Latex allergy in patients with spinal dysraphism: the role of multiple surgery

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether multiple surgery is responsible for the high prevalence of latex hypersensitivity in patients with spinal dysraphism by comparing the results of a skin-prick test in three groups of patients with different surgical histories. PATIENTS AND METHODS: An in vivo diagnostic kit was used to determine the sensitivity to latex using a skin-prick test in three groups of patients, 23 with spinal dysraphism who had undergone surgery, 20 patients who had undergone non-urological surgery and urological patients who had not undergone surgery (control). There was no history of latex allergy in any individual from the three groups. RESULTS: The skin-test was positive in six patients with spinal dysraphism, in one who had undergone previous non-urological surgery and in none of the control patients. The prevalence of latex hypersensitivity was significantly higher in patients with spinal dysraphism than in the other groups (non-urological surgery P < 0.05 and control P < 0.01). This difference occurred despite the patients in each surgical group having undergone a mean of less than two operations. There was no significant difference in latex sensitivity between control patients and those undergoing non-urological surgery. CONCLUSION: Despite having no history of latex hypersensitivity, about a quarter of patients with spinal dysraphism were sensitive to latex. Repeated surgery alone cannot be responsible for the greater incidence of latex hypersensitivity in these patients. Despite multiple surgery being accepted as playing a major role in the development of latex hypersensitivity, relatively fewer surgical episodes than reported previously seem to be sufficient to elicit latex allergy.     

Increased uterine activity and fetal deterioration during maternal hyperthermia

The role of hyperthermia in the absence of infection has been investigated in the pregnant baboon. Twenty-three near term animals were used. Catheters were placed in maternal and fetal arteries and thermocouples implanted in maternal colon and fetal esophagus. Maternal temperature was raised to between 41 and 42 degrees Centigrade (C.), by applying external heat. The temperature gradient between fetus and mother (delta T F-M) was 0.47 degree C. under steady-state conditions with maternal temperature at 38 degrees C. and rose to 0.75 degree C. at 42 degrees C. Hyperthermia caused a twofold increase in uterine activity; a metabolic acidosis developed in the mother and a profound acidosis and hypoxia developed in the fetus. There was also a marked fall in blood pressure and an increase in heart rate in both mother and fetus; late deceleration of the fetal heart rate occurred at a higher oxygen level and pHa than has been observed under normothermic conditions.     

VOLATILE NITROSAMINES IN SOME TRADITIONAL SOUTHERN CHINESE FOOD PRODUCTS

Previous epidemiological studies of nasopharyngeal carcinoma suggest that traditional food items, particularly salted fish, consumed by southern Chinese may play a role in the cause of the high frequency of the disease among them. We report here the results of an analysis by combined gas chromatography and high resolution mass spectrometry of six types of salted fish and ten other items of traditional southern Chinese salted food products for the presence of volatile nitrosamines. Only N-nitroso-dimethylamine (NDMA) was detected in some of the samples of salted fish examined. No volatile nitrosamine other than those added as internal standards was detected in any of the others.     

PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES OF CHUNGKOOKJANG (KOREAN TRADITIONAL SOYBEAN PASTE) PILL AS A FUNCTIONAL FOOD

Chungkookjang, Chungkookjang pill and mushroom (Lentinus edodes) had fibrinolytic activities. The mushroom had a higher level of fibrinolytic activity (15.1 unit/mg) than Chungkookjang pill (10.0 unit/mg) and Chungkookjang (0.6 unit/mg) in spite of heat treatment. Hot‐water extracts of Chungkookjang and Chungkookjang pill showed slightly higher macrophage‐stimulating activities than the positive control, lipopolysaccharide. Also, Chungkookjang pill (3.58 µg/g) had lower cyclo‐His‐Pro content than Chungkookjang (26.5 µg/g). In addition, Chungkookjang pill had less content of flavor components than Chungkookjang and, especially, the 2,5‐dimethylpyrazine content of Chungkookjang pill was less than that of Chungkookjang. When comparing with Chungkookjang, Chungkookjang pill had similar physiological activities and more palatable flavor.     

SEQUENTIAL LOOP CLOSING IDENTIFICATION OF MULTIVARIABLE PROCESSES USING THE BIASED RELAY FEEDBACK METHOD

Each controller in multiloop control systems for multivariable processes can be tuned sequentially with the ultimate information for the paired input and output while former loops have been closed, and hence, single-input single-output autotuning methods can be applied. In this sequential autotuning for multiloop control systems, several iterations are usually required for better control performances. Especially when pairings are undesirable, the autotuning sequences should be repeated with correct pairings, which result in long field experiments. Here, to avoid this drawback, a simple method to identify process models while loops are being sequentially tuned is proposed. The identified models can be used to correct pairings of multiloop control systems and to improve tuning performances without several field iterations. In addition, they can be used to obtain model-based control systems such as decoupling control systems.