bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Enterotoxin A and B production in strains ofStaphylococcus aureusisolated from human beings and foods
Authors: Reali D.
Published: March 2010

The production of enterotoxin A and B by strains ofStaphylococcus aureusisolated from nasal swabs of healthy carriers, from lesions of hospital patients and from foods unconnected with outbreaks of food-poisoning was investigated. Sixty-six strains ofS. aureuswere obtained from human beings, two produced enterotoxin A, 45 produced enterotoxin B. seven produced enterotoxins A + B. Thirty-six strains were isolated from 111 samples of food, one produced enterotoxin A, 16 produced enterotoxin B. The relative incidence of A, B and A + B enterotoxigenicity was assessed.
Campylobacter enteritis in general practice
Authors: Kendall E. J. C. , Tanner Elizabeth I.
Published: March 2010

The incidence and clinical features of campylobacter enteritis were studied in a defined general practice population over a period of three years. Specimens of faeces were cultured from a representative sample of patients suffering from acute enteritis. Of 168 patients submitting a specimen to the laboratory 34 (20·2%) were positive for thermophilicCampylobacterspecies. The projected campylobacter infection rate varied from 5·4% per annum in infancy to 0·3% per annum in the 5- to 14-year-olds with a mean of 1·1% per annum for the whole study population.

During the same period campylobacters were isolated from 484 (14·9%) of 3250 patients suffering from acute enteritis whose general practitioners had sent faecal specimens to the laboratory, confirming the importance of this organism in the aetiology of acute enteritis in the community.
The exotoxins ofCorynebacterium ulcerans
Authors: Carne H. R. , Onon Eleanor O.
Published: March 2010

The exotoxins produced by ten strains ofC. ulcerans(two human, six bovine and two equine) have been studied. On the criteria of toxin–antitoxin neutralisation and immunoprecipitation tests using highly specific diphtheria andC. ovisantitoxins with crude toxic filtrates, (NH4)2SO4concentrates, and partially purified chromatographic preparations of these, together with the presence or absence of inhibition of the action of staphylococcal beta-haemolysin, and the reaction produced when injected intradermally into rabbits, two toxins could be identified, namely diphtheria toxin andC. ovistoxin. There was no evidence for the production of a third toxin specific forC. ulcerans. Five strains produced both diphtheria andC. ovistoxins. In four diphtheria toxin predominated, but in the fifthC. ovistoxin predominated. Two strains produced only diphtheria toxin and two onlyC. ovistoxin, though there was good but not complete evidence that a third strain (Revell) also fell into this latter group. Considerable variation occurred in the concentration of each toxin and, where both were present, in the proportion of each.
Hospital hydrotherapy pools treated with ultra violet light: bad bacteriological quality and presence of thermophilicNaegleria
Authors: De Jonckheere J. F.
Published: March 2010

The microbiological quality of eight halogenated and two u.v.-treated hydrotherapy pools in hospitals was investigated. The microbiological quality of halogenated hydrotherapy pools was comparable to halogenated public swimming pools, although in somePseudomonas aeruginosaand faecal pollution indicators were more frequent due to bad management.

On the other hand u.v.-treated hydrotherapy pools had very bad microbiological quality. Apart from faecal pollution indicators,P. aeruginosawas present in very high numbers.

Halogenated hydrotherapy pools were not highly contaminated with amoebae, andNaegleriaspp. were never detected. On the other hand u.v.-treated pools contained very high numbers of thermophilicNaegleria. TheNaegleriaisolates were identified asN. lovaniensis, a species commonly found in association withN. fowleri.

Isoenzyme analysis showed a different type ofN. lovaniensiswas present in each of two u.v.-treated pools.
Scombrotoxin and scombrotoxin-like poisoning from canned fish
Authors: Murray C. K. , Hobbs G. , Gilbert R. J.
Published: March 2010

A number of scombrotoxin poisoning incidents which have recently occurred in the UK following the consumption of canned fish have been investigated. Symptoms are described and the relationship between the histamine content of incriminated samples and toxicity is discussed.
Effect of twelve antimicrobial drugs on the colonization resistance of the digestive tract of mice and on endogenous potentially pathogenic bacteria
Authors: Wiegersma N. , Jansen G. , van der Waaij D.
Published: March 2010

Twelve antimicrobial drugs were studied for their effect on the endogenous aerobic potentially pathogenic bacteria(Enterobacteriaceae, Streptococcus faecalis)in the intestines and on the colonization resistance (CR) of the digestive tract. Three subclasses of antimicrobial drugs could be recognized: (1) those which suppress the CR following low oral doses (rifamycin, penicillin V, cloxacillin, fenethicillin); (2) those in which the CR is suppressed only following relatively high oral doses (amoxycillin); and (3) those in which no obvious suppression of the CR was noticed even following substantial oral doses (nalidixic acid, cinoxacin, co-trimoxazole, oral cephalosporins, piv-mecillinam and doxycyclin). Some of the drugs in the third category were found to suppress endogenousEnterobacteriaceae(nalidixic acid, co-trimoxazole, piv-mecillinam and doxycyclin) andS. faecalis(doxycyclin) at dose levels at which they did not decrease CR.
A medium for the rapid enumeration of Escherichia coli in the presence of other faecal coliforms in tropical waters
Authors: Wright R. C.
Published: March 2010

