[Contribution of magnetic resonance imaging in diagnosis of pericardial mesothelioma: a case report]. / Apport de l'imagerie par résonance magnétique au diagnostic du mésothéliome péricardique: à propos d'un cas.

Pericardial mesothelioma is a rare form of pericardial tumor. The invasive investigations such as biopsy make the diagnosis. Non-invasive imaging techniques provide valuable information about its diagnosis and its clinical impact. We report here the results of magnetic resonance imaging of pericardial mesothelioma in a 65-year-old woman. The originality and purpose of this case is to illustrate the additional value of magnetic resonance imaging that should be systematically performed when assessing this pathology.

Near-perfect imaging in a focusing system based on a left-handed-material plate.

This Letter deals with the investigation of the electromagnetic radiation focusing using a plane-parallel plate of a material with negative real parts of the permittivity and permeability. The reasons are demonstrated for the restriction of the limiting attainable resolution of the system. The possibility of obtaining the separated images of sources the distance between which is much less than the wavelength is confirmed theoretically and experimentally.

Salmonella-specific monoclonal antibodies against recombinant Salmonella typhi 36-kilodalton porin.

Mouse monoclonal antibodies were raised against recombinant Salmonella typhi 36-kDa porin monomer. Specificities of 16 monoclonal antibodies were analyzed as reactivity patterns in dot immunobinding and Western blot (immunoblot) assays using isolated outer membrane proteins of gram-negative bacteria and cloned purified S. typhi porin monomers and trimers. Four monoclonal antibodies were specific for Salmonella spp.

Antiborrelial activity of serum from rats injected with the Lyme disease spirochete.

The functional properties of humoral factors generated in rats immunized against Borrelia burgdorferi were investigated. After Lewis strain rats were injected intraperitoneally with live B. burgdorferi or in the footpad with dead borreliae incorporated in complete Freund's adjuvant, they produced high-titered antisera. At a dilution of less than or equal to 1:10, sera from immunized or infected rats but not control sera inhibited growth of B. burgdorferi in vitro. Neutralization of growth of three different strains of B. burgdorferi by posttreatment sera was dose-dependent and was detected equally well by direct microscopic counts or by measuring incorporation of tritiated adenine into newly synthesized nucleic acids. These findings provide direct evidence that infection or immunization with the Lyme disease spirochete induces the formation of serum factors capable of preventing the growth of B. burgdorferi in vitro.

Virulence-related genes in ColV plasmids of Escherichia coli isolated from human blood and intestines.

DNA probes for the colicin V, traT, iss, and iu genes were used in this study of four representative ColV plasmids together with 200 Escherichia coli strains isolated from the stools of patients with diarrhea and 146 E. coli strains isolated from the blood of patients with bacteremia. The study indicated that the ColV plasmids are heterogeneous. Southern and colony hybridization analyses showed that in most of the colicin V-producing intestinal E. coli strains, the colicin V genes are located in the chromosome (14 of 16); in most of the colicin V-producing E. coli strains isolated from the blood, they are located in plasmids (18 of 22). In both intestinal and blood E. coli isolates, the traT, iss, and aerobactin receptor genes were present at similar frequencies, but the frequency of the aerobactin synthesis genes was significantly different. The aerobactin receptor gene was present in 25% of the intestinal E. coli strains that lack the aerobactin synthesis gene. In the blood isolates, the aerobactin synthesis and receptor genes were present at almost equal frequencies. Among the colicin V-producing isolates, the iss, traT, and iu genes were present in 95.5, 86.4, and 90.9% of the blood isolates and in only 68.8, 43.8, and 81.3% of the intestinal isolates, respectively. The ColV plasmids from blood isolates that were tested for the presence of traT, iss, and iu genes were homogeneous and had DNA sequences that hybridized with each of the probes. On the other hand, the two intestinal strains containing ColV genes in a plasmid were heterogeneous in regard to the carriage of these genes. The presence of ColV is not restricted to specific O types.

Further characterization of Escherichia coli O153:H45, an ETEC serotype disseminated in Chile.

The newly described stable enterotoxin producing, enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, serotype O153:H45, capable of expressing colonizing factor antigen I, is frequently isolated as a cause of diarrhea among Chilean children. Hybridization studies of five new strains confirmed previous results which indicated that the stable enterotoxin genes are contained in nonconjugative plasmids ranging in size from 81 to 87 kilobases. The strains expressed similar antibiotic resistance and metabolic properties but differed in their plasmid content.

Characterization of the respiratory activity of mitochondria isolated from an insect cell line CP-1268 Laspeyresia pomonella.

Mitochondria have been isolated from the codling moth Laspeyresia pomonella, CP-1268 cell line. The mitochondrial fraction was isolated from pooled 4 d, exponential growth phase, cultures. The mitochondria were determined to be intact based on the demonstration of respiratory control, the effects of 2,4 dinitrophenol and oligomycin on respiration, the inability to oxidize NADH, and the inability of cytochrome c to enhance respiration. The isolated mitochondria were able to oxidize succinate, pyruvate, malate, alpha-ketoglutarate, and alpha-glycerophosphate efficiently. Of the substrates tested, the CP-1268 mitochondria oxidized succinate most efficiently. The respiratory control ratios ranged from a high of 4.6 for pyruvate to a low of 1.7 with alpha-glycerophosphate. These findings confirm that the mitochondria were tightly coupled. The data also confirm the presence of three sites of oxidative phosphorylation because NAD-linked substrates had ADP-to-O ratios approaching 3 and flavoprotein linked substrates had values approaching 2.

[Immunogenicity and thymus-dependence of the polymerized alpha-toxoid of Clostridium perfringens]. / Immunogennost' i timuszavisimost' polimerizovannogo alpha-anatoksina Clostridium perfringens.

Polymeric alpha-toxoid with a molecular weight of 450 000--600 000 was obtained by condensation of alpha-toxoid of Cl. perfringens, type A, with glutaric aldehyde. Experiments on guinea pigs showed that in the adsorbed preparations the immunogenic properties of both monomeric and polymeric alpha-toxoids are practically identical. The primary immune response after the immunization with nonadsorbed antigens was 3 times greater than that induced by the monomer. Polymerization of alpha-toxoid failed to change its thymus dependency.