further research exploring the etiology and diagnostic definition of this entity is urged.

Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci, 1985 Dec 17, 312(1153), 67 - 81
From epithelium to neuroblasts to neurons: the role of cell interactions and cell lineage during insect neurogenesis; Doe CQ et al.; The grasshopper central nervous system is composed of a brain and a chain of segmental ganglia . Each hemiganglion contains about 1000 neurons, most of which can be individually identified by their unique morphology and synaptic connectivity . Shortly after gastrulation the ventral ectoderm becomes a neurogenic region . In each hemisegment, ca . 150 neurogenic ectodermal cells (nECs) give rise to a stereotyped pattern of 30 identified neuroblasts (NBs, neuronal stem cells); the remaining nECs become various non-neuronal cells or die . The 30 NBs then give rise to about 1000 neurons as each NB initiates an invariant lineage, generating a stereotyped chain of ganglion mother cells (GMCs), each of which in turn divides once to generate two identified neurons . We have used a laser microbeam or microelectrode to ablate individual cells in ovo and in vitro at various stages of embryogenesis to study how neuronal diversity and specificity are generated during development . Our results suggest that cell interactions between ca . 150 equivalent nECs allow 30 cells to enlarge into NBs, the dominant fate in a hierarchy; the NBs inhibit adjacent nECs and thus cause them to differentiate into various non-neuronal cells; each NB is assigned its unique identity according to its position of enlargement within the neurogenic epithelium; each NB then generates its characteristic chain of GMCs by an invariant cell lineage; and each GMC generates a pair of equivalent progeny, the fate of each individual neuron being determined by both its GMC of origin and interactions with its sibling.

Calcif Tissue Int, 1985 Dec, 37(6), 651 - 8
Microbeam electron diffraction and lattice fringe studies of defect structures in enamel apatites; Lee DD et al.; A microbeam diffraction method in transmission electron microscopy has been applied to lattice structural studies of human and shark enamel apatite crystals . The technique allows diffraction patterns to be obtained from very small regions of the specimen (40 nm in diameter) and transfers minimal energy to the sample during analysis . The presence of crystal defects, nonisolated dislocations with the dislocation line positioned perpendicular to the 100-type planes, was observed in the central part of the crystals . Further experiments with acid-etching of crystals containing such defects showed an initial preferential dissolution at the site of these atomic imperfections . The relative abundance of the crystal defects was approximately the same in both human enamel and shark enameloid.

Scand J Work Environ Health, 1985 Dec, 11(6), 397 - 407
Cancer among farmers . A review; Blair A et al.; During the performance of routine tasks farmers may come in contact with a variety of substances, including pesticides, solvents, oils and fuels, dusts, paints, welding fumes, zoonotic viruses, microbes, and fungi . Because some of these substances are known or suspected carcinogens, the epidemiologic literature regarding cancer risks concerning farmers has been reviewed . Farmers had consistent deficits for cancers of the colon, rectum, liver, and nose . The deficits for cancer of the lung and bladder were particularly striking, presumably due to less frequent use of tobacco among farmers than among people in many other occupational groups . Malignancies frequently showing excesses among farmers included Hodgkin's disease, leukemia, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and cancers of the lip, stomach, prostate, skin (nonmelanotic), brain, and connective tissues . The etiologic factors that may contribute to these excesses in the agricultural environment have not been identified . Detailed, analytic epidemiologic studies that incorporate environmental and biochemical monitoring are needed to clarify these associations.

Int J Epidemiol, 1985 Dec, 14(4), 589 - 93
Familial aggregation of IgG antibody response to antigens associated with farmer's lung; Terho EO et al.; The levels of circulating IgG antibodies to Aspergillus umbrosus, Aspergillus fumigatus, Thermoactinomyces vulgaris, and Micropolyspora faeni were determined by enzyme immunoassay in 197 subjects selected for a study of farmer's lung (FL) . The material consisted of five study groups: 37 patients with clinically confirmed FL, 31 spouses of the patients, 44 immediate relatives of the patients, 35 immediate relatives of the patients' spouses, and 50 unrelated people who were spouses of the 79 people in both relative groups . The mean titres of IgG antibodies to all four microbes were highest in patients with clinically established FL . In the other groups the mean titre of Aspergillus umbrosus, a mould found much more frequently in Finnish farm environments than other moulds under study, was significantly higher (p less than 0.01) in the relatives of FL patients than in other people . This finding remained irrespective of whether the subjects had suffered from FL symptoms or not or whether they worked or lived on the same farm as the patient or on a different one . The difference in the mean titre was not due to the differences between the study groups in age, sex, smoking habits, atopic background, frequency of handling of plant materials, or time interval from the most recent handling of visibly mouldy hay . The results imply that genetic factors may be important in the IgG antibody response to microbial antigens associated with FL.

Postgrad Med, 1985 Dec, 78(8), 102 - 4, 107-8, 110-1
External eye diseases; Stock EL; Diseases of the external eye can have several causes and many have similar symptoms, but a precise diagnosis of the specific disorder is crucial for proper treatment . Evaluation should begin with a complete medical history to ascertain any systemic disease that may affect the eyes . Physical examination should include determination of visual acuity, inspection of the tarsal and bulbar conjunctiva, and microscopic evaluation of the cornea . When external inflammatory disease is present, laboratory testing is required . Smears and cultures are the only reliable methods to determine the specific organism causing the infection . Treatment is then aimed at eradicating the underlying microbes.

Zh Mikrobiol Epidemiol Immunobiol, 1985 Dec, (12), 35 - 8
{Limitation of phage multiplication by microbes of the genus Bordetella}; Lapaeva IA et al.; Possible causes limiting the multiplication of Bordetella phages or inducing their restriction, such as the influence of lysogenic immunity and the restriction-modification (R-M) system or the incompatibility of the receptor apparatus, have been studied . The limitation of the multiplication of phages by some B . bronchiseptica and B . pertussis strains has been shown to be due to the presence of the R-M system and lysogenic immunity . In five B . bronchiseptica strains and two B . pertussis strains site-specific endonucleases (restrictases) with Hind III specificity have been detected . One B . bronchiseptica strain without the R-M system has been detected . B . bronchiseptica strains producing site-specific endonucleases are practically nonpathogenic for humans, grow in common culture media and selectively produce only one restrictase, type Hind III, which guarantees from the admixture of other specific endonucleases . The B . parapertussis strains under study (altogether 100 strains) have not been found to limit the multiplication of Bordetella test phages . The absence of site-specific endonucleases has also been confirmed biochemically . These strains are recommended as indicator strains for the multiplication of Bordetella phages.

J Immunol Methods, 1985 Nov 7, 83(2), 385 - 92
Chemiluminescence monitoring of phagocyte oxidative metabolism in mice bearing polyacrylamide induced granulomas; Lethias C et al.; A technical protocol was recently described by Fauve et al . (J . Immunol . Methods 1983, 64, 345) for inducing subcutaneous granuloma with polyacrylamide microbeads . The present study using this technique demonstrates that the capacity of host phagocytes to generate reactive oxygen species can be easily monitored by chemiluminescence, both locally in granuloma infiltrating cells and at sites remote from the inflammatory reaction, i.e., within microamounts of whole blood and in spleen cells . We observed that both resting and stimulated (zymosan or phorbol-myristate acetate) production by C57BL/6 mouse phagocytes are significantly higher in granulomas induced with high porosity polyacrylamide beads (P300) than in those induced with beads of low polyacrylamide porosity (P4) . Since this selective modulation of phagocyte oxidative metabolism is also detectable within microamounts of whole blood and in spleen cells, it could serve as a model for investigating the role of reactive oxygen species in the inflammatory reaction.

Vopr Med Khim, 1985 Nov-Dec, 31(6), 70 - 4
{Vitamin A: effect on phagocytosis and neutrophil bactericidal systems under normal conditions and in various pathological states}; Davydova TV et al.; Effect of vitamin A on phagocytic activity and the state of bactericide system involving myeloperoxidase and cationic proteins was studied in neutrophils from peripheric blood of volunteers and of the patients with chronic pneumonia and lung cancer . Vitamin A was administered per os within 1 week at a daily dose of 500,000 IU . In healthy persons vitamin A, not affecting the ability of neutrophils to capture and lyse microbes, activated myeloperoxidase and increased the cationic proteins content . Under conditions of lung cancer the vitamin did not alter any patterns of phagocytosis studied . Vitamin A did not affect the capture and lysis of microbes in chronic pneumonia but increased distinctly the myeloperoxidase activity in neutrophils, impaired during the disease, and normalized partially the content of cationic proteins.

J Cell Sci, 1985 Nov, 79, 1 - 37
The kinetic polarities of spindle microtubules in vivo, in crane-fly spermatocytes . I . Kinetochore microtubules that re-form after treatment with colcemid; Czaban BB et al.; In newly formed chromosomal spindle fibres we determined the kinetic polarities of the microtubules, that is, the ends to which tubulin monomers add . Spindles disappeared after cells were continuously immersed in colcemid; then portions of the cells were continuously irradiated with a microbeam of near-ultraviolet light to reverse locally the effect of the colcemid . From the following lines of evidence we conclude: that microtubules are organized by the chromosomes; and that tubulin monomers add to the chromosomal spindle fibres at the kinetochore . When chromosomes were irradiated chromosomal spindle fibres grew in different directions, not necessarily focussed to a common pole; this would not occur if the chromosomal spindle fibres were organized by poles . Chromosomal spindle fibres were sometimes associated with only some of the chromosomes; this would not occur if the fibres were organized by the poles . Thus, chromosomal spindle fibres are organized solely by chromosomes; these spindle fibres are functional since the associated chromosomes moved in anaphase . When chromosomes were irradiated the re-formed spindle fibres grew up to 10 microns past the edges of the irradiating spot . Experimentally, free tubulin did not diffuse more than 4-5 microns from the irradiated spot . Thus we conclude that the tubulin monomers add at the kinetochores and not at the distal ends of the fibres.

Environ Health Perspect, 1985 Nov, 63, 25 - 38
Effects of inhaled acids on respiratory tract defense mechanisms; Schlesinger RB; The respiratory tract is endowed with an interlocking array of nonspecific and specific defense mechanisms which protect it from the effects of inhaled microbes and toxicants, and reduce the risk of absorption of materials into the bloodstream, with subsequent systemic translocation . Ambient acids may compromise these defenses, perhaps providing a link between exposure and development of chronic and acute pulmonary disease . This paper reviews the effects of inhaled acids upon the nonspecific clearance system of the lungs.

J Bacteriol, 1985 Nov, 164(2), 811 - 5
Enzymatic activities in cell fractions of mycoplasmalike organisms purified from aster yellows-infected plants; Arora YK et al.; Mycoplasmalike organisms (MLOs), purified from aster yellows-infected plants were osmotically lysed, and the membranes were separated from the cytoplasmic fraction through differential centrifugation . Electron microscopic examinations of sections of the purified MLOs and the isolated membranes showed pleomorphic bodies and unit membranous empty vesicles, respectively . Cell fractions were tested for NADH oxidase, NADPH oxidase, ATPase, RNase, DNase, and p-nitrophenyl phosphatase activity . NADH oxidase and ATPase were confined to the membrane fraction and NADPH oxidase to the cytoplasmic fraction of the MLOs . para-Nitrophenyl phosphatase, RNase, and DNase activities were detected in both membrane and cytoplasmic fractions, but p-nitrophenyl phosphatase and RNase appeared to be associated with membranes and DNase with the cytoplasmic fraction . Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase was found in the cytoplasmic fraction of the MLO cells . Our findings on the distribution of enzymes in MLO cells and cell fractions are the first basic documentation on nonhelical, nonculturable microbes parasitic to plants.

J Theor Biol, 1985 Oct 21, 116(4), 569 - 85
Analyzing the joint effects of two antibodies and the design of molecularly engineered vaccines; Koopman JS; A new analytical approach to determine how antibodies relate to each other in producing immunity is presented . One purpose of this analysis is to decide on the antigenic composition of vaccines . Regression analyses and single discrete analyses are shown to be inappropriate to this task . The proposed analyses makes multiple cut points on two pre-exposure antibody levels . At each resulting discrete classification, additive and multiplicative interaction parameters are calculated . Various models of joint antibody action are shown to produce two general patterns of interaction terms with this type of analysis . One pattern characterizes situations where each antibody, or something substituting for the action of each antibody, is always needed to eliminate all infections . This may be because the antigens to which the antibodies are directed are on separate microbes or because microbes can only be neutralized by the joint action of both antibodies . A second pattern characterizes situations where both antibodies act cooperatively but given high enough levels only one may be needed . This may be because the antibodies have the same molecular effect or because they act by separate means against the same organisms in an innoculum.

Z Urol Nephrol, 1985 Oct, 78(10), 567 - 80
{Renal and nephronal function diagnosis in the aged experimental rat}; Wustenberg PW et al.; An investigation method concerning the renal and nephronal functional diagnostics on the experimental animal rat without analysis of microbes, without micropuncture technique and without use of inulin or paraamino-hippuric acid-analogous radiopharmaca is demonstrated . It is based on the steady state investigation principle using inulin and paraamino-hippuric acid as test substances . The exactness of the method is established by critical considerations of the methods concerning the stabilisation of the humoral balance . by estimation of the behaviour of the functional parameters after heminephrectomy as well as by comparative valuation of the own results by findings reported in literature . The established renal and nephronal functional parameters comprise glomerulofiltrative and tubulosecretory as well as tubuloreabsorptive processes in the water, sodium and paraamino-hippuric acid treatment.

Dev Biol, 1985 Sep, 111(1), 206 - 19
Early events in insect neurogenesis . II . The role of cell interactions and cell lineage in the determination of neuronal precursor cells; Doe CQ et al.; The insect central nervous system (CNS) is composed of a brain and a chain of segmental ganglia; each hemiganglion contains about 1000 individually identifiable neurons . How is the enormous neuronal diversity and specificity generated? Neurons of a hemiganglion largely arise during embryogenesis from a stereotyped pattern of individually identified neuronal precursor cells, called neuroblasts (NBs) . The transition from ectoderm to individual neurons thus involves two major steps: first, an undifferentiated ectodermal cell sheet produces the stereotyped pattern of 30 NBs per hemisegment; second, each of these NBs contributes a specific family of neuronal progeny to the developing CNS . We have used a laser microbeam to ablate individual cells in the grasshopper embryo in order to study the initial events of neuronal determination . In particular, how does a layer of apparently equivalent ectodermal cells produce a highly stereotyped pattern of unique NBs? Our results suggest the following mechanism for NB determination . (1) Cell interactions between the approximately 150 equivalent ectodermal cells of a hemisegment allow 30 cells to enlarge into NBs . (2) As these young NBs enlarge they inhibit adjacent ectodermal cells from becoming NBs; the adjacent cells then either differentiate into nonneuronal support cells or die . (3) Each NB is assigned a unique identity due to its position of enlargement within the neuroepithelium . (4) The NB then generates its characteristic family of neurons by an invariant cell lineage . Development of the insect CNS depends on cell interactions and positional cues to create a pattern of NBs, and then on cell lineage to restrict the fate of the NB progeny.

Dev Biol, 1985 Sep, 111(1), 108 - 18
Use of a psoralen-induced phenocopy to study genes controlling spermatogenesis in Caenorhabditis elegans; Edgar LG et al.; In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, spermatogenesis represents one of two alternative developmental pathways open to premeiotic germ cells . At least two genes, fem-1 and fem-2, control the initiation of spermatogenesis in XX (hermaphrodite) worms, and the entire spectrum of male differentiation in XO animals . Low-dose irradiation of worms treated with the light-activated DNA crosslinking drug trimethylpsoralen, at levels that do not affect cell division or growth rates, blocks spermatogenesis in C . elegans hermaphrodites and produces an identical phenotype to that of temperature-sensitive mutations in the fem genes . Psoralen treatment does not, however, produce corresponding phenotypes of these mutants in XO animals . The developmental age for phenocopy production is the same as the hermaphrodite temperature-sensitive period of the two mutants . The effects of pulses of restrictive temperature and psoralen treatment on fem-2 mutant hermaphrodites are additive, suggesting that psoralen crosslinking may reduce the level of the fem-2 gene product . Microbeam experiments localize the target for the psoralen effect to the primary germ cells in the first stage larvae, indicating that a critical step occurs in a small number of precursor cells prior to their commitment to spermatogenesis.

Basic Res Cardiol, 1985 Sep-Oct, 80(5), 459 - 74
The vascular endothelium: a survey of some newly evolving biochemical and physiological features; Gerlach E et al.; The morphological, biochemical and functional characterization of the vascular endothelium has become possible through the broad use of electron microscopic methods, the successful elaboration and application of techniques for the isolation and cultivation of endothelial cells in vitro and through sophisticated studies on vessel and organ preparations, both in vitro and in vivo . In this survey emphasis is placed on certain methodological aspects of endothelial cell culture as well as on biochemical, physiological and pathophysiological features of the vascular endothelium . Endothelial cells can be propagated in culture dishes, the most commonly applied method, on suspended microbeads (dextrane, polyacrylamide), a technique giving large yields, or on thin porous membranes, a procedure suited for the study of transport processes across the endothelial layer . Different structural, biochemical and functional properties of the luminal (apical) and abluminal (basal) cell membrane determine important polarity features of the endothelium . Endothelial cells exhibit a variety of biochemical pathways and are characterized by high metabolic activities . Of particular interest is the large content of ATP in endothelial cells of different vascular origin . The rapid intracellular degradation of adenine nucleotides to nucleosides and bases, which are constantly released, is balanced by synthesis, mainly via salvage pathways . In endothelial cells of microvascular origin uric acid predominates by far as the final purine degradative because of the presence of xanthine dehydrogenase in these cells; in the macrovascular endothelium purine breakdown proceeds only to hypoxanthine, since xanthine dehydrogenase is lacking . In this connection interrelations between nucleotide catabolism in myocardial tissue and in coronary endothelial cells are discussed, also with respect to the participation of endothelial xanthine oxidase in the formation of oxygen radicals during post-ischemic reperfusion of the heart . Vascular endothelial cells of different origin are also capable of a rapid extracellular degradation of ATP, ADP and AMP to adenosine by means of specific ecto-nucleotidases . The subsequent fate of extracellularly formed adenosine appears to be different for endothelial cells of microvascular (preferential adenosine uptake) and macrovascular origin (preferential extracellular adenosine accumulation), thus implying functional consequences for platelet aggregation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Clin Lab Med, 1985 Sep, 5(3), 475 - 90
Microbial diagnosis by nucleic acid sandwich hybridization; Palva A et al.; Sandwich hybridization is a three-component nucleic acid hybridization method suitable for the identification of microbes . In this method, one specific DNA fragment on solid support acts as catching reagent, and the second reagent is a labeled probe . The labeling of the support is mediated by a specimen nucleic acid homologous to both reagents . Because the specimen is kept in solution, relatively crude specimens not requiring elaborate pretreatments can be tested without background problems . The utility of the method in microbial diagnosis (adenovirus, cytomegalovirus, and Chlamydia trachomatis) has been demonstrated . Increased sensitivity and nonradioactive detection methods will no doubt further extend the applicability of the sandwich hybridization method.

Nature, 1985 Aug 8-14, 316(6028), 547 - 9
Stimulated neutrophils from patients with autosomal recessive chronic granulomatous disease fail to phosphorylate a Mr-44,000 protein; Segal AW et al.; Phagocytosing neutrophils, monocytes, macrophages and eosinophils produce a burst of non-mitochondrial respiration that is important for the killing and digestion of microbes . Much of the information about the oxidase system involved comes from studies on patients with chronic granulomatous disease (CGD), a syndrome in which an undue predisposition to infection results from complete absence of this burst of stimulated respiratory activity . The basis of the oxidase activity is an electron transport chain, the only established component of which is a very unusual b-type cytochrome (b-245) (ref . 2) . The molecular defect in the X-linked subgroup of CGD is the absence of this cytochrome b-245, which, however, appears to be normal in those subjects with the autosomal recessive mode of inheritance . In an attempt to identify an abnormality of activation, or an absence or malfunction of a proximal component of the electron transport chain in this latter group, we examined protein phosphorylation in neutrophils after activation of the oxidase with phorbol myristate acetate . All four of the patients studied demonstrated a selective lack of the enhanced phosphorylation of a protein of relative molecular mass (Mr) 44,000 (44K) that was observed in normal subjects and in two CGD patients with an X-linked inheritance . This molecule, therefore, could be an important functional component of the oxidase.

J Cell Biol, 1985 Aug, 101(2), 597 - 602
Exchange of actin subunits at the leading edge of living fibroblasts: possible role of treadmilling; Wang YL; Previous observations indicated that the lamellipodium ("leading edge") of fibroblasts contains a dense meshwork, as well as numerous bundles (microspikes) of actin filaments . Most, if not all, of the filaments have a uniform polarity, with the "barbed" end associated with the membrane . I investigated whether and how actin subunits exchange in this region by microinjecting living gerbil fibroma cells (IMR-33) with actin that had been labeled with iodoacetamidotetramethylrhodamine . After incorporation of the labeled actin into the lamellipodium, I used a laser microbeam to photobleach a 3-4-micron region at and surrounding a microspike, without disrupting the integrity of the structure . I then recorded the pattern of fluorescence recovery and analyzed it using a combination of TV image intensification and digital image processing techniques . Fluorescence recovery was first detected near the edge of the cell and then moved toward the cell's center at a constant rate of 0.79 +/- 0.31 micron/min . When only part of the lamellipodium near the edge of the cell was photobleached, the bleached spot also moved toward the cell's center and through an area unbleached by the laser beam . These results indicated that steady state incorporation of actin subunits occurred predominantly at the membrane-associated end of actin filaments, and that actin subunits in the lamellipodium underwent a constant movement toward the center of the cell . I suggest that treadmilling, possibly in combination with other molecular interactions, may provide an effective mechanism for the movement of actin subunits and the protrusion of cytoplasm in the lamellipodium of fibroblasts.

Environ Res, 1985 Aug, 37(2), 253 - 86
The mediation of mutagenicity and clastogenicity of heavy metals by physicochemical factors; Babich H et al.; Heavy metals are an important class of environmental hazards, and as the use of heavy metals metals in industry continues to increase, larger segments of the biota, including human beings, will be exposed to increasing levels of these toxicants . As many heavy metals are mutagenic and clastogenic, they cause teratogenic and/or carcinogenic effects . Studies with microbes and representatives of the aquatic biota have shown that the toxicity of heavy metals is mediated by the physicochemical characteristics of natural environments . A few studies have also indicated that such abiotic factors (e.g . pH, chelating agents, inorganic anionic and cationic composition) mediate the mutagenicity and clastogenicity of heavy metals . These studies indicate that the physicochemical characteristics of natural environments may also potentiate or attenuate the mutagenicity and clastogenicity of heavy metals to the indigenous biota . Furthermore, studies with laboratory animals have shown that the acute and chronic toxicity, including the teratogenicity and carcinogenicity, of heavy metals is mediated by physicochemical factors . A similar dependence of the mutagenicity and clastogenicity of heavy metals by the physicochemical characteristics unique to specific body fluids and tissues may explain the association of specific heavy metal-induced tumors with specific tissues . There is an apparent need to develop genotoxicity tests that incorporate into their procedures the mediating influence of physicochemical factors (pH, for example), as the use of only standardized procedures may hinder the detection of heavy metal, as well as of organic, genotoxins whose mutagenicity or clastogenicity is altered by conditions other than those used in the standardized assay, thereby producing false negative results.

J Immunol, 1985 Aug, 135(2 Suppl), 816s - 819s
Evolutionary origins of neuropeptides, hormones, and receptors: possible applications to immunology; Roth J et al.; Immune function requires intercellular communication . The vocabulary includes messenger molecules closely linked to the immune system as well as more widely acting messengers such as hormones and neuroactive substances . To try to bring these together, we have used an evolutionary approach . Materials that resemble hormonal peptides and neuropeptides, previously thought to be restricted to multicellular animals, are present in protozoa, bacteria, and higher plants . There is also evidence for substances in microbes that bind hormones and other messengers, which resemble receptors of vertebrates . Therefore, we suggest that the molecules of intercellular communication probably arose much earlier in evolution than the endocrine, nervous, and immune systems . This insight provides new understanding of messenger systems in vertebrates, as applied to the immune system, as well as new insights into possible disease mechanisms, including those that involve autoimmunity.

Parazitologiia, 1985 Jul-Aug, 19(4), 273 - 6
{Characteristics of the multiplication of a virulent strain of the plague microbe in Xenopsylla cheopis fleas infected parenterally}; Vashchenok VS et al.; Xenopsylla cheopis fleas infected parenterally with the virulent strain of plague microbe of gerbil variant preserved the agent to the end of their lives . In the body cavity the microbes retained their ability for reproduction which was, however, limited . During the first seven days after the infection the number of microbes slightly increased and later became stabilized . Its mean indices (mean g) varied within the limits of 500 to 2000 microbe cells per 1 individual, maximum index rarely exceeded 30 000 microbe cells . Parenteral infection with plague agent did not affect essentially the longevity of fleas.

Immun Infekt, 1985 Jul, 13(4), 156 - 9
{Antibody diversity and network theory--a hypothesis}; Hobler H; The diversity of antibody specificities arises during the development of the immune system by recombination of genes and by spontaneous mutations and is not yet determined in the germ-cell, as earlier supposed . The network theory describes how antibody and lymphocyte populations are regulated recognizing each other by idiotopes . It is proposed that protection against autoaggression by an immune system with a genetically mostly uncontrolled high variability of specificities is based on anti-idiotypic antibodies which express autoantigen structures . There are suggestions that essential functions of the immune system consist not only in protection against microbes and immunological surveillance but also in regulatory effects on nonimmunological body-cell systems.

Antibiot Med Biotekhnol, 1985 Jul, 30(7), 543 - 6
{Standardized nutrient medium for determining the biological activity of antibiotics of the aminoglycoside group}; Bershtein EM et al.; The possibility of the use of nutrient media containing only salt components in addition to agar-agar in determination of the biological activity of aminoglycoside antibiotics was confirmed . The optimal results were obtained on the medium including ammonium acetate, disubstituted sodium phosphate and agar-agar . Glucose was added to the medium simultaneously with the test microbe . The medium is simple by its composition . It provides satisfactory growth of B . subtilis ATCC 6633 as the test microbe and clear inhibition growth zones of sufficient size . The results of the assay of the biological activity of neomycin, monomycin, streptomycin and kanamycin on the medium of this composition were reproducible.

Int J Radiat Biol Relat Stud Phys Chem Med, 1985 Jul, 48(1), 95 - 106
Lung tumour induction in mice after uniform and non-uniform external thoracic X-irradiation; Coggle JE et al.; The aim of this study was to investigate the validity of the ICRP procedure of using average tissue/organ dose in estimating carcinogenic risk . It has been suggested that highly non-uniform exposure ('hot spots') is much more carcinogenic than an equivalent dose delivered uniformly . In a series of experiments, mice were irradiated with X-rays either uniformly to the thorax or non-uniformly with 72 1-mm microbeams which irradiated approximately 20 per cent of the total lung volume . Two experiments involving uniform irradiation showed a peaked tumour incidence curve with a maximum at 5 Gy . The first 'microbeam' study also produced a pronounced peak in the dose response with a maximum tumour incidence at 1 Gy average lung dose or 5 Gy to the irradiated lung tissue . This implied the use of average tissue dose might underestimate the carcinogenic hazard of non-uniform exposure . Later, more extensive, microbeam experiments failed to replicate this finding . The results were nearly similar to those for uniform irradiation, with a slight increase in tumour incidence from 2.5-5.0 Gy average lung dose . These results imply that for these irradiation conditions the ICRP dose averaging procedure remains valid.

J Invest Dermatol, 1985 Jul, 85(1), 50 - 3
High-yield purification of plasma membranes from transformed human keratinocytes in culture; Schmidt R et al.; The density pertubation technique with cationic silica microbeads was applied to prepare highly purified plasma membranes from cultured human keratinocytes . Trypsinized cells were coated successively with the beads (diameter approximately 50 nm, gravity greater than 2 g/cm3) and polyacrylic acid before they were lysed by osmotic shock and mechanical shear . The plasma membranes remained in the form of large open sheets which could easily be separated from other cell organelles and the cytosol by low-speed centrifugation . The membrane preparation was characterized by scanning and transmission electron microscopy, marker enzyme activities, one-dimensional sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide electrophoresis, and the specific beta-adrenergic receptor count . A yield of 79 +/- 9% was calculated by comparing the amount of beta-adrenoceptors in the purified membrane preparation with that of a crude cellular particulate fraction . The specific beta-adrenoceptor count of these two preparations was 1.2 +/- 0.02 and 0.2 +/- 0.05 pmol/mg protein, respectively, indicating a 6-fold improved purification with this microbead technique . The purified membranes were essentially free from contamination of other cell organelles.

