bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Color Doppler twinkling artifact in fetuses with echogenic intracardiac foci: echocardiographic observation and clinical significance
Authors: Zhao B. W. , Yang Y. , Pan M. , Li P. , Wang B. , Tang F. G.
Published: March 2010

Objective

To evaluate echocardiographic characteristics and clinical relevance of color Doppler twinkling artifacts in fetuses with isolated echogenic intracardiac foci (EIF).

Methods

This study included 50 fetuses with EIF, at 18–38 weeks of gestation. Echocardiographic examination, which was performed using a 1.0–5.0‐MHz phased array probe, included gray‐scale, color and spectral Doppler imaging. Twinkling artifacts were assessed using fetal color Doppler echocardiography on isolated EIF situated in the left and/or right ventricles. The prevalence, appearance and clinical relevance of the color Doppler twinkling artifacts were analyzed.

Results

Eight of 50 fetuses with EIF (16%) showed color Doppler twinkling artifacts, which appeared as a rapidly changing color complex seen persistently behind the EIF. The spectra obtained in all eight with color Doppler artifacts were composed of straight vertical bands occurring in mid to late systole and early diastole. After birth, none of 50 fetuses with EIF had structural heart diseases or showed clinical signs of cardiac failure.

Conclusions

Color Doppler twinkling artifacts from isolated EIF occur in some fetuses and may be considered as an additional echocardiographic feature of EIF. Attention should be paid to the identification and interpretation of these artifacts so that they may be accurately distinguished from true color flow generated by atrioventricular valvular regurgitation jets. Copyright © 2010 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
DNA methylation alterations in multiple myeloma as a model for epigenetic changes in cancer
Authors: Sharma Amy , Heuck Christoph J. , Fazzari Melissa J. , Mehta Jayesh , Singhal Seema , Greally John M. , Verma Amit
Published: March 2010

Epigenetics refers to heritable modifications of the genome that are not a result of changes in the DNA sequence and result in phenotypic changes. These changes can be stably transmitted through cell division and are potentially reversible. Epigenetic events are very important during normal development wherein a single progenitor cell proliferates and differentiates into various somatic cell types. This process occurs through modification of the genome without changing the genetic code. Because epigenetic control of gene expression is so important, aberrant epigenetic regulation can lead to disease and cancer. This article reviews epigenetic changes seen in cancer by examining epigenetic changes commonly found in multiple myeloma, a common hematologic malignancy of plasma cells. Epigenetic control of gene expression can be exerted by changes in DNA methylation, histone modifications, and expression of noncoding RNAs. Each of these regulatory mechanisms interacts with the others at different genomic locations and can be measured quantitatively within the cell, requiring that we consider these mechanisms not individually but as a biological system. DNA methylation was the earliest discovered epigenetic regulator and has been the focus of most investigations in cancer. We have thus focused on DNA methylation changes in the pathogenesis of multiple myeloma, which promises to become an excellent model for systems biological studies of epigenomic dysregulation in human disease. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

This article is categorized under:

Biological Mechanisms > Regulatory Biology
Identification of subpopulations of North American elk (Cervus elaphusL.) using multiple lines of evidence: habitat use, dietary choice, and fecal stable isotopes
Authors: Walter W. David , Leslie David M. , Hellgren Eric C. , Engle David M.
Published: March 2010

We used multiple lines of evidence to assess habitat selection, dietary choice, and nutritional outcomes for a population of North American elk (Cervus elaphus), confined to a relatively small and isolated landscape of public and private land in south‐central Great Plains, USA. The area of suitable elk habitat was a topographically diverse matrix of mature oak savannah, C4‐dominated grasslands, and C3‐dominated agricultural fields surrounded by unsuitable lowlands fragmented by anthropogenic activities. We hypothesized that such disparity in habitat availability and quality resulted in subpopulation differences in the overall elk population. We used 3 methods to evaluate this premise: radiotelemetry to determine home range and habitat use, microhistology of plant fragments in feces to determine dietary selection, and fecal nitrogen (N) and stable isotope ratios of nitrogen (δ15N) and carbon (δ13C) to assess nutritional outcomes of habitat use and dietary choice. By comparing these 3 approaches, we wanted to determine if fecal indices alone could efficiently and accurately identify subpopulation structuring. Compositional analyses from radiotelemetry observations of 21 female elk identified 2 subpopulations that occupied relatively disjunct areas and showed differential preferences for forested and cultivated fields in summer but comparable preferences for cultivated fields in winter. A third unmarked subpopulation of elk was known to be largely confined to an adjacent wildlife refuge. Microhistological analyses of feces collected in all 3 areas highlighted distinct diets, outcomes of habitat occupation by the 3 subpopulations. Increased use of cultivated forages in winter was evident for 2 of the subpopulations, but the extent of use by elk was dependent on availability of cultivated forages in areas they occupied. The refuge subpopulation had no access to cultivated forage. Fecal N, fecal δ13C, and fecal δ15N supported the premise that the subpopulation with the greatest access to cultivated forages was on a higher nutritional plane than the other 2 subpopulations. Changes in fecal N, fecal δ13C, and fecal δ15N paralleled percentages of cultivated forages in the diets highlighting the utility of such fecal indices as supplemental to or surrogates for traditional methods of habitat use and dietary selection in free‐ranging ungulates.
Highly Efficient Stable Expression of Indoleamine 2,3 Dioxygenase Gene in Primary Fibroblasts
Authors: Rezakhanlou Alireza Moeen , Habibi Darya , Lai Amy , Jalili Reza B , Ong Christopher J , Ghahary Aziz
Published: March 2010

