Microflora of the upper respiratory tract in young children under normal conditions and in respiratory tract diseases. Microbial count of the upper respiratory tract in healthy children and in children with pneumonia

The results of the inoculation of material taken from the anterior section of the nasal cavity and from the pharyngeal mucosa of 50 healthy young children and 298 acute pneumonia patients were analyzed. 23 microbial species were isolated. In the samples taken from the anterior section of the nasal cavity, monocultures were detected in 86 samples and 54 variants of associations including 2-4 species, in 139 samples. In the samples taken from the pharynx, monocultures were detected in 59 samples and 180 variants of associations including 2-6 species, in 282 samples. Differences in the contamination of the nasal cavity and the pharynx in healthy children and in pneumonia patients were revealed. These differences were manifested in the structure of the microflora (monocultures, associations, their composition), the assortment of microbial species and their concentration. In young children with pneumonia the microflora of the upper respiratory tract was found to reflect the severity of acute pneumonia and the intensity of the pathological process in the lungs (uncomplicated, pyodestructive pneumonia, pyodestructive pneumonia with fatal termination, acute purulent pleurisy).     

Catalytic properties of a human cytomegalovirus-induced protein kinase

Human cytomegalovirus, a DNA virus whose genome contains a fragment of transforming DNA, induces a threonine-serine protein kinase having a molecular mass of 68 kDa (p68). p68 was extracted from cells 96-144 h after infection, and immunoprecipitated with a monoclonal antibody (F6b). Antibody-enzyme complexes were immobilized on heat/formaldehyde-inactivated Staphylococcus aureus. The best substrates for p68 were acidic proteins, phosvitin and casein. Glycogen synthase, phosphorylase alpha and histones were phosphorylated at rates not higher than 1-4% that obtained with phosvitin as substrate. ATP and GTP were equally good substrates of p68. p68 is able to autophosphorylate at the same residues (i.e. threonine and serine) as the protein substrates. Autophosphorylation does not seem to represent an intermediate in substrate phosphorylation. The protein kinase activity of p68 was not enhanced by cAMP, calcium ions, or polyamines like spermine or spermidine. Only at low Mg2+ concentration spermine enhanced by 68% the rate of casein phosphorylation. Heparin, a potent inhibitor of casein kinase II, inhibits p68 activity too, but ten-times higher concentrations were required for the same degree of inhibition. Quercetin, a bioflavonoid, acts as a strong inhibitor of p68 protein kinase activity. The inhibitory effect of quercetin was competitive towards the nucleotide substrate (Ki = 2.8 microM), and non-competitive towards the protein substrate (Ki = 15 microM).     

Purification of smooth-muscle myosin free of calmodulin and myosin light-chain kinase. Susceptibility to oxidation.

Smooth-muscle myosin purified as described by Persechini & Hartshorne [(1983) Biochemistry 22, 470-476] contains trace amounts of calmodulin and myosin light-chain kinase, which can be removed by Ca2+-dependent hydrophobic-interaction chromatography followed by calmodulin-Sepharose affinity chromatography. The resultant column-purified myosin exhibits properties similar to those of the non-purified myosin, e.g. actin activation of the Mg2+-ATPase requires Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent phosphorylation of the two 20 kDa light chains. However, unlike the non-purified myosin, the column-purified myosin undergoes a time-dependent transition to a form which no longer requires phosphorylation for actin activation of the myosin Mg2+-ATPase. This transition is identified as a time-dependent change in conformation of the column-purified myosin from a 10 S to 6 S form and is caused by slow oxidation of the column-purified myosin, since it could be prevented by storage under N2 and reversed by 5 mM-dithiothreitol.     

