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The forkhead transcription factor FOXP3 is necessary for induction of regulatory T lymphocytes (Tregs) and their immunosuppressive function. We have previously demonstrated that targeting Tregs by vaccination of mice with murine FOXP3 mRNA-transfected dendritic cells (DCs) elicits FOXP3-specific T cell responses and enhances tumor immunity. It is clear that FOXP3 expression is not restricted to T-cell lineage and herein, using RT-PCR, flow cytometry, and western immunoblot we demonstrate for the first time that FOXP3 is expressed in inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) cells, SUM149 (triple negative, ErbB1-activated) and SUM190 (ErbB2-overexpressing). Importantly, FOXP3-specific T cells generated in vitro using human FOXP3 RNA-transfected DCs as stimulators efficiently lyse SUM149 cells. Interestingly, an isogenic model (rSUM149) derived from SUM149 with an enhanced anti-apoptotic phenotype was resistant to FOXP3-specific T cell mediated lysis. The MHC class I cellular processing mechanism was intact in both cell lines at the protein and transcription levels suggesting that the resistance to cytolysis by rSUM149 cells was not related to MHC class I expression or to the MHC class I antigen processing machinery in these cells. Our data suggest that FOXP3 may be an effective tumor target in IBC cells however increased anti-apoptotic signaling can lead to immune evasion.

Objective: Neonatal lupus (NL) occurs in fetuses exposed to maternal anti-SSA/Ro and/or anti-SSB/La antibodies, although the mothers themselves may not manifest any clinical disease. A focus on transmission of risk factors for NL from maternal grandparents to mothers of children with NL may yield dividends toward understanding the aggregation of autoantibodies and genetic factors in affected families. This study was perforned to determine the role of maternal grandparents in the development of the autoimmune phenotype of mothers of children with NL., Methods: Fifty-one mothers of children with cardiac and/or cutaneous NL, 48 maternal grandmothers, and 35 maternal grandfathers in the Research Registry for Neonatal Lupus were interrogated for clinical symptoms by questionnaire and underwent laboratory assessments, including determination of anti-SSA/Ro and anti-SSB/La antibody status (by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) and genotype at rs1800629 (TNFα) and rs7775397 (C6orf10) (allelic discrimination). The transmission disequilibrium test (TDT) was computed to test for nonrandom transmission from maternal grandparents to mothers of children with NL., Results: The common phenotypic feature in mothers of children with NL was the autoantibody and not the clinical profile; 7 had lupus, 14 had Sjögren's syndrome, 7 had both, and 23 were asymptomatic. Mothers of children with NL were significantly enriched for the risk alleles at both TNFα and C6orf10. The grandparents of children with NL carried minimal burden for autoimmune disease or abnormal antibody production and were not enriched in the genetic risk factors. However, the TDT analysis showed significant excess transmission of the risk alleles at both TNFα (odds ratio [OR] 6.67, P = 3.93 × 10(-4) ) and C6orf10 (OR 35.0, P = 3.74 × 10(-5) ) to mothers of children with NL., Conclusion: Mothers of children with NL are enriched for the TNFα and C6orf10 risk alleles, which are preferentially inherited from the asymptomatic maternal grandparents. These findings support the hypothesis that the development of NL and genetic etiology are multigenerational., (Copyright © 2012 by the American College of Rheumatology.)

School feeding programs (SFPs) are intended to alleviate short-term hunger, improve nutrition and cognition of children, and transfer income to families. The present review explores the impact of SFPs on nutritional, health, and educational outcomes of school-aged children in developing countries. Peer-reviewed journal articles and reviews published in the past 20 years were identified and screened for inclusion. Analysis of the articles revealed relatively consistent positive effects of school feeding in its different modalities on energy intake, micronutrient status, school enrollment, and attendance of the children participating in SFPs compared to non-participants. However, the positive impact of school feeding on growth, cognition, and academic achievement of school-aged children receiving SFPs compared to non-school-fed children was less conclusive. This review identifies research gaps and challenges that need to be addressed in the design and implementation of SFPs and calls for theory-based impact evaluations to strengthen the scientific evidence behind designing, funding, and implementing SFPs., (© 2011 International Life Sciences Institute.)

