One-hour Period Research Articles

Acute postoperative diabetes insipidus treated with aqueous pitressin and patient weighing system

Drip infusion of a very small amount of aqueous pitressin (AP) and a patient weighing system were jointly used in fourteen patients with acute postoperative diabetes insipidus (D. I.). In the acute stage of postoperative D. I., urine volume was measured every hour. AP drip infusion was started when the urine volume was over 300 ml per hour. Urine volume over 1, 000 ml per hour was effectively treated with AP doses from 1 to 3 pitressin units administered over one-hour period. Urine volume of about 500 ml per hour could be controlled by 0.5 pitressin unit. Effectiveness of AP lasted only two to three hours. AP drip infusion was resumed when the urine volume again reached 300 ml per hour. As a result, the daily urine volume of most cases treated with AP could be kept under 6 liters. The intake and output of water were controlled by an hourly check of the body weight using a patient weighing system. Body weight was controlled so as to stay between plus one kilogram and minus one kilogram during AP use. AP side effects were pallor in 6 patients and headache in one. No change in blood pressure or pulse rate was recognized.

Female mating relationships in rhesus monkeys.

Descriptions of the sexual behavior of social-living rhesus monkeys have indicated that mating patterns are characterized by the formation of consort pairs (mutually exclusive male-female associations) and also that females typically mate with multiple males. These reports raise the question of whether these are two different mating strategies or merely sequential phases in a unitary mating pattern. In order to examine this issue, the copulatory behavior of 27 adult females living in a heterosexual group housed in an outdoor compound was monitored both by group scan and focal sampling technique. Females displayed discrete periods of mating, characterized by one or more copulations per 4 hr observation period. During their sexually active periods, females copulated with multiple males (X̄ = 5.22, SE = 0.37). Among the 103 cases where females had multiple copulatory series on the same day, the successive series involved new males significantly more often than the previous partner. When a female did copulate repeatedly with a male on a given day, both she and her partner were significantly more often of high social rank. Furthermore, the interval between successive copulations was significantly longer when the second copulation was with her previous partner as compared to a different male. Analysis of female behavior for a one-hour period following a copulation indicated that females continued to be sexually active and that those new sexual interactions more often involved a new male. Thus, females not only copulated with multiple males throughout their inclusive period of sexual activity, but also interacted with multiple males on any give day they were sexually active. Since repeated copulations with the same male were rare and occurred when both members of the pair were high ranking, the consort relationship probably does not describe a characteristic mating strategy. The more pervasive pattern is for a female to sexually interact and have copulations with multiple males.

Intersubject EEG coherence: is consciousness a field?

EEG coherence was measured between pairs of three different subjects during a one-hour period practice of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) program. Coherence between subjects was evaluated for two sequential fifteen minute periods. On six experimental days, these periods preceded and then coincided with a fifteen minute period during which 2500 students participated in the TM-Sidhi program at a course over 1000 miles away. After the course had ended coherence was evaluated on six control days. It was found that intersubject coherence was generally low, between 0.35 and 0.4, with coherence in the alpha (8-12 Hz) and beta (16-20 Hz) frequencies significantly higher than at other frequencies. On the experimental days, intersubject EEG coherence increased during the experimental period relative to the fifteen minute baseline period immediately preceding the experimental period. Coherence increased significantly from baseline to experimental periods on experimental days compared with control days (p = 0.02). This effect was particularly evident in the alpha and beta frequencies. The results reinforce previous sociological studies showing decreased social disorder in the vicinity of TM and TM-Sidhi participants and are discussed in terms of a field theoretic view of consciousness.

The effects of lidocaine on the whole body distribution of radioactively labeled microspheres in the conscious rat.

