Comparison of biochemical, morphologic, and chemical characteristics of Centers for Disease Control fermentative coryneform groups 1, 2, and A-4.

A total of 24 strains of fermentative coryneform like bacteria isolated from clinical specimens form two distinct groups which have been designated Centers for Disease Control (CDC) fermentative coryneform groups 1 (13 strains) and 2 (11 strains). The phenotypic characteristics of group 1 were similar to those of a previously described CDC group designated A-4, with the major differentiating characteristic being the inability to hydrolyze esculin. Major differences in cellular fatty acid composition between CDC groups 1 and A-4 were also observed. The branched-chain fatty acids 14-methylhexadecanoate and 12-methyltetradecanoate, which account for more than 80% of the total acids of group A-4, were not detected in cells of group 1 strains. Groups 1 and 2, which have similar cellular fatty acid compositions, can be differentiated on the basis of fermentation of xylose, mannitol, lactose, sucrose, and melibiose by group 1 but not by group 2. The sources of isolation of the strains of both groups varied. Only group 1 strains were associated with eye infections.     

Pre-exposure of murine macrophages to lipopolysaccharide inhibits the induction of nitric oxide synthase and reduces leishmanicidal activity

Murine macrophages produce nitric oxide (NO) from L-arginine on stimulation with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), alone or with interferon-γ (IFN-γ). The effect of incubation of macrophages with low concentrations of LPS on NO synthesis on subsequent stimulation was investigated, using a murine macrophage cell line, J774, and peritoneal macrophages from CBA mice. Cells which had been incubated with LPS produced significantly lower amounts of NO, and expressed lower levels of NO synthase activity, following stimulation with IFN-γ and LPS, or with a high concentration of LPS. This effect was not reversed by tumor necrosis factor-α. The ability of CBA macrophages to kill the intracellular parasite Leishmania major was markedly reduced by pre-incubation with LPS. Reduced NO production by macrophages previously exposed to LPS is a manifestation of endotoxin tolerance, and may represent an important means of regulation of NO synthesis and thus a survival mechanism for intracellular parasites.     

Experimental interstitial renal fibrosis in rats: nephritis induced by N-(3,5-dichlorophenyl)succinimide.

The nephrotoxic properties of the chemical N-(3,5-dichlorophenyl)-succinimide were investigated in rats with a view to establishing the usefulness of this chemically-induced nephritis as a model of chronic interstitial renal fibrosis. The compound was synthesized and given daily by gastric intubation as a suspension in arachis oil B.P. to male WAG-strain rats, for periods of up to 108 days. Polydipsia and polyuria resulted rapidly in all treated animals and persisted for the duration of the experiment. There was a progressive increase in the extent of proteinuria in all treated animals and, by the end of the experiment, there was an increase in the plasma levels of urea and creatinine. Short term treatment (up to 3 days) resulted in focal areas of necrosis of some proximal convoluted tubules. Treatment for 28 days resulted in patchy but severe tubular interstitial nephritis with which was associated a moderate interstitial fibrosis. By 108 days, the nephritis was more widespread and the interstitial fibrosis was severe. The activity of proline hydroxylase, a part of the intracellular sequence of collagen synthesis, showed progressive increase in the renal cortex throughout the experiment and there was an associated increase in the cortical hydroxyproline content, a measure of the amount of collagen present. Associated with this biochemical evidence of an active, chronic fibrosis, was an increased water content of the cortical tissue. The results indicate that this chemically-induced, tubular interstitial nephritis is indeed a good and reliable model of interstitial renal fibrosis.     

Smoking Cessation in the Chicago Coronary Prevention Evaluation Program

Quit-rates for cigarette smokers in a lifestyle intervention program aimed at reducing coronary risk were 24 percent for all participants and 34 percent for non-dropouts. Recidivism remained very low during participation in the program. Half of the smokers who quit did so after being in the program more than two years. These data suggest that while engaging in an effort to make other changes in lifestyle, many smokers can be helped to quit. Sustained antismoking efforts in the clinical practice of medicine can be expected to share these same positive aspects. While mass public health programs to eliminate smoking and prevent young people from taking up the habit are being developed, health practitioners can make a significant contribution by including vigorous efforts at smoking cessation as part of routine practice.     

