Physiological deviations of heart shadow in children cardiological practice (author''s transl)]

The concentration of 1.-4 mum airborne particles and the protease content of the airborne dust measured in the cardrooms of ten cotton mills were found to correlate with byssinosis prevalence. Airborne proteases were found in abundance also in wool mills where byssinosis does not occur.     

Creatine phosphokinase in thyroid disease (author''s transl)]

The mere presence of uterine fibroids is not, since qua non, an indication for their surgical removal. Knowing when not to operate is probably more important for the physician than knowing when to operate. It is easy to fall into diagnostic and therapeutic traps when uterine fibroids are known to be present, especially when they occur concomitantly with a condition such as irregular uterine bleeding, infertility, or pregnancy. The contributions of such conditions to problems in diagnosing and managing fibroids must be kept in mind by the prudent physician; a decision in favor of medical rather than surgical management is often best.     

Central core disease (its clinical and laboratory diagnosis)]

In vivo mercury significantly inhibited ovarian maturation in the red swamp crayfish, Procambarus clarkii. 5-Hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) induced ovarian maturation in vivo. Cadmium and mercury inhibited this 5-HT-induced maturation. Ovarian explants incubated with mercury and either brain or muscle demonstrated significant inhibition of [14C]leucine incorporation into ovarian proteins compared to the corresponding groups incubated without mercury. In the absence of mercury the brain, which contains a gonad-stimulating hormone (GSH), induced significantly more incorporation of this amino acid than occurred in the ovaries incubated with muscle. These metals may have exerted their inhibitory effects by directly inhibiting protein synthesis in the ovaries, inhibiting 5-HT-stimulated GSH release, and preventing the ovaries from responding to this hormone.     

A genealogical study of Steinert''s disease (author''s transl)]

Kniest's disease (spondylo-epiphyseal dysplasia) was recently described by Maroteaux and Spranger. A second familial case is studied. Transmission of the disease occurred as a dominant trait.     

Diagnosis and treatment of unilocular hydatid disease (Echinococcus granulosus infection)]

Unilocular hydatid disease occurs in humans after oral intake of eggs of the dog tapeworm, Echinococcus granulosus. Cysts develop mostly in the liver, but sometimes also in the lung. The diagnosis of Echinococcus infection is based on history-taking, physical examination, ultrasound and CT examination and serological testing; the diagnosis is confirmed by parasitological examination of cystic fluid. Treatment until some 15 years ago consisted in operation. Subsequently, treatment with initially mebendazole, later with albendazole or with percutaneous drainage (puncture, aspiration, injection of a scolicidal, respiration (PAIR)), or with combinations of the same, became accepted forms of management. The PAIR method is reported to give high proportions of success, low proportions of recurrence and few complications. However, adequate evaluation is not yet possible because of the short follow-up period. For the prevention of leakage it is recommended to perform the PAIR method with a transhepatic puncture under continuous ultrasonographic or CT guidance; for avoidance of recurrences, one week's pretreatment and 1-4 weeks' after-treatment with albendazole are recommended. The results of albendazole monotherapy are hard to predict and highly variable: success: 30-88% (median: 71%); failure: 22-32% (median: 25%); recurrences: 9.5-31% (median: 16%). Both albendazole therapy and the PAIR management should be followed by protracted follow-up to check regression of cysts and detect recurrences. It is not clear which treatment is the best one.     

In the shadow of death

Death dogged Vincent's footsteps throughout his life, and formed a core component of his unconscious fantasy system. It cast a lugubrious shadow over all of his undertakings--he found little joy and less love in life. It found its way onto his canvases, both directly--the grinning death's head--and indirectly. It found expression in his portrayals of sowers and reapers, in his representations of trees--especially the highly symbolic treatments of cypresses--in the menacing crows hovering over storm-darkened fields of wheat, and finally in the images of Christ, suffering and dead, held in the embrace of a loving and grieving mother. If death was a bottomless pit that haunted him with its terrors, it was also a siren song that drew him ever closer to his destiny, ever closer to the edge of the pit. The power of that attraction lies in his identification with the dead Vincent whose place he had taken and whose name he bore. It was through that identification, and through the passageway of suffering and death that he would surcease in the arms of a loving and accepting mother whose warm embrace he had sought throughout his odyssey, but in vain. It was to be gained only in and through death. It was only through death that he would find rest from his pain and would gain the heavenly reward of his suffering in eternal love and bliss.     

