bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Prevalence ofNeisseria meningitidisin family members of patients with meningococcal infection
Authors: Saez-Nieto J. A. , Campos J. , Latorre C. , Juncosa T. , Sierra M. , Garcia-Tornell T. , Garcia-Barreno B. , Lopez-Galindez C. , Casal J. 
Published: March 2010

SUMMARYThe aim of the study was first, to determine the prevalence ofNeisseria meningitidisamong the family members living with patients suffering from meningococcal infections, and second, to ascertain the distribution among these family members of strains epidemiologically related to those isolated from patients.Forty-two family groups were studied and 135 nasopharyngeal samples were taken from family members living with patients.Twenty family groups were found to contain meningococcal carriers, and of these 20, 13 contained a carrier of the strain that caused the infection (65%). Among the family members who were carriers, the mother and father most frequently yielded the strain which caused the illness.The serotypes most frequently encountered both in patients and carriers were 2 and 8, as well as nontypable strains.The polyacrylamide gel electrophoretic patterns (PAGE) most frequently found were II and IV. A notable feature of the study is the high resistance of the strains to sulphadiazine, since more than 90% of the strains found in patients and more than 75% of those from carriers possessed a minimum inhibitory concentration greater than or equal to 10μg/ml.
Occurrence of viruses in human stools in the Ahaggar (Algeria)
Authors: Puel J. M. L. , Orillac M. S. , Bauriaud R. M. , Boughermouh R. , Akacem O. , Lefevre-Witier Ph. 
Published: March 2010

SUMMARYFrom October 1977 to May 1980, 243 stools collected in sedentary and semi-nomadic populations of the Ahaggar (Algerian Sahara) were examined using immunoelectronmicroscopy and tissue culture inoculation. Immunoelectron-microscopy revealed the presence of rotaviruses in 8, coronaviruses in 26, adenoviruses in 5 and small round viruses in 4. Enteroviruses were isolated in tissue culture from 24 stools.Rotaviruses were present in the Ahaggar but were associated with little acute enteric disease. The high frequency of coronaviruses both in gastroenteritis patients and in patients without disease was surprising. The prevalence of enteroviruses in this hyperarid zone was similar to or higher than that found in noticeably more humid countries.Further systematic bacterial, viral and parasitic examinations are required to clarify the role of the above viruses in the aetiology of gastroenteritis in this region.
Bovine tuberculosis in domestic and wild mammals in an area of Dorset. I. Tuberculosis in cattle
Authors: Wilesmith J. W. , Little T. W. A. , Thompson H. V. , Swan C. 
Published: March 2010

SUMMARYA major outbreak of tuberculosis occurred in cattle on a farm in Dorset between 1970 and 1976. Six hundred and twenty-six cattle were slaughtered either because they reacted to the tuberculin test or had been exposed to infection. No source of infection was found until 1974 when badgers infected with Mycobacterium bovis were first discovered.An analysis of the tuberculin test records of this herd and the six surrounding herds indicated that tuberculosis had been a sporadic problem since the early 1960's. Two peaks of infection occurred in the most severely affected herd in 1970 and 1974 when 29·8% and 27·3% of animals, respectively, reacted to the tuberculin test. These figures are exceptionally high. During the last 20 years there have been two periods when all the herds in the area had synchronous outbreaks consistent with a common source.Analysis indicated that cattle were at greatest risk in April and May and suggest that there was re-exposure to infection at this time each year. In addition the cattle were apparently exposed to M. bovis, at sufficiently high levels for transmission to occur, for only a relatively short period of time.
Subdivision of Mycobacterium tuberculosis into five variants for epidemiological purposes: methods and nomenclature
Authors: Collins C. H. , Yates M. D. , Grange J. M. 
Published: March 2010

SUMMARYVirulent strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolated from humans are divisible into five variants by using four tests: oxygen requirement (aerobic or microaerophilic), nitrate reductase activity, susceptibility to pyrazinamide (60 μg/ml) and susceptibility to thiophene-2-carboxylic acid hydrazide (5 μg/ml). The five variants are referred to as Classical human, Asian human, bovine, African I and African II. The relation of these variants to previously described types is discussed. This simple division has been shown to be useful in epidemiological studies.
Antimicrobial sensitivity patterns of hospital and non-hospital strains ofStaphylococcus aureusisolated from nasal carriers
Authors: Paul M. O. , Aderibigbe D. A. , Sule C. Z. , Lamikanra A. 
Published: March 2010