A selective membrane filtration medium is described for use in the rapid assessment of water quality in tropical countries where the incidence of faecal coliforms other than E. coli presents problems in the interpretation of results. The medium gives comparable results to MPN values obtained in the multiple tube dilution test using modified Gray's glutamate medium, and to membrane filtration counts obtained using M-FC broth and membrane-enriched Teepol broth, whilst differentiation of E. coli is enhanced.
An outbreak of infectious hepatitis investigated using radioimmunoassays for hepatitis A virus antibody
Authors: Skidmore S. J. , Bakhshi S. S. , Beedle R. , Kimberley J.
Published: March 2010

An outbreak of suspected infectious hepatitis in a primary school was investigated using sensitive diagnostic methods for hepatitis A. A total of 116 sera from children were tested for the presence of both IgM and IgG antibodies to hepatitis A (HAV). The results were compared to those obtained for samples from a control school. IgG antibodies were present in 45 % and 10% of the children in the outbreak and control schools respectively.
Antibody to cytomegalovirus in Malta
Authors: Spiteri L. J. , Chamberlain Roma , Pollard Richard , Tobin J. O'H.
Published: March 2010

Antibody to cytomegalovirus (CMV) was sought in sera from Malta using immunofluorescence. Seven per cent of the infants, 36% of the school children, increasing to 100% of the adults aged over 40 years were found to have antibody. Most infection occurred in pre-school children and adults over 25 years of age. This pattern of antibody acquisition appears different from that described for other countries.
The use of monoclonal antibodies in virology
Authors: Oxford J.
Published: March 2010

Antibodies have been used for the last five decades in the laboratory diagnosis of a wide range of diseases caused by viruses and in detailed investigations of virus structure. However, immunological and serological assays have always had problems of interpretation, reproducibility and standardization, resulting partly from the unavoidable heterogeneity of the antibodies in the test. When a mouse, for example, is immunized with a virus, the animal may easily recognise 10–20 different antigenic determinants. As many as five distinct antibodies can be produced by the mouse against each determinant and these will often differ from antibodies made by another mouse against the same antigenic determinant. The method of lymphocyte fusion and the subsequent generation of monoclonal antibodies (Kohler & Milstein, 1975; Kohler, 1980) overcomes these limitations.
Legionella pneumophila in cooling water systems: Report of a survey of cooling towers in London and a pilot trial of selected biocides
Authors: Kurtz J. B. , Bartlett C. L. R. , Newton U. A. , White R. A. , Jones N. L.
Published: March 2010

Fourteen recirculating cooling water systems were surveyed during the summer, 1981, to see what factors might influence the prevalence ofLegionella pneumophila. The effect on the organism of three anti-microbials was studied, each in two systems, by intermittent treatment at two week intervals.

L. pneumophilawas isolated from six of the 14 cooling systems at the beginning of the trial but by the end was present in ten. An association was found between the presence of the organism and the concentration of dissolved solids, and chlorides and the pH. There also appeared to be associations with exclusion of light and higher water temperatures.

Repeated tests on eight untreated systems showed that two were consistently infected, three became and remained infected, one was infected on a single occasion and two were never infected withL. pneumophila. Treatment of a contaminated system, either with a 10 p.p.m mixture of a quaternary ammonium compound and tributyltinoxide or slow release chlorine briquettes (maximum recorded free chlorine level 1·2 p.p.m.), did not eliminated legionellae. Treatment of two infected towers with a chlorinated phenol (100 p.p.m.) eliminated legionellae for at least three days, but after 14 days the organism was again found.
Bacterial meningitis – ten years experience
Authors: Davey P. G. , Cruikshank J. K. , McManus I. C. , Mahood B. , Snow M. H. , Geddes A. M.
Published: March 2010

Between January 1968 and December 1977, 635 cases of acute bacterial meningitis were admitted to hospitals in the Birmingham Area Health Authority. The epidemiology of these cases was analysed and compared with the 270 cases which were admitted to the regional infectious diseases unit at East Birmingham Hospital (E.B.H.). In children and young adults the meningococcus was the commonest causative organism while over the age of 25 pneumococcal meningitis predominated. AlthoughHaemophilus influenzaewas the second commonest infecting organism it was a rare cause of meningitis in school children and adults, only four cases presenting in these age groups in the Birmingham Area.

A detailed analysis was made of the symptoms, signs, laboratory investigations and clinical course of the 270 cases treated at E.B.H.

The mortality in the patients with pneumococcal meningitis was 30%. In the meningococcal group it was 3·5% and in the haemophilus groups 7·7%.

