Do psychosocial and study skill factors predict college outcomes? Comment on Robbins et al. (2004).

Evidence is cited in support of the claim that the results of the meta-analyses conducted by S. B. Robbins et al.

The incremental variance problem: enhancing the predictability of academic success in an urban, commuter institution.

The authors identified variables that enhance the predictability of academic performance and retention in an urban, commuter college. They used a longitudinal design with 2 waves of data collection: prior to 1st-semester attendance and again 6 semesters later. The results support the following conclusions: (a) After controlling for precollege indices of academic ability, specific variables within demographic, personal behavior, expectations, and attitudinal domains improved the predictability of grade point average by 15.

The safety of dental mini-magnets in patients with permanent cardiac pacemakers.

To evaluate the safety of prosthetic mini-magnets, 12 patients treated with implanted cardiac pacemakers were examined. Small cylindric magnets were applied one, two, and three at a time to constant points on the pacemaker under electrocardiographic monitoring. No influence on the pacemaker was detected in nine of the patients, but limited changes were encountered in three patients.

Serum and mononuclear cell potassium, magnesium, sodium and calcium in pregnancy and labour and their relation to uterine muscle contraction.

Thirty women in their third trimester of pregnancy (37-42 weeks), 40 women during and 72 h after labour and 18 non-pregnant controls were studied for changes in serum and mononuclear cell cation content, and their relationship to cervical effacement and intensity of pain as measured by plasma beta endorphin concentrations during labour. Serum magnesium fell from 0.95 +/- 0.

Serum and intracellular electrolytes in patients with and without pain.

The effect of acute stress, with and without pain, on serum and mononuclear cell cation content was studied in 205 healthy women in their last trimester of pregnancy or during normal labour, in patients with acute medical conditions in which pain was or was not present, in acute surgical conditions, and immediately prior to elective surgery. In all subjects there was a fall in serum sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium concentrations during stress, with an apparent shift into the intracellular space. An inverse correlation was present between the severity of pain and the fall in serum cations.

The rise of serum creatinine levels during labor.

Serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen and creatine phosphokinase were measured in 32 women during the last 3 weeks of pregnancy and, in a further 39 women, during and after labor. The serum creatinine increased from 61.9 +/- 0.

The relationship between beta-endorphin levels and uterine muscle contractions during labor.

Plasma beta-endorphin (BE) levels (8.6 +/- 0.8 pmol/l) (mean +/- SE) were lower in the third trimester than in non-pregnant controls (14.

A routine method for the measurement of the sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium content of human lymphocytes.

We describe a rapid, single-step procedure for the isolation of human lymphocytes from whole blood, suitable for a routine clinical laboratory. Lymphocyte content of sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium were measured simultaneously in a group of controls and found to fall within expected ranges. Expression of results per mg protein produced less inter-individual variation than per unit cell.

Hodgkin's disease of the skin. A case report.

A 74 year-old woman presented with cutaneous Hodgkin's disease and local bone involvement. Both were secondary to regional lymph flow obstruction by lymph nodes massively involved by nodular sclerosing Hodgkin's disease. Though a temporary remission was achieved by combination chemotherapy, skin lesions were quick to reappear in spite of continued treatment.

Neurological and psychiatric side effects of cimetidine--report of 3 cases with review of the literature.

Neurological and psychiatric side effects of cimetidine are reviewed in 47 cases from the literature, and 3 further cases are described. Confusion, psychomotor restlessness, hallucinations and disorientation, stupor and coma were the main features; some had convulsions and a few exhibited focal neurological deficits or neuropathies. The signs appeared within 2 days in almost half of the patients, and remitted in most within 2-3 days.