Objective: Explore student-involvement goals in local wellness policies (LWPs) of local education agencies (LEAs) in Pennsylvania (PA) and investigate associations with LEA characteristics., Design: An observational study that helped examine student-involvement goals., Setting: Public PA LEAs., Participants: LWPs submitted by 539 PA public LEAs., Main Outcome Measures: Six student-involvement goals analyzed as dependent variables. Correlations between demographic and policy characteristics of LEAs and student-involvement goals were measured., Analysis: Policies developed by LEAs were abstracted and analyzed. Logistic regression models were developed to analyze relationships between student-involvement goals and the demographic and policy characteristics of LEAs., Results: Majority of LEAs included policy goals that address student involvement in an array of activities related to wellness policy, food service, and role modeling. Regression models showed that LEAs with comprehensive and strong policies were most likely to include student-involvement goals regardless of LEA location, enrollment, or socioeconomic status of students., Conclusions and Implications: Student engagement in school nutrition policies has been shown to increase student acceptance in an array of health-related areas and is therefore promising in the area of obesity prevention. Comprehensiveness and rigor of LWPs were strongly correlated with the inclusion of student-involvement goals on LWPs. The upcoming reauthorization of the Child Nutrition programs in 2010 creates a good opportunity to address student involvement in LWPs., (Copyright © 2010 Society for Nutrition Education. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

In 2006, all local education agencies in the United States participating in the National School Lunch Program were required to establish school wellness policies that covered nutrition education, nutrition standards for school foods, and physical activity. The purpose of this psychometric study was to develop and evaluate the properties of a comprehensive and quantitative coding system to evaluate the quality of these policies. A 96-item coding tool was developed to evaluate seven goal areas: nutrition education, standards for US Department of Agriculture child nutrition programs and school meals, nutrition standards for competitive and other foods and beverages, physical education, physical activity, communication and promotion, and evaluation. Each goal area subscale and the total scale were scored on two dimensions: comprehensiveness and strength. Reliability was assessed by having pairs of researchers from four different states code a sample of 60 polices between July 2007 and July 2008. Goal area subscales were internally reliable (Cronbach's alpha=.60 to .93). Adequate interrater reliability scores were obtained at each level of scoring: total comprehensiveness and strength scores (intraclass correlation coefficient 0.82), subscale scores (intraclass correlation coefficient 0.70), and individual items (intraclass correlation coefficient 0.72). This coding system provided a reliable method for analyzing and comparing school district wellness policies in single or multistate studies.

Background: Routine human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination for 12-13-year-old girls will be introduced in the UK from September 2008. The aim of the present study was to identify correlates of parents' anticipated uptake of HPV vaccination for their sons and daughters., Methods: Self-administered questionnaires were completed by 353 parents of school-aged children living in Brighton and Hove (England). The main outcome measure was anticipated acceptance of HPV vaccination for children. Putative predictors of acceptance of HPV vaccination included general attitudes toward vaccination, beliefs about the impact on adolescent sexual behaviour of vaccines against sexually transmissible infections, and knowledge of HPV and cervical cancer., Results: Multivariate regression revealed that greater perceived benefits of HPV vaccination, greater general belief in the protection offered by vaccination, and greater support for adolescent sexual health services explained substantial proportions of the variance in HPV vaccine acceptability for both sons and daughters. For both sons and daughters, the most important correlate of vaccine acceptability was general belief in the protection offered by vaccination: this variable explained 40-50% of variance. Acceptability of vaccination appeared to improve following the provision of brief information about the links between HPV and cervical cancer and the proposed introduction of HPV vaccination., Conclusions: Uptake of HPV vaccination may be maximised by: improving attitudes toward the safety and efficacy of childhood vaccinations; countering concerns that provision of sexual health services for young people will encourage promiscuous or unsafe sexual behaviour; and improving knowledge about the role of HPV in cervical cancer aetiology.

