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Biomedical subjects

R Higgins

Publications and source records attributed to R Higgins.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

Streptococcus suis infection in swine. A sixteen month study.

A total of 349 isolates of Streptococcus suis retrieved from different tissues from diseased pigs were examined in this study. Only 48% of them could be categorized as one of serotypes 1 to 8 and 1/2. Among typable isolates, serotype 2 was the most prevalent (23%), followed by serotype 3 (10%). The majority of all isolates originated from lungs, meninges/brain, and multiple tissues. Forty-one percent of typable isolates and 33% of untypable isolates were retrieved in pure culture. Other isolates were found in conjunction with Pasteurella multocida, Escherichia coli, Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, Actinomyces pyogenes, and other streptococci. Typable S. suis isolates were more frequently isolated from pigs between five and ten weeks of age, while untypable isolates were mostly found in animals aged more than 24 weeks. No obvious monthly and/or seasonal variation of the prevalence of isolation of S. suis could be detected.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Prevalence of Streptococcus suis in four to eight week old clinically healthy piglets.

The study was undertaken to determine the prevalence, in the nasal cavities, of Streptococcus suis in four to eight week old clinically healthy piglets. Streptococci biochemically compatible with S. suis were isolated from 94% of piglets and 98% of farms. Of the 782 isolates submitted to serotyping, only 164 (21%) were included in the nine official serotypes. These 164 typable isolates originated from 121 (31%) of the 388 piglets and from 36 (73%) of the 49 farms included in the study. The most frequent serotypes found in piglets were, in decreasing order, 3, 4, 8 and 2. Serotype 1 was not detected in this survey. As many as 32% of piglets were found positive for two different serotypes and three different serotypes were found in 1%.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Dose-response and failure pattern for bulky or barrel-shaped stage IB cervical cancer treated by combined photon irradiation and extrafascial hysterectomy.

From 1975 to 1987, 80 patients with bulky or barrel-shaped Stage IB cervical cancer were treated with preoperative irradiation and Cs-137 intracavitary implant therapy, before a planned extrafascial abdominal hysterectomy, using a consistent treatment policy. Of the hysterectomy specimens obtained, 37% were positive histologically at 89 +/- 2.3 days after the start of radiotherapy and at 4 to 6 weeks after the completion of radiation therapy. Sixty-three percent were negative after a total external and internal cervix irradiation dose of 9642 cGy at point T. The average point A dose contributed by intracavitary therapy was 2104 cGy. The survival rate at 5 years was 84%: At 10 years the survival rate was 78%. The failure pattern was analyzed for patients who had positive and negative specimens. The patients with positive specimens failed pelvically or pelvically and distantly. Patients with negative specimens failed in extrapelvic or distant metastatic sites. Preoperative radiotherapy led to excellent local and pelvic control of tumor, and the failures became predominantly distant metastases. The combined radiosurgical therapy was tolerated well and allowed surgical staging of disease. This permitted earlier and selective consideration of adjunctive therapy (i.e., paraaortic irradiation, chemotherapy, or chemoradiotherapy). The dose-response data give insight into the effects of photon radiotherapy on bulky or barrel Stage IB cervical cancers and correlate histologic status with failure pattern, outcome, and long-term survival.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Evaluation of monoclonal antibodies to K88, K99, F41 and 987P fimbrial adhesins for the detection of porcine enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli in paraffin-wax tissue sections.

A panel of monoclonal antibodies against fimbrial adhesins of porcine enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli were evaluated for the detection of enteric colibacillosis in paraffin-wax embedded sections of piglet small intestine. Using the immunoperoxidase technique, monoclonal antibodies were used to detect epitopes on the K99 adhesin and on the a and c regions of the K88 adhesin. However, monoclonal antibodies to the F41 and 987P adhesins failed to react in sections with organisms colonising the intestine of gnotobiotic piglets monoinfected with strains bearing those adhesins, whereas corresponding polyclonal antisera gave positive results. In contrast to apparent expression of all K99 organisms, only a proportion of organisms were identified by monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies as expressing K88. In some instances, failure of immunostaining was attributed to prolonged storage of tissue in formalin.

