Some aspects of impotence

The fine structure of human nasal sero-mucinous glands was studied in 15 chronic allergic patient. There was total absence of the mucous glands, and proliferation of seroud elements, with hugely dilated lumina containing large numbers of intact zymogen granules, and absence of microvilli. The relation between the goblet cells and the nasal glands was discussed. An interchange between the serous and mucous elements was deduced.     

Some aspects of cervical chordoma

This paper reviews 13 cases of chordoma in the cervical spine and base of the skull which have been seen at the Pack Medical Foundation over the past 25 years. Chordomas are dysonto genetic, malignant, slow-growing neoplasms that arise in remnants of the embryonic notochord. Concealed along the axial skeleton, these slow-growing tumors are usually well entrenched before they are accurately diagnosed. The majority of the chordomas of the spine occur in the sacroccygeal region. Of the 13 cases in the area of the cervical spine, 39% occurred in the region of the base of the skull and 61% in the area of the cervical spine. The treatment of the cervical tumors consisted of laminectomy to relieve the pressure on the cord and to remove as much of the neoplasm as possible. Some of the tumors at the base of the skull were nonresectable and were treated with radiotherapy. Radiotherapy was ultimately used in every case, either in combination with surgery or as a primary or subsequent method of management. The overall prognosis for palliation was fair but ineffective for cure.     

Some neurophysiologic aspects of consciousness

This article presents the results of an assessment of gynecological morbidity among 385 women with young children residing in a district of Karnataka State, South India. All three main modes of assessment (clinical examination, laboratory tests, and self-reports) reveal a high burden of reproductive tract infections. The two most common conditions, identified by laboratory tests, were bacterial vaginosis and mucopurulent cervicitis. Approximately one-fourth of the women had clinical evidence of pelvic inflammatory disease, cervical ectopy, and fistula. The contribution of sexually transmitted diseases to overall gynecological morbidity appears to be relatively modest; 10 percent were so diagnosed. Associated conditions of anemia and chronic energy deficiency were common. Severe anemia was found in 17 percent of cases and severe chronic energy deficiency in 12 percent. These results indicate that radical improvements in women's health in India will require far more than the diagnosis and treatment of reproductive tract infections.     

Some aspects of deformation behavior

The deformation behavior of several single- and two-phase coarse microstructures has been examined using microhardness measurements. It has been found that the strength response of a coarse phase in isolation is distinctly different from its response when it exists in a two-phase system. The second phase alters the mechanical state of the first one andvice versa even in the plastically undeformed condition. This phenomenon is explained in terms of the existence of an appreciable amount of residual stresses in two-phase coarse microstructures. These stresses primarily arise due to the difference in thermal expansion coefficients of the phases. The in- fluence of elastic stress field on microhardness response is shown with a new type of experiment to support the proposed explanation. The present results question the existing expressions for deformation modeling of multiphase materials because of the uncertainties in the estimation of the average strength of the phases in a two-phase system.     

Some aspects of zygomaticomaxillary fractures

A better understanding of the effects of energy deposited in cells by incorporated isotopes can be expected from an analysis of differential cell doses. With this thought in mind, the distributions of specific energies in tissue were calculated for 239Pu and 131I. A program written in Fortran IV makes use of a matrix of spherical cells and cell nuclei of 10 and 8 mum diameter, respectively. The cells are arranged in close-packed structure. The radioactivity is considered as being compiled to point sources of 1 dps activity. The sources are located in the common centers of cells and nuclei. The calculations yield discrete values of specific energy using the mass of the nuclei for mass of reference. The numbers of cell nuclei receiving given amounts of specific energy are functions of the specific activity of the isotopes in the tissue. The specific activity is varied by changing the number of sources per g of tissue. The program also allows to calculate the numbers of cell nuclei with zero energy deposition. From the 1 dps point sources an average specific energy of 831 rads/h results for plutonium for cell nuclei within the range of the 5.14 MeV alpha-particles. For iodine, the value is 35 mrads/h within the range of the beta-particles of 188 KeV mean energy. If the volumes irradiated by the sources begin to overlap these values begin to increase accordingly.     

Some current aspects of environmental fluoride

This review presents a Total Environment evaluation of current inorganic fluoride intake by human populations. Inorganic fluoride is a persistant bioaccumulator, and the ever-increasing use (and release) of fluoride compounds in the environment should be of long-term concern in population sub-groups who are most susceptible, and therefore, most "at risk". One of these sub-groups consists of people with impaired kidney function, including subjects with nephorphatic diabetes. The diabetes factor is of particular relevance, not only because the incidence of diabetes has increased by 6%/yr during the period 1965-1975, but also because subjects with nephropathic diabetes can exhibit a polydipsia-polyurea syndrome that results in increased intake of fluoride, along with greater-than-normal retention of a given fluoride dosage. People with inadequate dietary intakes (particularly of Ca and/or Vitamin C) are also likely to be more "at risk" as a consequence of low-dose long-term fluoride ingestion. Evidence is presented, showing that there has been an escalation in dialy fluoride intake via the total human food-and-beverage chain, with the likelihood that this escalation will continue in the future. Recent observations, relating to an increasing incidence of chronic fluoride intoxication among humans, is also emphasized.     

Some legal aspects of mental capacity

This article discusses some practical matters which arise when competence to make decisions is in question. Consent, testamentary capacity, powers of attorney, the Court of Protection, "living wills," and research on people with dementia are briefly considered.     

