bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Diagnostic value of the serum folate assay
Authors: Forshaw J. , Harwood Lilian 
Published: June 2007

The diagnostic value of the serum folate assay has been assessed in 90 patients, each of whom had a macrocytic anaemia and a low serum vitamin B12level. Twenty-nine (32%) patients were found to have anaemia due primarily to folate deficiency. The cause of the low serum vitamin B12levels is uncertain in the 22 (25%) patients with normal or borderline vitamin B12absorption. The effect of folic acid therapy was studied in four of these patients, and in each case the serum vitamin B12rose slowly to a normal level.The serum folate was low in only four (7·5%) of the 54 patients with pernicious anaemia, and the levels rose to normal on treatment with vitamin B12alone. A high serum folate occurred in eight (15%) pernicious anaemia patients. A normal serum folate indicated the diagnosis of pernicious anaemia or megaloblastic anaemia following partial gastrectomy. However, a normal serum folate and a very low vitamin B12level was found in two patients with idiopathic steatorrhoea.It is concluded that the serum folate assay is a valuable routine test in patients who have a macrocytic anaemia and low serum vitamin B12. A low folate level makes the diagnosis of pernicious anaemia unlikely and is a strong indication for full investigation of small intestinal function.
The pathology of parietal pleural plaques
Authors: Roberts G. Hefin 
Published: June 2007

The incidence, morbid anatomy, histology, and relationship of hyaline pleural plaques to exposure to asbestos has been studied.Plaques were found in 12·3% of 334 hospital necropsies (in an urban population in Glasgow, 41 cases). In 85·3% (35 cases) asbestos bodies were found in the lungs. There is evidence of a dose-response relationship between the number of asbestos bodies found in the lungs and the presence of pleural plaques.The selective distribution of plaques within the pleural cavities suggests that mechanical factors play a part in their localization.Histological examination contributed little to understanding the mechanism of plaque formation; that asbestos bodies have been detected in only a few cases suggest that their presence in the parietal pleura is not essential to plaque formation. The suggested mechanisms of plaque formation are discussed.
An unusual form of renal disease associated with gout and hypertension
Authors: Van Goor W. , Kooiker C. J. , Mees E. J. Dorhout 
Published: June 2007

A family is described many of whose members suffered from renal insufficiency, hypertension, gout, and hyperuricaemia in conjunction. Adequate information was obtained on 72 subjects from five generations. In 17, one or more of the above mentioned abnormalities was or had been present. The hereditary distribution suggested an autosomal dominant disease entity.The renal disease was characterized by an early loss of urinary concentrating power, minimal proteinuria, and death at a relatively early age dominating the clinical picture.The histological picture in three biopsies and one necropsy showed predominant tubular atrophy and interstitial fibrosis, with striking tubular basement membrane thickening.It is suggested that these patients suffered from a hereditary degenerative renal disease. The question whether hyperuricaemia was primary or secondary in these cases is discussed.
Urinary tract infection and oral penicillin G
Authors: Hulbert J. 
Published: June 2007

The urinary excretion of three oral preparations of penicillin G was measured in six subjects. After a dose of 500 mg of potassium penicillin G the mean urine level was 597 μg/ml in the first of three two-hour periods, 324 μg/ml in the second, and 40 μg/ml between the fourth and sixth hours. Of the dose, 13·4% was excreted in the urine in 24 hours. Differences among the three preparations were not significant therapeutically.Most Gram-negative urinary pathogens are sensitive to 5-50 μg of penicillin G per ml.There is a rational basis for the use of oral penicillini G to treat urinary infection due to Gram-negative bacilli.
Isolation of a mycoplasma from sarcoid tissue
Authors: Jansson Elli , Hannuksela Matti , Eklund Hans , Halme Helena , Tuuri Sirkka 
Published: June 2007

