bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Paratyphoid C, an Endemic Disease in British Guiana
Authors: Giglioli George
Published: May 2009

From 72 cases of pyrexial illness, occurring in British Guiana, an organism has been isolated which has the cultural and serological reactions of B. para-typhosus C (Hirschfeld). It seems probable that enteric fever, due to infection with this organism, is now endemic in the Colony, and is an important cause of sickness and death.
Syphilis and Malignant Disease: A Serological Study
Authors: Fry H. J. B.
Published: May 2009

1. There is a lower percentage of positive Wassermanns in cases of malignant disease than in a similar population of non-malignant cases. If buccal cancers are excluded, the percentage is half that in non-malignant cases.

2. Cancer of the tongue and buccal cavity, in which a high percentage of positive Wassermanns is found, is almost confined to males and is probably due less to syphilitic infection than to some factor such as smoking.

3. There is a low percentage of syphilis in cancer of the digestive tract, except in cases of cancer of the stomach, and the incidence diminishes from mouth to anus.

4. Syphilis does not appear to be a factor of importance in cancer of the glandular organs, nor, apart from the lip, in the production of cutaneous cancer.

5. In general, from the above figures there is no evidence that syphilis plays any direct or very important part in the production of cancer.
Observations on the Standardisation of Scarlet Fever Reagents
Authors: James G. R. , Joe A. , Swyer R.
Published: May 2009

In 1927 we undertook certain work at the request of the Medical Research Council, as part of an international investigation into the standardisation of scarlet fever reagents promoted by the Health Organisation of the League of Nations. The laboratory work was carried out by the late Dr G. R. James, and his untimely death caused the suspension of the research. A great many observations, however, had been made. Since many of these have a general interest, and since up to the time of writing no completely satisfactory experimental method of assay has been devised, we have no hesitation in adding to the volume of evidence that is accumulating with regard to the methods at present in use.
A Note of the Influence of the Addition of Certain Supplements to the Diets of African Natives. III
Authors: Henderson John McAskill , Kelly Francis Charles
Published: May 2009

In the two preceding communications we have discussed the calcium balances and weight increase of natives, both adult and growing, on certain institution diets, with and without additions.

Various considerations pointed to a relative or absolute deficiency of calcium in the above diets. The experimental additions made, therefore, were (1) a mineral mixture reproducing closely the ash of cows' milk; (2) cod-liver oil; (3) cod-liver oil plus the mineral mixture; (4) olive oil plus KI; (5) milk.
Fatal Epidemic Enteritis due toB. dysenteriaeSonne
Authors: Hay Hilda R.
Published: May 2009

1. An outbreak is described of fatal epidemic enteritis due toB. dysenteriaeSonne which occurred in the autumn, 1928, in the infant wards of a hospital in Glasgow.

2. The clinical histories of two fatal cases are given.

3. The bacteriological and immunological examination of two strains ofB. dysenteriaeSonne is described.

4. The results are given of a series of animal inoculations undertaken to study the virulence ofB. dysenteriaeSonne and the nature of the lesions which it produces. To these are added the results of certain feeding experiments.
The Relationship between Morphology, Colonial Appearance, Agglutinability, and Virulence to Mice of Certain Variants of Bacterium aertrycke
Authors: Wilson G. S.
Published: May 2009

1. Analysis of a series of 135 strains of B. aertrycke indicates that at least four well-defined types may be recognised on the basis of morphology, colonial formation, virulence to mice, and to a less extent agglutination by salt, serum, and acids. These types comprise: (i) type A—the normal smooth virulent form; (ii) type B—a smooth form of low virulence; (iii) type C—a roughish, so-called ichthyotic, form of low virulence; (iv) type D—the really rough avirulent form. Between these well-defined types certain transitional forms may sometimes be recognised, the virulence of which is frequently of an order intermediate between that of the A type on the one hand, and the B, C, or D types on the other.

2. Evidence is brought to show that if a virulent strain is sub-cultured daily, under conditions known to lead to a fall in virulence of the whole culture, a gradual replacement occurs of the virulent type A bacilli by the avirulent B, C or D types. So long as an adequate proportion, which is very small, of type A bacilli persists in the culture the virulence of the whole culture remains fairly high; but when all type A bacilli have been replaced by bacilli of the B, C or D types the virulence of the whole culture falls considerably.
An Investigation into the Agglutinating Power of Human Sera for Bacillus typhosus and Various Allied Organisms
Authors: Smith M. M. , Macvie M. H. , Newbold B. M.
Published: May 2009

1. Three hundred and two samples of sera from normal people, and 847 samples from cases suspected of enteric, or from contacts, have been examined for heat labile agglutinins against B. typhosus and allied organisms.

2. Sera from the “not normals” show a higher percentage of agglutinins against nearly all the organisms tested than sera from the “normals.”

3. In the contact group of the “not normals” the incidence of agglutinins is practically the same as in the “normal” group.

4. Sera from inoculated persons show a higher percentage of agglutinins against those organisms included in the T.A.B. vaccine used during the late war, than the sera from non-inoculated persons.

