[The role of Pneumococcus in the development of acute bronchitis in young children].

To study the etiological role of Streptococcus pneumoniae in bronchial inflammation, 49 children with acute bronchitis and 21 children with acute nasopharyngitis were examined. The given patients' groups manifested no significant differences in the microflora of the upper respiratory tract, serotype landscape of pneumococcus, the level and dynamics of the immunologic characteristics. The growth of the titer of pneumococcal antibodies in the saliva in the early times of the disease as well as the lack of its changes in blood serum suggest that interaction of pneumococcus with the host is restricted in the given case by the bronchial lumen.


[New approaches to evaluation of the inflammatory process in the bronchi of children with bronchopulmonary diseases].

Examination of patients, that included investigation of the clinical, endoscopic and laboratory parameters over time formed the basis for estimating bronchial inflammation. As many as 164 children with recurrent and chronic bronchopulmonary diseases were examined. The authors provide the informative signs allowing one to judge the activity of bronchial inflammation with a high accuracy (up to 90-95%). The complex signs that characterize bronchial inflammation, grades I, II and III, are also provided. The all-round estimation of the inflammatory activity makes it possible to objectively differentiate the status of local homeostasis, which is of paramount importance for administration of adequate and effective therapy.


[Working classification of acute respiratory and cardiac insufficiency in young children with pneumonia].

Overall 302 infants with acute pneumonia were examined for gas, acid-base and electrolyte homeostasis, central and cerebral hemodynamics. In interpreting the data obtained use was made of a basically new approach to estimation of central and peripheral hemodynamics, resting on an analysis of gas, acid-base and electrolyte homeostasis, reflecting external respiratory function, blood transport system, redox processes in tissues, and so forth. Based on the data obtained the author has devised the classification of acute respiratory and heart failure as well as rapid index in order to differentiate acute heart and vascular failure in infants with acute pneumonia.


[Diagnosis of disorders of rheological properties of blood and central and cerebral hemodynamics in infants with complicated pneumonia].

A study was made of the rheological blood properties, microcirculation, central and cerebral hemodynamics in children of the first year of life with complicated pneumonia. On admission to the department of intensive care and resuscitation the patients demonstrated pronounced hemorheological and hemodynamic disorders which might in many respects determine the disease gravity. Based on an analysis of the clinical observations and hemodynamic findings 3 periods of complicated pneumonia were distinguished in such children: the critical period, stabilization and repair. Each period is characterized by different compensatory adaptive and non-adaptive erythrocytic and hemodynamic reactions.


[Clinico-pathogenetic characteristics of acute stenosis of the upper respiratory tract in children].

All-round examinations of 484 patients with acute stenoses of the upper respiratory tract revealed two clinico-pathogenetic varieties of the disease: allergic (48.7%) and infectious-inflammatory (51.3%). All the patients demonstrated high allergy whatever the disease variety. The most important laboratory indicators of allergy were as follows: the rise of the index of eosinophilia, of the count of rosette-forming eosinophils in nasal secretion, a high content of total IgE and of allergen-specific IgE-antibodies, attesting to the presence of atopic allergy. These changes were more pronounced in the disease of allergic genesis. The differences in the pathogenesis should be necessarily taken into consideration during treatment administration. In the allergic disease variety, the main approach consists in administration of antihistaminic drugs in addition to the routine treatment measures, whereas in the infectious inflammatory variety, the treatment should also include antiviral agents.


[Respiratory function in children with alveolitis].

External respiratory function was examined in 27 patients aged 5 to 17 years suffering from alveolitis. Of these, 10 children were diagnosed to have idiopathic fibrosing alveolitis and 17 exogenous allergic alveolitis. The functional examination included investigation of the static pulmonary volumes by helium dilution method, spirography, body plethysmography, measurements of lung elasticity, diffusion capacity of the lungs and blood gases. It has been established that in alveolitis, restrictive ventilatory disorders prevail, whereas in acute and subacute exogenous allergic alveolitis, obstructive disorders may occur. In all the patients examined, lung diffusion capacity was found to be reduced.


[Use of oral antibacterial drugs in the treatment of acute pneumonia in children].

The efficacy of oral antimicrobial agents was studied under conditions of monitored clinical trials. Overall 279 children with different clinical forms of acute pneumonia were entered into the study. It has been shown that the treatment of uncomplicated acute pneumonias may be started since the day of admission to the hospital. The total efficacy of oral drugs was 75%. This does not differ essentially from the efficacy of antibiotics administered parenterally (89%). It has been established that early change (on days 1-3 since the effective treatment) from parenteral to oral administration of antibiotics does not reduce the treatment efficacy but noticeably lowers the injection load of the patients. The side effects (dyspeptic disorders) that occur very frequently during erythromycin treatment suggest that this antibiotic should not be administered to infants.


[Tactics in using antibiotics in diffuse forms of chronic nonspecific pneumonia in children].

The authors provide the results obtained during many years of studying different aspects of antibacterial treatment of purulent endobronchitis in children with prevalent forms of chronic pneumonia. The study was attempted at the clinic for disease of childhood, I.M. Sechenov Moscow Medical Academy. Base the complex program of such treatment, which rests on etiotropic , correspondence of the antibiotic administration to the activity of the infectious inflammatory process in the bronchi, and immunomodulating therapy carried out according to indications if any. Introduction of the antibiotic therapy program into clinical practice allowed the attainment of good direct results in 87.6% of patients and of stabilization of endobronchitis in 47% of patients within 1.5 to 3 years.


[Value of studying chemiluminescence of blood plasma in the diagnosis of acute suppurative destructive pneumonia in children].

Biophysical studies of the patients' blood plasma have demonstrated that the infiltrative form of acute pneumonia is characterized by appreciable enhancement of fluorescence, the destructive form by its dramatic depression. This rapid method is fairly informative, safe for the patient; it allows the determination of the dynamics of inflammatory and destructive processes that occur in the lungs and the monitoring of the treatment efficacy.


[Study of circadian rhythm of bronchial patency for timely correction and evaluation of the effectiveness of inhalation powder forms of salbutamol in children with bronchial asthma].

A study was made of the circadian rhythms of bronchial patency for ++timely correction and dynamic estimation of the efficacy of powdered inhalation salbutamol (ventodisc) in 30 children aged 7-15 years suffering from persistent recurrent bronchial asthma. The treatment with ventodisc was carried out after basic therapy (euphylline or theopec and/or becotid). During 1 week the children inhaled the drug only at the moments of attacks of obstructed respiration. Starting from the 2nd week of the study ventodisc was applied prophylactically bearing in mind the rhythm of the bronchial tone in hours of minimal values of the maximal volumetric rate of expiration (MVRexp). It has been revealed that an optimal approach to ventodisc administration consists in a preventive drug intake arresting asphyxia attacks, inasmuch children with low values of external respiratory function (particularly in cases where MVRexp is less than 50% of normal) during bronchial asthma attacks are not capable of activating the spraying device and taking the whole drug dose. The use of ventodisc in the chronocorrection mode ameliorated the circadian rhythm of the bronchial tone and minimized the drug requirement 2.3-fold.


[Viral and bacterial associations and their role in the development of bronchopulmonary diseases in children].

Clinical and laboratory criteria for estimating the role of viruses and bacteria that determine bronchopulmonary diseases have been derived. The clinical importance of the detectable microflora, part of which permanently invade the nasopharynx (pneumococcus, adenoviruses) is under critical review. Pneumonias that may develop within the first days of acute respiratory viral infection are characterized by monoviral influenzal or RS-infection; later pneumonias are marked by viral infection with the predominance of adenoviruses. Attempt has been made to reveal the role of geno- and phenotypic factors (N-acetylation, lipid peroxidation, synthesis of alpha-interferon). The data obtained support an assumption about self-regulation of the child's immune system and the adaptation character of responses in mixed infections.


Effects of progressive exercise on attentional focus.

To replicate 1986 work of Salmela and Ndoye on whether physical arousal from riding a stationary bicycle led to narrowing of attentional focus 17 subjects responded to a verbal 5-choice RT task while pedalling to exhaustion. Increased heart rates with increased physical stress (bicycle resistance increased) was not associated with narrowing of attention. When heart rates were 160 and 180 bpm, RTs to stimuli peripherally located to the right were slower than central ones. Further evaluation is required.


Effect of aerobic exercise on negative affect, positive affect, stress, and depression.

Three groups of subjects, 15 Longer-term Exercisers, 14 Short-term Exercisers, and 18 Nonexercisers completed questionnaires designed to measure negative affect associated with thoughts, negative affect associated with day-to-day experiences, positive affect associated with thoughts, and positive affect associated with day-to-day experiences, depression, and stress. All the subjects also provided a rating of their over-all general stress. The Longer-term Exercisers reported more positive affect associated with their thoughts and day-to-day experiences than the Nonexercisers. There also was a trend for the Longer-term Exercisers to report less over-all stress than the Nonexercisers.


Grip strength and fatigue in junior college tennis players.

Change in grip strength over 30 trials was documented in two samples of junior college tennis players to assess possible fatigue. Eight men and eight women performed 30 maximum-grip strength tests with 25-sec. rests between trials. Significant positive correlations (.38 and .53 for men and women) were observed between grip strength and trials. In practical terms, grip strength did not change over 30 trials in these tennis players. The data suggested that the repetitive gripping patterns used by these players in tennis play resulted in consistent maximum-grip strengths across 30 trials.


Psychometric properties of the Learning-Orientation Grade-Orientation II Scale.

The Learning-Orientation Grade-Orientation Scale of Eison, Pollio, and Milton was administered to 85 college students and analyzed to study the psychometric properties of the instrument. Scale means were consistent with those usually reported. Cronbach coefficients alpha for 5 of the 6 scales ranged from .58 to .70; however, the coefficient alpha for learning-orientation attitude scale was questionably low (.29). Item analyses and factor analyses support the continued use of at least 5 of the 6 scales measured by the inventory.


Children's development of reaching: temporal and spatial aspects of aimed whole-arm movements.

