Determination of iodide in ground water and soil by ion chromatography

Comprehensive elemental analysis of samples from the Bear Creek Valley near the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant, and its floodplain have been performed in order to allow an unclassified assessment of possible elemental contamination within this area. A rapid ion Chromatographic method, with isocratic separation and micromembrane suppression is discussed within this paper for the analysis of iodide in soils, and floodplain ground waters. This developmental method will be used for future routine iodide analysis.     

Comparison of echocardiographic acoustic quantification with off-line manual tracing for determining left ventricular volume and ejection fraction in pediatric patients

Echocardiographic measurement of left ventricular systolic and diastolic volume and ejection fraction in pediatric patients by acoustic quantification using automated border methods compares well with measurements done by manual trace. The time necessary for completion of measurements was similar for the two methods.     

Using claims data to monitor hospital utilization

Controlling provider use is a continuing problem for health care insurers. This paper describes a Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan system that places primary responsibility for inpatient admissions on participating hospitals and uses a dual monitoring approach. Expensive annual samples that review medical records against published criteria constitute the basic test of compliance. An inexpensive indicator is developed quarterly using automated universal claims review. Statistical methodology, costs, and savings for both monitors are described. The claims monitor uses diagnosis related group (DRG) characteristics to estimate the percentage of inappropriate utilization from historical values for the patient group.     

Childhood headaches: discrete entities or continuum?

The aims of this study were to investigate the signs and symptoms of recurrent headaches in children and to identify if there are any discrete groups of children whose headaches corresponded to the World Federation of Neurology (1969) definition of migraine. One-hundred and fifty children recruited from the neurology clinics at Royal Manchester, Booth Hall, and Birmingham Children's Hospitals were interviewed to complete a standardized questionnaire. The data were examined using cluster analysis followed by comparative analysis of the headache signs and symptoms in the different groups identified. No stable groups were identified (i.e., no group was reliably identified by different methods of cluster analysis) which corresponded to the World Federation of Neurology definition of migraine. This would suggest that this definition is not appropriate for the sample investigated. Three groups of children evolved after cluster analysis. None of these groups was in agreement with the International Headache Society classification of headaches. The groups were neither 'stable' clusters nor 'useful' in predicting prognosis. This outcome supports the continuum theory of headache syndromes.     

Rat antigen-induced arthritis: cartilage alterations assessed with iodine-123-antileukoproteinase

Imaging of cartilage alterations was attempted in joints of rats with chronic antigen-induced arthritis (AIA) using the cationic 123I-labeled serine proteinase inhibitor antileukoproteinase (123I-ALP; pI > 10), which selectively accumulates in normal cartilage, presumably through interaction with negatively charged proteoglycans. METHODS: Iodine-123-ALP or 123I-myoglobin, a control protein of comparable size but with different isoelectric point (pI=7.3) was injected intravenously into normal or AIA rats. Joint accumulation was followed by scintigraphy for 14 hr. Tissue radioactivity was assessed by well-counter measurements after dissection. The content of charged molecules in articular cartilage was determined by toluidine blue staining; the degree of joint destruction was assessed in parallel by x-ray, ex vivo MRI and histopathology. RESULTS: In intact articular cartilage, ALP accumulated to a significantly higher degree than myoglobin. This preferential accumulation was lost in rats with chronic AIA. The target-to-background ratio for 123I-ALP negatively correlated with the loss of toluidine blue staining in cartilage, which documents depletion of charged matrix molecules (r=-0.92, p < 0.01 at 4 hr; r=-0.97, p < 0.01 at 13 hr). ALP scintigraphy was sensitive in detecting cartilage alterations, even though the degree of joint destruction and inflammatory infiltration was mild, as demonstrated by x-ray, MRI and histopathology. CONCLUSION: In rat AIA, loss of ALP accumulation appears to document proteoglycan depletion in mildly altered arthritic cartilage. ALP scintigraphy may represent a functional assay for early, premorphological cartilage alterations in human arthritis as well.     

Assessment of the clinical significance of anti-Dob

BACKGROUND: Anti-Dob is an uncommon antibody, and there are few data regarding its clinical importance. In the present case, the patient's transfusion management was based on both in vivo and in vitro assay results. CASE REPORT: A delayed hemolytic transfusion reaction was suspected in a 64-year-old white woman awaiting cardiac surgery when the transfusion of 1 unit of red cells failed to raise her hematocrit. Although direct antiglobulin tests were negative, antibody screening tests on samples drawn 9 days after transfusion were positive, and anti-Dob was identified, reacting to a titer of 4. 51Cr in vivo survival studies with incompatible Do(b+) red cells showed poor survival: 83.2 percent at 1 hour, 43 percent at 24 hours, and 29.6 percent at 48 hours and t1/2 = 19 hours (normal t1/2 = 25-35 days). A monocyte monolayer assay performed with the same incompatible Do(b+) donor red cells also indicated poor survival: 22 percent and 30 percent reactive monocytes, respectively, with and without the addition of complement (normal, 0-3%). The patient was given 4 Do(b-) red cell units without clinical signs or symptoms of a reaction. CONCLUSIONS: This example of anti-Dob was implicated in a delayed hemolytic transfusion reaction. The 51Cr survival studies and monocyte monolayer assay results indicated that the anti-Dob was clinically significant, requiring the use of Do(b-) red cells for transfusion.     

Mechanistic analysis of RNA synthesis by RNA-dependent RNA polymerase from two promoters reveals similarities to DNA-dependent RNA polymerase

The brome mosaic virus (BMV) RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) directs template-specific synthesis of (-)-strand genomic and (+)-strand subgenomic RNAs in vitro. Although the requirements for (-)-strand RNA synthesis have been characterized previously, the mechanism of subgenomic RNA synthesis has not. Mutational analysis of the subgenomic promoter revealed that the +1 cytidylate and the +2 adenylate are important for RNA synthesis. Unlike (-)-strand RNA synthesis, which required only a high GTP concentration, subgenomic RNA synthesis required high concentrations of both GTP and UTP. Phylogenetic analysis of the sequences surrounding the initiation sites for subgenomic and genomic (+)-strand RNA synthesis in representative members of the alphavirus-like superfamily revealed that the +1 and +2 positions are highly conserved as a pyrimidine-adenylate. GDP and dinucleotide primers were able to more efficiently stimulate (-)-strand synthesis than subgenomic synthesis under conditions of limiting GTP. Oligonucleotide products of 6-, 7-, and 9-nt were synthesized and released by RdRp in 3-20-fold molar excess to full-length subgenomic RNA. Termination of RNA synthesis by RdRp was not induced by template sequence alone. Our characterization of the stepwise mechanism of subgenomic and (-)-strand RNA synthesis by RdRp permits comparisons to the mechanism of DNA-dependent RNA synthesis.     

Inhibition of white blood cell adhesion at reperfusion decreases tissue damage in postischemic striated muscle

By correlating data obtained from environmental indicators and health indicators over a five-year period, a system for measuring the effects of air pollution on health has been established and tested. Rises in air pollution levels do appear to be accompanied by increases in the relevant health problems.