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Objectives of this study were twofold: (i) to assess the association between polymorphonuclear (PMN) counts and chronic alterations within the bovine endometrium and (ii) to determine the distribution of inflammation throughout the endometrium of clinically healthy dairy cows. Holstein-Friesian cows (n = 32) from a single dairy farm were selected for this experiment. Before slaughtering, a complete reproductive examination was performed to discard any type of clinical disease. After slaughtering, reproductive tracts were collected, and the endometrium was sampled at 8 pre-defined locations. At each location, endometrial biopsies (EBs) and cytology (CY) samples were harvested. Histopathology samples were stained with haematoxylin-eosin (EB-HE) and naphthol-AS-D-chloroacetate-esterase (EB-naphthol), while CY samples were stained with Wright-Giemsa. In the EB-HE samples, parameters assessed were epithelium height, mononuclear cells infiltration, lymphocytic aggregates, periglandular fibrosis, angiosclerosis and haemorrhage. In EB-naphthol and CY slides, PMNs counts were evaluated. Binomial logistic regression was used to assess the association between the number of PMNs present in both the EB-naphthol and CY samples and alterations identified in the EB-HE samples and to analyse the distribution of the histopathological alterations (EB-HE). A Poisson mixed-effect model was used to analyse the distribution of PMNs within the endometrium. A significant positive association was found between the PMN counts and the mononuclear cells infiltration. The presence of erythrocytes was associated with higher odds to detect PMNs in the stratum compactum. Significantly, higher infiltration of PMNs and mononuclear cells were detected in the uterine body and the right horn region. Concluding, CY is a technique that allows the evaluation of PMN counts and therefore only evaluates active inflammation. A complete assessment of endometrial health can only be obtained using EB. To optimize the sensitivity to diagnose endometrial inflammation in cows, adjacencies of the corpus uteri should be considered as the preferred region to harvest samples.

Fusarium head blight is a worldwide problem in wheat growing areas. In addition to yield loss, Fusarium species can also synthesise mycotoxins and thus threaten animal and human health. Models for predicting Fusarium head blight and deoxynivalenol content in wheat provide farmers with a tool for preventing yield loss and mycotoxin contamination. Growers may use the predictions to underpin decision making on cultivation techniques and the application of fungicides. At the end of the growing season, the food and feed industry may use the predictions to make marketing decisions. Furthermore, the predictions are helpful to identify regions with a higher disease pressure and thus improve sampling efficiency. Based on the data of 3100 wheat samples from 18 locations throughout Belgium between 2002 and 2011, various predictive models were evaluated. The most accurate models were implemented in a web tool to provide growers with field-specific predictions of Fusarium head blight incidence and deoxynivalenol content. The predictions are based on the agronomic variables of a specific wheat field and weather data from the nearest weather station. During the growing season several predictions can be asked. The web tool provides a graphical representation of the predicted results together with an advice on management strategies and recommendations for fungicide application.

Despite great efforts to forecast plant diseases, many of the existing systems often fall short in providing farmers with accurate predictions. One of the main problems arises from the existence of year and location effects, so that more advanced procedures are required for evaluating existing systems in an unbiased manner. This paper illustrates the case of Fusarium head blight of winter wheat in Belgium. We present a new cross-validation strategy that enables the evaluation of the predictive performance of a forecasting system for years and locations that are different from the years and locations on which the forecast was developed. Four different cross-validation strategies and five regression techniques are used. The results demonstrated that traditional evaluation strategies are too optimistic in their predictions, whereas the cross-year cross-location validation strategy yielded more realistic outcomes. Using this procedure, the mean squared error increased and the coefficient of determination decreased in predicting disease severity and deoxynivalenol content, suggesting that existing evaluation strategies may generate a substantial optimistic bias. The strongest discrepancies between the cross-validation strategies were observed for multiple linear regression models.