Age-related changes in movement time and spatial distribution of pointing errors were investigated using a whole-arm target-aimed task. 60 children (6 to 11 yr.) and 10 young adults were required to reach towards targets located on a vertical screen in four conditions: target lit for 4 sec. in light (1), in darkness (2), target lit for 200 msec. in light (3), in darkness (4). Accuracy was perfect in Conditions 1 and 2, with a significant increase of MT in Condition 2 between the ages 7 and 10. Accuracy decreased slightly in Condition 3 and strongly in Condition 4, despite a similar shortening of MT. In Condition 4 the subjects undershot the target position: horizontally from age 8 and vertically in all age groups, with an increase of vertical bias by girls at age 9. These results suggest age-related changes in computation of arm movement towards the target.


Nurses' attitudes toward obese persons and certain ethnic groups.

Societal attitudes toward obese persons are predominantly negative, and many health care professionals share these beliefs. This study compared attitudes toward obese persons of 67 US nurses to those of 107 Canadian nurses. Also, attitudes toward obesity were examined as a particular class of prejudice. A positive correlation was hypothesized between ethnic prejudice and prejudice regarding obese persons. Significant differences in attitudes toward obese patients were observed between the two groups on several questionnaire items, and the hypothesis was confirmed by the moderate r of .53 for US nurses. A surprising finding was a new target of ethnic prejudice: the Caucasian majority.


Effects of instruction and practice on ball catching skill: single-subject study of an 8-year-old.

An eight-year-old boy learned to make one-handed catches by involvement in three 30-min. periods of instruction and practice consisting of modelling, videotape-based performance feedback, and variable practice interspersed with videotaped assessments on seven consecutive days. An adult-like catching action (both hands) emerged in the second session and was used exclusively thereafter. Catching success at the second and third assessments improved from 40% (preferred hand) and 30% (non-preferred) to over 90% (both hands) on the final assessment. Following the intervention, success and the catching action were similar to those of skillful ten-year-old subjects observed in a previous study.


Bulimic symptomatology and coping in a nonclinical sample.

This study examined the relationship between bulimic symptomatology as measured by scores on the Bulimia Test--Revised and coping orientation as measured by Endler and Parker's Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations given to a nonclinical sample of 164 female college students. A relationship was obtained among emotionally oriented coping, task-oriented coping, and scores on the Bulimia Test.


Imagined test situations produce contextual memory enhancement.

Two groups of 12 undergraduates learned a 26-item list of medium-imagery words. Those who visualized an examination-hall scored better at 1-wk. recall than those who visualized countryside during learning, thereby providing confirmation of the context-dependency effect.


Effect of memory set-size upon event related potentials for concrete and abstract kanji stimuli.

Event related potentials (ERP) and reaction times (RT) were recorded during the performance of memory-retrieval tasks using the Japanese kanji characters. P300 latency and RT increased as the memory set-size increased. The slope differences between RT and P300 latency were larger for stimuli when concrete kanji were used than when abstract kanji were used. This suggests that, in memory search, the 20 subjects were likely to employ direct lexical access when processing concrete kanji and likely to use phonetic coding when processing abstract kanji.


EEG alpha activity and hallucinatory experience during sensory deprivation.

The relationship between hallucinatory experiences under sensory deprivation and EEG alpha activities was studied. Each of seven male students lived alone in an air conditioned, soundproof dark room for 72 hours. When hallucinatory experiences occurred, the students pressed a button at once. If they could not press the button during the experience, they were required to press it two times when the hallucinatory experience was finished. Spectral analysis was performed on the consecutive EEG samples from just before button-presses to 10 min. before them, and the average alpha band amplitudes were obtained for the four epochs (0-.5, .5-2, 2-5, 5-10 min.). For the single button-presses, the amplitude of alpha band increased 2 min. before the button-presses. Right-hemisphere EEG activation was observed in the occipital area for the double button-presses. The results suggest an association between the hallucinatory experiences under sensory deprivation and the amount of EEG alpha activity.


Resistance of voice onset time variability to intoxication.

Voice onset times of /d/ and /t/ were measured for 16 adult subjects (age range 21 to 26 years) under conditions of sobriety and intoxication. Subjects consumed beer to reach intoxication levels between 0.075 and 0.100% as measured using a portable breathalyzer test. Analysis indicated consistent variabilities over time for each subject and resistance of VOT variability to alcohol influence.


Reliability of the amplitude of the return-sweep velocity of eye movements during reading.

A Beckman Type RM Dynograph was used to record the eye movements of 26 professional college men, once without spectacle corrections and then with plano lenses on a trial frame, during reading equivalent print at a distance of 33 cm. Amplitudes of the return-sweep velocity on these two trials were used to calculate an equivalent form reliability coefficient. A Pearson r of 0.88 indicates that their reliability is moderately high, meaning that both the desirable as well as the undesirable reading habits are probably deeply rooted by college, and imply that any reading remediation or improvement training should be performed at some much earlier stages to be efficiently effective.


Memory disadvantages for CVC associates of emotional words.

A paired-associate task (word-CVC) performed by 40 subjects confirmed that associates to active emotional words were less well remembered than associates to neutral words or pleasant or unpleasant ones. Results are interpreted as satisfactorily explained by differences in the activation of network nodes if such differences were in turn affected by the arousal characteristic of the words.


Three-dimensional interpretation of quadrilaterals.

The three-dimensional interpretation of two-dimensional images was studied by using quadrilateral patterns, and some relationships between their structure, depth, and shape interpretations were analyzed under various viewing conditions. We defined rectangular and nonrectangular viewing conditions as follows: the viewing condition in which the quadrilateral, including parallel sides, could be a projection from a rectangle and the viewing condition in which it could not be so. For 9 subjects, 10 measurements were made in each experiment. Analysis showed that a pair of parallel sides of a quadrilateral were viewed as parallel to the viewer's forehead when the sides were horizontal in the image plane and were seen as slanting in depth if they were slanted in the image plane. The quadrilateral composed of parallel and nonparallel sides was perceived as rectangular when viewed with foveal vision even though under the nonrectangular viewing condition, if that viewing condition was not so different from the rectangular viewing condition. The quadrilateral did not appear to be rectangular when viewed in peripheral vision even though the rectangular viewing condition was used.


Perceptual-motor coordination and style in healthy boys and those with minimal brain dysfunction.

Differences in visual-motor tracking by 8- to 9-yr.-old boys diagnosed with Minimal Brain Dysfunction or healthy have been analyzed. The subject's task was to use two computer keys to control a cursor line within a target which moved horizontally in two directions over the display. Target size and speed were the experimental variables. Off-target incidences and durations were measured and evaluated. The latter were longer and the former were more frequent on small targets for boys with brain dysfunction than for healthy boys. The two measures correlated negatively in most situations. The perceptual-motor style expressed by means of the distribution of coincidences of the two measures being over or under a criterion set equal to the corresponding averages of the healthy boys was different in the two groups. Brain-damaged boys were characterized mostly by the combination of high incidence of low duration misses for small and fast targets and by high incidence of high duration misses for large and slow targets, whereas most healthy boys showed a few misses of low duration for large and slow targets and few misses of high duration for small and fast targets.


Postural sway characteristics of single leg stance in men with mental retardation.

This study examined the postural sway characteristics of 10 men with mental retardation and 10 each normal men and women during the one-legged stance test. Significant differences between the men with mental retardation and the other two groups were found on measures of lateral sway and on the sagittal sway:lateral sway ratio.


Diagnosing MPD with two new Rorschach signs: are the signs valid or are the MPDS atypical?

The validity of newly developed "Splitting" and "Dissociative" signs on the Rorschach for diagnosing multiple personality disorder (MPD) was questioned. It was pointed out that the mean number of Rorschach responses for what were ostensibly patients with MPD was so high as to render the sample atypical. It was suggested that perhaps the Splitting and Dissociative signs were diagnostic of either dissociation in general or MPDs who have experienced decompensation, leading to hospitalization.


Specific and diversive curiosity in gifted elementary students.

Twenty-nine gifted students in Grades 2 to 6 from the small school districts in north central Kansas completed the Maze test and the Which-to-Discuss test. Background information such as age, sex, grade, and marital status of parents was also collected. There were no significant differences between boys and girls or for students from divorced and nondivorced parents on either the Which-to-Discuss test (specific curiosity) or the Maze test scores (diversive curiosity). The students scored significantly higher on the former test than chance guessing which suggests the students were displaying specific curiosity. Scores of these gifted students on these two tests of curiosity were significantly and positively correlated.


A simple method for evaluation of Rorschach Imagery Reactivity.

A general scoring system, previously developed for the analysis of pictorial associations within the paradigm of Visual Imagery Sequences, was applied in the evaluation of visual associations to memory images of Rorschach inkblots (Imagery condition) in a comparison with standard Rorschach responses (Conventional condition). The participants, 80 consecutively selected psychiatric outpatients, were divided into Clinical Reactor and Nonreactor groups, according to how productive they were of psychodynamically revealing material during insight-oriented therapy using imagery. For this simple scoring method (which does not include the customary Rorschach scores), conclusions concerning Imagery Reactivity in the Rorschach agreed with those of previous studies using a scoring system more unique to the Rorschach. The inferences drawn from statistical analysis by groups and conditions also contribute additional refinements to the understanding of the subtle interplay between defensiveness and sensitivity to imagery in determining the patterns of scorable components within the response complex. This general scoring method correctly identified 95.6% of Imagery Reactors and 100% of Imagery Nonreactors, an improvement over the 87% efficiency of the previously described, Rorschach-based method for assessing Imagery Reactivity in the Rorschach.


Priming outside of awareness and subsequent stimulus identification.

The influence of priming outside of awareness on performance of a color-recognition task was investigated. Using a tachistoscope, a color word that matched ("congruent prime") or did not match ("incongruent prime") the target color or a blank prime was followed by a pattern mask and the target color. Identification performance was superior on the blank prime trials to the congruent prime trials, with performance on the incongruent prime trials being the lowest. A subsequent study included a meaningless (XXX) prime condition, and it was found that meaningless primes interfered with target-color identification more than the congruent and blank prime conditions, but less than the incongruent prime condition, suggesting that primes, in addition to producing semantic activation, impose demands on information-processing capacity of the perceptual system.