Indoleamine 2,3 dioxygenase (IDO) is a potent immunomodulatory enzyme that has recently attracted significant attention for its potential application as an inducer of immunotolerance in transplantation. We have previously demonstrated that a collagen matrix populated with IDO-expressing fibroblasts can be applied successfully in suppressing islet allogeneic immune response. Meanwhile, a critical aspect of such immunological intervention relies largely on effective long-term expression of the IDO gene. Moreover, gene manipulation of primary cells is known to be challenging due to unsatisfactory expression of the exogenous gene. In this study, a lentiviral gene delivery system has been employed to transduce primary fibroblasts. We used polybrene to efficiently deliver the IDO gene into primary fibroblasts and showed a significant increase (about tenfold) in the rate of gene transfection. In addition, by the use of fluorescence-activated cell sorting, a 95% pure population of IDO-expressing fibroblasts was successfully obtained. The efficiency of the IDO expression and the activity of the enzyme have been confirmed by Western blotting, fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis, and Kynurenine assay, respectively. The findings of this study revealed simple and effective strategies through which an efficient and stable expression of IDO can be achieved for primary cells which, in turn, significantly improves its potential as a tool for achieving immunotolerance in different types of transplantation.
Folded‐unfolded cross‐predictions and protein evolution: The case study of coiled‐coils
Authors: Szappanos Balázs , Süveges Dániel , Nyitray László , Perczel András , Gáspári Zoltán
Published: March 2010

Here we report a thorough analysis of cross‐predictions between coiled‐coil and disordered protein segments using various prediction algorithms for both sequence classes. Coiled‐coils are often predicted to be unstructured, consistent with their obligate multimeric nature, whereas reverse cross‐predictions are rare due to the regularity of coiled‐coil sequences. We propose the simultaneous use of the programs Coils and IUPred to achieve acceptable prediction accuracy and minimize the extent of cross‐predictions. The relevance of observed cross‐predictions might be that disordered sequences can adopt coiled‐coil conformation relatively easily during protein evolution.
Making ‘what works’ work: The use of knowledge in UK health and social care decision-making
Authors: Williams Iestyn , Glasby Jon
Published: March 2010

Decision-makers in UK health and social care are routinely asked to draw on evidence of ‘what works’ when designing services and changing practice. However, this paper argues that too much focus to date has been placed on a narrow definition of what constitutes valid ‘evidence’ (and one that privileges particular approaches and voices over others) and a simplistic conception of the decision-making function. As a result, policy and practice have too often been dominated by medical and quantitative ways of knowing the world, with such research approaches assumed to be more valid than other forms of enquiry. In contrast, the paper calls for a more inclusive notion of ‘knowledge-based practice’, which draws on different types of research, the tacit knowledge of front-line practitioners and the lived experience of people using services. This, the paper argues, will lead to a more nuanced approach to ‘the evidence’ and – ultimately – to better and more integrated decisions. Against this background, the paper outlines a suggested research agenda for those seeking to develop decision-making within these areas.
Policy analysis and policy work in federal systems: Policy advice and its contribution to evidence-based policy-making in multi-level governance systems
Authors: Howlett Michael , Newman Joshua
Published: March 2010

In most cases, policy scholars interested in the role of policy analysts in promoting and practicing evidence-based policy-making rely on very partial survey results, or on anecdotal case studies and interview research. Despite the existence of a large body of literature on policy analysis, large-scale empirical studies of the work of policy analysts are rare, and in the case of analysts working at the sub-national level, virtually non-existent. There has been very little research on this level of policy workers despite the significant powers they exercise in prominent federal systems such as the USA, Germany, Australia, Mexico, Russia, Brazil, Malaysia and Canada. This paper reports on the first comprehensive survey of the work of policy analysts at the provincial and territorial levels conducted in Canada in 2008–2009. It examines the background and training of provincial and territorial policy analysts, the types of techniques they employ in their jobs, and what they do in their work on a day-by-day basis. The resulting profile of sub-national policy analysts presented here reveals several substantial differences between analysts working for national governments and their sub-national counterparts, with important implications for policy training and practice, and for the ability of nations to improve their policy advice systems in order to better accomplish their long-term policy goals through the practice of evidence-based policy-making.
THE FILLING DISKS OF AN ALGEBROID FUNCTION IN THE UNIT DISK
Authors: XUAN ZU-XING
Published: March 2010

Using potential theory, we prove the existence of filling disks of an algebroid function of finite order defined in the unit disk.
Relative glycaemic impact of customarily consumed portions of eighty-three foods measured by digestingin vitroand adjusting for food mass and apparent glucose disposal
Authors: Monro John A. , Wallace Alison , Mishra Suman , Eady Sarah , Willis Jinny A. , Scott Russell S. , Hedderley Duncan
Published: March 2010

