Antibiotics

Antibiotiki, 1980 May, 25(5), 349 - 52
{Pharmacokinetic interpretation of the myorelaxant effect of kanamycin}; Firsov AA et al.; Changes in the neuromuscular conductivity and pharmacokinetics of kanamycin in the blood serum were studied in parallel on anesthetized cats treated with the antibiotic administered intravenously in a dose of 85 mg/kg or by means of infusion at a rate of 6.5-8 mg/kg . min . Combination of the logistic equation of the effect kinetics with the bioexponential equation of kanamycin pharmacokinetics resulted in analytical interrelations between the rate of the neuromscular conductivity suppression and kanamycin concentrations in the central and peripheral compartments of the two-compartmental model . The concentration-response curves in the first case were of the same S-shaped form, while in the second case they were of an irregular character . This suggested that the biophase was attributed formally to the central compartment of the model . However, the values of kanamycin concentrations in this compartment corresponding to the same level of the effect at the period of its development was always higher than those for the period of its extinction . This was indicative of the kinetic heterogeneity of the central compartment and biophase . Irrespective of the kanamycin administration regimen, the character of the effect-concentration relationship was the same and the antibiotic blood level determined after intravenous and infusion administration of the drug and corresponding to 50% reduction of the neuromuscular conductivity were close . Administration of kanamycin by means of infusion is more convenient, since it prevents development of undesirable respiration arrest in the animals.

Antibiotiki, 1980 May, 25(5), 338 - 44
{Fluorimetric study of methacycline complex formation with beryllium, aluminum, magnesium, calcium and zinc ions}; Alykov NM et al.; Complex formation of metacycline (Pv) with beryllium, aluminium, magnesium, calcium and zinc ions in aqueous solutions was studied fluorometrically . The antibiotic formed the following compounds: CaPv2 (pH 9.45), MgPv (pH 10.40), Be Pv (pH 7.0 and 11), Ca Pv (pH 13.5), Zn Pv (pH 7.15) and Al Pv (pH 6.0) . Relationship between the solution fluorescence level and the values of pH, the quantum yield of fluorescence of Pv and the complexes and the kinetics of the reactions of complex formation of Pv with Be and Al were studied . The mechanism of Pv complex formation with the metal ions is discussed . A method for analysis of microgram amounts of Pv in biological fluids was developed . The method is based on the antibiotic fluorescent reaction with magnesium ions.

J Pharm Sci, 1980 May, 69(3), 275 - 9
Fluorometric determination of thiazole-containing compounds; Shim JS et al.; Fluorescence spectroscopy was applied to the development of sensitive analytical methods for the determination of thiazole and several congeners that contain substituted thiazole rings . Treatment to yield thionine, previously used spectrophotometrically to measure thiazole and fluorometrically only for sulfur determinations in inorganic systems, is further characterized and illustrated with the determination of the antibiotic thiopeptin . This method is selective for submicrogram quantities of thiazole rings in the presence of fused-ring derivatives and reduced analogs . It has a precision of +/- 2% RSD (n = 11) at the 15-ng/ml thiazole concentration level with a signal-to-noise ratio of 3:1 . For thiopeptin, this method has an accuracy of 5% mean relative error (n = 8) over the 5--20-ppm range in medicated feed.

J Clin Microbiol, 1980 May, 11(5), 488 - 91
Coagglutination and counterimmunoelectrophoresis for detection of pneumococcal antigens in the sputum of pneumonia patients; Edwards EA et al.; Coagglutination was compared with counterimmunoelectrophoresis (CIE) for sensitivity and specificity in the detection of pneumococcal antigens in sputum . Initial sputum samples from patients with pneumococcal pneumonia (less than 12 h of antibiotic therapy) were positive for antigens in 37 of 44 cases (84%) by either test . There was a decline in the number of positive results with sputum samples obtained during continuing antibiotic therapy, but the decline was greater with CIE (only 29% of samples were positive at 3 days of therapy) than with coagglutination (61% of samples were positive at 3 days of therapy) (P less than 0.05) . Sputum from 3 of 11 patients (27%) and from 2 of 11 patients (18%) with nonpneumococcal pneumonia was positive for pneumococcal antigens by CIE and coagglutination, respectively, indicating a similar degree of non-specificity . Coagglutination produced the same results as CIE with sputum from patients with chronic bronchitis but without pneumonia; 9 of 23 of these patients were positive . Coagglutination was simpler to perform than CIE and required only a fraction (about 1/30) of the antiserum required for CIE . These advantages, plus the greater sensitivity of coagglutination with sputum samples obtained during antibiotic therapy, suggest that coagglutination is preferable to CIE.

Clin Orthop, 1980 May, (148), 163 - 8
Total hip replacement in a laminar flow environment with special reference to deep infections; Ha'eri GB et al.; A clean air enclosure with standard drapings was inadequate in the prevention of deep infection in total hip replacement and an overall deep infection rate of 2.2% still existed . This suggested that a sterile atmosphere under these circumstances could not ensure a bacteria-free deep wound at the end of a lengthy procedure . Additional antibiotic coverage, however, gave a deep wound infection rate of zero . A larger number of cases must be studied before final conclusions can be reached . Subsequent studies under these conditions have shown that the contamination appears to come from both patient and surgeon--principally the latter . Patient-derived organisms can be eliminated by impermeable draping . Contamination from the surgeon possibly can be eliminated only by drastic modification of conventional surgical attire.

Can J Surg, 1980 May, 23(3), 297 - 302
Lung abscess: surgical implications; Delarue NC et al.; The management of lung abscess continues to challenge both physicians and surgeons . The experience at the Toronto General Hospital over a 50-year period (1928 to 1975) has been analysed to define the challenge and to clarify current recommendations for treatment . The 413 patients studied were divided into three sequential chronologic groups that illustrate the initial impact of antibiotic therapy and later appreciation of the pathogenetic importance of aspiration and anaerobic infection . Although cure rates increased dramatically (from 30 to 61%) between 1936 and 1954 with the advent of antibiotics and the decrease in mortality was equally striking (from 47% to 21%), the recent statistics are not as encouraging . In the current period (1962 to 1975), the cure rate with medical treatment has risen from 61% to 73%, and with surgical therapy from 81% to 89% . Unfortunately, the overall mortality has increased from 12% to 25% . The mortality with medical treatment has increased from 10% to 27% but, in contrast, the surgical mortality continues to decrease (14% to 11%) . The increased mortality with medical treatment is important . Prolonged antibiotic therapy is frequently necessary, but when resolution is not progressing or when complications ensue, operation must not be delayed.

Am J Dis Child, 1980 May, 134(5), 499 - 502
Falsely normal radionuclide scans for osteomyelitis; Fleisher GR et al.; Three children are described with osteomyelitis confirmed by roentgenogram, blood culture, bone culture, and/or histologic findings . None had an abnormal technetium scintigram . Despite the lack of falsely normal bone scans for osteomyelitis reported in the literature, our cases demonstrate the importance of instituting antibiotic therapy on the basis of clinical suspicion since no single nonsurgical procedure can be relied on to make a diagnosis of osteomyelitis.

Am J Clin Pathol, 1980 May, 73(5), 685 - 6
Myospherulosis--further observations; Wheeler TM et al.; Myospherulosis has recently been shown to be composed of altered erythrocytes . Mysopherules have been produced in vivo and in vitro using a petrolatum-based tetracycline antibiotic ointment (Achromycin) . In the reported study, myospherules were produced in vitro using either lanolin or petrolatum, the two components of the vehicle of this ointment . Additionally, human fat produced myospherules in vitro.

Genetics, 1980 May, 95(1), 49 - 61
An antisuppressor that acts on omnipotent suppressors in yeast; Liebman SW et al.; Six partially dominant antisuppressors were obtained that reduce the efficiency of two omnipotent yeast suppressors, sup45 and sup35, thought to be ribosomal ambiguity mutations . Each of these six antisuppressors was shown to fall within a single Mendelian locus, named asu9 . The asu9 mutations are specific for omnipotent suppressors; they have no effect on several dominant tRNA-like suppressors . In the absence of suppressors, asu9 causes sensitivity to the aminoglycoside antibiotic, paromomycin . The properties of asu9 are consistent with the hypothesis that asu9 alters yeast ribosomal proteins.

Arthritis Rheum, 1980 May, 23(5), 605 - 7
Culture-negative septic arthritis and bacterial endocarditis . Diagnosis by synovial biopsy; Wofsy D; The capacity of bacterial endocarditis to mimic other systemic illnesses is well known . This report describes a patient with blood culture-negative bacterial endocarditis who presented with features suggestive of rheumatoid arthritis . Despite sterile synovial fluid, synovial biopsy culture resulted in identification of the causative organism and led to specific antibiotic therapy and cure . This is the first report of such a case.

Arch Otolaryngol, 1980 May, 106(5), 272 - 4
Myospherulosis: a preventable iatrogenic nasal and paranasal entity; Wheeler TM et al.; We discuss a disorder that, although at first considered of possible fungal origin, now is known to be due to an alteration of erythrocytes induced by petrolatum-based antibiotic ointment . In this country, the structures of myospherulosis have been seen most often in tissues from the nose and paranasal sinuses following surgery in this region . Our studies show that both components of the vehicle of a commonly used tetracycline antibiotic ointment, lanolin and petrolatum, either separately or together, produce the structures of myospherulosis in vitro . It is recommended that a nonpetrolatum-based substance be used in nasal packing for purposes of hemostasis.

Plast Reconstr Surg, 1980 May, 65(5), 561 - 70
Improvements in craniofacial reconstruction: methods evolved in 235 consecutive patients; Whitaker LA et al.; Quality evaluation following craniofacial operative procedures is largely aesthetic and almost impossible to measure . Relapse rates are measurable, and morbidity and mortality can be determined . In our series, infections have decreased from 12.5 to 1.3 percent; operating times have been reduced from a mean of 7 1/2 to 4 hours; and blood loss has been reduced from 86 to 56 percent of the total blood volume . Methods we feel are largely responsible for these improvements are (1) maintaining separation of cranial from oronasal cavities, (2) modification of osteotomies around the orbits, (3) infant surgery and extensive use of craniectomy bone, (4) frequent use of onlay bone grafts, (5) a variety of lesser technical refinements, (6) antibiotic use and anesthetic modifications, and (7) consistent team organization . No deaths or blindness have occurred in any patients in the entire series.

Infect Immun, 1980 May, 28(2), 310 - 3
Immune responses to Rickettsia akari infection in congenitally athymic nude mice; Kenyon RH et al.; Athymic BALB/c nude mice and euthymic BALB/c mice were infected with Rickettsia akari by the intraperitoneal route . The rickettsialpox infection was terminated in euthymic mice with only two intraperitoneal injections of the antibiotic oxytetracycline, whereas prolonged treatment was necessary to terminate the infection in athymic mice . Both athymic and euthymic mice produced specific antibody, but athymic mice were still susceptible to reinfection . Killed R . akari served as a protective immunogen in euthymic, but no in athymic, mice . When spleen cells from convalescent euthymic mice were transferred to syngeneic athymic mice, recipients showed protection against challenge . This suggests that a T-cell-dependent step is generally necessary to terminate the rickettsialpox infection.

J Gen Microbiol, 1980 May, 118(Pt 1), 189 - 95
Regulation by aromatic amino acids of the biosynthesis of candicidin by Streptomyces griseus; Gil JA et al.; The biosynthesis by Streptomyces griseus of candicidin, an aromatic polyene macrolide antibiotic, was inhibited by L-tryptophan, L-phenylalanine and, to a lesser degree, by L-tyrosine . A mixture of the three aromatic amino acids inhibited candicidin biosynthesis to a greater extent than did each amino acid separately . L-Tryptophan strongly inhibited the incorporation of the labelled precursors propionate or 4-aminobenzoic acid into candicidin . Incorporation of propionate into candicidin was 50% inhibited by 2.5 mM-tryptophan . Inhibition by tryptophan did not require protein synthesis as the same effect was observed in cells in which protein synthesis was prevented by chloramphenicol . The inhibitory effect of L-tryptophan was partially reversed by exogenous 4-aminobenzoic acid suggesting that this effect is exerted at the level of 4-aminobenzoic acid synthase.

J Protozool, 1980 May, 27(2), 202 - 8
Effect of fumagillin on in vitro multiplication of Encephalitozoon cuniculi; Shadduck JA; Encephalitozoon cuniculi (Levaditi, Nicolau & Schoen) is an obligate intracellular pathogenic parasite of rabbits, carnivores, laboratory rodents, and a variety of other mammals . Cell cultures of rabbit and canine cells were infected with rabbit and dog isolates of E . cuniculi . Four days later 5 microgram/ml of fumagillin was introduced into the culture medium . The multiplication of the parasite was inhibited within 48 h and this effect was maintained as long as the antibiotic remained in the medium . There was no effect when spores and proliferative forms of the parasite were incubated with fumagillin before being used for infecting host cells . No infection occurred, however, if the antibiotic was added to the culture medium before introduction of E . cuniculi . On electron-microscopic examination, the treated parasites were found to have severe cytoplasmic swelling, vesicular distortion of the plasma membrane, and marked reduction in cytoplasmic ribosomes . it was concluded that fumagillin blocks multipliation of E . cuniculi in vitro . The drug may be useful for the treatment or prevention of spontaneous encephalitozoonosis.

J Antibiot (Tokyo), 1980 May, 33(5), 494 - 500
Interaction of oleficin with the inner membrane of rat liver mitochondria; Meszaros L et al.; The effects of oleficin, a polyene antibiotic of the nonmacrolide type, on isolated rat liver mitochondria were studied . Oleficin at a concentration of about 10 nmoles/mg protein increases both the rate of state 4 respiration and the "basal" ATPase activity of mitochondria . In contrast to this it inhibits the rate of both state 3 and uncoupled respiration and the DNP-stimulated ATPase activity . These inhibitions can be prevented by low concentrations (2 approximately 5 mM) of magnesium ions . Oleficin induces a high amplitude swelling of non-respiring mitochondria in the isoosmotic nitrate and chloride solutions of K+, Na+, Tris+, Tea+ or Mg2+ . In contrast to that it does not induce swelling of mitochondria treated with ruthenium red in isoosmotic calcium acetate . Indirect evidence suggests that oleficin increases also the proton permeability of the inner membrane . The swelling observed in the isoosmotic solutions of monovalent cations can be prevented by low concentration (2 approximately 5 mM) of Mg2+ . In the presence of the antibiotic Mg2+ and Ca2+ but not K+ and Na+, are transferred from an aqueous phase into a butanol-toluene bulk phase . Oleficin depletes Mg2+ and Ca2+ from mitochondria in a concentration dependent manner . Complete depletion of Mg2+ occurs only in the presence of EDTA, while that of Ca2+ does not need the chelator . It is concluded that the effects of oleficin on mitochondrial functions can be explained on the basis of an increase of the inner membrane permeability as the consequence of the depletion of Mg2+ from mitochondria caused by the antibiotic.

J Bacteriol, 1980 May, 142(2), 499 - 507
Effect of mitochondrial functions on synthesis of yeast cytochrome c; Siemens TV et al.; The effects of the mitochondrial protein synthesis inhibitor chloramphenicol and the mitochondrial F0 adenosine triphosphatase inhibitor oligomycin on the synthesis of nucleus-encoded cytochrome c protein were studied . Both inhibitors stimulated cytochrome c protein synthesis in the derepressed state (growth in media containing 2% raffinose) but had no effect on the synthesis of the cytochrome c protein in the repressed state (growth in media containing 5% glucose) . Oligomycin uncoupled the synthesis of the apoprotein from its processing into the hemoprotein . Neither antibiotic had a significant effect on the rate of glucose repression of cytochrome protein synthesis . The kinetics of cytochrome c derepression and the effects of these two antibiotics on these kinetics were also studied . Cells were derepressed by transfer from glucose- to faffinose-containing media, and the rate of cytochrome c synthesis increased from the repressed to the derepressed level during the second hour of derepression . Chloramphenicol delayed this derepression, but after 5 h the rate of cytochrome c protein synthesis increased to twice the rate of synthesis in uninhibited cells . On the other hand, oligomycin inhibited derepression of cytochrome c . These results are discussed with respect to the effects of mitochondrial function in the derepressed and repressed states and during the processes of repression and derepression of cytochrome c.

Can J Neurol Sci, 1980 May, 7(2), 163 - 7
Meningo-ependymitis in Whipple's disease; Lapointe LR et al.; Six years after apparent complete recovery from intestinal Whipple's disease, a 56 year old man developed insidious progressive somnolence and gait ataxia . Studies showed hydrocephalus with obstruction of the aqueduct and CSF leukocytosis and elevated protein . Arachnoid biopsy during craniotomy revealed chronic inflammatory infiltration with PAS-positive macrophages . The patient died 5 years later despite two courses of antibiotic therapy . This is the first report of histologically confirmed cerebral Whipple's disease during life . Whipple's disease is a systemic infectious disorder . Cerebral involvement even in neurologically asymptomatic patients should be sought with periodic CSF cytologic studies and a search for hydrocephalus . The possibility of cerebral Whipple's disease should be considered in the presence of unexplained hydrocephalus and/or chronic inflammatory changes in the spinal fluid, especially in those with past or active intestinal disease.

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 1980 May, 77(5), 2524 - 7
Transfer of mannose from GDP-mannose to lipid-linked oligosaccharide by soluble mannosyl transferase; Spencer JP et al.; A solubilized mannosyl transferase(s) was obtained by treatment of the pig aorta particulate enzyme with the nonionic detergent Nonidet P-40 followed by centrifugation at 100,000 X g for 60 min . This enzyme preparation catalyzed the transfer of mannose from GDP-{14C}mannose (but not from {14C}mannosylphosphoryldolichol) to form a heptasaccharide-lipid . The synthesis of this heptasaccharide-lipid required the addition of an acceptor lipid that was isolated from pig liver . The oligosaccharide portion of the acceptor lipid appeared to be a mixture of trisaccharide and pentasaccharide . The formation of heptasaccharide-lipid did not require divalent cation, was not inhibited by EDTA, and was not inhibited by the antibiotic amphomycin . The heptasaccharide portion of the heptasaccharide-lipid had the same migration properties on paper chromatograms in two different solvent systems as a previously characterized Man5GlcNAc2 oligosaccharide {Li, E . & Kornfeld, S . (1979) J . Biol . Chem . 254, 2754-2758} . It also had the same migration properties as the oligosaccharide that accumulates in the presence of amphomycin . All three of these oligosaccharides emerged from a Bio-Gel P-4 column in the same position . Radioactive mannose was released from the heptasaccharide by digestion with alpha-mannosidase . These data demonstrate that at least some of the alpha-linked mannose residues in the heptasaccharide-lipid are donated directly from GDP-mannose.

Antibiotiki, 1980 May, 25(5), 359 - 63
{Replication and transcription in Drosophila cells treated with novobiocin}; Leibovich BA; The effect of novobiocin on replication and transcription in the cells of Drosophila was investigated by incorporation of 3H-thymidine and 3H-uridine into the diploid cell nuclei of the ganglia and imaginal discs, as well as into the polythene nuclei of the salivary gland cells of the Drosophila larvae . An inhibitory effect of the antibiotic on these processes was shown . Possible mechanisms of the novobiocin effect on DNA and RNA synthesis are discussed.

Int J Gynaecol Obstet, 1980 May-Jun, 17(6), 564 - 6
Heparin therapy in postcesarean septic pelvic thrombophlebitis; Malkamy H; Eleven cases of septic pelvic thrombophlebitis and persistant fever following cesarean section and cesarean hysterectomy are presented . Addition of heparin to the antibiotic regimen of these patients produced a clinical response within 1--5 days, except in two patients who developed septic pulmonary emboli, which finally resolved with continued heparin therapy . An incidental finding was a high incidence of pelvic thrombophlebitis following hypogastric artery ligation . The results justify a trial of heparin therapy, before resorting to exploratory laparotomy, in postpelvic surgery patients who have unexplained fever.

Biochemistry, 1980 Apr 29, 19(9), 1928 - 33
Differential effects on energy transduction processes by fluorescamine derivatives in rat liver mitochondria; Ramirez F et al.; Intact rat liver mitochondria were treated with compounds derived from the reaction of fluorescamine with various types of primary amines, including the mycosamine-containing antibiotics amphotericin B and nystatin . The effect of varying amounts of these compounds on ATPase-linked inorganic phosphate (Pi) formation on oxygen consumption, and on MgATP-linked and succinate-linked proton movements was examined . The antibiotic-fluorescamine compounds did not affect the Pi formation rate but strongly inhibited both the ATPase-linked and the succinate-linked H+ extrusion rates to approximately the same extent . The antibiotic derivatives decreased the oxygen consumption rate, but this effect was much smaller than the decrease in the respiration-dependent proton extrusion rate . The benzylamine-fluorescamine compound significantly increased the Pi formation rate, in contrast to the antibiotic analogues . The benzylamine derivative, like the antibiotic derivatives, inhibited both types of proton extrusion rates . The slight decrease in the oxygen consumption rate caused by the benzylamine derivative was significantly smaller than the corresponding decrease observed with the antibiotic derivatives . These studies, in which fluorescamine derivatives bind reversibly to mitochondria, are compared with previous studies in which fluorescamine itself binds irreversibly to mitochondria and results in a Pi formation rate increase and MgATP- and succinate-linked proton extrusion rate inhibition but has no effect on the oxygen consumption rate.

Med Clin (Barc), 1980 Apr 10, 74(7), 268 - 70
{Primary peritonitis . Study of four cases (author's transl)}; Badosa Gallart F et al.; Four cases of primary peritonitis in the adult, with favourable evolution, are presented . This is a rare condition which still involves a not unappreaciable mortality rate . The treatment was surgical in three cases, in one case a paracentesis was performed and antibiotics were administered . The treatment included an exploratory laparotomy, smear with Gram stain and culture of the pus, washing of the peritoneal cavity with isotonic saline solution, appendectomy, closing of the abdominal cavity without drainage and parenteral antibiotic therapy . Exclusive medical treatment carries a greater risk of complications and should be reserved for those patients in very precarious general condition.

Med J Aust, 1980 Apr 5, 1(7), 323 - 4
Pseudotumour cerebri associated with minocycline therapy for acne; Beran RG; A case of pseudotumour cerebri (PTC) in a 13-year-old girl is reported . This patient experienced menarche seven months before presentation, and subsequently developed acne which necessitated antibiotic therapy . She had been treated with minocycline hydrochloride (100 mg twice a day) for two months before admission to hospital . The role of minocycline therapy associated with menarche in the aetiology of PTC is discussed.

Biochem Genet, 1980 Apr, 18(3-4), 263 - 80
Search for ribosomal mutants in Podospora anserina: genetic analysis of mutants resistant to paromomycin; Dequard M et al.; It has recently been shown that paromomycin, an antibiotic of the aminoglycoside family, is also active on eukaryotic cytoplasmic ribosomes . In the fungus Podospora anserina, genetic analysis of ten mutants resistant to high doses of paromomycin shows that this resistance is caused by mutations in two different nuclear genes . These mutants display pleiotropic phenotypes (cold sensitivity, mycelium and spore appearance and coloration, cross-resistance to other antibiotics) . Double mutants are either lethal or very altered and unstable . Moreover, the cytochrome spectra of these mutants seem to indicate that cytoplasmic protein synthesis is affected . The mutants also display a slight suppressor effect . We can therefore assume that these mutations affect cytoplasmic ribosomes.

Z Orthop Ihre Grenzgeb, 1980 Apr, 118(2), 200 - 7
{Results and experiences about the treatment of exogenous chronic osteomyelitis with the flow-irrigation -- suction method (author's transl)}; Lehnhardt K; A report is given on the results of an examination of 25 patients with exogenous chronic osteomyelitis, that was treated by a twin-flow-irrigation-technique at the orthopedic department Balgrist (Zurich) . Modifications of this technique are also discussed . In addition to the discussion of general principles and techniques of this method, the problems of choice of the antibiotic mixture and the duration of application are also dealt with . Etiology, surgical procedure and germ distribution of the twin-flow-irrigation-technique are also mentioned . Follow-up checks have indicated good to very good results in 3/4 of all cases, long preoperative infection periods and repeated surgical treatment, however, impair the prognosis.

Jpn J Antibiot, 1980 Apr, 33(4), 472 - 7
{Stability of sulbenicillin and cefacetrile in bile (author's transl)}; Yoshida M et al.; The antibiotic activity of sulbenicillin and cefacetrile was determined after storage at -20 degrees C for up to 7 days in human gall-bladder and common duct bile . In gall-bladder bile, both drugs could not retain their initial activity after 3 days . The decay curves in antibiotic activity in the ductal bile revealed large variations, as given in Figs . 5 and 6 . The 7th day activity of both drugs decreased with the rise in initial pH level of bile . Significant correlation was noted between bile acid concentration in bile and cefacetrile activity on the 7th day.

Jpn J Antibiot, 1980 Apr, 33(4), 466 - 71
{Studies on the stability of aclacinomycin hydrochloride . I . Stability of solution of aclacinomycin hydrochloride (author's transl)}; Mori S et al.; Aclacinomycin is an antitumor anthracycline antibiotic isolated from the culture broth of Streptomyces galilaeus MA144-M1 . In this study, the effects of heat, light and pH on the aqueous solution of aclacinomycin hydrochloride (ACM-HCl) were investigated . The following results were found: (1) The kinetic studies revealed that the thermal inactivation of ACM-HCl solution (pH 4.5) was based on the apparent first-order reaction and that Arrhenius equation was confirmed to be established between the rate constants and temperatures . When ACM-HCl solution was stored at 20, 10 and 5 degrees C, the estimated term of ACM-HCl solution at the time when the initial activity (100%) reduced to 90% residual concentration was 1.5, 6 and 12 months, respectively . (2) It was clarified by pH-log k profile that ACM-HCl solution was most stable near at pH 4.5 . (3) The higher the buffer concentration was used, the faster the degradation rate, but there was no difference between the residual activity ratios at the various concentrations of ACM-HCl solution . (4) The inactivation of ACM-HCl solution under sunlight occurred in a type of zero-order reaction so that the faster inactivation rates were obtained at the more diluted concentration of ACM-HCl . (5) The major degradation products of ACM-HCl solution were 1-deoxypyrromycin (DP), MA144 S1 (S1) and bisanhydroaklavinone (F1) . DP and S1 were mainly found at pH below 4.0 and F1 at pH above 5.0 . The degradation under sunlight gave L1 (N-monodemethyl ACM) accompanied by the degradation of aglycone moiety in part.

Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 1980 Apr, 17(4), 699 - 706
Dissociation between the induction of potassium efflux and cytostatic activity of polyene macrolides in mammalian cells; Malewicz B et al.; The paper contains data on the induction of K+ efflux and viability of baby hamster kidney (BHK-21) cells after their treatment with macrolide antibiotics inducing specific pores in membrane . New water-soluble semisynthetic derivatives of amphotericin B and aureofacin (N-glycosyl and trimethylammonium methyl ester derivatives) as well as the parent compounds were used to compare the concentration of antibiotics inducing permeabilizing and cytostatic effects . We found that a two- to eight-times-higher concentration of polyene antibiotic was required to observe a cytostatic effect than for release of 50% of the cellular potassium (K50 concentration) from BHK-21 cells . These differences were larger for water-soluble derivatives than for the parent compounds . The amount of intracellular potassium in treated cells incubated under optimal growth conditions was higher than in cells which had been further washed with K+-free maintenance medium . The membrane permeability changes induced by low concentrations of specific polyenes were observed to be reversible . BHK-21 cells were able to repair polyene-induced membrane permeability within 3 to 12 h under optimal growth conditions, after cell treatment with K50 concentration of specific macrolide antibiotics . The repair phenomenon is postulated as an explanation for the dissociation observed between permeabilizing and cytostatic effect of specific polyenes in BHK-21 cells.

Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 1980 Apr, 17(4), 526 - 9
Cefoxitin penetration into cerebrospinal fluid in patients with purulent meningitis; Galvao PA et al.; The penetration of cefoxitin into cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was studied in 25 patients with purulent meningitis treated with antibiotics other than cefoxitin . Each patient received three 2-g doses of cefoxitin at 6-h intervals . Blood and CSF samples were obtained before and at 2, 4, or 6 h after the first and third doses . CSF cefoxitin concentrations were found in all patients and varied between 1.2 and 22.0 microgram/ml, with a majority of the concentrations falling within a range from 1.2 to 6.2 microgram/ml . The concentrations tended to be higher in CSF samples drawn after the third cefoxitin dose than in those drawn after the first cefoxitin dose, indicating an accumulation of cefoxitin in CSF with repeated doses . Peak cefoxitin concentrations in CSF seemed to occur between 2 and 6 h after intravenous administration of the drug since the highest concentrations were found in patients from whom CSF samples were taken 4 h after the doses . In patients with bacterial meningitis, it should be possible to achieve therapeutic cefoxitin levels in CSF by using nontoxic doses of the antibiotic.

