Alfven waves in the solar corona.

Alfvén waves, transverse incompressible magnetic oscillations, have been proposed as a possible mechanism to heat the Sun's corona to millions of degrees by transporting convective energy from the photosphere into the diffuse corona. We report the detection of Alfvén waves in intensity, line-of-sight velocity, and linear polarization images of the solar corona taken using the FeXIII 1074.7-nanometer coronal emission line with the Coronal Multi-Channel Polarimeter (CoMP) instrument at the National Solar Observatory, New Mexico.

Ectopic expression of a cecropin transgene in the human malaria vector mosquito Anopheles gambiae (Diptera: Culicidae): effects on susceptibility to Plasmodium.

Genetically altering the disease vector status of insects using recombinant DNA technologies is being considered as an alternative to eradication efforts. Manipulating the endogenous immune response of mosquitoes such as the temporal and special expression of antimicrobial peptides like cecropin may result in a refractory phenotype. Using transgenic technology a unique pattern of expression of cecropin A (cecA) in Anopheles gambiae was created such that cecA was expressed beginning 24 h after a blood meal in the posterior midgut.

Experiencing chronic illness: cocreating new understandings.

This study was conducted as part of a research course in which new partnerships with area citizens and community-driven programs of research were developed. Working together, the teachers, students, and citizens were able to document their practical knowledge through conducting a study of the lived experiences of chronic illness using Heideggerian hermeneutical phenomenology. The pattern, Experiencing Chronic Illness: Cocreating New Understanding, and three themes emerged during the analysis of the data (a) focusing on functional status doesn't adequately account for the experience of chronic illness, (b) decentering the focus on the treatment of symptoms makes way for equally important discussions of meaning making in the context of chronic illness, and (c) the objectified language of healthcare covers over how chronic illness is experienced.

Modifiable risk factors predict functional decline among older women: a prospectively validated clinical prediction tool. The Study of Osteoporotic Fractures Research Group.

Objective: To identify modifiable predictors of functional decline among community-residing older women and to derive and validate a clinical prediction tool for functional decline based only on modifiable predictors.

Design: A prospective cohort study.

Setting: Four geographic areas of the United States.

Anopheles gambiae Ag-STAT, a new insect member of the STAT family, is activated in response to bacterial infection.

A new insect member of the STAT family of transcription factors (Ag-STAT) has been cloned from the human malaria vector Anopheles gambiae. The domain involved in DNA interaction and the SH2 domain are well conserved. Ag-STAT is most similar to Drosophila D-STAT and to vertebrate STATs 5 and 6, constituting a proposed ancient class A of the STAT family.

Malaria infection of the mosquito Anopheles gambiae activates immune-responsive genes during critical transition stages of the parasite life cycle.

Six gene markers have been used to map the progress of the innate immune response of the mosquito vector, Anopheles gambiae, upon infection by the malaria parasite, Plasmodium berghei. In addition to four previously reported genes, the set of markers included NOS (a nitric oxide synthase gene fragment) and ICHIT (a gene encoding two putative chitin-binding domains separated by a polythreonine-rich mucin region). In the midgut, a robust response occurs at 24 h post-infection, at a time when malaria ookinetes traverse the midgut epithelium, but subsides at later phases of malaria development.

Relationship of neurological function and age in older women. The study of osteoporotic fractures.

The decline of neurological and neuromuscular function with age in older women and in subgroups of older women with selected risk factors for poor function is described using cross- sectional analyses of data on 8,080 women from the multicenter Study of Osteoporotic Fractures. All twelve performance-based tests of muscle strength, balance, gait, somatosensory discrimination and reaction time declined with increasing age. On a percentage scale, vibration threshold declined the most rapidly with age.

Physical activity and osteoporotic fracture risk in older women. Study of Osteoporotic Fractures Research Group.

Background: Physical activity has been related to enhanced bone mass and improved physical functioning and thus may reduce the risk for osteoporotic fracture.

Objective: To determine whether higher levels of physical activity are related to lower incidence of hip, wrist, and vertebral fractures.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Neuropsychiatric function and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate in elderly women: a prospective study.

Background: Though among the most abundant human steroid hormones, the physiologic role of dehydroepiandrosterone and its sulfate (DHEAS) is not known. Our goal was to determine if DHEAS is associated with cognition and mood in older women, and if baseline DHEAS levels are predictive of cognitive decline.

Methods: In a prospective cohort, we studied 394 randomly selected community-dwelling women, aged 65 years or older, currently enrolled in the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures.

Body size and hip fracture risk in older women: a prospective study. Study of Osteoporotic Fractures Research Group.

Purpose: To determine the relationship between measures of body size and the risk of hip fracture in elderly women.

Participants And Methods: The association between measures of body size and hip fracture risk was assessed in 8,011 ambulatory, nonblack women 65 years of age or older enrolled in the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures with measurements of total body weight, percent weight change since age 25, hip girth, lean mass, fat mass, percent body fat, body mass index, modified body mass index, and femoral neck bone mineral density (BMD) at the second examination. These 8,011 women were followed prospectively for incident hip fractures occurring after the second examination, which were confirmed by review of x-ray films.

The relation of smoking to waist-to-hip ratio and diabetes mellitus among elderly women.

Background: Smoking is associated with lower body weight, but an increased risk of diabetes in some studies. Because smoking may increase waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), a risk factor for diabetes, we postulated that the relation between smoking and diabetes may be mediated in part by smoking-associated differences in body fat distribution.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from 9,435 elderly nonblack women enrolled in the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures.

Estrogen replacement therapy and mortality among older women. The study of osteoporotic fractures.

