J Bacteriol, 1982 Feb, 149(2), 748 - 57 Expansion of the tetragonally arrayed cell wall protein layer during growth of Bacillus sphaericus; Howard LV et al.; The outermost layer of the cell wall of Bacillus sphaericus strain P-1 is a tetragonally arrayed structure (T-layer) which is assembled from a single polypeptide . No turnover of T-layer was detected during growth of cultures . In contrast, the turnover of peptidoglycan was between 20 and 25% per generation . The sites of deposition of new T-layer on the cell surface were identified by the indirect fluorescent antibody technique, which labeled old T-layer, and by the reverse technique, which labeled new T-layer . These experiments demonstrated that the major area of T-layer deposition was a band at the site of an incipient cell division . This band subsequently split and covered the new pole of each progeny cell . Little or no T-layer was inserted into existing poles . In addition, multiple bands of new T-layer, which probably accommodate cell elongation, were inserted along the lateral surface of the cell. AJR Am J Roentgenol, 1982 Feb, 138(2), 237 - 41 Pittsburgh pneumonia agent: chest film manifestations; Pope TL Jr et al.; Pittsburgh pneumonia agent, Legionella micdadei, is a Gram-negative, weakly acid-fast bacillus, recently recognized as a cause of pulmonary infection in the immunocompromised host . The chest radiographic findings in seven patients with this disease are reported . These consist of single or multiple nodules and segmental infiltrates involving part of all of one or more lobes . A striking feature in this series was the rapid growth of the pulmonary densities. Rev Rhum Mal Osteoartic, 1982 Feb, 49(2), 111 - 9 {Acro-osteolysis in leprosy . Apropos of 19 personal cases}; Queneau P et al.; Using their own personal series of 19 cases of leprosy complicated by massive osteolysis (AO), along with a comparison of these cases with data from previously published reports, the authors review the principal clinical and radiological findings of these manifestations which are not observed except in cases of leprosy where neuropathy is present, even though other factors (perforating plantar ulcers, poor hygiene, traumatisms) may play a contributing role independent of possible interference from non specific osteoarthritis or Hansen's bacilla, itself . After reviewing other causes of massive osteolysis and discussing the pathogeny of these manifestations during leprosy, the authors refer to the various therapies which can prevent or stabilize osteolysis or aid the patient to better tolerate its manifestations. Scand J Clin Lab Invest, 1982 Feb, 42(1), 57 - 61 Phospholipase C from Bacillus cereus has sphingomyelinase activity; Hetland O et al.; Purified, electrophoretically homogeneous phospholipase C (PLC) preparations can be separated into two peaks by isoelectric focusing in sucrose gradients . The main peak has an isoelectric pH of 6.6-6.8 and contains two Zn2+ per molecule . The more acid peak (isoelectric pH about 6.2) contains about one Zn2+ per molecule and has a markedly reduced specific activity which can be raised by adding Zn2+ . The purified enzyme has a low sphingomyelinase activity which coincides completely with the lecithinase activity in fractions from isoelectric focusing . The sphingomyelinase activity was greatly enhanced by substitution of Co2+ for Zn2+ but remained essentially unaltered when the levels of Ca2+ and Mg2+ were changed . These findings provide evidence that the sphingomyelinase activity is a true endogenous activity of PLC and not caused by contaminating sphingomyelinase. Drug Intell Clin Pharm, 1982 Feb, 16(2), 104 - 12 New drug evaluations: moxalactam (Moxam, Eli Lilly); Polk RE; Moxalactam is a new 1-oxa-beta-lactam antibiotic that is similar in many respects to the third-generation cephalosporins . Moxalactam is exceptionally stable to beta-lactamase enzymes and inhibits most gram-negative aerobic bacteria, with the frequent exception of P . aeruginosa . Moxalactam is active against most B . fragilis organisms and appears to be an effective alternative to an aminoglycoside/clindamycin combination for patients with intraabdominal infections . Moxalactam penetrates through inflamed meninges and may become the drug of choice for gram-negative bacillary meningitis due to susceptible organisms . Moxalactam would be expected to be no more effective than the third-generation cephalosporins for other gram-negative infections, and it has not been clearly shown that these agents are as effective as aminoglycoside antibiotics for most serious gram-negative infections . Because of moxalactam's high cost, its potential for misuse, and its unknown long-term effects on microbial resistance patterns, as well as the lack of comparative efficacy studies for many infections, the hospital use of moxalactam should be closely monitored. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 1982 Feb, 79(4), 1045 - 8 An interaction between gramicidin and the sigma subunit of RNA polymerase; Fisher R et al.; Gramicidin, a peptide antibiotic produced by Bacillus brevis, inhibits initiation of transcription by RNA polymerase (nucleosidetriphosphate:RNA nucleotidyltransferase, EC 2.7.7.6) . We show here that the presence of gramicidin causes an increase in the rate of cleavage of the sigma subunit of Escherichia coli RNA polymerase by trypsin, although it does not alter the cleavage rate of any of the core subunits . Furthermore, whereas isolated sigma is cleaved much faster than is sigma in holoenzyme, gramicidin substantially decreases the trypsin cleavage rate of isolated sigma . Inhibition of RNA polymerase activity by gramicidin in consistent with a sigma-specific effect: the antibiotic is a strong inhibitor of transcription of T7 phage DNA, which requires sigma for activity, but it has little effect on transcription of sigma-independent templates, such as poly(dA-dT).poly)dA-dT) and calf thymus DNA . These results are discussed in light of the hypothesized role for gramicidin in the initiation of sporulation of B . brevis. Immunopharmacology, 1982 Feb, 4(1), 87 - 93 Effect of thymosin fraction 5 on the production of murine gamma interferon; Sonnenfeld G et al.; Mice that received one intraperitoneal injection of 120 microgram of thymosin fraction 5 just prior to induction of interferon with polyriboinosinic-polyribocytidylic acid but did not have the production of interferon affected by the thymosin treatment . An additional treatment with 120 microgram of thymosin 24 h prior to exposure to the mice to polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid also had no effect on interferon induction . However, induction of gamma (type II immune) interferon in mice by tuberculin challenge of mice previously sensitized with Mycobacterium bovis strain bacillus Calmette-Guerin was affected by treatment of the mice with thymosin fraction 5 . If the mice received 120 microgram of thymosin fraction 5 intraperitoneally 24 h prior to and again immediately before tuberculin challenge, a significant decrease in gamma interferon was observed . Thymosin treatment alone did not result in induction of interferon. Eur J Immunol, 1982 Feb, 12(2), 141 - 6 Release of platelet-activating factor (PAF-acether) and leukotrienes C and D from inflammatory macrophages; Roubin R et al.; Macrophages (M phi) isolated from the peritoneal cavity of C57BL/6 mice were either untreated or treated with various eliciting agents (thioglycollate, sodium caseinate) or with an activating agent bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG) . The various populations were assessed for their ability to release platelet-activating factor (PAF-acether), an ether phospholipid mediator, and slow-reacting substance (SRS), a lipoxygenase arachidonic acid derivative . PAF-acether was recovered in higher amounts form BCG M phi than from resident M phi, whereas elicited M phi exhibited a marked decreased ability to release this mediator . Such variations were only quantitative as evidenced by the similar enzyme sensitivity and high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) retention times of the various PAF-acether-containing supernatants . Resident, BCG- and sodium caseinate-induced M phi released similar amounts of SRS, whereas thioglycollate M phi exhibited once again a marked decreased ability to release this mediator . Comparing retention times on HPLC of resident and BCG M phi SRS with those of synthetic leukotrienes C and D, molecular variations were noted . Even though both M phi populations released higher amounts of leukotrienes C than D, the D/C ratio was higher in BCG M phi than in resident M phi . These results show that different environmental factors can influence the release of PAF-acether and leukotrienes from M phi. Biochim Biophys Acta, 1982 Jan 22, 684(2), 207 - 11 Action of peptidolipidic antibiotics of the iturin group on erythrocytes . Effect of some lipids on hemolysis; Quentin MJ et al.; Iturin A, bacillomycin L and bacillomycin L dimethyl ester have a strong lytic activity upon human erythrocytes while iturin C is totally inactive . The hemolytic action of the antibiotics is inhibited by free cholesterol as well as by cholesterol included in mixed liposomes of phosphatidylcholine-cholesterol and to a lesser extent by phosphatidylcholine liposomes . This inhibition is the result of an interaction between the antibiotic and added lipids which diminishes the concentration of free antibiotic available to lyse erythrocytes . The inhibitory effect of liposomes on hemolysis demonstrated the affinity of the antibiotic for artificial membrane, especially those containing cholesterol. Biochem J, 1982 Jan 15, 202(1), 231 - 41 Characterization, purification and synthesis of spore-coat protein in Bacillus megaterium KM; Stewart GS et al.; The spore-coat fraction from Bacillus megaterium KM, when prepared by extraction of lysozyme-digested integuments with SDS (sodium dodecyl sulphate) and urea, contains three N-terminal residues and a major component of apparent mol.wt . 17500 . Electron microscopy of this fraction shows it to consist of an ordered multilamellar structure similar to that which forms the coat region of intact spores . The 17500-dalton protein, which has been purified to homogeneity, has an N-terminal methionine residue, has high contents of glycine, proline, cysteine and acidic amino acids and readily polymerized even in the presence of thiol-reducing agents . It is first synthesized between late Stage IV and early Stage V, which correlates with the morphological appearance of spore coat . Before Stage VI the 17500-dalton protein is extractable from sporangia by SDS in the absence of thiol-reducing reagents . Between Stage VI and release of mature spores the protein becomes resistant to extraction by SDS unless it is supplemented by a thiol-reducing reagent . In addition to that of the spore-coat protein, the timing of synthesis of all the integument proteins was analysed by SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis and non-equilibrium pH-gradient electrophoresis . Several integument proteins are conservatively synthesized from as early as 1h after the end of exponential growth (t1), which may reflect protein incorporation into the spore outer membrane. Cardiovasc Intervent Radiol, 1982, 5(5), 260 - 3 Experimental percutaneous renal embolization using BCG-saturated gelfoam; Wright KC et al.; Adult mongrel dogs (20-25 kg) were used to evaluate the administration of Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) in conjunction with total renal embolization for possible application in the management of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) . Kidneys were surgically removed at 1, 2, and 3 weeks postembolization, examined grossly and microscopically, and then compared with kidneys embolized in the same manner without BCG . The procedure stimulated the reticuloendothelial system more than did renal embolization alone, and although a high dose (6 X 10(8) organisms) of BCG was administered, no complications were encountered . These results warrant a clinical trial of this technique in patients with advanced RCC. Cancer Detect Prev, 1982, 5(3), 301 - 14 Collagen and stromal proliferation as preventive mechanisms against cancer invasion by purified polysaccharides from human tubercle bacillus (SSM); Kimoto T; The antitumor activity of SSM consists in the activation and intensification of collagen proliferation against carcinoma . The experiment in vitro and in vivo (xenografts) indicates that SSM did no direct damage to the cancer cells, but that it accelerated the proliferation of collagen fibers of the stroma . These collagen fibers enclosed the cancer cells and prevented cancer cell proliferation . It was also made clear that the proliferation of collagen fibers was accelerated remarkably by SSM under a certain condition of immunity . Therefore, one of the basic activities of SSM is to stimulate the proliferation of collagen fibers in the stroma invaded by cancer cells . Collagen serves in the composition of small blood vessels, blood capillaries, muscle fibers, and nerve fibers . Besides, the biosynthesis of collagen seems to be accelerated by carcinomatous infiltration, and it may also take place with fibroblasts, endothelial cells, and the amorphous matrix in the normal tissue or cancer cells themselves. Z Allg Mikrobiol, 1982, 22(5), 293 - 8 beta-1.3.