Reliable taxonomy underpins communication in all of biology, not least nature conservation and sustainable use of ecosystem resources. The flexibility of taxonomic interpretations, however, presents a serious challenge for end-users of taxonomic concepts. Users need standardised and continuously harmonised taxonomic reference systems, as well as highquality and complete taxonomic data sets, but these are generally lacking for nonspecialists. The solution is in dynamic, expertly curated web-based taxonomic tools. The Pan-European Species-directories Infrastructure (PESI) worked to solve this key issue by providing a taxonomic e-infrastructure for Europe. It strengthened the relevant social (expertise) and information (standards, data and technical) capacities of five major community networks on taxonomic indexing in Europe, which is essential for proper biodiversity assessment and monitoring activities. The key objectives of PESI were: 1) standardisation in taxonomic reference systems, 2) enhancement of the quality and completeness of taxonomic data sets and 3) creation of integrated access to taxonomic information. New information This paper describes the results of PESI and its future prospects, including the involvement in major European biodiversity informatics initiatives and programs. © de Jong Y et al.

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a leading cause of fatal bacterial pneumonia in young children. Pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccines have not been promoted for use in young children because many constituent serotypes are not immunogenic in children < 2 years old. Conjugating pneumococcal polysaccharide epitopes to a protein carrier would likely increase vaccine immunogenicity in children. We reviewed published and unpublished pneumococcal serotype and serogroup data from 16 countries on 6 continents to determine geographic and temporal differences in serotype and serogroup distribution of sterile site pneumococcal isolates among children and to estimate coverage of proposed and potential pneumococcal conjugate vaccine formulas. The most common pneumococcal serotypes or groups from developed countries were, in descending order, 14, 6, 19, 18, 9, 23, 7, 4, 1 and 15. In developing countries the order was 6, 14, 8, 5, 1, 19, 9, 23, 18, 15 and 7. Development of customized heptavalent vaccine formulas, one for use in all developed countries and one for use in all developing countries, would not provide substantially better coverage against invasive pneumococcal disease than two currently proposed heptavalent formulas. An optimal nanovalent vaccine for global use would include serotypes 1, 5, 6B, 7F, 9V, 14, 18C, 19F and 23F. Geographic and temporal variation in pneumococcal serotypes demonstrates the need for a species-wide pneumococcal vaccine.

A prospective randomized controlled double-blind study was performed on 61 patients undergoing transurethral resection of the prostate. The first group of 31 patients received 3 g fosfomycin trometamol p.o. each on the evening before and after the operation; the second group of 30 patients received a placebo. Urine samples were taken by catheter puncture 24 and 48 h postoperative. After removal of the catheter (day 5) the first midstream urine was collected for culture, and from that moment on all patients were treated with a nitrofurantoin derivative for two weeks. Although the same strict antiseptic measures were standard practice for both groups, the incidence of early postoperative urinary tract infections was significantly lower for the fosfomycin trometamol group (0/31 versus 6/30 in placebo recipients). None of the patients suffered from a major symptomatic or complicated infection. There were no side effects registered.

Merkel-cell trabecular carcinoma of the skin has a prognosis poorer than expected for a small skin lesion. Surgery is central to actual treatment. A wide excision is indicated for localized disease. For selected cases we believe that an extensive resection of the draining lymphatics in continuity with the tumor should be performed. We have called this procedure "lymphangiectomy" in comparison to lymphadenectomy when the lymph nodes are removed. An early diagnosis and prompt treatment can contribute to improve the survival for this aggressive skin tumor.

Epidemiological data were collected for 219 cases of neonatal septicaemia and/or meningitis. In two thirds of the cases the diagnosis was made in newborns aged 4 days or less. Risk factors related to the delivery, to the health status of the infant at birth and to pregnancy were mentioned respectively in 74, 63 and 36% of the cases. Half of the newborns given antibiotics in prophylaxis received an association of aminopenicillin and aminoside. In more than four fifths of the cases the bacterium was only isolated from blood. In newborns aged 4 days or less at the time of diagnosis, S. agalactiae was the most frequently isolated agent (50%). In newborns aged 5 days or more at the time of diagnosis, E. coli was the most frequent isolate (23%), followed by S. agalactiae and coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (20%). The lethality was 18%. About three fourths of the children dying from the infection, died during the first week of life. For the children who did not die during their stay in hospital, the duration of hospitalization was longer than 4 weeks in 41%.

