Phenotypic and phylogenetic characterization of a new Corynebacterium species from dogs: description of Corynebacterium auriscanis sp. nov.
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Six strains of a previously undescribed catalase-positive coryneform bacterium isolated from clinical specimens from dogs were characterized by phenotypic and molecular genetic methods. Biochemical and chemotaxonomic studies revealed that the unknown bacterium belonged to the genus Corynebacterium sensu stricto. Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequencing showed that the six strains were genealogically highly related and constitute a new subline within the genus Corynebacterium; this subline is close to but distinct from C. falsenii, C. jeikeium, and C. urealyticum. The unknown bacterium from dogs was distinguished from all currently validated Corynebacterium species by phenotypic tests including electrophoretic analysis of whole-cell proteins. On the basis of phylogenetic and phenotypic evidence, it is proposed that the unknown bacterium be classified as a new species, Corynebacterium auriscanis. The type strain of C. auriscanis is CCUG 39938(T). (+info)
Pseudomonas aeruginosa veterinary isolates were assayed for elastase and total matrix protease activity. The elastase activity of canine ear isolates was much less than that of strain PAO1 and that of all other veterinary isolates (P < 0.0001). The results indicate that canine ear isolates have a distinct elastase phenotype. (+info)
Cancer mortality after nasopharyngeal radium irradiation in the Netherlands: a cohort study.
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BACKGROUND: Nasopharyngeal radium irradiation (NRI) was used widely from 1940 through 1970 to treat otitis serosa in children and barotrauma in airmen and submariners. We assessed whether NRI-exposed individuals were at higher risk for cancer-related deaths than were nonexposed individuals. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of all-cause and cancer-related mortality in 5358 NRI-exposed subjects and in 5265 frequency-matched nonexposed subjects, who as children were treated at nine ear, nose, and throat clinics in The Netherlands from 1945 through 1981. We recorded personal and medical data from original patient medical records and assessed vital status through follow-up at municipal population registries. Risk of mortality was evaluated by standardized mortality ratios (SMRs). All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS: The average radiation doses were 275, 10.9, 1.8, and 1.5 cGy for the nasopharynx, pituitary, brain, and thyroid, respectively. The median follow-up was 31.6 years. Three hundred two NRI-exposed subjects had died, with 269.2 deaths expected (SMR = 1.1; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.0 to 1.3); among nonexposed subjects, 315 died, with 283.5 deaths expected (SMR = 1.1; 95% CI = 0.99 to 1.2). Cancer-related deaths of 96 exposed subjects (SMR = 1.2; 95% CI = 0.95 to 1.4) and 87 nonexposed subjects (SMR = 1.0; 95% CI = 0.8 to 1.3) were documented. There were no excess deaths from cancers of the head and neck area among exposed subjects. However, there were excess deaths from cancers of lymphoproliferative and hematopoietic origin (SMR = 1.9; 95% CI = 1.1 to 3.0), mainly from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (SMR = 2.6; 95% CI = 1.0 to 5.3). We found no evidence that breast cancer deaths were less than expected (SMR = 1.7; 95% CI = 0.9 to 2.8) in contrast to an earlier study. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings do not indicate an increased cancer mortality risk in a population exposed to NRI in childhood. More prolonged follow-up of this and other NRI cohorts is recommended. (+info)
Spontaneous extradural haematomas.
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Spontaneous extradural haemorrhage may be due to neighbourhood infections, vascular malformations of the dura mater, and disorders of blood coagulation. Two cases are described here: in one, infection was present; in the other, there was a berry aneurysm of the middle meningeal artery with a small parietal dural angioma. Operation was successful in both patients. (+info)
Effects of amoxicillin on the expression of cytokines during experimental acute otitis media caused by non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae.
