Phosphoribosylpyrophosphate synthetase superactivity. A study of five patients with catalytic defects in the enzyme.

Superactive phosphoribosylpyrophosphate (PRPP) synthetases were characterized in fibroblasts and erythrocytes from 5 unrelated men with gout and/or hyperuricemia and uric acid overproduction. The kinetic basis of enzyme superactivity in all patients was increased maximal reaction velocity. Affinities of the enzymes for substrates and activators and responsiveness to inhibitors were normal, and levels of immunoreactive enzyme in patient and control fibroblast and erythrocyte extracts were comparable.

Improved enrichment for recovery of Shigella sonnei from foods.

Shigella species were recovered from foods by the procedure described in the Bacteriological Analytical Manual, 5th Ed. The method is effective if Shigella species are present at about 10(6) cells/g. A 25 g food portion was incubated in Gram-negative (GN) and selenite cystine broths for 16 h at 35 degrees C and streaked onto MacConkey, Levine's eosin methylene blue, desoxycholate citrate, and xylose lysine desoxycholate agars.

Corticosteroid hormonal influence on cranial computerized tomography: observations in the Rhesus monkey.

Six adult male Rhesus monkeys (T), treated with 0.5 mg/kg dexamethasone for 106 days, and 6 weight-watched controls (U), were studied postmortem with pathologic examination and cranial computerized tomography (CT). Cortical atrophy, as defined by perisulcal atrophy and ventricular dilatation, was found in 50% of each group, but marked changes were noted only among T.

Detection of invasiveness of mammalian cells by Escherichia coli: collaborative study.

In a collaborative study of 2 standard procedures (Procedure I, presented in J. Assoc. Off.

Improved growth medium for Campylobacter species.

Campylobacter species were grown in a base containing proteose peptone no. 3, yeast extract, K2HPO4, (NH4)2SO4, NA2SO3, soluble starch, and agar. Concentrations and sources of organic nitrogen and growth factors were critical, and the optimal pH range was 7.

Pituitary and thyroid function in male cynomolgus monkeys.

In four male cynomolgus monkeys, serum thyroxine was 6.2 +/- 0.9 micrograms/dl, and triiodothyronine was 207 +/- 12 ng/dl (mean +/- SE).

Hyperventilating the hypoventilator.

A 65-year-old man had chronic hypoventilation and was demonstrated to have primary neuromuscular disease with major involvement of the thoracic bellows. By use of accessory muscles, he was able to voluntarily hyperventilate and reduce his PCO2 to normal. Hyperventilation gases must be interpreted with care in neuromuscular disease; the ability to reduce PCO2 to normal range does not exclude neuromuscular disease as a cause of chronic respiratory failure.

Alkali method for rapid recovery of Yersinia enterocolitica and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis from foods.

A new culture method employing a potassium hydroxide treatment was compared with the conventional cold enrichment method for efficacy in recovering Yersinia sp. from naturally and artificially contaminated food. The new method increased the yield of Yersinia sp.

Methodology for recognition of invasive potential of Escherichia coli.

Surveillance for dysentery-related invasive potential in bacteria using the Sereny keratoconjunctivitis test is restricted by expense, time factor, and necessity for confirmation. Primary screening of isolates in a standardized mammalian cell culture system is recommended. Bacteria are grown 20 hr in veal infusion, washed, and resuspended in 20% heat-inactivated fetal bovine serum (FBS) supplemented with 0.

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli isolated from food.

Approximately 8% of 240 isolates of Escherichia coli obtained from food of animal origin in the United States were found to be enterotoxigenic, as determined in adrenal cells, rabbit ileal loops, and assays in infant mice. These organisms were of diverse serotypes that are not included among the so-called enteropathogenic serotypes and would not have been identified by usual laboratory methods. These enterotoxigenic E.

Pathogenicity of Escherichia coli recovered from food.

In Western nations, pathogenic biotypes are sporadically encountered in foodborne gastroentetis. Cholera, dysentery, and chronic ulcerative colitis syndromes are recognized. E.

Microbiological methods. Methodology for enteropathogenic Escherichia coli.

Pathogenic biotypes of Escherichia coli grow poorly at temperatures greatly different from that of the host. Percentages quantitatively recovered at 42.0, 44.

Vibrio parahaemolyticus gastroenteritis in Maryland: laboratory aspects.

Vibrio parahaemolyticus was the etiological agent in three food-related epidemics of gastroenteritis in Maryland, during August 1971. These outbreaks involved crab food products. Fifteen isolates of V.

Isolation of Vibrio parahaemolyticus from the processed meat of Chesapeake Bay blue crabs.

A method for the recovery of Vibrio parahaemolyticus from seafoods is described. By this procedure, a total of 56 biochemically positive cultures of V. parahaemolyticus were recovered from market samples of Chesapeake Bay processed blue crab (cooked, picked, packed, and refrigerated meat).