The renal handling of parathyroid hormone. Role of peritubular uptake and glomerular filtration. The mechanisms of uptake of parathyroid hormone (PTH) by the kidney was studied in anesthetized dogs before and after ureteral ligation. During constant infusion of bovine PTH (b-PTH 1-84), the renal arteriovenous (A-V) difference for immunoreactive PTH (i-PTH) was 22+/-2%. After ureteral ligation and no change in renal plasma flow, A-V i-PTH fell to 15+/-1% (P < 0.01), indicating continued and significant uptake of i-PTH at peritubular sites and a lesser role of glomerular filtration (GF) in the renal uptake of i-PTH. Since, under normal conditions, minimal i-PTH appears in the final urine, the contribution of GF and subsequent tubular reabsorption was further examined in isolated perfused dog kidneys before and after inhibition of tubular reabsorption by potassium cyanide. Urinary i-PTH per 100 ml GF rose from 8+/-4 ng/min (control) to 170+/-45 ng/min after potassium cyanide. Thus, i-PTH is normally filtered and reabsorbed by the tubular cells. The physiological role of these two mechanisms of renal PTH uptake was examined by giving single injections of b-PTH 1-84 or synthetic b-PTH 1-34 in the presence of established ureteral ligation. After injection of b-PTH 1-84, renal A-V i-PTH was 20% only while biologically active intact PTH was present (15-20 min). No peritubular uptake of carboxyl terminal PTH fragments was demonstrable. In contrast, after injection of synthetic b-PTH 1-34, renal extraction of N-terminal i-PTH after ureteral ligation (which was 13.4+/-0.6% vs. 19.6+/-0.9% in controls) continued for as long as i-PTH persisted in the circulation. These studies indicate that both GF and peritubular uptake are important mechanisms for renal PTH uptake. Renal uptake of carboxyl terminal fragments of PTH is dependent exclusively upon GF and tubular reabsorption, whereas peritubular uptake can only be demonstrated for biologically active b-PTH 1-84 and synthetic b-PTH 1-34.


Evidence for cardiomyopathy in familial diabetes mellitus. Recent epidemiologic studies have suggested that cardiac disease in common in diabetics and may often have a noncoronary basis. To examine the status of the left ventricle, 17 adult-onset diabetics of familial type without hypertension or obesity underwent hemodynamic study and were compared to 9 controls of similar age. Of the 17, 12 subjects had no significant occlusive lesions by coronary angiography. From this group eight without heart failure had a modest, but significant, elevation of left ventricular end-diastolic pressure. End-diastolic and stroke volumes were reduced, but ejection fraction and mean rate of fiber shortening were within normal limits. The left ventricular end-diastolic pressure/volume ratio was significantly higher than controls. Afterload increments effected a significant increase of filling pressure compared to normals without a stroke volume response, consistent with a preclinical cardiomyopathy. Four patients with prior heart failure had similar but more extensive abnormalities. None had local dyskinesia by angiography, and lactate production was not observed during pacing-induced tachycardia. Left ventricular biopsy in two patients without ventricular decompensation showed interstitial collagen deposition with relatively normal muscle cells. These findings suggest a myopathic process without ischemia. Postmortem studies were performed in 11 uncomplicated diabetics. Nine were without significant obstructive disease of the proximal coronary arteries, and the majority succumbed with cardiac failure. On left ventricular sections, none had evident luminal narrowing of the intramural vessels. All nine exhibited periodic acid-Schiff-positive material in the interstitium. Collagen accumulation was present in perivascular loci, between myofibers, or as replacement fibrosis. Multiple samples of left ventricle and septum revealed enhanced triglyceride and cholesterol concentrations, as compared to controls. Thus, a diffuse extravascular abnormality may be a basis for cardiomyopathic features in diabetes.


The critical importance of urinary concentrating ability in the generation of urinary carbon dioxide tension. Measurement of urine to blood (U-B) carbon dioxide tension (P(CO2)) gradient during alkalinization of the urine has been suggested to assess distal H(+) secretion. A fact that has not been considered in previous studies dealing with urinary P(CO2) is that dissolution of HCO(3) in water results in elevation of P(CO2) which is directly proportional to the HCO(3) concentration. To investigate the interrelationship of urinary HCO(3) and urinary acidification, we measured U-B P(CO2) in (a) the presence of enhanced H(+) secretion and decreased concentrating ability i.e., chronic renal failure (CRF), (b) animals with normal H(+) secretion and decreased concentrating ability, Brattleboro (BB) rats, and (c) the presence of both impaired H(+) secretion and concentrating ability (LiCl treatment and after release of unilateral ureteral obstruction). At moderately elevated plasma HCO(3) levels (30-40 meq/liter), normal rats achieved a highly alkaline urine (urine pH > 7.8) and raised urine HCO(3) concentration and U-B P(CO2). At similar plasma HCO(3) levels, BB rats had a much higher fractional water excretion and failed to raise urine pH, urine HCO(3) concentration, and U-B P(CO2) normally. At a very high plasma HCO(3) (>50 meq/liter), BB rats raised urine pH, urine HCO(3) concentration, and U-B P(CO2) to the same levels seen in normals. CRF rats failed to raise urine pH, urine HCO(3), and U-B P(CO2) normally at moderately elevated plasma HCO(3) levels; at very high plasma HCO(3) levels, CRF rats achieved a highly alkaline urine but failed to raise U-B P(CO2). Dogs and patients with CRF were also unable to raise urine pH, urine HCO(3) concentration, and U-B P(CO2) normally at moderately elevated plasma HCO(3) levels. In rats, dogs, and man, U-B P(CO2) was directly related to urine HCO(3) concentration and inversely related to fractional water excretion. At moderately elevated plasma HCO(3) levels, animals with a distal acidification defect failed to raise U-B P(CO2); increasing the plasma HCO(3) to very high levels resulted in a significant increase in urine HCO(3) concentration and U-B P(CO2). The observed urinary P(CO2) was very close to the P(CO2) which would be expected by simple dissolution of a comparable amount of HCO(3) in water. These data demonstrate that, in highly alkaline urine, urinary P(CO2) is largely determined by concentration of urinary HCO(3) and cannot be used as solely indicating distal H(+) secretion.


Binding of dipyridamole to human platelets and to alpha1 acid glycoprotein and its significance for the inhibition of adenosine uptake. The interactions of dipyridamole with alpha(1) acid glycoprotein of plasma and with human platelets are related to inhibition of adenosine uptake by platelets. Binding studies by equilibrium gel filtration suggested that 1 mol of dipyridamole binds per mol of alpha(1) acid glycoprotein with a dissociation constant of 1.6 muM. Platelets contain two populations of binding sites, one with high and another with lower affinity for the drug. The binding of dipyridamole to the high-affinity sites follows a Michaelis-Menten binding pattern with a dissociation constant of 0.04 muM. Approximately 2 x 10(4) dipyridamole molecules are bound at the high-affinity sites of each platelet. The lower affinity sites bind the drug with a dissociation constant of 4 muM. In the presence of alpha(1) acid glycoprotein of plasma, the binding of dipyridamole to human platelets is inhibited. Correspondingly, the dipyridamole inhibition of adenosine uptake by platelets is reduced 1,000-fold by purified alpha(1) acid glycoprotein. The binding of dipyridamole to human platelets was found to be essential for its inhibition of adenosine uptake by platelets. Dipyridamole decreases the incorporation of [(14)C]adenosine radioactivity in platelet nucleotides and reduces the [(14)C]-ATP to [(14)C]ADP ratio. Purified alpha(1) acid glycoprotein reverses these effects of dipyridamole on adenosine metabolism of platelets in a concentration-dependent manner. An equilibrium of dipyridamole binding to alpha(1) acid glycoprotein and to platelets is proposed.


A factorial study of personal development of unmarried mothers, college, alcoholic, and schizophrenic populations. Reported the results of a factor analytic study of the Personal Development Study (PDS). The PDS was administered for research purposes to four diagnostic groups, which included 89 institutionalized alcoholics, 336 unmarried mothers, 159 college students, and 388 chronic schizophrenics. A principal component factor analysis with Varimax rotation performed on the combined populations (N = 972) yielded five main factors labeled as projection, optimism-responsibility, reaction and symptom formation, repressive-compulsive, and intropunitiveness-guilt. Analysis of base rates of responding to the individual items revealed that the four populations ranged along a continuum, with the normals at one extreme and the institutionalized schizophrenics at the other extreme of greater pathological responding.


The factorial structure of personal development mechanisms in unmarried mothers, college, alcoholic, and schizophrenic populations. The Personal Development Study (PDS) was administered to four diagnostic groups, which included 89 hospitalized alcoholics, 336 unmarried mothers, 159 college students, and 387 chronic institutionalized schizophrenics. The PDS data from the four groups were factor analyzed separately by Varimax rotation of principal component factors. Cluster analysis methods were used to compare the separate diagnostic group factors with the overall factors previously reported by Pishkin and Thorne (1977). Only a few close fits of the diagnostic group factors showed large differences in item composition, order of emergence of factors and size of loadings between groups. Because many items and factors could be interpreted in terms of several alternative theoretical systems, interpretations were based on the clinical meanings of items and clusters in terms of integration theory (Thorne, 1976).


Cognitive rigidity in information processing of chronic undifferentiated schizophrenics. This study investigated Concept Identification (CI) performance and hypothesis behavior of 100 chronic undifferentiated schizophrenic and matched normal Ss as functions of motor-cognitive, personality-perceptual, and psychomotor speed parameters of rigidity. The CI task was designed to test the effects of five levels of information complexity and to examine 10 categories of hypothesis strategies utilized in conceptual problem solving. It was found that normals were superior to schizophrenics in CI and that schizophrenics performed more poorly than normals at higher complexity levels. Normals were markedly less rigid on the motor-cognitive dimension than were schizophrenics. Correlational analysis revealed a number of reliable relationships between the three rigidity measures and the 10 hypothesis categories. Some insight was gained about the role of rigidity in utilization of effective strategies in problem solving; the psychomotor speed factor emerged as the best predictor of schizophrenics' hypothesis behavior.