The stability and variability of suicide rates in the states of the USA.

The suicide rates of the American states in 1918-1922 were only weakly associated with the rates in 1980. The mean rate had not changed by 1980, but the standard deviation of the rates had decreased.


Differences in lingual vibrotactile threshold shifts during magnitude-estimation scaling between normal-speaking children and children with articulation problems.

The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in function of the tactile sensory system between groups of normal-speaking children and children with articulation problems. This task was accomplished by studying possible tactile threshold shifts occurring during magnitude-estimation scaling of vibratory stimuli presented to the dorsal surface of the tongue. 10 normal-speaking children (M age = 7.8 yr.) and 9 children with articulation problems (M age = 7.5 yr.) participated. The normal-speaking children and articulatory defective children performed differently on the magnitude-estimation scaling task in which threshold was allowed to return to baseline after each stimulus presentation. These two groups of children also showed dissimilar threshold shifts for the suprathreshold intensities employed in the magnitude-estimation scaling.


Formation of arbitrary stimulus classes in matching to complex samples: supplementary data.

A follow-up study of work published in 1990 showed that consistent use of Tone-relevant trials during training and testing baselines contributed to the reliable formation of 5-member stimulus classes during matching to sample. With Tone-irrelevant trials during either training or testing 4 of 12 subjects formed such classes, but none did so when such trials were used in both training and testing baselines. This extends our prior work.


Automatisation deficits in balance for dyslexic children.

Traditional theories of dyslexia have focused on components of the reading process. The Dyslexic Automatisation Deficit hypothesis takes a broader view, attributing deficits to an inability to become completely fluent in cognitive and motor skills. A series of experiments compared the balance of 15-yr.-old and 11-yr.-old groups of dyslexic children and normal children matched for age and IQ under single-task and dual-task conditions. There were no group differences in the single-task conditions. However, introduction of a concurrent secondary task led to a dissociation in that, whereas the balance of normal children was unaffected, the dyslexic children's balance was significantly impaired. It was concluded that the normal children balanced automatically whereas the dyslexic children did not. These results directly support the proposed framework.


Biases in perception and reporting following a perceived toxic exposure.

Reactions to chemical exposures often include fears of future illness, cancerphobia, reports of multiple chemical sensitivity, and other ill-defined complaints. Frequently, these complaints occur at levels of exposure not known to cause physiological harm. Although frequently dismissed as hysterical or hypochondriacal reactions, these complaints, along with other indefinite symptoms, may be better understood in terms of biases in perception and reporting. In this paper, we outline various sources of perceptual and response biases including prior beliefs, the media, influential others, reconstructed personal histories, self-perceptions, and the forensic environment. It is recommended that a thorough understanding of symptom-reporting and psychological distress following a chemical exposure involves consideration of these issues.


Anxiety and color saturation preference.

The relationship between personality characteristics and color preference was investigated. Of 49 women and 17 men, 30 individuals scoring above the mean on an anxiety scale preferred significantly less saturated colors than 36 individuals scoring below the mean.


Left ear (right temporal lobe) suppressions during dichotic listening, ego-alien intrusion experiences and spiritualistic beliefs in normal women.

Beliefs in spiritualism, a history of a sensed presence, and mental diplopia may share a common source of psychometric variance. We hypothesized that this variance should be specifically associated with right temporal-lobe function. Inferences of temporal lobe signs, hemisphericity (Vingiano's quotient) and self-esteem as well as dichotic listening measures were obtained for 26 university women. As predicted, the numbers of left-ear suppressions (right temporal-lobe function) but not of right-ear suppressions were specifically and moderately (rho = 0.64) correlated with the intensity of Tobacyk's spiritualistic beliefs and a history of sensed presences and ego-alien intrusions. However, the negative association (rhos about -0.45) between indices of left-right hemisphericity and self-esteem was related to a separate factor.


Perceived level of stress among university undergraduate students in Edmonton, Canada.

A sample of 457 (177 men, 280 women) undergraduate students were surveyed regarding perceived level of stress. Women were more likely than men to report an unacceptable stress level. To reduce stress, women were more likely to indicate a need to limit commitments, exercise, and worry less. Reasons for not reducing stress were lack of time and lack of self-discipline, both of which were reported significantly more often by women. The present data suggest health education interventions are needed to assist students in coping with the stress they experience.


Effects of contextual interference on learning technical sports skills.

The effects of contextual interference on learning skills of volleyball (volley, bump, serve) are influenced by the scheduling of actual practice sessions: the activities can be proposed in a repetitive practice schedule (blocked practice) by continuously repeating the same task (low interference) or in random practice schedules by performing more tasks or variations of one same activity (high interference). High contextual interference, even though causing immediate limited performance, leads to superior performance on retention and transfer tests. Four experimental groups (13 students each) were placed in conditions of random, blocked, serial, and serial with high interference practice for 8 meetings (2 tests and 6 practice). Analysis yielded significant differences among the groups on a transfer test (long transfer) for the serve, so results in this instructional setting are partially in line with those generally found in laboratory experiments.


Association of attitude toward mathematics with self-efficacy, causal attribution, and personality traits.

983 children from Grades 1, 2, and 3 of the middle schools participated as subjects. Of these, 339 children were judged as having higher "self-efficacy" than the others. The associations of attitude toward mathematics with self-efficacy, attributions, and personality traits measured on the Shimoda Personality Inventory were investigated. Analysis showed that attitude toward mathematics had significant effects on mathematics performance. In attribution of effects to mathematics performance there were differences among the children across the grades. Among personality traits the immodithymic trait was significantly correlated with attitude toward mathematics.


Right hemisphericity, low self-esteem, and unusual experiences: a response to Vingiano.

Vingiano's (1992) challenge concerning the relationship between right hemisphericity, low self-esteem, mystical experiences, and religiosity can be clarified by the concept of vectorial hemisphericity. Ontogenetic intrusions of right-hemispheric processes into the left hemispheric sense of self should be experienced most frequently as an apprehensive "presence" that results in lower self-esteem. Because transient above-normal left-hemispheric activity enhances positive affect and the sense of self, concurrent right-hemispheric intrusions are experienced as mystical experiences. Religiosity would be the consequence of persistent above-normal left-temporofrontal activation that encourages the delusion. Hence, extreme conditions, such as left lateralized temporal-lobe epileptic foci, encourage both mystical and religious experiences.


Language ability and sex affect humor appreciation.

Subjects (63 men and 63 women) completed a humor appreciation scale and 20 trials on a word-recognition task using a divided visual field. Factor analysis extracted eight factors from the humor scale most of which differentiated subjects on the basis of liking for various humorous contents including disparagement and non-sense humor. Subsequent analyses showed that greater liking for specific types of humor was associated with basic language abilities. The results also support sex differences in humor preferences and Freud's tripartite taxonomy of humor contents.


Clinical versus actuarial prediction: a review of the literature.

Decisions made by psychologists can have considerable consequences on people's lives. Their decisions could be based on clinical judgment or empirically derived formulas. These two alternatives created a controversy concerning clinical and actuarial prediction. This controversy has been in existence for almost 70 years. During this time hundreds of articles have been published on this topic. This paper contains a review of the findings and issues on clinical versus actuarial prediction. The main conclusions are that (1) linear models are superior to other mathematical models of human judgment, (2) actuarial methods are more accurate than clinical prediction in many situations, (3) human judgment is flawed, and (4) actuarial methods are rarely employed in practice for a variety of reasons.


Motivation needs of sampled Fortune-500 CEOs: relations to organization outcomes.

Motive scores (needs for Achievement, Affiliation, and Power) of the chief executive officers of the nation's 50 largest industrial firms were determined using content analysis of letters to stockholders contained in the firms' annual reports. The scoring method was a modification of the standard TAT scoring procedure. Results showed that chief executive officers' high need Achievement was correlated with relative growth in sales, while high need Power was correlated with relative growth in profits. Effects of need Achievement and need Power also were examined for return on equity and return on sales. Implications are discussed.


Splitting as a predictor of depression.

146 university students completed measures of splitting, depression, and self-esteem. Splitting was positively correlated with depression and negatively related to self-esteem.


To what extent do interactive pictures promote recall?

In four experiments, a total of 352 subjects viewed word pairs alone or accompanied by pictures, after which they were given a cued-recall test. Although Exps. 1 and 2 showed that recall of brand names was similar with separate and with interactive pictures, it was argued that the latter provided a cue enabling subjects to combine the separate components mentally. In Exp. 3, recall of both low concrete nouns and brand names was enhanced with interactive pictures and the effect was replicated in Exp. 4 with subjects who were learning English. These results offer hope to advertisers who wish to use interactive pictures whose relationship to their names is indirect.


Neuropsychological performance and suicidal behavior in adult psychiatric inpatients.

Although various studies have shown that suicidal persons exhibit greater cognitive deficiencies than both normals and other psychiatric patients, researchers as yet have been unable to account for the source(s) of the differences. Some of these differences (e.g., cognitive rigidity and impaired problem solving) hint of possible organic involvement. This study explored the relationship of neuropsychological functioning to suicidal behavior by comparing 20 suicidal and 27 nonsuicidal psychiatric inpatients on several tests of neuropsychological functioning. Although results showed no significant differences between the two groups on most measures, both groups showed evidence of notably high levels of cortical dysfunction relative to test norms. Thirty-five percent of suicidal patients and 44% of nonsuicidal patients scored in the impaired range. Implications of this high frequency of impairment for the treatment of suicidal and nonsuicidal psychiatric patients are discussed.


Trading accuracy for speed: gender differences on a Stroop task under mild performance anxiety.

A standard Stroop task was used to examine the effect of performance anxiety on 58 male and 69 female undergraduates. Subjects were approached either by two casually dressed experimenters who did not stress speed or accuracy or by 4 or 5 formally dressed experimenters who stressed quick and accurate performance. Subjects were told the test would assess their "mental acuity"; their responses were visibly tape-recorded. Reaction times did not show differential response by anxiety condition; men and women showed different RTs only in the low-anxiety condition, with women performing significantly more slowly. There were no significant differences for the high-anxiety condition. Analysis of errors showed women were more accurate than men. Men traded accuracy for speed and may have been under equal performance stress in both situations. When performance was not stressed, women were slower and more accurate than men. When performance was stressed, women increased their speed to match that of men while maintaining their greater accuracy.