Practical values to guide food choices for control of postprandial glycaemia need to refer to entire foods in amounts customarily consumed. We tested anin vitromethod for determining the relative glycaemic impact (RGI) of customarily consumed portions of foods. Sugars released duringin vitropancreatic digestion of eighty-three foods were measured as glucose equivalents (GE) per gram of food, adjusted by the glycaemic indexes of the sugars to obtain glycaemic GE (GGE) per gram and multiplied by food portion weight to obtain the GGE contribution of the food portion, its RGI. The results were compared with clinical GGE values from subjects who consumed the same food amounts.In vitroandin vivoGGE values were significantly correlated, but the slope of the regression equation was significantly less than one, meaningin vitroGGE values overestimatedin vivoGGE values. Bland–Altman method comparison showed thein vitro–in vivodisparity to increase as mean GGE increased, suggesting the need to allow for different rates of homeostatic blood glucose disposal (GD) due to different GGE doses in the customarily consumed food portions. After GD correction, Bland–Altman method comparison showed that the bias in predictingin vivoGGE values fromin vitroGGE values was almost completely removed (y = 0·071x − 0·89;R20·01). We conclude thatin vitrofood values for use in managing the glycaemic impact of customarily consumed food quantities require correction for blood GD that is dependent on the GGE content of the food portions involved.
Dietary intake of folate, vitamin B6, vitamin B12 and riboflavin and risk of Parkinson's disease: a case–control study in Japan
Authors: Murakami Kentaro , Miyake Yoshihiro , Sasaki Satoshi , Tanaka Keiko , Fukushima Wakaba , Kiyohara Chikako , Tsuboi Yoshio , Yamada Tatsuo , Oeda Tomoko , Miki Takami , Kawamura Nobutoshi , Sakae Nobutaka , Fukuyama Hidenao , Hirota Yoshio , Nagai Masaki ,   the Fukuoka Kinki Parkinson's Disease Study Group
Published: March 2010

Increased homocysteine levels might accelerate dopaminergic cell death in Parkinson's disease (PD) through neurotoxic effects; thus, increasing intake of B vitamins involved in the regulation of homocysteine metabolism might decrease the risk of PD through decreasing plasma homocysteine. However, epidemiological evidence for the association of dietary B vitamins with PD is sparse, particularly in non-Western populations. We conducted a hospital-based case–control study in Japan to examine associations between dietary intake of folate, vitamin B6, vitamin B12 and riboflavin and the risk of PD. Patients with PD diagnosed using the UK PD Society Brain Bank criteria (n 249) and controls without neurodegenerative diseases (n 368) were recruited. Dietary intake during the preceding month was assessed at the time of study recruitment using a validated, self-administered, semi-quantitative, comprehensive diet history questionnaire. After adjustment for potential dietary and non-dietary confounding factors, intake of folate, vitamin B12 and riboflavin was not associated with the risk of PD (P for trend = 0·87, 0·70 and 0·11, respectively). However, low intake of vitamin B6 was associated with an increased risk of PD, independent of potential dietary and non-dietary confounders. Multivariate OR (95 % CI) for PD in the first, second, third and fourth quartiles of vitamin B6 were 1 (reference), 0·56 (0·33, 0·94), 0·69 (0·38, 1·25) and 0·48 (0·23, 0·99), respectively (P for trend = 0·10). In conclusion, in the present case–control study in Japan, low intake of vitamin B6, but not of folate, vitamin B12 or riboflavin, was independently associated with an increased risk of PD.
Reducing effect of aPhaseolus vulgarisdry extract on operant self-administration of a chocolate-flavoured beverage in rats
Authors: Maccioni Paola , Colombo Giancarlo , Riva Antonella , Morazzoni Paolo , Bombardelli Ezio , Gessa Gian Luigi , Carai Mauro A. M.
Published: March 2010

Extracts from or derivatives ofPhaseolus vulgarisbeans reduce body weight and food intake, including highly palatable foods and fluids, in multiple rodent models of overeating and obesity. The present study was designed to assess whether a standardisedP. vulgarisdry extract was effective in reducing also the operant self-administration of a chocolate-flavoured beverage. To this end, rats were initially trained to lever-press for a chocolate-flavoured beverage under a fixed ratio 10 schedule of reinforcement in daily 60 min sessions. Once lever-responding reached stable levels, the effect of aP. vulgarisdry extract on the number of lever-responses for the chocolate-flavoured beverage was determined. Pretreatment with 50, 200 and 500 mg (intragastric)P. vulgarisdry extract per kg produced an approximate 15, 35 and 40 % reduction, respectively, in lever-responding for the chocolate-flavoured beverage. These results indicate the capacity of aP. vulgarispreparation to reduce the reinforcing properties of a highly palatable fluid in rats.
Anti-puritanism and urban politics: Charles I and Great Yarmouth
Authors: Cust Richard
Published: March 2010

