Modern electronic and chemical thermometers used in the axilla are inaccurate

Rectal and axillary temperatures were measured simultaneously in 83 children using three different thermometer devices providing 166 pairs of results. In the first series consisting of 22 febrile children (44 measurements) and 20 afebrile children (40 measurements), the rectal mercury measurement was compared to an axillary mercury and axillary Tempa-DOT thermometer. The axillary mercury had sensitivity of 14/22 (64%) and specificity of 20/20 (100%) while the Tempa-DOT had sensitivity of 15/22 (68%) and specificity of 19/20 (95%). In the second series comprising 21 febrile children (42 measurements) and 20 afebrile children (40 measurements) the axillary mercury had sensitivity of 11/21 (52%) and specificity of 20/20 (100%) while the electronic thermometer had sensitivity of 10/21 (48%) and specificity of 20/20 (100%). Regardless of the thermometer used, the axilla is a poor alternative to rectal measurements in the diagnosis of fever. CONCLUSION: Mercury-free thermometers, when used in the axilla are as poor alternatives to rectal measurements as mercury-in-glass thermometers.     

Structure of very early protein folding intermediates: new insights through a variant of hydrogen exchange labelling

BACKGROUND: Hydrogen exchange labelling has been a key method in characterizing the structure of transient folding intermediates. In studies of several proteins, however, there has been clear spectroscopic evidence for partial folding of some kind at very early times, before any protection from exchange was measurable. These results, presumably a consequence of limited stability of specific backbone interactions, have made it difficult to assess the extent of native-like folding in the very early intermediates. We have used a variant of the labelling method to investigate marginally stable structures formed within the first few milliseconds of refolding of two such proteins, hen lysozyme and ubiquitin. RESULTS: In lysozyme, population of a subset of native-like secondary structures on this timescale is revealed, thus reconciling the exchange behaviour with circular dichroism measurements and confirming the significance of the rapidly formed embryonic structure as a foundation for the subsequent folding pathway. In the case of ubiquitin, by contrast, no significantly protective structure was detectable, suggesting that here secondary structural elements can be populated only marginally ahead of the major cooperative folding event; this was also supported by stopped-flow circular dichroism measurements. CONCLUSIONS: The hydrogen exchange approach can be extended to probe the formation of native-like structure formed in very early folding intermediates, even when the stability of specific interactions is marginal. In the case of lysozyme, this has provided a new window on an early stage of organization of the alpha-helical domain.     

Do chart reviews and interviews provide the same information about breast and cervical cancer screening?

Magnetic resonance imaging allows a noninvasive assessment of myelination during normal brain maturation as well as the detection of genetically determined and acquired diseases that affect the synthesis and maintenance of myelin. If this high sensitivity of magnetic resonance imaging for white matter changes is completed by adequate clinical and biochemical information, a unique diagnostic tool is available to gain new insights in the formation of myelin and pathogenesis of myelin disorders.     

Chronic liver disease in Peru: role of viral hepatitis

Autologous or glutaraldehyde treated bovine pericardial valved patch was utilized for widening of the right ventricular outflow tract in 20 patients with tetralogy of Fallot (autologous pericardium group in 10 patients and bovine pericardium group in 10). Pericardial valve function of the both materials was evaluated by postoperative cardiac catheterization performed 1 year after the operation. There were no significant differences in pulmonary arterial and right ventricular pressures, and right ventricular ejection fraction and end-diastolic volume between the 2 groups. Pulmonary angiogram in the autologous pericardium group patients demonstrated the pulmonary regurgitation (PR) of grade 1 in 5 patients, grade 2 in 4 and grade 3 in 1. On the other hand, 1, 3 and 6 patients in the bovine pericardium group demonstrated no-PR, grade 1 PR and grade 2 PR, respectively. It was concluded that there were no significant differences between autologous and glutaraldehyde treated bovine pericardium as a material of valved patch for widening of the right ventricular outflow tract of tetralogy of Fallot.     

Crystal structures of Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium 3-isopropylmalate dehydrogenase and comparison with their thermophilic counterpart from Thermus thermophilus

The basis of protein stability has been investigated by the structural comparison of themophilic enzymes with their mesophilic counterparts. A number of characteristics have been found that can contribute to the stabilization of thermophilic proteins, but no one is uniquely capable of imparting thermostability. The crystal structure of 3-isopropylmalate dehydrogenase (IPMDH) from the mesophiles Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium have been determined by the method of molecular replacement using the known structure of the homologous Thermus thermophilus enzyme. The structure of the E. coli enzyme was refined at a resolution of 2.1 A to an R-factor of 17.3%, that of the S. typhimurium enzyme at 1.7 A resolution to an R-factor of 19.8%. The three structures were compared to elucidate the basis of the higher thermostability of the T. thermophilus enzyme. A mutant that created a cavity in the hydrophobic core of the thermophilic enzyme was designed to investigate the importance of packing density for thermostability. The structure of this mutant was analyzed. The main stabilizing features in the thermophilic enzyme are an increased number of salt bridges, additional hydrogen bonds, a proportionately larger and more hydrophobic subunit interface, shortened N and C termini and a larger number of proline residues. The mutation in the hydrophobic core of T. thermophilus IPMDH resulted in a cavity of 32 A3, but no significant effect on the activity and thermostability of the mutant was observed.     

Behavioural research in telematics.

Discusses telematics, a new field of behavioral research in Canada that has grown with the technical developments in which computers and telecommunications have been combined. Three domains of behavioral research reflect relationships between humans and the technology and use the evidence and methods of different areas of psychology: (1) interface studies address perception and performance questions, (2) dialog studies focus on cognitive processes, and (3) impact studies investigate social relations and how institutions and individuals are affected by telematics. Studies conducted during the past 5 yrs by the Behavioural Research and Evaluation division of the Department of Communications, Government of Canada, are described in each of these 3 domains. Behavioral research in telematics is expected to be an increasingly important activity in which psychologists may play an active part as the technology disseminates. (French abstract) (47 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)