Etiological agents of diarrhoea.

Two decades of research have established newer pathogens and techniques in establishing several organisms of diarrhoeal diseases as aetiological agents. It is now possible to detect an agent in 80% of the situation of diarrhoea in a standard laboratory. The brief review describes the list of pathogens, their diagnostic techniques with short description on clinical and epidemiological status.

Multidrug resistant epidemic shigellosis in a village in west Bengal, 1984.

An out break of acute bacillary dysentery in a village called Dhamasin in Hooghly district of West Bengal was investigated during March 1984. Forty seven percent of families were affected. A total of 91 cases and 2 deaths occurred amongst 937 people giving an over all attack rate of 9.

Outbreak of dysentery due to nalidixic acid resistant S. dysenteriae 1 at Agartala, Tripura: a hospital based study.

During the epidemic of bacillary dysentery at Agartala, Tripura, a total of 62 hospitalized patients suffering from diarrhoeal diseases were studied during the later part (11-16 June, 1988) of the epidemic. Principal features of Shigellosis cases were discussed. Of these 62 cases investigated, 19(30.

Effect of protein rich diet during acute phase of dysentery.

Ninety six children upto the age of five years suffering from uncomplicated acute dysentery of less than 3 days' duration were studied to find out the impact of feeding of extra-protein rich diet during their acute phase of illness. These children were randomly allocated to either control group (receiving only hospital diet) and study group (receiving hospital diet and extra milk which constituted 30% of ideal total calorie requirement of patients. Patients in the two groups were comparable on admission.

Fractionation and characterization of oxytocinases in human semen.

Two isoenzymes of oxytocinase activity were fractionated from human seminal plasma by acrylamide-agarose gel chromatography and partly characterized using S-benzyl-L-cysteine-p-nitroanilide (BCN) and L-leucine-p-nitroanilide (LN) separately as substrates. These isoenzymes appeared to be metallo-aminopeptidases with different elution volumes (90 ml and 150 ml), apparent molecular weights (unknown value and 300,000) and pH optima (6.8 and 7.

Prostaglandin 15-hydroxydehydrogenase activity in human penile corpora cavernosa and its significance in prostaglandin-mediated penile erection.

Prostaglandins may be involved in human penile erection and erectile failure. To evaluate the possible role of prostaglandin metabolism in the penile tissue, the activity of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-dependent prostaglandin 15-hydroxydehydrogenase was assayed in the corpora cavernosa of the human penis. Km values (mean +/- SD) of the enzyme for PGE1, PGE2 and PGF2 alpha were 60.

Occurrence and significance of Cryptosporidium infection in Calcutta.

During a 2-year study, Cryptosporidium oocysts were detected in 32 (5.6%) of 566 hospitalized paediatric diarrhoea cases and 2 (1.2%) of 167 non-diarrhoeic individuals.

Cestode larva (Sparganum) in the anterior chamber of the eye.

The first case of intraocular sparganosis presenting as endophthalmitis is reported with a live plerocercoid larva of Spirometra lodged in the anterior chamber of the eye of a man in India. The larva was identified histologically.

A plasmin generation method for the determination of tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) activity in blood.

A plasmin generation method to determine tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) activity in plasma is described. A protein solution of homogenized fibrin was used as a stimulator in the presence of plasminogen and the plasmin generated was measured by the release of para-Nitroanilide (p-NA) from the chromogenic substrate S-2251. Plasmin generation by 5 iu/mL t-PA in the presence of 1 CU/mL of plasminogen and 850 micrograms/mL of fibrin solution reaches a peak at about 5 h incubation whilst in plasma, plasmin generation peaks after about 16 h incubation.

Clinical & bacteriological profiles of shigellosis in Calcutta before & after an epidemic (1984-87).

Patients below 5 yr of age, hospitalised for shigellosis over a period of four years (1984-87), were studied. During the epidemic of bacillary dysentery (1984) isolation of different Shigella spp. as well as Shigella dysenteriae type 1 was high.

Evidence for several fold more activity of NAD+-dependent uterine prostaglandin 15-hydroxydehydrogenase in transsexual than in non-transsexual women.

The activity of NAD+-dependent PGDH was measured in the cytosolic fractions (100,000 x g) of uterine tissues obtained from transsexual, pregnant and non-pregnant women. The specific activity (mean +/- SD) of the enzyme at maximum velocity of the enzyme reaction in these three groups of women was 5.5 +/- 2.

Serum beta-2 microglobulin level in acute idiopathic anterior uveitis.

Serum beta-2 microglobulin levels were measured in 68 patients with acute idiopathic anterior uveitis and 51 healthy subjects by ELISA technique. The levels were found to be significantly increased in moderate and severe types of uveitis despite a normal renal glomerular function in all patients. The parameters remained unaltered in mild types.

Formation of parallel four-stranded complexes by guanine-rich motifs in DNA and its implications for meiosis.

We have discovered that single-stranded DNA containing short guanine-rich motifs will self-associate at physiological salt concentrations to make four-stranded structures in which the strands run in parallel fashion. We believe these complexes are held together by guanines bonded to each other by Hoogsteen pairing. Such guanine-rich sequences occur in immunoglobulin switch regions, in gene promoters, and in chromosomal telomeres.

Immature teratoma of the ovary.

Results of treatment of 9 cases of pure immature teratoma of the ovary seen at the University Hospital, Kuala Lumpur, are presented. Six patients were in Stage 1 and three in Stage 3. A majority of them had grade 2 or 3 tumors.