bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Prospective study ofClostridium difficilecolonization and para-cresol detection in the stools of babies on a special care unit
Authors: Phua T. J. , Rogers T. R. , Pallett A. P. 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYInfants' stools were examined for the presence ofClostridium difficileand its cytotoxin in a study performed over a one-year period on a special care baby unit. Overall, 21% of infants were colonized, but the organism was only recovered in a seven-month period during which its weekly prevalence in the group varied from zero to 44%, with a distinct clustering of colonized infants being observed. Tests for the presence of cytotoxin in the stools and in supernatants of broth that had been inoculated with each isolate were negative. The factors predisposing to colonization were a prolonged stay in the unit, low birth weight, younger gestational age and being nursed in an incubator. The organism was recovered only once from an environmental screen.An antibiogram, used in conjunction with toxin production, was helpful in distinguishing these isolates from a collection obtained from other units in the hospital. We conclude thatCl. difficilewas acquired by nosocomial spread although we did not establish the precise mechanism involved.The detection of para-cresol by gas–liquid chromatography was found to be specific but insufficiently sensitive as a screening test for the organism's presence in the stools. It could only be demonstrated in infants whose birth-weights were less than 2500 g, and no association was observed between the type of feed and para-cresol presence in stools.
Microbiological aspects of goat's milk. A Public Health Laboratory Service survey
Authors: Roberts Diane 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYIn a 12-month survey (June 1982–May 1983) 41 laboratories examined 2493 samples of goat's milk for colony counts and the presence of pathogens. The statutory tests for cow's milk were also applied.Surface counts of < 105 organisms per ml of raw milk were given by 79% of samples at 37 °C and by 76% at 22 °C. There were < 100 coliforms per ml in 71% of samples, < 10 Escherichia coli per ml in 91%. Staphylococcus aureus was not detected in countable numbers in 96% of samples. Only one isolation of campylobacter was made and two of Yersinia enterocolitica. Salmonella was not detected in 2462 samples. The methylene blue test was carried out on 2368 samples and 86·7% were deemed satisfactory. No sample was Brucella ring-test-positive.Experiments on the survival and growth of six food poisoning organisms in stored goat's milk showed that Bacillus cereus, Staph. aureus, Salmonella typhimurium and Y. enterocolitica survived quite well and multiplied at the higher storage temperature of 30 °C. Clostridium perfringens only increased 10- to 100-fold while Campylobacter jejuni did not grow.The results of the survey indicate that any problems with goat's milk relate to poor hygiene during production rather than transmission of organisms from the goat herself.
The severity of whooping cough in hospitalised children – is it declining?
Authors: Johnston I. D. A. , Anderson H. R. , Lambert H. P. 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYFour hundred and sixty admissions for whooping cough to three hospitals between 1974–9 were reviewed. Many children had a long illness. More than half of them had severe or moderately severe coughing spasms and a quarter had pronounced feeding difficulties. The incidence of clinical pneumonia and convulsions was low and there were no deaths. The disease continues to be much more severe in infancy. There was some evidence that the disease declined in severity over the period studied. A number of factors including increased use of erythromycin may have contributed to this change.
Feasibility and efficacy of in-home water chlorination in rural North-eastern Brazil
Authors: Kirchhoff Louis V. , McClelland Karen E. , Pinho Maria Do Carmo , Araujo J. Galba , De Sousa M. Auxiliadora , Guerrant Richard L. 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYThe purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility, acceptability and effect of an in-home water chlorination programme in a rural village. Previous studies at this site showed high levels of faecal coliforms in household water, high diarrhoea rates in children, and enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli and rotaviruses were the most common pathogens isolated from patients. Household water came from a pond and was stored in clay pots. No homes had sanitary facilities. A blind, cross-over trial of treatment of household water with inexpensive hypochlorite by a community health worker was carried out over 18 weeks among 20 families. Water in the clay pots was sampled serially, and symptom surveillance was done by medical students. The programme was generally acceptable to the villagers and no change in water use patterns were apparent. The mean faecal coliform level in the chlorinated water was significantly less than in the placebo treated samples (70 vs 16000 organisms/dl, P < 0·001). People living in houses receiving placebo treatment had a mean of 11·2 days of diarrhoea per year, and the highest rate of 36·7 was among children less than 2 years old. Diarrhoea rates were not significantly different among the participants while exposed to water treated with hypochlorite. We conclude that a low-cost programme of this type, which utilizes community resources, is logistically feasible, appears to be culturally acceptable in this setting, and can result in a marked reduction in water contamination. The lack of effect on diarrhoea rates suggests that improvement in water quality may affect morbidity only when other variables relating to faecal–oral agent transmission are ameliorated at the same time.