This article is a study of political conflicts in Yarmouth during the 1620s and 1630s between a group of puritan aldermen and their anti-puritan opponents. These focused firstly on efforts initiated by Bishop Harsnet to remove the stipendiary lecturers supported by the puritans; and secondly on attempts by the anti-puritan aldermen to introduce a less ‘popular’ form of town government by revising Yarmouth's charter. Throughout these conflicts the anti-puritan side were able to secure considerable backing at court, particularly from Charles I, through employing a rhetoric which highlighted the threat to order and authority presented by a combination of puritanism and ‘popularity’. The article shows how strong fears of this threat were at the heart of the Caroline regime, and how the actions which resulted could cause deep local divisions. It also illustrates the ways in which local interest groups and their supporters manoeuvred around the king to achieve their ends.
‘Fanatic magistrates’: religious and political conflict in three Kent boroughs, 1680–1684
Authors: Lee Colin
Published: March 2010

This article examines religious and political conflict in the Kent boroughs of Dover, Canterbury and Sandwich in the early 1680s. Section II describes the personal, political and religious divisions in Dover which lay behind a local campaign to persuade the crown to force the surrender of the town's charter. Section III charts the growth of concerted anglican opposition to the dissenting group which controlled the corporation of Canterbury. The activities of the dissenting mayor of Sandwich which aggravated political differences within the town are described in section IV. The final part of the article suggests some implications of the three case studies for understanding of English politics in the period. It argues that the government took action against the town charters principally in response to the demands of local loyalists, rather than as part of a policy of centralization. It concludes that anglican royalists within the towns were the principal agitators for, and beneficiaries of, the new charters.
Charles II and the reconstruction of royal power
Authors: Lee Malcolm Joyce
Published: March 2010

While the restoration of monarchy in 1660 has attracted considerable scholarly interest, historians have usually focused upon the events that led to the abrupt change in the fortunes of Charles II rather than the less dramatic tactics by which the restored king consolidated his power. Yet the challenges Charles faced at his return were formidable, his initial personal popularity surprisingly short-lived. Somehow the regime had to quiet political and religious dissension, satisfy sharply conflicting expectations, and retrieve the power of the sword from a republican army and a volatile and well-armed public. Existing studies of the restoration years fail to explain precisely how the royal government successfully negotiated these difficulties. This essay describes the methods by which order was maintained and control reasserted; how the peaceful disbandment of the republican army and the subsequent control of its veterans were achieved; a police establishment of unprecedented size and effectiveness organized; the foundation for a permanent army laid; and the capacity of English subjects to rebel effectively diminished. In sum, it exposes the policies used to reconstruct royal authority so swiftly and securely that a host of enemies and public disenchantment failed to dislodge it.
Liberal policy and the control of public order in western Sicily 1860–1862
Authors: Riall L. J.
Published: March 2010

This article is concerned with explanations of the failure of stateformation and nation building in liberal Italy, and concentrates on attempts to integrate western Sicily into the new political framework. The marxist account of this process has emphasized the extent of peasant revolt against the new state, and its brutal repression. Unification, it is argued, failed because it was based on coercion and domination rather than on leadership by popular consent. The present article suggests that this explanation is incomplete as it ignores the behaviour and attitude of local elites within western Sicily. The dominance of local affairs by such groups was challenged by the advent of a modern centralizing state. The article uses records from this period to show that many local notables frustrated government efforts to set up new town councils, new police forces and a liberal judicial system. This kind of resistance was far more difficult to overcome than popular revolt, because it could (and did) challenge the whole basis of centralized liberal rule. The article also looks at the military repression of the 1860s and argues that it too was undermined by the opposition of local elites. An additional reason, therefore, for the failure of unification after 1860 may be the new state's lack of appeal among its supposed class allies.
The Cominform: Tito's International?
Authors: Swain Geoffrey
Published: March 2010

Although it is now recognized that the Stalin-Tito dispute was sparked off by Tito's desire to intervene decisively in the Greek civil war, the ideological context of that decision has never been fully explored. This article suggests that, since the early days of the Second World War, Tito had been committed to establishing a popular front ‘from below’, i.e. under clear communist control. He did this not only in Yugoslavia, but used his position in the war-time Comintern to persuade other communist parties to do the same. As a result he was dissatisfied with the all-party coalition governments established with Stalin's consent throughout Europe in 1945. Tito favoured a communist offensive, while Stalin, aware of the international position of the Soviet Union, favoured a more cautious approach. When Stalin summoned the first meeting of the Cominform in September 1947 and made Tito its de Facto leader, Tito mistakenly assumed he was to head a new international committed to a revolutionary offensive not only in Eastern Europe but in Greece and even Italy and France.
Who were the Auxiliaries?
Authors: Harvey A. D.
Published: March 2010

