The vestibular nerve: its course to the anterior and lateral ampullae

In order to assess the health status and risk of various diseases in the population of Guangzhou, the surveillance data of death in 1983-1994 in Guangzhou was analyzed by indicesas: year of potential life lost (YPLL), work year of lost (WYPLL) and valued year of potential life lost (VYPLL). It was indicated that both Chinese standardized mortality rates (CSMR) and Chinese standardized rates (CSYPLLR) had been declined from 448.2 x 10(-5) and 53.16/1000 to 398.6 x 10(-5) and 42.29/1000 during 1983-1994, respectively. It was suggested that the health status of inhabitants in Guangzhou had been gradually improved. Cancer lesion and poisoning, cardiovascular diseases rank top in CSYPLLR, were the most important diseases affecting life span of the inhabitants. Lesion and poisoning, infectious disease, psychotic disease, ranked the first in Chinese tandardized WYPLL rates (CSWYPLLR) and Chinese standardized VYPLL rates (CSVYPLLR), were important factors that periled the society labor force and economic development. By comparison of sex, both CSMR and CSYPLLR were higher in male than in female (u = 14.76, P < 0.01; u = 27.05, P < 0.01, respectively). Although both values of CSWYPLLR and CSVYPLLR were negative, they were still higher in male than in female. The zero-age-group was far more higher than all the other age groups in CSPLLR, CSWYPLLR and CSVYPLLR.     

Coagulation factor abnormalities after the Fontan procedure and its modifications

OBJECTIVE: Recently we reported the prevalence of thromboembolism in patients who underwent the Fontan procedure and its modifications. Although hemodynamic factors may well contribute to thromboembolism, recent evidence suggests that coagulation factor abnormalities may also play a role. We therefore set out to investigate the coagulation status in a group of patients who had undergone the Fontan procedure. METHODS: The study population consists of 20 children who had undergone the Fontan procedure and its modifications. They were examined for coagulation factor abnormalities. Concentrations of serum albumin, total protein, and liver enzymes were also measured. The median age at the time of the operation was 6.2 years (17 months to 8 years) with a male/female ratio of 2.3:1. The median time from the Fontan repair was 4.9 years (18 to 76 months). RESULTS: Protein C (p < 0.001), protein S (p < 0.02), and factor VII (p < 0.001) were significantly lower than the normal range. The changes in serum albumin and total protein and factors II, IX, and X were not significant. CONCLUSIONS: It is possible that deficiency in protein C, protein S, and factor VII partly account for the prevalence of thromboembolism after Fontan-type repairs. The risk of long-term anticoagulation should be weighed against the best palliative procedure for these patients. We suggest that reduced protein C, protein S, and factor VII levels in this group of patients should be regarded as risk factors and that such patients should be treated with anticoagulants.     

The gas transporting systems: limits and modifications with age and training

The interplay of cardiovascular and cellular oxygen uptake determinants of aerobic performance and the system adaptations to training in different population samples are examined in order to describe the limitation. With VO2max, a central limitation following myocardial infarction and ageing is modified with training. Peripheral adaptations occur and stroke volume may be increased primarily through improved diastolic filling. In submaximal perturbations, control of the increase in O2 uptake at exercise onset (O2 kinetics) is most often under peripheral metabolic control, but in exceptions may also be limited by central factors. In young and old the peripheral machinery is matched to the growth (puberty) and loss (ageing) of muscle mass. Cardiac stroke volume capacity may adjust following the changes in muscle mass. Submaximal endurance is closely influenced by the anaerobic threshold (theta(an)) and peripheral factors of oxidative metabolism. Relative to VO2max, the theta(an) is low in children and high in older adults, perhaps reflecting a slow time course in full development and loss of peripheral adaptations. Remarkable increases in endurance performance are related to relatively small changes in the maximal capacity and the relative intensity of performance.     

The threshold of regulation and its application to indirect food additive contaminants in recycled plastics

Recycled plastics have been used in food-contact applications since 1990 in various countries around the world. To date, there have been no reported issues concerning health or off-taste resulting from the use of recycled plastics in food-contact applications. This is due to the fact that the criteria that have been established regarding safety and processing are based on extremely high standards that render the finished recycled material equivalent in virtually all aspects to virgin polymers. The basis for this conclusion is detailed in this document.     

The lateral septal nucleus: its morphological and functional organization and its role in the formation of chronorhythms

The lateral septal nucleus (LSN) is the largest septal nucleus and occupies one of the most strategically important positions in the forebrain, connecting the structures of the limbic system with different sites of the brain stem. Such a situation obliges LSN not only to participate in the regulation, but also to implement overall coordination and modulation of various visceral and somatic functions. The review deals with the general characteristic of the septal complex, the functional morphology, pre- and postnatal ontogenesis, afferent and efferent connections, mediator and modulator nature of LSN fibers. Special attention is paid to the participation of LSN in the neuroendocrine regulation of the sexual system. On the basis of literature and our own experimental findings it is shown that the LSN is a chronoregulatory structure which is responsible for the biorhythmologic organization of the functions of the mammalian organism.     

