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Biomedical subjects

F M LaForce

Publications and source records attributed to F M LaForce.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1980

Heightened lung bactericidal activity in mice after aerosol immunization with Re 595 Salmonella minnesota: importance of cellular rather than humoral factors.

Intrapulmonary bactericidal activity was enhanced against aerosolized Serratia marcescens, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Staphylococcus aureus two weeks after aerosol immunization with Re 595 Salmonella minnesota. To define better this nonspecific stimulation of antibacterial lung defenses, mice were simultaneously challenged with S. aureus and S. marcescens up to 30 days after aerosol immunization with Re. Enhanced bactericidal activity against both organisms was noted, although activity against Serratia was more pronounced during the first week after immunization. Repetitive aerosol immunization with Re also resulted in enhanced bactericidal activity. Macrophages harvested from mice after aerosol immunization were "activated" by ultrastructural criteria and had enhanced intracellular bactericidal activity against S. aureus. Aerosol immunization also caused an increase in polymorphonuclear leukocytes in lung lavage fluid, which may have been important in activity against Serratia. Mice systemically immunized with Re developed high antibody titers in serum and lung washings but had no stimulation of lung antibacterial activity.

Aerosols↗
PubMed1980

Immune stimulation of lung bactericidal activity: evidence for both cellular and humoral participation after immunization with Serratia marcescens.

Mice were immunized by aerosol or by a parenteral route with Serratia marcescens, and subsequently challenged by aerosol with both Staphylococcus aureus and S. marcescens. After a single aerosol immunization, intrapulmonary bactericidal activity was initially enhanced against both organisms. Repetitive aerosol immunization caused the same initial response; however, after antistaphylococcal activity returned to normal, enhanced antiserratia activity was still demonstrable. Parenteral immunization was associated with increased in situ bactericidal activity against both organisms with more pronounced antiserratia activity. Intracellular bactericidal activity against S. aureus of lung phagocytes harvested from mice after aerosol immunization with serratia paralleled the above findings. Aerosol immunization also resulted in recruitment of polymorphonuclear leukocytes. These data suggested that macrophage activation, leukocyte recruitment, and local antibody are important contributing factors to heightened lung antibacterial activity after aerosol immunization with S. marcescens.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Clinical survey techniques to estimate prevalence and annual incidence of poliomyelitis in developing countries.

Recent epidemiological data suggest that poliomyelitis is a more important public health problem in developing countries than was originally suspected. Because of the availability of a cheap, effective, but labile oral vaccine, it is important that countries determine the incidence of poliomyelitis in order to determine the necessity and speed with which a vaccination programme should be introduced.Sequelae of poliomyelitis are distinctive and can be used to study the incidence of residual paralysis in children above the age of 5 years. Prevalence data for lameness due to poliomyelitis can then be translated into rates of annual incidence of paralytic disease. Lameness surveys can be efficiently done in schools and data are reliable as long as a similar search for lame children is done amongst children of the same age group who do not attend school but are in the geographical area served by the school. House-to-house surveys, while more time-consuming, are more reliable.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Adverse effects of lidocaine and methylparaben on tracheal ciliary activity.

The effect of standard concentrations of lidocaine HCl and methylparaben (preservative) on the ciliary activity of ferret tracheal rings in organ culture was assessed. Pure lidocaine concentrations as low as 0.5% caused complete ciliostasis which was reversible after removal of the drug. One percent and two percent effects were not completely reversible. Pure methylparaben concentrations as low as 0.06 mg/ml paralyzed cilia; and, at concentrations of 0.5 mg/ml or higher, adverse effects were not completely reversible. When lidocaine and methylparaben were combined at the same ratio used in commercial preparations, their ciliotoxic effects were additive. These data suggest that topical respiratory anesthesia may result in prolonged ciliary paralysis.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Characterization of yeast agglutinins in lavage fluid from lungs of rabbits.

