Selecting for Disabilities: Selection Versus Modification.

This essay considers one argument used to defend parents who use preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) to select for deafness and other disabilities. Some bioethicists have argued that a distinction should be drawn between genetically modifying embryos to possess disabilities and using PGD to select embryos that already present markers of them, and that the former is unethical because it inflicts avoidable harms onto the resulting children, whereas the latter is permissible because it allows children with potentially impaired abilities to exist. This essay raises doubts about whether a meaningful moral distinction can be drawn between modification and selection.

A review of sleep disturbance in children and adolescents with anxiety.

The present review examines the relations between sleep disturbance and anxiety in children and adolescents. The review begins with a detailed discussion of normative developmental trends in sleep, and the relation between sleep quality and emotion dysregulation in children. The extant literature on sleep disturbance in clinically anxious children with a focus on subjective versus objective measures of sleep is then summarized in detail.

Assessment of biochemical mechanisms of tolerance to chlorpyrifos in ancient and contemporary Daphnia pulicaria genotypes.

The evolution of tolerance to environmental contaminants in non-target taxa has been largely studied by comparing extant populations experiencing contrasting exposure. Previous research has demonstrated that "resurrected" genotypes from a population of Daphnia pulicaria express temporal variation in sensitivity to the insecticide chlorpyrifos. Ancient genotypes (1301-1646AD.

Infrared Spectra of the 1-Chloromethyl-1-methylallyl and 1-Chloromethyl-2-methylallyl Radicals Isolated in Solid para-Hydrogen.

The reaction of chlorine atoms (Cl) with isoprene (2-methyl-1,3-butadiene, CH) in solid para-hydrogen (p-H) matrices at 3.2 K was studied using infrared (IR) spectroscopy. Mixtures of CH and Cl were codeposited in p-H at 3.

Analysis of Structure-Activity Relationships Based on the Hepatitis C Virus SLIIb Internal Ribosomal Entry Sequence RNA-Targeting GGHYRFK⋅Cu Complex.

New therapeutics for targeting the hepatitis C virus (HCV) have been released in recent years. Although they are less prone to resistance, they are still administered in cocktails as a combination of drugs targeting various aspects of the viral life cycle. Herein, we aim to contribute to an arsenal of new HCV therapeutics by targeting the HCV internal ribosomal entry sequence (IRES) RNA through the development of catalytic metallodrugs that function to degrade rather than inhibit the target molecule.

Childbirth Pain, Attachment Orientations, and Romantic Partner Support During Labor and Delivery.

Attachment anxiety is associated with greater perceived physical pain, whereas social support is associated with lower pain perceptions. Few studies, however, have examined the effects of attachment and support on acute physical pain in a dyadic context. In this study, first-time expectant mothers (=140) and their male partners completed romantic attachment measures (prenatally) and postnatal assessments of women's pain and men's emotional support during labor and delivery.

An examination of sleep quality in veterans with a dual diagnosis of PTSD and severe mental illness.

Poor sleep quality is one of the most frequently reported symptoms by veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and by veterans with severe mental illness (SMI; i.e., schizophrenia spectrum disorders, bipolar disorder, major depression with or without psychotic features).

Comparing Children's and Caseworkers' Reports of Physical Violence.

In cases of suspected child maltreatment, the caseworkers' evaluations of the harm and risk to the child are vital in determining if children are being abused and ultimately whether services are provided to the family. These evaluations are dependent on information caseworkers are able to uncover during their investigation, but may not reflect the experiences of the child. Using data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW-I), this study first compares how consistent children's claims of physical victimization are with caseworkers' assessments of harm, severity of risk, and whether there is physical abuse occurring.

Wounding induces changes in cytokinin and auxin content in potato tuber, but does not induce formation of gibberellins.

Cytokinin, auxin and gibberellin contents in resting and wound-responding potato tubers have not been fully determined and coordinated with wound-healing processes. Using a well-defined wound-healing model system, hormone content and expression of genes associated with hormone turnover were determined in tubers following wounding. Changes in hormone content were coordinated with: (I) formation and completion of the wound closing layer (0-5/6 days), and (II) initiation of phellogen and wound periderm formation (∼ 7 days).

Interrelationships Among Three Avoidant Coping Styles and Their Relationship to Trauma, Peritraumatic Distress, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

Research suggests the existence of distinct avoidant coping mechanisms after trauma: peritraumatic dissociation, secondary alexithymia, and experiential avoidance. Within the Emotional Processing Model (Foa and Kozak, Psychol Bull. 99:20-35, 1986), research suggests that each of these avoidant coping mechanisms comes into play at a different phase of traumatic stress development.

"You Blame Me, Therefore I Blame Me": The Importance of First Disclosure Partner Responses on Trauma-Related Cognitions and Distress.

Trauma recovery processes may be understood within a socioecological model. Individual factors (such as sex of the survivor) and microsystem factors (including trauma characteristics) have been studied extensively. However, there is a paucity of research examining the effects of macrosystem factors on the impact of trauma-especially examining how the response of the first person to whom the survivor disclosed affects trauma-related cognitions and distress.

Modulating the nitrite reductase activity of globins by varying the heme substituents: Utilizing myoglobin as a model system.

Globins, such as hemoglobin (Hb) and myoglobin (Mb), have gained attention for their ability to reduce nitrite (NO2(-)) to nitric oxide (NO). The molecular interactions that regulate this chemistry are not fully elucidated, therefore we address this issue by investigating one part of the active site that may control this reaction. Here, the effects of the 2,4-heme substituents on the nitrite reductase (NiR) reaction, and on the structures and energies of the ferrous nitrite intermediates, are investigated using Mb as a model system.

