PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

W Hom

Publications and source records attributed to W Hom.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

Ceruletide for schizophrenia: a double-blind study.

Ceruletide, an analog of cholecystokinin (CCK), has been reported to have neuroleptic-like activity in mice, and, in three open studies, to benefit schizophrenic patients. This study evaluated ceruletide in schizophrenia using a double-blind design. Subjects were 17 chronic schizophrenics with residual symptoms following stabilization with neuroleptics. Patients randomly received two injections, 1 week apart, of either ceruletide (0.6 microgram/kg im) or placebo, while continuing neuroleptics; this regimen was found helpful in earlier studies. Evaluation included ratings of 29 variables related to prognosis in schizophrenia (e.g., age, number of previous hospitalizations), regular BPRSs and SCL-90s, and psychiatrist, patient, and relative ratings of global improvement. Results showed few significant differences between ceruletide and placebo, with exceptions as likely to favor placebo as ceruletide. Among the patients on ceruletide, no predictors of benefit were found. Possible reasons for the negative results are discussed.

Antipsychotic Agents↗

PCB removal from the Duwamish River estuary: implications to the management alternative for the Hudson River PCB cleanup.

The results of the Duwamish River PCB cleanup and recovery project are discussed as a basis for comparison in selecting potential management alternatives for removing PCB residues in the Hudson River. Application of the Pneuma dredge system at the Duwamish River spill site removed approximately 92% of the PCBs spilled. No significant changes in the PCB load of suspended matter and water column were observed. These results suggest that a carefully planned dredge/disposal operation can be effective in minimizing environmental impacts in the Hudson River. On the basis of observations of the Duwamish case, the existing baseline data on the distribution of PCBs in the Hudson River, and the removal alternatives and associated environmental tradeoffs, hot spot dredging is recommended as the best practical alternative.

Accidents↗

Release of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) in a salt-wedge estuary as induced by dredging or contaminated sediments.

An evaluation of the input of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) in the Duwamish River, Seattle, Wash., resulting from the dredging of contaminated sediments is presented. The mean concentrations of PCB during the monitoring period were 12.8 to 24.5 ng/liter in water and 1.03 to 1.77 microgram/g dry weight in suspended particulate matter. These values were within the ranges normally observed in the river, suggesting that the dredging operations did not induce a significant PCB pulse of potential hazard to the estuary. The fractionation of PCB in suspended particulate matter was determined by computing component concentration ratios, KN(d). These quantities indicate an enrichment factor of 10(5) from ambient water. Based on the ambient PCB load and normal discharge, the input of PCB into Puget Sound via the Duwamish River was estimated to be 36 kg/year.

Polychlorinated Biphenyls↗

Deposition of DDE and polychlorinated biphenyls in dated sediments of the Santa Barbara basin.

Analysis of dated oceanic sediments from the Santa Barbara Basin of the Southern California Bight has shown that deposition of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) began about 1945 and that DDE [1,1-dichloro-2-2-bis(p-chloro-phenyl)ethylene] first appeared in sediments deposited about 1952. Concentrations of both show a progressive increase through 1967; estimated deposition rates (in grams per square meter per year) in 1967 of DDE and PCB were 1.9 x 10(-4) and 1.2 x 10(-4), respectively.

California↗