Riboflavin deficiency in children with diabetes mellitus

Twenty-four insulin-dependent diabetic children and 114 normal control children, all between the ages of 6 to 16 years, were investigated for riboflavin deficiency. The method used was a measurement of erythrocyte glutathione reductase activity and the results were expressed as the activity coefficient (AC). None of the children had received vitamin supplementation. The percentage of diabetic children with riboflavin deficiency was 4 fold greater than in non diabetics. Supplementation with daily oral riboflavin quickly returned all AC values to normal.     

Hypocomplementemic ear effusion in relapsing polychondritis

In a case of relapsing polychondritis it was possible to aspirate a collection of subcutaneous fluid from the patient's involved ear. A determination of total hemolytic complement activity of this fluid was low, suggesting that activation of the complement system may have occurred in the course of the patient's disease and might be related to the pathogenesis of this disorder.     

The diagnosis and treatment of abduction deficiencies

Deficient abduction can be due to both innervational deficiencies and/or mechanical restrictions. Innervational deficiencies include lateral rectus weakness or paralysis, myasthenia gravis, progressive external ophthalmoplegia nd Duane's syndrome with aberrant innervation to the lateral rectus muscle. Mechanical causes include restrictions on the medial side of the globe (a tight medical rectus due to endocrine ophthalmopathy, a contractured medial rectus muscle as a result of a lateral rectus paralysis, excessive resection of the medial rectus muscle, scarring and hemorrhage due to multiple previous operations upon the medial rectus), as well as a posteriorly inserted lateral rectus. This latter condition may result from a traumatically disinserted lateral rectus muscle, an excessively recessed lateral rectus muscle or a lateral rectus that has slipped from its attachment following strabismus surgery. Insufficient force for full abduction is caused by posterior insertion of the lateral rectus. The diagnosis of these various conditions is considered with reference to the forced duction, force generation and saccadic velocity tests. The treatment of these different causes of abduction deficiency is discussed noting that the approach to treatment depends upon the etiology of the abduction deficiency.     

Observations on the pathogenesis of porcine parvovirus infection

Differences in the pathogenesis of porcine parvovirus (PPV) were shown when pregnant gilts were infected by the oral and intramuscular (i.m.) routes. By the oral route, PPV took 23-32 days to cross the placenta following infection of the dam, as compared to 15 days by the i.m. route, Successful transplacental infection occurred following oral infection of dams only in the second third of gestation, whilst i.m. infection resulted in infection of foetuses in both first and second thirds of gestation. Foetal infection resulted in death and mummification only where infection of foetuses occurred before onset of immune competence--estimated at 70 days gestation. Infected foetuses either died before onset of immune competence, or survived to mount an immune response with subsequent death or survival to farrowing. It is suggested in discussion that reproductive failure due to PPV, characterised by mummification or occasional stillbirth, is associated in nature with oral infection, and occurs only when dams are infected in the first part of the midthird of gestation.     

Psychotherapy of the chronically suicidal patient

A major issue in the psychotherapy of the chronically suicidal is the patient's avoidance of his responsibility. If the patient is not helped to recognize this avoidance, the therapist's efforts may be consigned to future attempts to either assume responsibility for the patient or to rescue him.     

A multiparametric computer analysis of carcinoma of the colon

From 1957 to 1973, 656 patients with carcinoma of the entire colon, excluding those with carcinoma of the rectum, were reviewed with the aid of a computer. Of 457 patients, 69.7 per cent were observed for a minimum of five years. Sixty-five per cent of the lesions were located in the cecum or sigmoid colon. In patients with type A lesion, the five year plus survival rate was 71.15 per cent while, in patients with type D lesions, the five year plus survival rate was zero per cent. Patients who presented with intestinal obstruction had a significantly lower five year survival rate. Roentgenographic visualization of the cecum was significantly less accurate in demonstrating carcinoma when compared with that of the sigmoid colon. An emergency surgical procedure had a significantly higher operative mortality than did elective procedures. In both groups of patients undergoing emergency and elective operations, primary resection and anastomosis led to similar operative mortality rates, although staged procedures resulted in the lowest operative mortality in both groups. In the group of patients who had elective operations, resection an primary anastomosis led to a significantly lower wound infection and fistula rate when compared with the group of patients who had emergency procedures. In comparison with other series, no improvement in survival was illustrated in patients with carcinoma of the colon. The use of new modalities of adjuvant therapy, such as radiotherapy or chemotherapy, or both, actually should be evaluated.     