5. There is a higher percentage of agglutinins for B. typhosus, B. paratyphosus A and B. paratyphosus B among males than among females, especially in the age groups 20–30 and 30–40.

6. The proportion of normal males whose sera agglutinate B. typhosus, B. paratyphosus A and B. paratyphosus B and the group suspension is significantly lower than corresponding proportion noted in an investigation recorded by Rosher and Fielden in 1922. The proportion of agglutinating sera for these strains among normal females is substantially the same in our findings as in theirs.

7. The associations between ability to agglutinate different pairs of organisms are shown to be statistically significant in those cases which might arise from T.A.B. inoculation.

8. For these reasons it seems likely that the present distribution among the adult male population of agglutinins for B. typhosus, B. paratyphosus A, B. paratyphosus B and for Salmonella strains allied to B. paratyphosus B when in the group phase, was largely determined, in the period 1925–6, by the results of T.A.B. inoculation carried out during the war. It is probable that this effect is slowly disappearing.

9. Statistically significant associations were found between certain other pairs of organisms, which could not be explained as resulting from inoculation with T.A.B. vaccine, or as a result of any common antigenic stimulus. These associations were found mainly in the “not normal” group; and their meaning, at the moment, remains obscure. It may be noted that the number of sera agglutinating these particular pairs of suspensions was, in most cases, small.

10. Our results, so far as they yield any information on this point, do not suggest that infection with any one of the organisms studied by us increases the probability of the patient's serum agglutinating some other bacterium, with which the infecting organism is not antigenically related.

11. High titres were found chiefly in sera from the “suspected of enteric” group. The normal group usually gave low titres.
Observations on the Hygienic Condition of Public Swimming Baths
Authors: Grierson A. M. M.
Published: May 2009

It is an undisputed fact that various diseases have been transmitted by the water of swimming baths, and although such cases have not been very frequently recorded it is nevertheless important that steps should be taken to prevent their occurrence. This can only be done by maintaining a standard of purity of the bath water similar to drinking water.

It is evident that the water of swimming ponds cannot be kept pure by the fill and empty system, but should be subjected to a process of continuous filtration combined with aeration and chlorination.

In order to maintain the standard of purity thus obtained it is necessary that a strict supervision should be made of the bathers, and those who have any infectious condition should not be permitted to use the pond.

Regulations similar to those suggested by the American Public Health Association should be made and enforced.
An Inquiry into the Health of School Entrants in a Suburban Area
Authors: Nicoll Agnes Hill
Published: May 2009

Summarising the results of this investigation, those set out in the first part of the paper are, on the whole, very gratifying. Making due allowances for difficulties of comparison, there is little doubt that entrants now are in a better condition than they were twenty years ago. The characters, e.g. general nutrition and state of teeth, for which there has been no improvement or actually a set back in recent years are those which might be expected to have been influenced by transitory conditions due to the war and are also those the measurement of which most closely depends upon the standard adopted; this standard has probably risen.

In the second part of the paper, I have shown that there is an intimate relation between various defects which develop before, sometimes long before, school age and defects or disabilities which are of grave importance during school life. How far one is dealing with environmental effects and how far with inborn weaknesses cannot, of course, be ascertained without further data; but it is clear that the care of the child before admission to school is a matter deserving as much attention as possible, even with respect to shortcomings often attributed to factors only coming into play during school age.
Further Observations on the Staphylococci, with Special Reference to their Haemolysins and Variability
Authors: Dudgeon Leonard S. , Goadby H. K.
Published: May 2009

Agglutinins and precipitins. Cultures of S. aureus isolated from infections in man were used for the inoculations. It is well known that rabbits are very susceptible to this organism, and previous inoculation with vaccines, attenuated cultures, or with carefully graduated doses of the live coccus does not confer adequate protective immunity, although the animal's serum contains immune bodies, such as agglutinins and precipitins, to a high titre.
A Further Study of Herd Mortality under Epidemic Conditions
Authors: Greenwood M. , Newbold E. M. , Topley W. W. C. , Wilson J.
Published: May 2009

The results of this investigation may be summarised as follows:

1. The qx or cage-age mortality curve of a herd increases rapidly to a maximum and thereafter descends to an approximately constant level which is much above the level of the qx for normal mice of ages within the range of real, physiological, age of animals living in the herds.

2. At the latest ages under observation the principal factor of mortality is still the specific factor, so that the advantage produced by selective mortality and active immunisation is brought to a standstill far above the zero line. Exposure in a herd under the conditions of these experiments will not produce an ultimate population fully resistant to the specific factor of infection.

3. It is probable that a large proportion, perhaps a majority, of the members of a herd become infected early in herd life, and gradually increase their degree of immunity because variations of environmental conditions, so far as these are measured by the general herd mortality, become less and less influential on the ultimate mortality of the exposed to risk the later the point in time chosen for measurement.

4. Study of the form of the age-mortality curve is still proceeding; at present we cannot offer an adequate mathematical description of it which takes due account of the biological factors requiring attention.

