[Magnetic fields in physical therapy. Experience in orthopedics and traumatology rehabilitation].

The present research is based on the premise that magnetic fields stimulate biological tissues, as many international works assert. They believe in the real aid of this therapeutical treatment in orthopedy and traumatology. The authors work in Rehabilitation Department of a traumatological hospital, so they have studied therapeutical results in ELF magnetotherapy on their patients for as long as six months.

Bioavailability Study of Menorest®, a New Estrogen Transdermal Delivery System, Compared with a Transdermal Reservoir System.

The aim of this study was to compare the bioavailability and plasma profiles of estradiol and estrone after repeated applications of 2 types of estradiol transdermal systems: a new adhesive matrix system (Menorest®) compared with a reference membrane/reservoir system (Estraderm®) and to evaluate their short term safety. This was an open, randomised, crossover study, with 2 treatment periods of 10.5 days separated by a 10-day washout period and with a 1-week follow-up.

Benign fetal bradycardias diagnosed by echocardiography.

Five cases of benign fetal arrhythmias presented with dramatic pictures of sustained irregular bradycardias. These cases were not associated with structural heart disease, the development of hydrops fetalis, or maternal autoantibodies. In all but one case, the arrhythmias resolved before delivery.

A structural model of the dimensions of teacher stress.

A comprehensive survey of teacher stress, job satisfaction and career commitment among 710 full-time primary school teachers was undertaken by Borg, Riding & Falzon (1991) in the Mediterranean islands of Malta and Gozo. A principal components analysis of a 20-item sources of teacher stress inventory had suggested four distinct dimensions which were labelled: Pupil Misbehaviour, Time/Resource Difficulties, Professional Recognition Needs, and Poor Relationships, respectively. To check on the validity of the Borg et al.

Opercular myoclonic-anarthric status epilepticus.

We report 3 cases of opercular myoclonic status epilepticus (OMASE), characterized by fluctuating cortical dysarthria without true aphasia associated with epileptic myoclonus involving bilaterally the glossopharyngeal musculature. In this syndrome, the inferior rolandic area of either one or the other hemisphere is involved by an epileptogenic lesion of various etiology. Ictally, clonic expression was consistent with epilepsia partialis continua (EPC) and bilaterally and symmetrically involved palatal muscles (cases 1-3), tongue (cases 2 and 3), lips and chin (case 3), and inferior jaw (case 1) due to bilateral projections of the inferior corticonuclear pathways.

Local ventromedial hypothalamus glucopenia triggers counterregulatory hormone release.

To test the hypothesis that nuclei of the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) play a key role in the detection of counterregulatory responses to hypoglycemia, we delivered the glucopenic agent 2-deoxyglucose via bilaterally placed microdialysis probes into the VMH of conscious, chronically catheterized rats. The goal was to produce cellular glucopenia localized to the VMH. The volume of brain tissue exposed to 2-deoxyglucose was determined by adding [3H]2-deoxyglucose to the dialysate; its distribution in cerebral tissue was almost exclusively limited to the VMH.

Is phenytoin contraindicated in patients receiving cranial irradiation?

Three recent publications have reported the development of erythema multiforme and Stevens-Johnson syndrome in patients receiving cranial irradiation and sodium phenytoin. Some authors have recommended that patients receiving whole brain radiation therapy and who have had seizures should not be prescribed phenytoin but an alternative anti-convulsant. This article reviews the current literature pertaining to the development of this potentially lethal complication in patients receiving whole brain radiation and phenytoin, with reference to the single recorded case of Stevens-Johnson syndrome in a patient receiving cranial irradiation and phenytoin in Auckland, New Zealand.

Haemangiopericytoma of the central nervous system.

The records of four patients presenting with a histological diagnosis of haemangiopericytoma of the central nervous system, in Auckland, New Zealand, between 1970 and 1990 were reviewed retrospectively, with the aim of determining the natural history of the disease and response to various treatment modalities. Three out of the four patients reviewed presented with primary cerebral disease and the fourth with a primary spinal cord tumour. All three cerebral primary patients were initially treated with local surgical excision.

Mutational analysis of the cucumber necrosis virus coat protein gene.

A series of frameshift, deletion, and inversion mutations were made in the coat protein (CP) gene of the icosahedral cucumber necrosis tombusvirus (CNV) to investigate the role of the CP protruding (P) domain in the production of virus particles and, also, to investigate the basis for the accumulation of CP deletion derivatives previously reported in plants inoculated with PD(-), a P-domainless CNV CP mutant. P-domainless coat protein subunit could be detected in extracts of CP mutant-infected plants; however, virus-like particles could not, suggesting that the P domain is essential for tombusvirus particle assembly and/or stability. In addition, each of the P-domain mutants analyzed invariably produced coat protein deletion derivatives in infected plants whereas shell domain mutants rarely produced deletion derivatives.

Mitochondrial respiratory failure in skeletal muscle from patients with Parkinson's disease and multiple system atrophy.

We studied mitochondrial respiratory chain function in skeletal muscle taken from 27 patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD; 21 Dopa-treated PD patients and 6 de novo patients), 5 patients with multiple system atrophy (MSA) and from 43 age-matched controls in order to determine the occurrence of mitochondrial respiratory chain abnormalities in parkinsonian syndromes. In our control subjects, we found a significant age-related decrease in the activity of respiratory chain complex I. As compared to carefully age-matched control subjects, activity of complex (NADH:ubiquinone reductase) was significantly lower in muscle mitochondria from patients with PD and MSA and a mean remaining activity < 30% of controls was observed.