Burns Incl Therm Inj, 1985 Jun, 11(5), 309 - 19
Neutrophil granulocyte functions in severely burned patients; Arturson G; Burns wound sepsis is not only the most common but also the most severe complication following extensive thermal injury . One conceivable explanation of this problem is a reduced capacity of the polymorphonuclear neutrophil leucocytes of these patients to combat the invading microbes . Fifty patients (42 male and 8 female) with deep dermal burns, covering 20-90 per cent of the total body surface area, were investigated from immediately after the injury until death or until healing of the wounds . The following functions of the neutrophil granulocytes were studied: chemotaxis and random migration utilizing a modified Boyden chamber technique, phagocytosis of Staph . aureus and IgG-coated latex particles, bactericidal capacity, e.g . killing of Staph . aureus and the neutrophil granulocyte content of: myeloperoxidase, lactoferrin, and chymotrypsin-like cationic protein . The presence of stimulators and inhibitors of the granulocyte functions was studied using gel filtration of the patient's serum on Sephacryl gel columns . Sera from all patients obtained within the first 1-3 days post-burn contained significantly increased amounts of heat-labile chemokinetic stimulating activity . Sera obtained between days 4 and 10 after injury contained significantly decreased amounts of heat-stable chemokinetic stimulating activity . Reduced chemokinetic activity was found during the third and fourth weeks following major burns (greater than or equal to 40 per cent) due to the presence of one or both heat-stable chemokinetic inhibitory activities . During the second week post-burn patients with burns larger than 40 per cent of the body surface area who showed an inhibition of chemotaxis, also had defects in phagocytosis, and often impaired bactericidal capacity concomitant with lower contents than normal of the granular enzymes . A hyaluronic acid preparation in low concentrations was found to counteract the migration inhibitory effect demonstrated in vitro in sera from patients with severe burns . Based upon these results a series of patients with severe burns and impaired functions of the neutrophil granulocytes have been treated with small amounts of this hyaluronic acid preparation subcutaneously . Very promising results have been noticed, similar to those found in vitro.

Can J Biochem Cell Biol, 1985 Jun, 63(6), 585 - 98
Does actin produce the force that moves a chromosome to the pole during anaphase?
Forer A.
Chromosomes move towards spindle poles because of force produced by chromosomal spindle fibres . I argue that actin is involved in producing this force . Actin is present in chromosomal spindle fibres, with consistent polarity . Physiological experiments using ultraviolet microbeam irradiations suggest that the force is due to an actin and myosin (or myosin-equivalent) system . Other physiological experiments (using inhibitors in "leaky" cells or antibodies injected into cells) that on the face of it would seem to rule out actin and myosin on closer scrutiny do not really do so at all . I argue that in vivo the "on" ends of chromosomal spindle fibre microtubules are at the kinetochores; I discuss the apparent contradiction between this conclusion and those from experiments on microtubules in vitro . From what we know of treadmilling in microtubules in vitro, the poleward movements of irradiation-induced areas of reduced birefringence (arb) can not be explained as treadmilling of microtubules: additional assumptions need to be made for arb movements toward the pole to be due to treadmilling . If arb movement does indeed represent treadmilling along chromosomal spindle fibre microtubules, treadmilling continues throughout anaphase . Thus I suggest that chromosomal spindle fibres shorten in anaphase not because polymerization is stopped at the kinetochore (the on end), as previously assumed, but rather because there is increased depolymerization at the pole (the "off" end).

J Biol Chem, 1985 May 25, 260(10), 5899 - 905
Solid-state NMR determination of glyphosate metabolism in a Pseudomonas sp; Jacob GS et al.; The metabolism of the broad-spectrum herbicide, glyphosate (N-phosphonomethylglycine) in a soil Pseudomonas sp . PG2982 has been determined by cross-polarization magic-angle spinning 15N and 13C NMR of intact lyophilized cells . Using samples grown on 13C- and 15N-labeled glyphosate, we find that PG2982 does not metabolize glyphosate to aminomethylphosphonate as has been reported for mixed cultures of soil microbes . Rather, the phosphonomethyl carbon-nitrogen bond in glyphosate is cleaved, releasing glycine . Solid-state NMR analysis reveals that 20% of this glycine is used in the synthesis of purines, 35% is incorporated into protein as glycyl residues, with an additional 35% incorporated as seryl residues . The phosphonomethyl carbon of glyphosate is ultimately incorporated into a number of sites, including the C-2 and C-8 positions of the purine rings of nucleic acids, methyl groups of methionine and thymidine, and the methylene group of serine . The pattern of phosphonomethyl carbon incorporation indicates the involvement of tetrahydrofolate, a coenzyme which facilitates single-carbon transfers . This is the first complete determination of the metabolism of glyphosate in a pure culture, and the first bacterial metabolic study using both single and double cross-polarization solid-state NMR.

J Acoust Soc Am, 1985 May, 77(5), 1889 - 95
Variability in production of the vowels /i/ and /a/; Perkell JS et al.; A hypothesis on the nature of articulatory targets for the vowels /i/ and /a/ is proposed, based on acoustic considerations and vowel articulations . The conjecture is that positioning of points on the tongue surface in a repetition experiment should be most accurate in the direction perpendicular to the vocal-tract midline, at the acoustically critical point of maximal constriction for each vowel . The hypothesis was tested by: examining x-ray microbeam data for three speakers, conducting a partial acoustical analysis, and performing a modeling study . Distributions were plotted of the midsagittal locations of three tongue points at the time of maximal excursion toward the vowel target for numbers of examples of the vowels, embedded in a variety of phonetic contexts . More variation was found along a direction parallel to the vocal tract midline than perpendicular to the midline, supporting the hypothesis . Statistics on formant values for one subject have been calculated, and pairwise regressions of displacement and formant data have been run . An articulatory synthesizer {Rubin et al., J . Acoust . Soc . Am . 70, 321-328 (1981)} has been manipulated through displacements similar to the subject's articulatory variation . Although articulatory synthesis showed systematic relationships between articulatory relationships and formant frequencies, there were no significant correlations between the subject's measured articulatory displacements and his formant data . These additional results raise questions about the methodology and point to the need for additional work for an adequate test of the hypothesis.

J Neuroimmunol, 1985 May, 8(2-3), 167 - 75
Chronic mumps virus encephalitis . Mumps antibody levels in cerebrospinal fluid; Julkunen I et al.; To study the outcome of mumps virus encephalitis 47 patients were contacted 1-15 years after the acute encephalitis associated with mumps virus infection . Twenty-three patients experienced clinical sequelae such as difficulties in memory and learning, focal motor or sensory signs, and loss of hearing and visual acuity . Lumbar puncture was performed on 8 patients . Antibodies to mumps virus were detected in 6 cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) specimens using enzyme immunoassay and in 3 patients an abnormal serum/CSF antibody ratio was observed 11, 26 and 58 (controls greater than 85); 14.3, 1.4 and 6.1 years after the acute encephalitis, respectively . Antibodies to other microbes were either undetectable in the CSF or the serum/CSF ratios were normal . The clinical sequelae in about half of the patients and the signs of intrathecal mumps antibody production are suggestive of a chronic process in the central nervous system after encephalitis associated with mumps virus infection.

In Vitro Cell Dev Biol, 1985 May, 21(5), 254 - 9
Monolayer culture of parenchymal rat hepatocytes on collagen-coated microcarriers . A hepatocyte system for short- and long-term metabolic studies; Agius L et al.; A method is described for the attachment to and monolayer culture of adult rat hepatocytes on collagen-coated or fibronectin-coated microbeads or both in a chemically defined serum-free medium . Protein synthesis measured by the incorporation of {3H}leucine into protein was four-fold higher in the hepatocyte microcarrier cultures than in isolated hepatocyte suspensions . The hepatocyte microcarrier cultures showed acute responsiveness to insulin of fatty acid synthesis, glucose incorporation into glycogen, and decarboxylation of {1-14 C}pyruvate . Microcarrier-cultured hepatocytes have the combined advantages of monolayer culture and suspension systems . They are a potential tool for the study of long-term as well as acute effects of hormones.

Infect Control, 1985 May, 6(5), 194 - 9
Multiple-dose vials: persistence of bacterial contaminants and infection control implications; Longfield RN et al.; Due to sporadic infections attributed to contaminated multiple-dose medication vials (MDV), some authorities have suggested discarding all MDV within 24 hours . We inoculated 11 commonly used medications with suspensions of 10 bacterial species previously associated with contaminated parenteral solutions and determined microbial persistence at both room and refrigerator temperature . At 22 degrees C, atropine, curare, folic acid, NPH insulin and triamcinolone did not allow microbial persistence beyond 4 hours . Lidocaine and heparin were sterile by 24 hours . Regular insulin, immune serum globulin, and myochrysine allowed persistence for up to 7 days . At 4 degrees C, bacterial persistence was significantly prolonged for all medications including those MDV requiring refrigeration . No organisms proliferated; however, F . meningosepticum and P . maltophilia were particularly persistent at both temperatures . The risk of persistent MDV contamination appears to be dependent upon specific pharmaceutical, microbe and storage temperature interactions . Recommendations for the refrigeration of MDV medications may require reevaluation on a product-by-product basis.

Appl Environ Microbiol, 1985 Apr, 49(4), 828 - 35
Effects of four aromatic organic pollutants on microbial glucose metabolism and thymidine incorporation in marine sediments; Bauer JE et al.; The metabolism of D-{U-14C}glucose and the incorporation of {methyl-3H}thymidine by aerobic and anaerobic marine sediment microbes exposed to 1 to 1,000 ppm anthracene, naphthalene, p,p'-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, and pentachlorophenol were examined . Cell-specific rates of {14C}glucose metabolism averaged 1.7 X 10(-21) and 0.5 X 10(-21) mol/min per cell for aerobic and anaerobic sediment slurries, respectively; {3H}thymidine incorporation rates averaged 43 X 10(-24) and 9 X 10(-24) mol/min per cell for aerobic and anaerobic slurries, respectively . Aerobic sediments exposed to three of the organic pollutants for 2 to 7 days showed recovery of both activities . Anaerobic sediments showed little recovery after 2 days of pre-exposure to the pollutants . We conclude that (i) anaerobic sediments are more sensitive than aerobic sediments to pollutant additions; (ii) {3H}thymidine incorporation is more sensitive to pollutant additions than is {14C}glucose metabolism; and (iii) the toxicity of the pollutants increased in the following order: anthracene, p,p'-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, naphthalene, and pentachlorophenol.

EMBO J, 1985 Apr, 4(4), 913 - 8
A general method for preparing chromatin containing intact DNA; Jackson DA et al.; A simple and general method is described for preparing chromatin from eukaryotic cells using isotonic conditions . First, cells are encapsulated in agarose microbeads and then lysed using Triton X-100 in the presence of a chelating agent and a physiological concentration of salt . Most cytoplasmic proteins and RNA diffuse rapidly out through pores in the beads to leave encapsulated chromatin which is nevertheless completely accessible to enzymes and other probes . This chromatin can be manipulated freely without aggregation in a variety of different salt and detergent concentrations . It also contains intact DNA since removal of the histones releases superhelical DNA . Conditions are described for incubating this chromatin at 37 degrees C in the presence of Mg2+ ions without any nicking of the DNA . We illustrate the usefulness of this chromatin in investigations on the attachment of nascent RNA to the nucleoskeleton, the accessibility of the ribosomal locus to EcoRI and the properties of the endogenous RNA polymerase II . This type of chromatin preparation should prove useful for both structural and functional studies.

Int J Radiat Biol Relat Stud Phys Chem Med, 1985 Apr, 47(4), 383 - 6
Cytotoxic effects following micro-irradiation of cultured cells sensitized with haematoporphyrin derivative; Moreno G et al.; Haematoporphyrin derivative photosensitization has been studied in single heart cells in tissue culture by laser micro-irradiation (lambda = 632.8 nm) . Changes of beating rate as well as cell death depend on the localization of the microbeam on the various parts of the cell . The results show that the targets for photodamage are the plasma membrane followed by the mitochondria.

Infect Immun, 1985 Apr, 48(1), 159 - 64
Microbe-induced lymphocyte blastogenesis enhancement after preculture; Lopatin DE et al.; The in vitro blastogenic response of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells to Fusobacterium nucleatum and other oral microorganisms was enhanced if the peripheral blood mononuclear cells were cultured for 24 h at 37 degrees C prior to the addition of stimulant . The enhancement which occurred at optimal and supraoptimal concentrations of F . nucleatum (10 to 100 micrograms/ml) was detected after a preculture period of as little as 2 h . The blastogenic response was a result of T-cell proliferation, and enhancement occurred independently of monocytes . Suppressor activity was induced by culturing fresh lymphocytes for 24 h in the presence of supraoptimal concentrations of F . nucleatum . The enhancement phenomenon occurred independently of the prostaglandin effects on lymphocyte blastogenesis and was not abrogated by treatment with indomethacin.

Sci Total Environ, 1985 Mar 15, 42(1-2), 157 - 69
Incorporation routes of elements into human hair; implications for hair analysis used for monitoring; Bos AJ et al.; A study has been made on the incorporation of some trace elements and minerals into human hair by measuring their distributions across hair diameters . For this study the Particle Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) technique using the proton microbeam of the Vrije Universiteit of Amsterdam has been applied . Results of measurements on single hair strands at different positions in the root and outside the skin provide evidence that the elements not only can enter the cortex via the matrix but also via the hair root sheaths . Moreover, there are indications that the distribution of an endogenous element is not always homogeneously spread over a cross section of the hair . Endogenous Fe and Pb seem to be peaked on the periphery of the hair by natural means, while the elements S,Zn and Cu of the samples measured are found to be distributed homogeneously across the hair diameter . The consequences for hair analysis in use for monitoring the trace elements status of an individual are discussed.

Acta Eur Fertil, 1985 Mar-Apr, 16(2), 125 - 8
Hysterosalpingography: value in estimating tubal function, and risk of infectious complications; Tuveng JM et al.; A prospective study of 80 patients referred for hysterosalpingography (HSG) . In 74 patients HSG was performed as part of an infertility investigation . Samples taken from the cervix were cultured for N . gonorrhoeae, Chl . trachomatis and M . hominis . Serum specimens were examined for antibodies against Chl . trachomatis and M . hominis . Two of our patients (2,5%) developed clinical signs of pelvic inflammatory disease following the procedure . Both had negative cultures for pathogenic microbes . The value of pre-HSG microbial culturing seemed negligible . Most patients had antibodies against Chl . trachomatis and M . hominis . Occlusion in one or both tubes was seen in 22 patients while possible pelvic adhesions were found in 15 . It is concluded that HSG seems to have a relatively high risk of infectious complications, and we propose to do laparoscopy with chromopertubation as the primary step for evaluation of tubal function in infertile women.

Nurs Clin North Am, 1985 Mar, 20(1), 207 - 17
Symposium on infections in the compromised host . Hodgkin's disease and non-Hodgkin's lymphomas; Terry BA; Two areas of study have made the understanding of infections in Hodgkin's disease and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma both clearer and more complicated . First, the overly simple concepts that certain underlying diseases predispose patients to specific infections can no longer be uniformly applied . Second, while Hodgkin's patients were once thought to have cell-mediated immune defects, we now know that mixed T- and B-cell abnormalities as well as alterations in complement and phagocytic processes are seen . Therefore, we can expect to find infecting organisms against which several immune functions appear to be important . The more common organisms found in these patients include the encapsulated bacteria and fungi, intracellular microbes such as the mycobacteria and certain viruses, and, finally, some protozoa . Many are prevalent in the environment and some are considered to be normal human microbial flora . These opportunistic pathogens will continue to cause serious, often fatal infections in this group of compromised patients until more is known about the causes of lymphoproliferative disease and significant advances in immunotherapy are made.

J Steroid Biochem, 1985 Mar, 22(3), 427 - 9
A solid-phase radioimmunoassay of serum dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate using a monoclonal antibody; Knyba RE et al.; A monoclonal antibody directed against dehydroepiandrosterone, but with high affinity for dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHA-S), has been used to develop a solid phase radioimmunoassay for measuring serum DHA-S . The antibody was covalently linked to polyacrylamide microbeads with no change in binding characteristics . The procedure requires only the chromatography of serum on anion-exchange cellulose before assaying the equivalent of 0.25 microliter serum . The method is precise, accurate and specific and can detect 19.5 pg of DHA-S . Serum DHA-S levels measured by this method were in good agreement with those found in a validated radioimmunoassay method involving hydrolysis . The method is quick and one operator could assay 50 blood specimens per day . DHA-S levels in serum from 50 men and 86 women were in agreement with those in the literature . With the availability of theoretically limitless quantities of consistently high quality monoclonal antibodies the advantages of developing solid phase radioimmunoassays for steroids is discussed.

Vestn Khir Im I I Grek, 1985 Feb, 134(2), 3 - 6
{Mechanism of development of septic metastases}; Ivashkevich GA; On the basis of personal investigations and literature data the author considers metastatic abscesses in sepsis to be formed in necrosis foci resulting from the action of proteolytic enzymes, prostaglandins, cationic proteins and leukocytes with pathogenic microbes included.

Dev Biol, 1985 Feb, 107(2), 337 - 54
Control of cell-cycle timing in early embryos of Caenorhabditis elegans; Schierenberg E et al.; A technique has been developed for extruding either substantial amounts of cytoplasm without nuclei or individual nuclei with small amounts of cytoplasm from early embryos of C . elegans after perforating the eggshell with a laser microbeam . This technique, in conjunction with laser-induced cell fusion, has allowed the altering of nuclear/cytoplasmic ratios and the exposing of the nucleus of one cell to cytoplasm from another . Using these approaches the roles of nuclei and cytoplasm in determining the different cell-cycle periods of the several blastomere lineages in early embryos have been examined . It was found that nuclei in a common cytoplasm divide synchronously; enucleated blastomeres retain a cycling period characteristic of their lineage; cycling period is not substantially affected by changes in the ratio of nuclear to cytoplasmic volumes or the DNA content per cell; the period of a cell from one lineage can be substantially altered by introduction of cytoplasm from a cell of another lineage with a different period; and short-term effects of foreign cytoplasm on the timing of the subsequent mitosis differ depending on position of the donor cell in the cell cycle . These results are discussed in connection with models for the action of cytoplasmic factors in controlling cell-cycle timing.

Horm Metab Res, 1985 Feb, 17(2), 82 - 5
Salmon calcitonin-like immunoactivity in extracts of Tetrahymena pyriformis; Deftos LJ et al.; Acid extracts of Tetrahymena pyriformis, a ciliated protozoan grown in defined medium revealed the presence of materials with salmon-type calcitonin immunoactivity . These findings add support to earlier reports of the presence of materials closely resembling vertebrate peptide hormones in unicellular microbes.

Environ Res, 1985 Feb, 36(1), 111 - 37
Heavy metal toxicity to microbe-mediated ecologic processes: a review and potential application to regulatory policies; Babich H et al.; Microorganisms are sensitive to heavy metal pollution as are other components of the biota . However, most studies on the interactions between microbes and heavy metals have been conducted in synthetic media or in altered (e.g., sterilized) environmental samples and usually have used only single species . Few studies have evaluated the effects of heavy metals on the activities of natural heterogeneous microbial populations, both autotrophic and heterotrophic, in terrestrial and aquatic environments . These latter studies have shown that heavy metals inhibit primary productivity, nitrogen fixation, the mineralization of carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorus, litter decomposition, and enzyme synthesis and activity in soils, sediments, and surface waters . The potential adverse effects of heavy metals on such microbe-mediated ecologic processes need to be incorporated into the methodologies used by regulatory agencies, such as the U.S . Environmental Protection Agency, to prepare environmental risk assessments which, in turn, are used to formulate environmental criteria, such as the Water Quality Criteria, and to evaluate the safety to the environment of exposure to "new chemical substances," as mandated by the U.S . Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 . To provide appropriate data that can be assimilated into regulatory policy, it is essential that microbial ecotoxicity tests be standardized, are neither costly nor difficult to train personnel to conduct, and produce data that can be quantitated.

Blood, 1985 Feb, 65(2), 484 - 91
Myeloperoxidase: its structure and expression during myeloid differentiation; Koeffler HP et al.; Myeloperoxidase (MPO) is a major protein present in myeloid cells and is used by these cells to help kill microbes . The human promyelocytic HL-60 line can be induced to differentiate to granulocytes or macrophagelike cells . Poly (A) containing RNA was isolated from HL-60 granulocytes, HL-60 macrophages, HL-60 blasts, and normal human granulocytes . The mRNA was translated in a reticulocyte lysate system in the presence of 35S-methionine . The MPO was precipitated from the lysate with rabbit IgG antiserum to human MPO . The resulting precipitate from HL-60 blasts gave a major band of radioactivity of approximately 77,000 daltons and another band at approximately 46,000 daltons on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) . The MPO identity of the labeled bands was confirmed by cold competition . The relative mRNA activity expressed as a percentage of radioactivity incorporated into MPO (77,000-dalton band) as compared with total trichloracetic acid (TCA) precipitable radioactivity was 0.2% . Negligible mRNA activity for MPO was present in HL-60 granulocytes, HL-60 macrophages, and normal human granulocytes . Pulse-chase experiments showed that MPO was an approximate 75,000-dalton major band and 77,000-dalton minor band of radioactivity after HL-60 blasts were labeled for 1/2 hour with 35S-methionine and the cell lysate immunoprecipitated and subjected to SDS-PAGE . The chase experiments (one to 24 hours) showed that the 77,000- and 75,000-dalton bands of radioactivity were replaced with two major bands (55,000 and 15,000 daltons) and one minor band (approximately 39,000 daltons) of radioactivity . Six-hour 35S-methionine labeling experiments showed that the relative rate of MPO synthesis compared with total TCA precipitable radioactivity was 0.5% in HL-60 blasts and almost negligible in HL-60 macrophages and granulocytes, normal human granulocytes, and B-lymphocytes . The KG-1 myeloblasts and KG-1a early myeloblasts synthesized a small amount of the 75,000-dalton MPO protein . Although HL-60 cells no longer synthesized MPO after differentiation, HL-60 granulocytes and HL-60 macrophages continued to contain MPO as measured by enzyme activity.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

J Hyg Epidemiol Microbiol Immunol, 1985, 29(4), 369 - 76
Results of using the serological method of epidemiological investigation of plague foci in the Muyunkum and Eastern Kyzylkum deserts in 1978-1982; Bykov LT et al.; Results of serological examination of 81,853 mammals from the Muyunkum and 26,303 from the Eastern Kyzylkum deserts were compared with results of a corresponding bacteriological examination for plague . In both foci and in all phases throughout the epizootic of plague, the serological method made it possible to detect infected animals 6-10 times more frequently in comparison with the bacteriological method . The big meriones mice, i.e., the basic carriers of plague in natural foci, were found to be infected considerably more (in percentage) frequently than the meridian meriones . Differences in the reactivity of meriones to the invasion of plague microbe were observed in both foci (the indices of titres in the antigen neutralization reaction were considerably higher in the Eastern Kyzylkums) . The serological method of investigation is highly informative in evaluating both the present state of epizootic activity of a plague focus and its activity in the past.

Arch Toxicol Suppl, 1985, 8, 83 - 6
Mucosal biotransformation of toxins in the gut; Hanninen O; A major fraction of foreign compounds entering the body is absorbed through the gastrointestinal tract in ingested food and beverages as well as in the swallowed respiratory mucus carrying part of the chemical loading of inspired air . The large surface area provides conditions for efficient absorption . The mucosa, however, forms an active barrier . There are several enzymes capable of oxidizing, reducing and hydrolysing xenobiotics as well as many enzymes conjugating either the compounds themselves or their reaction products . In the rat, the monooxygenase and uridine diphosphate glucuronosyltransferase activities appear to be highest in the oral end of the gut and decrease aborally . Compared with the hepatic activities the mucosal monooxygenase levels are lower, but the UDP-glucuronosyltransferase activities may even be higher than in the liver . The mucosal biotransformation activity is inducible . Within the gut mucosa the highest activities are close to the villus tips . Thus functional maturation of the cells in biotransformation appears to occur when cells are moving up from the crypts . The microvilli of the cells appear to be inactive in mono-oxygenation and glucuronidation . The metabolic products generated within the mucosal cells are released either into the blood or to the gut lumen . The xenobiotics and their metabolites meet in the lumen a rich bacterial flora . Microbes have high metabolic capacity in hydrolysis and reduction . These transformation products are absorbed again loading the host.

J Hyg Epidemiol Microbiol Immunol, 1985, 29(2), 169 - 76
Sources of intrapopulation variability in causative agents of nosocomial infection; Krasilnikov AP et al.; The mechanisms of heterogeneity of S . aureus and P . aeruginosa populations of pathological foci in patients with wound, traumatic, and burns infections were studied . It has been established that populations of the mentioned species in the sources of infection (patients and carriers) are pronouncedly heterogeneous and objects in the external environment serving as factors of transmission are contaminated with a whole complex of diverse variants . The conclusion can therefore be drawn that the first source of intrapopulation variability of wound populations of microbes is the presence of varying strains and variants in the infecting dose of the causative agent . The second source consists in repeated superinfection (immigration) of pathological processes by new, usually nosocomial, strains and variants of the same species with their subsequent selection during the patients' stay in the health-service establishment . Other sources of population variability, such as mutation and recombination, are of minor importance . With respect to the obtained results it is necessary to increase the volume of the representative sample of cultures in bacteriological diagnosis of open processes, to protect them reliably from superinfection, to follow up dynamically changes in the composition of causative agents and to provide for suitable correction of chemotherapy.

Adv Vet Sci Comp Med, 1985, 30, 91 - 129
Neutrophilic leukocyte structure and function in domestic animals; Bertram TA; Differences in neutrophil morphology between various species of domestic animals are evident when morphometric techniques are used . Morphometric analysis can be coupled with functional assays of degranulation to demonstrate changes in granule volume after neutrophil activation (Bertram and Jensen, 1984) . Morphometric and functional analysis of the neutrophil can also be used to evaluate the response of neutrophils to infectious agents (Coignoul et al., 1984a) . Comparison of these assays between animal species may provide insight into the susceptibility of animals to various microbial pathogens . The enzyme content of neutrophil granules has been extensively studied, but the process of enzyme release from granules is poorly understood . Granule contents are assumed to be released in an "all or none" fashion . The presence of unique forms of granules (granules with a flocculent matrix) seen in degranulating neutrophils suggests that partial granule-content release as well as total granule-content release may be controlled by similar processes . If a selective process of granule enzyme release occurs, a more refined control of degranulation may exist than has been previously believed . Functions of neutrophilic leukocytes include phagocytosis, killing, and digestion of microbes which invade the host . The neutrophil is also able to increase vascular permeability, help or suppress some T and B lymphocyte responses, and modify some phases of the inflammatory process . Research into the role of neutrophils in killing tumor cells has demonstrated the potential beneficial effects of neutrophil-mediated tissue-damaging mechanisms.

Comp Immunol Microbiol Infect Dis, 1985, 8(2), 119 - 33
Relationship between ultrastructure and specific functions of macrophages; Ryter A; The main function of the macrophages, which is to ingest and degrade any foreign molecules or particles penetrating the organism, appears in the development of the different structures implicated in endocytic activity . The macrophage's high endocytic property first appears in its irregular shape and the large number of extensions of the cell membrane, allowing the rapid capture of extra-cellular material . Adhesion between macrophage cell surface and molecules or particles is greatly enhanced by the presence of varied kinds of receptors: lectin-like receptors which bind specific sugars or highly specific receptors such as Fc and C3b receptors, which increase phagocytosis of opsonized microbes . The microbicidal properties reside in part in the production of superoxide anions which result from the activity of a NAD(P)H oxidase . This enzyme is located in the plasma membrane . Its activity could be demonstrated with a cytochemical method, on the cell surface and along the phagosome membrane . It is, however, very weak in resident macrophages and increases after stimulation or activation . The second kind of bactericidal property corresponds to cationic proteins located in lysosomes . After fusion between lysosomes and phagosomes, they contribute to microbe killing by permeabilizing microbe envelopes . Lysosomes, which contain diverse acid hydrolases and are responsible for the degradation of ingested material, play a crucial role in macrophage endocytic activity . Their number increases in parallel with endocytic activity during macrophage differentiation and is particularly high after ingestion of degradable material . Contrary to polymorphonuclear leukocytes, macrophage is very poor in granules containing peroxidase . The latter, which are rather abundant in monocytes, disappear during macrophage maturation . They do not seem thus to be implicated in macrophage microbicidal activity . Endocytosis is accompanied by rapid and intense exchanges between the different membrane compartments of the cell (plasma membrane, pinosomes or phagosomes, endosomes, lysosomes, Golgi apparatus, etc.) . These exchanges seem to occur by transitory fusions between vesicles coming from different compartments, rapidly followed by their recycling to their original compartment . This system of membrane shuttle has been clearly observed after formation of phagosomes or pinosomes in which the internalized plasma membrane is recycled back to the cell surface within a few minutes after their formation . This membrane traffic is especially intense in macrophages, the endocytic activity of which is very high, but it also exists in all cell types.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Indian J Lepr, 1985 Jan-Mar, 57(1), 58 - 70
Absence of mycobactin in Mycobacterium leprae; probably a microbe dependent microorganism implications; Kato L; Ferric mycobactins were prepared from Mycobacterium phlei . Mycobacterium avium--intracellulare A and H, isolated respectively from armadillo and human leprosy specimens . Attempts were made to extract mycobactin from host grown M . leprae cells . The crude ferric mycobactin extracts were tested for growth supporting effect on the mycobactin dependent M . paratuberculosis strain ATCC 19698 . Mycobactins prepared from M . phlei and the two M . avium--intracellulare strains had growth promoting effect on M . paratuberculosis . The same test organism did not grow in media supplemented with the extract prepared from M . leprae . Results indicate the absence of mycobactin from host grown M . leprae . Since M . leprae cells contain cytochrome c and since mycobactin is essential to growth of all mycobacteria, M . leprae might be considered as a microbe dependent microbe . It is proposed that secondary mycobacteria present in M . leprae infected humans and armadillos might provide mycobactin for in vivo multiplication of M . leprae.