5. Quite provisionally, we attribute the difference in time of the maxima of the qx curves of Pasteurella and aertrycke epidemics to a difference of average interval between infection and death.
The Viability of B. tuberculosis (Bovinus) on Pasture Land, in Stored Faeces and in Liquid Manure
Authors: Williams R. Stenhouse , Hoy W. A.
Published: May 2009

The results are collected in Table I, and it may be concluded that:

1. Under ordinary conditions in the south of England B. tuberculosis may remain alive and virulent in cow's faeces exposed on pasture land for at least 5 months during winter, for 2 months during spring and for 4 months during autumn. In summer no living organisms were demonstrated after 2 months.

2. Under special conditions, e.g. protection from direct sunlight, the survival period may be 4 months during summer. In autumn faeces protected from earthworms, etc., yielded bacilli after 6 months.
Cerebro-Spinal Fever in Glasgow, 1929
Authors: Peters R. J. , Gunn W. C.
Published: May 2009

In 1929, for the third time in the present century, cerebrospinal fever occurred in Glasgow in epidemic form. The first epidemic, which was by far the most severe, was in 1906–8, the total number of cases recorded being 1363. Descriptions of the events of these years were given by Dr A. K. Chalmers (1906) in the Annual Reports of the Medical Officer of Health of Glasgow for 1906 and 1907, and also in a paper read before the Epidemiological Society. In this outbreak the fatality rate of cases treated in hospital was given as 74·8 per cent. by Currie and Macgregor (1908). The total number of cases admitted to hospital was 910. The incidence of the disease was highest during the months of January to May of 1907, and there was a slight recrudescence in the same months of the following year. The characteristics of the epidemic form of cerebro-spinal fever were present in so far as there occurred several instances of multiple infection in the same house, and a number of cases showed the exanthem peculiar to the disease.
Food Consumption Calculations based on the Danish Family Budget Enquiries
Authors: Heiberg Povl
Published: May 2009

The series of family budget enquiries which have been carried out in Denmark during the last fifty years enable us now to form a fairly clear idea of the food consumption both in the towns and in the rural districts, in the well-to-do homes as well as amongst the poor.
The Toxicity of Atmospheres containing Hydrocyanic Acid Gas
Authors: Barcroft Joseph
Published: May 2009

The lethal dose of an ordinary pharmacological preparation is expressed in a simple statement of quantity. The lethal dose of a poisonous gas cannot as a rule be so expressed. The majority of such gases are rapidly destroyed in the body, and the building up of a lethal concentration in some critical portion of the organism is a race between the rate at which the gas is inhaled and the rate at which it is destroyed. Even in the cases of such gases as arsenuretted hydrogen which are destroyed only very slowly, and which are therefore cumulative poisons, the attainment of a lethal concentration in the body is a function not only of the concentration of the gas in the atmosphere, but of the time during which that atmosphere is breathed.
Lethargic Encephalitis: The Glasgow Epidemic of 1923: Its Incidence and Consequences, from the Point of View of Public Health
Authors: Main Ashie
Published: May 2009

Epidemic encephalitis made its appearance in Glasgow in 1918, although it was only in 1919 that its prevalence was such as to lead to its recognition. It recurred annually till 1924, and, during this period, the change in the clinical features from year to year suggested that it had passed through an evolutionary phase. While ocular symptoms were probably the features most common to all epidemics, prolonged lethargy and somnolence characterised the earlier cases; choreiform and myoclonic movements were more prevalent in 1920 and in 1921, while in 1924 there appeared for the first time a considerable proportion of cases with spinal signs and symptoms, which simulated acute attacks of insular sclerosis.
The Clinical Value of the combined Khan and Wassermann Tests in the Tropics, with Special Reference to Yaws and Syphilis
Authors: Burke-Gaffney H. J. O'D.
Published: May 2009

1. Sera from 500 patients, mostly natives of East Africa, were tested by the Kahn and Wassermann tests, under conditions described.

2. Clinical data were available in the case of 448 specimens. The results of tests upon 230 sera from cases believed to be yaws and syphilis and 218 cases believed not to be yaws and syphilis are discussed. In 46 of the 230 cases, treatment had previously been given.

3. In interpreting results, the resolutions of the League of Nations' Conference on the Serodiagnosis of Syphilis were strictly followed.

4. In the performance of the tests recognised standard methods were used.

5. The two tests correlated exactly in 96·4 per cent. of all cases.

6. The Kahn test was the more sensitive to yaws and syphilis.

7. The Wassermann test alone gave one non-specific reaction.

8. The reagents used in the Kahn test did not deteriorate when kept for two months at room temperature.

9. It is suggested that although the use of both tests is preferable when practicable, the Kahn test alone is a reliable diagnostic measure in the tropics.
Serological Varieties of Typhus Fever
Authors: Felix A. , Rhodes M.
Published: May 2009

1. Fletcher and Lesslar's observations on two serological types of tropical typhus have been fully confirmed.

2. The antigenic relationship between the indologenicB. proteusX 19 and the non-indologenic Kingsbury strain is of the same order as that obtaining between the X 19 and X 2 types ofB. proteusX.