An analysis of the various treatment regimes employed in the 270 E.B.H. patients supports the view that a single antibiotic is sufficient for the therapy of most forms of bacterial meningitis. Intrathecal antibiotic administration is unnecessary in pyogenic meningitis caused by meningococci, pneumococci orH. influenzae.
Nasal staphylococci in children – a follow-up study
Authors: Burr M. L. , Howells C. H. L.
Published: March 2010

Nasal carriage of Staphylococcus aureus was studied in a cohort of infants born to the residents of two towns in South Wales. The children were followed up to the age of 5 years, nasal swabs being taken annually after a more detailed survey during the first year. The carriage-rate of S. aureus reached a minimum of 10–15% at one year and then rose steadily to 41% at five years. From the age of two years about 90% of the organisms isolated were resistant to penicillin. There was a marked tendency for children to carry the same strains from year to year, but carriage during the first year of life did not predict carriage at the age of five.
Faecal adenoviruses from Glasgow babies Studies on culture and identity
Authors: Kidd A. H. , Cosgrove Bonnie P. , Brown Raewyn A. , Madeley C. R.
Published: March 2010

Attempts were made to isolate viruses from babies' stools that contained adenoviruses detected by electron microscopy. One hundred and fifty-nine specimens from 71 children were studied and adenoviruses of established serotypes were isolated from 81 stools. Serial stool samples containing adenovirus particles were obtained from 35 children, and prolonged shedding of recognized serotypes was common. Simultaneous and sequential infections by different serotypes were also observed. Thirty-six children shed adenoviruses that could not be isolated using cell cultures normally used to detect adenoviruses, and nine of these children also shed adenoviruses of established serotypes. Passage in Chang conjunctival cell cultures allowed characterization of fastidious adenoviruses from 14 children as members of a previously unrecognized serotype.
Dispersal of non-sporeforming anaerobic bacteria from the skin
Authors: Benediktsdóttir Eva , Hambraeus Anna
Published: March 2010

Dispersal of non-sporeforming anaerobic bacteria was studied. Skin samples were taken from the subjects, and dispersal from different parts of the body was examined.

The number of anaerobic bacteria dispersed was not correlated to their density on the surface of skin area exposed. The highest density of anaerobic bacteria on the skin was found in the face and upper trunk, but the highest yield of anaerobic bacteria dispersed came from the lower trunk.

The dominant anaerobic bacteria dispersed werePropionibacterium acnes, butPropionibacterium avidum, Propionibacterium granulosumand Gram-positive cocci were also isolated from the dispersal samples.Peptococcus magnuswas the most common coccus isolated. For the less frequently isolated bacteria, the best correlation was found between the perineal flora and airborne bacteria.

A comparison was also made of bacterial dispersal by naked and dressed subjects. The dispersal of both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria was higher when the subjects were dressed in conventional operating theatre cotton clothing than when they were naked.

The increased dispersal of anaerobic bacteria when the subjects were dressed was mainly due to increased dispersal ofPropionibacteriumsp.
Serotypes of Escherichia coli isolated from patients with recurrent pyogenic cholangitis
Authors: Wong W. T. , Bettelheim K. A. , Cheng F. C. Y. , Ong G. B.
Published: March 2010

Strains of Escherichia coli were isolated from laparotomy specimens from Chinese patients with recurrent pyogenic cholangitis in Hong Kong. A large variety of serotypes were found. Several sites were sampled in each patient. While only one serotype was normally isolated from one site, different sites often yielded different serotypes in the same patient. Generally the ‘O’ types found did not correspond to those found in the faeces of the Hong Kong Chinese population.
Characterization of measles virus-specific antibodies in sera from patients with chronic active hepatitis
Authors: Christie K. E. , Endresen C. , Haukenes G.
Published: March 2010

Measles virus-specific antibodies in sera from patients with HBsAg-negative chronic active hepatitis and raised antibody titres against measles virus, have been examined by crossed immunoelectrophoresis. The immunoprecipitates were further analysed by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Five measles virus-specific precipitation lines were demonstrated using measles virus-infected cells solubilized with Triton X-100. The three major precipitation lines were analysed by SDS-PAGE and contained the virus polypeptides: nucleoprotein, NP (MW ∼ 60000); haemoagglutinin, H (MW ∼ 80000) and fusion proteinF1(MW ∼ 40000). Considerably higher amounts of antibodies against these three virus polypeptides were demonstrated in the patient sera than in sera from healthy controls. By SDS-PAGE analysis of radiolabelled immune complexes adsorbed to Sepharose-protein A, antibodies against five measles virus polypeptides: NP, H, F1, P protein (MW ∼ 70000) and matrix protein, M (MW ∼ 37000) were demonstrated in the patient sera.
The heat-sensitivity ofCampylobacter jejuniin milk
Authors: Waterman Sally C.
Published: March 2010

It is now established that milk can be a vehicle for the spread of enteritis due toCampylobacter jejuni. By determing the lethal effect of heat on six isolates it has been shown thatC. jejuniis unlikely to survive pasteurization.
Virulence of urinary and faecalEscherichia coliin relation to serotype, haemolysis and haemagglutination
Authors: van den Bosch J. F. , Postma P. , Koopman P. A. R. , de Graaff J. , MacLaren D. M. , van Brenk D. G. , Guinée P. A. M.
Published: March 2010

The virulence of faecal and urinaryEscherichia colistrains was studied in relation to serotype, haemolysin production and haemagglutination pattern. By means of an experimental mouse modelE. colistrains can be divided into avirulent (I), mouse nephropathogenic (II), and generally virulent (III) strains. Virulent group II and group III strains were more often haemolytic and haemagglutinating than avirulent group I strains. Presence of K antigen could not be associated with virulence. Discriminant analysis for qualitative variables revealed that no combination of the investigated properties contributed more to a strain's virulence level than did one single property. It is concluded that other virulence factors, apart from haemolysin production in group II strains and haemagglutinins in group III strains, must be involved in the determination of a strain's virulence level.