-1.4-Glucanase in spore-forming microorganisms . VI . Genetic instability of beta-glucanase production in a high-producer strain of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens grown in a chemostat; Borriss R et al.; A Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain high-producing for beta-1.3-1.4-glucanase has gradually lost the ability to produce this enzyme during long-time continuous cultivation, independent of the culture conditions . Mutant strains isolated after long-term cultivation exhibited changed behaviour concerning extracellular enzyme formation and sporulation . By agarose gel electrophoresis of alkaline DNA extracts isolated form original and mutant strains we demonstrate that the observed pleiotropic phenomena are not caused by the loss of a complete plasmid present in the original strain . From extracts of both the original and mutant strains plasmid DNAs with approximately the same molecular weight of about 35 Mdal were isolated. Res Vet Sci, 1982 Jan, 32(1), 27 - 34 Streptobacillus actinoides (Bacillus actinoides): isolation from pneumonic lungs of calves and pathogenicity studies in gnotobiotic calves; Gourlay RN et al.; Pneumonic lungs of 56 calves were examined and 12 (21 per cent) of them yielded Streptobacillus moniliformis-like organisms . These organisms resembled those previously described as Bacillus actinoides or Actinobacillus actinoides . After intratracheal inoculation of cultures of two strains of these organisms, pneumonic consolidation developed in five out of six gnotobiotic calves and involved up to 16 per cent of the lung surface . Histological lesions of interstitial pneumonia were observed in the lungs of all six calves . Swellings at the site of the infection followed intradermal and subcutaneous inoculation of cultures of all strains in calves . Mice showed no signs of illness following intraperitoneal injection of three stains . The bacteriological findings suggested that a more appropriate name for these organisms would be Streptobacillus actinoides. J Virol Methods, 1982 Jan, 3(6), 303 - 10 Production and titration of African swine fever virus in porcine alveolar macrophages; Carrascosa AL et al.; The broncho-alveolar lavage of a pig (20-40 kg) contains about 1.6 x 10(9) alveolar cells, half of which were macrophages . The number of cells in the lavage of bacille Calmette Guerin (BCG)-treated pigs increased about 4-fold . Both African swine fever virus-infected porcine alveolar macrophages and blood monocytes produced about 1000 hemadsorption units/cell, a value 10-fold larger than that obtained in virus-infected Vero cells . Porcine alveolar cells could be stored frozen and, after thawing, they could be infected with African swine fever virus, producing the same amount of virus as the unfrozen cells . With the number of alveolar macrophages obtained from a single pit it is possible to titer about 3000 virus samples with the same stock of alveolar macrophages. J Biochem (Tokyo), 1982 Jan, 91(1), 369 - 79 Evidence for a single multifunctional polypeptide chain on gramicidin S synthetase 2 obtained from a wild strain and mutant strains of Bacillus brevis; Hori K et al.; The structures of the gramicidin S synthetase 2 s (GS 2, heavy enzyme) from a wild strain and mutant strains of Bacillus brevis have been studied by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) . The GS 2s used were obtained from a wild strain and group IV of mutant strains (BII-3, BI-3, BI-9) which lacked one specific amino acid activating activity . SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of GS 2 bound to a radioactive substrate showed that: first, in the case of the wild enzyme, the radioactivity of the substrate amino acid was detected only in the polypeptide with a molecular weight of about 280,000, regardless of the amino acid species used as substrate; secondly, in the case of the mutant enzyme, the radioactivity of the amino acid which could be activated by the enzyme was also associated with the protein band with a molecular weight of about 280,000 . Regardless of the enzyme species tested, a pantothenic acid residue was also present in the protein band with a molecular weight of about 280,000 . These results suggest that GS 2 is a multifunctional one polypeptide enzyme and the mutant-type GS 2s from BII-3 (proline-lacking), BI-3 (valine-lacking), and BI-9 (leucine-lacking) are also multifunctional enzymes having molecular weights identical to that of the wild-type enzyme. J Nutr, 1982 Jan, 112(1), 167 - 74 Immune responses in malnourished guinea pigs; McMurray DN et al.; Groups of specific pathogen-free guinea pigs were randomly assigned to purified, isocaloric diets containing either 30%, 20%, or 10% casein, or commercial stock diet . Each animal was vaccinated subcutaneously with viable bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) . Seven weeks post-vaccination, groups of guinea pigs from each diet treatment were skin tested with purified protein derivative (PPD) and killed . Animals fed the 10% casein diet exhibited significant reductions in body weight, serum albumin, and hemoglobin levels . Significantly greater number of viable BCG were recovered from the inguinal lymph nodes of malnourished (10% casein) animals than from 30% casein or stock control groups . Skin test responses to PPD were completely absent or markedly suppressed in the 20% and 10% casein groups . Lymphocyte blastogenesis following in vitro stimulation of peripheral blood lymphocytes with a polyclonal T cell mitogen was also reduced inthe 10% casein group . Circulating levels of serum IgM and C3 complement were not influenced by nutritional status while levels of IgG were elevated in 10% and 20% casein groups . These results suggest that malnutrition may impair cell-mediated immune responses on which the efficacy of BCG vaccine depends. Cancer, 1982 Jan 1, 49(1), 55 - 60 Granulomas in melanoma patients treated with BCG immunotherapy; Hatzitheofilou C et al.; Autopsy slides from 22 melanoma patients who received bacille Calmette-Guerin BCG immunotherapy and who had a postmortem examination at the UCLA Center for the Health Sciences were examined for the presence of granulomas . Granulomas were found in six patients (29%) who received BCG but not in a group of 25 melanoma patients who did not have BCG immunotherapy . A number of factors were tested for correlation with the presence of granulomas in the autopsy material . Fifty-five percent of the patients who received BCG by both intralesional and time technique developed granulomas . No patients given BCG by the tine technique alone developed granulomas . No correlation was found between granulomas and the presence of symptoms after the administration of BCG, the duration of BCG immunotherapy, the patient's age, the number of BCG administrations, treatment with immunosuppressive agents, the length of survival after the last BCG administration, the presence of a positive PPD reaction, a positive history for granuloma-forming diseases and tests for immunocompetence . However, these results provide evidence that the route of BCG administration strongly influences the frequency of granulomas in melanoma patients who received BCG immunotherapy. Int Arch Allergy Appl Immunol, 1982, 68(3), 280 - 2 Potentiation of MIF production by lymphocytes of Trichinella spiralis-infected mice; Blackwood LL et al.; In order to further investigate the mechanism involved in the immunopotentiation following Trichinella spiralis infection, mice were injected intraperitoneally with either heat-killed or viable bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) 28 days after oral infection with 200 nematode larvae . Delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) was assessed 28 days later by measuring levels of migration inhibitor factor (MIF) elicited by Old Tuberculin challenge . Sensitization with killed BCG produced only negligible amounts of MIF; however, prior T . spiralis infection resulted in significantly increased titers of MIF, reaching levels induced by viable BCG . The data indicated that a lymphokine component may be involved in addition to non-specific mechanisms previously proposed. Z Erkr Atmungsorgane, 1982, 158(1-2), 149 - 54 {Prognosis and treatment of tuberculosis in the pre-chemotherapeutical era}; Tetzner W; After discovery of the agent, treatment of tuberculosis was carried out in a variety of ways, the main forms of approach including: 1 . Direct action on the bacterium-failed . 2 . Influencing the organism by rest and irradiation therapy . 3 . Surgical intervention for cavity destruction . 4 . Improvement of social conditions . Before surgical intervention was practiced on a large scale prospects for bacteria-excreting patients were very poor, two thirds of them dying within the first 3 years . Where de-bacillization was successful, more than 75 per cent of patients survived 10 years . Nevertheless, none of the forms of treatment had any decisive influence on the tuberculosis situation as a whole. Mikrobiologiia, 1982 Jan-Feb, 51(1), 43 - 7 {Effect of different carbon and purine nucleotide sources on exoprotease synthesis by Bacillus thuringiensis}; Egorov NS et al.; Bacillus thuringiensis cells, depending on their physiological state, produce different quantities of exoprotease . Easily metabolizable carbon sources in the medium can affect the process in the opposite way: they inhibit synthesis of the enzyme by the cells in the exponential growth phase, and stimulate it by the sporulating cells . Apparently, cAMP is not an effector of catabolite repression regulating exoprotease synthesis by the cells in the exponential growth phase, inspite of stimulating the enzyme synthesis at the background of easily metabolizable carbon sources . The same effect is produced by cAMP in the absence of additional carbon sources . AMP, adenine, GMP and guanine exhibit a similar action on the enzyme synthesis; the effect is most pronounced in the medium without easily metabolizable carbon sources . The action of cGMP is specific: cGMP inhibits the synthesis of exoprotease in the presence of additional carbon sources, and stimulates it in the absence of easily metabolizable compounds. Mol Gen Genet, 1982, 186(3), 391 - 8 Molecular relationships among plasmids of Bacillus thuringiensis: conserved sequences through 11 crystalliferous strains; Lereclus D et al.; Screening for the plasmid content of 11 strains belonging to nine different serotypes of B . thuringiensis was carried out by electron microscopic examination and electrophoresis in agarose gels . All the strains contained at lest two covalently closed, circular (CCC) DNA species . In one strain (berliner 1715), 17 extrachromosomal elements could be distinguished with regard to their size, ranging from 3.9 to 180 Mdal . Southern hybridisation experiments showed that most of these plasmids fell into two categories (inferior to 15 Mdal and superior to 15 Mdal) which have no homology between them . Within these two size groups there is partial conservation of DNa sequences through various serotypes . Further relationships among the plasmids were investigated by a two dimensional version of the Southern's blotting technique . Possible homology between plasmids and the chromosomal DNA was studied . It was shown that the smaller plasmids from the berliner 1715 and kurstaki HD1 strains contained no sequence related to chromosomal DNA, whereas among the larger plasmids a few showed homologous sequences. Microbios, 1982, 34(137-38), 185 - 96 CA2+ uptake in an asporogenous mutant strain of Bacillus megaterium; Ota A; Some properties of Ca2+ accumulation were examined in Bacillus megaterium mutant 3-12 which cannot sporulate owing to a lack of dipicolinic acid . The steady-state intracellular content of Ca2+ was half-saturated at 0.06 mM . Ca2+ was accumulated up to its plateau in 30 min . There were two classes of Ca2+ accumulation, high-affinity and low-affinity, both of which were mostly energy-dependent, and there was a small amount of energy independent Ca2+ binding . Exchange of Ca2+ accumulated in the cells for the external Ca2+ in the medium was observed . The highest rates of exchange were evident in the cells harvested when Ca2+ accumulation reached its peak. Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek, 1982, 48(4), 365 - 71 Characterization of a new Bacillus megaterium bacteriophage, MJ-1, from tropical soil; van Elsas JD et al.; A new Bacillus megaterium bacteriophage is characterized . It is a tailed phage with regular polyhedral head belonging to Bradley's group B . Head and tail dimensions are 56.4 and 300 nm, respectively . Lysis was restricted to strains of B . megaterium . No antigenic relationship with pumilus phage FP-1 or subtilis phage FS-1 was observed . The phage is sensitive to 60 degrees C and moderately sensitive to chloroform . The nucleic acid is double-stranded linear DNA with a G-C mole% of 38.8 and a mol wt of (53 +/- 3) X 10(6). Prep Biochem, 1982, 12(3), 265 - 73 Improved method for purification of membranes from spores of Bacillus Megaterium; Racine FM et al.; An improved method for spore membranes isolation was developed based on sucrose density gradient centrifugation in a vertical rotor . The advantage of this over previous methods was the complete removal of RNA and a 40% reduction in protein content, while retaining the high specific activities for membrane bound dehydrogenases and for amino acid uptake. Microbiol Immunol, 1982, 26(3), 181 - 90 Properties of Hg- and Cd-spores of Bacillus megaterium QM B1551; Imagawa M et al.; Hg- and Cd-spores of Bacillus megaterium QM B1551 were produced in Schaeffer's medium containing mercuric chloride and cadmium chloride respectively . Metals were added to the medium at 9 hr of incubation (Stage V) to give a final concentration of 50 microM . It was found by electron microscopic and biochemical studies that the coats of both Hg- and Cd-spores were thinner than those of control spores . Of the total Hg and Cd in the spores, 77% of the Hg and 63% of the Cd were detected in the spore coats . Hg- and Cd-spores were less resistant to heat and more sensitive to germinants than control spores . Other properties of Hg- and Cd-spores were similar to those of control spores . These results suggest that the spore coat has some relationship to the heat resistance and germinability of spores. Z Erkr Atmungsorgane, 1982, 158(1-2), 66 - 75 The consequences of Robert Koch's Discovery for countries with a high prevalence of tuberculosis; Larbaoui D et al.; Since the issue of the 8th report of the WHO Expert Committee on Tuberculosis in 1964, the importance of Robert Koch's discovery has become fully apparent, becoming the basis of the development of the National Tuberculosis Control Programme . Robert Koch's discovery has had three main consequences for high prevalence countries . 