Angiotensin-converting enzyme in sarcoid and chalazion granulomas of the conjunctiva

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) was studied immunohistochemically in conjunctival biopsies from 6 patients with systemic sarcoidosis, 4 patients with posterior non-sarcoid uveitis and in specimens from 4 patients with chalazion of the eyelid. Specimens with sarcoid granulomas showed intense ACE-positive immunoreactivity in epitheloid cells of the granuloma, whereas chalazion granulomas did not contain ACE-immunoreactivity. There was no difference in staining patterns between specimens without granulomas. Thus immunohistochemical staining for ACE may be of help in differentiating conjunctival granulomatous tissue of a chalazion from sarcoid granuloma.     

Repeated testing attenuates conditioned place preference with cocaine

Cocaine-treated rats acquired a preference for cocaine-associated contextual stimuli (CS) relative to saline-injected control rats. However, when animals were given repeated tests for conditioned place preference intermittent between conditioning trials, they displayed an attenuation in strength of conditioning. This attenuation was not due to pharmacologic tolerance (Experiment 1), but rather reflected a disruption in learning due to exposure to the CS alone (Experiment 2). Like other examples of classical conditioning, the strength of the conditioned response (CR) as assessed by the conditioned place preference model may be influenced by partial reinforcement.     

Treatment of asthma with an extempore combination of a bronchodilator, salbutamol, and a new antihistamine drug, oxatomide

Forty patients suffering from asthmatic conditions, often accompanied by emphysema, were treated either with an extempore combination of salbutamol syrup plus 30-mg oxatomide tablets or with 30-mg oxatomide tablets alone for purposes of comparison. Greater efficacy was obtained with the combination, which produced positive results in terms of improved respiratory status, remission of clinical symptoms and reduced anti-asthma drug requirements in 90% of the cases treated, as against only 55% of satisfactory results obtained with oxatomide alone. The combination was very well tolerated with no incidence of adverse reactions, while the treatment with oxatomide alone, though on the whole well tolerated, gave rise to mild drowsiness in four cases.     

DNA binding of a 38,000-dalton herpes-simplex-virus-2-specific protein

Western transfer and immunoenzymatic staining with affinity-purified monospecific antiserum was used to detect a 38-Kd protein that bound to native and denatured DNA cellulose. This protein has previously been shown to be a delayed early herpes simplex virus type-2 specific protein.     

Improvement in men inpatients in an alcoholism rehabilitation unit: a week-by-week comparison

The Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), a 53-item psychiatric symptom checklist, was administered to 57 alcoholic inpatients on days 2, 10, 18 and 26 of their 28-day stay in an alcoholism rehabilitation unit at a Veterans Administration hospital. The results of the test show a steady decline in the patients' psychiatric symptomatology from week 1 to week 4 with the most dramatic improvement evidenced between weeks 1 and 2.     

Renal stone analysis: LITHOS, an expert system for evaluation of X-ray diffractograms of urinary calculi

An expert system for evaluation of X-ray diffraction patterns of urinary calculi is described and evaluated. The software was developed using the PERSONAL CONSULTANT expert system shell from Texas Instruments.     

Activity of newer beta-lactam agents against clinical isolates of Bacteroides fragilis and other Bacteroides species.

The in vitro activities of beta-lactam antibiotics against Bacteroides fragilis and B. fragilis group isolates are presented. Clinical isolates from 1986 were compared with strains from 1979 to 1982. Imipenem, ticarcillin-clavulanic acid, and ceftizoxime were the most active agents. Cefotetan was equivalent to cefoxitin against B. fragilis but less active against B. fragilis group isolates. Enhancement of cefotaxime by its desacetyl metabolite was minimal.