Using a modified cell-free culture medium, a mycoplasma was isolated from sarcoid lymph nodes in two cases and from sarcoid skin lesions in four out of seven cases of chronic sarcoidosis. Growth inhibition tests showed that the isolates were related toMycoplasma oraletype 1. By the indirect haemagglutination method, 244 cases of definite or probable sarcoidosis, 160 patients with other diseases, and 355 blood donors were tested for antibodies against an isolated mycoplasma (strain 215-M). Titres [unk] 16 were found in 14% of the patients with sarcoidosis and in 8% of the patients with other diseases but only in 0·6% of the blood donors. The proportion of patients with high antibody titres among those with sarcoidosis and erythema nodosum was smaller (8%) than among those with other forms of sarcoidosis (17%).The role of the mycoplasmas isolated from sarcoid tissues remains obscure, but it is possible that these organisms are only an expression of altered immunity in sarcoidosis.
Liver morphology in acute viral hepatitis related to the hepatitis B antigen
Authors: Iwarson S. , Lundin P. , Hermodsson S. 
Published: June 2007

The liver histology in infectious hepatitis or hepatitis A (HA) and serum hepatitis or hepatitis B (HB) is generally described as identical. However, the clinical separation of the two types has been a problem. Today a serological reaction based on the well documented association between hepatitis antigen and HB is of great assistance in the differential diagnosis. The present study of 165 hepatitis cases separated into hepatitis A and B by this test method indicates quantitative differences in the liver histology of the two types. Thus HB was associated with more prominent parenchymal cell damage and Kupffer cell reaction, while intrahepatic cholestasis was found in a significantly higher frequency in cases presumed to represent HA.The presence of intrahepatic cholestasis was associated with higher levels of serum bilirubin but otherwise no correlation was found between liver morphology and biochemical liver tests.The patients included a group of young intravenous amphetamine addicts with HB. No differences of importance were found histologically in addicts and other patients with hepatitis B.
The role of operational research in clinical chemistry
Authors: Peto J. , Whitby L. G. , Finney D. J. 
Published: June 2007

This paper begins with a critical examination of the published account (Carruthers, 1970) of a pioneering study of simulation in a clinical chemistry laboratory. It next considers the basic requirements for the formal mathematical description of such a laboratory: these include the setting of criteria, the resource and input variates, and the definition of success by means of criterion variates. Investigation of criterion variates can be by direct measurement, or by a theoretical approach which may include simulation. The aims of simulation are discussed and an attempt to simulate the operation of a large clinical chemistry laboratory is described.The difficulty of constructing an overall measure of efficiency is considered in relation to improving performance within an existing framework, to evaluating new equipment such as computers on-line to laboratory apparatus, and to inter-laboratory comparisons of performance. It is concluded that complex operational research techniques, including simulation, have little to offer at least for the present, and may even lead to misleading conclusions.
Serum enzyme changes after intramuscular bleeding in patients with haemophilia and Christmas disease
Authors: Forbes Charles D. , King John , Prentice Colin R. M. , McNicol George P. 
Published: June 2007

Serum creatine kinase, lactate dehydrogenase, aspartate and alanine transaminases, and aldolase were determined in 41 hospital inpatients with haemophilia or Christmas disease and no significant differences from the normal ranges were found.3Levels of these enzymes in a further 10 such patients who had sustained muscle haematomata were determined: in all of these there was a consistent rise in the level of creatine kinase, the peak occurring between 36 and 96 hours.In bleeding disorders a rise in serum creatine kinase levels may be useful as a diagnostic test for intramuscular haemorrhage.
Laboratory assessment of the antimycotic drug clotrimazole
Authors: Holt R. J. , Newman R. L. 
Published: June 2007

Laboratory studies on clotrimazole showed that it had marked activityin vitroagainst all theCandidaspp. andCryptococcusspp. tested, against almost all strains ofdermatophytes, and againstAspergillusspp and other fungal genera responsible for systemic mycoses; it had limited activity towards Gram-positive bacteria. The majority ofCandidastrains required MICs below 1 μg/ml and MCCs below 2 μg/ml.Serum, urine, and faecal assays of clotrimazole were made by microbiological methods on five children who received 100 mg/kg/day clotrimazole for several weeks.In-vitrosensitivity tests and biological fluid drug assays are also reported on specimens from 18 patients in other hospitals receiving clotrimazole for severe candidosis; several were renal transplant cases. Similar investigations are reported on specimens from 18 patients with pulmonary aspergilloses.The significance of low levels of the drug in body fluids, even after prolonged therapy, is discussed, and it is suggested that clotrimazole may be the first of a long series of imidazole derivatives with varying pharmacological and therapeutic properties.
The nature of the alkaline phosphatases of bile
Authors: Price C. P. , Hill P. G. , Sammons H. G. 
Published: June 2007

