Papillary fibroelastoma of the aortic valve: a sudden death case of coronary embolism with myocardial infarction

Papillary fibroelastoma is a rare benign tumor, occasionally causing angina or sudden death. We report an autopsy case of an aortic valve papillary fibroelastoma with coronary artery embolism. The patient was a 68-year-old Japanese man who had collapsed suddenly in his house. He was a heavy drinker and had a history of liver disease but no notable cardiac event. The autopsy revealed extensive transmural infarction of the inferior wall of the left and right cardiac ventricles. The distal portion of the right coronary artery (segment 4, NYHA) was completely occluded by tumor emboli of the fibroelastoma. At the site of closure of the aortic non-coronary cusp, there was a typical papillary fibroelastoma, which was considered to have originated the coronary embolization.     

Synthesis of 2,3- and 3,4-methylenedioxyphenylalkylamines and their regioisomeric differentiation by mass spectral analysis using GC-MS-MS

3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA) derivatives are increasingly abused central nervous system stimulants with neurotoxic properties. In recent years a number of controlled substance analogs (designer drugs) with high structural variety reached the illegal market making their identification an arduous task. The underivatized compounds give very similar or even virtually identical electron impact mass spectra containing mainly intense C(n)H(2n+2)N(+) immonium ions. Using tandem mass spectrometry (MS-MS) the additional structural information contained in the collision induced dissoziation (CID) mass spectra of molecular ions using electron impact (EI) and especially chemical ionization (CI) allowed an unequivocal differentiation of 18 studied regioisomeric 1-(methylenedioxyphenyl)-2-propanamines and 1-(methylenedioxyphenyl)-2-butanamines.Further synthetic methods are presented for 1-(3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl)-N-propyl-2-butanamine, N-isopropyl-1-(3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl)-2-butanamine and four 1-(2, 3-methylenedioxyphenyl)-2-butanamines. N-alkylated 1-(3, 4-methylenedioxyphenyl)-2-butanamine compounds (e.g. MBDB) are also known to be abused psychoactive agents (entactogenes) without the sympatomimetic effects of the 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamines.     

The incorporation of dyes into hair as a model for drug binding

The binding of charged substances from external aqueous media to hair has been investigated through the use of fluorescence microscopy. Eleven hair samples, reflecting various ethnic groups and cosmetic treatments, were tested. Rhodamine 6G, a cationic dye representative of drugs such as cocaine and opiates, showed incorporation throughout the hair of all samples except one. In contrast, fluorescein, an anionic dye representative of drugs such as THC carboxylic acid, was not readily incorporated. The incorporation of rhodamine 6G was faster for chemically 'straightened' and bleached African-American female hair than for untreated hair. Incorporation of rhodamine 6G followed a pH dependence, but an ionic strength dependence could not be established. These studies support three postulates: (1) electrostatic interactions explain the preferential binding of cationic drugs of abuse to hair; (2) the hair matrix, or the non-helical portion of hair, is accessible to external solutions and thus subject to contamination; and (3) cosmetic treatments may alter the helical portion of hair thereby increasing its accessibility to external contamination.     

Correlations between the Offer Self-Image Questionnaire for Adolescents and the minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory in a psychiatric hospital population

In an attempt to learn more about the validity of the Offer Self-Image Questionnaire for Adolescents (OSQ), the 11 scale scores for 14 male and 26 female adolescent patients in a private psychiatric hospital were correlated with their scores on 13 of the 14 minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) Scales. Of the 144 correlations calculated, 27% were significant at least at the 0.05 level and 5% were significant at the 0.01 level. The OSQ seems to be measuring depression, anxiety, and self-devaluation as they affect emotional tone, mastery of external problems, psychopathology, and adjustment. Further work needs to be done with normal adolescents concerning the validity of the OSQ scales. Additional research on the Impulse Control and Social Relationship scales is especially needed to determine the exact meaning of these scales. A review of some of the pertinent literature shows that self-report methods are appropriate and efficient in clinical work and research with adolescents. A general comparison of the OSQ and the MMPI shows that the MMPI has the advantage of good validity scales and other statistical properties, while the OSQ appears more attractive because of its appropriateness for adolescents.Received Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Bonn in West Germany.     

Ego identity status and decision styles

It was hypothesized that the decision processes used in coping with the identity crisis would be related to more general decision styles in that identity achievers and moratoriums would tend to be reflective in their conceptual tempo while foreclosures would typically be impulsive. No prediction was made about identity diffusions. Ninety-two male college students were given an identity status interview and the Matching Familiar Figures Test. The results were consistent with the hypotheses, and in addition it was found that identity diffusions were generally impulsive. Since conceptual tempo has been found to be well established in childhood, the results of this study have implications for the early prediction of adult identity status.Received Ph.D. from SUNY/Buffalo. Recent research has been mainly concerned with the development of ego identity and correlates of the different identity statuses.Received Ph.D. from SUNY/Buffalo. Recent research has been mainly concerned with the development of ego identity and correlates of the different identity statuses.     

Public school adjustment of delinquent boys after release from a juvenile corrective institution

This paper concerning the public school adjustment of delinquent boys after release from a juvenile corrective institution is based on research data obtained as part of a followup study. Seventy-two percent of the 94 teenage boys in our sample returned to school in the community, but over three-fourths of them dropped out. Although we examined several factors associated with the boys' post-release school adjustment, we focused our inquiry on the small group of 14 boys who completed high school. A few personal and social factors were related to public school outcome, i.e., whether the boys graduated or not. However, we also found that all the boys who finished high schol had received some suppoprt from a structured environment or from interested people in contrast to a majority of the boys who dropped out. None of the boys who graduated was involved in antisocial behavior while in school and only two, or 14%, had gotten into serious legal trouble during the 3-year followup period in comparison to 40% of the boys who dropped out and 50% of those who never attended school after release.Received Ph.D. from University of Houston in 1956. Currently Clinical Psychology Fellow at The Menninger Foundation. Major interest is in child and adolescent psychology.Graduate work, sociology, University of Kansas. Major interest is in juvenile delinquency.