Schizophrenic subtypes and differential responsiveness to reward and punishment. Variations in responsivity to primary, secondary asocial and interpersonal rewards and punishments between major schizophrenic subgroups were investigated in a probability learning study. The subgroups compared were process and reactive, paranoid and nonparanoid, long- and short-hospitalization, and long- and short-length of illness schizophrenics. No evidence of differential responsivity to these reward-punishment/modality combinations appeared between high and low scorers on any of the four schizophrenic subgrouping dimensions. The groups then were matched closely so that the effects of each individual difference measure could be evaluated independently of the other three. Again, no significant differences in responsiveness to the reinforcement/modality combinations appeared. The results do not support the view that any of the four dimensions relate to differential responsiveness to primary, secondary asocial or verbal reward or punishment--at least on relatively simple tasks.


Overinclusion, broad scanning, and picture recognition in schizophrenics. Difficulty of picture and word recognition was manipulated to test the hypothesis that schizophrenics have adequate recognition memories and to determine whether overinclusion is related to a good visual recognition memory. Good and poor premorbid, acute and chronic schizophrenics were compared to nonpsychotic psychiatric patients and to hospital aides. Both Payne's Object Classification Test and Goldstein-Scheerer's Object Sorting Test were given to all the patients, but only the former differentiated among the diagnostic subgroups and was related to good picture memory. When the measures of overinclusion, chronicity, premorbidity and intelligence were used as independent variables in a multiple regression, only Payne NonA predicted success on the picture task. Good premorbid schizophrenics recognized pictures as well as normals and nonpsychotics, but poor premorbids' picture memory was significantly worse. No experimental variable predicted word performance in a multiple regression, and good premorbids did not differ from poor premorbids on their word recognition. The authors favored the interpretation that the pattern of performance of overinclusive schizophrenics reflects their tendency to scan broadly both important and unimportant features of stimuli.


Recognition in episodic long-term memory in schizophrenia. Recognition memory is one of the few areas of cognition in schizophrenia in which deficit has not been found. Such a finding has important theoretical implications for the understanding of schizophrenia. However, past studies in this area have been experimentally deficient. This paper presents a study of recognition in long-term episodic memory in schizophrenia in which previous findings of no deficit were replicated. The nature of the cognitive deficit in schizophrenia is discussed.


The interrater reliability of the Psychotic Inpatient Profile. The interrater reliabilities of the 12 scales of the Psychotic Inpatient Profile (PIP) were assessed in three independent samples. These reliabilities were found to be consistently low for the three samples. Several possible sources of low reliability were investigated, and evidence to support the hypothesis that consistent rater biases might have contributed to this low reliability was found. The authors make several suggestions of ways to improve PIP's reliability.


Feelings of hostility and personal control as related to depression. The relationships among depression, hostility, and locus of control were investigated in 58 clinic outpatients. Depth of depression was correlated positively with both covert hostility and external control, while external control correlated with covert hostility. Analysis of subscales on the hostility inventory indicated that overt forms of hostility were unrelated to depression, while the subscales of guilt, resentment, irritability, and suspicion were related positively (r = .50, p less than .005). Partial correlations suggested that the relationship between depression and external control may depend on the presence of resentment and irritability and that a combination of these covert factors with external control commonly is found in depression.


A validational study of the WIST as a group-administered instrument for assessment of schizophrenic thinking. The objective assessment of thought disorder in schizophrenia is problemmatic in clinical psychology. Recently an individually administered instrument (WIST) was introduced as a brief, objective, and quantitative measure of schizophrenic thought processes. Possible shortcomings of the WIST are noted; experimental findings that concern extension to group testing conditions, convergent validity with another self-report measure of schizophrenia, and discriminant validity from intellectual level are presented.


IQ deficit in schizophrenia: a test of competing theories. This study tested competing interpretations of IQ deficit in schizophrenic patients. One interpretation (concomitancy hypothesis) holds that IQ loss is a product of schizophrenic symptoms and is remedied as the symptoms remit. The second (prodromal hypothesis) holds that IQ deficit preceeds and facilitates the development of schizophrenic disorder and is not remedied with symptom remission. The IQs of schizophrenic patients were obtained before and three times after hospital treatment. All mean IQs fell within average limits and did not increase significantly after treatment although test-retest correlations suggested slight disruption of IQ in the morbid state. Remitting cases did not differ significantly from nonremitting cases. Paradoxically, chronic patients earned slightly higher IQs than acute patients. The findings are interpreted as providing some support for both interpretations of schizophrenic IQ deficit. It is concluded that the specific IQ tests used and the nature of the patient samples tested will have a significant bearing on which hypothesis is supported in individual studies of schizophrenic IQ deficit.


The Purpose-in-Life test in an inmate population: an empirical investigation. This study examined the relationship of the Purpose-in-Life test to a number of variables in a sample of 48 inmates. The PIL was shown to be a reliable and valid instrument and correlated significantly and positively with measures of the self-concept, self-esteem, internal locus of control, and two EPI scales: Plans and Organizes Things and Carefree. Also found were significant relationships between PIL scores and age, IQ, and family relations. When compared to normal samples, inmates scored significantly lower on meaning and purpose in life. These data support the continued use of the PIL in research and applied settings.


Dogmatism, hostility, aggression, and gender roles. The relationships between dogmatism, hostility, and aggression for males and females were studied. Ss were 74 male and 109 female college students, who were administered the D Scale, Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory, Megargee Overcontrolled Hostility Inventory, Gough-Sanford Rigidity Scale, and Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. Significant positive relationships were found between dogmatism and hostility for both males and females (p less than .001). This confirmed theoretical formulations that postulated the more dogmatic to be pervasively hostile, rather than limited to directed expressions of hostility such as prejudice. Only for males, however, was a significant negative relationship between dogmatism and the overcontrolling of hostility found (p less than .05). In this, and other relationships, males appeared to be more able to integrate aggressive behaviors into personality patterns. While dogmatism related to several personality patterns, it had no relationship to social desirability. Rigidity and dogmatism presented essentially different personality constellations. Feelings of guilt were related significantly to disaffected patterns such as dogmatism (p less than .001), hostility (p less than .001), and aggression (p less than .05), which suggests a turning inward of feelings of anger and disappointment in addition to their outward expression.


Further relationships between IPAT anxiety scale performance and infantile feeding experiences. First-year psychology students who either had been breast fed for up to 3 months or never breast fed scored significantly higher on the IPAT Anxiety Scale than those breast fed for longer periods of time. There were no breast feeding effects on the Eysenck Personality Inventory, although females obtained significantly higher neuroticism scores than men. By extending a previous finding these results indicated the need for more data in this area.


Two short versions of the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List. In an attempt to fulfill the original purpose of the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List (MAACL), two shorter versions were devised. One version was simply a subset of the original items. A second version provided one 6-point semantic differential scale for each of the subscales of the standard MAACL. Concurrent validity was assessed for three separate college student populations and one drug patient population. Also, construct validity was assessed for both versions by measuring changes in negative affect during a single Induced Anxiety session. Correlations between the standard and subset version for total negative affect ranged between .49 and .99. Correlations between the standard and semantic differential versions for total negative affect ranged between .53 and .81.


The prediction of psycho-social adjustment subsequent to cardiac insult. Cardiovascular patients comprise a sizable proportion of the national population of the disabled. The relevant literature emphasized the importance of developing predictors of outcome in the recovery process. Evidence suggests that a matrix comprised of psychological, physiological, and sociodemographic factors is associated both with the development of and subsequent reaction to cardiac insult. In a cardiovascular patient sample, a series of predictive equations was derived that relates concurrent physiological, psychological and sociodemographic variables to a measure of later adjustment. The multiple regression equation was derived from data obtained from a sample (N = 20) of patients seen by the Cardiac Work Evaluation Unit of a large University medical center. Cross-validation indicated that the equation accounted for a large proportion of the predictable variation.


Is there an association between astrological data and personality? A test was made of the hypothesis that personality characteristics can be predicted on the basis of various features of the individual's astrological chart. Astrological charts were prepared for 196 college-age Ss who also were administered the MMPI and the Leary Interpersonal Check List. Ss were divided into those who had extreme scores on any of the 13 personality variables studied and those who did not. For each personality variable, comparisons were made on a large number of astrological dimensions between distributions of Ss with and without extreme test scores. Six hundred thirty-two such comparisons were made and evaluated with chi-square tests. In that the obtained number of statistically significnat chi-squares was less than what would be expected on a chance basis, the hypothesis was rejected.


Self-ratings and the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI). An attempt was made to assess the relationships between self-ratings and psychometric (EPI) estimates on the dimensions of extraversion and neuroticism. Ninety-five individuals served as Ss. The correlations between self-ratings and EPI estimates achieved high significance on both dimensions. Contrary to earlier suggestions (Bem & Allen, 1974), ratings of behavioral variability on the respective dimensions failed to produce a significant moderating effect. However, a tentative trend was observed for cross-procedural comparability (between self-ratings and the EPI) to be higher near the midpoints of the respective distributions. A factor contributory to this was a central regressive tendency (noted at both poles on both dimensions and for both sources of estimation), whereby an extreme estimate from one source was associated with a less extreme estimate from the other.


Behavioral correlates for spike-4, spike-9, and 4-9/9-4 MMPI profiles in students at a university mental health center. Numerous investigators have noted that spike-4, spike-9, and 4-9/9-4 profiles occur with an unusually high frequency in college students. Five hundred and fifty files of college students who requested outpatient psychiatric services were reviewed, and the data from 47 files were extracted in which the student patient had a clinically elevated spike-4, spike-9, or 4-9/9-4 profile. Numerous significant psychopathological behavioral correlates were found for each profile type, which supports the contention that these profile types are reflective of significant psychopathology and are not examples of benign deviations of a particular sample from the original normative group.