1 . It provides an unfailing epidemiological index which permits the evaluation of the tuberculosis problem in each country and the definition of the aims of the programmes . 2 . It is the basis of the case-finding policy . 3 . It makes possible the follow-up of the results of treatment in individual as well as in the community . The message of hope for the whole humanity, that was implied by the announcement in march 1882 of the remarkable discovery of the Koch bacillus, should be translated into reality in the next few decades by the progressive disappearance of tuberculosis in man. Rev Infect Dis, 1982 Jan-Feb, 4(1), 97 - 103 Bacillus cereus panophthalmitis: source of the organism; Shamsuddin D et al.; Serious infections with the "nonpathogenic" Bacillus species are increasingly being recognized, especially in drug abusers . Cases of panophthalmitis secondary to infection with Bacillus cereus, with and without associated bacteremia, have been reported . Three drug abusers with panophthalmitis seen in our hospitals during a three-year period are described, and the similar cases reported in the literature are reviewed . The syndrome is characterized by an acute onset with a rapid fulminating course that eventually leads to enucleation or evisceration of the eye . The pathogenic mechanism is unknown, but is probably related to the production of toxin (lecithinase) by B . cereus . Clindamycin appears to be the antibiotic of choice in the treatment of this infection . In order to identify a possible source of the organism, 59 samples of heroin and injection paraphernalia were cultured . Twenty cultures yielded organisms; Bacillus species were the predominant isolates . Thirty-eight percent of the isolates were identified as B . cereus . Thus, infections caused by Bacillus species in drug abusers can probably be associated with intravenous heroin abuse because heroin mixtures and injection paraphernalia are frequently contaminated with this organism. Mikrobiologiia, 1982 Jan-Feb, 51(1), 77 - 81 {Formation of resting refractile cells in Bacillus cereus as affected by an autoregulatory factor}; Duda VI et al.; Extracellular membrane-active compounds were shown to induce the transition of vegetative cells in the producing culture into resting refractile forms . The forms are characterized by the absence of energy, biosynthetic and destructive processes, by the capability to remain viable for a long time, and by a peculiar ultrafine organization . The physiological state and the ultrafine organization of B . cereus cells were found to change under the action of the autoregulatory factor introduced in the culture. Folia Microbiol (Praha), 1982, 27(1), 32 - 4 Total and cell wall phosphorus content in Bacillus megaterium in phosphate-limited media; Rodriguez C et al.; A comparative study of the amount of total and cell wall phosphorus in Bacillus megaterium ATCC 33085, grown in media with or without phosphate limitation was carried out . The phosphorus levels were investigated during six successive subcultures . A progressive decrease in total phosphorus was found in cells cultivated in a phosphate-limited medium . A decline in the cell wall phosphorus level was observed starting only from the third subculture in phosphate-limited medium, and no phosphorus was detected in the walls of cells in the fifth subculture. J Bacteriol, 1982 Jan, 149(1), 15 - 21 Distribution of mannosamine and mannosaminuronic acid among cell walls of Bacillus species; Yoneyama T et al.; The distribution of mannosamine, mannosaminuronic acid, and the enzymes responsible for the formation of these saccharides was studied in nine species (18 strains) of Bacillus . Whereas UDP-N-acetylglucosamine 2-epimerase activity was detected in all of the strains examined, UDP-N-acetylmannosamine dehydrogenase, as well as the activity incorporating N-acetylmannosaminuronic acid residues from UDP-N-acetylmannosaminuronic acid into polymer, was found only in four strains of B . megaterium and one strain each of B . subtilis and B . polymyxa . The cell walls prepared from the six above-named strains were shown to contain mannosaminuronic acid in amounts of 135 to 245 nmol/mg . In contrast, mannosamine had a wide distribution . The cell walls from two strains of B . cereus and one strain each of B . circulans, B . polymyxa, B . sphaericus, and B . cereus subsp . mycoides contained mannosamine in amounts of 370 to 470 nmol/mg . In addition, the cell walls from five strains of B . subtilis, two strains of B . megaterium, and one strain each of B . cereus . B . coagulans, and B . licheniformis also contained this amino sugar in amounts as small as 10 to 35 nmol/mg . On the basis of analytical data, it is suggested that the mannosamine present in small amounts may be a common constituent of linkage units between peptidoglycan and other cell wall components such as glycerol teichoic acid. Rev Argent Microbiol, 1982, 14(2), 115 - 8 {Production of a concentrate of Mucor bacilliformis acid protease}; Bottaro Castilla HR et al.; A concentrate of milk-clotting enzyme was produced by culture of Mucor bacilliformis on wheat bran medium moistened to 120% water on dry bases with HC1 2 N solution . The wheat bran was autoclaved, spread on trays and inoculated with 5.10(6) spore/gr of dry bran . After 10 days of culture at 21 degrees C, the enzyme produced was extracted with water and adjusted to pH 4.4 . The precipitation was performed with ethanol . The precipitate was dissolved in HCl solution (pH 4.5) and it was concentrated by dialysis against polyethylene glycol 20.000 . The enzyme solution had a specific activity of 1123 units/mg . and it was tested in the elaboration of cream cheese. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol, 1982, 104(3), 237 - 47 Immunogenicity of cellular and acellular antigen preparations from a methylcholanthrene-induced mouse sarcoma; Hoffken K et al.; Inbred mice were immunized with various cellular and subcellular preparations from a syngeneic, methylcholanthrene-induced sarcoma to induce transplantation immunity against a subsequent challenge of viable cells from the same tumor . Only with conventional immunization procedures using radiation-attenuated tumor cells or viable tumor cells in admixture with bacillus Calmette-Guerin was transplantation immunity obtained . Neither native soluble tumor extracts prepared using several extraction methods, nor cross-linked preparations of these extracts gave rise to transplantation immunity . With few exceptions, however, the immunizing preparations resulted in the production of tumor-specific humoral antibody . The manner in which tumor antigens are presented to the host as well as the experimental system (animal strain; tumor) used appear to play an important role in the development of transplantation immunity against tumors. J Mol Appl Genet, 1982, 1(5), 419 - 34 Nucleotide sequence of the triose phosphate isomerase gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Alber T et al.; The gene coding for the glycolytic enzyme triose phosphate isomerase (TPI1) was isolated from a yeast library in the shuttle vector pYE13 . Selecting for a deletion mutant of the plasmid which enhances expression of the otherwise dormant yeast gene in E . coli facilitated the identification of the coding region . The DNA sequences of the wild type and mutant genes were determined by chemical methods . The 5' flanking region of the wild-type TPI1 resembles the analogous regions of the yeast genes coding for two other glycolytic enzymes . The sequence of the deletion mutant indicates that, upstream from -65 in the 5' flanking region, 3.3 kilobases have been lost from entirely within the yeast insert . The mutation reduces enzyme activity by tenfold in yeast, and its implications for the expression of the gene in yeast and E . coli are discussed . The amino acid sequence deduced from the nucleotide order is consistent with the electron density map of the protein as well as the sequence of its N-terminal 16 amino acids and amino acid composition . The amino acid sequence is approximately 50% homologous with the triose phosphate isomerases from rabbit, chicken, and coelacanth and 37% homologous with the Bacillus stearothermophilus enzyme . Residues which are thought to be catalytically important are conserved. Biophys J, 1982 Jan, 37(1), 307 - 15 Biogenesis of membrane lipoproteins in Escherichia coli; Wu HC et al.; Globomycin-resistant mutants of Escherichia coli have been isolated and partially characterized . Approximately 2-5% of these mutants synthesize structurally altered Braun's lipoprotein . The majority of these mutants contain unprocessed and unmodified prolipoprotein . One mutant is found to contain modified, processed, but structurally altered lipoprotein . Mutants containing lipid-deficient prolipoprotein or lipoprotein also show increased resistance to globomycin . These results suggest that the inhibition of processing of modified prolipoprotein by globomycin may require fully modified prolipoprotein as the biochemical target of this novel antibiotic . Our failure to isolate mutant containing cleaved but unmodified lipoprotein among globomycin-resistant mutants is consistent with the possibility that modification of prolipoprotein precedes the removal of signal sequence by a unique signal peptidase . Recent evidence indicates that the minor lipoproteins in the cell envelope of E . coli are also synthesized as lipid-containing prolipoproteins and the processing of these prolipoproteins is inhibited by globomycin . These results suggest the existence of modifying enzymes in E . coli which would transfer glyceryl and fatty acyl moieties to cysteine residues located in the proper sequences of the precursor proteins . This speculation is confirmed by our demonstration that Bacillus licheniformis penicillinase synthesized in E . coli as well as in B . licheniformis is a lipoprotein containing glyceride-cysteine at its NH2-terminus. EMBO J, 1982, 1(7), 791 - 9 Cloning and expression of the crystal protein genes from Bacillus thuringiensis strain berliner 1715; Klier A et al.; From a clone bank of the entire genome of Bacillus thuringiensis, one clone that contains a plasmid ( pBT 15-88) harboring a sporulation gene was identified by molecular hybridization . This gene, identified as the crystal protein gene, occurs both on a large host plasmid DNA and in the chromosomal DNA in B . thuringiensis strain berliner 1715 . The inserted sequence of pBT 15-88, which corresponds to the chromosomal sequence, was not expressed in Escherichia coli . In B . thuringiensis (kurstaki), the crystal gene was found only on a large host plasmid while in B . thuringiensis ( dendrolimus ), it is only on the chromosomal DNA . The plasmid crystal gene was cloned by ligation of a 14-kb BamHI fragment of a host plasmid DNA of 42 megadaltons from strain berliner 1715 into the BamHI site of the bifunctional vector pHV33 . In E . coli and in sporulating B . subtilis the plasmid pBT 42-1 coded for a polypeptide, detected by antibodies against the crystal protein, with the same electrophoretic mobility as the crystal protein of B . thuringiensis . The crystal gene was not expressed in vegetative cells of B . subtilis, suggesting that the control at the transcriptional level is the same in B . subtilis and in B . thuringiensis . Protein extracts from the clones harboring the hybrid plasmid are toxic for the larvae of Pierris brassicae and the protein antigen forms cytoplasmic inclusion bodies in E . coli and B . subtilis, which are visible under the light microscope. Eur J Biochem, 1982 Jan, 121(2), 377 - 81 Isolation and some properties of the restriction endonuclease BcnI from Bacillus centrosporus; Petrusyte M et al.; A specific type-II restriction endonuclease BcnI from Bacillus centrosporus has been purified to electrophoretic homogeneity in three chromatographic steps . Around 15 micrograms of such a preparation can be isolated from 1 g of the cell paste . The yield of the enzyme is higher than that of any type-II restriction endonuclease so far reported . The molecular weight of the enzyme determined by gel filtration and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate equals 27 500 and 28 000 respectively . The activity of the restriction endonuclease is maximal at pH 9.2 and 40--45 degrees C . The optimal magnesium concentration was estimated to be 7.5 mM . The activity of BcnI may also be observed in the presence of Co2+, Mn2+, Ni2+ and Zn2+ but it is markedly less than in the presence of Mg2+. Mikrobiologiia, 1982, 51(5), 838 - 42 {Comparison of the lytic effect of gramicidin S and its derivatives on Bacillus megaterium and Micrococcus lysodeikticus protoplasts}; Bulgakova VG et al.; Essential differences were found between the lytic action of gramicidin S . on Bacillus megaterium protoplasts and that on Micrococcus lysodeikticus protoplasts . When protoplasts were suspended in a sucrose solution in phosphate buffer, the lytic activity of gramicidin S toward B . megaterium protoplasts increased with a rise in the antibiotic concentration; the lytic action of gramicidin S on M . lysodeikticus protoplasts was characterized by a complex concentration dependence . Gramicidin S derivatives lacking basic properties since the amino groups of their ornithine residues were either substituted with urea residues (carbamoyl gramicidin) of acetylated (diacetyl gramicidin) showed a high lytic activity toward the both bacterial species . In contrast to gramicidin S, the derivatives virtually did not change the permeability of cytoplasmic membranes when they acted on intact cells . In the absence of phosphates (when protoplasts were suspended in an