Legionella pneumophilaserogroup 1 subgrouping by monoclonal antibodies – an epidemiological tool
Authors: Watkins I. D. , Tobin J. O'H. , Dennis P. J. , Brown W. , Newnham R. , Kurtz J. B. 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYA panel of 10 monoclonal antibodies was used to subgroup 326 strains ofLegionella pneumophilaserogroup 1. All but two strains could be classified into three major subgroups named after their representative strains Pontiac 1, Olda and Bellingham 1. Of the 50 isolates from patients, 44 representing 32 separate incidents were of the Pontiac subgroup. This subgroup was also found in 16 of 18 buildings epidomiologically associated with Legionnaires' Disease. In contrast, strains of the Olda subgroup predominated in buildings where no infections had occurred. In 9 of the 11 incidents where isolates were available from at least one patient as well as from the suspected environmental source, the monoclonal antibody reaction patterns of strains from patients were identical to those of one or more of their environmental counterparts.
Serious infection in a neonatal intensive care unit: A two-year survey
Authors: Hensey O. J. , Hart C. A. , Cooke R. W. I. 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYOver a two-year period 160 episodes of serious infection occurred in 139 infants admitted to a regional neonatal intensive-care unit. Eighty-seven (26%) of very low birth weight (VLBW) neonates and 52 (8%) of infants of birth weight > 1500 g were infected. The majority (84%) had bactcraemia alone. Though the clinical features of infection were not distinctive, in 94% of episodes the peripheral white blood cell or band counts were abnormal. Thirty-three (21%) of the infections occurred in infants under 48 h old and 15 of these followed prolonged rupture of membranes (>48h). All of the infections due to group B streptococci (5), Streptococcus viridans (2) and Haemophilus influenzae (3) occurred in this group. Coagulase-negativc staphylococci (CONS) accounted for 49% of the infections and there was a marked increase in incidence of such infections during the survey. Infections with CONS were not necessarily associated with parenteral nutrition, the presence of intra-arterial catheters or mechanical ventilation but the rise in incidence was coincident with change in skin disinfectant usage and the general use of a third-generation cephalosporin to which the CONS were resistant.Although VLBW infants with meningitis were more likely to die than those of higher birthweight, the risk for those with bacteriacmia was the same in both groups. Infants with CONS sepsis were less likely to die than those with infections due to Gram-negative bacteria and the time from onset of infection to death was significantly longer for the former.
