Effects of body and head positions on bilateral difference in tympanic temperatures

Summary We have examined the nonparallel changes in tampanic membrane temperatures (T _ty) from the two ears in response to various changes in body and head positions. Upon assuming a lateral recumbent position, the T _ty on the lower side increased while that on the upper side decreased. Pressure application over a wide area of the lateral chest only caused inconsistent and obscure asymmetric changes in T _ty. A lateral flexion of the head with the subject sitting upright and a rotation of the head to the side in a supine position induced an increase in the T _ty on the lower side compared to that on the upper side. The temperature and blood flow of the forehead often decreased on the lower side and increased on the upper side, although such responses were not always concomitant with the asymmetric changes in T _ty. A dorsal flexion of the head with the subject in a reclining position caused a slight increase in the T _ty, whereas raising the head upright induced a slight decrease in them. Two additional experiments were carried out with single photon emission computed tomography using ^99mTc-hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime as tracer, and a slight, relative decrease in counts was noted in the right hemisphere during rotation of the head to the right. These results would strongly suggest that unilateral increases and decreases in T _ty could have been caused by one-sided decreases and increases, respectively, in blood flow to the brain and/or the tympanic membrane, induced by a vasomotor reflex involving vestibular stimulation.     

A fourth case of ring chromosome 7

An 8-year-old child with a ring chromosome 7 is presented, the first female and the fourth such individual to be described. The associated anomalies were rather benign: she presented with short stature, minor skeletal alterations, and normal intelligence. The only truly striking feature was the presence of multiple large, pigmented naevi, suggestive of a hamartomatous origin, but unlike those typical of any particular syndrome. Though other ring 7 patients have had naevus flammeus, and one had cafk-au-lait spots, our proband is the first with an anomaly of chromosome 7 to have such extensive lesions. These four cases of ring 7, which show great phenotypic variation, are reviewed, and the clinical presentation of the proband is also compared with that of patients suffering from terminal, interstitial and translocation-derived 7p and 7q deletions. The formation and behaviour of ring chromosomes are discussed, as are the cytogenetic factors which may influence their phenotypic expression.     

Comparison of thermosensitivity in the preoptic/anterior hypothalamic area and the midbrain of the rabbit

Summary To characterize the role of the midbrain temperature-sensitive structure in thermoregulation, the relative importance of thermosensitivity in the hypothalamus and the midbrain was studied in terms of heat production and heat loss in the rabbit. It was found that altering the local temperature in the midbrain had no influence at all on heat loss from the ear surface and also on heat production, while cooling and warming of the preoptic/anterior hypothalamic area induced appropriate thermoregulatory responses.     

A Direct Comparison of the Skin Conductance and Skin Resistance Methods

The purpose of the present study was a direct comparison between simultaneous recordings of skin conductance and skin resistance. Sixty male students received a series of 30 white noise stimuli, while measures were taken continuously from four sites on the palmar surfaces of the fingers. Evaluations were made for response amplitudes, recovery, and for an approximate area measure. Magnitude of reactions and reliabilities were compared using ANOVA procedures. Behavioral concordances were estimated as correlations with the subjects' ratings of stimulus intensities. Conductance and resistance measures do not differ in amplitude, in area, or in strength of their reliabilities and behavioral concordances. No differences in any respect are found between sites. Skin conductance yields significantly (p < .01) shorter recovery times than skin resistance, which is discussed in terms of membrane permeability change.     

SELECTIVE HABITUATION OF GALVANIC SKIN RESPONSE COMPONENT OF THE ORIENTATION REACTION TO AN AUDITORY STIMULUS

The prediction from Sokolov's (1960) theory that, following OR habituation, size of OR return is proportional to the amount of difference between the new stimulus and the habituating stimulus was tested using an auditory stimulus varying in frequency and intensity. Five Ss were allocated to each of 16 conditions, three conditions involving changes in frequency, three involving changes in intensity, nine involving changes in both frequency and intensity, with one control condition involving a repetition of the habituating stimulus. Following habituation of the GSR component of the OR to a criterion of response failure for three successive trials, magnitude of GSR under the 16 conditions was measured. Contrary to Sokolov's theory, only increase in intensity had a significantly different effect on OR return. More importantly, it was found that Ss habituating rapidly to the initial stimulus were less likely to show OR return to stimulus change. It was concluded that individual differences in habituation rate may be more important than stimulus difference effects in selective habituation.     