Rabbits were challenged intratracheally with 10(8) Candida albicans or Torulopsis glabrata, and their lungs were lavaged 5, 60, and 120 min later. Initial lavage samples showed significant agglutination of yeasts, followed by the development of larger aggregates in association with alveolar macrophages. To investigate this early agglutination reaction, lungs of normal rabbits were lavaged with heparinized saline, and after alveolar macrophages were discarded, the cell-free lavage fluid was centrifuged at 25,000 g to recover a small, whitish, surface-active pellet (F fraction). The supernatant was concentrated 15-fold by vacuum dialysis (P fraction). When Candida species, T. glabrata, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae were incubated with the F fraction, serial colony counts decreased eight- to 20-fold with every yeast species tested except S. cerevisiae and Candida krusei. Decrease in colony counts was associated with yeast agglutination. The F fraction was further separated by ethanol-ether extraction, and yeast agglutination was seen only in the protein-rich fraction. Further separation of this protein-rich fraction by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis yielded three bands, one of which, with a molecular size of about 10(4) daltons, agglutinated C. albicans. IgA in the P fraction also agglutinated C. albicans, although not as dramatically as the F fraction.

Agglutination↗
PubMed1979

Diagnosis of bacterial meningitis by gas-liquid chromatography. I. Chemotyping studies of Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Neisseria meningitidis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli.

With the use of gas-liquid chromatographic techniques, the chemical characteristics of Streptococcus pneumoniae type 3, Escherichia coli, group B Neisseria meningitidis, Haemophilus influenzae type b, and Staphylococcus aureus, organisms that commonly cause bacterial meningitis, were identified. The combination of lipid, carbohydrate, and lipopolysaccharide components provided discriminating markers for chemotyping these bacteria. E. coli had a high content of 17- and 19-carbon cyclopropane fatty acids, whereas none of the other organisms tested revealed any cyclic acids, apart from a possible trace amount in S. pneumoniae. The content of isomethyl branching fatty acids clearly distinguished S. pneumoniae and S. aureus. N. meningitidis and H. influenzae were somewhat similar in their overall fatty acid compositions, but the presence of galactose without rhamnose in extracts of N. meningitidis readily distinguished N. meningitidis from H. influenzae. Only extracts from E. coli contained mannose; erythrose was an exclusive marker in extracts of S. pneumoniae. These data suggest that these differences in chemotype might be useful in developing a gas-liquid chromatographic assay of spinal fluid for the rapid laboratory diagnosis of bacterial meningitis.

Bacterial Infections↗
PubMed1979

Diagnosis of bacterial meningitis by gas-liquid chromatography. II. Analysis of spinal fluid.

The feasibility of gas-liquid chromatographic analysis of spinal fluid from dogs with experimental meningitis and from patients with meningitis was evaluated. Normal canine and human spinal fluid contained consistent levels of palmitic and stearic acids, glucose, and trace amounts of glycerol. Pneumococcal meningitis in dogs and humans was characterized by a complex fatty-acid pattern in spinal fluid similar to that seen in pneumococcal cells. Spinal fluid from dogs with Haemophilus influenzae meningitis yielded several saturated fatty acids as well as rhamnose, xylose, and glucosamine; four of five spinal fluid specimens from patients with H. influenzae meningitis gave similar results. Fatty-acid profiles of spinal fluid from dogs with staphylococcal meningitis were complex, with branched-chain and straight-chain fatty acids. Spinal fluid specimens from Neisseria meningitidis-infected dogs yielded 16- and 18-carbon fatty acids and sialic acid. Gas-liquid chromatographic analysis of spinal fluid proved valuable as a tool for identifying bacterial infections and differentiating between common spinal fluid pathogens.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Campylobacter enteritis: clinical and epidemiologic features.

Campylobacter fetus subspecies (ssp.) jejuni has been recently recognized to cause diarrheal disease in man. To assess its importance as an enteric pathogen, we prospectively studied 514 patients with diarrhea. Campylobacter fetus ssp. jejuni was isolated from the feces of 26 patients (5%) and seven of 11 of their symptomatic household contacts. This organism was isolated from the feces of only one of 18 asymptomatic household contacts and not at all from 157 other healthy persons. Seventeen of 20 patients from whom C. fetus ssp. jejuni was isolated from fecal culture showed at least a fourfold rise in specific IgG titers. Review of 35 cases of campylobacter enteritis identified a typical clinical syndrome with acute onset of diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever, and constitutional symptoms. Stool examination revealed blood in 60% and polymorphonuclear leukocytes in 78% of patients. Epidemiologic investigation strongly suggested an external source for the infection in 22 of 35 patients.

