Microcomputer assisted identification of Bacillus species

A microcomputer based system for the identification of unknownisolates of Bacillus species is described. The identificationmatrix includes 78 test probabilities for 38 recognised speciesand other groups in the genus Bacillus and it is based on thework of Logan and Berkeley (1984). Morphological characterstogether with the results of tests using API 20E and API 50CHB,read after 24 and 48 h incubation, are used to obtain a probabilisticidentification of an unknown aerobic endospore forming rod.Any differences between the observed and expected results forany identified organism are listed. Identification can be attemptedon the basis of a limited set of test results, although thisis rarely if ever done with this largely API based system, andif the unknown cannot be successfully identified then a setof additional tests can be selected which should permit identification.The computer system can store and recall test results enteredfor any isolate. This feature allows the accumulation of dataon isolates which could be used to update the identificationmatrix in future taxonomic studies. Received on August 2, 1984; accepted on December 7, 1984     

Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery: Intranasal Ethmoid Sinus Surgery, 1980 to 1990

The Scientific Board of the California Medical Association presents the following inventory of items of progress in otolaryngology/head and neck surgery. Each item, in the judgment of a panel of knowledgeable physicians, has recently become reasonably firmly established, both as to scientific fact and important clinical significance. The items are presented in simple epitome, and an authoritative reference, both to the item itself and to the subject as a whole, is generally given for those who may be unfamiliar with a particular item. The purpose is to assist busy practitioners, students, researchers, or scholars to stay abreast of these items of progress in otolaryngology/head and neck surgery that have recently achieved a substantial degree of authoritative acceptance, whether in their own field of special interest or another.The items of progress listed below were selected by the Advisory Panel to the Section on Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery of the California Medical Association, and the summaries were prepared under its direction.     

Ethanol withdrawal in the rat: involvement of noradrenergic neurons

Ethanol dependence was induced in rats by maintaining them for 3 weeks on a liquid diet containing ethanol. When ethanol was abruptly replaced with sucrose in the diet, animals showed withdrawal symptoms. Eight hours later, the accumulation in brain and heart of ³H-norepinephrine synthesized from ³H-tyrosine, and of ³H-norepinephrine metabolites was greater than in animals not undergoing withdrawal. An injection of ethanol (3 g/kg) 1 $\text{1}\text{2}$ or 5 hours after the initiation of withdrawal resulted in less accumulation of newly synthesized ³H-norepinephrine and of ³H-norepinephrine metabolites in both brain and heart. If the rate of ethanol withdrawal was slow, i.e., the ethanol in the diet was replaced gradually with sucrose over a 3-day period, less accumulation of ³H-norepinephrine and ³H-norepinephrine metabolites occured in heart and brain than as a result of abrupt withdrawal. Also, no behavioral symptoms of withdrawal were observed. These results indicate that (a) gross withdrawal symptoms and the accompanying activation of noradrenergic neurons can be blocked during withdrawal by an acute dose of ethanol, and (b) ethanol withdrawal can be modified by altering the rate of withdrawal, a finding that may prove useful in clinical situations. We conclude that the withdrawal symptoms and the activation of noradrenergic neurons during withdrawal are caused by the sudden lack of ethanol in the system.