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Biomedical subjects

G L French

Publications and source records attributed to G L French.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

Differentiation of Streptococcus sanguis and S. mitior by whole-cell rhamnose content and possession of arginine dihydrolase.

Whole-cell rhamnose concentrations were measured in 48 strains of streptococci resembling Streptococcus sanguis and S. mitior. Physiological characteristics were tested by the API-20/Strep system, and it was found that "typical" S. sanguis (arginine positive, aesculin positive) contained significant amounts of rhamnose, while "typical" S. mitior (arginine negative, aesculin negative) contained very low or undetectable amounts of rhamnose. Both groups contained dextran-positive and dextran-negative strains. Organisms that were more difficult to speciate (those giving positive results in the arginine or the aesculin test, but not in both) could also be divided into a rhamnose-positive and a rhamnose-negative group; with one exception, all of the rhamnose-positive strains gave a positive result with arginine in the API-20/Strep test. There were several discrepancies between the results of conventional tests for arginine and aesculin hydrolysis and those of the corresponding API test. The results of conventional tests for arginine hydrolysis did not correlate closely with rhamnose content, and conventional tests for aesculin hydrolysis were less sensitive than API tests. With the API-20/Strep system, S. sanguis can almost always be distinguished from S. mitior by its ability to hydrolyse arginine.

Arginine↗
PubMed1986

Occurrence and distribution of halophilic vibrios in subtropical coastal waters of Hong Kong.

The summer occurrence and distribution of halophilic vibrios in the subtropical coastal waters of Hong Kong were investigated. The density of vibrios in six sample sites ranged from 90 to 6,700 per ml, which made up 0.41 to 40% of the total bacterial populations of these sample sites. The sucrose-positive vibrios were found to be much more common (88% of total vibrios) than the sucrose-negative ones. A total of 48 strains belonging to six Vibrio species were fully characterized. Among these, Vibrio alginolyticus was the most frequently isolated, followed by V. parahaemolyticus, V. harveyi, V. vulnificus, V. campbellii, and V. fluvialis. The finding that eight of the nine strains of V. harveyi showed a positive Kanagawa reaction warrants further study.

Hong Kong↗
PubMed1984

Necrotising fasciitis caused by Vibrio vulnificus.

A case of necrotising fasciitis caused by Vibrio vulnificus is described. The need for early recognition and aggressive surgical treatment are highlighted, and the necrotising infections due to V vulnificus described in the published work are reviewed.

Child↗
PubMed1983

Legionella pneumophila seen in Gram stains of respiratory secretions and recovered from conventional blood cultures.

We report a fatal case of Legionnaires' disease in which Legionella pneumophila was easily visible in large numbers in Gram stains of clinical material and was recovered from conventional blood cultures after seven days incubation. The presence of many readily seen Gram-negative, pleomorphic bacilli in direct Gram stains of respiratory secretions should support a possible diagnosis of Legionnaires' disease.

Bacteriological Techniques↗
PubMed1981

Reproducible pyrolysis-gas chromatography of micro-organisms with solid stationary phases and isothermal oven temperatures.

Eight solid stationary phases were examined for their suitability for pyrolysis-gas chromatography (Py-GC) of micro-organisms. With temperature programming these phases offered little advantage over the traditional liquid phase Carbowax 20M, but at an isothermal analysis temperature of 100 degrees C their use solved many technical problems. Pyrograms were produced containing small numbers of baseline-resolved peaks which eluted within 8 to 25 min. Four to six specimens per hour could be examined with two pyrolysers attached to one chromatograph oven. When a control organism was used to derive normalized results, pyrograms were reproducible with a second column and a second pyrolyser, suggesting that inter-laboratory reproducibility may be possible. Five different bacterial genera were well discriminated and some differentiation was achieved between different isolates of Streptococcus mutans, but similarity between pyrograms with was unrelated to orthodox taxonomic grouping. The best discrimination was achieved with Chromosorb 104, followed by Chromosorb 101 and Tenax-GC. With solid phases and isothermal oven temperatures Py-GC is a promising technique for microbial identification.

Bacteria↗
PubMed1979

Insignificance of colonic bacteria in the sputum of patients in a new ICU.

Over a 12-month period, 27% of patients in a new ICU grew bacterial pathogens from sputum or tracheal cultures. The commonest isolates were Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella species. Endotracheal intubation, the length of time intubated, and antimicrobial therapy all predisposed to the isolation of organisms from sputum. No patient developed a gram-negative pneumonia, and there was no case of septicemia associated with a positive sputum culture. The presence of epithelial or pus cells in sputum was unrelated to the culture results. It was concluded that the growth of colonic bacteria from sputum or tracheal aspirates was of little prognostic or clinical significance. No significant common environmental site or cross-infection pathway was identified: sinks were contaminated by patients rather than vice versa. Most sputum isolates were probably endogenous in origin.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1977

Salmonella serotypes, Salmonella typhi phage types, and anti-microbial resistance at the University Hospital of the West Indies, Jamaica.

Bacteriologically proved cases of salmonellosis presenting at the University Hospital have increased nearly threefold since 1957. The most striking change has been a considerable increase in the incidence of Salmonella heidelberg and Salmonella derby in the last 5 years, probably resulting from hospital acquired infection. About 80 cases of typhoid fever are reported each year in Jamaica. There has been little change in the prevalence of different phage types of Salmonella typhi since 1961. Paratyphoid fever is rare. Standardized antimicrobial disk-sensitivity testing was performed on selected surviving salmonella strains since 1964. S. typhi has remained fully sensitive to all the agents tested except streptomycin. Other salmonellas, however have shown a significant increase in antimicrobial resistance since 1970. Most of this increase was due to multiple resistance in S. heidelberg and S. derby, and the survival and dissemination of these strains in the hospital environment may be related to antibiotic usage.

Bacteriophage Typing↗
PubMed1976

Group B streptococci in the female genital tract.

Vaginal carriage rates of group B streptococci among 250 women attending a clinic for sexually transmitted diseases, 123 attending family planning clinics, and 110 in labour wages were 36.0%, 17-1% and 6.4% respectively. The presence of group B streptococci was not associated with a vaginal discharge or the use of oral contraceptives in the non-pregnant women, or with the isolation of Neisseria gonorrhoeae or Trichomonas vaginalis from the women attending the clinic for sexually transmitted diseases. Serotyping showed a predominance of types II and III in non-pregnant women and an overall incidence of non-typable strains of 14.8%. There was no relationship between serotype and antibacterial susceptibility.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