Community hospital-based obstetrical primary nursing

Just because primary nursing care traditionally has not been offered during the childbearing year does not mean there is no need. Prenatal classes, which were once a rarity, are now well accepted as a necessary and important service to expectant parents. Nurses have a responsibility to document the need for, and illustrate the impact of, nursing interventions. Nursing needs to accept the challenge for the sake of improved patient care. Supporting the expanding family during the crises of the child-bearing year has the potential for improving that family's functioning. The community stands to gain from anything that improves that functioning of the family unit.     

Survival and recovery of viable but nonculturable Listeria monocytogenes cells in a nutritionally depleted medium

Survival of a desiccated five-strain Listeria monocytogenes mixture during storage in sand at 4 degrees C for 2 months was determined using the acridine orange direct count method with novobiocin and plate counts. Samples of inoculated sand were taken every 2 weeks, incubated at 37 degrees C for 6 h, stained with acridine orange, and then examined with a fluorescence microscope. Elongated viable but nonculturable cells were most frequently observed during weeks 2 and 4. At weeks 6 and 8, most of the cells either remained viable or were dead. In each microscopic field, only one or two viable but nonculturable cells were observed among hundreds of other viable culturable cells, indicating that L. monocytogenes does not generally become viable but nonculturable. Therefore, viable but nonculturable cells are not a concern when plating environmental samples or desiccated L. monocytogenes cells on nonselective media. Tryptic soy agar with 0.6% (wt/vol) yeast extract (TSAYE) and Columbia agar were used as nonselective plate count media. Modified Oxford agar and TSAYE + 5% (wt/vol) sodium chloride were used as the selective plate count media. The effects of aerobic or anaerobic incubation and media supplementation with 0.1% or 1% (wt/vol) sodium pyruvate were tested to optimize recovery of desiccated cells. Nonselective media showed better recovery when TSAYE and Columbia agar contained 0.1% (wt/vol) pyruvate and were incubated aerobically. These two culture methods were equally effective (P > 0.05) for recovering desiccated L. monocytogenes cells.     

Microchip-based purification of DNA from biological samples

A microchip solid-phase extraction method for purification of DNA from biological samples, such as blood, is demonstrated. Silica beads were packed into glass microchips and the beads immobilized with sol-gel to provide a stable and reproducible solid phase onto which DNA could be adsorbed. Optimization of the DNA loading conditions established a higher DNA recovery at pH 6.1 than 7.6. This lower pH also allowed for the flow rate to be increased, resulting in a decrease in extraction time from 25 min to less than 15 min. Using this procedure, template genomic DNA from human whole blood was purified on the microchip platform with the only sample preparation being mixing of the blood with load buffer prior to loading on the microchip device. Comparison between the microchip SPE (microchipSPE) procedure and a commercial microcentrifuge method showed comparable amounts of PCR-amplifiable DNA could be isolated from cultures of Salmonella typhimurium. The greatest potential of the microchipSPE device was illustrated by purifying DNA from spores from the vaccine strain of Bacillus anthracis, where eventual integration of SPE, PCR, and separation on a single microdevice could potentially enable complete detection of the infectious agent in less than 30 min.     

A comparison of Landsat TM and MODIS vegetation indices for estimating forage phenology in desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni) habitat in the Sonoran Desert,USA

Sonoran Desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis mexicana) occupy rugged upland areas that experience irregular periods of vegetation growth associated with precipitation events. These episodic and often spatially limited events provide important forage and preformed water resources that may be important drivers of animal movement and habitat use. Habitat-use models that incorporate forage phenology would broaden our understanding of desert bighorn ecology and have considerable potential to inform conservation efforts for the species. Field-based methods are of limited utility to characterize vegetation phenology across large areas. Vegetation indices (VI) derived from satellite imagery are a viable alternative, but may be confounded by areas of high relief and shadow effects that can degrade VI values. The varying spatial and temporal resolutions of readily available satellite sensors, such as the Landsat thematic mapper (TM) and moderate-resolution imaging spectrometer (MODIS), present additional challenges. In this study, we sought to minimize degrading effects of terrain on TM- and MODIS-based estimates of vegetation phenology. We compared effects of high topographic relief on time series MODIS- and TM-based VI such as the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and enhanced vegetation index (EVI) using VI departures from average (DA) in shaded and unshaded areas. Sun elevation angle negatively impacted TM-derived NDVI and EVI values in areas of steep terrain. In contrast, MODIS-derived NDVI values were insensitive to sun elevation and terrain effects, whereas MODIS-derived EVI was degraded in areas of steep terrain. Time series MODIS NDVI and EVI DA values differed significantly during months of low sun elevation angle. Average MODIS EVI departure values were ≥20% lower than NDVI under these conditions, confounding time series estimates of plant phenology. Our best results were obtained from MODIS 16-day composited NDVI. These remote-sensing-based VI estimates of seasonal plant phenology and productivity can be used to inform models of habitat use and movements of desert bighorn over large areas.     

Harnessing the sun for an evergreen revolution: a study of solar-powered irrigation in Bihar,India

In 2012, the government of Bihar revived 34 non-functioning public tubewells using solar panels. The performance of 16 of these wells over 12 months was tracked and analyzed using data from tubewell operators and 240 farmers. Access to affordable irrigation from solar pumps led to a 9–10% increase in productivity of rice and wheat. Furthermore, in a severe drought, farmers could grow paddy in the entire area irrigated by solar pumps, when nearly 40% of other land was left fallow. Solar pumps can help increase crop productivity, reduce the cost of irrigation, and make agriculture more resilient to climate change.     

What's in a smile?

In positive social contexts, both adults and older infants show more Duchenne smiling (which involves high cheek raising) than non-Duchenne smiling (which does not). This study compared Duchenne and non-Duchenne smiles in early infancy for clues to their emotional significance. Infants (N?=?13) from 1 to 6 months of age were videotaped weekly for 5 min in 208 face-to-face interactions with their mothers. Levels of Duchenne and non-Duchenne smiling were correlated within interactive sessions, and the 2 smiles had similar developmental trajectories. Duchenne smiles were typically preceded by non-Duchenne smiles. The results suggest these frequently contrasted types of smiles occur in similar situations and are often different temporal phases of a continuous emotional process. In contrast to adults, infant Duchenne smiles had longer durations than non-Duchenne smiles, suggesting infant smiling does not fit adult models of emotional functioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)