Enumeration of coliform bacteria in wastewater solids using defined substrate technology.

Commercially available defined substrate technology for the enumeration of coliform bacteria was investigated for its applicability to waste activated sludge (WAS) solids. The defined substrate, Colilert, in conjunction with the QuantiTray enumeration system, was compared with multiple-tube fermentation (MTF). Multiple-tube fermentation analyses (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency [U.S. EPA]-accepted methods for the enumeration of coliforms in wastewater solids) were conducted on settled wastewater solids using lauryl tryptose broth as the presumptive phase and brilliant-green lactose bile broth for the confirmed phase of total coliform enumeration. Both EC medium for fecal coliform identification and EC-4-methyl-umbelliferyl-beta-D-glucuronide (MUG) media for Escherichia coli for the MTF completed phase were also conducted on the WAS. Samples analyzed included raw WAS and WAS that had been pasteurized at 70 degrees C for 15 and 30 minutes, respectively. Twenty replicates of each sample were measured to demonstrate statistical equivalence of the total coliform numbers for all three WAS samples (raw, 15-minute pasteurization, and 30-minute pasteurization). Results show that both systems provided statistically equal total coliform most probable numbers (MPNs) for all samples tested. As expected, fecal coliform numbers identified by the MTF technique were statistically higher than E. coli enumerated by Colilert-QuantiTray. However, the E. coli MPN generated by the MTF method was found to be statistically equal to the Colilert-QuantiTray numbers. Because of its ease of use and reduced time to obtain the analysis, the Colilert-QuantiTray system can be useful in enumerating coliforms in WAS. However, more data are required to definitively show equivalence of the commercially available defined substrate technology to the U.S.-EPA accepted protocol. It is hoped that the results of this study will help form a database for the acceptance of the Colilert-QuantiTray system for WAS bacterial analyses.

The relations between sociotropy and autonomy, positive and negative affect and two proposed depression subtypes.

We examined relations between the cognitive/personality model of sociotropy (SOC) and autonomy (AUT; Beck, 1983) and the affect/personality model of positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA; Tellegen, 1985; Watson & Clark, 1984, 1992), and their relations to two proposed depression subtypes (Beck, 1983) in 60 adult depressed out-patients. SOC and NA scores shared significant common variance while facets of AUT and low PA were moderately related. Autonomous depressive symptoms appeared more depression-specific than sociotropic depressive symptoms. Findings did not confirm the usefulness of sociotropy and autonomy in the prediction of the symptom clusters, possibly due to the measurement of the depressive symptom clusters.

Integration of positive and negative affectivity and cognitive content-specificity: improved discrimination of anxious and depressive symptoms.

In a sample of 159 psychiatric outpatient adults, negative affectivity (NA) was significantly correlated with a broad range of anxiety and depressive symptoms and was not useful for the differentiation of anxiety from depression. Low positive affectivity (PA) was significantly related only to depressive symptoms. Whereas depressive cognitions demonstrated discriminant capability, anxiety cognitions (in isolation) demonstrated nonspecificity. A combination of NA and anxious cognitions significantly predicted anxiety symptoms, better than did cognitions or affect alone. NA, depressive cognitions, and low PA significantly predicted depressive symptoms. Results support the integration of affective and cognitive models for the discrimination of anxious from depressive symptoms and have implications for measure development. Modifications in the cognitive content-specificity theory of anxiety states are discussed.

Psychiatric residency directors' use of computers in their training programs.

Over 73% (169) of psychiatric residency training directors who responded to a survey believe that computer instruction should be provided to residents. The survey instrument, a questionnaire, was mailed to residency directors of general and child psychiatry programs (N = 314) in 1991. The authors found that computers are available for resident use in 165 (79%) programs, but only 87 (38%) residency programs provide computer instruction for their trainees. Over 85% (182) of the directors have used computers, with 45% (90) of them using computers at least 3 hours per week. The directors' own use of computers is strongly associated with typing skill level and familiarity with different software packages. There is a discrepancy between the amount of computer instruction provided for residents and the amount the directors desire. The authors also found that most directors are not familiar with software packages developed specifically for psychiatrists that are now available.

Tracheobronchial and esophageal foreign bodies in the pediatric population.

A foreign body lodged in the aerodigestive tract of a child often poses a difficult medical problem. Experience with the diagnosis and removal of these foreign bodies is presented in this retrospective review. The description by a witness of the actual ingestion frequently provided the key to diagnosis. Rigid endoscopy remains a safe technique for foreign body extraction with a low resultant morbidity and mortality. Organic matter comprises the majority of bronchial foreign bodies (70%) while coins are the predominant finding (80%) in the esophagus.

Acalculous cholecystitis: its role as a complication of major burn injury.

The authors present four cases of acute acalculous cholecystitis complicating major burn injury and review the recent literature on acalculous cholecystitis. All patients were men and ranged in age from 22 to 40 years. The mean extent of the burn was 50% of the total body surface area, with an average 29% third-degree component. All four patients survived. Because of their severity, major burn injuries expose patients to many risks, including acute acalculous cholecystitis. Recent experimental evidence supports a vascular insult through the activation of Factor XII pathways as the initial event. A diagnosis is made on clinical grounds, supported by laboratory and ultrasonographic findings, in a patient with a burn covering more than 30% of the total body surface area and who has signs of acute cholecystitis. Cholecystectomy is the treatment of choice; tube cholecystostomy is reserved for critically ill patients.

Human adenovirus 2 E1B-19K and E1B-53K tumor antigens: antipeptide antibodies targeted to the NH2 and COOH termini.

The human adenovirus 2 (Ad2) transforming region is located in the left 11.1% of the viral genome and encodes two early transcription units, E1A and E1B. Based on the amino acid sequence deduced from the Ad2 E1B DNA sequence (Gingeras et al., J. Biol. Chem. 257:13475-13491, 1982), we have prepared antibodies against synthetic peptides, 8 to 16 amino acids in length, encoded at the NH2 and COOH termini of the major E1B-19K and E1B-53K tumor antigens. The antipeptide antibodies immunoprecipitated the targeted E1B-19K or E1B-53K tumor antigens from extracts of Ad2-infected cells. The specificity of the peptide competition studies. Antipeptide antibodies directed to the NH2 and COOH termini immunoprecipitated the E1B-19K and E1B-53K tumor antigens from two Ad2-transformed rat cell lines, F17 and F4, providing evidence that identical tumor antigens are synthesized in Ad2-infected and Ad2-transformed cells. These results show that the E1B-19K and E1B-53K T antigens are not processed proteolytically at either the NH2 or COOH terminus. Our data provide strong evidence at the protein level that the E1B-19K and E1B-53K tumor antigens partially overlap in DNA sequence, with the E1B-19K initiating translation at the first ATG at nucleotide 1711 in translation reading frame 1 and the E1B-53K tumor antigen initiating translation at the second ATG at nucleotide 2016 in reading frame 3. This confirms the results of others on the N-terminal amino acid sequence of E1B-19K and theoretical deductions based on the DNA sequence. Our findings prove that the large E1B-53K T antigen initiates translation at the second ATG at nucleotide 2016 and not at equally plausible initiation codons located farther downstream at nucleotides 2202 and 2235. Thus, the E1B-53K T antigen is another example of a protein which initiates translation at an internal ATG rather than at the 5'-proximal ATG.