Informativeness and the learning of bipolar adjectives.

The effects of informativeness upon the learning of bipolar adjectives were examined by asking 20 preschoolers to learn novel words descriptive of different lengths vs tensions of a coiled spring. The set of adjectives which contrasted most highly for informativeness showed the greatest asymmetry for successful learning.


Longitudinal reliability of the Life Satisfaction Index (Short Form) with nursing home residents: a cautionary note.

We administered the Life Satisfaction Index (Short Form) 18 times over a 39-wk. period to an initial sample of 76 old, frail, multiply impaired, and depressed nursing home residents participating in a longitudinal quasi-experimental study of the effects of cognitive group interventions on cognition and depression. As no changes over time were observed on the outcome variable of life satisfaction, the stability of the instrument's internal consistency could be examined. Kuder-Richardson KR-20 coefficients ranged from .11 to .60, with a mean of .42 (SD = .11). We conclude that caution should be used when applying this instrument to measure life satisfaction in frail nursing home residents.


Experimental stimulation by burst-firing weak magnetic fields over the right temporal lobe may facilitate apprehension in women.

Intermittent bursts of weak magnetic fields whose patterns simulate normal amygdaloidal-hippocampal activity were generated by computer over the right or left temporal regions of men and women during partial sensory deprivation. As predicted, women but not men reported greater apprehension during right-hemispheric but not left-hemispheric stimulation. Intrusions of right-hemispheric processes have been hypothesized to affect self-esteem adversely. These results also support the role of the right parahippocampal region in the production of panic attacks.


The orientation of a parallel-line texture between the verticals can modify the strength of the Poggendorff illusion.

In the present experiments, we attempted to evaluate the modification of the strength of the Poggendorff illusion as a function of the different orientation of a parallel-line texture filling the space between the vertical lines. In Experiment 1, the standard version of the Poggendorff configuration was tested against four different parallel-line textures oriented at 0 degrees, 45 degrees, 90 degrees, and 135 degrees with respect to the obliques. The results showed that the illusory effect was a linear function of the progressive discrepancy between the angle of the lines of the texture and that of the obliques. In Experiment 2, we tested the same textures used in Experiment 1 after the elimination of the two vertical lines. The data obtained approximated a linear function, as in the previous experiment, but the alignment errors were consistently lower. The statistical analysis performed on the data of all eight experimental conditions shows that both factors--texture and presence/absence of verticals--were significant, but most of the effect was due to the texture factor. The results may be interpreted through the "perceptual compromise hypothesis," originally proposed for the bisection forms of the Poggendorff illusion, but with important modifications. The data are also discussed in terms of their implications for other theories proposed for the Poggendorff illusion.


Contextual and sequential effects on judgments of sweetness intensity.

Presenting stimuli from skewed concentration distributions affects mean responses on category scales. However, if the number of categories on the response scale is increased, the degree of separation between the mean responses obtained for a positively as opposed to a negatively skewed concentration distribution diminishes. The present study investigates the effect of skewed concentration distributions upon ratings on a line scale and compares it to the context effect found for a 7-point category scale. In addition, sequential dependencies between consecutive stimuli and responses are investigated in order to assess their relevance in taste-intensity scaling studies. The context effects are similar for the 7-point category scale and for the line scale. The analyses of sequential effects show that both preceding responses and preceding stimuli affect current responses. However, since these two factors work in opposite directions, only a small contrast effect from the previous stimulus is significant in an overall analysis. The present study shows that even though the overall sequential effects between consecutive stimuli and responses are small, the effect of experimental context may be considerable. Since subjective context is established at the beginning of a session and sequential dependencies operate throughout the whole session, it is argued that contextual and sequential effects are only indirectly related.


Structural alterations of an ambiguous musical figure: the scale illusion revisited.

The scale illusion (Deutsch, 1975) shows the importance of frequency range in the perceptual organization of a sequence of notes. This paper includes three experiments on the scale illusion. Experiments 1 and 2 demonstrated that if the structure of the pattern of notes used in the original scale illusion study is altered slightly, by adding or subtracting a pair of notes from the ends of the sequence, there is a significant decrease in the rate of frequency-based responses, suggesting a weaker illusion. Experiment 3 investigated two features of the note patterns that may have led to this change. Specifically, it asked whether the decrease in the strength of the illusion is due to (1) the nature of the notes at the extremes of the frequency range and/or (2) the nature of the notes at the crossing point of the two scales. While both sources were found to affect the strength of the scale illusion, the former had a greater influence.


Parallel discrimination of subjective contours defined by offset gratings.

Recent physiological studies (von der Heydt & Peterhans, 1989) suggest that the orientation of subjective contours is encoded very early in the visual system (V2 in monkey). This result is seemingly at odds with existing psychophysical data which suggest that the detection of subjective contours involves selective attention. It is argued that certain subjective contours are registered in a reflexive (bottom-up) manner by the visual system but that selective attention may be needed to gain access to this representation. To assess this suggestion, a visual-search task was used in which subjects were to detect the presence of a horizontal (vertical) subjective contour (defined by offset gratings) in a variable number of vertical (horizontal) subjective contours (also defined by offset gratings). When there were no competing organizations within the display, detection was indeed independent of the number of nontarget distractors, that is, selective attention was unnecessary. In a second experiment, we found that a curved form (a crescent defined by subjective contours) was easier to detect in a background of vertical bars (also defined by subjective contours) than vice versa, namely, a search asymmetry paralleling those found by Treisman and Gormican (1988). A final experiment showed that when the horizontal and vertical bars of the first experiment formed textured regions, they could be discriminated at very brief display durations (30-120 msec). However, when the line terminations aligned along the subjective contour were tapered rather than abrupt, discrimination dropped off with the degree of tapering. The latter result is consistent with the assumption that the registration of subjective contours in V2 involves the integration of responses from aligned, end-stopped cells found in V1 (von der Heydt & Peterhans, 1989).


Visual attention and perceptual grouping.

Perceptual organization is thought to involve an analysis of both textural discontinuities and perceptual grouping. In earlier work, we found that textural discontinuities were detected normally even when visual attention was engaged elsewhere. Here we report how perceptual grouping is affected when visual attention is engaged by a concurrent visual task. To elicit perceptual grouping, we used the Gestalt demonstrations of grouping on the basis of proximity and of similarity. Four tasks were investigated, some requiring the observer to discriminate between horizontal and vertical grouping, and some requiring the observer to merely detect the presence or absence of grouping. Visual attention was engaged at the center of the display by a form identification task. The detection of a textural discontinuity served as a control task. Concurrent form identification conflicted with all four grouping tasks, resulting in a significant reduction of grouping performance in each case. No performance reduction was observed when either form identification or grouping discrimination was combined with the detection of a textural discontinuity. These results suggest that perceptual grouping and form identification compete for visual attention, whereas the detection of a textural discontinuity does not.


Measuring the effect of multiple eye fixations on memory for visual attributes.

Because of limited peripheral vision, many visual tasks depend on multiple eye fixations. Good performance in such tasks demonstrates that some memory must survive from one fixation to the next. One factor that must influence performance is the degree to which multiple eye fixations interfere with the critical memories. In the present study, the amount of interference was measured by comparing visual discriminations based on multiple fixations to visual discriminations based on a single fixation. The procedure resembled partial report, but used a discrimination measure. In the prototype study, two lines were presented, followed by a single line and a cue. The cue pointed toward one of the positions of the first two lines. Observers were required to judge if the single line in the second display was longer or shorter than the cued line of the first display. These judgments were used to estimate a length threshold. The critical manipulation was to instruct observers either to maintain fixation between the lines of the first display or to fixate each line in sequence. The results showed an advantage for multiple fixations despite the intervening eye movements. In fact, thresholds for the multiple-fixation condition were nearly as good as those in a control condition where the lines were foveally viewed without eye movements. Thus, eye movements had little or no interfering effect in this task. Additional studies generalized the procedure and the stimuli. In conclusion, information about a variety of size and shape attributes was remembered with essentially no interference across eye fixations.


Framing effects and the reversed Müller-Lyer illusion.

The enclosure hypothesis of the reversed Müller-Lyer illusion was examined in three experiments. In Experiment 1, the ingoing- and outgoing-wings forms of the illusion were measured separately, as a function of the size of the gap between the ends of the shaft and the apices of the wings. In Experiments 2 and 3, the effects of a square frame and of complete and amputated versions of a rectangle on the perceived length of an enclosed horizontal line were examined. For all non-Müller-Lyer illusion figures, an inverted U-shaped function describes the relationship between illusion magnitude and the length of the test line. The peak overestimation of the test line's length was obtained when the ratio of total figure length to test line length was about 3:2. Taken together, the results of the three experiments suggest that the reversed Müller-Lyer illusion can be explained within current theoretical frameworks, such as assimilation theory, without recourse to a special factor of enclosure.


Letter visibility and word recognition: the optimal viewing position in printed words.

It has repeatedly been shown that the time and accuracy of recognizing a word depend strongly on where in the word the eye is fixating. Word-recognition performance is maximal when the eye fixates a region near the word's center, and decreases to both sides of this "optimal viewing position." The reason for this phenomenon is assumed to be the strong drop-off of visual acuity: the visibility of letters decreases with increasing eccentricity from fixation location. Consequently, fewer letters can be identified when the beginning or ending of a word is fixated than when its center is fixated. The present study is a test of this visual acuity hypothesis. If the phenomenon is caused by letter visibility, then it should be sensitive to variations of visual conditions in which the letters are presented. By increasing the interletter distances of the word (e.g., a_t_t_e_m_p_t), letter visibility was decreased. As expected from our hypothesis, the viewing-position effect became more exaggerated. An additional experiment showed that destroying word-shape information (e.g., aTtEmPt) decreased overall word-recognition performance but had no influence on the viewing-position effect. Varying the viewing position in words might thus be used as a paradigm, allowing one to separate out the contribution of letter information and supraletter information to word recognition.