Radioactively labeled 15-micrometer microspheres were used to evaluate the effects of intravenous lidocaine on cardiac output and distribution of tissue blood flow in awake rats. After a one-hour control period, all animals (n = 22) received 85Sr-labeled microspheres for a control measurement. The animals were then divided into three groups. The control group (n = 6) received a bolus of saline and then an infusion of saline. After 40 minutes, a second microsphere (141Ce) was injected, the animals killed, and tissue blood flow determined. A second group of rats (n = 8) were similarly treated except that they received a bolus and infusion of lidocaine resulting in a plasma concentration of 1.98 +/- 0.3 microgram of lidocaine/ml. A third group of rats (n = 8) received a higher dose of lidocaine which resulted in a plasma concentration of 6.37 +/- 0.3 microgram of lidocaine/ml. In the control and low-dose lidocaine group, there were no changes in blood pressure, heart rate, cardiac output or tissue blood flow. At the higher lidocaine concentration, blood pressure remained the same but cardiac output and heart rate were decreased. Tissue blood flow to brain, heart and muscle was responsible for the increased peripheral resistance. These results suggest that high blood concentrations of lidocaine alter flow to vital organs in the rat.

Hepatic production of VLDL-triglycerides. Dependence of portal substrate and insulin concentration.

Insulin has an exacerbating effect on endogenous hypertriglyceridemia. Experiments were carried out in order to study the acute effects of insulin in 6 patients with endogenous hypertriglyceridemia and 6 controls. 0.1 Unit insulin/kg body weight was injected into the portal vein. Blood samples were taken from the portal and hepatic veins and analysed for FFA, glycerol, VLDL-triglycerides (VLDL-TG) and insulin. Liver blood flow was measured with cardiogreen. This technique allowed a study of the acute effect of insulin on the hepatic extraction of substrates and on the hepatic production of VLDL-TG. Under basal conditions the production of VLDL-TG in patients with endogenous hypertriglyceridemia was not statistically different from the production in controls. The results did not provide statistical proof of a correlation between the production and the hepatic uptake of VLDL-TG precursors; however, the production was negatively correlated to the hepatic clearance rate of insulin. During a one-hour observation period after the application of insulin, the production of VLDL-TG was decreased in controls and increased in patients with endogenous hypertriglyceridemia. The application of insulin was also followed by a decreased uptake of free fatty acids and glycerol, this change being similar in controls and in patients with endogenous hypertriglyceridemia. There was no correlation between the effect of insulin on the production of VLDL-TG and on the uptake of substrates by the liver. It is concluded that insulin has a direct effect on the production of VLDL-TG which is independent of substrate supply. The adverse effect of insulin in endogenous hypertriglyceridemia may reflect some type of impaired hepatic responsiveness to insulin.

Microautoradiography with 43K: A Method for the Reliable Tracing of Ion Transport in Stomata

Summary Micro autoradiography with 43 K is presented as an alternative to histochemical K + tests. 43K was introduced into the transpiration stream and traced by microautoradiography. When the pores were open during feeding, 43 K accumulated in the guard cells. After a one-hour period of darkness following the feeding in the light, the 43 K was still confined to the guard cell area. With the subsidiary cells 43 K was associated when the atmospheric conditions were against stomatal opening.

Validation of an automatic otoadmittance middle ear analyzer.

Tympanometry and acoustic reflex measurements were performed with an automatic otoadmittance middle ear analyzer (MEA) on 40 otologically normal children and 172 children with a history of recurrent acute otitis media or otoscopic evidence of persistent otitis media with effusion (OME), or both. For children with OME, the measurements were taken within a one-hour period prior to myringotomy. Myringotomy findings were used to validate predictive schema aimed at determining admittance values associated with OME. Predictive accuracy was quantitifed with percent sensitivity and specificity values. The results show that the MEA demonstrated suitable diagnostic predictability, but this was significantly influenced by the schema chosen to interpret obtained admittance measures. The simple presence or absence of a tympanometric peak (regardless of gradient) yielded the highest sensitivity and specificity values, whereas the manufacturer's suggested approach, with or without the acoustic reflex, was not as successful. The implications of these results are discussed.