Mech Ageing Dev, 1980 Apr, 12(4), 339 - 53
Accuracy of in vitro protein synthesis: translation of polyuridylic acid by cell-free extracts of human fibroblasts; Buchanan JH et al.; Errors in translation have been measured in cell-free protein synthesising extracts derived from cultured MRC-5 human diploid fibroblasts of limited lifespan . Using polyuridylic acid as messenger, the error frequency for the misincorporation of leucine was 1-2% . It was found that varying the concentration of leucine increased the error frequency for leucine misincorporation . No difference could be detected in the accuracy of translation with increasing cell age, from passage 25 to 55 . The aminoglycoside antibiotic, paromomycin, was shown to have a profound effect on the leucine misincorporation, increasing the error frequency of this amino acid twenty-to fortyfold . However, there was no difference in the paromomycin-induced errors wtih increasing cell age . Another effect of this antibiotic is that it inhibits the incorporation of the cognate amino acid phenylalanine . It was found that passage 55 cell extracts were less inhibited by paromomycin than similar extracts made from lower passage cells (passages 25 and 40) . When the accuracy of translation of cell extracts made from human transformed cells (HeLa) and untransformed cells (MRC-5) was compared, no detectable difference could be found . Paromomycin increased the leucine errors in extracts made from HeLa cells to a similar degree to that observed for MRC-5 fibroblasts.

J Pediatr Surg, 1980 Apr, 15(2), 193 - 4
Intestinal strangulation between two vertebra following an axial dislocation of L1/L2; Metaizeau JP et al.; An exceptional cause of intestinal obstruction is reported . Ileus is an 8-yr-old boy persisted for 9 days after successful reduction of an axial dislocation of L1 on L2 . At laparotomy, a paraduodenal hernia with bowel strangulated between the bodies of L1 and L2 was discovered . The successful treatment consisted of cleaning out the intervertebral space, resection of the necrotic bowel with anastomosis, antibiotic therapy, and a plaster jacket worn for 3 mo.

J Infect Dis, 1980 Apr, 141(4), 510 - 7
Uptake of gentamicin by separated, viable renal tubules from rabbits; Barza M et al.; The proximal renal tubules have a marked affinity for gentamicin; they also are the major site of nephrotoxicity caused by this drug . The uptake of radiolabeled gentamicin in separated, viable renal tubules prepared by enzymatic digestion of rabbit kidneys was studied . The preparations showed rapid initial uptake of gentamicin followed by continued slower uptake . Accumulation was not affected by pH, but was significantly inhibited by ouabain, dinitrophenol, anoxia, and hypothermia in the absence of evident cellular damage . At gentamicin concentrations of greater than 50 microgram/ml in the medium, there was competition for drug uptake . Gentamicin efflux in tubules that were taken from a medium containing antibiotic and placed into antibiotic-free fluid was slow and incomplete . From these data it appears that gentamicin uptake by separated renal tubules occurs by a process that requires metabolic energy; thereafter, the drug resides in a poorly exchangeable cellular pool.

Antibiotiki, 1980 Apr, 25(4), 296 - 9
{Benemycin (rifampicin) concentration in the sex gland excretions in chronic prostatitis}; Dobrovol'skaia LI et al.; Penetration of benemycin (rifampicin) into the prostate secretion and ejaculate of patients with chronic bacterial prostatitis was studied . It was found that oral administration of the drug in a dose of 300 mg 2 times a day provided bacteriostatic concentrations of the antibiotic in the sexual gland excretions and the treatment efficacy of patients with prostatitis.

Antibiotiki, 1980 Apr, 25(4), 289 - 94
{Action of carminomycin on the structural integrity, primary damage susceptibility and postradiation regeneration of the DNA from Erhlich's ascitic carcinoma}; Paranosenkova VI et al.; Carminomycin added to the cell culture of Ehrlichs ascites carcinoma (EAC) induced single breaks in DNA whose number increased proportionally to the amount of the antibiotic and the incubation time with it (up to 1 hour) . The relationship between the incubation time and DNA injury is first of all defined by the necessity for the antibiotic metabolic activation or the properties of endonucleases . No increase in the number of one-thread breaks during the incubation period of 60 to 120 minutes indicated a possible reparation of DNA injury induced by the antibiotic in the late periods . The exposure of the EAC cells to carminomycin before gamma-irradiation did not result in any increase in the primary radiation injury to DNA but suppressed DNA postradiation reparation.

Antibiotiki, 1980 Apr, 25(4), 280 - 4
{Experimental study of the effect of rifampicin on the embryogenesis of white rats}; Anufrieva RG et al.; The embryotoxic and teratogenic effects of rifampicin were studied on Wistar albino rats exposed to the antibiotic inhalations during the whole period of gravidity . It was found that in the concentrations used (6.1 +/- 0.4 and 0.81 +/- 0.08 mg/m3) the antibiotic did not induce any increase in the rate of the fetus intrauterine death or any pronounced anomaly in the fetus development . Still, at higher concentrations there was a decrease in the anthropometric characteristics of the fetus, higher incidence of hemoperitoneum and disorders in liver and renal functions of the 2-month-old progeny . The damaging effect of rifampicin on the fetus should be considered as mediated since it was observed in the presence of disorders in the mother's body (changes in liver and renal function, suppressed phagocytosis).

Circulation, 1980 Apr, 61(4), 855 - 61
Two-dimensional echocardiographic findings in right-sided infective endocarditis; Berger M et al.; M-mode and two-dimensional echocardiograms were recorded in 12 narcotic addicts who had right-sided infective endocarditis . The two-dimensional echocardiogram showed vegetations in 10 patients (nine tricuspid and one pulmonic), while the M-mode echocardiogram was positive in six (five tricuspid and one pulmonic) . The use of multiple transducer positions resulted in better visualization of the valves and appeared to be an important reason for the large number of positive two-dimensional echocardiograms . Echocardiographic findings were also available after completion of antibiotic therapy in seven of 10 patients . Of these seven patients, the vegetation appeared unchanged in three, diminished in size in three and was no longer visualized in one . No patient required valve replacement . Two-dimensional echocardiography using a wide-angle sector scanner appears to offer distinct advantages over the standard M-mode technique in evaluating patients with right-sided infective endocarditis.

Obstet Gynecol, 1980 Apr, 55(4), 511 - 4
Pregnancy in a patient with cystic fibrosis and idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura; Friedman AJ et al.; A pregnant patient with cystic fibrosis and idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is presented . Management of the pregnancy was complicated by the coexistence of the 2 diseases and consisted of antibiotic therapy, prolonged hospitalization, bed rest, exogenous pancreatic enzyme replacement, bronchodilators, blood and platelet transfusions, and high-dose steroids . A good outcome was obtained with cesarean section performed under local anesthesia at 32 weeks' gestation . Recommendations from the literature for the management of each disease are discussed.

Z Kinderchir Grenzgeb, 1980 Apr, 29(4), 283 - 91
Abrasion method for the immediate management of surface thermal injuries of childhood; nii-Amon-Kotei D et al.; Retrospectively 173 cases of surface thermal injuries of childhood have been reviewed according to their respective modes of immediate surgical management of abrasion, open and closed-air treatment and discussed with reference to some publications . Despite the application of antibiotic or antiphlogistic dressings in the other two groups, the abrasion method using high speed rotating grinding heads to convert the burn into an easily manageable surgical wound shows a lesser frequency of infection and inflammation and promotes quick natural healing . The method which is not widely used proves conducive in the management of burns in childhood.

Jpn J Antibiot, 1980 Apr, 33(4), 514 - 21
{Fundamental and clinical studies of sustained release cephalexin (L-Keflex) in the field of oral surgery (author's transl)}; Morihana T et al.; L-Keflex is a newly manufactured cephalexin product in order to maintain effective blood level of the drug for a long period of time . The results of the fundamental and clinical studies are as follows: 1 . Mean blood levels of the drug after its single oral dose of 1 g in fasting in 22 cases before operations were: 7.19 mcg/ml at 2 hours (peak), 4.35 mcg/ml at 4 hours, 4.21 mcg/ml at 6 hours, 2.47 mcg/ml at 8 hours and 1.81 mcg/ml at 12 hours, respectively . Existence of the drug in blood was observed for a long period of time . 2 . The distribution into the tissues of L-Keflex was generally good . The tissue levels in 19 of 22 samples ranged from 1.30 to 18.0 mcg/g, but 3 samples did not detect the drug in the tissues . Tissue level/blood level ratios were 0.19 approximately 2.67 . 3 . Half of 30 cases with mild dental infections was treated with a daily dose of 1 g with clinical response of 60.0%, and the other half with 2 g was 78.6% in clinical response . The overall efficacy rate was 69.0% . 4 . As a side effect of the drug, only one of 52 cases (fundamental 22 cases, clinical 30 cases) complained of edema on both eyelids . No . abnormality was observed in blood finding, hepatic and/or renal function . From the above results, it is considered that L-Keflex is an effective antibiotic product in infections in the field of oral surgery . Also, L-Keflex has an advantage in that its administration frequence (b.i.d) is less than that of regular cephalexin (q.i.d.).

Mol Gen Genet, 1980 Apr, 178(1), 233 - 5
Curing of Escherichia coli K12 plasmids by coumermycin; Danilevskaya ON et al.; Low concentrations of the antibiotic coumermycin A1, the inhibitor of bacterial DNA gyrase, effectively eliminate pBR322, pMB9 and other ColE 1 related plasmids from E . coli K12 strains . The curing action of antibiotic seems to result from the plasmid degradation and not just from the inhibition of replication.

Jpn J Antibiot, 1980 Apr, 33(4), 453 - 65
{Irritative effect of aclacinomycin A on the eye mucous membrane, skin and muscle (author's transl)}; Ohmori K et al.; Aclacinomycin A, a new anthracycline antitumor antibiotic, was given to rabbits by single instillation or single intracutaneous injection and to guinea pigs by single subcutaneous or intramuscular injection to examine the irritative effect . Slight dilatation of blood vessel and swelling in the conjunctiva and nictitating membrane were observed in the eyes of rabbits given 1% solution . Edema in the bulbar conjunctiva, iris and cornea was histologically noted . Washing of the eyes after drug instillation prevented these damages . Subcutaneous and intracutaneous injections of 1% solution (0.2 ml) gave hyperemia, swelling and necrosis at injection site . Cellular infiltration, fibrosis and necrosis were histologically detected . Intramuscular injection of 1% solution (0.2 ml) also provided induration and swelling at injection site . Histologically cellular infiltration and necrosis were observed . These irritative effects were much slighter in administration of 0.1% solution . No change was observed with 0.01% solution.

Jpn J Antibiot, 1980 Apr, 33(4), 436 - 52
{Effect of aclacinomycin A on bone marrow (author's transl)}; Ohmori K et al.; Japan White rabbits were treated with aclacinomycin A, a new anthracycline antitumor antibiotic, at a dose of 6.25 or 25.0 mg/kg by single intravenous, or 12.5 or 50.0 mg/kg by single oral administration, respectively . Beagle dogs were treated at a dose of 3.0 or 6.0 mg/kg by single intravenous injection . In rabbits in higher dose groups, RBC and WBC counts as well as lymphocyte ratio in peripheral blood decreased on day 1 . Nucleated cell counts and erythroid elements in bone marrow decreased to raise M/E ratio (Myeloid/Erythroid ratio) on day 3 . In a dog given at 6.0 mg/kg, WBC and platelet counts, lymphocyte and neutrocyte per cents in peripheral blood and also nucleated cells, particularly erythroid elements in bone marrow remarkably decreased on day 3 accompanied with an increase in M/E ratio . These changes were almost completely recovered by day 14 in both animals . No abnormalities were found in lower dose groups . Male Wistar rats, treated with the drug at a dose of 1.5 mg/kg by daily intraperitoneal injection for 30 days, showed slight decreases in peripheral WBC and RBC counts and M/E ratio in bone marrow . No change was observed in rats treated at 0.75 mg/kg and less for 30 days.

Aust N Z J Surg, 1980 Apr, 50(2), 194 - 6
Necrotizing gastritis and phlegmonous gastritis--are they separate entities?
Webster VJ.
Phlegmonous gastritis, although a rare condition, is a submucosal bacterial infection strictly confined to the stomach with characteristic macroscopic and histological findings . A case of necrotizing gastritis with perforation is presented, and another similar case is reviewed, in which the gross and microscopic features are considerably different from those ascribed to classical phlegmonous gastritis . There was no evidence of an infectious aetiology in either case, and the predominant feature was necrosis . It is proposed that this variant may represent a separate disease entity of unknown aetiology . A combination of early radical gastric resection and vigorous antibiotic therapy appears to be the treatment of choice in both classical phlegmonous gastritis and necrotizing gastritis.

Aust N Z J Med, 1980 Apr, 10(2), 139 - 45
Clinical settings in pseudomembranous colitis; Goulston SJ et al.; Renewed interest in pseudomembranous colitis (PMC) has occurred in recent years due to an increased incidence following the introduction of the antibiotics clindamycin and lincomycin . However, the disease was well known before the antibiotic era . In this paper the histopathological features are reemphasised and the similarity to early amoebic colitis is stressed . From a background of 32 patients, some unusual clinical settings are described . These consist of an association with renal transplantation; the demonstration of the lesion on the mucosal surface of rectal polypi and metaplastic bladder mucosa; its occurrence in an area of isolated ileum presenting as a "blind loop syndrome"; and examples suggesting that this disease can exist for quite long periods of time or may recur several times in the same patient.

Acta Endocrinol (Copenh), 1980 Apr, 93(4), 385 - 91
Further studies on the inactivation of thyrotrophin releasing hormone (TRH) by enzymes in the rat hypothalamus; Griffiths EC et al.; Thyrotrophin-releasing hormone (TRH) is known to be inactivated by enzymes present in the rat hypothalamus . To make a further study of the enzymes' action on the tripeptide, synthetic TRH was incubated with two hypothalamic subcellular fractions . By using a direct radioimmunoassay for TRH, the tripeptide was shown to be rapidly degraded by both supernatant and particulate fractions, with higher enzyme activity in the particulate fraction . Of several biologically-active peptides tested, only luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone was found to inhibit TRH inactivation; bacitracin, a polypeptide antibiotic, was also effective in inhibiting inactivation . Enzyme activity was highest in the middle hypothalamic area and lowest in the posterior hypothalamic area . Thin layer chromatography of the products of enzyme cleavage revealed the formation of only deamidated TRH in the supernatant fraction and the constitutent amino acids (pyroGlu, His, ProNH2) and histidylproline-diketopiperazine by the particular fraction, suggesting the presence of an amidase in the supernatant and two peptidases in the particulate fractions . These properties of the enzymes inactivating TRH may indicate that the enzymes could be of importance in regulating the endocrine and other functions attributed to this hypothalamic regulatory hormone.

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 1980 Apr, 77(4), 1970 - 4
Roles of chromophore and apo-protein in neocarzinostatin action; Kappen LS et al.; The methanol-extractable, nonprotein chromophore of the antitumor, protein antibiotic neocarzinostatin (NCS) has at least the full activity of the parent compound in inhibiting DNA synthesis and growth of HeLa cells and in causing DNA strand breaks in vivo and in vitro . In vitro DNA strand scission by the chromophore is markedly stimulated by 2-mercaptoethanol and is inhibited by guanidine hydrochloride and alpha-tocopherol . By high-pressure liquid chromatography, this activity has been localized to fractions eluting at greater than 90% methanol and having fluorescence emission at 420 nm (excitation at 340 nm) . The apo-protein of NCS is inactive by itself but complexes with the chromophore so as to regulate its availability during the in vitro reaction . In DNA strand scission the chromophore acts rapidly at both 0 and 37 degrees C, whereas native and reconstituted NCS are inactive at 0 degrees C and slowly active at 37 degrees C . Complex formation with apo-NCS stabilizes the chromophore . Reconstitution of NCS (pI 3.3) from chromophore and apo-protein (pI 3.2) was shown by both activity studies and isoelectric focusing on polyacrylamide gels . "Pre-NCS," the biosynthetic precursor of NCS, is identical to apo-NCS in amino acid composition, spectral properties, isoelectric focusing on polyacryl-amide gels, and ability to complex with isolated chromophore to form material with all the properties of native NCS.

J Virol, 1980 Apr, 34(1), 142 - 53
Effect of tunicamycin on herpes simplex virus glycoproteins and infectious virus production; Pizer LI et al.; The antibiotic tunicamycin, which blocks the synthesis of glycoproteins, inhibited the production of infectious herpes simplex virus . In the presence of this drug, {14C}glucosamine and {3H}mannose incorporation was reduced in infected cells, whereas total protein synthesis was not affected . Gel electrophoresis of {2-3H}mannose-labeled polypeptides failed to detect glycoprotein D or any of the other herpes simplex virus glycoproteins . By use of specific antisera we demonstrated that in the presence of tunicamycin the normal precursors to viral glycoproteins failed to appear . Instead, lower-molecular-weight polypeptides were found which were antigenically and structurally related to the glycosylated proteins . Evidence is presented to show that blocking the addition of carbohydrate to glycoprotein precursors with tunicamycin results in the disappearance of molecules, possibly due to degradation of the unglycosylated polypeptides . We infer that the added carbohydrate either stabilizes the envelope proteins or provides the proper structure for correct processing of the molecules needed for infectivity.

J Bacteriol, 1980 Apr, 142(1), 153 - 61
Inhibition of deoxyribonucleic acid gyrase: effects on nucleic acid synthesis and cell division in Escherichia coli K-12; Fairweather NF et al.; Mutants of Escherichia coli resistant to the antibiotic clorobiocin are also coumermycin resistant, and the mutation to resistance in at least one mutant was mapped near gyrB . We conclude, therefore, that clorobiocin inhibits deoxyribonucleic acid gyrase, and the drug was used to probe the role of this enzyme in vivo . Deozyribonucleic acid synthesis was preferentially inhibited but not completely blocked by the antibiotic . Transcription and cell division were also markedly affected . However, unlike other inhibitors of deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis, clorobiocin failed to induce the synthesis of protein X, the recA gene product . In mutants resistant to clorobiocin the replication velocity was unaffected, but initiation of deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis appeared to be delayed . We conclude that deoxyribonucleic acid gyrase, and hence the supercoiled structure of the chromosome, is important for transcription, normal initiation of deoxyribonucleic acid replication, and cell division . The possible role of deoxyribonucleic acid gyrase in the elongation of replication forks is also discussed.

Antibiotiki, 1980 Apr, 25(4), 256 - 60
{Effect of the extraction methods and drug form components on the determination of gramicidin C in buccal tablets}; Poliak MS et al.; The effect of solvents, extraction procedures and separate components of the troche mass on the results of biological activity determination of gramicidin S with the agar-diffusion method was studied . It was found that irrespective of the solvent and the number of extractions only 76--81 per cent of the antibiotic were determined in the troches . Fruit essence and sugar had a significant effect on the results of gramicidin S biological activity determination as compared to the other components of the dosage form . When accessory substances included in the troches were added to the standard solution, the values of their biological activity were close to the calculated ones.

Aktuelle Traumatol, 1980 Apr, 10(2), 65 - 72
{Nebacetin¿ and taurolin as intraoperative disinfectant solutions in surgery of the locomotor system (author's transl)}; Burri C et al.; The anti-infective preventive action of intraoperative disinfection with physiological solution containing antibiotics, appears to be firmly established, judging from numerous publications . Since germs are showing a world-wide increasing resistance, the search for antibiotics which continue to be effective must be kept up, but alternative suggestions are equally necessary . Some publications have already been presented indicating that success similar to that previously obtained with antibiotics is possible by using disinfectants in the prophylaxis and treatment of infections . Hence, a comparative study was conducted using the non-absorbable broad-spectrum antibiotic Nebacetin inverted question mark and the disinfectant Taurolin in a 1% solution with a group of patients subjected to a total of 7699 major and minor surgical operations . Prospectively, early infections during the stay of the patient in the hospital, als well as disturbed wound healing, were included . No significant difference was found in the number of infections and the rate of disturbed wound healing . Indirectly, it is possible to conclude with the help of results from literature that the disinfectant Taurolin is suitable as an addition to intra-operative rinsing in the prophylaxis of infections.

MMW Munch Med Wochenschr, 1980 Mar 21, 122(12), 431 - 4
{Cefazedone-results of a multicentre clinical test (author's transl)}; Koch E et al.; Cefazedone (Refosporin) was tested for efficacy and tolerance in 1161 patients . The trial was interrupted or unsuitable for evaluation in 54 cases . Diagnostical characteristics of the remaining 1107 patients tested for tolerance were: therapeutical and prophylactic use in surgery (37,5%) infections of the bronchial tract (30.8%), infections of the urogenital tract (17.9%), infections of the abdominocystic tract (6.2%), other infections (7,6%) . Of the 1085 patients tested for efficacy--in 22 cases the trial was interrupted because of undesired side effects (exanthema, nausea, local intolerance)--87% concerned exclusively antibiotic therapy with cefazedone . Cefazedone was administered only twice daily i . v . Combined medication with other antibiotics--mainly amino glycosides--was highly efficient.

Am J Obstet Gynecol, 1980 Mar 15, 136(6), 709 - 13
Management of acute chorioamnionitis; Gibbs RS et al.; Acute chorioamnionitis has been recognized as a major threat to both mother and fetus, but there has been little study of its therapy . On this service, the plan of management consists of parenteral, broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy and prompt action to effect delivery . Cesarean section was generally performed only when there were additional obstetric indications . No arbitrary time limit was set for the diagnosis-to-delivery interval . The perinatal mortality rate was increased fourfold, but few deaths could be attributed to infection . Maternal outcome was usually good following vaginal delivery and more complicated following abdominal delivery . Over 90% of patients were delivered within 12 hours of diagnosis of chorioamnionitis.

J Biol Chem, 1980 Mar 10, 255(5), 2169 - 75
Effect of tunicamycin on the biosynthesis of the major human red cell sialoglycoprotein, glycophorin A, in the leukemia cell line K562; Gahmberg CG et al.; The human continuous leukemia cell line K562 synthesizes and expresses on its surface the major red cell sialoglycoprotein, glycophorin A . Glycophorin A contains 1 N-glycosidic and 15 O-glycosidic oligosaccharides, which are attached to known sites on the polypeptide chain . By immune precipitation with specific anti-glycophorin A antiserum of radioactively labeled cells followed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, we have been able to study its biosynthesis in considerable detail . The synthesis of the N-glycosidic oligosaccharide of glycophorin A is inhibited by the antibiotic tunicamycin, while the O-glycosidic oligosaccharides are not affected . Incomplete glycophorin A, lacking the N-glycosidic oligosaccharide, is apparently incorporated normally into the surface membrane, but the total amount of glycophorin A is decreased . Thus, N-glycosylation is not necessary for externalization of glycophorin A.

Cardiovasc Dis, 1980 Mar, 7(1), 104 - 111
Wound complications after median sternotomy: A study of 61 patients from a consecutive series of 9,279; Ott DA et al.; Among a consecutive series of 9,279 sternotomies performed during a period of 2(1/2) years, 61 (0.66%) patients developed significant wound complications . Of these, 58 (95.1%) survived . Sternal infection occurred in 36 patients (0.39%) . Predisposing factors included chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes mellitus, obesity, closed chest massage, prolonged assisted ventilation, and excessive bleeding after operation . Positive end expiratory pressure (PEEP) did not, in itself, predispose to sternal dehiscence . Intermittent positive pressure breathing (IPPB) treatments caused excessive coughing, which may have increased the likelihood of dehiscence . Disposable drapes and expeditious surgery probably contributed to the low incidence of wound infection . Early diagnosis, surgical debridement, rewiring and primary closure with substernal drainage, without continuous antibiotic irrigation, resulted in satisfactory resolution in most patients.

Arch Latinoam Nutr, 1980 Mar, 30(1), 75 - 87
{Broad beans (Vicia fava, L.) as an alternative source of protein in chick diets}; Bezares A et al.; Three experiments were conducted to study the possibility of improving the nutritive value of broad beans (Vicia faba, L.) in poultry diets . In the first experiment, raw and autoclaved (1.0 kg/cm2/15 min) beans, with and without antibiotic supplementation, were studied . The results after 21 days showed no significant differences among treatments in regard to body weight . In feed conversion, however, a significant difference was observed when diets prepared with raw beans were supplemented with 20 ppm of flavomycin . In the second experiment raw and autoclaved beans were supplemented with 0, 10, and 20 ppm of virginiamycin and 200 and 400 ppm of flavomycin to study the effect of these two antibiotics . After 28 days, the results indicated no significant differences with antibiotic supplementation in either raw or autoclaved beans . However, a significant difference (P < 0.05) in body weight was found when beans were autoclaved . In the third experiment, two levels, 31 and 76% of raw and autoclaved beans, were included in the chick diets . The results in body weight, after 28 days, did not show any significant differences between raw and autoclaved beans fed at a 31% level . With the 76% level the autoclaved treatment, however, induced a significantly higher body weight than the diets containing raw beans.

Am J Gastroenterol, 1980 Mar, 73(3), 244 - 8
Comparative study of diarrhea associated with clindamycin and ampicillin therapy; Brause BD et al.; The incidence of diarrhea associated with clindamycin and ampicillin was studied prospectively among 606 adult inpatients during a 12-month period . Clindamycin was administered to 288 patients of whom 145 received clindamycin in combination with ampicillin . A comparable group of 318 patients received ampicillin alone . Underlying diseases, diets and medications other than antibiotics studied were implicated in the etiology of diarrhea in 25--40% of patients . The incidence of diarrhea due to ampicillin and clindamycin was 3.8 and 4.2%, respectively (P greater than 0.05) . The incidence of diarrhea in patients who received both drugs was 9.0% (P less than 0.05) . Diarrhea which developed after completion of antibiotic therapy was two-to-three fold longer in duration than that which occurred during drug administration . This finding underscores the necessity to follow patients closely for at least four to six weeks after receiving such medications.

Cardiovasc Res, 1980 Mar, 14(3), 154 - 60
Estimation of protein and DNA synthesis in allograft organ cultures as a measure of cell viability; Henney AM et al.; Viability of human heart valves obtained routinely at necropsy was compared with that of antibiotic sterilised bank allografts and pathological valves, obtained at surgery, by assessing DNA and protein synthesis and tissue culture . None of the post-mortem samples nor any of the bank allografts showed viability comparable with that of surgical material . These findings imply absence of significant viability in heart valves prepared for grafting.

Prostaglandins, 1980 Mar, 19(3), 455 - 6
Use of vaginal prostaglandin-E2 suppositories in septic abortion; Milano CT et al.; PIP: Prostaglandin-E2 vaginal suppositories were used to terminate a septic abortion in a 23-year-old multiparous female . The patient, at 18 weeks gestation, complained of 36 hours of ruptured membranes . Past obstetrical history included a Cesarean section at term for cephalo-pelvic disproportion . In an effort to avoid a potentially morbid hysterectomy, a trial of vaginal Prostaglandin-E2 suppositores was undertaken . 70 minutes after insertion of the first 20 milligram suppository, regular uterine contractions were noted . The patient was closely monitored for signs of vascular collapse and uterine rupture . 6 hours later a macerated fetus was expelled . The placenta remained loosely attached to the anterior uterine wall and required uneventful curettage for removal . Broad spectrum antibiotic coverage and supportive measures continued . The patient began apyrexic 10 hours following prostaglandin administration . The rapid and efficient results produced in this case suggest a new indication for vaginal Prostaglandin-E2 therapy for termination of septic mid-trimester abortions as long as close patient monitoring with appropriate antibiotic and supportive therapy are instituted .

J Antibiot (Tokyo), 1980 Mar, 33(3), 322 - 7
Pharmacokinetics of cefamandole in rabbits with experimentally induced renal impairment; Campillo JA et al.; The pharmacokinetics of cefamandole have been studied in rabbits with normal renal function and varying degrees of renal impairment caused experimentally, by uranyl nitrate, after i.v . administration of a single dose of 30 mg/kg of the antibiotic . The plasma concentrations of cefamandole 80 minutes after administration were 3 micrograms/ml in normal rabbits reaching 90 micrograms/ml at 9 hours in the case of terminal renal impairment . With respect to the pharmacokinetic parameters established in rabbits with normal renal function, the following modifications may be observed in the case of rabbits with renal impairment: alpha, beta, K12, K21, K13, Vc and Vp are decreased, while there is an increase in t 1/2 alpha, t 1/2 beta and (AUC)infinity 0 . Linear relationships have been established between log alpha and log beta, respectively, and serum creatinine . Biliary excretion of cefamandole is increased parallel to the increase in the degree of renal impairment, there being a linear relationship between the percentage excreted of the antibiotic and serum creatinine . The values of KB fall from 0.57 h-1 in rabbits with normal renal function, to 0.26 h-1 in rabbits with severe renal impairment.

