Microorganism

J Bacteriol, 1981 Aug, 147(2), 350 - 3
Assimilatory sulfur metabolism in marine microorganisms: a novel sulfate transport system in Alteromonas luteo-violaceus; Cuhel RL et al.; The sulfate transport mechanism of a marine bacterium, Alteromonas luteo-violaceus, was unique among microorganisms in its extremely low affinity for the sulfate analog thiosulfate . Distinguishing characteristics included weak inhibition of sulfate transport by thiosulfate, inability to transport thiosulfate effectively, poor growth using thiosulfate as the sole source of sulfur, and a mild effect of the sulfhydryl reagent para-hydroxymercuribenzoate . In contrast, sulfate transport by a marine pseudomonad, Pseudomonas halodurans, was strongly inhibited by thiosulfate, and para-hydroxymercuribenzoate reversibly but completely blocked sulfate transport.

J Bacteriol, 1981 Aug, 147(2), 340 - 9
Assimilatory sulfur metabolism in marine microorganisms: characteristics and regulation of sulfate transport in Pseudomonas halodurans and Alteromonas luteo-violaceus; Cuhel RL et al.; Sulfate transport capacity was not regulated by cysteine, methionine, or glutathione in Pseudomonas halodurans, but growth on sulfate or thiosulfate suppressed transport . Subsequent sulfur starvation of cultures grown on all sulfur sources except glutathione stimulated uptake . Only methionine failed to regulate sulfate transport in Alteromonas luteo-violaceus, and sulfur starvation of all cultures enhanced transport capacity . During sulfur starvation of sulfate-grown cultures of both bacteria, the increase in transport capacity was mirrored by a decrease in the low-molecular-weight organic sulfur pool . Little metabolism of endogenous inorganic sulfate occurred . Cysteine was probably the major regulatory compound in A . luteo-violaceus, but an intermediate in sulfate reduction, between sulfate and cysteine, controlled sulfate transport in P . halodurans . Kinetic characteristics of sulfate transport in the marine bacteria were similar to those of previously reported nonmarine systems in spite of significant regulatory differences . Sulfate and thiosulfate uptake in P . halodurans responded identically to inhibitors, were coordinately regulated by growth on various sulfur compounds and sulfur starvation, and were mutually competitive inhibitors of transport, suggesting that they were transported by the same mechanism . The affinity of P . halodurans for thiosulfate was much greater than for sulfate.

Arch Intern Med, 1981 Aug, 141(9), 1172 - 3
Peritoneal fluid eosinophilia in patients undergoing maintenance peritoneal dialysis; Humayun HM et al.; In ten patients undergoing maintenance peritoneal dialysis, large numbers of eosinophils were found in the peritoneal fluid . A few of the affected patients complained of episodic abdominal pains, but there was no correlation between abdominal symptoms and the number of peritoneal fluid eosinophils . Microorganisms failed to grow on cultures of the peritoneal fluids, and results of tests for endotoxin were negative . The cause of eosinophilia could not be determined . Peritoneal fluid eosinophil counts were noted to be elevated soon after catheter insertion and initiation of peritoneal dialysis . In some patients, peritoneal fluid eosinophil counts spontaneously returned to normal despite continued peritoneal dialysis.

J Dent Res, 1981 Aug, 60(8), 1386 - 95
Salivary calculi: ultrastructural morphology and bacterial etiology; Lustmann J et al.; Ultrastructural morphology of 16 salivary calculi was studied by means of transmission and scanning electron microscopy . The external surface was mostly globular or coarse, and on high magnifications and features could be divided into four main groups: a) amorphic calcified deposits covering extensive areas, b) other areas covered with crystals in a variety of arrangements, c) heavy accumulations of calcified rod-like and filamentouslike microorganisms, and d) platelet crystals in juxtaposition to calcified microorganisms in several areas . In most calculi the split area was found to be laminated . It is suggested that microorganisms have an important role in the formation and growth of salivary calculi.

Blood, 1981 Aug, 58(2), 293 - 9
Monocyte-mediated antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity: the role of the metabolic burst; Koller CA et al.; Human monocytes respond to opsonized microorganisms with a "metabolic burst" composed of an increase in oxygen consumption, an increase in hexose monophosphate shunt (HMPS) activity, and the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) . We investigated the role of the metabolic burst in antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) by human monocytes toward anti-D coated erythrocyte target cells because recent studies suggested a role for oxygen-dependent bactericidal mechanisms in ADCC . In normal monocytes, we found that ADCC was nearly halved under hypoxic conditions . Several agents known to impair activation of the burst, such as vincristine, cation chelators, and a sulfhydryl reagent, all decreased cytotoxicity if added before initiation of contact between target and effector cells . Cytotoxicity was inhibited by 2-deoxyglucose but not fluoride, suggesting a nonglycolytic role for glucose in ADCC, perhaps in the HMPS pathway . Although these data suggested a role for the metabolic burst in ADCC, scavengers of ROS did not impair cytotoxicity, and monocytes from chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) patients who had a defective metabolic burst had normal levels of ADCC . We conclude that ADCC toward anti-D coated erythrocyte target cells was the result of at least two independent but closely related cytotoxic pathways . Although one of these pathways appeared to involve the metabolic burst, the potentially cytotoxic reactive oxygen species did not appear to play a role in this system.

J Clin Microbiol, 1981 Aug, 14(2), 201 - 5
Comparison of acridine orange and Gram stains for detection of microorganisms in cerebrospinal fluid and other clinical specimens; Lauer BA et al.; Acridine orange, a fluorochrome strain, is potentially superior to the Gram stain in the direct microscopic examination of clinical specimens because it gives striking differential staining between bacteria and background cells and debris . Its value in clinical laboratories was evaluated by testing 209 cerebrospinal fluids and 288 other body fluids, tissues, and exudates by both techniques . Smears were made in duplicate, fixed with methanol, stained, and examined without knowledge of the result of the companion smear or culture . Overall, acridine orange was slightly more sensitive than the Gram stain (acridine orange, 59.9%; Gram stain, 55.8%) and equally specific in detecting microorganisms . One smear was falsely positive by the Gram stain; none was falsely positive by the acridine orange stain . We conclude that acridine orange staining is a sensitive method for screening clinical specimens and reviewing selected specimens that are purulent, but negative by the Gram stain . Bloody fluids, thick exudates, and other normally difficult-to-read specimens were easily and quickly examined . We recommend, however, that positive smears be reexamined with the Gram stain to confirm the result and determine the Gram reaction of the microorganisms.

Biochim Biophys Acta, 1981 Jul 17, 675(3-4), 386 - 91
Isolation and characterization of an adenylyl-protein complex formed during the incubation of membranes from Dictyostelium discoideum with ATP; Rossomando EF et al.; When tritiated ATP is incubated with a membrane-enriched fraction prepared from the eukaryotic microorganism Dictyostelium discoideum significant levels of radioactivity can be precipitated with cold, 10% trichloroacetic acid . Reaction product was formed from ATP and dATP but not from GTP, CTP and UTP . Other studies showed that the maximum amount of the acid-insoluble product was formed about 1 min after the addition of the membranes and that, with further incubation, this reaction product was degraded . The rate of degradation of the reaction product was greatly reduced when the temperature was reduced to 4 degrees C, and when either NaF, Na2SO4 or dithiothreitol was added to the reaction mixture . These additions or conditions had no effect on the product-formation reaction . The rate of degradation was also reduced following the addition of adenosine to the reaction and this result did not occur following the addition of ADP, AMP or cyclic AMP . The acid-insoluble reaction product could be solubilized with SDS and analysis by gel-filtration chromatography on Sephadex G-75 revealed that the radioactivity was associated with a macromolecule that was not sensitive to RNAase or DNAase but was degraded by pronase . The nucleotide-protein complex was stable at room temperature but radioactivity was released in hot acid, which, after analysis by thin-layer chromatography, was found to co-migrate with authentic AMP, suggesting the formation of an adenylyl-protein complex as the reaction intermediate . The complex bond was stable at neutral and alkaline pH, suggesting a phosphoamide linkage between the protein and the adenylyl moiety.

Cancer, 1981 Jul 15, 48(2 Suppl), 472 - 83
Immunologic aspects of gynecologic cancer; Barber HR et al.; All vertebrates have a defense mechanism, the immune defense system, that protects them from disease-causing microorganisms . Its deliberate exploitation has conquered many infectious diseases and has been a major achievement of medical science in preventing suffering and saving lives . At the beginning of this century, hope was held that dissimilarities between normal and neoplastic cells could be demonstrated by immunologic methods and that vaccination against cancer might become possible . When it was recognized that the many claims of tumor=specific antigenicity were based on experiments in which an immunity to normal alloantigens, rather than tumor-specific antigens, had been demonstrated, the field of tumor immunology came into disrepute . The work of Gross in 1943 and Prehn and Main in 1957 rekindled interest in tumor immunology . Many contributions have advanced the concept of tumor immunology . They are the following: (1) an abundant supply of highly inbred (syngeneic) animals; (2) extensive work on experimental transplantable tumors; (3) an understanding of the mechanism causing rejection of grafted normal and cancerous tissues in animals; (4) identification of the function of the humoral and cell-mediated mechanisms following organ transplantation; (5) the observation that cancers do arouse a specific immune response in the organisms in which they appear; (6) antigenic differences represent the first known qualitative distinction between cancer cells and their normal counterparts; (7) the application of improved technology--columns, use of fluorescein-tagged antibodies, urea as a chaotropic agent, nephelometer; (8) hybridoma to produce a supply of monoclonal antibodies; (9) new vaccines directed against invasive tumors, and (10) the exploration of the role of immune complexes in oncology . The areas of promise and the future of cancer immunology have once again challenged the minds of scientists.

Rev Infect Dis, 1981 Jul-Aug, 3(4), 760 - 9
Environmental factors in nosocomial infection-a selective focus; McGowan JE Jr; For many years attempts to control nosocomial infection consisted of programs to measure and then reduce the number of microorganisms present in the hospital environment . Recently, however, investigation of documented episodes of infection in hospital patients or personnel has been emphasized, and the role of routine microbiologic monitoring has been minimized . Further improvements in infection control will require a better understanding of the relative importance of objects in the animate and inanimate environment as reservoirs and vectors for infection rather than development of newer and better ways to culture the environment.

J Anim Sci, 1981 Jul, 53(1), 226 - 30
Effects of primary, secondary and tertiary amines on in vitro cellulose digestion and volatile fatty acid production by ruminal microorganisms; Baldwin KA et al.; Decanamine hydrochloride (a C10 primary amine), N-methylundecanamine (a C11 secondary amine) and N, N-dimethyldodecanamine (a C12 tertiary amine) were tested for their effects upon in vitro cellulose digestibility by unadapted ruminal microorganisms . The three amines exhibited similar patterns of inhibition of cellulose digestibility in 48-hr in vitro incubations . Cellulose digestion was depressed to 97, 89, 31, 11 and 12% of the control value by 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 ppm of the amines, respectively . Total volatile fatty acid production was depressed to 89, 85, 61, 40 and 32% of the control value by 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 ppm of the amines, respectively . Propionate production was inhibited to a greater extent than was acetate production, and acetate to propionate ratios increased in the presence of the amines . The results demonstrate that these primary, secondary and tertiary amines inhibit those microorganisms which digest cellulose in the rumen.

Mikrobiologiia, 1981 Jul-Aug, 50(4), 619 - 25
{3-oxosteroid-delta 1-dehydrogenase localization in Mycobacterium rubrum and Arthobacter globiformis cells}; Lestrovaia NN; Osmotically susceptible forms were obtained from Mycobacterium rubrum and Arthrobacter globiformis (Mycobacterium globiforme) cells . The activity of 3-oxosteroid-delta 1-dehydrogenase was comparatively estimated in subcellular fractions after differential centrifugation of cell homogenates prepared either mechanically or by lysis of osmotically susceptible forms . The results indicate that the enzyme is located in the cells of the above microorganisms in both the free state (in the fraction of soluble proteins) and the membrane-bound form.

Isr J Med Sci, 1981 Jul, 17(7), 616 - 21
Mycoplasmal arthritis in man; Taylor-Robinson D; Naturally occurring mycoplasmal arthritis in various animals species and the ability to induce mycoplasmal arthritis experimentally have been the main reasons for searching for evidence of mycoplasmal infection in the joints of patients with rheumatoid arthritis . However, reliable reports of the isolation of mycoplasmas from synovial fluids and tissue of such patients do not exist, and measurements of specific antibodies have not proved rewarding . There is some evidence that infection by Mycoplasma pneumoniae occasionally has an arthritic sequela, although the microorganism has not been isolated from the joints of immunocompetent patients . In contrast, this and other mycoplasmas, including ureaplasmas, have been isolated from the arthritic joints of several hypogammaglobulinemic patients, and there is some evidence to indicate that the organisms are responsible for the disease . A relationship between mycoplasmas and sexually acquired Reiter's disease is unproven, but deserves thorough investigation in view of the link between ureaplasmas and nongonococcal urethritis . Furthermore, as new media and techniques become available, the possibility the mycoplasmas may have some role in rheumatoid arthritis should be reappraised.

J Immunol, 1981 Jul, 127(1), 1 - 5
In vitro killing of S . mansoni schistosomula by lymphokine-activated mouse macrophages; Bout DT et al.; Inflammatory macrophages from mice i.p . injected with FCS 24-hr before harvesting, activated by partly purified MAF from Con A-stimulated spleen cells, were shown to kill an average of 60.9% (SE +/- 5.3) of the parasites in cultures of Schistosoma mansoni schistosomula . On the contrary, resident macrophages were not cytotoxic under the same conditions . The degree of macrophage activation for the killing was dependent upon both lymphokine concentration and time of incubation in lymphokine . The capacity of macrophages to be activated to kill schistosomula as well as the schistosomulicidal activity of the lymphokine-activated macrophages were short-lived properties . The killing was strongly influenced by the effector-to-target ratio . The results are consistent with other data on the immune response in experimental infection and particularly the development of the delayed hypersensitivity . Therefore, among the immune mechanisms that participate in immunity to reinfection, cell-mediated immunity that involves inflammatory macrophages should no longer be restricted to microorganisms and protozoans and could be extended to multicellular parasites like schistosomes.

Can J Microbiol, 1981 Jul, 27(7), 646 - 50
Identification of rumen bacteria that anaerobically degrade aliphatic nitrotoxins; Majak W et al.; Of 33 pure stains of rumen bacteria from the Lethbridge laboratory collection, 5 degraded both 3-nitropropanol (NPOH) and 3-nitropropionic acid (NPA) under anaerobic conditions, and another 5 strains degraded only NPA . The nitroacid was metabolized at a faster rate than the nitroalcohol by both pure cultures of rumen bacteria and mixed rumen microorganisms . Nitrite was detected during incubation of NPOH and of NPA with resting cells but not with growing cultures of active strains of rumen bacteria . Nitrite was metabolized much faster than the nitrotoxins by both pure cultures of rumen bacteria and mixed rumen microorganisms . The results suggest that the nitro moiety of NPA or NPOH is metabolized to inorganic nitrite and nitrite is reduced to ammonia by rumen microorganisms, thereby resulting in its detoxification.

Isr J Med Sci, 1981 Jul, 17(7), 654 - 5
Laboratory diagnosis of animal mycoplasma infections; Gourlay RN; Laboratory diagnosis of animal mycoplasma infections is generally based on isolation of the mycoplasmas from the diseased tissues, followed by biochemical and serological identification of the isolates . However, the presence of serum antibodies and the demonstration of circulating antigen or antigen in infected lung tissue has also proved invaluable in the diagnosis of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia . The isolation of a particular mycoplasma from a diseased tissue does not necessarily imply a causal relationship . It is important to know the pathogenicity potential of the mycoplasma in question, the number of mycoplasmas present, the presence of any other potentially pathogenic microorganisms and any other relevant information before the role of the mycoplasma can be assessed and a diagnosis of mycoplasma infection given.

Prikl Biokhim Mikrobiol, 1981 Jul-Aug, 17(4), 477 - 93
{Live immobilized cells as biocatalysts of transformation and biosynthesis of organic compounds: a review}; Koshcheenko KA; The paper reviews the data concerning immobilization of liver microorganisms obtained by the author and found in the literature . The paper discusses different immobilization techniques maintaining cell viability (at least, in part): adsorption, covalent binding, incorporation into different gels (alginates, collagen, polyacrylamide gel, carrageens, etc) . The paper summarizes the information about physiology and morphology of resting and growing immobilized cells . It describes the relationship between the level of stability of enzymic activity and cell viability in the course of semi--continuous and continuous transformations . It is emphasized that live immobilized cells can be widely used as highly active polyenzymic systems requiring no exogenous cofactors.

Infect Immun, 1981 Jul, 33(1), 115 - 9
Proliferative responses of central and peripheral rat lymphocytes elicited by cord factor (trehalose 6,6'-dimycolate); Kierszenbaum F et al.; Cord factor--a mixture of 6,6'-diesters of alpha, alpha-D-trehalose with natural mycolic acids--which is purified from mycobacteria and other microorganisms, is known to have adjuvant activity as well as to enhance nonspecific resistance to infections and tumor development . In this work, trehalose 6,6'-dimycolate (TDM) was found to induce proliferative responses in rat thymus and lymph node cells . With the thymus cells, TDM responses were greater after removal of the adherent cell subpopulation . Consistent with this observation was the finding that addition of phagocytic cells purified from peritoneal or lymph node cell suspensions to nonadherent thymocytes abrogated the response of thymocytes to TDM . With the lymph node cells, the presence or removal of adherent cells had no major consequence on the TDM-induced proliferative response, since similar increases in deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis were observed with unfractionated and nonadherent cells . The difference between the sensitivities of thymus cells and lymph node cells to regulation by adherent cells indicated the existence of more than one type of TDM responder cell in rats . TDM also displayed marked stimulatory activity on thymus and lymph node cells from germ-free rats, ruling out the possibility that TDM might have triggered a specific, secondary, in vitro immune response . Expansion of a selected cell population(s) triggered by TDM may be involved in the manifestation of adjuvant activity and possibly other immunological properties of cord factor.

Biochim Biophys Acta, 1981 Jul, 675(2), 281 - 4
Synthesis of L-fucose in thyroid tissue; Overton K et al.; A de novo pathway for L-fucose synthesis has been detected in porcine thyroid tissue . This system uses guanosine diphospho-alpha-D mannose as a precursor and forms guanosine diphospho-beta-L-fucose as product . The system seems similar to those reported by others to exist in microorganisms and plants in that the first step of the pathway involves a 4-keto sugar nucleotide intermediate . The first enzyme of the pathway, guanosine diphospho-alpha-D-mannose oxidoreductase has been purified 57-fold from crude extracts by virtue of its affinity for Blue Sepharose.

Br J Dermatol, 1981 Jun, 104(6), 687 - 95
Sclerosing lymphangitis of the penis: a lymphangiofibrosis thrombotica occlusiva; Marsch WC et al.; Three patients with so-called non-venereal sclerosing lymphangitis of the penis are presented . Light and electron microscopy of one case revealed a lymphatic collecting vessel with a fibrin thrombus in the process of recanalization and vessel wall fibrosis due to hyperplasia of smooth muscle cells and fibroblasts . The term 'lymphangiofibrosis thrombotica occlusiva' is proposed . Lymph stasis is suggested as a provoking factor for the dilatation and clinically striking firm thickening of the affected collecting vessel . No microorganisms were recognized . Within the fibrin thrombus, sprouts of endothelial cells showed intracellular vacuoles, probably indicating the first identifiable step in lymph capillary lumen formation . Signs of collagen remodelling were encountered in the thickened vessel wall.

Laryngoscope, 1981 Jun, 91(6), 965 - 70
Malignant external otitis: early histopathologic changes and pathogenic mechanism; Ostfeld E et al.; The histopathologic changes during the early stage of malignant external otitis (MEO) were studied in two patients, one a non-diabetic . The specimens were obtained by an en bloc excision of the diseased tissue of the external ear canal through a retroauricular approach . The most prominent histologic features of the early stage of MEO consist of a thick layer of almost acellular, partly degenerated, collagen extending from the cartilage into the dermis, which most likely existed prior to the penetration of the microorganism . This finding supports our concept that MEO is a disease which develops as a results of invasion of opportunistic organisms into tissue previously devitalized, probably due to vascular compromise and that these latter features constitute the basic mechanism of the entire disease process.

Am Fam Physician, 1981 Jun, 23(6), 133 - 6
Prescribing antibiotics; Ellenbogen C et al.; A specific antibiotic is prescribed not for its effect on the patient but for its effect on the microorganism . Antibiotics have a unique toxicity because of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the patient . Lack of response to the antibiotic may be due to selection of the wrong drug, inadequate dosage, inappropriate route of administration, failure of the drug to be distributed to the infected site, or metabolism and excretion so that no active drug is present.

Surg Clin North Am, 1981 Jun, 61(3), 681 - 90
Nutritional support in sepsis; McLean AP et al.; Sepsis induces a complex series of host metabolic adjustments, involving muscle proteolysis and hepatic gluconeogenesis . Successful hemodynamic management of the initial phase of shock has lead to survivors who face the prospect of eventual mortality (50 per cent) from this septic episode one to two weeks later . Surgery and use of antibiotics may minimize the invasive infection and eradicate the source . Continued support in the form of cardiorespiratory, renal, and nutritional support provide time, but these measures are only supportive . Nutrition does allow for important protein synthesis . Essential to eventual survival is the ability of the host to contain and resolve the infective microorganism.

Infect Immun, 1981 Jun, 32(3), 1211 - 5
Tumor-associated bacteria capable of producing a human choriogonadotropin-like substance; Backus BT et al.; Aerobic microorganisms were isolated and identified from 9 of 10 malignant tissues aseptically obtained from surgical patients . The organisms isolated are species commonly associated with the flora of the human body . When these cancer-associated organisms were grown in Trypticase soy broth (BBL Microbiology Systems), a protein substance was isolated from the culture filtrates by acetone precipitation . The acetone precipitates of 12 of 14 organisms tested were positive when assayed by radioimmunoassay for the beta subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) . All but one of the bacterial isolates from the malignancies were capable of producing the hCG-like substance, but in varying quantities . Control organisms (not isolated from a malignancy) and uninoculated Trypticase soy broth were either completely negative in the radioimmunoassay for beta hCG or had levels of beta hCG near the limit of the sensitivity of the method . These results suggest the possibility that bacteria-tumor relationships do exist and are in agreement with the findings of other workers . Investigation of these relationships may have important and provocative implications in the study of neoplastic diseases.

Zh Mikrobiol Epidemiol Immunobiol, 1981 Jun, (6), 71 - 4
{Immunocytoadherence indices in evaluating the specificity and activity of an inflammatory process}; Autenshlius AI et al.; A method for determination of specificity and activity of the inflammatory process is described . The method is based on the reaction of immunocytoadherence between granulocytes with the round nucleus (nuclei) and microorganisms . The method is sensitive, as the phagocytic reaction is inhibited and the patient's blood cells interact with microbial cells due to the presence of immunoglobulins or receptors of the immunoglobulin nature, active against the causative agent of the disease, on the blood cell surface . The values of immunocytoadherence in tuberculosis, brucellosis and pneumonia are presented.

Kosm Biol Aviakosm Med, 1981 Jun-Jul, 15(4), 44 - 5
{Effectiveness of the aerobic decomposition of plant wastes by microorganisms}; Chernovich IL et al.; Degradation of plant wastes by means of microbial coenosis under aerobic conditions was studied . Efficiency of the process increased with increase in time and temperature . Microbial degradation of vegetable wastes was more complete than that of wheat wastes.

Am Rev Respir Dis, 1981 May, 123(5), 560 - 4
The tadpole-shaped structures in human non-necrotizing granulomas; Wang N et al.; We scrutinized the secondary lysosomal vesicle of the epitheloid cell from 9 patients whose biopsy specimens show multiple non-necrotizing granulomas by light microscopy (LM) . In 4 of the 9 patients, we found tadpole-shaped structures (TSS) approximately tenfold larger than the size of the mycobacteriophage by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) . In addition, we used a plasma etching method on epon-embedded tissue and successfully demonstrated the stereoscopic appearance of the TSS by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) . The identified TSS were further analyzed with an X-ray energy dispersive spectrometer for their microchemistry . The TSS appeared to be integral structures by TEM and SEM and did not contain any nonbiologic elements when analyzed with the X-ray energy dispersive spectrometer . Their location as well as their morphologic features and microchemistry suggested that the TSS are a microorganism and related to the formation of the granulomas in our 4 patients.

Rev Infect Dis, 1981 May-Jun, 3(3), 508 - 20
Direct effects of hyperthermia on pathogenic microorganisms: Teleologic implications with regard to fever; Mackowiak PA; Fever recently has been the subject of numerous reviews in the clinical literature . Although most of these reviews have devoted considerable attention to studies concerned with the effect of temperature on the immunologic responses of higher animals, they generally have ignored data concerned with the direct effects of physiologic variations in temperature on pathogenic microorganisms . This review summarizes the current status of our knowledge of the reactions of clinically important microorganisms to variations in temperature within the physiologic range and attempts to relate data obtained from in vitro studies of these reactions to the still-unresolved question of the teleologic significance of fever.

Rev Infect Dis, 1981 May-Jun, 3(3), 422 - 69
The immunology of leprosy: speculations on the leprosy spectrum; Sansonetti P et al.; Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae . The disease presents a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations, ranging from lepromatous to tuberculoid leprosy; each form may be punctuated by episodes of acute exacerbation, called reactional states . These polar forms and reactional states appear to be determined by immunologic interactions between the host and the microorganism . This review describes the different measurable parameters that permit the classification of a particular form according to clinical, bacteriologic, histologic, and immunologic spectra . Secondly, the current state of knowledge on essential immunologic features of leprosy is presented, with a description of the various alterations of cellular and humoral immune responses that can be tested by specific and nonspecific methods . The last part of the review is devoted to an analysis of the leprosy spectrum and to speculations about a number of possible factors that may influence the immune response of the host in a manner analogous to that observed in experimental models.

J Pediatr, 1981 May, 98(5), 691 - 5
Respiratory infections in infants on mechanical ventilation: the immune response as a diagnostic aid; Giacoia GP et al.; A prospective study was undertaken in 41 newborn infants receiving artificial respiration for evaluation of the incidence of respiratory infections . Clinical and radiologic evidence of pneumonia was compared with the appearance of serum antibodies against antigens prepared from microorganisms isolated from bronchial aspirates, and with serum and bronchial immunoglobulin M values . A significant specific immune response was documented in 24% of the patients studied . The data indicate that by correlating the clinical and radiographic findings with specific antibodies and IgM antibody responses, it is possible to document a significant number of respiratory infections . One implication of this study is that subclinical infections may not be uncommon . The significance of the presence and changes in concentration of IgM in bronchial aspirate requires further study.

J Immunol, 1981 May, 126(5), 1810 - 3
Human B lymphocytes activated by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) or by mitogens suppress mitogen-induced immunoglobulin production; Tsukuda K et al.; Polyclonal activation of human B lymphocytes by LPS or protein A, alone or in combination or by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), generates suppressive conditions that inhibit the response of human B lymphocytes to pokeweed mitogen (PWM), measured by the induction of immunoglobulin-secreting cells (PFC) . Moreover, EBV-transformed B cell lines of normal or neoplastic (Burkitt lymphoma) origin also suppressed the PWM-induced immunoglobulin production of normal B cells . Cell separation experiments have shown that mitogen activated autologous B cells stimulate suppressor T cells in a similar way as B cell-derived lymphoblastoid cell lines . The significance of this phenomenon is considered in relation to the escape of the activating microorganism or virus from immune control and the occurrence of network interactions within the immune system.

Nature, 1981 Apr 30, 290(5809), 800 - 2
Molecular cloning of foot and mouth disease virus genome and nucleotide sequences in the structural protein genes; Boothroyd JC et al.; Foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV), of the family Picornaviridae, consists of a single-stranded RNA (approximately 8,000 nucleotides), the translation of which is initiated on the 3' side of a 150-nucleotide poly(C) tract and yields a single polyprotein which is processed by host cell proteases into four primary products (Fig . 1) . One or more virus-specified proteases further cleave these into the final products, the capsid proteins (VP1-4) being derived from the precursor p88 (for review see ref . 5) . There are seven serotypes of the virus and as it has been shown that the immunizing activity of FMDV particles is associated primarily with VP1 (refs 6, 7), it seems likely that antigenic variation in FMDV is a result of changes in the structure of this protein . To further our understanding of this variation and as a first step in the possible development of FMDV vaccines from genetically manipulated microorganisms, we report here the construction and analysis of recombinant plasmids containing cDNA copies of the RNA . Comparison of the deduced amino acid sequence with the known polypeptide sequences shows that the NH2-termini of VP2 and VP3 are conserved between the A and O serotypes whereas that of VP1 (the immunizing antigen) varies by as much as 42% between serotypes.

