The usefulness of cerebrospinal fluid tests for neurosyphilis

To determine the usefulness of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) tests for syphilis at a large academic hospital, clinical and laboratory data on 644 patients in whom such testing was requested over a 12-month period were analysed. In 198 cases (31 %) the Treponema paJlidum haemagglutination (TPHA) screening test could not be performed because of insufficient fluid. Thirty-eight of the remaining patients were diagnosed as having active neurosyphilis. Examination of 22 files of patients who had a positive TPHA and fluorescent treponemal antibody absorption (FTA-Abs) test together with a negative CSF Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) test revealed that other CSF measures indicating disease activity (CSF protein, cells or IgG index) were not utilised optimally. In 10 (45%) of these patients neurosyphilis was not diagnosed despite either abnormal or incomplete CSF biochemical analysis, indicating that if the CSF VDRL is used as the sole marker for disease activity, some cases of neurosyphilis are likely to be missed

Effects of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, medium and forage type and their interactions on in vitro ruminal fermentation

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of a live yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae CNCM I-1077, at four doses (0, 1×105, 1×106 and 1 × 107 cfu/mL) according to the reducing medium used [Goering-Van Soest (GV), McDougall (MD) or Kansas State (KS)] on in vitro ruminal neutral detergent fibre digestibility (NDFd), rate of digestion of NDF (kd), organic matter digestibility (OMd), dry matter digestibility (DMd), pH as well as volatile fatty acids (VFA) concentration, using two forages (oat hay and wheat straw) with differing chemical composition. The maximum in vitro NDFd, DMd, OMd as well as kd were obtained with dose 1 × 106 cfu/mL, although differences between doses were not always significant. The pH estimates were the lowest with the 1 × 107 cfu/mL dose, but the differences were not all significant; however, 1 × 107 cfu/mL corresponded to significantly lower pH estimates compared to the control and 1×105 (6.51 vs. 6.60 and 6.59, respectively). The decrease in pH was accompanied by an increase in VFA concentrations as the yeast dose increased. The KS medium resulted in the lowest digestibility estimates, pH estimates as well as kd, regardless of yeast dose. The 1 × 106 cfu/mL was the better performing yeast dose in vitro resulting in higher digestibility estimates which indicates the yeasts ability to stimulate the microorganisms within the rumen by beneficially modifying rumen environment, thus promoting microbiota activity. The MD and GV media provide better environments for fermentation than the KS medium, resulting in higher in vitro NDFd, DMd, OMd, pH estimates as well as rate of NDF digestion. The MD and GV are also the media that resulted in more consistent results when analysing the effects of the live yeast. Our data suggest that the in vitro conditions have to be carefully chosen to be able to demonstrate rumen fermentation shifts with the use of live microbial additives

Effects of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, medium and forage type and their interactions on in vitro ruminal fermentation

CITATION: Russouw, A. et al. 2020. Effects of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, medium and forage type and their interactions on in vitro ruminal fermentation. Heliyon, 6(9):e05028, doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e05028.The original publication is available at https://www.sciencedirect.comThe objective of this study was to investigate the effects of a live yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae CNCM I-1077, at four doses (0, 1×105, 1×106 and 1 × 107 cfu/mL) according to the reducing medium used [Goering-Van Soest (GV), McDougall (MD) or Kansas State (KS)] on in vitro ruminal neutral detergent fibre digestibility (NDFd), rate of digestion of NDF (kd), organic matter digestibility (OMd), dry matter digestibility (DMd), pH as well as volatile fatty acids (VFA) concentration, using two forages (oat hay and wheat straw) with differing chemical composition. The maximum in vitro NDFd, DMd, OMd as well as kd were obtained with dose 1 × 106 cfu/mL, although differences between doses were not always significant. The pH estimates were the lowest with the 1 × 107 cfu/mL dose, but the differences were not all significant; however, 1 × 107 cfu/mL corresponded to significantly lower pH estimates compared to the control and 1×105 (6.51 vs. 6.60 and 6.59, respectively). The decrease in pH was accompanied by an increase in VFA concentrations as the yeast dose increased. The KS medium resulted in the lowest digestibility estimates, pH estimates as well as kd, regardless of yeast dose. The 1 × 106 cfu/mL was the better performing yeast dose in vitro resulting in higher digestibility estimates which indicates the yeasts ability to stimulate the microorganisms within the rumen by beneficially modifying rumen environment, thus promoting microbiota activity. The MD and GV media provide better environments for fermentation than the KS medium, resulting in higher in vitro NDFd, DMd, OMd, pH estimates as well as rate of NDF digestion. The MD and GV are also the media that resulted in more consistent results when analysing the effects of the live yeast. Our data suggest that the in vitro conditions have to be carefully chosen to be able to demonstrate rumen fermentation shifts with the use of live microbial additives.Danstar Ferment Ag.Publisher's versio