Monatsschr Kinderheilkd, 1980 Mar, 128(3), 128 - 35
{Pylephlebitis after umbilical vein catheterization (author's transl)}; Wiedersberg H et al.; In spite of extensive precausions and antibiotic therapy, pylephlebitis was found in 11 of 200 dead newborns as complicat infection after umbilical vein catherization . All stages from local pylephlebitis to suppurative hepatitis were found . The clinical manifestations are not characteristic and therefore misinterpreted very often . Umbilical vein infection should be taken into account in every newborn child with or after umbilical vein catheterization, even when the umbilicus appears normal, when body temperature is rising, the general condition is turning to the worse, and icterus is increasing . Blood picture and transaminase values might be helpful parameters . Reviewing the literature and reporting a case of fatal portal hypertension, pylephlebitis after umbilical vein catheterization is shown as a possible cause of the pseudo-Banti-syndrome in children.

Hear Res, 1980 Mar, 2(2), 95 - 109
Threshold elevation at high frequencies of the auditory nerve action potentials in acute versus chronic recordings in guinea pigs; Cazals Y et al.; Thresholds of the auditory nerve compound action potential (CAP) responses to filtered clicks from 0.5 to 40 kHz, defining a CAP frequency threshold curve, have been determined in the same guinea pigs: (1) in acute conditions, the animal still anesthetized at the end of the operation for permanent implantation of a round-window electrode, and (2) several days later in the implanted awake and unrestrained animal . The results show higher CAP thresholds for high frequencies in acute conditions as compared to chronic recordings . This difference appears above about 12.5 kHz and increases progressively to around 40 dB at 40 kHz . Similar effects, although somewhat less pronounced, were observed during anesthesia alone in already implanted guinea pigs . Thes observations could explain the discrepancies which appear between electrophysiological thresholds, acutely recorded either from single fibers or whole-nerve responses, and behavioral audiograms . Moreover, in the accurate evaluation of the cochlea, slight impairments may be masked by this phenomenon as illustrated in guinea pigs treated with low doses of ototoxic antibiotic.

Ann Surg, 1980 Mar, 191(3), 264 - 70
Acute cholangitis; Boey JH et al.; The features of cholangitis were analyzed in 99 consecutive cases treated in the last ten years . The disease was severe and refractory in half the cases due to malignant stricture, and in 20% of those due to gallstones . Benign strictures, sclerosing cholangitis, and most cases of choledocholithiasis were associated with less severe cholangitis, which responded promptly to antibiotic therapy . High fever, a serum bilirubin level above 4 mg/dl, and hypotension characterized the most severe refractory cases in which emergency surgery was mandatory . Patients without manifestations were nearly always controlled successfully with antibiotics . We conclude that the term "suppurative cholangitis" is an unsatisfactory synonym for severe cholangitis, because the correlation between biliary suppuration and clinical manifestations in cholangitis is inexact; some patients with severe sepsis do not have pus in the bile duct, and a few patients with suppurative bile are only moderately ill.

Antibiotiki, 1980 Mar, 25(3), 201 - 6
{Pharmacokinetic basis of the nephrotoxic action of sisomycin . The pharmacokinetics of sisomycin in single and multiple administrations to rats}; Firsov AA et al.; The pharmacokinetics of sisomicin was studied on Wistar rats . The antibiotic was used in single or repeated doses of 12.5 and 25 mg/kg . The kinetic data of the antibiotic titration in blood serum within 1 and 24 hours of intramuscular administration of the drug were formalized with the use of a linear two-compartment model . The average values of the elimination constant and the constants of sisomycin transfer from the central compartment into the peripheral one were 0.64, 0.34 and 0.13 hours-1 respectively . The value of the apparent distribution volume in the central compartment was 0.38 ml/kg and that of the stationary and kinetic distribution volumes was 1.37 and 3.06 1/kg respectively . The value of the general clearance was 0.24 1/(kg.hour) and that of the sisomicin half-life was 8.7 hours . Comparison of the antibiotic levels estimated with a model and actually measured in the blood after repeated administrations revealed the drug cumulation . When the antibiotic was used in a dose of 25 mg/kg daily, its cumulation was observed earlier (by the 5th--8th day) than on its use in a dose of 12.5 mg/kg (by the 30th day) . Irrespective of the dose, sisomicin cumulation was accompanied by prolongation of the antibiotic half-life in the rats.

Antibiotiki, 1980 Mar, 25(3), 199 - 201
{Placental permeability for rifampicin}; Anufrieva RG et al.; Albino rats were exposed to rifampicin inhalations for a prolonged period of time (during gravidity) . It was found that the antibiotic penetrated through the placental barrier and its levels in the fetus were proportional to its content in the air inhaled . At later gravidity periods rafampicin absorption in albino rats increased and in parallel its levels in the ovum also increased . The exposure of albino rats to rifampicin inhalations during the whole period of their gravidity in concentrations lower than the Limac (the limit of the acute effect with respect to the general toxic parameters) did not affect the structure of the placenta and its permeability by the antibiotic.

Antibiotiki, 1980 Mar, 25(3), 179 - 84
{Properties of tetracycline hydrochloride tablets and their bioavailability}; Zak AF et al.; The properties of tetracycline hydrochloride tablets from various manufacturers were studied . Differences depending on the character of the coating were found: the film-coated tablets differed from dragee by a shorter period of the antibiotic transfer to solution, better disintegration, lower content of anhydroderivatives and higher stability . Correlation between the rate of tetracycline transfer to solution in vitro and the antibiotic absorption into blood on the oral use of the tablets was shown.

Antibiotiki, 1980 Mar, 25(3), 175 - 9
{Fluorometric extraction determination of olivomycin}; Alykov NM; An extraction fluorometric method for determination of olivomycin in biological materials was developed as a result of the study on the antibiotic complex formation with the gallium ions in aqueous solutions . The method is based on measurement of the fluorescence of a benzene extract of chlorgallate ionic associate with rodamine-6Zh.

Am J Clin Pathol, 1980 Mar, 73(3), 439 - 43
Transient deficiency of antihemophilic factor (AHF) procoagulant and AHF-like antigen during administration of tetracycline; Stefanini M; A 35-year old woman showed a transient reduction in level of both moieties of antihemophilic factor (AHF; factor VIII, AHG), following the accidental administration of oral tetracycline . This effect could be reproduced under controlled conditions . No anti-AHF antibodies nor antibodies against tetracycline could be demonstrated . It is suspected that the antibiotic temporarily suppressed the biosynthesis of the AHF procoagulant and AHF-like antigen.

J Trauma . 1980 Mar;20(3):242.
Management of hot tar burns; Demling RH et al.; Burns due to hot tar present a difficult management problem because the tar is difficult to remove without inflicting further injury to the underlying burn . We have found the surface active agent polyoxyethylene sorbitan (Tween 80, Sigma, St . Louis, MO) or Polysorbate (Sigma), by itself or in combination with an antibiotic ointment (neomycin sulfate) to be a safe and effective means of tar removal.

J Trauma, 1980 Mar, 20(3), 223 - 8
Hyperosmolality in the burn patient: analysis of an osmolal discrepancy; Kulick MI et al.; In our study of 262 hospitalized flame burn patients, serum hyperosmolality, defined as having at least two reported osmolality values greater than 310 mOsm/kg, was observed in 15 patients (6%) . From this group, nine patients were found to have an osmolal discrepancy (reported serum osmolality minus calculated serum osmolality) . All patients in this group had a burn surface area greater than 35% TBS . The discrepancy between reported osmolality values of two patients from this group, determined by freezing point depression and vapor point analysis, suggested that a volatile substance was contributing to the osmolality . Further analysis by gas chromatography revealed propylene glycol as the agent accounting for most of the osmolal discrepancy . The only exposure to this polyalcohol was from the topical antibiotic cream (silver sulfadiazine) used in their treatment.

Arch Surg, 1980 Mar, 115(3), 305 - 7
Acute abdomen in children with infected ventriculoperitoneal shunts; Hubschmann OR et al.; During the past 48 months, seven children with infected ventriculoperitoneal shunts with acute abdominal emergencies in the absence of neurological signs or symptoms were encountered . Initial confusion in the correct diagnosis led to unnecessary laparatomy in three children and a dangerous delay in the initiation of appropriate treatment in all seven patients . The correct diagnosis was made by analysis of ventricular fluid obtained from the shunt reservoir . Diversion of infected CSF from the inflamed peritoneal cavity combined with intravenous and intraventricular antibiotics resulted in prompt resolution of abdominal signs and successful sterilization of the CSF . Total shunt replacement in uncontaminated CSF followed by postoperative antibiotic therapy administered intravenously effected complete cures in all patients . Awareness of this syndrome and its proper management is of paramount importance.

Postgrad Med, 1980 Mar, 67(3), 200 - 4, 207-8
Gonococcal arthritis syndromes: an update on diagnosis and management; Bayer AS; The primary care physician can diagnose gonococcal arthritis with virtual certainty in the presence of migratory polyarthralgia, tenosynovitis of the upper extremity, and characteristic skin lesions . The exquisite antibiotic sensitivity of most gonococcal organisms has made outpatient oral therapy reasonable, with rapid resolution of symptoms usually resulting.

Zentralbl Bakteriol A, 1980 Mar, 246(2), 276 - 84
Mechanized technique for phage typing and determination of antibiograms; Guinee PA et al.; A device for mechanical application of either drops of phage suspensions or antibiotic-containing tablets was developed . The device consists of a Transport Apparatus which transports petri dishes from one side of the apparatus to the other in such a way that the plate and the lid of a petri dish become entirely separated at a particular stage . Either a Phage Applicating System or an Antibiotic Tablet Dispenser can be connected to the apparatus . In this way a maximum of 27 phages of 7 antibiotic tablets per plate can be applied pneumatically.

Antibiotiki, 1980 Mar, 25(3), 210 - 5
{Nucleotide specificity of sibiromycin interaction with DNA}; Koz'mian LI et al.; Sibiromycin binds selectively to poly(dG).poly (dC) and poly(dG--dC).poly (dG--dC) and does not interact with poly(dA--dT).poly(dA--DT), poly (dI).poly (dC) and poly(dI--dC).poly(dI-dC) as is evident from the changes in the UV spectrum of the antibiotic at 310 mn, differential CD spectrum and inhibition of the template activity of polynucleotides in the DNA-dependant RNA-polymerase system . Sibiromycin efficiently interacts with GC-rich DNA specifically methylated at N-7 of guanine and glucosilated DNA of T2 phage . Therefore, specific interaction of sibiromycin with the guanine sites may take place rather in the narrow groove than in the large groove of the double helix.

J Trauma, 1980 Mar, 20(3), 229 - 38
High-pressure injection injuries of the hand; Schoo MJ et al.; One hundred twenty-seven case reports of high-pressure injection injuries have been analyzed, and five patients of our own are reported . The injury usually occurs to young, working males, most often to their nondominant index finger . Without proper surgical intervention, the injected part often progresses to necrosis, debilitating fibrosis, and stiffness . The pathology is that of inflammation and foreign body granulomatous formation . Damage results from impact, ischemia resulting from vascular compression, chemical inflammation, and secondary infection . Recommended treatment has traditionally been early surgical decompression, removal of injected material, and antibiotics . There is some evidence that anti-inflammatory medication is of value . In the patients treated early with steroids and proper antibiotics, infection has not been a problem . We feel that treatment of these injuries should include: 1) Immediate, high-dose, parenteral steroids followed by high-dose oral steroids in tapered doses . Our present regimen consists of initial doses of hydrocortisone sodium succinate 100 mg intravenously every 6 hours until it appears that swelling and erythema have maximized and begun to diminish, then changing to oral prednisone 25 mg twice daily . Prednisone is then slowly tapered in 5- to 10-mg increments per day until stopped . If swelling, pain, and erythema begin to worsen, high-dose steroids are resumed and tapered again . 2) Extensive and complete surgical decompression and drainage of the injured part . 3) Appropriate broad-spectrum antibiotic coverage.

Jpn J Antibiot, 1980 Mar, 33(3), 294 - 319
{Chronic toxicity of aclacinomycin A in rats (author's transl)}; Shirai M et al.; Male and female Wistar rats were treated with aclacinomycin A, a new anthracycline antitumor antibiotic, at 5 dosage levels (0.08, 0.15, 0.3, 0.6 and 1.2 mg/kg/day) by daily intraperitoneal injections for 180 days for a chronic toxicity study . Recovery was also examined for 30 days after completion of the administration . Mortality was as follows: Male 5/24, female 3/24 in 0.6 mg/kg/day dose group and male 19/24, female 8/24 in 1.2 mg/kg/day dose group . Anorexia, depression of spontaneous activity and unformed feces were observed in rats in 0.6 and 1.2 mg/kg/day dose groups after day 90 . Body weight gain decreased during the period . No significant change was found in rats receiving the drug at 0.3 and less mg/kg/day all through the observation period . Remarkable decreases in WBC count were noted in rats in the two highest dose groups on day 90 . Autopsy findings included atrophy of the thymus and hyperemia and hemorrhage in the gastrointestinal tract and mesenteric lymph node in the animals treated at 0.6 and 1.2 mg/kg/day in the examination on day 90 . Histologically, atrophy of the thymus and hyperplasia of the spleen were observed in the higher dose groups on day 90 . But no remarkable abnormalities were found in histological examination on day 180 . The changes in general symptom and decrease in body weight gain, which were observed during the dosing period in rats in 0.6 mg/kg/day dose group, recovered within 30 days after the drug administration was discontinued but no complete recovery of the WBC count decrease was observed.

J Pediatr, 1980 Mar, 96(3 Pt 1), 447 - 51
Epidemiology of necrotizing enterocolitis: a case control study; Stoll BJ et al.; All neonates with necrotizing enterocoltis cared for at Grady Memorial Hospital from July, 1977, through February, 1979, were compared with controls matched for birth weight and time of admission to the nursery, to examine risk factors which have been implicated in the etiology of the disease . Data on maternal history, birth history, and hospital course were uniformly collected and contrasted for 35 cases and 98 controls . Low birth weight was associated with an increased incidence of NEC and an increased case fatality rate . All babies 36 weeks or more at birth were diagnosed by seven days . More immature infants developed the disease later in their hospital course . In addition, preterm babies who developed NEC after 2 weeks of age appear to be smaller and sicker . Factors previously thought to predispose an infant to the development of the disease, such as prolonged rupture of membranes, infectious complications of pregnancy, low Apgar scores, patent ductus arteriosus, and use of umbilical catheters, were found with equal frequency in cases and controls and may simply represent the descriptive characteristics of a population of sick premature infants . Feeding history and antibiotic use were examined in depth and were not correlated with the development of NEC.

Arch Surg . 1980 Mar;115(3):324.
Expanded applications of Broviac catheter; Ponsky JL et al.; Sixteen Broviac catheters were inserted in 15 patients ranging from 15 to 61 years of age for purposes other than parenteral nutrition . These patients required long-term intravenous (IV) antibiotic therapy for cystic fibrosis or chemotherapy for malignant neoplasm . There were no major complications . The Broviac catheter provides excellent long-term IV access for total parenteral nutrition . In addition, it may be used very effectively in patients requiring extended IV antibiotic therapy and/or chemotherapy.

Arch Surg, 1980 Mar, 115(3), 293 - 5
Polyglycolic acid, silk, and topical ampicillin . Their use in hernia repair and cholecystectomy; Andersen JR et al.; The effect of topical ampicillin sodium and polyglycolic acid and silk sutures on the recurrence of an existing hernia or an incisional hernia and on infection rates in clean abdominal wounds (herniotomies and simple cholecystectomies) was studied in a triple-blind, randomized trial with 398 consecutive patients . One infection, three suture sinuses, and two incisional hernias occurred among 113 patients with cholecystectomies, while the corresponding rates in 285 patients with hernia repairs were 11 infections, no suture sinuses, and three recurrent hernias . No effect of ampicillin could be demonstrated, nor was any difference between polyglycolic acid and silk sutures shown . No interaction between the antibiotic and suture material was found, and no side effects were observed . Wound infection was significantly more frequent in patients with postoperative seromas or hematomas.

Mycopathologia, 1980 Feb 29, 70(1), 9 - 12
Interaction between aspergilli and streptomycetes in the soil of potted indoor plants: a preliminary report (contribution to the epidemiology of human aspergillosis); Staib F et al.; The soil of potted ornamental plants as a reservoir for Aspergillus species pathogenic for man is of epidemiological and ecological interest . Isolation of A . niger as the sole hyphomycete from the soil of potted African violets (Saintpaulia ionantha, Gesneriaceae), prompted us to look for A . inger on the surface of the roots of this plant . Small pieces of the roots were inoculated in the nutrient-free agar-gel with and without antibiotics . On the antibiotic-free gel, a dense growth of Streptomyces griseus was consistently observed around the root pieces . But the gel fortified with antibiotics showed pure growth of only A . niger . One of the two strains of S . ariseus isolated from the African violet, showed inhibitory effect against a number of fungi including A . niger but the other strain had no effect on this fungus . The possible influence of streptomycetes on the occurrence of aspergilli in the soil of potted ornamental plants is discussed.

Biochim Biophys Acta, 1980 Feb 28, 596(2), 165 - 79
Polymyxin B-phosphatidylglycerol interactions . A monolayer (pi, delta V) study; El Mashak EM et al.; Through a monolayer investigation (pi, delta V), it is shown that the cationic antibiotic polymyxin B (or E) strongly interacts with films of acidic lipids, namely the didodecanoyl- and dihexadecanoylphosphatidylglycerol . The zwitterionic dihexadecanoylphosphatidylcholine was an unsuitable substrate . Interactions occurred at and above a polymyxin B concentration in the subphase of 2.5 . 10(-7) M, bringing about a considerable increase of both pi and delta V . These interactions proceeded in two steps, as revealed by a biphasic change of delta V with time . They were independent of the film molecular packing (fluid or gel states) and of the initial film pressure . Since it was possible to monitor the relative number of polymyxin B and didodecanoyl- or dihexadecanoylphosphatidylglycerol molecules in the monolayer, it is demonstrated that, at saturation, one polymyxin B molecule is bound to five phosphatidylglycerol molecules, a result which accounts for an exact neutralization of the charges . From competition experiments, it is shown that Na+ is ineffective in removing polymyxin B from the interface . Ca2+ appeared to be a stronger competitor but no complete antibiotic desorption was observed even at a Ca2+ concentration of 100 mM . As a working hypothesis, the antibiotic/lipid (1/5) system was assumed to constitute by itself one molecular species . The mixing of the polymyxin B/didodecanoylphosphatidylglycerol (1/5) system with an excess of lipid molecules in the monolayer was found to be ideal both in terms of pi and delta V . With dihexadecanoylphosphatidylglycerol, a small condensing effect could be detected only at intermediate surface pressures, in a region where the lipid phase transition occurred . The molecular area of polymyxin B interacting with didodecanoylphosphatidylglycerol can be calculated to be 1.23 +/- 0.05 nm2 . It is proposed that the whole antibiotic molecule penetrates the film, the five bound lipid molecules being distributed aroung the peptide structure, at given positions imposed by the five 2,4-diaminobutyric acid residues.

Biochim Biophys Acta, 1980 Feb 27, 621(2), 338 - 42
Inhibition of tubulin assembly by ethylacetylacrylate, a sulfhydryl reagent and potential analog of cytochalasin A; Himes RH et al.; Ethyl acetylacrylate reacts rapidly with 2-mercaptoethanol and the sulfhydryl groups of tubulin . The structure of ethyl acetylacrylate resembles that of the reactive portion of cytochalasin A and potentially can serve as an analog of this antibiotic.

Biochim Biophys Acta, 1980 Feb 15, 596(1), 137 - 40
Poly (d trp-L Leu), poly (D Phe-L Leu) and poly (D Val-L Val-D Val-L Ala) as model polymers for the elucidation of the gramicidin a conformation; Heitz F et al.; From infrared observations it is concluded that the conformation of poly (D Trp-L leu), poly (D Leu-L Trp), poly (D Phe-L leu) and poly (D val-L Val-D Val-L Ala) wich are model polymers of Gramicidin A is the same as one species of the antibiotic . Diffraction investigations indicate that poly-(D Phe-L Leu) and poly (D Val-L Val-D Val-L Ala) have a helical conformation which is most probably the pi DL 8 helix.

Public Opin Q, 1979 Summer, 43(2), 206 - 17
Physician response rates to mail and personal interview surveys; Shosteck H et al.; This paper reports the outcome of a randomized experiment, sponsored by the Food and Drug Administration, which compares mail and personal administration of a 12-page questionnaire dealing with physician antibiotic prescription practices . To overcome the barrier created by the lack of clearly defined and accepted definitions of survey outcomes, the authors introduce six concepts for describing and comparing survey outcomes . Overall, mail surveys appear to require less time, to be less costly, and to generate higher response rates than equivalent personal contacts . The report describes methods for gaining maximum benefit from the mail technique.

Chirurg, 1980 Feb, 51(2), 110 - 114
{Wound-healing disorders and mortality in one- and multi-stage sigma and rectum resections}; Kummer D et al.; From 1958 to 1978, the Surgical Clinic of the Tubingen University carried out 427 sigmoidal and rectal resections with a one-, two-, or three-stage proceeding . The comparison proves that, as was to be expected, the one-stage resection more often shows an anastomotic insufficiency . On the other hand, there occur less infections of the abdominal wall because of the absence of a smear-infection deriving from the temporary intestinal fistula . The primary lethality through anastomotical complications does not differ in the one-, two-, or three-stage proceeding if in the latter you effect an only mechanical cleaning of the inactive colon leg . The irrigation of the inactivated colon with an antibiotic solution before the tumor resection leads, compared to the cleaning with saline solution, to much less infections of the abdominal wall, less anastomotic insufficiencies and to the reduction of the primary lethality . This three-stage proceeding is, with a lethality of 1,5%, still the most secure action for the patient.

Acta Orthop Scand, 1980 Feb, 51(1), 43 - 8
Effects of oxytetracycline on solubility and synthesis of collagen in young rats; Engesaeter LB et al.; In a recent study we demonstrated that the antibiotic oxytetracycline reduces both growth and mechanical strength of bone and skin in young rats . The present study deals with the effects of 14 days of oxytetracycline medication on salt solubility of collagen (cross-linking) and conversion of 14C-proline to 14C-hydroxyproline in collagen (synthesis) . At the end of the medication period, significantly higher solubility of collagen was found in the femurs and skin of rats receiving oxytetracycline than in controls . No effect of the antibiotic on the rate of collagen synthesis could be demonstrated . These findings may indicate that oxytetracycline in young rats causes reduced mechanical strength of bone and skin by interfering with the cross-linking of collagen.

Jpn J Antibiot, 1980 Feb, 33(2), 219 - 26
{Animal test for evaluation of ototoxicity and safety of KW-1062 (author's transl)}; Akiyoshi M et al.; KW-1062, a new aminoglycoside antibiotic, was tested for the evaluation of audiotoxicity in administration at higher dosage and compared with the audiotoxicity of gentamicin . KW-1062 was given at dosage of 50, 100 and 150 mg/kg intramuscularly for 4 weeks to each group consisting of 10 healthy guinea pigs, respectively . Gentamicin was administered at dosage of 25, 35, 50 and 100 mg/kg in the same way as in KW-1062 to the guinea pigs . In the present study the differential frequency pinna reflex test in the frequency range from 20 kHz to 0.5 kHz was performed before and during administration of the drugs, to evaluate the audiotoxicity . Comparison of number of animal with pinna reflex loss and extent of frequency range of pinna reflex loss revealed that KW-1062 at dose of 150 mg/kg is less audiotoxic than gentamicin at 50 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg, and approximately equivalent in audiotoxicity to gentamicin at dose of 35 mg/kg.

Antibiotiki, 1980 Feb, 25(2), 88 - 92
{Effect of lincomycin on its own producer, Actinomyces roseolus, during prolonged passage on a liquid culture medium}; Listvinova SN et al.; Act . roseolus rapidly lost its antibiotic activity on passages in liquid media . Degeneration with respect to the antibiotic production property was accompanied by changes in the physiological and morphological characteristics . The culture became low differentiated during the whole developmental cycle . The capacity of the ribosomes for formation of the polysomes and aggregation was decreased or completely lost . The developmental cycle of the culture was shortened because of earlier autolysis and limited formation of the daughter microcolonies . Lincomycin retarded the rate of these changes . The culture preserved its morphological similarity with the initial strain and its viability increased . Therefore, lincomycin promoted some stabilization of the properties of the culture during its passage.

South Med J, 1980 Feb, 73(2), 183 - 4
Prostatic needle examination: current clinical concepts; Turner BI et al.; A survey of urologic training programs was undertaken to determine the clinical usage of needle biopsy technics in evaluating prostatic disease . The most popular procedure was transperineal (57%), performed on an inpatient basis (62%) . Transrectal biopsy was slightly less popular (43%), with 100% of the surveyed institutions using prebiopsy antibiotic coverage versus only 24% with the transperineal technic . An average of 3.25 cores per biopsy procedure were obtained . Various advantages and disadvantages of each procedure including the use of anesthesia and analgesia are discussed and future direction is proposed.

Antibiotiki, 1980 Feb, 25(2), 140 - 4
{Comparison of carminomycin and rubomycin action on the dynamics of the immune response to the T-independent Vi-antigen of S . typhi}; Malkova IV; The effect of carminomycin and rubomycin on the dynamics of the primary immune response to T-independent Vi-antigen of S . typhi was studied . Differences in the character of the antibiotic effect indicative of the high selective effect of carminomycin on the multiplying cells or precursors of the antibody forming plasmocytes were noted . It was found that the carminomycin inhibitory effect on synthesis of hemagglutinins to Vi-antigen was higher than that to sheep red blood cells . Carminomycin was shown to impair the formation of the immunological memory, while rubomycin did not suppress the development of the "memory cell" clone to T-independent antigen.

Jpn J Antibiot, 1980 Feb, 33(2), 138 - 49
{Acute toxicity of aclacinomycin A in mice, rats and dogs (author's transl)}; Shirai M et al.; New antitumor anthracycline antibiotic, aclacinomycin A was given to dd-mice and Wistar rats for acute toxicity study . The LD50 values were 29 approximately 39 mg/kg (i.v., i.p . and s.c.) and 62 approximately 69 mg/kg (p.o.) in mice, and 18 approximately 28 mg/kg (i.v., i.p . and s.c.) and 58 approximately 59 mg/kg (p.o.) in rats, respectively, which were calculated by mortality rate during a 14 day observation period . Depression of spontaneous activity, anorexia, diarrhea and slight alopecia were observed . Autopsy findings in animals killed by drug included atrophy of the thymus and spleen, and hyperemia and hemorrhage in the stomach and intestines . But no remarkable change was found in animals which survived through the observation period . Mongrel dogs were given the drug intravenously at 3, 5, 7.5, 10 and 15 mg/kg, respectively . All dogs (3/3) in the three higher dose groups and 1/3 dog in 5 mg/kg dose group died within day 0 approximately 5 . Others survived more than 27 days . Depression of spontaneous activity and anorexia were found from 30 minutes to 2 hours after administration, followed by vomiting and diarrhea . Increase of GOT, GPT and LDH and decrease of WBC count were detected in dogs which died . Hyperemia and hemorrhage of the lungs, stomach and intestine were found among the groups given higher doses, whereas no significant changes were recognized among the two lower dose groups.

Br J Surg, 1980 Feb, 67(2), 93 - 6
Clindamycin in the treatment of soft tissue infections: a review of 15 019 patients; Wilson DH; A retrospective survey of 15 019 patients treated with clindamycin for a soft tissue infection was carried out to determine whether the incidence of serious side effects was sufficient to preclude the continuing use of this antibiotic . Thirteen patients were found to have had severe diarrhoea and 2 of these required inpatient treatment for pseudomembranous colitis . Certain limitations of the use of clindamycin are suggested but, in view of the recently improved understanding of the nature of pseudomembranous colitis and more effective methods of treatment of this complication, it is concluded that this antibiotic still has a useful role to play in the treatment of acute soft tissue infection.

Arch Surg, 1980 Feb, 115(2), 203 - 5
Infected prosthetic grafts . Local therapy with graft preservation; Popovsky J et al.; Three cases of infected vascular prosthesis in the groin were treated successfully with antibiotics, local debridement, and continuous irrigation of the area with the appropriate antibiotic solution . We describe a system developed to permit steady instillation of antibiotic solution and complete drainage by suction to remove serous and necrotic material . In selected cases of infected vascular grafts, when they have not thrombosed, aggressive local and systemic therapy may control the infection and permit salvage of the prosthesis.

Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 1980 Feb, 17(2), 193 - 8
Sensitive assay for measuring tetracycline levels in gingival crevice fluid; Gordon JM et al.; An increased interest in the clinical use of antibiotics as an adjunct to periodontal therapy has created a need to determine antibiotic concentrations in fluid obtained from the gingival crevice . For this purpose, an increase in sensitivity beyond that possible with current tetracycline assays is essential because sample volumes of gingival fluid typically obtained are less than 0.5 microliter . This report describes the development of an agar-diffusion assay technique capable of measuring the concentration of tetracycline in samples of gingival crevice fluid in the range of 0.1 to 4.0 microgram/ml . The assay will detect amounts of tetracycline in gingival crevice fluid samples as low as 50 pg . The high sensitivity of this assay was achieved by optimizing the medium depth, inoculum density, agar concentration, pH, period of prediffusion, and selection of basal medium . Use of this assay indicated that the concentration of tetracylcine in gingival crevice fluid was greater than that found in blood and persisted at elevated levels for longer periods.

J Antibiot (Tokyo), 1980 Feb, 33(2), 226 - 30
Studies on antitumor activity of prumycin . III . Mode of action of prumycin on HeLa S-3 cells; Okubo S et al.; The mode of action of prumycin was investigated using synchronized and asynchronous cultured HeLa S-3 cells . Prumycin inhibited significantly the growth of HeLa S-3 cells at the concentration over 5 mcg/ml . DNA synthesis as well as protein synthesis was strongly inhibited at the concentration of 10 mcg/ml of prumycin, but RNA synthesis was not inhibited by the same concentration . Prumycin did not block the transition of the cells from M phase to G1 phase, however, G2 phase cells were blocked clearly by this antibiotic.

MMW Munch Med Wochenschr, 1980 Jan 11, 122(2), 50 - 4
{The cerebral abscess (author's transl)}; Scharfetter F et al.; The incidence of cerebral abscess is assessed at 1 in 500,000 per annum, the relative frequency among neurosurgical operations at 2 per thousand . The most common mode of development is metastatic from chronic cranial or pulmonary infections . The abscess develops from the initial stage of the focal encephalitis, often with few symptoms, after a latent stage of weeks or months to the third stage of the manifest encapsulated cerebral abscess, a macroscopicsketch of which is drawn . In metastatic and advanced abscesses resulting from chronic infection, anaerobic organisms predominate, in primary cerebral infections due to trauma or operation, aerophilic colonization . Among the clinical diagnostic procedures computer tomography is dominant . The results of combined antibiotic and surgical therapy are good with early computer tomography: mortality less than 2% . postoperative morbidity is, however, more than 15%.

J Gynecol Obstet Biol Reprod (Paris), 1980, 9(5), 557 - 9
{Suppurative endometritis of a pregnancy . A diagnosis made during a caesarean operation (author's transl)}; Elhaik S et al.; An endometritis with abscess formation in pregnancy is very rare . A case that was discovered during a caesarean operation is described . The diagnosis is difficult because there is not much in the way of symptoms . The aetiology could be an infection of the cervix and vagina, a long-standing endometritis or a maternal extra-genital infection . Apart from antibiotic therapy the best treatment seems to be as conservative as possible.

Infection, 1980, 8 Suppl 2, S209 - 11
Case report of actinomycosis caused by Arachnia propionica; Novak A et al.; Arachnia propionica was isolated from a cervicofacial lesion . During the antibiotic therapy the swelling was measured . A response to ampicillin was observed.

Cytogenet Cell Genet, 1980, 28(1-2), 87 - 94
Demonstration of a heritable fragile site in human chromosome 16 with distamycin A; Schmid M et al.; Fragile sites are induced in chromosome 16 (band q22) of lymphocytes from some individuals, when the lymphocyte cultures are treated with the oligopeptide antibiotic distamycin A . These induced fragile sites are inherited in a Mendelian fashion; there are interfamilial differences in their appearance . The interactions between distamycin A and chromosomal DNA and the possible composition of the DNA at the induced fragile sites are discussed.

Biopharm Drug Dispos, 1980 Jan-Mar, 1(3), 127 - 32
The effect of displacement from protein binding on serum and tissue fluid levels of cephazolin; Polacek I et al.; Displacement of cephazolin, a highly protein-bound beta-lactam antibiotic, by sulpha-phenazole was studied in vitro and in vivo . In vitro, the sulphonamide was effective in displacing the antibiotic from its binding sites at the concentration 100--1000 mumol 1(-1) . In vivo, both the serum and the tissue fluid concentration of free cephazolin increased significantly in rats concomitantly treated with sulphaphenazole.

Arch Exp Veterinarmed, 1980, 34(4), 515 - 26
{Control of puerperium in swine under conditions of extremely shortened nursing method . 1 . Results of histological studies in postpartum involution and regeneration of the uterus under conditions of extremely shortened nursing period and medicamentous control of puerperium}; Rummer HJ et al.; Uterus tissue samples were taken from 31 sows which had been under regimes of extremely shortened nursing periods and differentiated medication to control their puerperium . The samples were taken following laparotomy during the first postpartum oestrus as well as in subsequent phases of the cycle and histologically tested for puerperal involution and regeneration . The endometrium and myometrium of sows in oestrus were found to be in a condition which widely corresponded to normal oestrus condition of the uterus wall, when their piglets had been weaned in the third postpartum week . However, untreated sows in oestrus, whose piglets had been weaned extremely soon, that is in the second postpartum week, displayed numerous signs of inadequate postpartum involution and regeneration . Oxytocin was found to work well in speeding up regeneration of both the endometrium and myometrium . Intramuscular injection of twice nine International Units per die, from the first through ninth days postpartum, helped to complete largely all regeneration processes up to the first oestrus, when piglets had been weaned in the second postpartum week . Oral antibiotic medication (chlortetracycline) and parenteral application of vitamins failed to produce any substantive and histologically recordable effect on puerperal involution processes.

Acta Paediatr Acad Sci Hung, 1980, 21(1), 15 - 7
Appendicitis in premature babies; Kontor EJ et al.; From 1st January, 1973, to 30th September, 1977, 11 cases of appendicitis were observed in premature babies . All patients were subjected to operation . One patient was lost . For the diagnosis, anamnestic data concerning infections, the general and localized symptoms, laboratory data and X-ray findings should be taken into consideration . Close observation of the patient is necessary for determining the optimum time for surgery . This and rational antibiotic and postoperative therapy are essential in the treatment of the condition.

Folia Microbiol (Praha), 1980, 25(6), 464 - 6
Production of rhodomycins in Streptomyces griseoruber 4620; Podojil M et al.; The strain Streptomyces griseoruber 4620 produces, besides the anthracycline antibiotics beromycins, some other anthracyclines of the rhodomycin type . Twelve isolates exhibiting a higher antibiotic activity (up to 2.5X), as compared to the parent strain, were obtained after a spontaneous selection . The following species were isolated from the hydrolysate of mycelial extract: beta-rhodomycinone, beta-isorhodomycinone, alpha 2-rhodomycinone, epsilon-rhodomycinone and 10-deoxy-beta-rhodomycinone, which has not yet been described.

J Int Med Res, 1980, 8(Suppl 1), 58 - 63
Tissue and fluid concentrations of cefadroxil monohydrate; Bernhardt LL; In summary, there are several tissues and fluids in which the penetration of cefadroxil appears to be superior to that of other antibiotics, including other cephalosporins . A possible explanation for this relates to the characteristic solubility of cefadroxil in both aqueous and lipid solvents . A study comparing IV, IM and PO administration of cefadroxil appears to support this thesis . Clinically, based on work which shows that patients who had higher concentrations of antibiotic in sputum made a faster recovery, cefadroxil may have an advantage since sputum is one of the fluids in which the drug appears to have superior and earlier penetration . In addition, in comparison with cephalexin, penetration of skin-blister fluid by cefadroxil was superior, suggesting an advantage in treating disorders of the skin and skin structures, such as impetigo . The possibility of different dosage requirements for male and female patients, based on the difference in the availability of lipid deposit sites, cannot be considered clinically significant at this time.

Czech Med, 1980, 3(3), 191 - 7
Infection in vascular prosthesis; Malek P et al.; 1 . The method of protected coagulum has withstood the test of time for three decades and, as confirmed by the literature, its principle has been in recent years increasingly applied in the form of single-dose perioperative administration of antibiotics . 2 . The method has proved its value in vascular prosthesis as blood coagula are the source of morphogenesis of the vascular wall in prosthesis . 3 . In 1 657 patients undergoing arterial reconstructive procedures the method reduced infection rate of 0.9% . 4 . There is experimental evidence that, given in therapeutically active doses, tobramycin, lincomycin and cephazolin form protected coagula with prolonged antibiotic action.

J Fr Ophtalmol, 1980, 3(6-7), 401 - 8
{The ocular toxicity of cephaloridine - A clinical and experimental study (author's transl)}; Turut P et al.; Cephaloridine is an antibiotic well known for its remarkable efficacy and absence of ocular toxicity . However four cases have been reported with severe ocular affect; a unilateral retinitis pigmentosa with extinction of the E.R.G . and total irreversible blindness has been noted in three cases after sub-conjunctival or intra-camerular injection of cephaloridine, one case showed a slight improvement . In an experimental study undertaken on rabbits no ocular toxicity has been noted during sub-conjunctival or intra-camerular injection whilst very low doses of intravitreous injection reproduce exactly the same facts as observed in man . These various studies give proof of the ocular toxicity of cephaloridine and involves particular caution in its utilizaiton for endo-ocular diseases.

Z Allg Mikrobiol, 1980, 20(4), 265 - 9
Stability of Streptomyces hygroscopicus IMET JA 6599 under different cultivation conditions in the chemostat; Hilliger M et al.; The stability of the macrolide antibiotic-producing strain Streptomyces hygroscopicus IMET 6599 (wild type) was investigated during cultivation in a chemostat with glucose limitation . No changes in the antibiotic-producing ability were found . But under special experimental conditions which consist of a sequence of nearly steady states interrupted by batch processes linked with excess of glucose, colonies with vigorous changed morphology and a green pigment after transfer to surface culture were obtained . The antibiotic activity of the wild type and of the green selectant decreased during the special experimental conditions . The formation of the green selectant is discussed in connection with changes in the glucose or energy metabolism.

Cell Tissue Res, 1980, 210(1), 121 - 32
Alterations in the distribution of glycoproteins in epithelial cells of murine colon after injection of tunicamycin; Michaels JE; Glycoproteins are associated with several structures of colonic absorptive cells of the mouse . These include the cell coat, Golgi apparatus and vesicles that transport the glycoproteins from the apparatus to the cell surface (Michaels and Leblond 1976) . In many in vitro systems, the antibiotic tunicamycin inhibits the glycosylation of asparagine residues yielding carbohydrate-poor glycoproteins . In the present in vivo study, tunicamycin was injected into mice . The murine colonic epithelial cells were prepared routinely for electron microscopy and cytochemistry . Cells from the experimental and control animals were similar morphologically . However, staining by the periodic acid-chromic acid-silver methenamine technique, revealed differences in the distribution of glycoproteins . In animals that received the higher dosages of tunicamycin there was a substantial reduction in silver staining in both the Golgi apparatus and the vesicles of colonic epithelial cells compared to these structures in cells of identically treated control tissues, whereas the staining over the cell coat was not significantly altered . Possible explanations for the staining of the cell coat in the treated animals were provided in the text . This report demonstrates the feasibility of using tunicamycin in vivo and detection of the change obtained by the silver methenamine method.

Langenbecks Arch Chir, 1980, 351(1), 63 - 8
{The effect of immunoglobulins in experimental peritonitis (author's transl)}; Eckert P et al.; We measured the influence of different drugs on mortality and lung weights in a well known and standardized peritonitis model in rats . The results are: 1 . Intraperitoneal injection of immune globulin in high dosage had little effect on our parameters . High mortality and interstitial pulmonary edema were observed . 2 . The same results followed injection of 20% human albumin . 3 . All animals injected intraperitoneally with a modern antibiotic (Securopen) survived . Interstitial pulmonary edema was observed . 4 . The combined injection of an antibiotic and immune globulin (Gamma-Venin) had the best results . None of the rats came down with a lung injection or died.

Folia Microbiol (Praha), 1980, 25(3), 313 - 8
Effect of cultivation conditions on the activity of the beromycin producer Streptomyces glomeratus 3980 and its spontaneous variants; Blumauerova M et al.; Optimal conditions for the submerged cultivation of Streptomyces glomeratus 3980, producer of the anthracycline antibiotics beromycins, and its variants were sought in media with glucose, soybean meal and salts differing in the content of ammonium sulphate . As compared with the original activity of the strain the antibiotic titre of some variants increased about 12 times on increasing the glucose concenration from 3 to 5%, or on omitting CaCO3 from the medium (i.e . under conditions leading to an increased production of propionic acid and suppression of production of the melanin-like pigment) . In melanin-less variants accumulating propionate even under standard conditions the activity increased about 18-40 times in the medium with 3% glucose and 0.2% CaCO3 under conditions of more intensive aeration (i.e . under conditions when no propionic acid accumulated) . Individual strains also differed in the requirement for (NH4)2SO4 in the medium, their response to changes of volume of the vegetative inoculum and semsitivity to MgSO4 x 7H2O . The biosynthetic activity of all strains was inhibited by the addition of ZnSO4 x 7H2O or CaCl2 and substitution of glucose with starch, lactose or sucrose.

Eur Urol, 1980, 6(5), 281 - 3
Value and limitations of testicular scanning by in vivo labelling of RBC with 99mTc; Rehani MM et al.; When a scrotal affection cannot be diagnosed confidently by correlation of clinical history and physical examination, testicular scanning with 99mTc is a useful adjunct diagnostic modality . In vivo labelling of red blood cells with 99mTc was achieved by prior oral administration of 200 mg of stannous chloride . This helped to obtain satisfactory scintigraphy with a rectilinear scanner . This procedure was found to be useful in the adult with recent tender testicle in whom the torsion of the testis could not be clinically differentiated from epididymo-orchitis . Another area of scan's valuable clinical application was in the early diagnosis of testicular abscess in patients with epididymo-orchitis not responding immediately to antibiotic therapy . The study also proved to be a useful, non-invasive method for follow-up assessment of a case of torsion of the testis where detorsion and orchiopexy was performed as well as in case of rupture of a testis after orchiorrhapy.

Adv Myocardiol, 1980, 1, 565 - 74
Replicative and unscheduled DNA synthesis in adriamycin-treated myocardial cells; Fialkoff H et al.; The effect of the potent antitumor antibiotic adriamycin (ADM) on chromosome integrity, DNA replication, and unscheduled DNA synthesis was investigated in cultured rat cardiac cells . Chromosome distribution, autoradiography, and {3H}thymidine (dThd) incorporation studies were carried out on separate cultures . A 3-hr pulse of ADM at a concentration of 1 microgram/ml was sufficient to cause chromosomal aberrations that were evident for up to 3 days post-ADM treatment . At the same ADM dosage, DNA replication was depressed for up to 6 days by as much as 90%, yet the ability of the cardiac cells to repair UV-damaged DNA was not impaired . However, cells exposed to higher concentrations of ADM failed to undergo significant UV-induced repair.

Akush Ginekol (Sofiia), 1980, 19(3), 230 - 3
{Contraception in female heart patients}; Mirkov K et al.; PIP: The authors describe both their own as well as foreign experiences with contraception in women with heart disease . Oral contraceptive preparations and IUDs both have unfavorable results and effects; IUDs are especially dangerous due to the inflammatory processes and consequently, antibiotic protection is necessary after insertion into the uterine cavity . The authors recommend the use of mechanical contraceptives since they indicate that women with heart disease should be placed under dispensary care . (Authors' modified)

Soc Gen Physiol Ser, 1980, 34, 153 - 65
Freeze-fracture alterations in guinea pig sperm membranes preceding gamete fusion; Friend DS; Normal fertilization in mammals depends on several events involving membrane fusion . One, a secretory phenomenon, is the fusion of the spermatozoan acrosomal granule membrane with the plasmalemma, and another concerns the union of this nascent hybrid membrane with that of the egg . Using freeze-fracture and ancillary cytochemical procedures, we can identify three general membrane constituents: proteins, apparent as intramembranous particles; phospholipids, visible as smooth, particle-free areas; and sterols, observed as 25-nm ellipsoid protuberances when complexed in situ with the polyene antibiotic filipin . Freshly removed from the epididymis, guinea pig sperm displays distinctive patterns of intramembranous particles and a nonhomogeneous distribution of sterols . When incubated in a Ca2+-free medium that permits processing spermatozoan membranes for fusion, these membrane components become altered . In the circular foci where union occurs, the particle pattern is modified from an orderly, geometric quilted design to a random distribution; filipin-reactive sterols are deleted, followed by the loss of particles from the nonesterified sterol-deficient patches . With the addition of Ca2+, the residual smooth areas meld as the number of particles equilibrates in the plane of the hybrid acrosomal-plasma membrane . Sterols appearing in the postacrosomal segment remain reduced in quantity . After acrosomal-plasma-membrane fusion, a second line of particle-cleared circles emerges behind the margin of the new membrane suture . These clearings appear to be identical to the circles observed in the acrosomal and plasma membranes preceding the acrosome reaction . We interpret this second series of clearings as the preparation of the spermatozoan membrane for fusion with the egg . In sperm, the focal alterations antecedent to organelle (acrosome) plasma membrane union are evidently comparable to those preceding plasma membrane (sperm) plasma membrane (egg) fusion . It will be of great interest to us to discover whether this type of protein and sterol/phospholipid juncture proves to be a unifying feature of fusions in all the various biological systems discussed in this volume.

Dis Colon Rectum, 1980 Jan-Feb, 23(1), 2 - 9
Closure of the pelvic and perineal wounds after removal of the rectum and anus; Page CP et al.; Between January 1975 and July 1977, 26 patients, who underwent combined synchronous removal of the rectum and anus, were managed within guidelines aimed at achieving primary closure and healing of their operative wounds . The guidelines include preoperative mechanical and luminal antibiotic bowel preparation, perioperative systemic chemoprophylaxis, a combined synchronous ablative procedure in Lloyd-Davies position, short-term sump drainage of the presacral space, meticulous hemostatis, and primary closure of both the pelvic defect above (utilizing an omental pedicle graft to obliterate the pelvic dead space) and the perineal defect below (by primary suture or with gracilis myocutaneous flap) . All wounds healed totally within the first six weeks postoperatively, with a mean time to healing of 3.5 weeks in the six patients whose wounds failed to heal primarily . There were no instances of late wound breakdown and follow-up from six months to two years.

Jpn J Antibiot, 1980 Jan, 33(1), 1 - 9
{Studies on the safety of KW-1062 (fifth report) . A comparative study on the renal toxicity of KW-1062 and gentamicin in rats by ligh and electron microscopies (author's transl)}; Hara T et al.; Effects of KW-1062, a new aminoglycoside antibiotic, and gentamicin on the kidney were compared . KW-1062 (5, 10, 20, 40 and 80 mg/kg) and gentamicin (5, 10, 20 and 40 mg/kg) were intramuscularly administered to male Wistar strain rats for 30 days . On the 5th, 15th and 30th day, renal disturbances were examined by light microscopy . On the 30th day, electron microscopy was also carried out . Light microscopic examination revealed that degeneration of the renal tubular epithelium and the round cell infiltration were seen on the 5th day in the group received gentamicin 5 mg/kg . On the 15th and 30th day, these changes were dose-dependent . In the group given KW-1062 40 mg/kg, degeneration of the renal tubular epithelium and the round cell infiltration were recognized on the 15th day . Electron microscopic examination revealed dense body containing myelin-like structures in the epithelial cell of the portio principal in proportion to dose in the group received gentamicin 5 mg/kg . At gentamicin 40 mg/kg, myelin-like structures were collected in the renal tubular cavity and obstructed it . With KW-1062 20 mg/kg or more, similar findings to those of gentamicin 5 mg/kg were obtained, however, severe disturbance such as the obstruction of the renal tubular cavity was not recognized.

J Antibiot (Tokyo), 1980 Jan, 33(1), 54 - 60
Streptomyces spadicogriseus, a new species producing anthramycin; Komatsu N et al.; The taxonomic description of Streptomyces spadicogriseus, a new species belonging to the Gray Series of streptomycetes as classified by Pridham and Tresner, is presented . This new species is distinguishable from the known members of the Gray Series . Streptomyces spadicogriseus produces anthramycin but bears no taxonomic relation to the known producer of the antibiotic: S . refuineus var . thermotolerans.

Histochemistry, 1980, 65(3), 278 - 91
Noradrenergic innervation of the heart in untreated and daunomycin-pretreated animals; del Tacca M et al.; The innervation of guinea-pig and rat cardiac tissue consists of thin noradrenergic axons running parallel to the myocardial fibres and producing well-developed fluorescent networks which are denser in guinea-pig tissue . Transverse sections of arterial vessels exhibit a marked polar-like disposition of adrenergic nerves, which mainly appear to be concentrated in two opposite areas . Tissue sections from daunomycin-treated animals fluoresced a striking orange-red . This drug-specific fluorescence emanated from all parts of the ventricular tissue, with particular intensity in the nuclei . Neither the density nor the shape of the adrenergic nerves were affected by treatment with the drug . Despite penetration and storage of the antibiotic into the ventricular tissue, cardiotoxicity was not found in the present study.

J Perinat Med, 1980, 8(1), 13 - 8
Ampicillin and gemtamicin in the treatment of fetal intrauterine infections; Creatsas G et al.; The optimum clinical results in the treatment of fetal intrauterine infections are obtained by the administration of the appropriate antibiotic, which reaches an adequate concentration in the fetal serum . The pharmacokinetics of ampicillin and gentamicin were studied in 60 pregnant women . Ampicillin and gentamicin were given intramuscularly prior to cesarean section . At delivery maternal serum, amniotic fluid and cord serum antibiotic levels were tested . Assays of the levels of antibiotic were performed by agar diffusion method using Staph . aureus A.C.T.C . 25923 (American Type Control Collection) and E . coli N.C.T.C 1346, as standard organisms . During peak time, concentration of ampicillin in the maternal serum was found to be significantly higher than those of the amniotic fluid and cord serum (p less than 0.001) . Peak levels of the antibiotic in the amniotic fluid was also significantly higher than in the cord serum (p less than 0.001) . Our results, also showed that the determined levels of ampicillin, especially during peak time, are sufficient to inhibit in vitro, a high proportion of infecting pathogens in the maternal serum and amniotic fluid, but have little effect against organisms in the fetal serum . Concentration of gentamicin in the maternal serum during peak time was found higher than those of the amniotic fluid, but there was not a significant difference . Maternal serum peak levels of the drug were also higher than in cord serum, with a very significant difference (p less than 0.001) . Maximum levels of gentamicin in amniotic fluid were higher than in cord serum, also with a very significant difference, (p less than 0.001) . Gentamicin levels in amniotic fluid and fetal serum, especially, during peak time, would be adequate to inhibit in vitro the most common pathogens, sensitive to the drug.

Curr Med Res Opin, 1980, 6(6), 393 - 7
Doxycycline and amoxycillin in respiratory infections: a comparative assessment in general practice; Richards JG; A general practitioner survey was carried out to compare the efficacy of doxycycline and amoxycillin in the treatment of 267 patients with respiratory tract infections requiring antibiotic therapy . The findings, based on clinical observations, suggest that both antibiotics were equally effective in providing prompt improvement and complete resolution of the infection, only 7 of the 134 receiving doxycycline and 13 of the 133 patients receiving amoxycillin failing to show a satisfactory response . There was a statistically significant better response in those patients with acute and acute-on-chronic bronchitis who were treated with doxycycline . It is possible that this may have been related to a local upsurge in mycoplasma infection at the time of the study.

Chem Phys Lipids, 1980 Jan, 26(1), 101 - 10
Phosphatidylcholine liposomes containing cholesterol analogues with side chains of various lengths; Nakamura T et al.; The effect of the length of the side chain of sterols on their interaction with phosphatidylcholine was studied by measuring the permeability properties of liposomes constituted with sterol analogues with side chains of various lengths . The sensitivities of liposomes constituted with these sterol analogues toward digitonin and polyene antibiotics were also examined . The effects of sterols on phase transition of phosphatidylcholine were examined by measuring their effects on permeability increase due to perturbation of phase equilibrium and by differential scanning calorimetry . An analogue with a short side chain, isopropyl (C-22), had a very similar effect to cholesterol in suppressing the permeability increase, suggesting that the full length of the side chain is not necessary for this effect . The permeability of egg yolk phosphatidylcholine at 42 degrees C was suppressed as much by the analogue C-22 as by cholesterol . Androstene-3-beta-ol, an analogue without a side chain, however, had little suppressive effect . Thus it is concluded that the condensing effect of sterol requires a side chain, but not the full length of side chain . Liposomes constituted with analogues having a side chain with more than 5 carbon atoms showed maximum reactivity with a polyene antibiotic, amphotericin B, whereas those constituted with analogues having a side chain with less than 4 carbon atoms showed weaker reactivity . These findings indicate that a side chain with more than 5 carbon atoms is essential for the maximum interaction of liposomes with amphotericin B . Unlike amphotericin B, filipin reacted almost equally well with liposomes containing C-22 and with those containing cholesterol . Thus the chain length of the side chain of sterol is less important for interaction of liposomes with filipin than for their interaction with amphotericin B . Liposomes containing analogues having a side chain with more than 6 carbon atoms showed maximum reactivity with digitonin . Thus for the maximum interaction of liposomes with digitonin, the side chain of sterol should be longer than 6 carbon atoms.

Antibiotiki, 1980 Jan, 25(1), 32 - 5
{Effect of amphoglucamine on humoral immunity indices}; Mikhailova MA et al.; It was shown that amphoglucamine, a new Soviet polyenic antibiotic had no significant effect on the antibody titers in the reactions of agglutination, complement binding and precipitation, when administered at various periods of immunogenesis of rabbits immunized with killed C . immitis vaccine . No signific and difference in the serum complement titers of the immunized animals was found . The study on the protective properties of the immunized animal sera demonstrated that the antibiotic administered during immunogenesis rather inhibited the preventive properties of the immune sera . Amphoglucamine administered during immunogenesis suppressed intracutaneous allergic reactions to the antigen . The data should be considered in the diagnostic practice, since some times the allergic reactions are the only diagnostic sign.

Antibiotiki, 1980 Jan, 25(1), 24 - 8
{Bioavailability of ampicillin preparations for internal use}; Zak AF et al.; Bioavailability of various ampicillin dosage forms was studied . No difference in the level and rate of the antibiotic absorption was observed with the use of ampicillin trihydrate and anhydrous ampicillin capsules and ampicillin trihydrate tablets . Significant differences in the rate of ampicillin transfer into solution from various dosage forms were noted in the studies with the "rotating basket" apparatus . No correlation between the rate of ampicillin transfer into solution and the level of ampicillin absorption was found.

Obstet Gynecol, 1980 Jan, 55(1), 28 - 32
Therapeutic implications of doxycycline and cephalothin concentrations in the female genital tract; Whelton A et al.; The pharmacokinetics of doxycycline and cephalothin in genital tissues and serum were evaluated in 38 patients undergoing hysterectomy . Antibiotic concentrations in the ovary, fallopian tube, myometrium, cervix, and endometrium were measured at varying intervals after antibiotic administration . Cephalothin concentrations in tissues were critically dependent on the time interval between preoperative antibiotic administration and removal of the genital tract tissues, whereas doxycycline concentrations in tissues were consistently reproducible in the time frame evaluated (1/2 to 4 1/2 hours after drug administration) . Doxycycline endometrial concentrations were consistently higher than those measured elsewhere in the genital tract (P less than 0.05) . These results are of importance in a reassessment of traditional approaches to antibiotic use in gynecologic surgery and in the management of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID).

Biochim Biophys Acta, 1980, 595(1), 47 - 55
Inhibition by quercetin of activation of polymorphonuclear leucocyte functions . Stimulus-specific effects; Berton G et al.; The effect of some bioflavonoids on the activation of polymorphonuclear leucocyte respiration and exocytosis was examined . At 10-5-10-4 M concentration, quercetin, but not morin and rutin, was found to inhibit the concanavalin A-induced enhancement of oxygen consumption markedly, without impairing leucocyte viability and concanavalin A binding . The inhibition could be reversed by either washing the leucocytes or adding a 10-fold molar excess of 1-anilino-8-naphthalene sulphonate . Concanavalin A-dependent cell secretion of lysozyme was also totally inhibited by 30 muM quercetin . The effect of quercetin on the activation of leucocyte respiration appeared to be stimulus specific . In fact, at a concentration of the flavonoid (75 muM) which provided a 95% inhibition of the concanavalin A-induced stimulation, the respiratory activation produced by phospholipase C was inhibited by about 50% and that caused by myristic acid and by the antibiotic Br-X537A by less than 25% . These data suggest that quercetin exerts its activity at specific sites of the plasma membrane of the leucocytes, and that this compound might be used to identify the membrane domain whereon different stimuli act to originate the initial stimulatory signal.