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Antibiotics are frequently prescribed when a diagnosis of acute otitis media (AOM) is made in childhood, but the effects of antibiotics on host-parasite interactions in the middle ear are not well defined. A rat model and PCR techniques were used to explore host responses during amoxicillin treatment of AOM caused by non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi). The 5 day course of amoxicillin initiated at the otomicroscopic peak of the infection eradicated the bacteria and induced significant changes in the expression of cytokines. Interleukin (IL)-6, tumour necrosis factor-alpha and IL-10 were upregulated by the treatment, and the downregulation was slower than during the natural course. Amoxicillin inhibited the upregulation of transforming growth factor-beta, whereas IL-1alpha expression remained unaffected by the treatment. By comparing inflammatory host responses during treated and untreated NTHi AOM, new targets for modification of the course, or more specified and individualized treatments, may evolve. (+info)
The pre-travel medical evaluation: the traveler with chronic illness and the geriatric traveler.
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The pre-travel medical evaluation of elderly patients and patients with chronic illness requires special assessment and advice. Screening and special precautions are reviewed for traveling patients with respiratory disease, cardiac disease, sinusitis, diabetes mellitus, HIV infection, and other chronic medical conditions. Current guidelines for empiric therapy and prophylaxis of travelers' diarrhea are reviewed, with emphasis on concerns in geriatric or chronically ill travelers. Special considerations such as potential drug-drug interactions and insurance coverage are also discussed. (+info)
Triterpene acids from the leaves of Perilla frutescens and their anti-inflammatory and antitumor-promoting effects.
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Nine triterpene acids, viz., six of the ursane type, ursolic acid (1), corosolic acid (2), 3-epicorosolic acid (3), pomolic acid (4), tormentic acid (5) and hyptadienic acid (6), and three of the oleanane type, oleanolic acid (7), augustic acid (8) and 3-epimaslinic acid (9), among which 1 constituted the most predominant triterpene acid, were isolated and identified from ethanol extracts of the leaves of red perilla [Perilla frutescens (L.) Britton var. acuta Kudo] and green perilla [P. frutescens (L.) Britton var. acuta Kudo forma viridis Makino]. These eight compounds, 1, 2, 4-9, were evaluated for their inhibitory effects on 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-induced inflammation (1 microg/ear) in mice. All the compounds tested showed a marked anti-inflammatory effect, with a 50% inhibitory dose (ID50) of 0.09-0.3 mg per ear. In addition, an evaluation against the Epstein-Barr virus early antigen (EBV-EA) activation induced by TPA showed five compounds, 1-3, 5 and 9, with a potent inhibitory effect on EBV-EA induction (91-93% inhibition at 1x10(3) mol ratio/TPA). Furthermore, compound 5 exhibited strong antitumor-promoting activity in an in vivo two-stage carcinogenesis test of mouse tumor by using 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA) as an initiator and TPA as a promoter. (+info)
Mycoplasma otitis in California calves.
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A retrospective study of Mycoplasma otitis in California calves submitted for necropsy between 1993 and 2002 was conducted to characterize the demographic features of the disease and the pathologic findings associated with infection. Sixty-one confirmed cases of Mycoplasma otitis were identified among 20,525 necropsied cattle. All affected animals were calves, ranging in age from 2 weeks to 4 months and with a median age of 1.5 months. Ninety-two percent of the cases were dairy breeds. A higher percent of necropsied calves with Mycoplasma otitis were males (0.45%) than females (0.23%). The proportion of cases that had Mycoplasma otitis increased from 1993 to 2002, and there was a significant (P < 0.05) seasonal distribution, with the highest proportion in the spring and the lowest in the summer months. Infections involved both the middle and inner ear and were characterized by a suppurative inflammatory response with extensive bony involvement. Three species of Mycoplasma were isolated from the ears: M. bovis, M. bovirhinis, and M. alkalescens. Concurrent pneumonia occurred in 47 cases (77%), and Mycoplasma was isolated from the lungs of 30 of those cases. The increasing proportion of Mycoplasma otitis cases in the past 10 years emphasizes the importance of identifying risk factors that could be modified to lower the incidence of this disease in calves. (+info)