A total of 383 clinical isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae, obtained from an equal number of patients in Kigali, Rwanda, was tested for resistance to penicillin G with a 1 microgram oxacillin disc. Of these isolates, 99 (25.8%) showed reduced zones of inhibition. By means of an agar dilution method, 21% all isolates were confirmed as relatively resistant (MICor = 0.12-or = 1.0 mg/l) strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae (RRSP). A high degree of resistance to penicillin G (MICor = 2 mg/l) was not observed. Resistance to chloramphenicol (MICor = 8 mg/l) was found in 31% RRSP and in 6% penicillin susceptible strains (PSSP). Doxycycline resistance was common in both RRSP and PSSP strains. All isolates remained fully susceptible to erythromycin. Children more often harboured a strain giving a reduced inhibition zone than did adults (74/230 versus 25/153; P = 0.0005). A total of 32 serotypes or serogroups were identified, seven of them relating to 64.8% all isolates typed. Of all the isolates 84% belonged to a serotype represented in the 23-valent vaccine or to a cross-reacting serotype. Serotype 25, not included in the vaccine, accounted for 10.7% typed isolates from adults but only for 2.0% typed isolates from children. Results of susceptibility testing and clinical experience suggest that penicillin G, ampicillin and chloramphenicol should not be used alone as empirical treatment for pneumococcal meningitis in patients in Rwanda.

Since the introduction of AIDS, the biovar neoformans of Cryptococcus neoformans has replaced the biovar gattii as the predominant agent of cryptococcal meningitis in Kinshasa and in other tropical areas. That this is not an absolute rule is demonstrated by the present case of a HIV-positive patient, observed at the Kinshasa University Hospital, with cryptococcal meningitis due to the biovar gattii. Only four cases of this association have been published before. The authors conclude that both biovars are capable of infecting HIV-positive patients but that the apparent decline of the biovar gattii is related to the rarity of its natural reservoir in the urban environment, where the AIDS epidemic is concentrated.In July 1990 in Zaire, a 36-year-old man was admitted to the University Clinic in Kinshasa for intense headaches, fever, vertigo, vision troubles, hallucinations, and irregular speech. He exhibited moderate wasting, left facial paralysis, and prurigo spots on the legs. Laboratory examinations revealed HIV seropositivity, antibodies to cryptococci, protein in the cerebrospinal fluid, and glucose in the cerebrospinal fluid. He was placed on 400 mg/d fluconazole. He died on August 4, two days after slipping into a coma. Cryptococcus neoformans var. gattii was isolated. The man had lived in a free union with two women. One died in 1989 of an illness characterized by persistent fever, considerable wasting, and pulmonary tuberculosis. The other woman is still alive although often having febrile episodes. She is HIV seropositive. Before AIDS arrived, cryptococcosis was rare in Zaire and Cryptococcus neoformans var. gattii was the most common etiologic agent. With AIDS, cryptococcosis has become an opportunistic infection. Since 1983, all cryptococcosis cases at the university clinics were a complication of AIDS. Cryptococcus neoformans var. neoformans was the etiologic agent in all these cases. It is possible that exposure to neoformans variety is more common than exposure to gattii variety. It is therefore an epidemiologic problem intimately associated with the geographic topography specific to ecological niches of these two varieties. Neoformans variety is found in pigeon droppings, while gattii variety has never been found in bird droppings. Gattii's natural host is the eucalyptus tree, found in Zaire. The case lived 400 m from a eucalyptus plantation. He was the only gattii variety cryptococcosis case in 1990-1991 among the 49 cryptococcosis cases at the Kinshasa University Clinics. In conclusion, gattii variety rarely causes cryptococcosis among AIDS patients because its natural reservoir is rare in urban areas where the AIDS epidemic is centered.

