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Extracted teeth with preexisting carious lesions were incubated in vitro at 37 degrees C in an artificial saliva buffer. Four teeth were exposed to buffer alone, four to buffer containing 5% glucose, and four to buffer containing 5% sucrose. Time-lapse radiographs were made of the carious lesions using an orienting device that fixed the position of the tooth, x-ray film, and x-ray tube collimator. The radiographs were analyzed over a period of 8 weeks using digital subtraction radiography. The subtracted images revealed that three of the four teeth incubated in saliva alone showed an increase in radiodensity (remineralization) at the depths of the lesion; one tooth showed no detectable change. Three of the four teeth incubated in the presence of 5% glucose showed increased radiolucency (demineralization); one showed no detectable change. The four teeth incubated in the presence of 5% sucrose exhibited results similar to those teeth incubated in 5% glucose.

Photopolymerizing resins were exposed to three different wavelengths of light emanating from the argon laser. It was determined that the most efficient wavelengths for photopolymerization of camphorquinone-activated resins were at 477 and 488 nm. The 514.5-nm wavelength was relatively ineffective in activating polymerization. Four camphorquinone-activated resins were placed in the root canals of teeth and tested for polymerization depth using a 488-nm wavelength laser beam coupled to an optical fiber 200 microns in diameter. In regard to polymerization depth, these materials ranked as follows: Genesis greater than Prisma-Fil greater than Prisma Microfine greater than Prisma VLC Dycal. Alterations in the positions of the optical fiber and the surface of the resin in the canal made only minor differences in polymerization depth of the samples. The results indicate that an argon laser coupled to an optical fiber could become a useful modality in endodontic therapy.

In order to assess the relationships among strains of the genera Actinobacillus and Haemophilus, DNAs from 50 strains of these genera were isolated and purified. The guanine plus cytosine (G + C) content of DNAs from strains of Haemophilus segnis and Haemophilus parainfluenzae were determined by thermal denaturation. DNA-DNA homologies were measured using labelled probes from one strain representing Haemophilus segnis (strain ATCC 10977), and two strains representing Haemophilus parainfluenzae (strains ATCC 9796 and ATCC 7901). Strains isolated as H. segnis had a G + C content of 39.0 to 42.9% and were 49-92% homologous with the ATCC 10977 DNA probe. All of the strains freshly isolated as H. parainfluenzae were 70-81% homologous with the ATCC 9796 DNA probe and had a G + C content of 34.9 to 38.3%. Strain ATCC 7901 was 11% homologous with the ATCC 9796 DNA probe, had a G + C content of 42.4%, and was 65-78% homologous to DNA from strains identified as Haemophilus aphrophilus and Haemophilus paraphrophilus. From these results we conclude that strain ATCC 7901 is a mislabelled strain of H. paraphrophilus. The results of multiple DNA-DNA hybridizations indicated that separate species designations were appropriate for H. segnis, H. parainfluenzae, Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans ("Haemophilus actinomycetemcomitans"), and H. aphrophilus. H. aphrophilus and H. paraphrophilus were closely related organisms and did not fulfill the generally accepted criteria for designation as separate species.

Deoxyribonucleic acids (DNAs) were isolated and purified from 20 strains of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, 6 strains of Haemophilus aphrophilus, 2 strains of Haemophilus paraphrophilus, 2 strains of Haemophilus pleuropneumoniae, 2 strains of Haemophilus paraphrohaemolyticus, 2 strains of Haemophilus influenzae, and 1 strain each of Actinobacillus lignieresii, Actinobacillus suis, Haemophilus aegyptius, Haemophilus parainfluenzae, and Haemophilus parahaemolyticus. The guanine-plus-cytosine contents of the DNAs were determined, and they agreed closely with previous estimates. DNA-DNA hybridization analyses revealed that all of the strains identified as A. actinomycetemcomitans were at least 69% homologous to DNA probes from two A. actinomycetemcomitans strains (strains NCTC 9710T [T = type strain] and Y4). The H. aphrophilus and H. paraphrophilus strains were homologous to the two A. actinomycetemcomitans probes at levels of 25 to 37%. The DNAs of all A. actinomycetemcomitans strains were homologous to a DNA probe from H. aphrophilus strain NCTC 5906 at levels of 30 to 39%. The two strains of H. paraphrophilus tested were homologous to the H. aphrophilus probe at levels of 73 and 77%, indicating a very close relationship between these groups of organisms. H. parainfluenzae strain ATCC 9796 DNA seemed to be homologous to the H. aphrophilus and A. actinomycetemcomitans probes at low but significant levels (12 to 16%). All of the other strains of haemophili and actinobacilli tested gave 10% or less homology with the three test probes.

We describe the morphological, genetic, and biochemical features of Fusobacterium simiae, a new species which accommodates isolates from monkey dental plaque. F. simiae can be distinguished from currently recognized Fusobacterium species by its ability to produce indole, hydrolyze hippurate, grow in 2% oxgall, and ferment fructose and glucose but not 27 other carbohydrates. The type strain of this new species is 7511 R2-13 (= ATCC 33568).

The ability of certain phages to successfully infect a restricting host at a high multiplicity of infection is known as cooperative infection or cooperation. We have examined the ability of unmodified T1 (T1·0) to participate in cooperative infection in cells possessing the P1 restriction system. We have found that cooperation is dependent upon protein synthesis during the first few minutes after phage infection. However, we have been unable to attribute the necessary protein to a known T1 cistron. Degradation of the restricted T1 genome is approximately equally extensive whether cooperative infection occurs or whether it is blocked by chloramphenicol. It is postulated that an inducible host repair mechanism may be responsible for the phenomenon of cooperative infection.