SUMMARYThe nasal carriage rate ofStaphylococcus aureuswas significantly higher in hospitalized persons (children, adult females and staff) − 53·8%, – than in similar persons at a local clinic − 29·8% (P< 0·001) – in Ile-Ife, Nigeria. However, unlike studies carried out elsewhere, a higher proportion ofS. aureusstrains obtained from persons at the clinic were resistant to commonly used antimicrobial agents than were strains isolated in the hospital. This has been attributed to the ease at which these drugs can be obtained by the general population and used unsupervised and indiscriminately. Methicillin was the most effective antimicrobial agent against pathogenic staphylococci (2·2% resistance), followed by erythromycin (16·5% resistance), co-trimaxozole (28·0 % resistance), chloramphenicol (76·9 % resistance), tetracycline (78·6% resistance) and penicillin and ampicillin (97·8% resistance). The widespread resistance ofS. aureusto penicillin and ampicillin (and other antimicrobial agents) is of clinical significance in the treatment of post-operative infections, since carriers are reportedly more prone to such infections than are non-carriers.
The persistence of drug resistant Escherichia coli in the intestinal flora of healthy broiler chicks
Authors: Hinton M. , Al-Chalaby Z. A. M. , Allen Vivien , Linton A. H. 
Published: March 2010

SUMMARYAntibacterial drugs (oxytetracycline, streptomycin and sulphonamides) were included in the drinking water of healthy broiler chicks from the sixth to the twentieth day of life to select a resistant gut flora. On the twenty-first day the birds were divided into three groups and reared in separate rooms until 100 days of age. One group was housed in cages with wire floors while the others were reared on litter. Faeces from adult hens were added regularly to the litter of one of these groups to determine its effect on the gut flora of the chicks.The ecology of Escherichia coli was studied using O-serotyping, biotyping and antibacterial drug resistogram typing. The proportion of E. coli in the dominant faecal flora resistant to two to four antibacterial drugs increased with time to reach a peak several days after the drugs were withdrawn. Thereafter, the level of drug resistance in the E. coli declined equally in all three groups. The majority of organisms with multiple resistance were derived from biotypes of O-serotypes initially resistant to only one drug and were identified before the drugs were administered. The decline in the level of resistance in the dominant faecal flora after the fourth week was due to the appearance of either new O-serotypes or new biotypes of O-serotypes previously shown to be multiply resistant, and which were either sensitive or resistant to only one drug. It is probable that these new strains were derived from the food since several O-serotypes appeared simultaneously in all three groups of birds.
Field trials of second-generation anticoagulants against difenacoum-resistant Norway rat populations
Authors: Greaves J. H. , Shepherd D. S. , Quy R. 
Published: March 2010

SUMMARYTrials of rodenticidal baits containing 50 p.p.m. difenacoum, 50 p.p.m. bromadiolone or 20 p.p.m. brodifacoum were carried out on farmsteads against populations of Rattus norvegicus containing difenacoum-resistant individuals. Six difenacoum treatments failed in 14–42 days of baiting. Two treatments with bromadiolone succeeded in 23 and 33 days, but four further treatments lasting 35–56 days failed to eradicate the populations. Brodifacoum gave virtually complete control of six populations in 21–73 days and of the ten residual populations left behind by the other two compounds, after baiting for a further 11–85 days. The performance of both bromadiolone and brodifacoum was well below that reported by previous investigators, indicating the possibility of low-grade resistance to these compounds in the difenacoum-resistant strain.
Antibody against viruses in maternal and cord sera: specific antibody is concentrated on the fetal side of the circulation
Authors: Griffiths P. D. , Berney S. I. , Argent S. , Heath R. B. 
Published: March 2010

