Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to W Lotz.
Illness or death from trichinellosis is statutorily notifiable in Germany. Between nought and ten cases were reported each year from 1987 to 1997. From November 1998 to January 1999, however, 52 cases of trichinellosis were identified by the public health
This paper describes experiments with Mycoplasma mobile 163 K in tench inoculated via the gills, skin, peritoneal cavity or whole body surface and kept at two different temperatures (20 and 25 degrees C). Gill tissues from experimentally infected tench and rainbow-trout gill tissue explants infected in vitro were compared by transmission electron microscopy, revealing that M. mobile was capable of producing gill epithelial cell necrosis in both, but that it was much more severe in the explants. M. mobile was found attached to chloride cells in the tench and between necrotic epithelial cells in the trout gill explants. M. mobile was recovered from the gills for up to 28 days after inoculation, from the skin and swim bladder for up to 14 days, and from the hind gut, kidneys and spleen for up to 8 days. There was no significant difference between the results at 20 and 25 degrees C.
A mobilizable cloning vector was constructed from defined fragments to serve as a suicide plasmid for site-directed mutagenesis. The new vector, pKOK4, closely resembles plasmid pBR325. However, the inverted duplication existing in the latter was not introduced. The useful cloning sites of pBR325 (EcoRI, HindIII, EcoRV, BamHI, SalI, PstI and PvuI) were retained and are located in one of the three resistance markers, ApR, CmR or TcR, respectively. Also, in pKOK4 the CmR gene retains its own promoter. The mob site of plasmid RP4 was introduced as a 760-bp fragment at a defined location. The mobilization frequency of pKOK4 within Escherichia coli strains is approx. 4 x 10(-2) per recipient cell. The size of pKOK4, deduced from the construction, is 6368 bp. We used pKOK4 for site-directed mutagenesis of hup-specific DNA from Rhizobium leguminosarum B10. Integration of the vector could be distinguished reliably from marker exchange by screening for the antibiotic resistance(s) of the plasmid. This reduced the number of clones to be retested by colony and Southern hybridization to approx. 1% of the original number. Of these, almost 70% contained the desired marker exchange.
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A lacZ gene without a promoter, but containing its ribosome-binding site, was cloned next to the kanamycin-resistance (KmR) gene of plasmid pUC4K, yielding a lacZ-KmR cassette. From the resulting plasmid, pKOK5, the lacZ-KmR cassette was recloned by means of BamHI into plasmid pKOK4, a mobilizable derivative of pBR322 which mediates ampicillin, chloramphenicol and tetracycline resistance. The lacZ-KmR cassette can be excised from pKOK5 or pKOK6 by digestion with BamHI, SalI or PstI. It can be used for insertion mutagenesis by ligation of the cassette to target DNA that has been linearized by one of these enzymes. Insertions can be selected by the KmR phenotype and mapped by digestion, e.g., with PstI and SalI. The orientation of the inserted cassette can be determined by digestion, e.g., with EcoRI or HindIII. Within the lacZ-KmR cassette, the transcription of the lacZ and the KmR genes are directed towards each other, and the two genes are separated by the bidirectionally active terminator from phage fd. In Escherichia coli, no transcription emanating from the cassette was detected. Transcription within DNA mutagenized by the cassette can be monitored by the promoterless lacZ gene. The lacZ-KmR cassette is currently used by us for the site-directed mutagenesis of hydrogen uptake gene-specific DNA from Rhizobium leguminosarum B10.
From 1980-1983 the funnel chest of 29 patients (age range 6-40 years) was surgically corrected using Ravitch's method. In 25 patients clinical and cosmetic follow-up investigations were possible. The psychological investigation consisted of standardised interviews with special questions concerning the problems that patients with funnel chest have to deal with. In 16 cases the result of the operation was good, in 7 cases satisfying, 2 patients had a poor result. The presence of a funnel chest did have a psychological impact on most of the patients, who were inhibited in their psychosocial activities. Surgical correction changed these restrictions in most of the patients in a positive way. We conclude that the psychosocial indication for surgical correction of the funnel chest is justified, since our results strongly support this indication.
A patient with chronic Parathione (E 605) poisoning was observed over a period of 55 days. During that time he developed progressive changes, which were identical to those of progressive idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The rapid development of an alveolitis, followed by a lethal pulmonary fibrosis, differed in no way, macroscopically nor microscopically, from the lung changes in paraquat poisoning (paraquat lung). The radiological course has been correlated with the clinical and post mortem findings.