Eddy-fluxes and spectra in the GATE sub-cloud layer

An investigation of the structure of the GATE sub-cloud layer carried out using turbulence sensors attached to a tethered balloon cable is described. The observations were made at one or two levels up to 400m near the centre of the C-scale ship array during the final phase of the experiment. The data were used to derive the vertical eddy fluxes of momentum, sensible and latent heat and the spectra and cospectra of the turbulence parameters, all over one-hour long periods. Surface fluxes were estimated using the bulk aerodynamic formulae. The results were classified according to the convective activity prevailing during each one-hour period. Marked changes in the vertical flux profiles with increasing convective activity are demonstrated. Spectra and cospectra in conditions of suppressed convection (small cumulus clouds only, no showers) show the increasing importance of larger scale mixing processes as heights increase to about 300m, but above this (near the top of the mixed layer) processes on a smaller scale are found to predominate. On these latter scales there is an upward flux of momentum which is a consequence of rather shallow vertical mixing in a region where wind speed decreases with height: in more disturbed conditions deeper convection, coupled with the reversed vertical gradient of wind, causes an upward momentum transfer on larger scales.

Hepatobiliary scanning in the diagnosis of acute cholecystitis.

Two hundred seventy-one consecutive hepatobiliary scans (HBS) using technetium Tc 99m iprofenin (Pipida [Sn]) were obtained to evaluate abdominal pain. The material (5 to 10 mCi) was injected and standard anterior and lateral scintographic images were obtained during a one-hour period. An abnormal scan was defined as one in which the gallbladder failed to be seen by one hour with adequate visualization of the biliary tree and proximal gastrointestinal tract. The accuracy of this method was evaluated on the basis of surgical pathology obtained in 117 patients. Of the 76 patients undergoing surgery with an abnormal HBS, 75 had acute cholecystitis, yielding a test accuracy of 98.7%. A normal scan reliably excluded the possibility of acute cholecystitis (100%). Hepatobiliary scanning is presently the most accurate and rapid modality in the diagnosis of acute cholecystitis.

Use of hydroxyurea in the measurement of DNA repair by the BND cellulose method.

Hydroxyurea inhibition is a convenient method of suppressing replicative DNA synthesis for DNA excision-repair measurement by the BND cellulose technique. Nonetheless, hydroxyurea can introduce artefacts by direct reaction with repair-inducing compounds and by long-term inhibition of the overall repair process. A simple technique of overcoming these problems is described. Cells are reacted with repair-inducing compounds in the absence of hydroxyurea, the cells are washed free of inducer, hydroxyurea is added to 2 mM, and after a short period to establish replication inhibition, 3H dThd is added and repair measured over a one-hour incubation period.

The effect of morphine on human neuromuscular transmission

By utilizing high frequency nerve stimulation, we observed the effects of morphine sulphate, 0.5 mg.kg-1 on human neuromuscular transmission. Tetanic fade at 50, 100 and 200 hz did not change during the one hour period after infusion of morphine. Post-tetanic depression (PTD) of single twitch response increased progressively with time over the one-hour study period. This was most marked with the 100 and 200 hz tetanic frequencies. In contrast, control subjects displayed either no change, or a slight increase (post-tetanic facilitation; PTF), over a similar one-hour test period. We believe these results are best explained by a presynaptic action of morphine, whereby intraterminal mobilization of acetylcholine is impaired by the opiate narcotic drug.

Quantitative analysis of mating behavior in aging male drosophila melanogaster

Dynamic changes in quantitative aspects of mating behavior of the male fruit fly as its life unfolds, from eclosion through maturity (peak performance) and “physiological death” (loss of fertility followed by complete loss of ability to mate), towards actual death, have been identified in this work by observations and measurements on 28 male fruit flies of the Oregon R strain studied individually. At weekly sessions from the first day of their imaginal life until their natural death, each fly was given the opportunity to mate with up to three virgin females during a one-hour period. Length of the latency period of each accomplished mating and duration of copulation were recorded. After mating the females were allowed to lay eggs for 24 hours and the number of offspring was counted 26 days later. The period between 1 and 4 weeks of age is characterized by peak- and fairly constant performance: multiple matings, short latencies, long durations of copulation, and high degree of fertility (number of offspring); then a decline sets in, in some measures slower than in others, as the flies age. Large intra- and inter-individual variabilities were, however, found which obscure possible correlations between individual measures of mating ability and length of life. At the individual level, a preliminary analysis showed a good correlation ( r = 0.80 and 0.79) between life span and week of last mating (onset of impotence) or week of last fertile mating (onset of sterility). At the population level it was found that a number of measures, i.e. number of remaining maters at each age, number of remaining fertile maters and total number of matings, had an age-course similar to survivorship but anticipated it by 4–6 weeks. Other measures, such as number of multiple matings and number of offspring declined with age faster than survivorship.

