The effects of maternal education on child nutritional status depend on socio-environmental conditions.

Background: Previous studies have shown an inconsistency in the association between maternal education and child nutritional status across socioeconomic levels. This may be because the beneficial effects of education are only significant when resources are sufficient but not abundant.

Methods: Associations were examined for differences across socioeconomic levels using data collected from 41 rural communities of Benin for 435 children aged 13-36 months.

C-terminal mutations that alter the turnover number for 3-O-methylglucose transport by GLUT1 and GLUT4.

Turnover numbers for 3-O-methylglucose transport by the homologous glucose transporters GLUT1 and GLUT4 were compared to those for truncated and chimeric transporters expressed in Xenopus oocytes to assess potential regulatory properties of the C-terminal domain. The ability of high intracellular sugar concentrations to increase the turnover number for sugar entry ("accelerated exchange") by GLUT1 and not by GLUT4 was maintained in oocytes. Replacing the GLUT1 C terminus with that of GLUT4 stimulated turnover 1.

Most frequent scenario for recurrent Candida vaginitis is strain maintenance with "substrain shuffling": demonstration by sequential DNA fingerprinting with probes Ca3, C1, and CARE2.

The following three basic scenarios have emerged for the genetic relatedness of strains in recurrent vaginal candidiasis: strain maintenance without genetic variation, strain maintenance with minor genetic variation, and strain replacement. To test the frequency of each of the three scenarios, the genetic relatedness of Candida albicans isolates from each of 18 patients with recurrent infections was assessed by sequential DNA fingerprinting with the following three probes: the Ca3 probe; the C1 probe, a subfragment of the Ca3 probe which hybridizes to hypervariable genomic fragments; and the unrelated CARE2 probe. In each of the 18 patients with recurrent infections, the same strain was responsible for sequential infections, suggesting that the predominant scenario is strain maintenance.

Effectiveness of vaginal Papanicolaou smear screening after total hysterectomy for benign disease.

Objective: Using literature review, we assessed (1) Papanicolaou smear screening recommendations after hysterectomy for benign disease, (2) total hysterectomy for benign disease as a risk for vaginal dysplasia or carcinoma, and (3) effectiveness of screening for vaginal carcinoma after total hysterectomy for benign disease.

Data Sources: We considered (1) organizations' recommendations about screening, (2) references from major textbooks of gynecology, and (3) MEDLINE searches of English-language studies published from 1966 through 1995 using the search strategy (hysterectomy and vaginal smears) or (vaginal smears and vaginal neoplasms).

Study Selection: Published or verbal confirmations of screening recommendations were eligible.

Age and education correction of Mini-Mental State Examination for English and Spanish-speaking elderly.

Previous research has shown that the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMS) is biased as a measure of cognitive impairment in minority and low-education patients. The purpose of this study was to (1) develop a statistical correction for effects of age and education and (2) test the efficacy of the statistically adjusted MMS (MMSAdj) as a screening test for dementia using different ethnic groups and education levels. We used a population-base community survey sample (n=590) composed of 46.

Evaluation of the significance of polyamines and their oxidases in the aetiology of human cervical carcinoma.

The risk of cancer of the cervix is linked with sexual behaviour. Although infectious agents such as human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are implicated, these alone may be insufficient to induce the disease. We have investigated the potential role of oxidation products of the polyamines spermine and spermidine and the diamine putrescine in seminal plasma (SP) as co-factors in the development of cervical cancer.

Evidence for normal vitamin D receptor messenger ribonucleic acid and genotype in absorptive hypercalciuria.

Absorptive hypercalciuria (a stone-forming condition) is characterized by gut hyperabsorption of calcium, hypercalciuria, and reduced bone density. Inasmuch as these features implicate enhanced calcitriol action in gut and bone, we analyzed the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene to ascertain whether an abnormality of this gene marks patients with intestinal hyperabsorption of calcium. We have compared the frequency of a restriction fragment length polymorphism (Bsm I) associated with different alleles of the VDR gene in a group of 33 well characterized absorptive hypercalciuric patients and a group of 36 normal race- and age-matched control subjects.

Serum IGF 1 is low and correlated with osteoblastic surface in idiopathic osteoporosis.