Handchirurgie, 1980, 12(3-4), 257 - 60
{Experiences with gentamicin-PMMA mini-chains in hand infections}; Asche G; Soft tissue and bone infections often require lengthy treatment . The result in most cases will be poor function . The treatment can be shortened by surgical revision and highly effective local antibiotic therapy with Gentamycin-PMMA-minichains.

Acta Biochim Pol, 1980, 27(3-4), 221 - 31
The structure of chromatin synthesized in the presence of cycloheximide in Physarum polycephalum; Bernhardt-Smigielska J et al.; The effect of cycloheximide on protein and DNA synthesis and on the structure of chromatin was studied . Changes in the rate and extent of DNA synthesis in response to cycloheximide were highly variable in contrast to the extremely rapid and reproducible inhibition of protein synthesis . No differences in the rate of the release of acid-soluble products by nucleases and in the nature of the nucleoprotein particles were found in chromatin from plasmodia treated and non-treated with cycloheximide . It is concluded that, in Physarum polycephalum, unlike in higher animals, chromatin from the antibiotic-treated plasmodia is structurally indiscernible by the methods applied from normal chromatin.

J Med Virol, 1980, 6(2), 169 - 74
Inhibition of influenza A virus replication by rifampicin and selenocystamine; Hamzehei M et al.; The effects of selenocystamine, an inhibitor of influenza virus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase in vitro activity, in the antibiotic rifampicin were studied on influenza A/PR/8/34 (HON1) infection in embryonated eggs . Both drugs completely inhibited hemagglutinating and infective virus yields when added at relatively early times postinfection . Maximal inhibition was produced by apparently noncytotoxic concentrations of 50 microgram of selenocystamine, or of 400 microgram of rifampicin, per egg.

J Immunoassay, 1980, 1(3), 375 - 83
A heterogeneous fluorescence immunoassay for gentamicin using a second antibody separation; O'Donnell CM et al.; A heterogeneous fluorescence immunoassay (FIA) for gentamicin was developed using a second antibody separation . The separation of bound from free fluorescence label, removes a number of endogeneous fluorescent interferences . Correlation with a standard radioimmunoassay (RIA) for gentamicin was acceptable (r = 0.91) . We conclude that a heterogeneous FIA is a precise, accurate, and convenient alternative to monitoring antibiotic levels.

Ann Med Interne (Paris), 1980, 131(7), 439 - 42
{Brain abscesses . Value of computed tomography . A review of seven cases (author's transl)}; Leriche B et al.; Based on a series of seven cases of subtentorial abscess, the authors analyze the results of different methods of exploration . Though in certain clinical conditions (intracranial hypertension and meningeal infections) the etiology is of no consequence, in most cases of definite diagnosis can be made of a space-occupying lesion by the use of EEG, arteriography, and scintigraphy examinations, without establishing the precise nature of the affection . As expected, computed tomography appears to be the most reliable examination . Diagnosis was confirmed by this method in 6 of the 7 cases, and it also enabled the number, size, and location of the lesions to be determined . Typical appearances after injection of an iodized contrast medium revealed the development of an abscess following the intracerebral infection, and determined the time for surgical intervention . In spite of intensive care and antibiotic therapy, an abscess remains a "delayed-action bomb", with poor prognosis, requiring drainage or surgical excision as soon as conditions are appropriate . The mortality and morbidity of this rare, and therefore poorly recognized, affection should improve with systematic use of the scanner during meningeal infections.

Ophthalmologica, 1980, 181(2), 74 - 80
Amoebic keratitis; Hamburg A et al.; A 67-year-old man with chronic keratitis was treated with a multitude of antibiotics, corticosteroids and other medicines . Despite temporary relief, perforation with iris prolapse occurred about 4 months after the initial symptoms, and the eye had to be removed . Histological examination revealed cystic bodies in the corneal stroma which could be identified as belonging to the genus Acanthamoeba . Trophozoites were seen as well . Although these amoebae are free-living organisms, occurring almost everywhere in the water and air, corneal infections are rare and have been reported only recently . It has been suggested that Acanthamoebae may only invade the tissues in the case of mixed infections or in corneas with a reduced immunological response, e.g . after corticosteroid therapy . Conservative therapy seems to have little effect, although antibiotic/antiviral/antimycotic treatment should supplement antiamoebic therapy, considering the possibility of mixed infections . Penetrating keratoplasty was indicated in most of the reported cases and usually had a beneficial effect.

Vet Med Nauki, 1980, 17(3), 23 - 30
{Pharmaceutical studies of intramammary formulations prepared with Pharmachem rifampicin}; Panchev I et al.; Investigations were carried out on the medicines mastiriphin--intramammary syringes, (Mf) in two variants "A" and "B", meant for the treatment of acute mastitis with cows and also mastiriphin depot--intramammary syringes (Mf-depot), as well as two variants with indications for subclinical mastitis cows, containing both medicines in 10 g with 80,000 VI rifampicin, SEC "Pharmachem" . Experiments were carried out for determining the stability of the medicines at different pH . The investigations were carried out with 23 lactating and 22 non-lactating cows . Both the degree of retention and the velocity of elimination of rifampicin from the milk and the lactic secretion . It was proved in vitro that rifampicin is stable in a neutral milk milieu (pH 7) in the course of 24 hours, and while in acid or alkaline milieu it was quickly eliminated Mf "A" in the case of intramammary introduction created high bacteriostatic (therapeutic) concentrations in the milk of the lactating animals till the sixth (eighth hour, whereas Mf "B" and the imported analogue rifamasten, provided twice as high levels of antibiotic . Mf-depot "B" introduced in a intramammary way with non-lactating cows was retained in the lactic secretion between 15 and 20 days . The quarantine time limits for using the milk taken from cows, treated in an intramammary way, proved to be 72 hours.

Pharmacol Biochem Behav, 1980 Jan, 12(1), 79 - 84
Studies of memory: a reevaluation in mice of the effects of inhibitors on the rate of synthesis of cerebral proteins as related to amnesia; Rainbow TC et al.; Tests were made of the postulates stating that the degree of inhibition of protein synthesis either (a) at training or (b) following training is the critical variable that determines the degree of amnesia . As a first step it was found that the concentrations of numerous cerebral amino acids were substantially increased in 2 strains of mice 0.5 hr after treatment with amnesic doses of the inhibitors of protein synthesis, cycloheximide (CXM) and anisomycin . This observation led, in several different experiments, to a comparison of the apparent degree of inhibition of protein synthesis derived from the acid-soluble radioactivity with that derived from the specific radioactivity of tyrosine tagged with L(1-14C)-tyrosine . In all instances the apparent degree of inhibition was decreased when based upon tyrosine's specific radioactivity . The effect of several treatments with CXM on memory of a 1-trial passive avoidance task provided data for analysis of the relationship between the degrees of amnesia and those of the more accurate estimates of inhibition of protein synthesis based upon the specific radioactivity of tyrosine . The results failed to support the views that the level of inhibition of protein synthesis at or after training are entirely sufficient to account for the behavioral rr indirect change in the brain that antagonizes the amnesic effects of the antibiotic and that consequently contributes to the survival of memory in mice trained 2 hr after a large amnesic dose of CXM.

Tex Rep Biol Med, 1980-81, 40, 283 - 92
Infections in sickle cell anemia: pathogenesis and control; Overturf G et al.; Splenic dysfunction accounts for the greatest deficit in immune function in children with homozygous SCD . This dysfunction, coupled with the natural immunologic immaturity of all young children subjects the young child with SCD to an immense risk of severe pyogenic infections . To data, experience would suggest that pneumococcal vaccines may provide only modest protection in the child with SCD less than 5 years of age . Antipneumococcal antibody responses are poor in children less than two years of age . All reported failures of pneumococcal vaccine among children with SCD have occurred in children less than three years of age and offending pneumococci have been of groups 6 and 23 . Prophylactic antibiotic regimens have yet to be submitted to rigid scientific investigation and their utility in eliminating the risk of pneumococcal sepsis in asplenic hosts is unknown.

Haematologia (Budap), 1980, 13(1-4), 145 - 54
The current status of platelet and granulocyte transfusions; Seidl S et al.; During the past decade significant progress has been made in the preparation and use of platelet and granulocyte transfusions . The most important indication for platelet transfusion is the treatment of bleeding episodes in thrombocytopenic patients due to bone marrow aplasia, leukaemia, or chemotherapy of various malignancies . The clinical efficacy of granulocyte transfusions has been evaluated in several controlled clinical trials . The results indicate that granulocyte transfusions were most effective in patients who have severe bone marrow failure which did not improve during antibiotic therapy . ABO and HLA typing are carried out on donors and recipients . Due to the high polymorphism of the HLA system, it is, however, difficult to find a compatible donor-recipient pair.

Eur J Respir Dis Suppl, 1980, 111, 65 - 9
{Multicenter, double-blind study of oral acetylcysteine vs . placebo}; Brocard H et al.; The mucolytic activity of acetylcysteine (NAC) was evaluated in a double-blind, placebo controlled, clinical trial performed in three pneumology centres and involving a total of 215 patients with the following diagnoses: 84 acute bronchitis, 95 superinfections of chronic bronchitis, 36 complicated bronchitis in patients with severe chronic respiratory insufficiency . Treatment consisted of 1 sachet of 200 mg NAC t.i.d . for 10 days . Standard antibiotic therapy (amoxycillin 1.5 g/day) was concurrently administered for 7 days . Statistical analysis comparing sputum volume and viscosity, sedation of cough and improvement of PEFR in 108 NAC and in 107 placebo treated patients, showed that NAC was very significantly more effective than placebo . The effect of NAC was negligible in the 36 patients with complicated bronchitis, whereas it was evident and remarkable in patients with acute and chronic bronchitis.

Pharmatherapeutica, 1980, 2(7), 494 - 8
A double-blind study comparing cefaclor and amoxycillin in the treatment of respiratory tract infections in general practice; Brodie NH et al.; A prospective double-blind study was carried out to compare the efficacy of intermittent versus continuous levels of beta-lactam antibiotics . Two hundred and ninety-eight patients attending their general practitioner and requiring treatment for respiratory tract infections were randomly allocated to receive either 250 mg cefaclor 3-times daily (intermittent) or 500 mg amoxycillin 3-times daily (continuous) . By most of the parameters used to assess outcomes, the group on cefaclor did better than the group on amoxycillin, although in no case was the difference statistically significant . This result confirms previous studies which have shown that the maintenance of continuous levels of antibiotic is not a necessary objective when using beta-lactam antibiotics.

Med Microbiol Immunol (Berl), 1980, 169(1), 53 - 61
Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) isolated in the Tel-Aviv (Israel) area; Goldhar J et al.; The prevalence of enterotoxigenic E coli (ETEC) as a pathogenic agent of diarrhoea in the Tel-Aviv (Israel) area was determined, and the isolated E . coli strains characterized . During three periods (summer 1977, summer 1978, and summer 1979), a total of 335 specimens were tested for the presence of E . coli producing LT and ST toxin . Most of the specimens were from sporadic ambulatory diarrhoea cases (children and adults) attending a number of health care clinics in Tel-Aviv . Two to five colonies were tested from each sample . ETEC was detected in 69 cases (20%): LT/ST strains were isolated from 9 cases (2.7%); LT from 7 cases (2.1%); and ST from 53 cases (15.2%) . ETEC was isolated in all age groups . In 19 specimens, 2 or more of 4 colonies tested were enterotoxigenic and were identical according to biotype, antibiotic sensitivity, and serogroup . These findings suggest that enterotoxigenic strains predominated in the bacterial population of the stool specimen . Part of the isolated ETEC strains belonged to serotypes already known as enterotoxigenic in different geographic areas of the world . The most frequently encountered were serogroups O8 (9 cases) represented by at least three serotypes, among them O8:K40:H9, and serotype O6:K15:H16 (5 cases); a number of serotypes were represented only by two cases or by single cases . Among 16 LT-producing stains (LT/ST and LT-only), 13 belonged to 3 serogroups, while ST-only strains represented a large spectrum of serotypes, some of which are now known as enterotoxigenic . Several serotypes common in other geographical locations were not detected.

Mol Gen Genet, 1980, 180(3), 579 - 84
Maintenance of some ColE1-type plasmids in chemostat culture; Jones IM et al.; When cells carrying the plasmids RP1, pDS4101 (a ColK derivative) or pDS1109 (a ColE1 derivative) were maintained in chemostat culture in the absence of antibiotic selection, plasmid-free segregants were not detected after 120 generations of nutrient-limited growth . By contrast, plasmid-free segregants of pMB9- and pBR322-containing cells arose after approximately 30 generations, irrespective of the host genetic background . However, even though pDS1109 was maintained its copy-number fell five-fold during 80 generations of limited growth . It is suggested that loss of pBR322 occurs following a similar copy-number decrease which results in defective segregation of the plasmid to daughter host cells . This defective segregation was not complemented in trans by either RP1 or pDS4101.

Pharmatherapeutica, 1980, 2(5), 293 - 5
Treatment of infected dermatoses: a randomized, double-blind clinical trial in general practice; Valle-Jones JC; A double-blind, randomized trial was carried out in 52 patients with infected dermatoses to compare the efficacy and tolerance of two topical antibiotic/steroid combinations in cream formulations, one containing triamcinolone acetonide, neomycin sulphate and undecenoic acid ('Silderm') and the other triamcinolone acetonide, neomycin sulphate, nystatin and gramicidin . Patients applied the cream 3-times daily for 7 days . Assessments carried out before and after treatment showed that the 'Silderm' formulation was the more effective of the two preparations in reducing the extent of lesion, cosmetic disfigurement and irritation, and patients reported a greater improvement in their condition than did those on the other cream . No side-effects were reported in either treatment group.

Arkh Patol, 1980, 42(7), 15 - 9
{Pathomorphosis of infectious diseases in children}; Afanas'eva VM et al.; The general and therapeutically conditioned pathomorphosis was expressed in a significantly reduced number of autopsies predominantly due to reduced incidence of infectious diseases in children . Histological features of reactions in various organs in antibiotic therapy are examined . The necessity of continuous study of the clinical features and time course of infectious diseases in children is emphasized because the evolution of these processes continues.

Infection, 1980, 8 Suppl 3, S 268 - 75
{Inhibitors of folic acid metabolism (author's transl)}; Drews J; In contrast to antibiotic research, the study of folic acid metabolism and folic acid antagonists is conducted in the classical tradition of chemotherapy established by Paul Ehrlich . The elucidation of the mechanism of action of sulphonamides created an important prerequisite for the understanding of the biosynthesis of folic acid . The synthesis of inhibitors of dihydrofolate-reductase was guided on the one hand by the structure of dihydrofolate itself, and on the other hand by the fact that this substnce is essential for the growth of certain bacteria . Both approaches led to the synthesis of compounds which were effective and could be used therapeutically . The mechanism of selectivity of folic acid antagonists is described . A short account of the biochemical and genetic basis of resistance to folic acid antagonists is also given . The study of folic acid metabolism and folic acid antagonists provides a good example of the successful interaction of mechanistically inspired biochemical and chemical methods on the one hand, and an empirical approach characterised by the study of more complex biological phenomena on the other hand.

Diabetes Care, 1980 Jan-Feb, 3(1), 187 - 97
Infection and diabetes mellitus; Wheat LJ; Most physicians believe that diabetic individuals are predisposed to infections and that infection complicates the control of the diabetes . However, only bacteriuria can be documented to occur with increased frequency in diabetic compared with nondiabetic patients . Although most bacteriuric diabetic patients are asymptomatic, severe infections such as emphysematous pyelonephritis, papillary necrosis, perinephric abscess, and candida pyelonephritis may occur . Tuberculosis, once a proven threat to diabetic individuals, is a less serious problem now that effective screening and chemoprophylaxis programs have been initiated . Several unusual infections such as malignant external otitis, rhinocerebral mucormycosis, emphysematous pyelonephritis, and emphysematous cholecystitis occur also exclusively in diabetics . Foot infections are very important in diabetic patients; successful treatment requires accurate assessment of the extent and etiology of the infections and often involves surgery as well as broad antibiotic coverage . The important problem of infection in diabetic patients deserves careful evaluation . Questions such as do diabetic individuals have a higher incidence of infection, why are diabetic patients predisposed to infection, why is necrosis common in several of the infections, what is the course of asymptomatic bacteriuria, who do diabetic patients develop foot infections, and how should foot infections be prevented and treated should be topics of clinical investigation.

Chemotherapy, 1980, 26(6), 427 - 30
Effect of an R plasmid on the virulence of a hospital strain of Escherichia coli; Michel J et al.; The virulence of a multiple antibiotic-resistant isolate of Escherichia coli was compared to that of the same isolate 'cured' of its resistance by acridine orange, and to that of the cured bacteria transformed back to resistance by the plasmid DNA extracted from the original resistant isolate . There were virtually no differences in the mouse LD 50 of these three variants of the same organism.

Eur J Biochem, 1980, 107(1), 173 - 83
A trichodermin-resistant mutant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae with an abnormal distribution of native ribosomal subunits; Carter CJ et al.; 1 . A yeast mutant (CLP-8), resistant at the ribosome level to the trichothecene antibiotic trichodermin, differs from its parent in having an unusual distribution of native ribosomal subunits . Sucrose gradient analysis of cytoplasmic extracts from this mutant revealed a large excess of material sedimenting at 60 S with little or no material sedimenting at 40 S . 2 . The excess 609-S material consists predominantly of functionally active 60-S ribosomal subunits, as indicated by both analysis of ribosomal RNA and studies in vitro using a poly(U)-directed protein-synthesizing system . 3 . Using the poly(U) system it was found that high-salt-washed particles derived from either the excess 60-S peak or 80-S ribosomes of CLP-8 exhibited very similar levels of resistance to the antibiotic fusarenon-X, a drug closely related chemically to trichodermin . The same level of resistance to fusarenon-X was also shown by high-salt-washed 60-S ribosomal particles obtained from a further trichodermin-resistant yeast strain (TR-1), although this strain has a normal distribution of native ribosomal subunits . In addition, both CLP-8 and TR-1 are equally resistant to inhibition of protein synthesis by trichothecene antibiotics, as assayed in vivo . 4 . Genetic analysis of CLP-8 indicates that the trichodermin-resistant trait can be segregated from the lesion responsible for the inbalance of native ribosomal subunits . However, the latter defect is only expressed phenotypically in cells that retain the trichodermin-resistant character . 5 . CLP-8 has a further defect in that both in vivo and in vitro it fails to generate native 40-S ribosomal subunits from 80-S particles . There may be a lesion in the protein factor normally required for this process.

Mol Gen Genet, 1980, 178(2), 361 - 6
A new class of mutations altering the response of the ribosome to streptomycin; Dabbs ER; Mutants were isolated from high-level streptomycin dependent strains of Escherichia coli B, which do not spontaneously revert to antibiotic independence . In these mutants the requirement for streptomycin was much reduced, but not abolished . The relieving of the antibiotic dependence was caused by qui (for quasi-independent) mutations . These were analogous to the ramA (rpsD) mutations which relieve the streptomycin requirement of other classes of streptomycin dependent mutants, but strains harboring qui mutations exhibited novel streptomycin phenotypes in conjunction with all rpsL (strA) alleles . RamA mutations increase ribosomal misreading; qui mutations either did not significantly alter misreading, or else reduced it.

Mol Gen Genet, 1980 Jan, 177(2), 271 - 6
The ribosomal components responsible for kasugamycin dependence, and its suppression, in a mutant of Escherichia coli; Dabbs ER; The phenotype of a kasugamycin dependent mutant, MV17, was found to be the product of a kasugamycin resistance mutation in ksgA, together with a dependentizing mutation in rplW, the gene for large ribosomal subunit protein L23 . Revertants from dependence on this small subunit targeted antibiotic were found to have mutational laterations in ribosomal proteins L23, L1, L11, and S9 . The mutations causing alterations in L1 and L23 were shown to be responsible for the reversion and that altering L11 to be involved in the reversion.

Arch Surg, 1980 Jan, 115(1), 56 - 9
A comparison of the use of cephalothin and oxacillin in vascular surgery; May AR et al.; A randomized trial comparing two prophylactic antibiotics in vascular surgery was reviewed retrospectively . Two hundred thirty-two patients were given cephalothin sodium, and 168 patients were given oxacillin sodium . The overall incidence of wound infection was 1.5%; there was only one prosthetic graft infection in 346 patients in whom prosthetic material was used . There was no significant difference in wound infection between the groups . When postoperative infection in other areas was considered, however, it appeared that cephalothin was a more suitable antibiotic for treatment of these infections despite its use prophylactically . Although this trial was uncontrolled, the low overall incidence of wound and graft infection would appear to support the use of prophylactic antibiotics in vascular surgery.

Acta Chir Acad Sci Hung, 1980, 21(1), 1 - 9
{Therapy of adult respiratory distress syndrome}; Toth T et al.; After a brief review of the pertaining literature, 10 patients treated for adult respiratory distress syndrome between 1974 and 1978 are reported . Eight patients died; in 4 cases the cause of death was some other irreversible lesion . Respirator treatment with the Bird-8 apparatus was supplemented with cardiac diuretic and antibiotic therapy . Improvement of the results can be hoped partly from prevention, partly from the early diagnosis of ARDS and its adequate treatment.

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 1980 Jan, 77(1), 409 - 13
Induction of differentiation of human and murine myeloid leukemia cells in culture by tunicamycin; Nakayasu M et al.; Tunicamycin, an antibiotic that specifically blocks the synthesis of N-acetylglucosamine-lipid intermediates and thereby prevents glycosylation of glycoproteins, induced differentiation of both human (HL-60) and murine (M1) myeloid leukemia cell lines in culture . At 0.1-1.0 microgram/ml, it induced differentiation of both HL-60 and M1 cells, characterized by increase in phagocytic cells and changes to resemble mature myeloid cells . Fc receptors were also induced in M1 but not in HL-60 cells; induction of intracellular lysozyme activity was not detected in either HL-60 or M1 cells . With this concentration of tunicamycin, there was marked decrease in rate of incorporation of radioactive glucosamine into macromolecules and a decrease in the rate of DNA synthesis . These data show that glycosylation of cellular proteins has an important role in maintaining these myeloid leukemia cells in an undifferentiated state in culture . The results also indicate that induction of phagocytosis in both HL-60 and M1 myeloid leukemia cells and of Fc receptors in M1 cells does not require continued synthesis of the oligosaccharide portions of cellular proteins by the lipid-linked pathway.

J Natl Cancer Inst, 1980 Jan, 64(1), 105 - 9
Protection against anthramycin-induced toxicity in mice by coenzyme Q10; Lubawy WC et al.; Pretreatment of Swiss Webster mice with coenzyme Q10 (CoQ) markedly reduced the lethality of the antitumor antibiotic anthramycin as well as its ability to decrease ventricular weights . In tumor-bearing mice CoQ pretreatment did not produce any consistent alteration of radioactivity levels in blood, heart, tumor, lungs, kidneys, liver, muscles, brain, or spleen after {15-3H}anthramycin administration . Gross alterations in anthramycin distribution is probably not the mechanism by which CoQ alters the cardiotoxicity and lethality of anthramycin.

Ciba Found Symp, 1980, 76, 289 - 306
Influence of environmental chemicals on drug therapy in humans: studies with contraceptive steroids; Breckenridge AM et al.; The effects have been studied of various environmental factors on the variability in response to oral contraceptive steroid therapy in women . Ten- to thirty-fold variations in plasma concentrations of norethisterone, L-norgestrel and ethinyloestradiol have been shown in samples taken 12 h after administration of oral contraceptives in mid-menstrual cycle . Factors shown to be responsible for this variation include passage into the enterohepatic circulation, a variable first-pass effect, and changes in metabolism in the gut wall or liver due to diet, disease, smoking or administration of drugs . Phenobarbitone and the antibiotic rifampicin increase both oestrogen and progestogen metabolism in women and in experimental animals by increasing hepatic and gut wall metabolism . In animals, other antibiotics (ampicillin, neomycin and lincomycin) suppress the gut flora that normally hydrolyse steroid conjugates excreted in bile; enterohepatic circulation or oral contraceptive steroids is thus reduced and their plasma concentrations lowered by up to 90% . In the human, ampicillin has a variable but less dramatic effect on elimination of oral contraceptives . Samples of gut wall mucosa obtained from patients with coeliac disease are defective in their ability to metabolize oral contraceptives . Cigarette smokers eliminate ethinyloestradiol more rapidly than non-smokers; an increased production of reactive steroid metabolites may thus be a cause of vascular disease in women who smoke and take contraceptive steroids.

Dis Colon Rectum, 1980 Jan-Feb, 23(1), 17 - 24
Emergency left colon resection with primary anastomosis; Thow GB; Thirteen cases of emergency left colon resection with primary anastomosis are presented . Production of an empty bowel and use of parenteral hyperalimentation, to delay intake until healing is evidenced by bowel function, are absolutely necessary, The "elective environment," assuring primary healing of the left colon anastomosis, consists of several factors: an empty decompressed bowel with adequate lumen, an antibiotic-depressed colon bacterial flora, assured blood supply, healthy bowel wall, and absence of anastomotic tension . The importance of not extraperitonealizing the anastomosis and the danger of long-term drains are emphasized.

Mol Gen Genet, 1980, 179(1), 49 - 54
Characterisation of mutants of Escherichia coli K12, selected by resistance to streptozotocin; Lengeler J; From cultures of sensitive bacteria, treated with the antibiotic streptozotocin, two classes of resistant mutants can be isolated: 1) mutants, resistant under all the conditions tested to even the highest doses of the antibiotic . These are either pleiotropic-defective, pts-mutants, or more frequently, mutants lacking a transport system (enzyme IINag-complex of the PEP-dependent phosphotransferase system) encoded by the gene nagE . This gene is inducible by N-acetyl-glucosamine and seems to be part of the nag operon . The transport system in question is responsible for the uptake of N-acetyl-glucosamine, of D-glucosamine and of streptozotocin; 2) conditional resistant mutants which are unable to energize or to synthesize the streptozotocin transport system under certain growth conditions but do have the transport activity under other conditions . These include a) mutants auxotrophic for amino acids, vitamins, or nucleotides, b) mutants negative or sensitive to carbohydrates in the medium, and c) mutants wth defects in energy metabolism such as PEP synthesis.

Zahn Mund Kieferheilkd Zentralbl, 1980, 68(1), 20 - 35
{Frequency and causes of life-threatening forms and courses of pyogenic soft-part infections in the maxillocervicofacial regions of 3,314 patients (author's transl)}; Schulz S; The morbidity of life-threatening inflammatory diseases is determined from examinations of 3,314 inpatients with pyogenic soft-part infections in the maxillocervico-facial region . Abnormally severe and life-threatening disease pictures must be expected in about 5 and 15 per cent of the cases, with the lethality being in the order of 0.2 per cent . The etiological factors responsible for the development of abnormal forms of disease, which were determined from a review of the relevant literature, were confirmed by the results obtained for the patients examined in this investigation . Errors in diagnosis and therapy account for a high percentage of the medical failures reported . Retrospectively, numerous clinical pictures have become modified due obviously to the increasing use in dental practice of antibiotic substances.

Arch Surg, 1980 Jan, 115(1), 81 - 2
Infected Dacron mesorenal portosystemic shunt; Klaminski DL et al.; A serious septicemia developed in a patient two years after placement of a Dacron mesorenal shung for bleeding esophageal varices . The source of the sepsis remained unknown for 13 months and was refractory to antibiotic therapy . Roentgenographic studies showed the shunt to be patent and without intralumenal thrombus . At operation, the shung was being contaminated by a hole in the proximal jejunum and the patient has been cured of sepsis by removing the shunt . In contrast to the presentation of infected prosthesis used in the arterial system, infectious complications of prosthesis used in the portal systemic venous system occur without thrombosis of the shunt, aneurysm formation, or intraintestinal bleeding thus making operative evaluation the only means of diagnosis.

Acta Radiol Oncol, 1980, 19(3), 193 - 7
Chloramphenicol toxicity in radiation disease; Pospisil M et al.; The effect of chloramphenicol given in high therapeutic doses, in the course of postirradiation syndrome in irradiated mice of C57Bl/10 strain, is reported . Chloramphenicol treatment increased postirradiation mortality of animals and intensified suppression of the proliferating and differentiating processes in hemopoietic organs of the irradiated animals . The results support the assumption that postirradiation depression of hemopoiesis is a contraindication to the therapeutic employment of this antibiotic.

