Design and Actuation of a Fabric-Based Worm-Like Robot.

Soft-bodied animals, such as earthworms, are capable of contorting their body to squeeze through narrow spaces, create or enlarge burrows, and move on uneven ground. In many applications such as search and rescue, inspection of pipes and medical procedures, it may be useful to have a hollow-bodied robot with skin separating inside and outside. Textiles can be key to such skins.

Enteral autonomy in pediatric short bowel syndrome: predictive factors one year after diagnosis.

Purpose: This study examined predictors of achieving enteral autonomy among pediatric short bowel syndrome (SBS) patients remaining on parenteral nutrition (PN) beyond one year.

Methods: A retrospective single-institution study of 171 pediatric SBS patients (defined as ≥50% small bowel (SB) loss or ≥60 days of PN with onset before 6 weeks of age) was performed. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis was conducted, with subgroup analysis of patients on PN for ≥1 year (n=59).

Improving breast cancer care through a regional quality collaborative.

Background: Regional collaborative organizations provide an effective structure for improving the quality of surgical care. With low complication rates and a long latency between surgical care and outcomes such as survival and local recurrence, quality measurement in breast cancer surgery is ideally suited to process measures. Diagnostic biopsy technique for breast cancer diagnosis is measurable and amenable to change at the provider level.

Substance use, trait measures, and subjective response to nicotine in never-smokers stratified on parental smoking history and sex.

Introduction: Male and female never-smokers stratified on parental history of smoking were tested for possible differences in susceptibility to the hedonic effects of nicotine.

Methods: We recruited nicotine-exposed never-smokers with two never-smoking biological parents (PH-) or two ever-smoking biological parents (PH+). After completing a baseline assessment battery focusing on conditions or behaviors associated with smoking, participants were tested for subjective and hedonic effects in response to administration of three different nicotine doses (0.

Favorite cigarette of the day in a random sample of women smokers.

From a random digit dialing survey of American women, we assessed current smokers (n=371). Respondents were 33.6+/-7.

Actual versus perceived risk of cervical cancer among college women smokers.

Unlabelled: Cervical cancer is a well-established smoking-related illness, but many at-risk women are unaware of this link.

Objective: The authors designed this study to (1) investigate the relationship of smoking behavior with the history of abnormal Pap test results, sexual history, and perceived risk of cervical cancer and (2) determine whether self-classified smoking status (and hence perceived risk) corresponds with actual smoking behavior in a college student population. PARTICIPANTS AND METHOD SUMMARY: College women students (N = 135) completed a survey assessing smoking history, health history, sexual risk behavior, and risk awareness.

Differences in smoking-related variables based on phenylthiocarbamide "taster" status.

Test strips impregnated with phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) have been used to identify genetic differences based on whether a bitter taste is perceived. To determine whether smokers who perceive PTC as bitter tasting ("tasters") would differ from those who describe it as tasteless ("non-tasters") on smoking-related variables, we studied 464 current smokers (70% female, 79% White; mean age 30.5+/-9 years) recruited to participate in laboratory experiments and clinical trials.

Cost-utility of 2 maintenance treatments for older adults with depression who responded to a course of electroconvulsive therapy: results from a decision analytic model.

Objective: The prevalence of major depressive disorder (MDD) in community-dwelling elderly populations is 1% to 3%. After initial treatment of the acute phase of depression, only about 25% to 30% of elderly patients remain well after 1 to 3 years of follow-up. Previous studies suggested that patients who received maintenance electroconvulsive therapy (MECT) demonstrated lower relapse rates, a better subjective sense of well-being, and lower health care costs at 12-month follow-up.

Nicotine dependence, depression, and gender: characterizing phenotypes based on withdrawal discomfort, response to smoking, and ability to abstain.

Smoking is often viewed as a comprehensive phenotype rather than a complex set of traits involving intermediate phenotypes. To explore this issue in a laboratory setting, we tested 69 smokers stratified on depression, nicotine dependence, and gender. On the third day of an initial withdrawal period, we tested for differences among participants in uncued and cued craving and withdrawal; on the fourth day, we exposed them to a controlled dose of smoke and assessed them for physiological and hedonic effects and reduction of craving and withdrawal.

Validation of retrospective reports of early experiences with smoking.

Initial sensitivity to the pharmacological effects of a drug may affect patterns of future use and dependence for a wide variety of drugs. Retrospective reports of sensations experienced upon early experimentation, however, may be limited by recall bias based on time elapsed and subsequent experiences. To validate reports of early experiences with nicotine, we studied 34 smokers who had contributed retrospective data on early experiences with smoking.

