Chemical Composition of Herbal Macerates and Corresponding Commercial Essential Oils and Their Effect on Bacteria Escherichia coli.

This study addresses the chemical composition of some commercial essential oils (clove, juniper, oregano, and marjoram oils), as well as appropriate herbal extracts obtained in the process of cold maceration and their biological activity against selected strains: ATTC 25922, ATTC 10536, and 127 isolated from poultry waste. On the basis of the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS) analysis, it was found that the commercial essential oils revealed considerable differences in terms of the composition and diversity of terpenes, terpenoids and sesquiterpenes as compared with the extracts obtained from plant material. The commercial clove, oregano, and marjoram oils showed antibacterial properties against all the tested strains of .

The use of invertebrates to detect small-scale habitat heterogeneity and its application to restoration practices.

Recent conceptual and technological solutions to biodiversity assessment allow large numbers of invertebrate specimens to be processed rapidly and provide researchers and practitioners with a unique tool for characterizing habitats. One application of these advances is the ability to detect and monitor small-scale habitat heterogeneity and so provide a measure of ecosystem restoration. This case study presents a test of the efficacy of using invertebrates to assess and monitor ecological restoration following bush regeneration.

Hepatitis in a family infected by Chlamydia psittaci.

Hepatic involvement is considered a rare complication of psittacosis. Occurrence of icteric hepatitis as the cardinal manifestation of the disease has been rarely reported. We describe two members of a family infected by psittacosis, in whom icteric hepatitis was the prominent expression of the disease.

Haemoptysis as the sole presenting symptom of dissection of the aorta.

A 75 year old man who had had haemoptysis for 24 hours was found to have his left lower lobe compressed by a dissection of the aorta, which was otherwise symptomless.

Severe Chlamydia trachomatis pneumonia in a patient with no immune deficiency.

A 40-year-old patient with no immune deficiency was admitted because of severe bilateral pneumonia and pleural effusion. The diagnosis of Chlamydia trachomatis pneumonia was confirmed by isolation of the pathogen and the appearance of serum antibodies to Chlamydia species.

Exposure to Legionella in geriatric institutions.

A study of seroreactivity to six Legionella species (L. pneumophila, L. longbeachae, L.

Serological cross-reactions between Rickettsia typhi, Proteus vulgaris OX19, and Legionella bozemanii in a series of febrile patients.

The sera of 19 patients with a febrile disease of undetermined etiology were positive in the indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) to Legionella bozemanii serogroup 1 (Lb) and Rickettsia typhi (Rt). To both antigens, high titers of IgG-class and IgM-class antibodies were demonstrated. Several of the patients also had positive IFA and Weil-Felix reactions to Proteus vulgaris OX19 (PX 19).

Coexistence of sporadic multiple endocrine neoplasia and scapular ectopic breast. Coincidence or biologically associated?

We describe a patient who presented with sporadic pheochromocytoma and parathyroid adenoma in the absence of medullary thyroid carcinoma, which coexisted with fully developed scapular ectopic breast tissue. If not coincidental, this association might support the concept that all components of multiple endocrine neoplasia type IIA originate from embryonic ectodermal tissue, and that sporadic multiple endocrine neoplasia type IIA, as well as ectopic breast tissue, may result from a noxious event at a critical embryonic stage.

Pneumaturia: need for diagnostic alertness.

Pneumaturia, an air-filled urinary bladder with or without passage of gas in the urine, is a rare phenomenon in the general population, but is more frequent in defined high-risk subgroups. Relevant symptomatology may be hardly noticeable for a relatively long period; however, the outcome may be serious and sometimes fatal. We present three such cases and discuss diagnostic and therapeutic aspects.

Primary pulmonary Hodgkin's disease with air bronchogram.

A 30-year-old woman presented with a large pulmonary mass and air bronchogram. Hodgkin's disease of the nodular sclerosing type was diagnosed. Survival was short despite aggressive treatment.

An esoteric occupational hazard for lead poisoning.

A case of life threatening lead poisoning was diagnosed clinically in a Jewish scribe and verified by appropriate laboratory studies. The special ink used by the scribe was found to contain lead in appreciable amounts. Eleven more asymptomatic subjects, both scribes and manufacturers of the ink, were studied and five were found to have subclinical lead overload.

Should acute gold overdose be invariably treated?

Acute gold overload is rare and its clinical and pathophysiological consequences are not well delineated. Consequently the therapeutic approach has not been formulated. We describe 2 patients with rheumatoid arthritis in whom an acute gold overload was inadvertently administered.

Biopsy proven evolution of post streptococcal glomerulonephritis to rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis of a post infectious type.

A 15 year old boy with chronic impetigo was admitted with severe acute oliguric renal failure requiring temporary dialytic treatment. Renal biopsy revealed typical diffuse and proliferative glomerulonephritis of the poststreptococcal type. Subsequently high temperature developed with flank pains at the biopsy site, concomitantly with deterioration of renal function.

Congenital afibrinogenemia: an unusual case.

We describe a congenitally afibrinogenemic young man who experienced massive spontaneous bleeding episodes at unusual sites, including the thigh muscles, lung and brain. Each of these life-threatening episodes raised theoretical and critical practical problems. A large local hematoma was responsible for an accelerated consumption of fibrinogen, which was relieved following evacuation.

Symptomatic renal artery stenosis superimposed on chronic glomerulonephritis.

We present two patients with proved chronic glomerulonephritis who had severe refractory hypertension and chronic renal failure. In both patients normal-sized kidneys were demonstrated in addition to vascular bruits and Grade III hypertensive retinopathy. These findings raised the suspicion of an etiological condition other than chronic glomerulonephritis underlying the hypertension and renal failure.

Levamisole circumvents inhibition of lymphocyte activation imposed by uremic serum.

Uremic serum inhibits thymidine incorporation of phytohemagglutinin-stimulated lymphocytes originating in normal individuals. In this study the effect of levamisole on such inhibition was investigated. Preincubation with a wide range of levamisole concentrations resulted in complete prevention of the inhibitory effect imposed by uremic serum on thymidine incorporation.