Simultaneous bidirectional magnesium ion flux measurements in single barnacle muscle cells by mass spectrometry.

Stable isotopes of Mg were used to measure bidirectional magnesium ion fluxes in single barnacle giant muscle fibers immersed in Ca- and Na-free, isosmotic media. Measurements were made using a mass spectrometric technique, thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS), in conjunction with atomic absorption spectroscopy. Kinetic relations based on a first-order model were developed that permit the determination of unidirectional rate coefficients for Mg influx, ki, and efflux, ke, in the same experiment from knowledge of initial conditions and the initial and final ratios of 26Mg/24Mg and 25Mg/24Mg in ambient solutions (i.

Neonatal dural sinus thrombosis.

Dural sinus thrombosis in the newborn period has been infrequently documented and its clinical presentation remains obscure. Seventeen patients, all of whom were born at term with dural sinus thrombosis diagnosed in the neonatal period, were retrospectively identified and reviewed. Diagnosis was determined by unenhanced computed tomography which demonstrated a dense sagittal sinus with concomitant small ventricles.

Anomalous influence of reduced internal ATP levels on sodium efflux in Myxicola giant axons.

Giant axons from the marine annelid, Myxicola infundibulum, were internally dialyzed with ATP-free media and with media with lower than normal ATP levels in an attempt to determine quantitatively the ATP requirement of the Na pump in these cells. This was accomplished by using 22Na ions to measure Na efflux. When [ATP]i in dialysis fluid fell to values within the range of 20-40 microM, a marked stimulation of Na efflux was observed even though an essentially normal ouabain sensitivity of Na efflux persisted; when axons were dialyzed with ATP-free solutions with ouabain present in the external medium throughout the dialysis period, the stimulation of Na efflux still occurred.

Septicemic plague in New Mexico.

Eighteen of the 71 cases of plague reported in New Mexico from 1980 to 1984 were septicemic. We reviewed these cases to better describe the clinical presentation of this disorder and to identify risk factors for developing septicemic plague. The symptoms (fever, chills, malaise, headache, and gastrointestinal symptoms) and signs (tachycardia, tachypnea, and hypotension) of septicemic plague are similar to those of other forms of gram-negative septicemia.

Maturation of cerebellar neuroblastoma into ganglioneuroma with melanosis. A histologic, immunocytochemical, and ultrastructural study.

A ganglioneuroma with areas of melanosis was resected from the cerebellum of a 6.5-year-old girl. At 2.

Plague masquerading as gastrointestinal illness.

In clinical descriptions of human plague, fever and tender lymphadenitis are emphasized and gastrointestinal manifestations are rarely mentioned. A review of 71 human plague cases showed that gastrointestinal symptoms occurred commonly (57%). Vomiting (39%) was the most frequent symptom, with nausea (34%), diarrhea (28%) and abdominal pain (17%) occurring less often.

Risk factors for measles vaccine failure among immunized students.

An outbreak of measles occurred in a municipal school system which had reported 98% of students immunized against measles. A case-control study was conducted to determine reasons for vaccine failure. Vaccine failure was associated with immunizations that could not be documented in the provider's records.

Animal bites as an occupational hazard among animal control officers.

One hundred-and-two full-time animal control officers (ACOs) in New Mexico were surveyed to learn about animal bite risks in this little-studied occupational group. The overall bite rate was 2.57 per working-year (175-500 times population-based rate estimates).

Radionuclide cerebral perfusion scintigraphy in determination of brain death in children.

We evaluated a radionuclide scintigraphic technique for imaging relative cerebral perfusion in 18 children who had no evidence of cortical and brainstem function. Patients without scintigraphic evidence of cerebral perfusion all later met criteria for diagnosis of brain death. Patients who failed to satisfy brain-death criteria had persistent scintigraphic evidence of cerebral perfusion.

Risk of pregnancy among adolescent schoolgirls participating in a measles mass immunization program.

A large measles vaccination program in the Albuquerque, New Mexico public schools in 1981, conducted according to US Public Health Service guidelines, was studied to determine rates of pregnancy among adolescent vaccinees. Pre-vaccination counseling of 1,922 clinic attendees prevented seven pregnant girls from being vaccinated. Despite counseling, of 1,913 female vaccinees age 13-18 years old, two were pregnant at the time of vaccination (1.

The state of sulphydryl groups in lenses of insulin-induced hypoglycemic rats.

The level of non-protein sulphydryl compounds (NP-SH) and protein sulphydryls (P-SH) was investigated in lenses of rats with an acute and extended insulin induced hypoglycemia. No difference was found in the level of NP-SH between the controls and the rats with an acute hypoglycemia induced by cristalline insulin. After 10 hours of hypoglycemia induced by NPH insulin, the decrease of NP-SH was very significant (P less than 0.

Assessment of immunoglobulin use for hepatitis A control in New Mexico.

Community control of hepatitis A (HA) requires improvement of sanitation and timely use of immune globulin (IG) for selected contacts of ill persons. A marked increase in reported HA cases in New Mexico in late 1978 and early 1979 prompted aggressive evaluation of morbidity trends and of control efforts. This evaluation provided an opportunity to study the practices in disease reporting and IG administration in the State.