Comparison of nonpsychiatric blacks and whites on the MMPI. The literature indicates inconsistent results when MMPI differences between black Ss and white Ss were investigated. In general, most studies found that blacks responded in a more pathological direction. However, previous studies can be criticized because they have used students, prisoners, and hospital patients as Ss with variables that were controlled inconsistently and varied widely. In this study a comparison was made of MMPI scales for 56 black and 56 white males who were full-time employees of a large chemical company. Ss were matched for age, education, occupation, seniority, mental ability level, and socioeconomic level. The 10 standard clinical and 3 validity MMPI scales were recorded for each S as well as six experimental scales: Control (C), Dependency (DPD), Dominance (DOM), Ego Strength (ES), Anxiety Index (AI), and Internalization Ratio (IR). Using K corrected T-scores for the MMPI scales, a repeated measures analysis of variance indicated that subtests and group X subtests were significant. More specifically, blacks scored significantly higher than white Ss on the MA scale, and white Ss scored significantly higher than blacks on the PA, C, DOM, and Es scales. While the present study did find significant differences between black and white Ss on the MMPI, the scores were all well within the normal range (T less than 70), and all scales but two were less than 60.


Efficacy of the Mini-Mult validity scales with prisoners. The authors studied the ability of the Kincannon Mini-Mult validity scales to detect invalid standard MMPI protocols of adult male prisoners. The original MMPI records of 1407 Ss were rescored by use of Kincannon's items for the L, F, and K Scales. Analysis consisted of examining the frequency with which the Mini-Mult would detect an invalid protocol when at least one of the original MMPI validity scales also was elevated and invalid. Results indicate that the Mini-Mult failed to detect nearly 75% of the profiles that were invalid due to an elevated F scale on the parent MMPI. Similarly, over 50% of the profiles invalid due to elevated L and/or K scales were not detected by the Mini-Mult. Despite the appealing brevity of this 71-item short form of the MMPI, caution is advised with regard to its use in penal settings.


The Watson and the Hovey MMPI scales: do they measure organicity or "functional" psychopathology? Both the Hovey MMPI Scale of Organicity and the Watson MMPI Sc-O Scale, developed to differentiate schizophrenics from organics, demonstrated substantial association with psychopathology as measured by the MMPI regular clinical and validity scales. These findings occurred with both penitentiary inmates and psychiatric patients. For the Sc-O Scale the correlations with the regular MMPI Scales for the patients tended to be higher than for the prisoners, presumably because of the greater psychopathology present in the former. With the psychiatric patients there was actually a significant inverse relationship between the organicity direction of Sc-O and Hovey Scales, a finding that had been reported in a previous study. The inference from these findings was that MMPI-based organicity scales probably have seriously limited utility, especially in differentiation between organicity and "functional" psychopathology.


Predicting adjustment of heart patients with the Cardiac Adjustment Scale. Cardiac Adjustment Scale (CAS) scores for 74 cardiac patients between 31 and 64 years of age who completed a comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation program were examined to determine whether they could predict return to work, judged adjustment to cardiac disability, and participation in the rehabilitation program. CAS scores proved to be unrelated to either vocational status or program involvement. Low CAS scores were associated with maladjustment, but higher scores were associated equally with good and poor adjustment. The results suggested that the CAS alone was of little value in increasing the accuracy of prediction of psychological or vocational adjustment with the population studied.


Changes in psychiatric admission MMPI profiles over a period of 15 to 20 years. An attempt was made to compare admission MMPI profiles of a matched sample of psychiatric inpatients over a 15- to 20-year period. For both males and females, significant decreases in MMPI indices of psychopathology occurred. Possible reasons for this decrease are presented.


Role-played and hypnotically induced simulation of psychopathology on the MMPI. The differential effects of role-played vs. hypnotically induced simulation of a paranoid syndrome on diagnostic and validity scales of the MMPI were tested with 30 female undergraduate Ss. Hypnotized Ss given the paranoid syndrome suggestion simulated the MMPI more accurately than did role-playing Ss. The F scale and Gough F-K index of dissimulation identified the role-playing group, but not the hypnosis with simulation suggestion group. It was concluded that further refinement of the validity scales of the MMPI is needed to improve their effectiveness in detecting deception on this test.


Dogmatism and locus of control in young women who support, oppose, or voice no opinion on the Equal Rights Amendment. This study sought to clarify personality characteristics of supporters of the Women's Liberation Movement (WLM) with specific emphasis on the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Three matched groups of 50 female college students, which were comprised of supporters, opponents, or those who voiced no opinion on the ERA, were administered the Rokeach Dogmatism Scale and the Rotter I-E Scale. The three groups did not differ significantly on either measure. Participants of all groups were shown to be somewhat externally controlled and to demonstrate personality traits that were not characteristically dogmatic. The disparity of these results with those reported by other researchers was attributed to the matched demographic factors that determined S selection and assignment.


The development of a rating scale for the prediction of success in weight reduction. A valid and reliable rating instrument was developed that has predictive value with regard to the ability to lose weight. The major constructs that the test was intended to measure were knowledge of the pragmatics of weight reduction and obesity and the role of fantasy in weight loss. Test items were drawn from research findings in the obesity literature and from subject matter experts in the fields of nutrition, internal medicine and clinical psychology. Test-retest reliability coefficients for the new instrument range from .64 to .95. Construct validity was ascertained through administration of the scale to groups of high school students (N=20), college nutrition students (N=30) and successful and unsuccessful dieters (Ns=28 and 20, respectively). It appears that the scale, The Dash-Brown Survey of Fact and Fiction in Weight Reduction (DBS), may be employed usefully to assess the remediability of obesity for potential dieters. The data further suggest that cognitive awareness of diet-related issues is significant in weight reduction.


Further evidence that concerns the validity of an MMPI key for separation of brain-damaged and schizophrenic patients. This study attempted to cross-validate an MMPI Key for the separation of brain-damaged and schizophrenic inpatients. MMPI profiles generated by 20 males with a variety of documented brain dysfunctions were compared to those of 20 heterogenous male schizophrenics. The groups were matched on the variables of age and education. The procedure provided 82.5% correct classification, which included 85% correct schizophrenic identification and 80% correct brain-damage identification. The Key was recommended for use as a rough screening device or as a supplement to appropriate neuropsychological procedures.


Personality and background predictors of a young wife's desired family size. A questionnaire that included 19 personality, socioeconomic, and general background variables was administered to 160 childless Caucasian, Protestant wives of college students to discover variables that offered promise as predictors of desired family size. Of the samples, 66% wanted two children, and 14% wanted three children. Four variables--feelings of alienation, father's social class level, level of overt anxiety, and childhood family size--had a combined multiple correlation of .39 with desired family size in a stepwise regression analysis and accounted for almost 15% of the desired family size variance. Results suggest that although desired family size remains difficult to predict, personality factors may be as significant as socioeconomic factors in its prediction.


An empirical test of the sociocybernetic model. A theoretical"sociocybernetic" systems analysis model was tested empirically. Two independent groups completed a questionnaire that described their reactions to four hypothetical interpersonal situations. Half of the persons in each group described their reactions to a friend and used Likert scales to rate the unfavorable/favorableness of their (a) verbal responses and subsequent (b) emotional states. Additionally, they completed similar scale ratings that indicated the expected verbal responses and emotional states of their friend. Persons in the other half of each group completed the same interpersonal simulation exercise except that they were asked to describe an interaction with someone other than a friend. The data elements simulated by the computer were the verbal and emotional response ratings. In this simulation, one perons's output becomes the other person's input and vice versa. Strife scores were defined operationally in terms of the unfavorable (negative) conditions generated in the mathematical simulations. In both groups the mean strife scores for friends were significantly lower than mean strife scores for the other two-person interactions.


The Canter Background Interference Procedure (BIP): effects of demographic variables on diagnosis. This paper reports a positive association between demographic variables and Canter BIP diagnostic classification. Ss are 209 middle-aged men and include psychiatric and medical patients and non-patients. To evaluate the joint effects of the demographic variables, a discriminate analysis was performed on the total sample. Race and educational level alone predicted BIP diagnosis in 67% of the cases. While none of the demographic variables was related significantly to BIP diagnosis when a discriminate analysis was performed on whites alone, age and educational level were related significantly to BIP diagnosis when a discriminate analysis was performed on blacks alone.


Wechsler Memory Scale is a poor screening test for brain dysfunction. The effectiveness of the Wechsler Memory Scale as a screening test for brain dysfunction when used with "new" scoring procedures was assessed in this cross-validation study. The scoring procedures studied were those reported by Bachrach and Mintz (1974) and Kljajic (1975). In general, these procedures were found to be unreliable methods to separate brain dysfunctional patients from psychiatric patients. While the Wechsler Memory Scale may be a good test of short-term verbal memory, it samples too narrow a band of behaviors to be a reliable screening instrument of brain dysfunction in a large range of patients.


Demographic, etiological, and functional variables related to intelligence in the visually impaired. Variables related to the intellectual functioning of 597 visually impaired persons were investigated. The total sample obtained a mean WAIS IQ score above that of the general population. Examination of dimensions with the visually impaired sample resulted in no significant differences on the basis of adventitious vs. congenital blindness, sex, residential vs. sighted school attendance, degree of vision, and diagnostic groups. Age and level of education were related to verbal intelligence scores.


Delinquents and the Tapping Test.

Delinquents and the Tapping Test. This study provided Tapping Test norms for young legal offenders by measuring 54 Anglo male probationers (35 juveniles, 19 adults) in Study I, and 127 probationers aged 12-17 within eight sex/age/ethnicity subgroups in Study II. The Tapping Test, a measure of fine-motor speed, forms part of the Halstead-Reitan battery for neuropsychodiagnosis. Study I results suggest that tapping speed related to age for juvenile male delinquents, p less than .01; for adults, speed relates to IQ, p less than .05. Study II results suggest that Anglo females--but not non-Anglo females-- tap slower than males, p less than .01. The results were only paritally consistent with those of prior studies. Future researchers may wish to: (a) refine norms by appropriate adjustments for age and IQ; (b) investigate why Anglo female delinquents were especially slow on the Tapping Test; and (c) evaluate to what extent false positives may be provoked on this test by depression rather than organicity.


