Focal alopecia associated with a plaque

We report the case of a 65-year-old woman presenting with a 15-month history of recurrent episodes of focal alopecia at the site of a bluish plaque on the vertex of her scalp. Histopathological examination revealed an admixture of focally nested oval, dendritic or epithelioid melanocytes together with slender spindle cells and occasional melanocytes. The spindle cells were positive for S100 and focally positive for epidermal membrane antigen, while the melanocytes were positive for S100 and Melan A.

Erythematous tender nodules on the legs with oily exudate

This 70-year-old female presented with multiple tender erythematous nodules on her legs with some breaking down and discharging an oily substance. Histology showed extensive active chronic inflammation of the dermis and lobular panniculitis.

Development of a measure of patient satisfaction with monitored anesthesia care: the Iowa Satisfaction with Anesthesia Scale

BACKGROUND

The authors describe development of the Iowa Satisfaction with Anesthesia Scale (ISAS) for monitored anesthesia care (MAC). Patients complete the self-administered written questionnaire before discharge from the hospital. The authors designed the ISAS to measure satisfaction with MAC itself, not the perioperative experience. Patients respond to eleven statements (e.g., "I felt pain") by placing a mark along a six-choice vertical response column (e.g., "Disagree moderately") below each statement. The mean of their responses to each of the 11 statements gives a single number, which is a quantitative measure of a patient's satisfaction with their MAC.

METHODS

Adult, English-speaking patients completed the questionnaires following admission to a phase II postanesthesia care unit after MAC.

RESULTS

Response rate for MAC was 92% (86 of 94 patients). Patients completed the questionnaire in 4.6 +/- 2.3 min. Internal consistency, Cronbach's alpha, equaled 0.80. Patients' scores were positively correlated with those predicted by their anesthesia provider (r2 = 0.23) and with responses to the question "I was satisfied with my anesthetic care" (Kendall's tau = +0.41). Scores on initial and repeat questionnaires were positively correlated (r2 = 0.74). Scores on initial questionnaires and those completed within 4.4 +/- 1.7 days postoperatively were positively correlated (r2 = 0.76).

CONCLUSIONS

The authors have developed and tested an internally consistent, reliable, and valid measure of patient satisfaction with MAC.

Holographic implementation of a Hopfield model with discrete weightings

This paper investigates the feasibility of constructing a Hopfield neural network using optical techniques. The particular implementation utilizes parallel holographic interconnections and could have a processing speed vastly greater than the serial electronic computers we use today. This improvement in speed is of great importance, particularly in the field of computer vision. It is found that present day technology would seriously limit the size of the network that could be implemented. Our analysis suggests, however, that the construction of an optical machine is now possible with a connectivity exceeding any electronic machine available.

NaCl and LiCl efficacy in the induction of aversion for quinine and saccharin solutions immediately following injection

Rats 24-hr water deprived were injected IP with a fixed amount (10 ml/kg) of solution of various concentrations of LiCl and NaCl in dosage ranges which in previous experiments either increased or had no effect on water intake. Intake of 0.01% QHCl decreased with increasing concentrations of both NaCl and LiCl. On a molar basis, LiCl was more effeictive. LiCl also produced an aversion to a palatable solution, 0.1% sodium saccharin; however, NaCl produced no aversion over the dosage range which can be tolerated by the animals.

Vasopressin administration in the first month of life: effects of growth and water metabolism in hypothalamic diabetes insipidus rats

Rats homozygous for the mutant gene for diabetes insipidus (Brattleboro strain) are stunted in growth compared to rats heterozygous for the mutant gene and normal rats without the mutant gene. The hypothesis was tested that normal growth depends upon the presence of vasopressin. It was expected that replacement therapy of vasopressin rats homozygous for diabetes insipidus would make possible a normal growth rate similar to that of rats heterozygous for diabetes insipidus. Rats heterozygous and homozygous for diabetes insipidus were treated with 0.25 U (Days 0-9) and 0.5 U (Days 10-29) of vasopressin during the first month of life. During the treatment period, vasopressin significantly increased the urine osmolatities of the homozygous rats demonstrating the renal effectiveness of the vasopressin. The results showed that remedial vasopressin administration could not produce normal growth rates in homozygous rats and may be detrimental. Six weeks following vasopressin treatment, homozygous, diabetes insipidus rats which had received vasopressin had increased 24 hr water intakes and decreased urine osmolalities compared to control, homozygous rats, Heterozygous rats also had decreased urine osmolalities resulting from vasopressin six weeks after the cessation of vasopressin treatment.

The relation between herbage copper, EDTA-extractable soil copper and species composition in pastures growing on a range of soil types

A survey of the copper status of herbage and its supporting soil over various soil parent materials (all with acid soils) on part of the coast of New South Wales showed levels of herbage copper ranging from < 1 to 14 ppm, EDTA-extractable soil copper from 0.2 to 32 ppm and a correlation between these two variables of r = 0.51 (P < 0,001). Very low levels of herbage copper were associated with high proportions of inferior grasses and both were associated with low 'available' soil copper. High levels of herbage copper were associated with high proportions of clover though not necessarily with the highest levels of 'available' soil copper. The content of molybdenum in herbage varied widely giving many very low copper/molybdenum ratios.

Clinical evaluation of injectable lorazepam as a premedicant: the effect on recall

A double-blind comparison of lorazepam and placebo, lorazepam and pentobarbital, and a comparison of lorazepam IV drip versus lorazepam IV bolus as a premedicant showed this new agent to offer promise as a sedative premedicant. However, the potency of the drug demands caution, and its use for outpatient premedication is not recommended.