Search

Recent research has indicated high economic and environmental costs of human paper usage. Technologies have been developed to reduce consumers' paper use behavior, including mechanical dispensers that institute a delay between opportunities to obtain each consecutive unit. However, there is no empirical evidence that these dispensers or delays reduce paper use. In Experiment 1, implementing a delay between paper-unit deliveries using mechanical dispensers in a university café resulted in a significant decrease in units per person, material per person, and cost per person, compared to free-access dispensers. In Experiment 2, a relatively long delay was more effective than a short delay in reducing paper consumption in a laboratory experiment using mechanical dispensers. These results indicate that delays could be used to decrease paper use in many contexts on a larger scale. More research is necessary to determine the underlying behavioral mechanisms responsible for the observed reduction and the cost–benefit relationship under different circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We studied the number and function of angiogenic progenitor cells and growth factors in children aged 5-18 years without acute illness, 43 with Hemoglobin SS and 68 with normal hemoglobin. Hemoglobin SS subjects had at least twice as many mononuclear cell colonies and more circulating progenitor cell than Control subjects. Plasma concentrations of erythropoietin, angiopoietin- 2, and stromal-derived growth factor (SDF)-1α were significantly higher in children with Hemoglobin SS compared to Control subjects. In amultivariate analysis model, SDF-1α concentration was found to be associated with both CPC number and total white blood cell count in the Hemoglobin SS group, suggesting that SDF-1α produced by ischemic tissues plays a role in mobilizing these cells in children with Hemoglobin SS. Despite having a higher number of angiogenic progenitor cells, children with Hemoglobin SS had slower migration of cultured mononuclear cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comparing cognitive processing and academic functioning among children with sickle-cell syndrome and nondiseased siblings who were comparable in age, socioeconomic status, and sex, this study found that children with sickle-cell syndrome scored significantly lower than nondiseased siblings on a reading decoding achievement test and a sustained attention task associated with frontal-lobe functioning. No support was found for either the hypothesis of an age-related decrement of cognitive functioning or the hypothesis that youth with the homozygous condition (HbSS) would perform more poorly on cognitive and academic tasks than would children with heterozygous forms of sickle-cell syndrome (HbSC and HbS-beta thalassemia). The majority of measures were, however, related to social class, suggesting that there is variability in the cognitive functioning of youth in whom sickle-cell disease had been diagnosed which may, in part, be attributed to social class. The finding that hemoglobin is a predictor of intellectual functioning, fine-motor skills, and overall academic achievement was interpreted as suggesting that chronic reduced oxygen delivery may be etiologic and that therapeutic trials aimed at increasing hemoglobin levels should be undertaken. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gonadal hypofunction is described in male and female patients with sickle cell anemia (SCA) after bone marrow transplant (BMT) and in males treated with hydroxyurea (HU). Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) is a serum marker of ovarian reserve. This study describes AMH and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels in female SCA subjects treated with supportive care (SCA-SC), HU (SCA-HU) and BMT (SCA-BMT). SCA (SS/Sβ 0 ) subjects not on HU, on HU and status-post BMT, ages 10–21 years were recruited. SCA-HU subjects were treated with HU ≥ 20 mg/kg for ≥ 12 consecutive months. SCA-BMT subjects had received busulfan and cyclophosphamide. Serum AMH and random FSH levels were obtained. Diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) was defined as AMH level < 5th percentile for age-matched controls. Subjects also with FSH > 40 IU/L were classified as having premature ovarian insufficiency (POI). 14 SCA-SC (14.5 ± 2.7 years), 33 SCA-HU (14.4 ± 2.4 years) and 9 SCA-BMT (14.3 ± 2.7 years) females were included. AMH was undetectable in all SCA-BMT subjects and < 5th percentile in 24% of SCA-HU subjects. FSH was menopausal (> 40 IU/L) in 88.9% of SCA-BMT subjects. All SCA-BMT subjects and 24% of subjects on HU had DOR; 89% of SCA-BMT subjects had POI. AMH and FSH may be useful tools in assessing ovarian reserve and function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examining 61 youths diagnosed with sickle cell syndromes, this study focused on both protective and risk factors of adaptive behavioral functioning in these children. Demographic characteristics (age, sex, intelligence, and socioeconomic status), severity of disease (number of days hospitalized, emergency room visits, hemoglobin, and school days missed), behavioral adjustment, and family functioning were examined to determine their relation to adaptive behavioral competencies. Age, sex, and intellectual functioning were found to be efficient predictors of the majority of adaptive behavioral domains, with higher adaptive functioning being associated with younger children, girls, and greater intellectual functioning. Adjustment difficulties characterized by internalizing symptoms were found to predict communication and global adaptive functioning. Within the context of a risk-resistance adaptation model, the present data were interpreted to support the use of secondary prevention efforts for children with sickle cell syndrome who may be designated at high risk for developmental delays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]