Bertil Jacobson

Obstetric Pain Medication And Eventual Adult Amphetamine Addiction In Offspring

Our purpose was to investigate whether obstetric analgesia, particularly by nitrous oxide, constitutes a risk that the infant might develop amphetamine addiction in later life. Of 200 current amphetamine addicts born between 1945 and 1966 in Stockholm, proportionately more were born at hospitals where pain medication had been administered in large doses (p > 0.05). A blind matched comparison was made between 73 addicts and 109 non–addicted siblings by logistic regression, in which nitrous oxide administration was tested in competition with 12 other natal variables as possible confounders. The risk for amphetamine drug addiction in offspring was found to increase with duration of intermittent administration of pure nitrous oxide, i.e. it was estimated to be 5.6 times greater (95% confidence intervals 1.6—‐16.9, p = 0.005) when nitrous oxide had been given for ≥/4.5 h vis‐á‐vis ≥/0.25 h. Calculated risks are probably underestimates. Results can be explained as an effect of imprinting. It is concluded that local or regional anesthesia are preferable to general anesthesia which allows substantial amounts of drugs to cross the placenta.

Obstetric care and proneness of offspring to suicide as adults: case-control study

Abstract Objective: To investigate any long term effects of traumatic birth and obstetric procedures in relation to suicide by violent means in offspring as adults. Design: Prospective case-control study. Setting: Stockholm, Sweden. Subjects: 242 adults who committed suicide by violent means from 1978 to 1995, and who were born in one of seven hospitals in Stockholm during 1945-80, matched with 403 biological siblings born during the same period and at the same group of hospitals. Main outcome measures: Adverse and beneficial perinatal factors expressed as relative risks (odds ratios) and 95% confidence intervals, derived from logistic regression of cases matched with their siblings. Results: For multiple birth trauma the estimated relative risks of offspring subsequently committing suicide by violent means were 4.9 (95% confidence interval 1.8 to 13) for men and 1.04 (0.2 to 4.6) for women. In mothers who received multiple opiate treatment during delivery, the estimated relative risk of offspring subsequently committing suicide was equal for both sexes (0.26, 0.09 to 0.69). Conclusion: Minimising pain and discomfort to the infant during birth seems to be of importance in reducing the risk of committing suicide by violent means as an adult.

Quantitative correlations among fibrinogen concentration, sedimentation rate and electrical impedance of blood

Blood cells from 8 normal subjects, anticoagulated with EDTA, were washed twice with saline solution (100 mmol/l) and resuspended into saline solutions of different concentrations of human plasma fibrinogen. The erythrocyte sedimentation rates (ESRs) of these suspensions were determined by the Westergren method, and their resistance Rp and capacitance Cm were determined by measuring the impedances at three frequencies 100 kHz, 800 kHz and 1.2 MHz. The results showed that the logarithm of theESR was proportional to the concentration of fibrinogen, Fb (g/l), expressed as: In(ESR)=0.468Fb−0.10, (r=0.96); and the haematocrit-normalised resistance R′p and capacitance C′m were both directly proportional to the concentration of fibrinogen, R′p=3.99 Fb+465.0, (r=0.87), and C′m=49.7 Fb+628.2, (r=0.96). The influence of fibrinogen on the impedance might partly be the result of interfacial polarisation and/or of red cell rouleaux formation. The results are useful for understanding the mechanism of the association between the impedance and theESR of blood, and for finding means of improving the accuracy when estimating theESR by the electrical impedance method.

Method for Obtaining Streaming Orientation and Simultaneous Determination of Dielectric Properties in Macromolecular Solutions

A method has been devised for the measurement of the dielectric constant and the specific conductance of aqueous solutions undergoing streaming with velocity gradients between 0 and 10 000 sec−1. The solution to be investigated is placed in the annular space between two concentric cylinders forming the measuring cell. Electrodes are inserted in the walls of the cylinders of which the outer is fixed and the inner is rotated. Two types of cells are used; the electrical field in one case being perpendicular to and in the other case parallel with the stream lines. The impedance of the cell with the solution investigated is determined with a specially constructed Schering bridge making measurements possible in the frequency range 0.05 to 5 megacycles per second and at specific conductances of 1 to 200 μmho per centimeter. The advantage of the bridge circuit employed is that the conductance of the cell is balanced by a variable air condenser, making possible an accuracy of 0.1 percent in the values for both con...

