Amount and perception of baby crying in Finland and Colombia

The frequency and type of crying and the mothers' perceptions of it were evaluated in 281 Finnish and 43 Colombian infants under the age of one year. About 15#pc of the mothers in both countries claimed that their babies cried often or very often. Most mothers reported that the crying aroused feelings of tenderness, and about 5#pc found the cry irritating. Almost all Finnish mothers picked the baby up when it was crying. In Colombia this was the case in about two thirds. Additional help was wanted by 17#pc of the Finnish and 23#pc of the Colombian mothers because of their babies' disturbing crying spells. These mothers reported that their infants cried more and they stated that the cry made them feel more irritated and more often gave them a feeling of failure than the mothers not in need of help.     

Crying in separated and non-separated newborns: sound spectrographic analysis

During the first 1-2 h after birth crying occurs during separation from the mother and stops on reunion. In rats, such "separation distress calls" have distinct phonetic properties. We examined this early crying by sound spectrography in 29 healthy, full-term, vaginally delivered babies, randomly assigned either to be kept in a cot or to be placed in body contact with the mother during the 90 min following birth. The former babies cried almost 10 times more than the latter ones. The duration of the cry signal (the smallest element of a cry analysed by spectrography) in both groups was 0.8-0.9s; the melody contour was flat or slightly rising-falling with a fundamental frequency of around 500 hertz. The cry is provisionally characterized as a discomfort cry, elicited mainly by separation from the mother.     

Vergiftungen

International Journal of Legal Medicine -     

Resection of the Ackomion in the Treatment of Persistent Rotator Cuff Syndrome of the shoulder

Partial or complete excision of the acromion was performed in 25 patients (29 shoulders) with long-standing pain in the shoulder typical of rotator cuff syndrome. There was no verified history of trauma in nine cases (13 shoulders), while injury was the cause of pain in 16 patients (16 shoulders). In nine shoulders there was a small and in two a large rupture of the rotator cuff. Twelve of the 13 non-traumatic shoulders became painless postoperatively and the pain was relieved in one. In the 16 traumatic shoulders the relief of pain was complete in six, partial in nine, and one remained unchanged. The condition was not aggravated in any of the cases. Mobility increased postoperatively in four cases and was in no case decreased by the operation. In this series the results were as favourable after partial as after complete excision of the acromion. Excision of the acromion alone or excision in combination with other procedures appears to be a promising method of treatment of patients with long-standing rotator cuff syndrome.     

Abnormal mitochondria and sarcoplasmic changes in rabbit skeletal muscle induced by immobilization

Immobilization of the rabbit knee in extended position results in damage to the vastus intermedius profundus (VIP) muscle. To examine the mechanisms involved in initiation of the injury, we studied the light and electron microscopic morphology of the VIP muscle, as well as the activity and distribution of NADH tetrazolium reductase (NADH-TR) in the affected muscle, and determined serum total creatine kinase (CK) activity in immobilized rabbits. The VIP muscle of the immobilized right hindlimb was removed at various time points (10 h, 24 h, 36 h and 48-72 h, n=5 for each time point). The nonimmobilized left hindlimb and five nonimmobilized animals served as controls. No morphological changes were observed by light microscopy within 48-72 h in routine stainings. Transient ultrastructural abnormalities, including abnormal cristae, matrix lucencies and mild swelling of mitochondria, were observed between 10 h and 36 h of immobilization, subsiding by 48-72 h. On the other hand, progressive disorganization of myofibrils with breaking-up of Z-bands and an increase in the number and size of sarcoplasmic lipid vacuoles was seen with increasing duration of immobilization. NADH-TR activity at subsarcolemmal locations had decreased by 10 h and disappeared by 24 h of immobilization, while the intermyofibrillar mitochondria remained unaltered. Serum total CK activity began to increase by 2 h of immobilization and reached a peak by 24 h. The results indicate that already a few hours of immobilization of the rabbit knee in extension leads to signs of metabolic disturbance of the VIP muscle and sarcolemmal leakage. The simultaneous occurrence of transient mitochondrial abnormalities, transient CK efflux and progressive myofibrillar damage suggests the operation of multiple adverse mechanisms already at the onset of disuse muscle atrophy.     

Distribution of fibronectins and their integrin receptors in interface tissue from aseptic loosening of hip prostheses

OBJECTIVES: To assess the distribution of fibronectins (FNs) and their integrin (Int) receptors in synovial membrane-like interface tissue (SMLIT) from aseptic loosening of total hip replacement (THR), and potential role of FN-Int interaction in the loosening process. METHODS: The alkaline phosphatase anti-alkaline phosphatase (APAAP) method was used to detect the distribution of FNs and their Int receptors in SMLIT and control samples. Double immunofluorescence labeling was used to reveal the different co-localizations. RESULTS: Intensive FN staining appeared in the lining layers, sublining area, and vascular endothelium, while immunoreactivities for Int alpha 4, alpha 5, beta 1 subunits were detected in the lining and endothelial cells of SMLIT. Immunofluorescence labeling revealed Int alpha 5 and collagenase-1/collagenase-3 double positive cells in lining layers and sublining area of SMLIT. CONCLUSION: Increased expression of FNs, Int alpha 4 beta 1 and alpha 5 beta 1 appeared in SMLIT compared with that in OA synovial membrane. FN-Int interactions may play a role in local collagenase production.