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Gestational thrombocytopenia, preeclampsia, and immune thrombocytopenia are commonly recognized etiologies of low platelet counts representing the vast majority of encountered gestational cases (86-100%). However, there are many other rare causes. The following case details a patient with three prior pregnancies, each remarkable for profound unexplained thrombocytopenia, which promptly normalized following delivery. It further details her fourth pregnancy, similar thrombocytopenia, an investigation into the causes, balancing platelet transfusion against the risk of alloimmunization, in-hospital treatment, and her eventual anesthetic, resuscitation, and delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study compared Web-based and lecture-based Gerontology and Psychology of Aging courses in terms of student performance, demographic and academic characteristics of students enrolled in the courses, and extent to which these characteristics differentially predicted outcomes of learning in the two course types. Participants for this study were 289 undergraduate students who completed a Psychology of Aging or Gerontology course, taught in either a Web-based or lecture-based format. Evaluation of student performance indicated percentage of points earned in the two course types did not differ significantly. Although students in Web-based courses tended to be older and were more likely to be upperclassmen than students in lecture-based courses, student profiles did not differ in terms of gender, race, grade point average, and Scholastic Assessment Tests (SAT) scores. Additionally, demographic and academic variables did not differentially predict course performance. The results of this study suggest a similar market in terms of demographic and academic characteristics of students for Web-based and lecture-based gerontology courses. Moreover, the findings suggest student learning outcomes in the two course formats are comparable. (Contains 5 tables.)

We investigate the physical mechanisms of high-energy gamma-ray emission from the TeV-emitting misaligned active galactic nucleus IC 310. 8 yr of data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope (Fermi -LAT) between 100 MeV and 500 GeV are reduced and analysed to study the temporal and spectral characteristics of IC 310. Point spread function-partitioned instrument response functions are used to improve the resolvability of IC 310 from nearby NGC 1275. Systematic effects due to this choice of instrument response functions and the proximity of NGC 1275 are investigated. We find strong spectral variability and detect the hard flaring state of IC 310 along with a previously undiscovered soft state in quiescent periods, and the first detection with Fermi -LAT below 1 GeV. This represents a shift in peak Compton energy of more than 5 orders of magnitude. Possible interpretations are discussed, but we lack the instantaneous sensitivity with Fermi to probe the underlying physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we present our study of the gamma-ray emission from the microquasar SS433. Integrating over 9 yr of Fermi -LAT Pass 8 data, we detect SS433 with a significance of ∼13σ in the 200 to 500 MeV photon energy range, with evidence for an extension in the direction of the w1 X-ray 'hotspot'. A temporal analysis reveals evidence for modulation of SS433's gamma-ray emission with the precession period of its relativistic jet. This suggests that at least some of SS433's gamma-ray emission originates close to the object rather than from the jet termination regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives When adult children incur life problems (e.g. divorce, job loss, health problems), aging parents generally report providing more frequent support and experiencing poorer well-being. Yet, it is unclear how adult children's problems may influence aging parents' daily support exchanges with these children or the parents' daily mood. Methods Aging parents from the Family Exchanges Study Wave 2 (N = 207, M age = 79.86) reported providing and receiving emotional support, practical support, and advice from each adult child each day for 7 days. Parents also rated daily positive and negative mood. Results Multilevel models showed that aging parents were more likely to provide emotional and practical support to adult children incurring life problems than children not suffering problems. Parents were also more likely to receive emotional support and advice from these children with problems. Further, parents reported less negative mood on days when providing practical support to children with problems. Discussion Examining daily support exchanges adds to our understanding of how children's problems influence parent–child ties in late life. Prior research suggests that children's problems upset parents. In this study, however, it appears that supporting adult children who suffer problems may alleviate aging parents' distress regarding such children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives Midlife adults are a "pivot" generation, responding to parents' and grown children's problems. Yet, some midlife adults may have families where multiple members suffer sorrows, whereas other midlife adults may have families with few problems. This study examined: (a) typologies of problems across generations and (b) associations between profiles of problems and midlife adults' well-being. Research Design and Methods Midlife adults (N = 633) reported their own, each parent's (n = 868), and grown child's (n = 1,785) physical (e.g. injury, cancer), psychological (e.g. anxiety, addiction), and lifestyle problems (e.g. divorce, job