All O2, O6 and O18ac strains tested were virulent, and by far the most O75 strains were avirulent, whereas other O groups were more variable with regard to virulence. Pyelonephritis strains were more often mannose-resistant haemagglutinating than faecal and other urinary isolates, indicating that mannoseresistant adhesins may be important in the pathogenesis of pyelonephritis.
The emerging story of a human parvovirus-like agent
Authors: Anderson M. J.
Published: March 2010

It is now seven years since Cossart and her co-workers reported finding a novel parvovirus-like agent (PVLA) infecting man. Although this virus was found as a systemic infection in both Dr Cossart's eleven subjects and a further four subjects described subsequently (Paver & Clarke, 1976; Schneerson, Mortimer & Vandervelde, 1980) it was not until 1981 that a clearly defined clinical syndrome was identified as attributable to infection with this agent. Work in the Departments of Microbiology and Haematology, King's College Hospital Medical School and collaboration with the MRC laboratory at Kingston, Jamaica has shown that infection with the PVLA is the major cause of aplastic crisis in children with sickle cell anaemia (Sergeantet al.1981, Andersonet al.1982a, b).
Hand carriage of aerobic Gram-negative rods may not be transient
Authors: Adams Brian G. , Marrie Thomas J.
Published: March 2010

In order to determine whether hand carriage of aerobic Gram-negative rods is continuous we used the glove-handwash technique to sample the hands of two groups (four each) of health care workers with normal hands (surgical intensive care unit, medical ward) and one group (four) with hand dermatitis (HD) and a group (five) of control subjects – secretaries with no exposure to patients. Each subject was sampled repeatedly over three to six weeks. The mean number of samples for each group was 25.2, 23.2, 19.8 and 25.8 respectively. The HD group had more samples positive for aerobic Gram-negative rods than did the other two groups of health care workers while the control group had more samples positive than any of the three health care groups.

Using various typing schemes and the following definition of continuous carriage (the isolation of an organism of the same serotype, pyocin type or biotype from more than two handwash samples) we found that 4 of 11 subjects from whomKlebsiella pseumoniaewas isolated carried this organism continuously; 2 of 3 carriedPseudomonas aeruginosacontinuously and 4 of 5 of the control subjects carried the same biotype ofEnterobacter agglomeranscontinuously.

We conclude that continuous hand carriage of aerobic Gram-negative rods is common and, among health care workers, those with hand dermatitis carry Gram-negative rods more frequently and in greater numbers than health care workers without hand dermatitis.
A comparison of the levels of faecal indicator bacteria in water and human faeces in a rural area of a tropical developing country (Sierra Leone)
Authors: Wright R. C.
Published: March 2010

The levels of faecal coliforms (FC), indole-positive FC (presumptiveEscherichia coli), faecal streptococci (FS),Streptococcus faecalisandClostridium perfringensin the natural water sources used by 29 rural settlements in Sierra Leone were investigated. Levels of the same indicators in human faeces were also investigated. The incidence ofSalmonellaspp. in both habitats and the temperature, pH and conductivity of water sources were also recorded. All water sources were contaminated with the indicator bacteria, mean numbers of which occurred in the relationship FC > presumptiveE. coli≏ FS ≏C. perfringens>S. faecalis.FC were also predominant in human faeces, the relationship of means being FC ≏ presumptiveE. coli> FS >S. faecalis>C. perfringens.The need for confirmation of FC counts obtained from water sources was indicated by the large number of positive tubes produced in the FC multiple-tube dilution test from some samples which could not be confirmed as presumptiveE. coli. Salmonellaspp. were isolated from 13 water sources and 6% of faecal samples. Mean water temperature was high (26·2 °C), pH low (5·04) and conductivity low (34μS cm−1). PresumptiveE. coliwas considered the most appropriate indicator of faecal pollution of the types of water investigated.
Isolation ofPasteurella pneumotropicafrom rodents in South Africa
Authors: Shepherd A. J. , Leman P. A. , Barnett R. J.
Published: March 2010

Four thousand, five hundred and sixteen rodents of 27 species were captured in widely separated localities in South Africa over a period of ten years. Samples of spleen, lung, heart, liver and rectal tissue with faeces were tested for the presence of zoonotic bacteria and 109 isolations ofPasteurella pneumotropicawere made from 11 species. Latent infection with the organism was found to be widespread although there were temporal fluctuations in prevalence. Field and laboratory evidence suggest thatP. pneumotropicamay be associated with, but not the primary cause of, rodent epizootics in the wild.
The return of the historic influenza A H1N1 virus and its impact on the population of the United Kingdom
Authors: Chakraverty P. , Cunningham P. , Pereira M. S.
Published: March 2010

The epidemiology in the United Kingdom of the influenza A H1N1 subtype which returned in 1977 after an absence of 20 years is described for the four winter seasons from 1977/8 to 1980/1. The age distribution of virus isolates and the evidence for antigenic variation is presented. The impact in the susceptible age groups year by year is shown by the change in the population with specific antibody. There was the expected increase of antibody in those under the age of 21 but also evidence for a significant amount of infection or re-infection in the older adult population.
Neutralizing antibodies against 33 human adenoviruses in normal children in Rome
Authors: D'ambrosio E. , Grosso N. Del , Chicca A. , Midulla M.
Published: March 2010