SUMMARYPaired maternal and cord sera from 100 pregnancies were tested for antibodies against herpes simplex virus, measles virus and respiratory syncytial virus by complement fixation and for antibodies against rubella virus, influenza A virus and influenza B virus by haemagglutination-inhibition. For four viruses (herpes simplex, measles, respiratory syncytial and rubella) higher levels of antibody were found in cord than in maternal sera. There was no difference between maternal and cord serum titres against influenza B virus but significantly higher levels of antibody against influenza A virus were found in maternal sera than in cord sera. This discrepancy was investigated by measuring antibodies against the surface antigens of influenza A by a complement fixation technique, and by single radial haemolysis. Both methods showed a preponderance of virus-specific antibody in cord sera. We conclude that IgG antibodies against most, if not all, viruses are concentrated on the fetal side of the circulation, but that conventional haemagglutination-inhibition techniques may fail to detect this difference.
Radial haemolysis for the detection of rubella antibody in acute postnatal rubella
Authors: Morgan-Capner P. , Burgess C. , Fisher-Hoch S. 
Published: March 2010

SUMMARYOne hundred and forty-eight sera from 101 cases of acute postnatal rubella were examined by the radial haemolysis (RH) technique currently recommended by the Public Health Laboratory Service of the United Kingdom. In 75 cases the date of onset of rash was known. No sera were RH positive until the third day after the onset of rash and one serum was still negative at 9 days. By 10 days all sera gave a zone of at least 10 mm. The antibody response detected by RH appears later than that detected by haemagglutination inhibition (HI). Thirty-nine of the 101 cases could be diagnosed by seroconversion or a significant rise in titre using the HI test (diagnosis of the remainder depending upon rubella-specific IgM tests). Using the RH test this figure rises to 48 but in ten of these cases reliance on RH would have meant a delay in diagnosis. The results also indicate that many more sera would need to be tested for rubella-specific IgM if the RH test was used instead of the HI test for evaluating possible cases and contacts of rubella.
A poxvirus antigen associated with pathogenicity for rabbits
Authors: Rondle C. J. M. , Dumbell K. R. 
Published: March 2010

SummaryWhite pock variants of cowpox virus give papular lesions on intradermal inoculation of rabbits, without the necrosis and haemorrhage that are produced by wild type cowpox viruses. Rondle & Dumbell (1962) have shown that white pock variants of cowpox virus fail to produce a specific, precipitating antigen which they called ‘d’ substance. In this paper it is shown that ‘d’ is demonstrable in soluble antigen preparations of rabbitpox virus and of neurovirulent strains of vaccinia virus but not in soluble antigens of variola viruses. Two series of recombinant viruses prepared by Dumbell & Bedson (1964) from variola and cowpox and from variola and rabbitpox viruses were tested for the production of ‘d’ substance. These results were compared with the previously recorded effects of these recombinants when inoculated intradermally in rabbits. It is concluded that functional genes determining the production of ‘d’ and of rabbit skin pathogenicity are closely linked on the pox virus genome, but that there is insufficient evidence to say that the two functions are interdependent.
Stool viruses in babies in Glasgow: 4. Further hospital studies
Authors: Madeley C. R. , Scott T. M. , Campbell Catherine , Miller J. 
Published: March 2010

SummaryThe events occurring during the time in hospital of 24 babies were recorded in detail, particularly those related to bowel function. The babies were admitted to a general paediatric unit with various diagnoses a total of 27 times during a six month period. The purpose of the study was to fill gaps in the records of a previous study (Scott et al. 1979) and to try to relate excretion of viruses detectable by electron microscopy to disturbances of bowel function (diarrhoea and/or vomiting). The results showed that a variety of viruses were associated with gastroenteropathy, that virus excretion could occur without disease and that hospital acquisition of virus is not uncommon. Antiobiotic treatment did not appear to precipitate diarrhoea in this small number of babies.
Legionella infections in Scotland
Authors: Fallon R. J. 
Published: March 2010

SummaryFour thousand two hundred and thirty-five sera from 2794 patients and 740 sera from 735 tourists domiciled in Scotland recently returned from abroad were examined between 1977 and 1981 for antibodies toLegionella pneumophilaand related organisms. In addition, specimens were examined from some patients for cultural or serological demonstration of these organisms in lung or sputum. One hundred and ten cases were diagnosed, 104 serologically, five by immunofluorescence demonstration of legionellas in lung biopsy or autopsy specimens andL. pneumophilaserogroup 1 was isolated from a further case. Of patients with pneumonia 6·7% showed evidence of legionella infection. Only 0·4% of healthy tourists had antibodies at a level of ⋝ 256. The majority of cases occurred in patients aged 50–69 and in 36 patients the infection was acquired outside the United Kingdom. Males predominated, the male: female ratio being 2:1. Cases were less frequent in the first quarter of the year but those originating in Scotland were equally common in the remaining three quarters. Cases with disease acquired abroad added to indigenous cases resulted in a summer peak occurring in July, August and September. There were no outbreaks of legionellosis in Scotland.
Clostridium botulinum type C in the Mersey estuary
Authors: Smith G. R. , Oliphant Janet C. , White W. R. 
Published: March 2010

