Two serotyping schemes (Penner and Laboratory of Enteric Pathogens [LEP]) based on soluble heat-stableantigens were used to analyze 3,788 Campylobacter sp. isolates. A significant percentage (36.6%) was untypeable using LEP serotyping; greater cross-reaction was also observed. The relative discrimination capabilities of the techniques were similar. Penner serotyping fulfils more of the requisite criteria for typing methods.Campylobacter spp. are the major cause of bacterial gastrointestinal disease in the United Kingdom: more than 60,000 cases of infection were reported in 1999. Further, the reported figure is considered to be a 7.6-fold underestimate of the true community incidence (18). Many phenotypic and genotypic methods have been applied in the characterization of isolates for epidemiological purposes (11). No single ideal typing method has been identified, although several of those proposed have utility in epidemiological investigations alone or in combination (6,10,12,16). Serotyping based on the soluble heat-stable (HS) antigens of campylobacters is widely used in typing rationales; the principles and practice of the technique have been reviewed recently (9). The major serotyping method is that of Penner and Hennessy (14); an adaptation of this basic method has also been described (4).For a period of 1 year all isolates of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli from human clinical specimens received by the Scottish Reference Laboratory were analyzed using both methods to determine whether the modified Penner method offered improved discrimination. MATERIALS AND METHODSCampylobacter sp. isolates and growth conditions. Isolates of Campylobacter spp. from clinical specimens were received at the Reference Laboratory from diagnostic laboratories (n ϭ 18) throughout Scotland. Isolates were received on charcoal transport swabs and were incubated microaerobically for Penner serotyping at 42°C for up to 72 h on campylobacter selective agar (2), following which they were subcultured microaerobically at 42°C for up to 72 h on 5% (vol/vol) defibrinated sheep blood agar. Isolates were cultured microaerobically for LEP serotyping at 37°C for up to 72 h on Columbia blood agar with 5% (vol/vol) horse blood. During the period of the study (1 November 1998 to 31 October 1999), 3,788 isolates were received and subsequently analyzed using each serotyping method.Isolate identification. All C. jejuni and C. coli isolates were identified to species level by standard microbiological methods including growth at 42°C, hippurate hydrolysis, catalase activity, and resistance to antibiotics (13).Penner serotyping. Serotyping was performed according to the soluble HS antigenic scheme of Penner and colleagues (15) using a panel of 66 O antisera. Bacterial suspensions were prepared for analysis as described previously (15). Briefly, boiled supernatants of bacterial suspensions were incubated with 1% (vol/vol) sheep erythrocytes at 37°C for 30 min and then washed three times with phosphate-buffered saline, pH 7.4. The antigen-sens...

Evaluation instruments are a frequent adjunct to the fields of education and psychology. This paper recounts the salvaging of a moribund test collection -how the authors went about rebuilding the Western Oregon State College Library test collection. Generating faculty involvement in the enterprise, creating a database to provide bibliographic control and efficient collection maintenance, and distributing responsibility for the collection between two library departments were key elements of the procedure. Appointment of a separate line-item in the library budget for test acquisitions, rapid completion of the project (less than six months), and development of a test database were the most notable results of this project.

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insights-library-archivaland-information-sciences.

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