A social model for health promotion for an aging population: Initial evidence on the experience corps model

This report evaluates whether a program for older volunteers, designed for both benerativity and health promotion, leads to short-term improvements inmultiple behavioral risk factors and positive effects on intermediary risk factors for disability and other morbidities. The Experience Corps^® places older volunteers in public elementary schools in roles designed to meet schools’ needs and increase the social, physical, and cognitive activity of the volunteers. This article reports on a pilot randomized trial in Baltimore, Maryland. The 128 volunteers were 60–86 years old; 95% were African American. At follow-up of 4–8 months, physical activity, strength, people one could turn to for help, and cognitive activity increased significantly, and walking speed decreased significantly less, in participants compared to controls. In this pilot trial, physical, cognitive, and social activity increased, suggesting the potential for the Experience Corps to improve health for an aging population and simultaneously improve educational outcomes for children.     

Resistant proteoglycans in epiphyseal plate cartilage. Variations in their distribution in relationship to age and species

The localizations of resistant proteoglycans (RPGs) in the epiphyseal plates of rats, dogs, and humans are similar. In the epiphyseal plates from young rats, dogs, and humans, the RPGs form a stratum at the junction of the zones of resting and proliferating cells. Non-calcified cartilage RPGs are associated with cells which have the potential for proliferation or column organization. As the individuals age, RPGs are found in intercolumnar regions or at times are even absent. There is also a type of RPGs in calcified cartilage, including the calcified cartilage subjacent to the articular surface, in all species. In human epiphyseal plates, looser fibrillar RPGs change abruptly to a more condensed type in the zone of provisional calcification. Calcified cartilage RPGs stain more intensely with toluidine blue and may represent a different type of RPGs.     

显微血管减压治疗三叉神经痛和面肌痉挛的近期疗效观察

经后颅窝入路对7例三叉神经痛、5例面肌痉挛行显微血管减压手术治疗。7例三叉神经痛患者中有6例发现三叉神经根受小动脉压迫,1例受静脉压迫。7例病人于血管减压后疼痛完全消失,且无任何神经缺陷遗留。5例面肌痉挛患者中4例面神经根受小动脉压迫,血管减压后症状都获得明显缓解。1例在面神经根部未发现血管压迫,此例术后疗效不佳。微血管对神经根的压迫是三叉神经痛和面肌痉挛的一种重要病因。显微血管减压治疗这两种疾病的近期疗效甚佳,远期疗效尚待进一步观察。     

Effect of semiconductor GaAs laser irradiation on pain perception in mice

The influence of subacute exposure (11 exposures within 16 days) of mice to the low power (GaAs) semiconductive laser-stimulated irradiation on pain perception was investigated. The pain perception was determined by the latency of foot-licking or jumping from the surface of a 53 degrees C hot plate. Repeated hot-plate testing resulted in shortening of latencies in both sham- and laser-irradiated mice. Laser treatment (wavelength, 905 nm; frequency, 256 Hz; irradiation time, 50 sec; pulse duration, 100 nsec; distance, 3 cm; peak irradiance, 50 W/cm2 in irradiated area; and total exposure, 0.41 mJ/cm2) induced further shortening of latencies, suggesting its stimulatory influence on pain perception. Administration of morphine (20 mg/kg) prolonged the latency of response to the hot plate in both sham- and laser-irradiated mice. This prolongation tended to be lesser in laser-irradiated animals. Further investigations are required to elucidate the mechanism of the observed effect of laser.     

The venous drainage of the tectum mesencephali

Summary The normal course and appearance of the veins draining the tectum mesencephali proper are described in detail on the basis of the anatomical radiological study. These specific veins, the quadrigeminal veins, were constantly present on autopsy study. There are two types of variations of these quadrigeminal veins. They have a close anatomical and angiographic correlation with the quadrigeminal plate proper, and also outline the posterior aspects of the quadrigeminal plate. The whole structure of the mesencephalon may be delineated by these veins in combination with the other veins of the mesencephalon. They may be of diagnostic value in the early recognition of the brain stem lesions.Presented at the 3rd Meeting of the Japancse Society of Neuroradiology, Tokyo, February 16, 1974, and the 33rd Annual Meeting of the Japan Neurological Society, Sendai, October 23, 1974.     

Evaluation of Euglobulin Clot Lysis Time as a Screening Method for Determination of Blood Plasma Fibrinolytic Activity after Venous Occlusion

ABSTRACT Determination of the fibrinolytic activity should be performed in patients with recurrent thromboembolic disease. As a screening procedure we suggest the euglobulin clot lysis time test after venous occlusion. This test is sufficiently reliable and easier to perform than the fibrin plate method, especially outside coagulation laboratories.     

A Study of the Efficacy of Antimicrobial Detergents for Hand Washing: Using the Full-hand Touch Plates Method

We studied the effects of four kinds of antimicrobial detergents, 4% chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG), chlorbenzarconium (CBC), 10% povidone-iodine (PVI), 0.3% triclosan (TRI), and one non-medicated detergent (NMD) using the full-hand touch plates method. Before and after 3 minutes of hand scrubbing with a brush, bacterial colonies on the hand surface and subungual bacteria were counted. CHG, CBC, and PVI were excellent antimicrobial detergents against hand surface bacteria, but most of the subungual bacteria remained. The subungual space was the most difficult region from which to eradicate bacteria. TRI was much less effective than hand soap against hand surface bacteria.     

Increased cAMP production after short-term capacitively coupled stimulation in bovine growth plate chondrocytes

Growth plate chondrocytes from newborn calf costochondral junctions grown in monolayer were subjected to a capacitive AC signal of 500 V peak to peak (P-P) at 60 kHz for 48 h and were analyzed for [3H]thymidine uptake. The stimulated chondrocytes showed a 130% greater uptake over unstimulated controls. Other newborn calf growth plate chondrocytes were stimulated at 500 V P-P at 60 kHz for 2.5, 5.0, 10.0, and 20.0 min and were analyzed for cAMP. Chondrocytes stimulated for 2.5 and 5.0 min showed a 142.8% (p less than 0.05) and 394.5% (p less than 0.01) increase over controls, respectively. The chondrocytes stimulated for 10.0 and 20.0 min showed no significant difference from the controls. It is concluded that short-term exposure of growth plate chondrocytes to an appropriate capacitively coupled field stimulates cAMP production, but longer-term application of the electrical field is ineffective.