aqueous sucrose solution), the lytic activity of gramicidin S decreased while carbamoyl gramicidin and diacetyl gramicidin still were capable of causing lysis of M . lysodeikticus protoplasts though not of B . megaterium protoplasts. Mol Gen Genet, 1982, 186(4), 507 - 11 Cloning and expression of a Bacillus coagulans amylase gene in Escherichia coli; Cornelis P et al.; A partial EcoRI fragment of Bacillus coagulans DNA cloned in an Escherichia coli K12 bacteriophage lambda host-vector system was shown to direct the synthesis of a thermostable alpha-amylase whose activity could be detected in situ on petri plates using the iodine staining method . A 3.31 kb EcoRI fragment containing the active gene with its own promoter was subcloned in pBR322; in the new clone, called pAMY2, the amylase was shown to accumulate in the periplasmic space . The molecular weight of the enzyme, confirmed by in vivo labelling of plasmid products in minicells, was estimated to be 60000 . The restriction map of the plasmid was determined for five restriction enzymes and two new plasmids with smaller DNA inserts were constructed, both directing the synthesis of amylase; one of them with a 2.2 kb PstI insert was shown to be responsible for the synthesis of a fused beta-lactamase-alpha-amylase protein with amylase activity. Biochim Biophys Acta, 1981 Dec 18, 678(3), 460 - 6 Induction and repression of enzymes involved in exogenous purine compound utilization of Bacillus cereus; Tozzi MG et al.; 5'-Nucleotidase, adenosine phosphorylase, adenosine deaminase and purine nucleoside phosphorylase, four enzymes involved in the utilization of exogenous compounds in Bacillus cereus, were measured in extracts of this organism grown in different conditions . It was found that adenosine deaminase is inducible by addition of adenine derivatives to the growth medium, and purine, nucleoside phosphorylase by metabolizable purine and pyrimidine ribonucleosides . Adenosine deaminase is repressed by inosine, while both enzymes are repressed by glucose . Evidence is presented that during growth of B . cereus in the presence of AMP, the concerted action of 5'-nucleotidase and adenosine phosphorylase, two constitutive enzymes, leads to formation of adenine, and thereby to induction of adenosine deaminase . The ionsine formed would then cause induction of the purine nucleoside phosphorylase and repression of the deaminase . Taken together with our previous findings showing that purine nucleoside phosphorylase of B . cereus acts as a translocase of the ribose moiety of inosine inside the cell (Mura, U., Sgarrella, F . and Ipata, P.L . (1978) J . Biol Chem . 253, 7905-7909), our results provide a clear picture of the molecular events leading to the utilization of the sugar moiety of exogenous AMP, adenosine and inosine as an energy source. Biochemistry, 1981 Dec 8, 20(25), 7102 - 8 Cholesterol solubilization by short-chain lecithins: characterization of mixed micelles and cholesterol oxidase activity; Burns RA Jr et al.; The synthetic short-chain lecithins diheptanoylphosphatidylcholine and dioctanoylphosphatidylcholine solubilize cholesterol up to 10 and 18 mol %, respectively . The half-time for diheptanoylphosphatidylcholine solubilization of solid cholesterol is 80 (+/- 30) min . This is much faster than Triton X-100 micelle or egg lecithin vesicle solubilization of solid cholesterol . Both the broadening of lecithin and {4-13C}cholesterol carbon resonances by Mn2+ and the observation of surface dilution kinetics for phospholipase A2 (Naja naja naja) and phospholipase C (Bacillus cereus) hydrolysis of the lecithins indicate that the cholesterol 3 beta-hydroxyl group resides at the particle surface exposed to solvent . Analysis of lecithin 13C chemical shifts suggests that cholesterol causes the short-chain lecithin acyl chains to become slightly more trans, although to a lesser extent than it affects egg lecithin chains in liposomes . Lecithin motion as characterized by 13C T1s and line widths is unaffected by the incorporation of cholesterol . {3,4-13C2}Cholesterol line widths are 5-10-fold narrower in these mixed micelles than in egg lecithin sonicated vesicles, while T1s in the two systems are comparable . These mixed micelles serve as substrates for cholesterol oxidase (Nocardia erythropolis) with a 40-fold rate increase over comparable cholesterol concentrations in egg lecithin vesicles . Part of this rate enhancement can be understood as an increase in interfacial area available to cholesterol oxidase in the micellar systems . These studies suggest that cholesterol oxidase has a weaker affinity for interfaces than other surface active enzymes. Hansenol Int, 1981 Dec, 6(2), 122 - 9 {Some aspects of Hansen's disease in the region of Londrina, Parana, 1968-1978 . 2 . Specific characteristics}; Tornero N et al.; Following a previous work, this one intends to add new data on the occurrence of hanseniasis in the Public Health District of Londrina, in the state of Parana, Brazil . In this study, it was observed an increasing percentage of patients coming from the urban area of the near towns and one of the aspects stressed in this research was the great importance of the V and D forms in the dissemination of the disease, since they affect mostly male individuals . Once this area is characterized by a high endemicity, a new sanitary policy should be put into practice comprising aspects of control and search for cases . Besides it should be developed a special program of case detection among the students carried out by large scale medical examinations and through extensive observation of contacts of the bacilloscopic positive patients, mainly in the household contacts. Biochem J, 1981 Dec 1, 199(3), 465 - 72 The effect of ligand presaturation on the interaction of serum albumins with an immobilized Cibacron Blue 3G-A studied by affinity gel electrophoresis; Metcalf EC et al.; The interaction of the immobilized triazine dye Cibacron Blue 3G-A with rat, rabbit, sheep, goat, bovine and human serum albumins was studied by affinity gel electrophoresis . Dissociation constants were estimated in each instance and showed human serum albumin to have a significantly higher affinity for the dye than did albumin from any other species . Pretreatment of the defatted proteins with bilirubin (3 mol of bilirubin/mol of protein) did not increase the dissociation constants of the serum albumins, whereas pretreatment with palmitate (7 mol of palmitate/mol of protein) increased the dissociation constant in all cases: 3-fold for human serum albumin, 15-fold for other serum albumins . Increasing the bilirubin/albumin ratio (to 7:1) did not affect the dissociation constant of the albumins studied . Decreasing the palmitate/albumin ratio decreased the dissociation constant for human serum albumin, but did not affect those of bovine and rat albumins . Altering the chain length of the presaturating fatty acid dramatically changed the dissociation constant of both human and bovine serum albumins . Butyrate, hexanoate, octanoate and decanoate did not significantly influence the dissociation constants of bovine and human serum albumins for Cibacron Blue, whereas laurate, myristate and palmitate greatly increased the dissociation constant . These data are discussed in relationship to the behaviour of albumins during dye--agarose column chromatography . In Addendum the effect of nucleotide presaturation on the interaction between Bacillus stearothermophilus 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase and the immobilized triazine dyes Cibacron Blue 3G-A and Procion Red HE-3B was examined, and the implications for dye--ligand chromatography are discussed. J Antibiot (Tokyo), 1981 Dec, 34(12), 1581 - 6 Microbial conversion of ansamitocin; Nakahama K et al.; Bacteria, actinomycetes, yeasts, and fungi were screened for their ability to modify the structure of ansamitocins, a group of antitumor ansamycin antibiotics . Many strains, mostly actinomycetes, were found to convert ansamitocin P-3 to one or more products . These products, compounds A, B, C, and D, were prepared using Bacillus megaterium IFO 12108, Streptomyces coelicolor IFO 3807, Streptomyces castaneus IFO 13670 and Streptomyces minutiscleroticus IFO 13361, and were identified as 20-O-demethylansamitocin P-3, maytansinol, 15-hydroxyansamitocin P-3 and N-demethylansamitocin P-3, respectively . Other maytansinoids also underwent these microbial conversions. Surg Neurol, 1981 Dec, 16(6), 408 - 10 Gas-containing brain abscess due to Fusobacterium nucleatum; Taguchi Y et al.; Gas-containing brain abscesses are rarely seen . Recently, in a 28-year-old man, such an abscess ruptured into the lateral ventricle but was treated successfully . Fusobacterium nucleatum, an anaerobic bacillus, was cultured from the pus obtained. Int J Epidemiol, 1981 Dec, 10(4), 377 - 80 Risk of dying from tuberculosis or cancer: further aspects of a possible association; Mercer AJ; Successive cohorts of people born in different periods since 1850 having been living longer, but the proportion in each cohort dying from cancer has increased considerably, while the proportion dying from tuberculosis has declined in such a way as to offset the increased risk of dying from cancer . Thus for successive birth cohorts the proportion dying from either disease has remained constant and this phenomenon has been found for Wales, Scotland and Ireland separately and for Pennsylvania-New Jersey for which data are available from 1860, as well as for England and Wales . The findings are discussed in relation to a working hypothesis that a proportion of any population may be less equipped immunologically to cope with infection with tubercle bacillus and that this deficiency may put them at risk of dying from cancer later in life. Gene, 1981 Dec, 15(4), 343 - 7 The promoter-proximal region of the Bacillus licheniformis penicillinase gene: Nucleotide sequence and predicted leader peptide sequence; Kroyer J et al.; Penicillinase (beta-lactamase) is a major species of secreted protein produced by Bacillus licheniformis 749 . From the pTB2 recombinant plasmid containing the cloned entire penicillinase (penP) gene, we have isolated and sequenced a 446-bp HpaII fragment carrying the beginning of penP . The 3'-end coding region of 216-bp on this DNA fragment codes for the first 72 amino acids of the prepenicillinase protein . The deduced structure of the leader peptide consists of a 34 amino acid signal sequence with a hydrophilic N-terminal region and a central hydrophobic core. Appl Environ Microbiol, 1981 Dec, 42(6), 958 - 62 Bacterial spore components which enhance the bacteriostatic effectiveness of S-nitrosothiol; Morris SL et al.; Spore components exuded into the medium during outgrowth of Bacillus cereus T enhanced the bacteriostatic effectiveness of S-nitrosomercaptoethanol, an inhibitor which prevents outgrowth at low concentrations and germination at higher concentrations . The enhancement effect was slight with respect to outgrowth, but dramatic with respect to germination, in that the inhibitory effectiveness of nitrosothiols toward germination inhibition was enhanced by as much as 33-fold when nitrosothiols was in the presence of the exuded spore component . Exudate activity was freely dialyzable and was not measurably affected by a broad-spectrum protease (proteinase K), by autoclaving at 121 degrees C, or by freezing and thawing . Sephadex G-25 chromatography of the exudate indicated that two active species were present, a major component with a molecular weight of less than 1,000 and a minor component with a molecular weight of more than 5,000. Nucleic Acids Res, 1981 Nov 25, 9(22), 6167 - 89 Secondary structure model for 23S ribosomal RNA; Noller HF et al.; A secondary structure model for 23S ribosomal RNA has been constructed on the basis of comparative sequence data, including the complete sequences from E . coli . Bacillus stearothermophilis, human and mouse mitochondria and several partial sequences . The model has been tested extensively with single strand-specific chemical and enzymatic probes . Long range base-paired interactions organize the molecule into six major structural domains containing over 100 individual helices in all . Regions containing the sites of interaction with several ribosomal proteins and 5S RNA have been located . Segments of the 23S RNA structure corresponding to eucaryotic 5.8S and 25 RNA have been identified, and base paired interactions in the model suggest how they are attached to 28S RNA . Functionally important regions, including possible sites of contact with 30S ribosomal subunits, the peptidyl transferase center and locations of intervening sequences in various organisms are discussed . Models for molecular 'switching' of RNA molecules based on coaxial stacking of helices are presented, including a scheme for tRNA-23S RNA interaction. J Biol Chem, 1981 Nov 25, 256(22), 11787 - 90 The crystallization of ribosomal proteins from the 50 S subunit of the Escherichia coli and Bacillus stearothermophilus ribosome; Appelt K et al.; Several individual intact ribosomal proteins purified from bacterial sources under mild conditions have been crystallized . A number of these are suitable candidates for three-dimensional structural studies by x-ray diffraction techniques . Data collection to 3 A resolution for one of these proteins is in progress. Biochemistry, 1981 Nov 24, 20(24), 6881 - 6 Stereochemistry of meso-alpha,epsilon-diaminopimelate decarboxylase reaction: the first evidence for pyridoxal 5'-phosphate dependent decarboxylation with inversion of configuration; Asada Y et al.; The stereochemistry of the decarboxylation of meso-alpha,epsilon-diaminopimelate catalyzed by meso-alpha,epsilon-diaminopimelate decarboxylase (EC 4.1.1.20) of Bacillus sphaericus was determined by stereochemical analyses of {6-2H}-L-lysine produced by the reaction in D2O . The product {6-2H}-L-lysine was converted to levorotatory methyl 5-phthalimido{5-2H}valerate by the