Vaginal Chlamydia trachomatis infection in children with sexual contact.

To determine whether vaginal infections with Chlamydia trachomatis in children were associated with sexual contact, 50 children ages 1 to 12 years with a history of sexual contact and 34 children without such a history were studied. Vaginal, throat and rectal cultures for C. trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae were performed in all children. Three children with sexual contact and none of the children without a history of sexual contact had vaginal infections. The three infected children were asymptomatic and only one had had vaginal intercourse. None of the 10 children with a history of sexual contact and gonorrheal vaginitis had C. trachomatis isolated. Although C. trachomatis vaginal infections as detected by vaginal cultures are infrequent, we recommend that all girls being evaluated for sexual contact be routinely cultured for C. trachomatis so that those infected can be treated.

Detection of bacterial antigens in body fluids with the Wellcogen Haemophilus influenzae b, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Neisseria meningitidis (ACYW135) latex agglutination tests.

The Wellcogen Haemophilus influenzae b, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Neisseria meningitidis (ACYW135) latex agglutination tests (Wellcome Diagnostics, Dartford, England) were evaluated as methods to detect bacterial antigens in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), urine, and serum from patients with meningitis or sepsis. Antigen was detected in 92% of CSFs from H. influenzae b, 100% of CSFs from N. meningitidis groups A and Y, 36% of CSFs from N. meningitidis group C, and 69% of CSFs from pneumococcal meningitidis patients. Serum samples presented a problem, with a few false-positive or possible cross-reactions. The Wellcogen latex agglutination tests were more sensitive than the Bactogen (H. influenzae type b) latex agglutination test and the Phadebact (S. pneumoniae) coagglutination test.

Biochemical changes in layer and broiler chickens when fed on a high-glucosinolate rapeseed meal.

Diets containing 500 g high-glucosinolate rapeseed meal/kg or an equivalent amount of soybean meal as the only protein supplement were fed to layer-type chickens and two broiler strains from 1 to 56 d of age. Additional groups of the former were maintained on the diets until they were 16 and 28 d old. The rapeseed meal produced thyroid hypertrophy in all strains but reduced the growth rate of only one of the broiler strains. The livers of chickens fed on rapeseed meal were enlarged and DNA analysis indicated hyperplasia, but no macroscopic lesions were found. The activities of aspartate transaminase, lactate dehydrogenase and alkaline phosphatase in the plasma were increased by rapeseed meal, suggesting liver damage. In all strains, feeding rapeseed meal increased plasma total protein, albumin and cholesterol and decreased urate. Hyperglycaemia accompanied by a decrease in plasma triglycerides occurred in the layer strain. Through its extra-thyroidal toxicity (-)5-vinyl-oxazolidine-2-thione (goitrin) was probably responsible for most of these changes.

Effects of selective breeding and age on the ability of the domestic fowl (Gallus domesticus) to oxidize trimethylamine.

Groups of adults which were selected for low and high (normal) TMA oxidase activities produced chickens with a predominance of the same character showing that capacity for synthesizing the enzyme is strongly inherited. The low and high strains became homogenous in generations 2 and 3, respectively, demonstrating that the genetic factor that impairs the synthesis of TMA oxidase can be readily removed by selective breeding. There was a 7-fold difference in the hepatic TMA oxidase activities of the strains at the age of 1 day and a 26-fold difference at 22 days. The synthesis of the enzyme increased rapidly in the high strain between the ages of 8 and 36 days but did not alter significantly in the low strain. Sex had no effect on TMA oxidase synthesis. The high strain showed better feather development and laid eggs with paler shells. There was no difference in their growth rate, egg production or hatchability.

Sexual contact in children with gonorrhea.

This study was performed to determine if gonorrheal infections in children aged 1 to 12 years were frequently associated with sexual contacts. In our study all 14 children who had gonorrhea and who were over 4 years of age and 35% (six) of the 17 children who had gonorrhea and who were between 1 and 4 years old were found to have had sexual contact with older males who were almost always in the extended family. Our study supports the concept that gonorrhea in children over 4 years old is almost always associated with sexual contact. In children between 1 and 4 years old, a history of sexual contact is more difficult to obtain but may be elicited in more than a third of the cases. Hospitalization of the children and identification of extended family members with gonorrhea, followed by additional interviews, were useful procedures in determining who had had sexual contact with the children.

Detection of group B streptococcal antigen in early-onset and late-onset group B streptococcal disease with the Wellcogen Strep B latex agglutination test.

The Wellcogen Strep B latex agglutination test (Wellcome Diagnostics, Dartford, England) was evaluated as a method of detecting group B streptococcal antigen in urine, cerebrospinal fluid, and serum from neonates with early-onset (less than or equal to 7 days of age) and late-onset group B streptococcal disease. Urine was the best source of antigen, which was detected in 100% of six neonates with early-onset group B streptococcal disease who had urine available in the first 12 h of illness and in 88% of 17 group B streptococcus-infected neonates with urine available in the first 48 h of illness. Antigen was not detected in any samples from patients without group B streptococcal disease except in the urine of one patient with Proteus mirabilis meningitis. The Wellcogen Strep B latex test of the lot tested compares favorably with a noncommercially available latex agglutination test.

