Use of multivariate statistical methods to identify immunochemical cross‐reactants

Quantitative competition immunoassays with appropriate combinations of antibodies give consistent dose‐response patterns which may be used to identify and estimate amounts of cross‐reacting compounds. Previously reported methods of analyzing cross‐reaction patterns include multiple regression, principal components analysis and minimum estimates of variance (MEV). Four other techniques which are preferable in theory have been surveyed: discriminant analysis (DA), maximum likelihood estimates (MLE), classification and regression trees (CART), and computational neural networks (NN). MLE and simple back‐propagation neural networks can estimate the concentration, as well as the identity, of individual compounds. These four methods worked well with unfitted, unscaled data from monoclonal assays of triazines, phenylureas and avermectins. Immunoassays must be properly designed to provide adequate data for pattern recognition. Cross‐reactivity pattern analysis will make multi‐analyte, multi‐antibody immunoassays feasible for many applications in toxicology and hazard assessment.     

TECHNICAL NOTE: SOME VIEWS ON THE TREATMENT OF "ARTIFACTS" IN PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL RECORDINGS

The treatment of artifactual responses in psychophysiology is rarely discussed or made explicit in research reports. The rationales and procedures of five approaches are presented: excluding the data; averaging other epochs; subjective estimation; straight-line connecting; and following the pen. Each approach is based on a somewhat different theoretical orientation, and the choice of each will depend on the researcher's theoretical preference and also the relative “costs” of losing data vs programming special instructions. Other considerations such as objectivity, consistency, and replicability are discussed.     

University education for the physically disabled

Two per thousand of the student population are physically handicapped. The facilities for the care of physically disabled students were surveyed at the 34 universities that have full-time medical officers and primary medical teams. It was found that communication before arrival about special medical and nursing needs of the student is insufficient, that there is inadequate liaison within the universities between the admissions office and the medical unit, and a lack of published statements by the universities about the admission of the physically disabled.

In contrast, the facilities available for the handicapped student are considerable, the academic success rate high, the range of serious disability being successfully coped with is extensive, and there is a need for more encouragement in the community for the physically disabled to undertake, where intellectually capable, a university education.

     

Aspergillus fumigatus empyema, arthritis, and calcaneal osteomyelitis in a lung transplant patient successfully treated with posaconazole

A 64-year-old male with Aspergillus fumigatus infection that had disseminated from the lung to the ankle and adjacent bone was treated successfully with posaconazole after therapy with itraconazole and amphotericin B lipid complex failed. Marked clinical improvement occurred within 6 weeks of initiation of posaconazole therapy; after 6 months, infection had resolved at all sites. The patient has had no recurrence of infection.     

Preliminary evaluation of the haemagglutination and haemagglutination inhibition tests for avian infectious bronchitis virus

Four of the 9 strains of infectious bronchitis virus which were concentrated and treated with phospholipase C type 1 showed haemagglutination activity. These strains, Holte, Massachusetts 41 (M41), H120 and Connecticut, were distinguishable by the haemagglutination inhibition (HI) test but showed much closer relationships than could be detected by the plaque reduction (PR) test. The four haemagglutinating strains were used to compare the HI and PR titres of 17 anti sera prepared against reference and field virus strains. In most cases titres were similar although there was a tendency for the HI titres to be higher than the PR titres especially with M41 antigen. HI titrations of the pooled sera from 20 birds infected with M41 showed a peak of activity at 14 days after infection which was not detected by serum neutralisation or complement fixation tests. HI titres of individual sera from birds infected 21 days previously with M41 virus compared favourably with serum neutralisation titres but showed little relationship to the complement fixation titres.     

Thermotropic liquid crystalline polymers, 4. Study of crystalline and liquid-crystalline comb-like polymers with mesogenic side groups by IR spectroscopy

The IR spectra (in the region of 400–3600 cm^?1) of comb-like polymers in crystalline, liquid-crystalline, and fluid isotropic phases were studied, and the effect of the chemical structure of the long side chains on the crystalline and liquid-crystalline states were examined. The spectroscopic criteria of phase transitions in comb-like polymers were established and the fragments of the side chains involved in the formation of the liquid-crystalline phase, were determined.     

Manipulations in Maternal Environment Reverse Periodontitis in Genetically Predisposed Rats

The predisposition to develop periodontitis is partly genetically determined in humans as well as in animals. Here we demonstrate, however, that early manipulations in the maternal environment of an animal (rat) model of periodontitis can fully reverse the genetic predisposition to develop periodontitis at adult age.     

Psychological reactions in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis

We report the interaction of RA and psychological factors over 2 years in a group of 89 patients with newly established disease. Short-time outcome regarding physical features was fairly good. Disease activity decreased, and disability evaluated by HAQ remained at a low level. Psychological distress as measured by the depression and anxiety subscales of SCL 90 (Symptom Check List) was not very pronounced and not related to disease state factors. A slight decrease of anxiety was recorded after 2 years. A new adjustment test was applied. It contained 13 items focused mainly on negative illness effects such as loss of independence, feelings of guilt, and change of social and leisure time activities. Three factors (regret of lost life values, dysphoric mood, and acceptance) explained 48% of the variance of the 13 items. The validity of the test was acceptable. The patients' degree of adjustment changed slowly or not at all during the 2 years.