In the summer of 1920, as the I.R.A.'s guerrilla campaign against the Royal Irish Constabulary and the British Army approached its climax, the British government attempted to reinforce the R.I.C. by raising a force of ex-officers to act as a mobile police striking force. The new organization was called the Auxiliary Division of the R.I.C, and its members, though officially referred to as ‘cadets’, were popularly called Auxiliaries or Auxis, a denomination which suggests a kind of subconscious analogy with their I.R.A. opponents, who were generally known as ‘Volunteers’. In the subsequent mythology of the Irish ‘Troubles’ the Auxiliaries were generally lumped together with the ‘Black and Tans’ but were in fact a more elite body. The ‘Black and Tans’ were ex-servicemen recruited to serve as R.I.C. constables and initially kitted out in a motley of R.I.C. dark green and Army khaki. The Auxiliaries on the other hand were nattily dressed in tarn o'shanters, khaki tunics and puttees (or officer's gaiters) and were paid a pound a day — twice the R.I.C. constable's rate — which made them the most highly-paid uniformed force in the world at that time.1 Altogether only 2,214 were recruited (with perhaps two-thirds that number in service at the peak of the formation's strength), but they did more than their fair share to discredit the British regime in Ireland.
Infamous encounter? The Merekalov-Weizsäcker meeting of 17 April 1939
Authors: Roberts Geoffrey
Published: March 2010

This article uses recently released documents from the Soviet diplomatic archives to examine the Merekalov–Weizsäcker meeting of April 1939. It argues that these documents show that western historians have been mistaken in assuming that this meeting was the occasion for Soviet signals of a desire for détente with Nazi Germany. The significance attached to the meeting in this respect is part of the cold war myth that the USSR's negotiations for a triple alliance with Great Britain and France in the spring and summer of 1939 were paralleled by secret Soviet–German discussions which eventually lead to the Nazi–Soviet pact of August 1939. The article seeks to demolish those elements of the myth that concern the Merekalov–Weizsäcker encounter and to present an alternative interpretation of the provenance and meaning of the so-called political overture by the Soviet ambassador at the meeting.
Spring and Autumn Period
Authors: Cook Constance A.
Published: March 2010

In the history of chinese religions the Ch'un-ch'iu or Spring and Autumn period (eighth to fifth centuries B.C.E.) was a time of transition between the court rituals of the Western Chou gift-giving society and the private or local cult practices evident in the later Eastern Chou market economy (Cook 1993a). This was the time when the local lords usurped the Chou king's ritual “power” (te) to “charge” (ming) and the Chou lineage lost its authority. The transition is most evident in the speeches (yueh) of the kings and local rulers inscribed on the eating or striking surfaces of the late Western Chou and early Ch'un-ch'iu-period ritual bronze vessels and bells. These speeches or “spoken” liturgies of legitimation initially focused on the spiritually sanctioned right of the ruler to “charge” a gift recipient, but later simply focused on the right of the vessel-maker to charge himself. This shift is most evident after 771 B.C.E. when a western tribal group forced the Chou to flee their ancestral lands and altars. Local lords, originally on the periphery of Chou authority, called themselves kings and manipulated the Chou ideology to legitimate their own independent identities (see Cook on Chu in Cook and Major forthcoming). They relied on the guidance of ritualists (possibly descendants of the Western Choushihandyin)whose knowledge of Chou liturgy and rites was a valued commodity at local courts (Cook 1993b).
The role of season in the epidemiology of influenza
Authors: Hope-Simpson R. E.
Published: March 2010

Four types of observations have been used to illustrate the seasonal characteristics of epidemic influenza: (1) The experience of a small population during 28 consecutive years, 1946–74, (2) world influenza outbreaks 1964–75 reported to the World Health Organization, (3) the experience of two widely separated localities at about the same latitude, 1969–74, and (4) the experience of two places at latitudes 30° + on opposite sides of the Equator, 1968–74.

The following tendencies are shown. (1) Outbreaks of influenza even in the small community came at approximately the same season almost every year. (2) Outbreaks are globally ubiquitous and epidemic loci move smoothly to and fro across the surface of the earth almost every year in a sinuous curve that runs parallel with the ‘midsummer’ curve of vertical solar radiation, but lags about six months behind it. Such findings exclude the mediation of seasonal control by any agencies of local distribution, and suggest a direct effect of variations in some component of solar radiation on virus or human host. (3) Antigenic variations in influenza A virus tended to have the same seasonal characteristics as epidemicity. This suggests that epidemicity and virus variation are two facets of one seasonally controlled process.

None of these seasonal characteristics can be explained by the current concept of influenzal epidemiology. A new hypothesis recently proposed and recapitulated in the Appendix offers a possible explanation. The primary agency mediating seasonal control remains unidentified.
Monitoring infectious diseases using routine microbiology data I. Study of gastroenteritis in an urban area
Authors: Tillett Hilary E. , Thomas Mair E. M.
Published: March 2010

Sources of information for monitoring infectious disease are routine data, special surveys and ad hoc investigations. In practice much use is necessarily made of routine notifications and laboratory records although this reporting is often incomplete and may therefore be biased.

In a retrospective study of a 16-year series (up to 1968) of routine records concerning the diagnosis of gastroenteritis at one Public Health Laboratory we found it possible to identify biases. During school outbreaks of dysentery, laboratory investigation of diarrhoea increased appreciably and such response to publicity affects the use of routine data in surveillance. Although the patients examined were probably representative diagnostically, their selection may not have reflected the age incidence of disease. Valid geographical comparisons within the urban area were not feasible because medical practitioners differed in their use of laboratory facilities and in their habits of notification. Nevertheless, as far as can be established retrospectively, these data did reflect time trends in disease incidence and so had value for monitoring purposes.