With the passage of the Child Nutrition and Women, Infants, and Children Reauthorization Act of 2004, schools that sponsor school meals programs are required to establish local wellness policies to address childhood obesity. Little is known about how school districts will respond to this mandate, the nature of local wellness policies, and their compliance with this mandate. The objectives of this cross-sectional descriptive study, conducted in early 2007, were to assess local wellness policies established by Pennsylvania public school districts, compare these policies to local wellness policy mandate requirements, and provide information about local wellness policy development and implementation. Local wellness policies were collected from all Pennsylvania public school districts that sponsor school meals programs (N=499). School district representatives also completed and submitted a local wellness policy checklist, providing information about local wellness policy development and implementation. Policy goal data were abstracted and entered into a Microsoft Access database along with local wellness policy data. Frequencies were calculated. All required public school districts (N=499) submitted local wellness policies. Most school district local wellness policies (85.6%-100%) met each mandate requirement (eg, included goals for nutrition education, physical activity, etc.). The most common policy goals were general and may be difficult to measure, suggesting school staff may need assistance developing action plans and measuring policy implementation. Most respondents identified the superintendent (n=377; 75.6%) and school foodservice director (n=301; 60.3%) as responsible for ensuring local wellness policy implementation. Questions remain about feasibility of these district-level personnel to ensure policy implementation at the school level. The ability of local wellness policies to impact childhood obesity will depend on efforts at both the school and district levels to implement and enforce local wellness policies.

Background: In October 2005, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued draft guidance on collecting platelets (PLTs) by automated methods. The FDA proposed limiting collections to 24 components, rather than 24 procedures, annually with up to 3 components per procedure. The rationale was from literature suggesting frequent PLT collection resulted in significant declines in donor PLT counts. Additional requirements for minimal interdonation intervals were proposed., Study Design and Methods: Plateletpheresis records at a regional blood center with predonation PLT counts were used to assess the impact of the restriction on PLT collections. They were reviewed to demonstrate the effects of collection frequency, number of products collected, and interdonation interval on donor PLT counts. Total protein and albumin levels were compared in a subset of 24-times-per-year PLT donors and control whole-blood donors., Results: A limit of 24 components would require replacement of approximately 20 percent of the donor base to recover lost components. No clinically important decrease in PLT counts before donation was seen in donors donating multiple PLT components up to 24 times per year, regardless of interdonation interval. No frequent donor was deferred for a PLT count less than 150 x 10(9) per L. Short interdonation intervals were associated with statistically but not clinically important decreases in PLT counts. Protein levels were not distinguishable between PLT donors and controls., Conclusion: The proposed restrictions are not required to prevent thrombocytopenia in frequent PLT donors and would adversely impact the supply of apheresis PLTs. Protein levels are maintained in these high-frequency donors.

Rates of childhood obesity in have reached alarming proportions in many countries. Sixteen percent of school-aged children and adolescents in the U.S. are overweight. Legislation implemented in 2004 in the U.S. requires local education agencies (LEAs) that sponsor school meal programs to establish local wellness policies to address childhood obesity. Project PA, a collaboration between a state agency and a university providing school-based interventions focuses on the school environment and policy changes. Interventions have targeted foodservice personnel, administrators, teachers, parents and students. In two recent projects schools assessed their school nutrition environments, developed nutrition policies, and implemented strategies to encourage healthier food selections. Schools identified weaknesses in the areas of marketing and communication of policies. Media attention on the childhood obesity facilitated policy changes. Time and cost were identified as barriers to policy development and there were concerns about weak enforcement of policies. These themes are discussed.

