Comparative ultrastructure of vallate, foliate and fungiform taste buds of golden Syrian hamster

A fine-structure study of the hamster fungiform, foliate and vallate taste buds was undertaken for comparative purposes. All three taste bud types shared in common composition of the dark cells, light cells, basal cells, nerve fibers and nerve endings and undifferentiated peripheral cells, but morphological difference existed among them. The foliate and vallate taste buds were quite similar in their ultrastructural morphology. Their dark cells displayed long apical necks, long apical microvilli, apical osmiophilic secretory granules and an abundant rough endoplasmic reticulum. The dark cells of the fungiform taste buds, however, showed no neck formation and lacked apical osmiophilic granules. They had short apical microvilli and relatively scant rough endoplasmic reticulum. There was no difference in the fine structure features of the light cells, basal cells and neural elements of different types of taste buds. Both light and dark cells were much more readily distinguishable in foliate and vallate buds than in fungiform buds at both light-and electron-microscopic levels. Foliate and vallate buds demonstrated homogeneous dense substance within the taste pores while fungiform pores were frequently empty. It is speculated that the differences in taste bud morphology may be due to their different lingual locations and/or may be a reflection of the differences in the inductive influences from different nerves. Furthermore, structural differences may be responsible for varying thresholds to different taste modalities.     

Using health status surveys in medical consultations

The goal of this research was to identify patients' preferences for physician inquiry into various aspects of health status and to examine whether the preconsultation availability of health status data (collected from the SF-36 Health Status Questionnaire) influenced the physician's conduct during the consultation. Results from 58 prenatal patient visits yielded the following findings. First, patients expressed strong preferences for physicians to ask about the patient's perceptions of health in general and about physical dimensions of health status such as pain, vitality, and role limitations due to physical functioning. Patients also were more satisfied when doctors were perceived as having asked about these issues. Second, patients varied considerably in their preferences for physician inquiries into psychosocial issues such as social functioning, mental health, and role limitations due to emotional problems. Approximately half the patients wanted these matters discussed, whereas the remainder either did not care or preferred that doctors not ask about these topics. Third, the preconsultation availability of health status information had little effect on the degree to which physicians asked about the patient's health-related quality of life. Clinical implications are discussed.     

Defining the positive tilt test: a study of healthy adults with moderate acute blood loss

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To define a set of orthostatic vital signs that minimize the frequency of false-positives among healthy individuals while maximizing sensitivity in detecting acute moderate blood loss and to determine the sensitivity and specificity of this optimized tilt test in detecting acute moderate blood loss. DESIGN AND INTERVENTION: Postural vital signs were recorded in a standardized manner before and after 450-mL phlebotomy. Paired comparisons were done for a variety of criteria for a positive tilt test using receiver-operating characteristic curves. SETTING AND TYPE OF PARTICIPANTS: Three hundred forty-five healthy euvolemic adult volunteer blood donors were tested at three community blood donation centers over a one-year period. Subjects were prospectively divided into group 1 (less than age 65; 301) and group 2 (age 65 or older; 44). MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: For each combination of pulse and blood pressure in group 1, a change in pulse alone had the same or higher sensitivity with at least the same specificity. Pulse alone was similarly superior in group 2 compared with previously published combinations of pulse and blood pressure. Even the optimized tilt test had limited sensitivity in detecting acute moderate blood loss with high specificity. CONCLUSION: In applying the tilt test to young adults without cardiovascular disease, pulse measurement usually is all that is necessary.     

The refinement of retinotectal projection on tectal whole mount during the regeneration of the goldfish optic nerve labeled with DiI anterogradely

Radiographic computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging are the procedures of choice in the diagnosis of patients with suspected pituitary gland abnormalities. Several cases are presented where the diagnostic value of such procedures in patients with diseases affecting the pituitary gland is demonstrated.     

Chinese and American college students'' body-image: perceived body shape and body affect

We established an in vitro model of the phagocytosis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis by human peripheral blood monocytes to evaluate the subsequent inhibition of intracellular replication of the organism. Highly purified T cells (94% CD3(+)/CD16(-)) or natural killer (NK) cells (96% CD16(+)/CD3(-)) isolated by Percoll discontinuous density gradient of peripheral blood mononuclear cells were incubated with M. tuberculosis-infected monocyte monolayers. Monocytes were lysed immediately and at 4, 7, and 10 d after infection for quantification of intracellular replication, which was assessed by quantitative plating techniques as colony-forming units (CFU). Whereas control monocytes permitted intracellular replication, T cells activated monocytes to kill 77% (p < 0.01) of intracellular M. tuberculosis compared with control monocytes by 10 d after infection. NK cells activated monocytes to kill 84% (p < 0.01) of M. tuberculosis in comparison with control monocytes. Lymphokine (IL-2)-activated-killer (LAK) cells were capable of activating monocytes to kill 97% (p < 0.01) of the intracellular organisms compared with control monocytes. In purified protein derivative (PPD)-positive donors, PPD-specific-CD4(+) lymphocytes stimulated monocytes to kill intracellular M. tuberculosis in a Class II major histocompatibility complex-restricted manner. In contrast, in PPD-negative donors, CD4(-) lymphocytes activated monocytes in a genetically unrestricted manner. Both T cell supernatant and NK cell supernatant generated from cocultivation with M. tuberculosis-infected monocytes also activated monocytes to augment mycobactericidal function. In conclusion, T cells, NK cells, LAK cells, and their supernatants activated mycobactericidal function of monocytes, although these pathways of activation differed in terms of antigenic specificity and genetic restriction.     

Mild traumatic brain injury--the Fife perspective

Excretion was studied of catecholamines and diphenilamine (DOPA) in 310 patients with carcinoma of the stomach and large intestine and 43 patients with non-malignant diseases. The oncological patients showed decrease in activity of the mediator link of the sympathoadrenal system (SAS) as well as its reserves but there was no association with sex, age, location or histological structure. Three types of SAS functioning were identified, such as compensation, overstrain and emaciation. Surgical intervention led to activation of the hormonal link and exhaustion of the system's reserves. Two kinds of sympathoadrenal response to stress were described--adequate and inadequate. In the former type, phases of stress remain as they are, unchanged, as are time periods of formation thereof, while under the latter one time periods of the phases formation or formation thereof get disordered.     

Quantification of grain boundary defect chemistry in a mixed proton-electron conducting oxide composite

Dual phase oxide membranes have shown promising hydrogen permeation fluxes in syngas applications due to their high mixed proton electron conduction (MPEC). However, the conductivity of grain boundaries can be many orders of magnitude lower than that of the bulk and so limits the total conductivity and hydrogen permeation. In this study, the three-dimensional nanoscale oxygen and cation distributions around grain and phase boundaries in a BaCe_0.8Y_0.2O_3-δ-Ce_0.8Y_0.2O_2-δ (BCY-YDC) membrane were quantified by atom probe tomography (APT) and related to average grain boundary conductivity measured by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Segregation varied among the general high-angle grain boundaries analyzed, but no trend from orientation analysis was determined. Correlative APT and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) of one YDC grain boundary revealed composition and cerium valence information, respectively, allowing for the determination of vacancies at the grain boundary. While a specific MPEC membrane is characterized, the results are relevant to proton and electron conduction in a number of technologically important ceramics.