Will PSP Binding Technique Reduce Later Brain Damage?

I was most interested in the paper by Dr. Waters in Pediatrics, 33:749, 1964. Dr. Waters has presented cogent reasons for not doing an exchange transfusion for a bilirubin of 20 mg/100 ml. I should like to refer to an earlier paper by Dr. Byers (Pediatrics 1955, 15:248), in which 23 patients are presented with cerebral palsy and hearing loss following erythroblastosis. Dr. Byers states in this paper that only 2 of the 23 patients had clinically recognized kernicterus in the newborn. It is not always easy to be certain that our jaundiced newborns are not going to develop later complications. The PSP binding technique offers some promise in this regard.</jats:p

Synchrotron radiation-induced TXRF of reactor steel samples

Synchrotron radiation-induced total reflection x-ray fluorescence (TXRF) analysis was used for the trace element analysis of steels exploited in the construction of core components of existing fission plants and future fusion power plants. Detection of traces of niobium in reactor pressure vessel steel allows a retrospective determination of the fast neutron flux. For the construction of future fusion reactors, low activation steels are being investigated. Traces of Nb, Pd, Ag, Eu, Gd, Th, Dy, Ho, Er, Os and Bi cause a higher activity of the material than the steel itself. Synchrotron radiation allows the excitation of the heavier element K shells, avoiding the strong overlaps of their L lines. Moreover, the linear polarization of synchrotron radiation combined with side-looking detection manages to reduce the scattering due to the matrix contained in the analysed samples. Experiments were carried out at Hasylab Beamline L (bending magnet). The experimental set-up includes a double reflector collimator, a multilayer and a vacuum chamber. Chemical preparation of the sample included dissolution and separation by means of anion-exchange chromatography. Minimum detectable concentrations of 37 ng g(-1) for Nb and 400 ng g(-1) for Th in the steel were achieved. Copyright (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Prognosis of Childhood Leukemia

We have been troubled by what we judge to be inaccurate assessments of the current prognosis of acute leukemia in childhood. These assessments have appeared in the lay press: Saturday Evening Post, June 1, 1968, "It is quite possible . . . that median survival of patients now starting treatment will be between 4 and 5 years;" Time, March 4, 1969, "now . . . the average survival time is about 5 years in major medical centers" and in such medical journals as J.A.M.A., Medical Tribune, Cancer Research, and so forth, where in a number of artides in the last 2 years median survivals of 3 years or longer are stated as current or shortly to be obtained.</jats:p

Neuroblastoma in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

To the Editor.— In reporting two patients with neuroblastoma and cystic fibrosis, Moss et al1 noted that "reports of cystic fibrosis and other genetic abnormalities in individual patients are usually regarded as chance associations." We encountered an analogous situation in caring for a boy in whom stage III neuroblastoma developed at 9 months of age; he responded to surgery and chemotherapy and subsequently was found to have classical Duchenne muscular dystrophy at 3½ years of age.</jats:p