Movement timing in deaf and hearing speakers: comparison of phonetically heterogeneous syllable strings

We review evidence suggesting that deaf speakers do not move their articulators toward the following open posture throughout closure and report results from a preliminary cinefluorographic study. Two prelingually deaf and two hearing speakers produced two different strings of alternating heterogeneous monosyllables as though speaking in time with a metronome (the so-called P-center task). Events traditionally associated with vowel production appeared evenly timed throughout the productions, and, in general, the deaf speakers performed similarly to the hearing speakers. We relate the results to Fowler's (1983) interpretation of the P-center phenomenon as an indicant of continuous vowel production.     

Unklare peranale Blutabgänge bei einem 21-jährigen Mann

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Effects of scopolamine,trimipramine and diazepam on explicit memory and repetition priming in healthy volunteers

The effects of scopolamine, an anticholinergic drug, of trimipramine, a tricyclic antidepressant with both anticholinergic and sedative properties, of diazepam and a placebo, on explicit memory and repetition priming were assessed using a free-recall task and a word-stem completion task. Forty-eight healthy volunteers took part in this double-blind study. Diazepam provoked a dissociation between free recall, which was profoundly impaired, and word completion, which was spared. No significant changes in memory performances were observed in the scopolamine group; however, a significant correlation between explicit and implicit memory performances was observed in this group. At the low dose used, the effects of trimipramine on memory were mild. The results suggest that the cholinergic system is involved in the priming effect.     

Urodilatin, not nitroprusside, combined with dopamine reverses ischemic acute renal failure.

The present study was undertaken to: (a) clarify the comparative renal potency of bolus injection of the natriuretic peptides urodilatin and ANF99-126 in the rat; (b) establish whether or not intravenous (i.v.) infusion of urodilatin (200 ng/min) combined with dopamine (UD) to maintain mean arterial pressure could improve GFR or renal histology in established experimental ischemic acute renal failure (ARF) induced by 30 minutes of bilateral renal artery clamping; (c) assess comparative efficacies of nitroprusside, an activator of soluble guanylate cyclase, combined with dopamine (ND) or control infusions of dopamine alone (DA), under equivalent conditions; and (d) determine effects of intra-renal arterial infusions of the stable cGMP analogue dibutyryl-cGMP immediately after renal artery clamping (RAC). After initial dose finding studies, i.v. infusion of UD 24 hours after 30 minutes of RAC improved GFR over five hours from 0.24 +/- 0.04 to 1.0 +/- 0.16 ml/min in association with a threefold rise in plasma cGMP and a 13-fold increase in urinary cGMP excretion. Plasma creatinine dropped by 41% from 230 +/- 16 to 135 +/- 18 microM/liter and was still reduced 24 hours later with values averaging 106 +/- 14 compared to 274 +/- 53 microM/liter in non-treated animals. During infusion, UV and FENa+ increased from 1.4 +/- 0.2 to 8.3 ml/min, and from 2.9 +/- 0.5 to maximum values of 15.8 +/- 2.4%. ND or DA alone were less effective, increasing GFR only to 14 and 20%, respectively, of normal values, but improvements were not sustained; in contrast to UD, ND did not alter plasma or urinary cGMP. In addition, DBcGMP was ineffective in improving GFR during early ARF. Histologically UD, but not ND, markedly reduced the incidence of granular casts, tubular desquamation and tubular necrosis in cortical areas and increased the incidence of medullary mitoses.     

Reanimationsempfehlungen und besondere Notfälle bei Neugeborenen

New resuscitation guidelines were published by the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) in late 2005. Changes compared to earlier guidelines were made to the following topics: level of inspiratory oxygen concentration, intrapartum suctioning of meconium-stained amniotic fluid, target tidal volume during mechanical ventilation, and induced hypothermia following perinatal asphyxia. These new aspects were integrated into the resuscitation procedures of preterm and term infants and discussed separately. Meconium aspiration, duct-dependent congenital heart disease and respiratory distress syndrome require a particular problem-oriented approach in the operating and delivery room, on transport, and in the intensive care unit. Subsequently, the management of meconium aspiration, critical congenital heart disease and the initial management of preterm infants with a birth weight of less than 1,500 g are discussed in detail.     