reactions not affecting the absolute configuration of the asymmetric carbon atom . By contrast, methyl 5-phthalimido{5-2H}valerate derived from {2,6-2H2}-L-lysine, which was produced from {2,6-2H2}diaminopimelate by decarboxylation in H2O, was dextrorotatory . The authentic methyl (R)-5-phthalimido{5-2H}valerate prepared from L-glutamate with glutamate decarboxylase was levorotatory . These results indicate that the meso-alpha,epsilon-diaminopimelate decarboxylase reaction proceeds in an inversion mode . The deuterium label in {6-2H}-L-lysine was fully conserved during the conversion into pelletierine through {1-2H}cadaverine by the stereospecific diamine oxidase reaction . Thus, the enzymatic decarboxylation of meso-alpha,epsilon-diaminopimelate occurs with inversion of configuration in contrast to the other amino acid decarboxylase reported so far. J Biol Chem, 1981 Nov 10, 256(21), 10941 - 4 3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetate 2,3-dioxygenase . A manganese(II) dioxygenase from Bacillus brevis; Que L Jr et al.; 3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetate 2,3-dioxygenase, an enzyme which catalyzes the extradiol cleavage of catechols, has been purified from Bacillus brevis . Like other extradiol-cleaving dioxygenases, this enzyme has a molecular weight of 140,000 with four subunits of 36,000 each . Unlike the other enzymes, this dioxygenase is not activated by added ferrous ion, not inhibited by cyanide or diethyldithiocarbamate, and not inactivated by H2O2 . X-ray fluorescence and atomic absorption analyses show the enzyme to contain approximately 2 g atoms of manganese per mol of protein . EPR spectra are consistent with a manganese(II) center in an environment of low symmetry . This is the first report of an oxygen-activating manganese enzyme. J Chir (Paris), 1981 Nov, 118(11), 647 - 54 {Crohn's diseases . Clinicopathological manifestations and differential diagnosis from enterocolonic tuberculosis}; Tong-Hua L et al.; 40 cases of enterocolonic Crohn's disease resected were studied clinico-pathologically and were compared with 53 cases of enterocolonic tuberculosis . There are many symptomatic and morphological overlaps between these two diseases . Nevertheless, fissuring ulcer, widening of submucosa and cobblestone appearance are distinct diagnostic features of Crohn's disease, while caseous necrosis and/or presence of acid fast tubercle bacillus are the hallmark of tuberculosis . Antituberculous therapy may alter the histological characteristic of tuberculosis leading to scarring of the granuloma, yet caseous necrosis never completely disappears even after massive dose of antituberculous therapy . In our series, caseous necrosis in the lymph node and bowel wall was still prominent in 21 cases of enterocolonic tuberculosis having received preoperative antituberculous treatment. Immunology, 1981 Nov, 44(3), 509 - 15 Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) decreases resistance to Listeria monocytogenes infection in mice; Wing EJ; Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) inoculation has been shown to inhibit certain immune functions . To determine whether this inhibition adversely affects host defences against infection, the effect of BCG on Listeria infection in mice was investigated . Mice were injected intravenously (i.v.) with Listeria monocytogenes and 24-96 hr later were inoculated with 8 x 10(6) BCG . Mice given BCG and Listeria had a greater mortality and higher spleen Listeria counts than mice given Listeria alone . An increased number of bacteria in spleens was noted as early as 24 hr after BCG inoculation . Peritoneal macrophages from mice receiving both organisms had a decreased capacity to kill Listeria in vitro . In addition, BCG inoculation suppressed delayed hypersensitivity responses and in vitro spleen cell proliferative responses to Listeria antigen . Suppression of spleen cell proliferative responses was associated with an adherent, non-T lymphocyte subpopulation . The data indicate that BCG administration decreases resistance to intracellular pathogens by abrogating normal cellular defences. Med Trop (Mars), 1981 Nov-Dec, 41(6), 625 - 31 {Typhoid fever in adult patients in Ouagadougou (analytic study of 124 cases) (author's transl)}; Gendron Y et al.; The authors study clinical and evolutive aspects of 124 cases of typho-paratyphoidic fever carried out in Ouagadougou . Main features are emphasized and compared to series previously recorded in other tropical countries: -the most frequent form is the conventional one with fever-diarrhoea-vomiting, headache and abdominal pain; -10,4 p . 100 of the cases present further complication, with 13 fatal issues, mostly due to acute encephalitis and to the delay reporting to the hospital; -treatment raised no special problem, Eberth bacillus which is the most frequently detected germ, being still very sensible to phenicoles derivatives. Scand J Immunol, 1981 Nov, 14(5), 467 - 80 Differences in cell-mediated immune responses of 'high-resistance' and 'low-resistance' mice to a nonpathogenic mycobacterium; Adu HO et al.; The kinetics of the footpad response of bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG)-infected mice to soluble BCG antigens were compared in two strains of mice with different degrees of susceptibility to Mycobacterium lepraemurium . For the first 21 days the responses of the 'high-resistance' C57BL and the 'low-resistance' BALB/c to the nonpathogenic BCG were similar to that produced when the pathogenic mycobacterium was used . After 4 weeks the kinetics of the BALB/c mice changed and resembled that of the C57BL mice . The change in kinetics was compared with circulating antimycobacterial antibody levels and the response of draining lymph node cells in the antigen-specific lymphocyte transformation test . A dissociation was found between the kinetics of the delayed footpad response and the lymphocyte transformation response . Since both strains of mice are equally resistant to BCG, it appears that the delayed footpad response cannot be used as an indicator of host resistance in all mycobacterial infections. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg, 1981 Nov, 82(5), 649 - 57 Surgical adjuvant intrapleural BCG treatment for stage I non-small cell lung cancer . Preliminary report of the National Cancer Institute Lung Cancer Study Group; Kinetic studies of the fatty acid synthetase multienzyme complex from Euglena gracilis variety bacillaris; A fatty acid synthetase multienzyme complex was purified from Euglena gracilis variety bacillaris . The fatty acid synthetase activity is specifically inhibited by antibodies against Escherichia coli acyl-carrier protein . The Euglena enzyme system requires both NADPH and NADH for maximal activity . An analysis was done of the steady-state kinetics of the reaction catalysed by the fatty acid synthetase multienzyme complex . Initial-velocity studies were done in which the concentrations of the following pairs of substrates were varied: malonyl-CoA and acetyl-CoA, NADPH and acetyl-CoA, malonyl-CoA and NADPH . In all three cases patterns of the Ping Pong type were obtained . Product-inhibition studies were done with NADP+ and CoA . NADP+ is a competitive inhibitor with respect to NADPH, and uncompetitive with respect to malonyl-CoA and acetyl-CoA . CoA is uncompetitive with respect to NADPH and competitive with respect to malonyl-CoA and acetyl-CoA . When the concentrations of acetyl-CoA and malonyl-CoA were varied over a wide range, mutual competitive substrate inhibition was observed . When the fatty acid synthetase was incubated with radiolabelled acetyl-CoA or malonyl-CoA, labelled acyl-enzyme was isolated . The results are consistent with the idea that fatty acid synthesis proceeds by a multisite substituted-enzyme mechanism involving Ping Pong reactions at the following enzyme sites: acetyl transacylase, malonyl transacylase, beta-oxo acyl-enzyme synthetase and fatty acyl transacylase. Mikrobiologiia, 1981 Nov-Dec, 50(6), 1062 - 5 {Constructive and energy metabolism changes in the formation and germination of resting retractile forms of Bacillus cereus}; Pronin SV et al.; It has been found that, as soon as Bacillus cereus vegetative cells yield resting refractile forms under the action of specific autoregulating factors, the incorporation of labeled precursors of the main cellular biopolymers and lipids stops almost entirely and the level of cell endogenous respiration abruptly decreases . When the refractile forms revert to the vegetative state and growth, the processes of biosynthesis and respiration are restored . The level of metabolism typical of vegetative cells of the control cultures is reached within 90 min. J Bacteriol, 1981 Nov, 148(2), 465 - 71 Inhibition of Bacillus cereus spore outgrowth by covalent modification of a sulfhydryl group by nitrosothiol and iodoacetate; Morris SL et al.; Nitrosothiols with the general structure RSN==O were studied as a model system of bacteriostatic action toward outgrowing bacterial spores . With a Taft plot analysis, the influence of the structure of the R group on the inhibitory effectiveness of a series of nitrosothiols showed that effectiveness as an inhibitor of Bacillus cereus T outgrowth correlated with the electron withdrawal of R, but that size, shape, charge, hydrophobicity, and transportability had little influence . This was interpreted to mean that nitrosothiols do not traverse the membrane to act . The Taft plot together with competition data between nitrosothiol and iodoacetate indicated that the mode of nitrosothiol action is the covalent modification of a sulfhydryl group, probably to form RSN(OH)--SX, where --SX is derived from a sensitive spore sulfhydryl group . Cooperativity effects indicated that outgrowth inhibition is accompanied by a conformational change occurring upon sulfhydryl group modification, which is communicated among at least three to five subunits . Uptake of label during spore germination indicated that most of the sulfhydryl groups which can be modified are associated with the inhibitory event . These data suggest that this sulfhydryl group may be sufficiently unique that inhibitors designed to interfere specifically with it could have value as bacteriostatic agents. Biochem J, 1981 Nov 1, 199(2), 427 - 32 The stereochemical course of phosphoryl transfer catalysed by Bacillus stearothermophilus and rabbit skeletal-muscle phosphofructokinase with a chiral {16O,17O,18O}phosphate ester; Jarvest RL et al.; Bacillus stearothermophilus and rabbit skeletal-muscle phosphofructokinases catalyse the transfer of the chiral {16O,17O,18O}phosphoryl group from D-fructose 1{(S)-16O,17O,18O},6-bisphosphate to ADP with inversion of configuration at the phosphorus atom . D-Fructose 1{(S)-16O,17O,18O},-bisphosphate was synthesized in situ from sn-glycerol 3{(S)-16O,17O,18O}phosphate . The simplest interpretation of these results is that the phosphoryl group is transferred between substrates in the enzyme substrate ternary complexes by an 'in-line' mechanism. Infect Immun, 1981 Nov, 34(2), 315 - 22 Evidence for two distinct populations of suppressor cells in the spleens of Mycobacterium bovis BCG-Sensitized mice; Turcotte R; Spleen cells from female C57BL/6 mice infected intravenously with 1 mg (about 10(7) viable units) of bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) were shown to suppress the blastogenic responses induced by the T-cell mitogens phytohemagglutinin and concanavalin A and by the B-cell mitogen lipopolysaccharide in spleen cells from normal syngeneic mice . By using various separation procedures or cellular treatments, evidence was found for two distinct populations of splenic suppressor cells . One population belonged to the monocyte-macrophage lineage on the basis of their adherence to plastic surfaces, their removal after treatment with carbonyl iron, and their resistance to gamma irradiation . The other population of suppressor cells belonged to the T lymphocytes due to their sensitivity to an anti-Thy 1 antiserum and complement and to gamma irradiation . After separation on nylon wool columns, inhibitory activity was found in both the nonadherent and the adherent spleen cell populations . Both populations of suppressor cells were present in the spleens 14 days after BCG inoculation and persisted for at least 40 days after infection. Rofo, 1981 Nov, 135(5), 583 - 7 {Tuberculosis of the calcaneus . Treatment and differential diagnosis (author's transl)}; Richter R et al.; Eight lesions in the calcaneus have been treated surgically between 1955 and 1979; of these, six were due to tuberculosis, one to chronic osteomyelitis and the other was a cyst . The diagnosis was confirmed bacteriologically and histologically . In all cases (average age 49.1 years) the human bacillus was proved to be the cause of an haematogenous infection . The lesion was confined to the posterior part of the bone and there was no extension into the calcaneo-navicular joint . Two patients presented with fistulae . The interval from the onset of symptoms to confirmation of the diagnosis averaged 9.1 months . Three patients had previously been treated for tuberculosis (lung, pleura, kidney) and another patient, who had a simultaneous tuberculous infection of a sternoclavicular joint had suffered from tuberculosis cervical lymphadenitis at the age of nine years.U C R Seances Acad Sci III, 1981 Oct 12, 293(5), 257 - 60 {Use of the supernatant from cultures of Bacillus thuringiensis in an in vivo study of the functioning of the nucleolar organizer in Drosophila melanogaster}; Paumard S et al.; The use of Drosophila melanogaster mutants deficient in active ribosomal genes, allowed us to demonstrate that the in vivo degree of resistance to a given concentration of supernatant from Bacillus thuringiensis cultures, can be an indication of the ribosomal genes functional level. J Biol Chem, 1981 Oct 10, 256(19), 10105 - 10 Functional organization of the large ribosomal subunit