Chronic mild stress-induced reductions in saccharin intake depend upon feeding status.

The consumption of a weak saccharin solution was examined in rats subjected to chronic mild stress (CMS). Intake of saccharin was reduced in stressed animals compared to isolated and group control animals but saccharin preference was not affected. Removal of water deprivation from the CMS schedule did not alter the effects of CMS upon saccharin intake. However, when food deprivation was omitted entirely from the CMS schedule the reduction in saccharin intake was eliminated. Similarly, in animals habituated to the full CMS procedure, reduction in saccharin intake was abolished by omitting food deprivation or by delaying the intake test for 24 h. Both CMS and food deprivation reduced water intake but had no effect on food consumed during the fluid-intake test. The presence of food deprivation during CMS appears to be a key factor affecting saccharin intake. Our data suggest that saccharin intake is not an appropriate measure of stress and anhedonia.

Determination of B-cell clonality in paraffin-embedded lymph nodes using the polymerase chain reaction.

Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue from B-cell malignant lymphomas (26), reactive lymphadenopathies (8), non-B-cell malignancies (5), and atypical lymphoproliferative lesions (7) were analyzed for clonal immunoglobulin heavy chain gene rearrangement by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), using consensus primers for the variable and joining regions of the gene. By employing a high-resolution gel electrophoresis technique, we were able to demonstrate one or two dominant bands, indicating a clonal population, in 15 of the 23 cases (65%) of B-cell lymphoma in which amplification occurred. Six of six reactive lymph nodes in which amplification occurred produced a multi-banded pattern indicative of a polyclonal population. This improved PCR technique allows a clearer distinction between clonal and polyclonal patterns than other previously proposed methods. It also works well in paraffin-embedded tissue and may therefore be a useful adjunct to the diagnostic armamentarium applied to archival material.

Distribution of sodium-lithium countertransport and blood pressure in Caucasians five to eighty-nine years of age.

Case-control studies suggest that increased erythrocyte sodium-lithium countertransport may predict increased susceptibility to the development of essential hypertension. To characterize interindividual variation in sodium-lithium countertransport and its relation to blood pressure levels in the general population, we studied 1,475 Caucasians between 5 and 89 years of age (711 males and 764 females) ascertained through 266 households with children in the schools of Rochester, Minnesota. Individuals who were taking antihypertensive agents or combinations of estrogen and progesterone were not included in the sample. A third-order polynomial regression on age accounted for only a small fraction of variability in sodium-lithium countertransport (2.8% in males, p less than 0.001; 2.1% in females, p less than 0.01), whereas a fourth-order regression on age accounted for a large proportion of variability in systolic blood pressure (45.7% in males, p less than 0.001; 52.5% in females, p less than 0.001) and diastolic blood pressure (39.8% in males, p less than 0.001; 33.0% in females, p less than 0.001). Mean sodium-lithium countertransport was higher in males than females at all ages; but the rank order of male and female means for systolic and diastolic blood pressure was age dependent. Positively skewed distributions for age-, height-, and weight-adjusted sodium-lithium countertransport in male and female cohorts between 5-19.9, 20-49.9, and 50-89.9 years of age were explained significantly better by postulating a mixture of two partially overlapping sodium-lithium countertransport distributions rather than a single normal distribution (p less than 0.01). Among men in the 20-49.9-year-old cohort, adjusted sodium-lithium countertransport values in the upper distribution were associated with higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure (mean +/- SD) than values in the lower distribution (for systolic blood pressure: 115 +/- 11 vs. 111 +/- 11 mm Hg, p less than 0.07; for diastolic blood pressure: 71.2 +/- 8.0 vs. 68.4 +/- 8.6 mm Hg, p less than 0.08). Among females in the 50-89.9-year-old cohort, adjusted sodium-lithium countertransport values in the upper distribution were associated with significantly greater diastolic blood pressure than values in the lower distribution (77 +/- 10 vs. 70 +/- 9 mm Hg, p less than 0.03).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Evaluating correctional health care. The lessons of New York City.

New York City's correctional health care system is a complicated one, with many component parts. Correspondingly, the task of developing an evaluation process to assess this system turned out to be complex as well. The major responsibility for developing such a process and for keeping it in motion lies with the Contract Evaluation Unit of the Department of Health. Our experiences in meeting these challenges, as well as the historical and institutional factors that have influenced our efforts, should be of interest to professional groups facing similar tasks in other localities and to readers curious about how particular health service evaluation approaches take form. This article describes our method, how it emerged, and that it entails, with an eye toward identifying what might usefully be applied to the study of other correctional health care services and settings.

Simple Method of Sample Preparation for Bacterial Counts in Quality Control of Frozen Vegetables 1.

Samples of frozen broccoli, cauliflower, mixed vegetables, peas and corn were prepared for coliforms, enterococcal and aerobic plate counts by: (a) official blending technique, (b) shaking in dilution blanks by hand, and (c) by dry dispersion in plastic bags with an in-house-made press (SVC-Press) followed by addition of diluent and hand shaking. Bacterial counts with the SVC-Press were comparable to those of the standard blending method and superior to those of the shake bottle method used for quality control in many food industry operations. The press was made of aluminum and plexi-glass with simple tools at a cost of $365.00. The SVC-Press provides bacterial recoveries statistically comparable to blending along with simplified sample handling, reduction in labor cost and instrument cost affordable to small frozen food industrial operations.

Supreme Court relaxes exclusive contract rules in antitrust decision.

If there is no evidence that a hospital is using market power to "force" its contracting physician upon patients and if the exclusive contract does not adversely affect price or quality, an exclusive arrangement should not violate the federal antitrust laws. These are the insights gained from the decision handed down by the Supreme Court in Hyde (Jefferson Parish Hospital District No. 2 v. Hyde , No. 82-1031).

Supreme Court upholds exclusive contract in Hyde antitrust decision.

If there is no evidence that a hospital is using market power to "force" its contracting physician upon patients and if the exclusive contract does not adversely affect price or quality, an exclusive arrangement should not violate the federal antitrust laws. These are the insights gained from the decision handed down by the Supreme Court in Hyde (Jefferson Parish Hospital District No. 2 v. Hyde, No. 82-1031).

Exclusive contracts under antitrust attack.

Physicians excluded from hospitals by reason of exclusive contracts are increasingly challenging these arrangements under the antitrust laws. With the exception of the recent case of Hyde v. Jefferson Parish Hospital District No. 2, the cases reject antitrust attacks on exclusive contracts between hospitals and physicians.