Respiratory disease in a colony of rats. II. Isolation ofMycoplasma pulmonisfrom the natural disease, and the experimental disease induced with a cloned culture of this organism
Authors: Whittlestone P. , Lemcke Ruth M. , Olds R. J. 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYMycoplasma pulmoniswas isolated from the pneumonic lung of a rat. Two groups of mycoplasma-free rats were inoculated, one with a culture of theM. pulmonisstrain winch had been cloned four times (group A) and the other with a lung homogenate of the rat from which the strain had been isolated (group B). A third group (C) consisted of uninoculated control animals. Each group was kept in strict isolation and allowed to breed so that the progeny was naturally exposed to any pathogens present in the inoculated animals. After different periods of exposure, rats were autopsied, respiratory tracts and inner ears were cultured for mycoplasmas and bacteria, and sera were tested for complement-fixing antibodies to murine mycoplasmas.In group-A rats,M. pulmoniswas consistently isolated from the inner ears or lungs from 50 to 715 days after exposure. Complement-fixing antibody toM. pulmoniswas detected 20 days after inoculation, but in the naturally exposed progeny antibody took longer than 50 days to develop. Antibodies to the other known mycoplasmas of murino origin,M. arthritidisandM. neurolylicum, were never found. Purulent otitis interna was consistently found from day 55 onwards, while lung lesions were first observed at 85 days and persisted to 715 days. Pulmonary lesions developed more slowly in inoculated parents than in exposed progeny. Similar results were found in group-B rats, which were examined up to 441 days after inoculation. Uninoculated group-C rats were examined up to 768 days of ago, butM. pulmoniswas not recovered; of tho 54 animals whose serum was tested all wore negativo to tho three species of mycoplasmas, except one which had a titre of 16 withM. pulmonis. Pneumonia, bronchiectasis or lymphoroticular hyperplasia wore not seen in any of these control rats. Bacterial respiratory pathogens were not isolated from rats in any of the groups, nor was antibody to Sendai virus detected.Tho results suggest thatM. pulmonisalono can cause pneumonia and bronchiee-tasis in rats since mechanical carry-over of another pathogen with the initial cloned inoculum is very unlikely and there was no evidence for the participation of any other rat pathogen. The respiratory disease induced by the cloned culture was comparable with that induced by the lung homogenate, and with the well-known syndrome of chronic respiratory disease and bronchiectasis in the rat.
Simulated human skin scales
Authors: Lees Julienne , Brighton W. D. 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYHuman skin scales which have been shed naturally bear a flora of micro-organisms which is unknown until tested. To replace these scales in a study of the micro-environment of both the human body and of models a method has been devised of making synthetic scales which behave both physically and aerodynamically in a similar way to the natural material. The synthetic materials carry no natural flora and it is possible to include in them test markers of several kinds to assist in identification after dispersion.
Streptococcal infection in young pigs. V. An immunogenic polysaccharide from Streptococcus suis type 2 with particular reference to vaccination against streptococcal meningitis in pigs
Authors: Elliott S. D. , Clifton-Hadley Felicity , Tai Joseph 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYOf 17 pigs vaccinated with Streptococcus suis type-2 capsular polysaccharide plus Freund's Incomplete Adjuvant, all developed opsonizing antibody against Str. suis type 2. Of 14 pigs vaccinated with type-2 polysaccharide alone, 4 (possibly 6) developed opsonizing antibody. It is possible that some pigs vaccinated with polysaccharide plus Freund's Incomplete Adjuvant developed opsonizing antibody in response to a ‘booster’ injection of polysaccharide alone. Of 21 unvaccinated control pigs, late bleeding from 3 showed opsonizing activity against Str. suis type 2.
Staphylococcus aureusin Antarctica: carriage and attempted eradication
Authors: Krikler S. J. 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYThe carriage ofStaphylococcus aureuswas studied in a group of 28 men living in a totally isolated environment for a year. Initially, nasal, axillary and perineal swabs were taken at weekly intervals, but from week 24 throat swabs were taken from known nasal carriers. Several attempts were made during the study to eradicateS. aureus. Eight subjects consistently carried their own phage type throughout the study, despite the application of antibacterial agents. In three subjects strains were isolated late in the study of a phage type which had either not been isolated before in this study, or had not been found for a prolonged period. Nine of the 12 nasal carriers also yieldedS. aureusfrom the throat. It is apparent that following attempted eradication,S. aureusmay seem to disappear, only to reappear some time later; ‘eradication’ in this case would be an erroneous appellation.
Reduction of naturally occurring enteroviruses by wastewater treatment processes
Authors: Morris R. 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYThe levels of cytopathic enteroviruses at two wastewater-treatment works were monitored over a period of 9 months. The maximum level of virus at works 1 was 72500 p.f.u. l-1and at Avorks 2,57500 p.f.u. l-1. Examination of process efficiency showed an overall reduction of 63% for works 1 and 26 % for works 2 when used without lagooning. When lagooning was employed at the second works, virus reduction was 97%. Individual treatment processes showed poor reduction of virus levels. Sedimentation and rapid sand filtration had no significant effect on levels whilst both percolating filtration and activated sludge showed some reduction. Only lagooning resulted in substantial reductions of virus levels.