Neuropsychological effects of electroconvulsive therapy. Although ECT as the treatment of choice for psychotic depression has been in use for many years, little is known about the neocortical residual of such treatments inferred from behavioral measures. The major portion of the literature has been concerned with inferred or observed changes in affective state. The present study compared pre- and posttreatment performances on the Halstead-Reitan neuropsychological battery of 20 patients who were receiving ECT from two different machines. Most Ss gave indicators of cerebral impairment prior to treatment when performance of one side of the body was contrasted with performance of the other side. After treatment, there was an increased number of Ss who evidenced signs consistent with damage to the right cerebral hemisphere. Some concern was raised that a large number of patients who eventually are subject ot ECT because of depression behave in this way because of an undiagnosed neocortical dysfunction. There is some suggestion that the effect of the procedure is to either create or intensify a right hemisphere focus as inferred from behavioral measures.


Benton OCS and OES as actuarial indices of brain pathology. The Benton Visual Retention Test was administered to two matched neurologically distinct middle-aged samples. The experimental sample that comprised brain-disordered Ss scored significantly higher obtained correct and error scores than did the controls. It also was found that a critical obtained correct score of 3 could discriminate the two samples at statistically significant levels, but with high false negative rates. A critical obtained error score of 4 failed to discriminate the two samples. Seventy-three percent of the total sample had identical predictions from both critical scores, and while the combined use of both scores did not improve the percentage hit rate over the single use of the obtained correct score, false negatives were reduced to acceptable levels.


Sex differences in WAIS item performance. Although the WAIS IQ scores of males and females differ only negligibly, significant sex differences do exist on many WAIS subtests. The purpose of the present investigation was to identify any WAIS items within these subtests that showed reliable sex differences. Within a cross-validation methodology that employed 521 adults (264 males; 257 females), 21 items were found to show reliable sex differences. A reanalysis by age groups provided similar results. The nature of the items was discussed, and an index of stereotyped sex-role experiences was proposed.


Toward a new theory of dreaming.

Toward a new theory of dreaming. A new Process Scoring System for dreams was developed and applied in an intensive single-S case study that spanned 5 1/2 years and 754 dreams. In it two hypotheses derived from a new transformative theory of dreams were tested. Both the transformation hypothesis, which holds that it is possible to shift from a symbolic to a directly expressive mode of dreaming, as well as the parallelism hypothesis, which holds that the expression of affect in dreams parallels the expression of affect in waking, were supported by the results. In contrast to Freud's analytic theory, which deals with content and interprets dreams as coded symbolic messages, our transformative theory focuses on dynamic dream processes and views dreams as pictures of feelings.


Enhancement of male juvenile delinquents' self-concepts through photographed social interactions. This study was designed to identify juvenile delinquent boys who had low social self-concepts as measured by the Tennessee Self Concept Scale (TSCS) and to enhance their self-concepts through a program of photographic feedback of successful social interactions. A total of 30 Ss engaged in social interactions each week for 5 weeks, during which time the interactions were photographed. Compared with the control group, Ss who received the weekly photographic feedback increased in Total Self-concept, Social Self-concept, Personal Self-concept, Identity, andSelf-satisfaction as measured by the subscales of the TSCS. The experimental group Ss also showed decreased Maladjustment on the TSCS, as compared with the control group. Compared with the experimental group, the control group showed a decrease on the Behavior subscale of the TSCS.


Therapeutic effects of problem-solving training and play-reading groups. Twenty-five adult patients of a private psychiatric hospital participated in small groups that convened for eight sessions in order to increase skills in interpersonal problem solving. The groups repeatedly went through the steps of (a) bringing up a problem; (b) clarifying it; (c) proposing solutions; and(d) weighing the solutions. A control grop of 29 patients did not receive problem-solving training. A "placebo" sample of 21 Ss also met in small groups, but their task was to read comedies together. The results obtained through a series of analyses of covariance showed that the experimental condition was more successful than the other two in improving people's impulse control, self-esteem and feeling of competence. The play-reading condition was found to be as helpful as the problem-solving groups in reducing depression and general psychopathology. Control patients showed significantly less improvement than did patients in the other conditions.


Conjugate lateral eye movement, repression-sensitization, and emotional style: sex interactions. This study examined the relationships of conjugate lateral eye movement to scores on the Test of Emotional Styles and the Repression-Sensitization Scale. In males, but not in females, left-looking Ss obtained significantly higher scores on the Responsiveness and Expressiveness scales of the TES. A non-significant tendency for males who displayed left-looking tendencies to appear as more sensitizing than right-looking males on the RS scale also was found. The correlates of CLEM found for males on the TES lend qualified support to that instrument's overall validity. Further investigation of the possible ego defensive correlates of the CLEM effect is needed.


A reapplication of the process scoring system for dreams. The first application of the new Process Scoring System for dreams was made in an intensive longitudinal case study of 1 S over a 5 1/2 year period. In this second application, the dreams of a sample of 5 experienced Feeling Therapy patients were compared to those of 5 control Ss. As in the first study, considerable support was found for both the transformation hypothesis, which holds that it is possible to shift from a symbolic mode of dream behavior to a directly expressive one, and the parallelism hypothesis, which holds that the expression of affect in dreams parallels the expression of affect in waking and vice versa.


Parent Attitude Research Instrument (PARI): clinical vs. statistical inferences in understanding abusive mothers. Attitudes toward child rearing and early experiences in childhood traditionally have been regarded as psychodynamic factors that influence adult behavior. The present study assessed the capacity of the Parent Attitude Research Instrument (PARI) to differentiate between court-identified abusive mothers and a control sample of nonabusive, well-baby clinic mothers of comparable socioeconomic status. While univariate t-tests showed statistical significance for 3 of the 23 PARI scales, more sophisticated and appropriate multivariate tests (Discriminant Function Analysis) demonstrated that the PARI correctly classified the experimental and control Ss only 65% of the time. It appears that the PARI alone should not be used to identify potentially abusive mothers. Even more important, the results caution and alert non-statistically informed clinicians and researchers to the pitfall of over-interpreting clinical data that are based on the more simple univariate tests of statistical significance.


Patients' attitudes and attributions to electroconvulsive shock therapy. An attributional analysis of ECT as a placebo was investigated by comparing the attitudes of patients on two psychiatric wards. It was hypothesized that on the ward on which ECT was administered more frequently, general attitudes toward the treatment would be more favorable and more patients would express the opinion that ECT had worked well for them personally. The results, which supported the predictions, indicate that the operation of placebo effects in connection with ECT may account for differential treatment results more adequately than explanations based on physiological models. The findings also suggest that more research is needed to explore the relationship between patients' attitudes and treatment outcomes.


Reliability and validity enhancement: a treatment package for increasing fidelity of self-report. This study investigated the effects of reliability and validity "enhancers" on fidelity of self-report data in an analogue therapy situation. Under the guise of a Concentration Skills Training Program, 57 Ss were assigned randomly to one of the following conditions: (a) Reliability Enhancement; (b) Truth Talk; (c) No Comment Control. Results indicated significant differences among groups (p less than .05). In addition, tests of multiple comparisons revealed that Reliability Enhancement was significantly different from Truth Talk in occurrences of unreliability (p less than .05). These findings are discussed in light of the increased reliance on self-report data in behavioral intervention, and recommendations are made for future research.


The dropout and the terminator: a methodological note on definitions. The numerical criteria of either mean or median number of sessions as a nethodological procedure for categorizing patients as dropouts were compared with the clinically based definition in a sample of 221 outpatients. Lack of agreement was noted in two primary areas. A large number of clinically defined terminators were classified incorrectly as dropouts, and a large number of clinically defined dropouts were not classified when the mean or median number of sessions was used as a criterion to classify the dropout. The results of the study supported the contention that definitions of dropping out based on number of sessions lead to categorizations that are not comparable to those based on knowledge of the clinical data.


Assessing assertion in the elderly: an application of the behavioral-analytic model of competence. This study developed a behavioral measure of assertiveness for older adults. The behavioral assessment device was developed by use of procedures outlined by Goldfried and D'Zurilla (1969) and Price and Bouffard (1974). Four assertion-appropriate situations for older adults were developed. The situations were administered to 33 Ss. Their responses were scored two ways, for overall assertion and content assertion. Generalizability of the device was examined. Reliability of judges' ratings (for assertion and content) was high, as was test-retest reliability. Assertion was shown to be situation-specific since estimated individual by situation uninerse variance was relatively hight. The assessment device showed significant concurrent validity, although the evidence for construct validity was minimal. Despite the rigorousness of the methods involved, the behavioral-analytic model of competence (Goldfried & D'Zurilla, 1969) has both theoretical and practical advantages in constructing other assessment devices for the elderly.


Rorschach form level and the process-reactive dimension in schizophrenia. The Rorschachs of 15 process and 15 reactive schizophrenics were scored for form level toexamine differences on the cards between these groups. Cards X and IX proved most difficult for both groups to integrate. Process schizophrenics performed less well than did reactives on Card II, and reactives performed less well than did process on Card VII. The first result was interpreted in relation to the saliency ofhuman figures in Card III. The results on Card VII were interpreted as contradicting that the card represented a parental theme. Further discussion centered upon the need for more analysis of Rorschach indices across individual cards.


Assessment of alcoholics' moods at the beginning and end of a hospital treatment program. The Profile of Mood States was administered weekly to 122 completers and 91 noncompleters of a hospital alcohol rehabilitation program. Ss' initial mood scores were not significant predictors of whether they would complete the program or of whether they would attain abstinence or show improvement in drinking practices at 3-month follow-up. When Ss left the program their final mood scores indicated significant improvement in mood states compared to their initial scores. Completers who later were found to be abstinent showed a trend toward affective improvement on all 6 Profile scales. It is suggested that assessment of an alcoholic's mood can contribute to formulation of treatment plans.