Ciba Found Symp, 1985, 112, 34 - 56
Role of the mucosal barrier in toxin/microbial attachment to the gastrointestinal tract; Walker WA; An important component of bacterial infection of the gastrointestinal tract, particularly when enterotoxin disruption of gut function occurs, relates to the interaction of the bacterium and toxin with the intestinal surface . Adherence or attachment of bacteria lead to colonization and toxic/invasive diarrhoeal states . The purpose of this review is to consider the intestinal mucosal barrier as a deterrent to microbial/toxin attachment, particularly emphasizing the mucosal surface itself, which includes the mucus coat and microvillous membrane . Consequences of mucosal barrier deficiency, particularly the incomplete development of the mucosal barrier, result in bacterially induced diarrhoeal states such as toxigenic diarrhoea and necrotizing enterocolitis . To illustrate the importance of the mucosal barrier as a factor in controlling the external environment containing bacteria and bacterial toxins, recent research in our laboratory on the development of the mucosal barrier is presented . This compares mucosal surface functional control of antigen/toxin attachment and penetration with mucosal surface compositional changes . Finally, evidence of a preliminary nature will be provided to suggest that modifications of the underdeveloped mucosal barrier of the immature intestine by the ingestion of breast milk may act to prevent pathological interactions between the gut and microbes/toxins.

J Dairy Sci, 1985 Jan, 68(1), 184 - 205
Receptor mechanisms of the neonatal intestine and their relationship to immunoglobulin absorption and disease; Staley TE et al.; Immunoglobulin absorption by the calf has been the subject of considerable research . Despite these efforts little is known about the cytological events that occur at the level of the intestinal epithelial cell . These events have been studied extensively and characterized in the laboratory rodent; however, there have been few attempts to make corollaries between the two species . All neonatal animals display certain similarities in their intestinal morphology that may be correlated, with immunoglobulin absorption . Selectivity in absorption appears to be variable among neonatal animal species; however, all demonstrate some selectivity . Selectivity in absorption implies that receptors are a necessary component in the transport of immunoglobulins . Selectivity further requires binding of immunoglobulins to an endocytic vesicle membrane to ensure transport through the cell, circumvention of intracellular digestion, and release at the basolateral cell membrane . A decrease of immunoglobulin absorption may be accomplished in a variety of ways such as competition between intestinal microbes and immunoglobulins for a common receptor on the intestinal epithelial cell . An additional consideration is aberrant synthesis or recycling of the cell membrane receptor, as induced by metabolic decelerators such as cortisol . Failure to recycle immunoglobulin receptors also would decrease efficiency of absorption.

Anal Biochem, 1985 Jan, 144(1), 218 - 27
Flow-injection analysis of catecholamine secretion from bovine adrenal medulla cells on microbeads; Herrera M et al.; Bovine adrenal medullary cells have been cultured on microbeads which are placed in a low-volume flow system for measurements of stimulation-response parameters . Electronically controlled stream switching allows stimulation of cells with pulse lengths from 1 s to many minutes; pulses may be repeated indefinitely . Catecholamines secreted are detected by an electrochemical detector downstream from the cells . This flow-injection analysis technique provides a new level of sensitivity and precision for measurement of kinetic parameters of secretion . A manual injection valve allows stimulation by higher levels of stimulant in the presence of constant low levels of stimulant . Such experiments show interesting differences between the effects of K+ and acetylcholine on cells partially desensitized to acetylcholine.

Dev Biol Stand, 1985, 60, 209 - 18
Flow cytometric analysis of hepatoma tissue and HeLa cells grown on various types of microbeads using hydroxyurea, nocodazole and aphidicolin in succession; Miller-Faures A et al.; Applying Hydroxyurea, Nocodazole and Aphidicolin in succession to obtain parasynchronous growth, the progression of HTC and HeLa cells through the cell cycle has been monitored by laser flow cytometry . The experimental results show that HTC cells behave identically whether grown in monolayer or attached to dextran-based microbeads but that the chemical nature of the micro-support itself plays an important role especially on the speed with which the cells pass from mitosis into G1, polyacrylamide-based microbeads being superior in this respect.

J Biol Chem, 1984 Dec 25, 259(24), 15324 - 30
Analysis of the steroid receptor of Achlya ambisexualis; Riehl RM et al.; We have previously reported the discovery of a specific high-affinity binding protein for the fungal sex steroid pheromone antheridiol in the cytosol of Achlya ambisexualis male cells . In this report, we describe the fractionation of the binding protein from the cytosol by ammonium sulfate precipitation, the optimization of in vitro conditions for radioligand binding assays, and some of the biochemical properties of the binding protein . In the presence of sodium molybdate, the macromolecule has a sedimentation coefficient of 8.3 S in sucrose gradients of low ionic strength, a Stokes radius of 56.6 A (Sephacryl S-300 columns), a molecular weight of approximately 192,000, a frictional ratio of 1.5, and an axial ratio of 8.9 . The binding protein can be eluted with 0.24 M KCl as a single peak from DEAE-Sephadex A-25 columns . These results indicate that this steroid-binding protein from a primitive eukaryotic microbe has in vitro biochemical properties that are similar to those of other known steroid receptors in higher organisms.

J Appl Bacteriol, 1984 Dec, 57(3), 395 - 404
The biochemical challenge of microbial pathogenicity; Smith H; In the past decade there has been a revival of interest in microbial pathogenicity . The reasons for this revival are two-fold . First, infectious disease is still with us despite the impact of the antibiotic era; for example, the rise of bacterial and fungal infections in compromised patients and the lack of a good general antiviral drug . Second, the subject of microbial pathogenicity is ripe for application in techniques of biochemistry, molecular biology and genetics that have developed in other areas of biology over the past twenty years; and the potential of these techniques is particularly attractive to young people, who are entering the field in increasing numbers . In this lecture I shall survey the methods and difficulties of investigating microbial pathogenicity and what we know of the main aspects of the subject at the molecular level . I shall use bacteria as examples because more is known about them than other types of microbes . Lack of space prevents quoting original papers in such a wide-ranging task; in most cases reference is made to authoritative reviews.

J Cell Biol, 1984 Dec, 99(6), 2165 - 74
Spindle microtubule dynamics in sea urchin embryos: analysis using a fluorescein-labeled tubulin and measurements of fluorescence redistribution after laser photobleaching; Salmon ED et al.; The rate of exchange of tubulin that is incorporated into spindle microtubules with dimeric tubulin in the cytoplasm has been measured in sea urchin eggs by studying fluorescence redistribution after photobleaching (FRAP) . Dichlorotriazinyl amino fluorescein (DTAF) has been used to label bovine brain tubulin . DTAF-tubulin has been injected into fertilized eggs of Lytechinus variegatus and allowed to equilibrate with the endogenous tubulin pool . Fluorescent spindles formed at the same time that spindles were seen in control eggs, and the injected embryos proceeded through many cycles of division on schedule, suggesting that DTAF-tubulin is a good analogue of tubulin in vivo . A microbeam of argon laser light has been used to bleach parts of the fluorescent spindles, and FRAP has been recorded with a sensitive video camera . Laser bleaching did not affect spindle structure, as seen with polarization optics, nor spindle function, as seen by rate of progress through mitosis, even when one spindle was bleached several times in a single cell cycle . Video image analysis has been used to measure the rate of FRAP and to obtain a low resolution view of the fluorescence redistribution process . The half-time for spindle FRAP is approximately 19 s, even when an entire half-spindle is bleached . Complete exchange of tubulin in nonkinetochore spindle and astral microtubules appeared to occur within 60-80 s at steady state . This rate is too fast to be explained by a simple microtubule end-dependent exchange of tubulin . Efficient microtubule treadmilling would be fast enough, but with current techniques we saw no evidence for movement of the bleached spot during recovery, which we would expect on the basis of Margolis and Wilson's model (Nature (Lond.)., 1981, 293:705)--fluorescence recovers uniformly . Microtubules may be depolymerizing and repolymerizing rapidly and asynchronously throughout the spindle and asters, but the FRAP data are most compatible with a rapid exchange of tubulin subunits all along the entire lengths of nonkinetochore spindle and astral microtubules.

J Cell Biol, 1984 Dec, 99(6), 2157 - 64
Diffusion coefficient of fluorescein-labeled tubulin in the cytoplasm of embryonic cells of a sea urchin: video image analysis of fluorescence redistribution after photobleaching; Salmon ED et al.; The diffusion coefficient of tubulin has been measured in the cytoplasm of eggs and embryos of the sea urchin Lytechinus variegatus . We have used brain tubulin, conjugated to dichlorotriazinyl-aminofluorescein, to inject eggs and embryos . The resulting distributions of fluorescence were perturbed by bleaching with a microbeam of light from the 488-nm line of an argon ion laser . Fluorescence redistribution after photobleaching was monitored with a sensitive video camera and photography of the television-generated image . With standard photometric methods, we have calibrated this recording system and measured the rates of fluorescence redistribution for tubulin, conjugated to dichlorotriazinyl-aminofluorescein, not incorporated into the mitotic spindle . The diffusion coefficient (D) was calculated from these data using Fick's second law of diffusion and a digital method for analysis of the photometric curves . We have tested our method by determining D for bovine serum albumin (BSA) under conditions where the value is already known and by measuring D for fluorescein-labeled BSA in sea urchin eggs with a standard apparatus for monitoring fluorescence redistribution after photobleaching . The values agree to within experimental error . Dcytoplasmtubulin = 5.9 +/- 2.2 X 10(-8) cm2/s; DcytoplasmBSA = 8.6 +/- 2.0 X 10(-8) cm2/s . Because DH2OBSA = 68 X 10(-8) cm2/s, these data suggest that the viscosity of sea urchin cytoplasm for protein is about eight times that of water and that most of the tubulin of the sea urchin cytoplasm exists as a dimer or small oligomer, which is unbound to structures that would impede its diffusion . Values and limitations of our method are discussed, and we draw attention to both the variations in D for single proteins in different cells and the importance of D for the upper limit to the rates of polymerization reactions.

Microbiol Sci, 1984 Dec, 1(9), 214 - 9
Microbial differentiation: the role of cellular asymmetry; Kelly DJ et al.; The inherent cellular asymmetry in the cell cycles of the prosthecate budding bacteria, which involves the production of structurally and functionally distinct cell types, stems from the obligate polar growth patterns of these microbes . The examination of a range of bacteria, however, suggests that such asymmetry may be more widespread than hitherto recognized.

Dev Biol, 1984 Nov, 106(1), 121 - 34
Translocation of latex beads after laser ablation of the avian neural crest; Coulombe JN et al.; Previous studies from this laboratory (M.E . Bronner-Fraser, 1982, Dev . Biol . 91, 50-63) have demonstrated that latex beads translocate ventrally after injection into avian embryos during the phase of neural crest migration, to settle in the vicinity of neural-crest-derived structures . In order to examine the role of host neural crest cells in the ventral translocation of implanted beads, latex beads have been injected into regions of embryos from which the neural crest cells have been ablated using a laser microbeam . Prior to their migratory phase, neural crest cells reside in the dorsal portion of the neural tube . Laser irradiation of the dorsal neural tube was used to reproducibly achieve either partial or complete ablation of neural crest cells from the irradiated regions . The effectiveness of the ablation was assessed by the degree of reduction in dorsal root ganglia, a neural crest derivative . Because of the rapidity and precision of this technique, it was possible to selectively remove neural crest cells without significantly altering other embryonic structures . The results indicate that, after injection of latex beads into the somites of embryos whose neural crest cells were removed by laser irradiation, the beads translocate ventrally in the absence of the endogenous neural crest.

Pediatr Res, 1984 Nov, 18(11), 1148 - 53
Oxidative metabolism of cord blood neutrophils: relationship to content and degranulation of cytoplasmic granules; Ambruso DR et al.; Generation of oxygen metabolites is an important component of the neutrophil's armamentarium against microbes . Production of superoxide anion (O2-) and generation of hydroxyl radical (OH) were measured in neutrophils from cord blood of 12 vaginally delivered, term newborn infants and 12 adults after stimulation with phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) and opsonized zymosan . With either stimulus, generation of OH was relatively less than production of O2- for all infants studied . This discrepancy might be related to abnormal release or diminished cell content of a cofactor necessary for production of OH from O2- . Since both lactoferrin (LF) found in specific granules and myeloperoxidase (MPO) found in azurophilic granules have been shown to enhance OH generation, we compared degranulation of both granule types in response to PMA and opsonized zymosan and total neutrophil content of MPO, LF, and lysozyme in cord blood and adult neutrophils . Degranulation, even after pretreatment with cytochalasin B, was the same for newborn and adult neutrophils . Content of MPO was identical (adult, 204 +/- 24 A units, mean +/- SEM, n = 9; newborn, 201 +/- 21, n = 9) but lysozyme was mildly diminished (adults, 111 +/- 10 A units; newborn, 89 +/- 6, n = 9, p less than 0.05), and lactoferrin was moderately decreased (adult, 89.0 +/- 7.3 micrograms/mg cell protein, n = 11; newborn, 43.2 +/- 7.0, n = 11, p less than 0.005) . Generation of OH in response to PMA and LF content were measured in seven cord blood-adult control pairs.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Percept Mot Skills, 1984 Oct, 59(2), 659 - 76
Factor analysis of choice reaction time in young and elderly subjects; Vrtunski PB et al.; To increase the utility of reaction time in applied research, we investigated the dynamic characteristics of the button-press response in four two-choice reaction-time tasks . 11 dependent variables were derived from the performance of two groups of normal young and elderly subjects . Factor analysis yielded five factors: baseline, premotor, motor, force, and release . The factors derived from each single stimulus condition were differentially sensitive in separating the two groups . Young and elderly subjects were most consistently differentiated by a release factor in each of the four stimulus conditions . This factor was interpreted as being relatively free of cognitive components and presumed to incorporate high psychomotor organization . The least efficient in differentiation was the baseline factor; it separated the young and elderly subjects in only one stimulus condition . Four factors from the test with visual-verbal stimuli separated the two age groups statistically, while only two factors did so in the test with auditory-verbal stimuli . The differences between stimulus conditions were interpreted as evidence of microbehavioral adjustments in response-performance dynamics and varying strategies used in handling the task demands.

J Bacteriol, 1984 Oct, 160(1), 313 - 8
Iron transport in Streptomyces pilosus mediated by ferrichrome siderophores, rhodotorulic acid, and enantio-rhodotorulic acid; Muller G et al.; Streptomyces pilosus is one of several microbes which produce ferrioxamine siderophores . In the accompanying paper (G . Muller and K . Raymond, J . Bacteriol . 160:304-312), the mechanism of iron uptake mediated by the endogenous ferrioxamines B, D1, D2, and E was examined . Here we report iron transport behavior in S . pilosus as mediated by the exogenous siderophores ferrichrome, ferrichrysin, rhodotorulic acid (RA), and synthetic enantio-RA . In each case iron acquisition depended on metabolic energy and had uptake rates comparable to that of {55Fe}ferrioxamine B . However, the synthetic ferric enantio-RA (which has the same preferred chirality at the metal center as ferrichrome) was twice as effective in supplying iron as was the natural ferric RA complex, suggesting that stereospecific recognition at the metal center is involved in the transport process . Iron uptake mediated by ferrichrome and ferric enantio-RA was strongly inhibited by kinetically inert chromic complexes of desferrioxamine B . These inhibition experiments indicate that iron from these exogenous siderophores is transported by the same uptake system as ferrioxamine B . Since the ligands have no structural similarity to ferrioxamine B except for the presence of three hydoxamate groups, we conclude that only the hydroxamate iron center and its direct surroundings are important for recognition and uptake . This hypothesis is supported by the fact that ferrichrome A and ferrirubin, which are both substituted at the hydroxamate carbonyl groups, were not (or were poorly) effective in supplying iron to S . pilosus.

J Leukoc Biol, 1984 Oct, 36(4), 463 - 75
Redistribution of ecto-5'-nucleotidase during phagocytosis by guinea pig polymorphonuclear leukocytes; Cramer E et al.; We demonstrate that 5'-nucleotidase (5'NT), an ectoenzyme of guinea pig polymorphonuclear leukocytes, is largely excluded from phagosomal membrane, rather than internalized randomly during phagocytosis of heat-killed bacteria, latex microbeads, or zymosan particles . Cells were fixed in 0.25% glutaraldehyde (pH 6.3) at 4 degrees C for 10 min and incubated in a cytochemical medium for the demonstration of 5'NT . In the nonphagocytosing cells, 5'NT was evenly distributed on the external side of the plasma membrane . In cells phagocytosing bacteria, 5'NT appeared to be cleared from the nascent phagosomal membrane; after 5 min of phagocytosis, most of the phagocytic vacuoles containing bacteria, latex, or zymosan particles were devoid of reaction product . When phagosomes containing latex particles were isolated and biochemically assayed, they contained less than 3% of the total cellular 5'NT activity even after 60 min of phagocytosis, and at that time the total cellular 5'NT activity had not declined . When the diazonium salt of sulfanilic acid (DASA), a nonpermeable ectoenzyme inhibitor, was used to determine the distribution of extracellular and intracellular 5'NT activity, no increase in DASA-insensitive intracellular 5'NT was found after phagocytosis of latex or opsonized zymosan . Cytochemical and biochemical evidence led us to conclude that 5'NT is excluded from phagosomal membrane, and that the exclusion is due to redistribution rather than to inactivation by granule enzymes.

Sci Sin {B}, 1984 Sep, 27(9), 936 - 46
Estimate to mutation rates; Liu CY; The mathematical methods for estimating the mutation rates of microbes at the level of populations are given in this paper, which are concerned with the estimation of the mixture of two normal distributions . Using the feed forward of livingthing's prior information, the precision of the estimates may be increased and the calculation may be reduced . Finally, an approximate method about the small sample is given in this paper.

Am J Trop Med Hyg, 1984 Sep, 33(5), 1017 - 25
Experimental infection with Rickettsia mooseri and antibody response of adult and newborn laboratory rats; Arango-Jaramillo S et al.; Quantitative studies of selected features of peripherally induced Rickettsia mooseri (= R . typhi) infection in Rattus norvegicus-derived white laboratory rats revealed a unique association between microbe and amplifying vertebrate host which appears to be especially conducive to maintenance of the enzootic cycle . Both adult and newborn (1-3 days old) rats were highly susceptible to percutaneous infection (ID50 = approximately 1 organism), but neither showed signs of disease or died even when inoculated with 10(4)-10(5) plaque-forming units . Gain in body weight of infected newborn rats was indistinguishable from that of uninfected newborn rats over the first 3 weeks of life . The course of the systemic infection, as measured by the rise and fall of R . mooseri titers in blood, brain and kidney and the serum antibody response, was almost identical in adult and newborn rats . Thus, despite their immaturity in certain immunological processes, newborn rats controlled postnatal R . mooseri infection about as well as did adult rats . The rickettsemic period of about 10 days corresponds to the period of infectivity of inoculated rats for fleas . Rickettsiae were not isolated from blood, brain or kidneys by methods employed for more than 4-5 weeks after infection . Serum antirickettsial antibodies persisted for at least 60 weeks postinfection, i.e., longer than the usual life span of rats in nature and, hence, are a valid measure of the cumulative experience of rat populations with R . mooseri infection.

Biochim Biophys Acta, 1984 Aug 8, 775(1), 57 - 63
Evaluation of the silica microbead method for isolation of red beet protoplast plasma membrane sheets; Wasserman BP et al.; The silica microbead procedure was utilized for the isolation of plasma membrane sheets from protoplasts of a higher plant, the red beet (Beta vulgaris L.) . Membrane yields, as determined by recovery of an exogenous membrane marker were approx . 75% . The plasma membrane fraction contained the enzyme marker, pH 6.5, vanadate-sensitive, K+-stimulated, Mg2+-ATPase and small amounts of mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, and possibly tonoplast . The silica microbead procedure was also used for the isolation of intact vacuoles from microbead-coated protoplasts.

EMBO J, 1984 Aug, 3(8), 1837 - 42
A general method for preparing intact nuclear DNA; Cook PR; Naked nuclear DNA is easily sheared . Two general methods are described for preparing intact DNA in a stable form that can be pipetted without breaking it . Cells are encapsulated in agarose microbeads and then lysed in a non-ionic detergent (i.e., Triton X-100) and 2 M NaCl or an ionic detergent (e.g., sodium or lithium dodecyl sulphate) in low salt . Most cellular protein and RNA then diffuse out through pores in the beads to leave encapsulated and naked DNA which is nevertheless accessible to enzymes and other probes . Remarkably, considerable structure is preserved since the DNA is supercoiled and chromosomes retain their shape.

Ann Rheum Dis, 1984 Aug, 43(4), 656 - 7
A pitfall in purulent arthritis brought out in Kingella kingae infection of the knee; Salminen I et al.; A description of the protracted course of kingella monoarthritis is given as an illustration of the importance of accounting for the slow growth, low viable numbers, and fastidious culture requirements of microbes that may be encountered in synovial samples . The practice of carrying out synovial fluid cultures in the same way as blood cultures is recommended.

Lab Anim Sci, 1984 Aug, 34(4), 356 - 9
Comparison of tests for the diagnosis of spontaneous encephalitozoonosis in rabbits; Pakes SP et al.; The effectiveness of immunofluorescence, complement fixation, microagglutination serologic tests, intradermal skin test, and detection of histologic lesions were compared for use in diagnosis of spontaneous encephalitozoonosis in rabbits . The India ink and microbead agglutination reactions were compared with immunofluorescence and complement fixation by testing 11 single or pooled sera . Serologic tests correlated best with each other and less well with intradermal tests or presence of lesions . Immunofluorescence, India ink reaction and microbead agglutination were equally useful in detecting antibodies to Encephalitozoon cuniculi . The intradermal test correlated best with the presence of detectable lesions.

Parasitology, 1984 Aug, 88 ( Pt 4), 579 - 92
Mechanisms of survival of protozoan parasites in mononuclear phagocytes; Mauel J; The understanding of the mechanisms whereby intracellular parasites counteract the microbicidal processes of macrophages has progressed considerably in recent years . Various factors contribute to intracellular parasite destruction; from a biochemical standpoint, particularly important is the oxidative burst triggered by phagocytosis and by macrophage 'activation', that leads to the generation of toxic metabolites of oxygen . At the ultrastructural level, fusion of the parasitophorous vacuole with surrounding lysosomes appears to be a pre-requisite for the final digestion and elimination of the infecting microorganisms . The counter-measures evolved by microorganisms to escape intracellular destruction are best illustrated by studies in vitro on the interaction of parasites of the Leishmania, Toxoplasma and Trypanosoma spp . with mononuclear phagocytes . Some microbes are able to inhibit the fusion of phagosomes with lysosomes, thus avoiding the potentially harmful action of lysosomal hydrolases . Other microorganisms are able to resist the effects of such enzymes, perhaps by secreting inhibitory substances . Others still avoid lysosomes by leaving the phagocytic vacuole, to reach the cytoplasmic matrix where their development is unhindered . Particularly critical is the capacity of certain parasites to subvert the lethal effects of the oxidative burst . This can be achieved either by failing to evoke this metabolic response, or by producing scavengers that can detoxify harmful oxygen metabolites . Intracellular death or survival will thus depend on a delicate balance between the potency of macrophage cidal mechanisms, and the efficacy of the protective measures evolved by the infecting agents.

J Exp Zool, 1984 Jul, 231(1), 45 - 56
Functional study of the Caenorhabditis elegans secretory-excretory system using laser microsurgery; Nelson FK et al.; Individual cells of the Caenorhabditis elegans secretory-excretory system were ablated by laser microbeam in various larval stages . Effects on growth, molting, osmoregulation, fertility, longevity, and dauer larva formation were tested . Single-cell ablations did not prevent subsequent molting, but ablation of the pore cell or the duct cell resulted in the absence of the normal cuticular lining of the excretory duct following a molt . When the pore cell, duct cell, or excretory cell was ablated, the animals filled with fluid within 12-24 hr and died within a few days, producing very few progeny . Ablation of the excretory gland cell, on the other hand, had no obvious developmental or behavioral effects . Excretory activity was monitored in dauer larvae by observing pulsation of the excretory duct in conditions of differing osmolarity . The rate of pulsation was quite variable over time in conditions of low osmotic strength, but average five- to six-fold higher than that observed in buffered saline . These observations, combined with the effects of laser ablation, lead to the conclusion that one function of the excretory system is osmoregulation.

J Cell Sci, 1984 Jul, 69, 1 - 17
Non-random chromosome segregation in Neocurtilla hexadactyla is controlled by chromosomal spindle fibres: an ultraviolet microbeam analysis; Wise D et al.; Single spindle fibres of Neocurtilla spermatocytes were irradiated by means of an ultraviolet microbeam . Irradiations were with monochromatic ultraviolet light . The single sex chromosome (the X1 univalent) reoriented after irradiation of its spindle fibre or of any of the spindle fibres associated with the heteromorphic bivalent (the X2Y bivalent): the X1 moved toward the Y half-spindle, and sometimes rotated as it moved . Irradiations of autosomal spindle fibres did not induce X1 movements, and hence the induction of reorientation is specific to irradiation of the spindle fibres associated with X1 or X2Y . In no case did the X2Y bivalent reorient; hence, the X1 is the active chromosome in ensuring that there is non-random segregation in Neocurtilla spermatocytes . The irradiations sometimes caused the X2Y bivalent to contrast, but the reorientation movements of the X1 were independent of the contraction of the X2Y bivalent . We suggest that the X1 and X2Y chromosomal spindle fibres form a network that is able to send signals to the X1 univalent to cause it to reorient.

J Appl Physiol, 1984 Jun, 56(6), 1679 - 85
Measurement system for respiratory water vapor and temperature dynamics; Primiano FP Jr et al.; An instrumentation system has been developed to simultaneously measure water vapor and temperature at the same point within respiratory airways during breathing . A mass spectrometer was used to analyze gas continuously sampled through a modified inlet catheter . At the tip of the catheter, gas temperature is sensed by a microbead thermistor . Adequate water vapor dynamics is achieved by a two-step procedure . First, the tip of the sampling catheter is constricted to reduce the catheter's internal pressure and thereby prevent condensation and evaporation . Second, the water vapor signal from the mass spectrometer is compensated electronically to improve its transient response . As part of the evaluation of the system, water vapor and gas temperature were measured in the oropharynx of human subjects.

Radiat Res, 1984 Jun, 98(3), 549 - 60
Effect of laser microbeam irradiation of the nucleus on the cleavage of mouse eggs in culture; Lin TP et al.; Two-cell mouse eggs were irradiated by a helium-cadmium laser on a spot of about 4 micron2 (d = 2.2 micron) in one or both nuclei either continuously or repeatedly at 0.36 erg micron-2 sec-1 and then cultured to observe cellular development . After exposing one nucleus to the microbeam to five or seven 1-sec pulses (1.80 or 2.52 ergs micron-2, respectively), about 45% developed to the 3-cell stage in 24 hr of culture . In overnight cultures of the 2-cell eggs in which both nuclei were irradiated for 9 or 20 sec continuously, 40 (9 sec) and 50% (20 sec) of the eggs remained at the 2-cell stage, while 45 (9 sec) and 25% (20 sec) developed to the 4-cell stage . Irradiating only one nucleus in a 2-cell egg by seven pulses in a spot of 4 micron2 amounting to 10 ergs reduced cleavage 45% . When both nuclei were each irradiated by a 9-sec continuous laser beam (totaling 13 ergs), about 40% of the embryos of the 2-cell stage did not divide . The effect of seven pulses on the blastomere cleavage of 2-cell mouse eggs appeared to be comparable to that of continuous 9-sec laser irradiation . Both pulse and continuous laser microirradiation methods may be developed for inactivation of the nucleus as a nonpipetting , less injurious method for enucleation of mammalian eggs.