3. The Kingsbury strain is an antigenic variant derived from the original X 19 culture and represents another serological type ofB. proteusX. The symbol XK is suggested for this type.

4. Sera from cases of classical European typhus and of endemic typhus of the United States of America and of Australia have been tested for the occurrence of main and group O agglutinins for the known types ofB. proteusX.

5. H agglutination as source of error in the diagnosis of typhus cases is illustrated by some examples.

6. Sera from cases of tsutsugamushi from Sumatra and Japan react with type XK like the Malayan cases of this disease described by Fletcher and co-workers.

7. This latter reaction is of the order of group O agglutination. It is suggested that antigenically the virus of tsutsugamushi corresponds to another serological type ofB. proteusX which is yet unknown.

8. The data published on the serum reactions in Rocky Mountain spotted fever and in the “fièvre exanthématique” of Marseilles are analysed. It is suggested that these two diseases represent further serological varieties of typhus.

9. The significance hitherto attached to negative agglutination tests withB. proteusX and to negative cross-immunity tests obtained with some typhuslike diseases requires revision in the light of recent observations.
Epidemic Dysentery in the Nursing Staff due to Bacillus dysenteriae (Sonne)
Authors: Cann L. W. , De Navasquez S.
Published: May 2009

1. An epidemic of a dysenteroid nature, largely ambulatory, due to B. dysenteriae (Sonne), affecting some 100 nurses without transference to any hospital case in the wards served by this section of the nursing staff, is described.

2. Sonne's bacillus was isolated from sixteen out of forty-two cases examined.

3. The probable cause was infection of food during preparation in the kitchens by a carrier.

4. A case of infection from laboratory cultures is described.

5. Notes are given of investigations upon the colonial appearance, biochemical and agglutinogenic reactions and pathogenicity to rabbits of the organism isolated, and also upon the presence of agglutinins in the blood of infected cases.

6. One case of infection in a rabbit by feeding experiments is described.
The Mortality of a Herd of Mice under “Normal” Conditions
Authors: Greenwood M. , Topley W. W. C , Wilson J.
Published: May 2009

For the purpose of assessing the effects of exposure to a special environment on a herd of mice, one naturally desires a control series, viz. a herd not exposed to a specific risk but otherwise in pari materia with our colonies under experiment.
A new Salmonella type: Salmonella kentucky
Authors: Edwards Philip R.
Published: May 2009

A new Salmonella type, S. kentucky, is described. It was isolated from the intestinal tract of a chick affected with coccidiosis and ulcerative enteritis. The organism possesses two hitherto undescribed antigens, one somatic, the other flagellar. It exhibits alpha-beta phase variation and the alpha phase is identical with the specific phase of S. typhi-murium. The antigenic formula of S. kentucky is VIII XX: i-z6:-.
Observations on the bacterial flora of the hen's egg, with a description of new species ofProteusandPseudomonascausing rots in eggs
Authors: Haines R. B.
Published: May 2009

1. Examination of several hundred eggs suggests that a high proportion (98%) of the whites of fresh eggs, and a slightly smaller proportion of the yolks (93%), are sterile.

2. The shell of the egg is heavily infected with a heterogeneous flora, includingProteusandPseudomonasbacteria capable of producing rotting.

3. The rots found in imported New Zealand and Australian eggs, and in English stored eggs, may be grouped into black rot, red rot, green rot, and a miscellaneous group.

4. Black rot is brought about chiefly by strains ofProteus, but some species ofPseudomonascause some blackening. Red and green rots are due to infection with particular strains ofPseudomonas.

5. A “fishy” odour is developed during the multiplication of certain atypical coliform organisms in the white, and a strong “cabbage-water” smell is often found after the growth ofPseudomonasspecies.

6. Washing eggs under clean conditions has no effect on immediate bacterial penetration. Washing removes a protective coating so that if the eggs are subsequently soaked in a bacterial suspension, much more penetration of bacteria occurs than with untreated controls.

7. Detailed descriptions of the coliform andProteusorganisms isolated are given. It is shown that the strains ofProteusfrom the eggs here investigated are antigenically not related toP. melanovogenesfound by Miles and Hainan to be the cause of black rot in South African eggs.

8. It does not at present seem possible to assign specific names to the organisms isolated. The utilization of carbon sources by the species ofPseudomonasobtained from eggs, and by certain stock strains, and the possibility of a grouping on that basis, is discussed.
Action of carcinogenic tar upon lymph glands
Authors: Lasnitzki A.
Published: May 2009

It has been found that carcinogenic tar acts upon the lymph glands of the rat in converting them into more or less pronounced haemolymph glands.
An investigation of the effects of certain substitutes for morphine and heroin upon the passage of food along the alimentary tract of the human subject
Authors: Myers G. Norman , Davidson S. Whately
Published: May 2009

1. The effect of heroin, morphine, Dilaudid, Dicodid and Eukodol upon the human alimentary tract are described from observations involving the use of the barium meal and X-ray methods.