loss), and parents' functional disabilities. Midlife adults reported their own depressive symptoms. Results Latent profile analysis revealed four family typologies: (a) lowest problems across generations (n = 364), (b) offspring and midlife adult moderate problems, parent high physical problems and disability (n = 165), (c) offspring and parent moderate problems (n = 90), and (d) offspring highest problems (n = 14). Midlife adults in the lowest problems group (Profile a) reported higher income and fewer depressive symptoms than midlife adults in the other groups. Discussion and Implications Midlife adults cope with challenges when grown children or parents suffer problems, and their well-being may suffer as a result. In this study, regardless of the profile, higher problems in either generation were associated with more depressive symptoms for midlife adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives Aging parents often incur disabilities in activities of daily living, which may limit their ability to give support and necessitate increased support from middle-aged children. Research has predominantly assessed disabled parents’ retrospective reports of receiving support, but we know little about their daily support exchanges with middle-aged children. This study examined practical support, emotional support, and advice that aging parents with and without disabilities provided and received from middle-aged children, and links between these support exchanges and parents’ daily mood. Research Design and Methods Aging parents (N = 202, M age = 79.86) from the Family Exchanges Study II indicated their disabilities and background characteristics. They also reported daily exchanges of practical, emotional support, and advice with each middle-aged child and their daily mood for 7 days. Results Multilevel models revealed that aging parents suffering disabilities were equally likely to provide each type of support but more likely to receive practical support. Aging parents’ disabilities seemed to buffer the effects of these support exchanges, such that parents with disabilities versus parents without disabilities reported less negative mood when providing practical support or emotional support, and more positive mood when receiving practical support. Discussion and Implications Exploring the role of aging parents’ disabilities in their daily support exchanges with middle-aged children expands on the literature of late-life disabilities and parent-child ties. Despite increasing disabilities, aging parents continue to engage in support exchanges with middle-aged children in daily life and these parents appear to benefit from such involvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a significant hardening of the Fermi-LAT gamma-ray spectrum from the core of Cen A at E > 2.4 GeV, suggesting there is a source of high energy particles in the core of Cen A which is in addition to the jet component. We show that the observed gamma-ray spectrum is compatible with either a spike in the dark matter halo profile or a population of millisecond pulsars. This work gives a strong indication of new gamma-ray production mechanisms in active galactic nuclei and could even provide evidence for the clustering of heavy dark matter particles around black holes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Monozygotic twins reared in different countries are rare. Data from several available cases have been combined in group findings, masking cultural effects on behavior. The present study compared behavioral and health-related findings for unusual monozygotic female twins raised apart in South Korea and the United States. The 37-year-old twins were exceptional in being reared under dramatically different circumstances with limited telephone and Internet contact. Primary outcome measures included life history events, physical and health-related characteristics, and diverse behavioral traits. Striking similarities and differences were noted. Findings are discussed with reference to genetic and cultural influences on health and behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Past research has shown that young children affected by maternal HIV present with elevated stress/anxiety and negative well-being. This pilot intervention for children aged 7–14 affected by maternal HIV targeted improving positive child–mother communication, improving HIV/AIDS knowledge and reducing anxiety (especially related to transmission), and lessening feelings of stigma. Each of the three child intervention sessions included behavioral skills training and a themed craft exercise; mothers attended an open discussion group while the children attended their sessions. Study participants were 37 child–mother pairs. The study design was a randomized two-group pretest-posttest experimental design. The intervention sessions were audiotaped for transcription. Results showed significant decreases in anxiety and worry for children in the intervention group, and increases in happiness and knowledge regarding HIV/AIDS transmission. Intervention group mothers reported greater social support. Qualitative findings for the intervention group children and mothers also support these findings. Early intervention reduces child stress, and may affect longer-term outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background Active transport to school is associated with higher levels of physical activity in children. Promotion of active transport has therefore gained attention as a potential target to increase children's physical activity levels. Recent studies have recognized that the distance between home and school is an important predictor for active travel among