The objective of this study was to describe the extent and locations of soft drink advertisements on high school campuses in Pennsylvania and identify factors related to extent of these advertisements. Surveys were distributed to 271 school foodservice directors in a random sample of high schools in Pennsylvania. These high schools were selected to be representative of the entire population of high schools in Pennsylvania based on chosen demographic characteristics. A three-phase survey strategy was used, involving distribution of a postcard reminder 1 to 2 weeks after the initial survey distribution, and mailing of a second survey to nonrespondents 1 to 2 weeks after mailing of the postcard. Two hundred twenty-eight school foodservice directors (84%) returned surveys. Linear multiple regression analyses were done using SPSS (version 11.5.1, 2002, SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL). Approximately two thirds (66.5%) of respondents indicated soft drink advertisements exist in at least one location in their school, with the most prevalent locations being on vending machines (62%) and school grounds, such as playing fields (27%). Slightly more than 10% of respondents indicated soft drink advertisements displayed in the cafeteria. Extent of soft drink advertisement locations was positively related to existence of a pouring-rights contract, subscription to Channel One, and receipt of incentives from soft drink bottlers based on sales, but negatively related to average daily participation in school lunch. These findings suggest that commercialization and sales incentives might interact to contribute to school environments that are not "nutrition-friendly." Schools' efforts to establish wellness policies as mandated by the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 provide ideal opportunities to examine school environments for advertising that might conflict with the healthful environments they are aiming to establish, and perhaps to develop policies to address these practices.

In lab-on-a-chip applications, filtration is currently performed prior to sample loading or through pre-cast membranes adhered to the substrate. These membranes cannot be patterned to micrometer resolution, and their adhesion may be incompatible with the fabrication process or may introduce contaminants. We have developed an on-chip separation process using a biocompatible polymer that can be patterned and has controllable molecular rejection properties. We spun cast cellulose acetate (CA) membranes directly onto silicon wafers. Characterization of the molecular flux across the membrane showed that molecular weight and charge are major factors contributing to the membranes' rejection characteristics. Altering casting conditions such as polymer concentration in the casting solution and the quenching-bath composition and/or temperature allowed control of the molecular weight cut-off (MWCO). Three MWCOs; 300, 350, and 700 Da have been achieved for non-linear molecules. Molecular shape is also very important as much higher molecular weight single-stranded DNA was electrophoresed across the membranes while heme with a similar negative charge density was rejected. This was due to DNA's small molecular cross section. This is an important result because heme inhibits polymerase chain reactions (PCR) reducing the detection and characterization of DNA from blood samples.

Domestic Violence poses a significant health risk for the woman and her baby. We wished to determine the acceptability of routine questioning for domestic violence in the maternity hospital setting. A non-anonymised questionnaire was completed by 481 women attending for booking antenatal appointment in a maternity hospital antenatal clinic. The doctor asked four questions regarding experience of partner abuse, The acceptability of these questions was determined. 468 (99%) patients found the questions acceptable and said it would be helpful to ask all patients. Sixty-one (12.9%) women gave a history of at least one form of partner abuse. We concluded that routine enquiry about domestic violence during hospital antenatal visits is acceptable to women and perceived by them to be worthwhile.

Objective: The objective of this study was to identify factors that predict offering and sale of competitive foods, as well as factors that predict average daily participation in school lunch., Design: Surveys were distributed to 271 school foodservice directors in a random sample of high schools in Pennsylvania that were selected to be representative of the entire population of high schools in Pennsylvania based on chosen demographic characteristics., Subjects: Two hundred twenty-eight school foodservice directors (84%) returned surveys., Statistical Analyses: Descriptive and multiple regression analyses were done using SPSS version 11.5 (2002, SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL)., Results: Percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals and timing of lunch were significant predictors of a la carte sales. Enrollment was negatively associated with number of vending machines per student. The number of less nutritious food items offered in vending machines and existence of soft drink machines owned by soft drink companies, for which the school receives a percent of sales, both predicted number of vending machines per student. Enrollment was inversely related to average daily participation in school lunch. The percentage of students eligible for free/reduced-price meals and enforcement of a policy prohibiting parents or students from bringing food into the cafeteria from local fast-food establishments positively predicted average daily participation in school lunch., Conclusions: These findings may be useful to school wellness councils in developing wellness policies as mandated by the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004, as well as in structuring school environments to promote more healthful food choices by students.

