[Pattern of antibodies in acute human brucellosis defined by Western blotting]

We have evaluated with Western blotting the serologic response of 144 patients with acute brucellosis and 62 healthy controls to identify a useful antibody pattern to confirm the diagnosis of acute brucellosis. The antigen that we used was a protein extract of whole cells of the strain 115 (rough) of B. melitensis. Patients sera were obtained at the time of diagnosis and before the start of specific therapy. There was antibody response to 21 protein bands. The molecular weights (MW) and frequencies of the most significant bands were the following: 85 Kd (60.4%), 70 Kd (54.1%), 53 Kd (63.9%), 50 Kd (65.3%), 47 Kd (71.5%), 41 Kd (74.3%), 38 Kd (68.7%), 33 Kd (56.2%), 28 Kd (52.8%). At the time of diagnosis, 90.3% of the patients with acute brucellosis had antibody response to 2 or more protein bands of Mw of 47 Kd, 41 Kd, 38 Kd and 33 Kd. In none of the 62 negative control sera there was a response to more than one of the mentioned bands.

[School feeding program in Guatemala: technology transfer to artisan bakers, producers of the nutritionally improved cookie]

The Ministry of Education of Guatemala requested from the Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama (INCAP), the development of a solid food for delivery to school children who attend the official schools throughout the country. INCAP developed and transferred the processing technology to produce a nutritionally improved cookie to artisan bakers from the different regions of the country. The present paper describes the technological process, focusing on the training, supervision and quality control actions executed with approximately 100 micro baking enterprises, in 1988 and 1989. These actions have had a positive impact on the bakeries, a fact evidenced by the significant improvement of the conditions and processes of the nutritionally improved cookie production. The performance of the above-mentioned activities has allowed us to detect necessities, for the solution of which research and development of technologies are most important for their immediate transference to artisan bakers. Nevertheless, it is necessary to monitor and control the transferred technology, and efforts must continue to increase the effectiveness of the whole system which involves technology transference model, created for this project.

Priapism as the presenting feature of renal cell carcinoma

We describe a case of renal cell carcinoma with metastasis to the penis clinically presenting with priapism. Six such cases found in the literature are reviewed. Neoplastic disease is far advanced in these cases and therapy is only palliative.

Age-related changes in the immune system of mice of eight medium and long-lived strains and hybrids. II. Short- and long-term effects of natural infection with parainfluenza type 1 virus (Sendai)

Studies on the effects of natural infection with parainfluenza type 1 virus (Sendai) on the immune system of 8 strains and hybrids of aging mice revealed that (a) 55 of 63 indices tested were abnormal as late as 8 months after the disappearance of clinical systoms, (b) thymus weight and cell indices and lymph node T cell activity still exhibited a statistically significant negative correlation with age following infection, and (c) immunologically immature young and immunodeficient old mice suffered more severe sequelae following viral infection than did adult or middle-aged mice as determined by accelerated decline of thymus indices, mortality, IgM Coombs' titer, and in the case of old mice, anemia. These findings suggest that chronic viral infection can accelerate immunologic aging and that viral infection in utero can suppress or retard the development of the T cell component of the immune system. In support of our previous study, they also suggest that the thymus regulates immunologic aging and that genetic factors regulating immunologic aging are not easily influenced by environmental factors.

Age-related changes in the immune system of mice of eight medium and long-lived strains and hybrids. I. Organ, cellular, and activity changes

Fifty-three organ, cellular and activity indices were assessed in aging mice of 8 strains and hybrids (5 inbred strains, 1 random bred strain and 2 hybrids of inbred strains) in an attempt to determine which aspects of immunologic aging are characteristic of the species. The results indicate that thymic weight, cellular, and activity indices exhibit a statistically significant negative correlation with age for mice of all 8 strains and hybrids; and B cell cellular indices show a statistically significant positive correlation with age for all mice, while the B cell activity index, lipopolysaccharide response, is dependent on the strain or hybrid. This correlation study supports the view that the T cell component of the immune system deteriorates with age while the B cell component remains relatively intact. Further, the results suggest that thymic aging is a characteristic of the mouse species and that the intrinsic "clock" for immunologic aging resides in the thymus, because most splenic and lymph node T cell activity and cellular indices are associated with thymic weight and cellular indices. Finally, the findings that indices which correlate best with age show the same trend for all strains and hybrids examined suggest that (a) if randomly occurring somatic mutation does play a role in immunologic aging, its influence is limited, and (b) genetic factors not easily influenced by environmental factors regulate immunologic aging.

Fosfomycin in the bacteriuria of paraplegic patients

A study was made of the activity of fosfomycin in vitro and in vivo against different bacterial strains localized in the urinary tract of paraplegic patients hospitalized for their rehabilitation in our Hospital. A total of 22 patients were studied and 24 treatments were carried out. A total of 33 organisms were isolated in the initial cultures. In all patients, the pattern of administration of the antibiotic was 4 g/day intramuscularly during 8 days. From the bacteriological standpoint, the results were excellent, although there was no question of clinical results due to the special circumstances of these patients. A sterilization of the urocultures was achieved in 20 of the 24 cases treated. No signs of intolerance or toxicity were observed in any of the patients upon administering the antibiotic.