J Anim Sci, 1984 Jun, 58(6), 1518 - 27
Monensin mode of action in the rumen; Schelling GT; The ionophore monensin is used as a model to examine the modes of action important in manipulating rumen function . Several system modes of action probably result from the basic mode of action of the ionophore modifying the movement of ions across the membranes of rumen microbes . While there are many biological responses reported in the literature for monensin, they can be consolidated into seven categories or system modes of action . The modification of volatile fatty acid production is one widely recognized category of great importance . Modified feed intake should also be considered to be important . The third system mode of action, change in gas production, probably contributes only a limited savings in energy . Modified digestibilities are probably quite variable as a mode of action, but may be a significant factor . The change in protein utilization appears to result from several factors that are occurring simultaneously . Modification of rumen fill and rate of passage may be important in causing some of the previously mentioned system modes of action to occur . A seventh category inclusive of several monensin responses that are more indirect to the rumen, or sporadic in nature, is included . Increased animal production from the use of monensin appears to occur as a result of these several system modes of action, which probably act in concert . It is impossible to accurately assess a quantitative contribution of each of these categories at the present time.

Immunol Rev, 1984 Jun, 79, 5 - 24
Idiotypic networks and other preconceived ideas; Jerne NK; The preceding section implies that the immune system (like the brain) reflects first ourselves, then produces a reflection of this reflection, and that subsequently it reflects the outside world: a hall of mirrors . The second mirror images (i.e., stable anti-idiotypic elements) may well be more complex than the first images (i.e., anti-self) . Both give rise to distortions (e.g., mutations, gene rearrangements) permitting the recognition of nonself . The mirror images of the outside world, however, do not have permanency in the genome . Every individual must start with self . Paraphrasing Nicolas Schoffer (Schoffer 1982): those who always seek exterior pressures (e.g., microbes) to account for the evolution of the sets of V genes, would do well to turn their vision towards the interiors of themselves, and there discover the mystery, perhaps never completely revealable, of the immune system.

J Am Optom Assoc, 1984 Jun, 55(6), 425 - 7
PPNG conjunctivitis; Reed K et al.; The treatment regimen for penicillin sensitive gonococcal conjunctivitis in an adult normally includes parenteral penicillin, frequent ocular irrigation, and topical ophthalmic gentamicin or tetracycline ointment . However, if a conjunctivitis is caused by a beta-lactamase producing microbe such as PPNG, then different antibiotics are required: e.g., spectinomycin or cefoxitin parenterally and topical chloramphenicol . Also, whereas urethritis is frequently treated with singular injections of penicillin or spectinomycin HCI (Trobicin), cases of PPNG ocular infections require a much longer course of treatment often involving seven days of intramuscular or intravenous antibiotics.

Cutis, 1984 Jun, 33(6), 560 - 7
Variably acid-fast bacteria in a necropsied case of systemic lupus erythematosus with acute myocardial infarction; Cantwell AR Jr et al.; A 41-year-old woman with chronic systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), uncomplicated by sepsis or other "secondary infection," died of an acute myocardial infarction . All of the available necroscopic material was reviewed to determine whether acid-fast cell wall deficient bacteria (CWDB) could be demonstrated in vivo . Variably acid-fast coccoid forms, suggestive of CWDB, were observed in specially-stained (intensified Kinyoun acid-fast stain) microscopic sections of the heart, lungs, kidney, adrenal glands, brain, connective tissue, and other organs . Acid-fast "hematoxylin bodies" were also observed . The finding of variably acid-fast bacteria in postmortem tissue in SLE may relate to the current finding of variably acid-fast CWDB within the blood stream of "normal" and diseased persons . In addition, the finding of acid-fast bacteria may relate to the previous reports of similar bacteria in scleroderma, pseudoscleroderma, and cutaneous lesions of SLE . The further search for CWDB in necropsied cases of SLE may elucidate the possible pathogenic role, if any, of these microbes in SLE.

Radiat Res, 1984 May, 98(2), 209 - 26
Radiation doses and LET distributions of cosmic rays; Silberberg R et al.; Among cosmic rays, the heavy nuclei ( HZE particles) like iron provide the dominant contribution to the dose equivalent during exposures in space . The LET distributions and radiation doses of cosmic-ray components have been calculated--with and without the quality factors--for a set of shielding and tissue self-shielding penetration depths . The relative contributions of heavy ions among solar flare particles to the dose equivalent are also explored . The transport calculations of the nuclei in air, shielding materials, and biological tissue-like material were carried out using the partial and total nuclear cross-section equations and nuclear propagation codes of Silberberg and Tsao . Outside the magnetosphere , at solar minimum, the product of the unshielded dose and the quality factors of cosmic-ray protons and heavy nuclei with atomic number Z greater than or equal to 6 are about 5 and 47 rem/year, respectively . With 4 g/cm2 aluminum shielding and at a depth of 5 cm in a biological phantom of 30 cm diameter, the respective values of the dose equivalents are about 4 and 11 rem/year . Due to the hard spectrum of cosmic rays, the attenuation of protons thus is relatively modest, while that of heavy nuclei is larger due to the larger interaction cross section . The dose equivalent of neutrons in the shielded case mentioned above is similar to that of protons . The biological risks are tentatively assessed in terms of the BEIR 1980 report . Uncertainties in risks due to possible large RBE values at low doses of high-LET radiation and due to the microbeam nature of damage by heavy ions are pointed out . Certain experiments and studies by radiobiologists are suggested for reducing the uncertainties in the estimates of the risks.

Zh Mikrobiol Epidemiol Immunobiol, 1984 May, (5), 26 - 30
{Invasiveness characteristics of the causative agent of pseudotuberculosis}; Tseneva GIa et al.; The comparative characteristics of the invasiveness of Y . pseudotuberculosis, the most important element of its pathogenicity, is given on the basis of the results obtained in testing 57 Y . pseudotuberculosis strains and 23 Y . enterocolitica strains, all of them recently isolated, on experimental models (the monolayer cultures of Hep-2 cells, the enteral inoculation of mice and guinea pigs, the keratoconjunctival test) . The invasiveness of Y . pseudotuberculosis has been shown to be manifested immediately after the ir adhesion and accompanied by the multiplication of these microbes in the cytoplasma of Hep-2 cells and, in animal experiments, in the cytoplasma of the epithelial cells of mucous membranes and the macrophages of lamina propria mucosae . The intracellular multiplication leads to the destruction of the layer of Hep-2 cells and, in animal experiments, to the disintegration of the infected cells, the development of Hep-2 cells and, in animal experiments, to the disintegration of the infected cells, the development of erosions and ulcers, purulent lymphadenitis of the regional lymph nodes, generalized infection with multiple abscesses in internal organs . Y . enterocolitica strains under investigation induced neither conjunctivitis, nor enterocolitis in the animals, and in experiments on Hep-2 cells, these strains, having less pronounced adhesive properties, either showed sharply limited adhesiveness without the capacity for intracellular multiplication and cytotoxicity, or proved to be absolutely noninvasive.

Mod Vet Pract, 1984 May, 65(5), A3 - 8
Uterine culture in mares; Brook D; A guarded, sterile swab is used to obtain samples for uterine culture . With the mare in stocks, the tail bandage and the perineum washed, the culture rod is introduced into the vagina with a gloved hand . After the rod is guided through the cervix, the guard cap is dislodged and the swab is rubbed along the endometrium, after which the rod is extracted . Samples for uterine culture should only be obtained during full estrus . Swabs should be directly plated onto agar within 2 hours of collection . Blood agar is appropriate for initial screening, but use of specialized types of agar expedites identification of microbes . Plates are incubated at 37 C and inspected for growth every 12 hours . The type and number of bacterial colonies should be coupled with the history and clinical signs in deciding on the necessity and type of treatment . Pure, heavy bacterial growth is usually accompanied by clinical signs of infection . Interpretation of the significance of moderate bacterial growth may be aided by cytologic examination of endometrial smears, made by rolling the swab onto a glass slide and staining with Diff - Quik . Large numbers of neutrophils indicate the need for antibiotic therapy . Mixed bacterial growth and variable numbers of neutrophils usually indicate faulty sampling technic . Microaerophilic or anaerobic cultures may aid diagnosis in cases of equivocal aerobic culture results.

J Dairy Sci, 1984 May, 67(5), 1072 - 89
Nitrogen metabolism in the rumen; Leng RA et al.; Nitrogen metabolism is reviewed with emphasis on methods for quantitating various nitrogen-transactions in the rumen of animals on a variety of diets . Ammonia kinetics, microbial cell synthesis, the inputs of endogenous nitrogen, degradation of dietary protein, and availability to the animal of dietary bypass protein are discussed . The efficiency of microbial protein from the rumen is discussed in relation to the ratio of protein to energy in the nutrients available to meet the requirements of the animal . The ratio is determined largely by the maintenance requirements of microbes and the breakdown of microbial materials, which result in the recycling of microbial nitrogen in the rumen . Emphasis is placed on the role of rumen protozoa in decreasing the ratio of protein to energy in absorbed nutrients in ruminants on diets that are marginally deficient in protein . Recent studies of the dynamics of protozoa in the rumen and their contribution to microbial protein outflow are summarized.

Appl Environ Microbiol, 1984 May, 47(5), 1070 - 3
Metabolism of aflatoxin, ochratoxin, zearalenone, and three trichothecenes by intact rumen fluid, rumen protozoa, and rumen bacteria; Kiessling KH et al.; The effect of rumen microbes on six mycotoxins (aflatoxin B1, ochratoxin A, zearalenone, T-2 toxin, diacetoxyscirpenol, and deoxynivalenol ) considered to be health risks for domestic animals was investigated . The mycotoxins were incubated with intact rumen fluid or fractions of rumen protozoa and bacteria from sheep and cattle in the presence or absence of milled feed . Rumen fluid had no effect on aflatoxin B1 and deoxynivalenol . The remaining four mycotoxins were all metabolized, and protozoa were more active than bacteria . Metabolism of ochratoxin A, zearalenone, and diacetoxyscirpenol was moderately or slightly inhibited by addition of milled feed in vitro . The capacity of rumen fluid to degrade ochratoxin A decreased after feeding, but this activity was gradually restored by the next feeding time . Ochratoxin A was cleaved to ochratoxin alpha and phenylalanine; zearalenone was reduced to alpha-zearalenol and to a lesser degree to beta-zearalenol; diacetoxyscirpenol and T-2 toxin were deacetylated to monoacetoxyscirpenol and HT-2 toxin, respectively . Feeding of 5 ppm (5 mg/kg) of ochratoxin A to sheep revealed 14 ppb (14 ng/ml) of ochratoxin A and ochratoxin alpha in rumen fluid after 1 h, but neither was detected in the blood . Whether such conversions in the rumen fluid may be considered as a first line of defense against toxic compounds present in the diet is briefly discussed.

Zh Mikrobiol Epidemiol Immunobiol, 1984 Apr, (4), 74 - 6
{Effectiveness of revaccinating hamadryas baboons with NISS live dried plague vaccine and fraction I of the plague microbe}; Byvalov AA et al.; The effectiveness of some vaccine preparations for the revaccination of hamadryas baboons after their primary immunization with live plague vaccine " NIIS " administered in the form of aerosol was studied . The study was carried out under the conditions of the aerosol challenge of the animals with Y . pestis . The subcutaneous injection of plague vaccine " NIIS " was found to have advantages over its aerosol administration . Revaccination with Y . pestis fraction I, absorbed, was found to be 8 times more effective than the administration of plague vaccine " NIIS " by inhalation and not inferior to the subcutaneous injection of this vaccine . Y . pestis lipopolysaccharide, when injected simultaneously with fraction I, produced an immunosuppressive effect . The development of chemical plague vaccine on the basis of fraction I, intended for revaccination, was shown to have good prospects.

Zentralbl Bakteriol Mikrobiol Hyg {A}, 1984 Apr, 256(4), 401 - 7
Phagocytes vs . bacteria, biological detente; Quie PG; The theme detente has been used to highlight bacterial weapons and host defenses . Interactions on host surfaces "at the border" zone are usually subclinical events . If bacteria have initial success and invade, iron sequestration, serum bacteriocidins, opsonins and the phagocytic system keeps this a localized event . More virulent microbes have evolved mechanisms for evading the phagocytic system by developing thick cell walls with specialized structures or capsules . Fortunately, the host's specific adaptive immune granulocytes and macrophages response provides opsonic antibodies for efficient phagocytosis . The phagocytes' oxidative burst, granule disruption, and phagosome formation results in host superiority although prolonged co-existence may exist when certain bacteria successfully evade intracellular events.

Scand J Dent Res, 1984 Apr, 92(2), 120 - 6
Microbial invasion and subsurface colonization of rat enamel in early fissure caries observed by scanning electron microscopy; Luoma AR et al.; In order to find out whether microbes can be detected in the incipient rat caries lesions underneath the visibly intact enamel surface, the maxilla of OM-rats, fed a cariogenic diet, were fixed and partially bisected sagittally with a thin saw . The individual teeth were finally split with a knife to get a crack surface from the fissure region . Selected tooth halves showing slight carious changes at the dentin-enamel junction were prepared for SEM and examined . In many preparations, colonies of organisms were found firmly attached to the crack surface . Single, predominantly coccus-like organisms and a few rods could be seen mostly located in the interprismatic furrows at varying depth throughout the enamel . Some lacuna-like hollows, with or without the occupant organisms, could be seen carved in the prism structure . The enamel side of the DEJ in the lesion area could be completely covered by the microbes . In samples representing arrested caries, amorphous precipitates were found at the interprismatic substance of the DEJ region.

J Dairy Sci, 1984 Apr, 67(4), 723 - 8
Metabolites of nucleic acids in bovine milk; Tiemeyer W et al.; To investigate metabolites of nucleic acids in milk as by-products of protein biosynthesis, a method for determination of pyrimidine and purine compounds by reversed-phase high-pressure liquid chromatography was developed . Reproducibility of the measured compounds was 2% . Recovery of the main constituents averaged about 99% . In addition to orotic acid, allantoin, and uric acid, the free bases hypoxanthine, xanthine, and guanine, the ribonucleosides uridine, cytidine, and pseudouridine, and the ribonucleotides, guanosine 5'-monophosphate and cytidine 5'-monophosphate, were quantified in milk samples of Holstein-Friesian cows . Milk production from days 45 to 65 of lactation influenced concentrations of individual metabolites differently . Concentrations of orotic acid, allantoin, and uric acid decreased with increasing milk production, whereas concentrations of uridine, cytidine, pseudouridine, hypoxanthine, xanthine, and guanine remained unchanged . The results allowed conclusions on rate limiting steps of catabolic pathways of pyrimidines and purines and indicated relationships with protein biosynthesis . A possible role of metabolites of nucleic acids as taste factors and as substrates for milk microbes is suggested.

Klin Wochenschr, 1984 Mar 15, 62(6), 254 - 64
Immunostimulation . Clinical and experimental perspectives; Drews J; Three classes of immunostimulating drugs are described, each representing a different approach to the problem of pharmacological immunostimulation . The rationale for the use of microbes or microbial agents as immunostimulators rests on the fact that some micro-organisms, especially those that replicate intracellularly, carry a special potential to activate macrophages . Clinically, the use of these agents in patients with tumors and infections has been disappointing; however, there have been positive exceptions like the responsiveness of melanomas and bladder carcinomas to the injection of BCG . Many of the inconclusive results may be due to insecurities in the dosage of microbial preparations and to a general lack in standardization . Some structures with high efficacy and low toxicity which have recently evolved from this field deserve further investigation . A number of structurally unrelated synthetic compounds was found to influence immune parameters . Levamisole can today be classified as an immunostimulating drug with limited utility in recurring infections and in chronic polyarthritis . Several immunostimulating drugs which have attracted interest contain a purine as the effective component . This is not surprising in view of the fact that many genetically determined immunodeficiencies can be traced to defects of enzymes which play a crucial role in purine biosynthesis . Finally, the potential role of lymphokines as stimulators of the immunosystem is briefly described . Some of these glycoproteins have recently become available for clinical trials . Others will be made available through genetic engineering . The therapeutic utility of these compounds is not yet clear; they will, however, be of great value as probes for the study of immune functions and for the development of immunopharmacology.

Cell, 1984 Mar, 36(3), 717 - 27
Spindle microtubule dynamics following ultraviolet-microbeam irradiations of mitotic diatoms; Leslie RJ et al.; Lesions ("ARBs") generated in metaphase and anaphase central spindles of Hantzschia by an ultraviolet microbeam are devoid of microtubules previously present . In vivo, the poleward transverse edge of the lesion invariably loses birefringence poleward, until this segment has vanished; the loss is slow during metaphase and faster at anaphase . The other transverse edge, proximal to the overlap, remains stable until disassembly of the whole spindle . We conclude that the central spindle microtubules are not in flux during metaphase to telophase, and that depolymerization of these microtubules takes place only from the end distal to the pole, as during normal spindle disassembly . Microtubule polarity and the creation of free ends may determine which microtubules are disassembled during later mitosis and how disassembly proceeds.

Vestn Khir Im I I Grek, 1984 Feb, 132(2), 3 - 6
{Prediction of infectious complications in surgical patients}; Kolesov AP et al.; An analysis of results of intracutaneous tests with a set of microbe allergens in 121 patients has shown that absence of a skin reaction to all the allergens under test demonstrates a disturbed immune response (incidence of infectious complications was 77%, both lethal outcomes included) . The selective hypersensitivity to the injection of certain allergens was due to the carrier state . The normal reaction of slow type hypersensitivity was found in 101 patients (86,4%) and showed no disorders in immune reactivity which was confirmed by the postoperative course without complications . The test of the slow type hypersensitivity is considered to be highly informative and to allow prognosis of postoperative complications.

Hum Pathol, 1984 Feb, 15(2), 112 - 6
Fluorescence immunoassay; Hicks JM; Fluorescence immunoassay is a sensitive technique that can be used in the measurement of many compounds, including drugs, hormones, and proteins; in the identification of antibodies; and in the quantification of antigens such as viral particles and, potentially, bacteria . Homogeneous fluorescence immunoassay, fluorescent excitation transfer immunoassay, fluorescence polarization immunoassay, solid-phase "dipstick" immunoassay, solid-phase microbead fluorescence immunoassay, substrate-labeled fluorescence immunoassay, and fluorescence immunoassays using internal reflectance spectroscopy or phycobiliprotein conjugates are reviewed.

Br J Ind Med, 1984 Feb, 41(1), 77 - 83
Extrinsic allergic alveolitis in the tobacco industry; Huuskonen MS et al.; A total of 57 subjects who had been exposed to mould dust in the tobacco industry were studied . Their working environment showed exposure to spores of different moulds, and 29 subjects (51%) showed antibodies against one or more of the microbes . Fifteen (26%) had work related respiratory symptoms . Eight (14%) showed slight radiographic pulmonary fibrosis . Spirometry showed a tendency toward restriction and obstruction, especially in small airways . Diffusion capacity was decreased in 18% of the workers . Three clinical cases of typical allergic alveolitis were also found . All this suggests that exposure of spores of different moulds (especially Aspergillus fumigatus) in the manufacture of tobacco products may induce symptoms and signs relating to extrinsic allergic alveolitis.

Nature, 1984 Jan 12-18, 307(5947), 163 - 5
Cell determination and regulation during development of neuroblasts and neurones in grasshopper embryo; Taghert PH et al.; The embryonic development of the central nervous system (CNS) involves the generation of an enormous diversity of cellular types arranged and interconnected in a remarkably precise pattern . In each hemisegment of the grasshopper embryo, the ectoderm generates a stereotyped pattern of 30 neuronal precursor cells, called neuroblasts (Fig . 1) . Each of these stem cells makes a stereotyped contribution of 6-100 progeny to the approximately 1,000 different neurones, each cell identifiable according to its unique morphology, physiology and biochemistry . What are the contributions of cell interactions and cell lineage to the generation of this diversity and specificity of identified neurones in the grasshopper CNS? Here we report on cell ablations with a laser microbeam at different stages of development . Our results suggest the importance of cell-cell interactions in the determination of ectodermal cells to become identified neuroblasts . However, once a neuroblast begins to divide, then cell lineage appears to play an important role in the determination of its stereotyped family of neuronal progeny . Furthermore, cell-specific interactions continue to play an important role as neurones, according to their mitotic ancestry, recognize and interact with other differentiating neurones in their environment.

Ann Biol Clin (Paris), 1984, 42(1), 77 - 85
{Neutrophil functions and interactions in the inflammatory reaction}; Chatelain B; After 14 days' bone marrow maturation, neutrophil granulocytes reach the tissues where for 1-2 days they form the army whose phagocytic function was described by llya Metchnikoff in 1882 . At that time, Paul Ehrlich was developing his neutrophil secretory theory which had less success until it returned with a vengeance in the last decade . Neutrophils are not only phagocytes . Above all they are cells that secrete bactericidal effectors and regulators (amplifiers and modulators) of the inflammatory focus . More and more sophisticated methods are being used to study phagocytosis, from the point of view both of the mechanism of chemotaxis and its role in inflammation and of the mediators of oxygen-dependent bactericidal action (superoxide anion, oxygenated water, hydroxyl radicals, myeloperoxidase, halogen ions and superoxide dismutase) . In addition, the importance of oxygen-independent bactericidal mechanisms has been confirmed by the discovery of proteins such as BPI (Bactericidal Permeability Increasing Protein) . Study of neutrophil dysfunction throws light on a number of neutrophil regulatory and effector mechanisms; it also proves useful in explaining the recurrent infections observed in some congenital disorders (chronic granulomatous disease, the "lazy leucocyte syndrome", the Chediak-Higashi syndrome, ichthyrosis , Job's syndrome...) or those associated with transitory neutrophil disorders (measles, severe bacterial infection...) . Neutropenia induced by some antibiotics is easily demonstrated, but the interactions between these antibiotics and neutrophils are complex: phagocyte concentration of antibiotic, neutrophil inactivation of antibiotic, effect of antibiotic on microbe-leucocyte interaction such as an alteration in phagocytic and chemotactic response . The neutrophil is the first blood cell to arrive at the inflammatory focus; it is also at the centre of the response, next to the humoral mediators which both act upon it and which it itself secretes.

Arch Oral Biol, 1984, 29(7), 503 - 6
A scanning electron microscopic study of early subsurface bacterial penetration of human molar-fissure enamel; Seppa L; Cross-sections of occlusal fissures in clinically-sound, partly-erupted human third molars were examined using scanning electron microscopy . In several specimens, microbes had invaded enamel under an apparently intact enamel surface and formed colonies within the prism structure . Bacteria were located also between enamel prisms . In some samples, colonies were observed in dentine . Most of the organisms were rod-shaped or filamentous . The results indicate that plaque bacteria can invade enamel before initiation of caries is clinically observable.

Scand J Gastroenterol Suppl, 1984, 90, 21 - 7
Development of resistance following the use of antibiotics; Wiedemann B; There is no doubt that antibiotic usage is related to the development of resistant bacteria . Nevertheless, there is a great deal of confusion about the mechanisms involved in this process and the quantitative aspects . Bacterial genes coding for resistance can be exchanged on a molecular level between different DNA structures and they can spread from one bacterial cell to another . In quantitative terms, however, the selection of resistant bacteria in their natural environment, e.g . in the bowel flora or on mucous membranes, is the most important factor influencing the development and spread of antibiotic resistant microorganisms . The amount of drug incorporated into the bowel or soft tissue flora depends on the route of administration . Even drugs which are related in many respects differ markedly in their ability to select resistant organisms . A selection of resistant organisms from the normal human flora implicates, that primarily a minority of resistant organisms is present and overgrows the sensitive ones which are inhibited by the drug . Usually these resistant strains belong to the resident flora and carry their resistance genes on plasmids . Only rarely resistant mutants can be found, although the mutation rate might be high . The development of resistance from the population of microorganisms causing the infection is rare . This observation can be based on two rationales : 1 . The mutation rate from susceptible to resistant in most microorganisms is usually rather low (about 10(-9); thus the number of microbes present on the site of infection is not high enough to allow mutants to arise.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Basic Life Sci, 1984, 29 Pt A, 181 - 97
Sister chromatid exchange (SCE) induced by laser-UV-microirradiation: correlation between the distribution of photolesions and the distribution of SCEs; Raith M et al.; Small, medium, and large nuclear areas comprising approximately 5, 30, or 80% of the total area of the interphase nuclei of Chinese hamster cells (M3-1) cultivated in vitro were irradiated with a laser-UV-microbeam of wavelength 257 nm . The DNA of the cells was substituted with 5-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdUrd) for 1 cell cycle in one set of experiments . After microirradiation the cells were grown for a second cycle in medium without BrdUrd (protocol A) . In a second set, cells with nonsubstituted DNA were microirradiated and grown for 2 additional cycles, the first in the presence, the second in the absence of BrdUrd (protocol B) . In situ chromosome preparation and differential chromatid staining was subsequently performed . The induction of sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) was found to be dependent on both the ultraviolet (UV) dose and the spatial distribution of the UV energy within the cell nucleus . Following both protocols the average number of chromosomes with SCEs was significantly higher after microirradiation of a large nuclear area as compared to microirradiation of a small nuclear area . In the latter case, multiple SCEs were noted on individual chromosome arms at the first postirradiation mitosis (protocol A) . In other cells, especially at higher doses, protocol A resulted in shattering of a few closely neighbored chromosomes which were surrounded by intact ones with normal SCE levels . Microirradiation of medium-sized nuclear areas produced high levels of SCEs over a number of chromosomes which still appeared spatially related in a part of the metaphase spread . Finally, high SCE levels could be observed over most or all chromosomes when a large nuclear area (up to 100%) was exposed to the microbeam . Following protocol B the increase of SCEs was much less pronounced . Microirradiation of a small part of the cytoplasm in addition to the nuclei did not induce SCEs . Our results support the concept (i) that interphase chromosomes occupy distinct nuclear domains and indicate (ii) that the induction of SCEs by UV light is restricted to microirradiated chromatin.

Blood Cells, 1984, 10(1), 5 - 22
Facts and speculation about necrotaxis (chemotaxis toward a dying cell); Bessis M et al.; The name "necrotaxis" has been given to a special type of chemotaxis in which granulocytes and monocytes are attracted to cells in the process of dying . Microirradiation devices (conventional UV and laser) have been used to destroy a target cell . Immediately, leukocytes (neutrophils and monocytes) can be seen to advance towards the damaged cell and to engulf it . Hemoglobin and albumin coagulated in the microbeam are equally necrotactic . The presence of plasma does not seem necessary, as the phenomenon also occurs in a saline environment . The neutrophil nucleus is not necessary for necrotaxis, anucleated cytoplasmic fragments are capable of directionality, rosette formation around the dead cell and phagocytosis . Three specific points are briefly discussed: -- the nature of necrotactic substances -- the recognition mechanism of damaged cells and molecules -- the eventual role of necrotaxis in vivo.

Microbiol Immunol, 1984, 28(6), 667 - 77
Environmental mycobacteria in Korea . I . Distribution of the organisms; Jin BW et al.; Environmental mycobacteria in Korea have been investigated by examining 54 soil, 111 house dust, 63 well water, and 98 sewage samples collected from 123 randomly selected areas in Korea during the fourth nationwide tuberculosis prevalence survey in 1980 . A variety of mycobacteria were isolated from 76% of soil, 67% of sewage, 43% of well water, and 7% of house dust samples . Some samples yielded more than one species; thus 56 strains were obtained from soil, 107 strains from sewage, 48 strains from well water and 8 strains from house dust . Mycobacterium fortuitum was the most common species of environmental mycobacteria in Korea and the species was distributed equally in all types of samples tested . The M . terrae complex was also one of the common species of environmental mycobacteria and it seemed to be more abundant in water samples than in soil . Scotochromogenic slow growers M . scrofulaceum and M . gordonae were common microbes in soil and water samples, although the latter was more frequently detected in water samples . Scotochromogenic rapid growers M . flavescens and M.phlei, and photochromogenic rapid grower M . vaccae were isolated more frequently from sewage or water samples than from soil . Nonphotochromogenic rapid growers M . chelonei (chelonae) and M . smegmatis were isolated mostly from sewage and the former was rarely found in soil and well water samples . The clinically important species M . avium-intracellulare complex was found less frequently in all types of test samples.