Conformity in gamma and delta alcoholics. Walton (1968) suggested that personality structure determines the pattern of addiction displayed by alcoholics. Personality measures have been shown to differentiate reliably between alcoholics and nonalcoholic populations. The present study investigated conforming behavior in response to group pressure in gamma and delta alcoholics and in nonalcoholic controls. Hospitalized alcholics conformed significantly more than normals when group pressure was acknowledged prior to responding. Gamma alcoholics tended to conform more than delta alcoholics, but this trend was not significant. These results are consistent with previous findings that gamma alcoholics are more extreme on some personality dimensions. This may be regarded as evidence that personality type determines pattern of addiction (Walton, 1968). Alternatively, societal reaction to different drinking patterns, or the progressive nature of the disease, may produce personality differences.


Personality patterns of drug abusers as shown by MMPI profiles. MMPI and 16 PF patterns of a group of drug abusers who were participating in a voluntary VA Drug Abuse Program were investigated. The MMPI profiles of 91 male veterans who ranged in age from 18-45 years were classified according to two-point code types. A comparison was made of the most frequently occurring code types among drug abusers, medical patients, and psychiatric patients. The two modal profile types among drug abusers were the 4-9/9-4 and the 2-4/4-2, which accounted for 32% of the sample. An additional comparison between the two modal types and responses to the 16 PF was made. Results indicate a closer resemblance to psychiatric patients than to medical patients, and the variety of high point code types is discussed. The similarity between the present sample of modal code types with research on drug abusers undertaken 20 years previously also is discussed.


The Seeking of Noetic Goals Test (SONG): a complementary scale to the Purpose in Life Test (PIL). A new attitude scale to measure the strength of motivation to find meaning in life is herein developed to complement the Purpose in Life Test (PIL), which measures the degree to which meaning has been found. Both instruments were designed from the orientation of Frankl's logotherapy, which holds the "will to meaning" to be the strongest human motivation. Ss were: Group 1 "abnormal," 128 logotherapy patients, 20 methadone patients, 262 alcoholics; Group 2 "normal," 19 seminary students, 64 mixed college students, 123 female college freshmen. (Subgroup fractionations were studied independently.) Results support a predicted moderate negative correlation with the PIL and statistically significant construct validity in separating normal from abnormal populations. PIL-SONG combinations in the prediction of therapeutic outcome support the usefulness of the SONG as a supplementary instrument. The predicted differences are small, but in the expected direction.


The discrimination of marijuana intoxication. Forty Ss, 20 males and 20 females, observed a videotape that showed four males interacting in a social setting under four different drug conditions; coltsfoot, placebo, marijuana low dose, and marijuana high dose. The observers attempted to discriminate the level of intoxication of the four males in each condition. The observers accurately detected the level of intoxication in the high dose condition. While marijuana experienced users were more successful in detecting levels of intoxication, the sex of the observer was not significant. Behaviors used to discriminate intoxication and the implications of these results to defining intoxication are discussed.


The differential impact of self-monitoring on smoking behavior: an exploratory study. This study investigated the impact of self-monitoring on smoking patterns of internal and external smokers. Eighty-nine Ss charted their smoking behavior (number of cigarettes per day) on a daily basis for 4 consecutive weeks, after which personality measures were administered. Self-monitoring produced wide changes in reported cigarette consumption, although this procedure did not change significantly smoking behavior for the entire sample. Ss were divided arbitrarily into three categories: Ss who increased 20 cigarettes or more, Ss who decreased 20 cigarettes or more, and Ss who increased or decreased up to 19 cigarettes. Negative affect traits, locus of control, and self-concept variables did not differentiate increasers, decreasers, or maintainers. Ss who increased consumption reported greater reinforcement value from solitary related as opposed to socially oriented functions than the decreasers and the maintainers. Future studies should explore the meaningfulness of an intervention designed to improve the smoker's social interactions.


Public prestige and preferred gender of mental health providers. One hundred ambulatory adults of each gender were interviewed on a downtown street in Washington, D.C. Each ranked for prestige an alphabetical listing of 10 mental health disciplines and further indicated whether they would prefer to consult for an emotional problem a "male," "female," or "either" professional in each of the fields. The top three prestigious professions were found to be Psychiatrist, Psychoanalyst, and Psychologist, respectively, while the bottom choices were Paraprofessional Worker, Psychiatric Social Worker, and Social Worker. Discussion considered several factors possibly contributory to these results, and suggestions for further research were offered.


Synaptic organization of the external cuneate nucleus in the rat. The normal synaptic organization of the rat external cuneate nucleus (ECN) has been investigated. The characteristic feature of the ECN neuropil is complex synaptic arrangements termed synaptic glomeruli. These involve both axo-dendritic and axo-axonic synapses and usually are isolated from the surrounding neuropil by lamellar glial sheaths. Glial isolation of synaptic glomeruli is conspicuous near capillaries. Central glomerular bouton profiles vary in size (2-9 micron diam) and configuration. They form asymmetrical synapses onto dendritic shafts and spines and occasionally receive symmetrical synapses from en passant bouton profiles. Other forms of axo-dendritic synapses not associated with synaptic glomeruli are observed. The type frequently observed is formed by one or more boutons (0.5 4.0 micron diam) synapsing onto a dendrite or dendritic spine. "Isolated" axo-dendritic synapses are surrounded by glial lamellae. Elongated "giant" boutons make multiple synaptic contacts along a dendritic shaft. Serial axo-axonic synapses are found mainly in caudal regions of the nucleus. Axo-somatic synapses are formed by small boutons (0.3.2.0 micron diam) contacting medium (16-24 micron) and small (9-14 micron) neurons. The least frequently observed bouton type in the rat ECN contains numerous granular vesicles, 80-100 nm in diameter. These boutons may contact dendrites, neuronal somas or other boutons.


Patterns of degeneration in the external cuneate nucleus after multiple dorsal rhizotomies. Unilateral, intradural dorsal rhizotomies (C3-Cs) were performed on adult rats to study the patterns of synaptic organization of ascending dorsal root fibers in the external cuneate nucleus (ECN). Animals were permitted to survive for periods of time ranging from 3 hours to 12 days. Sham-operated animals presented a morphology indistinguishable from that of normal, unoperated animals. In rhizotomized animals, degeneration was observed ipsilaterally at all survival periods. After postoperative survivals of 3 to 14 hours some terminal boutons displayed clumping and diminution in numbers of synaptic vesicles and, in addition, degeneration myelinated axons were observed at this time. There was considerable degeneration in the neuropil between 24 and 48 hours postoperative. Two forms of degeneration occurred in axons and terminal boutons with comparable frequency: electron lucent degeneration and electron opaque degeneration. Reactive phagocytic glial cells contained degenerated masses, lipoid droplets, lysosome-like structures and myelin fragments. After postoperative survivals of four to six days, lucent and opaque degenerating terminals were less numerous. Neurofilamentous degeneration was observed only occasionally. Unaltered synaptic membrane specializations were present and were usually abutted by glia. At 12 days postoperative, synaptic glomeruli and serial synapses were not seen. Invaginating dendritic spines were rarely seen. Bouton populations that remained unualtered were: small (0.3-3.0 micron) boutons that contact dendritic shafts and somata, nodal synaptic boutons and boutons containing granular vesicles (80-100 nm).


Growth of the corticospinal tract and the development of placing reactions in the postnatal rat. The growth of corticospinal axons into the spinal cord has been demonstrated using the autoradiographic and the Fink-Heimer silver degeneration methods. In addition, the development of several types of placing reactions have been studied. After unilateral injections of radioactive proline or unilateral ablations of the somatosensory-motor cortex, corticospinal axons were found to extend into the contralateral dorsal funiculus of the lower cervical cord at one day postnatally, into mid-thoracic segments at three days, into upper lumbar cord by five days and into coccygeal segments by nine days. Corticospinal axons are first present in the contralateral spinal gray of lower cervical cord at day 5 and in the contralateral spinal gray of lower lumbar and sacral cord by day 9. Little change in the topographical distribution or in the density of the projection is found at all levels of the spinal gray after the fourteenth postnatal day. Comparable results were found with both experimental techniques. Forelimb placing is first seen between 4 to 7 days and hind limb placing between 9 to 13 days. The last placing response to appear in both the forelimbs and the hindlimbs is placing in response to tactile and light proprioceptive stimuli. After the initial onset of the placing reactions, there is a gradual increase in the frequency and speed of the responses until 14 to 17 days postnatally, at which time the reactions appear to be mature. While a causative relationship between the growth of corticospinal axons into the spinal cord and the development of placing has not been established, a close temporal relationship has been found between first: the appearance of fore-or hindlimb placing responses and the appearance of corticospinal axons within the spinal gray at the appropriate levels of the cord and second: between the completion of the primary growth of corticospinal axons at the light microscopic level and the maturation of the placing reactions.


Time dependence of terminal degeneration in spino-cerebellar mossy fiber rosettes in the chicken and the application of terminal degeneration in successive degeneration experiments. Mossy fiber rosettes in the granular layer of the cerebellar cortex were studied after sections of the lateral funiculus of the spinal cord of the chicken and silver impregnation with the Fink-Heimer ('67) method I. After a survival time of two or three days two types of degenerated rosettes were found. The first type is characterized by digitiform protrusions, the second type of rosette is spherical. Both types are covered by small argyrophilic particles which disappear when the degeneration proceeds. With longer survival times the rosettes become swollen and finally disintegrate and lose their argyrophilia. After a survival time of 30 days only debris of rosettes can be found. These observations were used to determine the cerebellar cortical projection mossy fibers originating from segments of the spinal cord isolated in "successive degeneration" experiments consisting of a chronic cordotomy followed by an acute cordotomy rostral to the first one.