J Biol Chem, 1981 Apr 10, 256(7), 3598 - 603
Characterization of a novel calmodulin from Dictyostelium discoideum; Bazari WL et al.; We have purified calmodulin from the eukaryotic microorganism Dictyostelium discoideum (Clarke, M., Bazari, W . L., and Kayman, S . C . (1980) J . Bacteriol . 141, 397-400) and have compared it to calmodulin purified from bovine brain . The two proteins behaved almost identically during fractionation on ion exchange and gel filtration columns and on isoelectric focusing gels . Dictyostelium calmodulin had one-third the specific activity of brain calmodulin in the Ca2+-dependent activation of brain cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase; this activation was inhibited for both proteins by 25 microM trifluoperazine . Dictyostelium calmodulin also activated erythrocyte (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase and interacted with the inhibitory subunit of skeletal muscle troponin . Competition radioimmune assays showed that Dictyostelium calmodulin could compete with brain calmodulin for antibodies to brain calmodulin . These similarities indicate a close relationship between Dictyostelium and brain calmodulin and suggest that the functional capabilities of the protein have been conserved even among evolutionarily distant species . However, substantial differences in primary structure were detected by amino acid analyses and peptide mapping . Most interesting is the lack of trimethyllysine in Dictyostelium calmodulin . This unusual amino acid, which is commonly found in calmodulins, is therefore not essential for interaction between calmodulin and the calmodulin-regulated proteins tested here.

Med Biol, 1981 Apr, 59(2), 92 - 8
Gallstone formation in guinea pigs under different dietary conditions . Effect of vitamin C on bile acid pattern; Bergman F et al.; Guinea pigs formed gallstones when fed chow supplemented with cholesterol and cholic acid . Although the stones contained little or no cholesterol the changes in biliary bile acid and lipid composition were similar to those observed in other rodents under conditions of cholesterol gallstone formation . Addition of cholestyramine to chow had a midly lithogenic effect . Hypovitaminosis C in animals given cholesterol and cholic acid resulted in an increase of the cholesterol content of the gallstones . The composition of biliary bile acids was markedly changed . Reductive formation of deoxycholic acid decreased and oxidative formation of ketonic bile acid increased . The results show that vitamin C may influence the redox state of the intestinal microorganisms microorganisms responsible for these conversions.

Can J Microbiol, 1981 Apr, 27(4), 432 - 43
Microbial degradation of aromatics and saturates in Prudhoe Bay crude oil as determined by glass capillary gas chromatography; Fedorak PM et al.; Water samples obtained from three different marine environments (including a commercial harbor, a pristine area, and an oil tanker dock area) from the coast of Washington State were challenged with Prudhoe Bay crude oil under shake-flask conditions at 8 degrees C . Replicate cultures were grown with and without nitrogen (NO3-, NH4+) and phosphate supplementation . After varying incubation periods, the residual oil was extracted and separated on silica gel columns into saturate aromatic fractions and these were analyzed by glass capillary gas chromatography to detect the degradation of various compounds . After 27 days of incubation, both the aromatic and saturate fractions were extensively degraded by the microorganisms from these environments when supplemented with nitrogen and phosphorus . Without nutrient supplementation, the aromatics were more readily attacked than the saturates by the populations from the pristine environment and from the commercial harbor area . Under these limited nutrient conditions, samples from near oil tanker docks showed moderate degradation of both the saturate and aromatic fractions . Time course studies, using nutrient-supplemented marine samples, showed that the simple aromatics (e.g., naphthalene and 2-methylnaphthalene) were more readily degraded than the n-alkanes . However, once the breakdown of these saturates commenced, these were quickly removed from the oil . The aromatic degradation continued to progress from lower molecular weight, less complex molecules to larger, more complex molecules in the approximate series C2 naphthalenes; phenanthrene and dibenzothiophene; C3 naphthalenes and methylphenathrenes; C2 phenanthrenes.

Can J Microbiol, 1981 Apr, 27(4), 390 - 9
A scanning electron microscopy study of the invasion of leaflets of a bloat-safe and a bloat-causing legume by rumen microorganisms; Fay JP et al.; A newly developed technique using ruthenium red to detect foci of bacterial digestion in mounts of whole leaflets that had been incubated with rumen bacteria was used to compare the digestion of alfalfa, a bloat-causing legume, and sainfoin, a bloat-safe legume . When whole leaflets were suspended in an artificial rumen medium and inoculated with rumen bacteria, massive bacterial adhesion and proliferation were noted at the stomata of alfalfa leaflets after 6 h of incubation, whereas only a few isolated bacteria adhered near the stomata of sainfoin leaflets After 22 h of incubation, the epidermal layers of alfalfa leaflets had peeled away in many areas, revealing an extensive bacterial invasion of the underlying mesophyll tissue in which large bacterial microcolonies had formed in intercellular spaces, and in intracellular spaces in several areas where plant cell walls had broken down . After 22 h of incubation, the surface of sainfoin leaflets resembled that of alfalfa leaflets at 6 h, with bacterial microcolonies adhering to the area surrounding the stomata, but without sloughing of the epidermis . Uninoculated control leaflets of both species showed no surface alteration but part of their normal bacterial flora had proliferated to form microcolonies on the surface after 22 h incubation . Dry matter loss due to leaching or bacterial digestion when whole leaflets of legumes were suspended in an artificial rumen medium, alone or with rumen bacteria, was significantly higher in the bloat-causing group . Values of leaching and of bacterial digestion were positively correlated . We conclude that reported differences in plant anatomy, and in cell wall chemistry, produce distinct rates or organic nutrient release from legume leaflets, and that these same differences produce an equally distinct susceptibility of leaflets to bacterial invasion, plant cell rupture, and the consequent release of intracellular plant components . The rate of release of organic nutrients from legume leaflets may be important in the etiology of foamy pasture bloat . This technique of in vitro digestion of whole leaflets followed by ruthenium red staining shows some promise of providing a rapid and qualitative test to distinguish, within a species, cultivars that may differ in their bloat-related characteristics.

Acta Pathol Microbiol Scand {B}, 1981 Apr, 89(2), 57 - 60
Microbial conversion of bilirubin to urobilins in vitro and in vivo; Midtvedt T et al.; No urobilins are formed from bilirubin in germ-free rats . To isolate and investigate the strains of intestinal microorganisms responsible for this transformation, a suitable test medium was adopted . The strength of the medium and a rather high initial pH were found to be of importance . In this medium, suspensions of rat faeces and a single strain, Cl . ramosum (G62), converted bilirubin to urobilins . Cultivations of Cl . ramosum (G62) together with E . coli significantly enhanced the conversion, whereas addition of 4 other bacterial strains was without the influence . The highest in vitro formation of the urobilins was about 10% of the bilirubin present . When the 6 strains investigated in vitro were established in EXG rats, the in vivo conversion of bilirubin to urobilins was found to be about 15%, compared to 70% in CONV rats.

Am J Clin Pathol, 1981 Apr, 75(4), 532 - 7
An evaluation of burn wound quantitative microbiology . I . Quantitative eschar cultures; Woolfrey BF et al.; The reliability of quantitative data from burn wound biopsy cultures was investigated . This was done by comparing the recovery of microorganisms from a series of burn wound eschar biopsy specimens that were each divided into two approximately equal portions and cultured in parallel . The results indicate that a microorganism present in the burn wound site in any quantity has at least a 25% chance of being missed by a single quantitative eschar culture . For recovery levels corresponding to quantitative breakpoints that have been proposed to be predictive of burn wound sepsis, only 38% of paired quantitative results agreed within the same log10 unit, and 44% differed by +/- 2 log10 units or more . These findings indicate that quantitative results derived from burn wound biopsy cultures are unreliable and may be significantly misleading when used for decision-making relative to patient care.

Laryngoscope, 1981 Apr, 91(4), 520 - 8
Immunosuppression and the development of malignancies of the upper airway and related structures; Harris JP et al.; In the general population, 90% of the malignancies developing in the upper respiratory tract are squamous cell carcinomas . Analysis of 1081 neoplasms in 1023 renal transplant patients reported to the Denver Transplant Tumor Registry indicates that squamous cell carcinoma remains the predominant malignancy which develops in the upper respiratory tract of immunosuppressed individuals . Comparing the incidence of cancers of the oral cavity (excluding lip cancers) in the immunosuppressed population with the general population it is rather similar (3.5% vs . 4%) . When lip cancers are included, one sees a great excess of tumors developing in transplant patients (15% vs . 4.6%) . Thus the excess of head an neck epithelial malignancies among these patients is confined to neoplasms of the lip . Examination of the 25 patients reported in this study reveals an unusually young age of the patients, the average age being 41.8 years compared with the general population where most head an neck tumors occur in the 55-65 age group . The average time post-transplantation when cancer developed was 5.3 years, supporting the concept that the more effective the immunosuppressive regimen for prevention of graft rejection, the greater the susceptibility for the development of cancer . Since 90% of transplant patients have serological or clinical evidence of active herpes virus infection, it is possible that this microorganism may play a role in the development of certain head and neck malignancies, especially those involving the lips.

J Clin Microbiol, 1981 Apr, 13(4), 637 - 42
Detection of Legionella pneumophila capsular-like envelope antigens by counterimmunoelectrophoresis; Smith RA et al.; The capsular-like envelope of Legionella pneumophila strains Togus 1 (serotype 2) and Philadelphia 1 (serotype 1) was isolated and purified by column chromatography on Sepharose 6B . Antibody raised in rabbits to these two antigenic materials did not cross-react in gel diffusion . Upon electrophoresis followed by gel diffusion, the majority of both envelope materials was found to migrate towards the cathode . A minor antigenic component of each envelope only migrated slightly towards the anode . Using the envelope antigens and the two anti-envelope sera in a counterimmunoelectrophoresis (CIE) assay, positive results were only obtained when the antigenic materials were placed in the cathodal well . The Togus 1 and Philadelphia 1 antigens did not cross-react in CIE . The sensitivity of the CIE assay was poor (15.6 micrograms/ml by carbohydrate content) compared to its sensitivity in other microbial systems . Although CIE may not be a useful diagnostic aid in identifying Legionella species due to its low sensitivity, it may be of value in serotyping the microorganism since we did not see cross-reactivity between the two strains when anti-envelope sera were used.

Acta Pathol Microbiol Scand {B}, 1981 Apr, 89(2), 93 - 101
Extracted protective antigen of Bordetella pertussis . I . Preparation and properties of the solubilized surface of components; Helting TB et al.; Bordetella pertussis microorganisms were treated with several extracting agents followed by ultracentrifugation to remove particulate matter . Analysis of the resulting supernatants by SDS gel electrophoresis showed one major component after simple salt extraction, and much more complex, although consistent pattern following detergent treatment . The yield of the solubilized protein in detergent extracts exceeded by far the values recorded for salt extracts . In order to prevent irreversible precipitation of the solubilized proteins upon removal of the denaturing agent, a novel procedure was developed . After extraction with urea-salt, the solubilized material was absorbed on a mineral carrier prior to the separation of the denaturing agent . The resulting absorbed vaccine was highly potent in the mouse-protection test, whereas the toxic reactions, elicited upon injection into experimental animals, were reduced in the comparison to the starting material . This diminished reactogenic potential was accompanied by the partial loss of the leukocytosis-promiting factor, whose activity was greatly diminished by urea-salt at alkaline pH-values . The procedure described may be applied to large-scale processing of Bordetella persussis microorganisms . Clinical trials now in progress should confirm or rebut the thesis that increased tolerability of the product, inferred from animal experiments, is reflected by fewer adverse reactions in humans . In the former case, the detergent extract vaccine may constitute a realistic alternative to conventional whole-cell vaccines against whooping-cough.

J Virol Methods, 1981 Apr, 2(5), 251 - 60
Measurement of the electrokinetic properties of vaccinia and reovirus by laser-illuminated whole-particle microelectrophoresis; Taylor DH et al.; The electrokinetics of vaccinia virus and reovirus type 3 were studied in dilute electrolyte solutions by whole-particle microelectrophoresis with dark-field laser illumination . The electrophoretic mobilities were dependent upon pH and electrolyte composition . The isoelectric point of vaccinia virus in dilute NaCl was 4.8 +/- 0.1; that of reovirus was 3.8 +/- 0.1 . The mobility of reovirus was -2.65 +/- 0.30 micrometer . S-1 . V-1 . cm-1 . Treatments known to cause irreversible changes in the structure of vaccinia, such as heating to 90 degrees C or exposure to pH 10, altered the virus's mobility under the reference conditions . The practical range of whole-particle microelectrophoresis thus extends to microorganisms as small as reovirus, allowing their electrokinetic and related surface properties to be studied.

Lancet, 1981 Mar 21, 1(8221), 653 - 7
C-reactive protein fifty years on; Pepys MB; The discovery of C-reactive protein (CRP) half a century ago led to the description of the acute-phase reaction which is a fundamental response of the body to injury . Recent work on the structure and function of CRP has revealed the existence of a unique plasma protein family, including CRP and serum amyloid P component (SAP) . These proteins have been conserved throughout vertebrate evolution . CRP binds specifically to a wide range of substances derived both from damaged autologous cells and from microorganisms . Complexed CRP can activate the complement system and, by virtue of its dramatically increased production in response to tissue injury, it probably acts primarily as a protective mechanism . However, in some circumstances CRP may also initiate or exacerbate inflammatory lesions . Clinical measurement of serum CRP is valuable as a screening test for organic disease and as a sensitive object index of disease activity and response to therapy in some inflammatory, infective, and ischaemic conditions . SAP closely resembles CRP in structure but not an acute-phase reactant in man . An apparently identical protein, amyloid P component (AP), is always found in amyloid deposits . AP is also found in normal tissues, as an integral constituent of vascular basement membranes and is located on the peripheral microfibrillar mantle of elastic fibres throughout the body.

Science, 1981 Mar 6, 211(4486), 1002 - 13
Clocked cell cycle clocks; Edmunds LN Jr et al.; The cell division cycle of both mammalian cells and microorganisms, which apparently has both deterministic and probabilistic features, is a clock of sorts in that the sequence of events that comprise it measures time under a given set of environmental conditions . The cell division cycle may itself be regulated by a programmable clock that, under certain conditions, can generate circadian periodicities by interaction with a circadian pacemaker . These clocks must insert time segments into the cell division cycle in order to generate the observed variability in cellular generation times.

Mikrobiologiia, 1981 Mar-Apr, 50(2), 299 - 304
{Development of hydrogen bacteria on hard surfaces}; Kriukov VR; A simple model system stimulating the physical conditions of hydrogen bacterial growth in soil and loose rocks was studied . Hydrogen bacterial cells grown under the autotrophic conditions were applied to the surface of coarse-grained silica gel, crushed brick and peat, and constantly supplied with a mixture of H2:O2:CO2 (7:2:1) . It was shown that Nocardia opaca Z-766, when cultivated on well-developed solid surfaces with a small quantity of mineral medium, produced an active bacterial film at the whole surface and was capable of oxidizing hydrogen over 100 days . The rate of gas consumption had a maximum and then sharply decreased to a level of one-third--one-fifth of the maximal rate . The same was true of Pseudomonas carboxydoflava Z-352 and Nocardia autotrophica Z-1046; apparently, this is a common characteristic of all organisms growing on solid surfaces and fed with gases . The results suggest that microorganisms oxidizing hydrogen can grow on solid surfaces for a long period of time, serving as a bacterial filter which effectively removes a gaseous substrate.

J Infect Dis, 1981 Mar, 143(3), 386 - 90
Infections with Legionella pneumophila in children; Andersen RD et al.; To learn the role of Legionella pneumophila, the agent of Legionnaires' disease, in childhood illness, a prospective study was conducted among 52 children younger than four years of age with acute disease of the lower respiratory tract . Viral, mycoplasmal, and bacterial cultures and acute- and convalescent-phase sera were obtained during 64 episodes of acute illness; additional sera were drawn annually for three to five years . On the basis of serologic evidence, none of the acute episodes appeared to be due to L . pneumophila serogroup 1 or 2 . However, examination of annual serum specimens showed that 27 (52%) of the children had rises in titer of indirect immunofluorescent antibody (a fourfold or greater rise to a reciprocal titer of greater than or equal to 128) . Most rises in titer were in response to the serogroup 2 antigen . These results suggest that L . pneumophila is not a common cause of acute respiratory disease in early childhood in the study area but that children are frequently exposed to the organism . Alternatively, the serologic responses might be to unrelated cross-reacting microorganisms.

Am J Ophthalmol, 1981 Mar, 91(3), 362 - 72
Demodicosis of ophthalmic concern; English FP et al.; Hair-follicle mites are the only metazoan organism commonly found in the pilosebaceous components of the eyelid of man . Our study showed that Demodex folliculorum in all stages is found in the small hair follicles and the eyelash hair follicles . This species, in adult and immature forms, consumes epithelial cells, produces follicular distension and hyperplasia, and increases keratinization leading, in eyelashes, to cuffing consisting of keratin and lipid moieties . Demodex brevis (in all stages) is present in the eyelash sebaceous glands, small hair sebaceous glands, and in the lobules of the meibomian glands . Adults and immature forms consume the gland cells in all of these loci and, when infestations are heavy, can affect the formation of the superficial lipid layer of the tear film coacervate . Comparative studies of demodicids from man and other mammals suggest that keratinization, hyperplasia, distension, and melanocyte aggregation may be even more extensive if large populations of D . folliculorum build up in the follicles of the eyelid . Large populations of D . brevis may destroy the glandular cells, produce granuloma in the eyelid, and plug the ducts of the meibomian or sebaceous glands . Further studies may incriminate either or both species, in conjunction with microorganisms, as transfer agents or synergists, or both, in producing ocular disease in man . Prevention and control of these mites must await experimental studies with infested laboratory animals (such as the squirrel monkey, Saimiri sciureus) . These mites are probably most vulnerable during transfer stages, when they leave their glandular or follicular habitats.

Kosm Biol Aviakosm Med, 1981 Mar-Apr, 15(2), 51 - 60
{Biological research in space}; Tairbekov MG et al.; The paper presents the results of investigations carried out during the last two decades on various biological objects--microorganisms, plant seeds, insects, higher and lower plants, fish and amphibians--in real and simulation space flights . The paper discusses the current knowledge of the biological role of gravity and possible mechanisms of adaptation to weightlessness as well as the suitability of different biological objects for further space studies . Most experiments conducted in real space flights have lent support to the theoretical studies of the level and limits of weightlessness effects upon biological systems . Analysis of the data obtained in space and ground-bound experiments suggests that molecular processes are indifferent to an altered gravity and that energy metabolism plays an important role in adaptation of biological systems to zero-g.

Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 1981 Mar, 19(3), 465 - 9
Microbial transformation of N-methylcolchiceinamide; Davis PJ; Seventy-seven microorganisms were examined for their ability to metabolize the antineoplastic agent N-methylcolchiceinamide, an analog of colchicine . Five streptomycetes exhibited significant metabolism, and Streptomyces griseus NRRL B-599 completely converted the substrate to three metabolites . In preparative-scale studies, N-dealkylation resulted in the production of colchiceinamide, the major metabolite (65%), which was characterized by chemical, spectroscopic, and chromatographic comparisons with the standard compound . Two phenolic metabolites resulting from )-dealkylation were also isolated and identified as 2 and 3-O-demethyl-N-methylcolchiceinamide.

Br J Nutr, 1981 Mar, 45(2), 441 - 9
The influence of microorganisms and of stress on the chick's requirement for pantothenic acid; Latymer EA et al.; 1 . The responses of germ-free (GF) and conventional (CV) chicks to suboptimal amounts of dietary calcium pantothenate (CaPa) were compared . At the lower levels of supplementation the signs of deficiency were more severe in the CV chicks . 2 . Calculations based on mean body-weights of chicks given graded dietary supplements of calcium pantothenate (CaPa) in both environments showed that, to achieve the same body-weight and freedom from signs of deficiency, the GF birds required only approximately two-thirds the amount of CaPa as was needed by corresponding CV birds . 3 . Increasing the dietary supplement of CaPa resulted in increased contents of PaA in the livers . GF birds had more PaA per liver than their CV counterparts . In both instances the effect was due to the larger liver size . Concentration of PaA in the liver was not affected by dietary supplement nor by the environment . 4 . CV birds were deemed to be under greater stress than GF birds because their adrenal glands were heavier and contained less cholesterol . 5 . CV chicks deliberately stressed by injections of adrenocorticotrophic hormone had heavier adrenals with lower cholesterol contents than unstressed controls, but the condition was not altered by increasing the dietary supply of CaPa.

Vet Rec, 1981 Feb 28, 108(9), 183 - 7
Weather and infectious disease in cattle; Webster AJ; The incidence and severity of many diseases of cattle, particularly the endemic enteric and respiratory diseases, appear from clinical impression or epidemiological survey to be associated with particular types of weather . Infectious diseases of cattle (excluding parasitic ones) for which there appears to be a real association between climate, weather and disease are reviewed . Effects of weather on survival and spread of microorganisms, local resistance to infection and systemic resistance to disease are discussed . Factors such as cold, heat, relative humidity and air pollution are considered with particular reference to the aetiology of respiratory diseases.

Nature, 1981 Feb 19, 289(5799), 646 - 50
Control of vascular permeability by polymorphonuclear leukocytes in inflammation; Wedmore CV et al.; Polymorphonuclear leukocytes infiltrate tissues in response to an inflammatory stimulus to remove invading microorganisms and cell debris . We present eivdence that these scaveging cells have another, more sophisticated role in that they are involved in the control of fluid efflux through the blood vessel wall which leads to tissue oedema.

Schweiz Med Wochenschr, 1981 Feb 7, 111(6), 182 - 6
{Humidifier lung}; Gerber P et al.; Breathing air from a humidifier or an air conditioning unit contaminated by various microorganisms can cause an acute lung disease involving fever, cough and dyspnea, termed "humidifier fever" . This type of hypersensitivity pneumonitis was first described in 1959 by PESTALOZZI in the Swiss literature and subsequently by BANASZAK et al . in the Anglo-American . Here a chronic form of this disease which led to pulmonary fibrosis is described: A 37-year-old woman who works in a cheese shop presented with dyspnea which had been progressive over two years, weight loss, a diffuse reticular pattern radiographically and a severe restrictive defect in lung function tests . Open lung biopsy revealed chronic interstitial and alveolar inflammation with non-caseating granulomas and fibrotic changes . Circulating immune complexes and precipitins against the contaminated humidifier water and cheese mites were found, but no antibodies suggesting legionnaires' disease . Two out of five otherwise healthy employees of this cheese shop, where a new humidifying system had been installed 7 years earlier, also had precipitins against the contaminated water from the humidifier and the cheese mites . Despite ending of exposure and longterm steroid and immunosuppressive therapy, the signs and symptoms of pulmonary fibrosis persisted . Contrary to the acute disease, this chronic form is termed "humidifier lung" . The importance is stressed of investigating the possibility of exposure to contaminated humidifiers or air conditioning units in all cases of newly detected pulmonary fibrosis.

Toxicol Lett, 1981 Feb, 7(4-5), 341 - 6
Observations, in vitro, on N-nitrosation by intracellular extracts of some microorganisms isolated from palm wine; Maduagwu EN; Soluble fractions of sonicates derived from cell suspensions of some bacteria and yeasts, which contaminate palm sap, enhanced nitrosamine formation when each fraction was incubated, under sterile conditions, at a pH of 7.0 +/- 0.2, with either diphenylamine, dimethylamine or diethylamine and sodium nitrite and glucose as substrates . The intrinsic factor in the extracts, which was responsible for the N-nitrosation reactions, was heat labile and might be an enzyme; a so-called 'N-nitrosatase'.

J Pharm Sci, 1981 Feb, 70(2), 155 - 8
Metabolism of phencyclidine by microorganisms; Hufford CD et al.; A number of microorganisms were screened for their ability to metabolize phencyclidine . Two microorganisms, Beauveria sulfurescens and Cunninghamella echinulata, produced hydroxylated metabolites, which were identified as 1-(1-phenylcyclohexyl)-4-hydroxypiperidine and 4-phenyl-4-piperidinocyclohexanol by high-pressure liquid chromatographic analysis.

J Pharm Sci, 1981 Feb, 70(2), 151 - 5
Metabolism of imipramine by microorganisms; Hufford CD et al.; The microbial metabolism of imipramine was studied using selected fungal organisms . The major microbial metabolites were isolated, and their structures were established by spectroscopic analyses (particularly 13C-NMR) and by comparison with authentic samples . The microbial metabolites identified included 2-hydroxyimipramine, 10-hydroxyimipramine, iminodibenzyl, imipramine-N-oxide, and desipramine; these metabolites also have been found in mammalian metabolism studies.

Biosci Rep, 1981 Feb, 1(2), 141 - 50
Improved technique for investigation of cell metabolism by 31P NMR spectroscopy; Jacobson L et al.; 31P NMR studies on microorganisms have been carried out with the cells embedded in agarose gel . The novel use of the gel for the NMR studies has advantages over the usual liquid suspensions in terms of improved reproducibility of data and cell viability, with no net loss of spectral quality . Polyphosphate formation in Escherichia coli was monitored continuously for up to 24 h and metabolic changes in yeast for 6 h . Changes of the intracellular pH during glycolysis in yeast were determined from the chemical shift of the internal Pi . NMR titration curves of Pi in the presence of Mg2+ indicate uncertainties in internal pH values estimated by this technique.

Antibiotiki, 1981 Feb, 26(2), 97 - 101
{Changes in microorganism sensitivity to antibiotics as affected by divalent metal ions}; Chaikovskaia SM et al.; Ca+ and Mg+ in nutrient media significantly influence the results of antibiotic sensitivity determination in microorganisms . The data of the study are indicative of a necessity for the media standardization with respect to the content of bivalent metal ions . It is recommended that agar-agar manufactured by the South Sea Factory (tafuinsky) be used for preparation of nutrient media for determination of microbial sensitivity to antibiotics and Hottinger meat pancreatic digest as the nitrogen source providing the content of 120 mg per cent of amine nitrogen in the medium.

Nature, 1981 Jan 29, 289(5796), 409 - 11
Phagocytosis requires repeated triggering of macrophage phagocytic receptors during particle ingestion; Shaw DR et al.; The phagocytic functions of polymorphonuclear leukocytes and mononuclear phagocytes are crucial elements in host defence against a variety of invading microorganisms . Phagocytosis is a highly selective process, requiring specific interactions between the surface of the particle to be ingested and the plasma membrane of the phagocytic cell . The phagocyte can therefore discriminate between 'ingestible' and 'non-ingestible' particles even when the different particles are located in close proximity on the plasma membrane of the phagocytic cell . Previous work has demonstrated that these specific interactions between particle and phagocyte are required not only for the initiation of phagocytosis--that is, attachment of the particle to the phagocytic cells and generation of a signal to trigger phagocyte pseudopod extension--but also for the subsequent progression of pseudopods over the entire surface of the particle . We present evidence here that the continued interactions between phagocyte plasma membrane receptors and particle-bound ligands do not function merely to direct otherwise random phagocyte pseudopod movement, but instead are required for the repeated generation of intracellular phagocytic signals during the entire ingestion process.

Schweiz Med Wochenschr, 1981 Jan 24, 111(4), 123 - 5
{Bactericidal activity against P . aeruginosa in serum and bronchial secretion in patients under continuous infusion of azlocillin}; Mombelli G et al.; The azlocillin level and killing activity in serum and bronchial secretions against 10 strains of P . aeruginosa were studied in 7 intubated or tracheotomized patients with severe bronchial infection who were receiving the drug as continuous i.v . infusion . In 5 out of 7 patients azlocillin was absent or present only in traces in bronchial secretions in spite of plasma levels ranging between 170 to 340 micrograms/ml . In the other 3 patients azlocillin levels of 23 and 39 micrograms/ml and moderate bactericidal activity against P . aeruginosa could be detected in bronchial secretions . Penicillinase producing strains of Staph . aureus were isolated from the sputum of the 5 patients with extremely low azlocillin level in bronchial secretions . The strain of Staph . aureus isolated from one patient was shown to destroy azlocillin rapidly . In bronchopulmonary infections, Staph . aureus may not only be directly pathogenic but also interfere with the action of beta-lactamase unstable drugs against other microorganisms.