Acta Physiol Acad Sci Hung, 1980, 55(1), 1 - 11
Effect of primycin on some electric properties of the frog skeletal muscle; Gesztelyi I et al.; The effect of primycin, a guanidine-type antibiotic was studied on the electric properties and 42K+ uptake of the frog sartorius and semitendinosus muscle . Both in normal and choline chloride Ringer solution, primycin evoked a concentration and time dependent depolarization of the surface membrane of the muscle . This depolarization was significantly increased by Na ions . Primycin treatment was shown to evoke a dose-dependent decrease of the depolarization induced by 20 mM K+-Ringer . When the muscles were incubated in a Ringer solution containing choline chloride, during an incubation period of 30 min the uptake of 42K+ was decreased to 12% upon the exposure to 5 x 10(-6) mol primycin as compared to the control value . As the primycin-induced depolarization increased, the shape and amplitude of the action potentials elicited by square-wave electric impulses were altered and decreased, respectively . In sodium isaethionate Ringer 1--2 x 10(-6) M primycin induced a slow depolarization resulting in firing potentials . The results suggest that primycin depolarizes the surface membrane exclusively through the blockade of the resting K+ channels, the other phenomena being the results of this depolarizing effect.

Am J Hematol, 1980, 9(3), 249 - 59
Erythrocytes as carriers of chemotherapeutic agents for targeting the reticuloendothelial system; Lynch WE et al.; The object of this work was to define a model using hypotonically loaded erythrocytes as a vehicle to target drugs to the reticuloendothelial system (RES) . The optimum hemolytic event was found to occur at 100 mOsm/kg using a 0.5-min exposure at 0 degrees C . Approximately one third of the total volume of the cells could be replaced with hypotonic drug solutions under these conditions . Although cytosine-beta-D-arabinofuranoside, ara C, is membrane permeable and could not be entrapped in the erythrocytes, phosphorylation of this nucleoside antimetabolite enabled it to be loaded efficiently . Actinomycin D could be loaded and retained within the cells at 0 degrees C, but 90% of this loaded drug leaked out of the erythrocytes in 1 min at 37 degrees C . Actinomycin D-DNA complexes, however, could be loaded and retained for longer periods . In this case, 50% of the DNA-bound drug was retained in the cells for one hour at 37 degrees C . It was found that the glycopeptide antitumor antibiotic, bleomycin, could be entrapped and retained in the cells without appreciable leakage . It was possible to load a human therapeutic dose of this drug in 1-2 ml of packed cells . Furthermore, it was demonstrated that bleomycin entrapped in erythrocytes was significantly more effective than the same dose of free drug in suppressing the phagocytic function of the RES in Balb/C and C3H mice . The rationale is discussed for the possible use of these drugs, entrapped in erythrocytes, for the production of RES blockade in the treatment of disorders in man.

Hum Genet, 1980, 55(3), 409 - 11
An extra idic(15p)(q11) chromosome in Prader-Willi syndrome; Fujita H et al.; Using a nonfluorescent AT-specific oligopeptide antibiotic, Distamycin A, on DAPI fluorescent banding of human chromosome (DA-DAPI) as described by Schweizer et al . (1978), we have detected an additional idic(15p) chromosome in a patient with typical Prader-Willi syndrome . On the basis of the evidence available in previous studies and of our own present results, we suspect that the fundamental genetic error in the syndrome is not caused by a chromosome aberration but by a gene aberration on chromosome 15.

Chromosoma, 1980, 79(3), 271 - 86
Specific fluorescent bands on chromosomes produced by acridine orange after prestaining with base specific non-fluorescent DNA ligands; Lin CC et al.; Metaphase chromosomes stained with acridine orange exhibit uniform yellow-green fluorescence . Chromosome preparations treated with the non-fluorescent A-T specific antibiotic distamycinA prior to acridine orange staining exhibit longitudinal fluorescent banding patterns similar to those produced by a number of fluorescent R-band techniques . Similarly, chromosome preparations treated with the non-fluorescent G-C specific antibiotic actinomycin D followed by acridine orange staining exhibit "Hoechst-type" banding patterns . Interactions of various ligand-DNA combinations in solution indicate that the base pair specific antibiotics induce banding patterns by selectively altering acridine orange binding sites in chromosomal regions rich in the particular base pair for which the antibiotic exhibits specificity.

Arch Virol, 1980, 64(2), 109 - 17
Glycosylation of human leukocyte interferon: effects of tunicamycin; Chadha KC et al.; Antiviral activity of interferon secreted by human leukocytes into the culture fluid in the presence of tunicamycin (1-2 microgram/ml) was significantly decreased, by 50-60 percent, in comparison to that produced in the absence of the antibiotic . No loss in antiviral activity occurred when tunicamycin was added to already harvested interferon preparations . Some physico-chemical and biological properties of human leukocyte interferon synthesized in the presence of tunicamycin (HL-IFT) were apparently altered by comparison with those of control preparations of human leukocyte interferon (HL-IF): HF-IFT had only one molecular weight component of 16,000 daltons in contrast to the two components of HL-IF of 16,000 and 21,000 daltons . HL-IFT also had a higher apparent hydrophobicity and was less efficiently neutralized by an antibody raised against HL-IF . However, some other properties remained unchanged: isoelectric point, pI about 6; affinity for immobilized polyriboinosinic acid and a spectrum of cross-species antiviral activity . These data support the notion that the major component of HL-IF (70%, 16,000 daltons) is apparently nonglycosylated whereas the minor component (30%, 21,000 daltons) is glycosylated via saccharide-lipid intermediates.

Acta Derm Venereol, 1980, 60(1), 83 - 5
Reduction of oral tetracycline of lipolysis of triglycerides in hair lipid; Shaw DA et al.; Oral tetracycline hydrochloride (Amphocycline) reduced significantly (P less than 0.05) the mean free fatty acid/triglyceride (FAA/TG) ratio in hair lipid, from 1.56 to 0.47 after treatment for 4 weeks, and to 0.64 after treatment for 8 weeks in 15 young men and women undergoing treatment for acne vulgaris . In a second similar group of 16 subjects who received the same oral therapy with antibiotic but who also applied a 10% (w/v) solution of ethyl lactate twice daily to affected areas on the face, the mean FFA/TG ratio was also reduced significantly (P less than 0.05) from 1.25 to 0.61 (after 4 weeks) and to 0.64 (after 8 weeks) . In a third group of 16 subjects, whose only treatment was local application of ethyl lactate solution, the mean FFA/TG ratio was essentially unchanged throughout the period of treatment from 1,15, being 1.50 and 1.22 after 4 weeks and 8 weeks, respectively.

Eur J Biochem, 1980 Jan, 103(1), 197 - 207
Studies on biosynthesis, assembly and expression of human major transplantation antigens; Algranati ID et al.; Biosynthesis and regulation of expression of transplantation as detected by a monoclonal antibody to HLA-A,B,C antigens (human leucocytic antigen) and a polyclonal antiserum to beta 2-microglobulin have been investigated using radioactive amino acids and sugars to label human lymphoid cells . We found unbalanced synthesis of HLA heavy chains and beta 2-microglobulin, the latter being in excess and secreted to the extracellular medium . In DAUDI cells, which are defective in beta 2-microglobulin, no HLA-A,B,C could be detected intracellularly even in the presence of added beta 2-microglobulin . Treatment of BRI-8 cells with tunicamycin, an antibiotic which inhibits glycosylation of polypeptides, almost had no effect on the levels of beta 2-microglobulin, while it markedly decreased that of HLA heavy chains, both on the cell surface and intracellularly . Glycosylation of the HLA heavy chains appeared to be an essential requirement for the normal expression of HLA-A,B,C antigens . The translation in vitro in a messenger-dependent reticulocyte system with total polysomes obtained from BRI-8 cells showed that beta 2-microglobulin was synthesized as a precursor . This larger polypeptide was converted into mature beta 2-microglobulin when protein synthesis was performed with microsomes instead of polysomes.

C R Seances Soc Biol Fil, 1980, 173(6), 1152 - 6
{Functional, histological, ultrastructural and biochemical study of rat kidney treated with fosfomycin and gentamycin, administered separately or together}; Viotte G et al.; Wistar rats received by intraperitoneal injection for 8 days different doses of Fosfomycin, a new antibiotic . No renal pathological changes are seen under light microscopy after these treatments . Ultrastructural study reveal an intact cellular structure of the proximal tubule . Fosfomycin induces no change in the lysosomal structural latency and enzymatic study show no change in the activities of our hydrolases (alanine-aminopeptidase, alpha-galactosidase, N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase and sphingomyelinase), after treatment by 100 and 500 mg/kg Fosfomycin . At 1000 mg/kg, Fosfomycin induces an inhibition in enzymatic activities of the four hydrolases . Fosfomycin does not modify the activity of Gentamicin on the proximal tubular cell and induces neither protection nor potentialization of its nephrotoxic effect.

J Am Dent Assoc, 1980 Jan, 100(1), 73 - 5
Oral inflammatory response to a sting from a Portuguese man-of-war; Matusow RJ; A careful history was taken in an attempt to document an unusual delayed inflammatory reaction involving the ears and oral cavity . Severe oral and auricular inflammations have been described as apparent reactions to stings on the patient's foot by a Portuguese man-of-war (P physalia) . Toxin was injected into the right foot and resulted in a delayed type of severe swellings and inflammation . The soft palate, cheek, periodontal tissues, and lower lip were primarily involved . Oral inflammations coincided with massive, acute, inflammatory lesions behind the ears . Delayed oral and ear inflammations suggest an unusual reaction to the toxin of the sting of P physalia; it was possibly hypersensitive in nature . The described pathology seems unique to medical reports concerning the Portuguese man-of-war . The foot responded rapidly to topical application of ammonia solution . Antibiotic therapy taken orally apparently helped resolve the oral and ear lesions in approximately 11 days.

Eur J Biochem, 1979 Dec 17, 102(2), 489 - 95
Premature appearance of hepatic phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase in fetal rats, not mediated by adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate; Mencher D et al.; Injection of streptozotocin in utero to fetuses elicited a premature appearance of cytosolic hepatic activity of phosphoenol pyruvate carboxykinase . This was due to a precocious initiation of the synthesis of the enzyme . The streptozotocin-induced appearance of enzyme activity was not mediated by adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate since the concentration of the cyclic nucleotide in the liver was unaffected by the antibiotic, the administration of dibutyryladenosine 3':5'-monophosphate to streptozotocin-treated fetuses elicited an additive increase in enzyme activity, and insulin administration in utero repressed the streptozotocin effect while the effect due to dibutyryladenosine 3':5'-monophosphate was not inhibited by simultaneous insulin injection . Streptozotocin treatment also caused a small but consistent retardation of fetal growth and a marked reduction of liver wet weight . Histological analysis of the liver demonstrated a premature loss of some hematopoietic elements, while hepatocytes appeared normal . Hepatic protein synthesis was unaffected by the streptozotocin treatment . Streptozotocin treatment had no effect on fetal renal phosphoenol pyruvate carboxykinase activity or kidney wet weight.

Boll Soc Ital Biol Sper, 1979 Dec 15, 55(23), 2504 - 10
{Effect of actinomycin D on purified DNA-dependent RNA polymerases from normal and neoplastic tissues}; Capobianco G et al.; The effect of low concentrations of actinomycin D was investigated, using two forms of DNA-dependent RNA polymerase (A and B) purified from normal tissues and experimental tumours, in the presence either of Mn2+ or Mg2+, and homologous DNA . The A enzyme activity was strongly inhibited by the antibiotic in presence of Mg2+ and much less in presence of Mn2+ . The B enzyme activity was almost suppressed in presence of both cations . The results here reported provide support that the actinomycin D induce a cellular damage of the same extent in normal and tumour tissues.

Vet Rec, 1979 Dec 15, 105(24), 5554 - 6
Natamycin treatment of ringworm in cattle in the United Kingdom; Oldenkamp EP; A total of 258 cattle clinically affected with Trichophyton verrucosum (ringworm) were treated twice by spraying with a suspension containing the fungicidal antibiotic natamycin . One-hundred-and-forty-seven in-contact, but unaffected cattle were also similarly treated . Forty-one of the affected animals were examined mycologically and clinically as they were taken to be representative of the whole group . At eight weeks after the last treatment 93 per cent of the affected animals had completely recovered and the remaining 7 per cent had improved markedly; 70 per cent of the mycologically examined animals proved negative at the same time . No reinfection of the recovered animals or spread of the disease to the treated in-contact animals was seen up to six months after treatment.

J Biol Chem, 1979 Dec 10, 254(23), 11943 - 52
Glycoprotein nature of yeast alkaline phosphatase . Formation of active enzyme in the presence of tunicamycin; Onishi HR et al.; The nonspecific alkaline phosphatase of yeast (Saccharomyces strain 1710) has been purified by ion exchange, hydrophobic, and affinity chromatography . This vacuolar enzyme has a molecular weight of 130,000 and is composed of subunits (probably of 66,000 molecular weight) . It also has a small quantity of covalently associated carbohydrate; hydrolysis yielded mannose and glucosamine . The endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase of Streptomyces plicatus released carbohydrate indicating that the latter was attached to protein through an N-acetylglucosaminylasparginyl bond . Synthesis of active alkaline phosphatase by yeast protoplasts is not depressed by tunicamycin, an inhibitor of dolichol-mediated protein glycosylation . Unlike the enzyme normally produced, the alkaline phosphatase which is formed in the presence of the antibiotic does not interact with concanavalin A and, therefore is deficient in or lacking carbohydrate . We infer that there is no regulatory link in yeast between the glycosylation of a protein and its synthesis . The fact that other Asn-GlcNAc-type glycoprotein enzymes of yeast such as acid phosphatase are not produced in their active forms by tunicamycin-treated protoplasts may mean that, as unglycosylated proteins, they cannot be correctly folded or processed . Protoplasts derepressed for phosphatase production contained substantial amounts of a second alkaline phosphatase which differed from the purified enzyme in substrate specificity, sensitivity to calcium, and reactivity with concanavalin A.

C R Seances Acad Sci D, 1979 Dec 10, 289(15), 1145 - 8
{Interaction between an antifungal heptaene, amphotericin B and cholesterol in vitro, as detected by circular dichroism and absorption . Influence of temperature}; Ernst C et al.; The polyene antibiotic "Amphotericin B" can interact with sterols, cholesterol or ergosterol in aqueous and hydroalcoholic media and a correlative striking spectral change appears between 300 and 420 nm in the CD and absorption spectra . Using these spectroscopic methods we have determined that the influence of temperature between 4 and 80 degrees C is very important . The higher the temperature the most rapid is the modification of the spectra . Thus, the "Amphotericin B"-sterol complex is more easily formed when heating . We have not found any reversibility at 80 degrees C.

J Antibiot (Tokyo), 1979 Dec, 32(12), 1230 - 8
Hydroheptin: a water-soluble polyene macrolide . II . Chemical and biological properties; Tunac JB et al.; Hydroheptin, a new polyene macrolide antifungal antibiotic, is co-produced with the antibiotic, chartreusin, by a strain of Streptomyces chartreusis designated as IMRU 3962 isolated in our laboratory . The unique water-solubility of this antibiotic at neutrality, revealing in aqueous solution molecular dispersion and an ultraviolet-visible absorption spectrum characteristic of an all-trans heptaene chromophore, clearly distinguishes it from all previously-described and naturally-occurring heptaene macrolides . The isolation and identification of the amino sugar, mycosamine (3-amino-3,6-dideoxy-D-mannose), in acid hydrolysates of hydroheptin and the absence of an aromatic amine upon retrograde alkaline dealdolization of the molecule certainly characterize the antibiotic as a member of the non-aromatic heptaene macrolide group . Chromatographic and countercurrent distribution studies likewise support its novelty . With little or no demonstrable activity against bacteria, hydroheptin as compared to other non-aromatic heptaene macrolides exhibits excellent but somewhat less activity against a wide variety of yeasts and fungi . Likewise, its parenteral toxicity appears to be less than that of other heptaene macrolides.

Undersea Biomed Res, 1979 Dec, 6(4), 319 - 28
Increased blood-brain barrier permeability to tetracycline in rabbits under dysbaric conditions; Chryassanthou C et al.; Alteration of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) by dysbaric exposure may have relevance in several areas of hyperbaric medicine . Drugs administered to persons exposed to dysbaric conditions, e.g., divers, compressed air workers, may penetrate the brain in amounts that could produce toxic or undesirable effects . Modification of the BBB may also have pathogenetic implications in decompression sickness . Furthermore, increased BBB permeability to certain potentially useful antitumor agents, antibiotics, and other compounds under dysbaric conditions may provide the basis for a new therapeutic approach . This report concerns the influence of dysbaric exposure on BBB permeability to an antibiotic . Tetracycline (5-40 mg/kg) was intravenously injected in 22 experimental rabbits (subjected to air compression-decompression) and 17 controls (kept at ambient pressure) . Fluorescence microscopy and spectrometry revealed significantly greater tetracycline concentrations in 72.7% of the experimental brains . With the 5 mg/kg dose, the mean tetracycline concentrations was 0.17 micrograms/g in control brains and 0.33 micrograms/g in experimentals . These results indicate that dysbaric exposure increases BBB permeability to tetracycline . It appears that BBB alteration is related to intravascular gas bubbles but is independent of the development of decompression sickness . The conclusions of this investigation are pertinent to brain pharmacotherapy and may provide some new insight into the mechanism of decompression sickness . They also point to potential risks connected with drug administration under dysbaric conditions that can alter BBB permeability.

Neurosurgery, 1979 Dec, 5(6), 718 - 22
Invasive pituitary adenoma with abscess formation: case report; Zorub DS et al.; A case is presented and 10 cases are reviewed in which abscess formation developed in an intrasellar tumor . The diagnosis was made preoperatively or before autopsy in only 1 patient . The mortality rate was greater than 50% . The most common presentation was headache, fever, and visual disturbances with an abnormal sella and sterile cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) . Nonconstant findings included meningeal signs and leukocytosis of the CSF . Trans-sphenoidal removal of the tumor and drainage of the abscess with appropriate antibiotic therapy is recommended . (Neurosurgery, 5: 718--722, 1979).

J Reprod Med, 1979 Dec, 23(6), 284 - 7
C-reactive protein in the differential diagnosis of gynecologic pathology; Hajj SN et al.; A qualitative assay for the presence of C-reactive protein (CRP), with a threshold of approximately 1 mg per deciliter, was performed on 121 gynecologic patients who presented to the University of Chicago, Chicago Lying-In Hospital for various complaints . CRP results divided patients with inflammatory processes from those without inflammation or necrosis with an accuracy of over 98% . The method, which is quick and inexpensive, allows CRP to be a useful tool in the differential diagnosis of pelvic pain and masses and further may be useful in the assessment of the efficacy of antibiotic regimens in the treatment of pelvic inflammatory disease.

Antibiotiki, 1979 Dec, 24(12), 888 - 93
{Effect of lincomycin on its own producer, Actinomyces roseolus, in periodic cultivation in a liquid medium}; Listvinova SN et al.; Lincomycin added to the cultivation medium induced a number of changes in the organism producing it during its ontogenesis when grown recurrently on liquid media . It was found that lincomycin inhibited the culture growth and decreased the absolute amount of the antibiotic synthesized while the specific activity of the culture increased . A number of cytomorphological rearrangements relevant to the adaptive protective reactions was found . It is suggested that an increase in the resistance of the culture to the antibiotic produced by it at the late developmental stages is the result of the above protective reactions.

Antibiotiki, 1979 Dec, 24(12), 883 - 8
{Actinomyces rimosus resistance to oxytetracycline}; Borisoglebskaia AN et al.; High frequency of spontaneous and UV-and acridine dye-induced variants susceptible to oxytetracycline (OTC) and deprived of the capacity for synthesizing this antibiotic was observed in strain LST-118 of Actinomyces rimosus . The cells of strain LST-118 of Act . rimosus contained extrachromosomal DNA not found in its OTC susceptible variant BS87, which provides evidence in favour of participation of the extrachromosomal genetic elements in control of OTC resistance of the cells of Act . rimosus, LST-118 . The OTC resistance in strain LST-118 is of inducable character . The resistance level is increasing from the beginning of the antibiotic synthesis and initially the subinhibitory concentrations of OTC in the medium were the inductors triggering cellular mechanisms ensuring resistance of the cell to the increasing concentrations of OTC in the medium . The capacity for absorption of OTC in Act rimosus is 2--3 times lower than that in E . coli . The experiments with labeled tetracycline showed that the cells of the actinomycete absorbed OTC when it was present in the medium . The absorption of the main amount of the antibiotic was registered during the first 5 minutes . The difference in absorption of OTC by the cells of the antibiotic resistant and sensitive strains was insignificant.

Surg Gynecol Obstet, 1979 Dec, 149(6), 855 - 7
Penetrating wounds of the buttock; Maull KI et al.; Results of a study of 15 patients with penetrating wounds of the buttock managed during a recent five year period suggest that penetrating trauma to the buttock is a distinct injury syndrome accompanied by serious intestinal, bladder or vascular damage . Following a complete history, physical examination and appropriate roentgenograms, most injuries can be anticipated, but proctoscopy and cystography should be performed upon all patients at risk . Intravenous pyelography, a poor test of bladder integrity, may be misleading and should by supplemented by additional techniques . If a retroperitoneal or intraperitoneal injury is suspected, preoperative antibiotic therapy, followed promptly by aggressive intraoperative management of all injuries, is recommended.

J Antibiot (Tokyo), 1979 Dec, 32(12), 1288 - 92
Binding of tobramycin to Escherichia coli ribosomes: characteristics and equilibrium of the reaction; Le Goffic F et al.; A sample of {3H} tobramycin (5,000 Ci/Mole) has been synthetized and incubated with the bacterial ribosome and its subunits . The results obtained show that this antibiotic has two types of binding sites . The primary one is probably responsible for the inhibition of protein synthesis whereas the secondary one is probably related to the misreading and reading through of the messenger RNA.

Urology, 1979 Dec, 14(6), 576 - 80
Necrotizing infection of scrotum; Biswas M et al.; Necrotizing infection of the scrotum (Fournier gangrene) rapidly spreads to adjacent skin with fever and toxemia and is life-threatening . Subcutaneous gas and a foul-smelling wet discharge from the skin are usually present . The infection is not cured with antibiotic therapy alone and requires immediate extensive debridement of all necrotic tissue . Repeated debridement each several days under general anesthesia is necessary until healthy granulation is present in the wound . Reconstruction with skin flaps or skin grafts shortens hospitalization and prevents the dense scar tissue and immobility of the tests that can occur with spontaneous epithelization.

Cancer, 1979 Dec, 44(6), 2008 - 13
Adriamycin, BCNU, ftorafur chemotherapy of pancreatic and biliary tract cancer; Hall SW et al.; Twenty-six evaluable patients with disseminated or locally unresectable pancreatic or biliary tract carcinoma received Ftorafur (4 g/m2 iv day 1 and 22 and 2 g/m2 iv day 4 and 26), Adriamycin (60 mg/m1 IV day 1 and 45 mg/m2 iv day 22) and BCNU (150 MG/M2 IV DAY 1) combination chemotherapy (FAB) repeated at 6--8 week intervals . Two (29%) complete and one (14%) partial remissions were observed in 7 patients with biliary carcinoma while 5 of 19 (26%) patients with pancreatic carcinoma achieved partial remissions . Median survival for responding patients was approximately 11 months (range 7--16+) with median survivals of about 6 months (p less than 0.05 and about 3 months (p less than 0.05) for patients with stable and progressive disease . Major drug toxicity was myelosuppression with median lowest granulocyte counts of 1,000/microliters and platelet counts of 88,000/microliters . Approximately 25% of patients required antibiotic therapy for fever of unknown origin or documented infections . Other tolerable drug toxicities included nausea, vomiting and mucositis . The FAB regimen appears quite promising in biliary tract cancer and has efficacy in pancreatic carcinoma that warrants further clinical trials . Because of myelotoxicity observed with this regimen we now recommend a BCNU starting dose of 100 mg/m2 instead of 150 mg/m2.

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 1979 Dec, 76(12), 6391 - 5
Absence of filipin-sterol complexes from large coated pits on the surface of culture cells; Montesano R et al.; Monolayer cultures of normal or transformed fibroblasts and of liver cells fixed in a glutaraldehyde solution containing 300 microM filipin, a sterol-specific polyene antibiotic, were freeze-fractured to study the distribution of cholesterol within their plasma membranes . Filipin-sterol complexes, recognizable as 25- to 30-nm protuberances scattered in the fracture face of plasma membrane, were absent from invaginations corresponding to large, bristle-coated pits (and possibly also from small, flask-shaped invaginations) . These results suggest that invaginating regions on the cell surface are specialized plasma membrane domains with a lower cholesterol content than the surrounding membrane . The localized change in membrane fluidity due to the low cholesterol concentration could play a role in endocytosis.

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 1979 Dec, 76(12), 6381 - 5
Enucleation of differentiated murine erythroleukemia cells in culture; Tsiftsoglou AS et al.; Friend murine leukemia cells induced to undergo erythrocytic differentiation by dimethyl sulfoxide give rise to progeny resembling ortho- or polychromatic normoblasts, which usually do not complete the maturation process to yield forms analogous to erythrocytes . Treatment of these differentiated cells with cytochalasin B can lead to a high proportion (i.e., 80-85%) of enucleated cells in vitro . Nuclear extrusion in cells induced to differentiate by dimethyl sulfoxide and subsequently treated with cytochalasin B began within 24-36 hr of exposure to the antibiotic, with the appearance of a pre-enucleated stage in which the cell nucleus became pycnotic and eccentrically located . Maximum enucleation occurred after 72-96 hr of exposure to cytochalasin B and was significantly enhanced when dimethyl sulfoxide was included in the culture medium during the period of treatment with cytochalasin B . Enucleation appeared to take place only in differentiated progeny, because nondifferentiated cells treated with cytochalasin B alone yielded a population of multinucleated cells . The findings indicate that highly tumorigenic nondifferentiated Friend erythroleukemia cells can be converted in high yield to mature enucleated forms that are unable to proliferate in vitro.

Ann Neurol, 1979 Dec, 6(6), 469 - 73
Myelin basic protein treatment of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis in monkeys; Alvord EC Jr et al.; Treatment of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) in two strains of monkeys with large amounts of myelin basic basic protein (BP) fails unless an adjunct is also used . In both strains the adjunct by itself is more effective than BP by itself, but in the one strain which could be investigated sufficiently, the combination can be made almost totally effective in reversing EAE . The adjunct varies with the strain of monkey, an antibiotic in Macaca mulatta and a steroid in Macaca fascicularis . Similar adjunctive treatments should be considered in the management of multiple sclerosis, for EAE remains one of the best studied models.

Ann Neurol, 1979 Dec, 6(6), 461 - 8
Has myelin basic protein received a fair trial in the treatment of multiple sclerosis?
Alvord EC Jr, Shaw CM, Hruby S, Kies MW.
Autosensitization to some central nervous system antigen still remains one of the best hypotheses for the continuing pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS) . Enough is now known about the cause, pathogenesis, and treatment of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) to test this hypothesis . Reports of therapeutic failure of the encephalitogen myelin basic protein (BP) in the treatment of MS have their counterparts in similar therapeutic failures in EAE . Only highly inbred strain 13 guinea pigs respond consistently to BP therapy, and this only when BP is administered in relatively high doses . Noninbred guinea pigs respond much less well to simple BP therapy, and monkeys hardly at all . In both strains of monkeys so far studied, a nonspecific adjunctive factor--an antibiotic in Macaca mulatta and a steroid in Macaca fascicularis--is also required . Accordingly, human trials of the therapeutic efficacy of BP in MS should include its administration in large concentrations together with an adjunctive agent.

Nouv Presse Med, 1979 Nov 19, 8(45), 3745 - 7
{Extensive bronchial dystrophy . Physiopathology and treatment of suppurative complications (author's transl)}; Touaty E et al.; Extensive bronchial dystrophy differs by its histopathology, course and treatment from chronic obstructive bronchitis . This dystrophy leads to cavities which are virtually constantly infected . The extension of infection to adjacent alveoli may be dramatic, contrasting with underlying slight chronic respiratory failure . The existence of these cavities explains the preponderant role in therapy of drainage and the fact that antibiotic therapy would appear to be indicated only in the case of extension of infection to the alveoli and the peribronchial tissues.

Boll Soc Ital Biol Sper, 1979 Nov 15, 55(21), 2222 - 7
{Reduced catalytic effectiveness of RNA polymerase I in hepatocytes of rats treated with cycloheximide}; Zoncheddu A et al.; Rat liver RNA polymerase I solubilized from isolated nuclei and present in a soluble form in the cytoplasmic fraction has been analyzed by phosphocellulose chromatography 3 hours after the administration of cycloheximide . The antibiotic did not induce any change in the chromatographic properties of both nuclear and cytoplasmic RNA polymerase I . They appeared to remain in the IB and IA forms, characteristic of the transcribing (IB) and non-transscribing (IA) enzyme . While the level of the nuclear enzyme was not modified, the level of the cytoplasmic one appeared significantly increased . These results support previous ones indicating that the cycloheximide-induced inhibition of ribosomal RNA synthesis cannot be merely explained by a decrease in the nuclear or cellular level of RNA polymerase I . The cellular level of RNA polymerase I, taking into account the relative proportion of the enzyme found in nuclei and cytoplasm, appeared to be slightly increased . Cycloheximide administration did not seem to result in the appearance, in intact nuclei, of enzyme molecules in a free form or as blocked transcription complexes . It is concluded that the antibiotic affects the catalytic efficiency rather than the number of RNA polymerase I molecules actually engaged in the transcription of ribosomal cistrone.

