The use of oral prostaglandin E2 to induce labor at term

Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) was given to 60 patients to induce labor at term. Two dosage schedules were used: 30 patients were given 0.5 mg hourly and 30 patients were given 1.0 mg hourly. Membranes were ruptured when active labor had occurred. The Bishop score was used for inducibility quotient. In general, the higher the Bishop score, the shorter the delivery time. The 1.0 mg dosage schedule decreased the induction time in both nulliparas and multiparas. There were 55 vaginal deliveries. Five patients were delivered by cesarean section for obstetrical indications; two were in active labor. The overall success rate was 91.6%. No fetal distress occurred that could be attributed to the PGE2. Maternal complications consisted of nausea and vomiting.     

The synaptinemal complex in Rhoeo spathacea

The synaptinemal complex in meiocytes of Rhoeo spathacea is described. Unpaired zygotene chromosomes do not exhibit well defined axial cores under the ordinary fixations of electron microscopy and appear diffuse. However, the axial core is defined by ethanolic phosphotungstic acid (PTA) although it does not respond to uranyl-EDTA-lead. Thus the core appears to contain histone but not RNA and presents a condition which is modified later in pairing when lateral elements of the synaptinemal complex respond positively to both tests. The total number of attachments of synaptinemal complexes to the nuclear envelope was determined in several nuclei from serial sections. Eleven of the twelve possible attachments were found in one nucleus. It thus seems certain that all must be so attached. In the same manner all chromosomes can be seen to have an attachment to a chromocentre. Chromocentres are often very large and compound in that two kinds of heterochromatin can be distinguished. These states of chromatin within the chromocentre are considered to be a function of the degree of condensation. Segments of synaptinemal complexes are distributed randomly through sections of pachytene nuclei and long uncoiled segments of complexes are frequently found in or near the centres of median nuclear sections. Synaptinemal complexes are also found in chromocentres. Our findings suggest that on completion of pairing, which begins distally, homologous chromosomes in Rhoeo are paired throughout their entire lengths, rather than in small terminal segments only.     

A secular increase in the incidence of juvenile diabetes mellitus

Data from a 1973 survey of diabetes mellitus among schoolchildren in Michigan have been analyzed to derive age-specific incidence and prevalence rates. The annual incidence of new cases of diabetes is approximately 20/100,000 children from age four through age 17, with the highest incidence rates at age nine through age 12. The prevalence rates to be expected, if the most recent incidence rates persist, are approximately 50/100,000 at age five, 150/100,000 at age ten, 270/100,000 at age 15, and 325/100,000 by age 18. The incidence rate of diabetes in Michigan children appears to have doubled between 1959 and 1972. Data from Erie County, New York, suggest that this secular trend has been evident since 1949, and data from Norway suggest that the trend could be noted 50 to 70 years ago.     

Internal oxidation of dilute Cu-Ti alloys

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A - The kinetics of internal oxidation of dilute Cu-Ti solid solutions, containing up to 1 wt pct Ti have been investigated over the temperature range 700...     

Predilection of occlusive disease for the left iliac artery

Eighty-six consecutive patients operated on for atherosclerotic occlusion of the aortoiliac segment were examined regarding the severity of the disease in the left or right iliac arteries. Sixty-nine percent of 78 patients were found to have predominantly more severe lesions on the left side. A study of the geometric anatomy of the aortoiliac region in 14 male and 12 female cadavers revealed that the right common iliac take-off angle was wider than the left and the radius of curvature of the right osculating circle at the aortoiliac bifurcation was smaller than the left, with the asymmetry of the region being much more marked in males than in females. The predilection of occlusive disease for the left iliac artery is explained on the basis of these differences in local geometric anatomy and their effect on the local hemodynamics.     

Effect of coronary thrombus age on fibrinogen uptake

A study was carried out to define the time limits during which an experimental coronary thrombus remains capable of incorporating fibrinogen. 131I-fibrinogen was given to intact anesthetized dogs at different time intervals, up to 67 hours, following the formation of a coronary thrombus by catheter-electrode. Radioactivity of the recovered thrombi as a whole and segmentally divided, was determined following variable time intervals of exposure to circulating fibrinogen and was expressed as thrombus/blood ratio. The results indicate that coronary thrombi formed in a normal coronary vessel remain capable of incorporating fibrinogen for at least eighteen hours, with no significant differences in the segmental distribution of radioactivity. These findings do not support the view that the recovery of isotopic fibrinogen, which was given after the onset of coronary symptoms, in thrombi from patients with myocardial infarction establishes that the thrombus was initiated after the ischemic process.