Biochim Biophys Acta, 1981 Jan 14, 634(1), 41 - 51
Characterization of a new type of ferredoxin from Desulfovibrio africanus; Hatchikian EC et al.; A new ferredoxin designated ferredoxin III has been isolated from Desulfovibrio africanus grown on media high in iron . Native ferredoxin III is a dimer constituted by two identical subunits of approx . 7500 . It is distinguished from the two other ferredoxins (I and II) isolated from this microorganism by its amino acids composition, N-terminal sequence, spectral properties and iron-sulfur content . The amino acid composition of D . africanus ferredoxin III is typical of ferredoxins with an excess of acidic over basic residues and the absence of histidine and arginine residues . The absorption spectrum of ferredoxin III exhibits two maxima, at 408 nm (epsilon = 58.5 . 10(3) M-1 . cm-1) and 285 nm (epsilon = 82 . 10(3) M-1 . cm-1), with a shoulder at 305 nm (epsilon = 75 . 10(3) M-1 . cm-1) . Its A408/A285 absorbance ratio is 0.78 . Ferredoxin III contains approx . 12--13 atoms each of iron and labile sulfur . This is in agreement with the high value of the extinction coefficient at 408 nm, which is slightly higher than 3-fold that of one {4Fe-4S} cluster . However, the number of cysteine residues of the protein (six residues), which is about the half that of iron atoms, is indicative of the presence of a new type of iron-sulfur cluster in ferredoxin III . The protein is unstable in a low ionic strength environment; the addition of neutral salts stabilizes the protein conformation . The data on the biological activity of ferredoxin III as compared to the two other ferredoxins from D . africanus show that the three iron-sulfur proteins function with equal effectiveness as electron carrier in the phosphoroclastic reaction and the H2-sulfite reductase system.

Arch Dermatol, 1981 Jan, 117(1), 20 - 2
Pruritic folliculitis of pregnancy; Zoberman E et al.; We studied the clinical and pathologic features of a pruritic, erythematous, papular eruption occurring in six pregnant women between the fourth and ninth months of gestation . All patients were in good health and without symptoms associated with the eruption . The lesions were generalized except in one patient . The clinical diagnosis in each case was papular dermatitis of pregnancy . The histopathologic feature of acute folliculitis was observed in five of the six women . The sixth patient demonstrated parakeratosis limited to the acrotrichium . No microorganisms were found in the six patients, and direct immunofluorescence microscopy was negative for deposition of immunoreactants in the four patients that were observed . Deliveries were normal, and all infants were healthy . The lesions cleared spontaneously at delivery or in the postpartum period . We believe that papular skin lesions in pregnant women should undergo biopsy to obtain further data regarding the dermatitis and its natural history.

Acta Biochim Biophys Acad Sci Hung, 1981, 16(3-4), 135 - 44
The purification of polynucleotide phosphorylase from Thermus aquaticus by the use of heparin-sepharose 4B affinity chromatography; Bauer PI et al.; The polynucleotide phosphorylase of Thermus aquaticus was purified using ammonium sulfate fractionation and column chromatography on DEAE-cellulose, heparin-Sepharose 4B and DEAE-Sephadex A25 . The enzyme was purified 1500-fold and was 90-95% homogeneous as checked by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis . It has a molecular weight of 275 000 and consists of four identical subunits . The Km values for the enzyme as determined in polymerization (ADP, GDP, UDP) and phosphorolytic reactions (poly A, poly U) are in the same concentration range as in the case of the enzyme deriving from mesophilic microorganisms . Furthermore, the enzyme is primer dependent and its activity is lost gradually at temperatures higher than 65 degrees C . In the base ratio of the copolymers followed the input base ratio polymerization reactions with polyUA, while with polyAG and polyUG a marked difference between the initial base ratio and the base composition of copolymers was observed.

Vet Med Nauki, 1981, 18(6), 64 - 8
{Optimal irradiation dosage for microorganisms in cow's milk}; Filipov Zh; Comparative experimental investigations were carried out to establish the effect of ultra violet rays on the total count of organisms in pooled cow's milk at various irradiation rates (20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 min) . The milk was intended for feeding calves . Results showed that with increasing the time of ultra violet treatment the microbial contamination of milk dropped . With the irradiation method used by the authors best bactericidal effects were obtained at 60 min treatment.

Scan Electron Microsc, 1981, (Pt 3), 55 - 64
Scanning electron microscopy of Legionella pneumophila in clinical tissue; Watson JH et al.; Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is a valuable technique for rapid detection of the presence of microorganisms, for determination of their three-dimensional morphology and topology and for identification of their anatomical sites . It has been used for these purposes in Legionnaires' disease with three patients at autopsy in an investigation of Legionella pneumophila in situ . In two cases the study was restricted to lung, and in the third case tissues from extra-pulmonic sites were examined in addition to lung . Microorganisms in good condition of surface preservation were found in lung, tracheal lymph node and heart . The work has shown that the bacterium is pleomorphic, that it can be either rod or sausage-shaped and that it can possess a smooth, dimpled or wrinkled surface, with or without small terminal or lateral blebs . Binary fission was often seen and there was some minimal evidence of flagella in clinical specimens . Well preserved bacteria were found in lung both intra- and extracellularly.

Rev Environ Health, 1981, 3(3), 277 - 91
Health hazards associated with solid waste disposal; Gaby WL; The landfilling and disposal of domestic solid waste should be considered as great or greater a public health hazard as raw sewage . Solid waste is toxic and contains a greater variety of pathogenic microorganisms than does sewage sludge . Of all the procedures for solid waste disposal, landfills have and will continue to give rise to serious public health problems of land and water pollution . Although the general public is opposed to landfilling our inept health officials have offered small communities and cities no choice . Small communities do not have the technical knowledge or the funds to initiate alternative procedures . As the volume of solid waste increases each year the magnitude of the health hazards will eventually force public health agencies to implement correct disposal procedures ultimately resulting in recycling.

Z Allg Mikrobiol, 1981, 21(6), 457 - 68
Enzymes of glucose isomerization in various microorganisms; Suekane M et al.; Screening tests for glucose-isomerizing strains of various type, reference and laboratory strains of bacteria including actinomycetes, and yeasts were carried out . The ability to convert glucose to fructose was found to be widely distributed among various microorganisms . It was shown that glucose-isomerizing ability was most prevalent in the genera Aerobacter and Escherichia, but was not found in the bacterial genera belonging to the order Pseudomonadales . Although their activities were not very high (probably due to unsuitable culture conditions) more than 70% of the actinomycetes and 60% of the yeasts grown on xylose possessed glucose-isomerizing activity.

Folia Microbiol (Praha), 1981, 26(4), 321 - 7
Effect of fire on soil microorganisms in a Meghalaya pine forest; Sharma GD; The effect of man-made fire on soil microbial population in a natural subtropical pine forest eco-system, was studies . a nearly fifty years old pine (Pinus kesiya Royle) forest was cut and burnt in March 1977 . Another half of this pine forest was left uncut and unburnt . Microbial population was destroyed completely just after the burning and recolonization occurred after some days . Bacteria and actinomycetes were found to be the first colonizers followed by fungi . Burning initiated better growth and higher population of bacteria after two or three showers . Bacterial population was highest in July in burnt and in May in unburnt forest . Maximum fungal population in burnt site was recorded in July while it was highest in april and May in unburnt site . Penicillium spp., Cladosporium sp . and Trichoderma sp . were found to be first colonizing fungi just after the burning . In unburnt forest eco-system Absidia sp., Trichoderma sp., Fusarium sp . and Penicillium spp . were found to be dominant.

Z Allg Mikrobiol, 1981, 21(2), 65 - 76
{Geomicrobiological studies . XIV . Heavy metal tolerance of desulfurizing bacteria under various ecological conditions}; Brecklinghaus J et al.; Tolerance and adaptation to heavy metals of Desulfovibrio- and Desulfotomaculum-strains of different origin have been investigated in enrichment cultures under different conditions of sulphate supply . Three groups of low, medium, and high toxicity were found with As, V, and Mo in the first, Ni, Sb, Co, and Hg in the second, and Cd, Zn, U, and Cu in the third group . If the SO"4-supply was restricted to heavy metal sulphates with a relation of 1:1 of heavy metal- and SO"4 -ions (2:3 with Sb2(SO4)3) the tolerance was somewhat lowered . Adaptation to higher concentrations of heavy metals was possible, if the strains had not yet been exposed and adapted to higher concentration levels at their natural habitats . The tolerance range of desulfurizers has been compared with the tolerance range of different biochemical types of microorganisms.

Acta Orthop Scand, 1981, 52(2), 155 - 70
Osseointegrated titanium implants . Requirements for ensuring a long-lasting, direct bone-to-implant anchorage in man; Albrektsson T et al.; A total of 2895 threaded, cylindrical titanium implants have been inserted into the mandible or the maxilla and 124 similar implants have been installed in the tibial, temporal or iliac bones in man for various bone restorative procedures . The titanium screws were implanted without the use of cement, using a meticulous technique aiming at osseointegration--a direct contact between living bone and implant . Thirty-eight stable and integrated screws were removed for various reasons from 18 patients . The interface zone between bone and implant was investigated using X-rays, SEM, TEM and histology . The SEM study showed a very close spatial relationship between titanium and bone . The pattern of the anchorage of collagen filaments to titanium appeared to be similar to that of Sharpey's fibres to bone . No wear products were seen in the bone or soft tissues in spite of implant loading times up to 90 months . The soft tissues were also closely adhered to the titanium implant, thereby forming a biological seal, preventing microorganism infiltration along the implant . The implants in many cases had been allowed to permanently penetrate the gingiva and skin . This caused no adverse tissue effects . An intact bone-implant interface was analyzed by TEM, revealing a direct bone-to-implant interface contact also at the electron microscopic level, thereby suggesting the possibility of a direct chemical bonding between bone and titanium . It is concluded that the technique of osseointegration is a reliable type of cement-free bone anchorage for permanent prosthetic tissue substitutes . At present, this technique is being tried in clinical joint reconstruction . In order to achieve and to maintain such a direct contact between living bone and implant, threaded, unalloyed titanium screws of defined finish and geometry were inserted using a delicate surgical technique and were allowed to heal in situ, without loading, for a period of at least 3--4 months.

Arch Environ Contam Toxicol, 1981, 10(2), 193 - 201
Studies on the sorption of elemental mercury vapor by soils; Fang SC; Mercury vapor sorption by soil increased curvilinearly with the increase of soil moisture content until a maximum was reached . A further increase of moisture content caused a decline in mercury sorption . The percent moisture contents which gave maximal increase of 203Hg vapor sorption in these soils coincide quite closely with their water-holding capacity values at 1/3 bar . Soil microorganisms may play a part in moist soil for the increase of elemental mercury vapor sorption and subsequent transformation to mercuric form . Mercury vapor diffused into both dry and moist soil columns and the diffusion profile can be described by an exponential function of the form, y = ae-bx, where "a" is the adsorption characteristics of the soil, "b" is the diffusivity coefficient and x is the depth of soil . The diffusivity coefficient for mercury vapor varied with the soil type and its moisture content.

Z Allg Mikrobiol, 1981, 21(1), 3 - 6
Steroid transformation with immobilized microorganisms . VI . The reverse reaction of steroid-1-dehydrogenases from different micoorganisms in immobilized state; Atrat P et al.; Whole cells of Nocardia erythropolis, N . opaca and Mycobacterium phlei containing 4-en-3-oxosteroid: (acceptor)-1-en-oxidoreductase activities were immobilized by adsorption on DEAE-cellulose and silica and by entrapment in polyacrylamide gel . The obtained biocatalysts were used in an anaerobic continuous column process to transform 1,4-dien-3-oxo-steroids into 4-en-3-oxo- steroids . The half life of steroid-1(2)-reductase activity of the N . erythropolis was found to be up to 15 days . The DEAE-cellulose-adsorbed cells showed a slightly higher relative activity than free cells . The influence of substrate concentration and the action of dimethylformamide were also investigated.

Mikrobiologiia, 1981 Jan-Feb, 50(1), 62 - 8
{Metabolite excretion by yeasts of the genus Candida in media lacking sources of N, P, S, or Mg and having different carbon sources}; Mandeva RD et al.; The purpose of this work was to study the effect produced by limiting the growth of yeasts belonging to the genus Candida on the excretion of cell metabolites . Changes in the composition and quantitative ratios between substances excreted depending on the carbon source (glucose, ethanol, hexadecane) and factors limiting growth of the cultures (N, P, S or Mg sources) were examined . It has been shown that (a) limitation of the yeast growth results in the majority of cases (but not always) in the excretion of macroquantities of these or other metabolites; (b) many microorganisms differ substantially from one another in their capacity to excrete metabolites; (c) the total number of metabolites found in the medium in macroquantities in different variants of the experiment is relatively small, and all of them belong to these or other intermediates of the oxidative metabolism of the carbon source (the acids of the citric acid cycle etc.) or are involved in the process of gluconeogenesis (polyols); (d) the composition and quantitative proportions of the excreted metabolites depend on the organism, carbon source and growth limiting factor.

Mikrobiologiia, 1981 Jan-Feb, 50(1), 183 - 5
{Relationship between the dynamics of the numbers of nodule bacteria in the soil and the stage of microbial succession}; Polianskaia LM et al.; The survival of a population of nodule bacteria after its introduction into soil depends on the ratio between favourable and unfavourable microzones . This ratio does not remain constant in one and the same soil at different stages of microbial succession even if the succession is caused by simple humidification of the soil without any introduction of additional substrates . The dynamics of the incidence of nodule bacteria introduced, at one and the same level, into soil samples of different growth stages of a complex of soil microorganisms significantly differed . Successful nitragination may be assisted by determining the growth stage of a microbial system when the population is being introduced and by changing the environment in the soil.

Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek, 1981, 47(2), 107 - 19
Influence of carbon and nitrogen sources on the transition from yeast-like cells to chlamydospores in Aureobasidium pullulans; Bermejo JM et al.; The transition from yeast-like cells to chlamydospores of Aureobasidium pullulans can be induced by growing the microorganism on a glucose medium with a limiting nitrogen source and a low buffer capacity . When glucose is used as the carbon source, a concentration higher than 3% (w/v) is required to induce the transition . On the other hand, growth limiting concentrations of the N source (ammonium sulphate) are not required, and higher concentrations actually stimulate the appearance of chlamydospores . Other N sources, such as glutamate or ammonium phosphate, do not induce the transition from yeast-like cells to chlamydospores.

Mikrobiologiia, 1981 Jan-Feb, 50(1), 156 - 62
{Role of microscopic fungi in the process of weathering of pegmatite deposit rocks and minerals}; Avakian ZA et al.; The object of this work was to study the effect of microscopic fungi isolated from the weathering zone of a pegmatite deposit on the transport of elements and the degradation of rocks and minerals . Regardless of the chemical composition of rocks and minerals, microscopic fungi accelerated the leaching of elements as compared to the purely chemical process . The extraction of Li, Si, Al and Fe under the action of microorganisms increased by factors of 1.4-1.7, 2.7-4.0, 5.0-8.7 and 4-18, respectively . In the case of chemical weathering, the extraction of elements occurred at a high rate only at the beginning; then the process either decelerated or stopped . The mechanism of action of microscopic fungi on rocks and minerals is discussed as well as the role of these microorganisms in the weathering of spodumene and the surrounding rocks, pegmatites an shales, which occurs in the zone of hypergenesis.

Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek, 1981, 47(6), 539 - 45
Survival of microorganisms after drying and storage; Antheunisse J et al.; Bacteria, yeasts and fungi suspended in a dextran solution were added to ampoules containing strips of filter paper which were dried without vacuum conditions . The ampoules were sealed and stored in the dark at room temperature . Viability counts were made of the original suspension immediately after drying and after storage periods of 3-48 months . Although bacterial cultures of many general did not show much resistance against dry conditions, bacteria of 13 other general had survived well or moderately after 4 years of storage . Most of the dried yeast cultures had survived after this period . Of the 16 fungal genera tested, species of 6 genera exhibited growth after 4 years . Results of this study were compared with those of two other preservation methods by which the same microorganisms were used.

Z Allg Mikrobiol, 1981, 21(10), 729 - 37
{Leaching of ores with heterotrophic microorganisms . Development of a screening method}; Klages D et al.; Besides leaching of sulfide ores with thiobacilli, a second way of microbial leaching is tested with carbon-heterotrophic fungi and bacteria for those types of ores, where thiobacilli fail to work . The active agents are metabolic products, f . i . organic acids, which are released into the medium producing water soluble compounds with heavy metals . A screening method is described for recognizing active strains in samples of soil, metal-containing sites, mining heaps and other biocoenoses, using the dilution method in plates with different media . The critical signs of supposed leaching activity are halo formations around growing colonies in turbid agar media with suspended particles of Ca carbonate or Ca phosphates of low solubility, and in a second group of experiments with insoluble compounds of heavy metals, f . i . oxides . The leaching activity was tested with metal compounds suspended in liquid media and inoculated with active strains of the screening program . First results were reached with oxides of copper (CuO), uranium (U3O8) and an uranium-containing phosphorite.

Folia Microbiol (Praha), 1981, 26(4), 314 - 6
Fatty acid composition of oil synthesized by Aspergillus nidulans; Sharma ND et al.; The filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans Eidam strain 300 was found to be capable of synthesizing 24.9% oil or remarkably low free fatty acidity, in a chemically defined medium with 34% glucose as sole carbon source . although the total content of oil synthesized was less, utilization of the carbon source is better as shown by the high (8.4) fat coefficient . The major component fatty acids of the oil were palmitic, stearic, oleic and linoleic and are influenced by the source of carbon . Palmitoleic acid is present in traces, confirming thereby the general observation that high oil formers produce oil of low hexadecenoic acid content . The relatively high stearic acid content of the oil distinguishes it from those of other microorganisms and resembles the oil produced by certain tropical plants, such as Madhuca latifolia.

Crit Rev Clin Lab Sci, 1981, 14(2), 133 - 61
Gas chromatography in the identification of microorganisms and diagnosis of infectious diseases; Edman DC et al.; Gas-liquid chromatography (GLC) continues to find increasing applications in the characterization of microorganisms and the diseases associated with them . GLC has been used to characterize microorganisms through qualitative and quantitative analyses of cellular structural components and soluble extracts and metabolic by-products . Chromatographic patterns, or fingerprints, can be used to differentiate between very closely related microorganisms, even strain differences, and provides a potentially powerful tool for future taxonomic studies and more precision in definitive microbial classification . However, the most valuable use of GLC is in the identification of disease through patterns obtained by direct analysis of body fluids . Chromatographic fingerprints of microbial metabolites and compounds associated with the host response to infection and even noninfectious disease can be used to develop relatively simple GLC diagnostic methods . These methods are specific, sensitive, and rapid . This review examines the use of GLC for identification of infectious diseases through the analysis of body fluids, spent culture media, and cellular materials and suggest other clinical areas where its diagnostic potential has yet to be developed.

Mikrobiologiia, 1981 Jan-Feb, 50(1), 176 - 82
{Use of the fluorescence method to detect and quantitatively determine lipids in the cells of microorganisms}; Pomoshchnikova NA et al.; Techniques have been developed for the detection and quantitative determination of lipids in the living cells of microorganisms (after their fixation by heating) using benzimidazole luminophores synthesized by Monocrystalreactive (USSR) . When the yeast cells are stained by a luminophore, the latter is selectively bound to cellular lipids producing a brightly fluorescent complex . The intensity of fluorescence increases proportionally to an increase in the concentration of lipids in the microbial mass . The intensity of fluorescence of a microbial suspension is recorded using a spectrofluorimeter at the excitation and fluorescence maxima of 405 and 475 nm respectively . In order to assay the content of lipids in microorganisms which do not produce a homogeneous suspension, the luminophore bound to lipids is extracted from the cells with hot octane . The absolute content of lipids in the biomass is determined using a standard curve which shows the intensity of fluorescence of microorganisms and their octane extracts as a function of the lipid content in the cell.

Mikrobiologiia, 1981 Jan-Feb, 50(1), 171 - 5
{Study of microorganism respiration according to the parameters of their delayed fluorescence}; Petukhov VG et al.; A method for studying microbial respiration of low oxygen concentrations (10(-5)--10(-7) M) is described . The method was used for examining the respiration chain of the bacterium Escherichia coli and the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae . The following constants of the respiration chain for oxygen were calculated using the parameters of delayed bacterial fluorescence: the rate of respiration, the Michaelis constant, the concentration of oxygen critical for respiration . The decrease in the rate of respiration of low oxygen concentrations consists of two phases; this is related to the existence of two different pathways of oxidation in the terminal region of the respiration chain.

Mutat Res, 1981 Jan, 88(1), 53 - 9
The pH dependence of the mutagenicity of methyl benzimidazol-2-yl carbamate (MBC) towards Aspergillus nidulans (Eidam) Winter and Cladosporium cucumerinum Ellis & Arth; Nirenberg HI et al.; The ability of methyl benzimidazol-2-yl carbamate (MBC) to induce point mutations to carboxin and MBC resistance in Aspergillus nidulans (Eidam) Winter and Cladosporium cucumerinum Ellis & Arth . was dependent upon the pH value of the agar medium into which it had been incorporated . The relevance of this in relation to testing chemicals for a possible mutagenic activity with microorganisms is discussed.

Ciba Found Symp, 1981, 80, 94 - 7
An in vivo model for studying adherence of intestinal pathogens; Katz S et al.; A new method for preparing an isolated colonic loop in a living rabbit is described . The loop with its intact neurovascular supply can be used as as a "living test tube" to study the adherence of microorganisms to intestinal mucosa . Moreover, the clear colonic mucus produced by the loop can be used to study its physiochemical nature and protecting properties in health and disease.

Swed Dent J, 1981, 5(5-6), 225 - 34
A comparison of the effect of phenoxymethylpenicillin and azidocillin on postoperative complications after surgical removal of impacted mandibular third molars; Bystedt H et al.; Postoperative complications after surgical removal of mandibular third molars are still a clinical problem . Sixty patients undergoing operations for removal of an impacted third mandibular molar, were included in a double blind study . Phenoxymethylpenicillin 800 mg, azidocillin 750 mg, or placebo were given to the patients pre-operatively and then twice per day for the following seven days . The concentrations of phenoxymethylpenicillin and azidocillin in serum and alveolar serum were measured and the postoperative courses - pain, trismus, swelling and wound-healing - were recorded . The 40 patients in the antibiotic groups responded significantly better with respect to wound-healing than the 20 patients in the placebo group, and there were no differences between phenoxymethylpenicillin and azidocillin . Antibiotics significantly reduced pain on day 7 postoperatively . There were no differences between antibiotic groups and placebo with respect to trismus and swelling . When the dental alveolar serum concentrations of phenoxymethylpenicillin 3.0 microgram/ml and azidocillin 7.9 microgram/ml were related to their range of inhibitory concentrations for microorganisms isolated from orofacial infections, it was noticed that the two drugs achieved levels sufficient to inhibit most strains . The effect of phenoxymethylpenicillin and azidocillin on postoperative infections can be of value after traumatic oral surgery or after operations on patients especially susceptible to infections.

Rev Neurol (Paris), 1981, 137(6-7), 393 - 413
{Acute, recent and sometimes persistent Mycoplasma pneumoniae infections associated with neurologic manifestations . Discussion of causal relations}; Michel D et al.; Neurological disorders associated with recent and sometimes persistent Mycoplasma pneumoniae infections were present in 9 patients, examined within the course of a year, during the 1980 epidemic in Saint-Etienne, France . Cases included 5 with acute polyneuritis, 2 with lymphocytic meningitis, 1 with a bilateral optic neuritis, and 1 with mild encephalitis presenting as an amnesic disorder . Causal relationships are examined with respect to semiological, biological, therapeutic and epidemiological data . Clinically an initial infection compatible with the mycoplasmic etiology and its time relationship with the nervous system lesion appear to be more significant than the inflammatory neurological symptoms and signs . It is often impossible to ascertain the efficiency of the antibiotic therapy, which thus cannot help to the aetiological diagnosis . From the biological point of view, though seroconversion by complement fixation test remains the basis of the diagnosis, it has been completed by the isolation of Mycoplasma pneumoniae in the blood of 3 of the patients, and by a longitudinal study of specific blood IgM levels in the 6 others . Presence in the CSF of these locally synthesised specific IgM during the early stages of the neurological disorders in 2 patients, constitutes a new significant fact for the physiopathological discussions and a basic fact to clarify the aetiological diagnosis . The concept of persistent infection is discussed with respect to the isolation of Mycoplasma pneumoniae in the blood at a late stage, and the abnormally long presence of high levels of specific serum IgM levels . This biological persistence does not always correspond to a chronic course of the clinical disease which was observed in only 3 of the patients . The mixed viral infection, present in 3 cases, is linked with immunity disorders due to Mycoplasma pneumoniae, which are mainly a cell immunity depression: this markedly complicates the analysis of causal relationships . Finally, the chronological order of the clinical and biological events remains of prime importance when studying each case individually, whereas epidemiological data are essential for establishing a posteriori that the neurological manifestations were true complications of the microorganism.

Zentralbl Bakteriol Mikrobiol Hyg {B}, 1981, 173(5), 346 - 55
{Microbial settlement of paint- and building-materials in the sphere of drinking water . 7 . Communication: long time observations in two drinking water reservoirs coated by epoxy resin (author's transl)}; Schoenen D et al.; In two potable water reservoirs with an epoxy resin lining an increase of the colony count in the water and a visible microbial growth on the surface could be observed . The slime consists of bacteria and fungi . In one case higher organisms like protozoa were found too . The growth of microorganisms is caused by organic compounds of the epoxy resin which can be deteriorated by microorganisms . After a period of 3 years both materials still promote microbial growth on the surface.

Folia Microbiol (Praha), 1981, 26(1), 14 - 8
Production of beta-glucosidase, exo-beta-1,4-glucanase and endo-beta-1,4-glucanase by selected microscopic fungi; Augustin J et al.; Production of beta-glucosidase, exo-beta-1,4-glucanase and endo-beta-1,4-glucanase was screened in 58 species of imperfect fungi, mucoral fungi and some ascomycetes . beta-Glucosidase activity was found in all of the tested microorganisms, exo-beta-1,4-glucanase activity in 23, and endo-beta-1,4=glucanase activity in 38 microorganisms . Growth on cellobiose was found in all tested microorganisms, growth on carboxymethylcellulose in in 38 tested strains.

Nutr Cancer, 1981, 2(4), 217 - 23
Carcinogens occurring naturally in food; Hilker DM; Carcinogens naturally occurring in food include metabolites of microorganisms which infect plants during harvesting and storage; products of the normal metabolism of plants and products of chemical changes occurring during processing, preservation, preparation or which are picked up from the environment, including contaminated water or soil . Some examples of these types of carcinogens are: fungal metabolites such as aflatoxins in peanuts stored under improper conditions; safrol from the oil of various plants; tannin in tea, grain and grapes; and polycyclic hydrocarbons including benzo (a) pyrene formed by smoking meat and fish . Epidemiological studies indicate that there is a high incidence of gastric cancer in the areas of the world where smoked fish are common in diets . Vitamin A may play a role in preventing the carcinogenic action of polycyclic hydrocarbons.

J Membr Biol, 1981, 61(1), 1 - 11
The use of gene fusions of study bacterial transport proteins; Shuman HA; The transport of solutes by bacteria has been studied for about thirty years . Early experiments on amino acid entry and galactoside accumulation provided concrete evidence that bacteria possessed specific transport systems and that these were subject to regulation . Since than a large number of transport systems have been discovered and studied extensively . Many of these use entirely different strategies for capturing or accumulating substrates . This diversity reflects variation in the availability of nutrients an ions in the different environments tolerated and inhabited by microorganisms . Examination of a few bacterial transport systems provides an opportunity to gain insight into a wide range of topics in the area of membrane transport . These include: the identification of carrier proteins and their arrangement in the membrane, the regulation of transport protein synthesis by environmental factors, and the localization of transport proteins to their extracytoplasmic destinations . It has been possible to construct a number of bacterial strains in which the gene (lacZ) which codes for the cytoplasmic enzyme beta-galactosidase is fused to genes which code for transport proteins . The following article is intended to illustrate how these gene fusions have been used to study the regulation and structure of transport proteins in Escherichia coli.