Ventromedial hypothalamic lesions in rats suppress counterregulatory responses to hypoglycemia.

The central nervous system has been implicated in the activation of counterregulatory hormone release during hypoglycemia. However, the precise loci involved are not established. To determine the role of the ventromedial hypoglycemia, we performed hypoglycemic clamp studies in conscious Sprague-Dawley rats with bilateral VMH lesions produced by local ibotenic acid injection 2 wk earlier.

Reversible myoclonic encephalopathy revealing the AIDS-dementia complex.

A 40-year-old HIV-positive right handed homosexual man was admitted for progressive mental deterioration coexisting with permanent segmental middle-amplitude arrhythmic, asynchronous and asymmetrical myoclonic jerks. EEG showed fronto-central bursts of rhythmic triphasic 1.5-2 Hz sharp waves similar to the characteristic periodic pattern of Jakob-Creutzfeldt disease.

A 20-year review of haemangiopericytoma in Auckland, New Zealand.

The records of all patients registered with a histological diagnosis of haemangiopericytoma in Auckland between 1970 and 1990 were reviewed retrospectively, with the aim of determining the natural history of the disease and the response to various treatment modalities. A total of 24 patients were identified, having a median age of 45 years. Twenty-one patients (87.

A factor analytic study of teachers' perception of pupils' undesirable behaviours: a rejoinder to Langfeldt (1992).

This study investigates the effects of teacher sex and pupil sex in the teachers' perception of the seriousness of three extracted patterns of pupils' undesirable behaviours. In contraposition to Langfeldt's (1992) conclusion that gender differences are no longer observable when investigating complex patterns of behaviour as opposed to single behavioural items the present writers argue that where gender is a true effect this will also be evident at a factorial level of abstraction. A sample of 844 primary school teachers in Malta rated the seriousness of 16 selected undesirable behaviours when these are manifest in boy pupils and in girl pupils.

Malignant lympho-epithelial lesion of the salivary gland: a case report and review of the literature.

Malignant lympho-epithelial lesion of the salivary gland is an undifferentiated squamous cell carcinoma which is associated with a prominent lymphocyte-rich stroma. This study reviews the current literature pertaining to this rare tumour with reference to the single recorded case of malignant lympho-epithelial lesion of the salivary gland presenting in Auckland, New Zealand. This 26 year old Caucasian male developed a rapidly growing lesion in the right parotid gland and multiple ipsilateral cervical lymph nodes.

The value of routine computed tomography scanning of the chest in patients presenting with supradiaphragmatic Hodgkin's disease.

Six patients presenting with supradiaphragmatic Hodgkin's disease are presented to demonstrate the potential benefits of chest computed tomography (CT) scanning as a routine staging procedure. These cases show that CT scanning can detect mediastinal and lung involvement not readily detected by other investigations, and that such findings can influence the radiotherapy plan, the need for extended radiotherapy fields or the use of chemotherapy. Following treatment, CT scanning can be useful to assess treatment response and may permit earlier detection of relapse.

Teacher stress and cognitive style.

The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between the teacher's cognitive style and occupational stress. A sample of 212 teachers in Maltese secondary schools completed a questionnaire surveying both the level of overall stress and the severity of four major areas of job stress. They were also given the Cognitive Styles Analysis which assesses two fundamental dimensions of cognitive style, wholist-analytic and verbal-imagery.

Enteric disease in early childhood inhibits microvillus expression by potential stem cells.

1. Enterocyte development of microvillus structure has been measured in intestinal biopsies obtained from children suffering from coeliac disease, cow's milk protein intolerance and microvillus atrophy, and the results compared with similar measurements carried out in control children. 2.

Bone involvement in Hodgkin's disease.

Bone involvement in Hodgkin's disease is uncommon and seldom encountered at initial diagnosis. Seven cases with osseous involvement were identified from a series of 147 patients with Hodgkin's disease treated at Auckland Hospital from 1980 to 1988. Only one patient was found to have bone lesions at the time of initial presentation.

Diabetic retinopathy screening service.

The planning, establishment, financing and general organization of a Diabetic Screening Service within a District Health Authority can be a daunting task if not handled correctly. This paper outlines such a service, established in 1987, at a District General Hospital serving a population of 202,000 permanent residents. It highlights the necessity for such a service and its diagnostic value to the local diabetic population.

Teacher's perception of primary schoolchildren's undesirable behaviors: the effect of teaching experience, pupil's age, sex and ability stream.

Using a self-administered questionnaire, the attitudes of 844 Maltese primary school teachers towards 16 selected undesirable behaviours were surveyed. Results indicated that pupils' age is a significant moderator of half of the behaviours; these are perceived to be significantly more serious by teachers in the second three years of the primary school than by their colleagues in the first three years. Significant boy-girl differences in the seriousness of behaviour were revealed in most of the behaviours as rated by teachers in both the first and in the second years.

Demonstration of fungal proteinase during phagocytosis of Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis.

The extracellular acid proteinase of Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis was monitored in vitro during phagocytosis by murine peritoneal macrophages. Fungal blastospores were quickly ingested by the thioglycolate-elicited macrophages and the intracellular blastospores partly resisted killing and started to grow out after 6 h incubation, causing destruction of the macrophage. Proteinase antigen appeared on fungal cells after 30 min in culture medium containing 10% fetal calf serum.