Background: Most previous studies of estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) and mortality have focused on younger women. Recently, it has been suggested that the effect of ERT on mortality may represent a "healthy-user" effect, ie, those with healthier lifestyles having a greater likelihood of receiving ERT.

Methods: Nine thousand seven hundred four women, 65 years or older, participated; 1258 (14.

Plasmodium activates the innate immune response of Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes.

Innate immune-related gene expression in the major disease vector mosquito Anopheles gambiae has been analyzed following infection by the malaria parasite, Plasmodium berghei. Substantially increased levels of mRNAs encoding the antibacterial peptide defensin and a putative Gram-negative bacteria-binding protein (GNBP) are observed 20-30 h after ingestion of an infected blood-meal, at a time which indicates that this induction is a response to parasite invasion of the midgut epithelium. The induction is dependent upon the ingestion of infective, sexual-stage parasites, and is not due to opportunistic co-penetration of resident gut micro-organisms into the hemocoel.

Predictors of ankle and foot fractures in older women. The Study of Osteoporotic Fractures Research Group.

To determine risk factors for ankle and foot fractures, data collected from 9704 women 65 years of age or older from four areas of the United States were analyzed. Self-reported baseline questionnaires covered areas such as lifestyle factors (physical activity, diet, and smoking habits) and functional impairment (history of fracture, falling, and other diseases). Bone mineral density (BMD) and performance on neuromuscular tests were also measured.

Parasite diversity in an endemic region for avian malaria and identification of a parasite causing penguin mortality.

Understanding the population structure of Plasmodium parasites is essential for malaria intervention. A survey of parasites in vectors and host infections was conducted in an area of intense mortality due to malaria in a captive penguin (Spheniscus demersus) colony, using a novel method for identification of Plasmodium species by amplification of ribosomal sequences in DNA or RNA. Three phylogenetically distinct groups of avian Plasmodium were detected in mosquitoes (Culex) collected at the study site (Baltimore Zoo, Baltimore, MD) during a period of high transmission.

Estrogen replacement therapy. A survey of older women's attitudes.

Objectives: To understand the low prevalence of estrogen use among older women. To examine the reasons for the use and nonuse of estrogen replacement therapy.

Subjects And Methods: Nonblack women (n = 7667), aged 65 years or older, who participated in the Multicenter Study of Osteoporotic Fractures completed an estrogen questionnaire.

Urinary incontinence in older women: who is at risk? Study of Osteoporotic Fractures Research Group.

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of and identify factors associated with urinary incontinence in older women.

Methods: A cross-sectional study involved 7949 community-dwelling women, with a mean (+/- standard deviation) age of 76.9 +/- 5.

Plasmodium: a quantitative molecular assay for detection of sporogonic-stage malaria parasites.

We present a molecular assay to detect malaria parasites during sporogonic development in the mosquito host. Specific primers for Plasmodium-specific small-subunit ribosomal RNA sequences not present in mosquito RNA were used in a reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay. A synthetic RNA quantitative competitor was made which included targets for two primers and a target sequence for a hybridization probe which is also present in the natural parasite ribosome.

Plasmodium gallinaceum: a refractory mechanism of ookinete killing in the mosquito, Anopheles gambiae.

We have identified a mechanism for refractoriness to a bird malaria, Plasmodium gallinaceum, in the African vector of human malaria, Anopheles gambiae. Oocysts fail to develop in the refractory mosquitoes as a result of ookinete death which occurs within 27 hr of midgut invasion. Ultrastructural studies showed that parasite death occurs while the ookinete lies free in the midgut epithelial cell cytosol, usually surrounded by an organelle-free zone that consists of finely fibrillar material.

Depletion of total salivary gland protein in blood-fed Anopheles mosquitoes.

Reduction in total salivary gland protein from four anopheline vectors of human malaria, Anopheles stephensi Liston, An. albimanus Wiedmann, An. gambiae Giles, and An.

Is postmenopausal estrogen therapy associated with neuromuscular function or falling in elderly women? Study of Osteoporotic Fractures Research Group.

Background: Muscle strength declines with advancing age; the causes of this are uncertain. In women, strength begins to decline around the time of menopause, suggesting that hormonal changes might influence strength. To determine the effect of postmenopausal estrogen use on muscle strength, neuromuscular function, and the risk of falling, we examined 9704 participants aged 65 years or more enrolled in the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures.

Estrogen replacement therapy and fractures in older women. Study of Osteoporotic Fractures Research Group.

Objective: To determine the relation between estrogen replacement therapy and fractures.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Setting: Four clinical centers in Baltimore County, Maryland; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Portland, Oregon; and the Monongahela Valley, Pennsylvania.

Correlates of impaired function in older women.

Objective: To determine the factors associated with impaired function in older women.

Design: Cross-sectional analysis of baseline data collected for a multicenter, prospective study of risk factors for osteoporotic fractures.

Setting: Four clinical centers in Portland, Oregon, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Baltimore, Maryland, and the Monongahela Valley, Pennsylvania.

Plasmodium gallinaceum: differential lysis of two developmental stages of malaria sporozoites by the alternative pathway of complement.

During sporogonic development of Plasmodium gallinaceum in the mosquito vector, two developmentally distinct sporozoite stages can be isolated. Sporozoites obtained from oocysts in abdomens of mosquitoes 10 days after an infective blood meal are poorly infectious to the vertebrate host (chicken); days later, sporozoites isolated from mosquito salivary glands are highly infectious. In a first step toward understanding the physiologic basis of this developmentally regulated infectivity to the vertebrate host, we determined the relative resistance of the two sporozoite stages to lysis by the complement system of the vertebrate host.