Pharmacokinetics and hepatic extraction ratio of pindolol in hypertensive patients with normal and impaired renal function. The intravenous and oral pharmacokinetics and the hepatic extraction ratio of pindolol were determined in 24 hypertensive patients with normal or impaired renal function. In patients with normal renal function, the total clearance was the sum of equal parts of the renal and nonrenal clearances. The nonrenal clearance was found to be equal to the hepatic clearance directly measured from the hepatic extraction ratio. Compared to patients with normal renal function, patients with chronic renal failure exhibited (i) unchanged K12 and K21 and nonrenal clearances, and (ii) significantly decreased values in half-life of the beta phase, Kel, and total renal clearance. The renal clearance was positively correlated (P less than 0.01) to the creatinine clearance. Bioavailability was significantly reduced (P less than 0.01) in the patients with renal failure. Assuming that the nonrenal clearance was equal to the hepatic clearance, the study provides evidence that, in patients with renal insufficiency, (i) no increased metabolism accompanies the decrease in renal function, and (ii) decreased availability is due to reduced absorption.


Experimental evidence for climbing fibers in the avian cerebellum. This study identifies climbing fibers in the cerebellar cortex following brain stem lesions. Antegrade nerve fiber degeneration was studied after electrolytic destruction of rhombencephalic structures in 24 domestic fowl. Direct damage to the cerebellum was precluded by a retropharyngeal surgical approach. Only lesions that include the inferior olivary nucleus were compatible with Fink-Heimer staining of degeneratin nerve fibers in the Purkinje cell and molecular layer. Degenerating axons were identified as climbing fibers from their trajectory in association with Purkinje cell soma and dendrites. Terminal nerve endings were observed only in the basal one-third to one-half of the molecular layer. The presence of climbing fibers in only the contralateral molecular layer was observed in autoradiographic preparation subsequent to unilateral injection of tritiated leucine into the inferior olivary nucleus of three hens. The morphology of the labeled and impregnated degenerating nerve fibers closely coincides with information provided by previous investigators using Golgi stained histological preparations and electron microscopy.


Conditioning decreases in plasma corticosterone level in rats by paring stimuli with daily feedings. This study examined the nature of a stimulus-induced decrease in the plasma corticosterone levels of rats. Rats maintained on a 23-hr food and water deprivation regimen were fed each morning immediately upon entrance of the experimenter into the otherwise isolated animal quarters. After only 14 feeding trials, the rats showed a marked decrease in corticosterone levels within 10 min of the experimenter's entrance whether fed and watered or not. The acquisition of this decrease was then examined over training trials and by comparing the conditioned animals (Group CD) with a group designed to control for pseudoconditioning, sensitization, and habituation (Group PC) during the use of the more distinctive conditioning stimulus of placing the rat's cage in a sound-attenuating chamber. During training. Group CD was fed .5-6 min after placement in the chamber, and Group PC was fed 1.5-2.5 hr before or after placement. After one training trial, the CD and PC groups showed an increase in corticosterone levels in response to chamber placement when not fed or watered. However, after 14 training trials the CD group exhibited a significant decline, whereas the PC group exhibited a rise in corticosterone levels. The results indicate that external stimuli can cause a decrease in corticosterone level by virtue of prior association with feeding and drinking. This strongly suggests an acquired inhibition of the pituitary-adrenal system.


Facilitative and inhibitory influences of reproductive behavior on sperm transport in rats. Six experiments were performed to investigate the effects of the rat's copulatory behavior on sperm transport in the female's reproductive tract. Data showed that (a) transcervical sperm transport in rats requires 6--10  min after ejaculation for completion; (b) transcervical transport of large numbers of sperm requires that the vaginal plug remain lodged tightly in the vaginal-cervical junction; (c) maintenance of an immobile posture by the male, and possibly by the female, at ejaculation facilitates the deposition of a tightly lodged vaginal plug and the transport of large numbers of sperm through the cervix; (d) a single intromission occurring within 2 min after ejaculation disrupts sperm transport, but more copulatory stimulation is required to disrupt sperm transport when delivered between 4 and 10 min after ejaculation; and (e) the average postejaculatory interval is long enough to prevent a male from disrupting the transport of most of his own sperm from the preceding ejaculation.


Concurrent inhibition of sexual behavior, but not brain [3H]estradiol uptake, by progesterone in female rats. Chronic injections of high doses of progesterone (5 mg) and low doses of estradiol benzoate (EB; 2 microgram) resulted in less sexual behavior than did low doses of progesterone (.5 mg) and low doses of EB. In a typical procedure for inducing sexual behavior, EB and progesterone were given sequentially, separated by 42 hr. High levels of progesterone (2.5 and 5 mg) administered concurrently with EB inhibited the induction of sexual receptivity. Increasing the dose of EB from 2 microgram to 6 microgram or 10 microgram offset this inhibition. High doses of progesterone (5 mg) administered simultaneously or 2-16 hr prior to EB inhibited the induction of sexual behavior, but the inhibition waned when progesterone was administered 48 hr prior to EB. A single injection of progesterone (1 mg) that did not inhibit the induction of sexual behavior when administered concurrently with EB did inhibit lordosis when distributed into five injections (.2 mg) every 4 hr. The results of two experiments in which progesterone did not inhibit the uptake or retention of [3H]estradiol by brain cell nuclei suggest that the antiestrogenic action of progesterone in the central nervous system is not to interfere with the binding of estradiol.


Sequential inhibition of sexual behavior by progesterone in female rats: comparison with a synthetic antiestrogen. When a large dose of progesterone was administered to ovariectomized rats 24 hr after a 2-microgram injection of estradiol benzoate (EB), sexual receptivity was inhibited at 54 hr (sequential inhibition). Larger doses of progesterone (1 mg) were required to inhibit the induction of sexual receptivity when tested at 54 hr than were necessary to facilitate at 30 hr. This inhibition was not due to copulatory stimuli from the first test, because inhibition occurred even when the first test was omitted. The inhibition was dose dependent on estradiol; increasing the EB priming dose offset the inhibition caused by 1 mg of progesterone. The results of an experiment that dissociated behaviorally the antiestrogenic action of progesterone from that of a synthetic antiestrogen, CI-628, are consistent with the notion that progesterone and synthetic antiestrogens inhibit the neural effects of estradiol by separate mechanisms of action.


Influence of experiential factors and gonadal hormones on pituitary-adrenal response of the mouse to novelty and electric shock. Plasma corticosterone elevations have been shown to occur in response to exposure to a novel environment and to the delivery of painful stimulation, such as footshock. The present experiment investigated the effects of experience with these types of stimuli upon the responsivity of the pituitary-adrenal system. When mice were subjected to repeated footshock, the adrenocortical response was increased. When animals were repeatedly shocked in a specific environment, the adrenocortical-stimulating properties of the situational stimuli were also elevated. On the other hand, plasma corticosterone elevations in response to merely being placed in an experimental chamber were not affected by 10 exposures to the situation. Previous data showed that animals that had been shocked in one environment were generally more responsive to many types of stimulus changes. Such a pattern of results suggests that the pituitary-adrenal system is subject to sensitization processes and that the central nervous system substrate which controls its function is one that is normally involved with the production of states of arousal. This configuration of results was quite pronounced in the female mouse regardless of hormonal state, and it was absent in the intact male. The results of studies with gonadectomized males suggested that testosterone inhibits sensitization.


Synergistic effects of hydralazine and alpha- or beta-adrenergic blockers: the role of plasma renin activity. Intravenous hydralazine, 0.15, 0.30 or 0.60 mg/kg, was administered to 11 supine hypertensives on two occasions: once after pretreatment with intravenous propranolol, 0.1 mg/kg, and once after pretreatment with intravenous placebo. The average fall in mean arterial pressure for each dosage of hydralazine was no different with or without propranolol, even though propranolol inhibited rises in plasma renin activity and pulse due to hydralazine. However, in each of four patients who had high supine baseline plasma renin activity, propranolol enhanced the fall in blood pressure caused by hydralazine. A second group of patients was given an infusion of 0.01 or 0.02 mg/kg per minute phentolamine, which did not change baseline blood pressure. Subsequent administration of intravenous hydralazine, 0.15 mg/kg, resulted in a fall in blood pressure which was larger than previously observed with intravenous hydralazine alone, regardless of supine baseline plasma renin activity. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that reflex catecholamine release interferes with the hypotensive effect of intravenous hydralazine. Pretreating with propranolol weakens homeostatic defenses against hydralazine such as rises in pulse rate and plasma renin activity. However, propranolol appears to enhance the alpha-adrenergic effect of released catecholamines, and the antihypertensive response to hydralazine is unaltered. In patients with high supine plasma renin activity, propranolol potentiates the fall in blood pressure induced by hydralazine, perhaps because the hypertension in such patients is renin dependent.


Binomial assessment of behavioral-phenotypic variations: constancy of choices, trial effects, and social interaction effects in mass-screened color preferences of quail chicks (Coturnix coturnix japonica). Individual variations in repeated approach choices between colors by quail chicks were efficiently and reliably identified by methods of binary mass screening and binomial assessment. Choices between a pair of identical white stimuli showed only random variations, which indicated that position habit, systematic alternation, and extraneous stimulus factors did not influence performances. Choices between blue and red colors showed significant individual variations, which were free of influences from changes in the probabilities of choices on repeated trials, interdependence between trials, and interdependence between individual performances of mass-screened subjects. Genetic determination of individual variations were shown by strong responses to bidirectional genetic selection of choices between blue and red, which also introduced small social interaction effects in mass-screened performances. Results are discussed in relation to the use of binomial distribution for identifying phenotypic units and variations in choice behaviors.


Specificity of avoidance deficits produced by 6-hydroxydopamine lesions of the nigrostriatal system of the rat. Microinjections of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) into the dopaminergic nigrostriatal system (NS) of the rat impaired acquisition of a two-way avoidance response. This effect was independent of nutritional deficiencies since it was observed even when a special postoperative treatment ensured a comparable state of nutrition in control and experimental rats. It was likewise independent of locomotor disturbances. A third question remains open: Doses of 6-OHDA that impaired acquisition of an active avoidance response produced lesions that were, to a great extent, nonspecific. Therefore, behavioral effects of these doses cannot be entirely ascribed to selective destruction of the NS.