Geometrical haptic illusions revisited: haptic illusions compared with visual illusions.

Révész (1934) reported that haptic illusions were observed in almost all of the geometrical optical illusion figures. The present study reexamined seven geometrical illusions in both haptic and visual modes. In the Müller-Lyer, Ponzo, and vertical-horizontal figures, haptic illusions equivalent to the visual illusions were observed. In the Oppel-Kundt figure, a haptic illusion similar to the visual one was obtained. In the haptic Delboeuf stimuli, the size illusion of the outer circle occurred, whereas that of the inner circle did not. No haptic illusion was obtained in the Poggendorff figure. In the Zöllner figure, a haptic illusion directionally opposite to the visual one was obtained. These results show that haptic illusions do not occur in all of the geometrical illusion figures. They also suggest that haptic illusions are not necessarily mediated by visualization and that haptic processing of the figures often occurs in a manner different from vision.


Oculomotor readiness and covert orienting: differences between central and peripheral precues.

The costs produced by invalid precues can depend on the spatial relationship between the cued location and the target location. If oculomotor programs mediate attention shifts, then the effect of varying the spatial relation between the cue and target should be the same for covert orienting (indexed by manual responses) and saccadic responses. We found this to be true only for central precues. With central precues, both manual and saccadic costs were greater when cue and target occurred on opposite sides of the vertical meridian than when they occurred on the same side. With peripheral precues, there were no meridian effects in either response condition, but there was a significant dissociation in the pattern of saccadic and manual costs. For manual responses costs were greater when the target was eccentric relative to the cue, whereas for saccades costs were greater when the cue was eccentric to the target. These results provide additional support for the idea that different orienting mechanisms are engaged by central and peripheral precues. They further suggest that the relationship between oculomotor and attentional orienting may depend on the nature of the precue, with the potential for interdependence being greater with central precues.


Production of time intervals from segmented and nonsegmented inputs.

One important factor influencing the accuracy of a timing estimate is the counting activity that a human subject may adopt. In the present study, the usefulness of this activity is evaluated with a strategy whereby subjects are presented segmented and nonsegmented intervals, before they start to produce a series of these intervals, using a finger-tapping procedure. The results are mainly analyzed in the light of Killeen and Weiss's (1987) model, which addressed this question of counting. The results revealed that (1) a scalar property gives a better description of the pacemaker activity than does a Poisson process, and (2) an optimal timing performance would be reached with the utilization of subintervals with an approximate value of 400 msec. Finally, the discussion also incorporates an analysis of the variability related to the motor component in a tapping task.


Resolving the control struggle on an eating disorders unit.

The authors describe the process by which the nursing staff of an eating disorder program was able to identify an ineffective treatment model and to implement some needed changes. They describe the Therapeutic/Administrative Split Model, a method to improve communication and treatment planning between the nurse and psychiatrist. How family control issues are mirrored in the treatment process, and played out within the transference, are also explored.


Clozapine: nursing care considerations.

Since its release for clinical use in February of 1990, an ever-growing number of psychiatrists are beginning to use clozapine to treat clients whose psychoses have been refractory to conventional measures. While clozapine has been shown to have superior antipsychotic efficacy without the standard extrapyramidal side effects, it also has some potentially fatal side effects. The unpredictability in client response poses a number of issues for nursing, which has an essential role in assuring that treatment occurs accurately and safely. The authors share their experience in working with clients, families, and staff over the past two years who have been actively involved with clozapine.


Correlating nursing care, nursing practice, and nursing performance standards.

All too often nursing standards have been viewed as a cumbersome paperwork task with little day-to-day practical relevance. Using a matrix approach that incorporates nursing role functions and the nursing process, the authors developed a model that provides the basis for job descriptions, performance appraisals, peer review, and quality management activities.


Fever responses in newborn lambs.

Neonatal lambs failed to respond with an increase in body temperature to i.v. injection of both endotoxin (0.4 microgram/kg), a Gram-negative bacterial pyrogen, and the cell walls of Staphylococcus aureus (1 x 10(9), a Gram-positive bacterial pyrogen. However, the fall in serum iron concentration that normally accompanies injection of both the pyrogens in adults was not attenuated in the neonates. We believe that the central nervous system origin of the fever pathway is suppressed in neonatal lambs.


Thiazide-sensitive Na-Cl cotransport mediates NaCl absorption in amphibian distal tubule.

To find out the mechanism(s) underlying NaCl absorption in the distal tubule of Necturus, we devised a variant of the split-drop technique. Following injection an oil column, subsequently split by a NaCl solution isotonic to plasma, a double-barrelled microelectrode (conventional/selective to Na+ or to Cl- ions) recorded Na+ (alpha Na) or Cl- (alpha Cl) activity and transepithelial potential (Vte). Paired control/low-Na+ solutions yielded reabsorptive half-times (t1/2) of 0.68 +/- 0.11 min and 7.6 +/- 1.8 min respectively; corresponding Vte values were -22.2 +/- 4.0 mV and -7.6 +/- 1.9 mV. t1/2 values of control versus low-Cl- solutions were 0.77 +/- 0.32 min and 6.5 +/- 1.7 min respectively, whereas respective Vte values were not different from one another: -23.8 +/- 4.3 mV versus -18.8 +/- 5.5 mV. Nominally K(+)-free solutions or bumetanide, 10 mumol/l, did not alter t1/2 or Vte, with regard to the paired control. Amiloride, 5 mumol/l or 2 mmol/l, failed to decrease t1/2 or to lower Vte; apparently, the role of a Na+/H+ antiport does not contribute significantly to NaCl absorption. Furosemide, 0.1 mmol/l, reduced t1/2 by 54% with regard to the control state. Determination of t1/2 as a function of increasing hydrochlorothiazide concentrations revealed apical high- and low-affinity sites, estimated at 0.56 mumol/l and 0.115 mmol/l respectively. Taken together these observations indicate that NaCl absorption is predominantly carried out by an electroneutral Na(+)-Cl- cotransport.


The psychiatric treatment plan.

How the treatment planning process is developed and documented in clinical settings is often influenced by various accreditation processes. As healthcare organizations attempt to incorporate written findings and verbal recommendations of surveyors, an incremental approach to the treatment plan often results. The authors describe how they attempted to alleviate this problem by devising a conceptual framework for the treatment planning process using current HCFA and JCAHO standards and data obtained by reviewing treatment plans from almost 100 psychiatric hospitals.


Ouabain-induced cell swelling in rabbit connecting tubule: evidence for thiazide-sensitive Na(+)-Cl- cotransport.

Mechanisms of Na+ entry across the luminal membrane of the rabbit connecting tubule (CNT) and cortical collecting duct (CCD) were investigated in vitro by analyzing factors that block the ouabain-induced tubular swelling. In the CNT and CCD, cell swelling caused by 100 microM ouabain added to the bath was completely blocked by luminal Na+ removal, suggesting that the main factor inducing cell swelling is Na+ entry through the luminal membrane. Trichlormethiazide (100 microM) and amiloride (10 microM) inhibited the swelling in CNT when applied in combination to the lumen, but not when given separately. The swelling was also inhibited by Cl- omission from the lumen in the presence of amiloride. By contrast, no effect was noted when furosemide (100 microM), 4-acetamide-4'-isothiocyanatostilben-2,2'-disulfonic acid (1 mM) or 5-(N-ethyl-N-isopropyl)amiloride (100 microM) was added to the lumen in the presence of amiloride, indicating the absence of any influence of the Na(+)-K(+)-2Cl- cotransporter and the parallel Na+/H+, Cl-/HCO3- exchanger. The cell swelling in the CCD was blocked by luminal addition of amiloride alone with no effect from trichlormethiazide. In CNT, when the ouabain-induced cell swelling was prevented by both diuretics, addition of parathyroid hormone (PTH, 3 nM) to the bath induced cell swelling, suggesting that another Na+ entry pathway is newly generated by PTH. These results demonstrate that ouabain-induced cell swelling depends on Na+ entry across the luminal membrane. In the CNT, the pathways include an amiloride-sensitive Na+ channel, thiazide-sensitive Na(+)-Cl- cotransport and a PTH-stimulated Na+ pathway, whereas the CCD has only the amiloride-sensitive Na+ channel.


The psychodynamic perspective: a conversation with Glen O. Gabbard, MD. Interview by Norine J Kerr.

After providing a broad overview of Dr. Gabbard's recent book, Psychodynamic Psychiatry in Clinical Practice, the editor talks with him about a variety of topics, including hospital treatment of clients with dissociative disorders, sexual abuse, borderline and narcissistic clients, and the current status of relationships between psychiatrists and psychiatric mental health nurses.


Identification of sodium-dependent and sodium-independent dicarboxylate transport systems in rat liver basolateral membrane vesicles.

The mechanisms involved in the hepatocellular uptake of Krebs-cycle intermediates were investigated in isolated basolateral (sinusoidal and lateral) rat liver plasma membrane (blLPM) vesicles. An inwardly directed Na+ gradient markedly stimulated uptake of 2-oxoglutarate and succinate into voltage- and pH-clamped blLPM vesicles. This Na(+)-dependent portion of the dicarboxylate uptake was characterized by (a) saturability with increasing substrate concentrations (Km = 6.4-10 mM; Vmax approximately 0.2 nmol min-1 mg protein-1), (b) cis-inhibition by lithium (10 mM), other Krebs-cycle dicarboxylates (1 mM) and DIDS (4,4'-diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid; 1 mM) but not by sulphate, monocarboxylates, oxalate, acidic amino acids, bile salts and probenecid, (c) stimulation by an intravesicular negative K(+)-diffusion potential indicating electrogenic [(Na+)n greater than 2-succinate] cotransport, and (d) a pH optimum for transport between 7.0 and 7.5. In the absence of Na+, an inside alkaline pH gradient also markedly stimulated 2-oxoglutarate uptake. This pH-gradient-driven 2-oxoglutarate uptake was insensitive to lithium, but could also be inhibited by DIDS and succinate. Furthermore, saturation kinetics demonstrated Km (approximately 34 mM) and Vmax (approximately 0.8 nmol min-1 mg protein-1) values that were clearly different from those of the Na(+)-dependent uptake system. These results indicate the occurrence of two separate dicarboxylate transport systems along the sinusoidal border of hepatocytes, one being a Na(+)-dicarboxylate symporter and the other representing an anion-exchange system.