Acta Derm Venereol Suppl (Stockh), 1981, 95, 40 - 2
Seborrhoeic dermatitis and napkin dermatitis; Thomsen K; Seborrhoeic dermatitis is described clinically and histologically with emphasis upon the vague definition of the disease . The relationship between pityriasis asteatosa and psoriasis is discussed . Napkin dermatitis is subdivided into infantile seborrhoeic dermatitis and true napkin dermatitis . The relationship between the former and psoriasis is unsettled . The role of microorganisms is stressed . Granuloma gluteale infantum is a condition caused by potent topical steroids and C . albicans.

Lancet, 1980 Dec 6, 2(8206), 1257 - 8
Disinfection of oral rehydration solutions by sunlight; Acra A et al.; PIP: The use of a salt/sugar oral solution for rehydration in cases of diarrhea is being encouraged by the World Health Organization for developing areas . 1 problem so far with this treatment has been a question as to their safety when prepared with contaminated water or stored in contaminated vessels . An experiment was tried in which the recommended solution was mixed with contaminated water . Some of the containers were exposed to direct sunlight, some kept in the dark, and some stored in normal room conditions . Although the heat in the containers stored in sunlight did not rise significantly, the solutions were found to be purified . It is speculated that the germicidal action resulted from solar radiation near the ultraviolet range . The solution, itself, did not change composition . The microorganisms were not able to regrow within 24 hours after solar irradiation . 50 additional experiments confirmed the findings . It is concluded that this technique of solar irradiation of contaminated solutions will be effective . All types of containers were effective .

Biokhimiia, 1980 Dec, 45(12), 2115 - 20
{Localization of secreted enzyme-induced repression of its synthesis by the cells}; Iurkevich VV et al.; It was shown that under conditions of regulation of secreted enzyme synthesis by its concentration in microorganisms, the repression of synthesis of the enzyme protein polypeptide chain and the concomitant partial repression of labelled amino acid transport into the cells occur . The regulatory effect can be exerted in the absence of transcription as well . These effects are not realized at the post-transcription or post-translation levels.

J Parasitol, 1980 Dec, 66(6), 948 - 53
Ultrastructure of the epimastigotes of the fish trypanosome Trypanosoma cobitis Mitrophanow 1883, in the crop of the leech vector, Hemiclepsis marginata; Lewis JW et al.; The ultrastructure of the epimastigote of Trypanosoma cobitis in the crop of the leech vector Hemiclepsis marginata is described . Microorganisms, closely resembling endosymbiotic bacteria, seen in monoxenous trypanosomatids, were present in the cytoplasm . Also, within the cytoplasm were ribosomes, sparse endoplasmic reticulum, a Golgi apparatus, and a wide variety of other inclusions, in particular multivesiculate bodies which appeared to contain waste material . The well-developed branched mitrochondrion had platelike cristae and an expansion near the nucleus which contained the kinetoplast DNA . A cytostomal opening situated near the flagellar pocket leads to a cytopharynx surrounded by five microtubules.

Int J Lepr Other Mycobact Dis, 1980 Dec, 48(4), 426 - 30
Lactate dehydrogenase zymograms of skin biopsies in patients with leprosy . A preliminary report; Saoji AM et al.; LDH isoenzymes were studied in tissue extracts of 78 cases of leprosy . All 25 control tissues showed five LDH isoenzymes corresponding to those of human sera . All tissues from the leprosy cases showed five similar bands . Seventeen cases showed additional LDH isoenzymes (anomalous bands) . In 12 cases there was a single extra band with an eF value of either 0.125 +/- 0.015 or 0.525 +/- 0.015, and five cases showed both these bands . Additional bands were observed only in cases positive for acid-fast microorganisms (17 of 27 cases), and their presence correlated well with bacterial load (as judged by the BI) and viable organisms (as judged by the MI) . Four cases with a high BI and MI did not show anomalous bands, however . A plausible explanation for these bands is that they originate from viable M . leprae.

Nurs Clin North Am, 1980 Dec, 15(4), 715 - 27
Upper and lower respiratory tract infections . Nursing intervention; Shell G; Proper nursing intervention can assist in the reduction of nosocomial respiratory tract infections . Maintaining the integrity of the patient's respiratory defense mechanisms and/or augmenting those that are impaired helps to control endogenous factors that can contribute to infection . Nursing implications in controlling endogenous factors include mobilization of secretions, prevention of aspiration, and reduction of oral resident microorganisms . Strict aseptic technique in caring for artificial airways and respiratory assistance equipment is essential . Advocacy of a patient's right to protection from harm should be exercised if breaks in proper technique by others are observed . The care that nurses provide is relevant to infection control.

Nurs Clin North Am, 1980 Dec, 15(4), 825 - 31
Prevention of infection in the nursery; Hazuka BT; Most infants are "sterile" when admitted to the newborn nursery . Rapid colonization of microorganisms in the infant then occurs . Colonization of virulent microorganisms can overwhelm the immature local and systemic immunity of a newborn infant . Cannulae, catheters, and assisted ventilation can bypass these fragile defenses . Effective infection control in the nursery attempts to reduce the exposure of the neonate to harmful microorganisms . Important measures include (1) the reduction of bacterial colonization through appropriate care of the umbilical stump and skin of the patient; (2) handwashing before and after contact with a patient; (3) low nurse-to-patient ratios; (4) cohorting of newborn infants; (5) isolation and cohorting of infected babies; (6) good hygiene among personnel; and (7) use of aseptic technique . Neonatal intensive care units have extraordinarily high infection rates . Most infants are on ventilators . Daily decontamination of respiratory equipment is essential . Regular monitoring of endotracheal cultures is useful, particularly when bacteria that are resistant to multiple antibiotics emerge.

Nurs Clin North Am, 1980 Dec, 15(4), 655 - 69
Microbiology . A concern for nursing; McArthur BJ; As nurses become aware, once again, of the devastating effects of nosocomial infection on the patient in terms of morbidity, permanent disability, mortality, excess hospital costs, and law suits, attention is being directed toward its prevention and control . Florence Nightingale intimated that a person should not become sicker in the hospital after admission than before entry as the result of infection . We still need to heed her admonitions . The other articles in this issue will deal with microorganisms in regard to specific patients, anatomic sites, treatment regimens, and infectious diseases . Hopefully, the reader will be provided with enough information to reduce the nosocomial infection rate on her or his nursing unit to nearly zero.

Biokhimiia, 1980 Dec, 45(12), 2198 - 205
{Streptomycin-3"-phosphotransferases from streptomycin-resistant cells of Escherichia coli strains}; Ganelin VL et al.; Streptomycin-3"-phosphotransferases were isolated and purified from E . coli cells containing plasmids 836, pBS52 or R6K, which determine the microorganisms resistance towards streptomycin and dihydrostreptomycin . Phosphorylation of the 3"-hydroxylic group of dihydrostreptomycin was demonstrated by {13C}-NMR spectrometry . It was shown that streptomycin-3"-phosphotransferase, whose synthesis is determined by plasmid 836 (as well as by plasmid R6K), differs from the analogous enzyme, whose synthesis is operated by plasmid pBS52 in some properties, e . g . dependence of the initial reaction rate on concentrations of antibiotics and ATP, pH-optimum, sensitivity to the buffer ionic strength, stability, etc . Besides, the antiserum against streptomycin-3'-phosphotransferase detected by plasmid pBS52 does not produce cross immunological reactions with the other enzyme.

Surgery, 1980 Nov, 88(5), 658 - 60
Cerium nitrate-silver sulfadiazine cream in the treatment of burns: a prospective evaluation; Munster AM et al.; In a prospective, randomized study of patients with major burns, the efficacy of cerium nitrate-silver sulfadiazine cream was compared with that of silver sulfadiazine cream alone . Sixty patients were studied, in two groups, with matching mean ages and mean burns sizes . Patients with associated injuries, smoke inhalation, or major medical illnesses were excluded from the study . The total number of deaths and the total number of deaths from sepsis were equal in both groups . The total number of patients whose quantitative burns wound biopsies indicated light (10(2) to 10(5) organisms/gm) or heavy (over 10(5) organisms/gm) colonization by microorganisms was not statistically different between the two groups . The distribution of bacterial isolates by organism was similar in both groups . In vitro sensitivity determinations indicated a comparable efficacy between the two agents . In this study no clear-cut superiority of one topical agent over the other could be demonstrated.

Arch Toxicol, 1980 Nov, 46(1-2), 99 - 110
Mutagenicity testing with eukaryotic microorganisms; Moustacchi E; The different genetic end-points which can be tested to detect genotoxicity of chemicals in fungi and especially in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae are described . They include reversion and forward mutation, mitochondrial deletions and point mutations, mitotic or meiotic intra- and intergenic recombination, chromosomal non-disjunction and aneuploidy . Several factors known to affect the response to genotoxic agents such as the growth parameters, the repair ability, the cells permeability, etc., are discussed . The recent validation studies on the mutagenic and recombinogenic activities of a number of chemicals indicate that within the battery of rapid, low cost and quantitatively reliable tests, the yeast system can be profitably used.

Can J Biochem, 1980 Nov, 58(11), 1292 - 7
In vitro studies on L-serine deaminase activity of Escherichia coli K12; Newman EB et al.; Extracts of Escherichia coli K12 contain an enzyme which deaminates L-serine . This serine deaminase appears to be a soluble enzyme and is inhibited by substrate analogues, metal ions, and chelators . The activity, which is very unstable in vitro, is protected, and in some cases, even activated by substrate, substrate analogues, and by ferrous ion . The enzyme has proved unstable in all attempts at purification . It resembles closely the L-serine deaminase activity in other microorganisms, but is very different from the mammalian enzyme . As judged by comparison with organisms in which this enzyme serves as part of the principal carbon-handling pathway, L-serine deaminase activity is present in E . coli extracts in physiologically significant amounts.

Prikl Biokhim Mikrobiol, 1980 Nov-Dec, 16(6), 936 - 9
{Rapid method for determining protein concentrations in the cells of microorganisms}; Gorina IA et al.; The method of Lowry as modified by Peterson (who had changed concentrations of reagents and added a new reagent, sodium dodecyl sulfate) has been tested . It has been shown that the modified method can be applied for rapid measurement of protein in the suspension of bacterial cells . The effect of the following compounds on the protein estimation by the modified method in bovine serum albumin has been studied: potassium chloride, potassium phosphate, sucrose, EDTA, tris, ammonium acetate, Triton X-100, tyrosine, phenol, glycerol, 2-mercaptoethanol.

Pediatr Clin North Am, 1980 Nov, 27(4), 783 - 803
Rapid identification of the invading microorganism; Kaplan SL et al.; There has been great progress in recent years in the development of sensitive techniques for the rapid identification of microorganisms in material obtained from patients with a wide variety of infections . While some of these methods employ chemical and microscopic analysis, most investigative interest has centered on the detection of specific antigens by exquisitely sensitive immunologic tests . Properly used, these techniques can yield specific diagnoses within a matter of a few hours, thus facilitating management of both patient and others who are at risk for contracting the infection . Because these techniques detect antigens rather than viable organisms, specific diagnosis is also possible when antibiotic therapy administered prior to testing has rendered cultures sterile . In some instances assay of the concentration of antigen present in biologic fluids can be used in prognosis.

Appl Environ Microbiol, 1980 Nov, 40(5), 892 - 6
Capture of latex beads, bacteria, endotoxin, and viruses by charge-modified filters; Hou K et al.; This report demonstrates how electropositive filters can be used to enhance the removal of microorganisms and other negatively charged particles from water . It was shown that electropositive depth filters were capable of adsorbing viruses and endotoxins many times smaller than the average pore size of the filter . Electronegative filters of similar porosity or electropositive filters that had been treated to destroy the positive charge were almost ineffective under similar conditions for the removal of viruses and small latex spheres . The results of this study indicate that electropositive filters are highly effective in the removal of a wide range of contaminants over a wide range of pH values and ionic conditions.

J Dent Res, 1980 Nov, 59(11), 1999 - 2005
Comparison of calcification between Bacterionema matruchotii and Actinomyces naeslundii; Howell RE et al.; The purpose of this research was to examine the requirements for proteolipid initiation of calcification in culture . Proteolipid from a calcifiable microorganism, Bacterionema matruchotii, was compared with proteolipid isolated from a non-calcifiable microorganism, Actinomyces naeslundii . Although A . naeslundii does not calcify in culture, lyophilized cells and proteolipid-containing extracts do initiate apatite formation . A . naeslundii proteolipid (ANN) differs from B . matruchotii (BMN) in concentration, apoprotein polarity, and phospholipid composition . These differences may alter the ability of ANN to nucleate apatite in the intact cell.

Infect Immun, 1980 Nov, 30(2), 538 - 46
Scanning electron microscopy of mycoplasmas adhering to erythrocytes; Razin S et al.; The interaction of Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Mycoplasma gallisepticum with human erythrocytes (RBC) was studied by scanning electron microscopy . The tight nature of the attachment of the microorganisms to the RBC was indicated by the indentation of the RBC surface at the site of attachment of M . gallisepticum cells and by traction and resulting distortion in the shape of the RBC at the point of its attachment to M . pneumoniae filaments growing on glass or plastic . In many cases attachment took place via the tip of the filaments, the membrane of the parasite appearing to be fused with that of the RBC . The morphology of the mycoplasmas growing on cover slips conformed in general with previous descriptions obtained by scanning electron microscopy . Growth of M . pneumoniae on glass or plastic consisted of branching filaments spread on the inert surface and microcolonies made up of intertwining filaments projecting into the medium . The filaments had a bulbous swelling adjacent to a tapered tip end . A few filaments were shown to have a ropelike helical twist . M . gallisepticum grown on the cover slips of Leighton tubes had a peculiar fusiform or teardrop shape with blebs at one or both poles of the cells . Elongated filamentous forms and chains of coccobacillary bodies were observed as well.

Cornell Vet, 1980 Oct, 70(4), 307 - 20
Bovine mycoplasmal conjunctivitis: experimental reproduction and characterization of the disease; Rosenbusch RF et al.; Epizootic conjunctivitis was studied in eight Iowa cattle herds . Mycoplasma bovoculi was isolated from the eyes of cattle in all affected herds and Ureaplasma sp . was isolated from the eyes of cattle in 3 of the herds . When either of these two organisms was experimentally inoculated into the conjunctival sac of healthy calves, conjunctivitis became apparent within 3 to 4 days after infection and persisted for more than 1 month . Calves inoculated with M . bovoculi responded with mild localized conjunctivitis and with serous lacrimation while calves inoculated with Ureaplasma sp . had diffuse conjunctivitis with watery lacrimation . With both microorganisms, the symptoms varied in intensity with peaks of recrudescence through the observation period . The microorganisms were recovered for periods of 1 to 2 months from the conjunctival mucosae of cattle undergoing natural or experimental infections.

Blut, 1980 Oct, 41(4), 257 - 67
{Phagocytosis mechanisms of alveolar macrophages and granulocytes (author's transl)}; Rister M; Alveolar macrophages and granulocytes protect the organism against invaded microorganisms under various conditions . To investigate whether the environmental difference may influence the various phagocytic functions the adherence, chemotaxis, ingestion rate, degranulation as well as the bactericidal activity were determined in alveolar macrophages and granulocytes obtained from guinea pigs . In addition, the cytoskeleton was examined by observing the fluorescence of Concanavalin A receptors . Various functional differences between both cell types have been demonstrated . Both cell types exhibited the same adherence . In contrast, granulocytes demonstrated a greater chemotactic activity and ingestion rate than alveolar macrophages . Following the exposure to opsonized zymosan alveolar macrogphages secreted almost totally the lysosomal enzyme beta-glucuronidase during the degranulation . Nevertheless, alveolar macrophages exhibited a lower bactericidal activity than granulocytes . This functional differences were not caused by an alteration of the cytoskeleton . A random fluorescence distribution of FITC-Concanavalin A receptors was observed in 72% alveolar macrophages and 73% granulocytes, demonstrating polymerisation of the microtubuli . Only 12% alveolar macrophages and 11% granulocytes showed a capped FITC-Concanavalin A fluorescence which is associated with an alteration of the microtubulin . This study demonstrates that the difference in adherence, chemotaxis, ingestion rate, as well as the bactericidal activity of alveolar macrophages and granulocytes is a specific cell-type property.

Antibiotiki, 1980 Oct, 25(10), 723 - 9
{Basic trends and the prospects for creating new synthetic chemotherapeutic preparations}; Pershin GN; Chemotherapy and chemoprophylaxis play a significant role in control of various infectious diseases . The use of chemotherapeutic drugs is associated with a number of difficulties, such as development of drug resistance in pathogenic microorganism during the treatment, possible toxic effects of drugs on their prolonged use, inefficiency of chemotherapy in bacteria carriers, etc . In spite of the achievements in chemotherapy of acute bacterial infections, tuberculosis, lepra, mycoses, protozoal infections, it is necessary to have available new drugs for the treatment of these diseases . The achievements in chemotherapy of viral infections are relatively modest . However, therapy of such infections is of great importance for medicine . Highly effective broad-spectrum antiviral agents may play a significant role in the control of widely spread viral diseases of man and cattle . Such drugs will be of great significance in prevention of complications in persons with viral infections and studying the diseases of supposed viral etiology . For the successful solution of the problems of chemotherapy, a proper strategy in the development of the research work in this field is of importance.

J Nucl Med, 1980 Oct, 21(10), 935 - 9
Siderophore-mediated mechanism of gallium uptake demonstrated in the microorganism Ustilago sphaerogena; Emery T et al.; The radioactive gallium analog of ferrichrome, Ga-67 deferriferrichrome, has been prepared and compared with ferrichrome in the specific siderophore-transport system of Ustilago sphaerogena . The gallium analog is taken up by the cells in an active transport process indistinguishable from that of ferrichrome . Ga(III) effectively competes with Fe(III) for siderophore ligands both in vitro and in vivo at a rate that is highly dependent upon the chemical nature of the ligand . The findings may explain how Ga(III) mimics Fe(III) in clinical use.

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 1980 Oct, 77(10), 5659 - 62
Nuclear Overhauser effect in specifically deuterated macromolecules: NMR assay for unusual base pairing in transfer RNA; Sanchez V et al.; We demonstrate a fairly general method for identification of NMR absorption lines of macromolecues extracted from microorganisms, based on nuclear Overhauser effects (NOE) . Several NOE in tRNA are observable between resolved imino proton resonances and ring carbon resonances that are either C(2) protons of adenine or C(8) protons of adenine or guanine . Yeast tRNAPhe was deuterated at the purine C(8) positins by heating in 2H2O and also biosynthetically . NOE between imino protons and adenine C(2) protons of standard A . U base pairs would not be affected by such a label, but some other NOE that might be otherwise similar, such as those of reverse Hoogsteen base pairs, should disappear . Six NOE were shown to be from standard A . U pairs by their nondisappearance . Four NOE from methyl resonances to aromatic proton resonances did disappear . The results disagree with previous assignments based on ring-current theories of imino proton NMR shifts.

Gene, 1980 Oct, 11(1-2), 163 - 7
Synthesis of a chicken ovalbumin-like protein in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Mercereau-Puijalon O et al.; A cDNA sequence coding for chicken ovalbumin was fused to the beginning of the Escherichia coli lactose operon and recombined in vitro with a composite vector plasmid which can be propagated in both E . coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae . Such plasmids direct the synthesis of an ovalbumin-like protein (OLP) in both microorganisms, probably because the E . coli lac regulatory region has some promoter activity in yeast . The yeast strains produce about 1 000 to 5 000 molecules of ovalbumin-like protein per cell.

J Periodontol, 1980 Oct, 51(10), 553 - 62
A comparative, scanning electron microscopic study of supragingival and subgingival calculus; Friskopp J et al.; The morphology of supragingival and subgingival calculus on extracted teeth was studied with the scanning electron microscope . Oral, crevicular, and fracture surfaces were examined . Both subgingival and supragingival calculus had a heterogenous core covered by a soft, loose layer of microorganisms . On supragingival calculus this layer was dominated by filamentous microorganisms while subgingival calculus was covered by a mixture of cocci, rods and filaments . The supragingival covering of filaments was oriented with the filaments approximately perpendicular to and in direct contact with the underlying dense calculus . This arrangement was rarely seen subgingivally where there was no distinct pattern of orientation . Some of the specimens of sub- and supragingival calculus were treated with sodium-hypochlorite . These lost the soft covering, and channels the same size as the filamentous organisms were found penetrating into the calculus . They were oriented prependicular to the surface in supragingival calculus but had no specific direction in subgingival calculus . The appearance of the channels supports the concept that calcification starts between the microorganisms in both subgingival and supragingival calculus.

J Wildl Dis, 1980 Oct, 16(4), 509 - 14
Association of Malassezia (Pityrosporum) pachydermatis with sarcoptic mange in New York State; Salkin IF et al.; Malassezia (Pityrosporum) pachydermatis consistently accompanied sarcoptic mange in all red foxes (Vulpes fulva), porcupines (Erethizon dorsatum), and coyotes (Canis latrans) examined . This yeastlike microorganism has not heretofore been reported on any of these hosts . Its presence on the exoskeleton of Sarcoptes scabiei taken from these animals suggests a carrier role for the mite . The yeast may be saprophytic or a secondary pathogen.

J Cell Physiol, 1980 Oct, 105(1), 33 - 8
Differentiation and production of colony-stimulating factor induced by immunostimulants in a leukemia cell line; Maeda M et al.; Immunostimulants from various microorganisms were tested on a myeloid leukemia cell line (M1) for the ability to induce production of CSF and to cause differentiation of these cells . Based on their activities, the compounds were divided into two general classes: those inducing extensive cellular differentiation and those devoid of this effect . The stimulants which were active in this regard always produced large quantities of CSF, whereas those devoid of a differentiating effect did not cause CSF production . Even the potent stimulants had no effect on the D subline, in which the differentiation was not inducible.

Nature, 1980 Sep 25, 287(5780), 357 - 9
S-adenosylmethionine--a novel regulator of aspartate kinase; Rognes SE et al.; Man derives 70% of his dietary requirements of protein directly from the grains of cereals and legumes . These sources are respectively deficient in lysine (and secondarily threonine) and methionine and much effort is being devoted to their improvement . All three amino acids are derived from aspartate via a common metabolic pathway (Fig . 1) in which the first reaction catalysed by aspartate kinase is a key regulatory step limiting their production . In microorganisms, regulation of aspartate kinase occurs by a variety of mechanisms, commonly involving feedback inhibition of one or more isoenzymes by Lys plus Thr, Lys alone or Thr alone . On the other hand, Met control of this step does not seem to conform to a general pattern . Met represses, but does not inhibit aspartate kinase II of Escherichia coli; in other species Met can enhance or modify the effects of Lys or Thr . Similarly, varied controls involving Lys and Thr have been reported for the enzymes from higher plants with only one report of an effect of Met . In contrast to these previous results, we suggest here that the methionine derivative (S)-S-adenosyl-L-methionine (AdoMet) is an important regulator of the Lys-sensitive aspartate kinase of higher plants, and that this regulatory mechanism is highly conserved . There is thus a major synergistic interaction of the two nutritionally deficient amino acids Lys and Met to inhibit their own syntheses at the primary regulatory step in the pathway.

J Toxicol Environ Health, 1980 Sep-Nov, 6(5-6), 1065 - 76
Short-term mutagenicity tests; Ramel C et al.; The universality of the genetic system in living organisms and the high experimental correlation between mutagenicity and carcinogenicity provide the rational basis for the use of mutagenicity in screening of possible carcinogens . The present genetic methodologies using microorganisms, cell cultures, Drosophila, and rodents are evaluated . No mutagenicity test can cover all aspects of tumor formation in the whole animal or human body, because each species and tissue has its own capacity for repair as well as balance of activation and deactivation mechanisms . The strategy of testing must vary, depending on the nature and use of the chemicals.

Helv Paediatr Acta, 1980 Sep, 35(4), 359 - 67
Hemolytic-uremic syndrome associated with neuraminidase-producing microorganisms: treatment by exchange transfusion; Seger R et al.; In two infants with pneumonia, Coombs test positive hemolytic anemia and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), exposure of the Thomsen cryptantigen, probably due to the action of circulating neuraminidase, was demonstrated . Reaction between the exposed T-antigen and anti-T agglutinin, normally present in human blood, can lead to difficulties in serological testing and during blood transfusion . The place of exchange transfusions using washed RBC or heparinized whole blood in the management of this subgroup of HUS is discussed.

Zh Mikrobiol Epidemiol Immunobiol, 1980 Sep, (9), 74 - 7
{Glucose and oxygen assimilation processes in pathogenic microorganisms in continuous culture}; Zhdanov LG et al.; During the continuous cultivation of typhoid bacteria in Lederberg's synthetic medium the specific rate of glucose and oxygen consumption was shown to differ, depending on the dilution rate, the initial concentration of glucose in the medium and on the oxygen level in the medium . At the same time the conditions ensuring the maximum assimilating properties of the culture did not coincide with the conditions of the maximum biomass production.

Lipids, 1980 Sep, 15(9), 745 - 55
Selective reactions in the analysis and characterization of steroids by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry; Brooks CJ et al.; Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) is a technique especially suitable for the analysis and characterization of steroids, and its power has been extensively demonstrated . The efficacy of GC-MS is limited, nevertheless, by the fact that steroid mixtures - whether of natural origin only, or augmented by synthetic analogs - often contain similar components that are poorly distinquished . The fortuitous overlap of gas chromatographic peaks from disparate compounds also impairs the definition of retention data . Controlled modification of the sample by means of selective reactions is therefore a valuable adjunct to the application of GC-MS . Two examples are discussed: (a) the enzyme cholesterol oxidase, isolated from various microorganisms, catalyzes the oxidation of many 3 beta-hydroxy-5-enes (with concomitant isomerization) to 4-en-3-ones; 3 beta-hydroxy-5 alpha-steroids are also oxidized to the corresponding 3-ones, but other steroids (3 alpha-hydroxy- or 5 beta-isomers, etc.) are unaffected . The mild conditions required (pH 7, 30 C) are advantageous for the analysis of sensitive steroids, and the retention index increments, as well as the mass spectra of the ketones, are characteristic . The enzyme accepts as substrates a wide range of 3 beta-hydroxysteroids, tolerating oxygenation in ring B and even catalyzing the oxidation of 2-oxacholesterol to the expected lactone; and (b) Steroids possessing 1,2-diol or 1,3-diol groupings include estriols, 2-hydroxyestrone, 20,22-dihydroxycholesterols, ecdysones, brassinolide and many corticosteroids . The selective formation of cyclic derivatives can provide several analytically useful features, such as convenient retention times, moderate mass increments (24 amu for a methaneboronate), distinctive mass spectra and usually abundant molecular ions . These are exemplified for 5-pregnene-3 beta, 20,21-triols and for 20,22-dihydroxycholesterol as well as its enzymic oxidation product.

Rev Argent Microbiol, 1980 Sep-Dec, 12(3), 105 - 9
{Effect of light intensity on the biosynthesis of bacteriochlorophylls in Rhodomicrobium vannielii and Rhodopseudomonas palustris}; Lorenti AS et al.; The activity of aminolevulinate-synthetase in crude extracts of R . vannielii was determined . Its properties are very similar to those of the enzyme from R . palustris . With increasing light intensity on cultures of both microorganisms, their specific growth rates increases and the concentration of bacteriochlorophyll decreases . ALA-synthetase exhibits a dual-pattern; its activity remains at a high constant level up to 4 x 10(4) erg cm-2 seg-1, decreasing at higher light intensities (Figures 1 and 2) . The activity of succinil-CoA-synthetase of both microorganisms and ALA-dehydrase of R . palustris remain constant over the entire range of light intensities used, but the ALA-dehydrase of R . vannielii shows the same dual-pattern as ALA-synthetase (Table 1), namely a constant high level at the lower light intensities, decreasing at the higher ones . With dialysis the activity of ALA-synthetase of both microorganisms decreases only in extracts from low light intensity grown bacteria, while it did not decrease in extracts from bacteria grown at high light intensities.

Sangyo Igaku, 1980 Sep, 22(5), 327 - 47
{Toxicology of acrylonitrile (AN) (author's transl)}; Hashimoto K; Acrylonitrile (AN, CH2 = CH CN), a highly reactive compound having an active vinyl and cyanide group, has been widely used in various synthetic chemical industries . AN is known to produce toxic actions to human beings as well as experimental animals by inhalation and cutaneous contact . Its oral LD50 in animals are between 50 mg (for mouse) and 100 mg/kg (for rat, guinea pig, rabbit), and IC50 in 4 hours are between 110-140 ppm for mouse and dog, and 400-500 ppm for guinea pig . Although the mechanism of action of AN has not been completely understood, the action of both cyanide which is liberated in the organism and AN molecules themselves is considered to play some roles . Recent studies have shown that AN also produces chronic toxicity to human beings and experimental animals, and mutagenicity to microorganisms . In the U.S.A . experimental studies have shown an increased incidence of tumor in various organs after long-term administration of AN in rats . A preliminary report on an epidemiologic study conducted in the U.S.A . indicated excess cancer incidence and cancer mortality among workers exposed to AN . Further investigations will be needed to elucidate the carcinogenicity of the compound.