Plasma aldosterone concentrations and plasma renin activity according to age and their relationships with electrolytes of plasma and erythrocyte and oral sodium intake in normal neonates and children (author's transl)

The renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system has hitherto been investigated extensively in adults, but little information has been reported with regards to children, partly because large quantities of blood were needed for measuring the system's components and sampling difficulties were encountered in young children.Recently, some simple radioimmunoassays were developed and it became easier to measure plasma aldosterone concentrations (PA) and plasma renin activity (PRA) in children. In this study, PA and PRA were determined by using radioimmunoassay, and electrolytes of plasma and erythrocyte were measured by flame photometer and an atomic absorption photospectrometer. In addition, in order to clarify the causes of high PA and PRA levels in neonates, the relationships between oral sodium intake on one hand and PA and PRA on the other were also examined.The subjects were 418 children, aged from the first day of little to fifteen years, and 8 adults, who were in convalescence from acute infectious diseases without evidence of circulatory or renal diseases. They were on free diets and kept at rest in a supine position as a rule. Venous blood samples were taken during the one-hour period from 8 A.M. to 9 A.M. PA was measured by ALDOK-Kit (CIS), and PRA was measured by Renin-Riakit (Dinabot).The child subjects were divided into 10 groups according to age difference, and the eleventh group of adults served as a control : I) 0-6 days, II) 7-27 days, III) 1-2 months, IV) 3-5 months, V) 6-11 months, VI) 1-2 years, VII) 3-5 years, VIII) 6-8 years, IX) 9-11 years, X) 12-45 years, XI) adults.The results were as follows : A. The mean values of PA and PRA for each group : 1) PA (ng/dl) : I) 62.66 ± 48.54, II) 52.19 ± 23.49, III) 38.16 ± 20.95, IV) 29.91 ± 19.01, V) 17.37 ± 9.63, VI) 14.20 ± 7.56, VII) 11.43 ± 6.51, VIII) 9.72 ± 4.46, IX) 9.62 ± 4.59, X) 7.44 ± 2.23, XI) 8.47 ± 1.37.2) PRA (ng/ml/hr) : I) 8.83 ± 8.67, II) 7.40 ± 3.74, III) 5.70 ± 2.97, IV) 3.54 ± 1.96, V) 2.58 ± 1.41, VI) 2.11 ± 1.14, VII) 1.76 ± 0.99, VIII) 1.37 ± 0.61, IX) 1.28 ± 0.55, X) 0.91 ± 0.42, XI) 1.01 ± 0.14.B. 1) PA and PRA had similar patterns; in group I, the values were about 7-8 times as high as those of group XI and ranged widely. Then, they rapidly decreased with increasing age, the rate growing mild in group VI and after, and group X showed no significant difference from group XI.2) A significant positive correlation was found between PA and PRA (r=0.5374, P<0.001, N=357).3) No significant correlation was noted between PA and plasma sodium in any group.4) A significant positive correlation was found between PA and plasma potassium in all groups except the neonatal period.5) A significant negative correlation between PA and plasma magnesium was found in all groups, especially in the neonatal period.6) There was no significant correlation between either of PA and PRA and the ratio of plasma electrolyte to erythrocyte electrolyte.7) In children under six months, there was a significant negative correlation between both PA (r=-0.4601, P<0.001, N=77) and PRA (r=-0.3043, P<0.01, N=81) and oral sodium intake (mEq/M2 /day).8) A significant negative correlation was found between oral sodium intake and the ratio of PA to PRA (r=-0.4601, P<0.001, N=52) in the neonatal period.These findings suggest that oral sodium intake is one of the causes of high PA and PRA levels in newborns and infants, and that in the neonatal period, markedly low sodium intake increases the sensitivity of angiotensin II receptor in the adrenal cortex to the renin substance.

