Psychosocial aspects of patients with the Ullrich-Turner syndrome

Family and social background and psychosexual and psychomotor development were studied on 24 patients with the Ullrich-Turner syndrome ranging in age from 9 months to 18 years. Infancy is often characterized by mild feeding problems and sleeping difficulty. Early motor development is normal or mildly delayed but acquisition of speech and toilet training appear to be appropriate for age. Social skills are excellent. Psychopathology is not a significant aspect of the Ullrich-Turner syndrome. Psychological tests support the findings of verbal IQ exceeding performance IQ, space-form perceptual deficits, and visual motor deficit. No difference of intelligence was found between apparently nonmosaic and mosaic types of Ullrich-Turner syndrome. The degree of parental understanding and appropriate attitudes toward the patient and the syndrome largely depend on good family relationships, the socioeconomic level of the family, parents' personalities and their ability to cope with the implications of the syndrome, and appropriate physician's counseling.

Diffraction-limited imaging through a phase-distorting medium

An achromatic method of seeing through a phase-distorting medium, such as a turbulent atmosphere, utilizes a grating interferometer. Measurements are made at sample points throughout the region of fringe formation. A set of nonlinear simultaneous equations is generated and then solved by computer.

Achondrogenesis: a review with special consideration of achondrogenesis type II (Langer-Saldino)

We describe two dwarfed infants with large head, short neck and chest, prominent abdomen, and short limbs. Both died neonatally. Radiographic and morphologic characteristics identified the Langer-Saldino form of achondrogenesis (type II). Review of type II achondrogenesis documented distinctive clinical and anthropometric manifestations (fewer stillbirths, longer survival time and gestation period, larger size of the baby, longer limbs, and characteristic craniofacial features) as compared with type I achondrogenesis (Parenti-Fraccaro).

Interferometric construction of circular gratings

Low noise diffraction gratings are constructed with the aid of a circular grating interferometer illuminated with a polychromatic or extended source.

Kinetics of DNA replication in a dicentric X chromosome formed by long arm to long arm fusion

Utilizing the 5-bromo-deoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation technique, we have recently studied the DNA replication kinetics in a dicentric X chromosome, formed by long arm-to-long arm fusion at band q23, for a 16-year-old black female with primary amenorrhea. The patient has a karyotype 45,X/46,X,dic(X)(q23). In the buccal smear the presence of X chromatin was found in 33% of the cells examined. The Barr bodies are large and 21% of them are bipartite. DNA replication studies were performed on the patient's lymphocytes by the thymidine pulse (T-pulse) method and confirmed comparatively by the BrdU pulse (B-pulse) method. The results indicate that the dicentric X chromosome is always late-replicating. The replication pattern is symmetric on both sides of the breakpoint and the replication sequence is, in order, p11, p22, q1(1-3), q22, q23, p21, and q21. This finding is comparable to those of other investigators and supports the theory that there exist two inactivation centers in the dicentric X chromosome, located on or near the q21 band.

Spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita. A comparative study of chondrocytic inclusions

Spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita is a short-trunk chondrodysplasia trait. The abnormalities are present at birth and involve primarily the spine, the epiphyses of long bones, and the pelvis. Postmortem examinations of two patients with this disease who died shortly after birth showed a mild disorganization of chondrocytic columnization in the physeal growth zone. The chondrocytes contained PAS-positive cytoplasmic inclusions after diastase digestion to eliminate glycogen. Ultrastructural examination of the inclusions in one patient showed them to be accumulations of finely granular material in dilated cisterns of rough endoplasmic reticulum. To our knowledge, similar findings have been seen only in three other types of chondrodysplasia. The inclusions, which therefore are of diagnostic importance, may be of importance also in reflecting the primary metabolic abnormality.

Multiple pterygium syndrome

We describe a sporadic case and four sibs from a consanguineous Nicaraguan family affected with the multiple pterygium syndrome. Clinical manifestations included normal intelligence; short stature; pterygia of neck, axillary, antecubital, popliteal, digital, and intercrural areas; multiple joint contractures with a crouched stance; a flat, sad, motionless facial appearance; and cleft palate. Males had small penis and scrotum and cryptorchidism; females had apparent aplasia of labia majora and small clitoris. Skeletal anomalies included fusion of cervical vertebrae, scoliosis, flexion contractures of fingers and "rocker-bottom" feet with vertical talus. This review documents genetic heterogeneity: Autosomal recessive inheritance in many cases, autosomal dominant determination in others, and sporadic occurrence.

