Urogenital infections afflict an estimated one billion people each year. The size of this problem and the increased prevalence of multi-drug resistant pathogens make it imperative that alternative remedies be found. A randomized, placebo-controlled trial of 64 healthy women given daily oral capsules of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1 and Lactobacillus fermentum RC-14 for 60 days showed no adverse effects. Microscopy analysis showed restoration from asymptomatic bacterial vaginosis microflora to a normal lactobacilli colonized microflora in 37% women during lactobacilli treatment compared to 13% on placebo (P=0.02). Lactobacilli were detected in more women in the lactobacilli-treated group than in the placebo group at 28 day (P=0.08) and 60 day (P=0.05) test points. Culture findings confirmed a significant increase in vaginal lactobacilli at day 28 and 60, a significant depletion in yeast at day 28 and a significant reduction in coliforms at day 28, 60 and 90 for lactobacilli-treated subjects versus controls. The combination of probiotic L. rhamnosus GR-1 and L. fermentum RC-14 is not only safe for daily use in healthy women, but it can reduce colonization of the vagina by potential pathogenic bacteria and yeast.

In many outbreaks of foodborne illness, the food worker has been implicated as the source of the infection. To decrease the likelihood of cross-contamination, food workers must clean and disinfect their hands frequently. To ensure their effectiveness, hand disinfectants should be tested using rigorous conditions that mimic normal use. Currently, several different methods are used to assess the efficacy of hand disinfectants. However, most of these methods were designed with the health care worker in mind and do not model the specific contamination situations encountered by the food worker. To fill this void, we developed a model that uses soil from fresh meat and a means of quantifying bacteria that is encountered and transferred during food preparation activities. Results of studies using various doses of para-chloro-meta-xylenol and triclosan confirm that the method is reproducible and predictable in measuring the efficacy of sanitizers. Consistent, dose-dependent results were obtained with relatively few subjects. Other studies showed that washing hands with a mild soap and water for 20 s was more effective than applying a 70% alcohol hand sanitizer.

Effects of iron deficiency and repletion pre- and postweaning on cell growth in young rats were studied. Pregnant dams were fed 6 or 250 ppm iron. On d 2 of lactation, half of the dams in each group were fed the opposite diet. On d 17, cell growth in the crossed-over groups was similar to controls showing that cellular development is impaired only when the iron deficiency is present during gestation and lactation. In a second experiment pup littermates of dams fed 6 (D), 12 (M) and 250 (C) ppm iron were weaned to either the same diet as fed to their dams DD, MM or CC; repleted with iron DC, MC; or fed the deficient diet CD until 42 d of age. After dietary iron repletion, cell numbers in thymus (DC and MC) and liver (DC) were greater than those of deficient littermates, but were less than those of controls (CC). Iron repletion postweaning reduced the cardiac hypertrophy (DC vs. DD and MC vs. MM) and increased splenic cell number compared to unrepleted deficient littermates (DC vs. DD). Thus, the severity and reversibility of impaired cellular growth is dependent on the timing and severity of the deficiency and the organ affected.

Rats were fat diets containing 6, 12, or 250 ppm iron throughout gestation and lactation. On day 17, pups immunized with sRBC were used to determine antibody synthesis by the Jerne plaque assay. In both iron-deficient groups, antibody formation was decreased by at least 50% compared to controls. For 3 weeks beginning on day 21, iron-deficient pups were fed either a control diet (35 ppm iron) or the same iron-deficient diet as fed to the dam. IgG and IgM formation was only slightly improved in repleted rats and remained significantly below that of rats fed the control diet throughout the experiment. In contrast, 250 ppm iron pups fed an iron-deficient diet postweaning had significantly decreased IgG and IgM production compared to littermates fed a control diet postweaning. Maternal iron deficiency during the critical pre- and postnatal growth periods may result in long-term impairment of humoral immunity that is not corrected by dietary iron repletion after weaning.

It has been previously demonstrated that calcium from calcium citrate-malate (CCM), a mixture of calcium, citric acid and malic acid, is better-absorbed than calcium from calcium carbonate (CaCO3) in humans and in rats. It was of interest to determine if this differential in absorption would result in differences in bone development under chronic feeding conditions. The present study was designed to compare CCM with CaCO3 for effects on bone development in weanling female C/D rats fed either CCM or CaCO3 at 0.3 or 0.6% dietary Ca for 4 or 12 wk. There was a nonsignificant trend for rats fed CCM to weigh more and have larger bones than rats fed CaCO3. Histologic evaluation of cortical and trabecular bone revealed normal bone formation in all rats. Trabecular bone was significantly affected by calcium level and source. The 0.3% Ca diets (either source) resulted in reduced trabecular bone volumes in tibias. After 4 wk, rats fed CCM had 23-25% more trabecular bone than rats fed CaCO3. By 12 wk, the difference was even greater; rats fed CCM had 44-47% more trabecular bone than rats fed CaCO3. Dietary calcium source did not affect cortical bone. It is concluded that because of its positive effects on bone, CCM is a more bioavailable calcium source than CaCO3.