Factors contributing to the reduction of stuttering during singing

This study was conducted to determine if the reduction of stuttering typically observed during singing is associated with altered vocalization or the familiarity of the melody and lyrics of the song sung by the stutterer, or both. Subjects were eight adult male stutterers. Prior to testing, each of these individuals demonstrated that he knew the melody and lyrics of a well-known song from memory. Subsequently, subjects were asked to read these lyrics aloud and then sing them. Next, subjects had to read aloud and then sing a set of unfamiliar lyrics to the conventional melody of the same song. The stutterers' reading and singing performances were audiotaped. The dependent measures of utterance duration and stuttering frequency were extracted from the tapes. Results showed that subjects' utterance durations were significantly longer during singing than reading. The main effects of singing and familiarity were both associated with significant reductions in stuttering frequency. The greatest decrement in stuttering occurred in the condition where subjects sang the familiar melody and lyrics. These findings were interpreted to mean that changes in vocalization cannot account for all of the decrease in stuttering that occurs during singing. During song, the familiarity of the melody and lyrics being produced may also affect stuttering frequency.     

Detection of Leptospira DNA in patients with aseptic meningitis by PCR

Samples of cerebrospinal fluid from 103 patients with aseptic meningitis were tested by PCR for detection of leptospires, and the results were compared with those of the microscopic agglutination test (MAT) and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of immunoglobulin M (ELISA-IgM). Of these samples, 39.80% were positive by PCR and 8.74 and 3.88% were positive by MAT and ELISA-IgM, respectively.     

Investigating the relaxation, following diazo-2 laser flash photolysis, of a skinned trabecular preparation from SHR hypertrophied left ventricle

This paper reviews the performance of 10 previously reported patients who have deficits in recalling the names of people, but whose performance in recalling common names is relatively well preserved. An analysis of face naming ability in these 10 patients reveals that the proportion of faces that a patient can name is closely related to whether or not the patient has a retrieval problem that also extends to the recall of other types of proper names such as the names of towns. This analysis suggests that names of faces are particularly difficult to recall relative to other types of proper names, and provides no support for the view that a specialised brain mechanism is involved in the retrieval of people's names.     

Probabilistic models of the role of oxygen in human decompression sickness

Probabilistic models of human decompression sickness (DCS) have been successful in describing DCS risk observed across a wide variety of N2-O2 dives but have failed to account for the observed DCS incidence in dives with high PO2 during decompression. Our most successful previous model, calibrated with 3,322 N2-O2 dives, predicts only 40% of the observed incidence in dives with 100% O2 breathing during decompression. We added 1,013 O2 decompression dives to the calibration data. Fitting the prior model to this expanded data set resulted in only a modest improvement in DCS prediction of O2 data. Therefore, two O2-specific modifications were proposed: PO2-based alteration of inert gas kinetics (model 1) and PO2 contribution to total inert gas (model 2). Both modifications statistically significantly improved the fit, and each predicts 90% of the observed DCS incidence in O2 dives. The success of models 1 and 2 in improving prediction of DCS occurrence suggests that elevated PO2 levels contribute to DCS risk, although less than the equivalent amount of N2. Both models allow rational optimization of O2 use in accelerating decompression procedures.     

Inadequate management of blood pressure in a hypertensive population

BACKGROUND: Many patients with hypertension have inadequate control of their blood pressure. Improving the treatment of hypertension requires an understanding of the ways in which physicians manage this condition and a means of assessing the efficacy of this care. METHODS: We examined the care of 800 hypertensive men at five Department of Veterans Affairs sites in New England over a two-year period. Their mean (+/-SD) age was 65.5+/-9.1 years, and the average duration of hypertension was 12.6+/-5.3 years. We used recursive partitioning to assess the probability that antihypertensive therapy would be increased at a given clinic visit using several variables. We then used these predictions to define the intensity of treatment for each patient during the study period, and we examined the associations between the intensity of treatment and the degree of control of blood pressure. RESULTS: Approximately 40 percent of the patients had a blood pressure of > or =160/90 mm Hg despite an average of more than six hypertension-related visits per year. Increases in therapy occurred during 6.7 percent of visits. Characteristics associated with an increase in antihypertensive therapy included increased levels of both systolic and diastolic blood pressure at that visit (but not previous visits), a previous change in therapy, the presence of coronary artery disease, and a scheduled visit. Patients who had more intensive therapy had significantly (P<0.01) better control of blood pressure. During the two-year period, systolic blood pressure declined by 6.3 mm Hg among patients with the most intensive treatment, but increased by 4.8 mm Hg among the patients with the least intensive treatment. CONCLUSIONS: In a selected population of older men, blood pressure was poorly controlled in many. Those who received more intensive medical therapy had better control. Many physicians are not aggressive enough in their approach to hypertension.