The DNA of bacteriophage 643: isolation and properties of the DNA of a bacteriophage infecting lactic Streptococci.

The DNA extracted from bacteriophage 643, which infects group N strains of Streptococci, could be separated into four components by electrophoresis on agarose gels. Electron microscopy established the predominant form of the DNA to be a relaxed, circular molecule of molecular weight 14.9 X 10(6).

Cross-sectional studies of ultimate pH in lambs.

The ultimate pH of the longissimus muscle was measured in 1536 lambs routinely slaughtered at a meat export works in the southern part of the North Island during the 1981/82 season. The mean ultimate pH of ail samples was 5.60, and 7.

The Tay-Sachs disease gene in North American Jewish populations: geographic variations and origin.

From data collected in a North American Tay-Sachs disease (TSD) heterozygote screening program, the TSD carrier frequency among 46,304 Jewish individuals was found to be .0324 (1 in 31 individuals). This frequency is consistent with earlier estimates based on TSD incidence data.

Genetic and evolutionary implications in peptic ulcer disease.

The evidence for a genetic component in peptic ulcer disease has been based on twin, family, and blood group studies. A polygenic model for the inheritance of peptic ulcers has been displaced by a genetic heterogeneity model based on several lines of evidence, some of the most powerful being recent work using subclinical markers. One marker in particular, an elevated level of serum pepsinogen I (PG I), a pepsin precursor produced by the gastric mucosa, secreted into the stomach lumen and also appearing in the bloodstream, has been found to be associated with a subgroup of duodenal ulcer patients.

Biosynthesis and degradation of storage protein in spores of the fungus Botryodiplodia theobromae.

Muiridin, a spore-specific protein of the fungus Botryodiplodia theobromae, comprises about 25% of the mature pycnidiospore protein. It has an apparent molecular weight of 16,000 to 17,000 and is rich in glutamine, asparagine, and arginine. Muiridin is synthesized in developing spores via a precursor with an apparent molecular weight of 24,000.

Linkage and chromosome study of multiple endocrine neoplasia IIa.

A linkage and chromosome investigation of a large family with multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN) IIa (medullary thyroid carcinoma, pheochromocytoma, and occasionally hyperparathyroidism) was undertaken. No significantly positive lodscores were obtained between MEN IIa and 25 different genetic markers. Conventional metaphase chromosome analysis showed normal karyotypes and no heterochromatin markers linked to the MEN IIa locus were found.

Orf virus infection of workers in the meat industry.

Two hundred and thirty-one cases of orf were reported in one year from 18 meat works slaughtering lambs and sheep. This represented 1.4 percent of the total employees at these works and 4 percent of those working on the mutton slaughter board.

The relative precision of different methods of measuring pH in carcass muscles.

Comparisons between a sample method and a direct probe method for measuring the ultimate pH in muscles of sheep indicated that the two methods have the same relative precision. However, the precision of the probe method was considerably less than the sample method in measuring the pre-rigor pH decline. A greater degree of within muscle variation of ultimate pH values was found in the M.

Incidence of pulmonary barotrauma in a medical ICU.

One hundred seventy-one patients admitted to a Medical ICU and who received treatment for respiratory failure with mechanical ventilation were studied for the development of pulmonary barotrauma (PBT) as manifested by pneumomediastinum, subcutaneous emphysema, or pneumothorax. Fourteen patients (8%; group A) developed this complication; they were younger, had higher maximal peak inspiratory airway pressures (PIP); and higher levels of maximal PEEP. We conclude that for medical patients treated for respiratory failure with mechanical ventilation, the incidence of PBT is 8% and that younger age, higher levels of PIP and PEEP seem to pose an increased risk for developing PBT.

The effect of swimming lambs and subsequent resting periods on the ultimate pH of meat.

The effect of washing lambs in a swim-through bath and subsequent resting periods in the stockyards on the ultimate pH of the M. longissimus dorsi (LD) was studied in 662 animals at a meat export works. There was a linear relationship between the number of times the animals were washed and mean ultimate pH of the LD but there was no statistical association between the duration of the resting period after washing and the ultimate pH.

One-stage prothrombin times and subcutaneous haemorrhagic speckling in lambs.

The one-stage prothromhin times of 100 lambs from ten different farms varied from 13 to 24 seconds with a mean of 16.6 seconds. The extent and severity of subcutaneous haemorrhagic speckling of carcases was assessed in 775 animals from the same farms and the prevalence of this lesion was similar to that found at the same works during the 1977/78 season.

The effect of different slaughter methods on the post mortem glycolysis of muscle in lambs.

Differences in muscular activity and rates of decline in the pH of the M. longissimus dorsi of lambs subjected to different methods of stunning and slaughter were observed. Lambs electrically stunned by a head-to-leg method had significantly lower initial pH values as compared to animals stunned by an electrical head-only method, or by captive bolt, or without any form of stunning prior to slaughter.

Recovery of staphylococcal enterotoxin F from the breast milk of a woman with toxic-shock syndrome.

At 22 hr after an uncomplicated delivery of a healthy full-term infant, a 26-year-old woman developed toxic-shock syndrome (TSS). A vaginal culture yielded a coagulase-positive Staphylococcus that produced staphylococcal enterotoxin F (SEF) but no other enterotoxins. Breast milk specimens obtained on postpartum days 5, 8, and 11 contained 3.

Nucleotide sequence of bacteriophage f1 DNA.

The nucleotide sequence of the DNA of the filamentous coliphage f1 has been determined. In agreement with earlier conclusions, the genome was found to comprise 6,407 nucleotides, 1 less than that of the related phage fd. Phage f1 DNA differs from that of phage M13 by 52 nucleotide changes, which lead to 5 amino acid substitutions in the corresponding proteins of the two phages, and from phage fd DNA by 186 nucleotide changes (including the single-nucleotide deletion), which lead to 12 amino acid differences between the proteins of phages f1 and fd.

A plug sampling technique for measuring the pH of carcass muscles.

A modified surgical biopsy instrument has been developed for taking muscle samples from the M. longissimus dorsi of sheep carcasses. This instrument enables samples of approximately 2 g to be taken without mutilating the carcass.

The DNA-binding protein of Pf1 filamentous bacteriophage: amino-acid sequence and structure of the gene.

The amino-acid sequence of the single-stranded DNA-binding protein of bacteriophage Pf1 and the nucleotide sequence of the corresponding gene have been determined. The protein has 144 amino acids and a molecular weight of 15 400; the gene consists of 435 nucleotides. The amino-acid sequence was determined by Edman degradation, carboxypeptidase A, B, and P digestion of intact protein and of peptides derived by chymotrypsin, Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease, and trypsin digestion.

Relationship of maternal language to language development and language delay of children.

Maternal language characteristics associated with language-delayed children were examined. Two age groups of Down syndrome children were matched on mean length of utterance (MLU) with two groups of nonretarded, language-delayed children and two groups of "normal" children, mostly from middle-class families. Twenty-minute audio tapes were recorded for each dyad in the home during free play, and the first 10 minutes were transcribed and coded into functional types of maternal language.