of Bacillus stearothermophilus; Auron PE et al.; Bacillus stearothermophilus 50 S ribosomal subunits active in polyphenylalanine (polyPhe) synthesis were reconstituted from a mixture of purified proteins and RNA . Proteins were omitted one at a time, and the resulting particles were examined by sucrose gradient sedimentation and assayed for polyPhe synthesis, peptidyltransferase activity, and in some cases binding of elongation factor EF-G and GTP, and association with a (20 S . Phe-tRNA . poly(U)) complex . Based on their effect on polyPhe synthesis and peptidyltransferase activity, the proteins were grouped into four functional categories . The set of proteins most strongly required for peptidyltransferase activity, which must include the protein or proteins most directly involved in the active center, consists of proteins (probable Escherichia coli homologs in parentheses) B-L3 (E-L2), B-L4 (E-L4), B-L5 (E-L5), B-L6 (E-L3 or E-L6), B-L18 (E-L14), B-L20b (E-L16), and B-L25 (E-L20) . Several proteins affected both polyPhe synthesis and peptidyltransferase activity more weakly . Only four proteins were required for polyPhe synthesis but not for peptidyltransferase activity, B-L2 (E-L1), B-L8 (E-L10), B-L13 (E-L7/L12), and B-L11(E-L11) . The results indicate that the peptidyltransferase center is tightly integrated into the cooperative body of the 50 S subunit and that the (B-L8 . B-L13) complex is relatively independent of this cooperative domain. J Biol Chem, 1981 Oct 10, 256(19), 10111 - 6 Immunochemical evidence of homologies among 50 S ribosomal proteins of Bacillus stearothermophilus and Escherichia coli; Fahnestock SR et al.; Antibodies prepared against individual 50 S ribosomal subunit proteins from Escherichia coli were reacted with 70 S ribosomal proteins from Bacillus stearothermophilus in order to identify homologous protein pairs . B . stearothermophilus proteins were separated by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and transferred electrophoretically to diazobenzyloxymethyl paper to which they became covalently attached . The paper was then washed with antiserum followed by radioactive protein A, and the resulting antigen-antibody-protein A complexes were located by autoradiography . Seventeen cross-reacting protein pairs were identified. Acta Pathol Microbiol Scand {B}, 1981 Oct, 89(5), 303 - 9 Radiation-resistant micro-organisms isolated from textiles; Kristensen H et al.; Towels from private homes and public offices and underwear contaminated by being used by employees at a public health laboratory were examined for occurrence of radiation-resistant bacteria and fungi . Three different methods were used for isolation of the most resistant organisms, one with multiplication of the microbial population prior to an irradiation used for selection, and two without this multiplication and with the organisms placed on membrane filters or in situ on the textiles, respectively . A total of 44 different strains were isolated . Differences in the three methods used for selection of the most radiation-resistant microorganisms were not reflected in the results . 16 pigment-producing Gram-positive cocci, tentatively classified as Micrococcus radiodurans, were the most radiation-resistant and were isolated in about half of the examinations . Other Gram-positive cocci, non-spore forming rods, some Nocardia and Candida parapsilosis strains and two Bacillus strains constituted the rest of the collection . Wtih few exceptions dose-response curves for the strains were upward convex . D-6 values were determined to be between 1.5 megarad for the most radiation sensitive, a Candida, and 5.7 megarad for the most resistant,, tentatively classified as M . radiodurans . The D-6 values for the Bacillus strains were in both cases 1.8 megarad, consistent with a D-value of 0.3 megarad . The same resistance is reported to be the maximum resistance for B pumilus, strain E601, commonly used as reference strain in the literature on radiation sterilization of medical devices and supplies. Eur J Biochem, 1981 Oct, 119(3), 589 - 93 The specificity requirements of bacteriophage T4 lysozyme . Involvement of N-acetamido groups; Kleppe G et al.; Bacillus cereus peptidoglycan with N-unsubstituted glucosamine residues was insensitive to treatment with bacteriophage T4 lysozyme . After N-acetylation with acetic anhydride, T4 lysozyme cleared solutions of the peptidoglycan and reducing sugars were liberated . The digestion products were mainly of high molecular weight, since the peptidoglycan is peptide cross-linked to a great extent . N-Propylation did not convert the partially N-unsubstituted peptidoglycan to a sensitive form . It is concluded that the acetamido groups are required for binding and/or catalysis by T4 lysozyme. Antibiotiki, 1981 Oct, 26(10), 761 - 3 {Changes in Bacillus pumilus antibiotic activity and sensitivity with integration and disintegration of plasmid pPL 7065}; Lukin AA et al.; The role of plasmid pPL 7065 in the control of the antibiotic production and sensitivity in Bac . pumilus was studied with the use a plasmid-free strain and strains containing the plasmid in the cells in a free or chromosome-integrated state . It was found that all the strains had antibiotic activity only with respect to a limited number of gram-positive bacteria . Still, the antibiotics produced by them differed in the antibacterial spectrum . The antibiotic produced by the plasmid-free strain had a broader spectrum . It was shown that the bacteria with the plasmid in th free state were sensitive to the antibiotics produced by the plasmid-free strain for the strain or the strain with the chromosome-integrated plasmid . It was suggested that plasmid pPL 7065 played the role of a modifier of the antibiotic activity and sensitivity in Bac . pumilus and carried no genetic information for the control of the antibiotic synthesis . Their formation is determined by the chromosome genes. J Bacteriol, 1981 Oct, 148(1), 43 - 50 Properties of crystalline L-ornithine: alpha-ketoglutarate delta-aminotransferase from Bacillus sphaericus; Yasuda M et al.; The distribution of bacterial L-ornithine: alpha-ketoglutarate delta-aminotransferase (L-ornithine:2-oxo-acid aminotransferase {EC 2.6.1.13}) was investigated, and Bacillus sphaericus (IFO 3525) was found to have the highest activity of the enzyme, which was inducibly formed by addition of L-ornithine or L-arginine to the medium . L-Ornithine:alpha-ketoglutarate delta-aminotransferase, purified to homogeneity and crystallized from B . sphaericus, had a molecular weight of about 80,000 and consisted of two subunits identical in molecular weight (41,000) and in amino-terminal residue (threonine) . The enzyme exhibited absorption maxima at 278,343, and 425 nm and contained 1 mol of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate per mol of enzyme . The formyl group of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate was bound through an aldimine linkage to the epsilon-amino group of a lysine residue of the protein . The enzyme-bound pyridoxal 5'-phosphate, absorbing at 425 nm, was released by incubation with phenylhydrazine to yield the catalytically inactive form . The inactive enzyme, which was reactivated by addition of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate, still had a 343-nm peak and contained 1 mol of a vitamin B6 compound . The holoenzyme showed positive circular dichroic bands at 340 and 425 nm, whereas the inactive form had no band at 425 nm . The enzyme was highly specific for L-ornithine and alpha-ketoglutarate and catalyzed delta-transamination between them to produce L-glutamate and L-glutamate-gamma-semialdehyde, which as spontaneously converted to delta 1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate . The enzyme activity was significantly affected by nonsubstrate amino acids, amines, and carbonyl reagents. J Bacteriol, 1981 Oct, 148(1), 322 - 32 Morphological alterations of cell wall concomitant with protein release in a protein-producing bacterium, Bacillus brevis 47; Yamada H et al.; Bacillus brevis 47 secreted vast amounts of protein into the medium and had a characteristic three-layered cell wall . The three layers are designated, from the outermost to the innermost layer, as the outer wall (4.2 nm), the middle wall(8.5 nm), and the inner wall (2.1-3.7 nm) . The inner wall might be a peptidoglycan layer . The fine cell wall structure was morphologically altered to various extents, depending on the growth period . At the early stationary phase of growth, cells began to shed the outer two layers of a limited area of the surface . This shedding was complete after further cell growth . The morphological alterations in the cell wall occurred concomitantly with a prominent increase in protein excretion . When protein secretion was severely inhibited by growing cells with Mg2+, morphological alterations in the cell wall were not observed, even at the late stationary phase of growth . This was also the case with a nonprotein-producing mutant, strain 47-5-25 . When cells were incubated in buffers, the outer two layers of the cell wall were specifically removed, leaving cells surrounded only by the inner wall layer . The layers removed by incubation were recovered by high-speed centrifugation . This fraction consisted of two layers resembling the outer and middle wall layers . Protein secreted by B . brevis 47-5 consisted mainly of two proteins with approximate molecular weights of 150,000 and 130,000 . Proteins released by incubating cells in buffers and proteins in the outer- and middle-wall-enriched fraction were also composed mainly of two proteins with the same molecular weights as those secreted into the medium . Therefore, we conclude that B . brevis 47 secretes proteins derived from the outer two layers of cell wall and these components are synthesized even after the shedding of the outer two layers. J Antibiot (Tokyo), 1981 Oct, 34(10), 1341 - 6 Interaction of beta-lactamase of Streptomyces cacaoi . I . Clavulanic acid and PS-5; Ogawara H et al.; Inactivation of a beta-lactamase of Streptomyces cacaoi by clavulanic acid and PS-5 was investigated and compared with that of a beta-lactamase of Bacillus cereus . Inhibition of the enzymes induced by clavulanic acid and the beta-lactam antibiotic PS-5 was found to be progressive with time . However, the degree of inhibition of the beta-lactamase from S . cacaoi increased more progressively with time than that of the enzyme from B . cereus . Conformative response constants were determined . As compared with clavulanic acid, over ten times higher concentrations of PS-5 were necessary to give a similar degree of inhibition . At lower concentrations, both clavulanic acid and PS-5 behaved as competitive inhibitors . Ki values calculated from the integrated form of the LINEWEAVER-BURK type were 1.1 X 10(-7) M and 7.6 X 10(-6) M for clavulanic acid and PS-5, respectively. Pathol Biol (Paris), 1981 Oct, 29(8), 473 - 80 {Evaluation of the bactericidal activity of chiral alkylammonium salts derived from N-benzoyl-amino acids with Escherichia coli and Bacillus cereus . II . -- Adsorption mechanism and interpretation (author's transl)}; Masse J et al.; By testing the antibacterial activity of new long-chained alkylammonium salts with organic asymmetric anions (N-benzoyl-amino-acids) we have been able to precise the kind of interaction that would take place between the microorganisms and the two groups of the surfactant molecule . Evidence for anion participation to the bactericidal activity appeared through kind and configuration of the amino acid . A mechanism is proposed, that takes into account, hydrophobic and ionic interactions with cation and anion participation. Pathol Biol (Paris), 1981 Oct, 29(8), 468 - 72 {Evaluation of the bactericidal activity of chiral alkylammonium salts derived from N-benzoyl-amino acids with Escherichia coli and Bacillus cereus . I . -- Evaluation of the antibacterial activity (author's transl)}; Masse J et al.; Long-chained alkylammonium salts (C12 and C16) obtained from chiral N-benzoyl-amino acids were tested against Escherichia coli and Bacillus cereus, to evaluate their antibacterial efficacy . The bactericidal activity (MBC) determined by the membrane filtration technique and the bacteriostatic activity values suggested anionic group participation . The participation of the anion moiety, depended on nature and configuration of the amino acid . Stereoselective interactions appeared between bacteria and the cationic surfactants tested. J Bacteriol, 1981 Oct, 148(1), 20 - 9 Levels of H+ and other monovalent cations in dormant and germinating spores of Bacillus megaterium; Swerdlow BM et al.; Previous investigators using the extent of uptake of the weak base methylamine to measure internal pH have shown that the pH in the core region of dormant spores of Bacillus megaterium is 6.3 to 6.5 . Elevation of the internal pH of spores by 1.6 U had no significant effect on their degree of dormancy or their heat or ultraviolet light resistance . Surprisingly, the rate of methylamine uptake into dormant spores was slow (time for half-maximal uptake, 2.5 h at 24 degrees C) . Most of the methylamine taken up by dormant spores was rapidly (time for half-maximal uptake, less than 3 min) released during spore germination as the internal pH of spores rose to approximately 7.5 . This rise in internal spore pH took place before dipicolinic acid release, was not abolished by inhibition of energy metabolism, and during germination at pH 8.0 was accompanied by a decrease in the pH of the germination medium . Also accompanying the rise in internal spore pH during germination was the release of greater than 80% of the spores K+ and Na+ . The K+ was subsequently reabsorbed in an energy-dependent process . These data indicate (i) that between pH 6.2 and 7.8 internal spore pH has little effect on dormant spore properties, (ii) that there is a strong permeability barrier in dormant spores to movement of