Antibiotic sensitivity of enteropathogenic bacteria isolated from patients in a Sharjah hospital
Authors: Damjanovic V. , Furtado Maria , Patmore M. 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYIn recent years widespread circulation of salmonella and shigella strains resistantto multiple antibiotics has become an international problem. Accordingly the bacterial sensitivity to a range of antibiotics has been assessedin vitroand recorded for the period 1979–83 for patients from the Al Qassimi Hospital. A total of 229 enteric pathogens from 148 children and 59 adult patients were isolated and studied. Most of the enterobacteria were sensitive to colistin, gentamicin, trimethoprim and chloramphenicol (Salmonella typhiapproached 100% sensitivity). High rates of sensitivity were also found to ampicillin inS. typhi(96%) and other salmonella serotypes (85%), whilst only 57% ofShigellaspecies and 14% ofEscherichia coliwere sensitive to this antibiotic. Low rates of sensitivity to sulphamethoxazole, streptomycin and tetracycline were found in shigella andE. coli(ranging from 7 to 14%). Approximately 50% ofS. typhiand other salmonella serotypes were sensitive to sulphamethoxazole and streptomycin and 80% to tetracycline. Resistance to three or more antibiotics was very common in shigella and enteropathogenic strains ofE. coli(74–85%), less common in non-typhoid salmonella (29%) and exceptional inS. typhistrains. In general, shigella andE. coliisolates showed a high rate of resistance to several antibiotics, whilstS. typhiand other salmonella serotypes retained their original sensitivity to most of the antibiotics used in clinical practice.
Distribution of multilocus genotypes ofEscherichia coliwithin and between host families
Authors: Caugant Dominique A. , Levin B. R. , Selander R. K. 
Published: October 2009

SummaryIsolates from the intestinalEscherichia coliflora of 28 members of five families (including parents, children, and household pets) in Amherst, Massachusetts, and Rochester, New York, were characterized by the electrophoretic mobilities of 12 enzymes to estimate the extent of sharing of strains among associated and unassociated hosts. Among the 655 isolates examined, 60 different combinations of electromorphs (electrophoretic types or ETs), each representing a distinctive multilocus genotype, were identified, of which 85% were recovered from only a single individual. On average, 11 % of the ETs isolated from the same family were shared by two or more members; 4·9% of ETs were shared among members of unassociated families living in the same city; and only 2% were shared by families in different cities. All three ETs that were recovered from multiple hosts in the present study are widespread clones that have been isolated from many other host individuals in North America and Sweden.
Investigation of an outbreak of adenovirus type 3 infection in a boys' boarding school
Authors: Payne S. B. , Grilli E. A. , Smith A. J. , Hoskins T. W. 
Published: October 2009

SummaryAn outbreak of pharyngoconjunctival fever caused by adenovirus type 3 was studied in a boarding school for 800 boys aged 11–18 years. A total of 96 clinical cases were confirmed by laboratory tests. Clinical infection rates were higher in the younger boys but total infection rates did not vary with age. Previous infection provided 88% protection against reinfection.The techniques of virus isolation, complement fixation and neutralization were compared in the diagnosis of cases. Virus isolation diagnosed 86% of confirmed cases. Where acute sera (collected at onset) and convalescent sera (collected within one month) were available complement fixation and neutralization tests each diagnosed 96% of cases.
Experimental infection of castrated lambs with Mycoplasma agalactiae
Authors: MacOwan K. J. , Brand T. F. , McGillveray N. , Hunter A. R. 
Published: October 2009

SummaryThe course of experimental infection in groups of 6-month-old castrated lambs with field isolates of Mycoplasma agalactiae from France was followed culturally and serologically for 7 months. Infection with an ovine field isolate following inoculation by different routes and contact exposure was compared with that caused similarly by a caprine field isolate. The prolonged infections produced were symptomless apart from limited arthritis in one animal inoculated with the isolate from sheep and increased lachrymation in another associated with the goat isolate. The ovine isolate was more virulent in that ante- and post-mortem recoveries of the organism were more consistent and the serological responses more pronounced. Serological responses varied between animals and between strain infections, and the results of the film inhibition test were more consistent than those of the complement fixation test. The limitations of both these tests for detecting carrier infections are discussed.
