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The present work deals with mutagenicity determination of enzyme sample "binase" (Bacillus intermedius ribonuclease) in microbial test-systems: Ames test and Ara-test. The weak mutagenic effect of "binase" high concentration was established in both tests by induction of forward Ara-mutations and Histidine-reverse mutations. A metabolic activation is seen to remove this effect.
Possibilities of the treadmill test, bicycle ergometry and the isometric test are reviewed with respect to the diagnosis and assessment of the severity of coronary heart disease (CHD). A study of 40 normal males and 95 coronary patients (including 57 aneurysm-free ones and 38 with left ventricular postinfarction aneurysm) demonstrated low diagnostic value of standard dynamic load programs for the assessment of coronary insufficiency. An original treadmill test program has been developed where each new step carries a 1 MET increment of the load, allowing to assess the severity of CHD within a wide range of clinical manifestations, and group patients according to the involvement of 1 or 2 coronary arteries. The isometric test is of little value for the diagnosis of CHD, yet it can be useful in the assessment of the severity of coronary insufficiency and identification of patients with the involvement of 2 and 3 coronary arteries.
In autumn 1985 the "Thematische Gestaltungstest Salzburg", which is a further development of the well-known "Thematic Apperception Test" (TAT) H. A. Murray's, has been published by Beltz. The revision of this test includes not only a modification of the partly already antiquated pictures, but also a fundamental reorientation of the theoretical concept and of the system of analysis developed by Revers. The authors summarize the essential ideas of this test revision and explain the conclusions to be drawn for the discussion of the projection concept in psychodiagnostics. The article also displays a synopsis of the handbook for the TGT-Salzburg, which has been published together with the test.
The A-V-R-test is accomplished in a free sound field, either with a play audio-metric table (clinical use) or with a textile paravent (practice). The main effort of this reactiontest is the auditive-visual determination. The examiner provokes the auditive readiness with a supraliminal impulse, which prepares the starting position for offering an acoustic test impulse in a low signal strength on the left or right side. If the test is realized with the textile paravent, frequency and intensity proved music instruments or other sound producing objects (bunch of keys, Ewing-rattle, etc.) are offered to the child. If the A-V-R-test is accomplished with the play-audio-metric table, the tester presents a frequency specific narrow band noise to the examinee. Only the turn of the infant's head towards the source of the sound is evaluated. Infants older than 2 years may show specific reactions, depending on the stage of their development.
Some of the commonly used presumptive test reagents for identification of blood and semen could affect the recovery or the analysis of high-molecular-weight DNA from evidentiary samples. The study presents data on restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analyses from blood and semen stains treated with Hemastix (Bayer Diagnostics), Sangur (Boehringer) and Phosphatesmo-KM-paper (Macherey-Nagel). The results demonstrate that the three tests examined do not have any effect on quality and quantity of the DNA nor on DNA typing by RFLP and PCR analyses. In conclusion, presumptive testing of blood and semen stains using Hemastix, Sangur, or Phosphatesmo paper can principally be carried out prior to submission to DNA analysis. In spite of these findings, it is recommended to continue the prudent practice of testing only small portions of an evidentiary stain in order to prevent contamination.
To determine the usefulness of a diagnostic kit for mycobacterial infection, we performed a five-hospital cooperative clinical study using serodiagnosis kits (MycoDot Test) to detect antibody for lipoarabinomannan (LAM) which is a membrane-derived component of mycobacterial species. We tested LAM antibody in the sera of patients with mycobacterial infection as well as healthy persons. Procedures for using the serodiagnosis kit are actually simple. Out of 130 cases of active pulmonary tuberculosis, 103 cases (79%) were positive for anti-LAM, and cases out of 24 cases of active atypical mycobacterial infection, 15 (63%) were positive. On the contrary, only 4% of healthy volunteers (1 out of 25 persons) were positive on this test. In conclusion, this diagnostic kit might be a useful test for early and supportive diagnosis of mycobacterial infections based on its sensitivity and specificity.
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The stepwedge, described in part 1 and in other publications, was used for the examination of the POLAROID-Instant Radiographic System. The result showed, that this system is a quite acceptable method for the practitioner. POLAROID-radiographs, in comparison with the classic radiographs, show equal contrast and detail-visibility, but demand a higher radiation dose.
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Explore the source record for details and available documents.