Some genetic aspects of ovarian tumors

BACKGROUND: Propranolol and isosorbide-5-mononitrate (ISMN) are increasingly used in the prophylaxis of variceal haemorrhage in cirrhosis. However, recent studies have suggested that these drugs may compromise renal function, possibly by reducing renal blood flow. AIMS: To assess the acute effects of propranolol and ISMN on renal blood flow and other haemodynamic parameters in cirrhosis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twenty six cirrhotic patients were given either 80 mg propranolol, 20 mg ISMN, or a combination of the two drugs. Unilateral renal blood flow (RBF), azygos blood flow (AZBF), hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG), mean arterial pressure (MAP), and heart rate (HR) were recorded prior to and one hour after drug administration. RESULTS: Propranolol caused a reduction in HR (p < 0.005), AZBF (p < 0.01), and HVPG (p = 0.05), but no change in MAP or RBF (454.1 (77.3) versus 413.9 (60.3) ml/min). ISMN reduced MAP (p < 0.005) and HVPG (p < 0.01), but had no effect on HR, AZBF, or RBF (302.5 (49.4) versus 301.7 (58.8) ml/min). Combined treatment reduced MAP (p < 0.005), AZBF (p < 0.05), and HVPG (p = 0.002), but HR and RBF (419.2 (62.6) versus 415.1 (61.1) ml/min) remained unchanged. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the anticipated changes in other haemodynamic parameters, acute propranolol and/or ISMN administration did not reduce RBF. These drugs do not seem to compromise RBF in cirrhosis.     

Some cognitive aspects of motivation.

Consider the possibility that "what we call motives are really a particular kind of perceptual or cognitive event… . We desperately need to discover the dimensions of motivated behavior." Factors discussed relating to motivated behavior include difficulty and novelty (encompassing change, unpredictability, and surprise). The cognitive approach to motivation is most promising in esthetics. The "cognitive contribution to why we do what we do is an important one. It is also one that we know very little about." Behavioral facts and relationships must precede a physiological theory of motivation. From Psyc Abstracts 36:01:3CC03P. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some aspects of the massive transformation

A number of issues of current importance to achieving a fundamental understanding of the mechanisms of the massive transformation at the atomic level are identified and further considered. Re-analysis of published growth kinetics data for the massive transformation in six different alloy systems indicates that growth by the ledge mechanism is a reasonable possibility in all of them. Variations in the ratio of the inter-ledge spacing to the ledge height with boundary orientation and in the temperature-dependence of growth kinetics with boundary orientation also seem likely. Plateaux in plots of thermal arrest temperature vs a function of cooling rate are suggested to arise from changes in massive morphology with decreasing transformation temperature, derived from variations with boundary orientation of temperature-dependent growth kinetics. Solute “burial” during the massive transformation is concluded usually to be feasible only when the driving force for transfer back to the matrix of the atoms undergoing burial is much less than that for solvent atoms diffusing from the matrix to the product phase. Invariant plane strain surface reliefs can be generated during massive transformations when reaction occurs at sufficiently large undercoolings so that markedly anisotropic growth, involving comparatively large areas of partially coherent interphase boundary with a constant boundary orientation, is feasible. Massive transformation in a two-phase field below T₀ is probably viable when the volume diffusivity in the matrix is too low relative to the trans-interphase boundary diffusivity to permit appreciable solute partition during growth.     

Some immunologic aspects in postoperative peritonitis

The final reiterative loop of risk reduction leads to residual risk, sometimes called "tolerable risk." This is the risk with which one must live, and is typically handled through proper training, signage and personnel protective clothing. Any existing safeguards should be considered removed when performing a risk analysis. This will allow the full impact of the resulting tolerable risk (initial risk--risk reduction) to be more accurately evaluated. Trying to walk the fine line between the cost of making machine processes safe and the economics of staying competitive is not easy, and it is not the intent of the regulatory bodies to put companies out of business. However, a good rule of thumb with respect to OSHA is that if a machine process can be guarded, guard it. Otherwise the ultimate test of residual risk may be in the litigation.     

Some aspects of the Clostridium difficile infection

Clostridium difficile is now regarded as the most common nosocomial enteric pathogen. C. difficile infection has a wide spectrum of a clinical presentation ranging from asymptomatic carriage to the fulminant colitis. Antibiotic therapy is the most important risk factor in pathogen contagion, however other factors are also involved. Typical pathophysiology: 1. alteration of the indigenous colonic flora by antibodies, 2. ingestion of spores, 3. colonization by Clostridium difficile, 4. production of its toxins. Both entherotoxin A and cytotoxin B are active in human colon. The mode of action of these toxins is already quite well known. The main treatment includes withdrawal of the inducing agents, supported occasionally by oral Vancomycin and Metronidazole. Relapse is a major complication.     

Some aspects of the executive personality.

The responses of 44 top-level executives to the Tomkins-Horn Picture Arrangement Test were compared with the responses of 41 college professors and with those of a group of 25 males comparable to the executives in age, education, and intelligence level. Two characteristics were associated with executives' responses (as distinguished from the responses of the control groups): a generalized fear of illness and a tendency to react to problem situations with a feeling of some degree of helplessness and a sense of being dependent on others for a solution. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some phase-diagram aspects of the manganese-carbon system

In the present work, differential thermal analysis (DTA) and electromotive force (emf ) methods were employed to investigate the Mn-C phase diagram around the eutectoid decomposition of Mn(γ). The eutectoid temperature and the composition were estimated to be 1031 K and 9.62 mol pct carbon, respectively. The temperature for the eutectoid decomposition of ε-carbide to Mn(γ) and Mn₂₃C₆ was found to be 1260 K, and the equilibrium composition of Mn(γ) corresponding to this three-phase reaction was 14.89 mol pct carbon. From the experimental data, the solubility of Mn₂₃C₆ in Mn(γ) was evaluated in the temperature range of 1031 to 1260 K using a two-sublattice model. On the basis of the present results, the relevant part of the Mn-C diagram was redrawn. Microscopic and X-ray analyses of quenched samples appear to be in support of the suggested phase diagram.