Phonological similarity in the serial recall task hinders item recall, not just order.

The phonological similarity effect in short-term memory (STM) is the finding that serial recall of lists of similar sounding items is poorer than that of dissimilar sounding items. This is traditionally argued to be due to a detrimental effect on memory for the order of the words in the list and not on memory for the words themselves. Models that propose forgetting from STM is due to interference must invoke an additional compensatory process where the shared element of the words acts as a cue to recall, in order to account for the lack of an effect on memory for the words.

Reflex testing to define action limits for community-based requests.

Background: Critical values are required to be phoned 24/7. Other abnormal results fall short of the thresholds used to define critical values and may only be required to be phoned during the day. Community-based requestors prefer not to be contacted unless a result is critical and contacting them requires substantial staff resource.

Phaeochromocytoma: diagnostic challenges for biochemical screening and diagnosis.

The aim of this article is to provide knowledge of the origin of catecholamines and metabolites so that there can be an informed approach to the methods for biochemical screening for a possible phaeochromocytoma; The article includes a review of catecholamine and metadrenaline metabolism, with methods used in biochemical screening. In the adrenal medulla and a phaeochromocytoma, catecholamines continuously leak from chromaffin granules into the cytoplasm and are converted to metadrenalines. For a phaeochromocytoma to become biochemically detectable, metnoradrenaline secretion needs to rise fourfold, whereas noradrenaline secretion needs to rise 15-fold.

Changes in bone mineral parameters, vitamin D metabolites, and PTH measurements with varying chronic kidney disease stages.

Vitamin D deficiency is associated with an increased risk of many diseases (skeletal and nonskeletal). Emerging data also associate high concentrations of serum parathyroid hormone (PTH) with morbidity and increased mortality in patients both with and without known chronic kidney disease (CKD). Understanding the relationship between vitamin D and PTH and the determinants of PTH is therefore important.

Differential diagnosis of chylothorax in a patient on parenteral nutrition: a case report.

Parenteral nutrition (PN) is widely used when enteral feeding is contraindicated or not possible in patients who are malnourished or at risk of malnutrition, but it is not without complications. We describe the rare complication of PN-related chylothorax that can lead to extensive investigations if not picked up early with clinical suspicion and simple biochemical tests.

Nitric oxide bioavailability and its potential relevance to the variation in susceptibility to the renal and vascular complications in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Objective: We compared the renal and systemic vascular (renovascular) response to a reduction of bioavailable nitric oxide (NO) in type 2 diabetic patients without nephropathy and of African and Caucasian heritage.

Research Design And Methods: Under euglycemic conditions, renal blood flow was determined by a constant infusion of paraminohippurate and changes in blood pressure and renal vascular resistance estimated before and after an infusion of L-Ng-monomethyl-L-arginine.

Results: In the African-heritage group, there was a significant fall in renal blood flow (Delta-46.

Risk factors for fractures and falls in older women with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is associated with an increased risk of hip fractures despite patients with this condition having normal to high bone mineral density (BMD). Therefore, nonskeletal risk factors may be important in the etiology of fractures in these patients. The aim of this cross-sectional retrospective study was to determine risk factors for falling and fracture in older women with type 2 DM.

A practical method of measuring glomerular filtration rate by iohexol clearance using dried capillary blood spots.

Background: Exogenous tracer-based methods of measuring glomerular filtration rate (GFR) are difficult to perform, whilst creatinine-based estimation formulae are inaccurate.

Methods: We assessed a new technique of measuring iohexol clearance using timed dried capillary blood spots. A reference GFR was measured in 81 subjects (GFR 15-124 ml/min/1.

GFR estimation using cystatin C is not independent of body composition.

Background: Cystatin C (CysC) is an endogenous marker of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) that is claimed to be unaffected by body composition. In this study, we tested this speculation.

Methods: In 77 patients with chronic kidney disease (mean age, 65.

Bioelectrical impedance can be used to predict muscle mass and hence improve estimation of glomerular filtration rate in non-diabetic patients with chronic kidney disease.

Background: In this article (the second of two companion studies), we report whether bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) can be used to predict muscle mass in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), and whether using this predicted muscle mass can improve the estimation of glomerular filtration rate (GFR).

Methods: Seventy five non-diabetic patients with CKD (mean age +/- SD, 65.1 +/- 12.

The relationship between estimated glomerular filtration rate, demographic and anthropometric variables is mediated by muscle mass in non-diabetic patients with chronic kidney disease.

Background: In this study (the first of two related papers), we report whether the relationship between the demographic and anthropometric variables (DA, i.e. age, gender, height and weight) employed in current creatinin (Cr)-based glomerular filtration rate (GFR) estimation equations and actual GFR is mediated by muscle mass.

Urinary and plasma organic acids and amino acids in chronic fatigue syndrome.

Previous work by others have suggested the occurrence of one or more chemical or metabolic 'markers' for ME/CFS including specific amino acids and organic acids and a number of unidentified compounds (CFSUM1, CFSUM2). We have shown elsewhere that CFSUM1 is partially derivatised pyroglutamic acid and CFSUM2 partially derivatised serine and have suggested and demonstrated that the analytical methods used were unsuitable to identify or to accurately quantify urinary metabolites. We have now made a detailed analysis of plasma and urinary amino acids and of urinary organic acids from patients with ME/CFS and from three control groups.

Effect of short-term supplementation of potassium chloride and potassium citrate on blood pressure in hypertensives.

Randomized trials have shown that increasing potassium intake lowers blood pressure. However, most previous trials used potassium chloride, whereas potassium in fruits and vegetables is not a chloride salt. It is unclear whether a nonchloride salt of potassium has a greater or lesser effect on blood pressure compared with potassium chloride.

Anaphylactic reaction to intravenous sinistrin (Inutest).

Inulin clearance is the 'gold standard' for the determination of glomerular filtration rate. This is the first report of anaphylaxis following intravenous administration of inulin.