Regional capillary perfusion in muscles with limited blood supply: effects of torbafylline.

Severe limitation of blood supply mainly affects the oxidative regions of skeletal muscles. In mammals, they are located medially and are thus not accessible to direct observation. We therefore investigated capillary perfusion in rat tibialis anterior, which has a predominantly glycolytic cortex and oxidative core, using timed intraarterial injection of the fluorochrome thioflavine S conjugated with serum albumin. Muscles with intact blood supply were compared with those in which the blood supply had been limited for 5 weeks by unilateral ligation of the common iliac artery. The effect of a new xanthine derivative, torbafylline (1% solution, 12.5 mg/kg, in two daily doses by gavage, 7 days/week), was also studied. The capillary/fibre ratio was estimated for perfused capillaries (those filled with fluorochrome within 7.5 s after injection; Cp) and all capillaries (those subsequently stained for alkaline phosphatase; Ct), from micrographs of cryostat sections. Regional differentiation in relative capillary perfusion was evident in all muscles samples. Cp:Ct was 0.406 +/- 0.086 (mean +/- 95% CI) in the glycolytic cortex of the contralateral normal muscle, and 0.255 +/- 0.071 in the oxidative core. Muscles with limited blood supply had a significantly lower proportion of perfused capillaries, 0.119 +/- 0.056 in glycolytic and 0.034 +/- 0.038 in oxidative regions. Torbafylline treatment nearly doubled perfusion in the glycolytic regions (Cp:Ct = 0.216 +/- 0.137) and nearly quadrupled it in oxidative (Cp:Ct = 0.121 +/- 0.151) regions of ischaemic muscles. It also improved perfusion in the contralateral muscles (Cp:Ct = 0.705 +/- 0.085 in the glycolytic cortex and 0.583 +/- 0.230 in the oxidative core).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


The effects of caffeine and Ca2+ on rigor tension in triton-treated rat ventricular trabeculae.

Ventricular trabeculae from rat heart were chemically skinned with Triton-X 100, which disrupts all cellular membranes including the sarcoplasmic reticulum. Trabeculae developed a maintained rigor contracture when adenosine triphosphate was withdrawn from the bathing medium. In all preparations, the final level of rigor force developed in the presence of caffeine (10-40 mM) was greater than under control conditions. However, caffeine failed to increase rigor tension when applied after contracture had fully developed. The effect of caffeine on rigor was maximal at about 15 mM; concentrations greater or less than 15 mM were less effective. On average, caffeine decreased the time required to develop half-maximum rigor force. The caffeine-induced potentiation of rigor force occurred in the effective absence of Ca2+ (10(-9) M), in solutions strongly Ca(2+)-buffered with [ethylenebis(oxonitrilo)]tetraaceticacid (10-50 mM). In all preparations, rigor force was found to be independent of [Ca2+] over the range 10(-10) M to about 10(-7) M. These results suggest that caffeine affects rigor force by a direct effect on the myofilaments via a mechanism that is independent of Ca2+.


The time course of thyroid-hormone-induced changes in the isotonic and isometric properties of rat soleus muscle.

Rat thyroidectomy resulted in changes in a number of parameters used to characterise the mechanical and histochemical status of skeletal muscle. Thus thyroidectomy resulted in a prolongation of soleus slow-twitch muscle isometric contraction time and half-relaxation time with a reduced maximum velocity of shortening and maximum rate of development of tetanic tension but no significant change in twitch: tetanus ratio i.e. the ratio of twitch force/unit area to tetanic force/unit area. In addition the percentage of IIA fibres was reduced and the percentage of type I fibres increased. Triiodothyronine, administered to hypothyroid rats, brought about a speeding of these parameters again with no change in twitch: tetanus ratio. There was an increase in the percentage of IIA fibres with a concomitant reduction in the percentage of type I fibres. These changes were induced over 18 days and resulted in isotonic and isometric properties almost identical to those of soleus muscles from chronically hyperthyroid rats; speeding could be detected as early as 2 days after triiodothyronine had been given. Consideration is given to the possibility that changes in myosin isoforms and/or the kinetics of changes in intracellular calcium concentration in activation and relaxation could account for the time course of the observed changes.


Simultaneous measurement of intracellular and extracellular carbonic anhydrase activity in intact muscle fibres.

The presence and properties of membrane-bound carbonic anhydrases have been difficult to establish with conventional enzymological and immunohistochemical techniques. We have therefore studied carbonic anhydrase (CA) activity in single intact crayfish muscle fibres by superfusing them alternately with a 4-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1-piperazine-ethanesulphonic acid (HEPES)-buffered and a 5% CO2/HCO3(-)-buffered solution (pH of both solutions 7.4) while recording the intracellular pH (pHi) and extracellular surface pH (pHs) with H(+)-selective microelectrodes. In order to prevent regulation of pHi, Na+ ions were replaced with N-methyl-D-glucamine. Application of the CO2-containing solution produced a fast fall in pHi coupled with a marked (0.5-0.8 pH units) transient increase in pHs. Submicromolar concentrations of acetazolamide (AA) and benzolamide (BA) immediately blocked the pHs transients. A concentration of 8 x 10(-8) M (both compounds) reduced the response by 50%. A more prolonged application of BA and AA at concentrations of 10(-7) M and higher slowed the CO2-induced fall in pHi, which attained a rate corresponding to uncatalysed intracellular CO2 hydration at an AA concentration of 10(-4) M. The effect of BA and AA on the pHi changes developed with a time constant of 25 +/- 4 min and 7.6 +/- 1.5 min respectively, indicating that BA is less permeant than AA. CNO- ions (5 x 10(-4) M) had little effect on the CO2-induced pHs and pHi changes.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Basal conductance of frog olfactory cilia.

The conductance of isolated frog olfactory cilia in the absence of odorants and second messengers has been measured. Current flowing through the pipette-membrane seal rather than the ciliary membrane was subtracted. In normal physiological solutions, each cilium has a conductance averaging 92 pS at the neuronal resting potential. This basal conductance allows current to be carried by K+ or Na+ but not by Cl-. In some cases, single channels with a unit conductance of 153 pS were observed. The conductance of the ciliary membrane implies a length constant for electrotonic conduction of about 160 microns. Since the reversal potential of the basal conductance is near the neuronal resting potential, it should help to stabilize the ciliary potential at some cost to stimulus transduction efficiency.


Ion conductances of isolated cortical collecting duct cells.

The study of ion conductances in the intact cortical collecting duct (CCD) with the patch-clamp method is rather difficult. An optimized method to isolate CCD cells from rat kidneys using an in vivo followed by an in vitro enzyme digestion is described. Individual CCD segments were collected after this digestion and incubated in EGTA-buffered medium. This procedure resulted in single cells or cell clusters. These freshly isolated CCD cells were studied with different modifications of the patch-clamp method. Membrane voltages measured in the cell-attached-nystatin configuration were -74 +/- 1 mV (n = 13) and -68 +/- 3 mV (n = 22) in cells isolated from normal and mineralocorticoid-treated rats respectively. These values and those measured with the nystatin-perforated slow-whole-cell configuration (-79 +/- 1 mV, n = 23) are comparable to those measured in principal cells of isolated CCD segments. The cells hyperpolarized after the addition of amiloride and depolarized with the addition of adiuretin to the bath. The amiloride effect was enhanced when cells were isolated from deoxycorticosterone-acetate-treated rats. The cells were strongly depolarized upon elevation of the extracellular K(+)-concentration and did not demonstrate a measurable Cl- conductance. A large-conductance K+ channel (174 pS, n = 5, cell-attached, 145 mmol/l K+ in the pipette; 140 pS, n = 12, cell-free, 3.6 mmol/l K+ in the bath) was seen. It had a very low activity on the cell, but a high open probability when excised into a solution with 1 mmol/l Ca2+ on the cytosolic side.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Reduction of myocardial cross-bridge turnover rate in presence of EMD 53998, a novel Ca(2+)-sensitizing agent.

We have studied the effect of EMD 53998 (5-(1-(3,4-dimethoxybenzoyl)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydrochinolin-6-yl)-6-me thyl-3,6-dihydro-2H-1,3,4-thiadiazin-2-one) on cross-bridge turnover rate at varying Ca2+ concentrations. Cross-bridge cycling rate was estimated both by adenosine triphosphatase measurements and determination of mechanical characteristics of constantly activated fibres, which is assumed to reflect cross-bridge kinetics. The results indicate that the turnover rate of myocardial cross-bridges was reduced in the presence of EMD 53998 at low Ca2+ concentrations (pCa greater than or equal to 6.25), but not at higher Ca2+ concentrations (pCa less than or equal to 5.85).


Extracellular magnesium regulates intracellular free Mg2+ in vascular smooth muscle cells.

Regulatory effects of extracellular magnesium ions ([Mg2+]o) on intracellular free ionized magnesium ([Mg2+]i) were examined in cultured vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) from rat aorta by digital imaging microscopy using the Mg2+ fluorescent probe, Mag-fura-2. With normal Mg2+ (1.2 mM)-containing incubation media, [Mg2+]i in VSMCs was 0.63 +/- 0.09 mM. The ratio of [Mg2+]i/[Mg2+]o was 0.52 +/- 0.07. Elevation of [Mg2+]o up to 4.8 mM induced consistent increments in [Mg2+]i (to a mean values of 1.63 +/- 0.08 mM) in 5 min and lowered the ratio of [Mg2+]i/[Mg2+]o to 0.34 +/- 0.02. Our data suggest that [Mg2+]o can regulate [Mg2+]i, which may be related to its effects on intracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) and tone of VSMCs.


A perfused-cuvette method for fluorimetric studies of non-adherent cells.

We have developed a system for immobilizing non-adherent cells for use in macroscopic fluorescence measurements in a perfused cuvette. Using normal human T lymphocytes loaded with the fluorescent Ca(2+)-indicator, fluo-3, we have validated the properties of these cells immobilized on clear, non-fluorescent fluorohalocarbon film (Aclar) using the non-charged cell adhesive, Cell-Tak.