The main alkaline phosphatase isoenzymes of human bile have been purified by DEAE-cellulose chromatography. Characteristics of the isoenzymes, such as electrophoretic mobility before and after butanol extraction, Michaelis constant, and change in electrophoretic mobility following exposure to neuraminidase have been studied and compared with isoenzymes from other sources.The results show that the main alkaline phosphatase of bile is derived from the liver. It is present as a protein phosphatidylcholine complex.
Haem biosynthesis studied in patients with rheumatoid arthritis
Authors: Johansson S. V. , Strandberg P. O. 
Published: June 2007

In a study of the urinary excretion of haem precursors in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, iron-deficiency anaemia, and in healthy controls, certain differences were found.In iron-deficiency anaemia the excretion of both porphobilinogen and δ-aminolevulinic acid was increased, whereas in patients with rheumatoid arthritis only the porphobilinogen excretion was increased.A further study on the erythrocyte activity of δ-aminolevulinic acid dehydrase showed a higher activity in the erythrocytes from patients with rheumatoid arthritis compared with healthy controls.
The isolation of an X-dependent strain of Haemophilus from otitis media identified asH. haemoglobinophilus (canis)
Authors: Frazer Joyce , Rogers K. B. 
Published: June 2007

The growth factor requirements, together with the serological results, would seem to justify the view that strain M.G., isolated from a child, M.G., with otitis media, in pure culture has to be regarded asH. haemoglobinophilus(canis).It is interesting to note that two out of the three strains ofH. haemoglobinophilus(canis) available in this laboratory agglutinate to a titre of 1:80 with the serum produced againstH. aphrophilus,the only other X-dependent haemophilus we had used for the preparation of antiserum.
Ischaemic lesions of the alimentary tract
Authors: McDonald G. S. A. , Hourihane D. O'B. 
Published: June 2007

The clinical and pathological findings in 23 patients with ischaemic lesions of the alimentary tract (ischaemic enterocolitis) are described. These are compared with findings in 13 patients with occlusive thrombosis of the superior mesenteric artery. The pathological features distinguishing the two conditions are discussed.Ischaemic enterocolitis was found to be a relatively common condition (0·6% of necropsies). The occurrence of mucosal fibrosis (a hitherto undescribed feature) has been of help in the biopsy diagnosis of ischaemic lesions of the gut.
Normal osteoid tissue
Authors: Raina Vinita 
Published: June 2007

The results of a histological study of normal osteoid tissue in man, the monkey, the dog, and the rat, using thin microtome sections of plastic-embedded undecalcified bone, are described. Osteoid tissue covers the entire bone surface, except for areas of active resorption, although the thickness of the layer of osteoid tissue varies at different sites and in different species of animals.The histological features of osteoid tissue, apart from its amount, are the same in the different species studied.Distinct bands or zones are recognizable in some layers of osteoid tissue, particularly those of greatest thickness, and their significance is discussed.Some of the histological features of the calcification front are described.
Comparative and serial assays of folate metabolism in anticonvulsant-treated epileptics
Authors: Teasdale P. R. , Pearce John 
Published: June 2007

A prospective study of folate metabolism has been conducted in outpatient anticonvulsant-treated epileptics on 68 occasions. An attempt was made to compare the relative sensitivities of serum and red cell measurements of folic acid, lactic dehydrogenase (LD), and 2 hydroxybutyric dehydrogenase (2HBD). The most sensitive indices of folate deficiency appeared to be serum folate, red cell LD, red cell folate, and red cell 2HBD, respectively. The correlation between these measurements was not close, except in comparisons of red cell and serum folate. No easily performed screening test for folate deficiency emerged.Serial changes in these measurements were carried out on 15 patients during an interval of 18 months. No progressive signs of folate depletion appeared during this time. The significance of these findings is discussed.
A histological analysis of granulomatous hepatitis
Authors: Hughes M. , Fox H. 
Published: June 2007

