Detection of coliphages and enteroviruses in sewage and aerosol from an activated sludge wastewater treatment plant.

Coliphages and enteroviruses were monitored over 12 months in sewage and air adjacent to an activated sludge plant. Both showed temporal variation but the mean count of phages in enterovirus-positive samples was not significantly different from that in enterovirus-negative samples. Hence coliphages are not necessarily a good indicator of enteroviruses in sewage and aerosols.

[Lactate dehydrogenase isoenzymes and alveolar inflammation in acute severe bronchiolitis in infants]. / Isoenzimi della latticodeidrogenasi e flogosi alveolare nella bronchiolite acuta severa del lattante.

The authors have tried to value in 17 children (age: 1-11 months) affected by a severe acute viral bronchiolitis, if the measurement of Lactate Dehydrogenase (LD) isoenzymes could have been used to reveal alveolar injury. In the 76.4% (13/17) of subjects areas of consolidation were demonstrated by chest's radiographic examination due either to atelectasis secondary to obstruction or to inflammation of the alveoli. These coincided with a significant increase respect to a check's group (18 children) of LD4 in 70.5% (12/17), LD3 in 35.2% (6/17) and LD5 in 29.4% (5/17) of children. The presence of an analogous electrophoretic pattern and macrophages degenerated in pulmonary alveolar proteinosis lavage effluent associated with increases in lymphocytes and mononuclear phagocytes in lung specimens from children dead for bronchiolitis help to understand the inflammatory origin of pathological modification of LD isoenzymes observed in this series of cases.

Efficient photosensitization of malignant human cells in vitro by liposome-bound porphyrins.

Comparative kinetics of porphyrin uptake and release by HeLa cells, incubated with equivalent concentrations of either hematoporphyrin (Hp) in aqueous solution or Hp and its dimethylester (HpDME) bound to unilamellar liposomes, show that liposomal porphyrins are bound at a higher rate and in considerably larger amounts. Moreover, the release of cell-bound porphyrins into the medium is remarkably reduced and slowered after cell loading with liposome-bound porphyrins. The presence of 1% bovine or human serum albumin (but not serum globulins) in the medium has no effect on uptake and release of liposome-bound porphyrins by HeLa cells, whereas it remarkably decreases the uptake of aqueous Hp. Parallel studies of cell photodamages under known concentrations of cell-bound porphyrin unequivocally demonstrate that the photodynamic effect is strictly related to the porphyrin load. As a consequence a dramatic increase of cell-photosensitizing efficiency is obtained by binding Hp (and even more HpDME) with liposomes. Electron microscopy investigations on cell damages caused by loading with liposome-bound porphyrins and subsequent illumination show that the plasmatic membrane is one important cell site of porphyrin interaction and photodynamic effect.

[Comparative study on various techniques for the identification of Australia antigen (author's transl)]. / Studio comparativo su varie tecniche per la determinazione dell'antigene Australia

The main, recently proposed, techniques for the identification of Australia antigen are reported (immuno-diffusion, complement fixation, latex agglutination, counterelectrophoresis, radioimmunological assay, inverse haemoagglutination). Following personal observations, the AA. indicate the more suitable methods in various practical circumstances.

Depression of humoral and cell-mediated immune responses by coxsackieviruses in mice.

Adult mice infected with coxsackieviruses A-15, B-1, B-2, B-4 and B-6 showed depressed antibody responses to unrelated antigens; mice infected with coxsackievirus B-3 developed reduced humoral and cell-mediated immune responses. These findings might have clinical and epidemiological implications.

Isolation of human enterovirus from mussels.

Mussels maintained in sea water heavily polluted with domestic raw sewage have been found to harbor human enteroviruses.