Abdomen↗
PubMed1978

Limited, periodic surveillance proves practical and effective.

Little data exist as to which type of surveillance--continuous or periodic--is most effective against nosocomial infection. Study proved periodic data collection a simple, practical, and effective method for identifying and monitoring trends. More importantly, the system provided more time for the infection control nurse to spend on corrective measures.

Colorado↗
PubMed1977

Bacteremic hemophilus influenzae pneumonia in adults. A report of 24 cases and a review of the literature.

Twenty-four cases of Hemophilus influenzae pneumonia diagnosed by positive blood or pleural fluid cultures are compared to 43 cases previously reported in the literatrue. Frequently associated illnesses in both series include alcoholism, chronic airways obstruction and preceding respiratory tract infection. Moderate temperature elevation and slight leukocytosis were common on admission in both groups. Chest roentgenograms in our series revealed both bronchopneumonia (75 per cent) and lobar consolidation (38 per cent). Pleural disease occurred frequently, with two empyemas noted on admission and nine additional effusions developing during therapy. Treatment of choice was ampicillin. All five patients who did not receive ampicillin died, whereas 16 to 19 who received this drug survived. High mortality (33 per cent) in our series may be attributed to the advanced age of the patients and the presence of associated illnesses. In addition, a 10 year review suggests a true increase in the incidence of H. influenzae pneumonia in adults.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Effect of aerosol immunization with RE 595 Salmonella minnesota on lung bactericidal activity against Serratia marcescens, Enterobacter cloacae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Intrapulmonary bactericidal activity was measured after mice were given 3 weekly aerosol exposures to acid-hydrolyzed Re 595 Salmonella minnesota. Ten days after their last immunization, mice were challenged with aerolized Serratia marcescens, Enterobacter cloacae, or Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Quantitative bacterial counts in ground lung were obtained immediately after exposure and again 4 hours later. Enhanced bactericidal activity against Serratia marcescens and Enterobacter cloacae was seen in immunized animals, whereas no difference with Pseudomonas aeruginosa was noted. In separate studies, immunization with Serratia marcescens yielded a similar enhancement of lung bactericidal activity. Mucociliary transport, as measured by disappearance of aerosolized Serratia marcescens labeled with phosphorus-32, was identical for both immunized and control animals. Using a standardized in vitro mouse alveolar macrophage phagocytic system, lung washes from animals immunized with Re 595 Salmonella minnesota had significant opsonic activity for Serratia marcescens but not for Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Aerosols↗
PubMed1977

Non-pneumococcal Gram-positive coccal meningitis related to neurosurgery.

Thirty-eight of 154 cases (25%) of bacterial meningitis seen by the authors during a 7-year period were due to non-pneumococcal Gram-positive cocci. Thirty cases (80%) resulted from neurosurgical manipulation; half of these were shunt infections and half were early postoperative complications. Only three cases (8%) occurred de novo in patients with presumably normal host defenses. Signs, symptoms, and laboratory data related more to predisposing factors than to infecting microorganisms. Fever, peripheral leukocytosis, abnormal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and positive Gram stain were the most reliable indicators of infection. Prognosis was good with antibiotic therapy and removal of CSF shunt equipment when present.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1977

Vascular clearance of blastospore and pseudomycelial phase Candida albicans.

Blastospore phase and pseudomycelial phase Candida albicans were infused at a constant rate into the proximal aorta of rabbits and simultaneous quantitative blood cultures were obtained from the abdominal aorta and inferior vena cava. Arteriovenous differences were greater with pseudomycelial phase C. albicans at all concentrations tested. Rates of clearance of C. albicans as blastospores or with pseudomycelia yielded mean T one-half values of 22 seconds and 17 seconds, respectively. Similarly, hepatic clearance of pseudomycelial phase C. albicans was more efficient. Prior immunization with heat-killed Candida albicans had no effect on the vascular clearance of either pseudomycelial phase or blastospore phase C. albicans.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Candida precipitins as a diagnostic aid in Candida endocarditis.

We report a case of aortic valve homograft endocarditis secondary to preoperative contamination of the homograft. Candida precipitins, determined by double immunodiffusion, were an invaluable aid in diagnosis in the presence of negative venous blood cultures.

Adult↗