Transections of stria medullaris or stria terminalis in the rat: effects on aversively controlled behavior. Surgical transection of the stria medullaris (SM) reliably interfered with the acquisition of a one-way avoidance response but had no effect on two-way shuttle box avoidance, passive avoidance, intake of palatable fluids, or locomotor activity. Transection of the stria terminalis (ST) selectively interfered with the animals' reactions to punishment in a passive avoidance situation but had no effect on one-way or two-way active avoidance or on locomotor activity. This pattern of effects complements the results of earlier investigations from our laboratory that showed that two-way avoidance learning (but not one-way avoidance or passive aboidance behavior) was impaired after fornicotomy and after transection of the ventral connections of the septum with the lower brain stem. The latter cut, but not fornicotomy or transection of ST or SM, reproduced the effects of septal lesions on water intake, body weight, and preferential intake of palatable solutions. The results of this investigation provide support for the hypothesis that the septum exercises a number of separate functions that are mediated by different pathways.


Conditioning of cortical neurons in cats with antidromic activation as the unconditioned stimulus. Single-cell activity was recorded from the postcruciate cortex of acutely prepared cats during a differential classical conditioning procedure. The conditioned stimuli (CS) were hind paw stimuli, and the unconditioned stimulus (US) was pyramidal tract stimulation that produced an antidromic response in the recorded cortical neuron. A control group was also examined in which the pyramidal stimulus was set below the threshold to produce an antidromic response. Clear differential conditioning was found for the experimental group, with antidromic activation of the neuron as the US. There was no evidence of differential conditioning in the control group without antidromic activation. Any activation of orthodromic pathways should have been the same in the control and experimental groups. The absence of conditioning in the control group demonstrated that orthodromic pathways were not contributing to the differential conditioning observed in the experimental group. This indicates that it was activation of the neuron produced by antidromic firing which was important for conditioning. All the evidence suggests that the site of learning was in the cortex. It is concluded that the the role of the US in conditioning may be simply to activate the neuron at an appropriate interval following the CS.


Auditory sensitivity of the albino rat.

Auditory sensitivity of the albino rat. The auditory sensitivity of the (Sprague-Dawley strain) albino rat was determined by the conditioned suppression technique. The three animals tested were found to have a range of hearing from 250 Hz to 80 kHz at 70 dB (SPL). They were most sensitive to tones of 8 kHz but were almost as sensitive at 38 kHz. In contrast to previously published data, there was no evidence for a highly specialized tuning of the audiogram to tones in the 30-40 kHz region. In general, the audiogram of this strain of albino rat is quite typical of mammals of the same size and, furthermore, closely approximates the mammalian mean in most essential features.


Audiogenic seizures in curarized mice.

Audiogenic seizures in curarized mice. Previous experiments have indicated that interference with somatosensory feedback from convulsive movements may lessen the severity of audiogenic seizures in susceptible rodents. For further investigation of this phenomenon, mice were partially immobilized with tubocurarine chloride to attenuate convulsive movements and somatosensory input associated with such movements. In Experiment 1, seizures of mice injected with .15 mg/kg were evaluated behaviorally and compared with seizures of saline-injected litter-mates. The likelihood of clonic-tonic seizures in curarized mice was as high as that of control mice, although convulsive movements were somewhat less violent and seizure fatalities were markedly reduced. In Experiment 2, seizures of mice given .25 mg/kg were evaluated with electroencephalography, and records were compared with those of controls. Despite the near absence of behavioral signs of convulsions, electroencephalograms of curarized mice showed that audiogenic seizures readily occurred. The findings suggest that audiogenic seizures are centrally "programmed" and do not require feedback from convulsive movements. However, it may be possible to disrupt the central "program" by introducing appropriate somatosensory input not normally encountered during audiogenic seizures.


Evaluation of intranasal zinc sulfate treatment on olfactory discrimination in rats. The effects of intranasal syringing with 5% zinc sulfate were assessed in rats trained in a wind-tunnel olfactometer to detect the presence of an odor or to discriminate odors of graded intensities. The syringing produced a severe but brief interference in olfactory performance. Full recovery of detection performance occurred within 72 hr after treatment. Initial recovery of odor intensity discrimination occurred in 2-8 days and full recovery within 8-10 days. These results suggest that intranasal syringing with ZnSO4 is not an adequate control for the effects of anosmia produced by olfactory bulbectomy.


The cryobiological basis for cryosurgery. This paper discusses two important biological factors contributing to the death of cells within any region that is frozen cryosurgically. The first factor is the relationship between cell death and the thermal history experienced by each cell. Freezing with a single probe as usually done cannot provide sufficiently uniform conditions of cooling and warming to ensure widespread cell death. This situation can be improved by cycling a single probe at subzero temperatures or by the use of a multiple probe. The second factor is that of possible immunological responses induced by cryosurgical freezing. Improvements in understanding of biological implications of low temperatures in cryosurgery will aid the practical usefulness of these techniques.


"Third generation" cryotherapy.

"Third generation" cryotherapy. The next generation of cryosurgical appliances must provide us with means for speedy, exact, and sure tissue destruction. For this we need redesigned, forklike probes, programmers to direct the cryosurgical appliances, and caloric "dosimeters." Thermocouples, which direct feedback controls and which at the moment are built into the tip of the freezing probes, should instead be inserted into target tissue.


Cryosurgery for cancer of the ear.

Cryosurgery for cancer of the ear. Cryosurgery may be used in almost any type of ear cancer, easily curing early lesions and proving surprisingly effective in advanced disease, even after failures of excision or radiotherapy. In large, bulky cancers, cryosurgery may be combined with excision to improve change of cure by freezing because depth of freezing is always difficult to achieve in such cases. In cases with bone destruction, mastoidecotmy facilitates treatment by freezing. Cryosurgery deserves choice over other treatments in carefully selected patients with cancer of the ear.


Cryosurgery for ocular and periocular lesions. This preliminary report suggests that cryosurgery has a definite place in the management of certain external periocular and ocular problems. Cryosurgery for basal- or squamous-cell carcinoma of the lid is easily performed, gives excellent cosmetic results, and has a low recurrence rate. It is not recommended for lesions involving the fornices, nor for sclerotic or morphea-type basal-cell carcinomas. Tumor recurrences following radiation, surgery, or cryosurgery can still be retreated with cryosurgery. To date, there is no evidence that cryosurgery at temperatures above --40 degrees C causes damage to the lacrimal outflow system. Cryosurgery is of value in the management of trichiasis, reactive lymphoid hyperplasia, spider hemangioma, molluscum contagiosum, and conjunctival dysplasia. Cryotherapy for management of intraepithelial epithelioma and squamous-cell carcinoma of the conjunctiva and cornea is still under investigation. Cryosurgery will, in our opinion, become the treatment of choice for basal- and squamous-cell carcinomas of the eyelids. The 96% cure rate with one treatment for these lesions reported here is artificially high since the follow-up period is too short. However, retreatment with cryosurgery is a simple 10- min outpatient procedure which is certainly not the case with recurrences after other forms of therapy.


Cryosurgical treatment of epitheliomas using the cone-spray technique. By use of cone-shaped devices to confine liquid nitrogen spray to a restricted area on the skin surface, it is practical to treat selected epitheliomas without the aid of thermocouples. "Depth dose" is estimated by measuring the lateral spread of freezing on the surface beyond the restricted area, timing the duration of freeze, and from this information calculating the depth of freeze and the relationship of various isotherms (such as the --25 degrees C isotherm) with the frozen mass.


Cryosurgery for unusual cutaneous neoplasms. Cryosurgery is used effectively to treat several unusual cutaneous tumors, namely, four cases of lentigo maligna (melanotic freckle of Hutchinson, or circumscribed precancerous melanosis of Dubreuilh), one case of pseudopyogenic granuloma of Wilson Jones, and one case of granuloma faciale.


Haemodynamic effects of dopamine in septic shock. The Haemodynamic response to dopamine infusion has been assessed in 30 patients in septic shock with myocardial dysfunction. Dopamine infusion resulted in a haemodynamic improvement as indicated by significant increases in cardiac output of 38.4% (p less than .001), stroke volume 18.7% (p less than .001), and mean arterial pressure of 33% (p less than .001). Despite the inotropic effect, left ventricular filling pressure did not change in 20 cases and increased in 10 cases. Mean peripheral resistance remained unchanged with a scatter of individual responses depending upon factors such as dopamine dose and initial vascular resistance. Dopamine increased intrapulmonary shunting by 48% (p less than .001), insignificantly decreased PaO2, increased mixed venous oxygen saturation by 16% (p less than .02) and decreased pulmonary vascular resistance by 15% (p less than .02). Both isoprenaline and dopamine improve stroke volume by an inotropic action, with an increase in venous return in the case of the latter and a reduction in afterload in the former. It is concluded that the usefulness of dopamine in septic shock may be limited in patients with previous myocardial disease because of the risk of increasing preload and in hypoxaemic patients because of the risk of increasing intrapulmonary shunting.


Comparative haemodynamic effects of dobutamine and isoproterenol in man. Dobutamine was infused at a rate of 8 mcg/kg/min in 17 patients with or without congestive heart failure. Cardiac output increased from an average 2.92 to 4.45 1/min/m2(p less than 0.001) with no change in mean aortic pressure (93.4 to 97.8 mmHg) and only a slight increase in heart rate (78 to 87 beats/min). Left ventricular end-diastolic pressure decreased from an average 19 to 13.7 mmHg (p less than 0.01). Peak left ventricular dp/dt was doubled (1147 to 2370 mmHg/sec, p less than 0.001) and Vmax increased from 1.08 to 2.18 circ/sec (p less than 0.001). In 10 patients given equi-inotropic doses (100 per cent increase in peak dp/dt) Isoproterenol produced a greater increase in cardiac output (71 percent) than Dobutamine /51 percent). Isoproterenol caused mean aortic pressure to fall significantly (8 percent) while no change was noted with Dobutamine. Accordingly, peripheral vascular resistances were reduced to a greater extent with Isoproterenol than with Dobutamine (p less than 0.05). Mean pulmonary arterial pressure decreased significantly (25 +/- 5.9 to 22 +/- 5.7 mmHg, p less than 0.05) with Isoproterenol infusion and remained unchanged with Dobutamine infusion. Dobutamine increased both stroke work (57 percent) and minute work (83 percent). With Isoproterenol however, only minute work was significantly increased (90 percent). Dobutamine therefore is a potent inotropic drug, with mild chronotropic and peripheral vascular effect and may be valuable in the management of severe heart failure not associated with hypotension.


Blood resistivity and its implications for the calculation of cardiac output by the thoracic electrical impedance technique. A relationship has been established between the haematocrit and the resistivity of whole blood at 37 degrees C for neonates and adults not suffering from renal failure. Values of resistivity obtained in this way were substituted into Kubicek's equation for stroke volume by the electrical impedance technique, the signal pick-up electrodes being placed in standard positions. The calculated cardiac outputs were then compared with those obtained simultaneously from other techniques such as the dye dilution method for adults and the measurement of pulmonary effective capillary blood flow by rebreathing nitrous oxide in neonates. It was found that the impedance method overrestimates under these circumstances, and other workers have shown that this is likely to be due to a contribution from the right heart. A haemotocrit-dependent correction factor has been employed in the case of neonates to align the impedance and nitrous oxide results.


Massive doses of methylprednisolone (30 mg/kg) in man: immediate haemodynamic effects in "low output state". Methylprednisolone, 30 mg/kg body weight, was given as an intravenous bolus injection to a total of 31 cardiosurgical patients. Measurements of left ventricular parameters showed no significant increase in dp/dtmax and no significant decrease in left ventricular end-diastolic pressure. There were no important changes in blood pressure, heart rate, cardiac index, stroke index and total peripheral resistance. During 'steady state' extracorporeal circulation no relevant vasodilating effect could be found. In comparison to a control-group there were no important differences in haemodynamic parameters. In cardio-surgical patients, --mainly functional class III--we were unable to demonstrate any gross cardiovascular effects of large doses of methylprednisolone.


Massive pulmonary embolism without arterial hypoxaemia: pathophysiology in two cases. Two cases of massive pulmonary embolism, confirmed by angiographic or necropsy findings, were remarkable by the absence of arterial hypoxaemia. The various mechanisms responsible for arterial hypoxaemia in pulmonary embolism are discussed. It is suggested that in patients with massive pulmonary embolism a markedly decreased cardiac output might account for the absence of arterial hypoxaemia. In the light of these two cases the finding of a normal PaO2 does not rule out the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism.


Plasma and intraerythrocyte amino-acid levels during and after haemodialysis in acute renal failure. A study is carried out on the variations of plasma and blood red cells free amino acid concentrations secondary to haemodialysis in patients suffering from acute renal failure. A reduction in plasma free amino acid pool has been observed in patients undergoing to many periodic haemosialysis, but no significant differences occur in plasma aminogram between before and after a single dyalitic procedure. Significant alterations were also observed in blood red cells aminogram, and this may be interpreted as reflex of intracellular omeostatic mechanisms for the maintenance of normal plasma free aminoacid pattern.


Haemolytic streptococcal septicaemia.

Haemolytic streptococcal septicaemia. Two cases of haemolytic streptococcal septicaemia are reported, in one of which DIC was identified. The clinical presentation and the appearance of the patients is described.


Respiratory failure in acute pancreatitis. Marked respiratory insufficiency was established in 20 of 91 patients with acute pancreatitis. 16 of them died, 12 from uncontrollable hypoxaemia. At postmortem the most prominent finding was microatelectasis, the occurrence of which correlated highly with the serum amylase activity.


Intensive therapy nursing.

Intensive therapy nursing. Intensive Therapy Units have been established over the last ten years. A new nursing management structure and a re-organisation of the National Health Service have also taken place. The need for specialised nurse training for this field of nursing has been recognised, and the demands made on staff more fully appreciated.


Comparison of 1- and 2-hr delayed brain scans in patients undergoing chemotherapy for primary brain tumors. Fifty-five patients receiving various forms of chemotherapy for primary brain tumors had brain scans performed at 1 hr and again at 2 hr following injection of the radionuclide. The images were compared for changes in lesion size, lesion intensity, and surgical flap intensity. Sixteen percent (9) of the patients showed a definite increase in size of the lesions and 29% (16) a definite increase in intensity from 1-hr to the 2-hr scan. Fifty-one percent (28) of the patients showed fading in surgical flap intensity. One case of primary neoplasm, one case of meningeal spread of tumor, and one case of subdural hematoma were detected only on the 2-hr view. In addition, changes in the so-called doughnut sign were observed. These findings demonstrate a need for strict adherence to a specified time between injection and imaging in studying brain lesions receiving chemotherapy, and emphasize the superiority of the 2-hr scan for evaluation of these patients.


The value of bowel preparation in Ga-67 citrate scanning: concise communication. In order to assess the value of bowel preparation in Ga-67 citrate scanning, we retrospectively analyzed 156 randomly selected 72-hr Ga-67 scans and compared the extent of bowel activity in two groups of patients: those receiving a vigorous 3-day bowel preparation and those receiving no preparation. The populations were studied with regard to age, sex, and bowel preparation. A three-way analysis of variance (prep X sex X age) revealed no influence of these parameters on the degree of colonic gallium activity. We conclude that bowel preparation as used at our institution did not seem to reduce colonic gallium content significantly (p greater than 0.10).


Resolution of metastatic calcification revealed by bone scanning: case report. We report here a case that shows the resolution of metastatic visceral calcification after correction of hypercalcemia. The resolution was visualized by serial whole body scans with the bone-scanning agent Tc-99m methylene diphosphonate.


Gallium-67 spread to the anterior pararenal space in pancreatitis: case report. Gallium imaging has been of value in revealing the spread of inflammatory pancreatic disease to the anterior pararenal space. Recognition of this retroperitonel space and the potential usefulness of its imaging in the diagnosis of pancreatic diseases are discussed.


Radionuclide demonstration of small-bowel anatomy in the afferent-loop syndrome: case report. Radionuclide imaging with I-131 rose bengal and orally administered Tc-99m colloid was successfully used to show the presence of an afferent loop that was not visualized by radiographic, endoscopic, or ultrasonic procedures.


Pertechnetate distribution in man after intravenous infusion: a compartmental model. Using a primed infusion technique, distribution of pertechnetate was monitored in normal volunteer subjects over an 8-hr period. Two groups of subjects were studied, during hours 0-4 (n = 8) and hours 4-8 (n = 7), respectively, of the infusion. At 6.5 hr a large dose of NaI (1000 mg) was administered intravenously to the second group. Plasma, salivary, and urinary radioactivities were assayed, and external counts were made of radioactivities over the neck, thigh, and right upper abdomen. A kinetic model was developed for pertechnetate based upon the distribution data, the iodide perturbation, and known physiology for pertechnetate and iodide. The model has three major subsystems: (1) the thyroid trap; (2) a whole-body distribution, containing plasma and two extravascular compartments; and (3) the gastrointestinal tract, including the salivary, stomach (including upper small intestine), and two lower intestinal compartments. One of the latter, which turns over very slowly, is believed to represent bowel wall. The large NaI dose markedly reduced transport into compartments of the thyroid trap, the saliva, and the stomach and small intestine. This study shows that, in most respects, pertechnetate is distributed qualitatively but not quantitatively like iodide but that, unlike iodide, large bowel distribution plays an important role, especially in long-term studies.


Scintigraphic diagnosis of experimental pulmonary embolism with In-111-labeled platelets. Stasis thrombi, radiolabeled with Tc-99m sulfur colloid, were produced in six dogs by the injection of human thrombin into isolated jugular vein segments. After release of the thrombi, scintigraphic images demonstrated 16 pulmonary emboli containing Tc-99m. Autologous platelets labeled by the In-111 oxine method were injected. Sequential images demonstrated platelet accumulation in 14 of the 16 emboli within 1 hr. The emboli were recovered at autopsy and their activity assayed. The mean uptake of In-111-labeled platelets was 1.1% dose/g of embolus, and the mean embolus-to-blood ratio was 16. Our results demonstrate that fresh pulmonary emboli in dogs can be detected by imaging with In-111-labeled platelets, and suggest that radiolabeled platelets may provide a simple, noninvasive method for the direct visualization of pulmonary emboli in patients.


Technetium-99m stannous citrate brain-tumor uptake in mice: concise communication. The pharmacodynamics of technetium-99m stannous citrate were studies in Yale-Swiss mice bearing a sarcoma-like transplantable brain tumor, and the renal kinetics were determined in normal mice. Using a rating system based on tumor uptake and tumor-to-brain, tumor-to-blood, and tumor-to-skin ratios, the data obtained with this compound were compared with similar data obtained previously in the same model with Tc-99m Fe-(ascorbic acid), Tc-99m Fe-(ascorbic acid)-DTPA, Tc-99m Sn-DTPA, [99mTc] pertechnetate, and [99mTc] pertechnetate with perchlorate predose. Technetium-99m stannous citrate does not appear to achieve tumor localization by a mode different from these other Tc-99m-labeled compounds, nor does it show any potential advantage as a scanning agent in the tumor model.


Estimation of thyroid depth and correction for I-123 uptake measurements. A new technique has been developed to correct I-123 uptake measurements for the effect of gland depth. The method uses the effect of differential tissue absorption and/or scatter of photons of different energies, and measures the ratio of counts of the primary I-123 emission to the counts of the tellurium K shell x-ray to determine a depth-correction factor. A comparison of this new method against three previously reported methods indicates that the present method provides the most sensitive index of gland depth. The method is sensitive to depth changes, is not significantly dependent on detector distance (p greater than 0.05) for distances greater than 18 cm, and is not dependent on gland size (p greater than 0.25), within the range 20-40 ml. In a group of 40 patients, the ORINS phantom method was found to underestimate the mean gland depth by about 1 cm, thereby causing an average uptake error of 23%. The application of the depth-correction factor was found to change the interpretation of uptake estimates in approximately 10% of the cases in this limited series.