J Periodontol, 1980 Sep, 51(9), 530 - 4
An evaluation of minocycline in patients with periodontal disease; Ciancio SG et al.; The purpose of this study was to determine the passage into and concentration of Minocycline HCl (Minocin) in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) and the relationship between its concentration of saliva . GCF, serum and changes in periodontal health . Over an 8 day period, 10 adults with periodontal disease received orally 200 mg/day of Minocin and 10 other received 150 mg/day . The parameter evaluated included the DMF, gingival index, plaque index, crevice depth, oral soft tissue evaluation . SMA-12, CBC, prothrombin time, and concentrations of Minocin in serum, saliva and GCF . The DMF score, crevice depth, SMA-12, CBC and prothrombin time were determined on days 1 and 8 . All other parameters were evaluated on days 1, 2, 3, 5 and 8 . The results of this study showed that Minocin administration resulted in no significant changes in blood chemistry, blood counts and prothrombin time, was effective against oral microorganisms as shown by reductions in plaque scores, produces an improvement in gingival health, is present in serum at therapeutically effective levels when given in doses of either 200 mg or 150 mg per day and is concentrated in gingival crevicular fluid at levels 5 times as high as serum.

J Periodontol, 1980 Sep, 51(9), 493 - 8
Cell-mediated immune response to fractionated products of Actinomyces viscosus cultures; Turner DW et al.; Since bacterial invasion of host tissue has not been shown to occur in the course of periodontitis, many investigators believe that products released from dental plaque microorganisms enter the tissue and elicit a series of host responses leading to the pathological condition . This study, therefore, was designed to explore the possibility that cell-free products isolated from Actinomyces viscosus cultures are able to induce cell-mediated immunological responses in experimental animals . Hartley strain guinea pigs were sensitized with concentrated cell-free products of A . viscosus culture supernatant fluids mixed with Freund complete adjuvant . After 10 to 17 days the animals responded to challenge with this material with skin reactions indicative of delayed-type hypersensitivity . Furthermore, cells isolated from sensitized animals produced mitogenic factor and macrophage migration inhibition factor (MIF) when cultured with the material . The cell-free culture products were fractionated by column chromatography and electrophoresis . Several partially purified components were shown to induce cell-mediated responses in guinea pigs as determined by skin tests and by mitogenic factor and MIF assays . It is apparent that this single microorganism associated with dental plaque is capable of producing several substances which can induce a cell-mediated immune response and subsequent tissue inflammation in laboratory animals.

Rev Infect Dis, 1980 Sep-Oct, 2(5), 713 - 24
Biohazards of investigations on the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies; Chatigny MA et al.; There is considerable current interest in the agents that cause the spongiform encephalopathies: scrapie, transmissible mink encephalopathy, kuru, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) . The unusual properties of these agents, their elusiveness, and their pathogenicity for humans (in the cases of kuru and CJD) make these agents interesting subjects of investigation but also make imperative a consideration of their potential biohazards in the laboratory . In view of both the potential pathogenicity of these agents and the potential hazards of many laboratory procedures, a series of physical containment levels, each of which corresponds to a range of composite risk factors, are suggested . The estimated composite risk factor used is a function of the potential pathogenicity or relative risk factor of the agent and the potential hazard of a laboratory procedure . The lowest risk factors (1 to 2+) correspond to levels of containment similar to those recommended by the Center for Disease Control for class II microorganisms, while the highest risk factors (5 to 8+) correspond to levels similar to those for class III microorganisms . The use of such a biohazard ranking system aids in a rational approach to selection of equipment and procedures.

Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci, 1980 Aug 11, 290(1040), 291 - 301
Enzyme inhibitors of microbial origin; Schindler P; The screening for enzyme inhibitors of microbial origin in the past decades has been a prosperous area to find new metabolites that are of potential importance as therapeutic or antibiotic agents . This review attempts a survey of recent achievements in this type of screening . Special emphasis is given to enzyme inhibitors and screening systems in fields where industry has a main interest in development . This includes some notes on the improved methodology for the detection of reversible and irreversible inhibitors of beta-lactamases and the presentation of a unique inhibitor of alpha-amylase from porcine pancreas isolated from a strain of Streptomyces tendae . This inhibitor (HOE 467) may be of potential use in the treatment of diabetic conditions, obesity and adipositas . The results show that the screening for enzyme inhibitors from microorganisms still provides one of the central challenges for future research.

Biochim Biophys Acta, 1980 Aug 4, 600(2), 245 - 62
Orientational order of unsaturated lipids in the membranes of Acholeplasma laidlawii as observed by 2H-NMR; Rance M et al.; Oleic acid specifically deuterated at fifteen different positions along the chain, including the double bond, was biosynthetically incorporated into the membrane lipids of the microorganism Acholeplasma laidlawii B . A detailed study of the dynamic conformation of these chains was carried out using deuterium nuclear magnetic resonance . The deuterium spectra fourteen different samples were recorded as a function of temperature over the range 0-41 degrees C . Spectra were obtained down to -52 degrees C for the sample enriched with oleic acid deuterated at the C-12' position . Above 20 degrees C, where the lipids are in the liquid crystal phase, a single quadrupolar powder pattern was observed for each C2H2 segment, except for the C-2' position which gave rise to a three-component spectrum characteristic for this position in both model and biological membranes . Simulation of this spectrum indicates that there are two conformations of the lipid molecule in the region of the C-2' segment of the sn-2 chain . The orientationa fluctuations of the fatty acid chain segments in the A . laidlawii membranes are described by the deuterium order parameters, and a striking similarity is shown to exist between the oleate chain conformation of the A . laidlawii membrane and a phospholipid model membrane . Remarkable similarities are also demonstrated in the A . laidlawii membrane enriched in palmitic and oleic fatty acids when the order parameter profiles are plotted at the same reduced temperature . Below 15 degrees C a second component, due to gel phase lipid, starts to appear in the spectra . This broad gel phase component grows at the expense of the liquid crystal phase component as the temperature is reduced . The spectra indicate that the center of the phase transition is at about -12 degrees C, in good agreement with DSC studies.

Appl Environ Microbiol, 1980 Aug, 40(2), 244 - 8
Anaerobic degradation of pteridines and purines by intestinal organisms; Fukushima T et al.; Microorganisms located within rat cecal contents degraded or catabolized {2-14C}pteridines and {2-14C}purines under anaerobic conditions, resulting in the release of 14CO2 . A saturating concentration of guanosine did not affect the rate of release of CO2 from biopterin, and, likewise, the presence of a saturating level of biopterin did not significantly alter the release of CO2 from guanosine, indicating that the catabolism of these two compounds was by different systems . Part of the catabolic organisms for guanosine were segregated in a culture dilution experiment . These catabolic activities were detected in feces of humans and various other mammals . The results are compared with previously published data on the degradation of pteridines and purines.

J Environ Pathol Toxicol, 1980 Aug, 4(1), 1 - 21
In vitro information system for collection and analysis of experimental data; Linhart MS et al.; The In Vitro information System (IVIS) provides for the collection, maintenance, analysis and reporting of mutagenesis data for the In Vitro Carcinogenesis Program of the Carcinogenesis Testing Program in the National Cancer Institute . Initial development or IVIS focused on the microbial mutagenicity assays conducted in a collaborative study in four laboratories . Information is collected about contract management, chemicals, microorganisms strain checks, preparation of activation enzymes, test results, and confirmation of mutation . IVIS provides for editing and maintenance of the information on computers at the National Institutes of Health . Analysis and reporting features were designed to assist both laboratory investigators and NCI staff in evaluating the mutagenic activity of test compounds . The analysis has focused on two principal goals: using the computer to examine the results of each test to determine if the test was adequate for a further statistical analysis; and secondly, if the plate counts are adequate, developing statistics that indicate whether there is a positive or negative trend . Reports have been developed for tabular displays of test results, frequency distributions, dose response graphs and statistical computations.

J Dairy Sci, 1980 Aug, 63(8), 1273 - 81
In vitro digestion of bloat-safe and bloat-causing legumes by rumen microorganisms: gas and foam production; Fay JP et al.; Leaves of three bloat-safe legumes -- birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.), sainfoin (Onobrychis viciaefolia Scop.), and cicer milkvetch (Astralagus cicer L.) -- and of three bloat-causing legumes -- alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), red clover (Trifolium pratense L.), and white clover (Trifolium repens L.) -- were incubated with strained rumen fluid or with mixed rumen fluid and solids . Gas released was measured during the early period (0 to 22 h) of this in vitro digestion . Gas volume was greater with a 1:1 (wt/vol) mixture of solid and fluid rumen contents than with rumen fluid alone . It was greater with whole and chewed leaves from the bloat-causing legumes than with whole leaves from the bloat-safe legumes . However, when leaves were homogenized, volumes of gas from bloat-causing and bloat-safe legumes were similar . More gas was released from homogenized leaves than from the same weight of whole leaves . The amount of foam produced on chewed herbage and homogenized leaves of bloat-causing legumes was greater than on those of bloat-safe legumes . These results are consistent with the rate of disintegration and digestion of legumes by rumen bacteria being an important determinant in pasture bloat . Measurement of gas produced early in in vitro digestion may provide a useful bioassay for evaluating the bloat-causing potential of legumes in breeding selections if variability of the method can be reduced.

Aust J Biol Sci, 1980 Aug, 33(4), 403 - 22
Immunological functions of the mammary gland and its secretion--comparative review; Watson DL; The mammary gland performs vitally important immunological roles, both in providing passive immune protection to the suckling infant and in immunological defence of its own tissues against infection with microorganisms . These immunological functions differ greatly between species of mammals in both nature and magnitude . In ungulates the mammary gland is singularly responsible for transfer of immunoglobulin (IgG) from mother to young . This process is dependent on a highly selective mechanism which results in the transport of blood-borne IgG molecules across secretory epithelial cells of the colostrum-forming mammary gland and into secretion . Upon ingestion of colostrum by the young ungulate this immunoglobulin is absorbed across the wall of the small intestine and thence into the bloodstream . In other species, including rodents and primates, there is a well-developed local IgA system operating in the mammary gland . In this situation, plasma cells located near the basal membranes of secretory epithelial cells secrete IgA which passes through the epithelial cells and into colostrum of milk . In the species the IgA in mammary secretions is not absorbed into the circulation of the suckling infant; because of its unique property of resisting proteolytic degradation, it may mediate a local protective role in the lumen of the intestine of the suckling infant . Specific immunological protection of mammary tissue may be mediated through blood-derived antibody (particularly IgG), locally synthesized antibody (particularly IgA) or phagocytic cells . Neutrophils arrive in mammary tissue and secretions in very large numbers following bacterial invasion of the gland . It has been established recently that these cells carry cytophilic antibody on their cell membrane . This cytophilic antibody can play an important functional role in enhancing the phagocytic capacity of neutrophils in the mammary gland.

J Prosthet Dent, 1980 Aug, 44(2), 143 - 6
Laboratory contamination of dental prostheses; Wakefield CW; Potential pathogenic microbiologic cross-contamination from various sources by way of the dental laboratory has been documented, and guidelines to reduce it have been published . Ten sterile, complete dentures were fractured and sent to different dental laboratories for repair . Upon return, nine were found to be contaminated with potentially pathogenic microorganisms, possibly from other patients . Dentists must ensure that the possibility of infection to patients from prosthodontic treatment does not exist.

J Protozool, 1980 Aug, 27(3), 328 - 31
A simple method for plating and cloning ciliates and other protozoa; Soldo AT et al.; A simple method is described for plating and cloning ciliates and other protozoa, based on a principle differing from that traditionally used for plating and cloning bacteria and other microorganisms . This procedure, referred to as te silicone-oil-plating-procedure (SOPP), involves vortexing small volumes of culture medium containing protozoa with larger volumes of a non-toxic silicone oil and plating the resulting unstable emulsion in small plastic petri plates . Discrete microdroplets of culture medium form containing protozoa entrapped and immobilized between the hydrophobic surfaces of teh plastic petri dish and the oil . Protozoa, isolated by this method grow, divide, and multiply to form clones . The procedure may be used for plating and cloning protozoa in bacterized and axenic culture . Variations of te basic method may be applied to isolating protozoa from the wild, washing protozoa to remove microorganisms, screening for potential mutants, and for replica plating.

Dtsch Zahnarztl Z, 1980 Aug, 35(8), 770 - 6
{Teeth and nutrition (basic questions)}; Siebert G; Recognized methods used in the science of nutrition are only applicable to a limited extent for nutrition aspects of dental health; the necessity of using more highly differentiated methods of measurement was substantiated . The consumption trends for the most important groups of foodstuffs in recent years was discussed, based on data from the 1980 report on nutrition; nutrient supply and an evaluation of consumption statistics were considered and possibilities for necessary improvements were mentioned . Using the example of theoretical and recent test results for sugar exchange substances, it was shown how many different ways must be considered for symbiosis between man and microorganisms (namely, including lower sections of the intestine) in evaluating foodstuff safety for sugar exchange substances . Those aspects of nutrition control, particularly in regard to dentistry, arising from this study were discussed in a separate section which promote a further development in the relationship between dentistry and the science of nutrition.

J Chromatogr, 1980 Jul 4, 195(1), 105 - 12
Application of a direct aqueous acetylation technique to the gas chromatographic quantitation of nitrophenols and 1-naphthol in environmental water samples; Coutts RT et al.; An improved method for the determination of low levels of nitrophenols in aqueous samples has been developed . The method is based on the gas chromatographic analysis of phenols as acetate derivatives which have been prepared directly in water . Recoveries of 97% or greater were obtained from aqueous solutions containing nitrophenols in concentrations ranging from 25 to 100 microgram/l . Concentrations as low as 1 microgram/l were easily detected . Nitrophenols appear to exhibit some resistance to degradation by microorganisms indigenous to the Athabasca River . Water samples to which 139 microgram/l each of o- and p-nitrophenol were added did not show evidence of microbial metabolism over a two week interval . Under identical conditions 100 microgram/l of m-cresol was metabolized within a 3-day period.

Mikrobiologiia, 1980 Jul-Aug, 49(4), 624 - 6
{Spatial factor in biodynamic studies of soils}; Zviagintsev DG et al.; The role of the spatial factor in the dynamics of the soil bacteria incidence was studied . Multifactor dispersion analysis and a value for multiplicity of spatial straggling (Rp) must be used to detect changes in the incidence caused only by time . The value delta Rp has been introduced as an index for the maturity of the system soil-microorganisms.

Prikl Biokhim Mikrobiol, 1980 Jul-Aug, 16(4), 490 - 502
{Synthesis and hydrolysis lipids in microorganisms (a review)}; Ruban EL; The review presents current concepts of the synthesis and hydrolysis of phospholipids and triglycerides of microorganisms . The paper discusses differences in the synthesis of phospholipids in micro- and macroorganisms as well as properties an reversal of action of lipases (triglyceride hydrolases) in microorganisms.

Zh Mikrobiol Epidemiol Immunobiol, 1980 Jul, (7), 39 - 43
{Technic of studying microorganism viability in a simulated aerosol state on fiberglass microfilaments}; Koniukhov VF et al.; A specially developed method of studying the viability of microorganisms in the simulated aerosol state on glass microfibers was used to show that the survival rate of E . coli and F . tularensis on fiber-glass spheres was similar to that in true aerosol, as observed in a static aerosol chamber . The proposed method allows to study the viability of microbial cells after prolonged existence in aerosol under any environmental condition both in open spaces and closed rooms.

Mikrobiologiia, 1980 Jul-Aug, 49(4), 508 - 13
{Carbohydrate metabolic characteristics of coryneform bacteria}; Eroshina NV et al.; The peculiarities of glucose metabolism were studied in typical representatives of coryneform bacteria, and its relation to inorganic polyphosphate metabolism was shown . The activity of the first two enzymes in the pentose pathway was found to be low . The key enzymes of glycolysis were detected, viz . fructose-1,6-diphosphate aldolase and 3-phosphoglyceraldehyde dehydrogenase . The second enzyme was more active in Nocardia sp . B-293 similar in its properties to Nocardia erythropolis as compared to the enzymes of the pentose shunt . The existence of polyphosphate glucokinase more active than ATP-dependent hexokinase is indicative of inorganic polyphosphates being involved in the metabolism of the above microorganisms.

Biull Eksp Biol Med, 1980 Jul, 89(7), 17 - 9
{Cyclic 3',5'-adenosine monophosphate in macrophages, intestinal mucosa, and blood plasma of germ-free and ordinary animals}; Podoprigora GI et al.; The level of cAMP in macrophages, intestinal mucosa and blood plasma as well as its formation in intestinal mucosa of germfree animals under the effect of lipopolysaccharide E . coli 055 (LPS) were studied in experiments on germfree and ordinary mice and guinea-pigs . The concentration of cAMP in intestinal mucosa of ordinary guinea-pigs was 5-fold higher than in germfree animals . LPS induced an increase in cAMP level in intestinal mucosa, but this level did not reach that in ordinary animals . The levels of cAMP in blood plasma of germfree guinea-pigs in macrophages of germfree mice increased 2-fold and 4-fold, respectively, 30 minutes following the treatment with LPS . The increased level of cAMP was accompanied by its intensive secretion into the exocellular medium . Macrophages of ordinary animals had a moderate output of cAMP . A conclusion is made about the relationship between cAMP formation and microbial contamination of the microorganism as well as about an important role of the cyclic nucleotide in the mechanism of nonspecific resistance and homeostatic reactions of the body to microbial exposure.

Contraception, 1980 Jun, 21(6), 577 - 83
Actinomyces in the endometrium of IUD users; Aubert JM et al.; PIP: This study confirmed that the colonization of the female genital tract with Actinomyces is closely related to the presence of an IUD in situ . Actinomyces was identified in 24 of 763 women who had had an IUD removed, an incidence of 3.14% . No controls showed this microorganism on biopsy . The average age and parity of Actinomyces bearers were 31 and 2, respectively, with a period of IUD use ranging from 24-122 months . 13 of the patients were using Lippes loop, 6 a Copper 7, 3 a Dalkon Shield, 1 a Silverman M, and 1 a Majzlin Spring . These figures represent a positive finding in 3.36% of Lippes loop users, in 1.81% of Copper 7 users, and 10.71% of Dalkon Shield users . None of the patients with positive bacterial cultures had pelvic symptoms in this study . It was concluded that the material of which the device is made is unimportant compared with the amount of tissue injury and length of use of the device in predisposing to the development of this colonization/infection .

Antibiotiki, 1980 Jun, 25(6), 420 - 4
{Standardization of the methods for determining microorganism sensitivity to antibiotics . Semiquantitative and quantitative evaluation of the results of the diffusion test}; Givental' NI et al.; On the basis of the literature data and experimental findings approaches are proposed for improving the agar diffusion method for determination of microbial sensitivity to antibiotics involving a semiquantitative or quantitative system for interpretation of the diffusion data obtained with the use of a new nutrient medium.

Ann Trop Med Parasitol, 1980 Jun, 74(3), 275 - 82
The chemotherapy of rodent malaria, XXXII . The influence of p-aminobenzoic acid on the transmission of Plasmodium yoelii and P . berghei by Anopheles stephensi; Peters W et al.; More oocysts of Plasmodium yoelii developed in Anopheles stephensi if the mosquitoes received a supplement of p-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) in their diet prior to their taking an infective blood meal, than in unsupplemented control insects . The optimum concentration was 0.05% PABA in 10% sucrose . This effect was not observed if the blood meal was taken prior to feeding with PABA . Similarly, PABA administered to gametocyte-carrying mice increased the numbers of oocysts developing in mosquitoes fed on them subsequently, the effect also being dose dependent, and not mediated through an increase in gametocyte numbers . Sulphadoxine (which blocks PABA uptake) had the opposite action, reducing the numbers of oocysts either when fed directly to the mosquitoes or to the donor mice . These results are compared with those reported in other host-parasite systems by earlier workers, and certain paradoxical observations are discussed with reference to a possible relationship between sulphonamides and contaminating microorganisms in the vector mosquitoes.

Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol, 1980 Jun, 49(6), 541 - 3
Microleakage of Cavit temporary filling material in endodontic access cavities in monkey teeth; Lamers AC et al.; Sealing properties of Cavit-W temporary filling material were tested in vivo in the control group of a usage experiment in which root canal disinfectants were studied . Histologic examination (Brown and Brenn staining) of the root canals showed a statistical significance in the occurrence of microorganisms with increase in time . Microleakage past the filling material was considered to be responsible.

Med J Aust, 1980 May 31, 1(11), 532 - 4
Use of prophylactic antibiotics in surgery; Mashford ML et al.; A prospective survey of 352 surgical patients revealed that 52% (183 patients) were given antibiotic drugs perioperatively, (32% (111 patients) for prophylaxis and 20% (72 patients) for treatment of established infection) . Prophylaxis was not reasonably indicated in only 24 patients, but there was little standardization of drug, dose, timing or duration of courses . The mean duration of prophylactic courses was six days; less than half began before operation . Thirty-two patients (11% of 283) developed an infection after operation; the incidence in patients with and without antibiotic prophylaxis was 17% (19/111) and 8% (13/172) respectively, but the former were, in general, higher risk subjects . Antibiotic use determines the emergence of resistant microorganisms and efficacy of prophylaxis is in the main unproven . Clearly, a carefully considered policy on antibiotic prophylaxis within an institution is a logical necessity yet to be realized.

Med J Aust, 1980 May 17, 1(10), 487 - 9
Consequence of syringe-plunger contamination; Perceval A; Any microorganisms, which might be placed onto the sides of a syringe plunger by finger contact while withdrawing the plunger, can be transferred to the inside of the barrel and enter the fluid pathway if the plunger is drawn in and out several times . Tests are described to show which of several brands of syringes allow this contamination to occur.

Fed Proc, 1980 May 15, 39(7), 2437 - 41
The Neurospora plasma membrane Ca2+ pump; Stroobant P et al.; Plasma membrane vesicles isolated from the eukaryotic microorganism Neurospora crassa by the concanavalin A method catalyze Mg2+-ATP dependent 45Ca2+ accumulation . Since the ATP-responsive vesicles are functionally inverted, the Ca2+ transport system presumably operates as a Ca2+ exit pump in the intact cell . The mechanism of the Ca2+ pump system involves two components: 1) an electrogenic, proton-translocating ATPase (EC 3.6.1.3), which utilizes the chemical energy of ATP hydrolysis to generate a transmembrane electrical potential and pH gradient, and 2) a Ca2+/H+ antiporter, which utilizes the transmembrane pH gradient to energize the active transport of Ca2+ . Evidence for this mechanism is presented and the possible implications of these findings for the mechanisms of Ca2+ pumps in other cells are discussed.

Biofizika, 1980 May-Jun, 25(3), 566 - 8
{Permeability of bilayer lipid membranes to nystatin}; Alekberli EK et al.; The permeability coefficient of BLM to nystatin was measured as function of cholesterol content of membrane and KCL concentration of aqueous medium . The data obtained were used to demonstrate that leakage of metabolites from microorganisms cytoplasm induced by nystatin may be a result of "two-sided" effect of polyene . This eliminates the known contradication between "two-sided" formation of pores in BLM by nystatin and its "one-sided" biological effect.

J Clin Microbiol, 1980 May, 11(5), 533 - 4
Ventricular peritoneal shunt infection caused by a member of the rhodochrous complex; Boughton WH et al.; Microorganisms of the rhodochrous complex were isolated in pure culture from a ventricular peritoneal shunt in a 5.5-month-old child.

Am Fam Physician, 1980 May, 21(5), 145 - 51
Treatment of hand infections; Weckesser EC; Microorganisms most commonly enter the tissues through wounds, large or small . Prevention involves keeping the hands clean by frequent washing and avoiding contamination . Early infections may be aborted by cleansing and antibiotics . If an established infection does not respond to a brief trial of heat, rest, elevation and antibiotics, incision and drainage should be carried out promptly, without waiting for fluctuation . Needle aspiration is not an adequate substitute for early surgical incision.

Biol Bull Acad Sci USSR, 1980 May-Jun, 7(3), 194 - 200
Influence of near ultraviolet light on microorganisms; Fraikin GYa et al.; Our results and the recent literature data on the biological action of near ultraviolet light (300-380 nm) are examined in the review . Factual material is presented on the principles governing the manifestation of the following effects of near ultraviolet light in microorganisms: inactivation, delayed growth, photoreactivation, photoprotection, photoinduced sporulation (in fungi), and carotene synthesis . The mature and possible mechanisms of the effects examined are discussed.

Jugosl Ginekol Opstet, 1980 May-Aug, 20(3-4), 197 - 202
{Cervical infection as a cause of female sterility}; Dinulovic D et al.; The study covered 116 infertile women in whom other etiological factors were ruled out, while 55 fertile patients served as controls . In infertile women, within the ovulation term, microorganisms of intestinal origin were isolated in 42.24% . Banal flora was present in 24.13%, while the saprophytic flora was verified in 21.5% . Culture media remained sterile in 8.62% . In the control group the differences are self, evident: the pathogenic flora was present only in 12.18% and the culture media remained sterile in 38.18% . In spite of the findings in the endocervix, the cervix was macroscopically normal in 54.31% of infertile persons . In patients from the control group, with regard to deliveries, pathologic changes of the portion were present in a higher percentage . The number of spermagglutinins in the serum was somewhat higher in patients from the infertile group in whom the infection of the endocervix was observed.

Mikrobiologiia, 1980 May-Jun, 49(3), 554 - 6
{Effect of plant illumination and humidity on nitrogen fixation in the phyllosphere}; Sadykov BF et al.; The object of this work was to study the effect of illumination and humidity of air on the activity of nitorgenase in epiphytic microorganisms from the phyllosphere of timothy . An increase in humidity and illumination stimulated nitrogen fixation, apparently due to a higher rate of photosynthesis in the plants and of transport of the leaf excretion products.

Mikrobiologiia, 1980 May-Jun, 49(3), 516 - 23
{Accelerated method of numerical analysis for the diagnosis of microorganisms: the transpose of a matrix method}; Romanovskaia VA et al.; Numeric methods were used to analyse the characteristics of methane oxidizing bacteria in order to reveal descriptors that had a significant effect on the formation of phenones . It was found that descriptors with an equal degree of significance for the organisms being analysed could be assembled into groups by using the method of transposed matrix with the following processing by numeric methods . Poorly reproducible or instrumentally complicated characteristics can be excluded from these groups of descriptors (1 of 2, or 2 of 3), and the organisms would be identified then by using a limited range of characteristics . This technique seems to be appropriate as an accelerated method for diagnostics of methane oxidizing bacteria as well as any other organisms.

Arch Microbiol, 1980 May, 126(1), 21 - 31
Regulatory properties of the ADPglucose pyrophosphorylase from Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides and from Rhodopseudomonas gelatinosa; Preiss J et al.; The ADPglucose pyrophosphorylases from Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides and Rhodopseudomonas gelatinosa are activated by fructose-6-phosphate, pyruvate and fructose-1,6 biophosphate-P2 . The effects of the activators are to increase significantly the Vmax of ADPglucose synthesis and to lower the S0.5 values (concentration of substrates giving 50% maximal velocity) for ATP and MgCl2 . The R . sphaeroides enzyme is inhibited by Pi while the R . gelatinosa enzyme is inhibited by AMP as well as by Pi . The interaction between inhibitor and activator is complex . At very low concentrations of activator the enzyme is more sensitized to inhibition . However, at higher concentrations of activator there is a decrease in the sensitivity of the enzyme towards inhibition . The findings are discussed with respect to glycogen synthesis in these microorganisms and may be related to findings that indicate that Rhodopseudomonads have the ability to degrade sugars via the Entner-Duodoroff or Embden-Meyerhoff pathways.

J Dent Res, 1980 May, 59(5), 771 - 6
Composition and metabolic activity of dental plaque from healthy young and elderly individuals; Holm-Pedersen P et al.; The composition and biochemical activities of 4- and 9-day-old plaque were studied in young and elderly subjects . Plaque accumulation tended to be greater in the older group . Levan hydrolase activity and the total number of recoverable, viable microorganisms were higher in plaque from younger subjects . Results suggest that the microbial composition of plaque is qualitatively different in younger and elderly subjects.