ADRC or adaptive controller--A simulation study on artificial blood pump.

Active disturbance rejection control (ADRC) has gained popularity because it requires little knowledge about the system to be controlled, has the inherent disturbance rejection ability, and is easy to tune and implement in practical systems. In this paper, the authors compared the performance of an ADRC and an adaptive controller for an artificial blood pump for end-stage congestive heart failure patients using only the feedback signal of pump differential pressure. The purpose of the control system was to provide sufficient perfusion when the patients' circulation system goes through different pathological and activity variations.

Voices from the past: Mental and physical outcomes described by American Civil War amputees.

Studies of trauma commonly concentrate on the psychological and physiological effects of recent violent events. Although today connections are becoming more explicitly drawn, early studies of the aftermath of amputation serve to shed light on modern understanding of the interaction of the physical and emotional. The study of combat amputation, dissociation, and related posttraumatic stress largely began with the work of 19th-century Philadelphia physician Silas Weir Mitchell, who brought attention to the phenomenon of phantom limb pain.

A note on improved F-expansion method combined with Riccati equation applied to nonlinear evolution equations.

The purpose of this article is to present an analytical method, namely the improved F-expansion method combined with the Riccati equation, for finding exact solutions of nonlinear evolution equations. The present method is capable of calculating all branches of solutions simultaneously, even if multiple solutions are very close and thus difficult to distinguish with numerical techniques. To verify the computational efficiency, we consider the modified Benjamin-Bona-Mahony equation and the modified Korteweg-de Vries equation.

Biomechanical comparison of double grasping repair versus cross-locked cruciate flexor tendon repair.

Purpose: This study was conducted to compare the in vitro biomechanical properties of tensile strength and gap resistance of a double grasping loop (DGL) flexor tendon repair with the established four-strand cross-locked cruciate (CLC) flexor tendon repair, both with an interlocking horizontal mattress (IHM) epitendinous suture. The hypothesis is that the DGL-IHM method which utilizes two looped core sutures, grasping and locking loops, and a single intralesional knot will have greater strength and increased gap resistance than the CLC-IHM method.

Methods: Forty porcine tendons were evenly assigned to either the DGL-IHM or CLC-IHM group.

Dynamic patient grouping and prioritization: a new approach to emergency department flow improvement.

The demand on emergency departments (ED) is variable and ever increasing, often leaving them overcrowded. Many hospitals are utilizing triage algorithms to rapidly sort and classify patients based on the severity of their injury or illness, however, most current triage methods are prone to over- or under-triage. In this paper, the group technology (GT) concept is applied to the triage process to develop a dynamic grouping and prioritization (DGP) algorithm.

Armored scale insect endosymbiont diversity at the species level: genealogical patterns of Uzinura diasipipdicola in the Chionaspis pinifoliae-Chionaspis heterophyllae species complex (Hemiptera: Coccoidea: Diaspididae).

Armored scale insects and their primary bacterial endosymbionts show nearly identical patterns of co-diversification when viewed at the family level, though the persistence of these patterns at the species level has not been explored in this group. Therefore we investigated genealogical patterns of co-diversification near the species level between the primary endosymbiont Uzinura diaspidicola and its hosts in the Chionaspis pinifoliae-Chionaspis heterophyllae species complex. To do this we generated DNA sequence data from three endosymbiont loci (rspB, GroEL, and 16S) and analyzed each locus independently using statistical parsimony network analyses and as a concatenated dataset using Bayesian phylogenetic reconstructions.

A long-term study examining the antibacterial effectiveness of Agion silver zeolite technology on door handles within a college campus.

Laboratory studies have shown that small concentrations of silver are effective at inhibiting the growth micro-organisms through the disruption of important cell structures and processes. The additional ability to incorporate silver into surfaces has increased the usage of silver in the medical field and expanded its use into the consumer market. To understand the impact of increased silver-containing antimicrobial use, it is important to determine whether silver-based consumer goods are effective at reducing bacterial populations.

Treatment of potato tubers with the synthetic cytokinin 1-(α-ethylbenzyl)-3-nitroguanidine results in rapid termination of endodormancy and induction of transcripts associated with cell proliferation and growth.

Perennial plants undergo repression of meristematic activity in a process called dormancy. Dormancy is a complex metabolic process with implications for plant breeding and crop yield. Endodormancy, a specific subclass of dormancy, is characteristic of internal physiological mechanisms resulting in growth suppression.

Third parties' reactions to the abusive supervision of coworkers.

This research examines 3rd parties' reactions to the abusive supervision of a coworker. Reactions were theorized to depend on 3rd parties' beliefs about the targeted coworker and, specifically, whether the target of abuse was considered deserving of mistreatment. We predicted that 3rd parties would experience anger when targets of abuse were considered undeserving of mistreatment; angered 3rd parties would then be motivated to harm the abusive supervisor and support the targeted coworker.

Current perspectives: the impact of cyberbullying on adolescent health.

Cyberbullying has become an international public health concern among adolescents, and as such, it deserves further study. This paper reviews the current literature related to the effects of cyberbullying on adolescent health across multiple studies worldwide and provides directions for future research. A review of the evidence suggests that cyberbullying poses a threat to adolescents' health and well-being.

Systematic engineering tools for describing and improving medication administration processes at rural healthcare facilities.

This study demonstrates a series of systematic methods for mapping medication administration processes and for elaborating violations of work standards at two rural hospitals. Thirty-four observational periods were conducted to capture the details of clinical activities, and hierarchical task analysis (HTA) was used to demonstrate the current medication administration process. Facility nurse managers in five units across the two facilities participated in focus group discussions to validate the observational data and to generate a reliable context-appropriate medication administration process.