Biochim Biophys Acta, 1979 Nov 8, 548(2), 216 - 33
Two regimens of electrogenic cyclic redox chain operation in chromatophores of non-sulfur purple bacteria . A study using antimycin A; Remennikov VG et al.; Antimycin A causes a biphasic suppression of the light-induced membrane potential generation in Rhodospirillum rubrum and Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides chromatophores incubated anerobically . The first phase is observed at low antibiotic concentrations and is apparently due to its action as a cyclic electron transfer inhibitor . The second phase is manifested at concentrations which are greater than 1--2 muM and is due to uncoupling that may be connected with an antibiotic-induced dissipation of the electrochemical H+ gradient across the chromatophore membrane . The inhibitory effect of antimycin added at low concentrations under aerobic conditions is removed by succinate to a large extent . It is expected that the electrogenic cyclic redox chain in the bacterial chromatophores incubed under conditions of continuous illumination may function at two regimes: (1) as a complete chain involving all the redox components, and (2) as a shortened chain involving only the P-870 photoreaction center, ubiquinone and cytochrome c2.

Res Commun Chem Pathol Pharmacol, 1979 Nov, 26(2), 285 - 95
The effect of doxorubicin on hepatic and cardiac glutathione; Doroshow JH et al.; The effect of the antitumor antibiotic doxorubicin on glutathione and glutathione disulfide levels in mouse heart and liver has been evaluated . The glutathione content of hepatic and cardiac tissue from saline-treated controls exhibited a statistically significant diurnal variation . Doxorubicin administration produced a dose-related decrease in hepatic glutathione which was not blocked by pretreatment with the free radical scavenger alpha-tocopherol; a lesser drop in cardiac glutathione was also documented . These changes may play an important role in the metabolism and toxicity of doxorubicin.

Appl Environ Microbiol, 1979 Nov, 38(5), 965 - 73
Enumeration and selective isolation of rumen spirochetes; Stanton TB et al.; Enumeration by means of light microscopy showed that from 0.4 x 10(8) to 2.0 x 10(8) spirochetes were present per ml of bovine rumen fluid . Viable cell counts yielded slightly lower values, ranging from 0.1 x 10(8) to 1.2 x 10(8) spirochetes per ml of rumen fluid . The antibiotic rifampin, which served as a selective agent for rumen spirochetes, was added to agar media used in the estimation of viable spirochete numbers in rumen fluid . Morphologically diverse spirochetes were isolated from rumen fluid by means of a procedure involving the use of rifampin as a selective agent in agar media . The strains isolated represented seven morphological types of spirochetes differing in cell size, cell coiling pattern, and number of periplasmic fibrils per cell . Electron microscopy showed that the number of periplasmic fibrils present in the different morphological types of rumen spirochetes ranged from 2 to more than 20 per cell . The results of this study indicate that the bovine rumen is a highly favorable environment for a number of morphologically diverse spirochetes.

Langenbecks Arch Chir, 1979 Nov, 350(1), 59 - 63
{Pathogen elimination after surgical interventions on common bile duct (author's transl)}; Wacha H et al.; Of 130 bile samples from the choledochus, 64% were positive for bacteria . Different antibiotics were administered according to the susceptibility tests . Colony counts were monitored daily . Beta-lactam antibiotics lead to a more rapid pathogen clearance than the tetracyclines . Antibiotic therapy is discussed especially in older patients and in patients with recurrent interventions on common bile duct . Bile cultures were positive in most of these patients.

J Nat Prod, 1979 Nov-Dec, 42(6), 569 - 82
Improved antitumor activity by modification of nogalamycin; Wiley PF; Nogalamycin, an antitumor antibiotic, has been converted to a series of analogs by removal of the carbomethoxy group at C-10 and replacement of the neutral sugar at C-7 by other groups . Removal of the carbomethoxy group to give disnogamycin (6) followed by acidic alcoholysis gave pairs of isomeric 7-alkoxy compounds differing in configuration at C-7 . Treatment of 6 with trifluoroacetic acid followed by nucleophiles gave a series of analogs having substituents at C-7 with a configuration at C-7 opposite to that of nogalamycin . Among the analogs prepared, 7-con-O-methylnogarol (7) is a highly active antitumor agent.

Invest Radiol, 1979 Nov-Dec, 14(6), 457 - 64
Embolization of the spleen for treatment of splenomegaly and hypersplenism in patients with portal hypertension; Owman T et al.; Splenectomy in cases of hypersplenism involves significant risk of serious complications, including infection, hemorrhage, portal systemic thrombosis, and necrosis of the stomach or small bowel . Alternative procedures such as transcatheter embolization have been associated with a high frequency of splenic or subphrenic abscess, preventing clinical use . We used partial splenic embolization under careful antibiotic protection to successfully treat thrombocytopenia in 18 patients, most of whom had hypersplenism and splenomegaly secondary to portal hypertension . Of the 30 embolizations performed, the only serious complications encountered were abscess in two patients (who had almost total infarction) and four cases of splenic vein thrombosis . We investigated the possible effect of splenic embolization on portal venous pressure in three patients and found no pressure change.

Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 1979 Nov, 16(5), 589 - 91
Biosynthetic pathway leading to gentamicin C2b; Lee BK et al.; Incubation of Micromonospora purpurea SC 1210 (NRRL 5467) with L-{methyl-14C}methionine yielded {methyl-14C}gentamicin A and methyl-14C-labeled antibiotic JI-20A in a molar radioactivity ratio of 9:2 . We did not isolate methyl-14C-labeled gentamicin X2, which was expected as an intermediate based on the biosynthetic pathways proposed by others . Addition of methyl-14C-labeled antibiotic JI-20A to M . purpurea SC 1124 (NRRL 8102) yielded {methyl-14C}-gentamicin C1a and {methyl-14C}gentamicin C2b in variable molar radioactivity ratios . These data do not support the biosynthetic pathway leading to gentamicin C2b proposed by Testa and Tilley.

J Am Vet Med Assoc, 1979 Nov 1, 175(9), 960 - 1
Gingival hyperplasia induced by diphenylhydantoin in a gorilla; Fagan D et al.; An adult male lowland gorilla had been treated with diphenylhydantoin for 6 months following several acute convulsive episodes . The gorilla remained clinically normal during that period . Then, for no apparent reason, it refused its usual diet . Physical examination revealed acute inflammatory gingival hyperplasia . Full mouth gingivectomy and antibiotic and analgesic therapy resolved the oral inflammation and the anorexia.

Injury, 1979 Nov, 11(2), 166 - 9
An improved orthopaedic stirrup; Scull ER; A single RPH universal stirrup covers the many types of traction needed in orthopaedic practice . It reduces the torque load on the Steinmann pin, thereby diminishing the rate of loosening of the pin in the bone . From our experience with the stirrup at the Royal Perth Hospital, savings in ward costs can be achieved by shortening the time in hospital and reducing the need for antibiotic cover, by decreasing maintenance costs and by reducing the size of the appliance stock kept to cover the range of tractions used in orthopaedic practice.

Jpn J Antibiot, 1979 Nov, 32(11), 1107 - 16
{Pharmacokinetics and clinical results of cefuroxime (CXM) (author's transl)}; Chou K et al.; I . Pharmacokinetics (1) CXM 24.4 and 31.9 mg/kg were administered by intravenous drip infusion for 4 hours . The plateau levels were obtained at 1 approximately 2 hours, the blood levels at which time were 25.6 and 33.8 micrograms/ml respectively with dose response observed . (2) The respective half-lives were as short as 49.4 and 36.2 minutes . (3) The total clearances were 74.6 and 127.2 ml/min respectively; when calculated on plateau level and infusion rate, these were 81.6 and 111.0 ml/min . These differently determined values were near each other . (4) The respective renal clearances were 157.8 and 101.9 ml/min . II . Clinical results CXM for intravenous use was administered to 21 pediatric patients, and the clinical results were good and excellent in 19 (90.5%) . Excluding 2 cases with elevation of cold hemagglutination values, the efficacy rate of 94.7% (18/19 cases) was achieved . The doses administered ranged 44 approximately 100 mg/kg body weight, and this dosage level was considered enough to achieve clinical effect . With the current clinical trial we considered that although the effectiveness of this drug was proved in 3 approximately 7 day intravenous drip infusion and intravenous injection, the continued treatment with other oral antibiotic following CXM treatment would be necessary from the patients' general conditions and laboratory examination findings . No noteworthy side effects were observed in any of the patients . No abnormality was seen in biochemistry and electrolyte findings, either.

Eur J Cardiol, 1979 Nov, 10(5), 331 - 43
Reconstructing of the right ventricular outflow tract using an inlayed aortic root homograft; Dickinson DF et al.; Our experience with the use of a fresh antibiotic sterilized aortic root homograft inlayed into the right ventricular outflow tract is described . With this technique, compression of the graft between the sternum and heart has been avoided and residual right ventricle to distal pulmonary artery pressure gradients have been small . The functional status of the survivors is good over a follow-up period of up to 3 yr . The advantages of this approach compared with a conventionally placed heterograft conduit or an outflow tract gusset are discussed.

Br J Ophthalmol, 1979 Nov, 63(11), 794 - 6
Gentamicin penetration and decay in the human aqueous; Hillman JS et al.; The penetration of gentamicin into human aqueous was measured after intensive drops or subconjunctival injection of the antibiotic . The drop regimen proved ineffective in producing a therapeutically effective level . After a single 40 mg subconjunctival injection an effective concentration was achieved in 2 hours and maintained for 24 hours . The significance of these findings is discussed with respect to therapeutic implications.

Antibiotiki, 1979 Nov, 24(11), 835 - 8
{Comparative study of the interaction of cephalosporins with blood serum proteins and organ homogenates}; Klimova VS et al.; Interaction of 7 semisynthetic antibiotics (cephaloridine, cephalexin, cephradine, cephazolin, cephalotin, cephacetrile and cephapirin) with proteins of human, bovine and rabbit blood serum, as well as organ and tissue homogenates of rats was studied comparatively . The study showed that binding of the cephalosporins by the blood serum depended on both the chemical structure of the antibiotic and the species affiliation of the protein substrate . The binding lvels of cephazolin and cephalotin by the blood serum proteins (except bovine serum) were the highest, while the binding level of cephaloridine was the lowest . A significant decrease in the values of binding by the serum proteins of the drugs with high percentage of binding was observed when the drug concentrations in solution were increased . Binding of the cephalosporins by the blood serum proteins was in most cases completely reversible . The activity of the cephalosporins decreased in the presence of the rat organ and tissue homogenates . The levels of the activity decrease as compared to the theoretical ones were the highest with the use of cephalotin, cephacetrile and cephapirin . The lowest values of detection of these antibiotics were noted on their incubation with the liver, kidneys and lungs.

Laryngoscope, 1979 Nov, 89(11), 1717 - 24
Retropharyngeal abscesses in children revisited; Seid AB et al.; Retropharyngeal abscess appears in infancy and early childhood . Because of the advances in antibiotic therapy, the frequency of this disease has decreased considerably . If overlooked, however, the sequelae of retropharyngeal abscess can be disastrous . Of the typical signs and symptoms listed in presentation, the swelling of the posterior pharyngeal wall is referred to as an important diagnostic sign . This presentation will discuss the fallibility of this important sign in the evaluation of a retropharyngeal abscess in children . The size of the pediatric oral cavity and the presence of pooling secretions in the pharynx, due to retropharyngeal tissue swelling, make assessment of swelling of the posterior pharyngeal wall extremely difficult . Radiological assessment of retropharyngeal abscesses cannot differentiate between cellulitis and abscess formation . The presentation will discuss the radiological appearance of a retropharyngeal swelling and discuss the differentiation of abscess formation from cellulitis . The rationale for a therapeutic regime will be developed to validate the concept that with suggestive clinical signs, suggestive radiological diagnosis, and in spite of negative evidence of retropharyngeal swelling by oral examination, justification exists for an examination under anesthesia and incision and/or aspiration of the retropharyngeal abscess.

Cancer Res, 1979 Nov, 39(11), 4396 - 400
Cellular accumulation and disposition of aclacinomycin A; Egorin MJ et al.; The cellular accumulation and disposition of the anthracycline antitumor antibiotic aclacinomycin A (ACM) were compared to those of daunorubicin . Although both drugs were avidly accumulated by cells, intracellular concentrations of ACM were two to three times those of daunorubicin . Whereas lowered temperature (0 degrees) reduced intracellular accumulation of both drugs, 10 mM sodium azide had no effect on accumulation of either ACM or daunorubicin . Both drugs exited from cells placed in drug-free medium, a process that was reduced at 0 degrees but not altered by 10 mM sodium azide . Unlike whole cells, isolated nuclei accumulated more daunorubicin than ACM . This process was not altered at 0 degrees . Both drugs were lost from nuclei placed in drug-free buffer, a process that was reduced at 0 degrees . Unlike daunorubicin, which localized in cell nuclei, ACM localized in the cytoplasm with no detectable nuclear fluorescence . Although both drugs produced dose-dependent inhibitions of {3H}thymidine and {3H}uridine incorporation by L1210 and P388 cells, ACM inhibited both processes at lower concentrations than did daunorubicin . While daunorubicin inhibited {3H}thymidine incorporation more effectively than {3H}uridine incorporation, the reverse was observed with ACM.

Mol Biol (Mosk), 1979 Nov-Dec, 13(6), 1350 - 9
{Effect of rifampicin and RNA polymerase changing mutation on the spectrum of proteins synthesized in Escherichia coli cells}; Gorlenko AhM et al.; Rifampicin (30 mkg/ml) drastically changes the spectra of proteins synthesized by E . coli cells . The formation of some polypeptides is stimulated while that of others is inhibited . Thus, the earlier reported rifampicin stimulation of the synthesis of RNA polymerase beta and beta'-polypeptides is not an exception, the formation of some other proteins is being also enhanced by the antibiotic . After infection of UV-irradiated cells by lambda rifd47 transducing phage the viral proteins are less inhibited than the bacterial ones encoded by the phage . The spectra of proteins synthesized are also affected by rpoC1 mutation at non-permissive temperature . The obtained data suggest that rifampicin and rpoC1 mutation change the interaction of RNA polymerase with different promoters and/or regulatory factors.

J Antibiot (Tokyo), 1979 Nov, 32(11), 1186 - 92
Inhibition of ribosomal and RNA polymerase functions by rubradirin and its aglycone; Reusser F; The antibiotic rubradirin is structurally related to the ansamycin family of antibiotics . Most members of this group act as specific inhibitors of bacterial RNAP . Rubradirin and its aglycone possess diverging modes of action . Rubradirin inhibits ribosomal functions related to the peptide chain initiation process . It does not inhibit RNAP . By contrast the aglycone of rubradirin retains moderate inhibitory activity towards ribosomal functions but acts essentially as an extremely potent inhibitor of RNAP.

J Antibiot (Tokyo), 1979 Nov, 32(11), 1147 - 54
Synthesis of a tight-binding, multisubstrate analog inhibitor of gentamicin acetyltransferase I; Williams JW et al.; Gentamicin acetyltransferase I will catalyze acyl transfer from chloroacetylcoenzyme A to form 3-N-chloroacetylgentamicin . This product can be linked to coenzyme A to form a multisubstrate analog by nucleophilic displacement of the chlorine by the sulfur of coenzyme A . The analog can be purified by selective binding to cationic and anionic ion exchange resins . Kinetic analysis of a time-dependent onset and reversal of inhibition of gentamicin acetyltransferase I by the purified multisubstrate analog yields an inhibition constant of 5 approximately 20 x 10(-10) M . The inhibitor does not potentiate antibiotic activity against resistant Escherichia coli . Nevertheless, the effectiveness of the tight-binding between the enzyme and the multisubstrate analog demonstrates that inhibitors of resistance can be designed and prepared by specific enzymatic synthesis.

J Med Microbiol, 1979 Nov, 12(4), 507 - 10
Experimental infection of calves, piglets and lambs with mixtures of invasive and enteropathogenic strains of Escherichia coli; Smith HW et al.; Mixtures of mutant organisms of an invasive (IN) strain, a strain enteropathogenic (EP) for calves, lambs and piglets, and a non-pathogenic (NP) strain of Escherichia coli, that could be differentiated from each other by their antibiotic resistances, were given orally to an immunoglobulin-negative (IG-) and an immunoglobulin-positive (IG+) calf, lamb and piglet . By the use of appropriate antibiotic-containing culture media, the concentrations of organisms of each of the three strains in the contents of the alimentary tracts and tissues (liver, spleen, kidney, blood and mesenteric lymph glands) of the animals were estimated when they were killed . In the three IG- animals, the IN strain proliferated in the tissues and the EP strain proliferated in the small intestines; in general, the concentrations of the IN strain in the small intestines and the EP strain in the tissues, apart from the mesenteric lymph glands, were as low as those of the NP strain in these sites . The only strain that proliferated in the small intestine of the IG+ animals was the EP strain, which proliferated in the small intestine of the calf and piglet; no organisms of either strain were isolated from the tissues of these three animals, except from their mesenteric lymph glands.

Antibiotiki, 1979 Nov, 24(11), 821 - 4
{Doxycycline bioavailability in capsules}; Berezovskaia LN et al.; Soviet doxycycline capsules in a dose of 0.1 g were studied in vitro (for disintegration and solubility) and in vivo (pharmacokinetics on 25 patients) . It was found that Soviet doxycycline capsules provided comparatively rapid absorption of doxycycline . The antibiotic availability may be characterized by the solubility test . The results of the study on bioavailability of Soviet doxycycline capsules were compared with the results of analogous studies published by American authors for doxycycline capsules manufactured by various firms of the USA.

Psychopharmacology (Berl), 1979 Nov, 66(2), 147 - 53
{The effect of chloramphenicol on sleep in cat -- comparison with thiamphenicol, erythromycine, and oxytetracycline (author's transl)}; Petitjean F et al.; The effects of various antibiotics, which inhibit protein synthesis, has been studied on the sleep-waking cycle of cats . Chloramphenicol (CAP) selectively inhibits paradoxical sleep (SP) . Thiamphenicol (TAP) and oxytetracycline however are ineffective; erythromycine induces only a small decrease of SP . When CAP is injected after TAP, the SP inhibition is longer than after CAP alone . Combining erythromycine and CAP produces the same effect as one or other of the antibiotic alone, depending only on the interval between administration of the two drugs . Slow wave sleep is decreased only with high doses of CAP and is unaffected by TAP, oxytetracycline or erythromycine . These results suggest that CAP may inhibit a peptide or protein synthesis involved in the mechanisms of SP.

Br J Anaesth, 1979 Nov, 51(11), 1035 - 40
Polymyxin B and heart muscle; Sohn YZ et al.; The effects of the polypeptide antibiotic, polymyxin B, on myocardial contractility were studied in t;e isolated rat heart muscle . Five different doses of polymyxin B were tested . There were no changes in contractility with does ranging from the clinical therapeutic value to three times greater . There was an initial increase and then depression with a dose six times greater than the therapeutic dose . There was no direct competitive interaction between polymyxin B and halothane or Ca2+ . This suggests that polymyxin B does not depress the myocardium in clinical doses and does not interfere with Ca2+ influx at the myocardial cell membrane.

Cancer Treat Rep, 1979 Nov-Dec, 63(11-12), 1853 - 6
Treatment of acute nonlymphocytic leukemia with neocarzinostatin; Griffin TW et al.; Neocarzinostatin (NCS) is a polypeptide antibiotic which has been shown to have antileukemic activity in Japanese trials . Twenty-two patients, who were in relapse with acute nonlymphocytic leukemia refractory to other agents, were studied with two dose schedules of NCS . Schedule 1, 2000-8000 units/m2/day by continuous infusion for 5-10 days, was given to 12 patients and schedule 2, 2000-6000 units/m2/day by iv bolus every 8 hours, was given to ten patients . Clearing of peripheral blast cell was seen in nine of 12 patients treated with schedule 1 and in four of ten patients treated with schedule 2 . Bone marrow effect was variable and appeared to be dose-related . No unequivocal complete remissions were seen with either schedule . NCS perturbations of cycling bone marrow cells were studied in two patients receiving the drug by continuous infusion . Both of these patients showed G2 accumulation of marrow cells following treatment . Immunochemically detectable levels of drug were seen in three patients treated with continuous infusion . In summary, NCS has antileukemic effect in patients with acute nonlymphocytic leukemia refractory to other agents . However, its role in the therapy for acute leukemia required further evaluation.

J Med Chem, 1979 Nov, 22(11), 1425 - 8
Synthesis and antitumor properties of 7-deoxy-7-{(cis- and trans-3-aminocyclohexane)thio}carminomycinone; Essery JM et al.; The synthesis of analogues of carminomycin in which the daunosamine group has been replaced by (cis- and trans-3-aminocyclohexane)thio moieties is described . The new compounds were found to exhibit none of the antitumor or antibiotic activity associated with carminomycin.

J Med Chem, 1979 Nov, 22(11), 1380 - 4
Usnic acid derivatives as potential antineoplastic agents; Takai M et al.; Usnic acid, a lichen antibiotic, showed low-level activity in the Lewis lung carcinoma test system . In an effort to produce new agents of potential use in the treatment of lung cancer, derivatives of the natural product were synthesized and evaluated with a cytotoxicity assay . Structure--activity analysis of the cytotoxicity data indicated the importance of the lipophilicity and the beta-triketone moiety of usnic acid on cytotoxicity . No significant increases in survival of test animals over controls were shown by any of the synthetic compounds in the P388 leukemia or the Lewis lung carcinoma test systems.

Clin Allergy, 1979 Nov, 9(6), 571 - 4
Bronchial asthma and dermatitis due to spiramycin in a chick breeder; Paggiaro PL et al.; A case of bronchial asthma and dermatitis due to spiramycin is described in a non-atopic woman who worked as a chick breeder and handling poultry feed containing antibiotic or chemoterapic drugs including spiramycin, chlortetracycline and sulfadimethoxine . Patch tests showed a vigorous delayed reaction to spiramycin . Inhalation challenge test with the chick feed containing spiramycin reproduced symptoms of late asthmatic response (FEV1 fell by 14% and FEF25-75 by 25% within the 4th and 6th hour) with leucocytosis . No significant modification of FEV1 and FEF25-75 was observed within 24 hours after challenge with chick feeds containing other antibiotic or chemotherapeutic agents but not spiramycin . On leaving her job, the patient had no further skin reactions or bronchial asthma episodes . This case suggests that allergic reactions to a chemical product may involve both type III and IV hypersensitivity.

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 1979 Nov, 76(11), 5843 - 7
Disassembly of viral membranes by complement independent of channel formation; Esser AF et al.; We have compared the effects of the complement membrane attack complex (MAC), nystatin, and melittin on the envelope of murine leukemia viruses to determine if channel formation alone is sufficient to cause membranolysis . Nystatin is a channel former and mellitin is not, although both are hemolytic . Whereas MAC and melittin disintegrated the viral membrane, nystatin had no effect on morphology, integrity, and infectivity of the virus . Incorporation of the antibiotic into the viral membranes was demonstrated by measurements of the characteristic fluorescence of nystatin in membranes and the dose-dependent increase in viral density after uptake of the antibiotic . The density of nystatin was measured to be 1.26-1.27 g/cm3 . Proof for the formation of functional nystatin channels was obtained by light scattering measurements . Exposure of untreated virus to hypotonic conditions increased viral light scattering because of osmotic swelling but otherwise had no effect on the integrity of the virus . Nystatin channel formation abolished the light scattering change, showing that the antibiotic had impaired the viral permeability barrier . We interpret these results to indicate that virolysis by MAC is not caused by channel formation and, conversely, in the absence of colloid-osmotic effects, channel formation by itself is not sufficient to disassemble a viral membrane.

Antibiotiki, 1979 Nov, 24(11), 847 - 53
{Effect of Soviet bleomycin-bleomycetin on the body of animals in multiple parenteral administration}; Gol'dberg LE et al.; Toxicity of bleomycetin was studied on 3 animal species (rats, rabbits and dogs) . The antibiotic was administered intramuscularly and intravenously in various doses for a prolonged period of time . The death of the rats, rabbits and dogs treated with repeated lethal doses of bleomycetin was due to its toxic effect on the kidneys and probably lungs . The level of urea in the blood of the animals before death increased up to 300--400 mg % . Histological examination of the kidneys revealed the picture of glomerulonephritis . The lungs were highly plethoric and showed areas of alveolar collapse and consolidation consisting mainly of the collapsed alveolar epithelium . The liver was not affected by bleomycetin according to both the results of some functional tests and histological examination . tthe blood sugar level after bleomycetin administration was not altered significantly . The changes in the peripheral blood were not pronounced . An increased P wave, decreased R wave and deep S wave were seen on the ECG . Such deviitions may be due not only to the changes in the myocardium but also to the lung affection . When bleomycetiin was used repeatedly in nonlethal doses (1 mg/kg for rats, 1--2 mg/kg for rabbits and 0.25--0.5 mg/kg for dogs), the above changes were less pronounced or not manifested at all . No inhibitory effect on hemopoiesis is an important positive characteristics of bleomycetin, so that it compares very favourably with most other antitumor drugs.

Antibiotiki, 1979 Nov, 24(11), 815 - 20
{Effect of amino acids on the growth of a B . polymyza 1538 culture and the biosynthesis of polymyxin B}; Pavliuk IuV et al.; The effect of a number of the most important amino acids on the growth of B . polymyxa 1538 and polymyxin B biosynthesis was studied . It was found that all of the amino acids tested except D-L-threonin and L-alpha-gamma-DABA inhibited the initial growth of the organism . D-L-threonine and L-alpha-gamma-DABA had some stimulating effect on the culture growth without affecting the final accumulation of the biomass . The antibiotic synthesis proceeded more vigorously when the medium contained D-L-threonine, L-alpha-gamma-DABA, L-asparagine, L-proline, L-glutamine, D-L-asparaginic acid and L-glutamic acid in the concentrations tested . Neither of the tested amino acids used alone or in combination provided the levels of polymyxin B biosynthesis observed on the media containing rich sources of organic nitrogen.

Nature, 1979 Oct 25, 281(5733), 680 - 2
Clindamycin and lincomycin alter miniature endplate current decay; Fiekers JF et al.; Antibiotic-induced muscle paralysis has frequently been found in both experimental animals and man with three distinct classes of antibiotic: (1) streptomycin and related aminoglycoside compounds, (2) polymyxins and (3) tetracyclines . Recently lincomycin and its chemical congener, clindamycin, have been reported to produce muscle paralysis which has different characteristics from those seen with other classes of antibiotic . Although closely related in chemical structure, lincomycin and clindamycin also seem to produce muscle paralysis by different mechanisms . Clindamycin is considered to exert a direct depressant action on muscle contractility whereas the action of lincomycin is considered to be primarily a depression of neuromuscular transmission . We report here that each of these antibiotics had a significant but different influence on endplate channel behaviour . Clindamycin increased the rate of miniature endplate current (m.e.p.c.) decay and reduced its voltage sensitivity without altering its exponential nature . Lincomycin split m.e.p.c . decay into an initial rapid phase followed by a prolonged phase.

Biochim Biophys Acta, 1979 Oct 19, 557(1), 1 - 8
Interactions of neomycin with monomolecular films of polyphosphoinositides and other lipids; Lodhi S et al.; The interactions of calcium and the aminoglycosidic antibiotic, neomycin, with various lipids were investigated in monomolecular films . Lipids were spread over a subphase of 0.05 M N-2-hydroxyethylpiperazine-N'-2-ethanesulfonic acid, pH 7.0, and NaCl to give an ionic strength of 0.2 . Measurements of surface pressure (pi) were taken with a Wilhelmy balance . In the absence of Ca2+, 1 muM--1 mM neomycin in the subphase decreased pi (i.e . condensed films) of all acidic lipids tested . In the presence of 1 mM Ca2+, neomycin did not change pi of films of phosphatidylserine, phosphatidylinositol and phosphatidic acid while it lowered pi of cardiolipin and cerebroside sulfate films . A unique pattern of interaction was observed with polyphosphoinositide monolayers . In the absence of Ca2+, 1 muM neomycin decreased pi followed by an increase of pi at higher neomycin concentrations . Ca2+ (1 mM) condensed the film significantly more than did neomycin . However, as little as 1 muM neomycin induced expansion of the calcium/lipid film which at 1 mM neomycin reached the same pi as in the absence of Ca2+ . Such expansion was observed at all pressures of the film including the collapse pressure indicating a strong 'complex' between the drug and polyphosphoinositide not antagonized by Ca2+ . In the absence of possible hydrophobic interactions, both the condensation and the expansion of the film should be mediated by ionic forces . Combined in vivo and in vitro evidence is discussed to suggest the polyphosphoinositides as the physiological receptors for aminoglycosides in the mammalian cell membrane.

