No abstract

Five types of phagocytes were observed in kuruma prawn Penaeus japonicus.Two of them were fixed phagocytes and three were hemocytes. Fixed phagocytes were detected in the heart and lymphoid organ. Phagocytes in the heart were observed on basal lamina covering sarcolemma of heart muscles and the were detected in all five phagocytic cell types. Esterase activity was higher in the LGC than in any other phagocytes. Peroxidase activity was also detected in all phagocytes, although it was weak. Prophenoloxidase activity was found only in the SGC and LGC. These results indicate that the fixed phagocytes are different from the hemocytes both in their ultrastructural and cytochemical characteristics.

Serum anti-Bartonella henselae IgG and IgM antibody titers for the diagnosis of cat scratch disease (CSD) were determined by indirect fluorescence antibody (IFA) tests. B. henselae as antigen were harvested either by cocultivating with Vero cells (cocultivated B. henselae) or by cultivating without them (non-cocultivated B. henselae). Based on the results on 110 healthy adults, cut off values were set at 1:32 for IgG, and < 1:20 for IgM antibodies. According to these criteria, IgG antibody was positive in 2.7% of the 110 adults, while nobody was positive for IgM antibody. The titers did not change depending on the types of antigen used. On the other hand, IgG antibody titers against cocultivated B. henselae tended to be higher than those against non-cocultivated B. henselae in 33 CSD suspected patients; 75.8% of the patients were anti-B. henselae IgG positive when tested with cocultivated B. henselae as antigen, while only 48.5% of the same patients gave positive results with non-cocultivated B. henselae. Anti-B. henselae IgM antibody was positive in 24.2% of the 33 CSD suspected patients against both types antigen. Vero cells themselves seemed to nonspecifically bind some IgM (but not IgG). We recommended cocultivated B. henselae as antigen for IgG IFA, and non-cocultivated B. henselae for IgM IFA in the serological tests of CSD.

Lingula species are brachiopods inhabiting the tidal flats. In Japan, they are threatened by the marine pollution and decreasing habitat. Although these brachiopods are endangered in Japan, little is known about their life history. The aim of this study was to examine the life history characteristics of Lingula anatina after settlement in Kasari Bay, Amami-Oshima Island, Kagoshima, Japan, by measuring the gonad index and seasonal changes in size distribution. The results revealed that the breeding season of this species is from summer to early autumn, which is longer than that of other populations in Japan. Their settlement starts in winter after the planktonic stage, and they reach maturity after two or three years. Their longevity is more than four years and they breed every year. Lingula species are under taxonomic revision; therefore, for convenience, we named the species in Amami-Oshima as Lingula anatina.

Multiply drug-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus were isolated from pediatric patients with severe staphylococcal infections in 1974 through 1976. Resistance to benzylpenicillin, erythromycin, and kanamycin was jointly eliminated without exception from these multiply drug-resistant strains by treatment with ethidium bromide. It was also found that the triple drug resistance in a representative strain, TK512-200, was always transduced to a susceptible strain simultaneously. Moreover, a single class of plasmid deoxyribonucleic acid was isolated from a transductant and found to be 14.4 ± 0.6 μm in length, with a molecular weight corresponding to 29.8 × 10 6 . From these results, it is concluded that the plasmid (pTU512) is a new one, mediating resistance to penicillin, erythromycin, and kanamycin.