A study has been made of 33 cases of granulomatous hepatitis. Of these, 12 were eventually established as cases of sarcoidosis, nine as cases of tuberculosis, and four as examples of primary biliary cirrhosis. No clinical diagnosis was ever reached in six cases.Analysis of the histological features of these cases shows that the presence of caseation or of tubercle bacilli will only allow for the diagnosis of approximately 50% of cases of tuberculosis. Histological features which are suggestive of tuberculosis are a paucity of granulomata, a scantiness of giant cells, a relatively mild surrounding chronic inflammatory cell infiltrate, and an absence of reticulin. The granulomata are more likely to be due to sarcoidosis if they are numerous, contain many giant cells, are confined to the portal areas, and show a well marked surrounding non-specific chronic inflammatory cell infiltrate.Histological features of cases in which no clinical diagnosis was reached suggest that they are more likely to be due to sarcoidosis than to tuberculosis.
The Leeds regional quality control scheme for clinical biochemistry: A progress report
Authors: Howarth A. T. , Noble R. L. , Payne R. B. , Steel A. E. , Teasdale P. R. 
Published: June 2007

The results from a regional quality control scheme for clinical biochemistry are analysed. Comparison with results from an earlier period shows that the quality of several of the 15 routine analyses has improved.The methods by which the sera are produced and distributed, and the weekly results are analysed, are described. Each of the 25 laboratories receives an individual weekly computer printout within 24 hours of the deadline for the receipt of results. At the end of each six-month period a printout is produced ranking each laboratory for `accuracy' and `precision' for each test.
Present significance of resistance to trimethoprim and sulphonamides in coliforms,Staphylococcus aureus, andStreptococcus faecalis
Authors: Lewis Evelyn L. , Lacey R. W. 
Published: June 2007

The incidence of trimethoprim resistance in coliforms and multiresistant strains ofStaphylococcus aureusisolated in Bristol from 1970 to 1972 is low—2·3 and 1·0% respectively. The resistance is probably intrinsic; there is no evidence that it is R-factor or plasmid mediated. A single mechanism that confers resistance to both trimethoprim and sulphamethoxazole has not been detected. Normal growing one-step mutants ofS. aureusandEscherichia coliresistant to trimethoprim could not be isolatedin vitro. For these reasons cotrimoxazole should retain its usefulness against these bacteria for some years. However, contrimoxazole was found not to be bactericidal against many coliforms.The usefulness of cotrimoxazole againstStreptococcus faecalisseems limited because mutants resistant to trimethoprim occurred at high frequency in one step.
Isolation ofNeisseria lactamicusfrom the nasopharynx
Authors: Pykett Angela H. 
Published: June 2007

During 1971 and 1972, 71 cultures of neisseriae that attacked lactose were received by this laboratory. All strains except one from an eye swab were from the nasopharynx of healthy subjects. Nineteen similar strains from the nasopharynx were isolated in this laboratory.The characteristics of these strains were compared with those ofNeisseria meningitidis, Neisseria pharyngis, Neisseria catarrhalis, andNeisseria lactamicus. The 90 strains under investigation closely resembledNeisseria meningitidisbut could be differentiated by production of acid from lactose and beta-galactosidase activity and were therefore classified asNeisseria lactamicus.
Benign sinus histiocytosis with massive lymphadenopathy: transient immunological defects in a child with mediastinal involvement
Authors: Becroft D. M. O. , Dix M. R. , Gillman J. C. , MacGregor Beth J. L. , Shaw R. L. 
Published: June 2007