children. These studies did not yet use the promising global positioning system (GPS) methods to objectively assess active transport. This study aims to explore active transport to school in relation to the distance between home and school among a sample of Dutch elementary school children, using GPS. Methods Seventy-nine children, aged 6-11 years, were recruited in six schools that were located in five cities in the Netherlands. All children were asked to wear a GPS receiver for one week. All measurements were conducted between December 2008 and April 2009. Based on GPS recordings, the distance of the trips between home and school were calculated. In addition, the mode of transport (i.e., walking, cycling, motorized transport) was determined using the average and maximum speed of the GPS tracks. Then, proportion of walking and cycling trips to school was determined in relation to the distance between home and school. Results Out of all school trips that were recorded (n = 812), 79.2% were classified as active transport. On average, active commuting trips were of a distance of 422 meters with an average speed of 5.2 km/hour. The proportion of walking trips declined significantly at increased school trip distance, whereas the proportion of cycling trips (β = 1.23, p < 0.01) and motorized transport (β = 3.61, p < 0.01) increased. Almost all GPS tracks less than 300 meters were actively commuted, while of the tracks above 900 meters, more than half was passively commuted. Conclusions In the current research setting, active transport between home and school was the most frequently used mode of travel. Increasing distance seems to be associated with higher levels of passive transport. These results are relevant for those involved in decisions on where to site schools and residences, as it may affect healthy behavior among children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article the author discusses his portfolios of photography. He discusses his move from producing so-called social realist work to investing in a more conceptual approach to his practice. He describes his interest in French painter Henri Rousseau's idea of the fictional forest. He also discusses his effort in depicting fact and perception about Vietnam in his works.

Virtual twins (VTs) are same-age unrelated siblings reared together from early infancy. These unique sibling sets replicate twinship, but without the genetic link. The first VT pair was identified and studied at the University of Minnesota in 1990, launching the development of the Fullerton Virtual Twin Study at California State University, Fullerton (CSUF) in 1991. The registry currently includes 151 pairs, mostly children, with new pairs identified on a continuous basis. Research with VTs includes studies of general intelligence, body size, interpersonal trust, social coordination, social networks, and parenting. In some cases, VTs have been studied in conjunction with pairs of monozygotic twins, dizygotic twins, full siblings, and friends as part of TAPS (Twins, Adoptees, Peers and Siblings), a collaborative project conducted between CSUF and the University of San Francisco, 2002–2006. VTs will also serve as a comparison group for epigenetic analyses of young Chinese twins reared apart and together. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An academic health sciences library that already had extensive experience providing support and instruction for Palm devices wanted to update its offerings with a mobile Web site and support for newer devices such as the iPhone. Librarians surveyed the offerings of other medical libraries and considered the unique needs of a primarily medical student clientele in terms of technology preferences and information needs. They developed a plan to create a mobile Web site and build a collection of appropriate resources. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The NYU Health Sciences Libraries created an account on Twitter, a microblogging service, as a new outreach tool marketed to students, faculty, and staff. The team used Twitter to promote resources, events, and news. Twitter is a part of a pipeline of information that also includes the library's Web site and Facebook. Although it is difficult to measure the effectiveness of a social networking tool, the overhead of using Twitter is so low that it merits consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The relationships between road and rail traffic noise with pre-ejection period (PEP) and with respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) during sleep, as indices of cardiac sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system tone, were investigated in the field (36 subjects, with 188 and 192 valid subject nights for PEP and RSA, respectively). Two analyses were conducted. The first analysis investigated the overall relationships across the entire sleep period. A second analysis investigated differences in the relationships between the first and second halves of the sleep period. Separate multilevel linear regression models for PEP and RSA were employed. Potential covariates for each model were selected from the same pool of variables, which included: gender, age, body-mass index, education level, traffic noise source type, intake of medication, caffeine, alcohol and cigarette smoke, and hindrance during sleep due to the ambulatory recordings. RSA models were adjusted for respiration rate. Mean indoor traffic noise exposure was negatively related to mean RSA during the sleep period, specifically during the second half of the sleep period. Both respiration rate and age were negatively associated with RSA. No significant relationships were observed for PEP. The