Dtsch Z Verdau Stoffwechselkr, 1984, 44(2), 50 - 4
{Remarkable microbial findings in the small intestine mucosa of children}; Schon E et al.; In intestinal specimens of children repeatedly attacked by enteritis electron microscopic investigations were practiced . In 26% of biopsies mycosis was found and in 72% a bacterial infection of the intestinal mucosa . We found narrow contacts between the infectious agents and the mucosa by electron microscopic evaluation (adhesion, penetration, partly thick layers) . The microbes found are suitable to maintain the recurring cases of diarrhoea . Our results demand an exact antibiotic and antimycotic therapy.

Eur Biophys J, 1984, 11(1), 43 - 50
Flux measurement in single cells by fluorescence microphotolysis; Peters R; Fluorescence microphotolysis--widely employed for diffusion studies--can be used to measure transfer (flux) of fluorescent solutes through membranes in single cells and organelles . This article analyses the methodological basis of flux measurements, provides experimental tests, and discusses potential applications . The principle of the method is to equilibrate cells, organelles or vesicles with a fluorescent solute, to deplete the interior of individual cells etc . of fluorescein by the pulse of a high-intensity microbeam, and to monitor influx of solute by microfluorometry . Simple equations are given and a computer curve fitting program is described by which rate constants of influx and membrane permeability coefficients can be derived from fluorescence measurements . The permeability of individual "leaky" human erythrocyte ghosts to fluorescein-isothiocyanate-labelled bovine serum albumin has been measured under various conditions . Multiple exposure to the high-intensity microbeam had no effect on permeability within experimental error . Flux measurements have been also performed on individual vesicles of 1-2 micron radius which had been derived from ghosts . The potential application of the method to sub-lightmicroscopic vesicles and to organelles within living cells is discussed.

C R Acad Sci III, 1984, 298(5), 113 - 8
{Radioprotective effect of acute non-specific inflammation in mice}; Herodin F et al.; A full protection against a 8,5 Gy gamma irradiation is observed in Mice bearing a one day old granuloma induced by polyacrylamide microbeads, when these Mice are injected, 1 hr before irradiation, with the eluate obtained from a 1 day old granuloma . In these Mice, a striking increase of the uptake of 125IUdR in bone marrow is observed.

Prog Food Nutr Sci, 1984, 8(3-4), 193 - 228
Cell-mediated immunity in nutritional deficiency; McMurray DN; Dietary deficiencies of specific nutrients profoundly alter cell-mediated immune responses in man and experimental animals . Both moderate and severe deficiencies are associated with significant changes in immunocompetence . Diets with inadequate levels of protein, calories, vitamin A, pyridoxine, biotin and zinc result in loss of thymic cellularity . Secondary to thymic atrophy, the production of thymic hormones critical for the differentiation of T lymphocytes is reduced, especially in protein-calorie malnutrition and zinc deficiency . Confirmation of a T cell maturational defect in nutritional deprivation comes from the observations of decreased total (T3 and rosette-forming) T cells in the peripheral blood of children with kwashiorkor and marasmus, with preferential loss of helper/inducer (T4) T cell subsets . Reduced number and in vitro function of T cells have also been reported in experimental deficiencies of iron, zinc, copper, and vitamins A and E . Loss of cutaneous hypersensitivity to mitogens and antigens is a consistent sequela of dietary deficiencies of protein, vitamins A and C, pyridoxine, iron and zinc . Cell-mediated immunity directed against allogeneic histocompatibility antigens (e.g . mixed leukocyte cultures, graft versus host, skin graft rejection) may actually be enhanced by experimental protein and polyunsaturated fat deficiencies . Alternatively, pyridoxine, ascorbate and biotin deficiencies resulted in delayed rejection of skin allografts . Cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) activity is impaired in zinc-, iron- and copper-deficient mice, as well as in scorbutic guinea pigs . Natural killer (NK) cell function may be either enhanced or depressed, depending upon the nutrient and its effects on interferon production . Several authors have demonstrated normal or enhanced macrophage activity in a variety of experimental deficiencies . The extrapolation of these observations to infectious disease resistance is not straightforward, and depends upon the nature of the microbe, its own nutrient needs, and the relative importance of innate, as opposed to immunologic, defense mechanisms.

J Hyg Epidemiol Microbiol Immunol, 1984, 28(4), 441 - 54
Persistence of Francisella tularensis McCoy et Chapin tularemia agent in the organism of highly sensitive rodents after oral infection; Olsufjev NG et al.; In the literature there are no data on the possibility of obtaining in experiment non-fatal tularemia infection (persistence) in rodents highly sensitive to it (Group I) when using highly virulent strains circulating in nature for infection by natural routes . Our detailed experiments on 1483 adult voles Microtus rossiaemeridionalis Ogn . (syn . M . subarvalis Meyer et al.) of laboratory origin using virulent strains of Francisella tularensis holarctica Ols . et Meshch . and natural alimentary infection by feeding on bodies of died animals or forced dosed administration of a mixture of dead and living bacteria to the voles through the oesophagus demonstrated the possibility of the animals to survive tularemia with subsequent long-term chronic carrier state of the infectious agent . They also confirmed the ability of voles to eat readily cadavers of their kin (cannibalism, necrophagia) . Experiments with the fully virulent strain 503 and feeding on cadavers were carried out on 439 voles . 203 animals died from acute tularemia, 43 from side effects and 193 survived . Two of the latter (0.5%) exhibited chronic bacterial carrier state, and agglutinins to tularemia microbe (1:320) were found in their blood . From 309 voles subjected to dosed feeding, 153 died from acute tularemia, 27 from side effects and 129 survived . Two of them were bacterial carriers and 6 (1.9%) showed agglutinins (1:160-1:1280) . In experiments with strain 165, spontaneously less virulent for guinea pigs, 433 voles were fed on cadavers . 170 of them died from acute tularemia, 53 from side effects, and 210 animals survived . Among the latter, 14 animals (3.2%) were found immune to 100 LD50 of the highly virulent strain 1298 . In dosed feeding of 302 voles with the strain 165, 90 animals died from acute tularemia, 59 from side effects, and 153 survived, including 63 animals (20.7%) immune to 100 LD50 . The surviving immune voles exhibited seroconversion and long-term persistence of the infectious agent in the internal organs (up to day 257-313--period of observation), accompanied bacteriuria in some cases . Histological examination of the kidney revealed, for the first time, important pathological changes of glomerulonephritis type with elements of pyelonephritis . Protracted stay of the agent in the organism of the vole does not affect its virulence . Persistence of tularemia agent in the organism of voles highly sensitive to tularemia in alimentary administration to them of living and dead bacteria is achieved as a result of anticipatory development of immunological reactions in response to a massive dose of killed antigen, against the background of which the accumulation of simultaneously administered

Rev Infect Dis, 1984 Jan-Feb, 6(1), 51 - 95
Interleukin-1; Dinarello CA; For the past 30 years, considerable experimentation on the mechanisms of host responses to infection has centered on soluble products derived from phagocytic cells . The biologic activities of some of these products include fever mediated by endogenous pyrogen (EP) and induction of acute-phase responses by leukocytic endogenous mediator (LEM), EP and LEM have been characterized and purified and appear to be closely related, if not identical, molecules . Lymphocyte-activating factor (LAF), a recently described polypeptide that acts on lymphocytes, shares many of the physical properties of EP and LEM; when incubated with lymphocytes, purified EP/LEM is indistinguishable from LAF . The term interleukin-1 (IL-1) is now used to describe LAF, EP, and LEM as a single molecule or as a family of closely related molecules, although at present there is no known sequence analysis of EP, LEM, or LAF . In this review, experimental and clinical data are presented that link mediation of host responses to infection and inflammation to the production and activity of IL-1 . Cell sources and inducers of IL-1 are discussed, as are its chemical nature and mechanisms of action . In addition, the importance of IL-1 and its effects on host defense mechanisms are presented . For example, how IL-1-mediated responses, such as elevated temperature, lymphocyte activation, and systemic metabolic changes, alter the host as well as the invading microbe are considered . The conclusions of this review are (1) that IL-1 is a key mediator of host responses to microbial invasion, (2) that IL-1 represents a true hormone produced during infection and inflammation, and (3) that its biologic activities account for several aspects of the acute-phase reaction.

Science, 1983 Dec 2, 222(4627), 1025 - 7
Identification of presynaptic neurons by laser photostimulation; Farber IC et al.; An optical method involving the use of a laser and a novel fluorescent dye as a photostimulation probe has been developed to identify presynaptic neurons in a large ensemble of cells . Illumination of an extracellularly stained neuron by the laser microbeam evokes action potentials . With this technique an interneuron connecting identified leech neurons was quickly located . The method speeds up the elucidation of neuronal networks, especially when small cells are involved.

Can J Microbiol, 1983 Dec, 29(12), 1689 - 93
Subunit composition of goblet-shaped particles from the cell wall of Flexibacter polymorphus; Ridgway HF et al.; Submicroscopic goblet-shaped particles ( goblets ) were released from the cell envelope of the marine gliding bacterium Flexibacter polymorphus when treated with the nonionic detergent Triton X-100 followed by sonication . The goblets were purified by cesium chloride density gradient centrifugation and exhibited an equilibrium buoyant density of 1.30 g/mL at 23 degrees C . They were composed of protein and a small amount of carbohydrate (approximately 3.4% by weight) . Aqueous suspensions exhibited an absorption maximum in the ultraviolet at a wavelength of 276 nm and a smaller shoulder at 281 nm . Phospholipids were not detected in purified preparations of goblets , though they are known to be prominent constituents of the intact membranes of this microbe . Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of goblets solubilized in sodium dodecyl sulfate and 2-mercaptoethanol indicated four major polypeptide components ranging in molecular weight from 13 000 to 80 000 . This number of different protein subunits corroborates earlier ultrastructural observations indicating a multisubunit composition.

Ecotoxicol Environ Saf, 1983 Dec, 7(6), 576 - 87
Synergism between nickel and copper in their toxicity to microbes: mediation by pH; Babich H et al.; The toxicity of a combination of nickel (Ni) and copper (Cu) toward growth of heterotrophic microorganisms was greater than the sum of the toxicity of each metal individually . This synergism between Ni and Cu was potentiated at acidic pH levels, with the potentiation of the toxicity being, for some organisms, an effect of the acidic pH on the toxicity of the Ni, rather than of the Cu, component . For others, however, the potentiation was an effect of acidic pH on both the Ni and Cu components . The potentiation of the Ni-Cu synergistic interaction at acidic pH levels has relevance to the deposition of acid precipitation into environments contaminated with these metals . Furthermore, the occurrence of such synergistic interactions and their mediation by pH should be considered in the methodologies used to establish criteria for tolerable levels of metals in the environment.

Brain, 1983 Dec, 106 ( Pt 4), 929 - 47
Microbehavioural analysis of the choice reaction time response in senile dementia; Vrtunski PB et al.; Microbehavioural analysis of the human button-press response in a choice reaction time task enabled us to observe the traditional components of reaction time performance and also several additional indicators of psychomotor organization . The principal finding reported here is that in normal subjects stimulus conditions of varying difficulty differentially affect segments of the button-press response not ordinarily associated with cognitive demands of the task . This observation suggested the presence of a certain interaction between cognitive demands of the task and the subsequent motor output control . In a comparison of normal elderly and demented subjects, we demonstrated that the slower reaction times of the demented represent a virtual psychomotor disintegration . The apparent disintegration is interpreted as an inability of demented subjects properly to prepare, organize, and execute the response . The degree of disintegration is most evident during the motor time, which represents a transition between resting state and actual response completion.

J Cell Sci, 1983 Nov, 64, 69 - 88
Prometaphase forces towards opposite spindle poles are not independent: an on/off control system is identified by ultraviolet microbeam irradiations; Sillers PJ et al.; Individual spindle fibres in prometaphase spermatocytes of the cricket, Neocurtilla hexadactyla, were irradiated with an ultraviolet microbeam . The stretched heteromorphic bivalent (X2Y) contracted to about 75% of its pre-irradiation length after irradiation of either of its two oppositely directed spindle fibres (i.e., the X2 or Y spindle fibre) . The X2Y bivalent also contracted after irradiation of the connection between the kinetochores of the univalent X1 chromosome and the Y chromosome but it did not contract after irradiation of autosomal spindle fibres or of the spindle fibre of the X1 univalent sex chromosome . The spindles sometimes shrank after irradiation, but contraction of the X2Y bivalent was independent of spindle shrinkage . The data strongly suggest that the oppositely directed forces on a bivalent are not independent . One reason is that the X2Y contractions were asymmetrical: during contraction one kinetochore remained fixed in position while the other kinetochore (facing the opposite pole) moved towards the equator . In 75% of the cases the stationary kinetochore was associated with the irradiated spindle fibre . Thus, we suggest that the irradiation of a spindle fibre produces a state analogous to rigor in the irradiated spindle fibre and, because of effects on the control system, produces relaxation of tension in the oppositely directed non-irradiated spindle fibre, so that the kinetochore associated with the non-irradiated spindle fibre moves towards the equator . These experiments have identified a control system that coordinates force production to opposite poles.

Br J Nutr, 1983 Nov, 50(3), 757 - 68
Studies of the large intestine of sheep . 3 . Nitrogen kinetics in sheep given chopped lucerne (medicago sativa) hay; Dixon RM et al.; A study was made of nitrogen kinetics in the large intestine of sheep given 800 g chopped lucerne (Medicago sativa) hay/d . Four sheep were continuously infused with (15NH4)2SO4 into the caecum and three other sheep were infused intravenously with {15N}urea . A digesta marker, 51Cr complexed with EDTA (51Cr-EDTA), was infused into the rumen of each sheep to allow estimation of the rates of digesta constituents . Infusions were continued until tracer concentrations reached plateaux in digesta and blood pools, after which the sheep were anaesthetized and slaughtered . Pre-infusion samples and samples on plateau were obtained before slaughter for subsequent analysis to give plasma urea and rumen ammonia-N concentration and enrichment . At slaughter, digesta were obtained from the ileum and segments of the large intestine . These were analysed for 51Cr-EDTA content and concentration and enrichment of ammonia-N, microbial N and non-urea non-ammonia-N (NU-NAN) . N flows in segments of the large intestine were calculated and represented in a quantitative eight-pool model . Transfer of plasma urea across the wall of the caecum and proximal colon was negligible but there was an input of 0.8 g endogenous NU-NAN/d . Flow of urea plus ammonia-N in digesta from the ileum into the caecum contributed 1.0 g N/d to the caecal ammonia pool . Proteolysis and deamination produced a further 3.0 g ammonia-N/d in the caecum and proximal colon . The net absorption of N between the ileum and the rectum was 2.8 g N/d but 3.0 g ammonia-N/d was absorbed from the caecum and proximal colon and, in addition, at least 0.9 g ammonia-N/d from the distal colon and rectum . Ammonia-N was incorporated into caecal microbes (0.6 g N/d) and approximately 57% of the NU-NAN in caecal digesta was microbial N . The majority of the microbial N flowing from the caecum was excreted in faeces . The rate of irreversible loss of urea-N from plasma, measured by intravenous infusion of {15N}urea, was 13.6 g/d . On average 83 (SE 6.8)% of the 15NH3 apparently absorbed from the caecum was incorporated into plasma urea; caecal ammonia contributed 9-19% of the N in plasma urea and 0.2-3.1% of the N in rumen ammonia.

Am J Ophthalmol, 1983 Nov, 96(5), 577 - 99
Factors related to the initiation and recurrence of uveitis . XL Edward Jackson memorial lecture; O'Connor GR; Uveitis comprises a complex group of diseases in which morbidity may depend on the nature of the initial inflammation as well as on the genetic, hormonal, and emotional background of the patient . Uveitis is initiated in every instance by some form of tissue injury . This may occur as an attack on individual cells by organisms such as Toxoplasma gondii or Herpesvirus hominis . Autoimmune disease may be produced as a late result of microbe-induced injury . The development of specific forms of autoimmunity seems to be dependent upon genetic as well as hormonal factors, particularly estrogens . Tissue injury of immunologic origin takes several forms, such as cytotoxic damage from sensitized lymphocytes, immune complex-mediated injury, and injury from the oxidative products of inflammatory cells . In some cases, permanent alteration of uveal vascular permeability results . Recurrent uveitis may be attributed in some instances to the reappearance of infectious organisms in the target tissue . In other cases, recurrence of inflammation may be attributed to the localization of immune complexes in the uveal tract . Changes in immunoregulation can be attributed to pregnancy, aging, and emotional factors . Neurohumoral pathways related to stress-mediated changes in immunoregulation have recently been described in laboratory animals . These pathways may be linked with stress-related recurrences of uveitis in humans.

J Neurosci, 1983 Oct, 3(10), 1979 - 93
Laser microbeam surgery: ultrastructural changes associated with neurite transection in culture; Gross GW et al.; The exposure of neuronal and glial cell processes to a large number (up to 300) of 12-nsec laser pulses at a wavelength of 337 nm and energy densities below the threshold for nonlinear absorption results in a gradual, gentle process transection in the laser focus . Within 10 to 20 sec after cessation of firing, the process pinches in the target area . During this time, mitochondria become swollen and bleached, the plasma membrane develops an obvious tautness, microtubules disappear, and organelles accumulate to either side of the process constriction . Depending on the irradiation parameters, a local pinching may proceed to a transection in about 30 sec or it may reverse to yield a normal-appearing process in approximately 5 min . Severe process pinching is accompanied by a sudden depolarization that may last for 2 to 5 min and is usually followed by a repolarization to the original resting potential even if the process has transected . Spiral retraction of cut processes and cytoplasmic spillage observed after mechanical transections are not seen with this laser method . Process stretching is minimized or eliminated . Extensive vacuolization often associated with mechanical transections does not develop unless substrate involvement in the form of shock waves is apparent . For the performance of cell surgery in culture, this method appears to offer a reliable approach to morphological alteration of single cells and to the tailoring of two-dimensional neuronal networks . It should also allow more quantitative and better-controlled studies of axonotmesis, degeneration, and regeneration on the single cell level, and it may be used as a probe for the investigation of cytoskeletal dynamics . A mechanism describing the cytoskeletal changes associated with laser-induced cell process transection is proposed.

Scand J Gastroenterol, 1983 Oct, 18(7), 889 - 96
Escherichia coli antibodies in alcoholic liver disease . Correlation to alcohol consumption, alcoholic hepatitis, and serum IgA; Staun-Olsen P et al.; In 41 patients with alcoholic liver disease, antibodies to 12 common Escherichia coli O antigens (expressed as number of O antibody reactions with an agglutination titre of greater than or equal to 40) and to immunoglobulins IgG, IgA, and IgM were studied for 8 weeks . In 18 patients (8 with cirrhosis, 10 with fatty liver) who continued drinking during this period no significant changes were found . In 23 patients (11 with cirrhosis, 12 with fatty liver) who stopped or reduced drinking, a significant decrease in the levels of E . coli O antibodies and IgA was found (p less than 0.05 and p less than 0.01, respectively) . In these 41 patients and in an additional 43 patients with alcoholic liver disease the amount of E . coli O antibodies was compared with type of histological lesion . The levels of E . coli O antibodies were significantly higher in cirrhosis with alcoholic hepatitis (22 cases) than in cirrhosis without alcoholic hepatitis (17 cases) (p less than 0.05) . In these 17 patients antibody levels were significantly higher than in 41 patients with fatty liver without alcoholic hepatitis (p less than 0.02) . In all patients a significant correlation between the number of positive reactions to E . coli O antigens and serum IgA concentration was found (p less than 0.01) . No microbes were cultured from the liver biopsies, and no E . coli O antigens were demonstrated in the liver tissue by immunohistochemistry . Our results support the hypothesis that the high levels of E . coli O antibodies in alcoholic liver diseases are due to failure of the liver to extract circulating antigens and gut-derived endotoxins.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Fertil Steril, 1983 Sep, 40(3), 334 - 9
Scanning electron microscopy of Dalkon Shield tails; Bank HL et al.; Scanning electron micrographs of Dalkon Shield tails removed from asymptomatic patients show a variety of microbes and debris throughout their entire length . Apparently, even in undamaged tails, bacterial flora thrive in the protein-rich environment within the multifilament tail . The presence of microbes in the portion of the tail beyond the double knot indicates that an alternative mechanism of microbial transport can occur . Since transient endometritis often occurs immediately after insertion of intrauterine devices, microbes may come in contact with both exposed ends of the multifilament tail and be drawn into the tail by capillary action from the uterine environment down the tail toward the double knot as well as upward from the vagina . Such microorganisms could serve as an inoculum for infection.

Appl Environ Microbiol, 1983 Sep, 46(3), 738 - 48
Rumen bacterial and fungal degradation of Digitaria pentzii grown with or without sulfur; Akin DE et al.; Sheep fed the forage Digitaria pentzii fertilized with sulfur were compared with those fed unfertilized forage for the rumen microbial population involved with fiber degradation . No differences were detected in the bacterial population as determined by anaerobic cultures on a habitat-simulating medium, xylan, or pectin, by 35S labeling techniques for microbial protein, or by transmission electron microscopic studies of bacterium-fiber interactions . Rumen volume and water flow from the rumen were not different for sheep fed each of the forages . Rumen fungi were prevalent in sheep fed sulfur-fertilized D . pentzii as shown by sporangia adhering to forage fiber and by colonies developing from zoospores in roll tubes with cellobiose plus streptomycin and penicillin . Fungi were absent or in extremely small numbers in sheep fed unfertilized forage . Nylon bag digestibility studies showed that the fungi preferentially colonized the lignified cells of blade sclerenchyma by 6 h and caused extensive degradation by 24 h . In the absence of bacteria in in vitro studies, extensive hyphal development occurred; other lignified tissues in blades (i.e., mestome sheath and xylem) were attacked, resulting in a residue with partially degraded and weakened cell walls . Nonlignified tissues were also degraded . Breaking force tests of leaf blades incubated in vitro with penicillin and streptomycin and rumen fluid from sheep fed sulfur-fertilized forage or within nylon bags in such sheep showed a residue at least twice as fragile as that from sheep fed unfertilized forage . In vitro tests for dry matter loss showed that rumen fungi, in the absence of actively growing bacteria, could remove about 62% of the forage material . The response of rumen fungi in sheep fed sulfur-fertilized D . pentzii afforded a useful in vivo test to study the role of these microbes in fiber degradation . Our data establish that rumen fungi can be significant degraders of fiber and further establish a unique role for them in attacking and weakening lignocellulosic tissues . The more fragile residues resulting from attack by fungi could explain the greater intake consistently observed by sheep eating sulfur-fertilized compared with unfertilized D . pentzii forage.

Rev Infect Dis, 1983 Sep-Oct, 5 Suppl 4, S823 - 32
Genetic regulation of host resistance to bacterial infection; Skamene E; Genetic analysis of host resistance to microbes represents a valuable tool for studies of the pathogenesis of infection . Marked intraspecies differences in resistance or susceptibility among inbred mice are invariably the result of a particular genetic makeup of the host . Appropriate breeding experiments can be designed for the study of the mode of inheritance and of the chromosomal location of the resistance genes . Phenotypic expression of such genetic control can formally be proven by analysis of the linkage of the traits of resistance or susceptibility to their candidate cellular and molecular mechanisms in segregating progeny and in recombinant, mutant, and congenic inbred strains . By division of the course of infection into discrete phases, the genetic control of multiple steps of host response becomes apparent and can be analyzed.

Rev Infect Dis, 1983 Sep-Oct, 5 Suppl 4, S759 - 77
Role of iron in microbe-host interactions; Finkelstein RA et al.; The ability of microorganisms that would like to live in or on mammalian hosts to acquire iron is a critical determinant of the host-parasite interaction . Despite the abundance of iron, its availability to microbes is restricted by the iron-binding and transport systems of the host . The successful commensal or pathogen therefore must express effective systems to compete for its iron . The acquisition of iron is thus essential, although not sufficient, for virulence . This review examines host and microbial iron-acquisition and transport mechanisms in an attempt to stimulate the reader's interest in potential "soft spots" that may be exploited prophylactically and therapeutically.

Infect Control, 1983 Sep-Oct, 4(5), 367 - 70
Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis, the prophet of bacteriology; Wyklicky H et al.; Although by 1931 I . Ph . Semmelweis' achievements and the tragedy of his life had been given their due place in the history of mankind, Alexander Frankel, formerly Theodor Billroth's assistant and later his biographer, critically stated that the discoverer of the causes of puerperal fever should have defended his discovery with facts rather than with fanaticism . It was only a few years after Semmelweis' death, for instance, that Billroth made laborious experiments . Billroth's work on Coccobacteria had important implications and even influenced Robert Koch, although his hypotheses did not really predict the pathogenic and specific nature of microbes . In 1847 Semmelweis postulated his theory; ie, that the pathological-anatomical changes which he observed in the bodies of the women who died in childbed, in their newborn infants, and in the autopsy findings on his friend Jakob Kolletschka were an entity, morphologically and clinically . He summed them up under the concept of pyemia . Even though Semmelweis was continually abhorred by the evident statistics and would have been able to prove his discovery through animal experiments, he primarily took to the pen to defend his opinion vehemently . Only the clinical facts proved him right during his lifetime; the triumph of bacteriology which began after his death made him not only the "savior of mothers" but also a genial ancestor of bacteriology.

Zh Mikrobiol Epidemiol Immunobiol, 1983 Sep, (9), 66 - 70
{Rapid method of determining the dry mass of whooping cough microbes}; Gureeva AA et al.; A colorimetric method for the rapid determination of the quantitative content of microbial mass in B . pertussis suspensions has been developed . The method is based on the indirect determination of carbon in microbial suspensions by its oxidation with the mixture consisting of potassium bichromate in concentrated sulfuric acid and the subsequent colorimetric analysis of the products of this reaction . The method ensures sufficient accuracy, the determination procedure is simple, takes not more than 2 hours and requires no complex reagents . The results thus obtained are well comparable with those obtained by the classical gravimetric method . The new method permits the determination of microbial mass in B . pertussis suspensions with a minimum concentration of 0.5 mg/ml . The method is recommended for the determination of dry microbial mass in B . pertussis suspensions.

Rev Infect Dis, 1983 Sep-Oct, 5 Suppl 4, S778 - 83
Thoughts on the evolution of strategies used by bacteria for evasion of host defenses; Gotschlich EC; The detailed study of the molecular biology of the mechanisms that pathogenic organisms employ to successfully parasitize their hosts has been very productive . An important part of the microbe's armamentarium is the ability to partially or totally evade one or more of the normal defenses of the host . While it is obvious that the molecular entities that produce these effects have an evolutionary history, as yet little attention has been devoted to this aspect . The study of the selective conditions that have given rise to a particular pathogenic property affords important perspectives on the process of mutual adaptation of the host and the parasite.

Antibiotiki, 1983 Aug, 28(8), 600 - 5
{Preparation of bioindicators for controlling the efficacy of sterilization processes}; Kalinina NM et al.; A test microbe for the control of the efficacy of vacuum steam sterilization was selected . Conditions for the spore cultivation were developed . The optimal bioindicator composition, test microbe loading, nutrient medium, pH indicator, carbohydrates and a carrier were defined.

Cesk Patol, 1983 Aug, 19(3), 164 - 77
{Regional proliferative changes in the intestines and intestinal adenocarcinoma and lymphoma in golden hamsters with "wet tail"}; Jelinek F et al.; A group of 637 golden hamsters {Mesocricetus auratus} was studied and 64 of them found suffering from wet tail syndrome . They had a regional epithelial proliferation of the gut often reminding of a tumour associated with unspecified bacilliform organisms in enterocytes . Three adult females showed a similar lesion lacking of microbes with intestinal adenocarcinoma instead . Its diffuse growth reaching mesentery was combined with secondaries in mesenteric lymph nodes . Nine older hamsters showed a malignant intestinal lymphoma in similar conditions . Mutual relations of the findings were discussed . Wet tail syndrome seemed to be an intestinal precancer.

Cell Biol Int Rep, 1983 Aug, 7(8), 611 - 6
Responses of Dictyostelium discoideum amoebae to local stimulation by light; Hader DP et al.; Single amoebae of Dictyostelium discoideum were locally stimulated with microbeams of white and monochromatic light . Low illuminance stimulation favored formation of pseudopodia at the irradiated parts of the cells, high illuminance stimulation locally suppressed the extension of pseudopodia . When the high illuminance light spot was placed on any portion of the cell other than the moving front, no response could be observed . The results are compatible with the assumption that, during their phototactic response, single amoebae detect the direction of light by a shadowing effect caused by pigments like cytochromes, and/or by light scattering of particles in the cytoplasm.