Adhesins, Escherichia coli↗
PubMed1989

Description of 14 new capsular types of Streptococcus suis.

Fourteen new capsular types of Streptococcus suis (types 9 to 22) are described. All reference strains are morphologically and biochemically similar to types previously described. Reference strain types 9 to 13, 15, 16, and 22 were isolated from diseased pigs, whereas types 17 to 19 and 21 came from clinically healthy pigs; type 14 was isolated from a human case of meningitis, and type 20 was isolated from a diseased calf. The group T streptococcus of de Moor has been included in the typing system as type 15. Two-way cross-reactions between types 6 and 16 and a one-way cross-reaction between types 2 and 22 have been demonstrated. In addition, several cross-reactions probably not due to capsular material were detected among different types by using the coagglutination test. This test should not be used alone; weak or multiple positive reactions must be confirmed by the capsular reaction test or the capillary precipitation test.

Agglutination Tests↗
PubMed1989

Extensive colonization of the porcine colonic epithelium by a spirochete similar to Treponema innocens.

Specimens of colonic mucosa from two pigs with diarrhea were examined by light and electron microscopy. The epithelial surfaces of both pigs were extensively colonized by large spirochetes morphologically compatible with Treponema hyodysenteriae or Treponema innocens. The microorganisms were intimately attached end-on to the luminal cells. A weakly beta-hemolytic spirochete similar to T. innocens was isolated from the colon of one of the pigs.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Implementation issues in addictions day treatment.

Innovative treatment programs can be implemented successfully in hospitals only if key actors take on leadership responsibility for the new programs. Implementation of an innovative Addictions Day Treatment Program (ADT) for alcohol and substance abusers in a 156-bed community hospital is reported. Implementation issues for staff psychiatrists, psychologists, psychiatric nurses, and hospital administrators are the primary subject of this article. Participation of these professional groups depended on their treatment ideology, the threat they perceived the program to be to patients, the time demanded of them, whether they would be reimbursed for providing care by the program, and the changes the program introduced in provider-patient interaction. The way shared responsibility among key hospital and unit leaders made it possible to overcome resistance to the program and to develop a positive consensus about day treatment is shown.

Alcoholism↗
PubMed1989

Actinobacillus (Haemophilus) pleuropneumoniae serotype-8 isolates and their antigenic relationships with other A pleuropneumoniae serotypes.

Antigenic relationship of Actinobacillus (Haemophilus) pleuropneumoniae serotype-8 isolates with other serotypes was studied, using tube agglutination, with and without 2-mercaptoethanol, indirect hemagglutination with and without 2-mercaptoethanol, ring precipitation, coagglutination, and immunodiffusion tests. Serotype-8 isolates possessed serotype-specific, group-specific common antigens cross-reactive with serotypes 3 and 6 and species-specific common antigens cross-reactive with other serotypes. Absorption studies were done to study the antigenic relationship of serotype 8 with serotypes 3 and 6. Rabbit antisera against whole-cell (WC) suspensions of reference strains of serotypes 3, 6, and 8 were used for absorption studies with WC and boiled WC suspensions of homologous and heterologous serotypes. Unabsorbed and absorbed sera were tested for antibodies against WC and boiled WC antigen preparations of serotype 8, using various serotests. Absorption studies revealed that serotype-8 strains possessed 2 main types of epitopes, one of which was serotype-specific and did not have cross-reactivity with other serotypes. The second type of epitopes was group specific and was cross-reactive with serotypes 3 and 6.

Actinobacillus↗
PubMed1989

Rapid detection of Streptococcus suis serotype 2 in weaned pigs.