2. The effects of Dilaudid closely resemble those of morphine. Dilaudid produces a condition of increased tone in the pyloric and ileo-colic sphincters resulting in delayed emptying of the stomach contents into the duodenum and a delayed passage of the intestinal contents into the caecum.

3. Dicodid has a much weaker action upon the pyloric and ileo-colic sphincters than either morphine, heroin, Dilaudid or Eukodol. It causes only a negligible delay in the passage of food up to the 3 hr. stage, it being normal at the 6 hr. stage owing to a hastening of the motility rate.

4. Eukodol has an action resembling that of morphine and is described.

5. All these drugs possess well-marked analgesic properties.

6. No gross rectal symptoms were observed in any of the subjects under observation.
The mortality of the haemolytic Streptococcus on the skin and on other surfaces
Authors: Burtenshaw J. M. L.
Published: May 2009

1. A new technique is described for recovering applied organisms from the skin and other surfaces.

2. Experiments are analysed, in which staphylococci and streptococci are recovered by this technique from various areas of the skin and from glass and rubber.

3. It is concluded that the surfaces examined can be arranged in a definite order of decreasing disinfectant power.

4. The peculiar disinfectant power of rubber is considered.

5. The deterioration in surface viability of streptococci still surviving in saline suspension is described.

6. The experimental results are discussed in the light of previous investigations.

My grateful thanks are due to Professor J. B. Duguid, Department of Pathology and Bacteriology, Welsh National School of Medicine, Cardiff, for his patient counsel and criticism, and to Mr J. P. Napper, Technical Assistant for his skill in making apparatus and his help in the experimental work.
The preparation of anti-typhoid serum in the horse for therapeutic use in man
Authors: Felix A. , Petrie G. F.
Published: May 2009

The object of this paper is to describe the immunizing procedures that have proved to be the most suitable up to the present time for preparing a potent serum from the horse for the treatment of typhoid fever. The principles on which the methods are based have their origin in the studies of Felix and his collaborators on the antigenic structure of Salmonella typhi. The technical details that follow will, we hope, assist those who are interested in the preparation of the serum as a therapeutic agent to obtain products which maintain a consistently high level of potency. This objective is not readily attained, but is of paramount importance, because the clinical use of products that fall below the permissible limits of potency would tend to bring discredit upon the serum as a specific remedy owing to insufficient dosage. The adoption of standards of potency that are prescribed by an official authority is an obvious desideratum and would guard against this risk, but in the meantime we shall be pleased to help by providing the requisite cultures and serological reagents.
The experimental transformation of variola to vaccinia
Authors: Horgan E. S.
Published: May 2009

1. The more recent literature on the experimental methods employed in variola or alastrim-vaccinia variation is reviewed and briefly discussed.

2. An account is given of attempts to produce a vaccinia variant from variola of the virulent type and a successful result, by employing the method of intratesticular passage, has been described.

3. The reasons for accepting this as a genuine variation and not a vaccinial contamination are discussed.

4. An attempt has been made to analyse some possible factors underlying the discrepancies in the literature, and a plea is made for more co-operation in future work on the subject.
The estimation of the bactericidal power of the blood
Authors: Miles A. A. , Misra S. S. , Irwin J. O.
Published: May 2009

The survival rate,p, of a measured inoculum ofStaph. aureusin a standard volume of denbrinated blood, is a reliable quantitative measure of the bactericidal power of blood. The number of viable organisms in the inoculum and in the blood-bacterium mixture may be estimated with the necessary accuracy by counts of colonies developing from measured volumes of the fluids let fall on to the surface of solid media. Fildes' agar was the most suitable medium for this surface-viable count, and was selected on the basis of four criteria; of the media tested it yielded the highest counts, and the counts conformed most closely to a Poisson series; and on it the mean colony size was maximum, and the coefficient of variation of colony size was minimum. On this medium, the close conformity of the separate count values to a Poisson series enabled the standard error of the survival rate to be determined from a simplification of the general expression for the standard error of a ratio.

The number of colonies growing from a sample of a blood-bacterium mixture may be reduced, not by killing of the individual cocci, but as a result of their aggregation either by agglutinins in the blood, or in the cytoplasm of leucocytes that are phagocytic but not bactericidal. It appears that these mechanisms are unlikely to operate in blood-bacterium mixture containing relatively few organisms; in such mixtures the survival rate is a reflexion of the killing power only.

The immunological significance ofphas not been investigated, but the range of values for healthy human adults differs significantly from that for sufferers from chronic staphylococcal infection. Moreover, by the technique employed differences may be detected between individual values ofpthat cannot reasonably be attributed to technical or sampling errors.
The streptolysins of various groups and types of haemolytic streptococci; a serological investigation
Authors: Todd E. W.
Published: May 2009

1. Group A haemolytic streptococci produce two distinct varieties of streptolysin:

(a) Streptolysin O which is oxygen sensitive.

(b) Streptolysin S which is serum extractable.

These two streptolysins are neutralized by separate antibodies which appear to be entirely unrelated.

