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Background: The use of porcine islets to replace insulin-producing islet β-cells, destroyed during the diabetogenic disease process, presents distinct challenges if this option is to become a therapeutic reality for the treatment of type 1 diabetes. These challenges include a thorough evaluation of the microbiological safety of the islets. In this study, we describe a robust porcine islet-screening program that provides a high level of confidence in the microbiological safety of porcine islets suitable for clinical trials.

Canine calicivirus (CaCV), isolated from feces of a dog with diarrhea, was readily propagated in cultures of canine cells and in a dolphin cell line. Serologic evidence indicated many dogs in at least one geographic area had been infected with CaCV, but its role as an etiologic agent of disease was not established. In cell culture most CaCV virions were strongly cell-associated making purification difficult. CaCV was established as a member of the Caliciviridae by morphology and physicochemical properties of virions (density, sedimentation rate, single major polypeptide, RNA genome size), although some of the properties differed slightly from those of previously described caliciviruses; evidence was also obtained for caliciviral RNA species in infected cells. Based on tests with antisera to numerous caliciviruses and presumed caliciviruses, CaCV appeared to be not closely related to any previously described virus except the stunting syndrome agent of chickens.

Twenty-six intervocalic consonants were recorded by three speakers of each of four languages--Hindi, English, Arabic, and Japanesemand heard by 24 speakers of each of them. The data were treated in two ways. (1) An analysis of variance indicated that listening groups differed and that consonants were unequal in their intelligibility and showed statistically significant interactions between speakers and consonants, between listeners and consonants, and among consonants, listeners, and speakers. All speakers spoke better and all listeners listened better when saying and hearing sounds of their native language. (2) A quantitative procedure employed by Miller and Nicely was adapted to ascertain which features were retained by the listeners in their error responses and whether or not these were similar from one language group to another. All consonants were classified in a binary manner in relation to each of seven channels into which the voice communication network was subdivided. The unusual outcome lay in the ranks of the seven channels in terms of the extents to which they were correctly preserved in the responses. A single rank order in this regard was duplicated for all the listening groups: (1) nasality, (2) place, (3) liquid, (4) voicing, (5) duration, (6) friction, and (7) aspiration.