Capillary growth and diffusion distances in muscle

1. Tissue capillarity in muscle was modelled as square-ordered arrays with capillary-to-fiber ratios (C/F) from 0.5 to 'infinity'. 2. C/F up to two had marked effects on diffusion distances, but C/F above had only slight effects on average distances and almost no effect on maximal distances. 3. Capillary growth during normal maturation results in C/F around two. Thus, capillary growth in adult muscle may not be an adaptive mechanism for reducing diffusion distances.     

Erythrocytes and age. Disintegration of erythrocytes by brilliant cresyl blue in correlation to age

The author describes changes in the disintegration of erythrocytes by brilliant cresyl blue in correlation to age, in rats aged 21, 42, 90-105, 340-360 and 690-720 days. The erythrocytes were incubated for 4 hours in an isotonic NaCl solution, in Krebs-Ringer solution and in each of these solutions plus brilliant cresyl blue. Disintegration in plain NaCl solution was found to be the greatest in the case of erythrocytes from 690- to 720-day-old rats. In the same solution plus brilliant cresyl blue, the rate of disintegration was very high in 21-day-old, 42-day-old and 690- to 720-day-old animals; at 90-105 days it was lower and at 340-360 days it was the lowest. Disintegration of erythrocytes in plain Krebs-Ringer solution was the lowest at 21 and 42 days; in the other age groups it was slightly higher. On adding brilliant cresyl blue, the rate of disintegration rose significantly in 21-, 42- and 690- to 720-day-old animals; at 90-105 days and 340-360 days it was no different from disintegration in plain Krebs-Ringer solution. It can be seen from the results that the rate of brilliant cresyl blue-induced erythrocyte disintegration is dependent on the age of the animals from which the erythrocytes are taken.     

Dissociation of inductive from differentiative signals transmitted by C8-substituted guanine ribonucleosides to B cells from SJL mice

A hitherto unknown defect in the immune responsiveness of B lymphocytes from SJL mice has enabled us to distinguish two qualitatively distinct classes of signal delivered to B cells by C8-substituted guanine ribonucleosides. This defect renders B cells from SJL mice unresponsive to the inductive (early acting) signal of 8-mercaptoguanosine (8MGuo) that culminates in mitogenesis and nonspecific secretion of immunoglobulin. Unresponsiveness is not attributable to a shift in either the dose-response or kinetic profiles, nor can the presence of suppressor cells be demonstrated. In striking contrast, however, SJL B cells exhibit normal responsiveness to the differentiative (T cell-like, or late acting) signal provided by the substituted nucleoside. This signal enables SJL B cells, depleted of T cells, to respond to T cell-dependent antigens, and synergizes with T cell-derived lymphokines. These data suggest 1) that nonspecific secretion of immunoglobulin is dependent on both inductive and differentiative signals, 2) that antigen alone can supply an effective inductive signal for antigen-specific responses, and 3) that the SJL mouse will provide a useful model for selective study of inductive vs differentiative events.     

Clinico-epidemiological characteristics of Q fever in the Carpathian region

The study of the specific epidemiological and clinical features of Q fever revealed the existence of an active focus of infection among humans due to their contacts with agricultural animals in one of the districts of the region. The focus was manifested by group morbidity among the cattle-tending personnel of a dairy farm. The source of this infection was cattle. The infection was transferred mainly through the air. The disease took a moderately severe course. The study of the rickettsial contamination of humans, animals and ticks suggested the presence of the active epidemic process and made it possible to work out concrete antiepidemic measures.     

Tunicamycin-resistant mutants of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens are deficient in amylase, protease and penicillinase synthesis and have altered sensitivity to antibiotics and autolysis

Mutants of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens resistant to at least 10 micrograms/ml of tunicamycin were isolated and shown to be pleiotropic. The mutants were more resistant to streptomycin, chloramphenicol, kanamycin and neomycin than was the parent strain but less resistant to penicillin G and tetracycline. They were more autolytic, presumably due to an altered cell wall. The mutants produced reduced levels of amylase, penicillinase and both metal and serine protease besides having an enhanced sporulation frequency and being more motile.