2. Neutralization experimentsin vitrowith group A antistreptolysin O show that streptolysin O is formed by strains belonging to groups A, C (human) and G; it is not formed by strains belonging to groups B, C (animal), D, E, H and K. The relation of group F strains to streptolysin O is at present uncertain.

3. Group A strains of different serological types all produce streptolysin S neutralizable by group A antistreptolysin S. Strains belonging to groups B, C, D, E, F, G, H and K do not produce streptolysin S neutralizable by group A antistreptolysin S. The neutralization is therefore group-specific but not type-specific.
Investigation on the seasonal fluctuation of vitamin C excretion in Palestine
Authors: Guggenheim Karl
Published: May 2009

During the period November 1936–November 1937 the vitamin C excreted in the urine by adults and children was investigated in a number of places in Palestine. The pronounced influence of the citrus season (winter and spring) with its greater consumption of citrus fruit was noted in all the population groups investigated. In the summer, however, when the supply of fresh vegetable sources of vitamin C is remarkably poor, much lower, partly subnormal, excretion values are to be found.

The lower average excretion of vitamin C in the urine samples taken from children probably indicate a higher requirement by the growing than by the adult body.
A note on the percentage loss of calories as waste on ordinary mixed diets
Authors: Cathcart E. P. , Murray A. M. T.
Published: May 2009

It is customary to state the energy needs of an individual, a family or some larger group in terms either of net or gross calories. If the original estimate has been made from a study of the actual or net intake, what extra percentage would have to be added to this net basal figure to permit the need to be stated in gross calories? A similar problem arises in the conversion of gross to net requirements.
Sampling errors in the determination of bacterial or virus density by the dilution method
Authors: Haldane J. B. S.
Published: May 2009

The statistical theory of virus determination by the dilution method is considered. It is shown that an algebraical method gives a solution which is rather more reliable than that given by the graphical method, and whose standard error may be calculated.
The occurrence of Weil's disease among miners in the west of Scotland
Authors: Stuart R. D.
Published: May 2009

Eleven cases of Weil's disease in miners from the west of Scotland have been encountered in the years 1937 and 1938. Only five showed jaundice.

Ten cases of infection previous to this period have been determined by serological means. Eight were jaundiced.

Information pointing to the occurrence of about eighteen more cases has been obtained from the Lanark public health authorities and from patients' statements.

The occurence of leptospiral infection appears limited at the moment but is quite serious in certain areas.

All available evidence points to the infectious being due to one specific strain of Leptospira.

I should like to thank the Physicians and Surgeons of the Royal Infirmary for permission to obtain sera from miners in their wards, and in particular Prof. A. W. Harrington, Dr J. C. Middleton and Dr J. N. Cruickshank for clinical details of cases. In addition, I would express my indebtedness to Dr J. M. Lang, Medical Officer of Health, Lanark, for the opportunity to investigate suspected cases, past and present.
Incubation at 44°C. as a test for faecalcoli
Authors: Clegg L. F. L. , Sherwood H. P. , Dodgson R. W.
Published: May 2009

1. The use ofEsch. colialone as an index of faecal pollution for shellfish, and the correlation between the 44° C. MacConkey test and citrate tests are discussed.

2. The mercury-toluene thermo-regulator used in these experiments, which gives a maximum variation of ± 0.1° C., is discussed briefly and illustrated.

3. Experiments are described in which 522 colonies from polluted shellfish were isolated, inoculated into MacConkey's broth and incubated at temperatures of 37° C. and at successive 1° intervals from 41 to 46° C., in accurately controlled water-baths. An almost perfect negative correlation was found to exist between 44° C. incubation and the citrate test.

4. It appeared that temperatures above 44° C. are detrimental to the growth ofEsch. coli.

5. Certain cultures of citrate-negative lactose fermenters at 37° C., which were inhibited at 44° C., were found on further investigation to be mostly intermediate types.
Subjective impressions of freshness in relation to environmental conditions
Authors: Bedford T. , Warner C. G.
Published: May 2009

A fresh examination has been made of data obtained some years ago when observations were made of the relation between subjective impressions of freshness and the temperature, velocity and humidity of the air. The results are described, and the bearing of certain other factors on freshness impressions is also discussed. The requirements for a pleasant and invigorating atmosphere are stated.
The effect of humidity of air on the disinfection capacity of mechanically atomized and heat-volatilized germicidal aerosols
Authors: Baker A. H. , Twort C. C.
Published: May 2009

