Epidemiology of the enteroinvasive Escherichia coli. Observations in Hungary

The Hungarian experiences on the epidemiology of enteroinvasive Escherichia coli (EIEC) concerning the dominant serogroup 0124 are summarized. One of the basic differences between Shigella and EIEC infections may be attributed to the higher environmental resistance of EIEC, therefore first of all water-borne outbreaks may be frequent. The other essential difference is in te age incidence: the infection rate of infants is low, the rise of incidence rate begins at the 3rd year and its peak is in the school-children age. EIEC, like to other nosological units of E. coli is not a zoonosis. Symptomless carriership is frequent and may be long lasting with the excretion of the virulent agent for over 1 year.     

Fusarium Wilt of Bananas in Jamaica: I. Some Observations on the Epidemiology of the Disease

The banana wilt pathogen Fusarium oxysporum f. cubense can bedetected in soil by a suitable host test. It often enters thehost through living rootlets, from which it passes into thevascular strand of the main root and thence into the rhizome;apparently infection does not occur through dead roots. The spread of wilt through plantations was studied by takingrecords at 2-monthly intervals: new cases arise both spontaneouslyand in association with pre-existing ones. Flooding is probablyimportant in local dispersal of the pathogen, as it is in long-rangedispersal. The relative importance of some other modes of dispersalis discussed. The soil population of F. oxysporum f. cubense increases considerablywhen wilted bananas collapse and declines shortly after theirremoval. If the site is replanted with a banana variety resistantto wilt the pathogen can thereafter often be detected in thesoil; in the absence of bananas, however, it cannot be detectedby any test after about 10 years, although its continued survivalis well established by many field observations on the incidenceof banana wilt. Little is known about its mode of survival insoil.     

尿道下裂不同术式疗效的比较

目的：探讨不同手术方式对尿道下裂的临床疗效。方法：对我院收治的尿道下裂患者根据其不同手术方式将其分为A组、B组以及C组,其中A组采用Ducker术进行治疗,B组采用Snodgrass术进行治疗,C组患者采用阴囊中线皮肤岛状皮瓣法进行治疗。结果：A、B两组患者手术成功率比较无统计学差异性（P〉0．05）;阴囊中线皮肤岛状皮辫法术其出现并发症的机会明显低于其他两组（P〈0．05）。结论：不同术式对尿道下裂进行治疗,各术式各具有点,在临床运用中应当考虑患者的综合情况进行制定相应的手术方式进行治疗,从而有效改善患者预后。     

外界影响因素导致先天性尿道下裂形成研究

对近五年PubMed收录的环境因素影响导致尿道下裂形成的原始研究性文章展开综述。搜索2007至2012年英文,标题中含有”hypospadias”的原始研究性文章,排除综述、评论及病例报道,明确提出对具体环境因素进行研究的原始研究性文章达到入选标准。25篇文章达到入选标准,对其分类汇总,从化学物质、父母特性、营养及激素水平四方面对其展开综述。尽管已经证明一些环境因素与尿道下裂形成有联系,但仍缺乏权威性研究结果,仍需进一步研究。     

Update on the Epidemiology of Coccidioidomycosis

Coccidioidomycosis is an illness caused by the soil-dwelling, dimorphic fungi, Coccidioides immitis and Coccidioides posadasii, which are found primarily in niche ecological zones of the Western Hemisphere. The bulk of infections due to Coccidioides are found within the endemic areas of Arizona, California, Mexico, and Central America. Outcomes run the gamut from asymptomatic to a self-limited or even chronic pulmonary process, up to severe disseminated, and life-threatening disease. Patients at particular risk include the elderly, pregnant women, and members of certain ethnicities. Recent changes in the epidemiology and our overall understanding of coccidioidomycosis that pose a particular challenge to healthcare professionals include the rising incidence of disease, identification of infections thought to be acquired outside the previously described zones of endemicity, and the risks posed to the immunosuppressed population due to the increasing use of immunomodulatory pharmaceutical agents.     

Observations on the structure of pullulan

An extracellular α-glucan, pullulan, elaborated by a strain of Pullularia pullulans, contains 0.6% of a maltotetraose subunit, as well as the already known major component, maltotriose. The majority, at least, of the maltotetraose is contained within the polymeric chains and is linked, through its terminal glucose units, by α-1→6— bonds.     

Observations on the Breeding Kittiwake

The drought conditions prevailing in the Marismas of the Guadalquivir (SW Spain) during the winter 1982–83 caused a large proportion of the wintering Greylag Goose population to use the same flooded areas throughout the winter at very high densities. Results indicate that Greylags prefer small Scirpus rhizomes to large ones, the geese taking an increasing amount of larger rhizomes as smaller rhizomes are depleted. A combination of factors (abundance, extraction and handling times, nutritive quality) could make smaller rhizomes more profitable food for Greylags than larger rhizomes. The large concentrations of birds in some areas probably determined the depletion of preferred resources and this could have led some geese to steal food from conspecifics; some aspects of this behaviour are discussed.