Psychological and vocational long-term outcomes of cardiac rehabilitation with postinfarction patients under the age of forty.

70 male postinfarction patients, who were under 40 years of age at the time of transmural myocardial infarction, participated in an inpatient control examination 3.8 years following first hospitalization (mean age: 40 years, SD = 3.5 years). A multivessel disease occurred in 52% of the patients, in 80% a multilocular disease was diagnosed and in 25% coronary angiography indicated a progression in coronary sclerosis. Coronary risk factors had been considerably reduced. 78% were capable of working. Job-related stress factors of at least moderate intensity were present in about 30% of the jobs now held by the patients. Progressive morphological change occurred in patients who are older, have a multilocular disease, are subjected to more frequent and more intensive job-related stress factors, show less concern for their health and tend to leave their old living habits unchanged. In patients with multivessel disease, time pressure elicited more psychophysiological activation; furthermore, doing too many tasks at the same time and a reduced control over vocational success, together with sufficient self-confidence and an exaggerated job devotion are found in these patients. Retired patients differ from those who went back to work in cardiological, psychological and psychophysiological aspects. The importance of psychological and psychophysiological findings for a successful vocational reintegration is emphasized by these results.

Enzymatic microtiter plate-based nitrate detection in environmental and medical analysis.

Our microtiter plate assay is based on the enzymatic reduction of nitrate by dissimilatory nitrate reductase from Pseudomonas stutzeri [EC 1.7.99.4]. Exogenous redox mediators like methyl viologen, methylene blue, and cibachron blue were applied to reduce nitrate reductase. Concentrations of 0.02-0.9 mM nitrate can be detected with +/-6% standard deviation, by using a photometric Griess reaction for the formed nitrite. Nitrate reductase is stable in the pH range 6.5-9.0 and works in the temperature range 4-76 degrees C. The assay shows no interferences with salt content up to 1 M chloride or 11 mM chlorate, and serum albumin content up to 50 mg/ml. The time demand of our two-step procedure is 20 min/100 samples. Nitrate reductase could be conserved on site of the wells of microtiter plates for at least 6 months at room temperature. The nitrate assay was applied in environmental and consumer goods analysis, and for medical diagnostics in human plasma samples.