During the course of our experiments on the lethal effectiveness of organic smokes to bacteria in the air (Baker & Twort, 1940, p. 587), we experienced, as time went on, more and more difficulty in obtaining satisfactory results, whereas in the early days of these investigations our findings were relatively consistent. In the first place, our charcoal-incense ‘candles’, when smouldered, failed to give the results expected, and in-seeking an explanation for the failure it was thought possible that the temperature of smouldering was too high and that there was pyrolysis of the emitted smoke as it passed over the glowing point of the candle. Attempts were made to elucidate the matter by (1) smouldering the ‘candle’ inverted, and (2) heating the crushed ‘candle’ on a hot plate of regulated temperature. Both methods gave somewhat improved results, but these still remained very poor, and our next procedure was to examine the effect of the smokes obtained from incense supplied from different sources. The results were irregular, as they were with several other substances which were re-tested. Only Peru balsam continued to give good ‘kills’ for some time, but, finally, we were unable to reproduce our original results even with this product. While there seemed to be evidence that the smoke, generated by smouldering on a hot plate such substances as cardboard and the incense-charcoal mix, was somewhat more lethally effective than when generated by smouldering as a ‘candle’ or strip, the experimental results as a whole had, by this time, become consistently bad.
New laboratory animals from wild species: Breeding a laboratory stock of hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus L.)
Authors: Ranson R. M.
Published: May 2009

It has not yet been possible to breed hedgehogs in laboratory cages, but they have been bred and reared successfully in pens in the open, twenty-seven young being produced by five females in seven litters. The methods adopted in breeding and maintaining this stock are described.
A slit sampler for collecting and counting air-borne bacteria
Authors: Bourdillon R. B. , Lidwell O. M. , Thomas John C.
Published: May 2009

1. A slit sampler for air-borne bacteria is described, in which air is sucked through a narrow slit on to the surface of agar in an ordinary Petri dish.

2. This method has proved very rapid and simple in use, and has appeared more efficient than other methods against which it has been tested.

3. The collection efficiency for an aerosol consisting ofStaph. albus, sprayed from distilled water as single cocci, is about 96%. The method thus collects the finest bacteria-carrying, particles almost as efficiently as coarser ones.

4. In contrast to this, the exposure of plain open Petri dishes appears to collect the larger particles in the air of crowded rooms at least 200 times as efficiently as it does single washed bacteria. This highly selective effect renders it advisable to use great caution in evaluating tests made in plain open dishes.

5. The methods of determining sampling efficiency, and their errors are discussed in detail.
Atypical strains of tubercle bacilli in human tuberculosis
Authors: Griffith A. Stanley
Published: May 2009

Pus from a lumbar abscess in a boy, aged 10 years, produced severe general tuberculosis in a guinea-pig. A culture from this guinea-pig resembled a bovine strain in primary culture on egg and a eugonic human strain in subculture on glycerine egg and glycerinated potato. The virulence of the strain was high for the guinea-pig and irregular for the rabbit. For some rabbits the pathogenic effects of the strain were much more severe than those of typical human bacilli and approached, but did not equal, those of bovine bacilli. The results in other rabbits were similar to those of eugonic human bacilli. Cultures recovered from the rabbits resembled in characters the original strain, which was therefore not a mixture of the human and bovine types of tubercle bacilli. The strain cannot be described as ‘human’ or ‘bovine’ according to the usually accepted distinction between these types in the rabbit, but according to the results in the vole could be classified as belonging to the human type.
Observations on ‘hospital infection’ in a plastic surgery ward
Authors: Spooner E. T. C.
Published: May 2009

Over a period of 6 months, wounds and throats in a plastic surgery ward were swabbed. Haemolytic streptococci obtained from them were typed by the late Dr F. Griffith and his staff at the M.E.C. Streptococcal Research Laboratory. 65% or more of the wounds in the ward were found to be infected with Streptococcus pyogenes, but relatively few suffered severe damage as a result of their infection.

About a quarter of the cases admitted to the ward acquired streptococcal wound infections while in the ward. Two wound and throat epidemics, one due to type 13 and one to type 4/24 streptococci are described.
Further studies of incubation at 44° C. as a test for ‘faecal coli’
Authors: Sherwood H. P. , Clegg L. F. L.
Published: May 2009

1. The authors concluded in a previous paper that the most reliable single test for the detection ofBact. coliwas incubation in MacConkey's broth at 44° C, such a test forBact. colialone being necessary in shellfish because of occasional multiplication of other coliforms in purified mussels. The present investigation is an attempt to verify this finding on a broader basis.

2. A description is given of the isolation of 1600 cultures of coliform organisms from polluted mussels, sewage, and faeces (human, cow, sheep and sea birds). Their classification according to ‘IMViC’ reactions and the production of gas in MacConkey's broth at temperatures of 37, 41, 44, 45 and 46° C. is given.

3. Of the + + − − type, 1036 out of 1065 cultures (97·3%) were found to produce gas in MacConkey's broth at 44° C. A balance is noted between the + + − − type which does not produce gas at 44° C. (irregular I) and the two irregular types which do so (irregular II and irregular VI). Such a balance was reported by Bardsley (1938).

4. From the cultures examined it is confirmed that incubation at 44° C. is the most suitable temperature for use with MacConkey's broth for permitting the maximum number ofBact. colito produce gas while inhibiting the maximum number of other coliforms.
A study on bacteriological lines of the antigens derived from Bact. dysenteriae Shiga and of their antisera in protective tests against the living organisms
Authors: Steabben Dorothy
Published: May 2009

1. An examination by bacteriological methods has been made of the antigens present in the washed bacilli of smooth Shiga strains and certain derived variants, including the rough type.