J Pharm Pharmacol, 1980 May, 32(5), 323 - 9
Effect of anthraquinone derivatives on canine and rat intestinal motility; Garcia-Villar R et al.; The effects on gastrointestinal motility of 3 senna preparations containing 18% oxidized Ca-sennosides, 60% Ca-sennosides, or pure sennosides A + B were tested in dogs and rats as measured by electromyography . Oral administration of the oxidized products in the fasted animal increased the activity of the small intestine within 2 h and reduced both caecal and colonic contractions for 24 h . Severe diarrhoea was present 4-6 h after administration and lasted for at least 1 day . Ca-sennosides had a similar, but weaker effect while pure sennosides affected motility only 6-10 h after oral administration . The intracolonic administration of the oxidized products resulted in an immediate reduction of colon motility for 7-8 h and diarrhoea was present within 40 min . Intracolonic Ca-sennosides and sennosides A + B induced only small changes in the intestinal motility, but diarrhoea also appeared . The results confirm that pure sennosides act predominantly on large intestine motility after their degradation by colonic microorganisms . Oxidized products are already effective in the upper gastrointestinal tract . The early action of Ca-sennosides requires further investigation . Side effects after oral senna treatment such as griping or nausea may be caused by motility changes induced by the presence of small amounts of oxidized products in the drug.

Proc R Soc Lond B Biol Sci, 1980 Apr 22, 207(1169), 385 - 404
Experiments in microbial evolution: new enzymes, new metabolic activities; Clarke PH; Biological evolution has resulted in a richness and diversity of species . Among microorganisms this is most evident in the wealth and diversity of biochemical transformations . Evidence for evolutionary relationships may be obtained from comparative studies, but with microorganisms it is also possible to follow evolution in action . Microbial populations adapt rapidly to changes in the environment and the evolution of new metabolic activities can be observed in laboratory experiments . The enzymes of many catabolic pathways are synthesized in response to the presence of inducing substrates . New catabolic activities may be acquired by mutations in regulatory genes resulting in alterations in the specificity of induction, or in enzyme synthesis in the absence of inducer . Mutations in structural genes may given rise to enzymes with altered substrate specificities . In bacteria, catabolic genes may be carried on plasmids and the exchange of plasmids among bacterial populations increases the evolutionary potential . Experiments in microbial evolution have produced strains with novel catabolic activities involving regulatory or structural gene mutations, gene duplications and plasmid exchange . Enzymes studied in this way include amidase, ribitol dehydrogenase, evolved beta-galactosidase, and enzymes of the catabolic pathways for pentoses and pentitols and haloaromatic compounds.

Rev Ig Bacteriol Virusol Parazitol Epidemiol Pneumoftiziol Bacteriol Virusol Parazitol Epidemiol, 1980 Apr-Jun, 25(2), 97 - 102
{Studies of oral microbiocenosis . III . Incidence of microorganisms of the Mycoplasma genus}; Sefer M et al.; Microorganisms of the Mycoplasma genus were found in the washing fluids of the oral cavity in 2% of healthy youths, and in 57.1% of patients with parodontal lesions: 25.7% in the buccal fluid, 17.1% in the dental tartar and 34.2% in the gingiva exsudate . Microplasma was not found in dental caries and in the radicular canals with pulpar gangrene . Although these microorganisms were frequently found in subjects with parodontal lesions they cannot be implicated with certainty in their aetiology.

Can J Microbiol, 1980 Apr, 26(4), 546 - 8
Detection of endotoxin in ear specimens from patients with chronic otitis media by means of the limulus amebocyte lysate test; Bernstein JM et al.; The limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) test is the most sensitive procedure for the detection of endotoxic lipopolysaccharides . The test was applied to middle ear fluids, cholesteatomas, and granulation tissue specimens from 31 patients in parallel with bacteriologic examination . The LAL test and bacteriologic examination yielded concordant results with 26 out of 28 specimens . A positive LAL test was obtained with 11 specimens containing endotoxin-producing organisms . The test became positive within 60 min of incubation in 10 out of 11 specimens and in 1 specimen between 1 and 24 h, suggesting that, in the majority of specimens, endotoxin was present in the specimen itself and that the result was not due to the in vitro multiplication of the microorganisms . All negative tests remained negative for 24 h . It is conceivable that endotoxin present in ear fluids may contribute to the pathologic changes in chronic otitis media.

Antibiotiki, 1980 Apr, 25(4), 250 - 6
{Effect of lincomycin and other protein synthesis inhibitors on the metabolism of Actinomyces roseolus, a producer of lincomycin}; Griaznova NS et al.; The ability of lincomycin, erythromycin and oxytetracycline to affect the synthesis of protein, RNA and DNA in the mycelium of the lincomycin-producing organism Act . roseolus of various ages was studied . The ability of labeled lincomycin to penetrate into the mycelium from the environment was shown and possible presence of the enzymatic systems inactivating lincomycin in the mycelium was studied . Insensitivity of Act . roseolus is due to the protective reactions of the microorganism . One of such reactions involves impermeability of the cell membrane for the antibiotic present in the culture fluid.

Antibiotiki, 1980 Apr, 25(4), 245 - 50
{Effect of the cultivation temperature on the growth and culture properties of microorganism collection type cultures}; Semenov SM et al.; The effect of temperature on growth and cultural properties of 309 strains of actinomycetes and bacteria from the Culture Collection of the All-Union Research Institute of Antibiotics was studied . The most favourable temperature for the overwhelming majority of the cultures ranged within 24--37 degrees C . The highest temperature limit in some of the cultures was the strain characteristic . Increased temperature entailed better growth and sporulation and changes in some of the cultural properties of separate strains of Str . rimosus, Str . fradiae, Str . roseus, Str . reticuli, Str . longisporus, Str . rubescens and Str . sp . To show more completely the variation ranges of actinomycetes it is recommended that for their description not only cultures grown on different media, which is the most common practice in taxonomic investigations be studied but also cultures grown at various temperatures.

Can J Biochem, 1980 Apr, 58(4), 361 - 7
Identification and partial characterization of an Escherichia coli mutant with altered hydrogenase activity; Glick BR et al.; An Escherichia coli mutant strain with altered hydrogenase activity was isolated using a filter paper assay . This assay depends on the ability of hydrogenase-containing microorganisms to reduce methyl viologen impregnated in filter paper, producing purple-colored colonies in the presence of hydrogen . Membrane-bound and cytoplasmic hydrogenase activities of wild-type and mutant strains were compared by amperometric measurement of hydrogen production . The cytoplasmic activities of mutant and wild type were comparable . The membrane-bound activity was lower in the mutant than in the wild type . Upon addition of detergent to the membrane fraction the specific activity of the enzyme from the mutant strain increased so that it equalled that of the wild type . The mutant requires an exogenous electron acceptor for anaerobic growth providing evidence for the function of the hydrogenase in anaerobic growth.

Acta Pathol Microbiol Scand {B}, 1980 Apr, 88(2), 69 - 70
A vacuum gadget for safe and rapid mounting of cover slips on slides with living pathogenic microorganisms; Rasmussen E; A simple gadget is described for the safe and rapid mounting of cover slips on slides with infectious materials . The instrument has worked satisfactorily in the mounting of more than 50,000 slides.

Genetika, 1980 Apr, 16(4), 628 - 33
{Relationship between an organism's radiosensitivity and its level of repair processes}; Tikhomirova MM; Radioresistance and repair intensity were simultaneously studied in 13 stocks of Drosophila melanogaster . The frequency of exceptional males in the progeny of X-irradiated females was used as radioresistance criterion . Repair intensity was estimated by the radiation after-effect which was determined under successive action of the radiation and elevated temperature (37 degrees C) . It has been shown that the higher is the stock radioresistance, the higher are repair capacity of the stock . However, it has been revealed that relatively independent combining of radioresistance and repair intensity is possible, excluding one, "forbidden" combination: there are no organisms which are sensitive to radiation and have a high repair level . The last law appears to have a general biological nature, it is characteristic for microorganisms (Escherichia coli), plants (Vicia faba) and insects (D . melanogaster).

J Med Eng Technol, 1980 Mar, 4(2), 74 - 80
A microcomputer-based research system for the optical analysis of agar-cultured micro-organism colonies; Johnson S et al.; A system which has been developed for the automatic of agar-cultured microorganism colonies is described . A camera of the line-scanning type is used to scan the plates and details of the hardware and software development are explained . Flow diagrams are included which illustrate the operation of the system, but, as yet, no results are available . The prototype machine is undergoing evaluation testing.

Acta Otolaryngol, 1980 Mar-Apr, 89(3-4), 204 - 13
The normal human maxillary sinus mucosa . An electron microscopic study; Toppozada HH et al.; The fine structure of the maxillary antral mucosa was studied in 5 cases . The findings revealed the similarity of the nasal and paranasal sinus mucosae . Certain differences were recorded denoting relative diminished activity of the seromucinous glands, diminished exchange between tissue fluid and blood, diminished number of cilia, delicacy and loosening of the epithelium . Thus, in inflammation there is lower resistance of the sinus mucosa to infection and easier penetration for microorganisms, requiring early systemic administration of antibiotics with postural drainage and antral irrigation subsequently in treatment.

Med Tekh, 1980 Mar-Apr, (2), 50 - 1
{Microelectrophoresis apparatus}; Globa LI et al.; The described installation for microelectrophoresis is distinguished by the open-type electrode cameras . Platinum electrodes now employed considerably simplify its construction and operation . The design of this installation allows easy replacement of damaged blocks . It is recommended for studying the electrokinetic properties of microorganisms, blood cells and other dispersed particles.

Arch Microbiol, 1980 Mar, 125(1-2), 137 - 42
Alanine dehydrogenase of the beta-lactam antibiotic producer Streptomyces clavuligerus; Aharonowitz Y et al.; L-Alanine dehydrogenase was found in extracts of the antibiotic producer Streptomyces clavuligerus . The enzyme was induced by ammonia, and the level of induction was dependent on the extracellular concentraction . L-Alanine was the only amino acid able to induce alanine dehydrogenase . The enzyme was characterized from a 38-fold purified preparation . Pyruvate (Km = 1.1 mM), ammonia (Km = 20 mM) and NADH (Km = 0.14 mM) were required for the reductive amination, and L-alanine (Km = 9.1 mM) and NAD (Km = 0.5 mM) for the oxidative deaminating reaction . The aminating reaction was inhibited by alanine, serine and NADPH . Alanine inhibited uncompetitively with respect to NADH (Ki = 1.6 mM) and noncompetitively with respect to ammonia (Ki = 2.0 mM) and pyruvate (Ki = 3.0 mM) . In the aminating reaction 3-hydroxypyruvate, glyoxylate and 2-oxobutyrate could partially (6--7%) substitute pyruvate . Alanine dehydrogenase from S . clavuligerus differed with respect to its molecular weight (92000) and its kinetic properties from those described for other microorganisms.

Ukr Biokhim Zh, 1980 Mar-Apr, 52(2), 237 - 9
{Effect of bicarbonate level rise on utilization of nonprotein nitrogen 15N by the rumen microorganisms}; Pupin IG et al.; The intensity of 15N uptake from labelled urea by a mixed population of the rumen contents microorganisms was studied as affected by various HCO3- levels . Practically there exist a relation between a pronounced positive effect of sodium bicarbonate on the efficiency of urea nitrogen utilization by the rumen fluid microorganisms and the protein synthesis which suggests their combined application to be advisable . However, significance of the differences is not high, first of all due to a great viriation of data for certain animals.

Ann Sclavo, 1980 Mar-Apr, 22(2), 212 - 26
{Antibiotic and metal resistance in "Escherichia coli" strains isolated from the environment and from patients (author's transl)}; Cenci G et al.; The incidence and the patterns of the antibiotic and metal resistance in 106 strains of Escherichia coli isolated from ground waters, used also as drinking water supply (sample A), was studied in comparison with the resistance behaviour in the 104 strains of the same microorganism isolated from non hospitalized patients (sample P) . Significant differences between the percentage of resistant strains in the two examined samples were found for some of the antibiotics and the metals tested (ampicillin, streptomycin, kanamycin, mercury and zinc) while non statistically significant differences were found for gentamicin, tetracyclin, nalidixic acid and cadmium . From the high percentages of the resistant strains in the environmental sample (up to 44.3% for tetracyclin) we may deduce that also the ground waters, especially if used as drinking water, contribute to the spread of the resistant bacteria . The patterns of the antibiotic multiresistances in the strains isolated from patients and from ground waters do not differ greatly and this strengthens the hypothesis that resistance to antibiotics has been acquired by Escherichia coli strains before reaching the ground waters.

Mikrobiologiia, 1980 Mar-Apr, 49(2), 323 - 5
{Primary selection method for microorganism producers of organic acids}; L'vova EB et al.; A method is suggested for primary selection of microorganisms producing organic acids . The methods is based on the use of diagnostic media containing the indicator bromocresol green . When yeast fungi of various taxonomic groups were grown in indicator media, 49 yeast cultures producing organic acids were found . Among these, 38 cultures accumulated from 5.0 to 30.0 mg% of citric acid when grown in a medium containing n-paraffins.

J Immunol, 1980 Mar, 124(3), 1383 - 8
Binding of eosinophil peroxidase to mast cell granules with retention of peroxidatic activity; Henderson WR et al.; Eosinophil peroxidase (EPO) and to a lesser degree neutrophil peroxidase (myeloperoxidase, MPO) bound tightly to mast cell granules (MCG), particularly when the latter were depleted of histamine by suspension in physiologic salt solutions . The bound EPO was localized on the surface of the granule, and its dissociation required salt concentrations of high enough ionic strength (greater than 0.75 M) to solubilize the MCG matrix . Elution of MPO from the complex occurred at a lower salt concentration . The MCG/EPO complex retained the capacity of the isolated EPO to catalyze the iodination reaction when supplemented with iodide, H2O2, and a protein acceptor and to kill microorganisms when supplemented with H2O2 and a halide (iodide, chloride) . Indeed, the MCG/EPO complex had significantly greater iodinating and bactericidal activity than the free enzyme when standardized to equal guaiacol units of peroxidase activity . Thus, in areas of inflammation where mast cells and phagocytic leukocytes coexist, there is the potential for the formation of active complexes extracellularly between mast cell granules and molecules such as EPO (or MPO) that can affect the inflammatory response.

Appl Environ Microbiol, 1980 Mar, 39(3), 559 - 65
Microbial metabolism of N-nitrosodiethanolamine in lake water and sewage; Yordy JR et al.; The carcinogenic nitrosamine, N-nitrosodiethanolamine (NDElA), was degraded in samples of sewage and two lake waters, and microorganisms were responsible for the transformation . However, the rate of NDElA disappearance was slow . In the samples of lake water, the rate and extent of NDElA metabolism varied with the time of year, and no disappearance occurred in samples taken in winter . The products formed from NDEIA were persistent in lake water . In sewage, no seasonal effect on the microbial conversion was evident, and the products of metabolism were slowly mineralized . NDElA is apparently converted to the same organic products in samples of all three environments . Although the products were not identified, the data suggest that they were modified dimers of NDElA.

Ukr Biokhim Zh, 1980 Mar-Apr, 52(2), 159 - 63
{Theoretical evaluation of necessity of carbon dioxide assimilation by microorganisms during growth on various substrates}; Malashenko IuR et al.; The biological role of exogenous carbon dioxide during substrate assimilation with a various degree of reductivity is evaluated . The investigation of metabolic pathways of carbon dioxide incorporation into the metabolic processes of methaneoxidizing bacteria shows that the HCO3- ion assimilation is catalyzed by phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase and in certain strains also by the key enzyme of autotrophic pathway of the carbon dioxide assimilation, ribulose-1,5-diphosphate carboxylase . The theoretical calculations and experimental studies indicate that exogenous carbon dioxide is a necessary participant of the metabolic processes of methane or methanol assimilation . It is also an acceptor of the excess electrons of these compounds . It is the degree of reductivity of the substrate metabolized that determines the activity of the exogenous carbon dioxide fixation by microorganisms . The carbon dioxide fixation by heterotrophic microorganisms must be considered, therefore, as a process which is mostly due to the elementary composition of the source of carbon under conversion.

Ukr Biokhim Zh, 1980 Mar-Apr, 52(2), 155 - 8
{Regulation of metabolism in microorganisms with CO2 fixation}; Gololobov AD; The paper deals with a review of the data available in literature on the regulation of the metabolic processes in microorganisms with CO2 fixation . The main function of CO2 is traced as exemplified by different types of microorganism nutrition . The carboxylation reactions in their main forms are observed in all heterotrophic microorganisms . The experimental data relative to the heterotrophic fixation of CO2 in yeast assimilating oil carbohydrates are presented as an example . The degree of CO2 fixation under these conditions may reach 30% . Carbon of CO2 is utilized for the biomass biosynthesis.

Prikl Biokhim Mikrobiol, 1980 Mar-Apr, 16(2), 156 - 61
{Influence of cultivation temperature on the development of functionally active photoregulatory systems in cells of Neurospora crassa and Physarum polycephalum}; Afanas'eva TP et al.; Illumination with a visible light is known to induce accumulation of colored carotenoid pigments in mycelial cells on Neurospora crassa and sporulation of starved macroplasmodia of Physarum polycephalum . In both microorganisms, the temperature, at which they are cultivated in the dark, controls manifestation of the photoregulation processes in the cells subsequently exposed to light . The maximal rate of photoinduced accumulation of carotenoids in N . crassa is observed, when the cells are grown in the dark at 25-28 degrees C; the highest photoinduction of P . polycephalum sporulation takes place, if microplasmodia are grown in the dark at 21-23 degrees C and macroplasmodia are starved at no more than 23 degrees C . Both a 5 degree C rise and fall of the temperature of dark cultivation from the optimum dramatically inhibits the cell ability for photoresponse . This inhibition is not associated with suppression of cell growth processes: temperature rise at the dark period up to 32 degrees C for N . crassa and 25-27 degrees C for P . polycephalum brings the subsequent photoresponse to a minimum but does not produce any negative effect on the growth rate . It is concluded that temperature affects specifically processes of formation of functionally active photoregulatory systems.

Mikrobiologiia, 1980 Mar-Apr, 49(2), 265 - 8
{Microorganisms that produce alpha-galactosidase, alpha-mannosidase, alpha-fucosidase and beta-acetylglucosaminidase}; Ulezlo IV et al.; The capacity to synthesize alpha-D-galactosidase (EC 3.2.1.22), alpha-D-mannosidase (EC 3.2.1.24), alpha-L-fucosidase (EC 3.2.1.51) and beta-D-acetylglucose aminidase (EC 3.2.1.30) was tested among 100 different cultures of soil microscopic fungi and actinomycetes . Two genera of micromycetes, viz . Scopulariopsis and Aposphaeria, which had not been known as producing alpha-D-galactosidase, were found, as well as several new species of the genus Penicillium: Pen . canescens, Pen . claviforme, Pen . cyclopium, Pen . daleae, Pen . frequentans, Pen . piscarum, Pen . simplicissimu, Pen . thomii.

J Clin Microbiol, 1980 Mar, 11(3), 281 - 5
Evaluation of acridine orange stain for detection of microorganisms in blood cultures; McCarthy LR et al.; A pH 4.0 buffered solution of the fluorochrome acridine orange was used to stain samples of 2,704 blood cultures that failed to yield visible evidence of growth after 1 day of incubation . Results obtained by the staining method were compared with those obtained by aerobic and anaerobic subcultures simultaneously performed upon the same cultures . Of the 109 culture-positive blood specimens initially detected by the acridine orange and the subculture methods, 85 (78%) were detected by both acridine orange and subcultures techniques, 14 (12.8%) were detected by subculture alone, and 10 (9.2%) were detected by acridine orange alone . The differences between the subculture and acridine orange methods were not found to be statistically significant (P less than 0.1) . The acridine orange method represents a rapid and inexpensive alternative to conventional subculture techniques for the detection of bacteria in blood cultures that fail to yield visible evidence of growth after 1 day of incubation.

Lancet, 1980 Feb 9, 1(8163), 285 - 7
Nature of cryoglobulinaemia; Levo Y; Cryoimmunoglobulins seem to differ from non-cryoimmunoglobulins in not having carbohydrate groups, most probably sialic acid residues . It is proposed that cryoimmunoglobulinaemia is a physiological event and that desialylated immunoglobulins are a normal byproduct of the immune system . The rise in serum levels of cryoimmunoglobulins is either a pre-secretory event which follows enhanced stimulation of B lymphocytes or a post-secretory event secondary to the generation of serum neuraminidase-like activity by invading microorganisms or their products . It is also proposed that the liver is the main organ which removes cryoimmunoglobulins from the serum . The removal is mediated by specific hepatocellular receptors for desialylated glycoprotein . Clinical or subclinical liver diseases are therefore commonly associated with significantly increased levels of serum cryoglobulins.

Mol Cell Biochem, 1980 Feb 8, 29(2), 71 - 80
Ligandin: an adventure in liverland; Arias IM et al.; Ligandin is an abundant soluble protein which has a t 1/2 of 2--3 days, is induced by many drugs and chemicals, and is stabilized in the absence of thyroid hormone . The protein is strategically concentrated in cells associated with transport and detoxification of many endogenous ligands, such as bilirubin, and exogenous ligands, such as drugs and chemicals . The protein is a dimer in rat liver . Whether the dimer is a primary gene product or at least two genes are involved is not known . The protein has broad, low affinity catalytic activity as a GSH-S-transferase for many ligands having electrophilic groups and hydrophobic domains . It catalyzes formation of GSH conjugates, non-covalently binds some ligands prior to their biotransformation or excretion in bile, and covalently binds other ligands, such as activated carcinogens . Recent studies include the possible role of ligandin in chemical carcinogenesis, diagnosis of inflammatory and neoplastic disease of the liver and kidney, and participation in intracellular transport . Although some of the roles that have been outlined are speculative, any single function is important . The GSH-S-transferases are primitive enzymes and non-specific binding proteins but "it is precisely their simplistic design that allows such protean serviceability" . Ligandin illustrates a group of hepatic disposal mechanisms which involve bulk transport of ligands . Although specific uptake and transport mechanisms have been described for several hormones which enter the hepatocyte in small quantities and regulate intermediary metabolism and, possibly, cell maturation, bulk transport of ligands into, through and out of the liver involves mechanisms which accomodate many metabolites, drugs and chemicals of diverse structure . The liver is bathed in sewage which contains what we ingest or are injected with and potentially toxic products of intestinal microorganisms . The chemical formulas of the many substances which are metabolized by the liver provide a horror show of potentially reactive and toxic metabolites, mutagens and carcinogens . Despite this alimentary "Love Canal", we and our livers do remarkably well . These hepatic disposal mechanisms, as exemplified by ligandin, evolved in ancient times . They are present, albeit sluggishly, in insects and ancient elasmobranchs . Hepatic uptake and removal mechanisms of high capacity, modest affinity and broad substrate range permit us to live in what has probably always been a threatening world.

Surg Clin North Am, 1980 Feb, 60(1), 41 - 7
The impact of nutrition on infection; Rhoads JE; It seems that the early impressions of Graves have been borne out by a series of increasingly objective measurements, some in animals, such as those in the studies of Robertson and of Cannon and their collaborators, and some in patients, such as those of Wohl, Law, Copeland, Dudrick, Meakins, Mullen, and their associates . This is by no means a complete review of the literature, but sufficient data have been presented to indicate that poor nutrition is followed by a great increase not only in total complications but also in infectious complications . This is most clearly seen in the more exaggerated cases of malnutrition but is observed to some extent with deficits of intermediate severity . So far, the studies do not pinpoint susceptibility to particular organisms but appear to implicate the mechanisms of defense against microorganisms on a categorical basis . The reverse effect, that is the impairment of nutritional status resulting from both chronic and acute infection, is too well known to require emphasis.

Dtsch Zahnarztl Z, 1980 Feb, 35(2), 323 - 6
{Quantitative microbiologic studies of the sulcus fluid in patients with immunodeficiencies}; Krekeler G et al.; Quantitative microbiologic examinations of fluid taken from gingival sulci were carried out with patients suffering from chronic lymphatic leukemia (CLL), i.e . with disturbed immune response, and with healthy subjects . The pathogen count in each case was correlated with the gingival index, the plaque index, the amount of fluid in the gingival sulcus, and the pocket depth . Patients with chronic lymphatic leukemia with gingiva clinically free of inflammation showed one to 20 times more bacterial flora in fluid from the gingival sulcus than fluid from healthy control subjects . The quantitative values tend to equalize only if imflammation is severe . If the pathogen count is considered a function of the amount of plaque or pocket depth, markedly more microorganisms/mm3 of sulcus fluid were found with CLL patients than in the control group . It therefore may be concluded that immunologic reactions contribute decisively to the causation and maintenance of gingivitis with all of its consequences and that these reactions play an important role in the destruction of pathogens found in the region of the gingival pocket.

J Oral Surg, 1980 Feb, 38(2), 117 - 20
Infection following intraoral surgical correction of dentofacial deformities: a review of 140 consecutive cases; Gallagher DM et al.; Prophylactic antibiotics are often administered during orthognathic surgery to prevent infection . A total of 140 consecutive patients who underwent "clean" intraoral maxillary and mandibular orthognathic surgery and received antibiotics in the preoperative period are reviewed with respect to postoperative infection . In four patients, infections developed, two of which were related to alloplastic implants . The microorganisms cultured from the infections were species not normally found in oral infections . One patient had an antibiotic-induced anaphylactic reaction . The theory and applicability of antibiotic prophylaxis for intraoral orthognathic surgery are discussed.

Biochim Biophys Acta, 1980 Jan 11, 611(1), 1 - 10
Purification and properties of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (NADP+/NAD+) and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (NADP+/NAD+) from methanol-grown Pseudomonas C; Ben-Bassat A et al.; Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (D-glucose-6-phosphate:NADPH+ 1-oxidoreductase, EC 1.1.1.49) and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6-phospho-D-gluconate:NADP+ 2-oxidoreductase, EC 1.1.1943) have been purified from methanol-grown Pseudomonas C . Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase exhibits activity with either NADP+ or NAD+ as coenzymes, V NADP+ = 0.96 V NAD+.Km values of 22, 290, and 250 microns are obtained for NADP+, NAD+ and glucose 6-phosphate (NADP+ as the coenzyme), respectively . ATP inhibits Glc-6P dehydrogenase activity with NAD+ as coenzyme and to a less extent the activity with DANP+ . In the presence of MgCl2, ATP inhibition of Blc-6P dehydrogeanse activity is abolished . 6-Phosphogluconate dehydrogenase has a dual specificity for both NADP+ or NAD+ as coenzymes, V NADP+ = 1.66 V NAD+.Km values of 20, 500 and 100 microns are obtained for NADP+, NAD+ and 6-phosphogluconate (NADP+ as the coenzyme), respectively . With NAD+ as the coenzyme ATP inhibits 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogeanse activity, while with NADP+ as the coenzyme, activity was less affected . The possible role of these enzymes in the metabolism of one-carbon (C1)-compounds in Pseudomonas C is discussed and compared with other methylotrophic microorganisms.

J Hyg Epidemiol Microbiol Immunol, 1980, 24(4), 425 - 31
Investigation of the safety of industrial strains of microorganisms and microbial insecticides; Mel'nikova EA et al.; Toxicology-hygienic studies of insecticidal preparations produced on the basis of fungi of the species Beauveria bassiana and bacteria of the species Bac . thuringiensis, recommended for use in plant-growing, were carried out . It has been established that the industrial strains of entomopathogenic microorganisms and insecticidal preparations produced on the basis of these microorganisms are harmless in the epidemiological sense and of low toxicity, but they may have a sensitizing effect on the human organism . On the grounds of results of toxicological experiments and hygienic observations in the field it has been concluded that prophylactic measures in the production and application of microbial insecticides should be aimed at restricting the contact of people with entomopathogenic microorganisms and preparations produced on their basis.