charged molecules and small uncharged molecules, and (iii) that extremely early in spore germination this permeability barrier is breached, allowing rapid release of internal monovalent cations (H+, Na+, and K+). J Neurosurg, 1981 Oct, 55(4), 637 - 9 Fulminant postsurgical Bacillus cereus meningitis: case report; Berke E et al.; A 25-year-old woman presented with decreased level of consciousness, bilateral papilledema, and bitemporal hemianopsia . While receiving oxacillin prophylaxis, she underwent ventriculostomy and a transsphenoidal approach for the removal of a growth hormone- and prolactin-secreting adenoma of the pituitary . Within 4 days, fewer, symptoms of meningitis, and marked cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pleocytosis developed, associated with many large Gram-positive rods in the CSF, subsequently identified as Bacillus cereus . This case emphasizes the potential for Bacillus species to cause serious disease following surgery, including meningitis after intracranial surgery . Meningitis may be severe, and organisms are often resistant to standard surgical prophylactic regimens, which might include penicillin or cephalosporin derivatives . Isolation of Bacillus species from the CSF requires evaluation; these organisms should not be dismissed as contaminants or "non-pathogens," particularly when isolated from CSF of patients who have recently undergone neurosurgical procedures. Rev Ig Bacteriol Virusol Parazitol Epidemiol Pneumoftiziol Pneumoftiziol, 1981 Oct-Dec, 30(4), 213 - 8 {Current aspects of drug resistance of the Koch bacillus in the area of one district}; Timosca S et al.; Some aspects were analyzed, of drug resistance of primary and secondary type in mycobacteria strains from patients with pulmonary tuberculosis in a district area, between 1975 and 1979 . The results were compared with those obtained in a similar study performed in 1971--1974 . While the primary resistance has persisted at an approximately similar level under the aspects of frequency and incidence in the two periods (11% and 13,6%, and 4,0-- and 4,5% respectively), the secondary resistance has marked a significant decrease (36% and 12,3 per 100 000 inhabitants in 1979) . The intensive use in the recent years of rifampicin and etambutol in the therapy of tuberculosis explains the new aspects noted in the structure of the primary and of the secondary drug resistance . Thus, an increase was noted in resistance to rifampicin, which, between 1977 and 1979 was above the values recorded for primary resistance to streptomycin. J Antibiot (Tokyo), 1981 Oct, 34(10), 1347 - 50 Interaction of beta-lactamase of Streptomyces cacaoi . II . CP-45,899, izumenolide and cephamycins; Mantoku A et al.; Inhibition of a beta-lactamase of Streptomyces cacaoi by CP-45,899, izumenolide and cephamycins was investigated and compared with that of a beta-lactamase of Bacillus cereus . S . cacaoi enzyme could not hydrolyze CP-45,899 . Instead, hydrolysis of benzylpenicillin by the enzyme was inhibited in the presence of CP-45,899 . Although inhibition increased gradually with time, the inhibition line produced by CP-45,899 with time less curved than that produced by clavulanic acid and PS-5 . Furthermore, preincubation of S . cacaoi beta-lactamase with CP-45,899 for up to 120 seconds did not obviously affect the degree of inhibition . When the concentration was lowered, it behaved as a competitive inhibitor, a Ki value being 6.2 X 10(-7) M . Izumenolide, on the other hand, did not inhibit the enzyme activity of S . cacaoi beta-lactamase at 1.28 X 10(-4) M, although it inhibited B . cereus enzyme slightly in a competitive manner . Oganomycins were inert to the both beta-lactamases.U Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 1981 Oct, 20(4), 508 - 14 Arginine regulation of gramicidin S biosynthesis; Poirier A et al.; Several amino acids are known to affect the gramicidin S producer Bacillus brevis ATCC 9999 with respect ot growth, soluble gramicidin S synthetase formation, antibiotic production, or a combination of these . Our studies confirmed that arginine has paradoxical effects on the B . brevis fermentation; it markedly increased growth and antibiotic production, yet decreased the soluble heavy gramicidin S synthetase activity . We found that arginine did not repress heavy gramicidin S synthetase . The amino acid stimulated growth and increased specific antibiotic production presumably by supplying a limiting precursor (ornithine) for gramicidin S synthesis . Although the amino acid decreased the specific activity of the soluble heavy gramicidin S synthetase, it markedly increased the particulate enzyme activity which persisted hours after the soluble heavy gramicidin S synthetase disappeared . One percent arginine was the optimum level for growth and gramicidin S production . After growth in 1% arginine, heavy synthetase activity in the particulate fraction more than doubled . We propose that arginine leads to the soluble enzyme becoming membrane bound and more stable in vivo . Although we found arginine capable of inhibiting the action of soluble heavy gramicidin S synthetase, this was not the mechanism involved in the lowering of soluble heavy gramicidin S synthetase specific activity. Hum Pathol, 1981 Oct, 12(10), 930 - 6 Whipple's disease: morphologic and immunofluorescence characterization of bacterial antigens; Bhagavan BS et al.; The bacterial etiology of Whipple's disease is generally accepted . However, the exact identity of the "Whipple bug" has remained elusive . Indeed, the isolation of several types of bacteria from different patients with Whipple's disease has caused some to speculate that Whipple's disease may have polymicrobial etiology . Our light and electron microscopic studies document the presence of bacilliform organisms lying free in the lamina propria of the duodenal mucosa . Intact and partially degraded bacterial organisms were seen in the phagosomes of macrophages . Indirect immunofluorescence studies demonstrated the presence of multiple bacterial antigens in the lamina propria as well as the macrophage granules . This profile of antigens is similar to the profile demonstrated in four other patients in two previous studies . The occurrence of similar profiles of bacterial antigens in the tissues of different patients with Whipple's disease suggests a single microorganism in the etiology of Whipple's disease . Because of the overlapping features of muciphages and Whipple's cells in the rectal biopsy material, the superiority and reliability of proximal small intestinal biopsy in preference to rectal biopsy are re-emphasized. J Bacteriol, 1981 Oct, 148(1), 174 - 82 Regulation of the activity of the Bacillus licheniformis A5 glutamine synthetase; Donohue TJ et al.; The regulation of glutamine synthetase activity by positive and negative effectors of enzyme activity singularly and in combinations was studied by using a homogeneous enzyme preparation from Bacillus licheniformis A5 . Phosphorylribosyl pyrophosphate at concentrations greater than 2mM stimulated glutamine synthetase activity by approximately 70% . The concentration of phosphorylribosyl pyrophosphate required for half-maximal stimulation of enzyme activity was 0.4 mM . Results obtained from studies of fractional inhibition of glutamine synthetase activity were consistent with the presence of one allosteric site for glutamine binding (apparent I0.5, 2.2mM) per active enzyme unit at a glutamate concentration of 50 mM . At a glutamate concentration of 30 mM or less, the data were consistent with the enzyme containing two binding sites for glutamine (one of which was an allosteric site with an apparent I0.5 of 0.4 mM) . Bases on an analysis of the response of glutamine synthetase activity to positive and negative effectors in vitro and to the intracellular concentration of these effectors in vivo, the primary modulators of glutamine synthetase activity in B . licheniformis A5 appear to be glutamine and alanine (apparent I0.5, 5.2mM). Cancer, 1981 Sep 15, 48(6), 1353 - 62 Treatment of disseminated malignant melanoma with high-dose oral BCG; Varella AD et al.; Thirty patients with unresectable disseminated melanoma (Stage IV) were treated with Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) (Moreau strain--Rio de Janeiro) by mouth, with weekly doses ranging between 200 mg and 28,000 mg . Five patients died in the first two months of treatment . Of the remaining 25 patients, two (8%) showed complete regression, and one (4%) partial regression . Seven patients (28%) had stabilization of the disease for a six-month period, and 15 (60%) had progression of the disease . Complete and partial regressions were seen only in patients with extravisceral (subcutaneous) metastases, and were associated with a longer survival time . Regression of the subcutaneous metastatic nodules was always accompanied by the following local phenomena: increased temperature; local inflammation; softening, pain and pruritus at the nodule site; and a gradual decrease in size . At the site of the tumor mass, a hypochromic halo appeared . This halo remained permanently and was pathognomonic of the metastatic nodule rejection . When the halo was fully established, the inflammatory infiltrate was minimal and the malignant cells disappeared . If the area contained hairs, they underwent complete albinization . Serial biopsies of the nodules undergoing inflammatory changes and decreased consistency exhibited an intense cellular infiltration of lymphocytes, macrophages, and plasma cells around the malignant cells . This sometimes simulated lymphoid follicle formation involving the melanoma cells associated with necrosis in a centripetal way . Some patients with visceral metastases (particularly pulmonary) had an unexpectedly long survival, apparently associated with interruption of the growth rate of the masses . Eleven out of 20 deaths were due to cerebral metastases . When cerebral disease was diagnosed, BCG was discontinued and the administration of corticoids was usually associated with a disappearance of the inflammatory signs at the nodule sites, but with progression of the disease . Toxicity was minimal. Rev Infect Dis, 1981 Sep-Oct, 3(5), 926 - 33 Agents of mycobacterial variations; Mankiewicz E; Mycobacterial variations are determined by physicochemical agents or by genetic transfers . The pioneer work done on the study of the effects of light, radiation, heat, nutritional factors, and drugs is reviewed . Technical and conceptual problems arise in the study of genetic transfer by means of conjugation and transformation in mycobacteria . Transduction and lysogenic conversion are shown to be responsible for important changes in bacterial and colony morphology, enzymatic activities, bacteriophage and drug resistance . Results of recent experiments with different strains of bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) suggest a relationship between phage conversion and the degree of immunogenic potential. Rev Infect Dis, 1981 Sep-Oct, 3(5), 1081 - 3 Mixed mycobacterial infections; Weiszfeiler JG et al.; A pathologic event in humans or animals that involves the participation of two or more species of mycobacteria may be designated as a mixed mycobacterial infection . In the majority of cases of such mixed infection, Mycobacterium tuberculosis is found with one of the atypical mycobacteria . The allergic and immune reactions produced by Mycobacterium simiae, Mycobacterium asiaticum, and Mycobacterium chelonei in guinea pigs was studied . Sensitins that were prepared from cultures of these microorganisms were species specific, producing intensive cutaneous reactions in the animals infected with these organisms . Animals that received atypical mycobacteria and were infected secondarily with bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) had a positive reaction to tuberculin H37Rv PPD-S, but the sensitivity of such animals to the atypical strains was not altered . The atypical strains studied have no immunogenic power against tuberculosis, and they reduced the immunizing power of BCG, probably by exerting an immunosuppressive effect. J Antibiot (Tokyo), 1981 Sep, 34(9), 1126 - 36 Structural studies on thiocillins I, II and III (studies on antibiotics from the genus Bacillus XXIX); Shoji J et al.; Thiocillins I, II and III were compared with micrococcin P1 by analysis of acid hydrolyzates of the native and the reduced antibiotics as well as by means of 1H and 13CNMR spectroscopies . As a result of these studies, the differences of these antibiotics were clarified in their structural units, and the structures of thiocillins I, II and III were assigned on the basis of the proposed structure of micrococcin P1. Ann Microbiol (Paris), 1981 Sep-Oct, 132B(2), 267 - 79 {Determination of the chitinolytic activity of "Abies alba" Mill . litter microorganisms: bacteria and yeasts (author's transl)}; Faure-Raynaud M; Chitin decomposition by some microorganisms isolated from Abies alba Mill . litter has been observed . The active strains were representatives of the genera Bacillus, Pseudomonas and Streptomyces . The isolated yeasts were unable to decompose chitin . The chitinolytic microorganisms secreted in medium an extracellular chitinase system which determined chitin hydrolysis . Cell-free culture filtrate of the microorganisms produced colloidal chitin hydrolysis . An estimation method of chitin hydrolysis was determined measuring chitin loss in standard conditions . Experimental results indicate that Pseudomonas isolate is the most active . The active strains represent about 15% of the microorganisms, bacteria and yeasts, isolated from this litter. J Biochem (Tokyo), 1981 Sep, 90(3), 765 - 71 Sulfhydryl groups related to the catalytic activity of gramicidin S synthetase 1 of Bacillus brevis; Kanda M et al.; Gramicidin S synthetase 1 (GS 1) {EC 5.1.1.11} (phenylalanine racemase) of Bacillus brevis contained about six sulfhydryl groups as determined by titration of the enzyme