The authors report three cases of conjunctival rhinosporidiosis from Zaire, two of which are believed to be the first documented in the northeastern part of the country. All patients were males. Two patients were very young children, respectively 5 and 6 years old. The third patient was a 35-year-old man. The diagnosis was based on histopathology which revealed the characteristic features of Rhinosporidium seeberi. Total excision was the elective treatment. The disease recurred eleven months later in one case, probably from local dissemination of the parasite during surgery.

Suspensions of fresh tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) were prepared from 30 human breast ductal adenocarcinomas. To evaluate the phenotypic pattern of the isolated TIL, lymphocyte surface markers including CD19, CD3, CD4, CD8, CD16 and HLA-DR were examined by flow cytometry. Lymphocyte recovery ranged from 1.1% to 44%, independent of tumor size. TIL most often scored high for CD3+ with a varying number of CD4+ and CD8+ cells. Three samples out of 30 expressed up to 44% of CD19+ B cells, while CD3-CD16+ NK cells were rare. CD4 and CD8 expression was significantly different between the lymph node metastases group and the lymph node negative group (p0.01). 67% of the TIL with a CD4/CD8 ratio greater than 1 showed lymph node metastases. Furthermore, the CD4 expression of TIL and CD4/CD8 ratio correlated with tumor size (p0.01), but not with tumor differentiation and hormone receptor expression. Although there was considerable diversity of TIL among breast tumors, our data suggest that a high expression of CD4+ T cells may imply progression of the tumor, and an increased CD4/CD8 ratio of the TIL isolated from human breast adenocarcinoma may indicate development of metastases.

The cloning of glycosyltransferases is a major breakthrough in the study of glycosylation in normal an malignant tissue. In bladder tumours we need a molecular explanation for the changes observed in especially Gal alpha 1-3 and GalNac alpha 1-3 transferase activity. Studies of the events (transcription/translation) taking place in the different cell layers would also be of importance, especially if the cells could be sorted layer by layer. The urine is a source of malignant cells, and could be a target for diagnosis as well as monitoring. Studies of urinary tumour-associated glycoconjugates or tumour-associated rearrangements in glycosyltransferase genes in exfoliated cells would be of great interest.

Over a period of two years 98 cultures of Salmonella and 17 cultures of Shigella were isolated at the El Maarouf Hospital, Moroni, capital of the Comoros. Almost half of the isolates were from children under 5 years. Salmonella belonged to a limited range of serotypes, S. typhi dominating in adults and S. enteritidis in children, often with bacteraemia. Antibiotic resistance was virtually absent in Salmonella and without clinical significance in Shigella. The high isolation rate of S. enteritidis and the rarity of antibiotic resistance are commented.

Mouse monoclonal antibodies (Mabs) against the human breast cancer cell line MCF-7 were obtained by fusing spleen cells from immunized mice with SP2/0 myeloma cells. The Mabs obtained show a high degree of specificity for epithelial cells. They react in a heterogeneous way with neoplastic and non-neoplastic tissues. Mabs 5D10, 2B4, and 3B7 recognize the same antigen (MW 80,000-90,000) in fresh tissue and in paraffin embedded sections. Mab 11F9 recognizes another antigen which can only be detected in unfixed tissue and not in paraffin sections. A preliminary study suggests a glycolipid nature of all recognized antigens. At least one of the monoclonal antibodies (5D10) developed can be used in an in vitro and in vivo model for the study of the invasiveness of MCF-7 cells.

Nine doses of oral spiramycin were administered to 59 adult healthy nasopharyngeal carriers of meningococci: a 2-gram loading dose followed by 1 g every 12 h for 4 days. There was a reduction in carriage of 85 and 59%, respectively, on the 2nd and 12th post-treatment day. There was no difference in vitro sensitivity to spiramycin and erythromycin of the meningococci isolated before and after treatment. Spiramycin may be advocated as an effective and safe alternative drug for the chemoprophylaxis of secondary meningococcal disease when sulphonamide resistance is suspected.

