General practitioners' use of written materials during consultations

Russell et al have shown that the compliance of patients can be enhanced by general practitioners'' providing them with written materials.'' We examined what educational materials for patients were used by general practitioners and where the materials came from.     

Evolutionary conservation of the chromosomal configuration and regulation of amylase genes among eight species of the Drosophila melanogaster species subgroup

Nuclear DNA was extracted from each of the eight species comprising the Drosophila melanogaster species subgroup. Southern hybridization of this DNA by using a molecular probe specific for the alpha-amylase coding region showed that the duplicated structure of the amylase locus, first found in D. melanogaster, is conserved among all species of the melanogaster subgroup. Evidence is also presented for the concerted evolution of the duplicated genes within each species. In addition, it is shown that the glucose repression of amylase gene expression, which has been extensively studied in D. melanogaster, is not confined to this species but occurs in all eight members of the species subgroup. Thus, both the duplicated gene structure and the glucose repression of Drosophila amylase gene activity are stable over extended periods of evolutionary time.      

Prevalence of Gardnerella vaginalis: an estimate

To assess the prevalence of Gardnerella vaginalis in the community 300 women aged 16-59 were randomly selected from a general practice''s age-sex register and invited to attend for a health check. Out of 282 women who were eligible to attend, 192 did so. They were asked whether they had any vaginal symptoms, and swabs were taken from 182 women for culture for G vaginalis. Sixty women were positive for G vaginalis, of whom 26 had symptoms.Infections with G vaginalis may be present in women who have no symptoms. By careful questioning, examination, and side room testing general practitioners may be able to diagnose these infections in such women consulting them for other reasons.     

Growth of Phytomonas serpens in a Defined Medium; Nutritional Requirements

ABSTRACT. Three strains of Phytomonas serpens two from tomatoes, Lycopersicon esculentum one from the insect Phtia picta (Hemiptera, Coreidae), were cultivated in a chemically defined medium developed from a defined medium for cultivating insect flagellates. Besides organic growth factors required by other insect trypanosomatids this flagellate requires, serine and inositol. Glutamine stimulates growth, and, surprisingly, does not require heme.     

Sequence variation in the outer-surface-protein genes of Borrelia burgdorferi

Borrelia burgdorferi is a spirochete pathogen transmitted among warm- blooded hosts by ixodid ticks. Frequency-dependent selection for variant outer-surface proteins might be expected to arise in this species, since rare variants are more likely to avoid immune surveillance in previously infected hosts. We sequenced the OspA and OspB genes of nine North American strains and compared them with nine strains previously described. For each gene, the mean number of synonymous substitutions per synonymous site and the mean number of nonsynonymous substitutions per nonsynonymous site show only a twofold excess of silent mutations. Synonymous rates vary widely along the OspB protein. Some regions show a significant excess of silent substitutions, while divergence in other regions is constrained by biased base composition or selection. The presence, in antigenically important regions of the protein, of significant variation among strains, as well as evidence for recombination among strains, should be considered in attempts to develop vaccines against this disease.      

Characterisation of a 34 kD protein from potato cyst nematodes, using monoclonal antibodies with potential for species diagnosis

Two monoclonal antibodies, which differentially recognise the two species of potato cyst nematodes (PCN), Globodera pallida and G. rostochiensis, are described. They have been shown to have potential for quantification of these two species, recognising proteins of the same molecular weight (34 kD) in both species. Further investigation showed these proteins to have isoelectric points at pH values of 5.7 in G. pallida and 5.9 in G. rostochiensis, in common with the proteins used by Fleming & Marks (1983) to differentiate the species of PCN. They are likely to be structurally very similar, with the same physiological function (and therefore similar concentrations) in the two species. In cross-reactivity tests with a wide range of soil nematode species, the antibodies reacted strongly only with species of the genus Globodera, and thereby confirmed their potential as the basis of a quantitative immunoassay likely to be useful in management of PCN populations.     

Solid-state fermentation of carob pods byAspergillus niger for protein production: effect of particle size

Two strains ofAspergillus niger were cultured in solid-state fermentation system on carob pods ground from 1.25 to 8 mm diam. A particle size of 2.5 mm gave the highest protein content of the final product (20%, w/w) and 52% of the total soluble carbohydrates were utilized. The total tannin concentration of the carob pods decreased by 83% in 4 days of fermentation.T. Smail and O. Salhi are with the Laboratory of Microbiology, U.R.B.A.F., Institute of Biology, Tizi-Ouzou University, Algeria. J.S. Knapp is with the Department of Microbiology, The University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK;