Neonatal complications in infants born to mothers with diabetes mellitus

Health status of 53 babies delivered by diabetic mothers are discussed. Neonatal period was uncomplicated only in 12 cases. The remaining babies suffered from respiratory disorders, edema, neurological disturbances, prolonged jaundice, infections etc. Metabolic disorders in diabetic female are unfavourable for the development of pregnancy and neonate health. it may be improved by the proper diagnostico-therapeutical management prior to and during pregnancy and by intensive care of neonates after delivery. It requires, however, the establishment of health institution with highly qualified teams well equipped which will be able to carry out diagnosis and therapy of diabetes mellitus in females in the reproductive age, during pregnancy as well as proper care of the neonates.     

Specific variability in Fe-enriched cultures from the equatorial Pacific

Water collected on the spring equatorial Pacific Joint GlobalOcean Flux Study (JGOFS) was placed in ultra-clean bottles inan incubator on deck under the direction of the team of J.H.Martin.Half of the bottles were enriched with 2.53 mM iron; the otherhalf served as controls. Cell counts increased, while the numberof species was reduced, in both the controls and the treatedsamples over the period of the experiment. Diatoms dominated,and after an early growth spurt in the Fe-enriched bottles,most diatom species showed greater growth in the controls atthe end of the 6 day experiment. However, as the experimentwas terminated, more cells overall were noted in the Fe-enrichedsamples, with the most abundant diatom, Cylindrotheca closterium.principally responsible for the difference. Growth rates werehigh in both the controls and the treated samples, with overallrates of 1.3–3.0 divisions day^–1 in the Fe-treatedsamples and 1.9–3.4 divisions day^–1 in the controls.The group of smaller pennate diatoms averaged 2.9 divisionsday^–1 in the Fe-treated samples and 3.3 divisions day^–1in the controls over the entire experiment.     

Ability of acceptance for bacteriophages during verotoxin production by bacilli of the Enterobacteriaceae family]

Lysogenised verotoxigenic strains are the source of structural genes of verocytotoxins (stx-1 and stx-2) for the others intestinal bacili. The aim of the study was to estimate the ability of transfer of bacteriophages induced with UV irradiation from reference verotoxigenic strains of E. coli O157:H7 (CB571 and EDL933) into 125 wild-strains of bacili of Enterobacteriaceae family. None of tested recipient strains showed the production of cytotoxin on Vero and HeLa cell lines, what was acknowledged as the lack of six genes. Contrary to the laboratory strain of E. coli C600 none of 125 tested recipient strains accepted the phages. Obtained lysogenised laboratory strains of E. coli C600/CB571 and E. coli C600/EDL933, besides of the ability to produce verotoxins (with the presence of stx-1 and stx-2 genes), did not differ phenotypically and genotypically from parent strain of E. coli C600. The estimation of the ability to transfer of phages carried stx-1 and/or stx-2 genes was impossible because of too small number of tested wild strain of bacili or because of really low frequency of acceptation of phages by wild strains of intestinal bacili.