热轧带钢金属横向流动及影响因素

提出了一种分析热轧带钢金属横向流动问题的新方法.首先使用ANSYS软件建立辊系-轧件静力学耦合模型,计算并提取变形后工作辊有载辊形曲线;然后使用ANSYS/LS-DYNA建立动力学分析模型,采用己得到的有载辊形曲线,模拟带钢轧制过程,求解得到沿带钢全宽的横向流动状态;并进一步分析了弯辊力、工作辊辊形以及来料凸度变化等因素对带钢金属横向流动的影响,得到基于插值计算的带钢横向流动计算模型.有限元方法验证了计算模型的可靠性.     

Agonist regulation of beta-adrenergic receptors: immunoblotting and indirect immunofluorescence reveal agonist-induced lateral sequestration and loss of binding

Sleep and wakefulness were studied polygraphically in two adult male ferrets between the ages of 3 months and 2.5 years. Nine 24-hour recordings were obtained on different light/dark schedules, and one animal was also monitored for 3 days following administration of the serotonin synthesis inhibitor, parachlorophenylalanine. Stage scoring was accomplished utilizing criteria similar to those used in the cat. Certain modifications to the criteria were made to accommodate apparent differences in electrographic indicators of state. Mean daily percentages [+/- standard error of the mean (SEM)] for the major stages were: slow-wave sleep, 36.0 +/- 1.33; rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, 24.4 +/- 0.94; and wake, 39.4 +/- 1.17. Under laboratory conditions, ferrets spend over 60% of the time in sleep and 40.28% +/- 0.93% of total sleep time in REM sleep. The high amount of REM sleep is achieved by having a high number of REM sleep episodes rather than long REM periods. Sleep cycle length was computed in two ways: with long wake episodes removed, 16.7 +/- 0.4 minutes; and with all wake removed, 13.2 +/- 0.3 minutes. Sleep and waking indices in the ferret are compared to those in the cat and discussed with respect to predictions based on several constitutional variables. The high amount of REM sleep and the relative immaturity of the ferret at birth lends additional support for a functional role of REM sleep on ontogenetic development.     

The treatment of biological material by Falck's method and its modifications using a device of original design

Automation of the process of detecting adrenergic nerve structures helped obtain reliable positive results even in cases with low mediator concentration in body tissues. We have elaborated a new method of subsequent staining and microphotographing of biological specimens which permit registration of specific features of adrenergic nerve terminals histologic architecture and their cellular microenvironment.     

Extraction treatment of a Class II, Division 1 malocclusion with anterior open bite with headgear and vertical elastics

Needlestick injuries, which lead to the transmission of hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and the AIDS virus, are a potentially serious threat to students during their clinical experiences. Exposure to infectious diseases, blood, and hazardous body fluids is one of the most frequently reported injury events by medical students at a health science center in the southwestern region of the United States. This study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of a customized intervention about infection control for second-year medical students (N = 200). Preparation for the intervention included a needs assessment, which included both qualitative and quantitative research methods that incorporated input from fourth-year medical students, medical staff members, and local hospital infection control specialists. The intervention included a pretest, a lecture, a demonstration of standard precautions and infection control procedure with 2 clinical scenarios, an exercise on proper handwashing, and a posttest. The evaluation of the intervention demonstrated a significant increase in posttest knowledge scores about infection control (from 12.6 +/- 2.1 pretest to 16.5 +/- 1.8 posttest, P < .001). Medical students showed a significant knowledge increase about infection control after participating in the intervention . Thus we recommend that all medical colleges and universities develop and evaluate a similar customized intervention for their medical students.     

Cell cycle. The NIMA kinase joins forces with Cdc2

The NIMA and Cdc2 protein kinases cooperate to regulate mitosis in Aspergillus nidulans. NIMA-related pathways have now begun to emerge in higher eukaryotes.     

The hippocampus and transverse patterning guided by olfactory cues

Normal rats and rats with hippocampal system damage were trained on a novel, olfactory version of the transverse-patterning task that involved the concurrent learning and continued performance of 3 partially ambiguous discrimination problems (A+B-, B+C-, C+A-). Animals with lesions of the fornix or perirhinal-entorhinal cortex acquired at least as rapidly as normal rats these problems presented in sequential blocks of trials involving the same stimulus pair. All groups also performed well on an initial test session when the order of stimulus pair presentations was randomized. Normal rats continued to discriminate appropriately in additional testing sessions with trials presented in random order. By contrast, both groups with hippocampal system damage performed poorly in continued random-order testing. These results extend the generality of the deficit in transverse patterning to the olfactory modality and demonstrate that the deficit is equivalent in magnitude after fornix or perirhinal-entorhinal damage. Findings also suggest that the transverse-patterning problem can be acquired transiently without critical hippocampal involvement, although continued performance relies on hippocampal function.     

The indirect hemagglutination test for onchocerciasis performed with blood collected on filter paper

In Guatemala, an indirect hemagglutination (IHA) test for onchocerciasis, performed with a crude saline extract of Onchocerca volvulus and blood samples taken on filter paper, showed a high level of sensitivity and specificity. IHA titers of blood samples from the ear lobe taken on filter paper and of sera obtained by venipuncture showed a high correlation.