There are few data about the distribution of neutralizing antibodies (NA) against adenovirus types in the Italian population, especially the high-numbered ones. We tested the sera from 453 children and 51 young adults to evaluate NA against adenovirus prototypes 1–33. Using the microneutralization test, 338 (74·6%) of the children's sera were positive for at least one adenovirus type. Antibody to type 2 was the most frequently detected followed, in descending order, by antibody to types 5, 1 and 3. All these types are known to be associated with disease but antibody to type 7, a type also associated with disease, was less frequent than that to other serotypes such as 18 and 31, the pathogenicity of which in man is not clearly established. The antibody positivity rate rose with age for the more frequent types while it did not vary for the less frequent ones. The number of sera with NA against more than one adenovirus type increased with age. With regard to types 1–8, we found that their frequencies in Italy were similar to those found in the U.S.A.
Epidemiological aspects ofCampylobacter jejunienteritis
Authors: Norkrans G. , Svedhem Å.
Published: March 2010

An epidemiological study onCampylobacter jejunienterocolitis was performed in an urban Swedish community. The study included 55 patients gathered during a six-month period. Forty-one of the 55 patients (75%) were infected outside Sweden. Campylobacter enterocolitis was rare among children within the country. Patients infected in Sweden had eaten chicken significantly more often than a corresponding control group. Seven out of nine chicken consuming campylobacter patients also had prepared the fresh chicken alone, and none of their family members became ill. Thus the preparation of food contaminated withCampylobacterseems to elevate the risk for contracting the disease. Sick household pets transmitted the campylobacter infection to two patients. Forty-six of the patients had a total of 85 close household members. Three definite secondary cases were found. There was no evidence of transmissionof Campylobacterby food prepared by two cooks who were working while still being asymptomatic excreters. Clinical reinfection withCampylobacterwas observed in one patient. No patients became long-term carriers ofCampylobacter.
A most probable number method for estimating small numbers of campylobacters in water
Authors: Bolton F. J. , Hinchliffe P. M. , Coates D. , Robertson L.
Published: March 2010

A most probable number (MPN) method capable of estimating as few as ten campylobacters per 100 ml of water is described. The method gave results close to those obtained by the viable count method of Miles, Misra & Irwin (1938) with graded suspensions ofCampylobacter jejuni. The method was used to test raw water samples: counts were obtained ranging from 10 to 230 campylobacters per 100 ml for 11 of 49 coastal and estuary water samples, and from 10 to 36 campylobacters per 100 ml for 7 of 44 river samples. Campylobacters were isolated from an additional 24 of the ‘negative’ samples by testing 200 ml volumes by glass microfibre filtration and enrichment culture methods. The MPN method should prove to be a useful epidemiological tool particularly suited to the enumeration of campylobacters in particulate fluids.
The occurrence ofCampylobacter jejuniin dog faeces from a public park
Authors: Wright E. P.
Published: March 2010

Dog faeces collected from a public park were cultured on selective media forCampylobacterspp.Campylobacter jejuniwas isolated from 12 (4·6%) of 260 specimens. In contrastSalmonellaspp. were found in only three (1·2%). Six of the 12 isolates were nalidixic acid-resistant thermophilic campylobacters (NARTC), whereas during the same period of study none were found among human isolates. Most of the campylobacter positive faeces were found during June and July. Dog faeces deposited in public places constitute only a small potential source of infection by this organism.
Bovine tuberculosis in domestic and wild mammals in an area of Dorset. II. The badger population, its ecology and tuberculosis status
Authors: Little T. W. A. , Swan C. , Thompson H. V. , Wilesmith J. W.
Published: March 2010

Following a major outbreak of tuberculosis in cattle on a farm in Dorset, badgers were discovered to be infected with Mycobacterium bovis. Two hundred and forty sets were found in the 1200 hectares of the study area. The sets were found predominantly in areas of Portland Sand. A high prevalence of tuberculosis was found in the badger population which was removed and repopulation prevented for 3 years. The removal of the infected badgers led to the resolution of the problem in cattle. Re-colonization of the area has progressed slowly and the cattle have remained free from infection for a period of 5 years.
An investigation of microbial contamination in the home
Authors: Scott Elizabeth , Bloomfield Sally F. , Barlow C. G.
Published: March 2010

An investigation of the bacterial flora in over 200 homes is reported. The occurrence of potential pathogens and the levels of contamination at individual sites, particularly in the kitchen, toilet and bathroom is described and the implications for hygiene practices in the home discussed.
A comparison of the virucidal properties of chlorine, chlorine dioxide, bromine chloride and iodine
Authors: Taylor G. R. , Butler M.
Published: March 2010

