Patellar whiskers and acute calcific quadriceps tendinitis in a general hospital population

Described is a case of acute calcific quadriceps tendinitis which presented as monoarticular arthritis. A survey of general hospital patients revealed a 7% incidence of calcification of the superior patellar tendon. The most common concurrent abnormality was degenerative joint disease (94%); concomitant chondrocalcinosis was not seen. The "patellar whisker" is a relatively common x-ray finding that may be the clue to an uncommon cause of acute arthritis.     

How long does chlorpromazine last?

An attempt has been made to relate the retarded adsoprtion to red cells of the slow reacting hemolytic phosphatide Rac. 1-octadecyl-2-benzyl-glycero-3-phosphorylcholine (benzyl-lysolecithin) to its aggregation status in aqueous solution. Light scattering measurements indicate a critical micelle concentration at 37 degrees of less than 2 X 10(-6) M. The micellar weight as determined by angle dependent light scattering is 6 X 10(7) with about 97 000 molecules per micells. The aggregates, which according to electron-microscopic observations are more similar to lecithin-liposomes than to usual lysolecithin-micelles, undergo a phase transition at 14 degrees from a tightly packed liquid-crystalline state to the more loose structure of a gel phase with increased mobility of the aliphatic chains. The enthalpy of transition is 4.2 kcal/mole. These changes of the micellar structure are reflected in the binding kinetics of benzyl-lysolecithin to red cells in that the binding rate is rather constant below, but strongly increasing above the transition temperature. It is concluded that the unusual micellar structure is responsible for the retarded adsorption of this lysolecithin analog to red cells and that the rate of adsorption is probably determined by the rate of escape of single lysophosphatide molecules from the micelles.     

Nanoporous aluminum oxide as a novel support material for enzyme biosensors

To construct novel amperometric sensors for the detection of hydrogen peroxide and pyruvate, peroxidase and pyruvate oxidase were immobilized in self-supporting nanoporous alumina membranes those made by anodic oxidation. Pyruvate oxidase and other enzymes were enclosed in poly(carbamoylsulfonate) hydrogel and sucked into the nanoporous alumina structure before polymerization. The alumina membranes were investigated by scanning electron microscopy before and after the enzyme immobilization. In an amperometric flow detector cell, pyruvate and hydrogen peroxide were detected under flow injection analysis conditions in concentration ranges from 1 microM to 100 microM and 5 microM to 500 microM, respectively. The achieved operational stability showed that alumina membranes can be used to construct enzyme-modified electrodes.     

Sensitive and selective flow injection analysis of hydrogen sulfite/sulfur dioxide by fluorescence detection with and without membrane separation by gas diffusion

Highly sensitive and selective FIA flow injection analysis procedures for the determination of sulfite/hydrogen sulfite/sulfur dioxide were developed on the basis of an in situ-generated o-phthalaldehyde (OPA)/ammonium reagent and fluorescence detection. The highest sensitivity was achieved at an excitation wavelength of 330 nm, an emission wavelength of 390 nm, and at pH 6.5. Sulfite concentrations between 2.5 nM and 5 microM can be determined with relative standard deviations between 10.5 and 1.0% (n = 5, confidence level alpha = 0.05) by utilization of a reagent that contains 0.2 mM OPA and 0.4 M NH4Cl in 50 mM potassium phosphate buffer. A concentration of 0.1 mM sulfite can be selectively detected in the presence of thiosulfate, thioglycolate, tetrathionate, cysteine, and ascorbate. The fluorometric sulfite detection was combined with a membrane gas diffusion step to improve the selectivity with respect to nonvolatile fluorescing substances. The total sulfite content can be quantitatively separated as sulfur dioxide into an acceptor solution before its flow detection. Between 40 nM and 0.1 mM sulfite can be determined. After 1,000-fold dilution, the total sulfite content can be determined in white and red wines.     

A PC-based titrator for flow gradient titrations

This paper describes a PC (personal computer) based titrator which was developed for gradient flow titrations. Concentration gradients were generated electrolytically or volumetrically in small tubes. Complete titration curves can be recorded on-line and evaluated automatically. The titrator can be used with all liquid flow detectors with low axial dispersion. The titrator was evaluated for the titration of thiosulphate with electrogenerated triiodide and for the titration of ammonia with electrogenerated hypobromite after continuous gas dialytic separation of ammonia from the sample solution.     

Span of apprehension and arousal in schizophrenia.

Investigated the relationship between levels of somatic arousal, autonomic reactivity, and visual information processing in 32 schizophrenic and 16 normal Ss. Span of apprehension for tachistoscopically presented consonants was measured over 80 trials and skin conductance level (SCL) and heart rate (HR) were monitored during rest and performance. An information-processing deficiency in the schizophrenic Ss was interpreted as related to perceptual rather than mnemonic factors. Individual differences in level of arousal (SCL and HR) were not systematically related to information-processing efficiency in schizophrenic or normal Ss. Correlations between span and change in arousal level suggested that autonomic flexibility enhanced information-processing efficiency in both groups. Amplitude of stimulus-specific autonomic reactivity in normal Ss was more specifically modulated to the attention response demands of the task. (28 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of group problem solving experience upon social withdrawal in chronic schizophrenics.

It was hypothesized that chronic schizophrenics exposed to sustained group problem solving experience would tend to improve their levels of social participation on criterion tasks socially more challenging and complex. It was further hypothesized that such improvement would generalize to task performance with total strangers and to social behavior on the ward. All predictions except the one about ward behavior were confirmed by experimental findings with 32 chronic schizophrenic patients. It is suggested that sustained social experience in situations which elicit social participation permit factors to, become operative which reduce anxiety associated with socially more challenging, complex situations and thus facilitate participation in such situations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A test of the censure-deficit model and its relation to premorbidity in the performance of schizophrenics.

This investigation incorporated controls suggested by the Rodnick-Garmezy model of schizophrenic behavior with the task most frequently employed in disconfirmatory studies, in order to assess the tenability of the latter. A number of hypotheses derived from Rodnick and Garmezy, concerned with premorbid history of patients (Goods and Poors) and normals, reinforcement conditions (reward, punishment, and nonevaluation) and sex of E (parental surrogates), were tested in a 3×3×2 design with reaction time (RT) as the dependent variable. None of the hypotheses was supported. Instead, punishment led to fastest performance for all groups, and all Ss tended to perform faster for male than for female Es. This research is consistent with the results of the disconfirmatory studies rather than those of Rodnick-Garmezy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A test of the censure-deficit model in schizophrenia, employing the Rodnick-Garmezy visual discrimination task.

This study tested hypotheses derived from the Garmezy and Rodnick censure-deficit theory of schizophrenia. There was no support for the theory with respect to (a) reported child-rearing practices and (b) reactions to cues depicting maternal and paternal dominance. The behavioral findings obtained irrespective of whether the censure was imbedded in the stimulus or combined with verbal censure by the experimenter. This and a series of other disconfirmatory studies are discussed in relation to the validity of the Garmezy and Rodnick formulations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)