Geographic distribution of restriction types ofMycobacterium bovisisolates from brush-tailed possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) in New Zealand
Authors: Collins D. M. , De Lisle G. W. , Gabric D. M. 
Published: October 2009

SUMMARYDNA restriction endonuclease analysis was used for intra-specific typing ofMycobacterium bovisisolates from 83 brush-tailed possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) obtained between 1982 and 1984 from the three major regions in New Zealand with endemic bovine tuberculosis. All the isolates were found to be genetically very similar. Differentiation of the isolates into 33 restriction types was achieved by using high-resolution electrophoresis and the combined results from separate digestions with the restriction enzymesBstEII,PvuII andBclI. The typing system was entirely reproducible. Isolates of the same type were usually found in adjacent localities and were always limited to one of the three major regions. In some cases, isolates of the same type were found in both 1982 and 1984. The phenotypic significance of the small genetic differences identified between different isolates is unknown. The typing system will be useful for monitoring the transmission ofM. bovisto other species and the future spread of differentM. bovistypes through possum populations.
Population structure of the invasive bivalve Isognomon bicolor on rocky shores of Rio de Janeiro State (Brazil)
Authors: Breves-Ramos A. , Junqueira A.O.R. , Lavrado H.P. , Silva S.H.G. , Ferreira-Silva M.A.G. 
Published: October 2009

The aim of this study was to compare the population structure of the invasive bivalve Isognomon bicolor in three different areas on the coast of Rio de Janeiro State and to verify its temporal variation. All the areas presented high densities, reaching more than 1000 live individuals per 100 cm2. The number of dead individuals and recruits was higher in Ilha do Brandão (Angra dos Reis) than in the other areas. The individuals sampled at Praia Vermelha (Rio de Janeiro) presented the highest maximum and mean sizes, compared to those found at Ilha do Brandão. In this area, vermetid molluscs are dominant and build a complex reef structure where only a few individuals of I. bicolor can really grow.
Some reflections on the Antarctic Treaty
Authors: Baker F.W.G. 
Published: October 2009

2009 brings not only the 50th anniversary of the Antarctic Treaty but also the end of the International Geophysical Year (IGY) and of its extension into the period of International Geophysical Cooperation (IGC 1959). It is also the 133rd anniversary of K. Weyprecht's suggestion that initiated the impetus. As he noted, ‘if Polar Expeditions are looked upon merely as a sort of international steeple-chase . . . and their main object is to exceed by a few miles the latitude reached by a predecessor these mysteries (of Meteorology and Geomagnetism) will remain unsolved’ (Weyprecht 1875). Although he stressed the importance of observations in both the Arctic and Antarctic during the first International Polar Year (IPY) in 1882–1883 only two stations in the sub-Antarctic region, at Cap Horn and South Georgia, made such scientific recordings. In spite of the fact that several expeditions to the Antarctic had been made in the period between the first and the second IPY 1932–1933, no stations were created in Antarctica during that IPY. The major increase in scientific studies in Antarctica came with the third IPY, which became the IGY of 1957–1958.
Java's ruined candis and the British picturesque ideal
Authors: Tiffin Sarah 
Published: October 2009

AbstractWhen Thomas Stamford Raffles published his seminal text The History of Java in 1817, ruins were a favourite leitmotif in British art, forming an important element within the visual vocabulary of the picturesque. Given the fascination in this period for the ruin, fuelled by a tradition of antiquarian enquiry, the newly developing science of archaeology, and the increased possibilities for travel in the wake of imperial expansion, it is not surprising that Raffles chose to devote a whole a chapter of his publication to Java's ruined candis. The plates and vignettes which illustrate the chapter, created according to pictorial conventions that were ordinarily applied to the crumbling remains of Europe's classical past, are amongst the most beautiful portrayals of South-East Asia's architectural remains. This paper examines how these images elicited set emotional responses associated with the idea of ruins and ruination and confirmed key stereotypes associated with the region, linking the candis, and by implication the Javanese themselves, with a vanished past rather than with a dynamic and forward-looking present.