Towards the understanding of muscle contraction and its regulation,A Symposium in honor of John Gergely,MD, PhD

Journal of Muscle Research and Cell Motility -     

Viral load,CD4 percentage,and delayed-type hypersensitivity in subjects receiving the HIY-1 Immunogen and antiviral drug therapy

Two trials of subjects inoculated with the inactivated, gp120-depleted HIV-1 Immunogen are reported. In one study, in which 19 subjects received ZDV and 8 subjects received ddI, treatment with the HIV-1 Immunogen did not affect the pharmacokinetic parameters of the antiviral drugs. In another study, 65 subjects who were previously immunized with the HIV-1 Immunogen over a mean period of 4.0 years (range, 1.2–5.4 years) received inoculations at 0 and 6 months. At some point during this 48-week study, 72% of the subjects (47/65) were receiving antiviral drug therapy. The HIV-1 DNA load in CD4 cells and CD4 percentage were found to be stable over the 48-week period. Delayed-type hypersensitivity to HIV-1 antigens increased after two inoculations with the HIV-1 Immunogen. In these two trials, no serious treatment-related adverse events were documented in the subjects. The two studies presented herein are the first to suggest that an immune-based therapy such as the HIV-1 Immunogen can be combined safely with antiviral drugs, supporting further study to evaluate the clinical utility of this approach.     

Reconstitution of T-cell repertoire after autologous stem cell transplantation: influence of CD34 selection and cytomegalovirus infection.

The period of immunodeficiency following autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is characterized by transient expansions of CD8+CD45RO+CD57+ T lymphocytes, displaying markers of an activated phenotype. Most evidence suggests that this early reconstitution results from proliferation of mature T cells that have survived conditioning or were transferred with the graft. Although homeostatic mechanisms are thought to act in maintaining total T-cell numbers, the degree to which antigen-driven expansions contribute and the nature of the stimulating antigens remain unclear. CD34 selection of stem cell grafts reduces the available T-cell pool, potentially delaying immune reconstitution and resulting in increased infective complications. In the allogeneic transplantation setting, lymphopenia has been associated with cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection risk and, if persistent, with adverse outcome. We prospectively studied patients undergoing CD34-selected (n = 13) or unselected (n = 13) autologous hematopoeitic stem cell transplantation for immune reconstitution and CMV infection. No significant differences were demonstrated between graft types with respect to lymphocyte subset recovery, T-cell receptor beta-chain variable region spectratype diversity, or CMV DNA detection rates (45% versus 40%). CMV infection was associated with a trend toward higher rather than lower CD8+ counts at 6 weeks posttransplantation (P =.08) that became significant by 3 months (P=.007), and that was associated with decreased T-cell receptor beta-chain variable region spectratype diversity (P =.01). CMV-specific HLA-tetramer analysis demonstrated transient expansions with CDR3 lengths corresponding to those of some of the major posttransplantation T-cell expansions demonstrated by spectratype analysis suggesting that CMV-specific T cells contribute to the pattern of immune reconstitution.     

Initial evaluation of a continuous speech recognition program for radiology

The aims of this work were to measure the accuracy of one continuous speech recognition product and dependence on the speaker's gender and status as a native or nonnative English speaker, and evaluate the product's potential for routine use in transcribing radiology reports. IBM MedSpeak/Radiology software, version 1.1 was evaluated by 6 speakers. Two were nonnative English speakers, and 3 were men. Each speaker dictated a set of 12 reports. The reports included neurologic and body imaging examinations performed with 6 different modalities. The dictated and original report texts were compared, and error rates for overall, significant, and subtle significant errors were computed. Error rate dependence on modality, native English speaker status, and gender were evaluated by performing ttests. The overall error rate was 10.3 +/- 3.3%. No difference in accuracy between men and women was found; however, significant differences were seen for overall and significant errors when comparing native and nonnative English speakers (P = .009 and P = .008, respectively). The speech recognition software is approximately 90% accurate, and while practical implementation issues (rather than accuracy) currently limit routine use of this product throughout a radiology practice, application in niche areas such as the emergency room currently is being pursued. This methodology provides a convenient way to compare the initial accuracy of different speech recognition products, and changes in accuracy over time, in a detailed and sensitive manner.     

Analysis of mycolic acid cleavage products and cellular fatty acids of Mycobacterium species by capillary gas chromatography.

After growth and experimental conditions were established, the mycolic acid cleavage products, constituent fatty acids, and alcohols of representative strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, M. smegmatis, M. fortuitum complex, M. kansasii, M. gordonae, and M. avium complex were determined by capillary gas chromatography. Reproducible cleavage of mycolic acid methyl esters to tetracosanoic (24:0) or hexacosanoic (26:0) acid methyl esters was achieved by heating the sample in a high-temperature muffle furnace. The major constituent fatty acids in all species were hexadecanoic (16:0) and octadecenoic (18:1 omega 9-c, oleic) acids. With the exception of M. gordonae, 10-methyloctadecanoic acid was found in all species; moreover, M. gordonae was the only species tested which contained 2-methyltetradecanoic acid. M. kansasii was characterized by the presence of 2,4-dimethyltetradecanoic acid, M. avium complex by 2-eicosanol, and M. tuberculosis by 26:0 mycolic acid cleavage product. The mycolic acid cleavage product in the other five species tested was 24:0. Although a limited number of strains and species were tested, preliminary results indicate that this gas chromatographic method can be used to characterize mycobacterial cultures by their mycolic acid cleavage products and constituent fatty acid and alcohol content.