Cell death: shadow baxing

Bcl-2, one of a family of key regulators of apoptosis, was the first cell-death machinery component to be identified, but how the family functions is still not clear. Mammalian Bax, a pro-apoptotic family member, can cause yeast cells to die, and two recent yeast genetic screens shed light on how Bax might function.     

CGH (comparative genomic hybridization)]

Comparative Genomic Hybridization (CGH) is a powerful new method which allows genome-wide mapping of regions with DNA sequence copy number changes (both increases and decreases) in a single experiment without previous knowledge of the locations of the regions of abnormality. CGH is based on in situ hybridization of differentially labeled total genomic tumor DNA and normal DNA to normal human metaphase chromosomes. After hybridization copy number variations among the sequences in the tumor DNA are detected by measuring the tumor/normal fluorescence intensity ratio for each locus in the target chromosomes. Many previously unknown chromosomal regions with relative copy number changes have been detected in various tumors by CGH. Some changes have been identified as genetic markers associated with biological and clinico-pathological characteristics (i.e., histopathological grade, and clinical outcome). We review the published CGH articles and discuss briefly on current progress in CGH analysis to ovarian and uterine cervical cancer in our laboratory.     

Cerebral angioseriotomography (author''s transl)]

K transport has been investigated during progression of cultured Ehrlich ascites tumor cells through the cell cycle. Using a double thymidine block technique, Ehrlich cells carried in continuous culture have been synchronized, as verified by simultaneous monitoring of cell number, cell volume, 3H-thymidine incorporation and mitotic index. Unidirectional influx, efflux and cell content of K have been monitored throughout the cell cycle. The nature of the pump mediated, ouabain-sensitive K flux and the furosemide-sensitive component of K flux, presumably representing K-K exchange, have also been evaluated. In early S period the ouabain sensitive component, representing the Na-K pump, comprises 52% of the total unidirectional K influx and subsequently declines during G2 period to a minimum of 40% in mid G2. During M and early S the activity again rises. As the ouabain sensitive component becomes maximal in late S period, the furosemide sensitive component diminishes from approximately 30% of the total influx to approximately 10%. The same pattern is observed in the G2 period. As the pump component diminishes, the furosemide sensitive component increases. Furosemide sensitive K efflux has also been monitored and the pattern is equivalent to that observed in the invlux studies. No change in net K flux is observed in the presence of furosemide. This indicates that the furosemide sensitive component represents an exchange component for K. These results are consistent with the conclusion that the alterations in exchange and pump fluxes are physiological events associated with progression of the cell cycle.     

Ocular myiasis (author''s transl)]

One case of an extraocular myiasis is presented. It is reported on parasites, which cause an ocular myiasis, complications and treatments.     

The substance and the shadow.

Discusses the relationship between advancing technology (the substance) and good scientific theory (the shadow) in industrial/organizational psychology. Solutions presented for bridging the gap between social science and social technology include utilization of a teamwork approach to understanding problems of human abilities, motivations, and interpersonal behavior. Avoiding being prematurely "locked into" a concept before all alternatives are considered, and the incorporation of real-world data into controlled experimental settings, are advocated. Other methods include construction of models and theories that can be revised and updated as new data are supplied, and the strengthening of informational links between the 2 disciplines. (74 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hyaline membrane disease: pulmonary changes and complications during ventilatory assistance in preterm infants (authors transl)]

The changing pattern of hyaline membrane disease and its iatrogenic complications during respiratory treatment are reviewed. The typical roentgenologic symptoms of pulmonary interstitial emphysema, pseudocyst, pneumomediastinum, pneumoperitoneum, pneumothorax, pneumopericardium, bronchopulmonary dysplasia and pulmonary heamorrhage are described and illustrated. Their relevance for clinical management is discussed.     

Creatinine during pregnancy (author''s transl)]

A report is present of 1300 unselected patients investigated for breast cancer by liquid crystal thermography. The value of this method is comparable to the value of mammography, since the number of carcinomas which remained undetected by each diagnostic procedure was equal. The high degree of diagnostic accuracy achieved by the use of liquid crystal thermography indicates that this simple dignostic procedure is recommendable as a screening method for the detection of breast cancer in gynaecological practice.