Iron-carbon bond lengths in carbonmonoxy and cyanomet complexes of the monomeric hemoglobin III from Chironomus thummi thummi: a critical comparison between resonance Raman and x-ray diffraction studies.

Soret-excited resonance Raman spectroscopy yields direct information regarding the iron-carbon bonding interactions in the cyanomet and carbonmonoxy complexes of hemoglobin III from Chironomus thummi thummi (CTT III) in solution. By isotope exchange in cyanide (13CN-, C15N-, and 13C15N-) and carbon monoxide (13CO, C18O, and 13C18O), we have assigned the Fe(III)-CN- stretching at 453 cm-1, the Fe(III)-C-N- bending at 412 cm-1, the Fe(II)-CO stretching at 500 cm-1, the Fe(II)-C-O bending at 574 cm-1, and the C-O stretching at 1960 cm-1. The resonance Raman data, in conjunction with those obtained from heme model complexes with well-known Fe-C bond distances, strongly suggest that the Fe(III)-CN- bond (approximately 1.

Relationship Between Heterodera schachtii, Meloidogyne hapla, and Nacobbus aberrans on Sugarbeet.

Heterodera schachtii, Meloidogyne hapla, and Nacobbus aberrans either alone, or in various combinations with each other, can, when inoculated at a concentration of 12 second-stage juveniles/ cm(3) of soil, cause a significant (P = 0.01) suppression of growth of sugarbeet (cv. Tasco AH14) seedlings.

Resonance Raman detection of Fe-CO stretching and Fe-C-O bending vibrations in sterically hindered carbonmonoxy "strapped hemes". A structural probe of Fe-C-O distortion.

We report resonance Raman studies of the Fe-C-O distortion in sterically hindered heme-CO complexes. The steric hindrance is provided by a hydrocarbon chain strapped across one face of the heme. Increasing the steric hindrance (by decreasing the chain length), which reduces the CO binding affinity, is found to increase the Fe-CO stretching frequencies: heme 5 (unstrapped), 495 cm-1; FeSP-15, 509 cm-1; FeSP-14, 512 cm-1; FeSP-13, 514 cm-1.

Resonance Raman studies of carbon monoxide binding to iron "picket fence" porphyrin with unhindered and hindered axial bases. An inverse relationship between binding affinity and the strength of iron-carbon bond.

The stretching frequency of the iron-carbon bond, v(Fe-CO), is a direct measure of the iron-carbon bond strength when there is no change in the Fe-C-O geometry. Here we report resonance Raman detection of v(Fe-CO) frequencies in the CO complexes of iron (II) alpha, alpha, alpha, alpha-mesotetrakis(o-pivalamidophenyl)porphyrin, FeII(TpivPP), with trans ligands of varying strength: N-methylimidazole (N-MeIm), 1,2-dimethylimidazole (1,2-Me2Im), pyridine (py), and tetrahydrofuran (THF). It was found that the weaker the iron-trans ligand bond, the stronger the iron-carbon bond.

Clostridium difficile: epidemiology and clinical features.

To determine the epidemiologic features of Clostridium difficile in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the authors studied two groups of hospitalized patients, one group of outpatients and a fourth group of 54 healthy subjects. The first group consisted of 29 patients with diarrhea, whose stool was found to contain C. difficile or its cytotoxin, or both.

Comparison of agglutination, complement fixation and immunofluorescence tests in Campylobacter jejuni infections.

Good antibody responses usually follow infection with Campylobacter jejuni. A comparison of agglutination, complement fixation and immunofluorescence tests was done on 55 sera from 40 sporadic patients with diarrhoeal disease and positive cultures for C. jejuni.

Susceptibility of anaerobic bacteria to nine antimicrobial agents and demonstration of decreased susceptibility of Clostridium perfringens to penicillin.

The activity of moxalactam, cefoxitin, cephalothin, cefamandole, chloramphenicol, clindamycin, metronidazole, and ticarcillin was determined against 344 isolates of anaerobic bacteria. The activity of penicillin G was determined as well for 234 isolates not of the Bacteroides fragilis group. Moxalactam was more active than cephalothin and cefamandole and slightly less active than cefoxitin.

