A scoring system for the assessment of basic life support ability.

INTRODUCTION: There are no current validated scoring systems for the assessment of adult single rescuer basic life support (BLS) ability. A system was proposed and prospectively validated. METHODS: The system was tested firstly on 12 skilled BLS providers (all instructors). It was then further evaluated on 75 undergraduate dental students, who were assessed before and after a standard training session on adult BLS. RESULTS: All 12 skilled persons passed the test according to the system. The system successfully showed a positive training effect in the dental students. It correctly identified those who 'passed' after training, i.e. those were capable of providing effective BLS (71/75, 94.7%). It also correctly identified those who were not considered competent (4/71, 5.3%). CONCLUSION: This is a simple, effective, objective system for assessment of basic life support. It is easily adaptable for the 1998 Guidelines on BLS.

Mechanisms of acquired resistance in mouse typhoid.

A polyvalent radiovaccine of Salmonella was shown to induce protective immunity in mice. The results revealed that the immunized mice progressively eliminated the challenged organisms and no Salmonella could be isolated after a period of 21 days. In contrast, Salmonella grew in the control mice and reached levels of 10(8) to 10(9) cfu/spleen resulting in the death of animals. Sera from both control and the immune mice were found to lack bactericidal activity. It was further observed that the vaccine induced delayed type of hypersensitivity and that antibody production as measured by bacterial agglutination and passive hemagglutination were low in response to the vaccine. However, the phagocytic activity of the reticuloendothelial system was considerably enhanced by the immunization. The results of experiments with immunosuppressed mice suggested the role of thymus derived (T) lymphocytes in the protection.

Role of thymus-derived lymphocytes in acquired immunity to salmonellosis in mice.

The relative role of thymus-derived (T-) lymphocytes and bone marrow-derived (B-) cells in acquired immunity to salmonellosis was examined in mice. The results demonstrate that the protective capacity of the donor immunized mice could be passively transferred to the recipient mice by spleen cells but not with peritoneal exudate cells or sera. A high cell number of spleen cells (2 X 10(8)/mouse) were required before passive transfer of immunity could be obtained. Of the T-lymphocytes and B-cell populations of spleen cells, T-cells from immune mice were effective in conferring protection to the recipient mice.

Mechanism of Ca2+ and dipicolinic acid requirement for L-alanine induced germination of Bacillus cereus BIS-59 spores.

Spores prepared from different sporulating media containing varying amounts of Ca and dipicolinic acid (DPA), exhibited differential responses to germination in L-alanine (0.25 M). Ca-spores with moderately high Ca and DPA contents could be triggered to germination by L-alanine, whereas P-spores with low contents of Ca and DPA could not be germinated by L-alanine unless Ca2+ or DPA was exogenously added. The initiation of L-alanine induced germination by P-spores in the presence of 45CaCl2 was associated with a marked uptake of 45Ca2+. Experiments involving stepwise extraction of 45Ca from prelabelled spores indicated that a part of the spore calcium may be involved in L-alanine induced germination. Both Ca2+ and DPA seemed to have a stimulatory effect on the incorporation of 14C-L-alanine.

Radicidation for Elimination of Salmonellae in Frog Legs.

The D10 values of three Salmonella spp. often encountered in frog legs, i.e., S. typhimurium , S. enteritidis and S. newport , were found to be between 18 to 30 krad when cells were irradiated at 0-2°C in 0.1 M phosphate buffer, pH 7.0. The radiation sensitivities of these Salmonella spp. increased only marginally when cells were irradiated in frog leg homogenate. The doses of radiation required for eradication of this pathogen in fresh and frozen frog legs were 300 and 400 krad, respectively.

Stability of Radurized Indian Mackerel ( Rastrelliger kanagurta ) as a Function of Temperature.

The influence of 1.5 kGy of gamma irradiation on the stability of Indian mackerel ( Rastrelliger kanagurta ) stored at temperatures of 0, 5, 10 and 15 C was examined. Using several indices for assessment of quality, it was found that the radiation treatment suppressed the rate of spoilage of fish stored at the above temperatures. However, the relative spoilage rates of both unirradiated and irradiated mackerel were similar as a function of storage temperature. The storage-life of fish calculated on the basis of the Spencer and Baines equation for evaluation of spoilage compared favorably with scores obtained by organoleptic evaluation.

Induction of resistance to ascites tumor in mice with MFS-180 cells treated with glutaraldehyde, lipopolysaccharide, and concanavalin A.

Immunization with MFS-180 vaccine prepared in the presence of glutaraldehyde (0.05%), lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (100 micrograms/ml), and concanavalin A (Con A) (200 micrograms/ml) could protect Swiss mice against a subsequent challenge by 1 X 10(6) MFS-180 cells. The sequence of attachment of LPS and Con A to glutaraldehyde-treated cells as found to determine the efficacy of the vaccine. LPS coupled with glutaraldehyde-treated cells before Con A could effect 100% survival, while LPS attached after Con A treatment to glutaraldehyde-treated cells showed only 60% survival. The protection was specific for syngeneic cells.

The fine structure of Micrococcus radiophilus and Micrococcus radioproteolyticus.

The radiation resistant bacteria Micrococcus radiophilus and M. radioproteolyticus were studied by thin sectioning and freez-etching techniques and the two species were found to be similar in the fine structure. The only significant difference was in the appearance of the surfaces of the cell walls in freeze-etched preparations. Since the two species, together with M. radiodurans, possess a unique cell wall structure and a cell wall peptidoglycan, which is different from that of other micrococci and Gram-positive cocci, it is recommended that they be reclassified into a new genus.