Development of anti-G suits and their limitations

Initial anti-G suits were based on the belief that decreased venous return was the critical effect of increased weight of blood during acceleration. Cumbersome water filled, pneumatic gradient or pulsatile pressure suits resulted. Subsequent centrifuge studies implicated arterial pressure, rather than venous return, as the major determinant of G tolerance in the sitting position. Consequently, methods of increasing arterial pressure were developed. Findings that the hypertensive, associated anti-blackout and discomfort effects of suit inflation all increase with bladder system pressure up to arterial occlusive levels resulted in the simplified G-suit used in W.W.II to the present. Recent +Gz loss of consciousness crashes indicate current straining maneuvers plus this suit are inadequate. Furthermore, because of very high pressures to maintain cerebral circulation in the sitting position, very high G suit protection is hazardous. If piloting is essential for full use of super performance fighters, the prone position with counter-weighted head support plus omni-directional surveilance is the surest strategem to obtain this advantage.     

Binucleated and multinucleated forms of plasma cells in synovia from patients with rheumatoid arthritis

A morphological examination of synovial tissue from 25 patients with rheumatoid arthritis revealed that binucleated or multinucleated plasma cells were present in all samples and absent in synovia obtained from 16 control patients. Plasma cells containing two, three of four nuclei constitutet a mean 3% of the total plasma cell population. They were aways found amongst plasma cell infiltrates and in close association with small blood vessels. Ultrastructural analysis found no evidence of cellular membranes separating the individual nuclei in binucleated or multinucleated plasma cells, suggesting that the cells did not arise from fusion. Some of these plasma cells had a diameter approaching 100 μm, and many were in intimate contact with macrophages. The demonstration of a few cells with mitotic figures within the infiltrates suggests that the maintenance of plasma cell numbers in rheumatoid synovium may depend, in part, upon their local proliferation. Received: 25 August 1997 / Accepted: 2 October 1997     

Long-term survival in an infant with urethral atresia

Complete urethral atresia is an anomaly that previously was incompatible with life. We report on a surviving infant with this anomaly. As a fetus urinary decompression was accomplished with a vesicoamniotic shunt. Peritoneal dialysis was initiated shortly after birth and at 9 months supramembranous scrotal inlay urethroplasty was performed to provide for egress of urine from the bladder. A maternal renal allograft was performed when he was 12 months old. When the patient was 3 1/2 years old he had normal renal function and emptied the bladder to completion through the reconstructed urethra. Although mildly delayed, he continues to progress with all developmental milestones.     

Differentiation of Achromobacter-like strains from human blood by DNA restriction endonuclease digest and ribosomal RNA gene probe patterns

Variation amongst Achromobacter-like strains was examined by DNA restriction endonuclease digestion and rDNA gene patterns generated using a non-radioactive probe. Chromosomal DNA was extracted from 12 cultures representing Achromobacter groups B, E and F, all from human blood cultures. DNA fingerprinting using EcoRI, Hae III or HindIII sub-divided the strains in a similar manner to that obtained by their protein patterns. The HaeIII patterns, with their small number of bands, were the easiest to interpret. The EcoRI patterns included a species-species triplet of bands but minor band patterns allowed further differentiation. The Achromobacter group F strains comprised a separate taxon and were distinct from the group B and E strains by all techniques examined. The study demonstrates that, in addition to total DNA digest analysis, rDNA gene restriction patterns provide a simple but discriminatory electrophoretic method for distinguishing within Achromobacter groups B and E.     

Relationship of "bleeding on probing" and "gingival index bleeding" as clinical parameters of gingival inflammation

Abstract Bleeding on probing (BOP) and the gingival index have been used to clinically characterize the degree of gingival inflammation. It is, however, unclear to what extent these parameters correlate to each other and to probing pocket depth (PD). The purpose of this clinical study was to evaluate the association between BOP and GI bleeding (scores of 2 and 3), as well as the relationship of these variables to PD, in a group of patients presenting with naturally-occurring gingivitis. Based on screening examinations of 125 subjects with at least 20 teeth, no more than 4 sites with PD over 6 mm, a BOP frequency of 30% or greater, and no systemic condition that would influence the inflammatory response, were selected. 2 weeks after screening they were examined at 6 sites per tooth for plaque index, GI, PD and BOP. A standardized pressure sensitive probe (Florida Probe) with 20 g probing force was used for BOP and PD measurements. In this population, means of 40.9% (S.E.= 1.36) BOP sites and 35.3% (S.E, = 1.81) GI bleeding sites per patient were found. A total of 20,008 sites ranging in PD up to 5.9 mm were evaluated; however, the majority of sites (19,723, 98.6%) presented with <4 mm PD. When sites were evaluated, BOP demonstrated a positive correlation with PD, whereas GI bleeding correlated with PH. For sites characterized by the absence of BOP as well as the absence of GI bleeding (scores 0 and 1), the highest % of agreement between the 2 indices (77.7%) was found in shallow sites (0.1–2 mm). In contrast, when sites presenting with both BOP and GI bleeding were analyzed, the highest % of agreement (85,4%) was found for sites with PD >4.0 mm. In this gingivitis population group, it appears that BOP and GI bleeding evaluate distinct inflammatory1 conditions of the gingival tissues, and the relationship between the 2 clinical parameters may vary according to PD at the individual site examined.