Defining a never-smoker: results from the nonsmokers survey.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control defines a never-smoker as someone who has smoked < 100 cigarettes per lifetime.

Relationship of onset of cigarette smoking during college to alcohol use, dieting concerns, and depressed mood: results from the Young Women's Health Survey.

To investigate the issue of smoking initiation during college, we administered a survey of women's health behavior to college women during freshman orientation, at the end of their freshman year and again during their senior year. Never smokers (NS; n=374), early-onset smokers (EOS; n=52), and late-onset smokers (LOS; n=64) were compared on dieting concerns, mood problems, alcohol-related problems, and frequency of binge drinking episodes. By the senior year of college, 55% (64/116) of those who had smoked in the past month had started smoking during college, although they were more likely than never smokers to have experimented with cigarettes prior to college.

Smoking patterns and abstinence effects in smokers with no ADHD, childhood ADHD, and adult ADHD symptomatology.

Cigarette smokers are known to be overrepresented among adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). To date, however, no attempt has been made to determine the extent to which a lifetime diagnosis of ADHD may be associated with smoking even in the absence of current symptomatology. We hypothesized that nicotine dependence and abstinence effects-especially effects relevant to ADHD symptomatology-would be more pronounced in adult ADHD smokers in comparison with those who reported childhood ADHD symptoms only.

Prolonged nicotine patch use in quitters with past abstinence-induced depressed mood.

To test the efficacy of sustained nicotine patch use among at-risk smokers, 55 smokers with a history of abstinence-induced depressed mood were randomly assigned to either Nicotine Maintenance or Standard Treatment following preliminary high-dose patch treatment. The Nicotine Maintenance group received 21 mg transdermal nicotine for 8 additional weeks; the Standard Treatment group followed a tapered dosing regimen. Significant differences favoring the Nicotine Maintenance group were found in self-reported craving but not withdrawal.

The Assessment of Hyperactivity and Attention (AHA): development and preliminary validation of a brief self-assessment of adult ADHD.

A brief self-rating scale, the Assessment of Hyperactivity and Attention (AHA), was developed and validated using a "gold standard" DSM-based semi-structured interview. The sample consisted of 101 smokers (74% male, 73% Caucasian)-38.6% with no DSM-IV ADHD diagnosis, 10.

Hypermetaphase and interphase fluorescence in situ hybridisation for monitoring of remission status in Philadelphia chromosome positive chronic myeloid leukaemia.

Interferon (IFN) alone or in combination with cytostatic drugs, can induce major and durable cytogenetic remissions in chronic myelogenous leukaemia (CML) patients. Hypermetaphase (HMF) and interphase (IPF) fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) have been described to be suitable for remission assessment. In the present study we applied HMF and IPF simultaneously to bone marrow (BM) probes from Ph-positive CML patients.

Effects of menstrual phase and smoking abstinence in smokers with and without a history of major depressive disorder.

Although considerable progress has been made towards understanding the role of menstrual cycle phase in smoking, little is known about the possible effects of menstrual phase upon nicotine intake, withdrawal symptomatology, and craving in women with psychiatric cofactors. Fourteen women with and without a history of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) were studied during five biologically-confirmed phases over the course of one menstrual cycle: smoking logs, salivary cotinine, and ratings of craving and withdrawal were collected daily. During a second cycle, subjects remained abstinent for 3 consecutive days during the postmenses and premenstrual phases.

Short-term weight gain in abstaining women smokers.

Although most studies of weight gain following smoking cessation assess long-term change, weight gain during the critical period immediately following cessation may be more salient to the smoker for whom fear of weight gain constitutes a serious barrier to cessation. The current study examined weight change in 20 highly dependent women smokers provided with monetary incentives to abstain for 1 week, along with concomitant changes in cotinine. Abstaining smokers (n = 7) gained 3.

Hypo- and hyperpigmented areas in incontinentia pigmenti. Light and electron microscopic studies.

Incontinentia pigmenti is a rare genodermatosis typically involving three stages: vesiculae, verrucous lesions, and hyperpigmentation. We clinically and pathologically documented a case from shortly after birth until the age of 17 years. Although the first two stages took a regular course, the third stage of the disease was characterized by hypopigmented streaks on the legs in addition to axillary hyperpigmentation.

The Association of American Publishers' Electronic Manuscript Project: a status report.

In July 1983, the Association of American Publishers (AAP) initiated the Electronic Manuscript Project, with the goal of an industry-wide standard and guidelines for electronic manuscript preparation. The project, viewed as a significant effort throughout the publishing and information communities, consists of six tasks designed to improve productivity and efficiency in publishing and to facilitate bibliographic processing.