Evaluation of American Cancer Society elementary school public education programs.

A comprehensive evaluation of two American Cancer Society (ACS) curriculum programs, An Early Start to Good Health (grades K-3) and Health Network (grades four-six), was conducted to assess the impact of the materials on student health knowledge, attitude, and behavior and to determine procedures and practices employed by teachers in utilizing the materials. The materials were tested with 26 classroom teachers and 660 children in grades K-6, and the material utilization practices of an additional 356 teachers in 27 schools were examined. Findings from the evaluation suggest that the two programs are effective in promoting child health education, but questions were raised concerning the ACS requirements for teacher training and the Usage Report Card system of documentation.

Nephroblastomatosis and Wilms' tumor. Clinical experience and management of seven patients.

Nephroblastomatosis is an uncommon abnormality believed to represent the persistence of embryonal renal tissue. Its association with simultaneous or eventual Wilms' tumor has led to the speculation that it is a premalignant lesion. The accumulated clinical experience with this process and its progression to Wilms' tumor in three of seven individuals is discussed.

Alveolar cell carcinoma: diagnostic pitfalls in evaluating the chest roentgenogram.

We have reported two cases of biopsy-proven alveolar cell carcinoma, both initially thought to be pulmonary edema. The purpose of this report is to stress the variations of the roentgenographic pattern in alveolar cell carcinoma and to suggest that fiberoptic bronchoscopy with biopsy should be considered when a pattern thought to be that of pulmonary edema does not resolve with appropriate therapy.

Regional turnover of norepinephrine and dopamine in rat brain following acute exposure to air ions.

Exposure to air ions has been reported to influence serotonin (5HT), although critical reviews of these studies and previous measurements in our laboratory of the concentration, release, and utilization of brain 5HT indicate that neither the data nor the interpretations of the data are particularly convincing. Measurements of other possibly relevant neurotransmitter systems--norepinephrine (NE) and dopamine (DA)--were made in brain regions selected because of their importance in the modulation of brain functions relating to motivation, arousal, endocrine function, and motor activity, all responses that have been reported to be influenced by air ion exposure. Results indicate that exposure of male Holtzman rats to high concentrations (5.

Ascorbic acid synthesis and concentrations in organs of copper-deficient and brindled mice.

Copper deficiency was studied in mice to investigate an interaction between copper and ascorbic acid. Twelve-day-old mutant brindled mice that exhibited signs of copper deficiency were compared to their normal brothers as well as to age-matched suckling mice that were copper deficient (-Cu) because their dams were consuming a copper-deficient diet throughout gestation and lactation, and a fourth group of copper-supplemented ( + Cu) suckling mice that served as dietary controls. Dietary copper deficiency was also produced in older mice by beginning the treatment at birth and continuing for 7 wk.

Comparative in vitro sliding-wear study of conventional, microfilled, and light-cured composite restoratives.

The sliding-wear behavior of a number of commercially available microfilled and light-cured composite restoratives has been investigated and compared with the wear characteristics of conventional composites. The surface profiles of the composite restoratives, both pre- and post-test, have also been examined in order to study material attrition processes. The results indicate that: (1) microfilled composites are significantly more resistant to sliding wear than are restoratives containing conventionally-sized filler particles; (2) light-cured, microfilled composites exhibit a lower rate of sliding wear than do self-curing, microfilled restoratives; and (3) the wear process leads to an increase in surface roughness for all materials tested, but microfilled materials display lower surface roughness values, both before and after sliding-wear tests, than do restoratives containing conventional-sized filler particles.

Pulsed Doppler echocardiographic evaluation of ventricular septal defect patches.

Doppler echocardiography has been shown to have high sensitivity and specificity for noninvasive detection of the flow disturbance of ventricular septal defect. After surgery for ventricular septal defect, one might expect loss of the ventricular septal defect flow disturbance. We used two-dimensional and pulsed Doppler echocardiography to evaluate 30 children undergoing surgery for ventricular septal defect to determine postoperative Doppler findings and the effect of ventricular septal defect patch material on those findings.