Polyene antibiotics in assessing significance of antistreptolysin O activity.

Antistreptolysin O activity in serum is due either to antibody or to altered lipoprotein molecules. The latter can be inhibited by performing antistreptolysin tests using a polyene antibiotic such as amphotericin B as diluent.

A specific direct radioimmunoassay for oestriol-16alpha-glucuronide in pregnancy plasma.

A specific radioimmunoassay has been developed for measuring oestriol-16alpha glucuronide in pregnancy plasma using a highly specific antiserum. The specificity of this antiserum has been assessed by the 50% displacement method and by measuring oestriol-16alpha-glucuronide concentrations in pregnancy plasma samples, both with and without chromatography. The antiserum was found to have Ka of 1.

Cholesterol esterase activity in body fluids.

Antistreptolysin O activity (greater than or equal to 200 Todd units/ml) was found in 20% of 25 ascitic fluids, 20% of 55 pleural fluids and 37-5% of 56 joint fluids. These levels are not due to antibody but to the cholesterol moiety of altered beta-lipoproteins. The activity is precipitable with 10% dextran sulphate.

Studies on antistreptolysin O activity generated in serum by microorganisms.

An antistreptolysin factor (ASF) was generated in normal human serum by the growth of Staph, aureus and Pseud, aeruginosa. Alpha toxin producing strains of the former were usually positive but activity was not restricted to such strains. Positive strains produce cholesterol esterase which was obtained from DEAE-cellulose column fractions of 18 h broth cultures.

Partial characterisation of an inhibitor of streptolysin O produced by bacterial growth in serum.

An inhibitor of streptolysin O is generated in human and animal sera by the growth of certain organisms. The ability to do this occurs most often in Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus (in 90% and 86% of strains respectively), but in only 32% of Staph. epidermidis strains.

Functional role of cholesterol in infection and autoimmunity.

Cholesterol binds to streptolysin O and related bacterial toxins. In normal serum, only a fraction of the cholesterol attached to lipoprotein is available for binding, probably as a cholesterol-peptide complex formed during catabolic breakdown of the lipoprotein. Cholesterol esterase produced by certain organisms--e.

Clinical evaluation of the macrophage electrophoretic mobility test for cancer.

Experience with the macrophage electrophoretic mobility (MEM) test of Field and Caspary in subjects with malignant and non-malignant disease is reported. There was some discrimination between groups of patients with benign and malignant lesions but there was no clear separation between the groups. A trial of the Cardiff modification of the test failed to discriminate between groups of patients with benign and malignant chest disease.

Sterol structural requirements for inhibition of streptolysin O activity.

Reduced streptolysin O, a toxin produced by certain beta-haemolytic streptococci, lyses human erythrocytes. The reaction is inhibited by cholesterol at concentrations of about 1.0mug/ml.

The alphaphone - - a method for measuring thin-film absorption at laser wavelengths.

A sensitive infrasonic method for measuring the absorption of thin films at laser wavelengths has been demonstrated. A fraction of the heat absorbed from the beam by the film passes through a thin layer of gas to the back wall of the Alphaphone, while the remaining absorbed energy heats the supporting window. The gas temperature and pressure rise is then measured with a capacitance microphone.

Some factors influencing the effect of cholesterol on streptolysin O activity.

Inhibition of streptolysin O activity by cholesterol depends on the latter being in free form. The normal esterified and protein-bound cholesterol fractions in serum do not influence streptolysin O activity. However, high cholesterol levels in rabbits fed cholesterol with cholic acid were associated with an increased antistreptolysin O effect.

The laser illuminated absorptivity spectrophone: a method for measurement of weak absorptivity in gases at laser wavelengths.

A spectrophone measures absorptivity by sensing thermal expansion in a confined sample gas. Laser source excitation provides sufficient radiation to measure precisely very weak absorptivities at laser wavelengths. This paper describes the theoretical capability, design considerations, and experimental testing of a pulsed ruby laser absorptivity spectrophone and a cw CO(2) laser absorptivity spectrophone.