ABSTRACTThe existence of cross-reactive antigens between the genera Candida and Mycobacterium and their distributions among the following 7 strains of genus Candida and 9 strains of genus Mycobacterium were investigated by gel-diffusion precipitation and passive hemagglutination reaction: C, albicans 1001, C. krusei 1005, C. guilliermondii 1007, C. stellatoidea 1016, C. tropicalis 1003, C. parakrusei 10232, C. pseudotropicalis 1004, M. tuberculosis (H37Rv and Nakano), M. bovis (BCG and Miwa), M. avium. (Takeo), M. phlei (Phlei), M. smegmatis (Smegma and M607) and M. m.icroti (Vole). Strong crossreactions between C. pseudotropicalis and various strains of Mycobacterium (H37Rv, Nakano, BCG and Miwa) were observed and weak cross-reactions between C. krusei and the same strains of Mycobacterium by both gel-diffusion precipitation and passive hemagglutination reaction. Cross-reactions were not observed by the same precipitation reaction between any other strains of Candida and any strains of Mycobacterium. By passive hemagglutination reactions, cross-reactions between C. albicans, C. guilliermondii or C. parakrusei and some strains of Mycobacterium were obser0ved although the crossreactions between these strains were not demonstrated by gel-diffusion precipitation. Although existence of the cross-reactive antigens could not be demonstrated in the cells of C. stellatoidea and C. tropicalis by either gel-diffusion precipitation or the passive hemagglutination reaction, the cells of these two Candida strains could absorb the crossreactive antibodies from the anti-Mycobacterial sera which react to the antigens of C. pseudotropicalis and C. krusei. These results suggest that C. stellatoidea and C. tropicalis contain minor cross-reactive antigens which could not be demonstrated by direct methods. The results indicate rather wide distribution of the cross-reactive antigens among the genus Mycobacterium and of limited distributions among the genus Candida.

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The colicine typing method of Shigella sonnei is described with experimental evidence supporting it as well as the manner of selection of eight indicator strains. The disparity of principle between this method and that of Abbott and Shannon's method is (1) selection of the indicators only from wild strains existing in this country, (2) employment of heart infusion broth for colicine production, (3) performance of the typing within 48hours, and (4) determination of types and subtypes of test-strains by combining their colicinogenic activity against the indicators and their sensitivity to colicines produced by the indicators. A modification of the method is advocated which requires three days to extract colicine by cultivation and one day for sensitivity tests and which uses peptone as the sole nutriment in media.

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It has been found that there are two factors responsible for myolysis in Habu snake venom; heat-labile and heat-stable myolytic factors. As reported previously, the former is a proteinase contained in Habu venom. In this article purification and chemical properties of the heat-stable myolytic factor are presented. Using the method of fractionation with ammonium sulfate and with column chromatography, a heat-stable myolytic factor was obtained ultracentrifugally in a homogeneous state. This factor caused severe myolysis with the aid of both Mg⁺⁺ ion and phospholipase A. It has been found that heat-stable myolytic factor has no activities such as those of proteinase, esterase or ribonuclease. The relationship between the heat-stable myolytic factor and phospholipase A in myolytic activity is discussed.

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A series of Streptococcus pyogenes strains, including strains isolated from patients, mutants which had acquired in vitro resistance to penicillin (Pc), mitomycin C (MC), tetracycline (TC) and chloramphenicol (CM), ultraviolet light induced hemolytic mutants, as well as β hemolytic mutants (β mutants) derived from a hemolytic mutants (a mutants) were compared as to their antibiotic sensitivity, and physiological, biochemical and serological properties. To obtain β mutants from a mutants the following procedures were employed: (1) serial mouse passage, (2) serial serum-broth transfers, (3) cultivation in heat-killed cultures of parent strains, and (4) cultivation in broth containing bacterial DNA extracted from parent streptococcus cells. From the results obtained these strains could be divided into two major groups, each with two subgroups. Group 1 strains produce soluble hemolysins and are sensitive to Pc. Subgroup 1-1 strains are sensitive to other antibiotics too; subgroup 1-2 are resistant to certain antibiotics other than Pc, bacitracin and MC. Group 2 strains do not produce soluble hemolysins and resistant to Pc. Subgroup 2-1 strains are hemolytic on horse blood agar and subgroup 2-2 are β hemolytic on the same medium. Pc resistance in group 2 strains was more than 100-fold higher than that of sensitive strains, and was accompanied by MC resistance, but to a lesser degree. Pc resistance in group 2 mutants could be induced by antibiotics other than Pc and also by ultraviolet irradiation. Although group 1 cells retained the characteristics of typical S. pyogenes, group 2 cells, both a and p hemolytic, lost most of the physiological, biochemical and serological properties of this species. The similarity of group 2 strains to group D or group N streptococcal strains in their general properties is discussed.

