Search

Smoking habits among 54 male patients with intermittent claudication (IC) and 200 healthy 50-year-old men from the same county have been studied. The prevalence of smokers at the age of 50 was 98% among the IC patients against 46% among the healthy controls. The percentage of heavy smokers and the total tobacco consumptiion were not significantly different in the two groups. However, the percentage of smokers who began to smoke before the age of 15 was significantly higher in IC patients than in the healthy group, 28% to 7%.

An electroanalytical method for the determination of small amounts of water by controlled potential coulometry has been devised. Excess of iodine is produced coulometrically in a Karl Fischer reagent, the sample is added, and after complete reaction the remainder of the iodine is reduced. The number of coulombs consumed in the cell reaction is determined by integration of the current by means of an electronic integrator. Karl Fischer reagents of various compositions were checked to find the most satisfactory conditions and a special electrolysis cell for water determination was constructed entirely in glass and Teflon. Samples containing 0.1-2 mg of water were added and determined with an accuracy of +/- 0.15 %. The analysis times were 3-12 min.

A coulometric method for the determination of small amounts of water described in a previous report has been further developed. Improved electronic circuitry and a redesigned electrolysis cell have extended the range of determination and decreased the time of analysis. By means of a movable oven specially adapted to the cell, water in solids has also been determined. The method presented is applicable with high accuracy in the range 0.005-5 mg of water in a large variety of substances.

An Unterzaucher apparatus for the determination of oxygen in organic compounds is used. The iodine vapour formed in the anhydroiodic acid tube is led by a stream of nitrogen to the cathodic chamber of an electrolysis cell. Here the iodine is reduced at controlled potential at a rotating Pt-eiectrode. The amount of electricity used is determined by an electronic integrator and read from a digital voltmeter. For weights of samples in the range 0.5-6 mg the standard deviation is about 0.08% oxygen.