Chlorine dioxide, bromine chloride and iodine were compared with chlorine as virucidal agents. Under optimal conditions all disinfectants were effective at low concentrations, but each disinfectant responded differently to acidity and alkalinity. Disinfection by chlorine was impaired by the presence of ammonia, but the other disinfectants retained much of their potency. Disinfection of poliovirus by iodine resulted in structural changes in the virions as seen by electron microscopy, but the other disinfectants were able to inactivate poliovirus without causing any apparent structural changes.
The postnatal acquisition of factors which affect the influenza haemagglutination-inhibition test
Authors: Grint P. C. A. , Argent S. , Heath R. B.
Published: March 2010

Levels of maternally transferred antibodies against the surface antigen of the A/Texas/1/77 strain of influenza virus showed the expected decline during infancy when measured by complement fixation (CF). However, this decline was not observed when these antibodies were measured by haemagglutination-inhibition (HI). It has been postulated that this discrepancy is due to the acquisition, in the early days of life, of non-specific serum factors which increase the HI activity of sera. The levels of these factors were determined indirectly by calculating HI: CF ratios and it was shown that the factors are rapidly acquired by children between the fifth and twentieth week of life.
A non-lethal test of the resistance of inbred mice to herpes simplex virus type 1
Authors: Collier L. H. , Scott Q. J.
Published: March 2010

Inbred strains of mice varying in susceptibility to intraperitoneal (i. p.) inoculation of HSV-1 were tested by inoculating 105p.f.u. of the SC 16 strain into the ear pinna. Increase in ear thickness was less in resistant than in susceptible strains. In the resistant C57BL/6 strain, local replication of virus, spread to cervical ganglia and development of latent infections of the ganglia were all less than in susceptible DBA/2 mice; there was also less cellular infiltration of the inoculation site. Like resistance to i.p. inoculation, resistance to ear inoculation appears to be inherited as a dominant characteristic. The test provides a non-lethal method of distinguishing between resistance and susceptibility of inbred strains of mice to HSV-1 and may also be useful in defining resistance factors.
The pathogenicity of variola virus: A comparison of the growth of standard strains of variola major and variola minor viruses in cell cultures from human embryos
Authors: Dumbell K. R. , Wells D. G. T.
Published: March 2010

The international reference strains of variola major (Harvey) and of variola minor (Butler) were grown in cultures of skin and muscle cells from human embryos. The development of infective virus, complement-fixing antigen, haemagglutinin and cytological changes were followed at four temperatures between 35 and 40 °C. No significant difference was found in the amount of virus produced by Harvey or Butler viruses at any of the experimental temperatures, but Harvey attained the plateau titre at 16 h, some 4 h ahead of Butler in the cultures incubated at 38 °C. Harvey also produced a higher and more prolonged yield of virus in the extracellular medium of cultures, inoculated at low multiplicity and incubated at 37 °C. At 38 °C small inocula of Harvey produced foci which developed and spread till the whole culture was necrotic; Butler foci did not spread and remained relatively undeveloped at this temperature.
Laboratory diagnosis of smallpox: role of the Virus Reference Laboratory, Colindale, 1947–70
Authors: Macrae A. D.
Published: March 2010

The Virus Reference Laboratory, Colindale, first embarked on laboratory investigations for smallpox early in 1947. From then, in conjunction with the Department of Bacteriology, University of Liverpool, it provided a complete diagnostic service throughout England and Wales until 1962, after which the service became available regionally until eradication was effected. Up to 1970 it had investigated 2696 specimens from suspected cases of smallpox and had recovered 108 strains of variola and 248 of vaccinia virus. These last were from persons suffering the complications of vaccination. Some outbreaks following smallpox importation are discussed but infection among laboratory staff during this period was not demonstrated.
Studies of herpes virus latency in the sensory spinal ganglia of rabbits
Authors: Tosolini F. A. , McCarthy K. , Baker B. F.
Published: March 2010

Experimental latent herpes infection of rabbit dorsal root ganglia (DRG) is reported. The simian herpes virus used was derived from fatal natural infection in owl monkeys and has limited neurotropism in the rabbit. Following intradermal injection of the flank it causes a local lesion followed only by dorsal root ganglionitis; segmental paraesthesia and/or sensory loss going on to clinical recovery. Methods were developed for mapping sensory losses.

Virus could be immediately re-isolated from skin or DRG homogenates in the acute (first week) stage but from 8–550 days by DRG organ culture only. Spontaneous recurrence does not occur but reactivation can be provoked.

The system provides an improved analogue model for the study of the pathogenesis and symptomatic treatment of herpes zoster.
Haemophilus ducreyiinfections – time for reappraisal
Authors: McEntegart M. G. , Hafiz S. , Kinghorn G. R.
Published: March 2010

As the literature onHaemophilus ducreyiand clinical chancroid is reviewed, it becomes obvious that many significant findings have been forgotten over the years. As a result, from the time of Ducrey's original description of the organism in 1890 until about 1977, both clinical and laboratory experts in the United Kingdom believed thatH. ducreyiinfections were rare, generally acquired abroad, and almost impossible to confirm in the routine laboratory! In consequence it was a common view that it was not worth looking forH. ducreyiuntil all other possible causes of genital ulceration had been excluded. Moreover, the search for such an infection stopped as soon as any other cause for the patient's lesions had been found.