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Group A streptococcus mutants, which lost the ability to produce soluble hemolysins, either β or α hemolytic on the horse blood agar, showed penicillin-mitomycin C double resistance. Penicillin resistance was high and stable, but mitomycin C resistance was not remarkably high. Mitomycin C resistance was always accompanied with inactivation of the antibacterial activity of the drug, while mitomyciri C and penicillin sensitive group A streptococci never showed mitomycin inactivation. The component affecting the mitomycin C was not found in the sterile filtrate of mutant cell cultures, nor could it be extracted by sonic oscillation. The activity of the factor diminished, when living mutant cells were heated at 60C for 30min, but activity was not diminished at 56C. The intensity of activity was α function of the bacterial quantities used. Mutant cells suspended in heart infusion broth, proteose peptone, casamino acid and horse serum were able to render the factor which inactivated mitomycin C, while mutant cells suspended in bovine serum albumin, RNA, or saline did not show the phenomenon.

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In connection with the possible role played by water buffaloes in transmitting leptospiral infection, surveys of pH and temperature of paddy water in Taiwan as well as investigation of their effects upon the viability of various leptospires were performed during the summer time. The pH values of paddy water at 122 places in 37 villages distributed in the southern, central and northern parts of Taiwan were surveyed. The pH values of the water of 8 (6.6%) places ranged from 6.4 to 6.8, that of 29 (23.8%) places varied between 7.0 and 7.5, and that of 85 (69.7%) places ranged from 7.6 to 7.8. The temperature of these paddy waters was surveyed for one week between July and August. Temperatures ranging from 40C to 43C were obtained from 8 out of 11 places in the south, 9 out of 11 places in the central section and 5 out of 10 places in the north. L. australis A lost its viability in paddy water within one day in the experiment performed in the fields between July and August in the southern, central and northern areas, while 2 out of 21 strains of leptospires (L. semarang and L. australis A) maintained their viability for one week in the experiment performed between August and September in Taipei. In laboratory experiments, L. australis A was killed in paddy water at 42C within 3 hours compared to 6 hours in L. semarang. The viability of both strains of leptospires was markedly influenced at -15C, while they maintained their viability for 7 to 14 days at temperatures ranging from 0C to 30C.

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According to an epidemiological survey of drug resistance in Staphylococcus aureus, it was found that there are three types of cross-resistance to macrolide antibiotics (EM, erythromycin: OM, oleandomycin: LM, leucomycin: SP, spiramycin), i. e., resistance to EM, OM, LM, and SP, to EM and OM, and inducible resistance to "EM, OM" In the inducible strains of S. aureus, EM and OM are active inducers, and the optimal concentrations of the inducers are 0.1μg/ml and 1.0 μg/ml, respectively. The induction of high resistance (800 μg/ml or more) to both EM and OM occurred within 10min exposure to 0.1μg/ml of EM, and the resistance of induced cells was lost after overnight growth in the absence of inducer. After 1 to 3hr exposure to 1.0μg/ml of OM, the inducible strains acquired high resistance (100μg/ml or more) to EM and to a lesser extent, resistance to OM, and the acquired resistance was lost when grown in antibiotic free media. When a known concentration of EM was mixed with the induced cells or with a crude extract from induced cells which had acquired high resistance to EM and OM, the antibiotic activity of EM was still retained in the mixture, indicating that the induced mixture or the extract from the induced cells was incapable of antibiotic (EM) inactivation under the test conditions.

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To increase the reliability of the skin test of herpes simplex virus, procedures in the preparation of soluble antigen from virus-infected chorioallantoic membrane of hen eggs were standardized. The product was stored in a lyophilized state for less than three months before tests, and the antigen after reconstitution was used at a constant concentraion in terms of units of complement-fixing antigen, i. e. 2 units per 0.1ml. A total of 220 individuals, who were normal healthy persons or patients with nonherpetic diseases, were tested with the antigen and simultaneously bled for the purpose of serological tests. A good correlation was found between the result of the skin test, which was determined by the size of erythema read 2 days following inoculation, and the titer of complement-fixing antibody, with the exception of a minority of the persons whose skin reaction to the above antigen was obscured by appearance of nonspecific reaction. Neutralizing antibody titers also paralleled the results of the above two tests.

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