Prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus carriage by young Malaysian footballers during indoor training.

Background: Research has shown that athletes are carriers of Staphylococcus aureus during physical activity.

Objective: To estimate the mean total plate count of S aureus carried by footballers before and after training at an indoor venue.

Methods: Forty Malay and 20 Indian students volunteered to participate.

Paradoxes of immunosuppression in mouse models of withdrawal.

Previously, our laboratory showed that either abrupt (AW) or precipitated withdrawal (PW) from morphine led to profound suppression of murine splenic antibody responses to sheep red blood cells at 24 h post-withdrawal. In the present studies, we examined the immune mechanisms mediating suppression at that time point. A co-culture method was used to examine whether cells from withdrawn mice had (1) a deficit in function and/or (2) contained populations of suppressor cells.

Withdrawal from morphine in mice suppresses splenic macrophage function, cytokine production, and costimulatory molecules.

We have previously shown that abstinence from morphine by either abrupt (AW) or precipitated (PW) withdrawal induces greater than 80% suppression in the capacity to mount an in vitro plaque-forming cell (PFC) response to sheep red blood cells at 24-h post withdrawal. Present studies on the mechanisms of immunosuppression showed that addition of normal unfractionated spleen cells, macrophage-enriched adherent cells, or CD11b(+) purified macrophages, to spleen cells taken from withdrawn mice, restored immune responses. Spleen cells from mice undergoing withdrawal also had decreased splenic mRNA and/or protein levels of IL-1beta, IL-1Ra, TNF-alpha, IL-12, and IFN-gamma.

Immunogenicity of, and immunologic memory to, a reduced primary schedule of meningococcal C-tetanus toxoid conjugate vaccine in infants in the United kingdom.

It has been previously shown that one of the three meningococcal C conjugate (MCC) vaccines introduced in the United Kingdom proved highly immunogenic after the first dose of a three-dose schedule, with evidence of immune memory after dose 3. Thus, in infants a one- or two-dose schedule of this MCC vaccine, conjugated to tetanus toxoid (TT), may suffice. Healthy infants (n = 586) were randomized to receive either one (group 1), two (group 2), or three (group 3) doses of MCC-TT vaccine with a 10- micro g polysaccharide booster given at 13 to 14 months of age.

Optimal treatment for poor responders to ovarian stimulation: does in vitro insemination offer any advantages to intrauterine insemination?

A retrospective study was performed of 1832 consecutive in vitro insemination (IVF)/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles over 18 months, to analyse the benefits or otherwise to the patient of continuing with in vitro treatment or converting the assisted conception cycle to intrauterine insemination (IUI). Two hundred and seventy cycles were identified in which three follicles or fewer were obtained after controlled ovarian hyperstimulation; in 143 of these cycles, the clinicians or patients elected to abandon all treatment, whereas treatment was continued in 127 patients. In 79 cycles, the patients proceeded with IVF/ICSI and in 48 patients, the cycles were converted to IUI.

Compromise ultrasound dating policy in maternal serum screening for Down syndrome.

Routine ultrasound biometry is the method of choice for gestational dating when screening for Down syndrome. However, it is costly and an alternative policy is to restrict ultrasound to women most likely to have menstrual dating errors. This was evaluated by statistical modelling with parameters from 14,274 women screened between January 1997 and July 2001 using free beta-human chorionic gonadotrophin (free beta-hCG), alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and unconjugated estriol (uE(3)).

Molecular characterization of Vibrio cholerae O1 outbreak strains in Miri, Sarawak (Malaysia).

Bacterial resistance to various antimicrobial agents is common in area with high usage of antibiotics. In this study, the data on antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of Vibrio cholerae O1 from patients during an outbreak period was found to be high but variable rates of multidrug resistance. Thirty-two of 33 V.

Abrupt or precipitated withdrawal from morphine induces immunosuppression.

The present studies tested the effect of withdrawal from morphine by two different paradigms, abrupt withdrawal (AW) or precipitated withdrawal (PW), on the capacity of murine spleen cells to mount an in vitro antibody response. Mice were made dependent by chronic treatment using s.c.

Lensed optical fiber sensors for on-line measurement of flow.

This paper describes a system using lensed optical fiber sensors that are arranged in the form of two orthogonal projections. The sensors are placed around a process vessel for upstream and downstream measurements. The purpose of the system is for on-line monitoring of particles and droplets being conveyed by a fluid.

Administration of mu-, kappa- or delta2-receptor agonists via osmotic minipumps suppresses murine splenic antibody responses.

Previously, our laboratory has shown that morphine given by implantation of a 75-mg slow-release pellet for 48 h suppresses murine splenic antibody responses to sheep red blood cells (SRBCs) in a plaque-forming cell (PFC) assay. However, the use of slow-release pellets for such studies is limited, as these pellets are only available in fixed doses and similar pellets for kappa and delta agonists have not been developed. In the present study, we investigated the feasibility of administering opioids via Alzet osmotic minipumps to assess their immunomodulatory effects.

Prevalence of Listeria spp and Listeria monocytogenes in meat and fermented fish in Malaysia.