Further experience with a capillary tube pregnancy test.

Further evaluation of the nonrefrigerated capillary tube pregnancy test is presented. A 127-mm by 2-mm glass capillary tube containing lyophilized antibody to human chorionic gonadotropin and latex indicator particles is used. Urine is drawn into the tube by capillary action; then, the tube is tilted to allow the urine to dissolve the antibody and to suspend the latex particles. The test results are read after a one-hour incubation period. Test results were evaluated against histopathologic and clinical data. Special efforts were made to stress the false-positive rate of the test by tripling the number of negative cases and doubling the sample size. A 99.82% agreement, a 0.18% false-negative rate and a 0% false-positive rate were obtained. In 52 confirmed pregnancies, the more sensitive capillary test detected human chorionic gonadotropin, whereas the commercial tests did not. Human chorionic gonadotropin was also detected one week earlier than reported in the first series.

Emergency treatment of severe hypertension with intravenous labetalol.

The effects of intravenously administered labetalol on blood pressure and pulse rate were examined in 17 patients with severe hypertension. Prompt and sustained falls in supine blood pressure and pulse rate occurred in ten patients (responders), but seven patients showed little or no change in either measurement (non-responders). Labetalol had a more marked effect on standing than on supine blood pressure. Only two of the responders, but all of the non-responders were concurrently receiving antihypertensive drugs. Plasma renin activity, plasma renin concentration and plasma angiotensin II concentration fell slightly over the one-hour period of observation in ten patients in whom serial measurements were made, but the changes were independent of the blood pressure response.

Early intraaortic balloon pumping for anterior myocardial infarction without shock.

Eleven patients with anterior myocardial infarction less than six hours old underwent intraaortic balloon pumping (IABP) in an attempt to control injury. Direct hemodynamic measurements excluded shock. Response to therapy was judged individually by comparison to a one-hour pretreatment period. There was no parallel control group. Five patients responded with an 84% fall in ST elevation in one hour, with preservation of precordial R waves and good ventricular function. In contrast, six patients responded poorly, with a 40% fall in ST elevation in one hour, Q wave development and poorer residual left ventricular function. Coronary angiography demonstrated a significant correlation between response and presence or absence of complete left anterior descending coronary artery occlusion. Early use of IABP in anterior myocardial infarction may interrupt injury, though in this series only in cases with residual left anterior descending patency.

Toxicity of pyrolysis products of thermal-resistant plastics including polyamide and polyester.

Polyamide and polyester have been used widely because of those excellent thermal stability and chemical inertness. When these plastics are utilized under a high temperature beyond those heat-proof limits for long hours, toxic products are suspected to be generated. It is of importance to study the mechanism of the toxicity of pyrolysis products in order to establish a safety standard.Having pyrolyzed these plastics, the authors analyzed those components with gas chromatography, GC mass spectrography, infrared spectrography and gas detector tube method, and examined the principal lethal factors by means of the biological exposure technique.The gaseous products, yielded on pyrolyzing processes of those polymers, mainly consisted of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons such as methane, ethylene, propylene and benzene. The concentration of carbon monoxide in the pyrolyzate was estimated at a dominant amount. On the contrary, those of hydrocarbons and ketons were lesser amounts than the lethal factors.The approximate lethal concentration (ALC) value in a 7-day observation of mice exposed one hour to pyrolysis gases of polyamide in air showed 79.6g per 1000 litre of air and 30.5g of polyester.More than 55% of blood CO-Hb level was confirmed from the animals which died during a single one-hour exposure period at the range of ALC, so that carbon monoxide proved to be the principal lethal factor and other components were less toxic in the exposure period.The particulate matters resulting from pyrolyzed polyamide and polyester had a diameter of over 100μm and were not impregnated in any acidic group. Even if these particulates are inhaled into the body, the particles will be rejected directly from the respiratory tract without harmful influences.Based on this study the authors could draw the conclusion that the exposure of the pyrolysis products of polyamide and polyester produced a toxic syndrome mainly caused by the effects of carbon monoxide in the acute stage. Futhermore, attention has to be paid following pulmonary edema in the actual cases.A part of this study was presented at 47th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Hygiene held in Tokyo, April, 1977.

