A total of 463 respiratory specimens, all smear positive for acid-fast bacteria, were inoculated onto routine solid media and into BACTEC 7H12 Middlebrook medium for detection of mycobacterial growth. Conventional drug susceptibility testing (1% proportion method) was performed on Middlebrook 7H10/7H11 medium, and radiometric susceptibility testing was performed on BACTEC 7H12 medium. The average detection times for BACTEC-positive cultures were 8.3 days for Mycobacterium tuberculosis and 5.2 days for mycobacteria other than tuberculosis; by conventional methods, they were 19.4 and 17.8 days, respectively. These detection times do not include time required for identification, which was done by the conventional method only. There was an excellent correlation in the recovery rates of mycobacteria by the two methods. Drug susceptibility test results of M. tuberculosis isolates by the two methods showed 95.1 to 100% overall agreement. The average reporting time for drug susceptibility results ranged from 4.2 to 6.9 days for the BACTEC method and 13.7 to 21 days for the conventional methods. An average of 18 days was required by the BACTEC method for complete recovery and drug susceptibility testing of M. tuberculosis, as compared with 38.5 days for the conventional methods.

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1. We examined the effects of the immunosupressant drug FK506 on excitation-contraction coupling in isolated rat ventricular myocytes.[Ca¥]é transients were recorded using the intracellular Ca¥ indicators fluo-3 and indo-1 while action potentials (APs) or membrane currents were recorded using patch-type microelectrodes in the whole cell mode. increase in AP duration (by 293%). Importantly, the addition of FK506 had no effect on the [Ca¥]é transient when the depolarizing duration was controlled in voltage clamp experiments. The increased AP duration could be explained by a marked inward shift in the net membrane current that was observed in these experiments. 4. The net inward current change was not directly responsible for a change in Ca¥ influx, since no change in L-type Ca¥ current (ICa) was observed. Instead, FK506 inhibited both the transient outward K¤ current (Ito) and the delayed rectifier K¤ current (IK). 5. We conclude that FK506 increases the [Ca¥]é transient during normal contractions by an indirect action: it prolongs the action potential. This action does not appear to depend on the established action of FK506 on the ryanodine receptor. Instead, the inhibition of outward K¤ currents prolongs the AP which secondarily increases Ca¥ influx andÏor decreases Ca¥ efflux.6649

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The Oregon Community Corrections Act was passed in 1977, partly due to the need to relieve overcrowding in the state's prisons. Our research was undertaken to determine whether degrees of successful achievement of the goals of the Act are due to the way in which community corrections legislation is being implemented-and, specifically, to determine if the roles of street-level bureaucrats and modifications of the program during implementation are the keys to successful achievement of goals. In Oregon, we found that there is wide variation from county to county in the way the legislation is being implemented and the degree to which goals are being achieved. Even though not all specific statutory goals are being achieved, the general policy goals are being met. The more successful counties have reached a higher level of implementation in individual and county efforts than the least successful counties. In addition, the former are more likely to have a "fixer" active in getting the program established and making it work, street-level implementors who often have a higher level of commitment to the program, modifications to meet local needs, and a higher degree of support from elected officials and the community.

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