Prophylactic Greenfield filters: acute complications and long-term follow-up

The efficacy of prophylactic vena caval filters (VCF) in reducing morbidity and mortality from pulmonary embolism (PE) in high-risk trauma patients has been shown, but minimal follow-up data is currently available. VCFs were prophylactically placed in 110 patients between August 1991 and June 1995. There was an early VCF complication rate of 7%. Twenty-two patients died; the remaining 88 patients formed the basis for the follow-up study. Forty-five patients were located and interviewed by phone, and 30 of these patients (34%) returned for evaluation. The mean follow-up time was 18 months (range, 4-42 months). There was no incidence of caval thrombosis on follow-up. Eleven patients had physical findings, and duplex evidence consistent with postphlebitic syndrome. An additional three patients had evidence of old deep venous thrombosis (DVT) by duplex, but no significant symptomatology. VCF are effective in preventing PE related deaths and have few major complications. The long-term morbidity associated with posttraumatic venous thrombosis is significant. This morbidity is related not to PE or VCF, but to the underlying DVT. Improved strategies against DVT are necessary.     

Killing of Chlamydia trachomatis by novel antimicrobial lipids adapted from compounds in human breast milk

The development of new methods for prevention of sexually transmitted Chlamydia trachomatis infection is a top public health priority. Topical self-administered vaginal microbicides represent one such approach in which the organism is eradicated at the time of initial exposure. To this end, we examined the activity of five synthetic lipids adapted from naturally occurring compounds found in human breast milk. C. trachomatis serovar D or F elementary bodies were added to serial dilutions of the lipids and incubated for various times. Aliquots were then cultured in monolayers of McCoy cells, and inclusions were counted. A 7.5 mM concentration of 2-O-octyl-sn-glycerol completely prevented growth of C. trachomatis after 120 min of contact with the organism. The remaining lipids, 1-O-octyl-, 1-O-heptyl-, 2-O-hexyl-, and 1-O-hexyl-sn-glycerol, showed less activity. On electron microscopic examination, the lipids were shown to have disrupted the chlamydial inner membrane, allowing leakage of the cytoplasmic contents from the cell. Lipid activity was unaffected by the presence of 10% human blood or alterations in pH from 4.0 to 8.0, conditions reflecting those sometimes found in the vagina. Our results suggest that these lipids, especially 2-O-octyl-sn-glycerol, may be effective as topical microbicides in preventing the transmission of C. trachomatis. Further efficacy and toxicity studies with these lipids and assessment of their activity against other sexually transmitted disease pathogens are in progress.     

Prediction of psychosis. A step towards indicated prevention of schizophrenia

BACKGROUND: The identification of people at high risk of becoming psychotic within the near future creates opportunities for early intervention prior to the onset of psychosis to prevent or minimise later ill-health. The present study combines current knowledge about risk factors for schizophrenia with our knowledge of psychotic prodromes in an attempt to identify a group particularly vulnerable to impending psychosis. We wanted to identify people with high likelihood of transition to psychosis within a follow-up period of 12 months, and to determine the rate of transition to psychosis in this group. METHOD: Various state and trait risk factors for psychosis were used alone and in combination to operationally define a putatively high-risk group. Operationalised criteria for onset of psychosis were established. The individuals were assessed monthly on measures of psychopathology for six months. RESULTS: Eight out of 20 people made the transition to frank psychosis within a six-month follow-up period. Follow-up of this group is still in progress, and the 12 month transition rate might prove to be higher still. CONCLUSIONS: We have demonstrated that it is possible to identify individuals with a high likelihood of onset of psychosis within a brief follow-up period. This lays the foundation for early treatment in an attempt to prevent, delay or minimise the severity of first onset of schizophrenia.     

Shape estimation of a circular antenna from observations on the boundary

A smoothing algorithm for estimating the shape of a circular antenna from boundary observations is described. We consider a homogenized static antenna model, consisting of a single partial differential equation with mixed boundary conditions. An exact expression is derived for the smoother, and a suitable approximation is calculated. An FFT based implementation is found to be computationally efficient. Simulation results for 8, 16, 32 and 64 sensors are given, indicating a point of diminishing returns in adding more sensors.     