A 16-month-old boy presented with cervical lymphadenopathy and a mediastinal mass causing tracheal displacement. Treatment of what at first was suspected to be a malignant neoplasm was limited to low-dose irradiation of the mediastinum and biopsy excision of the cervical lymph nodes. There has been no recurrence of disease in the subsequent four years.The pathological features and clinical course correspond to a benign disease first described in 1969 in which there is massive proliferation of histiocytes in lymph node sinuses. No infectious cause was identified. Consistent but eventually reversible defects in lymphocyte response to phytohaemagglutinin and in augmentation of nitro-blue tetrazolium reduction by neutrophils during phagocytosis were demonstrated in the patient and in his monozygous twin. These defects in cellular immune function are believed to be important in the pathogenesis of the histiocytosis.
Serum `uracil + uridine' levels in normal subjects and their possible significance
Authors: Parry T. E. , Blackmore J. A. 
Published: June 2007

A microbiological method for the assay of uracil is described. The growth of the test organism is supported by uracil and also by uridine but not by uridylic acid. The method therefore measures uracil and uridine together. The `uracil + uridine' level, expressed as uracil, has been measured in blood from 144 normal subjects ranging in age from cord blood to the eighth decade. The mean level of 22 μ mol/l (0·25 mg%) in cord blood decreases to 15 μmol/l (0·17 mg%) in adults over the age of 20. There is no difference between the sexes.Uracil is of interest because (a) it is a constituent base of RNA, (b) it is the precursor of two of the bases thymine and cytosine that enter into the composition of DNA, and (c) under certain circumstances it has mutagenic properties. The last is dependent upon the existence of two tautomeric forms of uracil, the common keto form which pairs normally with adenine and the rare enol form which pairs with guanine. A mistake in base pairing which allows uracil in its enol form to enter the DNA molecule and pair with guanine can result in a G = C → A = T base transition in the DNA molecule. The molecular mechanism involved as well as the possible bearing on somatic mutation are discussed.
Steroid excretion and metabolism by gonadal tissue from a subject with testicular feminization syndrome
Authors: Lockwood E. , Ghosh P. C. , Pennington G. W. , Tipton R. 
Published: June 2007

The initial clinical, pathological, and hormonal investigation of a patient with testicular feminization syndrome is described. Incubation of gonadal tissue with various radioactive substrates, together with the isolation and identification of the resulting metabolites, was demonstrated a high capacity to synthesize testosterone.Two biosynthetic pathways were demonstrated, originating from progesterone and pregnenolone. These are essentially similar to those of the normal adult testes.Low levels of activity were found in the phenolic fractions and no measurable production of oestrone, oestradiol, or oestriol was found.
A comparative study of viruses associated with acute haemorrhagic conjunctivitis
Authors: Higgins P. G. , Scott R. J. , Davies Patricia M. , Gamble D. R. 
Published: June 2007

Seven representative isolates from six outbreaks of acute haemorrhagic conjunctivitis were shown to have the characteristics of enteroviruses. Two viruses differed from the remaining five isolates in producing paralysis in suckling mice and being resistant to 2-hydroxybenzyl-benzimidazole. These two viruses were also closely related antigenically and distinct from the other five viruses which were serologically similar to each other.Neither group of viruses was inhibited by antisera to the known enteroviruses and they probably represent two new enterovirus types one related to the Coxsackie A viruses and the other to the echoviruses.
Sporicidal activity of hospital disinfectants
Authors: Kelsey J. C. , Mackinnon I. H. , Maurer Isobel M. 
Published: June 2007

The sporicidal activity of hospital disinfectants was tested using two methods of test and two species of spores. Alcoholic hypochlorite and glutaraldehyde (Cidex) showed some sporicidal activity; the first was the more effective. Iodophors, formalin, and phenolics were less effective, in descending order. Chlorhexidine showed no activity.A freshly prepared solution containing 50% methanol and sufficient sodium hypochlorite to provide 2000 parts per million available chlorine in distilled water, with a contact time of 15 minutes, is suggested for the decontamination of clean, heat-sensitive instruments except those of plated metal. It must be understood that no such method can be depended upon to sterilize.The instruments should be rinsed in sterile water before use after decontamination.