A decision to ignore this ‘rule’ in Sheffield led to our looking forH. ducreyiin specimens from an unselected series of patients with genital ulceration including a number with herpes genitalis infections. The surprise finding ofH. ducreyiin circumstances suggesting that it was a secondary invader made us re-examine the whole question ofH. ducreyiinfections and chancroid and wonder if the same organism can act as a primary pathogen and as a secondary invader. An account of the media and methods we used and of the characteristics of the organism is presented. In an attempt to find out more about the characteristic coherent colonies ofH. ducreyiwe studied them with the scanning electron microscope. It is clear that the whole subject ofH. ducreyiinfections has been neglected in the United Kingdom, but we believe that interest has now been aroused and progress will surely follow. Some areas for further investigation are suggested.
Competitive exclusion of salmonellas from the chick caecum using a defined mixture of bacterial isolates from the caecal microflora of an adult bird
Authors: Impey C. S. , Mead G. C. , George Susan M.
Published: March 2010

Colonization of the caeca of newly hatched chicks by Salmonella typhimurium was prevented by oral administration of a mixture of cultures comprising 48 different bacterial strains originating from an adult bird known to be free from salmonellas. The treatment conferred protection to the same degree as that obtained previously with a suspension of adult caecal contents or an undefined anaerobic culture from the same source and was demonstrated in four separate laboratory trials.

Examination of the caecal microflora of chicks one day after being given the protective treatment showed that the presence of high levels of lactobacilli and Bacteroides spp. which are not found usually at two days of age in chicks produced under commercial conditions was indicative of the successful establishment of an adult-type microflora.

Although the usual method of administering the protective organisms was to dose the chicks directly into the crop, it was also found possible to incorporate the organisms in the drinking water given to the birds at dilutions up to one in five, the maximum tested.

When chicks were given the bacterial mixture via the crop and fed on a diet containing 10 mg kg−1 nitrovin and 100 mg kg−1 monensin, the bacteroides failed to establish in the caeca and the birds were not protected against salmonella colonization. However, when the bacterial cultures were incorporated in the drinking water and the chicks given the same feed, normal protection was obtained; possible reasons for these observations are discussed.
Factors contributing to outbreaks of food poisoning in England and Wales 1970–1979
Authors: Roberts Diane
Published: March 2010

Epidemiological data accompanying reports of more than 1000 outbreaks of food poisoning have been studied to determine the factors which most frequently contributed to the outbreaks. Preparation of food in advance of needs combined with improper storage and inadequate cooking, cooling and reheating were the most common factors. Infected food handlers did not play a significant role except in instances of S. aureus food poisoning.
Enterotoxin production by strains ofStaphylococcus aureusisolated from clinical and non-clinical specimens with special reference to enterotoxin F and toxic shock syndrome
Authors: De Nooij Marianne P. , van Leeuwen Wijnanda J. , Notermans Serve
Published: March 2010

Enterotoxin production by strainsof Staphylococcus aureusisolated from clinical specimens of human and animal origin and from healthy human carriers was investigated. All nine patients admitted to hospital with symptoms of toxic shock syndrome (TSS) yielded enterotoxin-producing strains ofS. aureus. Eight of these produced staphylococcal enterotoxin F (SEF). A significantly smaller proportion of strains (42% of 50 strains tested) isolated from other clinical specimens of hospitalized patients produced SEF. Production of SEF by strains isolated from clinical specimens of animal origin (48 strains) was not observed. Twenty-nine per cent of 24S. aureusstrains isolated from noses of hospital staff produced SEF. This result was not significantly different from that obtained from strains isolated from clinical specimens other than TSS. A similar percentage of strains isolated from healthy human carriers outside hospital produced SEF (25% of 24 strains tested).

The results indicated that enterotoxin production, especially that of SEF. is associated withS. aureusisolated from patients suspected of TSS. There was no indication of an association betweenS. aureusisolated from other staphylococcal infections and SEF production.

All strains were phage typed and 79%, of the strains belonging to the international phage-group I produced SEF. All strains lysed by phage 187 were found to produce SEF.
Accounting for the semantic extension of derived action nouns
Authors: SCOTT ALAN K.
Published: March 2010

This paper examines the German action nouns derived with the suffix -ungwhich have acquired an additional sense denoting either the result of the action (e.g.Veröffentlichung‘publishing (action)’+‘publication (object)’, or a concrete referent connected with the action in some other way, e.g.Bewachung‘guarding (action)’+‘group of people who guard’. The phenomenon is analysed as a (non-prototypical) type of polysemy; a monosemic approach fails to explain the cases in which the referent of the additional senses of the nouns is established and/or idiosyncratic. The action nouns acquire extra senses as a way of ensuring economy in the morphological system as this avoids the need for large numbers of derivational affixes, each with an individual function. An unexpected implication of the findings is that the nouns studied – abstract nouns which acquire a second, often concrete sense – move against the accepted direction of semantic change, in which items with a specific sense acquire a more general sense.
New and interesting lichenicolous fungi at the Botanische Staatssammlung München
Authors: Etayo J. , Triebel D.
Published: March 2010