Fermented fish and meat samples were purchased from supermarket and wet market for microbiological analysis of Listeria species and Listeria monocytogenes contamination. Listeria species were isolated from 17 (73.9%) of 23 samples of imported frozen beef, 10 (43.

Detection and molecular characterization of the zot gene in Vibrio cholerae and V. alginolyticus isolates.

A total of 11 Vibrio cholerae isolates from 1996-1998 outbreaks in Malaysia and 4 V. alginolyticus were analyzed. Isolates were characterized by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Southern hybridization for the presence of the gene encoding zonula occludens toxin (zot).

Cloning and functional characterization of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa rhlC gene that encodes rhamnosyltransferase 2, an enzyme responsible for di-rhamnolipid biosynthesis.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen capable of producing a wide variety of virulence factors, including extracellular rhamnolipids and lipopolysaccharide. Rhamnolipids are tenso-active glycolipids containing one (mono-rhamnolipid) or two (di-rhamnolipid) L-rhamnose molecules. Rhamnosyltransferase 1 (RhlAB) catalyses the synthesis of mono-rhamnolipid from dTDP-L-rhamnose and beta-hydroxydecanoyl-beta-hydroxydecanoate, whereas di-rhamnolipid is produced from mono-rhamnolipid and dTDP-L-rhamnose.

Occurrence of the vanA and vanC2/C3 genes in Enterococcus species isolated from poultry sources in Malaysia.

Enterococcus species isolated from poultry sources were characterized for their resistance to antibiotics, plasmid content, presence of van genes and their diversity by randomly amplified polymorphic DNA-polymerase chain reaction (RAPD-PCR). The results showed that all isolates were multi-resistance to the antibiotics tested. Ampicillin (15/70) followed by chloramphenicol (37/70) were the most active antibiotics tested against the Enterococcus spp.

Comparison of antibody kinetics following meningococcal serogroup C conjugate vaccine between healthy adults previously vaccinated with meningococcal A/C polysaccharide vaccine and vaccine-naïve controls.

Few data are available on the kinetics of meningococcal serogroup C-specific antibody production following meningococcal serogroup C conjugate (MCC) vaccination, particularly in those who have received prior meningococcal A/C polysaccharide (MACP) vaccination(s). Laboratory staff who had previously received either one dose (n = 35), two doses (n = 18) of MACP vaccine or who were naïve to previous meningococcal vaccination (n = 42) were vaccinated with MCC. Bloods were taken pre-vaccination, on the subsequent 4 days and on days 10 and 28.

Reduced antibody response to revaccination with meningococcal serogroup A polysaccharide vaccine in adults.

Widespread use of meningococcal A and C polysaccharide (MACP) vaccines has raised concerns about induction of hyporesponsiveness to these polysaccharides. Immunological hyporesponsiveness to C polysaccharide has been clearly documented in infants, children and adults but only limited data from Gambian children are available for A polysaccharide. We investigated whether a second dose of MACP, given 6 months after an initial dose affected the immunological response as measured by the serum bactericidal assay (SBA) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), to serogroup A meningococci in young adults (university students, n=36).

Plasmid-mediated streptomycin resistance of listeria monocytogenes.

A strain of streptomycin-resistant Listeria monocytogenes LM35 isolated from imported frozen beef was examined in this study. In conjugation studies, the L. monocytogenes LM35 strain harbouring two plasmids of 54, 3.

Detection of Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus Spp. (VRE) from Poultry.

Twenty-eight isolates of E. faecalis and 5 isolates of E. hirae were isolated from chicken samples obtained from markets in Sri Serdang, Selangor.

Involvement of the rml locus in core oligosaccharide and O polysaccharide assembly in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

L-Rhamnose (L-Rha) is a component of the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) core, several O antigen polysaccharides, and the cell surface surfactant rhamnolipid of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In this study, four contiguous genes (rmlBDAC) responsible for the synthesis of dTDP-L-Rha in P. aeruginosa have been cloned and characterized.

The purification, crystallization and preliminary structural characterization of glucose-1-phosphate thymidylyltransferase (RmlA), the first enzyme of the dTDP-L-rhamnose synthesis pathway from Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Glucose-1-phosphate thymidylyltransferase (RmlA; E.C. 2.

Human heat shock protein gene polymorphisms and sudden infant death syndrome.

Comparison of the frequency of occurrence of restriction fragment length polymorphisms in control human DNAs and DNAs from infants dying from sudden infant death syndrome has indicated no significant difference in the case of restriction fragment length polymorphisms associated with the heat shock protein genes hsp70 and hsp90. A highly significant difference was detected, however, in the case of the specific restriction fragment length polymorphisms detected by an hsp60 gene probe in MspI digests.

Hydrogen peroxide and sequence-specific DNA damage in human cells.

Exposure of HeLa cells in monolayer culture to increasing concentrations of exogenously added H2O2 causes damage to cellular DNA. When the DNA is subsequently isolated from the non-apoptotic cells remaining in such cultures, evidence was obtained to suggest that the DNA damage elicited in intact cells was non-random and that certain nucleotide sequences associated with, or related to, the genes for heat shock protein 60 and catalase were more susceptible to damage than others. In contrast, these particular sequences were not specifically susceptible to damage when naked human DNA was exposed directly to H2O2 in vitro.