Many otolaryngologists and speech clinicians have found videofiberoptic evaluations to be invaluable for assessment of velopharyngeal and laryngeal function in adults. However, many professionals question the feasibility of routine use of these procedures in the pediatric population. This article describes a method for successful completion of videonasoendoscopic speech and voice evaluations of children as young as 3 years of age. The importance of the ENT/speech team is emphasized in both the collection and interpretation of data. In addition, contributions of videonasoendoscopic observations to diagnosis, medical treatment, and therapy for speech and voice disorders are discussed.
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Products are released in vitro by mitogen stimulation of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells or rat spleen cells which increase corticosterone blood levels when injected into normal rats. We report that an almost pure population of human peripheral blood lymphocytes in mixed lymphocyte culture stimulated with phytohaemagglutinin also produces a glucocorticoid increasing factor(s). The product equivalent to the amount released by 5 X 10(5) cells increased corticosterone levels four-fold and also increased ACTH levels. When rats were hypophysectomized or treated with dexamethasone to block ACTH output, no corticosterone increase was noted following administration of glucocorticoid increasing factor(s) (GIF). Similar results were obtained with supernatants of rat spleen cells stimulated with concanavalin A. We conclude that GIF has no direct action on the adrenals in vivo and that a functional pituitary gland is essential for its action. The presented data taken together with those described earlier suggest the existence of a glucocorticoid associated immunoregulatory feedback circuit.
One thousand five hundred and eighty-three patients who were x-rayed for dyspepsia showed varioliform erosions in 15.3%. Men had an incidence of 9.8%, almost twice as common as in women (5.5%). Mucosal polyps, usually of the hyperplastic type, occurred in 2.4%. 15% of patients with gastric ulcers and 16% of patients with duodenal ulcers had varioliform erosions. On the other hand, amongst patients with erosions, 11% had gastric ulcers and 8.3% duodenal ulcers. The definitions of erosion which have been given in the literature are partly contradictory, and are discussed. Varioliform erosions, also known as complete erosions, may be acute or chronic. They are the third most common cause of bleeding from the upper gastrointestinal tract. With modern radiological methods of examining the stomach, they are no longer a rare finding.
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In spite of the variations in cell form and cell size, some mycoplasmas show several consistent and peculiar structural features: a flask- or club-shaped cell form and a more or less defined terminal structure. Organisms with these features can be observed within the species Mycoplasma pneumoniae, M. genitalium, M. pulmonis, M. gallisepticum, M. alvi, M. sualvi and Mycoplasma sp. strain 163 K. Ultrastructural peculiarities of some flask-shaped mycoplasmas are a surface nap and a cytoskeleton. With the exception of M. alvi and M. sualvi, for which detailed investigations are lacking, the flask-shaped mycoplasmas differ from the other mycoplasmas by their gliding motility and adherence properties. All of the flask-shaped mycoplasmas ferment glucose, but there are differences in the other biochemical properties investigated and in the guanine + cytosine ratio. The question remains whether the flask shape, the adherence and the motility are associated with pathogenicity, since three mycoplasmas with these properties are established pathogens. No data are available at present on the pathogenicity of the remaining four species, but several criteria suggest that at least two of them may have an etiological role in disease.
The rare condition of massive osteolysis is illustrated by a 75-year-old man with involvement of the right arm which began at the age of 16. Serial radiographs over a period of 33 years are compared. In addition to the typical haemangiomatous vascular proliferation and connective tissue growth in the affected bone, there were also changes in the peripheral nerves, such as neurinomas and neurofibromas, which have not been previously described. Arteriography is usually not able to demonstrate the angiomatous tissue, but this was convincingly seen by means of sequential scintigraphy (99mTc-MDP). This finding, with absence of uptake on a subsequent bone scan, may be regarded as the typical isotope finding in massive osteolysis.
A number of centrally active benzodiazepines lowered baseline serum prolactin concentrations after oral administration to male rats. The increase of circulating prolactin levels elicited by oral administration of various neuroleptic agents was also reduced by prior or simultaneous oral administration of several benzodiazepines in a dose-dependent manner. Since both effects were prevented by simultaneous administration of the benzodiazepine antagonist Ro 15-1788 they are probably mediated by central benzodiazepine receptors which interfere with aminergic mechanisms governing serum prolactin.