Is There an "Embryonic" or "Primitive" Human Hemoglobin?

An attempt has been made to detect the "embryonic" or "primitive" humanhemoglobin that has been reported by other authors. Chromatographic comparisons have detected no significant differences in the hemoglobin componentsof fetuses in age from 15 weeks to term. The method of alkali denaturation hasbeen applied in conjunction with the chromatographic comparisons, but italso has detected no significant differences in the various samples.

All samples that have been investigated contain a hemoglobin componenttermed F_I. It is present to the extent of about 10 per cent in all samples andpresumably is a normal constituent. Its rate of denaturation by alkali is essentially indistinguishable from that of the main component in cord blood andso F_I is included in all determinations of hemoglobin F by alkali denaturation.

The results of this investigation lead to the conclusion that there is no"embryonic" human hemoglobin that precedes hemoglobin F in the way thehemoglobin F precedes hemoglobin A in the life of the individual.

Submitted on September 16, 1959 Accepted on November 28, 1959     

Hepatitis B Antigen and Antibody in Heroin Users

Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and antibody (anti-HBsAg) were determined on 442 asymptomatic heroin users and 246 controls. Of the drug-taking group, 124 used heroin intravenously and 318 nonintravenously (smoking, sniffing). Twenty-three (5.2%) heroin users were HBsAg positive and 118 (26.7%) anti-HBsAg positive, compared to three (1.2%) HBsAg positive and 28 (11.4%) anti-HBsAg positive controls, both statistically significant. HBsAg was positive in eight (6.5%) intravenous heroin users and statistically identical to 15 (4.7%) HBsAg positive nonintravenous users. Positive anti-HBsAg in 55 (44.4%) intravenous heroin users compared to 63 (19.8%) nonintravenous users, however, is statistically significicant.     

Functioning and health‐related quality of life of adolescents with cerebral palsy: self versus parent perspectives

Aim To determine whether there is a difference between perspectives of functioning and health‐related quality of life (HRQL) of parents and ambulatory adolescents with spastic cerebral palsy (CP). Method A total of 139 parent patient pairs (73 females, 66 males; median age 14y 6mo, age range 11–18y, Gross Motor Function Classification System [GMFCS] levels I–III, with hemiplegia [n=23], diplegia [n=103], triplegia [n=9], and quadriplegia [n=4]) were recruited from outpatient CP clinics at three pediatric orthopaedic hospitals, between 2000 and 2006, from whom Pediatric Outcomes Data Collection Instrument (PODCI) responses were collected. Results Cross‐sectional data, calculated with intraclass correlation coefficients [ICC], showed parents and adolescents agreed more on functioning (ICC=0.488–0.748) than HRQL (ICC=0.242–0.568; PODCI). Parents and adolescents both recognized significant comorbidities (ICC=0.502–0.713), but adolescents saw themselves as less limited (ICC=0.330) than parents. The greatest differences between parents and adolescents were in HRQL scales for male adolescents, with only a small part explained by GMFCS level difference between sexes (effect size 0.002–0.143). Age, parent well‐being, and parent sex had little effect and comorbidities had no effect. GMFCS level was the most common predictor. Interpretation Most scales on health conditions, function, and HRQL agreed between parents and adolescents aged11 to 18 years. Parent proxy is reasonable when necessary, but assessing both parents and adolescents gives additional insight. Adolescents do not consider themselves as limited by health conditions as parents do; parents have greater satisfaction with current level of symptoms than adolescents, and findings vary on expectations for treatment.     

Predisposing factors and the development of reaginic allergy in infancy

In a prospective study of fifty-eight newborn infants of parents with reaginic allergy, twenty-seven developed eczema and twenty-eight positive prick tests to one or more of six antigens during the first year of life. These reaginic manifestations were related to presymptomatic transient IgA deficiency. The development of positive skin tests was also related to HLA A1 B8, and to season of birth. The order of frequency of positivity was Dermatophagoides, grass pollens, cat fur, feathers and cow's milk. The skin tests were often positive in infants in whom serum IgE was not detected. The eczema disappeared and the skin tests became negative in some infants at the end of the first year. This work suggests that sensitization in the new-born period is important in the subsequent development of disease.     

The critical C-terminus of the small subunit of herpes simplex virus ribonucleotide reductase is mobile and conformationally similar to C-terminal peptides

The C-terminus of the small subunit of class I ribonucleotide reductases is essential for subunit association and enzymatic activity. ¹H NMR analysis of the small subunit (2 × 38 kDa as a homodimer) of herpes simplex virus ribonucleotide reductase shows that this critical binding site is mobile and exposed in relation to the rest of the protein. Assignments of six C-terminal amino acids are made by comparing the TOCSY and NOESY spectra of the small subunit with the spectra of an identical protein truncated by seven amino acids at the C-terminus and the spectra of an analogous 15 amino acid peptide. The mobility of the C-terminus may be important for subunit recognition and could be general for other ribonucleotide reductases. The spectral comparisons also suggest that the six C-terminal amino acids of the small subunit and peptide are confor-mationally similar. This observation may be important for the design of inhibitors of ribonucleotide reductase subunit association. © Munksgaard 1994.     

Alcohol Consumption and the Preventive Paradox★

Drinkers in the general population who exceed the ‘safe limits’ advocated by various experts are undoubtedly at high risk of alcohol-related harm, yet they contribute only a minority to the total numbers of alcohol casualties, This relationship, the so-called ‘preventive paradox’ was explored in some detail using different criteria for ‘safe limits’ for total consumption, for frequency of drinking and for maximal daily consumption: two population surveys and a study of special groups noted for high intake were used. The results were in general mutually corroborative, even when different criteria for harm were employed. Certain methodological problems attendant on such analyses were explored. Finally it was shown that the gains from the universal adoption of the conventional ‘safe limits’ within a population would be matched by an across-the-board per capita reduction to about 70% of current intake. The implication was briefly reviewed.