A survey to detect Streptococcus suis serotype 2 in 1,716 weaned pigs was done in Quebec. Forty-nine sow herds were included in this survey: in 26 herds, S suis serotype 2 had been isolated during the preceding 12 months and in 23 herds (control), the organism had not been detected during a previous study. Swab specimens of the nasal cavity and tonsils of pigs were obtained for bacteriologic culture, and S suis serotype 2 was easily detected by the use of brain-heart infusion agar containing a Streptococcus-selective supplement and 5% goat antiserum raised against S suis serotype 2. After measurement of the diameter of the precipitation zone of 539 isolates, a slide agglutination test was performed to identify the S suis serotype 2 isolates. The mean precipitation zone diameter obtained for group S suis serotype 2 was larger (P less than 0.001) than that for the group designated as "others". With slide agglutination test results as reference and on the basis of discriminant analysis to stimulate detection of S suis serotype 2, 93.1% of all isolates were correctly classified, using the precipitation zone diameter as unique classification criterion. Relative specificity was 94.5% and relative sensitivity was 88.7%. Use of the precipitation zone diameter on a quantitative basis led to the proposal of a simple and reliable technique to screen swine herds for S suis serotype 2 in weaned pigs. Nasal and tonsillar swab specimens were obtained and analyzed concurrently for S suis serotype 2. The organism was found in both sites in only 20.4% of 103 carrier pigs.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Agglutination Tests↗
PubMed1988

Changes in the susceptibility of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae to antimicrobial agents in Quebec (1981-1986).

An important reduction in the in vitro efficacy of spectinomycin and chloramphenicol was recorded between 1981 and 1986 against the causal agent of porcine pleuropneumonia Actinobacillus. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests were carried out by use of Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion technique on a total of 723 isolates of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae. Results did not agree with those of other reports in which a constant susceptibility to any of the antimicrobial agents tested was reported with serotype 2 isolates. The ability to acquire drug resistance may differ from one serotype to another.

Actinobacillus↗
PubMed1988

Efficacy of brachytherapy with californium-252 neutrons versus cesium-137 photons for eradication of bulky localized cervical cancer: single-institution study.

A fast-neutron-emitting radioisotope, 252Cf, is being tested in clinical trials of neutron brachytherapy for cervical cancer. The efficacy for histological eradication of bulky stage IB cervical tumors (mean diameter, approximately 6 cm) using combined radiation and surgery was studied in 65 patients treated with 137Cs or 252Cf before surgery during 1983-1986. Forty-four patients were treated with 137Cs and 21 were treated with 252Cf at equivalent doses of radiation. Fifteen of the 44 specimens (34%) were positive after 137Cs therapy. Only one of the 21 specimens was positive after 252Cf therapy (P = .025), and that patient was treated in a delayed schedule 21 days after the start of external-beam irradiation rather than early in the course. 252Cf therapy required a much lower radiation dose and shorter treatment time. The study compared tumor destruction of an identically staged human cervical tumor in situ by direct histological means, using 252Cf neutron therapy or conventional photon therapy at an identical and equivalent dose adjusted by a relative biological effectiveness of 6.0 for 252Cf.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Serological studies of Actinobacillus (Haemophilus) pleuropneumoniae strains of serotype 6 and their antigenic relationship with other serotypes.

Serological tests such as agglutination, coagglutination, precipitation and indirect haemagglutination were used to study the antigenic relationship of reference and field strains of Actinobacillus (Haemophilus) pleuropneumoniae of serotype 6 with reference strains of other serotypes. Both cell-associated particulate and cell-free soluble antigens prepared from unheated and heat-treated bacterial suspensions of reference and field strains of serotype 6 were used in the studies. Species-specific, common antigenic determinants associated mainly with heat-treated particulate antigens of serotype 6 were cross-reactive in tube agglutination tests with almost all the serotypes. The species-specific antigens were of a minor nature because the cross-reactivities were abolished in both 2-mercaptoethanol agglutination and coagglutination tests. Cell-free saline extracts of both unheated and heat-treated suspensions of serotype 6 strains possessed epitopes specific for serotypes 3, 5 and 8 in addition to their own specific determinants. The epitopes were dominant because the reactions of strains of serotype 6 with antisera against serotypes 3, 5 and 8 persisted in almost all the serological tests used. Serotype 6 strains were antigenically closer to serotype 8 than to serotypes 3 or 5. A combination of serological tests such as coagglutination followed by 2-mercaptoethanol tube agglutination and, or, immunodiffusion tests differentiated serotype 6 strains from those of other cross-reacting serotypes.

