No abstract

A sample of 184 randomly selected Indonesian children aged from 7 to 13 years from Surabaya, Java was examined for the prevalence of dental malocclusion. The examination was supported by cephalometric and photographic records and dental casts. Results showed a high prevalence of incisor crowding, bimaxillary prognathism, and a class I molar relationship. While crowding was very common, there appeared to be few antero-posterior, vertical or lateral discrepancies.

Traditional cephalometry has depended upon measuring the relationship of anatomical points and lines (or planes) to each other. A centroid approach defines two relatively stable lines, each of which can be used for reference purposes and for analysing craniofacial changes elsewhere.

During the third century A.D., there was a series of barbarian invasions in Gaul. The last, in 276, was the most serious, for some fifty or sixty towns had fallen into enemy hands and had to be recaptured. Most Gallic towns had proved an easy prey to the Germanic invaders, for they were built in a spacious style, and for the most part without defensive walls. Dijon is said to have received its walls in the time of Aurelian, but positive evidence for the construction-date of the walls of the Gallic towns is in most cases not forthcoming, although it seems that these defences were constructed in the late third century and early fourth, probably as a result of the Germanic invasions. The style of building was what became the well-known style of the third century and after—thick walls, with exterior towers or bastions, tile bonding courses, and much re-use of earlier material.

Serratia marcescens is commonly isolated from the urine of patients with an indwelling urinary catheter and in the absence of symptoms is often regarded as a contaminant. A case of fatal Serratia marcescens septicaemia with meningitis, brain abscesses, and myocarditis discovered at necropsy is described. The patient was an 83 year old man with an indwelling urinary catheter who suVered from several chronic medical conditions and from whose urine Serratia marcescens was isolated at the time of catheterisation. Serratia marcescens can be a virulent pathogen in particular groups of patients and when assessing its significance in catheter urine specimens, consideration should be given to recognised risk factors such as old age, previous antibiotic treatment, and underlying chronic or debilitating disease, even in the absence of clinical symptoms. (J Clin Pathol 1998;51:789-790)