with 5,5'-dithiobis (2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB) . Two types of sulfhydryl groups could be detected in the reaction with DTNB . One sulfhydryl group reacted rapidly with DTNB whereas the other five reacted more slowly with it . Phenylalanine racemizing activity was abolished on the rapid sulfhydryl modification with DTNB . When GS 1 of the wild strain was preincubated with phenylalanine at 37 degrees C in the presence of ATP, MgCl(2), and dithiothreitol (DTT), the rapid sulfhydryl modification with DTNB was prevented . When GS 1 was incubated with L-{14C}phenylalanine in the presence of ATP, MgCl(2), and DTT, 1 mol of L-{14C}phenylalanine was incorporated per mol of enzyme protein as an acid-stable phenylalanine thioester-enzyme complex . On the other hand, for GS 1 of a gramicidin S non-producing and phenylalanine racemization-lacking mutant of B . brevis, the substate protection against the rapid sulfhydryl modification was not detected and L-{14C}phenylalanine was not incorporated into the enzyme protein as the thioester complex . These results strongly suggest that one sulfhydryl group of GS 1 which reacts rapidly with DTNB is essential for the racemizing activity. Can J Microbiol, 1981 Sep, 27(9), 952 - 5 {Bactericidal activity of the dye Erio acid red XB 400 towards Bacillus thuringiensis}; Smirnoff WA; Laboratory and field tests revealed that the addition of Erio acid red XB 400 dye (EAR) to Bacillus thuringiensis formulations inhibited spores of the bacillus . In the laboratory, 74% of the spores present in a suspension containing 16 X 10(9) viable spores/mL, and 0.25 gm/l of EAR, were inhibited after 28 h . Spore inactivation in a physiological solution containing 1 X 10(7) viable spores/mL was 75% after the same period of exposure to the same EAR concentration . Field tests showed a reduction in the number of viable spores in a suspension exposed to sunlight; a suspension of 75 000 viable spores/mL yielded 2000 and 400 viable spores/mL after 2 and 4 h of exposure to sunlight, while the same suspension added with 2.5 ppm EAR yielded 1000 and 100 viable spores/mL after the same periods of exposure . The photodynamic action of sunlight on the dye provokes a chemical reaction (oxidation) and the inactivation effect of EAR increases with temperature . Consequently, use of EAR is incompatible with B . thuringiensis formulations and methods used for deposit assessment, based on the use of EAR, should be modified accordingly. Can J Microbiol, 1981 Sep, 27(9), 865 - 70 Bacillus thuringiensis distribution in soils of the United States; DeLucca AJ 2nd et al.; During a 2-year study, samples of various types of soils were collected from 115 fields that had not previously been tested with Bacillus thuringiensis and which were remote from any large-scale aggregations of lepidopterous insects in rearing or grain-storage areas . An average of about 400 isolates were examined from each soil, and, of 46 373 isolates examined, only 250 (0.5%) were identified as B . thuringiensis . While it was almost impossible to insure that a field had never been treated with B . thuringiensis or that drift from some nearby application had not reached the field, it is noteworthy that of the 250 isolates, 156 (62.4%) were not var . kurstaki, the only variety that has been used commercially in the United States in about 10 years . This is a strong indication that the B . thuringiensis isolates observed were present naturally . To verify the procedures used, samples were taken from two adjacent experimental plots which had been treated about 12 months previously with formulations of var . kurstaki and var . galleriae, respectively . With practically no exception, the variety recovered from each plot was the variety applied, indicating that the varietal status of B . thuringiensis is stable in the soil. Antibiotiki, 1981 Sep, 26(9), 647 - 51 {Effect of auxotrophic mutations on the bacitracin production level in Bacillus licheniformis}; Zvenigorodskii VI et al.; The bacitracin production levels in some auxotrophic mutants of a highly active strain 1001 and strain ATCC 10716 were studied . It was shown that auxotrophic mutations in the genomes of the above strains resulted in decreasing of bacitracin production . In double auxotrophic mutants the synthesis of bacitracin was sometimes at the level of the initial strain . It was found that various amino acids and bases added to the cultivation medium in concentrations of 1 to 10 mg/ml either increased or decreased the production of bacitracin . It is suggested that some amino acids may play the decisive role in the control of the bacitracin synthesis. Arch Androl, 1981 Sep, 7(2), 177 - 85 Immunological control of male fertility; Talwar GP et al.; PIP: There are proteins in the male gametes which are "foreign" to the immune system of both males and females . It is these which are considerd responsible for the elicitation of auto- and iso-antibodies in certain natural infertility cases . Because they are applicable in both sexes, the sperm antigens are potential fertility control agents . The vaginal tract is not the route for elicitation of primary antibody response against spermatozoa . Once the primary antibody response has been generated, e.g., systemically, the reproductive tract stimulates booster responses . The initial cause of primary sensitization is not clear . LDH-C4 (lactate dehydrogenase) and acrosin have been isolated as the main sperm-specific antigens . The 2 disadvantages with use of these antigens in immunological fertility control are that strong toxic solutions are needed to produce a high enough antibody response and, even then, fertility is not completely blocked . The individual variability of the immune response complicates all immunological work . BCG (bacillus calmette guerin) has been used successfully to produce an autoimmune response, through local infiltration of mononuclear cells . A single BCG injection in each testis causes rapid decline in sperm counts of the semen and almost complete azoospermia within 6 weeks, lasting for several months . This approach is free of side effects and potentially reversible . Am Rev Respir Dis, 1981 Sep, 124(3), 239 - 44 Shortest possible acceptable, effective ambulatory chemotherapy in pulmonary tuberculosis: preliminary report I; Mehrotra ML et al.; In two 4.5-month regimens and one 3-month regimen the four most potent antituberculous drugs (isoniazid, rifampin, pyrazinamide, and streptomycin) were given for the initial 3 months of chemotherapy . Acceptance by the patients was high, and bacillary sterilization was achieved in 96% of cases within 2 months . Addition of a fifth drug, ethionamide, during the initial 3 months was neither acceptable nor useful . No relapses were observed during a 12-month follow-up period after completion of the 4.5-month regimens . A relapse rate of 5% followed the 3-month regimen . The toxicity and side effects of antituberculous drugs were observed in 16% of patients during the initial 3-month period . In 3.4% of patients, toxicity necessitated cessation of treatment . In the remaining 13% of patients, adverse side effects could be managed without cessation of treatment . Even when patients were ambulatory and outpatient attendance was required for drug administration, the noncompliance rate was only approximately 10% . With the current over-all cost of drugs being limited to 100 United States dollars, the patients with moderately extensive disease must be treated for 100 days, or a maximum of 100 doses. South Med J, 1981 Sep, 74(9), 1132 - 5 Cunninghamella bertholletiae wound infection of probable nosocomial origin; Boyce JM et al.; After closed reduction and casting of a tibial fracture in a 69-year-old diabetic man, a gangrenous lesion developed under the cast . Cultures of debrided tissue revealed multiple bacteria, including Bacillus sp, plus two fungi, Fusarium sp and a zygomycete identified as Cunninghamella bertholletiae . Large nonseptate hyphae in thrombosed blood vessels suggested that C bertholletiae played a major role in the development of the infection . Recovery of organisms from our patient's wound and from the cast padding suggests that the wound infection was acquired from nonsterile dressings. Chest, 1981 Sep, 80(3), 264 - 7 Pneumonia and bacteremia due to Aeromonas hydrophila; Reines HD et al.; Aeromonas hydrophila is a gram-negative bacillus which has been rarely identified as a human pathogen except in immunologically compromised hosts . We have recently treated three patients for severe A hydrophila pneumonia and sepsis . Two of these patients were healthy young men who aspirated the organism from contaminated water associated with near drowning . One patient survived severe ARDS and gram-negative sepsis . A third patient with chronic renal failure acquired A hydrophila pneumonia at home and quickly died from the infection . A hydrophila is becoming more commonly recognized as a lethal pathogen and should be sought when gram negative infection is suspected. Arch Microbiol, 1981 Sep, 130(1), 19 - 22 Bacterial mesosomes: method dependent artifacts; Ebersold HR et al.; The occurrence of mesosomes was investigated during septum formation of vegetative and sporulating cells of Bacillus cereus . It has been demonstrated that bacterial mesosomes which are considered by numerous microbiologists as an integrated constituent of Gram positive bacteria, are in reality artifacts arising during the preparation for electron microscopy . The conventional fixation methods allowed enough time for the cytoplasmic membrane to react to the changed conditions and to form the typical pocket-like membrane invaginations . With cryofixation followed by freeze-substitution it was shown in ultrathin sections that mesosomes do not occur . The extremely rapid freezing and the substitution of the ice by an organic solvent containing the fixative prevented the formation of membraneous artifacts. J Clin Chem Clin Biochem, 1981 Sep, 19(9), 953 - 60 Kinetic and inhibition studies of Bacillus cereus beta-lactamase using a spectrophotometric method; Munch R et al.; The use of a spectrophotometric method is reported for the characterization of a beta-lactamase (EC 3.5.2.6) from Bacillus cereus . Absorption coefficients of the mercaptides of various penicillins were determined with this method . The enzyme was kinetically characterized using penicillins . Inhibition studies with Bacillus cereus beta-lactamase and various penicillins showed a substrate type of inhibition, indicating an additional binding site for substrates without catalytic activity . The dissociation constant of this binding site was determined and the influence of this binding site upon the catalytic activity is discussed . Studies with beta-lactamase-stable penicillins as inhibitors and various penicillins showed different types of inhibition, which indicated the presence of an additional catalytically inactive binding site . Experiments with clavulanic acid, a beta-lactamase inhibitor without remarkable intrinsic antibacterial activity, showed a mixed type of inhibition . Based on the hypothesis for the existence of more than one substrate binding site on the enzyme, clavulanic acid was found to be bonded to both the catalytic active and the catalytic inactive binding site. Rinsho Shinkeigaku, 1981 Aug, 21(8), 667 - 70 {The Tolosa-Hunt syndrome: report of a case with recurrent (9 times) painful ophthalmoplegia (author's transl)}; Satoh A et al.; A 48-year-old woman was referred to the First Dept . of Int . Med., Nagasaki Univ . Sch . Med., in August, 1979, with a six-month history of recurrent episodes of right-sided painful ophthalmoplegia and diplopia . An epidode affected the right eye, lasted one to two weeks, and relapsed every month . On examination she had a complete ptosis on the right side and pain on the right eye . All extraocular muscle supplied by the 3rd nerve were paralysed . The pupils were equal in size both sides, reacting to light completely . Visual acuity was normal except myopia . All the other cranial nerves and the remainder of central nervous system was normal . Results of thyroid function tests and of lumbar puncture were normal . The glucose tolerance test showed a mild diabetic pattern . Blood and CSF cultures for bacteria, fungi, and acid-fast bacillus were negative . The skull, brain CT scan, and carotid angiogram were within normal limits . A tentative diagnosis of Tolosa-Hunt syndrome was made after an unproductive search for a cause for this woman's painful ophthalmoplegia and unsuccessful treatment of ophthalmoplegia with antibiotics or diet therapy for mild hyperglycemia . The patient was given prednisolone 30 mg daily orally when she had the 9th attack of painful ophthalmoplegia Pain, ptosis, and diplopia disappeared in 5 days and she did not show any recurrence of symptoms over the next 7 months. J Exp Med, 1981 Aug 1, 154(2), 235 - 52 Origin and kinetics of pulmonary macrophages during an inflammatory reaction induced by intravenous administration of heat-killed bacillus Calmette-Guérin; Blusse van Oud Alblas A et al.; This report gives a quantitative description of the kinetics of the pulmonary macrophages and their direct precursors during the acute inflammatory reaction in the lungs induced by intravenous injection of heat-killed bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) into specific-pathogen-free mice . After BCG injection, the total number of pulmonary macrophages isolated by lavage and subsequent enzyme digestion of lung tissue increased to 225% of normal within 12 h and, after a minor decrease, rose to a maximum of 250% of normal at 96 h, followed by a decrease to 150% at 144 h, the end of the observation period . The number of circulating monocytes doubled in the first 48 h and stayed close to that level . In vivo and in vitro labeling with {3H}-thymidine showed that an influx of monocytes transforming into pulmonary macrophages was mainly responsible for the populat