Household quarantine of second degree contacts is an effective non-pharmaceutical intervention to prevent tertiary cases in the current SARS-CoV pandemic.

Background: Given the characteristics of SARS-CoV2 with regard to transmission before the onset of symptoms and varying manifestation indices according to age, isolation and quarantine have limited efficacy in the current pandemic. Household quarantine in second degree contacts (Hh-Q2°) outside the case household has so far only been addressed by modellers. In the literature there is no publication based on field data.

The crystal structure of the intact E. coli RelBE toxin-antitoxin complex provides the structural basis for conditional cooperativity.

The bacterial relBE locus encodes a toxin-antitoxin complex in which the toxin, RelE, is capable of cleaving mRNA in the ribosomal A site cotranslationally. The antitoxin, RelB, both binds and inhibits RelE, and regulates transcription through operator binding and conditional cooperativity controlled by RelE. Here, we present the crystal structure of the intact Escherichia coli RelB2E2 complex at 2.

GyrA sequence-based typing of Legionella.

Comparative sequence analysis of a 423-bp segment of the gyrA gene including a region homologous to the quinolone resistance-determining region (QRDR) of other species was evaluated as a novel typing method for Legionella strains. The study was performed with 29 reference strains representing 11 different Legionella species, with various serogroups, and with 13 clinical isolates of L. pneumophila.

Simultaneous identification of campylobacters and prediction of quinolone resistance by comparative sequence analysis.

Comparative sequence analysis of a 30-bp segment in the quinolone resistance-determining region of campylobacters not only allows for the detection of base changes associated with resistance but also is a powerful tool for species identification based on silent mutations.

Preoperative application of glucocorticosteroids efficaciously reduces the primary immunological response in kidney transplantation.

Early acute rejection episodes have a considerable influence on long-term prognosis of renal transplants. Therefore the aim of primary immunosuppressive therapy must be effective suppression of the immunological response following antigen recognition. Owing to their pharmacological properties, intravenously given glucocorticosteroids are suitable for the alteration of the primary immunological response.

Case of fatal systemic infection with an Aureobacterium sp.: identification of isolate by 16S rRNA gene analysis.

The case of a 75-year-old man who succumbed to a disseminated infection most likely caused by a species of the genus Aureobacterium is reported. Identification of the isolate was achieved by comparative 16S rRNA gene analysis. Aureobacteria are commonly found in the environment.

Infection of the upper extremity by Mycobacterium marinum in a 3-year-old boy--diagnosis by 16S-rDNA analysis.

A 3-year-old boy developed several subcutaneous nodular lesions on his right arm. Based on the histological examination of one of these nodules furunculosis was suspected and cefuroxime was tentatively given. However, acid-fast bacilli were then detected in the tissue specimen and a few colonies of acid fast, gram-positive rods grew on blood agar.

[The von Hippel-Lindau syndrome. Its differential diagnosis from cystic kidneys in adulthood].

A 51-year-old patient with severe back pain had undergone resection of a benign cerebellar tumour when aged 15 years. In addition, polycystic kidney disease was diagnosed 24 years ago, bilateral phaeochromocytoma 2 years ago, and for 4 months before the present admission he had been on haemodialysis. The family history indicated autosomal dominant inheritance of the polycystic renal disease.

[C-reactive protein in the urine. The differential diagnosis of renal functional disorders following kidney transplantation].

A prospective study was undertaken in 73 patients (24 women, 49 men; mean age 47.9 [21-64] years) after renal transplantation to discover whether the presence of C-reactive protein in urine (CRPu) and its serum concentration (CRPs) are of value in the differential diagnosis of abnormal function in the transplanted kidney. CRPu concentration was measured with a highly sensitive immunoluminometric assay (minimal threshold value 6 micrograms/l).

Beta2-microglobulinuria as an early sign of cytomegalovirus infection following renal transplantation.

The frequency of cytomegalovirus infection was studied in a prospective study of 106 kidney recipients. The detection of cytomegalovirus-immediate-early-antigen and cytomegalovirus-immunoglobulin (IgM) antibodies in serum was used as the reference method and showed that 23.6% (25/106) of all patients were infected.

Experimental studies on the nephrotoxicity of pentamidine in rats.

Renal side-effects are frequently observed after parenteral administration of pentamidine. In this study in a rat model, the nephrotoxicity was assessed by measuring urinary loss of tubular cells, malate dehydrogenase activity and creatinine clearance. In addition, we studied the influence of other nephrotoxins such as tobramycin, amphotericin B and cyclosporin on the pentamidine-associated nephrotoxicity and proved the possibilities of reducing this toxicity by coadministration with other drugs.

[Beta 2-microglobulinuria in cytomegalovirus infections following kidney transplantation].

In a prospective study the occurrence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection was diagnosed by demonstrating CMV-immediate early antigen (IEA) in the blood in 13 out of 68 (19%) patients who had undergone renal transplantation (27 women, 41 men, mean age 46.3 [21-64] years). Twenty-four hour urine samples were collected at the same time for quantitative determination of selected marker proteins by immunoluminometric assays (IgG and transferrin as glomerular markers, alpha 1-microglobulin and beta 2-microglobulin as tubular markers).

Glomerular proteinuria as an early sign of renal-transplant rejection.

The introduction of cyclosporin gave rise to an additional problem in the surveillance of renal transplant patients, namely the differentiation between cyclosporin toxicity and acute transplant rejection. The development of assays for specific proteins in urine has produced a non-invasive solution to this problem. In 55 renal transplant patients the following proteins were determined daily in 24 h-urine samples: IgG, transferrin (TF), albumin, beta 2-microglobulin (beta 2-MG), retinol binding protein (RBP), alpha 1-microglobulin (alpha 1-MG) and alpha 1-antitrypsin (alpha 1-AT).