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Two methods of setting confidence intervals for test scores and testing the significance of test score differences are compared with respect to their simplicity and the similarity of their results. The conventional method, which is based on obtained scores, is unquestionably simpler than the technically correct method, which is based on estimated true scores, but the two methods may give rather different results, depending on the reliability coefficient(s) of the test(s), the distance of the score(s) from the mean, and the confidence or significance level. The standardization data for the WISC-R are used to illustrate the effects of those factors.
Diflubenzuron, one of a new class of pesticides believed to act via inhibition of chitin synthesis in the developing insect cuticle, was tested for possible mutagenic activity using the micronucleus test in mice, the L5178Y mouse lymphoma forward mutation test at the thymidine kinase locus, and the Ames Salmonella/microsome reverse mutation test. No mutagenic effect was found.
The IgA anti-endomysium antibody (IgA-EmA) test has been studied using the indirect immunofluorescence (IF) method with human umbilical cord (HUC) as substrate; 247 sera from patients investigated for celiac disease were tested. The results were in accordance with those obtained using monkey oesophagus (MOE) as substrate. IgA-EmA testing using HUC is shown to have similar reproducibility, sensitivity and specificity as MOE. By avoiding both fixation in chloroform and the blocking step, the processing time for this improved method is decreased by almost 1 h, and the results are stable for reading by fluorescence microscopy for at least 24 h. The indirect IF method using HUC as substrate is easy, reliable and inexpensive. We conclude that the IgA-EmA test using HUC as a substrate can be routinely used for celiac disease screening and follow up.
A total of 2,229 strains of Escherichia coli isolated from subjects with traveller's diarrhea were tested for heat-labile enterotoxin production by the Biken test (Honda et al., J. Clin. Microbiol. 13:1--5, 1981). Results of the Biken test showed a 99.0% coincidence with those obtained by Chinese hamster ovary cell assay. The use of antiserum against E. coli heat-labile enterotoxin gave sharper and clearer results than did the use of antiserum against cholera enterotoxin. Samples for heat-stable enterotoxin assay were obtained from the agar plates used for the Biken test, and the heat-stable enterotoxin activities of these samples were compared with those of samples obtained from standard liquid cultures. Results for samples of 2,229 strains from the Biken agar plates and from liquid cultures were almost identical.
There is still uncertainty about what is the most appropriate test for assessment of the integrity of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Many advocate the insulin tolerance test (ITT), but this is unpleasant and resource intensive, and may occasionally give misleading results. The conventional [250 microg tetracosactrin, ACTH-(1-24)] short synacthen test (SST) has been used as a simple alternative to the ITT, but it has produced some falsely reassuring results with potentially serious consequences. A low dose [1 microg tetracosactrin, ACTH-(1-24)] short synacthen test (LDSST) has recently been advocated as a more reliable and safer alternative to ITT. Some studies, however, have failed to demonstrate any difference between SST and LDSST. The purpose of this study was to assess the clinical usefulness of LDSST compared to SST and ITT in patients with pituitary disease. We studied 64 patients with suspected or proven pituitary disease. All patients underwent SST and LDSST. Forty-two patients underwent ITT. There was a high correlation between the ITT and LDSST peak cortisol responses (r = 0.89; P < 0.0001), the ITT and SST 30 min cortisol levels (r = 0.83; P < 0.0001), and the LDSST peak cortisol response and the SST 30 min cortisol level (r = 0.85; P < 0.0001). In the LDSST, all but six patients achieved maximal cortisol response by 30 min. A plasma cortisol cut-off of 600 nmol/L is more helpful than 500 nmol/L for clinical decision-making using either the SST 30 min cortisol level or the LDSST peak cortisol response. The sensitivity of the LDSST was 100% (cortisol response of >600 nmol/L indicates intact HPA axis), with no falsely reassuring results. SST (pass cortisol level, >600 nmol/L) was less sensitive than LDSST, it produced 2 of 64 (3%) falsely reassuring results. Even the ITT (pass cortisol level, >500 nmol/L) failed to identify one patient with clinically evident cortisol deficiency. The results of this study indicate that both SST and LDSST, at a cortisol cut-off of 600 nmol/L, are safe for the purpose of clinical decision-making with regard to steroid replacement therapy in patients with pituitary disease. As the LDSST produced no falsely reassuring decisions, we suggest that this could replace the SST and ITT for initial evaluation of the HPA axis in patients with pituitary disease. We suggest administering 1 microg tetracosactrin, i.v., with sampling at 0, 20, and 30 min.