2. The washed formol-killed smooth bacilli kill mice only in massive doses of the order of 5000 millions, suggesting death from protein shock; no protection against a fatal issue is afforded by antibacterial sera. This finding is discussed in relation to recently acquired information obtained by chemical methods on the occurrence of a specific enterotropic toxin in the smooth bacilli, as distinct from the enterotropic toxin present together with a neurotoxin in autolysates of smooth and rough bacilli.

3. Antibacterial sera prepared by immunization with the smooth antigen have high protective value against infection with the living smooth bacilli but not against pure toxin, whereas purely antitoxic sera have no value against infection with the living smooth bacilli.

4. From experiments so far performed, protection against infection with the living rough bacilli has been afforded only by sera prepared from formol-killed rough bacilli and from acetone-killed rough bacilli.

5. From findings reported in (3) inferences are drawn with regard to improvements in the manufacture of dysentery serum for use in man, both prophylactically and therapeutically.

6. The presence of two distinct antigens in the Shiga bacillus has been clearly demonstrated, since the protective values of their corresponding antisera are sharply defined, and do not overlap. The existence of the neurotoxin as a separate entity, unrelated to the smooth ‘endotoxin’, has also been shown by its derivation from a completely ‘rough’ strain, but though the smooth somatic antigen gives rise to a highly protective antiserum, in these experiments it has not been shown, per se, to be a specific toxin.

The writer wishes to thank Sir John. Ledingham and Dr G. F. Petrie for their advice and criticism during this work, and Dr D. W. Henderson, by whom the experiments were first suggested.
Antigenicity of T.A.B.C. vaccine after admixture with tetanus toxoid for various periods
Authors: Hitch F. G. , Ashcroft L. S. , Green C. A.
Published: May 2009

1. The antigenicity of batches of T.A.B.C. vaccine after mixture with tetanus toxoid and held at 18–25° C. for 6–7 weeks, 12–13 months and 16 months was tested in groups of adult males in whom the pre-inoculation titres for the various antigens were strictly comparable.

2. The batch used within 6–7 weeks of production produced the greatest effect, but the older batches were not greatly reduced in potency.

3. Within the limitations imposed by the restricted investigation, the more effective result following the use of the 16 months vaccine as compared with the 12–13 months vaccine indicates that factors in addition to that of time were concerned in the deterioration of antigenic power.

We are indebted to the Medical Officers in charge of the Training Establishments concerned, Surgeon Captain H. F. Briggs, M.B., Ch.B, F.R.C.S. (Ed.), R.N., Surgeon Captain W. P. Vicary, M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P., R.N., and Surgeon Commander H. A. Shellwell, M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P., R.N.V.R., for their ready and valuable co-operation.
Concentration of the carcinogenic material in a Venezuelan spindle oil by simultaneous molecular distillation and chromatographic adsorption
Authors: Twort J. M. , Lyth R.
Published: May 2009

Some concentration of the carcinogenic material in a Venezuelan spindle grade oil has been affected by simultaneous molecular distillation, and further concentration has also been accomplished by subjecting one of the more carcinogenic of these distillates to chromatographic adsorption. Animal experiments revealed that this distillate was about twice as carcinogenic as the oil from which it was derived. Two small fractions obtained from this distillate by chromatographic adsorption were painted on the skin of a few mice and both appeared to be appreciably more carcinogenic than the distillate from which they were derived. Further experiments with one of these fractions and the distillate, not yet completed, indicate that this fraction is at least five times as strong as the distillate from which it was derived. Thus by a combination of molecular distillation and chromatographic adsorption processes we have obtained a fraction about ten times as strong as the original oil. During the chromatographic adsorption process large quantities of colourless, low index, inert or almost inert material of relatively low viscosity have been separated from the highly coloured active remainder. It would appear that the most active material is highly viscous at room temperature, but its activity may be due to the presence in it of crystalline solids.

In conclusion we wish to express our thanks to our steward, Mr L. Norburn, for his valuable assistance in the practical work.
Some observations on accidental vaccinations on the hands of workers in a vaccine lymph institute
Authors: Horgan E. S. , Haseeb Mansour Ali
Published: May 2009

1. A series of cases of repeated accidental vaccinal infections of vaccinia and vaccinoid types in subjects possessing strong or complete vaccinal immunity, is presented.

2. It is suggested that there is a similarity between such cases and the repeated infections on the hands of farm workers and milkers handling cows naturally infected with cowpox.

3. It is difficult to fit satisfactorily such facts into the framework of the modern theory of vaccinal immunity, but no explanation of the apparent discrepancy can be suggested.
A statistical examination of the accuracy of vitamin A assays: An analysis of three co-operative experiments designed to ascertain the value of the conversion factor for transforming spectrophotometric values into international units
Authors: Irwin J. O.
Published: May 2009

The three experiments with which this report deals were undertaken with the object of re-examining the conversion factor 1600 which had been provisionally allotted by the Second International Conference on Vitamin Standardization (1934) for converting the results of spectrophotometric tests for vitamin A into international units.