The objectives of this study were to describe the extent, nature, and enforcement of school competitive food policies in Pennsylvania public high schools and to determine if there are differences between school foodservice directors' and principals' perceptions of the existence and enforcement of these policies. A survey was distributed to 271 school foodservice directors and 100 principals in a representative, random sample of high schools. Two hundred twenty-eight school foodservice directors (84%) and 79 principals (79%) returned surveys. Descriptive statistics, chi2 analyses, and a proportions test were done using SPSS statistical software (SPSS base 11.5 for Windows, 2002, SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL). Few nutrition policies were reported related to setting nutritional standards for competitive foods (0.5% to 15.0%). Respondents' reporting of existence of policies not always enforced ranged from 0% to 12.8%. School foodservice directors reported uncertainty about existence of several policies outside their direct domain, but with potential effect on school meals participation. Differences were found between school foodservice directors' and principals' reporting of policies, with principals more often reporting policy existence and enforcement. These findings suggest the need for communication, both about existence of policies and chain of command in enforcement of policies. Given the local wellness policy provision of the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004, opportunities exist for nutrition professionals to contribute to development of policies that influence the nutritional quality of school foods.

Objective: This study examined the types and extent of competitive foods available in public high schools in Pennsylvania., Design: We developed, pilot tested, and distributed surveys to school foodservice directors in a random sample of 271 high schools in Pennsylvania., Subjects: Two hundred twenty-eight surveys were returned, for a response rate of 84%. Statistical analyses were performed: Descriptive statistics were used to examine the extent of competitive food sales in Pennsylvania public high schools. The survey data were analyzed using SPSS software version 11.5.1 (2002, SPSS base 11.0 for Windows, SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL)., Results: A la carte sales provide almost dollar 700/day to school foodservice programs, almost 85% of which receive no financial support from their school districts. The top-selling a la carte items are "hamburgers, pizza, and sandwiches." Ninety-four percent of respondents indicated that vending machines are accessible to students. The item most commonly offered in vending machines is bottled water (71.5%). While food items are less often available through school stores and club fund-raisers, candy is the item most commonly offered through these sources., Conclusions: Competitive foods are widely available in high schools. Although many of the items available are low in nutritional value, we found several of the top-selling a la carte options to be nutritious and bottled water the item most often identified as available through vending machines.

Objective: Our aim was to test the hypothesis that new activated clotting time (ACT) technology, with modifications to instruments and reagents designed to detect earlier clot formation, would be associated with more precise but lower results. A secondary objective was to evaluate the potential impact of any change in ACT measurement on heparin requirements during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB)., Methods: We compared the precision of two newer ACT systems: Actalyke, Helena Laboratories, Beaumont, TX and Hemochron Response, International Technidyne Corporation, Edison, NJ and assessed their bias with reference to a standard ACT system (Hemochron 801, International Technidyne Corporation, Edison, NJ). Bland-Altman analysis was applied to 81 duplicate samples from 22 patients undergoing CPB or percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI), covering the full clinical range of ACT values. We also estimated the change in heparin dose required to use the Actalyke rather than the Hemochron 801 results, to achieve our target ACT for CPB (480 seconds), and used a mixed model to test for significance., Results: The precision of the Actalyke was superior to the Hemochron Response (mean difference of duplicates +/- 0.1% versus +/- 4.2%). There was no significant bias (p = 0.93) between the results from the standard analyzers (Hemochron 801 and Response), but the results from the modified system (Actalyke) were on average 18% lower than the Hemochron 801 (p < 0.0001). Estimated heparin requirements established that fifty percent of CPB patients would have required additional heparin (5000 to 17500 units), an average increase of 1060 units per patient (p = 0.05), if the Actalyke values were used to guide anticoagulation during CPB., Conclusions: Our results support the hypothesis that the modified technology (Actalyke) is associated with more precise but lower ACT results. We estimated these lower values would lead to increased heparin dosing during CPB. The impact of this increase on bleeding after cardiac surgery with CPB is controversial and requires further study.