Increased release of [ 3H]dopamine during low O 2 stimulation of rabbit carotid body in vitro

Rabbit carotid bodies synthesized [ 3H]dopamine (DA) during a 3-h incubation period in modified Tyrode's solution containing 40 μM [ 3H]tyrosine. Following this loading period, the carotid bodies were exposed for one additional hour to unlabelled Tyrode's solution equilibrated with either 10% oxygen in nitrogen or with 100% oxygen. The carotid bodies exposed to low O 2 released 81% more [ 3H]dopamine during this one-hour period than the carotid bodies exposed only to pure oxygen. These data suggest that hypoxia induces release of DA from the carotid body.

Androgen glucuronides: I. Direct formation in rat accessory sex organs

A simple one-step procedure is described on the isolation of androgen glucuronides from various rat tissues. This procedure uses polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and permits a quantitative isolation of a single band containing the total androgen glucuronides without the contamination of free androgens and androgen sulfates. This procedure was used to determine the ability of various tissues of the rat to form androgen glucuronides directly when they were incubated with 1,2-[ 3H]-testosterone (0.1 μM) in vitro . Of eleven organs studied, only the accessory sex organs (ventral prostate, seminal vesicle, and coagulating gland), liver, and kidney were capable of forming androgen glucuronides. At the end of a one-hour incubation period, approximately 1% of the total radiolabeled steroids in the prostatic tissue minces were in the form of glucuronide conjugates. The predominant androgen glucuronide formed in the accessory sex organs was 5α-androstane-3α,17β-diol 17β- d-glucuronide. This is in contrast to the rat liver and kidney in which testosterone glucuronide was the predominant conjugate. A similar amount of labeled glucuronide conjugates was formed from either [ 3H]-testosterone, [ 3H]-dihydrotestosterone or [ 3H]-androstenedione, whereas negligible amount of steroid conjugates was formed from [ 3H]-cortisol. The formation of androgen glucuronides requires metabolically active tissues; furthermore, the conjugation process was inhibited by the antiandrogen, cyproterone acetate, or by metabolic inhibitors, such as oligomycin or N-ethylmaleimide.

Effect of positive end-expiratory pressure on lung mechanics during anaesthesia in dogs

We studied supine anaesthetized dogs to determine whether the use of positive end-expiratory pressure to increase functional residual capacity (FRC) could thereby prevent the small lung compliance values frequently reported during anaesthesia. We first made control measurements of FRC and of both static (CSTAT) and dynamic (CDYN) lung compliance. Continuous positive pressure ventilation (CPPV) with 5 cm H2O positive end-expiratory pressure was then commenced, and FRC and compliance measurements were repeated at 15-minute intervals during one hour of CPPV. We found that the positive end-expiratory pressure served to increase FRC to a level expected for unanaesthetized normally breathing dogs in the same posture (J. Appl. Physiol. 36: 93, 1974), and this FRC was well maintained during the one-hour observation period. Despite the volume preservation, we found a marked decline in lung compliance, equal in both CSTAT and CDYN; however, these changes were completely reversed to control values following hyperinflation of lung (artificial sighting). We conclude that diminution in lung compliance in our anaesthetized dogs was not dependent on low lung volume breathing but must have been due to another mechanism such as suppression of sighing or possibly regional hypoventilation. It might well be important to recognize that reversible reduction of compliance may occur despite increase of FRC in patients managed with positive end-expiratory pressure.