Surgical complications in Henoch-Schönlein Purpura.

Intestinal intussusception, perforation, and infarction constitute the major surgical complications in Henoch-Schönlein Purpura (HSP). This report reviews the surgical experience in 13 patients of the 58 treated for HSP at our institution in the past 10 years. In addition, the reported surgical cases of anaphylactoid purpura in the pediatric age are analyzed.

Light diffraction studies of single muscle fibers as a function of fiber rotation.

Light diffraction patterns from single glycerinated frog semitendinosus muscle fibers were examined photographically and photoelectrically as a function of diffraction angle and fiber rotation. The total intensity diffraction pattern indicates that the order maxima change both position and intensity periodically as a function of rotation angle. The total diffracted light, light diffracted above and below the zero-order plane, and light diffracted into individual orders gives information about the fiber's longitudinal and rotational structure and its noncylindrical symmetry.

Wear behavior of a composite restorative and various styli in sliding contact.

Using a pin-on-disc sliding-wear test apparatus, the wear behavior of a typical composite restorative vs. styli fashioned from human enamel, sintered alumina, and magnesium fluoride was examined. The rates of restorative wear were found to be identical, within the experimental error of the measurements, for tests using either human enamel pins or styli fabricated from sintered alumina.

Release of histamine by sympathetic nerve stimulation in the guinea pig heart and modulation of adrenergic responses. A physiological role for cardiac histamine?

Histamine has been reported to attenuate adrenergic responses in cardiovascular tissues. In guinea pig atria preloaded with [3H]norepinephrine, histamine diminishes the field stimulation-induced efflux of radioactivity; this effect has been attributed to an inhibition of norepinephrine release from nerve endings. To assess the possible physiological relevance of these findings, we have reinvestigated the effects of histamine on cardiac sympathetic responses and on the release of endogenous norepinephrine in the guinea pig heart isolated with its intact sympathetic innervation.

Computed tomography of invasive pleural mesothelioma.

The computed tomography (CT) findings in three patients with invasive pleural mesothelioma are presented, and the invasive route and metastatic extension of the disease in the abdomen and retroperitoneum are discussed. These findings indicate the value of CT in detecting the extrathoracic extension of mesothelioma. Abdominal CT studies should be obtained in evaluating mesothelioma patients for extrathoracic extension of the disease.

Noninvasive evaluation of Blalock-Taussig shunts: determination of patency and differentiation from patent ductus arteriosus by doppler echocardiography.

Pulsed Doppler echocardiography has been used to detect continuous turbulent flow in the right pulmonary artery after Blalock-Taussig shunts. Since continuous turbulent flow could also arise from patent ductus arteriosus (frequently present in the neonate), continuous turbulent flow in the right pulmonary artery is not specific for Blalock-Taussig shunt function. We evaluated 35 Blalock-Taussig shunts from suprasternal or high parasternal approach for flow in the right pulmonary artery, and in the Blalock-Taussig shunts themselves.

Postinfarction angina: results of early revascularization.

To assess the efficacy of surgical revascularization for postinfarction angina within 30 days of acute infarction, the clinical course of 103 patients treated surgically from January 1979 to July 1982 was reviewed. There were 84 men (82%) and 19 women (18%) with a mean age of 58 years (range 34 to 80). Group A (11 patients) underwent surgery within 24 hours of infarction, Group B (21 patients) within 7 days and Group C (71 patients) within 30 days.

Treatment of atypical mycobacterial disease.

The most common disease patterns produced by atypical mycobacteria are pulmonary disease, cervical lymphadenitis, and infection of soft tissue, bones, and joints. The treatment of disease due to atypical mycobacteria can be confusing unless one clearly differentiates the organisms according to clinical characteristics and response to various chemotherapeutic agents. For this reason, we have attempted to simplify the task by proposing a new classification system.