Ossification of the sesamoid bone at the base of the first finger in Czech boys and girls.

Ossification of the sesamoid bone of the first finger was studied in left hand-and-wrist X-rays of 296 Czech boys and 272 girls 9 to 15 years old using data collected between 1962 and 1966. The logit and the YES or NO methods were used in treating the data. A sesamoid bone, clearly visible to the naked eye, was considered as positive and when it was not yet visible, as negative. The sesamoid bone was developed in 50 per cent of boys at the age of 13.6 years and in 50 per cent of girls at the age of 11.2 years. This stage preceded the age at onset of menarche in Czech girls by 1.9 years. Boys showed a greater variability (SD = 1.4) than girls (SD = 0.8). Both sexes with clearly visible (ossified) sesamoid bones in their first fingers showed to be, on the average, taller and heavier in comparison with the Czech standard and with those boys and girls of corresponding ages without the sesamoid bone. In contrast to the still continuing secular trend in stature in Czech youths, the age of menarche remained in the last cca 30 years unchanged. In view of the close link between bone age and onset of menarche which remained unchanged for the past 30 years, we may consider our finding as still applicable to present-day adolescents.

Does sequential automated measurement improve the estimate of resting blood pressure?

Repeated blood pressure measurements made in sequence over short time intervals have been recommended in some studies of antihypertensive drugs, with the aim of improving the estimate of 'true' resting BP values. In order to examine this claim, the variance of four sequential automatic recordings of BP and heart rate was evaluated in 66 subjects. The oscillometric Nippon Colin BP-103N sphygmomanometer has been previously shown by our group to give accurate and consistent measurements of BP. The means and medians of three sequential readings, by significantly decreasing the variability, were found to be superior to single measurements. The recorded mean arterial pressures were significantly higher than those calculated according to the current formula, on average by 3.6 mmHg, being situated between one third and one half of the distance between the systolic and diastolic pressures. The Page's rank test revealed that the first measurements were not uniformly the highest ones. Since the variability of the first to third BP values did not differ, medians of the three sequential recordings made at one minute intervals can be recommended as a standard BP characteristic.

Impact of prenatal low-dose diazepam or chlorpromazine on reflex and motor development and inhibitory-learning.

Long-term behavioral effects of a low dose of diazepam (1 mg/kg body weight) or chlorpromazine (2.5 mg/kg) administered 2-3 times during the last week of pregnancy i.m. were studied in Wistar rats and compared with sequelae of analogously applied saline as well as with normal ontogeny in controls. Inhibitory learning-and-memory ontogeny was assessed by 3 types of passive avoidance (PA) at 3 different life periods: neonatal, 2 months, 4 months. Also were investigated: development of righting, air righting, hanging on a thin horizontal bar, eye-lid opening, somatic development and mortality. Prenatal application of diazepam had adverse effects in all parameters except of eye-lid opening. The reflex and motor development was retarded, and so was body weight. The high mortality in the diazepam treated progeny was due to increased death rate in males. In all PA paradigms investigated no memory was established in rats given diazepam prenatally. Chlorpromazine exhibited a lesser effect. I.m. saline had doubtless a character of prenatal-stress. The impact of diazepam was therefore the result of its proper action and only of a partial, if any, after-effect of prenatal stressful manipulation of the dam.

[Contribution of automatic sphygmomanometers for one-time measurement of blood pressure]. / Prínos automatických sfygmomanometru pro jednorázové merení krevního tlaku.

Due to high intra-individual variability of arterial blood pressure, single measurements provide only estimates of true actual values. Two or three recordings made in sequence in one or a few minutes' intervals are recommended in some clinical studies of antihypertensive therapy, with the aim of decreasing the variability. In order to examine the value of repeated measurements made on one occasion, four sequential resting recordings of blood pressure and heart rate made in one minute intervals with the automatic oscillometric Nippon Colin BP-103N sphygmomanometer were evaluated in 66 subjects, using the analysis of variance methods. Means of three recordings showed a significantly lower variability than single measurements (almost by one half), while the difference between three and four readings was not significant. The Page's rank test revealed that the first measurements are not uniformly the highest ones, and therefore the medians of three readings made in sequence are recommended as characteristics of resting blood pressure. An advantage of the oscillometric method is the possibility of measuring mean arterial pressure. The recorded values were significantly higher than those calculated from the systolic and diastolic pressures according to the current formula, being situated between one third and one half of the pulse pressure. The intra-individual coefficient of variation of the recorded mean arterial pressure was comparable with that of systolic and significantly lower than that of diastolic pressure.

[Evaluation of automatic sphygmomanometers]. / K hodnocení automatických sfygmomanometru.

In clinical evaluation of a new type of automatic sphygmomanometer, a strict comparability of results with the standard indirect auscultatory method is required. We have compared the oscillometric apparatus BP 103 N Nippon Colin (B) with the Hawksley random zero mercury sphygmomanometer (A) in a stratified sample of 26 subjects using a cross-over design of four simultaneous pairs of measurements in both arms by two observers. Mean values obtained by machine B were higher than values obtained by machine A, by 0.56 kPa systolic and by 0.62 kPa diastolic. Analysis of variance showed that the differences between both machines were within the random variability of blood pressure values obtained, and therefore irrelevant at single measurements. In case of blood pressure measurements in an epidemiological study, a correction of values should be done using the regression model B = K. Ac.

[Evaluation of an automatic sphygmomanometer]. / K hodnocení automatických sfygmomanometru.