MMW Munch Med Wochenschr, 1979 Oct 19, 121(42), 1367 - 9
{Concentrations of cefradine in renal tissue (author's transl)}; Adam D et al.; After a single bolus injection of two grams of cefradine the concentrations of antibiotic in serum and renal tissues of 21 patients were estimated . After 30 minutes the mean serum concentrations were 159 microgram/ml, after 60 mins 62 microgram/ml and after 95 mins 22 microgram/ml . The tissue concentrations in normal renal tissue (group I) after 30 minutes were 348 microgram/ml and with tissue of chronically inflamed kidneys (group II) 118 microgram/ml in the same period . After 90 minutes the concentrations of group I were 214 microgram/g, and in group II 28 microgram/g, e.g . 8 times lower . The estimated cefradine concentrations in serum and in normal and impaired renal tissue within the time interval of 10 to 90 minutes are above the minimal inhibition concentrations for most cefradine sensitive pathogens.

Avian Dis, 1979 Oct-Dec, 23(4), 927 - 39
Effects of probenecid on blood levels and tissue distribution of ampicillin in fowls and turkeys; Ziv G et al.; The effect of probenecid (a benzoic acid derivative which competitively inhibits active secretion of weak organic acids by the renal tubules) on serum ampicillin concentrations and the distribution of ampicillin in body organs was examined in fowls and turkeys . An aqueous solution of probenecid coadministered intramuscularly, at 200 mg/kg, with sodium ampicillin solution, at 25 mg/kg, resulted in peak serum antibiotic concentration of 16.5 microgram/ml . A similar dose of ampicillin administered alone produced a peak level of 4.6 microgram/ml . Subcutaneous injections of sodium ampicillin at 25 mg/kg with aqueous probenecid at 200 mg/kg resulted in a peak serum ampicillin concentration (12.8 microgram/ml) three times as high as the peak produced by the subcutaneous injection of ampicillin alone at 50 mg/kg (4.2 microgram/ml) . The elimination half-life (t 1/2) of the drug (30 min) was increased to 1.5 hr by coadministration of probenecid parenterally, and serum antibiotic levels greater than or equal to 5.0 microgram/ml were maintained during 3 hours . Ampicillin seemed to be poorly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract of fowls . A single oral bolus administration of ampicillin trihydrate aqueous suspension produced a peak of 0.6 microgram/ml, and coadministrations of aqueous probenecid suspension at 20, 50, and 100 mg/kg respectively produced peaks of 0.9, 1.25, and 1.5 microgram/ml . During 4 and 5 days, when ampicillin was added to the drinking water at rates of 200 and 50 mg/liter, serum ampicillin levels were rather low (peaks of 0.20 and 0.12 microgram/ml, respectively), and although these levels were increased by 50% with the coadministration of probenecid they were considered to be of limited clinical value for treating systemic bacterial infections . Probenecid did not change the distribution of ampicillin in the organs.

J Biomed Eng, 1979 Oct, 1(4), 277 - 80
Fracture behaviour of commercial surgical acrylic bone cements; Owen AB et al.; The resistance to slow growth of three commercial acrylic bone cements has been evaluated . It was found that small additions of 1 micrometer diameter barium sulphate particles reduced the resistance to slow crack growth of Simplex P and CMW acrylic bone cements, while a small addition of the antibiotic Gentamicin had no detectable effect on cracking in Palacos R bone cdment.

Am J Surg Pathol, 1979 Oct, 3(5), 463 - 71
A case of osteoblastoma associated with severe systemic toxicity; Mirra JM et al.; A case of an osteoblastoma of the proximal femur with a unique local, massive reactive periostitis mimicking osteosarcoma or osteomyelitis and unique systemic manifestations is reported . The severe toxic manifestations included: massive weight loss, chronic fever, anemia, systemic periostosis, and other signs . Due to confusion as to diagnosis, lack of response to numerous antibiotic regimens, and severe cachexia with clinical signs of impending death, an amputation was performed . Pathologic study revealed an osteoblastoma . A thorough review of the case suggests that the signs and symptoms were possibly consequent to an immune response mounted against the tumor rather than to secondary infection, although the latter possibility cannot be completely excluded.

Clin Exp Immunol, 1979 Oct, 38(1), 70 - 6
Suppression of immunological responses in mice by treatment with amphotericin B; Ferrante A et al.; The polyene antibiotic amphotericin B (AmB) caused a marked suppression of the cell-mediated immune response in mice . Similar treatment did not effect the humoral antibody response . The immunosuppressive property of the drug was related to its ability to inhibit the manifestation rather than the induction phase of the delayed-type hypersensitivity response . In vitro AmB suppressed mitogen-induced lymphocyte proliferation . The drug seemed to act at the proliferative phase of the response . Results presented show that the T cell response was much more sensitive to the action of AmB than was the B cell response . During AmB chemotherapy consideration must be given to the immunosuppressive properties of this drug.

Int J Pept Protein Res, 1979 Oct, 14(4), 356 - 63
Synthesis of lysine-valinomycin by solid-phase segment condensation; Gisin BF et al.; In order to obtain a readily derivatized analog of the ionophore antibiotic valinomycin, {1-lysine} valinomycin (Lys-VAL) was synthesized . The compound was built up on a polystyrene support by stepwise segment condensation and was cyclized in solution . The segments used were didepsipeptides protected by the t-butyloxycarbonyl and p-nitrobenzyloxycarbonyl groups . Derivatives prepared by acylation of the epsilon-amino group of Lys-VAL included {14C}acetyl-Lys-VAL, dansyl-Lys-VAL, palmitoyl-Lys-VAL and dithiodiglycoyl-bis-Lys-VAL . These derivatives had a high potassium binding capacity but were in general much less active than VAL in mediating ion transport in membranes.

Geburtshilfe Frauenheilkd, 1979 Oct, 39(10), 869 - 74
{Emergency cerclage . Definition, technical procedure and prognosis (author's transl)}; Robrecht D et al.; Report on 27 cases on emergency cerclage . Six infants survived . Among these were four with birth weights over 2500 grams . The high abortion rate of 59% and the high perinatal mortality of the live born infants (5 of 11) make it imperative to be highly selective in this procedure . In emergency cerclage during labor or maternal pyrexia is contraindicated . Local and systemic antibiotic profolaxsis is recommended . Proposals for the definition technique and post-operative care in cases of emergency cerclage are discussed.

Gann, 1979 Oct, 70(5), 709 - 13
Synergistic effect of vitamin A and fusidic acid on Hela cells in vitro; Akiyama S et al.; Examinations were made to see if various vitamin A compounds, including retinol, retinal, retinol palmitate, retinol acetate, and retinoic acid, enhance the action of fusidic acid, an antibiotic and inhibitor of protein synthesis, on human carcinoma HeLa cells in vitro . Among these vitamins, retinal and retinol were found to potentiate strongly the effect of fusidic acid on HeLa cells . In this system, however, retinol palmitate, retinoic acid, and retinol acetate in 10 approximately 20 microgram/ml concentration were not found to enhance the effect of fusidic acid significantly.

Am J Gastroenterol, 1979 Oct, 72(4), 379 - 94
Phycomycosis of the gastrointestinal tract; Lyon DT et al.; A case of gastrointestinal phycomycosis, a highly lethal fungal infection, is presented . Radiographic, operative and histopathologic features are discussed . Pathogenesis of the disease and the importance of underlying illness, malnutrition, immunosuppression and antibiotic therapy are considered . The literature is reviewed and current approaches to diagnosis and management are summarized . Greater awareness of the clinical setting in which gastrointestinal phycomycosis may develop and earlier consideration of the diagnosis are prerequisite to improved survival.

J Laryngol Otol, 1979 Oct, 93(10), 979 - 81
Use of middle ear ventilation tubes in recurrent acute otitis media; Samuel J et al.; A method of treatment of recurrent acute otitis media with polythene middle ear ventilation tubes in young children is presented . 56 ears in which infection had persisted for one to six months despite antibiotic therapy and multiple myringotomies were included in the study . The tubes were inserted under topical anaesthesia and cure within one week was obtained in 73 per cent of ears . In another 9 per cent the otorrhoea stopped within 3 weeks, but in 18 per cent reinsertion of the tube became necessary and in this latter group 11 per cent resolved in two weeks following adenoidectomy as well . In 7 per cent the problem remained unresolved . Therefore with this regimen a total of 93 per cent of recurrent infections settled . It is emphasized that the ventilation tube should remain 'in situ' for over 3 months.

Am J Cardiol, 1979 Oct, 44(4), 754 - 60
Serial echocardiographic appearance of healing bacterial vegetations; Stafford A et al.; Serial M mode and cross-sectional echocardiograms were obtained from six patients who had been treated with antibiotic drugs for infectious endocarditis . Three to six M mode echocardiograms and one to six cross-sectional echocardiograms were obtained from each patient over a follow-up period averaging 50 weeks (range 10 to 108 weeks) . On echocardiography, vegetations were observed to have become smaller and more echo-reflective with healing . A dramatic change was seen in two patients after peripheral embolization . M mode echocardiography was particularly helpful in determining the quality of echo reflection by vegetations; cross-sectional echocardiography was more helpful in judging the size and shape of a vegetation . Echocardiography is ideally suited for the serial visualization of healing vegetations in patients who do not require early valve replacement . It may prove helpful to examine serially valve vegetations with both M mode and cross-sectional echocardiography when following up patients with infectious endocarditis treated with antibiotic agents.

Gastroenterology, 1979 Oct, 77(4 Pt 1), 618 - 22
Successful medical treatment of pyogenic liver abscess; Maher JA Jr et al.; Between 1976 and 1978, 6 patients with proven or probable pyogenic liver abscess were successfully treated at Los Angeles County-University of Southern California Medical Center without surgical drainage . Although surgical therapy is necessary in patients with coexisting intraabdominal pathology, antibiotic therapy without surgical intervention is an option to be considered in patients with pyogenic liver abscess and no evidence of other intraabdominal disease.

Antibiotiki, 1979 Oct, 24(10), 777 - 9
{Ampicillin treatment trial in gonorrhea recurrences}; Pil'kevich RN et al.; The results of using ampicillin in treatment of 54 gonorrhea patients (41 males and 13 females) previously treated with other antibiotics without success are presented . Ampicillin was used in a daily dose of 500 mg administered 5 times a day at equal intervals and an 8-hour interval during the night time . The course dose was 6--10 g . Patients with chronic and fresh gonorrhea with insignificantly pronounced symptoms were subjected to immunotherapy before the treatment with ampicillin . Pure gonococcal strains sensitive to ampicillin were isolated from 16 patients before the ampicillin use . Clinical improvement after the treatment with ampicillin in most of the patients was observed by the end of the 1st day and was evident from elimination of the urethral discharges, absence of urination colics and urea clarification . Etiological recovery was recorded in all the gonorrhea patients due to the treatment with ampicillin . All the patients were crossed off the register . The clinical and laboratory investigations showed high efficiency of ampicillin in treatment of gonorrhea relapses . The antibiotic is rapidly absorbed into the blood . Its therapeutic blood levels are maintained during 24 hours . It is well tolerated by the patients.

Eur J Biochem, 1979 Oct, 100(1), 133 - 9
The binding of non-cognate Tyr-tRNATyr to poly(uridylic acid)-programmed Escherichia coli ribosomes; Campuzano S et al.; The poly(U)-dependent binding of Tyr-tRNATyr to Escherichia coli ribosomes has been studied using a highly purified system . Binding is maximal at 10 mM magnesium acetate (up to 0.7 molecule Tyr-tRNATyr/ribosome), and requires the presence of elongation factor (EF) T (a mixture of EF-Ts and EF-Tu), GTP, NH4+ ions and an aminoglycoside antibiotic (streptomycin, neomycin B, kanamycin B or gentamicin C1a) . Under limiting and up to saturating concentrations of EF-T, one molecule of GTP is hydrolyzed per molecule of Tyr-tRNATyr bound, suggesting that 'proof-reading' mechanisms involving the hydrolysis of GTP are inoperative in the presence of the antibiotics . Binding of Tyr-tRNATyr apparently takes place at the ribosomal acceptor site, since peptide bonds are readily formed with N-acetyl-Phe-tRNA prebound to the ribosomal donor site . In contrast to Phe-tRNAPhe binding, Tyr-tRNATyr binding is impaired by the omission of the 50-S subunit, the replacement of GTP by its non-hydrolyzable analogs guanyl-5'-yl methylene diphosphonate and guanyl-5'-yl iminodiphosphonate, and also by the presence of the antibiotic streptogramin A . This suggests that the correct interaction of Tyr-tRNATyr with the peptidyl transferase centre is essential for the stability of this ligand on the ribosome . Moreover, the aminoglycoside antibiotics are also necessary, even after the binding reaction is complete, to maintain Tyr-tRNATyr on the ribosome.

Dent Clin North Am, 1979 Oct, 23(4), 717 - 35
Office sterilization and asepsis procedures in endodontics; Crawford JJ; Available evidence that there has been an epidemic of hepatitis B in the population since the 1960s and of the vulnerability of clinical dental and endodontic personnel has indicated a need to improve general asepsis procedures to guard against the spread of infection, and to improve screening for possible carriers . Specific improvements in personal protection, surface disinfectants and procedures, and control of bacterial populations in dental water units as well as broader use of instrument sterilization can provide safer conditions of treatment for patients and personnel alike . Monitoring of asepsis can increase awareness and guide improvements of skills in aseptic treatment, and improved methods of transporting samples can improve recovery of anaerobic pathogens for determinations of antibiotic susceptibility.

Cancer, 1979 Oct, 44(4), 1182 - 8
Neocarzinostatin: a phase I clinical trial with five-day intermittent and continuous infusions; McKelvey EM et al.; Neocarzinostatin, a polypeptide antibiotic, was administered by both continuous and intermittent intravenous infusion to 76 patients with a variety of malignant diseases . Doses ranged from 500 to 6500 units/m2 X 5 days . With levels greater than or equal to 1800 units/m2, bone marrow suppression (particularly thrombocytopenia) was the dose-limiting toxicity . Delayed bone marrow recovery was less dose-dependent and occurred in 58% of initial treatment courses in solid tumor patients . Allergic reactions were more frequent with intermittent than with continuous infusions (20% vs . 2% of courses) . No complete or partial remissions were observed among solid tumor patients although clinical improvement was noted in one patient with mycosis fungoides and one patient with multiple myeloma . One complete and two partial remissions were noted among 21 patients with acute leukemia . There was one complete remission in a patient with chronic leukemia . Leukemic patients on intermittent therapy evidenced greater change in bone marrow cellularity than those treated by continuous infusion . Although neocarzinostatin has some activity in the treatment of acute leukemia, continuous infusion offers no advantage over intermittent therapy.

J Pediatr Surg, 1979 Oct, 14(5), 564 - 70
A safer system for percutaneous subclavian venous catheterization in newborn infants; Filston HC et al.; Percutaneous infraclavicular cannulation of the subclavian vein in even the tiniest infants can be performed with safety and ease using a plastic cannula metal needle stylet and following plastic catheter . This route for achieving superior vena caval catheterization provides a most satisfactory method for central pressure monitoring, long term antibiotic administration, total parenteral nutrition, and exchange transfusion . Few serious complications have been noted in over a hundred infant cannulations . The procedure can be performed in the intensive care nursery with a success rate of over 95% . Sepsis rates in clean cases are acceptably low . Most sepsis is due to other clearly identifiable sources of infection in these already critically ill infants.

Vet Rec, 1979 Sep 29, 105(13), 299 - 301
Recurrent coliform mastitis in the dairy cow; Hill AW et al.; Daily monitoring of milk over a 120-day period for bacteria and neutrophil counts revealed that following experimental E coli mastitis, five out of 28 infections resulted in the development of a long continued and recurring condition . Intermittent periods of acute inflammation were observed in the gland, pyrexia was noted, and if bacteria were isolated they were always of the same serotype as the original infecting strain . Failure to isolate bacteria and the lack of overt inflammation during periods of remission suggested that the bacteria were not in the gland cistern but within gland tissue . In one animal antibiotic therapy with a drug which was active in vitro was ineffective in vivo . However another antibiotic proved effective.

Biochim Biophys Acta, 1979 Sep 12, 570(1), 198 - 209
Effect of alamethicin, gramicidin S and melittin upon the particulate guanylate cyclase from rat lung; Lad PJ et al.; The channel-forming antibiotic alamethicin activated rat lung particulate guanylate cyclase (GTP pyrophosphate-lyase (cyclizing) EC 4.6.1.2), and the activated enzyme was further stimulated by sodium nitroprusside when a thiol such as 2-mercaptoethanol was present . Similar effects were seen with the antibiotic gramicidin S and with melittin, a polypeptide purified from bee venom . All of these agents are amphiphilic polypeptides . Nitroprusside was not able to stimulate both particulate and soluble enzyme treated with the nonionic amphiphile, Lubrol PX, suggesting that the membrane-active polypeptides had a different mechanism of action . These polypeptides are known to alter the membrane matrix by binding to phospholipid, and we suggest that this alteration allowed greater access of substrate and of nitroprusside to the enzyme . Lubrol PX, however, may interact preferentially with the enzyme, and thus block nitroprusside activation . The most potent of these agents was melittin, which stimulated nitroprusside activation at a concentration which had little effect by itself (7 microns), and at which others have demonstrated lytic effects on cells.

Arq Neuropsiquiatr, 1979 Sep, 37(3), 311 - 8
{Multiple intracranial mycotic aneurysms . Case report}; Valadares JB et al.; The case of a 31 years old woman with multiple intracranial mycotic aneurysms in association with subacute bacterial endocarditis is reported . The authors discuss the clinical and pathological aspects of such lesions . The complete regression of all the aneurysms after antibiotic therapy favours an approach aiming at adequate control of the infection prior to any consideration of surgical treatment.

Acta Paediatr Scand, 1979 Sep, 68(5), 765 - 7
Pneumonia associated with Chlamydia trachomatis infection in an infant; Hallberg A et al.; Chlamydia trachomatis was isolated from the epipharynx of a 10-week-old baby girl taken ill with pneumonia but without signs of conjunctivitis . The infant developed specific antibodies to the organism . The course of the pneumonia was protracted, with cough and tachypnea . The baby, who was afebrile, improved on antibiotic therapy but pulmonary infiltrates persisted for several months . To our knowledge, this is the first case of pneumonia in an infant associated with C . trachomatis infection reported elsewhere than North America.

J Gen Microbiol, 1979 Sep, 114(1), 35 - 43
Genetics of actinorhodin biosynthesis by Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2); Rudd BA et al.; A series of 76 mutants of Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) specifically blocked in the synthesis of the binaphthoquinone antibiotic actinorhodin were classified into seven phenotypic classes on the basis of antibiotic activity, accumulation of pigmented precursors or shunt products of actinorhodin biosynthesis, and cosynthesis of actinorhodin in pairwise combinations of mutants . The polarity of cosynthetic reactions, and other phenotypic properties, allowed six of the mutant classes to be arranged in the most probable linear sequence of biosynthetic blocks . One member of each mutant class was mapped unambigiguously to the chromosomal linkage map in the short segment between the hisD and guaA loci, suggesting that structural genes for actinorhodin biosynthesis may form an uninterrupted cluster of chromosomal genes.

Am J Anat, 1979 Sep, 156(1), 139 - 45
Inhomogeneous distribution of filipin-sterol complexes in the ciliary membrane of rat tracheal epithelium; Montesano R; Pieces of rat trachea fixed in a glutaraldehyde solution containing 300 muM filipin, a sterol-specific polyene antibiotic (Elias et al., '78), were freeze-fractured in order to study the distribution of cholesterol within the ciliary membrane . Filipin-sterol complexes, recognizable as 25-30-nm protrusions on fracture faces, appeared densely and uniformly distributed over most of the ciliary membrane, but were absent from the region of the ciliary necklace . It is possible, therefore, that the ciliary necklace represents a cholesterol-poor area of membrane.

Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 1979 Sep, 16(3), 398 - 405
Use of covalently closed circular deoxyribonucleic acid for prescreening for antitumor compounds; Mong S et al.; The interactions of PM-2 deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) with 20 known antineoplastic agents were studied using agarose gel electrophoresis and fluorescence assay systems . Actinomycin D and adriamycin (and all other anthracyclines studied) induced superhelical conformational changes in PM-2 DNA . Bleomycin A2, tallysomycin, neocarzinostatin, macromomycin, and hedamycin degraded PM-2 DNA under various conditions . The potential utility of PM-2 DNA as an antitumor antibiotic prescreening tool was further studied by examining the effects of 200 broths on PM-2 DNA employing both fluorescence and agarose gel electrophorectic assays . The assays were shown to be sensitive and rapid and to provide information not provided by other prescreens with which the PM-2 DNA assays were compared.

Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 1979 Sep, 16(3), 346 - 52
Clinicopharmacological evaluation of amoxicillin and probenecid against bacterial meningitis; Craft JC et al.; Forty-three infants and children with bacterial meningitis were treated intravenously with 200 mg of amoxicillin sodium per kg per day for 10 days . (Patients were initially treated with ampicillin and chloramphenicol until the bacterial etiology was defined.) Patients were randomly treated with amoxicillin only or with amoxicillin and four doses of probenecid (10 mg/kg per dose) orally every 6 h for 24 h before the lumbar puncture at day 10 . Serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were obtained on days 1, 5, and 10 of therapy for antibiotic assay . The mean peak serum concentration of amoxicillin of 49.2 micrograms/ml was increased to 61.4 micrograms/ml in patients who received probenecid . The half-life in serum (1.5 h) and area under the curve with probenecid (112.5 micrograms/ml-h) were increased compared with those of amoxicillin alone (1.3 h and 82.2 micrograms/ml-h) . The mean peak CSF concentrations on days 1 and 5 were similar, but day 1 concentrations remained between 2.0 micrograms/ml and 5.0 micrograms/ml throughout the 4 h after a dose, whereas the day 5 values decreased at the same decay rate as that in serum . All CSF concentrations were lower on day 10, but patients receiving probenecid had peak values occurring at 1 hr rather than at 0.5 h, and levels were significantly greater at 1 and 2 h after a dose . There were no deaths and patients responded well to treatment.

Rev Esp Fisiol, 1979 Sep, 35(3), 265 - 8
Effects of carbenicillin and phosphomycin on ADP induced platelet aggregation; Orts A et al.; The effects of carbenicillin and phosphomycin separately or simultaneously, on ADP induced platelet aggregation have been studied in vivo . Platelet aggregation, ADP induced, was inhibited by carbenicillin and phosphomycin . The inhibition was proportional to the concentration of antibiotic . A slight inhibition was observed when platelet rich plasma was incubated simultaneously with both antibiotics, but synergy on the ADP-induced platelet aggregation was absent.

Int J Clin Pharmacol Biopharm, 1979 Sep, 17(9), 416 - 20
Pharmacokinetics of cefamandole in patients undergoing hemodialysis; Campillo JA et al.; The pharmacokinetics of Cefamandole was studied in 17 patients with terminal renal impairment, 10 of which were undergoing sessions of hemodialysis while 7 were in the period between dialysis sessions . An open two-compartment kinetic model was used to describe the bi-phasic decrease of the plasma concentrations of Cefamandole thus establishing the amounts of the antibiotic in the peripheral and central compartments together with the amount eliminated . All patients received an i.v . bolus injections of 15 mg/kg body weight . During the hemodialysis sessions, the pharmacokinetic parameters of Cefamandole were the following: alpha = 5.006 hr-1 beta = 0.182 hr-1 K12 = 2.598 hr-1 K21 = 2.147 hr-1 K13 = 0.441 hr-1 Vc = 5.700 l Vp = 6.190 l Vdss = 11.94 l It may be seen that there is a decrease in the overall elimination constant compared with that obtained during the periods between the dialysis sessions . A dosage regimen of multiple doses is established as a function of the pharmacokinetic parameters of the antibiotic for patients with terminal renal impairment undergoing periodic sessions of hemodialysis.

Eur J Clin Pharmacol, 1979 Sep, 16(2), 119 - 24
Pharmacokinetics of cefoxitin in patients with normal or impaired renal function; Garcia MJ et al.; The pharmacokinetics of cefoxitin have been determined after a single i.v . injection of 15 mg/kg body weight in 10 patients with normal renal function and 20 patients with varying degrees of renal impairment . The kinetics of the antibiotic followed an open two-compartment model . In patients with normal renal function the following pharmacokinetic parameters were found: alpha = 8.66 h-1 beta = 1.21 h-1 K12 = 3.47 h-1 K21 = 3.17 h-1 K13 = 3.15 h-1 Vc = 4.24 l . Vp = 4.87 l . Vdss = 9.11 l . In the patients with renal impairment there was a significant decrease in alpha, beta, K12, K21 and K13, and an increase in the apparent volume of distribution . The degree of plasma protein binding in patients with normal renal function was 73.6% and this was diminished in patients with renal impairment . A linear relationship between K13 of cefoxitin and creatinine clearance was demonstrated . The dosage regimen for patients with renal impairment should be adjusted by modifying the dosage interval whilst maintaining the amount administered.

J Trauma, 1979 Sep, 19(9), 674 - 7
Low-velocity gunshot wounds to the maxillofacial complex; Gant TD et al.; A review of the past literature of gunshot wounds indicates that the clinical material deals mainly with high-velocity missile injuries from military experience . A series of 66 cases of low-velocity gunshot wounds to the maxillofacial complex at San Francisco General Hospital between 1971 and 1978 indicates a clinical difference between injuries caused by low-velocity as compared to previously reported high-velocity missiles . Damage to vital structures resulting from missile injury to the maxillofacial complex are classified in three anatomic areas: 1) supra-orbital (28 cases of which 20 involved neurological damage); 2) mid-face (24 cases of which 8 involved the orbits and/or globe); 3) lower face (14 cases, of which 3 involved laceration of the carotid and 2 involved airway obstruction necessitating tracheostomy) . The management of gunshot wounds to the maxillofacial area is outlined, emphasizing: 1) Debridement and prompt closure of intraoral wounds with antibiotic coverage: 2) Early stabilization of mandible fractures: 3) Indications for tracheostomy; 4) Arteriographic studies . In our series there were only four infections, which were treated easily with incision and drainage and appropriate antibiotic selection.

Antibiotiki, 1979 Sep, 24(9), 664 - 8
{Mechanism of the myeloinhibitory effect of carminomycin}; Pichugina TV et al.; The proliferative activity and level of aberrant mitoses in the cells of the bone marrow were studied experimentally on 223 noninbred mice treated with carminomycin administered intraperitoneally in single (LD50) and repeated doses . When the antibiotic was used in a single dose the values of the mitotic activity of the bone marrow elements did not correspond to the severity of depression and thir quantitative composition, which was explained by an impairement of the mitosis quality and possible interkinetic destruction of a significant part of both erythroid and immature myeloid cells capable of division at early stages after the exposure . At the same time the level of the bone marrow devastation under conditions of the treatment with repeated doses was mainly determined by inhibition of the erythronormoblast proliferative activity.

Antibiotiki, 1979 Sep, 24(9), 656 - 9
{Effect of inorganic phosphate on levorin biosynthesis and on the mycelial makeup of Streptomyces levoris}; Ziuzina ML et al.; The effect of inorganic phosphate on biosynthesis of the polyenic antibiotic levorin by Streptomyces levoris and composition of the culture mycelium was studied . It was found that the synthetic medium with 0.4 mM of phosphate was optimal for growth of Str . levoris . When the concentration of phosphate was higher, the biomass increased, while the synthesis of levorin appeared to be inhibited and morphological changes in the culture were observed . Phosphate had a significant effect on the mycelium composition . When its concentration was increased 10 times as compared to the optimal one, the amounts of protein, RNA, total phosphorus and polyphosphates increased 1.3--1.4, 1.6--1.7, 2--3 and 10 times respectively, while the synthesis of levorin decreased 5 times . Changes in the lipid component of the mycelium were also observed . In the absence of inorganic phosphate in the medium the acetone precipitating fraction of the lipids contained 20--40 per cent of the phosphoruless compounds . During cultivation their portion increased up to 70--77 per cent . However, in the presence of its excess the polar lipids were represented only by phospholipids during the whole life cycle . The fatty acid spectrum of the lipids did not depend on the phosphate concentration and was represented mainly by saturated fatty acids with a branched chain of a series of iso- and anteiso-structures containing 14--18 carbon atoms.

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