Kniest dysplasia: neonatal death with necropsy

We describe a premature female infant with Kniest dysplasia, who died shortly after birth. This appears to be the first autopsy performed in this condition. Manifestations included neonatal respiratory distress, large head, midface hypoplasia, flat nasal bridge, short nose, micrognathia, cleft palate, short neck, micromelia, and mildly bowed limbs. Roentgenologic findings included short, slightly bowed tubular bones with metaphyseal flare; mild platyspondyly, with vertical clefts of vertebral bodies; small iliac bones with increased acetabular angles; and inadequate ossification of pubic rami. Histopathologic findings of cartilage included focal "Swiss-cheese" pattern; disorganized physeal growth zone; and PAS-positive, diastase-resistant intracytoplasmic inclusions, which corresponded to finely granular material accumulated in dilated cisterns of rough endoplasmic reticulum.

Short rib-polydactyly syndrome, Majewski type

A term infant had dwarfism with characteristic skeletal and extraskeletal changes of the short rib-polydactyly syndrome type 2 (Majewski). The skeletal changes included extremely short horizontal ribs, extreme micromelia with disproportionately short ovoid tibiae, and pre- and post-axial polydactyly. Microscopically, cartilage showed markedly stunted and disorganized endochondral ossification. Extraskeletal manifestations were hydrops, cleft lip, malformed larynx with hypoplastic epiglottis, pulmonary hypoplasia, glomerular and renal tubular cysts, ambiguous genitalia, pachygyria and small cerebellar vermis. Parental consanguinity supports the hypothesis of autosomal recessive inheritance of the condition.

Multiwavelength rainbow holographic interferometry

Although the two-step rainbow holographic process of Benton [S. A. Benton, J. Opt. Soc. Am. 50, (1969)] offers a significant improvement in holographic displays, its scientific applications are somewhat limited. It is primarily due to the awkardness of the two-step process. We have demonstrated [H. and F. T. S. Yu, Opt. Lett. 2, 85 (1978)] a one-step process which greatly simplifies the procedure in making rainbow holograms. In this paper, the applications of the one-step process to holographic interferometry is demonstrated. A unique multiwavelength holographic interferometric technique is also introduced. This multiwavelength process enables the study and comparison of more than one physical effect. The holographic interference fringe patterns due to different effects can be displayed individually, or together different colors. This capability further extends the usefulness and versatility of holographic interferometry.

H-Y antigen-positive male pseudohermaphroditism with 45,X/46,XYq-mosaicism

A 42-year-old male had short stature, microphallus, hypospadias, a bifid scrotum, abdominal undifferentiated testes, a uterus, bilateral fallopian tubes, and 45,X/46,XYq-mosaicism in his blood, skin, and germinal tissue and tissue surrounding the tests as determined by means of G-, Q-, and C-banding. An H-Y antigen assay on skin fibroblasts was positive, indicating that the locus for this antigen is not located in the brightly fluorescent region of the Y chromosome.

Omphalocele and partial trisomy 1q syndrome

A male infant with partial trisomy 1q syndrome (46,XY,der(21),t(1;21)(q25;q22)pat) is described. Clinical findings include small for gestational age, hypoglycemia, ocular hypertelorism, microphthalmia, coloboma of the iris, low-set ears, beak nose, micrognathia, micropenis, cryptorchidism, presacral dimple, flexion contractures of the fingers, bifid thumb, Simian crease, and overriding toes. In addition, he had a large omphalocele not previously seen in trisomy 1q. Postmortem findings include underdeveloped cerebellum, a thymus with moderate depletion of thymocytes, a large PDA, ASD, small adrenal, and fatty change of the liver. The grandfather, father, and a male sibling have translocation t(1;21)(q25;q22). A family history of repeated spontaneous abortions is present.

Development of a laboratory EXAFS facility

The EXAFS technique is a powerful new structural tool, particularly useful for studies of disordered or otherwise complex materials for which x-ray diffraction techniques are difficult or unfeasible. At the present time, most EXAFS experiments are carried out at a synchrotron facility because of the larger fluxes available. We have developed an in-laboratory apparatus utilizing a focusing crystal technique which increases available fluxes two to three orders of magnitude over previous laboratory facilities, so that EXAFS measurements can be carried out quickly and accurately in the laboratory. We will discuss the principles of the focusing monochromator and we will also illustrate the experimental method with examples, including studies of chemical solutions, defect crystalline solids, and high-temperature superconductors.

White-light pseudocolor density encoder

A simple technique utilizing a white-light processing system for the pseudocolor encoding of photographic materials by density is presented. Pseudocolored output of many different color codes is obtained by selectively spatial filtering the dispersed colors of the various high-diffraction orders of a halftone input. Besides permitting a large variety of color codes, this white-light technique would also eliminate all coherent artifact noises that plague coherent systems. Experimental results are presented, and comparison with the coherent technique is provided.

Color blur of the rainbow hologram

The color blur of the rainbow hologram is calculated from first-order holographic theory. The result is applicable to most of the rainbow holographic processes, including the one-step recording technique. Horizontal color blur approaches zero if the rainbow hologram image is near the optical axis of the hologram aperture.