Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to W L Jones.
Central gyrate atrophy is a rare ocular finding with a unique pathogenesis and fundus appearance. This entity results in total atrophy of the large and small vessels of the choroid and concomitant changes in the outer layers of the retina. A case report is presented to demonstrate the clinical appearance of this lesion and its relationship to the pathogenesis.
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Cellophane maculopathy is a fairly common entity frequently overlooked as a possible explanation for decreased visual acuity. A case report is presented to show how this entity presents itself clinically and what procedures are performed to establish the diagnosis.
Many aspects of NASA's research programs and projects focus on the working environment of man. Ergonomics research has a broader application of technological spinoffs. This paper describes these research efforts and may have implications for environmental control in industry.
During the 1973 summer season, 27 employees and 35 overnight guests at the North Rim, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, acquired febrile illnesses compatibel with relapsing fever. Sixteen cases were confirmed by finding Borrelia spirochetes in peripheral blood smears or inoculated Swiss mice. Retrospective surveys of 278 employees and 7247 guests at the park revealed that acquisition of illness was significantly associated with the persons sleeping in rustic log cabins and acquiring bites of "unknown" insects. From rodent nesting materials found in the walls and attics of cabins where cases had occurred, infective Ornithodoros hermsi ticks were recovered. Exceptional activity of ticks in human populations appeared to have resulted from a decreased population of the ticks' usual rodent hosts. Vector control activities consisted of spraying the cabins with residual insecticide, removing nesting materials, and "rodent proofing." This outbreak, the largest yet identified in North America, extends the known range of a principal vector and establishes the North Rim as an endemic source of tick-borne relapsing fever.
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Standaridizing test results for rheumatoid factor by comparing results obtained for an unknown with results obtained for a serum reference preparation decreased variance between laboratories, as measured in the Center for Disease Control proficiency testing program, by 77%. The amount of improvement was also estimated by the type of test and by the manufacturer's product. Standardization resulted in an increase in the number of reported results that were within a twofold dilution of the median value. The percentage increased from 50.3 to 93.7% for the slide tests and from 78.1 to 91.2% fro the tube tests. Decrease in variance by manufacturer's product ranged from 94 to 27%. The study demonstrated that adopting a reference serum standard could substantially improve the comparability of rheumatoid factor test results and that proficiency testing programs can be used to estimate improvement which could be expected as a result of standardization.
Two evaluations were carried out in this study. The first was a comparison of the standard tube test with the automated microtitration test for the detection of antibodies to Pseudomonas pseudomallei by the indirect hemagglutination method. Data from this comparison indicated that the tests were equivalent. The second evaluation consisted of reproducibility studies on two lots of pyruvic aldehyde-stabilized sensitized erythrocytes in comparison with freshly prepared sensitized erythrocytes in the automated microtitration test. The influence of different types of the microtitration plates used was also examined. Results indicated that the use of stabilized antigens is feasible, and these antigens offer the advantage of being ready for immediate use.
The object of this study was to develop a test that would measure antibodies directed against group B streptococcal types Ia, Ib, Ic, II, and III. The type-specific carbohydrate antigens were purified, labeled with 125I, and used to develop a radioimmunoassay. This procedure should be particularly useful in testing human sera for group B type-specific antibodies, since it requires very small quantities of antigens and measures primary type antigen-antibody interactions.
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A presumptive hemagglutination test for the serological diagnosis of leptospirosis in humans is described. The antigen was prepared from a soluble alcohol extract of an andamana strain sorbed to human O-negative erythrocytes and preserved by pyruvic aldehyde fixation. In this study, the overall sensitivity of the hemagglutination test was 92% in contrast to 69% for the presumptive slide agglutination test. The specificity was 95% for the hemagglutination test in comparison with 83% for the slide test.
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One hundred and fourteen Corynebacterium diphtheriae, toxigenic, gravis type, pharyngeal carriers were identified during a diphtheria epidemic in Elgin, Texas. All carriers were treated with erythromycin estolate, 1 g/day in divided doses for 6 days. Serial pharyngeal cultures were obtained in order to monitor the bacteriological response. Seventy-two carriers had positive cultures immediately prior to the start of therapy, and only these individuals were considered in the analysis of the effects of erythromycin. Forty-eight hours after institution of therapy, 96% of the carriers had become culture negative; all were negative by the 4th day of therapy, and all remained culture negative while taking the drug. Two days after cessation of therapy, all but one (99%) were culture negative. However, upon reculture 2 weeks later, 15 (21%) had relapsed to the carrier state. There were no significant differences in the serum diphtheria antitoxin levels, immunization status, age, sex, or socioeconomic status of those who relapsed and those who remained culture negative. This study demonstrates that erythromycin is effective in converting carriers to culture-negative status, but when given for only 6 days it is associated with large numbers of relapses. Because previous studies have not included follow-up cultures 2 weeks after therapy, it is suggested that all C. diphtheriae carriers be treated with either erythromycin or penicillin and that all be recultured at a minimum of 2 weeks after completion of therapy to assure eradication of the diphtheria organisms.
Rabbits were immunized with listeria antigens, staphylococcus antigen, or with both, and the course of their immune response was monitored. Antibodies to Listeria and Staphylococcus were produced in both immunoglobulin M (IgM) and immunoglobulin G (IgG) classes in response to inoculation with the specific antigen. Cross-responses occurred in rabbits injected only with Listeria or only with Staphylococcus, as well as in rabbits injected with both antigens. L. monocytogenes serotype 4d appeared to be immunologically distinct from L. monocytogenes serotype 2 and its cross-reaction with S. aureus. Human sera from bacteriologically confirmed cases of listeriosis were examined to determine the nature of the immunological response of man to Listeria. In the sera studied, IgM was the predominant antibody produced to Listeria, whereas cross-reactions with Staphylococcus were observed in both the IgM and the IgG antibody classes.