Comparison of selective media for the enumeration and identification of fecal streptococci from natural sources.

Five media and procedures were compared for their recovery of fecal streptococci on membrane filters. Growth and numbers of a variety of pure cultures were compared, and recoveries from raw sewage and sewage effluent were determined on the five media. A total of 512 isolates were identified and the specificity of each medium was determined from these results.

Communication between cancer patients and physicians.

A total of 185 practicing physicians in middle Tennessee responded to a questionnaire regarding their communication patterns with cancer patients. This represented 61% of a total of 320 area physicians to whom questionnaires were mailed. Nearly 98% of responding physicians always or usually inform patients that they have cancer.

Influence of growth environment on the phosphoenolpyruvate: glucose phosphotransferase activities of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella aerogenes: a comparative study.

A consistent difference was found between glucose-limited cultures of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella aerogenes strains in the manner which their apparent cellular content of glucose:phosphoenolpyruvate phosphotransferase (glucose-PTS) varied with growth rate. With the former strains, activity increased as a function of growth rate; in the latter it decreased. However, under glucose-sufficient conditions (potassium- or ammonia-limitation) both species behaved similarly; the glucose-PTS activity was lower and bore no obvious relationship to the rate of glucose consumption expressed by the growing culture.

Sequence, structure and activity of phosphoglycerate kinase: a possible hinge-bending enzyme.

The fitting of sequenced peptides to a high-resolution X-ray map of phosphoglycerate kinase has yielded the complete sequence and structure of the horse muscle enzyme. Metal ADP and ATP substrates are bound to one of the two widely separated domains in an environment that seems unsuitable for phosphoglycerate binding. The most plausible binding site for the phosphoglycerate substrate is on the other domain about 10 A from the ATP, which implies the possibility of a large scale hinge-bending of the domains to bring the two substrates together in a water-free environment for catalysis.

Therapeutic experience with netilmicin.

Netilmicin, a new aminoglycoside antibiotic, was used to treat 19 patients with urinary tract infection and 5 with systemic infection. The causal organisms were Escherichia coli (in 2), Klebsiella pneumoniae (in 4), Serratia marcescens (in 12) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (in 7); 1 patient was infected with two of these organisms. All the isolates of causal organisms except one of Serratia were initially sensitive to netilmicin but many were resistant to other aminoglycosides.

Correlation between leucocyte-migration inhibition by breast-cancer antigens, mammographic findings, and other breast-cancer risk factors.

A double-blind study of 62 normal women was carried out to determine if there was any correlation between the mean score of six weekly leucocyte-migration-inhibition tests (L.M.T.

Antibody persistence after primary immunization with trivalent oral poliovirus vaccine.

Five years after primary infant immunization with trivalent oral poliovirus vaccine, employing either a three-dose primary series as recommended by the U.S. Public Health Service Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) or a four-dose series as recommended by the Committee on Infectious Diseases of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Chest radiographs during isoniazid therapy.

For most tuberculin reactors, chest radiographs are obtained at the beginning of, at various intervals through the course of, and at the end of the year of isoniazid preventive therapy. A study of 1,524 tuberculin reactors was performed to determine the value of chest radiographs obtained after therapy was begun; 1,315 had normal radiographs at the beginning and end of therapy, and 209 had radiographic abnormalities at both times. No significant changes were noted in any of the 1,524 patients' radiographs.

Typhoid outbreak in Kingston, Ont: experience with high-dose oral ampicillin.

Twenty-four children contracted typhoid fever at a summer camp near Kingston, Ont. Six were treated with chloramphenicol alone and 15 with high doses of ampicillin (300 mg/kg-d) by mouth. Ampicillin in this dosage was well tolerated except in three children in whom severe urticarial rashes developed and two who had significant diarrhea.

Antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen in laboratory diagnostic sera.

Thirty-four commercial blood-grouping sera were tested for the presence of HBsAg and anti-HBs by radioimmunoassay technic. One sample (2.9% of the total) was positive for HBsAg, a marked reduction from previous reports; however, 11 sera (32.

Lymphocytic choriomeningitis from pet hamster exposure: a local public health experience.

Eleven cases of hamster associated lymphocytic choriomeningitis occurred within a space of four months in Jefferson County, Alabama residents. A single Birmingham breeder was the source of the infected hamsters. Ten cases experienced an illness of one to three weeks duration with grippe-like symptoms being most frequent.