The susceptibility of 83 non-pigmented Serratia marcescens strains was determined by an agar dilution technique. They originated from miscellaneous pathological specimens submitted

Dans plusieurs pays d'Europe occidentale on assiste a une recrudescencede la meningite cerebrospinale. La recherche des porteurs pharynges de meningocoques occupe une place importante dans l'etude de l'epidemiologie de la meningococcie et dans les mesures preventives classiquement recommandees. Il semble donc utile de soumettre a une evaluation critique differents aspects techniques de la methodologie de cette recherche: influence du milieu de culture de base, influence du type d'ecouvillon, fiabilite d'une recherche unique.

During a 21-month period, we observed an outbreak of severe systemic infections due to multiresistant Salmonella typhimurium among 66 children in the in-patient Department of Paediatrics of Kigali, Rwanda. These infections were more likely to occur in subjects who had stayed for a long time in the hospital for severe illness and/or malnutrition. The children usually presented first with mild to moderate diarrhoea and fever. Later, sever pulmonary involvement was often noted (rales: 58%; respiratory distress: 42%). Moreover, there were four cases of abscess, three arthritis and one meningitis. Of the 66 children, 48 were treated with cefotaxime. The fatality-rate among this group was 10.4%. The fatality-rate among the 18 other untreated patients was 77.9%, suggesting a high efficiency of cefotaxime against these strains of multiresistant Salm. typhimurium.

SummaryIn April 1972, the (Belgian) Association for the Quality in clinical Biology has launched a proficiency testing program in the area of microbiology. At present 105 laboratories adhere to this program, and 88% of them participate actively at the different trials. The trials are organised at trimestrial intervals and each comprises the identification of three pure cultures and the determination of their susceptibility to 10 antibiotics. After each survey a detailed report is sent to the participants, giving the results of the identifications and the antibiotic susceptibility tests (performed according to Bauer-Kirby) together with a statistical and anonymous assessment of the overall performance of the participating laboratories. The report also contains recommendations on suitable identification techniques.The results of the 9 trials carried out during a period of 24 months, are represented in a series of tables. The choice of the cultures, submitted for identification, is briefly discussed. Importa...

In an open prospective study, single oral doses of norfloxacin (800 mg) and thiamphenicol (2.5 g) were used to treat, respectively, 122 and 46 consecutive patients with uncomplicated gonorrhea. Neisseria gonorrhoeae was eradicated from 119 (97.5%) patients treated with norfloxacin and from 35 (76.0%) patients treated with thiamphenicol. Norfloxacin treatment failure was not related to drug resistance or to insufficient absorption of the drug. Thiamphenicol failure correlated with low in vitro susceptibility of the infecting strain. In a single oral dose of 800 mg, norfloxacin appeared to be an excellent alternative treatment regimen for uncomplicated gonorrhea in an area with a high prevalence of penicillin-resistant gonococci.

A case of subacute bacterial endocarditis due to Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans is reported. The patient was successfully treated first by a combination of gentamicin and ampicillin and then, because of severe allergic reactions, ampicillin was replaced by co-trimoxazole; symptoms did not recur and blood cultures remained sterile. A synoptic table is presented of 19 reported cases of infection caused by A. actinomycetemcomitans not connected with actinomycosis, with particular regard to their clinical features, treatment, and outcome.