Actinobacillus↗
PubMed1988

Pathology of stranded beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) from the St. Lawrence Estuary, Québec, Canada.

From June 1983 to May 1986, thirteen carcasses of stranded beluga whales from a polluted area of the St. Lawrence River, Canada were necropsied. High performance liquid chromatography was performed on the brains of three other animals to determine concentrations of benzo a pyrene (BaP). Two juvenile animals had severe multisystemic lesions one of which, a severe necrotizing dermatitis, was associated with a Herpesvirus-like particle. Four adults had five varieties of tumours. An adult had a systemic nocardiosis and a juvenile was affected ty a non 0:1 Vibrio cholerae septicemia. High concentrations of BaP adducts were found in the brains which were analyzed. Occurrence of BaP adducts in the brain of three whales of this population coincides with the high incidence of tumours. This and the previous finding of high concentrations of organochlorine in the tissues of these animals suggest an important role of industrial contaminants in the recent decrease of this population.

Animal Diseases↗
PubMed1988

Isolation of Streptococcus suis from diseased pigs in Canada.

A total of 260 isolates of streptococci collected over a 9-year period from diseased pigs submitted for necropsy were studied. Seventy-seven percent of isolates were identified as S. suis and 32% of S. suis isolates were retrieved in pure culture. S. suis was found more frequently in lungs and was often isolated in conjunction with Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, Pasteurella multocida, Escherichia coli and other microorganisms. A total of 151 (76%) of S. suis isolates could be serotyped within the 9 recognized serotypes. Serotype 2 was the most prevalent with 33%, followed by serotypes 3, 5 and 7. All isolates were sensitive to ampicillin, penicillin, cephradine, chloramphenicol and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Resistance to streptomycin, neomycin and tetracycline appeared to be very high.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Biochemical and toxigenic characteristics of Aeromonas spp. isolated from diseased mammals, moribund and healthy fish.

In this study we describe biochemical, toxigenic and surface characteristics of 33 motile Aeromonas isolated from diseased mammals, 3 from moribund marine mammals, 24 from healthy fish and 4 from moribund fish. Aeromonas hydrophila, A. caviae and A. sobria were isolated from both mammals and fish but at a different incidence. Aeromonas hydrophila was the predominant species isolated from clinical specimens; it was isolated from pneumonia, wound infections, septicemia and abortion in horses, cattle and pigs. Aeromonas sobria was isolated from one mammal and 11 healthy fish. Aeromonas caviae was isolated in 2 cases from healthy fish and in 9 cases from diseased mammals. Variations in some biochemical tests including sorbitol, amylase and citrate, were observed between isolates from different sources. However, these differences did not allow the differentiation of isolates from diseased mammals and healthy fish. The majority of A. hydrophila isolates produced different extracellular products; A. sobria isolates produced less exotoxin. With A. caviae isolates no hemolysin, protease, enterotoxin or elastase were detected. There was no quantitative difference in hemolysin, protease, enterotoxin or elastase production between isolates from mammals and fish. It is suggested that A. hydrophila could be a potential pathogen for domestic animals, and fish may represent a potential reservoir of infection.

Aeromonas↗
PubMed1988

Chronic contained rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm presenting as a lower extremity neuropathy.

Rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm often presents with a pulsatile abdominal mass, abdominal pain, and hypotension. Recent clinical reports describe patients with less apparent clinical signs and symptoms who were found later in their evaluation to have a contained rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm. Even more unusual is a chronic contained rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm. Our patient had a chronic contained rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm that presented with erosion into the lumbar vertebral bodies and subsequent lumbar neuropathy. CT scan confirmed the contained rupture of the aortic aneurysm and the patient underwent successful repair of his aortic aneurysm. Our report discusses the significance of atypical presentations of abdominal aortic aneurysm rupture and the importance of prompt diagnosis and definitive repair.

Aged↗