Anti-Infectious Human Vaccination in Historical Perspective.

A brief history of vaccination is presented since the Jenner's observation, through the first golden age of vaccinology (from Pasteur's era to 1938), the second golden age (from 1940 to 1970), until the current period. In the first golden age, live, such as Bacille Calmette Guérin (BCG), and yellow fever, inactivated, such as typhoid, cholera, plague, and influenza, and subunit vaccines, such as tetanus and diphtheria toxoids, have been developed. In the second golden age, the cell culture technology enabled polio, measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines be developed.

Historical evolution of human anthrax from occupational disease to potentially global threat as bioweapon.

Purpose: Anthrax is caused by Bacillus anthracis, which can naturally infect livestock, wildlife and occupationally exposed humans. However, for its resistance due to spore formation, ease of dissemination, persistence in the environment and high virulence, B. anthracis has been considered the most serious bioterrorism agent for a long time.

Celecoxib, ibuprofen, and the antiplatelet effect of aspirin in patients with osteoarthritis and ischemic heart disease.

Background And Objective: We performed a placebo-controlled, randomized study to address whether celecoxib or ibuprofen undermines the functional range of inhibition of platelet cyclooxygenase (COX)-1 activity by aspirin in patients with osteoarthritis and stable ischemic heart disease.

Methods: Twenty-four patients who were undergoing long-term treatment with aspirin (100 mg daily) for cardioprotection were coadministered celecoxib, 200 mg twice daily, ibuprofen, 600 mg 3 times daily, or placebo for 7 days.

Results: The coadministration of placebo or celecoxib did not undermine the aspirin-related inhibition of platelet COX-1 activity, as assessed by measurements of serum thromboxane B(2) (TXB(2)) levels, as well as platelet function.

Association of a new type of gliding, filamentous, purple phototrophic bacterium inside bundles of Microcoleus chthonoplastes in hypersaline cyanobacterial mats.

An unidentified filamentous purple bacterium, probably belonging to a new genus or even a new family, is found in close association with the filamentous, mat-forming cyanobacterium Microcoleus chthonoplastes in a hypersaline pond at Guerrero Negro, Baja California Sur, Mexico, and in Solar Lake, Sinai, Egypt. This organism is a gliding, segmented trichome, 0.8-0.

Synaptic plasticity in the cerebral cortex of mice: effects of radiation and anesthesia.

In the neuropil of layers II and III of the frontal cortex of adult mice, as seen in the electron microscope, sodium pentobarbital anesthesia alone results in a significant decrease in synaptic profile length at 1 day after anesthetization, followed by a return to normal or above normal levels after 2-28 days, while the number of synaptic profiles per unit cross section (profile incidence) is not altered; irradiation with 5-500 rad plateau argon particles significantly inhibits the profile shortening effect of anesthesia at 1 day after exposure, but this inhibition is not dose related; an inverse dose relationship in profile incidence appears at 2 days following irradiation with argon particles; at 1 to 2 hours after 150 or 220 rad x-irradiation, profile incidence is significantly reduced while the length is increased, effects that appear to be dose related and unaffected by adrenalectomy.

Removal of histological sections from glass for electron microscopy: use of Quetol 651 resin and heat.

A method is described for using the epoxy resin Quetol 651 and heat for convenient and rapid separation of conventional histological sections from glass slides for subsequent ultrathin sectioning for retrospective electron microscopy. The same method is useful when Epon-Araldite is substituted for the Quetol 651 resin.