Objective: Muscle imbalance and poor control of movement can have an impact on the daily occupational functioning of children with cerebral palsy. When one side of the body functions better than the other, children will often prefer to use the less-involved upper extremity for completion of play and self-care activities because they have learned that the other hand does not function as effectively. This study examined a method purported to overcome this learned nonuse of the affected upper extremity by directing the child's attention to this extremity and increasing his or her motivation to use it. The research hypothesis was that restriction of the less-involved hand with a resting splint would result in increased use of the more-involved hand in a child with spastic cerebral palsy., Method: Initially, two children with cerebral palsy participated in this single-subject, ABA design study, but only one subject complied with the splint-wearing schedule and completed the study. This subject was a 2-year-old girl with greater involvement of the right side than the left. During the experimental phase, she wore a resting splint on her less-involved hand for most of the waking hours of the day to restrict its use. Data were collected over a 7-week period (2 weeks presplinting, 3 weeks splinting, 2 weeks postsplinting) and at a 6-month follow-up. Use of the more-involved extremity was measured through analysis of her performance during 15-min videotaped sessions of free play, administration of items from the Peabody Developmental Fine Motor Scales, and completion of a daily finger-feeding task., Results: An improvement in quality, quantity, and variety of use of the more-involved extremity after splinting, with some continuing improvement evident at follow-up, was found. The subject had increased voluntary control of her more-involved arm and hand and used them more spontaneously for completion of daily occupations., Conclusions: Although the results of this single-case design are encouraging, further research with a randomized, controlled design is necessary to determine the effectiveness of the forced-use technique with a larger population.

Purpose: This study evaluated a biocompatible, preformed collagen sheet as a disc replacement after temporomandibular joint (TMJ) surgery in the rabbit and compared its performance with that of an autogenous dermal graft., Materials and Methods: Twenty adult New Zealand white rabbits were divided into four groups of five animals: 1) nonoperated control; 2) TMJ discectomy without replacement; 3) discectomy with dermal graft replacement; and 4) discectomy with collagen sheet replacement. Each operated animal had the same procedure bilaterally. Rabbits were killed at 2, 4, 8, 18, and 36 weeks after surgery and the TMJs were surgically removed en bloc, decalcified, sectioned, and stained for histologic evaluation., Results: There was significant articular destruction in the discectomized joints with no disc replacement. Both the dermal and collagen disc replacements were resorbed by the eighth week and the articular surfaces exhibited cartilaginous hyperplasia, which returned to near normal thickness by the 18th week., Conclusion: This study demonstrated that both a collagen sheet and a dermal graft may act in a protective capacity and may help retard early degenerative changes normally seen in the articular surfaces of discectomized TMJs.

Operating department nursing practice involves a diversity of skills in conjunction with a specialist and multidisciplinary knowledge base. This article explores the emergence of minimal access surgery (MAS) and what occurs during the perioperative period. The authors argue that perioperative care of the MAS patient requires not only technical competence but also a high order of interpersonal skill allied to specialist nursing knowledge.

The Food Guide Pyramid represents changes and challenges for nutrition educators. Nutrition educators will have to change the focus, content, and teaching expectations for lessons. Use of the Pyramid will also require changes in the way the concepts of good nutrition are related to different audiences. In contrast to previous food guides, which represented a foundation diet, the Food Guide Pyramid represents the total diet, addressing overnutrition as well as undernutrition. The Food Guide Pyramid is a graphic representation of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and illustrates the key concepts of variety, moderation, and proportionality. For practitioners, one challenge is to find ways to effectively use the Food Guide Pyramid to teach clients how to put the Dietary Guidelines into action. Another challenge involves designing materials that adapt the messages of the Food Guide Pyramid to a variety of audiences. Teaching materials and instructions should emphasize the key concepts of the Food Guide Pyramid and should be clear, consistent, motivational, and culturally sensitive. Few educational materials are available to help practitioners with these challenges. In this article we outline the key changes that the Food Guide Pyramid embodies, and provide ideas and suggestions for using the Pyramid in a practice setting.