Biol Bull Acad Sci USSR, 1980 Jan-Feb, 7(1), 47 - 61
Biological aspects of protecting harvested crops of potatoes, vegetables, and fruits against storage losses; Metlitskii LV; The causes of heavy losses in storage of harvested crops of potatoes, vegetables, and fruits are considered, and the means of preventing them under modern farming conditions are discussed . Primary attention was directed towards the results of work devoted to the study of biochemical mechanisms which control the resistance of plant tissues to phytopathogenic microorganisms, the state of quiescence and transition to active growth, ripening and ageing, as well as methods of operating these mechanisms in order to protect harvested crops against infectious diseases and functional disorders, premature sprouting and overripening . The necessity is substantiated by combining various methods: active ventilation, artificial refrigeration, controlling gaseous medium, physiologically active substances, ionizing radiation, and other factors, since methods which protect from one source of losses can facilitate the development of other kinds of losses . Of crucial importance is the utilization of the resistance mechanisms of the plant tissues themselves.

Acta Microbiol Acad Sci Hung, 1980, 27(1), 9 - 21
Vital fluorescence microscopy of lysosomes in cultured mouse peritoneal macrophages during their interactions with microorganisms and active substances . III . Interactions of macrophages with endozoits of Toxoplasma gondii RH strain and their soluble substance; Khavkin TN et al.; Macrophages with lysosomes pinpointed by quinacrine-induced fluorescence were infected with the endozoits of Toxoplasma gondii RH strain (peritoneal exudate of infected mouse), or treated with liquid (acellular) fraction of the same exudate . Dead toxoplasmas ingested by macrophages come into contact with the stained lysosomes of the cell and acquire a diffuse fluorescence . Viable toxoplasmas do not give fluorescence, which means that they do not come into contact with lysosomes, either primary or secondary . This supports the hypothesis that toxoplasmas can prevent lysosomes from fusing with the phagosomes of the host cell . Moderate doses of soluble products of toxoplasmas contained in peritoneal exudate cause an excessive output of macrophage lysosomes which points to the activation of macrophages; high doses of challenge inhibit the phagocytosis of toxoplasmas and damage macrophages . The pathogenicity of toxoplasmas due to their ability to inhibit the fusion of lysosomes and phagosomes and the cellular action of their soluble products is discussed.

Klin Monatsbl Augenheilkd, 1980 Jan, 176(1), 119 - 21
{Bacterial contamination of intraocular metallic foreign bodies}; Reich ME et al.; Bacterial flora were cultured from 20 metallic intraocular foreign bodies which were removed by magnetic extraction . Bacterial flora were domonstrated in 35% . Report on the microorganisms isolated, the size of the foreign bodies and the time between the penetration and the magnetic extraction operation in relation to the contamination.

Z Allg Mikrobiol, 1980, 20(1), 23 - 32
{Steroid transforming enzymes in microorganisms . XIII . Relationship between steroid structure and induction of 4-ene-3-oxosteroid: (acceptor)-1-ene-oxidoreductase in Nocardia opaca}; Horhold C et al.; The induction of the 4-ene-3-oxosteroid: (acceptor)-1-ene-oxidoreductase in Nocardia opaca has been shown to be dependent on both hydrophilic and hydrophobic structural features of the steroid molecule, i.g . the nature of the oxygen function in positions 11 and 20 and the presence of the methyl group in position 10 influence the induction of the enzyme drastically . In this connection the metabolism of the steroid inductors being degradated during the induction process has been considered.

Laryngoscope, 1980 Jan, 90(1), 152 - 8
The fine surface structure and composition of salivary calculi; Hiraide F et al.; Salivary calculi were formed by a laminated mixture of inorganic and organic substancs . However, there was no regular pattern for the growth of stones, as laminal thickness and the arrangement of the laminal component were not uniform . Finger-like radial projections, longitudinal pavements or amorphous structures were seen on the fractured surface of the calculi . No inert foreign body or microorganism was found in the calculi . There were two modes of formation in calculous nucleus, one developed by maturation of a primitive core, the other formed in homogenous mineral mass . X-ray microanalysis proved that most salivary calculi contained chemical elements such as calcium, phosphorous, potassium, sodium, magnesium, chlorine, sulfur, manganese, chromium and aluminum . As far as we have examined, these elements were distributed with almost equal density throughout the calculus.

J Exp Med, 1980 Jan 1, 151(1), 101 - 14
Increased production of superoxide anion by macrophages exposed in vitro to muramyl dipeptide or lipopolysaccharide; Pabst MJ et al.; After in vitro exposure to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or muramyl dipeptide (MDP), cultured resident mouse peritoneal macrophages were primed to display enhanced generation of superoxide anion (O2-) in response to stimulation by phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) or opsonized zymosan . Priming with LPS (1 microgram/ml) produced a sevenfold enhancement of PMA-stimulated O2- generation; priming was detected within 30 min and persisted for at least 4 d . Exposure to MDP (1 muM) primed the macrophages to double their O2- release; the response was first observed after 4 h and persisted for at least 3 d . The priming response was not observed with stereoisomers of MDP, which are inactive as adjuvants . LPS and MDP appeared to work directly on the macrophages rather than indirectly by interacting with adherent lymphocytes: (a) Addition of nonadherent cell populations that contained lymphocytes had no effect on the response . (b) The response was normal with cells from nude mice, which lack mature T lymphocytes . (c) Macrophages from C3H/HeJ mice, whose B lymphocytes fail to respond to LPS, were weak in their response to priming LPS; the addition of normal (C3Heb/FeJ) nonadherent cells had no effect on this weak response . (d) The macrophage-like cell line J774.1 also showed enhanced O2--generating capacity after a 4-h exposure to LPS or MDP . The O2--generating capacity of macrophages primed with LPS in vitro was equivalent to that previously observed with cells elicited in vivo by injection of LPS or activated by infection with Bacille Calmette-Guerin . The data suggest that previous exposure to bacterial products could prime macrophages to respond with increased production of toxic oxygen metabolites on contact with invading microorganisms or tumor cells.

Reprod Nutr Dev, 1980, 20(5B), 1695 - 9
{Influence of thiamine on bacterial proteosynthesis in sheep}; Candau M et al.; To determine the effect of thiamin on the activity of rumen microorganisms we measured the extent of bacterial protein synthesis by in vitro incubations in the presence of filtered rumen juice and a protein-free purified diet with 4 p . 100 urea . This was verified by the amount of protein formed in the incubation medium . Comparing the process in the absence of thiamin, the incorporation of that vitamin at the rate of 4 mg/g resulted in a mean increase of 65 p . 100 of the bacterial proteins synthesized in vitro in 3 hrs . Parallel to this thiamin effect on protein synthesis, the fatty acid analysis showed a modification of the microbial aspect with increased formation of propionic acid (p . 100 of C3 for diet with thiamin vs p . 100 of C3 for the thiamin-free diet = 40.39 +/- 5.08 vs 25.12 +/- 2.99) . This was an improvement of energetic yield following the stochiometric calculations . These observations might explain the effect of this additive nutrient on rumen bacterial proteosynthesis.

Recent Results Cancer Res, 1980, 75, 115 - 25
Screening of small molecular microbial products modulating immune responses and bestatin; Umezawa H; Microorganisms are the treasury of organic compounds which have various structures and various biologic and medicinal activities . The study of inhibitors of enzymes on the cellular surface has led to the findings of immunomodulators; bestatin, amastatin, forphenicine, and esterastin . Bestatin enhances delayed-type hypersensitivity to SRBC and oxazolone and inhibits Gardner lymphosarcoma and IMC-carcinoma in mice . It also suppressed Ps . aeruginosa infection in mice treated with an immunosuppressive agent . Bestatin has extremely low toxicity and has been studied clinically . These studies on bestatin were reviewed.

Z Allg Mikrobiol, 1980, 20(10), 613 - 7
Influence of soil on wood-degradation and fruit body formation by parasites and saprophytes among wood-destroying basidiomycetous fungi; Gramss G; Formation of soil mycelium enables the fungal mycelium to amend the nutrient-deficient wood substrate actively by enclosing macronutrients from soil . Supposition to formation of a soil mycelium proved the resistance of the fungus to competitive substrate microorganisms . This resistance is absent in pathogenic, but wide-spread in saprophytic wood-decay fungi . Consequently, production of soil mycelium was restricted to saprophytic fungi . Saprophytes of the white-rot type are superior to brown-cubical rot type fungi in forming soil mycelium and utilizing soil nutrients . However, rich soils stimulate a more limited degree of wood degradation and yield increase of basidiocarps in parasitic fungi, too, that fail to produce a soil mycelium . It is concluded that uptake of soil nutrients turns out in two different ways, via an actively absorbing soil mycelium and via passive nutrient diffusion from soil into the substrate wood.

Mikrobiologiia, 1980 Jan-Feb, 49(1), 93 - 7
{Variability of Aureobasidium pullulans (de Bary) Arnaud induced by N-nitrosomethylurea}; Pronina MI et al.; The effect of nitrosomethylurea (NMU) at concentrations of 0.2 to 1.0 on Aureobasidium pullulans, strain 8, producing the polysaccharide glucan was studied . The doses of mutagen with the survival of the cells from 0.02 to 8.9% caused high morphological variability of the microorganism and favoured the production of the polysaccharide . The moderate action of the mutagen (0.5% of NMU for three hours) with the survival of the cells about 1.0% was found to be most optimal for the induction of variants with the increased production of glucan.

Environ Mutagen, 1980, 2(3), 359 - 70
Mutagenicity of pesticides evaluated by means of gene-conversion in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and in Aspergillus nidulans; de Bertoldi M et al.; Nine pesticides, Afugan, Atrazine, Benomyl, Captan, Daconil, Melthaumittel, Plantvax, Saprol, and Wepsin were tested for the induction of mitotic gene-conversion in two different eucaryotic microorganisms, Saccharomyces cerevisae and Aspergillus nidulans . In S cerevisiae the pesticides were also tested after mouse liver microsomal activation; in A nidulans all tests were performed using both resting and germinating conidia . Among the tested pesticides, only Captan revealed a consistent genetic activity, three times greater than that observed with the standard mutagen methylmethansulphonate . This genetic activity of Captan is suppressed after mammalian metabolic conversion . The use of germinating conidia in A nidulans for scoring the induction of mitotic gene-conversion did not give any further information on the activity of the tested pesticides.

Zentralbl Bakteriol Naturwiss, 1980, 135(6), 510 - 14
Detergent effect on metabolic changes in microorganisms . A review; Tripathi VS et al.; Detergents contain a hydrophobic hydrocarbon structure and a hydrophilic group which may be anionic, cationic, or neutral . Detergents form stable emulsions and are capable of trapping lipid-soluble materials in the interior of the hydrophobic portion of the miscelles . Application of the knowledge of detergents to the discipline of microbiology would provide interesting and accurate data for further studies.

Folia Microbiol (Praha), 1980, 25(6), 505 - 23
The use of antibiotics for studies of morphogenesis and differentiation in microorganisms; Betina V; Numerous antibodies with a known mechanism of action are utilized as possible means for studying morphogenesis and differentiation . Inhibitors of biosynthesis of nucleic acids and proteins, compounds intervening with the synthesis and/or function of cell walls and membranes or compounds influencing the energy metabolism are particularly useful . The use of antibiotics for studies of the life cycle of viruses, bacteria, fungi, myxomycetes, protozoa and algae is analyzed in the present communication . Certain aspects of morphogenesis and functions of mitochondria and plastids were clarified with the aid of antibiotics . Relationships between production of antibiotics and differentiation of their producers are discussed in the final part of the paper.

Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr, 1980, 13(4), 337 - 52
Determination of vitamin K in foods: a review; Parrish DB; Vitamin K receives less dietary attention and fewer assays in foods than other fat-soluble vitamins . It is widely distributed in foods, usually at low concentrations . The human requirement is small . Intestinal bacteria synthesize vitamin K, which presumably helps provide the metabolic requirements for vitamin K . An RDA for vitamin K has not been published, but infants fed milk-substitute formulas risk vitamin K deficiency and it is recommended that those formulas contain supplemental vitamin K . Vitamin K in foods includes phylloquinone (K1) found in plants and several menaquinones (K2) found in animals and synthesized by microorganisms . Many vitamin K methods were developed primarily to identify forms present and determine their relative bioactivities . Until recently bioassays with chicks were the only practical methods to determine vitamin K content of foods . Various physicochemical methods have been developed to determine vitamins K in pure solutions, concentrates, and pharmaceuticals . Because of low concentrations of vitamin K in foods and the extensive purifications of extracts required, there has been only limited use of physicochemical methods, such as column chromatography, thin-layer chromatography, and high-performance liquid chromatography, with foods; the latter method perhaps offers the greatest possibilities for further development.

Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr, 1980, 13(4), 297 - 335
Phytic acid interactions in food systems; Cheryan M; Phytic acid is present in many plant systems, constituting about 1 to 5% by weight of many cereals and legumes . Concern about its presence in food arises from evidence that it decreases the bioavailability of many essential minerals by interacting with multivalent cations and/or proteins to form complexes that may be insoluble or otherwise unavailable under physiologic conditions . The precise structure of phytic acid and its salts is still a matter of controversy and lack of a good method of analysis is also a problem . It forms fairly stable chelates with almost all multivalent cations which are insoluble about pH 6 to 7, although pH, type, and concentration of cation have a tremendous influence on their solubility characteristics . In addition, at low pH and low cation concentration, phytate-protein complexes are formed due to direct electrostatic interaction, while at pH > 6 to 7, a ternary phytic acid-mineral-protein complex is formed which dissociates at high Na+ concentrations . These complexes appear to be responsible for the decreased bioavailability of the complexed minerals and are also more resistant to proteolytic digestion at low pH . Development of methods for producing low-phytate food products must take into account the nature and extent of the interactions between phytic acid and other food components . Simple mechanical treatment, such as milling, is useful for those seeds in which phytic acid tends to be localized in specific regions . Enzyme treatment, either directly with phytase or indirectly through the action of microorganisms, such as yeast during breadmaking, is quite effective, provided pH and other environmental conditions are favorable . It is also possible to produce low-phytate products by taking advantage of some specific interactions . For example, adjustment of pH and/or ionic strength so as to dissociate phytate-protein complexes and then using centrifugation or ultrafiltration (UF) has been shown to be useful . Phytic acid can also influence certain functional properties such as pH-solubility profiles of the proteins and the cookability of the seeds.

Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr, 1980, 13(3), 245 - 95
Phytoalexins of leguminous plants; Rizk AF et al.; The production of phytoalexins by various plants belonging to the family Leguminosae is reviewed . Many of the plants involved and/ or products derived from them are currently being consumed by humans . Most of the compounds that have been characterized were found to be toxic to certain microorganisms and hence they may be potential hazards for humans . The induction, chemical and physical characteristics, and other available information on these compounds are presented along with pertinent references . The lack of complete information on many of the phytoalexins reported suggests the need for further and continuing research in this area.

Ann Nutr Aliment, 1980, 34(2), 305 - 16
{Implications of the incorporation of transisomers of unsaturated fatty acids into cell membranes}; Combe N et al.; The incorporation of dietary trans fatty acids is shown into intestinal brush border and heart mitochondrial membranes obtained from rats fed with either partially hydrogenated soybean oil or with a synthetic triglyceride containing elaidic or linelaidic acid . The distribution of dietary linelaidate in the major phospholipid classes from inner membranes of mitochondria is determined . Heart mitochondria from normal rats and linelaidic acid fed rats are compared with respect to their swelling rate and their oxidative phosphorylation . The influence of dietary linelaidate on the activity of some brush border-associated enzymes is also studied . On the basis of the authors' observations and those made by others with microorganism cels or models of biological membranes (liposomes and monomolecular films), the possible implications of trans fatty acids incorporation on membrane functions are reviewed.

Z Allg Mikrobiol, 1980, 20(3), 159 - 66
{Steroid transformation using immobilized microorganisms . II . Degradation of the sidechain of cholesterol by immobilized cells of Nocardia erythropolis}; Atrat P et al.; The degradation of cholesterol side chain was studied by immobilized cells of Nocardia erythropolis in the presence of an inhibitor of the microbial steroid-skeleton-degradation . Different immobilized preparations such as DEAE-cellulose adsorbates, ionic cross-linked polymer gels, i.e., Al/Coalginates and polyacrylates, respectively, and polyethylene maleic acid anhydride supports have shown a high transformation activity yielding the C22- and C19-degradation products . No side chain degradation activity could be observed after immobilization of the cells in polyacrylamide gel under usual conditions caused by the toxic effect of the acrylamide monomer on the Nocardia cells.

Folia Microbiol (Praha), 1980, 25(3), 238 - 41
Optimization of costs per unit of microbial biomass produced in a batch culture; Livansky K; The time course of costs per unit mass of produced biomass is calculated under the assumption that the production costs during the cultivation of microorganisms are proportional to the cultivation period . The costs are shown to attain a minimum during the cultivation . The cultivation period corresponding to this minimum is calculated in the case when the time dependence of microbial concentration in a culture can be expressed explicitly.

Hautarzt, 1980 Jan, 31(1), 21 - 5
{Histologic studies on the frequency of Candida invasion in precancerous oral leukoplakia}; Grassel-Pietrusky R et al.; Out of 243 biopsies taken from oral leukoplakias of 202 patients we found 53 precancerous lesions (21,8%) . According to different degrees of epithelial dysplasia, we differentiated the lesions into three histological grades of precancerosis and examined them, in additon to previous mykologic investigations on oral smears, as to the occurrence of Candida species in the epithelium . A significant increase (p less than or equal to 5%) of Candida occurrence parallel to the grade of the precancerous dysplasia could be demonstrated . The rates of Candida invasion run from 10% in dysplasia grade 1 to 31% in grade 2, and 56% in grade 3 . The results indicate a lowered resistence of precancerous lesions against Candida, which allows the microorganisms to invade the displastic epithelium . Our findings are in favour of the view that Candida acts not as a co-carcinogenic agent but points to a weakened defence activity of the host cellular immune system.

Int Arch Allergy Appl Immunol, 1980, 62(3), 252 - 64
Antibodies against Aspergillus fumigatus . I . Standardization of the antigenic composition; Kauffman HF et al.; Three different stages were found during growth of Aspergillus fumigatus as characterized by the changes in pH of the medium: (1) An acidic phase (phase I); (2) a second phase (phase II) during which the pH rises till values around pH = 8.5; (3) a third phase (phase III) during which the pH remains constant or drops slightly . During phase I a fast appearance of certain antigenic components was found that is ascribed to an active process of excretion . Additional antigenic components appeared in the culture medium after lysis of the microorganisms (phases II and III) . Lysis of the microorganisms and appearance of antigenic components are dependent on the glucose concentration of the medium.

Z Allg Mikrobiol, 1980, 20(2), 79 - 84
{Steroid transformation with immobilized microorganisms . I . Transformation of cholesterol to cholestenone in organic solvents}; Atrat P et al.; The transformation of cholesterol to cholest-4-ene-3-one has been investigated in the presence of toluene and carbontetrachloride using cells of Nocardia erythropolis (IMET 7185) immobilized by different methods . The adsorption on DEAE-cellulose has been observed to be the most effective method . The stability of immobilized cells relating to cholesteroloxydase activity, transformation capacity, and the influence of water have been investigated.

J Dairy Sci, 1980 Jan, 63(1), 1 - 14
Fat in lactation rations: review; Palmquist DL et al.; Recent research has demonstrated the effectiveness of added fat in diets to maintain milk production and fat percent . Much of the earlier work which indicated that fat affects digestion negatively may not be applicable because of great differences in the nature of diets and fats fed and especially in total feed intake . Nevertheless, much remains to be learned about interactions of fat, fiber, calcium, and rumen microorganisms if feeding of fat is to be maximized . The uniquely high acidity in the duodenum combined with detergent action of bile acids, lysolecithin, and fatty acids causes saturated fatty acids to be more digestible in ruminants than in nonruminants . Large quantities of added dietary fat increase concentrations in plasma of very low density lipoprotein triglyceride which increases their uptake by the mammary gland with inhibition of short chain fatty acid synthesis and consequent changes in milk fatty acid composition . In some cases, secretion of milk fat is increased . Current research and practice demonstrate that 3 to 5% fat may be added to diets for lactation to increase energy intake of high-producing cows and/or to reduce starch feeding, thereby increasing the ratio of forage to concentrate to prevent depression of milk fat.

Clin Allergy, 1980 Jan, 10(1), 91 - 5
Prevalence of precipitins in groups at risk of developing hypersensitivity pneumonitis; Scribner GH et al.; A study was made of the prevalence of serum precipitins to Micropolyspora faeni, Thermoactinomyces vulgaris, Aspergillus fumigatus, and pigeon serum in population groups suspected to be at high risk for the development of hypersensitivity pneumonitis . Pigeon breeders' sera contained precipitins mainly to pigeon serum (38%) and A . fumigatus (18%) . Occupants of homes in which forced air heating systems were investigated for the presence of microorganisms reacted mostly with M . faeni (13%) and A . fumigatus (8%) . Individuals from environments where several cases of hypersensitivity pneumonitis were discovered reacted largely with M . faeni (28%) and T . vulgaris (21%) . Sera supplied by physicians from patients with respiratory symptoms reacted primarily to A . fumigatus (24%) and to a lesser extent to M . faeni (16%) and T . vulgaris (9%) . The results indicate that the prevalence of precipitins to the tested antigens is not uniform and may be influenced by the environment . Furthermore, the prevalence of precipitins in groups at risk is greater than previously reported for the normal population.

Mutat Res, 1980 Jan, 75(1), 49 - 62
Carcinogenicity, teratogenicity and mutagenicity of arsenic; Leonard A et al.; Arsenic may be released into the environmental through industrial processes and through the generation of power from coal . It is also widely used in agriculture and was formerly used extensively in medicine . For the general population, exposure to arsenic occurs mainly through the ingestion of foodstuffs containing inorganic and organic arsenicals . Trivalent arsenicals are regarded as being primarily sulfhydryl reagents with the result they inhibit a number of thiol-dependent enzymic systems in various tissues . Arsenite also has an effect on DNA synthesis and DNA repair . Owing to its lower affinity for hydroxy and thiol groups, pentavalent arsenate inhibits fewer enzymic systems . Although there is no reliable evidence that arsenic produces tumors in experimental animals, epidemiological studies show that the incidence of epidermoid carcinomas of the skin and lungs, and of pre-cancerous dermal keratoses, is significantly increased in human subjects who have been chronically exposed to arsenic compounds by oral or respiratory routes . Arsenic appears to be one of the only teratogenic members of the Group V metals . Most of the studies performed on the mutagenic activity of arsenic have provided positive results . They involve experiments on microorganisms, plant material and Drosophila as well as observations on the ability of this metal to induce, in vitro and in vivo, chromosomal aberrations in mammalian cells.

Acta Odontol Scand, 1980, 38(6), 349 - 54
Uptake and retention of tin by S . mutans; Attramadal A et al.; The uptake of tin by S . mutans from stannous fluoride or stannous chloride solutions was determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy . The uptake occurred rapidly, and the microorganism was shown to have a greater capacity and higher affinity to uptake of tin than of other metal ions tested . In 10 mM solutions, bound tin amounted to 17.5 per cent of the cellular dry mass . The tin uptake was independent of cell metabolism . The cell bound tin could not be washed out with water or saline, but 84 per cent was removed by ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid solutions . When pH was lowered by low 2, increasing loss of bound tin occurred . It is suggested that the binding occurs to polyanionic structural polymers in the cell wall and the cell capsule.

Ann N Y Acad Sci, 1980, 353, 230 - 40
Air sampling in hospitals; Groschel DH; Air sampling in hospitals is performed for the epidemiologic investigation of nosocomial infections, for the elucidation of spread and control of airborn microorganisms, for assessing biohazards associated with instruments, equipment and procedures and for controlling the performance of devices and techniques used for the reduction of airborne contaminants . Many different air-sampling devices are available but only a few have found use in hospitals . Certain samplers are used for special studies such as the Andersen stacked-sieve impactor or the liquid impingers . Lately, samplers have been developed which due to their size and weight are more useful to the hospital microbiologist and epidemiologist than the older slit samplers . the Ross Microban sieve sampler and the Biotest Reuter Centrifugal Sampler were tested in comparison with the Casella slit sampler and found to show comparable results . The hand-held, battery-operated Biotest RCS sample is the most versatile for general sampling of hospital air.

Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol, 1980, 49(1), 34 - 6
Oral cytologic patterns and nutritional status: some relationships in alcoholic subjects; Hillman RW et al.; Exfoliative cytologic preparations from the cheeks of 790 alcoholic patients were evaluated for relationships between microscopic features and selected indicators of nutritional status . Significant associations were observed between the cell/nucleus ratio, degree of cornification, relative concentrations of leukocytes and microorganisms, and poor dietary patterns, as well as body weight statua and serum albumin and blood hemoglobin levels . Microscopic examination, as an adjunct to gross inspection of the mouth, may be of value in the clinical assessment of nutriture.

Z Allg Mikrobiol, 1980, 20(10), 637 - 40
Degradation of steroids by microorganisms . XVIII . The reversibility of steroid-1-dehydrogenation during microbial side chain degradation of sterols by Nocardia; Komel R et al.; The aerobic side chain degradation of sterols often leads to mixtures of 1,4-diene and 4-ene compounds . By an additional anaerobic step a practically complete reverse reaction of the steroid-1-dehydrogenation occurs yielding only the corresponding 4-ene compound.

Zh Mikrobiol Epidemiol Immunobiol, 1980, (2), 98 - 102
{Utilization of a method of growing microorganisms on millipore filters in order to study their structure with a scanning electron microscope}; Levina GA et al.; A comparative study of bacteria and their L-forms Actinomyces and blue-green algae, taken from centrifugates and grown on Millipore filters, was made with the use of scanning electron microscopy . The study revealed that only in the second case the location of the cells inside the colony was preserved and the architectonics of the colony remained unchanged . The anastomoses between the cells and slime on the cell surface, destroyed when other methods of making the preparations were used, could be easily detected.

C R Seances Soc Biol Fil, 1980, 174(1), 74 - 81
{New approach to the study of the experimental inhibitory effect of the unicellular alga Chlorella pyrenoidosa against the murine sarcomas BP8 and L1210}; Morin O et al.; In this paper, the authors are relating the inhibitory effect of the unicellular alga Chlorella (Beijerinck, 1890) pyrenoidosa Zeitler and Lund, against the tumoural rodent strains BP8 and L1210, according to the amount of inoculum . The statistical study of the results allows to the conclusive fact of a real protective effect showed by this microorganism and of a demonstrative relation between the amount of the protective material and the tumoural answers the high amount giving a better inhibitory effect . The workers also insist on the lack of pathogenicity presented by the alga used in this study.

Zentralbl Bakteriol Naturwiss, 1980, 135(2), 119 - 22
Degradation of humic acids, extracted from manure and soil by some streptomycetes and fungi; Khandelwal KC et al.; Humate-decomposing microorganisms were isolated from alluvial soil, farmyard manure and peat by direct plating and enrichment techniques . Peat was found to harbour more of these organisms than soil and manure . Out of 21 actinomycetes and 6 fungi 9 and 3 isolates, respectively, were found to utilize manure-humate as a sole source of carbon and to a less extent as a source of both carbon and nitrogen in liquid medium . These efficient cultures were identified as Streptomyces spec . (A 11 and A 12) . Str . candidus, Str . violaceoruber (A 41 and A 42), Str . rubescens, Str . garyphalus, Str . viridochromogenes, Fusarium solani, Aspergillus fumigatus, and Penicillium roseopurpureum . Additional sources of carbon and nitrogen stimulated microbial degradation of humate . Only five isolates formed a zone of decolourization on humate-containing solid medium . Soil humic acid was utilized by Str . candidus as a sole source of carbon and nitrogen, however, F . solani utilized it only in the presence of additional carbon and nitrogen sources . Extent of soil-humate degradation was less than manure-humate.

Reprod Nutr Dev, 1980, 20(5B), 1667 - 78
{Interest in gnotoxenic systems for the study of host-microbial flora of the digestive tract}; Ducluzeau R et al.; It is necessary to use experimental models in all studies of interactions between a host, its digestive tract microbial flora and the environment because these interactions are complex . The gnotoxenic animal, reared in an isolator as the axenic animal and harbouring a known microbial flora, constitutes either an analytic or mimetic experimental model . The gnotoxenic animal may be considered as an analytic model when used to determine which biotic or abiotic environmental factor of the host-animal plays a role in the intestinal ecosystem . The potential metabolic or immunologic role of a given bacterial strain in the intestinal ecosystem may be determined when the axenic animal is associated with this strain . The variation of the expression of the potential role of this strain in relation to the environment can be ascertained by diversifying the diet of the host or by introducing other bacterial strains into the intestinal ecosystem . The role of an association of strains in host physiology and host protection against potentially pathogenic target strains can also be studied using this analytic model . An analytic model is created by associating either isolated strains of the holoxenic or heated or diluted suspensions of holoxenic digestive tract flora . Axenic mice associated with these simplified flora are called meroxenic . The gnotoxenic animal is considered to be a mimetic model when it harbours a microbial flora isolated from an animal of a different species . The advantage of the mimetic model is that it provides an easy-to-use biological tool, i.e . gnotoxenic mice, to first determine the potential role of these microbial strains . The validity of the mimetic model is then tested by comparing gnotoxenic mice and gnotoxenic piglets or chickens . When all the gnotoxenic animals are given the same diet, this comparison permits an estimation of the animal-host role in the expression of the potential activities of microbial strains . The mimetic model, composed of gnotoxenic animals harbouring microbial strains of human origin, is the only experimental model which can be used to study the role of microorganisms in the intestinal ecosystem of man.