Marknagelung bei der Humerusschaftfraktur

Zusammenfassung Die Humerusschaftfraktur ist in 10–18% der Fälle durch primäre Radialisparese kompliziert. Sekundäre Radialisläsionen treten iatrogen bei intramedullären Verfahren in 3%, bei Plattenosteosynthesen in 15,5% auf. In der überwiegenden Mehrzahl der Fälle (80%) ist der Radialisschaden rückläufig. Eine Verletzung der A. radialis ist eher selten; sie erfordert ein offenes Vorgehen mit lokaler Revision des Gefäßes und Frakturversorgung mittels Plattenosteosynthese. Die Marknagelosteosynthese ist bei einfachen, komplexen oder pathologischen Schaftfrakturen primär oder als Verfahrenswechsel nach primärer Fixateuranlage indiziert. Während auch ausgewählte Frakturen im Collum chirurgicum mit einem Nagel versorgt werden können, sind Frakturen im distalen Viertel des Humerus ausgeschlossen. Frakturen bei kleinen Kopffragmenten weisen ein erhöhtes Komplikationsrisiko auf. Zur Vermeidung von Läsionen der Rotatorenmanschette stehen wir der anterograden Nagelung noch zurückhaltend gegenüber. Bei differenzierter Indikationsstellung und Nachbehandlung erwies sich die retrograde Marknagelung als ein schonendes Verfahren mit hohem Patientenkomfort und gutem funktionellem Ergebnis.     

The natural course of DSM-IV somatoform disorders and syndromes among adolescents and young adults: a prospective-longitudinal community study.

OBJECTIVE: Although somatoform disorders are assumed to be chronic clinical conditions, epidemiological knowledge on their natural course based on representative samples is not available. METHOD: Data come from a prospective epidemiologic study of adolescents and young adults in Munich, Germany. Respondents' diagnoses (N = 2548) at baseline and follow-up on average 42 months later are considered. The follow-up incidence, stability as well as selected baseline risk factors (sociodemographics, psychopathology, trauma exposure) for the incidence and stability of somatoform disorders and syndromes are prospectively examined. Diagnostic information was assessed by using the standardized Munich-Composite International Diagnostic Interview (M-CIDI). RESULTS: Over the follow-up period, incidence rate for any of the covered somatoform diagnoses was 25.7%. Stability for the overall group of any somatoform disorder/syndrome was 48%. Female gender, lower social class, the experience of any substance use, anxiety and affective disorder as well as the experience of traumatic sexual and physical threat events predicted new onsets of somatoform conditions, while stability was predicted by being female, prior existing substance use, affective and eating disorders as well as the experience of a serious accident. CONCLUSIONS: At least for a substantial proportion of individuals, the overall picture of somatization seems to be relatively stable, but with fluctuation in the symptom picture over time. Being female, the experience of substance use as well as anxiety disorder seem to constitute risk factors for the onset of new somatoform conditions as well as for a stable course over time.     

E-rosette formation using heteropolymeric monoclonal antibodies.

We have used bispecific, cross-linked monoclonal antibodies (heteropolymers, HP) to facilitate rosette formation between human erythrocytes (EH) and dinitrophenylated sheep erythrocytes (DNP-ES) in the absence of complement. The HP contain monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) specific for both the EH C3b receptor (CR1), and the DNP group, and control experiments with homologous competing non-cross-linked mAbs and naive EH and ES confirm the specificity of the rosetting reaction. These results extend our previous studies, of HP-mediated binding of simple protein antigens to EH CR1, to complex particulate antigens and may eventually allow for the targeting and clearance from the circulation of a variety of pathogens associated with infectious disease.