[Study on the stability of potassium iodide of the iodized salt]

The stability of potassium iodide in iodized salt has been studied with respect to the purity of the salt used as raw material. It has been found that the iodized salt prepared from high purity salt and preserved under proper conditions (protection from light, humidity and high temperatures) keeps, for several months, the most of the initially added potassium iodide, without any addition of stabilizers, except for a small bicarbonate.

The macroheterogeneity of type I tyrosine-rich proteins of merine wool

The cystine-poor family of tyrosine-rich proteins of wool as their S-carboxymethyl derivatives has been shown by chromatography on quaternary ammonium ethylcellulose (QAE-cellulose) at pH 10� 5 to consist of 10 groups of proteins which span a threefold range of tyrosine content and vary in many other amino acids, particularly S-carboxymethylcysteine. Electrophoresis at pH 8�9 revealed that most fractions contain two or more components and by further chromatography of five of these groups at pH 8�3 on DEAE-cellulose 10 components have been isolated. The amino acid composition suggests that the components within each QAE-cellulose group are very closely related.

Measurement of intracellular iodophilic polysaccharide in two cariogenic strains of Streptococcus mutans by cytochemical and chemical methods

Quantitative cytological and chemical methods have been developed to study the intracellular iodophilic polysaccharide (IPS) content of two strains of Streptococcus mutans. The cytological method uses a periodic acid-chlorite treatment of thin sections to increase the affinity of IPS for uranyl and lead salts. This results in the IPS appearing as individual electron-dense granules which can be counted for quantitative studies. As a basis for these quantitative studies, IPS was measured chemically by dissolving whole cells with hot KOH and quantitating spectrophotometrically the amount of iodine-polysaccharide complex formed.

Prostatectomy and deep vein thrombosis in Sudanese patients

One hundred and four Sudanese patients who had undergone the operation of prostatectomy (transvesical or retropubic but not transurethral) in Khartoum Civil Hospital were investigated for evidence of postoperative deep vein thrombosis (D VT) by the use of the 125 1-fibrinogen test. Of these 104 patients, 10 had evidence of DVT, i.e. an incidence of 9.6 per cent. This differs sharply from the incidence (21-47 per cent) reported from Swedish and British hospitals, and further confirms our previous findings that the incidence of postoperative D VT in Sudanese patients is significantly lower than in European patients.

Bacteriophage f1 infection: fate of the parental major coat protein

The major coat protein of infecting f1 phage is incorporated into the inner membrane of the host cell, even in the absence of phage f1DNA penetration and replication. The major coat protein monomers are reutilized in the assembly of new phage. They are not conserved as a single unit but behave as independent units which are slowly incorporated into newly manufactured phage.

Control of 5-aminolaevulinate synthetase activity in Rhodopseudomonas spheroides. The purification and properties of an endogenous activator of the enzyme

1. A low-molecular-weight activator of 5-aminolaevulinate synthetase was detected in extracts of Rhodopseudomonas spheroides. The compound activates the enzyme extracted from oxygenated semi-anaerobically grown organisms by a factor of 6-8. 2. The activator was extensively purified, but owing to the exceedingly small amounts that could be extracted in the active form its structure was not determined. 3. The activator contains an acetylatable amino group; it is more stable at acid than at alkaline pH values; it is stable to treatment with I(2)-KI or potassium ferricyanide, but irreversibly inactivated by Na(2)S(2)O(4) or NaBH(4). 4. The chromatographic, electrophoretic, chemical and stability properties of the activator are similar to those of pteridines; purified activator preparations contain pteridines, as shown by their fluorescence spectrum. This does not, however, constitute an identification of the activator. 5. The activator enhances the activity of crude and partially purified enzyme and does not appear to require other endogenous factors or a supply of air to produce activation. Activation of the purified enzyme, however, requires the presence of either pyridoxal phosphate or sodium succinate. In the absence of both these factors the activator produces a time- and temperature-dependent decay of activity.

In vitro antibody-enzyme conjugates with specific bactericidal activity

IgG with antibacterial antibody opsonic activity was isolated from rabbit antisera produced by intravenous hyperimmunization with several test strains of pneumococci, Group A beta-hemolytic streptococci, Staphylococcus aureus, Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Escherichia coli. Antibody-enzyme conjugates were prepared, using diethylmalonimidate to couple glucose oxidase to IgG antibacterial antibody preparations. Opsonic human IgG obtained from serum of patients with subacute bacterial endocarditis was also conjugated to glucose oxidase. Antibody-enzyme conjugates retained combining specificity for test bacteria as demonstrated by indirect immunofluorescence. In vitro test for bactericidal activity of antibody-enzyme conjugates utilized potassium iodide, lactoperoxidase, and glucose as cofactors. Under these conditions glucose oxidase conjugated to antibody generates hydrogen peroxide, and lactoperoxidase enzyme catalyzes the reduction of hydrogen peroxide with simultaneous oxidation of I(-) and halogenation and killing of test bacteria. Potent in vitro bactericidal activity of this system was repeatedly demonstrated for antibody-enzyme conjugates against pneumococci, streptococci, S. aureus, P. mirabilis, and E. coli. However, no bactericidal effect was demonstrable with antibody-enzyme conjugates and two test strains of P. aeruginosa. Bactericidal activity of antibody-enzyme conjugates appeared to parallel original opsonic potency of unconjugated IgG preparations. Antibody-enzyme conjugates at concentrations as low as 0.01 mg/ml were capable of intense bactericidal activity producing substantial drops in surviving bacterial counts within 30-60 min after initiation of assay. These in vitro bactericidal systems indicate that the concept of antibacterial antibody-enzyme conjugates may possibly be adaptable as a mechanism for treatment of patients with leukocyte dysfunction or fulminant bacteremia.

Radioimmunoassay for type A toxin of Clostridium botulinum

A preparation of pure type A toxin of Clostridium botulinum was labeled with (131)I in the presence of chloramine-T and carrier-free isotope. The radioactive toxin ((131)I Tox) was used in a radioimmunoassay procedure similar to that of Berson and Yalow. Dilutions of antibody to the toxin, capable of binding 50% of the added (131)I Tox, were mixed with a sample of the labeled toxin and various concentrations of unlabeled toxin ('Cold' Tox). When concentration of Cold Tox were plotted against the ratio (131)I bound/(131)I not bound, a standard curve was established that could be used to estimate the concentration of Cold Tox in a test mixture. This assay was sensitive to as little as 100 mouse minimum lethal dose and was highly specific for the serological type of the toxin used.

Adenylate-rich sequences in Sendai virus transcripts from infected cells

Virus-specific complementary ribonucleic acid (RNA) from cells infected with Sendai virus was isolated by a procedure involving hybridization with virion RNA and isopycnic centrifugation of the RNA hybrids. The complementary RNA contained adenylate-rich sequences which sedimented at about 4S.