Accelerated fractionation of heavy metals in contaminated soils and sediments using rotating coiled columns.

A new approach to performing an accelerated sequential extraction of trace elements from solid samples has been proposed. It has been shown that rotating coiled columns (RCC) earlier used in counter-current chromatography can be successfully applied to the dynamic leaching of heavy metals from soils and sediments. A solid sample was retained in the rotating column as the stationary phase under the action of centrifugal forces while different eluents (aqueous solutions of complexing reagents, mineral salts and acids) were continuously pumped through. The procedure developed is time saving and requires only 4-5 h instead of the several days needed for traditional sequential extraction (TSE), complete automation being possible. Losses of solid sample are minimal. In most cases the recoveries of readily bioavailable and leachable forms of Pb, Zn, and Cd are higher, if a dynamic extraction in RCC is used. Since naturally occurring processes are always dynamic, continuous extraction in RCC may help to estimate the contents of leachable forms and their potential risk for the environment more correctly than batch TSE. The Kersten-Foerstner and McLaren-Crawford leaching schemes have been compared, the former has been found to be preferable.

[Socio-familial and epilepsy specific stress on women with epilepsy]. / Soziofamiliäre und epilepsiespezifische Belastungen von Frauen mit Epilepsie.

The Berlin longitudinal study on teratogenic effects of maternal epilepsy was conducted on children in 1976. Approximately 18 years later, 103 of these children's mothers were reassessed with regard to somatic, psychological, and social well-being or impairment. The families with previously diagnosed epileptic mothers (n = 59) and control families (n = 44) did not statistically differ in rates of family separation, divorce, or unemployment of the partners. There were also no significant differences in the mothers' current psychological quality-of-life status (SF-36) or their beliefs on internal or external disease control (FKK). There were, however, group differences in more closely illness-related aspects. In spite of an appreciable remission rate of 28% over the past 17 years, significantly more mothers in the epilepsy group still reported physical infirmities (GBB), reduced body-related quality of life (SF-36), and more family stress events (FAI). Their self-esteem and competence-related beliefs (FSKN) were significantly lower. They also tended to have a lower level of education or professional training, and some had never been employed. When measuring quality of life, severity of seizure (NHS3) and early epilepsy onset are the major risk factors, regardless of whether one uses epilepsy-specific (QOLIE-10) or general quality-of-life questionnaires (SF-36).

Long-term neuropsychological consequences of maternal epilepsy and anticonvulsant treatment during pregnancy for school-age children and adolescents.

PURPOSE: Antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) are potential teratogenic agents. The purpose of this study was to examine the long-term effects of intrauterine AED exposure on neurologic and psychological functioning. METHODS: Of a prospective study, "Epilepsy, pregnancy, and child development," children could be retraced at school age and adolescence. Sixty-seven were born to mothers with epilepsy [no drugs during pregnancy (n = 13), monotherapy (n = 31), polytherapy (n = 23)]; 49 were nonafflicted control children. Assessments included an intelligence test (Wechsler), a neurologic examination (Touwen), and an EEG. Data analyses were performed, controlling for parental social status, type of maternal drug therapy and drug dosage, type of epilepsy, frequency of seizures during pregnancy, the original subgroups, and specific drug effects. RESULTS: Type of maternal epilepsy and type and kind of AED therapy, but not maternal seizures during pregnancy correlated with an increase in abnormal EEG patterns. Minor neurologic dysfunction was diagnosed, with increased frequency from the control to the risk/no drug or monotherapy to the polytherapy group. The compromised intelligence score of the polytherapy group was primarily due to those children who had been exposed to primidone (PRM). Level of IQ was negatively associated with PRM dosage. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal epilepsy and AED therapy during pregnancy appear to have long-term effects on the offspring well into adolescence, as evinced in EEG patterns, minor neurologic dysfunction, and intellectual performance. Severity of effects increased from control group to epilepsy/no-drug group to monotherapy group and was most marked in the polytherapy group. These group differences are assumed to reflect differential neural vulnerability to social and family factors.

Autologous mixed lymphocyte reaction in newly diagnosed type-1 diabetes.

The autologous mixed lymphocyte reaction (AMLR) represents activation, proliferation and differentiation of T cells in response to signals from autologous non-T cells. Deteriorations in AMLR have been reported in many autoimmune diseases and in diseases with a derangement in T cell regulatory function. We have studied AMLR in 23 newly diagnosed Type-1 diabetic patients and 32 healthy subjects. T and non-T cells were purified by rosetting mononuclear cells with sheep erythrocytes and separating the rosetted T cells from the nonrosetted non-T cells by density gradient centrifugation. Purity of T-lymphocytes isolated was 90% as determined by indirect immunofluorescent analysis with monoclonal antibodies. Proliferation of lymphocytes was measured in response to phytohaemagglutinin and of concanavalin A in a lymphocyte transformation test. In the present study, a deficient AMLR is demonstrated in patients with newly diagnosed Type-1 diabetes. Our data provide evidence for an aberrant immune regulation at the time of diabetes manifestation. The deficient AMLR may represent the in-vitro expression of an in-vivo process against pancreatic cells.

Relationship between carbohydrate tolerance, insulin secretion, and insulin sensitivity of isolated fat cells from obese protodiabetics.

Six normal weight subjects without any heredity of diabetes (group 1), 3 obese subjects with normal (group 2) and 9 with pathological carbohydrate tolerance (group 3) were characterized by a 2-h glucose infusion test. Adipose tissue fragments were obtained from the abdominal wall by surgical biopsy under intracutaneous anesthesia. Adipocytes were isolated by collagenase digestion and incubated in buffer containing [1-14C] glucose and different concentrations of insulin. The metabolic effect of insulin was expressed as percent increase above control 14CO2 production. Maximal CO2 raised to 207 +/- 25% and 154 +/- 9% in groups 1 and 2, respectively. These values were significantly higher than in obese subjects displaying a pathological carbohydrate tolerance (group 3; 119 +/- 6%). A negative correlation was found between blood glucose levels and biological activity of insulin on adipocytes. The results suggest that insulin sensitivity of target tissue seems to play an important role in development of carbohydrate intolerance.