The present studies were conducted to evaluate the cholesterolemic effects of whole-food diets high in stearic acid. In study no. 1, normocholesterolemic young men were fed diets high in stearic acid provided by cocoa butter (CB); oleic acid provided by olive oil (OO); linoleic acid provided by soybean oil (SO); and myristic acid (and lauric acid) provided by dairy butter (B). In study no. 2, different subjects with similar baseline characteristics were fed diets high in stearic acid provided by milk chocolate (C), CB, CB+B (4:1, MIX), and myristic (and lauric) acid provided by B. Both studies used a randomized, crossover, double-blind experimental design, and experimental subjects (n = 18 for study no. 1 and n = 15 for study no. 2) in each study consumed every diet for 26 days with a 1-month wash-out period between each experimental period. The diets provided 37% of calories from fat, of which 81% was provided by the test fat. Ten ounces (280 g) C was provided daily by the C diet. In study no. 1, the B diet was hypercholesterolemic, whereas the SO diet was hypocholesterolemic, compared with the other diets. The OO and SO diets were hypocholesterolemic compared with the CB diet. Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels, in general, paralleled the changes in plasma total cholesterol levels. SO significantly decreased apolipoprotein (apo) B levels compared with the other diets. Plasma very-low density lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and apo A-I levels were unaffected by the experimental diets.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The aim of this pilot study is to discover the student nurses' learning needs and perceptions during their operating department allocation and whether we are meeting those needs. Also, what influence their perceptions have had upon selecting perioperative nursing as a career. The study focuses upon semi-structured interviews with student nurses and their accounts of their experiences of being learners in the operating department. During their allocation, students are able to view surgery and to assist in the recovery of patients and to understand what a surgical patient experiences. They are exposed to the roles and responsibilities of operating department nurses. However, little is known about how students perceive these experiences. In this study two groups of students from the same year were interviewed to determine their perceptions and needs during the allocation and whether their learning needs had been met.

In brief: Ten recreational runners and squash players were monitored with telemetry to determine their heart rate response to the two activities. The authors found that even though squash is a discontinuous exercise, the mean heart rate intensity in the squash sessions was very similar to the mean heart rate intensity while running. Therefore, health professionals can indicate that squash play with a partner of equal ability and fitness level has aerobic benefits similar to running.

The present study reports the results of using the biopsy technique with members of the Canadian Wheelchair Internation Team. The results demonstrate that these athletes possess muscles with large fibre areas than seen in Olympic athletes.

The radiographs and medical records of 29 professional basebell players from several teams were reviewed. Each player had been selected because of radiographic abnormalities. Abduction views of the shoulder were employed in pitchers and outfielders who complained of shoulder pain. Upper extremity abnormalities predominated and accounted for 22 injuries including avulsion injuries of the origin of the long head of the triceps at the infraglenoid tubercle of the scapula and traction injuries at the origin of the pronator muscles at the medial epicondyle of the humerus. Trauma to the lower extremities was caused by collision with a fixed barrier in one man and by running and sliding in 13 others.

During a 17-year period, 33 injuries produced radiographic abnormalities in 26 members of a professional football team. Sites of injury were correlated with playing position and protective equipment worn at the time of injury. Fractures of multiple transverse processes of the lumbar spine are reported in offensive halfbacks and offensive ends. Two linebackers and one center sustained fractures of the mid-forearm. Several related reports of the morbidity and mortality of football injuries are also discussed.

Deaths resulting from terrorism involving aircraft have occurred incident to hijackings as well as bombings. Passengers or groups of passengers have been chosen by terrorists as the recipients of violence based on citizenship, religion, and political beliefs. They have usually been segregated from other passengers and subsequently mistreated and/or murdered. Thorough documentation of the injuries of victims is essential to the investigation of such atrocities; a medicolegal autopsy correlated with a scene investigation is of paramount importance. Aircraft bombings can create extremely sensitive political situations and public demands for quick resolution. The autopsy of victims in such circumstances, if properly conducted, can yield invaluable trace evidence leading to the identification of the explosive device. The examination of any surviving victims as well as the aircraft is also critical in reconstructing the event. Deaths occurring as the result of in-flight aircraft bombings can produce injuries by five different mechanisms, viz. blast, shrapnel, decompression, impact with the aircraft, and ground impact.