results indicate that higher indoor traffic noise exposure levels may lead to cardiac parasympathetic withdrawal during sleep, specifically during the second half of the sleep period. No effect of indoor traffic noise on cardiac sympathetic tone was observed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Purpose – Facebook has become one of the fastest growing social networking sites on the Internet. Due to its increasing popularity, using Facebook presents a prime opportunity to engage with students in the virtual environment. The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of the experimental group librarians at Kimbel Library created to try and connect with students. Design/methodology/approach – This paper begins with a brief overview of social networking as well a basic literature review. Although most of the paper focuses on Kimbel Library's experiences with Facebook, a brief survey of 100 academic librarians is also included. The main purpose of conducting the survey was to determine how and if other libraries were using Facebook to connect with their students. Findings – After evaluating the survey it was a surprise to find out that most of Kimbel Library's experiences were consistent with other academic libraries. Although use of Facebook began for the express purpose of engaging with students, it was a surprise how well using this technology allowed professional relationships to develop as well. Results from the survey, as well as suggestions for integrating and improving the usage of Facebook, are also discussed. Originality/value – The value of social networking technology in higher education is still being determined. However, it is evident from the experiences presented that these technologies are here to stay. This paper attempts to address gaps in the current literature about the use of Facebook in academic libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the successful strategies in liaison marketing for library instruction which include networking, emailing, calling, and requesting an audience with a department. The author mentions that the key to success in using these strategies in liaison areas is persistence. The Kimbel Library's instruction program was participated by 97% of freshman students in 2008 and increased the number of upper division courses which account for 25% of the program's instruction load.

The article presents an opening address delivered by Jamie Graham, Chief Constable, Vancouver Police Department, at the 30th Annual Meeting of the Western Society of Criminology, in Vancouver, British Columbia in February 2003. In the speech, he discusses the drastic changes and reforms taking place in the police force and the challenges ahead.

Characteristics in online dating profiles that lead to initial contact were investigated. Across multiple dating websites/cities over rolling 7-day periods, findings revealed profile attractiveness and a casual dating status increased initial contacts for female profiles, while unique/exotic profile characteristics increased contacts for males. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this current study was to assess the one-night stand phenomenon using personal interviews with individuals who recently had a single-night sexual encounter. It was expected that topographical features would be identified as well as common attributes one looks for in a sexual partner. Social Exchange Theory was used to explain the common patterns and trends of these sexual occurrences. Participants were 28 college-age students recruited from a large university in Southern California who recently had a one-night stand. Thematic qualitative analysis was performed documenting emergent themes of the precursors of one-night stands through multiple readings of interview transcripts. Themes were divided into four broad categories: behavior setting features, themes shared across gender, themes unique to males, and themes unique to females. Behavior setting features associated with hookups included the physical setting, alcohol use, and how well dressed the hookup partner was. Shared themes across gender included being recently single or unhappy in a current relationship, "flirty" touching behaviors from the partner, and being in a social setting with a group of friends. A single unique theme for males was noted; males tended to hookup with females who reacted positively to their humor. Unique themes for females included a long cultivation period by the male, the male appearing confident, the male showing extreme interest in the female, the male's exotic appearance, and the perception that the male could help with the female's career and finances. Based on Social Exchange Theory, one-night stands operate as a form of reward-cost exchange, and behavior settings can have an influence on seduction [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the pair-bonding and nesting behavior of the Corn Crake Crex crex. It is noted that the birds are hard to monitor in the wild due to their shyness and the location of their breeding habitat. The author describes the mating of the birds in captivity, which allows the male bird to call to attract the female. The author discusses how the male bird makes nests for the female to inspect and choose.

• Combination inhaled nitrous oxide and ketamine infusion may be a safe alternative to epidural for labor analgesia. • The combination of inhaled nitrous oxide and ketamine infusion may limit the need for peripartum opiates. • In our review of literature, peripartum ketamine should be administer at low doses. • Literature regarding ketamine infusion recommendations is reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]