The usefulness of cerebrospinal fluid tests for neurosyphilis

CITATION: Russouw, H. G. et al. 1994. The usefulness of cerebrospinal fluid tests for neurosyphilis. South African Medical Journal, 48(10):682-684.The original publication is available at http://www.samj.org.zaTo determine the usefulness of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) tests for syphilis at a large academic hospital, clinical and laboratory data on 644 patients in whom such testing was requested over a 12-month period were analysed. In 198 cases (31%) the Treponema pallidum haemagglutination (TPHA) screening test could not be performed because of insufficient fluid. Thirty-eight of the remaining patients were diagnosed as having active neurosyphilis. Examination of 22 files of patients who had a positive TPHA and fluorescent treponemal antibody absorption (FTA-Abs) test together with a negative CSF Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) test revealed that other CSF measures indicating disease activity (CSF protein, cells or IgG index) were not utilised optimally. In 10 (45%) of these patients neurosyphilis was not diagnosed despite either abnormal or incomplete CSF biochemical analysis, indicating that if the CSF VDRL is used as the sole marker for disease activity, some cases of neurosyphilis are likely to be missed.Publisher’s versio

Effects of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, medium and forage type and their interactions on in vitro ruminal fermentation

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of a live yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae CNCM I-1077, at four doses (0, 1Â10 5 , 1Â10 6 and 1 Â 10 7 cfu/mL) according to the reducing medium used [Goering-Van Soest (GV), McDougall (MD) or Kansas State (KS)] on in vitro ruminal neutral detergent fibre digestibility (NDFd), rate of digestion of NDF (kd), organic matter digestibility (OMd), dry matter digestibility (DMd), pH as well as volatile fatty acids (VFA) concentration, using two forages (oat hay and wheat straw) with differing chemical composition. The maximum in vitro NDFd, DMd, OMd as well as kd were obtained with dose 1 Â 10 6 cfu/mL, although differences between doses were not always significant. The pH estimates were the lowest with the 1 Â 10 7 cfu/mL dose, but the differences were not all significant; however, 1 Â 10 7 cfu/mL corresponded to significantly lower pH estimates compared to the control and 1Â10 5 (6.51 vs. 6.60 and 6.59, respectively). The decrease in pH was accompanied by an increase in VFA concentrations as the yeast dose increased. The KS medium resulted in the lowest digestibility estimates, pH estimates as well as kd, regardless of yeast dose. The 1 Â 10 6 cfu/mL was the better performing yeast dose in vitro resulting in higher digestibility estimates which indicates the yeasts ability to stimulate the microorganisms within the rumen by beneficially modifying rumen environment, thus promoting microbiota activity. The MD and GV media provide better environments for fermentation than the KS medium, resulting in higher in vitro NDFd, DMd, OMd, pH estimates as well as rate of NDF digestion. The MD and GV are also the media that resulted in more consistent results when analysing the effects of the live yeast. Our data suggest that the in vitro conditions have to be carefully chosen to be able to demonstrate rumen fermentation shifts with the use of live microbial additives