Holocaust survivors and escapees: Their strengths.

The conclusions clinicians have drawn about Holocaust survivors over the last 50 yrs differ sharply from researchers' findings. It is important to evaluate these discrepancies since different perceptions of survivors affect treatment approaches. The researchers' view, stressing the survivor's resilience and resourcefulness, contrasts with clinical impressions centering on a survivor syndrome involving deep emotional disturbances as residues of the Holocaust experience. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A coverage plan for health centres in Murewa district in Zimbabwe: an example of action research

Good access to health facilities providing good first-level health care remains problematic in many developing countries. It is a hindrance to effective and efficient functioning of the hospital, as outpatient departments become overcrowded with patients from areas without health centres. In many cases the quality of care delivered to these patients is poor because within the district health system the hospital is not the best place for the supply of comprehensive, integrated and continuous care. Eventually, high hospital involvement in first-level care can jeopardize the delivery of adequate referral care for those patients who desperately need the hospital's technology and expertise. This paper provides an account of the way this problem was investigated and managed by the district health management team in the Murewa district in north-east Zimbabwe. The design of a comprehensive 'master plan' or 'coverage plan' is presented as well as the problems and difficulties encountered. The Murewa experience highlights the relevance of a coverage plan for rational and coherent health infrastructure planning at district level. The approach followed by the Murewa team illustrates the use of action research as an integral part of the management of district health systems.     

Risk-based recommendations for mammographic screening for women in their forties

PURPOSE: To develop risk-based recommendations for mammographic screening for women in their 40s that take into account the woman's age, race, and specific risk factors. METHODS: We assumed that regular mammographic screening is justified for a 50-year-old woman, even one with no risk factors, and that a younger woman with an expected 1-year breast cancer incidence rate as great or greater than that of a 50-year-old woman with no risk factors would benefit sufficiently to justify regular screening. Recommendations under this criterion were based on age- and race-specific breast cancer incidence rates from the National Cancer Institute's (NCI's) Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program; assessments of risk factors from the Breast Cancer Detection and Demonstration Project (BCDDP); and reports in the literature. RESULTS: Two methods, the exact-age procedure (EAP) and the grouped-age procedure (GAP), were developed. The less precise GAP only requires following a flow diagram. The proportion of white women recommended for screening by the EAP ranges from 10% for 40-year-old women to 95% for 49-year-old women, and the corresponding percentages for black women are 16% and 95%. The assumptions that underlie the guidelines are discussed critically. CONCLUSION: For women or physicians who prefer an individualized approach in deciding whether to initiate regular mammographic screening in the age range of 40 to 49 years, the present report offers recommendations based on individualized risk-factor data and clearly stated assumptions that have an empiric basis. These recommendations can be used to facilitate the counseling process.     

Nasal gas composition in humans and its implication on middle ear pressure

Chewing and acid on the tongue evoked a flow of saliva from the duct-cannulated parotid gland of the conscious rat despite pretreatment with atropine and adrenoceptor antagonists. This non-adrenergic, non-cholinergic (NANC) response depended on an intact parasympathetic innervation and was abolished by a tachykinin antagonist. The present findings are consistent with a physiological role for the secretory NANC mechanisms of the salivary glands.     

Active,passive and transpassive dissolution of a nickel base super alloy in concentrated acid mixture solution

The electrochemical and corrosion behaviour of a nickel base super alloy (C-263) has been investigated in the deaerated binary and ternary solution mixture of concentrated phosphoric acid, acetic acid, sulphuric acid, nitric acid or water using potentiostatic technique at 35°C. The possibilities of electropolishing of this alloy in these solution mixtures have been also explored. The alloy showed distinct active, passive and transpassive behaviour in the experimental solutions. The alloy remained active and turned passive in the negative potential region. Transpassive dissolution of the alloy is observed and electropolishing is achieved in this region. The best electropolishing is obtained in 50% H₃PO₄ + 40% CH₃COOH + 10% H₂SO₄. Higher content of water in the electrolytic solution is not useful for electropolishing of the alloy The experimental results also suggest that a current plateau in the transpassive potential region is not a sufficient condition to achieve electropolishing.     

Characterization of allergoids from ovalbumin in vitro and in vivo

Several in vivo and in vitro methods for monitoring immunological properties of two allergoids obtained by formaldehyde treatment of ovalbumin (OA) were developed. The calculated molecular weight of allergoids was 80 kD (OA-F1) and 165 kD (OA-F2), respectively. The allergenic activity in vitro of allergoids in mast-cell histamine release assay was 1000 times lower than of OA. Both allergoids showed reduced ability to induce passive cutaneous anaphylaxis in the Sprague-Dawley rats or systemic anaphylaxis in Dunkin-Harley guinea-pigs. The ability of OA and allergoids to bind to the OA-specific IgE antibodies was measured in vivo by the inhibition of passive cutaneous anaphylaxis (PCA-inhibition). Allergoid binding to IgE was 51-66% lower than the native allergen. Moreover, the avidity of OA-specific IgG antibodies, measured by ELISA-inhibition, for allergoids and allergen was of the same order. Allergoids induced a different pattern of humoral immune response from that, induced by the native allergen. Thus, after immunization of BALB/c mouse, both allergoids induced a higher production of IgG and a lower production of IgE than OA, only OA-F2 induced a lower production of IgG1. The differences in the IgA response to the immunogens was not significant. Delayed hypersensitivity studies in the BALB/c mouse showed that allergoids were 5- to 12-times less effective in inducing a cell-mediated immune response than OA. The present study provides a battery of immunological methods for preclinical testing of modified allergens.