The effect of thionamides and related compounds on trimethylamine oxidase activity in hepatic microsomes isolated from chickens (Gallus domesticus).

1. Thiourea, ethylene thiourea, methimazole and (+) 5-vinyl-oxazolidine-2-thione (OZT) gave similar inhibition curves when added to the reaction mixture. A concentration of 20 microM reduced the activity by over 75%. Thioacetamide and thiobenzamide also behaved as potent inhibitors. 2. (-) OZT had less effect than the (+) isomer. 3. Microsomes from chickens with an inherently low capacity for synthesising TMA oxidase and enhanced susceptibility to the goitrogenic effects of OZT were more sensitive to this inhibition than those from a high TMA oxidase strain. 4. Inhibition by thiourea was competitive and the apparent K1 for low oxidase microsomes was 2.5 x 10(-6)M. 5. The inhibitory property of thionamides was lost when the S atom was replaced by O but was retained when it was oxidised to the sulphinic acid or sulphoxide. 6. Incubation of microsomes with sodium diethyldithiocarbamate reduced their TMA oxidase activity. 7. Sulphonium compounds, glucosinolates and antithyroid compounds with no thionamide group, including potassium thiocyanate, had no marked effect on the activity of the enzyme.

Thyroid function in relation to trimethylamine oxidation in immature domestic fowl fed on rapeseed meal.

1. Two groups of 12-week-old female chicks were selected for their ability to oxidise 14C-trimethylamine (TMA) after being fed on a diet containing 100 g high-glucosinolate rapeseed meal (RSM)/kg for 14 d. A third group (control) was fed on a rapeseed-free diet. Measurements of thyroid activity and hepatic TMA activity were made after a further week on the diets. 2. After feeding RSM, hepatic TMA oxidase oxidase was very low (P less than 0.001) in one group (sensitive) but was unaffected in the other group (resistant). Thyroid size was increased in both groups receiving RSM but was larger (P less than 0.001) in sensitive birds. 3. Plasma half life of thyroxine (T4) and its metabolite clearance rate were not affected by feeding RSM; thyroidal secretion was reduced (P less than 0.05) to the same extent in both groups. 4. Plasma concentration of triiodothyronine was decreased in both groups after feeding RSM (P less than 0.05); plasma T4 concentration was increased (P less than 0.05) only in sensitive birds. 5. The results indicate that the short-term depression of TMA oxidation in birds sensitive to RSM is not mediated by the thyroid.

Bacterial endotoxins and the pathogenesis of fatty liver--haemorrhagic syndrome in the laying hen.

A high energy maize diet produced a higher incidence of fatty liver-haemorrhagic syndrome than a low energy barley diet when the diets were fed during the summer. The triglyceride content of the liver increased with the liver haemorrhage score and in hens with the highest scores there was evidence of hepatic hyperplasia. They also had high activities of aspartate transaminase and cholinesterase in the plasma and a low activity of sorbitol dehydrogenase. There was no increase in plasma endotoxin levels as the syndrome developed or any significant variation in these levels with the haemorrhage score, the triglyceride content of the liver or plasma enzyme activities. It was concluded that the steatosis does not impair the ability of the liver to inactivate endotoxins of enteric bacteria and that these toxins are not involved in the pathogenesis of the syndrome.

Bacterial endotoxins and liver haemorrhage in the oestrogenised chicken.

Hepatic steatosis and haemorrhage in oestrogenised chickens were not associated with any increase in the endotoxin content of the plasma. The haemorrhage was not ameliorated by suppressing enteric bacteria with neomycin or exacerbated by the repeated injection of Escherichia coli O111 endotoxin and there were no relevant changes in plasma enzyme activities that are indicators of liver damage. These results therefore do not support the hypothesis that, as in the choline deficient rat, hepatic steatosis impairs the ability of the oestrogenised chicken to dispose of bacterial endotoxins and that these then damage the liver.

Effects of rapeseed meal on laying hens (Gallus domesticus) in relation to fatty liver-haemorrhagic syndrome and egg taint.

Fatty liver-haemorrhagic syndrome (FLHS) occurred in the controls and was modified in hens that received a diet containing 10 per cent rapeseed meal. This diet increased the extent and severity of the hepatic haemorrhage without affecting the reticulin content of the liver but decreased the body weight and liver lipid levels and so weakened the correlation between these parameters and haemorrhage score found in FLHS. Plasma aspartate transaminase and beta-glucuronidase activities tended to increase with the score. The rapeseed meal diet also produced thyroid hypertrophy and since this was greater in the hens that produced tainted eggs and was positively correlated with the trimethylamine (TMA) content of the eggs it was postulated that rapeseed meal goitrogens may be involved as secondary factors in producing the disturbance in TMA metabolism that causes the egg taint. This abnormality was associated with a reduction in the soluble protein content of the liver, which reflected a decrease in TMA oxidase activity, but was not related to hepatic haemorrhage, steatosis or reticulolysis, or to lipid levels and the activities of lysosomal enzymes and transaminases in the plasma.