Several of the biases defined are likely to apply to other sets of routine data. A further communication will describe a statistical method of correcting for quantifiable bias.
Detection and quantification of IgM, IgA, IgG1and IgG2antibodies against foot-and-mouth disease virus from bovine sera using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay
Authors: Elzein E. M. E. Abu , Crowther J. R.
Published: March 2010

A simple solid-phase enzyme immunoassay is described for the detection of antibody classes showing activity against foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) virus in bovine sera. The assay achieves a preliminary separation of the specific class of antibody from other serum proteins through immuno-adsorption to class-specific immunoglobulin-coated wells of micro-titre plates. The specific antibody is reacted with FMD virus, which is then detected by an enzyme-labelled anti virus IgG.
The prevalence of hepatitis B infection amongst urban and rural populations in Western Samoa
Authors: Gust I. D. , Dimitrakakis M. , Faaiuso S. , Ainuu J. , Zimmet P.
Published: March 2010

A group of 240 urban and 200 rural dwellers in Western Samoa over the age of 20 years was studied for serological evidence of current or past infection with heptatitis B virus (HBV). Overall, 5·5% of subjects were found to be currently infected with HBV and a further 74·5% showed detectable levels of antibody. Antibody to the hepatitis B core antigen was found to be a better marker of past infection than antibody to the surface antigen of the virus. Both the infection rate and carrier rate were higher in males than females and subjects living in rural areas were more likely to be infected than those living in urban areas.
Hepatitis A virus infections in Voyvodina
Authors: Vuković B. S. , Rončević N. , Borota R. , Terzin A. L.
Published: March 2010

Sera of 1000 persons in Voyvodina were tested with radioimmunoassay for antibodies against hepatitis A virus (HAV).

The morbidity and age incidence of positive findings have been analysed and compared with relevant findings in other countries. Below the age of 19 years the morbidity rates are higher (0·138 to 0·595 per mill) and the prevalences of seropositives are lower (17·1–64·0%) than the respective frequencies above that age (0·011 to 0·052 per mill and 85·7–98·7 % respectively). Below the first year of life seropositivity is more frequent than in 1- to 14-year old children. After the first year until the age of 30–39 years the frequency of seropositives increases with increasing age up to a maximum of about 90%.
Salmonellae isolated from domestic meat waste
Authors: Durrant D. S. , Beatson Susan H.
Published: March 2010

During 1977 and 1978, 172 samples from 14 batches of domestic meat waste were examined for the presence of salmonellae. Each batch was derived from the domestic refuse collected from approximately 120 houses. Thirty-five strains of ten salmonella serotypes were isolated from 32 samples from 8 batches. The probable origin of these serotypes and their significance when domestic waste is exposed to predation by birds and animals on refuse tips is discussed.
The importance of soap selection for routine hand hygiene in hospital
Authors: Ojajärvi J.
Published: March 2010

Five different types of liquid soap were studied in hospital wards, each during two months' use. Altogether 1306 finger print samples were taken from the hands of the staff by sampling twice a week and the acceptability of the soaps was measured by a questionnaire. During the use of different soaps only slight differences were found in the numbers of total bacteria or in the occurrence ofStaph. aureusand gram-negative bacilli on the hands. During the use of the emulsion-type product studied, several persons who had dermatological problems had lower mean bacterial counts of the fingers than during the use of the other soaps. This soap was also favourably accepted by the staff. After over one year's use of pine oil soap and alcohol, the staff of the hospital was satisfied with the method. However, several persons with skin problems admitted to not using soap or alcohol. The considerable differences found in the acceptability of soaps imply that for use in hospital the choice of a soap acceptable to the nursing staff is important in promoting proper hand hygiene.
A two year prospective study of hospital-acquired respiratory virus infection on paediatric wards
Authors: Sims D. G.
Published: March 2010

Over a 24 month period on six paediatric wards of different designs 169 cases of possible hospital-acquired respiratory virus infection were investigated. A variety of viruses was isolated from 82 cases, the most common being respiratory syncytial virus, influenza, parainfluenza, adenoviruses and rhinoviruses. A further 73 children developed respiratory symptoms between 3 and 300 days after admission but viruses were not demonstrable by the techniques used. These children were thought to have hospital-acquired infection nonetheless. Thirteen children were shown not to have acquired infection as the cause of their intercurrent illness. Most acquired infections occurred where toddlers were in cots in open wards. Children with trauma, including non-accidental injury, congenital malformations, mental retardation, failure to thrive or neoplasia were most likely to become infected. Almost 20 % of children suffered from croup or lower respiratory tract illness as a result of their acquired infection. The figure was 41 % if those less than 12 months old were considered alone. Most episodes settled quickly but in a few children investigations or surgery were delayed for a few days.
The faecal flora of patients with Crohn's disease
Authors: Wensinck F. , Custers-van Lieshout L. M. C. , Poppelaars-Kustermans P. A. J. , Schröder A. M.
Published: March 2010

The faecal flora of patients with Crohn's disease was compared with that of healthy subjects. In patients with terminal ileitis, numbers of anaerobic gramnegative and coccoid rods (species ofEubacteriumandPeptostreptococcus) were higher than in the controls whereas anaerobic gram-positive rods and cocci and aerobes occurred in normal numbers. The composition of the flora was neither influenced by duration of the disease nor by ileocaecal resection. In healthy subjects and patients, a chemically defined diet induced only slight changes in the flora. Thus, the flora in terminal ileitis although stable was permanently abnormal.

