Effects of thermal applications on the abdominal temperature of dogs

The results of thermal applications to the abdomens of unrestrained, unanesthetized dogs are reported. A silicone rubber envelope through which water circulated at 0 degrees, 10 degrees, 20 degrees, 30 degrees, 40 degrees, or 50 degrees C was applied. Skin surface, subcutaneous, intraperitoneal, intestinal, and colonic temperatures were measured after 90 minutes. Pad applications at 0 degrees, 10 degrees, 20 degrees, and 30 degrees C significantly lowered skin surface and subcutaneous temperatures, while pad applications at 40 degrees and 50 degrees C significantly increased subcutaneous and skin surface temperatures. None of the pad applications had a significant effect on intraperitoneal, intestinal, or colonic temperatures. The findings indicate that a wide range of thermal applications to the abdominal skin of the dog do not alter deep abdominal temperatures.

Histoplasma capsulatum endocarditis

Endocarditis is a rare manifestation of disseminated Histoplasma capsulatum infection. A 22-year-old man presented with a seven month history of fever, weight loss, and progressive aortic insufficiency. The diagnosis of H. capsulatum was suggested by a diagnostic rise in complement fixation titers and positive echocardiographic findings. The diagnosis was confirmed prior to surgery by positive bone marrow culture. Progressive congestive heart failure necessitated replacement of the aortic valve which subsequently grew H. capsulatum. In this case, a combination of amphotericin B therapy and valve replacement was curative.

Longitudinal studies of lymphocyte response to Toxoplasma antigen in humans infected with T. gondii

Toxoplasma antigen-specific lymphocyte transformation was measured in subjects in whom the diagnosis of acute acquired Toxoplasma infection was documented and in whom the time of onset of clinical illness was carefully determined. Neither false positive nor false negative reactions to Toxoplasma antigen were seen in lymphocytes from uninfected subjects or subjects with chronic Toxoplasma infection. Lymphocytes from subjects in both of these control groups responded equally to a different antigen, streptokinase-streptodornase (SK/SD). On the initial determination, the lymphocytes of 7 of 24 subjects with acute Toxoplasma infection of less than 12 months' duration failed to transform to Toxoplasma antigen. Five of these 7 subjects were among a group of 14 who had developed clinical illness less than 3 months previously. To determine when lymphocyte transformation to Toxoplasma antigen developed, longitudinal studies were carried out in subjects with acute Toxoplasma infection whose lumphocytes failed to transform initially to Toxoplasma antigen. It was found that in all patients, lymphocytes transformed with Toxoplasma antigen eventually, though in two patients this occurred between 9 and 12 months after the initial infection.

Toxicity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa exotoxin A for human macrophages

Pseudomonas aeruginosa exotoxin A was toxi in vitro for human peripheral blood macrophages. Cytotoxicity, manifested by morphological evidence of cell death and inhibition of [3H]thymidine uptake, followed exposure to as little as 10 ng of exotoxin per ml for 1 h. In addition, phagocytosis of heat-killed Candida albicans by macrophages exposed to sublethal concentrations of exotoxin was impaired. This cytotoxicity was neutralizable with antiexotoxin serum.

Specific antibody-dependent killing of Toxoplasma gondii by normal macrophages

The requirement for specificity of antibody-dependent inhibition or killing of intracellular Toxoplasma gondii trophozoites by normal mouse peritoneal macrophages was evaluated in vitro using light microscopy and autoradiography. Anti-toxoplasma antibody in the presence of 'accessory factor' rendered extracellular T. gondii trophozoites non-viable and non-infectious for cells, whereas exposure of extracellular trophozoites to heat-inactivated immune serum did not appear to damage the parasites. Although pretreatment of extracellular trophozoites with heat-inactivated immune serum neither diminished nor prevented infection of normal mouse peritoneal macrophages, it did confer upon macrophages the ability to inhibit or kill the organisms once they were intracellular. In contrast, pretreatment of trophozoites with either heat-inactivated normal or Besnoitia jellisoni immune serum did not enable normal macrophages to inhibit or kill T. gondii; rather, such organisms multiplied intracellularly in normal macrophages. Thus, pretreatment with specific antibody alone prepared T. gondii trophozoites for intracellular destruction by normal mouse peritoneal macrophages. These results suggest that spesific antibody acting in concert with normal macrophages may play a role in controlling infection with T. gondii.