Anaerobic mediastinitis

Three patients with anaerobic mediastinitis associated with retropharyngeal abscess have been encountered recently. Dental infections accounted for two instances, and the third instance resulted from rupture of the thoracic esophagus from blunt trauma. Each was marked by extreme difficulty in achieving complete abscess drainage due to the initially unrecognized virulence of the causative anaerobic bacteria. Complications were frequent and included empyema, pericarditis and aspiration pneumonia. The combination of vigorous diagnostic efforts, prompt operation and reoperation when necessary plus specific antibiotic effective against anaerobes led to a successful outcome for each patient.     

The exfoliation syndrome

A clinical and ultramicroscopic review, including discussion of both scanning and transmission microscopy of the exfoliation syndrome, suggests that the term pseudoexfoliation be replaced by exfoliation syndrome. Involvement of the lens epithelium and, particularly, the pigment epithelium of the iris and the ciliary body epithelium are emphasized as being the likely sources of the exfoliative fibrils. A case of exfoliation syndrome in an eye with an eccentric pupil revealed that the granular material seen on the lens capsule occurs only where the iris is in contact with the lens surface and the process may even involve the central anterior capsule under proper conditions. This finding, together with the evidence of continuing deposits after intracapsular cataract extraction, suggests that the granular material is deposited from the iris and that the material formed by the lens epithelium remains within the lens capsule.     

The development of allergy in infants of allergic parents: a prospective study concerning the role of heredity

Ninety-four infants of allergic mothers were studied from birth to age 24 months. If the father was also allergic, the family history was termed bilateral (36 infants); if the father was not allergic, the family history was termed unilateral (58 infants). Data concerning family history, methods of feeding (bottle versus breast) and allergic skin reactivity were obtained. Significantly, more infants developed allergy if they were from a bilateral allergic parentage (P = less than 0.044). When skin test negative, bottle-fed infants with a bilateral family history were compared to breast-fed infants with a unilateral family history, there was significantly less asthma in the latter group (P = less than 0.047). During the first three months of life there was significantly less atopic dermatitis in the breast-fed infants with an unilateral family history than in the breast-fed infants with a bilateral family history (P = less than 0.027). In this study it remained unclear why infants with positive allergy skin tests demonstrated a different incidence of allergic disease from those who were skin-test negative when the variables of family history were the same.     

纤维缠绕复合材料环形容器设计优化(英文)

纤维缠绕环形容器可充分利用空间,节省结构质量和消除系统质心漂移,目前在很多工业领域中发挥着日益重要的作用。本文基于复合材料层合理论和测地线缠绕原理,提出了纤维缠绕环形压力容器的线型优化设计方法。应用微分几何,导出了圆环面上测地缠绕轨迹和纤维不架空判据。以初始缠绕角和缠绕层厚度为变量,对结构重量进行最小化设计,得到了对应于不同管径比的优化缠绕线型。对优化线型进行了计算机缠绕仿真,并给出了缠绕铺层的各向正轴应力分布。结果表明,优化设计的缠绕线型模式精确可靠,满足纤维缠绕的基本要求。纤维缠绕角度大小更趋于合理,从而能充分发挥缠绕结构的力学性能,减经系统重量,使优化得到的环形容器结构性能比传统测地线缠绕环形容器有很大提高。本文的设计计算方法可直接用于复合材料环形气瓶的初步设计。