Compliance with disulfiram treatment of alcoholism

One hundred twenty-four men were randomly assigned to receive disulfiram with a riboflavin marker or riboflavin alone. During a one year follow-up urine specimens were collected at each visit and analyzed for riboflavin. There was a strong relationship between excellent attendance and infrequent drinking. For subjects taking disulfiram there was a high correlation between a subject submitting 15 or more positive urines during follow-up and infrequent drinking. For the disulfiram patients there was also a strong relationship between continuous usage of disulfiram and infrequent drinking. However, the correlation between percentage of urine specimens positive for the riboflavin marker and infrequent drinking was slight. This occurred because a person who was drinking tended to return for follow-up only when he was not drinking and thus submitted only a few specimens of which the majority were positive. We conclude that (1) excellent attendance, (2) submission of a large number of positive urines and (3) a period of continuous compliance to the disulfiram regimen were highly associated with infrequent drinking.

Renal electrolyte handling, acid-base status, and urinary acidification in Bufo marinus

In hydrated toads reabsorption of 92% of filtered bicarbonate produces a urine of pH at 22 degrees C. Average blood-to-urine pH gradient is 0.8-0.9 U under these conditions but may reach 3-4 U. Net acid excretion rate in hydrated animals is approximately 30 mu eq . h-1 . kg-1. Flow-independent acid excretion is a negative nonlinear function of urinary pH and passes from positive to negative values in the range of normal urinary pH due to rapid rise in [HCO3-] and slower decline in [NH4+]. [H2PO4-] accounts for only 10-20% of buffer-bound acid excreted. Sulfate loading in Cl-restricted toads is without effect on blood pH but produces significant reduction in blood [Cl-]/[Na+] and in urinary pH, and increased urinary [K+] and net acid secretion rates relative to controls. These renal responses are diminished or absent during sulfate loading in Cl-rich toads. In both groups [Cl-] shows significant positive correlation with pH in sulfate-containing urines. These results are discussed in the context of the nonhomeostatic model of urinary acidification developed in mammals.

Bicarbonate reabsorption and potassium handling in isolated perfused kidneys of Bufo marinus

Average rates of bicarbonate reabsorption, normalized for glomerular filtration rates, rose linearly with perfusate [HCO3-] of 6-21 mM with a constant bicarbonate/creatinine clearance ratio of 0.06, similar to the in vivo value. Maximal rates of bicarbonate reabsorption occurred at 20-25 mM HCO3- perfusate. At 3 mM perfusate [K+], normalized rates of potassium reabsorption were constant from filtered perfusates mimicking metabolic acidosis, and from control perfusates; during perfusion with alkalotic Ringer solutions net potassium secretion was observed. Elevation of perfusate [K+] to 10 mM in alkalotic Ringer significantly decreased maximal rates of bicarbonate reabsorption. Overall, the pattern of bicarbonate reabsorption in toad kidneys perfused at 6-21 mM HCO3- was similar to that observed in acid-base disturbances of metabolic origin in mammals, while the pattern of potassium excretion showed significant differences in these two vertebrate classes.

Solvent Production and Morphological Changes in Clostridium acetobutylicum

The morphological and cytological changes which occurred in Clostridium acetobutylicum P262 during the production of acetone, butanol, and ethanol in an industrial fermentation medium were identified and correlated with the growth and physiological changes. The swollen, cigar-shaped clostridial forms were involved in the conversion of acids to neutral solvents, and there was a correlation between the number of clostridial forms and the production of solvents. Sporulation mutants which were unable to form clostridial stages ( cls mutants) did not produce solvents. Oligosporogenous mutants which showed reduced clostridial stage formation produced intermediate levels of solvents. Sporulation mutants blocked after the clostridial stage, which were unable to form mature spores ( spo mutants), produced normal levels of solvents.

Acid-base balance and urinary acidification in birds

This essay will treat, first, the defended parameters of acid-base status in avian blood and their modification under conditions pertinent to the life of birds, and, second, urinary acidification and its role in maintenance of acid-base balance. Of the two topics, urinary acidification is of particular interest to the author, has received less sustained attention experimentally and has been infrequently reviewed (Sykes, 1971), so it will receive attention here. The reports cited in the essay concern primarily adult birds outside periods of egg-laying.