In clinical evaluation of a new type of automatic sphygmomanometer, a strict comparability of results with the standard indirect auscultatory method is required. We have compared the oscillometric apparatus BP 103 N Nippon Colin (B) with the Hawksley random zero mercury sphygmomanometer (A) in a stratified sample of 26 subjects using a cross-over design of four simultaneous pairs of measurements in both arms by two observers. Mean values obtained by machine B were higher than values obtained by machine A, by 0.56 kPa systolic and by 0.62 kPa diastolic. Analysis of variance showed that the differences between both machines were within the random variability of blood pressure values obtained, and therefore irrelevant at single measurements. In case of blood pressure measurements in an epidemiological study, a correction of values should be done using the regression model B = K. A degrees.

Clinical evaluation of the Nippon Colin BP-103N blood pressure monitor.

The automatic oscillometric Nippon Colin BP-103N blood pressure-monitor was evaluated in comparison with the Hawksley random zero mercury sphygmomanometer using standard methods. The monitor under test was found significantly to over-read mean systolic pressures by 4.2 mmHg and mean diastolic pressures by 4.6 mmHg. The coefficient of variation was 5.4% for systolic and 6.4% for diastolic pressures. Analysis of variance showed that the difference between the two manometers was within the random variability of readings obtained.

Bacterial lysate (I.R.S. 19) applied intranasally in the prevention of acute respiratory diseases in children: a randomized double-blind study.

A controlled trial was undertaken to test I.R.S. 19 (a commercial intranasal spray) versus placebo in the prevention of acute respiratory diseases (ARD) in 825 maternity-school children in three cities; another control group of 327 children received neither I.R.S. 19 nor placebo. The spraying was done twice a day for a total of 20 spraying days in each child; sprayings were interrupted on weekends and during absence, the mean spraying period being 34 calendar days. During the 6-month study (1 November to 30 April) the children were monitored for ARD morbidity causing absence from school. A total of 1,585 such ARD cases occurred; their etiology was not investigated. The indices evaluated were: total duration of ARD-associated absence, ARD incidence, and mean duration of one illness. With the administration schedule used, I.R.S. 19 did not, in an overall evaluation, surpass placebo in any of these indices in either normal children or a subgroup of children with presumed enhanced ARD susceptibility.

Strontium-85 in the fetuses of pregnant rats and mice.

Pregnant SPF Wistar rats and ICR/Swiss albino mice were injected in the tail vein with 85SrCl2 with 0.05 mM inactive carrier (SrCl2) given in volumes of 0.1 ml. The activity in the injected volume was about 14 MBq per kg of rat and 13 MBq per kg of mouse. The animals were injected at 2 or 13 days of gestation. The activity retained by the fetuses was quantitatively determined at three stages of the fetal intrauterine development: in rats at 14, 16 and 21 days of gestation, in mice at 14, 16 and 20 days of gestation. The activity of fetuses and/or placentas with fetal membranes was measured using a TESLA automatic gamma counter. Results indicate that fetuses of mice retained a significantly (P less than 0.01) greater percent of strontium activity than fetuses of rats. The highest specific activities (the percentage of total activity retained per gram of fetal tissue) were found in the late pregnancy period (at 21 days of gestation in rats and 20 days of gestation in mice) in animals that were injected with the radionuclide at 13 days of gestation.

[Determination of age based on the circumference of the aorta]. / Urcování veku podle velikosti obvodu srdecnice.

In a cohort of 207 men at the age of 16 to 85 years and 140 women at the age of 16 to 94 years a very close relationship between age and circumference of ascending part, aortic arch and abdominal aorta was found. The coefficient of multiple correlation of age with the size of aorta was 0.896 in women; residual standard deviation was 6.67 years in men and 8.15 years in women. The relationship between age and the size of aorta was expressed by regression liner equation for each sex separately. The age was calculated by means of this equation and the best results were reached in both sexes in the range of 26 to 65 years. In this age period a deviation greater than 10 years from the real age occurred in the least frequency. In the whole cohort of men this deviation occurred in 21.7% and in the whole cohort of women in 22.8% of persons.

Evaluation of infusion sets by biological and chemical testing.

Some of the biological and chemical tests used in toxicological evaluation of synthetic polymers were correlated. The individual tests (sperm cell motility, tissue culture inhibition, intracutaneous test, optical absorption at 220-360 nm, reducing impurities) did not mutually correspond. The final estimation of the tested device is assessed as a sum of these units. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the results of the individual tests in arbitrary units.

Changes in the blood count of growing rats irradiated with a microwave pulse field.

A group of 20 male rats of mean initial body weight of 65.53 g were irradiated for 7 wk (5 days per wk, 4 hr per day) with an electromagnetic pulse field of the following parameters: working frequency 2,736.5 MHz; repeated frequency 395 Hz; pulse width 2.6 musec; vertical polarization; mean power density 24.4 mW/cm2; accuracy of measuring +/- 6%. The rectal temperature of experimental animals increased during irradiation by a maximum of 0.5 degrees C. Blood was taken before irradiation, at the end of the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th wk of irradiation, and at the end of the 1st, 2nd, 6th, and 10th wk after irradiation was completed. The parameters under study included the hematocrit value; number of leukocyte differential count in both absolute and relative proportions; activity of alkaline phosphatase in neutrophil leukocytes; and body weight increase. The results were compared with parallel data obtained from a control group of 20 animals and evaluated by Student's t test at a significance level of 1%. In the second half of the irradiation period the experimental animals exhibited significantly lower mean hematocrit values, lower numbers of leukocytes, and lower absolute numbers of lymphocytes. These changes disappeared gradually within 10 wk after completed irradiation. Activity of alkaline phosphatase in neutrophil leukocytes was significantly increased in the 1st wk of irradiation and dropped transiently after the irradiation. In the post-irradiation interval experimental animals displayed significant decline in rate of body weight increase. The level of the other examined parameters did not differ from the controls.