We have previously reported that bone formation is impaired on histomorphometric analysis of bone in patients with idiopathic osteoporosis. In the present study, 30 patients with idiopathic osteoporosis (18 men and 12 women mean age 44 +/- 12 years) and spinal and/or appendicular fractures were studied. Compared with control values, bone biopsy analysis demonstrated reduced bone volume (13.

Reduced temporal lobe glucose metabolism in aging.

The results of a positron emission tomography study of regional cerebral metabolic rates of glucose are reported for 8 healthy old subjects (mean age, 66 yr; standard deviation [SD], 5) and 9 young subjects (mean age, 27 yr; SD, 4.6) using a high-resolution positron emission tomograph and the glucose metabolic tracer 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose. Older subjects showed significantly lower cerebral metabolic rates than did the young subjects, in anterior, middle, and posterior temporal neocortex and in mesial temporal cortex, with the largest differences occurring in anterior temporal cortex (temporal pole).

Drosophila development pulls the strings of the cell cycle.

The three cycles of cell division immediately following the formation of the cellular blastoderm during Drosophila embryogenesis display an invariant pattern. Bursts of transcription of a gene called string are required and sufficient to trigger mitosis at this time during development. The activator of mitosis encoded by the string gene is a positive regulator of cdc2 kinase and a Drosophila homologue of the Saccharomyces pombe cdc25 tyrosine phosphatase.

Staff nurses' perceptions of barriers to effective pain management.

The purpose of this study was to investigate staff nurses' perceptions of barriers to pain management including lack of educational preparation; inadequacy of clinical practice skills; and certain legal/political, financial, and ethical problems. Staff nurses rated the adequacy of their knowledge and skills in each of these areas as well as how important they believed each area was on a four-point Likert scale (1 = very inadequate or very unimportant to 4 = very adequate or very important). Nurses were also asked to list the most important pain management problems in their institutions.

Temporal lobe perfusion on single photon emission computed tomography predicts the rate of cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease.

Objective: To examine the ability of relative regional cerebral blood flow as measured by single photon emission computed tomography to predict longitudinal course of cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease.

Design: Single photon emission computed tomography using the blood flow tracer 123I-N-isopropyl-p-iodoamphetamine was performed at initial evaluation and was used to predict the rate of cognitive decline over a follow-up period from 1 to 4 years.

Setting: Outpatient university dementia clinic and center for functional imaging.

Using a health risk appraisal to determine an Appalachian community's health care needs.

The Health Risk Appraisal developed by The Carter Center of Emory University was used as a basis for diagnosing an Appalachian community's health care needs. Concepts identified included (a) demographics, (b) nutrition/exercise, (c) lifestyle, (d) contentment, and (e) preventive health behaviors. The sample consisted of 108 individuals residing in subsidized housing projects within Appalachia.

Effects of high levels of fluoride on bone formation: an in vitro model system.

In order to develop an in vitro model for the study of the effects of different agents on biomineralization, a three-dimensional cell culture system was investigated at different levels of fluoride. Rat fetal osteoblasts were seeded onto collagen discs and maintained in a culture medium for 40 days. Results showed that, at 40 days, the cultured matrices had a Ca:P ratio, mineral content and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrum that were close to those seen for normal rat bone.

Treating a patient with the Werner syndrome and osteoporosis using recombinant human insulin-like growth factor.

Objective: To assess the safety and effect of recombinant human insulin-like growth factor 1 (rhlGF-1) on measures of bone metabolism in a human model of age-related osteoporosis.

Design: 6-month prospective case study.

Setting: General clinical research center.

Human corpus callosum in aging and Alzheimer's disease: a magnetic resonance imaging study.

The involvement of the corpus callosum in aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD) is not clear. We measured cross sectional areas of the entire corpus callosum (CC), as well as the front 20% (genu), middle 60% (body), and posterior 20% (splenium) of the structure from a midsagittal MRI slice in AD patients (N = 20), and young (N = 16) and old (N = 13) control subjects. We found that mean CC area in young controls was 570 +/- 107 mm2.

Cortical glucose metabolism in Parkinson's disease without dementia.

There have been several reports of decreased regional cerebral metabolic rates for glucose (rCMRglc) in Parkinson's disease (PD), although others find no differences between PD patients and controls. Differences in the cognitive status of the PD patients may account for some of these inconsistencies. We report the results of a PET study using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) to measure rCMRglc in eight nondemented PD patients, six of whom were receiving dopaminergic medications, and eight age-matched control subjects.