A study of ultrastructure of egg shell of Schistosoma japonicum. I. Transmission electron microscopic observation of S. japonicum egg

Ultrathin sections of egg shell of S. Japonicum were observed. The micropores and network of microcanals were first reported in egg shell of S. japonicum. Both the micropores and microcanals are lined by a membrane being continous with the inner layer of egg shell and filled with materials coming from inside of the egg. As in the egg of S. mansoni, the possibility of micropores and microcanals that may play an important role as natural channels in secreting materials such as soluble antigens and histolytic enzymes... etc., is discussed.

Regulation of exoprotease production by temperature and oxygen in Vibrio alginolyticus

The production of an extracellular collagenase and alkaline protease by Vibrio alginolyticus during stationary phase was inhibited by a temperature shift from 30 to 37 degrees C and by a lack of oxygen. The stability of the exoproteases was unaffected by incubation at 37 degrees C and aeration. The optimum growth temperature for the V. alginolyticus strain was 33.5 degrees C and there was no difference in the growth rate at 30 and 37 degrees C. Aeration enhanced the rate of growth of exponential phase cells. Temperature and oxygen did not affect the growth of stationary phase cells when the exoproteases were being produced. Macromolecular synthesis in stationary phase cells was not affected by temperature. There was no rapid release of the exoproteases after temperature shift down and chloramphenicol inhibited the production of the enzymes when added at time of temperature shift down from 37 to 30 degrees C. The regulation of exoprotease production by temperature and oxygen was specific and has implications regarding the ecology of V. alginolyticus. Cerulenin, quinacrine and O-phenanthroline inhibited the production of the exoproteases.

Regulation of extracellular alkaline protease activity by histidine in a collagenolytic Vibrio alginolyticus strain

Vibrio alginolyticus synthesized an inducible extracellular collagenase in a peptone medium during the stationary growth phase. These cultures also possessed extracellular alkaline serine protease activity. The alkaline protease activity did not require a specific inducer and it was produced in tryptone or minimal media. The collagenase was not produced in either the tryptone or minimal media. The alkaline protease activity was sensitive to catabolite repression by a number of carbon sources, including glucose, and by amino acids and ammonium ions. Cyclic AMP, dibutyryl cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP did not relieve catabolite repression. Histidine and urocanic acid stimulated the production of alkaline protease activity in tryptone and minimal media. Other compounds associated with the histidine utilization (hut) pathway did not increase alkaline protease activity. Histidine reversed the repression of alkaline protease activity by glucose of (NH4)2SO4 in minimal medium. Histidine and the compounds associated with the hut pathway inhibited collagenase production.

Mitral valve vegetations in bacterial endocarditis resembling left atrial myxoma

A patient with Staphylococcus aureus endocarditis is reported whose echocardiogram closely resembled that found in left atrial myxoma. Because of severe mitral incompetence, the valve was replaced using cardiopulmonary bypass and at operation a large 3 cm friable vegetation was found attached to the posterior leaflet of the mitral valve. Histological examination showed changes typical of bacterial endocarditis with no evidence of myxoma.

ICMSF methods studies. XIII. An international comparative study of the MPN procedure and the Anderson-Baird-Parker direct plating method for the enumeration of Escherichia coli biotype I in raw meats

The most probable number (MPN) and a direct membrane-plating (DP) method were compared for enumeration of Escherichia coli biotype I in raw meats by 11 laboratories. The DP method yielded higher counts of E. coli than the MPN method for frozen samples but neither method consistently gave higher counts for non-frozen samples. The DP method was less variable and gave a higher rate of detection of low numbers of E. coli in frozen samples. Despite the inability of the DP method to enumerate E. coli biotype II and intermediate types, which comprise only 3–5% of the Escherichia strains (Ewing 1972), the method is preferable to the MPN method for enumerating E. coli in raw meats because of its lower variability, better recovery from frozen samples, rapidity, decreased requirement for media, and decreased costs for analysts' time.

Comparative physiology of renal tubular transport mechanisms

This manuscript discusses current concepts of glomerular filtration and tubular transport of sodium, water, potassium, and urinary acidification by vertebrate kidneys in a comparative context. Work in mammalian and amphibian nephrons receives major emphasis due to our interest in application of new techniques for investigation of cellular mechanisms; when available, data from other vertebrate classes are discussed.