Designing a mental health center to replace a county hospital

An architectural team worked closely with a county building committee and the administrative staff of a Wisconsin county hospital to design a new active-treatment facility. The goals included changing the hospital's negative image in the community, fostering a close relationship between all programs and all groups of users, and encouraging inpatients to make the best possible use of various treatment areas. Planning was interrupted by a community-wide controversy over the location, and the facility was eventually built on a compromise site. The new facility, a community mental health center serving two counties, has an open, split-level design accommodating six inpatient programs and a day hospital. An informal evaluation of the environment was made a year after the center was occupied.

Sepsis with a new species of Corynebacterium

Sepsis with a previously undescribed species of Corynebacterium was documented in four patients. All patients had predisposing illness at the time of infection, three patients having leukemia in relapse and one having a porencephalic cyst and a ventriculoatrial shunt. The isolates from blood cultures had a characteristic metallic sheen when grown on blood agar. They were resistant to most antibiotics tested, including the penicillins, but were uniformly sensitive to vancomycin. Common biochemical characteristics, the metallic sheen, and the unusual antibiotic sensitivity pattern suggest that these isolates comprise a new species or group of closely related species of Corynebacterium that is capable of infection in man.

Induction of resistance to Toxoplasma gondii in human macrophages by soluble lymphocyte products

Autoradiography and light microscopy were used to study the effects of lymphocyte culture supernatants, prepared under a variety of conditions, on the course of intracellular Toxoplasma gondii infection in human monocyte-derived macrophages in vitro. Supernatants prepared by incubating lymphocytes of dye test- (DT) positive subjects with T. gondii lysate antigen (TLA), lymphocytes of DT/negative subjects with streptokinase-streptodornase (SK-SD), or both populations of lymphocytes with concanavalin A (Con A) were capable of activating macrophages to inhibit or kill intracellular T. gondii. Supernatants prepared with the homologous antigen (TLA) to the target organism appeared more active in conferring resistance to infection with T. gondii on macrophages than those prepared with a heterologous antigen (SK-SD) or mitogen (Con A). The number of lymphocytes was critical in preparing active supernatants. These results suggest that soluble lymphocyte mediators can activate human macrophages in vitro to inhibit or kill T. gondii.

Effect of normal and activated human macrophages on Toxoplasma gondii

Human macrophages derived from in vitro culture of peripheral blood monocytes were studied under a variety of conditions to determine their microbicidal capacity for the obligate intracellular protozoan, Toxoplasma gondii. The effect of macrophages on intracellular Toxoplasma was evaluated morphologically by light and phase microscopy and by autoradiography. When macrophages from dye test (DT)-negative or DT-positive individuals were infected with Toxoplasma in the presence of normal human serum, the organisms were able to multiply intracellularly with resultant destruction of the monolayer. Once organisms were intracellular, the presence of antibody-containing serum in the medium did not alter this inability of the macrophages to kill Toxoplasma. However, when Toxoplasma were incubated in the presence of heat-inactivated DT-positive serum just before infection of the monolayers, the intracellular organisms were inhibited or killed by normal macrophages. Attempts were made to activate macrophages in vitro to kill Toxoplasma. Macrophages incubated in the presence of sensitized lymphocytes and Streptokinase-Streptodornase (SK-SD) or Toxoplasma lysate antigen (TLA) were found to kill Toxoplasma when compared to macrophages incubated in the presence of lymphocytes from DT-negative individuals and TLA or lymphocytes alone. Thus, in vitro induction of resistance (both specifically and nonspecifically) in human macrophages was accomplished by culturing these cells in the presence of specifically sensitized lymphocytes and antigen. These results suggest that, as in the mouse model, activated human macrophages have the ability to inhibit or kill intracellular Toxoplasma and that these cells may be important as effector cells in cell-mediated immunity (CMI) to toxoplasmosis in man.