Vasopressin V1-antagonist increases the hydroosmotic response to arginine vasopressin in frog urinary bladder.

V1-antagonist, [Mca1, D-Phe2, Sar7] arginine vasopressin, at a concentration 0.5 nM to 5 nM increased hydroosmotic effect of 5 nM arginine vasopressin in frog urinary bladder. 1 nM V1-antagonist [Mca1, O-Me-Tyr2] arginine vasopressin does not changed hydroosmotic effect of 0.1 nM dibutyryl cAMP. We suggest that-both V1- and V2-receptors are present on epithelial cells of frog urinary bladder and that V1-receptors are involved in the modulation of the hydroosmotic effect of arginine vasopressin-mediated by V2-receptors. by V2-receptors.


A new model of plastic ankle foot orthosis (FAFO (II)) against spastic foot and genu recurvatum.

A plastic ankle foot orthosis (AFO) was developed, referred to as functional ankle foot orthosis Type 2 (FAFO (II)), which can deal with genu recurvatum and the severe spastic foot in walking. Clinical trials were successful for all varus and drop feet, and for most cases of genu recurvatum. Electromyogram studies showed that the FAFO (II) reduced the spasticity of gastrocnemius and hamstring muscles and activated the quadricep muscles. Gait analysis revealed a reduction of the knee angles in the stance phase on the affected side when using the FAFO (II). Mechanical stress tests showed excellent durability of the orthosis and demonstrated its effectiveness for controlling spasticity in comparison with other types of plastic AFOs.


Patellar band for patellofemoral disorders: results and indications.

In patellofemoral disorders, some cases respond well to conservative management thus the authors' initial treatment is conservative. The Patellar Band (PB) was reported previously (Nakamura et al., 1987). Since then the indications for the band have been investigated. Sixty four patients treated by the PB without operative treatment were classified into eight groups. The Severity of Dysfunction (SOD) was assessed by three grades. The First Grade is dull pain after walking or running for a long distance, the Second Grade is sharp pain on climbing up and down stairs, the Third Grade is a feeling of insecurity. The grouping was as follows: Group Ia - plica syndrome with first Grade of SOD and Ib with Second Grade of SOD. Group IIa - chondromalacia with First Grade of SOD and IIb with Second Grade of SOD. Group III - maltracking patella with patellar pain on flexion. Group IVa - subluxation or dislocation of patella with no previous history of patellar symptom and IVb - recurrent dislocation. Group V - degenerative change of the patella. The PB has been proved to be most effective in Groups Ia, IIa and IVb although it is beneficial in half the cases in Groups IIb and III. The subluxation of the patella was partially reduced without recurrence of dislocation during sports activity and the feeling of insecurity was relieved by the PB. The overall results were not related to age or activity level of the patient. The indication of the band for painful knees was not clearly determined in this study. In all operated cases, it was effective for postoperative instability after lateral release of the retinaculum.


A Swedish knee-cage for stabilizing short below-knee stumps.

Stump length is an important factor in attaining successful prosthetic rehabilitation in below-knee (BK) amputees. Stability of the stump-prosthesis complex is impaired in the case of a stump shorter than 10 cm. Thus, fitting a prosthesis to a BK amputee with a stump which is very short often requires the use of different prosthetic techniques. In this work, the authors suggest the use of a Swedish knee-cage attached to a conventional patellar-tendon-bearing prosthesis as an alternative solution in the case of a short BK stump. Objective evaluation was performed by an analysis of gait and the foot-ground reaction forces. The results obtained indicate an improvement in all the measured parameters resulting from the modified stump-prosthesis complex.


Mathematical modelling and field trials of an inexpensive endoskeletal above-knee prosthesis.

The swing-phase motion of the shank of an above-knee prosthesis has been modelled mathematically. An inexpensive endoskeletal prosthesis was designed using the Jaipur foot and conduit pipes with a hinge joint for the knee. Results of field trials and the modelling indicate that a very simple above-knee prosthesis can give near normal gait at "normal" walking speeds on flat surfaces. The swing of the shank is most sensitive to the timing of toe-off.


Rehabilitation after amputation for vascular disease: a follow-up study.

Rehabilitation of one hundred and twenty eight patients with lower limb amputation performed for vascular disease from 1979 to 1987 was assessed. Arteriosclerotic occlusive disease was the most frequent cause of amputation (85.9%). Sixty seven patients (52.3%) were diabetic. Early and late results were analysed. For long-term follow-up evaluation, Univariate method of Kaplan-Meyer product limit was employed. Multifactorial analysis was used to assess factors influencing mortality. On immediate evaluation of rehabilitation with a prosthesis 85.2% of patients were successfully fitted. On long term evaluation 47.8% of below-knee and 22.1% of above-knee amputees were alive and using the prosthesis full time at five years of follow-up (p = 0.0026). Opposite limb preservation at five years was 69.5% for diabetics and 90.2% for non-diabetics, respectively (p = 0.0013). Survival rate at five years was 42.4% for diabetics, and 85.0% for non-diabetics (p = 0.0002). On multifactorial analysis diabetic patients showed a risk of late mortality six times greater than non-diabetics. In conclusion rehabilitation after vascular amputation is feasible in a large number of patients, despite a limited life span. Diabetes represents a major risk factor both for life and for the opposite limb. Knee preservation is an important factor for better rehabilitation.


Cause of death of lower limb amputees.

A study was carried out on the cause of death of 100 lower limb amputees who had been admitted to the Dundee Limb Fitting Centre, Tayside, Scotland for prosthetic management or wheelchair training. A comprehensive database has been established in the Centre for 25 years and the database is updated regularly. The date of death was collected and recorded. One hundred sequential deaths were investigated to review the cause of their death and compare this with the recorded causes of death for the Tayside population for the year of study. Ninety three per cent had an amputation for vascular related causes, with 73% having a below-knee amputation and 17% above-knee. Heart disease was the most frequent recorded cause of death (51%) of the amputee whereas only 28.1% of the Tayside group died from this pathology (p less than 0.01). Carcinomatosis was reported as a cause of death in 14% of the amputees and 23.5% of the Tayside group. Cerebrovascular disease caused death in 6% of the amputees and in 12.3% of the Tayside group (both p less than 0.01). These findings confirm earlier suggestions that vascular amputees die from heart disease more often than the general population.


Revision of amputation stumps in Dodoma--Tanzania.

The records of Dodoma Orthopaedic Department, Tanzania were reviewed for the period July 1986 to December 1990 in order to identify the reasons for revision surgery. A total of 26 patients required revision surgery. Two main groups were identified. In the first group 4 patients had a higher level of amputation because of gangrene. In the second group 22 patients had revision surgery because of other stump defects caused by technical mistakes when carrying out the original amputation, or other complications.


The geriatric prosthesis as metaphor: a clinical note.

This clinical note describes a 96-year-old patient who wears a lengthening prosthesis in connection with the shortening of his leg which occurred after osteomyelitis of his left knee at the age of six years. The prosthesis was made and issued to him when he was twelve years old, and had never been replaced. The considerations that need to be made when replacing the prosthesis of an elderly patient are discussed. In the case described, the prosthesis is replaced by a model that has no fundamental changes from the original. The better fit improves walking considerably and the patient is able to move about safely again using a walking frame.


History of prostheses and orthoses in Japan.

Until the first contact with European civilization in 1543, prostheses and orthoses were not seen in Japanese medical history. Some physicians and surgeons who studied medicine in the Dutch language understood about prostheses and orthoses before the opening of the country in 1868. From 1868 to the end of World War II (1945), prostheses and orthoses were influenced by German orthopaedic surgery. From the latter half of the 1960s the research and development of these have been advanced, because of the establishment of a domestic rehabilitation system, international cultural exchange and economic development.


[Intraarterial urokinase infusion therapy with superselective catheterization for acute occlusive cerebrovascular disease].

Intraarterial urokinase infusion therapy with superselective catheterization was performed on 11 patients for acute occlusive cerebrovascular disease. The subjects were five men and six women with a mean age of 70 years (range, 48-83 years). Nine of 11 patients had middle cerebral artery occlusion and two had basilar artery occlusion. The interval from onset to infusion ranged from 3.5 to 9 hours, and the total dosage of urokinase from 24 x 10(4) to 150 x 10(4) IU. Recanalization of the occluded artery was achieved in nine patients (82%), and favorable clinical outcome was achieved in seven patients (64%). Six of whom were discharged with no neurologic deficits. Hemorrhagic infarction occurred in two patients without clinical deterioration. Our observations suggest that intraarterial urokinase infusion therapy with superselective catheterization may be very useful in the acute stage of occlusive cerebrovascular disease.


[Echocardiography-guided transseptal left atrial puncture: a safe approach to percutaneous transvenous mitral commissurotomy].

Transseptal left atrial puncture has generally been carried out under fluoroscopic control. In our experience, cardiac tamponade occurred in 3 of 83 cases during transseptal puncture for percutaneous transvenous mitral commissurotomy (PTMC) and percutaneous transvenous aortic valvuloplasty (PTAV). We tried to perform the puncture under simultaneous fluoroscopic and 2DE guidance to decrease the rate of complications. As a result, no complication has occurred in 55 cases. Furthermore, 2DE indicated that directing the puncture needle towards 4 or 5 o'clock was inappropriate, but that 3 o'clock was an appropriate direction for puncture of the fossa ovalis of a left atrium dilated because of mitral stenosis. In conclusion, transseptal left atrial puncture can safely and easily be carried out under a combination of fluoroscopic and 2DE guidance, as this procedure displays the correct position and direction of the needle tip for interatrial septal puncture.


[A study of irradiated spines in radiotherapy--using 99mTc-HMDP bone scintigraphy & MR imaging].