Biochim Biophys Acta, 1983 Jul 27, 732(2), 421 - 7
Fast and efficient purification of yeast plasma membranes using cationic silica microbeads; Schmidt R et al.; A fast and efficient procedure for the purification of plasma membranes of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is described . Protoplasts served as starting material . They were coated with cationic silica microbeads . After lysis, the plasma membranes were washed free from debris and cell organelles . This procedure resulted in a high yield (about 85%) of plasma membranes, as judged by measuring vanadate-sensitive ATPase as a plasma membrane marker . The enzyme was enriched 12-fold relative to the homogenate after lysis . Its specific activity was 1.5--2.0 micromol/min per mg protein, the pH optimum was 6.5, and 10 microM vanadate was sufficient to obtain maximum inhibition . Based on the assay of internal markers and electron microscopic studies, we found our preparation essentially free of contamination from other cell organelles.

Biochemistry, 1983 Jul 19, 22(15), 3636 - 40
19-nor-10-ketovitamin D derivatives: unique metabolites of vitamin D3, vitamin D2, and 25-hydroxyvitamin D3; Napoli JL et al.; Three metabolites were isolated after incubation of vitamin D3, vitamin D2, or 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 with bovine rumen microbes . They are identified as 5(E)-19-nor-10-ketovitamin D3, 5(E)-19-nor-10-ketovitamin D2, and 5(E)-19-nor-10-keto-25-hydroxyvitamin D3, respectively . The identifications were based on ultraviolet absorbance, mass spectroscopy, and chemical reactivity . All 5(E)-19-nor-10-ketovitamin D derivatives examined had an absorbance maximum at 312 nm and a characteristic fragment in their mass spectra corresponding to loss of 43 amu from their molecular ions . The vitamin D3 metabolite was identical in all essential spectral and chromatographic aspects with authentic synthetic 5(E)-19-nor-10-ketovitamin D3 . These metabolites represent a unique pathway of vitamin D metabolism and the first characterized products of microbial vitamin D metabolism . The conversion of vitamin D and its metabolites to their 19-nor-10-keto forms likely represents a detoxification mechanism.

J Histochem Cytochem, 1983 Jul, 31(7), 956 - 9
Effects of endogenous antidiuretic hormone (ADH) on macrophage phagocytosis; Fernandez-Repollet E et al.; Although several studies have indicated that antidiuretic hormone (ADH) enhances the phagocytic function of the reticuloendothelial system (RES) in shock syndromes, it remains unknown what influence ADH exerts upon the individual phagocytic components of this system . The present investigation was designed to evaluate the effects of endogenous ADH on the phagocytic activity of peritoneal macrophage cells . As a phagocytic stimuli, fluorescent methacrylate microbeads were injected intraperitoneally into Brattleboro (ADH deficient) and normal Long Evans rats in the presence and absence of exogenous ADH . Peritoneal cells were harvested 19-22 hr after the administration of the microbeads and the percent phagocytosis was determined in macrophage cells using a fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS II) . Our results indicate that the percentage of peritoneal macrophages ingesting the fluorescent methacrylate microbeads was significantly reduced in the absence of ADH (Brattleboro rats: 5.4 +/- 0.6% versus Long Evans rats: 16.8 +/- 2.3%; p less than 0.001) . In addition, our data demonstrate that exogenous administration of ADH significantly enhanced macrophage phagocytosis in Brattleboro (14.7 +/- 2.2%) and normal Long Evans (49.6 +/- 4.5%) rats . These data suggest, for the first time, that endogenous ADH might play a modulatory role in the phagocytic activity of a specific component of the RES, namely, the macrophage cell.

Antibiotiki, 1983 Jul, 28(7), 526 - 30
{Standardization of the index of biological activity of the multi-component antibiotic neomycin}; Ermolova OB et al.; The characteristic features of determination of the biological activity of neomycin and its separate components A, B and C were studied . Different sensitivity of 5 test microbes to neomycins A, B and C was observed . Bac . subtilis ATCC 6633 and Bac . cereus, var . myc . 537 were the most sensitive to neomycin A . Sar . lutea were not sensitive to neomycins A and C . The diffusion capacity of neomycin A was shown to be different from that of neomycins B and C . Even minute admixtures of neomycin A in the preparations of neomycin significantly changes the dose-response curves and affected the results of the biological activity determination.

J Cell Sci, 1983 Jul, 62, 1 - 25
Action spectrum for changes in spindle fibre birefringence after ultraviolet microbeam irradiations of single chromosomal spindle fibres in crane-fly spermatocytes; Sillers PJ et al.; Single chromosomal spindle fibres in Nephrotoma suturalis (crane-fly) spermatocytes in metaphase and anaphase were irradiated with monochromatic ultraviolet light focussed to a 2 micrometer spot . In cells in both metaphase and anaphase either the birefringence of the irradiated spindle fibre was altered in the irradiated region, or there was no change, depending on the dose and wavelength of ultraviolet light used for the irradiation . When there was an area of reduced birefringence (ARB), it moved poleward regardless of whether the associated chromosome moved poleward . When cells were irradiated in early metaphase they remained in metaphase until the ARB reached the pole . In some cells irradiated in late metaphase the chromosomes began anaphase before the ARB reached the pole; in many such cells anaphase was abnormal in that all six half-bivalents separated at the start of anaphase but none moved polewards . In all cases the ARB moved poleward at the same speed as subsequent chromosome movement; that is, at about 0.8 micrometer/min . In cells irradiated in anaphase, spindle fibre birefringence was reduced independently of blockage of chromosome movement . Because birefringence and movement were altered independently there were four classes of results: (1) in some cases there was no effect on the movement of the chromosome associated with the irradiated spindle fibre and no effect on the birefringence of the irradiated spindle fibre . (2)In some cases, primarily with 260 nm wavelength light, there was no effect on the movement of the chromosome associated with the irradiated spindle fibre and there was an effect on the birefringence of the irradiated spindle fibre . (3) In some cases, primarily with 290 nm wavelength light, there was an effect on the movement of the chromosome associated with the irradiated spindle fibre and no effect on the birefringence of the irradiated spindle fibre . (4) In some cases, primarily with 270 nm and 280 nm wavelength light, there was an effect on the movement of the chromosomes associated with the irradiated spindle fibre and there was an effect on the birefringence of the irradiated spindle fibre . The action spectrum for reducing spindle fibre birefringence in crane-fly spermatocytes had two peaks, one at 260 nm and the other, less sensitive, at 280 nm . For irradiations at 270 nm, 280 nm and 290 nm, five to fifty times more energy was needed to reduce spindle fibre birefringence than to stop chromosome movement, but for irradiations at 260 nm five times less energy was needed to reduce spindle fibre birefringence than to stop chromosome movement . The action spectrum for reducing spindle fibre birefringence is quite different from that for stopping chromosome movement.

J Anim Sci, 1983 Jul, 57 Suppl 2, 461 - 77
Rumen metabolism; Baldwin RL et al.; Understanding of ruminant digestive function has improved tremendously over the past 25 yr . This progress, viewed in retrospect, has clearly led to improvements in animal production . The encouraging aspect of this is that these improvements were made through qualitative application of our knowledge . Quantitative application of this knowledge-a major emphasis in current efforts--will likely yield even greater benefits in the future . Although we continue to identify new rumen microbes, it is suggested that the major rumen microbes have been identified . The nutritional requirements, physiological characteristics, biochemical pathways and functions of these microbes have been largely characterized . Major strides have been made toward understanding the complex interactions among rumen microbes that characterize the rumen ecosystem; microbes interact to improve the digestion of complex carbohydrates, such as cellulose, beyond the extent individual species can achieve; microbes provide nutrients required for the growth of other microbes and microbes remove products inhibitory to other microbes usually to their mutual benefit . Considerable progress has been made toward development of quantitative relationships among the chemical composition of ruminant feeds, dynamic aspects of digestion in the rumen, products of digestion absorbed by the ruminant, and, most important, how these can be manipulated to improve animal productivity.

Nurse Pract . 1983 Jul-Aug;8(7):47, 49, 52.
The microcirculation; Huether SE; The geometric organization and control of the microbed varies with different organs and tissue elements . The moment-to-moment regulation of local blood flow occurs without dominant control by the extrinsic nervous system . This enhances the exchange of fluids, solutes and blood gases, and allows rapid redistribution of blood flow during states of stress and high metabolic demand.

Zentralbl Bakteriol Mikrobiol Hyg {B}, 1983 Jun, 177(5), 375 - 93
{Comparative studies of gelatin and cellulose ester membrane filters for their suitability in determining the microorganism count in the air}; Hecker W et al.; Filtration is one of the classical methods for the determination of the microbial content of the air or the number of microbe-bearing particles in the ambient air . Hereby, the opinion prevails that gelatin foam filters yield better results than filters made of cellulose esters . Since gelatin filters are themselves by no means free from disadvantages, several tests were carried out under the conditions encounted in practice in two packaging rooms used for pharmaceutical preparations . The objective was to ascertain whether the customary cellulose ester filters really are less suitable for determination of the microbial content of the air than the filters made of soluble gelatin . Based on the results of various preliminary experiments, gamma-irradiated filters of cellulose nitrate, with a pore size of 0,45 micron, were selected from a range of tested membrane filters (Tables 1,2,4-6 and Fig . 1) and compared directly with the gelatin filters . The statistical evaluation of these tests showed that, under the chosen experimental conditions, both filters yielded the same count of organisms (Tables 3, 9 and 10, Figs . 2 and 3) . Moreover, by means of further tests, it could be proved that neither cellulose nitrate filters with a pore size of 0,8 micron, which had undergone gamma-radiations, nor filters made of the mixed esters of cellulose, which had been treated with ethylene oxide or autoclaved, differed significantly from the selected type (Tables 5-8) . This study therefore clearly demonstrates that - in addition to gelatin filters - a whole range of membrane filters made of cellulose esters yield equally good results and may be used for supervision of the microbial content of the air in closed rooms.

Dev Biol, 1983 May, 97(1), 113 - 22
Inhibition by ultraviolet light of pole cell formation in Smittia sp (Chironomidae, Diptera): action spectrum and photoreversibility; Brown PM et al.; The formation of pole cells (primordial germ cells) in Smittia sp can be inhibited by ultraviolet (uv) irradiation without causing significant mortality . Until 70 min after egg deposition, pole cells are suppressed by low uv doses applied to the posterior pole region . Microbeam irradiation of a target area including the oosome inhibits pole cell formation; this is not observed after irradiation of other target areas . The action spectrum for uv inhibition of pole cells shows a distinct peak at 260 nm; its shape suggests that a nucleic acid-protein complex acts as an effective target . Independent evidence for the involvement of a nucleic acid moiety is derived from the fact that uv inhibition of pole cell formation is photoreversible . The results are discussed in the context of pole cell determination by localized cytoplasmic components.

Arch Tierernahr, 1983 May, 33(4-5), 327 - 40
{Effect of the content of plant crude protein in the ration on the utilization of urea by the milk cow . 1 . Nitrogen digestibility and utilization of urea for bacterial protein synthesis in the rumen}; Voigt J et al.; The utilisation of feed urea in the rumen was tested in 2 experiments with a total of 4 newly lactating dairy cows (13 . . . 15 and 17 . . . 19 kg resp . milk/animal and day) with rumen and duodenal re-entrant cannulae . With the energy supply remaining constant in each case, the rations in experiment A contained 8.7, 12.4 and 14.6 and those of experiment B 10.7, 13,7 and 17.1% crude plant protein in the dry matter . After the supplementation with 120 and 150 g resp . urea/animal and day there were 11.9, 15.7 and 17.8 (A) and 13.8, 16.7 and 20.2 (B) % resp . crude protein in the dry matter . The rations consisted of maize silage and a pelleted mixture of straw and concentrated feed (A) resp . maize silage, alfalfa hay and concentrated feed (B) . They contained 10.3 . . . 10.6 (A) and 13.6 (B) kg dry matter with 5.6 . . . 6.0 (A) and 8.2 (B) . With the increase of the crude protein level of the ration to 16.7 . . . 17.8, the absolute amount of non-NH3-N (NAN) in the duodenum increased as well . Between N-intake (g/d, x) and NAN-passage corrected by the amount of the endogenous quota (g/d, y) the relation y = 87.3 + 0.55 x (r = 0.80) could be established . NAN-passage (y) as related to N-intake decreased with the N-concentration in the dry matter of the ration (x) according to the equation y = 0.35 + 1.22x-1 (r = 0.57) . 70, 62 and 61% (experiment A) and 55, 61 and 51% (experiment B) of the consumed amount of N were apparently absorbed in the intestines as NAN (without endogenous quota) . The bacterial N-yield of the rumen (g, y), determined with diamino pimelic acid as microbe marker, was dependent on the consumed digestible organic matter (g, x) as follows: y = 67.3 + 0.021x (r = 0.69) . There was no connection with the level of N-supply . The measuring results of the bacterial N-yield show that the utilisation rate of the urea-N decreased rapidly when there was more than 11 . . . 12% crude plant protein in the dry matter of the ration . For the tested ration type (570 . . . 600 EFUcattle/kg dry matter) the urea utilisation potential in the rumen for crude plant protein concentrations of 8.7, 10.7, 12.4, 13.4, 13.7, 14.6 and 17.1% in the dry matter was 13.0, 6.9, 4.1, 2.6, 1.3 and -9.6 g urea/kg dry matter.

Diabetes, 1983 May, 32(5), 478 - 81
Slow release of insulin from a biodegradable matrix implanted in diabetic rats; Goosen MF et al.; This report describes the development of a long-acting insulin accomplished by the slow release of hormone from an implantable, biodegradable matrix . Rats made diabetic with streptozotocin received a single subcutaneous implant of insulin-albumin microbeads that released biologically active insulin for periods up to 3 wk . The mean fasting blood glucose level for treated animals was 88 mg/dl as compared with 392 mg/dl for untreated diabetic controls . With a mean starting body weight of 187 g, treated animals gained weight reaching a mean weight of 228 g; in contrast, untreated animals lost weight to a mean of 175 g . When insulin-albumin microbeads were periodically implanted and removed, lower blood glucose levels were only associated with the presence of the implants . The microbead implants biodegraded in 4-8 wk, thus obviating the need for surgical removal . These results suggest that a long-acting insulin may be produced by the entrapment of insulin within a biodegradable matrix.

Br J Nutr, 1983 May, 49(3), 433 - 40
The effect of free and protected oils on the digestion of dietary carbohydrates between the mouth and duodenum of sheep; McAllan AB et al.; Sheep fitted with rumen and re-entrant duodenal cannulas were given diets of approximately 200 g hay and 400 g concentrate mixture alone, or supplemented daily with 40 g linseed or coconut oils free or protected with formaldehyde-casein in a 5 x 5 Latin-square arrangement . Chromic oxide paper was given as a marker at feeding time and passage to the duodenum of neutral-detergent fibre (NDF) and different sugars were estimated from the values for constituent:marker at the duodenum . Contributions of microbial carbohydrates to these flows were estimated from amounts of RNA present . The carbohydrate composition of mixed rumen bacteria from sheep rumen digesta were similar regardless of diet . Of the sugars entering the duodenum all the rhamnose and ribose and 0.51, 0.24 and 0.35 of the mannose, galactose and starch-glucose respectively, were contributed by the microbes . Virtually all the arabinose, xylose and cellulose-glucose were contributed by the diet . For sheep receiving the basal ration, coefficients of digestibility between mouth and duodenum, corrected where necessary for microbial contribution, were 0.95, 0.66, 0.67, 0.62, 0.45 and 0.51 for starch-glucose, mannose, arabinose, galactose, xylose and cellulose-glucose respectively . Corresponding values when free-oil-supplemented diets were given were 0.95, 0.55, 0.38, 0.55, 0.01 and -0.02 respectively . Values for diets supplemented with linseed oil or coconut oil did not differ significantly . Addition of protected oils to the basal feed also resulted in depressed digestibilities of dietary structural sugars but to a far lesser extent than those observed with the free oils . Apparent digestibility of NDF was altered in the same direction as those of the main structural sugars, averaging 0.50, 0.17 and 0.29 in animals receiving the basal, free-oil-supplemented or protected-oil-supplemented diets respectively . The reasons for the difference between NDF and discrete carbohydrate analytical totals are discussed.

Nature, 1983 Apr 14, 302(5909), 629 - 30
Entrapment of animal cells for production of monoclonal antibodies and other biomolecules; Nilsson K et al.; Animal cell technology is attracting considerable interest because of the capacity of animal cell cultures to synthesize or transform complex compounds such as virus vaccines, immunochemicals, hormones or enzymes . For the growth of surface-dependent cells, microcarrier technology is gaining importance . Here, we have attempted to immobilize surface-independent cells, normally grown in suspension, by entrapping them in polymer microbeads . Such entrapment should give increased stability to the normally fragile animal cells, allow for high cell densities to be achieved within the beads and make such preparations suitable for continuous operation . At the same time, the need for separation of the desired product from the cells is obviated . With the model systems studied, we showed that hybridoma, as well as other cell lines entrapped in agarose microbeads, remained viable . Both immunoglobulins and lymphokines were exported through the microbeads into the medium for 1-3 weeks, at levels corresponding well to those produced with free cells.

Tijdschr Diergeneeskd, 1983 Apr 1, 108(7), 294 - 9
{Degradation of cereal straw with lye}; Prins RA et al.; Straw is a plentiful agricultural waste product . It cannot be used as the sole feed for ruminants and it cannot even serve to satisfy maintenance requirements . The rumen microbes are not capable of breaking down the cell walls in cereal straw rapidly enough or to a sufficient extent . To improve the utilization of straw, efforts were made to treat this material by physical, chemical and biological methods . Some of these procedures will only improve the intake of straw by the animal, whereas the primary object continues to be the improvement of digestibility . Alkali treatment of straw is the most suitable method for this purpose . The mode of action of alkali on the cell walls of straw is described in the present paper.

Am J Med, 1983 Apr, 74(4), 686 - 93
Polymorphonuclear leukocytes: dedicated professional phagocytes; Wade BH et al.; Polymorphonuclear leukocytes are termed professional phagocytes because they are specially equipped to seek and destroy invading microorganisms . Polymorphonuclear leukocytes are formed in the bone marrow and released into the circulation, where they are transported to the tissues . At sites of tissue invasion by microorganisms, humoral factors are released that induce these cells to leave the bloodstream and enter the tissues . Chemotactic substances guide polymorphonuclear leukocytes to the infecting organisms . Antibody and complement can function as opsonins and enhance the ability of polymorphonuclear leukocytes to engulf microbes . Ingested organisms are killed by oxidative or nonoxidative systems . Defects in the various aspects of polymorphonuclear leukocyte function may be found in patients with recurrent, severe, or unusual infections . Evaluation of selected patients with recurrent infections should include tests of polymorphonuclear leukocyte function.

JAMA, 1983 Mar 25, 249(12), 1553 - 4
Patentability of genetically engineered microorganisms; Cooper A; KIE: A lawyer in the Office of the General Counsel of the American Medical Association discusses the case history and implications of the Supreme Court decision Diamond v . Chakrabarty . The court held that genetically engineered microorganisms were patentable subject matter under the Patent Act . Disclaiming broad application of its decision, the court limited its opinion to microbes engineered by Chakrabarty's method and deferred public policy issues to the legislative process, leaving the decision whether other life forms are patentable to the Patent Office and lower courts .

Exp Cell Res, 1983 Mar, 144(1), 234 - 40
Establishment of nucleolar deficient sublines of PtK2 (Potorous tridactylis) by ultraviolet laser microirradiation; Liang H et al.; One of the two nucleoli of tetraploid PtK2 WA cells in early prophase was irradiated with an ultraviolet (UV) laser microbeam . The daughter cells that maintained the nucleolar deficiency were isolated and cloned . Five nucleolar deficient sublines of PtK2 WA were established, thus providing an experimental system to study the ribosomal gene-nucleolar organizer complex.

Bull Eur Physiopathol Respir, 1983 Mar-Apr, 19(2), 115 - 22
{Mechanisms of intracellular microbicide}; Mauel J; The understanding of mechanisms whereby phagocytic cells destroy intracellular microorganisms has progressed considerably in recent years . The interaction of phagocytes with microbes starts with binding of the latter to the phagocyte . This binding can be mediated by opsonins on the microorganisms, which then interact with appropriate receptors on the phagocyte surface . Other types of receptors, such as lectins, may also be involved in this process . Following internalization, the microbe will be enclosed in a vesicle (the phagosome), whose membrane is derived from the plasma membrane of the phagocytic cell . The phagosome will then normally undergo fusion with primary or secondary lysosomes . Various mechanisms can then lead to intracellular killing; some depend on oxidative processes, whereas other are independent of the oxidative metabolism . The former involve the activation of membrane enzyme systems that lead to a stimulation of oxygen uptake (the "respiratory burst"), and its reduction to molecular species that are highly toxic for microorganisms . Differences appear to exist in this regard between alveolar macrophages and other phagocytes, in which the respiratory burst is of higher magnitude . Oxygen-independent microbicidal mechanisms are based on the production of acid, on the secretion of lysozyme, on iron-binding proteins, and on the synthesis of toxic cationic polypeptides . Both oxygen-dependent and independent mechanisms appear to be increased in activated macrophages . Certain microorganisms have evolved countermeasures which enable them to avoid being destroyed by phagocytes; these are well illustrated by studies of the interaction between macrophages and protozoan parasites . Parasites such as Toxoplasma gondii (as well as certain mycobacteria) are able to inhibit fusion of phagosomes with lysosomes, thus escaping from the potentially harmful action of lysosomal hydrolases . Other microorganisms are able to resist the effect of such enzymes, perhaps by secreting inhibitory substances . Other still avoid lysosomes by leaving the phagocytic vacuole, to reach the cytosolic matrix where their development is unhindered . Finally, some microbes have enzymes to detoxify oxygen metabolites formed during the respiratory burst . Intracellular death or survival will thus depend on a delicate balance between several factors, some of which appear to be under genetic control.

Environ Health Perspect, 1983 Mar, 49, 247 - 60
Developing standards for environmental toxicants: the need to consider abiotic environmental factors and microbe-mediated ecologic processes; Babich H et al.; This article suggests and discusses two novel aspects for the formulation of standards for environmental toxicants . First, uniform national standards for each pollutant will be underprotective for some ecosystems and overprotective for others, inasmuch as the toxicity of a pollutant to the indigenous biota is dependent on the physicochemical properties of the recipient environment . As the number of chemicals that need regulation is immense and as microbes appear to respond similarly to pollutant-abiotic factor interactions as do plants and animals, it is suggested that microbial assays be used initially to identify those abiotic factors that most influence the toxicity of specific pollutants . Thereafter, additional studies using plants and animals can focus on these pollutant-abiotic factor interactions, and more meaningful standards can then be formulated more rapidly and inexpensively . Second, it is suggested that the response to pollutants of microbe-mediated ecologic processes be used to quantitate the sensitivity of different ecosystems to various toxicants . Such a quantification, expressed in terms of an "ecological dose 50%" (EcD50), could be easily incorporated into the methodologies currently used to set water quality criteria and would also be applicable to setting criteria for terrestrial ecosystems.

Cell Biophys, 1983 Mar, 5(1), 21 - 31
Induced genetic deficiency of the nucleolar organizer in rat kangaroo cells (PTK1) by ultraviolet laser microirradiation; Liang H et al.; An ultraviolet laser microbeam was used to irradiate one of the two nucleolar organizer regions of PTK1 cells in early prophase . The directed nucleolar deficiency induced by ultraviolet laser irradiation was maintained in the daughter cells through subsequent cell generations . However, the frequent occurrence of spontaneous cell fusion in low density cells following the cloning procedure facilitated a recovery of cells to two or more nucleoli.

J Cell Biol, 1983 Feb, 96(2), 548 - 61
Ultraviolet microbeam irradiations of mitotic diatoms: investigation of spindle elongation; Leslie RJ et al.; Our simple instrumentation for generating a UV-microbeam is described UV microbeam irradiations of the central spindle in the pennate diatom Hantzschia amphioxys have been examined through correlated birefringence light microscopy and TEM . A precise correlation between the region of reduced birefringence and the UV-induced lesion in the microtubules (MTs) of the central spindle is demonstrated . The UV beam appears to dissociate MTs, as MT fragments were rarely encountered . The forces associated with metaphase and anaphase spindles have been studied via localized UV-microbeam irradiation of the central spindle . These spindles were found to be subjected to compressional forces, presumably exerted by stretched or contracting chromosomes . Comparisons are made with the results of other writers . These compressional forces caused the poles of a severed anaphase spindle to move toward each other and the center of the cell . As these poles moved centrally, the larger of the two postirradiational central spindle remnants elongated with a concomitant decrease in the length of the overlap . Metaphase spindles, in contrast, did not elongate nor lose their overlap region . Our interpretation is that the force for anaphase spindle elongation in Hantzschia is generated between half-spindles in the region of MT overlap.

J Dent Res, 1983 Feb, 62(2), 92 - 5
Microbeam x-ray diffraction analysis of dental calculus; Kani T et al.; The crystalline components of human dental calculus were investigated using microbeam x-ray diffraction analysis . Hydroxyapatite and octacalcium phosphate were most frequently found in that portion having porous and zonal structure . In the portion of the homogeneous illustration showing high calcification, whitlockite is a main component . Brushite was unexpectedly rare, and no calcite was detected in any portion of human dental calculus . The mechanism of the formation of dental calculus being considered in this paper is that octacalcium phosphate or brushite is formed during the initial stage of calcification of dental plaque, and is gradually hydrolyzed and transformed into hydroxyapatite and/or whitlockite.

Biochem J, 1983 Jan 15, 210(1), 215 - 25
Iodination by stimulated human neutrophils . Studies on its stoichiometry, subcellular localization and relevance to microbial killing; Segal AW et al.; Myeloperoxidase of phagocytic leucocytes is thought to utilize H2O2 to oxidize halides, which then react with and kill ingested microbes . This hypothesis was based largely on the incorporation of radiolabelled iodide into cells that had phagocytosed bacteria . The present studies investigated the stoichiometry of these reactions and the subcellular localization and electrophoretic pattern of the cellular components that became iodinated . 1 . The stoichiometry of the reactions are such that only a small proportion (less than 0.3%) of the total oxygen consumed is utilized for iodination . Iodination after stimulation with the soluble stimulus phorbol myristate acetate (PMA), which is not known to involve the azurophil granules and their contained myeloperoxidase, was comparable with that occurring after bacterial ingestion . 2 . Analytical subcellular fractionation of cells that had phagocytosed bacteria localized about 25% of the radioactivity to the membranes, and most of the residual radioactivity distributed with the bacteria and dense granules . In cells stimulated with PMA, more of the radioactivity was associated with the membranes, but about half was still associated with the dense granules . 3 . Autoradiographs after dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis of cells stimulated with opsonized bacteria gave a similar distribution of iodinated components to that obtained with cells that had been stimulated with PMA or iodinated with Iodogen . These patterns of iodination were very different from those obtained when bacteria alone were iodinated with Iodogen or myeloperoxidase and H2O2 . Preparations in which bacteria had been phagocytosed did not show evidence of iodination of bacterial proteins or coating opsonins . Thus positive evidence for the iodination of bacteria has not been produced, and the role of iodination in the microbicidal process of neutrophils remains to be established.

Int Surg, 1983 Jan-Mar, 68(1), 31 - 2
The efficacy of adhesive plastic incise drapes in preventing wound contamination; Ha'eri GB; A direct method of tracing the bacterial indicators (Human Albumin Microspheres) for evaluation of adhesive plastic incision drapes was used . The particles were sprayed on the prepared skin beneath the plastic incision drape in 30 operations . At the end of the operation, wound irrigates were collected for retrieval of the particles . No particles could be detected in any of the procedures studied . It was shown that, when a plastic incise drape is properly applied, it conforms to the skin and no air bubbles or pockets of fluid will form beneath or around the incised edge of the drape . It will remain tightly adherent to the skin throughout the operative procedure . Used in this manner, plastic incise drapes can aid in preventing the migration of skin microbes into the surgical wound as was demonstrated by the complete absence of simulated bacterial indicators in all 30 of the wound irrigates that were examined.

Med Hypotheses, 1983 Jan, 10(1), 37 - 41
Antibiosis and cancer: clue to cure; Greentree LB; Antibiotics are chemical substances produced by living microorganisms which have the capacity to inhibit or kill other microbes of a different class . They were used successfully to revolutionize the treatment of infectious disease several decades ago . It is hypothesized that the concept of antibiosis or microbe antagonism will do the same for the treatment of cancer during the forseeable future . It is predicted that anti-cancer antibiotics, still mostly unidentified in the environment, which can be classified as being Biologic Response Modifiers to enhance the host's natural immune defenses against cancer, will prove to be the chief weapon to win the final battle against invasive cancer . However, to reach that goal the basic laws of immunity, including that of anamnesis, will have to be implemented and not ignored.

