Do children with primary nocturnal enuresis have a retarded bone age? A cross‐sectional study

OBJECTIVE: Nocturnal enuresis is a common pediatric problem, the etiology of which is unclear. In recent years, various studies have been published stating that children with nocturnal enuresis exhibit growth and skeletal maturation retardation. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, we included 27 patients (16 boys, 11 girls) between the ages of 6 and 14 years who had presented with primary nocturnal enuresis (PNE) complaints. We included in the evaluation 19 healthy subjects (12 boys, 7 girls), who were the siblings of the children with PNE, as the control group. RESULTS: The patients in both groups were similar in chronological age, bone age, height and weight, with no significant difference between groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: The two groups in our study consisted of the same genetic background. Thus, our results were found to be different from the previous studies. We have concluded that there is no direct relationship between enuresis nocturnal and skeletal maturation.     

Postnatal development of mouse alcohol dehydrogenases: agarose isoelectric focusing analyses of the liver, kidney, stomach and ocular isozymes

The postnatal development of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) isozymes was studied in liver, kidney, stomach and eye tissues of C57BL/6J inbred male mice using agarose isoelectric focusing and histochemical methods. Development profiles were tissue specific, with adult patterns being attained by 30 days in the liver and stomach, and by 42 days in the kidneys. Ocular ADH-C2 increased in activity at the end of the first week, corresponding to the time of eye opening in the neonate.     

Intradural spinal cavernomas.

Intradural cavernomas are rare vascular lesions of the spinal cord. Four cases of histologically verified cavernomas of the cord are reported, of which two were extramedullary and two were intramedullary in location. Progressive neurological deficit was the presenting feature in three cases while one patient had a rapid evolution of neurological deficits and was found at surgery to have had bled from the extramedullary lesion. All the patients were subjected to surgery and total excision of the cavernomas was carried out in each case. While two patients improved after surgery the other two remained static. The available literature on spinal cord cavernomas is reviewed.     

Job satisfaction and occupational stress among general practitioners — a pilot study

Questionnaires assessing levels of job satisfaction and possible sources of stress were distributed to a random sample of general practitioners in the Greater Manchester area. The highest levels of job satisfaction were reported for `intrinsic' job factors such as freedom to choose method of working, amount of responsibility and amount of variety, rather than `extrinsic' factors such as rate of pay and hours of work. The main causes of stress appeared to be interruptions of various kinds. Factor analysis revealed four major sources of stress: interruptions; emotional involvement; administrative workload and work/home interface; and routine medical work. Of these, all but routine medical work were associated with job satisfaction. It is concluded that the major sources of stress for the general practitioner are not medical, but social.     

Kinetics of inhibited or retarded polymerization. Investigations on the cerium(IV)/toluene/acrylonitrile system

The kinetics and mechanism of the inhibiting action of toluene on the Ce(IV) initiated polymerization of acrylonitrile were studied together with the effects of [M], [Ce(IV)], [Toluene], [HClO₄], [NaClO₄], and [Acetic acid] on the rate of polymerization. The values of composite rate constant kk_t/k_pk_ok_i for toluene (and substituted toluenes) was calculated by plotting [M]/R_p versus [M]^?1. A very significant observation in the present study was that the plot of [M]/R_p versus [M]^?1 gave a negative intercept, which seems to be a general observation for all inhibiting substrates. On the basis of the experimental data, it could be concluded that the benzyl radical obtained by hydrogen abstraction, and not a chain transfer, is responsible for the inhibition.     

Effect of indomethacin on intestinal water transport in salmonella-infected rhesus monkeys.

Indomethacin, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agent, will abolish salmonella-induced rabbit ileal secretion when given prior to the establishment of infection. In the present study, we assessed whether indomethacin can inhibit salmonella-induced intestinal secretion when administered after infection and net intestinal secretion are well established. A physiological model of salmonellosis, salmonella-infected rhesus monkeys, was used. This model also permitted an examination of the effects of indomethacin in both the small and large intestines. The effect of indomethacin in control monkeys was also studied. Indomethacin caused a striking enhancement of net intestinal water transport in the jejunum,, ileum, and colon of salmonella-infected monkeys. These effects occurred promptly and were of sufficient magnitude in the ileum and colon to cause a reversal in the direction of net transport from net secretion to net absorption. Indomethacin also enhanced net water transport in the jejunum ileum, and colon of normal animals. These data show that indomethacin markedly enhances net intestinal water transport in both the small and large intestines of salmonella-infected monkeys, even when administered after salmonella infection and intestinal secretion are well established. Similar enhancement also occurs in the normal intestine. The mechanism(s) by which indomethacin produces these effects is not known.     

STRUCTURAL CHARACTERISATION OF AN IMMUNOMODULATING POLYSACCHARIDE ISOLATED FROM AQUEOUS EXTRACT OF PLEUROTUS FLORIDA FRUIT-BODIES

The water-soluble glucan was obtained from Pleurotus florida fruit bodies by hot water extraction, ethanol precipitation, DEAE cellulose dialysis and Sephadex G-75 gel filtration. The structural information of the glucan was achieved by chemical (hydrolysis, methylation, periodate oxidation) and spectroscopic (¹H and ¹³C) analyses, indicated a repeating unit built up of (1→6)-linked D-glucose. The following structure has been determined for the repeating unit: →6)-α-D-Glcp-(1→ This fraction exhibited significant macrophage activity through the release of nitric oxide