When radiation therapy is performed on a patient with malignant tumor, vertebral spines are sometimes included in the irradiation field. In the present study, 99mTc-HMDP uptake was examined in 102 cases of malignant tumors treated with radiation therapy (irradiated total doses from 10 to 70 Gy) in order to clarify the time course of accumulation. The scintigram on the film was transformed with a film digitizer into objective data, and the Accumulation Decreasing Index (ADI) was calculated each month after irradiation. In the group receiving less than 30 Gy, recovery of 99mTc-HMDP accumulation was seen after a mild decrease in the ADI. However, in the group that received more than 40 Gy, no recovery of accumulation was seen, and a large decrease in the ADI followed. Vertebral MRI was performed with and without Gd-DTPA enhancement to calculate the vertebral Signal Intensity Ratio (SIR), and decreased blood flow in the irradiated bone marrow was estimated from the changes in SIR values. In the irradiated area, no definite abnormal accumulation of 99mTc-HMDP was observed against the new metastatic bone tumor. In such cases, MRI should be performed soon after bone scintigraphy in order to detect the tumor.


[Fluid-fluid levels in bone and soft tissue tumors demonstrated by MR imaging].

Fluid-fluid levels in bone tumors have been described in aneurysmal bone cysts and other cystic tumors of bones and soft tissue tumors. We experienced three bone tumors (simple bone cyst, bone metastasis, and osteosarcoma) and three soft tissue tumors (fibrosarcoma, two cases of cavernous hemangioma) that showed fluid-fluid levels on MR, and investigated their cause. Causes included blood in the cystic spaces, hemorrhage in the tumor, the telangiectatic component of the osteosarcoma, and the cavernous component of the hemangioma. No specific diagnosis could be made based on the finding of fluid-fluid levels. We conclude that fluid-fluid levels on MR are rather nonspecific findings in bone and soft tissue tumors and that the diagnosis should be made on the basis of other radiological and clinical findings.


Limited remodelling of expansile Ewing sarcoma after treatment.

Radiological findings of Ewing sarcoma have been well documented, and bone expansion or cystic change is known to be a relatively uncommon finding. On the other hand, expected changes in Ewing sarcoma after treatment have also been reported, e.g. regression of extraosseous soft tissue mass, regression and organization of the periosteal reaction, and remodelling of the lytic or sclerotic bone changes. However, remodelling of bone is often limited or incomplete. We saw an atypical change in Ewing sarcoma after treatment due to lack of significant remodelling of the expanding bone. Because such changes might be a cause of misdiagnosis, knowledge of it will help the radiologist in the follow up evaluation.


[Computed tomographic evaluation of advanced gastric cancer].

Pre-operative CT of 75 gastric cancer lesions in 74 patients were evaluated for CT diagnosis of N-factor, n-factor and pancreatic invasion. 1. Sensitivity of CT diagnosis of N-factor was depended upon the size of the lymph node; Group A, where all nodular density within the fat plane of anatomical lymph node location were called abnormal, revealed 73.8% sensitivity. Sensitivity of group B was 69.8%, group C was 60.4% and group D was 28.6%. Pre-education of operators did not significantly affect the sensitivity. 2. CT detected No. 3, 7, 8, 9, 12, 14, and 16 in higher sensitivity, and No. 2, 4, 5 and 15 in lower sensitivity as N-factor. 3. Overall CT sensitivity of n-factor diagnosis was 48.5% and specificity was 95.6% and accuracy was 88.5%. No. 3, 7 and 8 showed higher sensitivity and specificity, but low sensitivity and specificity were noted at No. 1 and 4. 4. Pancreatic invasion was evaluated objectively from ROC, and sensitivity was 80.0% and 73.3% with and without operative findings, respectively.


[MR imaging of thymoma--comparison with CT, operative, and pathological findings].

Twenty-six patients with thymoma, who had magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and computed tomography (CT) before surgery, were studied. Twenty-six thymomas were classified into 11 non-invasive thymomas (Masaoka's clinical stage I) and 15 invasive thymomas (stage II, III, and IV). On MR imaging compared with histological findings, low signal intensity rim of the tumor was corresponded to fibrous capsule of the tumor, and linear and/or reticular low signal intensity lines in the tumor were corresponded to the fibrous septae dividing thymoma into lobules. The detectability of these findings by MR imaging was superior to that by CT. Margin of the tumor was smooth in non-invasive thymoma rather than invasive thymoma. The diagnostic accuracy of invasion to vessel, and pleura or lung on MR imaging and CT was compared with operative and histological findings. MR imaging was same as CT in its ability to detect tumoral invasion to vessel, and slightly superior to pleura or lung. In conclusion MR images clearly show the findings corresponding to pathologic specimens, and MR imaging combining with CT is useful to differentiate non-invasive thymoma to invasive thymoma.


[Effects of contrast media under systemic heparinization on blood coagulation and fibrinolytic system during angiocardiography--comparison of ionic and nonionic contrast media].

Nonionic contrast media are suggested to cause increased thromboembolism (in vivo), because of less inhibitory action on blood coagulation and platelet aggregation (in vitro) as compared with ionic contrast media. Therefore, to prevent thrombotic complication, we examined whether differences in blood coagulation and fibrinolytic system between the two groups received nonionic (iopamidol) and ionic (ioxaglate) contrast media are seen in vivo when 2,500 unit heparin is administered during angiocardiography. 20 patients undergoing routine angiocardiography were randomized to two groups of 10 patients each. Blood heparin concentration, activated partial thromboplastin time, prothrombin time, thrombin-antithrombin III complex (TAT), antithrombin III, fibrinogen, alpha 2-plasmin inhibitor plasmin complex, fibrinogen and fibrin degradation product were measured at four stages during the procedure: before and 5 min after 2,500 unit bolus heparin administration, 5 min after left ventriculography, and at the end of procedure. Systemic heparinization inhibited clot formation in the presence of nonionic contrast media. TAT generations were elevated before heparinization, after heparinization, however these generations were remarkably inhibited in both groups. No remarkable differences were noted at 40 +/- 14 min duration of procedure when these parameters were compared between the two groups. Since nonionic contrast media did not activate blood coagulation and fibrinolytic system with 2,500 unit heparin administration as compared with ionic contrast media, systemic heparinization was demonstrated to be effective in the prevention of thrombotic complication.


[An experimental study on MR lymphography with various iron colloid agents].

Magnetic resonance (MR) lymphography with iron colloid agents was evaluated in an animal model. The agents examined were ferric gluconate (FeG), saccharated ferric oxide (SFO), iron chondroitin sulfate (ICS) and cideferron (CiF), which were used as intravenous medication for iron deficiency anemia. The author performed time-dose-response and correlative histologic studies. MR images of the popliteal lymph nodes of rabbits were obtained at 1.5 T with a spin-echo sequence (TR = 300, TE = 30 msec) before and after subcutaneous injection of the agents to dorsal hind-feet. The images were evaluated by signal intensity (SI). Histologic specimens were evaluated for distribution and relative quantity of stained iron with a color image analyzer. The SI with FeG 4 mgFe increased by 50% at 5 to 60 minutes after injection but returned to the pre-contrast level 48 hours after. The SIs with SFO 8 mgFe, ICS 1 mgFe and CiF 1 mgFe decreased to the background level at 60 minutes and 48 hours after. The histologic study in combination with the images indicated that in case of FeG the particles in lymph increased SI while in the other agents those within macrophages decreased SI.


[Histopathological study of the esophageal injury induced by high-dose-rate intracavitary irradiation. Experimental study on the rabbits].

Despite the effectiveness of the intracavitary irradiation as the boost therapy for the esophageal cancer, the side effect of the normal part of the esophagus has not been studied enough. The purpose of this study is to investigate the histopathological responses of the rabbit esophagus to the high-dose-rate intracavitary irradiation. Esophageal ulcer was observed in the specimen received a dose of 15 Gy during 7 to 28 days after irradiation. Before the mucosal changes were observed, edema and cell infiltration were found in lamina propria. Chronic injury such as necrosis and degeneration of epithelium, and degeneration of the wall of blood vessels was seen at 6 months. No marked changes were found in the specimen received doses of 5 and 10 Gy. The influences of administration of mucosal protection agent and cancer chemotherapeutic drug were also studied. Administration of mucosal protection agent protected the occurrence of severe ulcer and accelerated the recovery from mucosal damage. Administration of cancer chemotherapeutic agent enhanced the radiation injury by the intracavitary irradiation of the esophagus. In conclusion, it was strongly suggested that a single dose of the high-dose-rate intracavitary irradiation should be reduced less than 10 Gy to prevent the esophagus from severe injury.


[A survey of annual radiation dose for radiation workers from occupational and medical exposures in Kyushu].

This study was carried out to determine annual dose equivalents of exposure in workers exposed to medical radiation and occupational radiation in an enterprise associated with nuclear power plants. The results indicated that medical exposure is much higher than occupational exposure. Average annual effective dose equivalents for medical and occupational exposure were 4.0-7.5 mSv and 2.4-3.6 mSv, respectively. Individual occupational exposure limits have been well controlled and maintained at one-fifth of the dose limit for radiation workers (50 mSv/yr). On the other hand, medical exposure in the older workers of this enterprise has been increasing as a result of X-ray diagnosis with barium meal.


[Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic stent shunt (TIPSS)].

Our first clinical experience of TIPSS made for a 52-year-old patient with recurrent life threatening variceal bleeding is described. Although shunt-making between the right hepatic vein and the right portal vein and placement of Gianturco-Rösch Z stents were successfully made without significant complication related to the procedure, sufficient decompression of the portal vein pressure was not obtained because of compression on these stents at the tortuous portion of the shunting tract. Some technical problems of the procedure are also discussed, especially about choice of metallic stents and puncture technique.


[Endoscopic visualization of luminal organ and great vessels with three dimensional CT scanner. A new trial using volumetric CT].

Thirty cases examined by three dimensions CT scanner (3DCT) were reported. The observation of inner view using 3DCT were performed in 12 large vessels with vascular disorder, 10 pulmonary bronchus with lung cancer and 8 common bile ducts involved obstructive disease. In order to visualize interface of the lumen, a new software which was devekioed by HITACHI MEDICO Inc. and us was brought in. In all cases but one the inner view of the luminal organ was clearly demonstrated as 3D images and it was possible to judge some changes of luminal interface involved by the diseases. The 3DCT endoscopic image might be useful as a new endoscopic technique without fiberscopy.