Int Arch Allergy Appl Immunol, 1983, 71(2), 126 - 30
Antigen release from Thermoactinomyces vulgaris by lysozyme treatment; Ojanen TH et al.; Lysozyme treatment was used to release antigenic material from Thermoactinomyces vulgaris, one of the microbes associated with farmer's lung . Lysozyme caused degradation of the murein layer visualized as changes and disappearance of the bacterial morphology in scanning electron microscopy . Enrichment of different antigenic components in the lysozyme extract and in the cell residue, respectively, was detected by immunoprecipitation . When lysozyme extract and cell residue antigens were used in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to test sera of farmer's lung patients and control persons, it became evident that there was no significant difference between the reactions against the two antigens . However, a number of sera reacted preferentially against one or the other of the two antigens.

Immun Infekt, 1983 Jan, 11(1), 3 - 15
{Clinical significance and pathogenesis of drug- or microbe-induced autoimmune hemolytic anemias}; Schubothe H et al.; Methyldopa and several other drugs, continuously taken over months or years, may induce autoimmunity in persons having a probably genetic predisposition . The autoimmunity is reversible after discontinuation of the drug . A number of infectious agents may lead to the same effect . The autoantibodies can react with different autologous targets, for instance red blood cells . This may occasionally cause an autoimmune haemolytic anaemia . The two pathogenetic cardinal points are discussed in the case of the methyldopa-induced autoimmune haemolytic anaemia: the induction of the process results very probably by inhibiting or blocking of the competent suppressor-T-lymphocytes, which normally prevent an autoantibody production, representing a form of chemical "contrasuppression" . This has been demonstrated in cultures of peripheral human blood lymphocytes of patients on methyldopa therapy . The second pathogenetic cardinal point is the effect of the autoantibody after its binding to the drugs investigated up to now . Rarely it is pathogenic . This relation is exactly contrary to the idiopathic warm autoantibody anaemia and remains an unsolved problem . A reversible selective deficiency of suppressor-T-cells has also to be postulated for other autoimmune haemolytic anaemias and autoimmune diseases induced by drugs or infectious agents.

J Med, 1983, 14(4), 271 - 80
New concepts in medical bacteriology; O'Brien TF et al.; Traditional tests employed in a clinical microbiology laboratory for speciation of bacteria rely upon the presence of one or more gene products (biochemical profile) from a population of bacterial cells . These traits have been stable over a relatively long period of time, and the techniques have served us well . Current technology allows for modification and potential improvement of this system . By chemically separating DNA strands and employing recombinant DNA techniques, direct identification of bacteria becomes possible . These methods can be adapted directly to the clinical setting . In addition, specific gene products yield clinical disease; monoclonal antibodies directed against these products may speciate a bacterium indirectly through a unique gene product . Specific gene products also provide markers for epidemiologic investigation . All these technologies should find frequent clinical application in the next several years . The discoveries a century ago that germs cause infection and that different germs cause different infections prompted the development of a system of taxonomy for pathogenic microbes . It then became apparent that the identity of the germ infecting a patient could tell us more about his or her diagnosis and prognosis than could all of the clinical skills accumulated up to that time.

Springer Semin Immunopathol, 1983, 6(4), 283 - 326
Synthesis of complement by macrophages and modulation of their functions through complement activation; Hartung HP et al.; During the last decade considerable progress has been made to characterize intimate functional links between macrophages, a major cellular component of immunoinflammatory responses, and the complement system representing the major humoral mediator of inflammation . Macrophages of various species and tissue sites have been shown to synthesize and release most of the complement components providing these cells with their own "pericellular" complement system . Circumstantial evidence for the assembly of both classical and alternative pathway convertases has been adduced . An intricate network of feedback loops involving endogenous and extrinsic factors operates to adjust complement production to acute requirements, for example augmenting production in the face of accelerated turnover at sites of inflammation, and returning it to baseline levels once the inflammatory stimulus has subsided, in order to maintain a fine-tuned balance . The molecular mechanisms underlying regulation of complement synthesis by macrophages are beginning to be elucidated by use of gene technology . On the other hand, complement activation products exert a number of effects on macrophages via specific surface receptors causing internalization of offending agents, microbes, and immune complexes, promotion of intracellular killing, controlling migration behavior, inducing release of potent biologic substances such as lysosomal enzymes, arachidonic acid metabolites, and interleukin 1 . In these interactions, two important humoral mediator systems of inflammation, the complement system and the arachidonic acid cascade, are functionally linked at the level of the macrophage . Stimulation of the release of immunomodulating compounds from macrophages invoke a role for complement in immune regulation . This multifaceted interplay is of particular importance considering the mobility of macrophages that allows them to gain almost unrestricted access to sites of ongoing immunoinflammatory responses . The time seems to have come to abandon the petrified thinking in socalled systems as, for instance, humoral versus cellular, specific versus unspecific, and to proceed to interlocking functions guided by physiology proper.

Z Erkr Atmungsorgane, 1983, 161(1), 15 - 20
{The importance of Robert Koch's discovery for the development of bacteriology}; Schmidt G; On March 24th, 1882 Robert Koch reported to the Physiological Society of Berlin the discovery of microbes causing tuberculosis . Simultaneously he expressed his views on the pathogenesis of this nation-wide disease . With his work he contributed decisively to the development of a theory on infectious process . The results of his investigations on cholera and typhoid fever greatly stimulated the development of the epidemiology of contagious diseases.

Crit Rev Microbiol, 1983, 10(3), 261 - 95
Factors influencing microbe insecticide interactions; Rup Lal; Microorganisms are present in almost all environmental components where insecticides are used and they will, therefore, encounter with the latter . In simplest terms, such interactions can be considered as (1) the action of microbes on insecticides and (2) the action of insecticides on microbes . These interactions can not be as clearly understood without understanding the influence of environmental factors that control the fate and activity of microorganisms . The proposed review will focus on two areas . The first is related to the test methods used to study the microbial insecticide interaction, the second area is concerned with the influence of environmental factors on the action of microbes and vice versa.

Annu Rev Med, 1983, 34, 47 - 53
Infections and hypocomplementemia; Goldstein IM et al.; The complement system, phagocytic leukocytes, and antibodies constitute the "department of defense" in the battle against infections caused by pyogenic microorganisms . Complement components are capable of directly killing (by lysis) certain susceptible bacteria and are the source of chemotactic peptides and heat-labile opsonin, which facilitate recognition and killing of microbes by phagocytic cells . When these vital functions are compromised, as in individuals with inherited deficiencies of complement components, the result is unusual susceptibility to severe infections.

Rev Infect Dis, 1983 Jan-Feb, 5(1), 137 - 47
Zinc and infection; Sugarman B; Zinc is necessary for the normal functioning of all living systems . In microbes and mammals vital biological roles of zinc include the presence of this metal in metalloenzymes and membrane stabilization . In addition, zinc may bind nonspecifically to sulfhydryl, histidine, or other moieties on membranes, enzymes, or other proteins and alter their activity . Serum levels of zinc decrease sharply in many infections . Levels slightly below normal seem to be associated with optimal phagocytic function, and low concentrations of zinc may decrease microbial virulence . Brief decreases in serum levels appear to have no detrimental effect on host immunity and may act as a protective measure by decreasing the ability of indigenous or infecting microbes to thrive . However, prolonged zinc deficiency in mammals is associated with depressed T-cell function but near normal B-cell function . More work is needed for better understanding of zinc-related biochemistry and for determining the relationship between zinc status and susceptibility to infection in mammals.

Ann N Y Acad Sci, 1983, 416, 332 - 50
Interaction of phagocytes with other blood cells and with pathogenic and nonpathogenic microbes; van Oss CJ et al.; Owing to the high surface tension of blood cells and to the equally high surface tension of their liquid habitat, the Hamaker coefficients A131 of blood cells (subscript 1) in blood (subscript 3), are unusually small; they are of the order of 0.25 to 2.5 X 10(-16) ergs . The very small van der Waals attractions such low Hamaker coefficients give rise to, coupled to the medium low but still sizable negative xi-potentials (-11 to -18 mV) of the cells, which cause an appreciable mutual electrostatic repulsion between blood cells, have been used to elaborate potential energy vs . distance diagrams, which closely reflect the unusual stability of blood cells in blood . When bacteria find their way into the bloodstream, they initially form an almost equally stable suspension . However, relatively hydrophobic nonpathogenic bacteria quickly aspecifically adsorb immunoglobulin G (IgG) molecules from blood serum, whilst hydrophilic pathogenic bacteria sooner or later also become coated with specific antibody molecules of the IgG-class . Through receptor sites on the surface of phagocytic blood cells, which can specifically bind to the Fc tails of IgG molecules, bacteria are first bound and then removed from the blood circulation and surrounding tissues . These Fc-receptor bonds presumably also are of a combined van der Waals and electrostatic nature . Thus in the normal course of events and by purely physicochemical mechanisms, phagocytic leukocytes will neither interfere with other leukocytes nor with any other blood cells, whilst they specifically interact with microorganisms and other unwanted foreign particles via IgG-IgG-receptor interactions . Also discussed, in the light of the principles elaborated above, are: some of the antiphagocytic mechanisms developed by certain pathogenic bacteria; the phagocytic disposal of aged, weak, or abnormal blood cells; and the role played by immunoglobulins other than IgG, and by complement, in the removal of bacteria and viruses.

Biochim Biophys Acta, 1982 Dec 31, 683(3-4), 181 - 220
Thermodynamics of growth . Non-equilibrium thermodynamics of bacterial growth . The phenomenological and the mosaic approach; Westerhoff HV et al.; Microbial growth is analyzed in terms of mosaic and phenomenological non-equilibrium thermodynamics . It turns out that already existing parameters devised to measure bacterial growth, such as YATP, mu, and Q substrate, have as thermodynamic equivalents flow ratio, output flow and input flow . With this characterisation it becomes possible to apply much of the already existing knowledge of phenomenological non-equilibrium thermodynamics to bacterial growth . One of the conclusions is that the frequent observation that YATP is only 50% of its theoretical maximum does not mean that the microbe corresponds to a thermodynamic system that has been optimized for maximal output power, as has been suggested . Rather, at least in some cases, it corresponds to a system that has been optimized towards maximum growth rate . When the degree of reduction of the (single) carbon source is significantly smaller than that of the biomass produced, the efficiency of biomass synthesis has been kept as high (i.e., about 24%) as is consistent with maximization of the growth rate at optimal efficiency . Mosaic thermodynamics allows an analysis of processes which in microbial metabolism may be responsible for any particular growth behaviour . Equations are derived that predict the effect of uncoupling through leaks, futile cycling, or 'slip' on microbial growth . It turns out that uncoupling is expected to affect both the growth rate-independent and the growth rate-dependent 'maintenance coefficient' . The effect on the latter is different when catabolic substrate limits growth than when anabolic substrate limits growth . In the latter case, the growth rate-dependent maintenance coefficient is negative . It is concluded that mosaic non-equilibrium thermodynamics will be a powerful theoretical tool especially in future experimental analyses of the metabolic basis for microbial growth characteristics and growth regulation.

Endocrinology, 1982 Dec, 111(6), 1909 - 16
Insulin is present in chicken eggs and early chick embryos; De Pablo F et al.; We showed that insulin appears in the chick embryo before beta-cells are recognizable, as well as in the egg constituents even before fertilization . Acid-ethanol extracts of 2- to 8-day-old embryos were gel-filtered on Sephadex G-50 . The peak of immunoreactive insulin chromatographed in a position corresponding to that of authentic insulin . The immunoreactive insulin extracted from embryos was approximately 2 ng/g wet wt during early embryogenesis (days 2, 3, and 4), with a 2- to 3- fold increase by days 5 and 6, in conjunction with pancreatic development . The heads of the embryos contributed 22-23% of the total insulin on days 3 and 4, but only 5% by day 5 . Based on its reactivity in a pork insulin RIA, chicken insulin RIA, and rat adipocyte bioassay, we concluded that the material is very similar to avian (chicken or turkey) rather than mammalian type insulin . Similar immunological and biological insulin-like activity {but at much lower concentrations (0.2-0.8 ng/ml)} were recovered from the gel-filtered acid-ethanol extracts of yolk and white of unfertilized and fertilized eggs . This study, which shows that insulin is present at a very early stage in ontogeny, extends observations that insulin is native to organisms that lack pancreatic islets, including flies, worms, and microbes.

Can J Physiol Pharmacol, 1982 Nov, 60(11), 1346 - 52
The pathophysiology of superoxide: roles in inflammation and ischemia; McCord JM et al.; The superoxide radical plays major roles in the neutrophil-medicated acute inflammatory response and in postischemic tissue injury, although the sources and actions of the radical are quite different in these two pathological states . While neutrophils produce superoxide for the primary purpose of aiding in the killing of ingested microbes, a second useful function has evolved . The superoxide released from actively phagocytosing neutrophils serves to attract more neutrophils by reacting with, and activating, a latent chemotactic factor present in plasma . Superoxide dismutase, by preventing the activation of this superoxide-dependent chemotactic factor, exerts potent anti-inflammatory action . During ischemia, energy-starved tissues catabolize ATP to hypoxanthine . Calcium transients in these cells appear to activate a calmodulin regulated protease which attacks the enzyme xanthine dehydrogenase, converting it to a xanthine oxidase capable of superoxide generation . When the tissue is reperfused and reoxygenated, all the necessary components are present (xanthine oxidase, hypoxanthine, and oxygen) to produce a burst of superoxide which results in extensive tissue damage . Ischemic tissues are protected by superoxide dismutase or allupurinol, an inhibitor of xanthine oxidase.

Antibiotiki, 1982 Nov, 27(11), 850 - 3
{Ultrastructural changes in populations of the pertussis microbe exposed to antibiotics}; Efimova OG et al.; The ultrastructural changes in the populations of the pertussis causative agent maintained for a prolonged period of time on nutrient media containing antibiotics were studied with the method of electron microscopy . Significant changes in the ultrastructure of the cells and the population composition due to the effect of tetracycline, levomycetin or erythromycin were observed . The ultrastructure of the populations affected by penicillin or streptomycin and their biological properties were most similar to those of the initial strains . The electronogrammes revealed morphological heterogeneity of the initial and experimental cultures and changes in the subpopulation composition induced by the antibiotics.

Antibiotiki, 1982 Nov, 27(11), 844 - 50
{Changes in the biological properties of the pertussis microbe exposed to antibiotics}; Bakulina NA et al.; Experimental modeling of the process of variation of the pertussis causative agent grown on the casein-carbon agar medium with subtoxic doses of the widely used antibiotics was performed . Significant changes in the morphological, cultural and serological properties of the pertussis microbe, in its sensitivity to the antibiotics and bacteriocins, in the activity of glutamine synthetase and in the electrophoretic mobility of the protein components were shown . The antigen structure determined with the method of immune electrophoresis in the agar gel and the biochemical properties were the stable characteristics defining the population taxonomic position as Bordetella pertussis . Possible occurrence of atypical strains of the pertussis causative agent in the patients with the cough syndrome treated with the antibiotics is indicated . It is suggested that antibiotics may play a significant role in redistribution of subpopulations with different functional properties in the population of the pertussis microbe.

J Cell Biol, 1982 Nov, 95(2 Pt 1), 589 - 97
ATP reactivation of the rotary axostyle in termite flagellates: effects of dynein ATPase inhibitors; Yamin MA et al.; The anterior end or head of a devescovinid flagellate from termites continually rotates in a clockwise direction relative to the rest of the cell . Previous laser microbeam experiments showed that rotational motility is caused by a noncontractile axostyle complex which runs from the head through the cell body and generates torque along its length . We report here success in obtaining glycerinated cell models of the rotary axostyle which, upon addition of ATP, undergo reactivation and exhibit rotational movements similar to those observed in vivo . Reactivation of rotational motility and flagellar beating of the models requires ATP or ADP and is competitively inhibited by nonhydrolyzable ATP analogs (AMP-PNP and ATP-gamma-S) . N-ethylmaleimide, p-hydroxymercuribenzoate, and mersalyl acid also blocked reactivation of both the rotary axostyle and flagella . Vanadate and erythro-9-{3-(2-hydroxynonyl)}-adenine (EHNA) selectively inhibited flagellar reactivation without effecting rotational motility . These results, together with previous ultrastructural findings, suggest that the rotary axostyle does not operate by a dynein-based mechanism but may be driven by an actomyosin system with a circular arrangement of interacting elements.

Schweiz Med Wochenschr, 1982 Oct 9, 112(41), 1403 - 11
{Phagocytes and phagocytosis 100 years after Metchnikoff . A current picture of the neutrophil leukocyte}; Baggiolini M; The observation of the amoebocytes of primitive organisms led ELIAS METSCHNIKOFF in 1882 to the idea that blood phagocytes--neutrophilic leukocytes in particular--could constitute an anti-microbial defense system . This was the beginning of the phagocyte theory which METSCHNIKOFF developed over many years and which in essence is still valid . The author sets out to provide an updated view of the neutrophil . Circulating neutrophils are end-cells . They develop in the bone marrow by a relatively long maturation process during which the characteristic azurophil and specific granules are formed . The granules are stored organelles . The azurophil granules contain microbicidal enzymes, i.e . myeloperoxidase and lysozyme, together with a large number of acid hydrolases and neutral proteases . The specific granules contain lysozyme, a collagenase, lactoferrin and transcobalamines . By subcellular fractionation a third kind of storage organelle has recently been found which is characterized by its gelatinase content . Circulating neutrophils are activated on microbial invasion--first in the blood, by chemotactic factors formed at the site of infection, and subsequently by the microbes themselves which are phagocytosed by the immigrating neutrophils . Chemotactic factors lead to directed migration and induce the secretion of enzymes which presumably facilitate this process . Phagocytosis results in the mobilization of neutrophil products in large quantities . The contact between the cell and the microorganism activates in the neutrophil membrane an oxidase which produces superoxide, and a phospholipase which releases arachidonic acid . The latter is then oxidized by cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase . There is also massive liberation of enzymes from all three storage compartments . The production of superoxide is the essential process for the killing of a large variety of microorganisms.

Antibiotiki, 1982 Oct, 27(10), 732 - 7
{Production of 14-substituted derivatives of carminomycin and rubomycin}; Olsuf'eva EN et al.; 14-Bromocarminomycin and 14-bromorubomycin were treated with alkali metal salts and nitrogen heterocycles to obtain 14-acetoxycarminomycin, 14-octamoylhydroxycarminomycin, 14-salicyloylhydroxycarminomycin, 14-salicyloylhydroxyrubomycin, 14-chinaldinoylhydroxyrubomycin and rubomycin 14-N-phthalimide, rubomycin 14-N-pyridinium bromide and 14-N-imidazolylrubomycin . It was shown that the reaction rate of the nucleophilic substitution in the acetone medium could be increased with the use of crown ethers of sodium iodide . Under such conditions 14-iodinecarminomycin and 14-iodinerubomycin, two intermediate products, partially reduced to the initial antibiotics, i.e . carminomycin and rubomycin . 14-Acetoxycarminomycin had the highest activity against Bac . mycoides, used as a test microbe . It amounted to 50 per cent, while the activity of the other derivatives did not exceed 25 per cent of the activity of the initial antibiotics.

Zh Mikrobiol Epidemiol Immunobiol, 1982 Oct, (10), 37 - 9
{Elaboration of a method of stabilizing the protective fraction of pertussis microbes}; Bazhanova IG et al.; A method for stabilizing adsorbed preparations of the protective fraction of B . pertussis has been developed; according to this method, a colloid suspension of protective protein in phosphate buffer is obtained, the protein is then adsorbed on aluminium hydroxide gel and lyophilized with 10% of sucrose . If stored at 4 degrees C, these dried preparations have been found to retain their immunogenicity for 1 year.

Br J Nutr, 1982 Sep, 48(2), 377 - 89
A comparison of methods for the estimation of microbial nitrogen in duodenal digesta of sheep; Siddons RC et al.; 1 . Six sheep, each fitted with a rumen cannula and re-entrant cannulas in the proximal duodenum and distal ileum, were given two diets (600 g dry matter (DM)/d) consisting of either grass silage (32.1 g nitrogen/kg DM) or dried grass (18.3 g N/kg DM) . A net loss of N occurred between mouth and duodenum with the silage diet, indicating extensive ruminal degradation of dietary N, compared with a net gain on the dried-grass diet . Consequently, despite higher N intakes when silage was given, N flow at the duodenum was similar for both diets . 2 . The proportion of microbial N in duodenal digesta N was estimated using diaminopimelic acid (DAPA), {35S}methionine (35S), 15N-enriched non-ammonia-N (15NAN) and amino acid profiles (AAP) as microbial markers . Isotopic labelling of rumen micro-organisms was achieved by intraruminal infusions of Na2 35SO4 and (15NH4)2SO4 . 3 . A comparison of all methods was made based on the marker concentrations in microbial fractions isolated by differential centrifuagation of strained rumen contents . With both diets, DAPA gave the highest estimates and AAP the lowest . Estimates based on 35S and 15NAN were intermediate and did not differ significantly (P greater than 0.05) . 4 . For the 15NAN, 35S and AAP methods, the effect of site of sampling of the microbial fraction, i.e . from rumen contents or duodenal digesta, was examined and in all instances mean estimates based on duodenally-derived microbes were higher . However, the differences were significant for only 15NAN with both diets (P less than 0.001), for 35S with the dried grass (P less than 0.05), and for AAP with the silage (P less than 0.05) . Estimates based on duodenally-derived microbes were higher (P less than 0.05) using 15 NAN than those obtained using 35S with both diets . 5 . Depending on the method used for estimating microbial N, estimates of the efficiency of microbial N synthesis in the rumen (g microbial N flow at duodenum/kg organic matter apparently digested in the rumen) ranged between 16 and 38 for the silage diet and 10 and 46 for the dried grass diet . Similarly, estimates of feed N degradability in the rumen ranged between 0.62 and 0.97 for the silage and 0.00 and 0.93 for the dried grass.

Vet Pathol Suppl, 1982 Sep, 7, 26 - 32
Infection of the colon of the rhesus monkey by spiral-shaped organisms; Zeller J et al.; Intestinal spirochetosis, an infection of the mucosa by spiral-shaped organisms, was studied in clinically normal rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) by histology, transmission and scanning electron microscopy . The incidence of intestinal spirochetosis was 42% in 221 monkeys . Spiral organisms stained with hematoxylin and eosin (HE) appeared as a broad basophilic haze on the colonic surface and were strongly positive by the Warthin-Starry stain . Spiral-shaped bacteria include two structurally different organisms: spirochetes and flagellated microbes . They intimately populated the brush border of the surface of the epithelium of the large intestine . They were absent in the crypts and in the small intestine . Infection by spirochetes produced no alteration of cytocomponents of the underlying host structures . Spirochetes and flagellates infrequently penetrated beyond the brush border into the epithelial cytoplasm and also into the lamina propria . Even in cases where invasion was documented, no inflammatory response was found.

Vet Pathol Suppl, 1982 Sep, 19 Suppl 7, 26 - 32
Infection of the colon of the rhesus monkey by spiral-shaped organisms; Zeller J et al.; Intestinal spirochetosis, an infection of the mucosa by spiral-shaped organisms, was studied in clinically normal rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) by histology, transmission and scanning electron microscopy . The incidence of intestinal spirochetosis was 42% in 221 monkeys . Spiral organisms stained with hematoxylin and eosin (HE) appeared as a broad basophilic haze on the colonic surface and were strongly positive by the Warthin-Starry stain . Spiral-shaped bacteria include two structurally different organisms: spirochetes and flagellated microbes . They intimately populated the brush border of the surface of the epithelium of the large intestine . They were absent in the crypts and in the small intestine . Infection by spirochetes produced no alteration of cytocomponents of the underlying host structures . Spirochetes and flagellates infrequently penetrated beyond the brush border into the epithelial cytoplasm and also into the lamina propria . Even in cases where invasion was documented, no inflammatory response was found.

Antibiotiki, 1982 Aug, 27(8), 588 - 92
{Production of pesticins on synthetic nutrient media}; Gramotina LI et al.; It was found that 96.2 per cent of the plague microbe cultures studied had a capacity to produce pesticin I on solid and liquid minimum synthetic nutrient media providing growth of the cultures . No pesticin III was detected in the spheroplasts of plague microbes, when they were grown on the synthetic nutrient medium, while on the complete nutrient medium the inhibition zones were observed which was indicative of pesticin III synthesis . The average value characterizing the titer of pesticin I produced by the rod-shaped forms of the plague microbe on the complete and synthetic nutrient media was 320 . An increase in the titer of the spheroplast pesticin was shown, while the pesticin titer of the rod-shaped forms was low (1 : 20--1 : 320) . As a result the average titer of the spheroplast pesticin was higher than that of pesticin of the rod-like forms . On the complete nutrient medium it was 1280 and on the synthetic medium it was 640.

Allergy, 1982 Jul, 37(5), 297 - 301
Comparison of Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus umbrosus antigens in serological tests of farmer's lung; Ojanen TH et al.; A comparison was made between Aspergillus fumigatus and A . umbrosus antigens regarding their usefulness in serological tests of farmer's lung . Mycelial and culture fluid antigens of both microbes were used to test sera of 30 Finnish farmer's lung patients for antibodies in the ELISA and in the gel precipitation (GP) test . Antibodies to A . umbrosus were more common than to A . fumigatus; this was especially evident in ELISA, ELISA gave more positive results with all four antigens than GP . Mycelial antigens showed more positive reactions in ELISA than the corresponding culture fluid antigens . The situation was reversed in GP . Selection of antigens in the diagnostic panel of farmer's lung requires careful consideration . Our results suggest that other Aspergilli (in the Finnish population A . umbrosus) might be preferable to A . fumigatus in the antigen panel.

Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci, 1982 Jun 11, 297(1088), 459 - 80
Strategies of mixed substrate utilization in microorganisms; Harder W et al.; In natural and man-made environments microorganisms often grow in the presence of a diversity of functionally similar substrates . The pattern of utilization of these mixed substrates is generally dependent upon their concentration . When substrates are present in high (not growth-limiting) concentrations, sequential utilization and diauxic growth is often observed and the substrate that supports the highest growth rate is utilized preferentially from the mixture . When the substrate concentrations are growth-limiting, simultaneous utilization of the various compounds present in the mixture appears to be the general response . Recent studies on mixed substrate utilization in both batch and continuous cultures have thrown light on the strategies of the control mechanisms that, in microbes, govern the utilization of the various substrates . But perhaps more importantly these studies have indicated the possible significance of mixed substrate utilization in microbial competition in nutrient-limited natural ecosystems.

Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci, 1982 Jun 11, 297(1088), 551 - 61
The role of microbial interactions in infectious disease; Smith H; The occurrence of infectious disease is affected by interaction between microorganisms in three ways . The indigenous flora (commensal microorganisms) of some mucous surfaces provide one of the main protective mechanisms against infection by pathogens (disease-producing microbes) . The commensal populations interfere with the establishment of pathogens on mucous membranes by evoking anaerobic conditions, by competing for space and nutrients and by producing inhibitors . How, at the beginning of successful infection, pathogens in relatively small numbers overcome this protective activity of the commensal population is unknown . Although not a general phenomenon, some pathogens exacerbate the effects of others . The best examples are the potentiation of bacterial infections by existing viral infections: mucosal adherence and penetration by bacteria are enhanced and phagocytic defences against them weakened . Some microorganisms that are unable to produce significant disease on their own may combine with others to cause serious sickness . The harmful effects of these combinations of microorganisms can be explained by the multifactorial nature of pathogenicity (virulence), i.e . the capacity to produce disease . Although each member of the mixed population cannot alone produce the full complement of factors needed for disease production, the complement can be attained by combining contributions from different members.

J Oral Pathol, 1982 Jun, 11(3), 191 - 200
Effects of acid-dissolution on thin ground sections of enamel caries studied by microradiography and x-ray microbeam diffraction; Aoba T et al.; In order to obtain information about the chemical reactivity of localized areas within natural enamel caries, thin ground sections prepared from white spot lesions were subjected to HCl solutions with 0.01, 0.05, and 0.1 N concentrations . Microradiographic examination combined by densitometric analysis demonstrated that the surface layer covering demineralized lesions remained relatively stable against acid attacks and that, despite the original lower degree of mineralization, its microradiographic density became higher than that of the underlying normal enamel during acid-dissolution . Another interesting finding was that in the experiment using the most diluted HCl solution, a radiopaque zone became noticeable at the advancing front of the lesions in the course of dissolution . X-ray microbeam diffraction analysis of these sections showed that no apparent alterations occurred in mineral structure of enamel with acid dissolution, except for the decrease in crystallinity of enamel apatite . Based on the results obtained here, one can expect that the surface layer and the interior part of natural carious lesions possess a high degree of resistance to acid attacks, relative to the underlying normal enamel.

