Prophylactic use of antibiotics in surgery

"Sound and careful surgery is the sine qua non of wound management; antimicrobials are adjunctive." The key to successful use of prophylactic antibiotics in surgery is careful selection of cases and medication. There are no final rule or formulas that will always give optimal results. Listed below are some guidelines that may assis the clinician in determining the need and form of antimicrobial use. 1. The operation must carry a significant risk of bacterial contamination. Refined-clean and clean procedures should not be given prophylactic antibiotics. 2. Bacterial cultures should be taken when possible, and the medication used for prophylaxis should be effective against the organisms expected to be encountered. 3. Narrow spectrum antibiotics should be used to conserve the body's normal flora. Broad spectrum antibiotics needed to combat resistant infections should not be used for prophylaxis. 4. The antibiotic should be present in the wound in effective concentrations at the time of the incision and be maintained only as long as the risk of new bacterial contamination exists.     

Fish oil-induced yellow fat disease in rats. II. Enzyme histochemistry of adipose tissue

Adipose tissue in various stages of fish oil-induced yellow fat disease in the rat had the same acid phosphatase and 5-nucleotidase activity pattern as similar stages of the disorder in mink and pig. A weak acid phosphatase and 5-nucleotidase activity was seen in interstitial lipofuscin-laden macrophages in "stage M" yellow fat disease without fat cell degeneration. Activity of these macrophagic enzymes increased when there was fat cell degeneration ("stage S" and "stage E" yellow fat disease). This different phosphatase activity in the same cell type may result from phagocytosis of substrates with variable digestibility. Macrophages directly surrounding affected fat cells in steatitis areas ("stage S" and "stage E") had strong acid phosphatase and 5-nucleotidase activity. As in the pig, increased 5-nucleotidase activity was found in affected fat cells, which probably indicates plasma membrane damage. Increased nonspecific esterase activity occurred around affected fat cells. Only a small part of this esterase activity originated from inflammatory cells. This indicates that an increase of esterase activity in degenerating adipose tissue may be an endogeneous process in this tissue.     

Arbovirus isolations from mosquitoes in South Slovakia.

In the years 1973 and 1975 mosquitoes and some other Diptera (Tabanidae, Simuliidae, Hippoboscidae) were tested for virus. 13,924 mosquitoes, 75 horseflies and 60 blackflies were processed in 1973. Five strains of Tahyna virus were isolated from mosquito species Aedes vexans. 3,378 mosquitoes and 12 sheep keds were tested for virus in 1975. Twelve strains of Calovo virus were isolated from Anopheles maculipennis and one strain of Tahyna virus was obtained from Aedes vexans mosquitoes.     

Some further characteristics of the growth of Naegleria fowleri and N. gruberi in axenic culture.

The effects of pH, various viscosity of the medium, changed ratio between the concentrations of dissolved and corpuscular components in the medium, and dissolved inorganic salts on the growth of axenic cultures of Naegleria fowleri and N. gruberi have been studied. The cultures were grown in liquid CALYG and BCS media. The pH optimum was 6.5 for N. fowleri and 6.0--6.5 for N. gruberi. No negative influence on the growth of N. fowleri was observed even at 0.5% concentration of highly viscous methylcellulose, whereas the growth of N. gruberi was distinctly inhibited by more than 0.2% of methycellulose. N. fowleri preferred the osmotorphic and N. gruberi phagotrophic nutrition in the given system of cultivation. The growth of both Naegleria species was inhibited by 0.1 N concentration of sodium chloride and potassium chloride without any significant difference in the tolerance. The inhibitory effect of these salts correlated primarily with the concentration of chloride anion. The ability to grow in a medium with increased viscosity and the preference for osmotrophic nutrtion are, besides the higher temperature optimum determined earlier, further characteristics of the pathogenic species N. fowleri.     

Miniaturized methods for testing the toxicity of pesticides to microorganisms

A minialurized method of determining the toxicity of pesticides to large numbers or soil mitroorganisms is described. Bacteria. actinomycetes, yeasts, fungi and algae can be used as test organisms. A modification of the method allows determination of minimum inhibitory concentrations of pesticides to specific microorganisms. Some results obtained with herbicides are presented. Microméthodex pour éprauver la toxicité des pesticides vis-á-vis des micro-organismes Une micromethode pour determiner la toxicité des pesticides vis-á-vis de nombreux micro-organismes du sol est décrite. Des bactéries. des actinomycetes, des levures. des champignons et des algues peuvent ëtre utilisés comme organismes-tesis. Une modifitation de la méthode permel les determinations des concentrations minimales inhibitrices des pesticides vis-á-vis des micro-organismes specifiques. Quelques resultats obtenus avec des herbicides sont présentés. Miniaturisierte Methoden zur Prüf'ung der Toxizitüt von Pflan- zenhehandlumgsmit teln auf Mikraorganismen Es wird einc miniaturisierte Methode zur BestimmungderToxi- zität von Pfianzenbehandlungsmitteln für groβe Zablen von Bodenmikroorganismen beschrieben, Als Testorganismen können Bakterien. Actinomyceten. Hefen, Pilze und Algen benutzi werden. Eine Modifizierung der Methode gestattet die Bestimmung der Minimum-Hemmkonzentration von Pflanzen- behandlungsmitteln auf spezielle Mikroorganismen. Einige Ergebnisse, die mit Herbiziden erarbeitel wurden. sind darge-stellt.     

Movement and metabolic fate of [14C]ethephon in flue-cured tobacco

The absorption, distribution, and metabolic fate of [¹⁴C]ethephon in flue-cured tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) was studied using autoradiography, thin-layer chromatography, high-voltage paper electrophoresis, and liquid scintillation spectrometry. Labeled ethephon penetrated mature leaf tissue easily and was translocated primarily in an acropetal direction. No ¹⁴C activity was detected in any other plant part except the treated leaf. The first day after treatment, most of the translocated ¹⁴C was detected in the midrib, and after 2 days radioactivity was noticed in veinal areas distal to the point of application. Four days later, however, ¹⁴C was detected in slight amounts only in the midrib, indicating that [¹⁴C]ethephon was rapidly degraded by the leaf tissue. Depending on leaf position on the stalk, as much as 92% of the radioactivity had disappeared from the leaf tissue during the first day after treatment, and as little as 5% of the applied radioactivity was recovered 4 days later. Methanol-extracted plant residues contained insignificant amounts of ¹⁴C. All of the ¹⁴C in methanol extracts was present in the form of a labeled compound with an R_f value corresponding to that of ethephon, indicating the absence of any detectable metabolites of the parent compound. Smoke analysis of cigarettes showed that more [¹⁴C]ethylene than ¹⁴CO₂ was recovered in the main stream, whereas the trend was reversed in the case of side stream smoke.