PRIMARY X-RAY DODGING.

By using compensating filters which can be optically aligned in the beam, radiographic image quality is increased, the dose to the patient is reduced to approximately one-half, and film costs are reduced accordingly. The improvement in image quality is the result of compensation for the varying thickness of the object and reduction in background fogging due to reduced scattering.

Endoradiosonde techniques—A survey

A survey is given of endoradiosonde techniques, which are employed for wireless transmission of physiological data from inaccessible body cavities. The advantage of the method is that no tubes or wires are needed between the data transducer inside the body and the recording equipment outside it. Detailed descriptions have been published of endoradiosondes sensitive to temperature, pressure and pH. Other data that can be telemetered by such miniaturized radio transmitters are: partial pressures of carbon dioxide and oxygen, chloride ion concentration, enzyme activity, bioelectric potentials and intensity of ionizing radiation. Endoradiosondes have been used for examinations of the entire gastrointestinal tract. Surgically implanted endoradiosondes have great applicability in experimental physiology and pharmacology since measurements can be made for months on unrestrained and unanaesthetized animals.

A streaming dielectric investigation of helix pomatio hemocyanin

Abstract The dielectric dispersion and the dielectric increment have been measured for Helix Pomatia hemocyanin solutions subjected to velocity gradients in order to orient the molecules in relation to the electric field. No change in dielectric properties with the velocity gradient was observed when the electric field was perpendicular to the stream lines. The relaxation time obtained from dielectric dispersion frequencies disagrees by a factor of more than 30 from the relaxation time calculated from known molecular dimensions. It is concluded that the dielectric properties cannot arise from rotations of the whole macromolecules or of their eight subunits.

Dichromography—a Method for in vivo Quantitative Analysis of Certain Elements

The method is based on absorption measurements of monochromatic x-rays. The radiation dose given to the patient is low, and thus the method is nondestructive. The physiological content of iodine in the human thyroid can be determined, as well as the distribution in the body of small amounts of roentgenological contrast substances.

X‐Ray Tube with a Built‐In Secondary Target for Exciting K Lines

A special continuously pumped x‐ray tube has been developed for producing high intensities of characteristic K‐emission lines. The rotating primary target consists of a gold‐plated copper cylinder, which is water‐cooled. The conical secondary target is placed inside the primary target and close to it so as to achieve a high output yield. With the tube windows used at present, wavelengths between 0.1 and 0.5 A can be produced by choosing the appropriate elements for the secondary target. To obtain a high purity of the radiation, the tube voltage should be less than three times the minimum excitation potential for the K radiation in question. The x‐ray yield is 108−109 quanta/mA‐sec‐sr.

X‐Ray Spectrophotometer for Simultaneous Analysis of Several Elements

A multichannel recording x‐ray spectrophotometer has been developed for quantitative analysis of macroscopic objects, such as liquid or solid specimens or the human body. The equipment comprises a special x‐ray tube for generating monochromatic radiation by secondary emission, a system composed of servo‐controlled absorption wedges, a scintillator photomultiplier unit for sensing the x‐ray intensities of the radiation that has transversed the object and the wedges, and electronic feedback loops from the photomultiplier to the servo motors controlling the wedges. A set of stationary wedges and a photomultiplier are included to eliminate fluctuations in the x‐ray intensities. The wedges are composed of, or contain, the elements being analyzed. The servo‐controlled wedges are automatically kept in such a position that the intensitites of the monochromatic x rays are constant at the scintillator photomultiplier. When the object is placed in the beam the wedges are automatically withdrawn a certain distance, t...