Resume Ces quatre cas d'isolement de Y. pseudotuberculosis par coproculture dans des syndromes enteritiques chez des enfants peuvent faire supposer que l'incidence de ce germe en pathologie intestinale est plus frequente qu'a premiere vue. Les conditions dans lesquelles ce germe fut isole nous permettent de penser que les milieux selectifs habituels utilises pour la coproculture sont valables, mais qu'un soin particulier doit etre apporte a l'examen de ces cultures : les petites colonies lactose-negatives a peine visibles apres 24 heures d'incubation devront faire l'objet d'une attention speciale. Il y a dix ans, nous attirions l'attention sur Y. enterocolitica et sur la frequence plus grande de ces « Pasteurella Xpar rapport a « P. pseudotuberculosisdans les formes enteritiques (4, 5, 17). Si «Pasteurella X, appelee actuellement Y. enterocolitica, a aujourd'hui partout dans le monde droit de cite, il serait facheux d'en oublier maintenant la possibilite d'isoler aussi le bacille de Malassez et Vignal (Y. pseudotuberculosis) dans les memes circonstances ou d'assimiler hâtivement toutes les Yersinia trouvees a Y. enterocolitica, faute d'une identification precise.

Resume Par leurs proprietes pharmacologiques et leur spectre antibacterien in vitro, les 4-fluoroquinolones apparentees a l'acide nalidixique, sont appelees a prendre une place importante dans le traitement des diarrhees aigues d'origine bacterienne. Les auteurs passent en revue les resultats cliniques et bacteriologiques, parfois preliminaires, obtenus dans le traitement de la shigellose, la fievre typhoide, les salmonelloses non-typhoidiques, les diarrhees a Campylobacter et a vibrionacees, et les diarrhees du voyageur. Dans l'ensemble les resultats sont superieurs ou au moins comparables a ceux obtenus avec les antibiotiques classiques, meme avec des traitements de plus courte duree. Pour la premiere fois, il semble possible d'obtenir une guerison bacteriologique de la diarrhee a Salmonella et d'eradiquer le portage de ce germe. La tolerance des fluoroquinolones est excellente du moins chez l'adulte. Leur toxicite pour le cartilage chez les jeunes animaux d'experience a empeche jusqu'a present leur essai en milieu pediatrique. Il serait regrettable que l'emergence de souches resistantes compromette l'avenir brillant de cette nouvelle classe de produits antibacteriens. Beaucoup dependra de l'usage judicieux qu'on en fera et d'une bonne surveillance bacteriologique.

Summary Details are given on the epidemiology of human Yersinia enterocolitica infections in Belgium, based on 3167 isolations from 1963 to 1978. A continuing increase of the number of isolations is noted, with 1386 isolations in the last three years covered, excluding repeated isolations from the same patient. Serotype 3 remains predominant accounting for 84 per cent of all isolations. However, a changing pattern of serotypes distribution has been observed in recent years, with an increasing proportion of serotype 9 and serotypes other than 3 or 9. Most isolations are from faeces. From blood and deep abscesses only serotypes 3 and 9 were recovered. In Belgium only the latter serotypes are clearly associated with human disease, such as enteritis, pseudo-appendicular syndrome and septicaemia. The pseudo-appendicular syndrome is seen at an older age than is enteritis, and is relatively more frequent in serotype 9 infections. In contrast, serotypes other than 3 or 9 are relatively more common in persons without any illness or with atypical symptoms. There is evidence that they are non-pathogenic.

Resume Un reseau de laboratoires de microbiologie enregistre, depuis fevrier 1983, des donnees epidemiologiques relatives a un certain nombre de micro-organismes. Ceci permet de determiner pour la Belgique les caracteristiques epidemiologiques principales d'un certain nombre d'infections pour lesquelles peu d'informations etaient disponibles jusqu'a present.

Resume Pseudomonas paucimobilis , espece recemment decrite par Holmes et al. en 1977, se distingue aisement des autres bâtonnets a Gram negatif non fermentants par son pigment jaune-citron vif et par l'ensemble de ses proprietes biochimiques. Ce germe de l'environnement est de plus en plus souvent isole a partir de produits pathologiques divers. Une etude clinique, menee a l'occasion de l'isolement de 15 souches, montre qu'il peut s'agir soit d'une contamination, soit d'une colonisation des muqueuses, soit d'une veritable infection. L'infection est toujours iatrogene et generalement associee a l'administration parenterale de liquides contamines.