1 MHz腔内射频加热辐射器在体模和犬颈段食管中的热场分布

目的 在肌肉等效体模及Beagle犬颈段食管中测定ZRL—Ⅱ型食管腔内加热辐射器的温度分布，探讨其热场分布能否满足食管癌加热治疗的临床需要。方法 ①在肌肉等效体模中测定ZRL—Ⅱ型食管腔内射频加热辐射器的温度分布，②Beagle犬用氯胺酮麻醉、固定。将腔内加热辐射器插入食管腔内，加热45min后分层解剖犬的颈部，同时测量食管外壁、气管、食管周围软组织中的温度。结果 ①在肌肉等效体模中距离导管囊表面1cm的环形体内的温度在43．2℃～43．6℃之间；在距离导管囊表面2cm的环形体内的温度在42．6℃～43．3℃之间，在距离导管囊表面3cm的环形体内的温度在42．6℃～42．8℃之间。②测得Beagle犬颈段食管腔内和外壁的温度为43．5℃，气管内为38．0℃，主动脉旁38．0℃，距食管外壁1cm处的软组织温度为40-3℃，距食管外壁2cm处的软组织温度为39．0℃，而颈部皮下的温度是37．5℃。结论 ①ZRL-Ⅱ型射频食管腔内加热辐射器的热场分布满足临床食管腔内加热的需要，②体模测定与活体动物测定，热场分布存在一定差异，需进一步研究。     

Water intake, pleasure and water temperature in humans

The influence of water temperature on intake and affective ratings was explored in human subjects. Dehydration whether by profuse sweating (body weight loss: 289 +/- 11 g, N = 20) or mountain climbing (body weight loss: 1660 +/- 58 g, N = 20) resulted in the same intake. Maximal intake was observed for water at 15 degrees C with respectively 199.0 +/- 17.0 ml and 222.7 +/- 17.4 ml. Colder and warmer water was ingested to a lesser extent. When 20 subjects were allowed to mix water to their preferred temperature, they chose 14.9 +/- 1 degree C and drunk 211.0 +/- 19.5 ml. Votes on a pleasure/displeasure scale increased from 50 degrees C to 0 degree C. Cold water was therefore both more pleasureable and less drunk. Dehydration resulted in a negative alliesthesia for warm water. Positive alliesthesia for cold water was probably the result of hyperthermia rather than dehydration.     

Suppression of cytotoxic cellular reactions during antibody production to rhamnose determinants of group a streptococcal polysaccharide,cross-reacting with skin epithelial antigens

N. F. Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR, Moscow. (Presented by Academician of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR S. V. Prozorovskii.) Translated from Byulleten' Éksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 110, No. 8, pp. 170–172, August, 1990.     

Can subjects with a positive allergen skin test be selected by a short questionnaire?

The objective was to evaluate a postal questionnaire screening procedure for selection of subjects with positive reactions to skin prick tests with common allergens. The project consisted of a screening, with subsequent skin prick test of two selected groups. The setting was the Glostrup Population Studies institute in Copenhagen, Denmark. Participants in the screening included 8000 subjects, aged 15–69 years. The subjects were randomly selected from the population of western Copenhagen County, Denmark. From the 6998 respondents (87.5%), 793 subjects were randomly selected (Random Group), and 788 subjects were chosen on the basis of their answers to the questionnaire (Symptom Group). Both groups were invited to take skin prick tests. Attendance rates were 75.5% (Random Group) and 80.6% (Symptom Group).
The main outcome measures were responses (yes or no) to the specific questions and the subjects' skin reaction (positive or negative). The association between symptoms and skin reactivity, adjusted for the effects of sex and age, was summarized by odds ratios. Symptoms on exposure to allergens were highly associated with positive skin reactivity. In the Symptom Group the percentage of subjects with at least one positive skin reaction was 57.7%, which was twice as much (28.4%) as in the Random Group. The results show that it was possible to select a group with high skin reactivity on the basis of the symptoms reported in the screening. Questions about exposure to allergens were the most appropriate for selection of this group.     

Non-linearity of skin resistance response to intraneural electrical stimulation of sudomotor nerves

Intraneural electrical stimuli (0.3 mA, 0.2 ms) were delivered via a tungsten micro-electrode inserted into a cutaneous fascicle in the median nerve at the wrist in 16 normal subjects, and the effects on the sweat glands within the innervation zone were recorded as changes of skin resistance. In order to examine the relationship between the skin resistance level and the amplitude of transient resistance responses, trains of high frequency stimulation were used to reduce the skin resistance level and then transient resistance responses were evoked by single stimuli at 0.1 Hz. Regional anaesthesia of the brachial plexus in the axilla eliminated spontaneous sympathetic activity and reflex effects. At high skin resistance levels response amplitudes to single stimuli were low but they increased successively to a maximum at intermediate levels and then decreased again at low resistance levels. Repeated stimulation sequences evoked qualitatively similar response curves but quantitatively both response amplitudes and skin resistance levels were slightly reduced upon repetition. We suggest that the changes of response amplitudes are due to variable resistivity of the corneal layer. The shifts of the response curves with repetition of stimulation may result from increased hydration of the corneum. It is concluded that the variability of response amplitudes to constant stimuli makes the amplitude of a skin resistance response unsuitable as an indicator of the strength of sympathetic sudomotor nerve traffic.