Pronectria rolfianaEtayo sp. nov. is described onSolorinasp. from Austria and Germany. The new species has been confused withXenonectriella lutescens, a species hitherto reported from one locality in Bavaria.Scutula pseudocyphellariaeEtayo & Triebel is described onPseudocyphellaria berberinaandP. flavicansfrom southern Chile andUnguiculariopsis fasciculataEtayo onRamalina stenosporafrom Florida. The new combinationClypeococcum psoromatis(A. Massal.) Etayo comb. nov. is introduced for the common Mediterranean lichenicolous fungus hitherto namedClypeococcum epicrassum(H. Olivier) Nav.-Ros. & Cl. Roux.
Buellia nordinii, a new triseptate species from Venezuela
Authors: GIRALT Mireia , KALB Klaus , ELIX John A.
Published: March 2010

Buellia nordinii, a new muscicolous or lignicolous species characterized by a blastidiate thallus containing atranorin, apothecia with a fine granular surface, markedly enlarged paraphyses tips and large triseptate ascospores is described from Venezuela. The species grows in very humid situations near the ground in open paramo vegetation at high elevations. It is compared with other known asexually reproducing and triseptateBuelliataxa.
An enlarged concept ofLlimoniella(lichenicolousHelotiales), with a revised key to the species and notes on related genera
Authors: DIEDERICH Paul , ERTZ Damien , ETAYO Javier
Published: March 2010

The new lichenicolousLlimoniella phaeophysciae, known from Italy, Spain and the USA (Arizona) onPhaeophyscia, resemblesGeltingia associatain the subcylindrical asci with uniseriate, shortly ellipsoid ascospores, but is distinguished by several important characters.Gelatinopsis acarosporicola,G. heppiae,Geltingia groenlandiaeandPsorotichia terricola(syn. nov.Gelatinopsis leptogii) are considered to be congeneric withL. phaeophysciae, although some of them have elongate clavate and not subcylindrical asci and they are consequently combined inLlimoniella. These five species are distinguished fromLlimoniellas.str. by a different excipular and epihymenial pigmentation not reacting with KOH and are treated as the informalL. phaeophysciaegroup. The newL. placopsidisis described fromPlacopsisin New Zealand. More complex pigmentation patterns are documented forL. pyrenulaeandL. ramalinae. A revised key to the species ofLlimoniellais presented.Gelatinopsis ericetorumandG. roccellaeare combined inRhymbocarpus. A redescription ofGeltingia associatais given.
Lichenostigma rupicolae(Lichenotheliaceae), a new lichenicolous species growing onPertusaria rupicola
Authors: FERNÁNDEZ-BRIME Samantha , LLIMONA Xavier , NAVARRO-ROSINÉS Pere
Published: March 2010

The lichenicolous fungusLichenostigma rupicolaeFdez.-Brime & Nav.-Ros., collected in France, Spain and Turkey, is described as new to science. It is found growing on the surface of the thalli and apothecia ofPertusaria rupicola, where it forms black patches of radiating plurihyphal strands connecting the fertile stromata. An updated key of the species of subgenusLichenogrammais included.
Violent crime runs in families: a total population study of 12.5 million individuals
Authors: Frisell T. , Lichtenstein P. , Långström N.
Published: March 2010

Background

Etiological theory and prior research with small or selected samples suggest that interpersonal violence clusters in families. However, the strength and pattern of this aggregation remains mostly unknown.

Method

We investigated all convictions for violent crime in Sweden 1973–2004 among more than 12.5 million individuals in the nationwide Multi-Generation Register, and compared rates of violent convictions among relatives of violent individuals with relatives of matched, non-violent controls, using a nested case–control design.

Results

We found strong familial aggregation of interpersonal violence among first-degree relatives [e.g. odds ratio (OR)sibling 4.3, 95% confidence interval (CI) 4.2–4.3], lower for more distant relatives (e.g. ORcousin 1.9, 95% CI 1.9–1.9). Risk patterns across biological and adoptive relations provided evidence for both genetic and environmental influences on the development of violent behavior. Familial risks were stronger among women, in higher socio-economic strata, and for early onset interpersonal violence. There were crime-specific effects (e.g. ORsibling for arson 22.4, 95% CI 12.2–41.2), suggesting both general and subtype-specific familial risk factors for violent behavior.

Conclusions

The observed familiality should be accounted for in criminological research, applied violence risk assessment, and prevention efforts.
Constructing the Empire: English Governors, Imperial Policy, and Inter-imperial Trade in New York City and the Leeward Islands, 1650–1689
Authors: Koot Christian J.
Published: March 2010

Abstrsct

This article uses a comparative perspective to consider the role that English governors played in facilitating inter-imperial trade with the Dutch in New York City and the ports of the English Leeward Islands, including Bridgetown, Barbados, during the seventeenth century. As governors struggled to establish viable colonies these men worked to supply needed trade goods, often allowing their colonists to turn to Dutch colonies and the Netherlands as trading partners, understanding the ways in which these executives negotiated between imperial policies, primarily the Navigation Acts, and the needs of their charges is crucial to understanding how colonies developed. Further, investigating the ways in which governors fostered, regulated, or prevented inter-imperial trade with the Dutch illustrates how governors and colonists implemented and adapted mercantile policy in different colonies, places that depended upon the transfer of culture, goods and entrepreneurial activities across imperial boundaries. Complementing recent scholarship describing the extent of inter-imperial and cross-national trade in the seventeenth-century Atlantic, this article examines the impact English governors had on local merchant communities and their efforts to trade with the Dutch.