Prophylactic interventions on children: balancing human rights with public health.

Bioethics committees have issued guidelines that medical interventions should be permissible only in cases of clinically verifiable disease, deformity, or injury. Furthermore, once the existence of one or more of these requirements has been proven, the proposed therapeutic procedure must reasonably be expected to result in a net benefit to the patient. As an exception to this rule, some prophylactic interventions might be performed on individuals "in their best interests" or with the aim of averting an urgent and potentially calamitous public health danger.

Preliminary analysis of the genetic basis for vancomycin resistance in Staphylococcus aureus strain Mu50.

Glycopeptides, such as vancomycin, are frequently the antibiotics of choice for treatment of infections caused by the now common methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Incidences of vancomycin resistance in S. aureus (VRSA) have been increasing worldwide for the last 5 years.

Identifying bacteria in human urine: current practice and the potential for rapid, near-patient diagnosis by sensing volatile organic compounds.

Urinary tract infection (UTI) represents a significant burden for the National Health Service. Extensive research has been directed towards rapid detection of UTI in the last thirty years. A wide range of microbiological and chemical techniques are now available to identify and quantify bacteria in urine.

Thomas McMahon: a dedication in memoriam.

Thomas A. McMahon (1943-1999) was a pioneer in the field of biomechanics. He made primary contributions to our understanding of terrestrial locomotion, allometry and scaling, cardiac assist devices, orthopedic biomechanics, and a number of other areas.

THOMAS MCMAHON: A Dedication in Memoriam.

Thomas A. McMahon (1943-1999) was a pioneer in the field of biomechanics. He made primary contributions to our understanding of terrestrial locomotion, allometry and scaling, cardiac assist devices, orthopedic biomechanics, and a number of other areas.

Robotics for surgery.

Robotic technology is enhancing surgery through improved precision, stability, and dexterity. In image-guided procedures, robots use magnetic resonance and computed tomography image data to guide instruments to the treatment site. This requires new algorithms and user interfaces for planning procedures; it also requires sensors for registering the patient's anatomy with the preoperative image data.

The activity of vancomycin against heterogeneous vancomycin-intermediate methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus explored using an in vitro pharmacokinetic model.

Heterogeneous vancomycin-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus (hVISA) may account for treatment failure with vancomycin and act as a precursor of vancomycin-intermediate or -resistant S. aureus. The activity of vancomycin was assessed against vancomycinsusceptible, hVISA and VISA strains in a dilutional pharmacokinetic model.

Evaluation of current methods for detection of staphylococci with reduced susceptibility to glycopeptides.

The sensitivity and specificity of seven methods (agar dilution, broth microdilution, Etest at 0.5 and 2.0 McFarland (McF) inocula, two agar screening methods, and population studies [PS]) were evaluated in a double-blind study involving 284 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains and 45 Staphylococcus strains with reduced susceptibilities to vancomycin (SRSV).

A modified population analysis profile (PAP) method to detect hetero-resistance to vancomycin in Staphylococcus aureus in a UK hospital.

One hundred methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains, isolated between 1983 and 1999, were tested alongside the vancomycin hetero-resistant S. aureus (hVRSA) strain Mu 3, and vancomycin-resistant S. aureus (VRSA) strain Mu 50, for their resistance to vancomycin.

Tactile imaging of breast masses: first clinical report.

Hypothesis: Tactile imaging can accurately document the palpable extent of breast masses.

Design: Prospective nonrandomized interventional trial, comparing mass size estimates from preoperative physical examination, ultrasound, and tactile imaging with postoperative measurements of the resected masses.

Setting: A community ambulatory surgical center and a university hospital tertiary care center.

Case management in managed care: past, present, and future.

Case management (CM) has undergone radical, rapid change during the past 20 years and, from all appearances, shows no signs of slowing down. This article attempts to lay out the factors that will lead to the future of CM from three perspectives: patients, providers, and payers--the trilogy of the health care industry. The content of this article is rather provocative, intentionally designed to kindle thought and generate alternative ways to approach CM programs.

Genetic diversity and population structure of the serpentine endemic Calystegia collina (Convolvulaceae) in northern California.

We used enzyme electrophoresis to evaluate genetic diversity in 32 populations of Calystegia collina, a clonal plant species endemic to serpentine outcrops in northern California (USA). Of 34 loci examined 56% were polymorphic, but on average only 17% were polymorphic within local populations. Neither the total number of alleles nor the number of multilocus genotypes differed significantly between populations in small vs.

Effects on sleep disturbance of changes in aircraft noise near three airports.

Field measurements were conducted of potential sleep disturbance associated with changes in nighttime aircraft noise exposure near three airports. One study was conducted near Stapleton International Airport (DEN) and Denver International Airport (DIA) in anticipation of the closure of the former and opening of the latter. Sleep behavior was monitored in 57 homes located near runway ends at the two airports.

Deeply Penetrating Banded Zonal Flows in the Solar Convection Zone.

Helioseismic observations have detected small temporal variations of the rotation rate below the solar surface that correspond to the so-called "torsional oscillations" known from Doppler measurements of the surface. These appear as bands of slower- and faster-than-average rotation moving equatorward. Here we establish, using complementary helioseismic observations over 4 yr from the GONG network and from the MDI instrument on board SOHO, that the banded flows are not merely a near-surface phenomenon: rather, they extend downward at least 60 Mm (some 8% of the total solar radius) and thus are evident over a significant fraction of the nearly 200 Mm depth of the solar convection zone.

Dynamic variations at the base of the solar convection zone.

We have detected changes in the rotation of the sun near the base of its convective envelope, including a prominent variation with a period of 1.3 years at low latitudes. Such helioseismic probing of the deep solar interior has been enabled by nearly continuous observation of its oscillation modes with two complementary experiments.

Dynamic contact of the human fingerpad against a flat surface.

This paper investigates the dynamic, distributed pressure response of the human fingerpad in vivo when it first makes contact with an object. A flat probe was indented against the fingerpad at a 20 to 40 degree angle. Ramp-and-hold and sinusoidal displacement trajectories were applied to the fingerpad within a force range of 0-2 N.