SummaryNineteen of 98 samples of mud or sand taken from the Mersey estuary in 1981 contained Clostridium botulinum type C, the organism almost always responsible for botulism in water birds. In the Dungeon and Score Bank areas, where many dead and dying birds were found during the period September–December 1979, almost half the samples contained type C. Most of the positive samples were essentially muddy rather than sandy. The findings do not prove that botulism contributed to the 1979 mortality but are nonetheless thought-provoking, particularly because type C – unlike type B – is by no means ubiquitous in Britain. Type B was present in 12·2% of samples from the Mersey estuary.
A comparative clinical study of Adsorbed Tetanus Vaccine and Adult-type Tetanus–Diphtheria Vaccine
Authors: Deacon S. P. , Langford D. T. , Shepherd W. M. , Knight P. A. 
Published: March 2010

SummaryA limited assessment of immunity to diphtheria revealed that only 44·8 % of adults had protective levels (> 0·01 U/ml) of diphtheria antitoxin in their sera. In the light of this information, it was decided to assess the suitability of Adult-type Tetanus-Diphtheria Vaccine as a replacement for Adsorbed Tetanus Vaccine in occupational health schemes. A comparative study of these vaccines showed that a single dose of each produced an equivalent rate and level of tetanus antitoxin responses. Adult-type Td Vaccine elicited more than fourfold increases of diphtheria antitoxin in 76 % of vaccinees. No statistically significant differences were observed in the clinical reactivity of the vaccines under test. However, the combined vaccine caused a slightly higher incidence of local reactions (pain, redness and swelling) while recipients of Adsorbed Tetanus Vaccine more frequently experienced pain.
Some in-vitro characters of the subspecies of Mycoplasma mycoides
Authors: Smith G. R. , Oliphant Janet C. 
Published: March 2010

SummarySo-called LC strains of Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides and, where appropriate, SC strains, were examined, together with M. mycoides subsp. capri strains, by growth, fermentation, and antibiotic-sensitivity tests.Growth curves in BVF-OS medium showed that, from the 6th until at least the 19th day of incubation, strain Mankefår 2833 had a viable count strikingly higher than that of any other LC strain. Its robust growth properties may explain its ability – unusual among LC strains – to produce mycoplasmaemia readily in mice. Strain 143–A66 Conn, also shown by earlier experiments in mice to possess unusual properties, lost viability more rapidly than any other LC strain between the 13th and 19th days of incubation. The viable count of a subsp. capri strain was considerably lower than that of any LC strain for much of the period between days 6 and 19.In fermentation tests with 27 substrates and sensitivity tests with 11 antibiotics the strains gave results that, in all but the following respects, were uniform. Sorbitol was fermented to varying degrees by all the LC and subsp. capri strains tested but was unaffected by the SC strains. The LC and subsp. capri strains were in general more resistant than the SC strains to streptomycin. The growth of the LC strains, much more than that of the other strains, was greatly stimulated by the presence of fermentable substrate.
Chimeras occur on the pantropical Lichinomycete Phyllopeltula corticola
Authors: APTROOT André , SCHUMM Felix 
Published: March 2010

AbstractChimeras with green algae are reported for the first time from a lichen outside the Peltigerales, viz. the cyanophilous Lichinomycete Phyllopeltula corticola. The species is reported here to be pantropical, based on additional collections from Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Thailand and the Philippines.
A new species of Anomomorpha (Graphidaceae) from India
Authors: SHARMA Bharati , MAKHIJA U. , KHADILKAR Pradnya 
Published: March 2010

AbstractAnomomorpha elegans, a new species characterized by lirelline ascocarps, dark reddish brown, pruinose disc, bowl shaped exciple composed of elongate hyphae, hymenium inspersed with crystals, muriform ascospores and salazinic acid in the thallus, is described from India.
Convergent evolution in Cladonia gracilis and allies
Authors: FONTAINE Kyle M. , AHTI Teuvo , PIERCEY-NORMORE Michele D. 
Published: March 2010

