The GBS accurately identifies low risk patients who could be managed safely as outpatients.

Films are a powerful medium for entertainment and often educate without intending to do so. In this paper we highlight 23 recent films that portray autistic spectrum disorders. We study the impact of these films on public understanding, drawing similarities and highlighting common themes in their depictions. Increasingly, films are being utilised to teach medical students and psychiatric trainees. We consider which of these films provide the best opportunities for medical education

ATP measurement can be used as an indicator of biological mass, and the extreme sensitivity of the firefly ATP assay has led to its use in bacterial detection systems. Clinical specimens present problems not encountered with cultured isolates of known bacterial species. The lower limit of sensitivity for detecting bacteria using the firefly assay is 100,000 bacteria per ml. Non-bacterial ATP, which is probably present in all clinical specimens, produces false-positive results unless it is completely destroyed, and this destruction must be carried out under conditions that do not affect bacterial ATP. A cause of false-negative results is the presence in all urine specimens of unidentified materials that inhibit the luminescent enzymic reaction. These considerations indicate that application of the firefly ATP assay in bacterial detection systems for clinical specimens is feasible only if a preparatory step separates bacteria from interfering materials and from non-bacterial sources of ATP, and concentrates microorganisms to measurable levels. These limitations sharply curtain the applicability in diagnostic microbiology of this exotic chemical reaction.

A new fluorimetric method for determining creatine in serum, blood, and urine is described. The method is based upon the coupling of guanidine compounds with ninhydrin in alkaline solution to produce highly fluorescent products. In degree of sensitivity and simplicity the method possesses several advantages over currently used colorimetric methods, and creatine can be determined in concentrations as low as 1.0 X 10-7M. The serum creatine concentration was found to be 0.41 mg.% in normal adult males, who excrete only small amounts of creatine in the urine.

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