A model and a metalanguage for research on psychological counseling.

A model of 2-person interaction in psychological counseling, which is derived from A. Schutz's (1967) phenomenological theory of social relations, and a computer-assisted metalanguage based on case-grammar theory are presented, and their applicability to the analysis of natural language in counseling is argued. The model specifies that counselor and client work to make each other's natural-language displays informative by tacitly expecting that any display of talk or other conduct will have as its context of interpretation the counselor or client's prior knowledge of (a) typical relationships of social interaction, and (b) methods of speaking that provide a recognizable structure to an utterance. Some preliminary findings are presented from a metalanguage analysis of the patterns of verb usage by a counselor and client in an actual series of counseling interviews. Findings are discussed in terms of the model and are treated as initial evidence of concerted action and of how the informative display of recognizable linguistic structures may act to bring about such coordinating actions. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Televised classroom events as distractors for reading-disabled children

Three experiments examined the influence of videotaped classroom events on the academic performance and study behavior of reading-disabled and normally reading children in grades 1 through 6. In experiments 1 and 2a an experimenter-controlled presentation of these distractors resulted in performance decrements, the magnitude of which was greater for higher difficulty tasks. The distractor effects were similar for the two groups in this condition. However, when the children themselves were allowed to control their degree of exposure to the same distractors in experiment 2b, the reading-disabled children were less likely to act to escape the distraction. Results are discussed in terms of children's metacognitive awareness of distraction, and implications for the classroom are considered.     

Composition and nutritional evaluation of microbial biomass grown on whiskey distillery spent wash

Microbial biomass produced from malt whiskey distillery spent wash, composed of a mixture of the filamentous fungus Geotrichum candidum and the yeasts Hansenula anomala and Candida krusei, had crude protein contents of 48 and 52 g 100 g^?1 and ‘true protein’ contents of 38 and 42 g 100 g^?1 when grown in batch and continuous culture respectively. Analyses of amino acid composition showed that the essential amino acid content was between 45 and 49 g 16 g^?1 N and the essential amino acid index between 0.66 and 0.70. The sulphur-containing amino acids were limiting, being between 49 and 59% deficient compared with the requirements of the growing rat. In rat feeding trials the biomass had a biological value of 0.53, a net protein utilisation value of 0.40 and a digestibility of 0.75 based on its crude protein content. Supplementation of the biomass with methionine and admixture in a ratio of 1:9 with distillers spent grains raised the NPU values to 0.49 and 0.55 respectively. Comparison of the composition and nutritional quality with that of distillers' dark grains demonstrated that the biomass was of a higher quality, and when either supplemented with methionine or mixed with distillers' spent grains was comparable with soya-bean meal.     

Cloning and characterization of PSF, a novel pre-mRNA splicing factor

Previously, we characterized cDNAs encoding polypyrimidine tract-binding protein (PTB) and showed that a complex between PTB and a 100-kD protein was necessary for pre-mRNA splicing. In this paper we have used two different in vitro-binding assays to confirm and extend the interaction between these two proteins. Peptide sequence information was used to clone and sequence cDNAs encoding alternatively spliced forms of the 100-kD protein. It contains two consensus RNA-binding domains and an unusual amino terminus rich in proline and glutamine residues. The protein is highly basic and migrates anomalously on SDS gels. Owing to its interaction with PTB and its role in pre-mRNA splicing, we have termed the 100-kD protein PTB-associated splicing factor (PSF). The RNA-binding properties of PSF are apparently identical to those of PTB. Both proteins, together and independently, bind the polypyrimidine tract of mammalian introns. Biochemical complementation, antibody inhibition, and immunodepletion experiments demonstrate that PSF is an essential pre-mRNA splicing factor required early in spliceosome formation. Bacterially synthesized PSF is able to complement immunodepleted extracts and restore splicing activity. Despite association with PSF, complementary experiments with antibodies against PTB do not suggest an essential role for PTB in pre-mRNA splicing.