Surgical treatment of degenerative mitral regurgitation

Karyotypes were prepared from peripheral blood leukocytes in 77 couples in whom there was no apparent cause for recurrent spontaneous abortion. In addition to conventional staining, chromosomes were stained by the new technics for Q-, G-, or C-banding. Translocations were found in 5 of 154 persons (3.25% or 1:31 individuals). The frequency of translocations in the general adult population is 0.4% (1:255). Two translocations were apparent only with the new technics for banding. The incidence of chromosomal microanomalies was 7.79% (2.6% in the general population). Karyotyping of couples with recurrent abortion is recommended, with use of the new staining technics.     

Intraclass correlation vs. factor analytic techniques for determining groups of profiles.

This study compares several methods for estimating the homogeneity of a group and the proper membership of individuals in the group from profile data. A total of 12 MMPI scales were administered to Ss diagnosed in 3 clinical groups and serve as the basic data. Generally the results indicate that the product moment rs and the coefficients of intraclass correlation (R) provide more efficient, flexible and at least as meaningful answers to the basic issues involved in the study. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Biosynthetic requirements for the repair of membrane damage in pressure-treated Escherichia coli.

Cells of Escherichia coli that survived pressure treatment at 400 MPa showed increased sensitivity to sodium deoxycholate or sodium chloride in the plating medium, implying that homeostatic or barrier functions associated with outer and cytoplasmic membranes, respectively, were impaired. Repair of such sublethal membrane damage occurred when cells were incubated at 37 degrees C in tryptone soya broth. Inhibitor studies indicated that repair of cytoplasmic membrane damage was energy-dependent and required RNA and protein synthesis, whereas repair of outer membrane damage occurred with no requirement for energy or RNA or protein synthesis.     

Energy — audit and management

The authors, Nigel Isaacs, Michael Donn and Dr George Baird of the School of Architecture, Victoria University of Wellington, present a succinct account of the practical difficulties they encountered when implementing recommendations from energy audits in a defined number of New Zealand schools. It is concluded that these difficulties relate more to funding and personnel than the engineering of the energy savings in themselves.     

GTP cyclohydrolase deficiency; intrafamilial variation in clinical phenotype, including levodopa responsiveness

Traditional Chinese drugs (TCDs) have played a key role for Chinese people in the treatment of diseases since ancient times. The use of TCDs has generated a great amount of information in the past thousand years about the relationship between natural products and the human body. However, up to now, our understanding on the mode of action of the TCD is still limited. Considering that the basic mechanism of all drug function involves the interaction between the drug and biological receptors at the molecular level, we propose to connect TCDs with modern medicine theory through molecular structures. We propose to explain functions of TCDs by using the knowledge developed in modern molecular biology, pharmacology, computer chemistry, and biochemistry. We are working on a computer-aided Chinese drug study that is discussed in this paper. A short introduction on the progress of our research is also given.     

Chemical stability of zirconia-stabilized alumina fibers during pressure infiltration by aluminum

Metal matrix composites composed of high-purity aluminum and Du Pont PRD-166 continuous zirconia-stabilized polycrystalline alumina fibers are fabricated by liquid metal infiltration using three different casting procedures. The microstructure of the composites is analyzed using optical and electron microscopy, including analytical electron microscopy. It is found that discrete faceted particles of ZrAl₃ form at the interface and grow into the matrix of samples processed above the melting point of the matrix for 13 minutes or more. The formation of this compound is in agreement with thermodynamic stability calculations. It is also found that there is a reaction between solid aluminum and the fibers at 913 K, yielding a reaction product which has the same morphology as that observed with molten aluminum. When the fibers are infiltrated with an initial preform temperature below the metal melting point and a solidifination time below 1 minute, no reaction products were visible in the composite using the scanning electron microscope (SEM). This leads to the conclusion that aluminum matrix composites can be cast with no apparent interfacial reaction product using these fibers provided that adequate processing parameters are chosen.     

Pioneers in oral biology: the migrations of Gottlieb, Kronfeld, Orban, Weinmann, and Sicher from Vienna to America

Following the annexation of Austria by Hitler's Germany in 1938, officials at the eminent University of Vienna Medical School purged faculty ranks of Jews. Among those forced out were several distinguished physician dentists, several of whom emigrated to the United States. The assimilation of foreign-trained dentists raised questions at national meetings of the AADS and the National Association of Dental Examiners. Already existing ties between dental schools in Chicago and the University of Vienna, including the 1928 appointment of Rudolf Kronfeld to the faculty at Loyola, led to the relocation of Balint Orban, Harry Sicher, and Joseph Peter Weinmann in that city. Bernhard Gottlieb, who had been director of the Dental Institute in Vienna, transplanted less easily, but eventually found a niche at the Baylor College of Dentistry in Dallas. The careers of the Vienna dentist-scientists strengthened the scientific foundations of clinical dentistry in the United States, contributed to the development of a stronger research establishment, and enlarged the scope of oral biology.