In patients with Crohn's colitis, abnormally low numbers of anaerobes were found in patients with severe, bloody diarrhoea while aerobic counts were normal. The flora in patients with mild colitis was similar to that in terminal ileitis. It is suggested that the abnormal flora composition might be an expression of the genetic predisposition to Crohn's disease.
Serum agglutinins toEubacteriumandPeptostreptococcusspecies in Crohn's and other diseases
Authors: Wensinck F. , van de Merwe J. P.
Published: March 2010

Sera from patients suffering from Crohn's and other diseases and from healthy subjects were tested for agglutinins to anaerobic, gram-positive coccoid rods belonging to species ofEubacteriumandPeptostreptococcus. Four strains labelledEubacterium contortum(two strains),Eubacterium rectaleandPeptostreptococcus productuswere agglutinated by a higher percentage of sera from patients with Crohn's disease than from healthy subjects and from patients with liver and intestinal diseases (including ulcerative colitis), ankylosing spondylitis, granulomatous diseases, diseases of immunity and malignancies.

The agglutinins were of the IgG and IgM classes and strain-specific; the titres were low.

The results obtained with sera from patients with Crohn's disease and healthy people were subjected to discriminant analysis to estimate the probability, based on the combined results with the four strains, that a patient suffers from Crohn's disease. When sera giving ana posterioriprobability ≥ 0·95 (aprioriprobability = 0·5) were considered positive, the test with four strains had a sensitivity of 54% and a, specificity of nearly 100%. The results with sera submitted for diagnosis showed that positive reactions in patients with a diagnosis apparently incompatible with Crohn's disease were within acceptable limits.
Outcome of asymptomatic infection with rubella virus during pregnancy
Authors: Cradock-Watson J. E. , Ridehalgh Margaret K. S. , Anderson M. J. , Pattison J. R.
Published: March 2010

We have tried to detect prenatal infection in 34 infants whose mothers were re-infected with rubella virus during pregnancy and in six infants whose mothers had primary subclinical rubella during pregnancy. Two methods of assessment were used: first, serum obtained soon after birth was tested for IgM antibody; secondly, serum obtained after the age of 8 months was tested for specific IgG.

The 34 women with re-infections had increases in IgG antibody titre but no IgM response. No evidence of prenatal infection was found in 33 of their 34 infants. One infant was found to have IgG antibody at the age of 11 months. This infant was IgM-negative at birth and had a rubelliform rash at the age of 5½ months; it therefore probably contracted post- rather than pre-natal infection. Fetal infection from maternal re-infection during pregnancy is probably rare.

The six women with primary subclinical rubella produced both IgG and IgM classes of antibody. Three of their six infants showed serological evidence of intrauterine infection. One, infected when its mother was 8 weeks pregnant, had clinical evidence of congenital rubella. Primary subclinical rubella during pregnancy therefore carries a significant risk of fetal infection.

Because of the difference in outcome, great care should be taken to distinguish between primary infection and re-infection when investigating symptomless increases in antibody titre after contact with rubella during pregnancy.
Campylobacter enteritis associated with the consumption of free school milk
Authors: Jones P. H. , Willis A. T. , Robinson D. A. , Skirrow M. B. , Josephs D. S.
Published: March 2010

A large outbreak of campylobacter enteritis associated with the consumption of free school milk is described. The outbreak had an abrupt onset, and lasted for about 3 weeks; it involved mainly school children in the 2–4 and 5–7 year old age groups. During this period it was established from epidemiological and microbiological data that some 2500 children were infected. The source of the epidemic was almost certainly contaminated milk, although bacteriological proof could not be obtained. Biotyping of isolates was of considerable epidemiological value and showed the involvement of two distinct strains, one of which was dominant. Epidemiological evidence of limited person to person transmission of the infection was obtained; febrile convulsions as a prodromal sign of the illness was recognized for the first time. Strains of Campylobacter jejuni, and samples of patients' serum collected during this outbreak have enabled subsequent studies to be initiated on the serotyping of the responsible organism, on the serological response of patients infected with the organism, and on experimental infection of the bovine udder which demonstrated its potential as a source of C. jejuni in raw milk. A careful search of the literature suggests that this is the largest documented outbreak of campylobacter enteritis.
Evaluation of brodifacoum against T. indica, M. hurrianae and R. rattus
Authors: Mathur R. P. , Prakash I.
Published: March 2010