AbstractMembers of the Cladonia gracilis group of lichen fungi are common terrestrial lichens where morphological features are more similar between members of the C. gracilis species complex and allied species outside the complex than they are between subspecies within the complex. The objectives of this study were to examine whether the Cladonia gracilis species complex is monophyletic, to determine whether morphological similarity is supported by genetic variation, and to examine the utility of the polyketide synthase (PKS) gene for phylogenetic studies among closely related species. Two loci, the ketosynthase region of the PKS gene and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of nuclear ribosomal DNA, were sequenced and analysed by Maximum Parsimony, Bayesian and haplotype network analyses. Functional differences were also inferred through ITS2 RNA secondary structures and non-synonymous changes in translated PKS amino acid sequences. The monophyly of the C. gracilis complex is supported by 71% bootstrap in the ITS phylogeny, and 92% bootstrap with greater than 95% posterior probability in the PKS phylogeny. Morphological similarity is not always supported by genetic similarity. The PKS gene is less variable than the ITS but the PKS supports species hypotheses that are reflected in the ITS2 RNA model. We conclude that monophyly of the C. gracilis complex can be supported if C. cornuta, C. coniocraea and C. ochrochlora are included in the complex. In addition, C. maxima, C. phyllophora and C. subchordalis are supported as monophyletic species outside the C. gracilis complex. Cladonia maxima may form a separate species and variation among podetial morphology may be explained by convergent evolution.
Life history strategy ofLepraria borealisat an Antarctic inland site, Coal Nunatak
Authors: ENGELEN Andreas , CONVEY Peter , OTT Sieglinde 
Published: March 2010

AbstractCoal Nunatak is an ice-free inland nunatak located on southern Alexander Island, adjacent to the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. Situated close to the Antarctic continent, it is characterized by harsh environmental conditions. Macroscopic colonization is restricted to micro-niches offering suitable conditions for a small number of lichens and mosses. The extreme environmental conditions place particular pressures on colonizers.Lepraria borealisis the dominant crustose lichen species present on Coal Nunatak, and shows distinctive features in its life history strategy, in particular expressing unusually low selectivity of the mycobiont towards potential photobionts. To assess selectivity, we measured algal DNA sequence polymorphism in a region of 480–660 bp of the nuclear internal transcribed spacer region of ribosomal DNA. We identified three different photobiont species, belonging to two different genera. We interpret this strategy as being advantageous in facilitating the colonization and community dominance ofL. borealisunder the isolation and extreme environmental conditions of Coal Nunatak.
Lecanora subviridis (Lecanoraceae, Lecanorales), a new corticolous lichen species from south-western Argentina
Authors: de la ROSA I. Nadia , MESSUTI María Inés , LUMBSCH H. Thorsten 
Published: March 2010

AbstractThe corticolous lichen Lecanora subviridis de la Rosa & Messuti is described from temperate forests in south-western Argentina as new to science. It differs from other species of Lecanora occurring on bark and wood by containing usnic or isousnic acid. The relationships with the other taxa are discussed.
Herpothallon biacidum, a new lichen species from tropical Australia
Authors: FRISCH Andreas , ELIX John A. , THOR Göran 
Published: March 2010

AbstractHerpothallon biacidum Frisch et al. is described from Queensland, tropical Australia. The new species is characterized by a thick byssoid thallus that is loosely attached to the substratum, globular to claviform to short cylindrical pseudoisidia, a brown to brownish black hypothallus, and by the presence of gyrophoric and norstictic acids. This is the first reported co-occurrence of gyrophoric and norstictic acids in the genus. The differences between H. biacidum and other species containing either norstictic acid or gyrophoric acid are discussed. Herpothallon biacidum is also compared with Cryptothecia eungellaeae. Both occur in north Queensland and have the same chemistry, but the latter has a closely adnate thallus and lacks the dark hypothallus and pseudoisidia. The circumscription of Herpothallon and its distinction from Cryptothecia are discussed.
Acarospora rosulatain Europe, North America and Asia
Authors: KNUDSEN Kerry , REEB Valérie , WESTBERG Martin , SRIKANTHA Rithu , BHATTACHARYA Debashish 
Published: March 2010

AbstractAcarospora rosulatais revised and reported from North America and Mongolia.Acarospora bullatais not verified as occurring in South and North America and may be conspecific withA. rugulosa.