Comparison of polymerase chain reaction and culture methods for detection of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans and Porphyromonas gingivalis in subgingival plaque samples

In a formerly drug-dependent patient of 35 years of age suffering from an advanced HIV infection there was a development within a period of a few months of rapid weight loss amounting to 12 kg, persistent subfebrile temperatures and progressive dyspnoea on exercise. The histological pattern obtained via bronchoscopy revealed not only pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, which had already been suspected clinically, but also a not very differentiated adenocarcinoma of the lung with lymphangiosis carcinomatosa. The patient died three months after tis diagnosis was established, which had been followed by the usual pneumocystosis therapy and palliative treatment with glucocorticoids.     

The effect of repeated freeze–thaw cycles on tenderness and cooking loss in beef

When beef neck muscle, maintained at rest length, was subjected to repeated freezing and thawing, the increases in tenderness were small and significant only when taken in aggregate after two or three cycles. Cooking losses rose steeply after freezing once. There was a very small but significant rise after further cycles. Aging did not affect cooking loss. The rate of aging in meat after freezing and thawing increased, approaching significance. There were large variations in the ability of different samples to be tenderised by freezing or by aging.     

Formiminotransferase cyclodeaminase from porcine liver. An octomeric enzyme containing bifunctional polypeptides

Estimation of the proportion of degenrate retina in rd/rd and +/+ (or +/rd) chimaeras, using a linear analysis of histological sections, suggests a considerable preponderance of the normal phenotype, while analyses based on the area of the surviving tissue suggest that the proportion of each component is similar to that in other tissues. This argues against the validity of the linear analyses used by other authors. It is suggested that cell movement occurs in the outer nuclear layer, following the degeneration of the rd/rd population, and results in a distortion of the original patches of normal cells.     

Local time horizons in Pavlovian learning.

Responding to a CS is impaired if the CS is trained in the presence of excitatory local context cues. Four lick suppression experiments with rats explored whether this local context effect arises from the influence of excitatory cues that precede or that follow a reinforced target CS. Pretrained nontarget stimuli served as local context cues that occurred (1) immediately before and after the target CS trial, (2) immediately before or after the target CS trial, or (3) only before or after the target CS trial with varying intervals between the nontarget stimulus and target CS. Results indicated similar control over responding to the target CS by the preceding and following nontarget cues. This outcome implies a symmetrical window of memory integration (local time horizon) for a Pavlovian CS. Possible mechanisms underlying the detrimental effect of embedding a CS in an excitatory local context are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Raw egg ingestion and salmonellosis in body builders

Four patients with Salmonella enteritidis infection are reported. All were body builders who regularly consumed substantial quantities of raw eggs. They presented with a severe febrile illness and diarrhoea--presumably reflecting a large bacterial inoculum. Advice regarding the potential hazards of raw egg ingestion has been repeatedly issued by the Department of Health--but this report highlights the fact that this practice continues in spite of this. The epidemiology of S. enteritidis infection in relation to raw egg ingestion is discussed.     

Transportation,handling, and microbial growth performance of molded fiber and expanded polystyrene apple trays

Washington State apples are shipped all over the United States for retail sales. Adequate packaging is needed to minimize apple damage during distribution. Two common materials used for apple trays are expanded polystyrene (EPS) and molded fiber (MF). A recent industry change from MF to EPS trays provoked an interest in exploring the performance difference between the two. Distribution environment hazards include shock, vibration, and compression forces. Prior work has focused only on comparing vibration or shock performance of EPS and MF trays used in protecting apples. In this study, a variety of typical hazards encountered between case pack and retail preparation are considered on a larger sampling scale. The shock, vibration, and interlayer dynamic compressive forces are simulated as well as free‐fall drops possible with manual handling of the cases. A novel device and test method is developed to simulate the forces because of human hands removing trays of apples from the case at retail. Further, a microbial analysis of worst case apple condensation is performed to compare the tray materials effect on apple microbial populations. It is concluded through physical and microbial testing that there is no statistical difference in the physical protection or the growth of microbial populations between EPS and MF apple trays. Most significant tray damage is observed in the EPS trays because of free‐fall drop testing. Apple tray material selection can be shifted to other factors such as cost or consumer preference.