Living with rheumatoid arthritis: the role of daily spirituality and daily religious and spiritual coping.

The objective of this preliminary study was to evaluate more fully the role of daily spiritual experiences and daily religious/spiritual coping in the experience of individuals with pain due to rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Thirty-five individuals with RA were asked to keep a structured daily diary for 30 consecutive days. The diary included standardized measures designed to assess spiritual experiences, religious and spiritual pain coping, salience of religion in coping, religious/spiritual coping efficacy, pain, mood, and perceived social support. The participants in this study reported having spiritual experiences, such as feeling touched by the beauty of creation or feeling a desire to be closer or in union with God, on a relatively frequent basis. These participants also reported using positive religious and spiritual coping strategies much more frequently than negative religious and spiritual coping strategies. Although most of the variance in these measures was due to differences between persons, each measure also displayed a significant variability in scores from day to day. Indeed, there was just as much (or more) variability in these measures over time as there was variability in pain. Individuals who reported frequent daily spiritual experiences had higher levels of positive mood, lower levels of daily negative mood, and higher levels of each of the social support domains. Individuals who reported that religion was very salient in their coping with pain reported much higher levels of instrumental, emotional, arthritis-related, and general social support. Coping efficacy was significantly related to pain, mood, and social support in that on days that participants rated their ability to control pain and decrease pain using spiritual/religious coping methods as high, they were much less likely to have joint pain and negative mood and much more likely to have positive mood and higher levels of general social support. Taken together, these results suggest that daily spiritual experiences and daily religious/spiritual coping variables are important in understanding the experience of persons who have RA. They also suggest that newly developed daily diary methods may provide a useful methodology for studying religious and spiritual dimensions of living with arthritis.

Properties of rabies strain ("Pasteur Potsdam") adapted to primary dog kidney cells.

The Pasteur strain of fixed rabies virus (Pasteur Institute Paris, passage 2061 in rabbit brain) was adapted by alternate passages to primary dog kidney cells. The adapted rabies virus designated as "Pasteur Potsdam" developed no CPE and yielded four harvests with a titre of 5.5-7.0 (log MICLD50/ml). The strain could be grown in BHK 21/S13, CER and N2a neuroblastoma cells. In the cultures of BHK 21/S13 cells the virus titered 6.0-8.5 (log MICLD50/ml). In SDS PAGE its G protein migrated faster than that of the ERA strain. The inactivated antigen induced interferon in mice. The strain was identified by anti-rabies immunoglobulin. The harvested material showed an antigenic value of 0.4 IU/ml. The virus was not pathogenic after s.c. and i.p. inoculations to mice, rats, Syrian hamsters, and rabbits and after i.m. inoculation to Syrian hamsters and rats.

Studies of some biological and molecular characteristics of avian influenza A/H7 (Hav1) subtypes.

Current isolates of the subtypes H7N3 and H7N7 from 1979 to 1981 were examined and compared with the reference strains with regard to their antigenic variability and to their pathogenicity for birds and mammals in order to establish the potentiality of influenza A/H7 virus (Hav1) transmission from birds to mammals. The analysis of the electrophoretic mobility of virus-induced polypeptides and of the double-stranded RNA segments after hybridization revealed equal, similar and deviating patterns. A substantial drift was determined in the surface antigens, especially in the neuraminidase. The avian strains replicated also in mammalian cells and were pathogenic for mammals. All strains examined were reisolated from the infected mammals; they caused more pronounced inflammatory changes in the trachea and lungs of infected mammals than in those of birds.

[Effect of Na+ and Ca++ ion concentrations in the outer medium surrounding the erythrocyte membrane on the viscosity of blood suspensions]. / Einfluss der Na+ und Ca++ Ionenkonzentrationen im äusseren Umgebungsmilieu der Erythrozytenmembran auf das Viskositätsverhalten von Blutsuspensionen.

A small concentration of Na+ ions (0.1 mM) causes an enlargement of the viscosity in suspensions of erythrocytes which is partial reversible by addition of Na+ ions. Ca++ ions have a conserving function. The relative viscosity is changed in the relation of concentrations of ions of Ca++:Na+ = 1:2. Changes in the viscosities are refered to change of structure of the components of membrane, especially for the part of lipids.

Community-acquired Acinetobacter calcoaceticus var anitratus pneumonia.

Two patients had community-acquired Acinetobacter calcoaceticus var anitratus pneumonia. Both patients were alcoholic and one was cirrhotic. One patient died and the other received two weeks of gentamicin therapy and survived. Misinterpretation of the sputum Gram stain delayed diagnosis and institution of proper therapy in both cases. In addition to organisms sensitive to penicillins such as Neisseria or Haemophilus, Acinetobacter must be considered in the differential diagnosis of community-acquired Gram-negative coccobacillary pneumonia.

Comparison of methicillin, nafcillin, and oxacillin in therapy of Staphylococcus aureus endocarditis in rabbits.

Methicillin (M), nafcillin (N), and oxacillin (OX) (400 mg administered intramuscularly every 8 hours) were compared in the therapy of left-sided endocarditis in rabbits infected with two different strains of Staphylococcus aureus. The three antibiotics were equally effective in eliminating staphylococci from cardiac vegetations. N and OX were four to eight times as active against the staphylococci as M in broth but had equivalent activity in serum. The peak M and OX levels in serum were at least twice the peak N level, but the half-life of N in the serum (2.1 hours) was about three times that of M (0.6 hours) and twice that of OX (1.1 hours). Serum bactericidal activity tests demonstrated essentially equal activity with the three antibiotics 1 and 2 hours after injection; however, at 4 and 6 hours N had an advantage over M and OX. Therefore, despite clear differences in vitro activity, protein binding, and pharmacodynamics, M, N, and OX were equally effective in therapy of staphylcoccal endocarditis in rabbits.