We performed a study to determine pressure distribution properties of the normal radio-carpal joint. A system was developed for measurement of the contact pressure within the wrist joint surfaces. The transducer was based on Fuji pressure-sensitive paper, which was inserted into the joint space through a dorsal capsular incision. The hand was then positioned using a jig that permitted free axial loading of the joint. Each of five specimens was tested in 36 positions combining flexion/extension with radio/ulnar deviation and supination/pronation. The transducers were analyzed for contact area, scapho-lunate contact area ratio, pressure, and centroid locations using a microcomputer-based video-imaging system. The scaphoid and lunate contact areas on the radius and triangular fibrocartilage were separate and distinct in all wrist positions. Together these contact areas accounted for a relatively small fraction of the total joint surface area (average contact area/total joint area = 0.206, SD = 0.0495). For an applied 103 Newton compressive load, the high pressure averaged 3.17 MPa (SD = 0.83 MPa). Overall, the scaphoid contact area was 1.47 times that of the lunate, although variations occurred with position, as in flexion, in which the scaphoid/lunate area ratio was 0.83. The high-pressure centroids of both scaphoid and lunate contact areas shifted palmarly from 20 degrees of flexion to 20 degrees of extension and then dorsally with further extension. The scaphoid-lunate intercentroid distance averaged 14.91 mm with a range of 10-20 mm.
Pollen germination on 2% agar medium was investigated as a method of screening pollen viability, using ISU 7851-1, a Java × New Guinea Impatiens interspecific hybrid. A chi-square test showed that percentage pollen germination was related to corresponding seed set. However, some pollinations yielded seeds from pollen that tested in vitro as low as 0.5% germination. Other Impatiens genotypes were screened rapidly for pollen viability by microscopically scanning for pollen germination in vitro. ISU 7851-1 pollen diameter sizes ranged from 18 to 81 μm on agar medium, but only pollen grains of 45 μm and larger were capable of in vitro germination.
Pulmonary sporotrichosis, such as other chronic fungal and mycobacterial infections, can be difficult to diagnose. We present a novel twist on the old technique of bronchoalveolar lavage that leads to improved diagnostic yield.
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