Ciba Found Symp, 1980, 79, 301 - 18
Anaerobic potentiation of copper toxicity and some environmental considerations; McBrien DC; The toxicity of copper is substantially greater when the metal ions is applied to cells under conditions of anoxia than under aerobic conditions . The increase in toxicity occurs because Cu(II) is reduced to Cu(I) which is stable under anoxia and is more toxic than the oxidized species . This effect has been observed in mammalian cells in tissue culture and in bacteria . Anoxic potentiation of copper toxicity has also been observed in algal, fungal and yeast cells . The reduction of Cu(II) has been demonstrated by electron paramagnetic resonance spectrometry . The appearance of Cu(I) has been observed by means of specific colorimetric reagent . The reduction of Cu(II) to Cu(I) is not dependent upon concomitant metabolism and requires only a supply of sulphydryl groups . Microorganisms that are responsible for two anaerobic processes of economic importance to humans, the digestion of sewage sludge in effluent treatment plants and the digestion of food in ruminant animals, may be exposed to high concentrations of copper . The environmental consequences of this exposure are discussed.

Ateneo Parmense Acta Biomed, 1980, 51(4), 311 - 21
{Infectious agents in the G.I . tract diseases (author's transl)}; Magnani G et al.; The distribution of normal intestinal flora changes in the different gut segments and is influenced by gastric pH, peristalsis, bactericidal activity of Immunoglobulins A (locally produced) . Saprophytic bacteria prevent the growth of pathogenous microorganisms, partake in the production of vitamins (K, B group), can be responsible for the production of carcinogens and co-carcinogens by acting on bile-acids, food or drugs ingested, can affect the morphology of the intestinal mucosa . Enteroviruses are transient intestinal microorganisms, responsible for infectious disease whose highest incidence is summer and autumn, whose frequency is particularly elevated in malnourished subjects.

Z Erkr Atmungsorgane, 1980, 154(1), 4 - 17
{Aetiology and importance of viral diseases of the respiratory tract (author's transl)}; Schmidt J et al.; After discussion of the epidemiological situation of acute respiratory diseases and their economic consequences, and after a survey of clinical signs and symptoms, a review is given of the most important viral agents causing such diseases . That are influenza, parainfluenza, respiratory syncytial, adeno, corona, REO, and rhino viruses, which are prevalent in the respiratory tract . Viruses predominantly localized outside of the respiratory tract as well as bacteria and bacteria-like microorganisms are only shortly mentioned . Most weight is given to virological problems (morphology, antigenic structure), to pathogenic property and importance of viruses causing acute respiratory diseases.

Acta Microbiol Pol, 1980, 29(1), 21 - 7
Manometric studies with bottom sediments of three lakes; Donderski W et al.; Studies were carried out on metabolic activity of microorganisms inhabiting the bottom sediments of three lakes of different trophy . For respirometric studies the Warburg apparatus was used . Oxygen uptake was different in various sediment samples supplemented with organic substances, depending on the source and time of sampling . Cystein, aspartic acid and intermediates of the tricarboxylic acids cycle were oxidized most readily . Carbohydrates and especially maltose, celobiose, galactose, and glucose were metabolized less willingly.

Mycopathologia, 1979 Dec 28, 69(3), 179 - 85
{Daily and weekly variations in the yeast-digestive flora of a female of giant panda (author's transl)}; Saez H; Since its arrival at the Paris's zoological Park, the yeasts of the flora digestive tract of a young female of Giant Panda, Ailuropoda melanoleuca, was daily, then weekly studied . Were noted: the diet in captivity, the number of isolates in primary-cultures, the morpho-physiological differences between strains of a same species and the maximal temperature for growth of all the fungi . Were also approached, for the analysis, some data on the yeast-flora of other captive mammals and on the yeast species of the habitat . Short time colonization recorded seems the result of a difficulty of adaptation, even for C . albicans, to the digestive tract of that animal . The majority of the yeasts identified are transient microorganisms of alimentary, aquatic or aerial origin.

J Environ Health, 1980 Jan-Feb, 42(4), 192 - 6
The hospital vacuum cleaner: mechanism for redistributing microbial contaminants; Brown DG et al.; Carpeting patient care units in acute care hospitals is increasingly common . While the safety of carpeting has been heavily debated, there has been little epidemiological data to document risk to the hospitalized patient . With the report of a two-year study documenting human contamination and potential colonization by microorganisms spread from hospital carpeting, a need was established to document modes of transmission . The objective of this study was to define the potential of hospital vacuums for dispersing particles of a size comparable to the microbial cell . Both filter efficiency and vacuum exhaust turbulence are evaluated . Results document that of eight units claiming high efficiency filtration, none was capable of meeting advertising claims . In addition, exhaust air velocities for one unit reached 175 feet per minute at 30 inches above the floor.

Med Klin, 1979 Dec 7, 74(49), 1867 - 70
{Diffusion of cefuroxime into the prostatic and other tissues of the urogenital region (author's transl)}; Adam D et al.; From 33 patients with prostatic adenoma with an average age of 68.4 years, serum and prostatic tissue concentrations after a single bolus-dose of 1.5 grams of cefuroxime were estimated . The mean serum concentrations 30 to 35 minutes after the injection were measured with 132.6 and after 55 to 60 minutes with 99.6 micrograms/ml . The corresponding concentrations in the prostata tissue were 29.2 after 30 to 35 minutes and 20.1 micrograms/g after 55 to 60 minutes respectively . After 145 to 155 minutes the concentrations in the serum were still at 23 micrograms/ml and 9.2 micrograms/g in the prostatic tissue . In other organ tissues of the urogenital region (renal tissue, testicle, fat, muscle) the concentrations were different depending on the state of the tissue . The estimated concentrations of cefuroxime in serum and tissue are suited for the treatment of infections caused by cefuroxime sensitive microorganisms.

J Mol Evol, 1979 Dec, 14(1-3), 223 - 32
The Viking Mission: implications for life on Mars; Margulis L et al.; The results of the Viking Biology experiments are best explained by non-biological phenomena: The interaction of the reagents with the materials comprising the regolith . Conditions of water activity, temperature, availability of carbon sources and others in most regions of the planet are too extreme for survival and growth of any known Earth microorganisms . Although the possibility persists that some very unusual form of life is somewhere on that planet the evidence is best interpreted as negative . Even though there is no evidence for current life on Mars, whether or not life ever originated there is not known.

J Clin Microbiol, 1979 Dec, 10(6), 844 - 9
Medium for selective isolation of Fusobacterium nucleatum from human periodontal pockets; Walker CB et al.; A selective medium, CVE agar, was developed for the isolation of Fusobacterium nucleatum from subgingival plaque of periodontally diseased patients . The medium contained 1.0% Trypticase (BBL Microbiology Systems), 0.5% yeast extract, 0.5% NaCl, 0.2% glucose, 0.02% L-tryptophan, 1.5% agar, and 5% defibrinated whole sheep blood . Erythromycin and crystal violet were added as the selective inhibitory agents at concentrations of 4 and 5 micrograms/ml, respectively . The medium permitted almost total recovery of F . nucleatum when compared with a nonselective medium and suppressed the recovery of most remaining species by nonselective medium and suppressed the recovery of most remaining species by 6 to 8 orders of magnitude . Microorganisms suppressed to a lesser degree included Selenomonas sputigena, Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Eikenella corrodens, and some strains of Peptostreptococcus . The distinct colonial morphology of F . nucleatum on CVE agar made differentiation relatively easy when contaminants were present . With this medium, F . nucleatum was enumerated from 278 subgingival plaque samples and accounted for less than 1.0 to greater than 25% of the cultivatable microbiota.

J Appl Physiol, 1979 Dec, 47(6), 1270 - 7
Lack of intracellular bubble formation in microorganisms at very high gas supersaturations; Hemmingsen EA et al.; Eucaryotic unicellular (a yeast, a cellular slime mold, and various protozoans) and two multicellular (aschelminths) microorganisms were saturated with gas at high pressures and rapidly decompressed . No effect was observed with pressures of argon up to 125 atm, nitrogen up to 175 atm, and helium up to 350 atm, showing that the induced gas supersaturations did not cause intracellular bubbles to form . With 25--50 atm higher gas pressures, the decompression usually produced killing and cell rupture, although differences in tolerances existed among the various organisms . Substantial fractions of the populations survived gas supersaturations well above the threshold values for massive spontaneous nucleation of bubbles in the water . When killing occurred, external rather than internal bubbles appeared to be the cause . Even with the 300 atm argon or nitrogen pressures, yeast cells were unaffected, apparently because of the external protection provided by their cell wall . It is concluded that the gas supersaturations required for intracellular formation of bubbles generally are at least equal to and probably higher than the bubble nucleation thresholds for water or aqueous solutions.

Infect Immun, 1979 Dec, 26(3), 976 - 83
Taxonomic relationship of vole agent to Rochalimaea quintana; Myers WF et al.; We investigated the recent claim that the vole agent, a rickettsia-like microorganism isolated from wild voles by Baker in 1946, is actually a strain of Rochalimaea quintana, the etiological agent of trench fever . The two organisms were compared on the basis of percent guanine-plus-cytosine content, genome size, deoxyribonucleic acid-deoxyribonucleic acid hybridization, polypeptide composition, and serological relationships . Although the two organisms do have identical or nearly identical deoxyribonucleic acid base ratios and show some serological cross-reactions, they differ substantially by all of the other criteria employed . They are clearly different, although possibly related, organisms . It remains to be determined whether they can be regarded as two species of the same genus . On the other hand, an Old World strain and a New World strain of R . quintana were indistinguishable from one another by the same criteria.

J Dent Res, 1979 Dec, 58(12), 2396 - 403
In vitro testing of plaque control agents; Coburn RA; The development of a number of in vitro techniques for the evaluation of antiplaque effects of test agents has followed the characterization and culturing of plaque-forming microorganisms . Studies of the mechanism of action of chlorhexidine and clinical observations have assisted in defining critical aspects of these in vitro techniques . Such assays may play an increasingly important role in screening potential new agents as well as in the optimization of properties by chemical modification of new lead agents . In addition, data generated in the in vitro assay may assist the design of in vivo evaluations of new agents . Proper selection of in vitro techniques for these various functions in the pre-clinical development process may reduce the time and cost involved in the development of new antiplaque agents.

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 1979 Dec, 76(12), 6622 - 6
Production of choriogonadotropin-like factor by a microorganism; Maruo T et al.; Extracts from an acetone powder preparation of a culture of a microorganism tentatively named Progenitor cryptocides contain choriogonadotropin (CG)-like factor as determined by radioimmunoassay with antiserum to human (h)CG beta subunit COOH-terminal peptide and radioreceptor assay with bovine corpus luteum membranes . Possible interference by proteases in the extracts was excluded . Immunoreactive materials reacting with antisera to hCG beta subunit and hCG beta subunit COOH-terminal peptide were also found in the extracts . No free alpha subunit was detected . The CG-like factor was purified by chromatography on Sephadex G-100, concanavalin A-Sepharose, and DEAE-Sephadex A-50 . The factor was adsorbed by concanavalin A-Sepharose, suggesting that it contains mannose and glucose moieties . The factor was eluted at the same position as standard hCG on Sephadex G-100 . It dissociated into two bands when subjected to sodium dodecyl sulfate/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis; the bands corresponded to the respective standard hCG subunits . The biological activity of the purified factor as determined by the rat uterine weight assay and the ovarian weight assay was equivalent to 380 (95% confidence limits: 320-490) and 880 (780-1020) international units/mg, respectively . It can be concluded from the present results that a microorganism produces a glycoprotein that is biologically active and has physicochemical properties similar to those of hCG.

J Dent Res, 1979 Dec, 58(12), 2381 - 8
Clinical studies of plaque control agents: an overview; Lobene RR; Dental plaque is massed packed bacterial cells which accumulate on the supra- and subgingival surfaces of the teeth as well as on the oral mucosa . The microorganisms of plaque have been shown to be associated with both dental caries and periodontal disease . This overview of clinical studies of plaque control agents reviews the properties and effects of chemical compounds which have demonstrated a potential for the control of plaque microorganisms . The search for clinically effective antiplaque agents has been stimulated by findings in laboratory and animal studies of plaque dynamics . Based upon these in vitro and in vivo experiments, chemotherapeutic agents such as antibiotics, antiseptics, enzymes, detergents, bacteriosides, antimetabolites, and oxidizing agents have been evaluated against human plaque microorganisms using the ultimate biological model -- man . Continued study of chemotherapeutic agents should be encouraged because many of these drugs have been shown to be safe for human use and may require only the development of a delivery system to potentiate their concentration in a specific local site . Use of these chemotherapeutic agents, which can be self-administered, becomes an attractive way of providing the public with a cost-effective method of preventing caries and periodontal disease.

Boll Ist Sieroter Milan, 1979 Nov 30, 58(5), 406 - 9
{Antibodies against Chlamydia trachomatis in patients with non-gonococcal urethritis and in the healthy Italian population}; Cevenini R et al.; The Authors report the results of a study on the prevalence of serum antibodies against Chlamydia trachomatis among patients with non-gonococcal urethritis caused by Chlamydia trachomatis and diagnosed on the basis of the isolation of the microorganism in cell cultures, among patients with non-gonococcal urethritis of unknown etiology and in groups of healthy population, in Italy . The search for antibodies was performed both with complement-fixation tests in micro-titer system, using an antigen prepared from chicken embryo yolk sacs infected with the 6BC strain of Chlamydia psittaci, and with indirect immunofluorescence tests . The indirect immunofluorescence tests were carried out using as antigen the whole chlamydial inclusion developed in IUDR pre-treated McCoy cell cultures, grown on coverslips, and infected with the BU/434 strain of the LGV2 immunotype of Chlamydia trachomatis . The immunofluorescence tests proved to be much more sensitive than the complement fixation tests in detecting the presence of anti-chlamydial antibody both in patients with non-gonococcal urethritis and in the healthy population groups . The percentage of subjects possessing anti-chlamydial antibodies among the healthy population suggests a diffuse circulation of Chlamydia trachomatis infection . The possibility of employing the serological data in the diagnosis of the etiology of non-gonococcal urethritis is briefly discussed.

Vet Rec, 1979 Nov 24, 105(21), 485 - 9
Prediction of the protein requirements of farm ruminants and implications of these predictions for diet formulation; Miller EL; Methods of determining protein requirements are reviewed and recent proposals of the Agricultural Research Council working party on nutrient requirements of ruminants outlined . Needs of the rumen microorganisms for degradable nitrogen to achieve optimum rumen digestion of feed are predicted . The extent to which milk production and live-weight gain can be sustained by microbial protein alone is estimated . Higher milk yields and rates of growth require dietary protein that escapes degradation in the rumen but is digested in the small intestine . Small changes in degradability of dietary protein are predicted to have a large effect on the dietary crude protein requirement . Although there is still inadequate data for precise prediction, the concepts of the metabolic approach have been valuable in understanding those physiological situations where protein is most likely to be limiting, where use of protected proteins and urea might be most appropriate, in the planning of critical experiments and in the design of new methods of feeding or management of ruminants.

Experientia, 1979 Nov 15, 35(11), 1535 - 6
Tangential flow filtration of Bordetella pertussis submerse cultures; Valeri A et al.; A procedure is reported for the large scale separation of Bordetella pertussis microorganisms from liquid culture media by tangential flow filtration (cross flow filtration) using anisotropic membranes with a cut-off limit of 1 x 10(6) daltons, and microporous membranes with a pore size of 0.22 micrometer.

J Nat Prod, 1979 Nov-Dec, 42(6), 643 - 7
Microbial transformations of natural antitumor agents . 9 . O-Demethylation of 9-methoxyellipticine; Chien MM et al.; Microbial transformation studies were conducted with 9-methoxyellipticine (1) . Several microorganisms including Botrytis allii (NRRL 2502), Cunninghamella echinulata (NRRL 1386), C . echinulata (NRRL 3655), and Penicillium Brevicompactum (ATCC 10418) achieved O-demethylation of (1) in good yield . P . brevicompactum was used to prepare 9-hydroxyellipticine (4) from 1 for isolation and complete identification . High-performance liquid chromatography was used to verify the identity of the major metabolite (4) in other cultures.

J Clin Microbiol, 1979 Nov, 10(5), 690 - 2
Evaluation of vented blood culture media with sorbitol; Hall MM et al.; Two consecutive studies comparing the recovery of microorganisms from transiently vented blood cultures in tryptic soy or brain heart infusion broth with added sorbitol and that from tryptic soy broth without sorbitol failed to demonstrate any significant advantage of hypertonic media . A significantly greater number of organisms was isolated in both studies from the medium without sorbitol.

Appl Environ Microbiol, 1979 Nov, 38(5), 836 - 9
N-demethylation of nicotine and reduction of nicotine-1'-N-oxide by Microsporum gypseum; Sindelar RD et al.; Several microorganisms were examined for their abilities to convert S-nicotine into nornicotine . Five microorganisms including Microsporum gypseum (ATCC 11395) produced nornicotine and three unknown metabolites . M . gypseum efficiently reduced nicotine-1'-N-oxide to nicotine, but no nornicotine was obtained when the N-oxide was used as substrate.

Natl Cancer Inst Monogr, 1979 Nov, (53), 103 - 13
Epidemiologic studies of cancer in minority groups in the western United States; Thomas DB; Of 13 cancers that tend to occur at lower rates in aboriginal Americans or in the native lands of Japanese, Chinese, and Spanish-speaking persons than in United States whites, rates for all but one (laryngeal) have increased in migrants to the United States . In addition to leukemia, these 13 cancers include neoplasms that have been related, at least in part, to a diet high in animal fats or proteins (colon and rectum cancer); reproductive and endocrinologic factors and a diet high in animal fats or protein (prostate, ovary, corpus uteri, breast, and testis cancer); chemical carcinogens (lung, larynx, bladder, and pancreas cancer); and a common infectious agent that, like polio viruses, causes clinically overt disease with a frequency directly related to age of patient at initial infection (Hodgkin's disease) . Of 9 cancers that occur at higher rates in aboriginal Americans or in one or more of the native lands of migrants than in United States whites, the rates of 5 tend to decrease in migrants . These include cancers that may be related to food preservation (stomach cancer); products of microorganisms that may contaminate foods (esophagus and liver cancer); and infectious agents (nasopharynx, cervix uteri, and liver cancer) . In addition, rates of cancer of the thyroid are high in aboriginal Americans; those of the gallbladder are high in individuals of native American ancestry and in Japanese; incidence of salivary gland tumors is high in Alaskan natives and Colombians; and rates of kidney cancer are high in Alaskan natives . Five types of epidemiologic studies are described that should be conducted in the migrants and in their countries of origin and adoption to elucidate further the etiology of various neoplasms.

Nature, 1979 Nov 1, 282(5734), 107 - 9
Three-dimensional structure of hyper-modified nucleoside Q located in the wobbling position of tRNA; Yokoyama S et al.; The hyper-modified nucleoside Q (queuosine) is exclusively located in the wobbling position of anticodons of tRNATyr tRNAHis, tRNAAsn and tRNAAsp that recognise codons NAUC (ref . 1) . Queuosine and its hexose-containing derivatives are widely distributed in microorganisms, animals and plants . We confirm here the chemical structure of queuosine as 7-(3, 4-trans-4, 5-cis-dihydroxy-1-cyclopenten-3-ylaminomethyl)-7-deazaguanosine (Fig . 1) . The unique structural features of Q are the unusual cyclopentenediol side chain and the 7-deazaguanine ring . Queuosine is one of the most complicated modified nucleosides found thus far.

Vopr Virusol, 1979 Nov-Dec, (6), 654 - 7
{Isolation of the causative agent of ornithosis from gamasid mites}; Gorovits ES et al.; A microorganism was isolated from Gamasoid mites (Ornithonyssus sylviarum) collected in nests of blue rock pigeons by means of blind passages in white mice and chick embryos . The studies of its morphological, cultural, and antigenic properties and pathogenicity for laboratory animals permitted to identify it as the causative agent of ornithosis . It is suggested that the possibility of infection of ectoparasites is determined to a considerable extent by the degree of activity of the infectious process in the hosts . Ornithonyssus sylviarum may be assumed to be one of additional reservoirs of the causative agent of ornithosis in nature.

Infect Immun, 1979 Nov, 26(2), 638 - 50
Changes in immunoferritin labeling of Rickettsia tsutsugamushi after serial cultivation in 60Co-irradiated BHK cells; Rikihisa Y et al.; The immunolabeling characteristics of Rickettsia tsutsugamushi (Gilliam strain) were examined by using a purified immunoglobulin G fraction of antibody to R . tsutsugamushi raised in rabbits . Formalin-fixed rickettsiae were reacted with this antibody and then with ferritin-conjugated goat anti-rabbit Fc antibody . R . tsutsugamushi cultivated in yolk sacs was used to raise antibody for this study . When rickettsiae in BHK-21 cells infected from yolk sac seed material were immunoferritin labeled, the binding of ferritin was found to be dense and uniform on the outer surface of the rickettsiae in disrupted host cells . Immunolabeling of purified suspensions of extracellular rickettsiae resulted in the uniform ferritin labeling of the microorganism . Aggregation of these rickettsiae by antibody appeared to depend upon the purity of the pellets . Immunoferritin labeling examined at high magnification revealed ferritin very close to the outer dense leaflet of the outer membrane . On some rickettsiae or on focal sites of others, the labelin; was several ferritin particles thick, suggesting the presence of a thick coating . The immunoferritin labeling of R . tsutsugamushi during successive serial passages in BHK-21 cells revealed decreased labeling with each passage, and by the 10th passage there was no detectable labeling . However, these rickettsiae inoculated back into yolk sacs regained their immunoferritin labeling . R . tsutsugamushi passed back into yolk sacs after four serial propagations in BHK-21 cells regained their labeling on the first passage in yolk sacs . However, rickettsiae from the 20th serial passage in BHK-21 cells required five passages in yolk sacs to reestablish their previous labeling affinity . Rickettsiae which did not label after 20 passages in BHK cells regained some of their labeling characteristics when sonicated . Antibody against rickettsiae cultivated in BHK-21 cells continued labeling rickettsiae even after 9 serial passages in BHK-21 cells.

Ann Microbiol (Paris), 1979 Nov-Dec, 130B(4), 415 - 31
Drosophila melanogaster as an experimental host for study of multiplication and biology of the mycoplasma inducing the "lethargy of coleoptera"; Louis C et al.; The mulitplication of the mycoplasma responsible for the "lethargy of coleoptera" on a laboratory host, Drosophila melanogaster, was obtained on the first passage . Independant series of successive passages on D . melanogaster were performed without any apparent modifications of the properties of the microorganism . Pathogenicity for its natural host Melolontha melolontha was retained . The different forms of mycoplasma observed lead us to propose a probable cycle of development, composed of a succession of globular and rod-shaped bodies, these later being often sinuous . The infected Drosophila flies presented a reduced life span and fertility . Infection of the cephalic nervous system seems to be responsible for death . Horizontal transmission of the microorganism was not observed.

Mikrobiologiia, 1979 Nov-Dec, 48(6), 1086 - 92
{Adsorption of phenylurea derivative and chlorine-substituted aniline herbicides by microorganisms}; Funtikova NS et al.; Adsorption of phenylurea derivatives and chlorosubstituted anilines by Pseudomonas and Aspergillus was studied . All these substances were adsorbed by the microorganisms in large quantities . The bacteria adsorbed more of these substances per biomass unit than the fungi . Adsorption of herbicides by the microorganisms is a physical process and is characterized by the same correlation as adsorption of herbicides by soil . Derivatives of phenylurea and chlorosubstituted anilines are easily washed from the cells with water . Conditions under which the substances were completely desorbed have been studied . Acetylation of 3,4-dichloroaniline by Pseudomonas aurantiaca results in desorption of 3,4-dichloroaniline from the cells of Pseudomonas boreopolis.

Appl Environ Microbiol, 1979 Nov, 38(5), 891 - 3
N-demethylation of lergotrile by Streptomyces platensis; Davis PJ et al.; Thirty-eight microorganisms were screened for their ability to produce metabolites of the semisynthetic alkaloid, lergotrile . A total of five microorganisms were found to biotransform lergotrile, and N-desmethyl lergotrile was detected as the principal metabolite with most organisms . Streptomyces platensis (NRRL 2364) appeared to form the metabolite in highest yield, and a preparative-scale conversion was accomplished with a recovered yield of 50% . Structure proof was accomplished with comparative thin-layer chromatography, mixed melting point, mass spectrometry, and remethylation to lergotrile.

Arch Microbiol, 1979 Nov, 123(2), 151 - 6
Phenotypic changes in the chemistry of Aspergillus nidulans: influence of culture conditions on mycelial composition; McGetrick AM et al.; A quantitative study was made of macromolecular (nucleic acids, protein), carbohydrate and mineral (magnesium, potassium and phosphorus) components of Aspergillus nidulans in glucose limited chemostat cultures, under varying conditions of dilution rate, temperature, pH and NaCl concentration . The overall mineral content showed greatest variation in response to changes in culture salinity, which also affected the mycelial carbohydrate content . Concomitant and opposite changes in the content of cations and carbohydrates under conditions of increasing salinity may be interpreted in terms of mycelial osmoregulation . Slight variations in DNA content but gross fluctuations in the level of RNA were noted under the different cultural conditions examined . Co-ordinate changes in RNA and Mg2+ contents were evident only under certain conditions: dilution rate from 0.05--0.07 h-1 or temperature from 22--30 degrees C . The constant molar stoichiometry between RNA and Mg2+ characteristic of unicellular microorganisms was not a feature of fungal growth . The protein content was most affected by shifts of temperature and reached minimal values at 25 and 50 degrees C . The growth environment had a marked influence on the protein synthesising activity of RNA, which increased eightfold as the dilution rate was increased from 0.02--0.175 h-1, doubled within the temperature range 20--30 degrees C and fell by 50% between 40 and 50 degrees C . These observations are discussed in the context of the constant ribosomal efficiency in protein synthesis hypothesis.

Experientia, 1979 Oct 15, 35(10), 1303 - 5
Microorganisms seen by scanning and transmission electron microscopy in Legionnaires' disease from human lung; Sun CN et al.; In addition to several anomalous structures, other general forms of definitely rod-shaped microorganisms have been found by scanning and transmission electron microscopy in the lung tissue taken at autopsy from a patient who succumbed to confirmed Legionnaires' disease with extensive necrotizing lobar pneumonia . The microorganisms were greatly varied in size and shape . They were micrographed in the act of fission . These forms have been found to some extent throughout the tissue . No nickel was demonstrated, either in the lung tissue or in the microorganisms.

Steroids, 1979 Oct, 34(4), 381 - 400
Reference compounds for the study of moxestrol metabolism; Salmon J et al.; Reference compounds for the subsequent identification of the metabolites of the potent estrogen, moxestrol (R 2858) , in various species were isolated from the bile of phenobarbital pretreated rats or obtained via enzymatic hydroxylation by microorganisms . A few of them were prepared by chemical synthesis . The structures of all these compounds were determined by physical and chemical methods.

Am J Clin Pathol, 1979 Oct, 72(4), 533 - 9
Flow cytofluorimetry in routine diagnostic cytology . A pilot study; Taft PD et al.; A simple procedure for disrupting cell clumps may aid in the automation of gynecologic cytology by flow cytofluorimetry . Such a procedure, using enzymatic digestion and fluorescent staining, was applied to aliquots of 264 gynecologic exfoliative specimens . Results were compared with cytopathologic diagnoses . A fluorimetric criterion of hypertetraploidy was used to detect abnormality . One quarter of the specimens fulfilled this criterion, including 15 of 17 specimens rated cytologically as premalignant . Two thirds of the falsely abnormal results were attributable to aggregated microorganisms, glandular clumps, and pusbound clumps.

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