Brodifacoum was evaluated in the laboratory against the two gerbils, Tatera indica and Meriones hurrianae and the house rat, Rattus rattus. The acute oral LD50 for these rodents was found to be 0·10 mg/kg, 0·083 mg/kg and 0·77 mg/kg respectively. Feeding tests with 0·002% and 0·005% brodifacoum produced a 100% mortality after a 3-day feeding period in the gerbils and after a 4-day period in R. rattus. The anticoagulant is toxic at both the concentrations to all three species but is less palatable in comparison to plain baits. Results of this laboratory evaluation indicates that 0·002% brodifacoum-treated bait can be effectively used against T. indica, M. hurrianae and R. rattus.
Echovirus type 11 infection in Melbourne–1953 to 1980
Authors: Kennett M. L. , Donaldson A. , Marshall J. A. , Williamson H. G.
Published: March 2010

Echovirus type 11 (echo 11) has been isolated at the virus laboratory of Fairfield Hospital, Melbourne, Australia, in 20 of the 28 years since the laboratory was established. During this time two major epidemics have occurred; the first, in 1971–2 involved 90 patients with aseptic meningitis or respiratory illness. The second began in June 1979 and lasted for 11 months, during which echo 11 was isolated from 174 patients admitted to Fairfield Hospital, other Victorian and Tasmanian hospitals and a children's reception centre. The patients' illnesses included viral meningitis (66%), fever (10%), respiratory infections (7%) and gastroenteritis (2%). One baby died.

Echo 11 was recovered from nasopharyngeal swabs or aspirates, cerebrospinal fluid and faecal specimens and was isolated most frequently in the Borrie cell line. Isolates were readily identified by immune electron microscopy and/or neutralization tests.
Virus diarrhoea associated with pale fatty faeces
Authors: Thomas Mair E. M. , Luton P. , Mortimer Janet Y.
Published: March 2010

Steatorrhoea was a significant feature in an outbreak of rotavirus gastroenteritis which affected adults and infants in hospital. Fat globules or fatty acid crystals were obvious by light microscopy (LM) in faeces from 14 of 25 patients examined. Ten of the fatty stools and two of the remainder were very pale. By electron microscopy (EM) a rotavirus was seen in 11 of the 14 fatty faeces and in only two of 11 specimens without visible fat.

In a further study of pale or fatty faeces 20 such specimens sent for laboratory examination from patientsnotinvolved in the hospital outbreak were compared microbiologically with a similar number which were neither pale nor fatty. Viruses were found by EM in 11 (55%) of the pale or fatty stools; eight rotaviruses, two astroviruses and an uncultivable adenovirus were seen; one further patient had acute jaundice. In contrast, no viruses were seen by EM in the twenty specimens which were normally pigmented and without evident fat.

Steatorrhoea was significantly associated with rotavirus infection of the alimentary tract which usually presented as a fatty enteritis. We conclude that rotaviruses certainly, and other viruses possibly, can impede both the digestion of fat and the pigmentation of the faeces. Inspection and LM of faeces are easy. In acute enteritis a fatty or pale stool is an indication for virological examination.
The ability of Mycoplasma mycoides subspecies mycoides and closely related strains from goats and sheep to immunize mice against subspecies capri
Authors: Smith G. R. , Oliphant Janet C.
Published: March 2010

Small colony (SC) strains of Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides from contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) and from goats were compared with large colony (LC) strains of so-called M. mycoides subsp. mycoides from goats and sheep by means of a cross-protection test in which mice were challenged with M. mycoides subsp. capri.

Of 13 LC strains, all gave partial cross-protection, and 11 were shown to be more closely related than four SC strains to subspecies capri. In a further experiment, six SC strains – three from CBPP and three from goats – all gave weak partial cross-protection against subspecies capri.
Antibody responses after repeated influenza A virus immunizations among schoolchildren in Japan
Authors: Yamane N. , Hiratsuka M. , Arikawa J. , Odagiri T. , Ishida N.
Published: March 2010

Antibody responses to influenza virus immunizations were examined among junior high school students. The students received two doses of a commercial split-product vaccine containing influenza A H1N1 during a 2-year period following the first appearance of H1N1 virus in the winter of 1977–78. In haemagglutination-inhibition (HI) tests, the students who had been infected with H1N1 virus in 1977–78 showed a better response and wider cross-reactivity to the drift strain than the students who had not experienced earlier H1N1 influenza infection. Neuraminidase-inhibition (NAI) antibody titres after immunization depended upon a history of natural infection with H1N1 virus, since students not previously infected showed no significant NAI antibody rise after immunization.
The bacteriology of recurrent pyogenic cholangitis and associated diseases
Authors: Wong W. T. , Teoh-Chan C. H. , Huang C. T. , Cheng F. C. Y. , Ong G. B.
Published: March 2010

Ninety-five patients with recurrent pyogenic cholangitis had a range of specimens taken at laparotomy for bacterial culture. Bacteria were isolated from 68 % of cases. Escherichia coli was the predominant pathogen. Other aerobic and anaerobic intestinal bacteria were also isolated. Liver biopsy, bile and gallstones were the most rewarding specimens for culture. Infection was usually localized, but systemic infection occurred occasionally. The site of infection is probably in the liver parenchyma; however, the route by which intestinal bacteria invade the liver is not known. Sixty per cent of the cases of recurrent pyogenic cholangitis had gallstones and 20% were infected with Clonorchis sinensis.