Zh Mikrobiol Epidemiol Immunobiol, 1982 Jun, (6), 53 - 5
{Transparent solid nutrient medium for studying the lytic spectrum of bacteriophages of microbes of the genus Bordetella}; Siniashina LN et al.; A solid, transparent culture medium for the study of the lytic spectrum of the phages, active against B . pertussis and B . bronchiseptica, in respect to homologous and heterologous bacteria of the genus Bordetella has been developed . The Cohen-Wheeler liquid medium with nicotinic acid and nicotinamide added, solidified with agar, is nicotinamide added, solidified with agar, is used as the base of the new medium . This base ensures the growth of B . parapertussis and B . bronchiseptica . To stimulate the growth of B . pertussis, the tissue stimulant of B . pertussis growth (a transparent substrate obtained from the tissue of the large intestine of a rabbit) has been used . With 10% of this stimulant added, B . pertussis cells have been found to preserve their typical morphological and immunobiological properties.

J Oral Pathol, 1982 Jun, 11(3), 201 - 9
Crystallographic and structural alterations in the mineral phase of human enamel with carious attacks; Aoba T et al.; The present study aims to obtain further information about the crystallographic and structural alterations in the mineral phase of enamel with the onset of caries . For this purpose, X-ray microbeam diffraction analysis was carried out on ground sections prepared from natural white spot lesions . Electron spin resonance (ESR) analysis was also performed on block samples cut from white spot lesions and from undamaged enamel of the same teeth . The results of crystallinity measurements showed that enamel apatite in demineralized lesions was lower in crystallinity than the apatite in the surface layer and surrounding sound enamel . This X-ray diffraction study also revealed the presence of two non-apatitic minerals in the demineralized lesions . One type of the mineral is whitlockite, giving spotty rings . The nature of the other mineral, giving a single ring-like reflection, remains to be elucidated . A comparison of ESR spectra taken from the caries-attacked and undamaged enamel provided evidence that the former samples have a lower degree of alignment of apatite microcrystals . The occurrence of non-apatitic mineral phases and the observed difference in microcrystalline alignment may be the results of a remineralization process.

Acta Pathol Microbiol Immunol Scand {C}, 1982 Jun, 90(3), 117 - 22
Polyacrylamide microbeads with entrapped protein A from S . aureus for cell separation; Lindmark R et al.; A technique was developed for the identification and separation of cells according to their surface antigenic markers, based on immobilization of protein A by entrapment in polyacrylamide microbeads . This method is further development of the previous techniques with SpA-containing S . aureus bacteria, but has the advantage of having less unspecific binding to the cells . We show that this technique might be a useful tool for the separation of cells, exemplified by separation of cells on Petri dishes coated with a monolayer of SpA-microbeads . The viability of separated cells was unaffected and adherent cells were easily removed by trypsin.

J Histochem Cytochem, 1982 May, 30(5), 466 - 70
In vivo effects of prostaglandin E2 and arachidonic acid on phagocytosis of fluorescent methacrylate microbeads by rat peritoneal macrophages; Fernandez-Repollet E et al.; Several studies have suggested that prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) might influence the phagocytic activity of macrophage cells . The present study was designed to examine the in vivo effects of PGE2, the prostaglandin synthesis inhibitor meclofenamate, the prostaglandin precursor arachidonic acid, and the biologically inactive fatty acid 11,14,17-eicosatrienoic acid on phagocytosis by peritoneal macrophage cells in the rat . Following 3 days of treatment with either agent, fluorescent methacrylate microbeads were injected intraperitoneally into all rats . Peritoneal exudates were harvested after administration of the microbeads and the percent phagocytosis determined in macrophage cells using a fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS II) . The administration of PGE2 was associated with a significant decrease in the percentage of peritoneal macrophages ingesting the fluorescent methacrylate microbeads . In contrast, treatment with arachidonic acid or 11,14,17-eicosatrienoic acid significantly enhanced the percentage of phagocytic macrophage cells . A significant increase in the number of macrophages undergoing phagocytosis of the methacrylate microbeads was also observed in rats treated with meclofenamate . This later observation, taken together with the inhibitory effect induced by PGE2 on macrophage phagocytosis, points to a potential modulator role of PGE2 on the phagocytic activity of macrophages . These data also suggest that arachidonic acid might influence macrophage phagocytosis by a mechanism independent of PGE2.

Infect Immun, 1982 May, 36(2), 510 - 7
Immunoglobulin M and G antibody response to type- and subtype-specific antigens after primary and secondary exposures of mice to influenza A viruses; Gonchoroff NJ et al.; A mouse model of influenza infection was studied to help define parameters that may affect serodiagnosis of human infections by immunoassays . Antibodies to both type- and subtype-specific influenza A antigens were measured by a solid-phase immunofluorometric assay . Dilute mouse sera were added to purified influenza virus that had been covalently bound to polyaminostyrene microbeads, and the bound antibody was detected by fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled isotype-specific antisera . Results were consistent in that upon exposure of mice by either infection alone or by vaccination after infection, both immunoglobulin M (IgM) and IgG antibodies reactive with newly encountered subtype specific viral antigens were measured . IgG antibody was usually detectable by the solid-phase immunofluorometric assay several days before it could be detected by a hemagglutination inhibition test . Increased levels of antibody of the IgG1, IgGa, IgG2b, and IgG3 subclasses were also measured during influenza infection . Surprisingly, response to type-specific viral antigens was of the IgG class in primary as well as in secondary exposure . The results suggest that for serodiagnosis of influenza infections by detection of specific IgM antibody, the assay should use subtype-specific antigens.

Med Hypotheses, 1982 Mar, 8(3), 243 - 8
The biologic significance of neutrophil regulatory mechanisms; Thong YH; Self-regulation of feedback control are essential features of most complex biological systems . Neutrophil leukocytes possess potent oxidative and lysomal products for the killing of invading microbes . These toxic products are also capable of causing auto-oxidative injury and tissue damage . Indeed, neutrophils have been implicated as mediators of tissue injury in a number of autoimmune and inflammatory disorders . It is proposed that a sophisticated and complex regulatory mechanism for neutrophil function is operative in healthy individuals . Much of the evidence for this is tentative and fragmentary, but a logical framework is beginning to emerge.

J Dermatol Surg Oncol, 1982 Mar, 8(3), 203 - 13
Variably acid-fast pleomorphic bacteria as a possible cause of mycosis fungoides . A report of a necropsied case and two living patients; Cantwell AR Jr; Variably acid-fast coccoid forms, suggestive of acid-fast, cell-wall-deficient forms of mycobacteria, were observed in microscopy of sections of skin from three patients with mycosis fungoides . Similar coccoid forms were also seen in sections of the heart, lung, liver, lymph nodes, connective tissue, and other organs of one of them who died, and in biopsy material from lymph nodes obtained one year antemortem in that patient . The present findings of microbes in mycosis fungoides may be related to the previous findings of acid-fast bacteria in mycosis fungoides and other malignancies as reported by other investigators . The present histopathologic findings also suggest that mycosis fungoides may be an infectious disease of mycobacterial origin.

Int J Lepr Other Mycobact Dis, 1982 Mar, 50(1), 90 - 5
Detection of externally induced impairments in single bacterial cells by laser microbe mass analysis; Seydel U et al.; Applying the laser microbe mass analyzer method (LAMMA), mass spectra (fingerprints) were taken from single bacterial cells not treated or treated with high temperature, X-irradiation, isonicotinic acid hydrazide (INH), or diaminodiphenylsulfone (DDS) . Spectra of treated cells ("M . lufu," M . tuberculosis H37Ra, E . coli) differ from those of controls in that the K+/Na+ ratio was smaller and in that the intensities of peaks with m/e greater than 100 were lower . From the results with M . leprae the possible application of this new method for monitoring the effectiveness of leprosy therapy is proposed.

Antibiotiki, 1982 Feb, 27(2), 117 - 21
{Thermal resistance of the spores of a Bac . stearothermophilus culture used for the preparation of bioindicators}; Kalinina NM et al.; Thermostability of the spores of Bac . stearothermophilus in ampoules and capillaries in concentrations of 10(9), 10(8) and 10(6) cells per 1 ml of sodium chloride isotonic solution was determined at 119 to 124 degrees C with an interval of 1 degree C and an exposure time of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 minutes . The results were used for plotting the survival curves . The time of the microbial death in the ampoules and capillaries at all the temperatures was the same and the ampoules were chosen as the bioindicator vehicle because of their availability and convenience in exploitation . The survival curves may be used for determination of the optimal sterilization conditions . The spore concentration of the thermostable culture in the bioindicator should be equal or exceed the level of the object microbial contamination . In the present study the concentration of the test microbe spores in the bioindicator was 10(6)--10(8) cells/ml.

Zh Mikrobiol Epidemiol Immunobiol, 1982, (11), 64 - 7
{Comparative evaluation of methods of obtaining phagolysates modelled on d'Herelle's plague microbe phage}; Marchenkov VI et al.; Various methods for phage multiplication have been tested: the method of cellophane membranes, the method of combined media, the method of forced aeration of a liquid medium, growth at suboptimal temperature and growth at optimal temperature under stationary conditions . The phage in a high concentration (n X 10(10) plaque-forming units per ml) can be obtained by any of these methods with the exception of the last one yielding lower (by 1 or 2 orders) effectiveness of multiplication . The main factors which determine the titer of the phage in lysate are concentration of live cells in the suspension and temperature of growth.

Arkh Patol, 1982, 44(5), 68 - 71
{Granuloma gangraenescens of the nose}; Dikshtein EA et al.; An extremely rare observation of gangrenizing granuloma of the nose in a woman of 29 with a fatal outcome is presented . The disease is characterized by rapidly developing changes in the nasal mucosa and sinuses, skin, soft tissues of the face, destruction of cartilage and bone tissues of the nose, upper jaw with perforation of the hard palate and loss of teeth . Wegener's granulomatosis was diagnosed in the hospital . The disease was complicated by multiple errosive bleedings and sepsis . The lack of involvement of the internal organs and granulomatous reaction distinguished the present observation from the classic Wegener's granulomatosis . The presence of marked vascular changes with fibrinoid necrosis of vessel walls and thrombosis, large necrotic areas and accumulation of plasma cells should be regarded as manifestations of hyperergic reaction of the immediate type . The abundance of microbes and polymorphonuclear leukocytes indicates the occurrence of a secondary infection and purulent inflammation.

Arch Environ Contam Toxicol, 1982, 11(1), 107 - 10
Microbial degradation of thidiazuron and its photoproduct; Benezet HJ et al.; Degradation of the cotton defoliant thidiazuron and its photoproduct photothidiazuron by soil and thirteen species of microorganisms was examined . Aspergillus versicolor, Torula rosea, and Flavobacter sp . were most active in degrading thidiazuron . Unknown water-soluble metabolites and phenylurea were the major products . A . versicolor and Penicillium cyclopium were most active in degrading photothidiazuron . 4-Hydroxyphenylphotothidiazuron was the major organosoluble product formed by A . versicolor; phenylurea and an unidentified metabolite constituted the major organosoluble products from P . cyclopium . Both microbes also formed appreciable water-soluble metabolites . Radioactive carbon dioxide was formed from thidiazuron-aniline-14C by Oscillatoria sp . but not by Chlorella sp., suggesting that the former algal species utilized the defoliant as an energy source.

Isr J Med Sci, 1982 Jan, 18(1), 25 - 35
Specific activities of a membrane protein of brain cells; Hyden H; Evidence is presented that the brain-specific protein S-100 is a constituent of the neuronal plasma membrane . This differentiation of the membrane is dependent on stimuli from the environment . Antiserum raised to S-100 was used in a microchamber to separate isolated nerve cells that had S-100 expressed on the surface . Microbeads covered by antiserum to S-100 were used for localization and for cell separation . The S-100 function was studied by a new technique to test the effect of membrane S-100 protein in its calcium form on transport of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) across freshly prepared nerve cell membranes from Deiters' neurons . Membrane S-100 stimulated such GABA transport up to 40%, which was found by kinetic measurements and other tests to be an active transport system . Glia, as a thin layer covering the nerve cell membrane, inhibit the stimulated GABA transport . The glia regulation of the S-100 protein's activity on the neural plasma membrane is discussed.

Antibiotiki, 1982 Jan, 27(1), 45 - 8
{Tetracycline antibiotic interaction with the subcellular fractions of rat liver homogenate}; Kivman GIa et al.; Binding of tetracyclines, i . e . tetracycline, oxytetracycline, morphocycline, methacycline and doxycycline by subcellular fractions of rat liver homogenates was studied on randombred albino rats . It was shown that the drugs lost their activity to a significant extent on contact with nuclei, mitochondria, microsomes and the fraction mixtures . The mitochondrial fraction bound the highest amounts of the drugs . The binding level of methacycline by the organoids was the highest, while that of morphocycline was the least . Binding of the tetracyclines with the subcellular fractions of the liver was to a certain extent reversible . Accumulation of the antibiotic in the cells may be advantageous from the viewpoint of its effect on the intracellular microbes if possible subsequent dissociation from its complex with organoids is considered . At the same time the mitochondriatropic properties of the tetracyclines may be the basis for their toxic effect on the host cells.

Lab Invest, 1982 Jan, 46(1), 24 - 32
Electron microscopic examination of the inflammatory response to Legionella pneumophila in guinea pigs; Katz SM et al.; We have described the ultrastructural morphology of splenic and pulmonary exudates from guinea pigs infected intranasally and intraperitoneally by Legionella pneumophila . Legionella pneumophila produced pneumonia and splenitis by both routes of inoculation . The microbe was also disseminated to other organs . Within neutrophils, Legionella pneumophila typically displayed degenerating forms, suggesting that this intracellular environment is somewhat hostile to the bacterium . By contrast, macrophages tended to contain intact forms, located within organelles morphologically identical with rough endoplasmic reticulum . Some bacteria were replicating at this site . In macrophages containing greater than 25 microbes per section, Legionella pneumophila was usually dispersed within the cytoplasm outside of organelles, and many of the heavily infected macrophages exhibited ultrastructural features of injury . Neutrophils phagocytosed Legionella pneumophila, but we found no ultrastructural evidence of either ingestion of Legionella pneumophila by macrophages or of localization of the microbe to primary or secondary phagosomes of macrophages . Our findings support the contention that Legionella pneumophila is an intracellular parasite of macrophages . The homing of Legionella pneumophila to cytoplasmic organelles morphologically indistinguishable from rough endoplasmic reticulum has no bacteriologic parallel . It remains to be determined how Legionella pneumophila enters this organelle, whether this structure is, in fact, functional rough endoplasmic reticulum and whether this site is actively involved in replication of the bacterium . The animal models used herein seem suitable for further delineation of these questions.

Rev Fr Mal Respir, 1982, 10(1), 31 - 43
{The pathophysiology and immune response to broncho-pulmonary bacterial infections (author's transl)}; Perrin-Fayolle M; This study is in two parts . The first is devoted to a brief reminder of those situations in which pathogenic microbes invade the respiratory tract and is concerned with: the rapid elimination of the pathogen, thanks to the intervention of the first line of defence of the lung; a delayed elimination which sets in action complementary mechanisms inducing an inflammatory response; the overflow of the defence system with the development of the infectious illness . The second part is devoted to a review of the causes of failure of the defence mechanisms against the microbes . Two series of events are discussed: first constitutional immune deficiency and secondly acquired deficiencies.

Eur J Respir Dis Suppl, 1982, 123, 108 - 16
An epidemic of bath water fever--endotoxin alveolitis?
Muittari A, Kuusisto P, Sovijarvi A.
In August, 1978, in Linnavuori industrial community an epidemic broke reaching nearly one half of the population . The acute disease was manifested by severe respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, and dyspnea . The symptoms were connected with the use of hot water . The symptoms of the disease resembled those of allergic alveolitis or humidifier fever . The tap water of the region was found to be heavily polluted . Besides an ample microbial growth a high endotoxin concentration was found . Specific antibodies to the microbes or radiographic lung changes referring to allergic alveolitis were not found . Leukocytosis and reduced diffusion capacities indicating an inflammatory reaction at the alveolar level were in the acute phase . It may be a toxic lung inflammation caused by endotoxins, at least partly at the bronchiolar-to-alveolar level . According to the follow-up, to date the disease has not caused lung damages.

Acta Paediatr Scand Suppl, 1982, 296, 53 - 5
The mucosal immune response in the neonate; Hanson LA et al.; Human infants are relatively deficient in the IgA system defending mucosal membranes, but are provided via the maternal milk with considerable amounts of SIgA directed against microbes and food antigens to which both mother and infant are exposed . It is possible that serum antibodies may support the mucosal defense as do the lactoferrin, lysozyme and other defense factors present in the milk.

Scand J Infect Dis Suppl, 1982, 32, 11 - 5
Biology of Chlamydia; Bergan T; The genus Chlamydia consists of two species, Chlamydia trachomatis and C . psittaci . The former includes (a) the trachoma/inclusion conjunctivitis (TRIC) agents, subdivided into the serotypes A-K; (b) the lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) agents, subdivided into the serogroups (L 1-3); and (c) the mouse penumonitis agent . The major characteristics differentiating the two species are sulfonamide susceptibility and the formation of distinct inclusion granula in host cells, in the case of C . trachomatis, whereas C . psittaci is resistant to sulfonamides and forms less dense inclusions . Chlamydiae are characterized by a special growth cycle . The infective form of Chlamydia is the elementary body (EB), which stimulates its own phagocytosis by the host cell, an event followed by the EB's transformation into the reticulate body (RB) . The RB forms small buds which subdivide by simple fission to produce several RB within the host cell cytoplasm . The growth cycle is completed by transformation of the RB into the infective EB from before liberation of the latter from the host cell . The chlamydiae are deficient in independent energy metabolism . Thus, their supply of ATP and essential building blocks must be obtained from the host cell cytoplasm . The TRIC agents have neuraminidase localized to the surface structures . Receptors of the microbe are temperature-sensitive, whereas the host cell is trypsin-sensitive.

J Clin Microbiol, 1982 Jan, 15(1), 172 - 4
Blood-lysing solution nontoxic to pathogenic bacteria; Zierdt CH; A blood-lysing solution is described that is noninjurious to fastidious microbial pathogens . Lysed blood is filtered, and the filter with collected microbes is cultured.

Z Allg Mikrobiol, 1982, 22(7), 487 - 93
{Characterization of a CaCl2-dependent transfection system of Escherichia coli and T3 phage DNA}; Stompe H et al.; Transfection by DNA isolated from bacteriophage T3 was studied using Escherichia coli 921/0 as host . The following conditions were found optimal: Competent E . coli 921/0 were obtained by harvesting the bacteria at the onset of late exponential growth (5 X 10(8) cells/ml) and treating the latter with 0.05 M CaCl2 . Hereafter, the microbes were suspended in 50 mM Tris-HCl buffer (pH 7.2) and the concentration adjusted to 7 X 10(9) cells/ml . T3 DNA was added and the suspension kept at 0 degrees C for 15 min . Determination of the number of infectious centers was then carried out in the usual way . The efficiency of transfection under these conditions amounted to 10(4) p . f . u./microgram DNA . Preincubation of competent bacteria with T4 DNA at 0 degrees C before the addition of T3 DNA reduced the number of infectious centers . However, if T3- and T4 DNA were added simultaneously no decrease of the transfection efficiency occurred . Calf thymus DNA was without influence on transfection.

Adv Exp Med Biol, 1982, 155, 675 - 86
Macrophage activation and effector mechanisms against microbes; Mauel J; The term activation is used to designate biochemical and functional changes that are induced in macrophages by a variety of stimuli, including interaction with microbial products, synthetic substances, immunoglobulins of different classes, and factors released by lymphocytes . The changes observed comprise an increased capacity to destroy intracellular microorganisms and non-microbial target cells as well as the stimulation of biochemical pathways leading to the release of enzymes and the generation of various toxic compounds . Activation may thus be viewed as a process aimed at recalling those metabolic functions that are necessary for killing, when phagocytosis has failed to evoke them . The increased microbicidal capacity of activated macrophages is linked to the production of oxygen intermediates, as illustrated by the study of macrophage toxicity for certain intracellular protozoan parasites . Scavengers of oxygen metabolites inhibit parasite killing in macrophages; on the contrary, agents that stimulate the production or utilization of such intermediates enhance the microbicidal effect of phagocytes . Several mechanisms enable microorganisms to survive within macrophages . In some instances, intracellular survival appears to depend on the capacity of microorganisms to be endocytized without awakening the host cell oxidative machinery . In addition, the endowment of microorganisms in endogenous enzymatic scavengers of oxygen metabolites may play a role in promoting intracellular survival . These and other mechanisms, such as the property to avoid the harmful effects of lysosomal constituents by inhibiting phagosome-lysosome fusion, or by releasing agents that block the lysosomal enzymatic machinery, may explain why certain microbes are able to survive within activated macrophages.

Scand J Infect Dis, 1982, 14(3), 181 - 7
Acute encephalitis of viral origin; Koskiniemi ML et al.; 75 patients with acute encephalitis of confirmed or suggestive viral or virus-like etiology showed a predominance of herpes simplex virus (HSV) as an etiological agent (13.3-32.0%) in all age groups without seasonal variation and increasing in number during years . Mumps, occurring mainly in female patients, was next in order and thereafter coxsackievirus B, varicella-zoster, and adenoviruses, followed by multiple coincident infections, and a large number of occasional agents . HSV seems to have displaced tick-borne encephalitis virus as the major cause of acute encephalitis in Finland . Pregnancy appeared to increase susceptibility to HSV encephalitis . The outcome was associated with the etiological agent in the first hand, HSV and nonviral microbes appeared unfavourable, but also with the clinical symptomatology, particularly altered consciousness, mental symptoms and focal neurological signs . The need for exact and rapid diagnosis in all cases of acute encephalitis is underlined in view of the possibility of specific therapy.

Scand J Infect Dis, 1982, 14(2), 117 - 22
Serological diagnosis of pertussis: IgM, IgA and IgG antibodies against Bordetella pertussis measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA); Viljanen MK et al.; Igm, IgA and IgG antibodies against Bordetella pertussis were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with an ultrasonicate of formalin-killed bacteria (a mixture of strains 1, 2 and 1, 2, 3) as antigen and disposable polystyrene 9-cuvette blocks as the solid phase . The specificity properties of the assay were assessed by an inhibition technique . Of the microbes tested, only B . parapertussis was able to cause a significant inhibition . In addition, IgM and IgA antibodies against B . pertussis were only found in some sporadic cases of respiratory infections caused by other microbes . Sera, nasal swabs and cough plates were received from 198 patients with suspected whooping-cough . ELISA determinations were mostly made from only one serum sample of each patient . Paired sera were studied only from the culture-positive infants under 3 months of age . The number of positive cultures was highest in group under 3 months of age (41%), where the frequency of positive ELISA was lowest (20%) . The use of paired sera strikingly increased the number of ELISA-positive individuals in this youngest patient group . In later life, the relationship between these tests changed: isolation was positive in only about 10% of the patients, whereas 29-64% yielded positive titres in ELISA . This study shows that pertussis ELISA is a valuable aid in the rapid diagnosis of pertussis, particularly of the atypical forms of the disease which mostly are culture-negative.

J Cell Biochem, 1982, 20(2), 105 - 12
The immune response to agents that cause acute and chronic diseases; Cantor H; Recent advances in lymphocyte technology allow production of large amounts of homogenous T cells which create immunoregulatory peptides . This means that it is now possible to define and purify nontoxic peptides that either specifically turn off or turn on immune responses . For example, monoclonal peptides synthesized by inducer cells each activates a different target cell to divide or differentiate . One activates stem cells to differentiate into red cells and white cells {27}, another stimulates B cells to secrete antibody {21}, and another induces mast cells to divide {26} and perhaps to differentiate . More recent work has shown that some inducer peptides may "fine tune" the immune response: Certain types of inducer clones, for example, selectively stimulate production of IgA . Peptides that mediate the activity of these clones are the subject of intense analysis of because these monoclonal substances offer the possibility of stimulating rapid induction of IgA after infection by microbes that enter through mucosal of the gut, bladder or lungs . This type of antibody (IgA) is the body's key defense against infections by these microbes: Development of a rapid and specific IgA response is the most important factor in the outcome of infections by viruses such as genital herpes type II and infections by intracellular bacterial pathogens that are currently resistant to treatment by antibiotics . Perhaps the most informative point that has come from these studies is that each peptide that has been isolated from T cell clones exerts powerful regulatory effects on either the intensity or type of the immune response . The hope is that some of these immunoregulatory molecules or their analogs can be used as potent therapeutic agents for some chronic diseases . Since purified inducer and suppressive peptides will be available in large amounts within the next several years, it will not be long before this strategy can be thoroughly evaluated.

Immunol Commun, 1982, 11(6), 467 - 76
Polymer microbeads bound to C3 fragments for detecting and labeling cells with C3 receptors; Uchida T et al.; Monodisperse microbeads (mbs) of a hydrophilic polymer with diameters of 4 microns and 0.2 micron were prepared . To these mbs, IgM or a sugar was bound covalently, and then the mbs were treated with fresh human or mouse serum . This led to the activation of complement and to the binding of C3 fragments to the mbs . C3 fragments fixed on mbs varied with the type of immobilized substance on the mbs and the incubation time of the mbs with fresh serum . Three kinds of mbs binding C3 fragments were prepared: mbs binding C3b, C3bi and C3d (C3hu-mbs); the ones binding C3bi and C3d (C3mu-mbs); and the ones binding only C3b (C3bhu-mbs) . They formed rosettes with cells which had the corresponding receptor . When lymphocytes were incubated with C3hu- or C3bhu-mbs with a diameter of 0.2 micron, cap formation of each receptor was observed under a microscope . Once prepared, C3hu-, C3mu- and C3bhu-mbs were stable for more than 4 months.

Zh Mikrobiol Epidemiol Immunobiol, 1982, (11), 82 - 6
{Opportunistic microorganisms: the causative agents of food toxicoinfections and acute intestinal diseases}; Kalina GP et al.; The analysis of sporadic morbidity due to acute intestinal infections and toxicoinfections caused by potentially pathogenic microorganisms is presented . The hypothesis stating that different pathogenic agents have different levels of pathogenic potential at a given stage of their evolution is proposed . Microorganisms with a low level of pathogenicity potential are characterized by the prevalence of the syndrome of toxicoinfection and by the rarity or absence of the syndrome of an acute intestinal disease . The prevalence of the latter is characteristic of potentially pathogenic microbes with a high level of pathogenicity potential making them similar to complete parasites.

Growth, 1982 Winter, 46(4), 331 - 6
Variably acid-fast bacteria in vivo in a case of reactive lymph node hyperplasia occurring in a young male homosexual; Cantwell AR Jr; Ziehl-Neelsen (acid-fast) and Giemsa-stained microscopic sections of enlarged cervical lymph nodes obtained from a 39 year-old male homosexual with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) were studied for the presence of cell wall-deficient bacteria . Intra- and extra-cellular, variably acid-fast forms were observed within the lymph nodes showing "benign reactive lymph node hyperplasia." Similar-appearing variably acid-fast bacteria have previously been demonstrated in Kaposi's sarcoma, a malignancy which may ultimately develop in gay men with AIDS . It is hypothesized that these microbes observed in vivo may be pathogenic in immunodepressed states, such as the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

Biometrics, 1981 Dec, 37(4), 775 - 94
Analyses for binomial data, with application to the fluctuation test for mutagenicity; Collings BJ et al.; The fluctuation test proposed by Green, Muriel and Bridges (1976, Mutation Research 38, 33-42), a short-term microbial test for mutagenicity, yields binomial observations for which the probability of success varies with the background mutation rate, the total number of microbial growth cycles for which a microbe is at risk of mutation, and the rate of induced mutation for the compound being tested . A standard one-tailed two-sample binomial test is preferable to the two-tailed test adopted by Green et al . for analyzing data from a control versus single positive dose fluctuation test . Based on exact power computations, recommendations are offered for the design of such a fluctuation test . A simple method of guarding against the impact of a small number of aberrant observations in a multisample binomial problem is studied; it is applicable to the fluctuation test when the protocol involves replicate measurements . Finally, the case of more than one positive dose of the test compound is investigated . Two statistical tests for this situation, both extensions of one-tailed two-sample test, are extensively compared . A departure from monotonicity at high doses has a more serious effect on the power of the 'regression' test than on that of the 'isotonic' test . A variant of the isotonic test, based on the angular transformation, should be avoided.

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