Blood donor centres can effectively publicise cancer screening

We studied 100 healthy children looking for lactose malabsortion. We performed in all of them the lactose breath test. We found a 10% with lactose malabsortion. There was no correlation between lactose breath test and fecal reducing substances.     

Microbiologic depuration of Anadara tuberculosa (Mollusca: Arcidae)

In Costa Rica the mollusk Anadara tuberculosa represents a risk for human health due to the contamination of the growing waters and the fact that its is consumed raw. The families depending on the income obtained through commercialization of these animals have a low education and economic status. Therefore, it is of great importance to develop and evaluate simple methods of depuration that could be easily used by these families to make these mollusks safe for consumption. Bottles containing 11 of saline solution (25g/l) were prepared in duplicates to test the bactericidal effect of acetic acid. The solution in each bottle was adjusted to ph 4.5, 5.0 or 5.5 or held at ph of 7.0 or 8.0 for the controls. The solution in each bottle was then inoculated with approximately 1 X 104 cfu/ml of coliforms. Counts of coliforms were determined for each bottle 0, 1, 2, 4 and 8 hours after inoculation. For the depuration studies, specimens with diameters ranging from 4.0 to 4.5 cm were collected from a harvester at the estuary of Puntarenas, Gulf of Nicoya. Fifty specimens each were depurated in separate tanks containing 25 1 of oxygenated saline solution adjusted with acetic acid to an initial ph of 4.5 (treatment) or non adjusted ph of 8.0 (control). Counts of Enterobacteriaceae were determined, in duplicates, every 12 hr for 48 hr. An additional fifty animals were depurated using the defined method and tested to determine if they met international standards of microbiological quality for aerobic plate count, Enterobacteriaceae count, Escherichia coli count and presence of Salmonella. A sensory evaluation using a triangle test was performed to compare a typical dish prepared with depurated or non-depurated animals. A significant coliform reduction was determined in a saline solution (25 g/l) at a pH range of 4.5 to 5.5. This reduction, during 8 hr, was higher in the acid treatments compared to the controls. During depuration, the elimination of Enterobacteriaceae bacteria was faster when acetic was used (initial ph = 4.5) than when it was not. This elimination was more important the first 24 hr, time defined as adequate for the application of the method. The method has the advantage of transforming the bivalve in a product that is safe for human consumption, since it guarantees that the international standards of microbiological quality, for raw and depurated mollusks, are reached. On the other hand, the sensory qualities of a typical dish prepared with depurated animals are not affected by the method, which can be easily implemented and applied by the people that work in the extraction of this mollusk.     

The influence of bromine on the gaseous oxidation of an austenitic stainless steel

The effects of bromine on the oxidation behaviour of an austenitic stainless steel have been studied in oxygen and a CO₂/10%CO mixture at 750°C and 1 atm total pressure. Supporting work has also been carried out on chromium and nickel with similar results. Bromine at 0·06 atm enhanced under certain circumstances the formation of oxide scale in oxygen, but led to the formation of volatile halides in the CO₂/CO mixture. The former effect was only obtained when the bromine was present at the commencement of oxidation, or preformed protective oxide films were fractured by thermal cycling.     

The oxidation behaviour of highly irradiated uranium in dry carbon dioxide at 375–500°C and in dry air at 200–300°C

The influence of irradiation of adjusted uranium, to a burn-up of 6400 MWd/t, has been studied upon its reactivity out-of-reactor in carbon dioxide at 375–500° C and in air at 200–300° C. In the absence of appreciable swelling, the irradiation increased the attack in carbon dioxide and air by factors of only 1–8 and 1–2 respectively. With swollen metal, the attack increased with swelling, without there being any notable dependence of the enhancement factor on the environment. Thus, the enhancement factor was ≈100 with a swelling of 50% and had a maximum value of 1000–2000 for 120% swollen material. The pore structure of swollen uranium was established by BET surface area and density measurements to be primarily closed. Consequently, the enhanced reactivity was not due to access of the gas to the internal surface area and is attributed to break-up of the metal surface during oxidation.     

Ocratoxin A in human plasma and coffee from Costa Rica by ELISA

Costa Rica is not an exception in the prevalence of ochratoxin A in human plasma, in this research the presence of the micotoxin was found in 95% of the 149 samples studied. The presence of ocratoxina A also was studied in 110 samples of toasted and grounded coffee from the most important 12 coffee factories of the country and from 7 supermarkets. With the exception of one negative sample the rest of them have concentrations of micotoxin below 4000 ng/kg. An association between the coffee consumption and the presence of ochratoxin A in plasma was attempted to be found as well as in the consumption of beer, but there were any statistically significant difference in the average level of mycotoxin between the coffee consumers and non coffee consumers neither between beer consumers and no beer consumers.     

Action research in information systems design

This is the second of two papers on research in information systems design. The first looked at current problems in the design of computer-based information systems and at the threads in the design process, ie the designer, the methodology and the situation. The outcome was a proposal for methods of information systems analysis and design which took account of the various different viewpoints of the proposed system (the organization, the information model, the socio-technical system, the human-computer interaction and the technical perspective). The proposal needed to be tested and the only real test would have to be a real-life design exercise in which the proposed methods were used. This paper describes how the author selected a method of testing the proposed methods and the action research project that was undertaken.     

Self-esteem as a function of masculinity in both sexes.

Androgyny has been advocated as the most adaptive mode of human functioning, yet empirical studies suggest that masculinity alone may be the key factor in self-esteem. To investigate this, 237 students completed 3 sex role instruments (the Bem Sex-Role Inventory, the ANDRO, and the Desirability scales of the Personality Research Form) and 2 measures of self-esteem (Personal Attributes Questionnaire and the Janis-Field Feelings of Inadequacy Scale). In every case masculinity showed significant positive correlations with self-esteem in both sexes, whereas the correlations with femininity were generally nil or slightly negative. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of surface implantation of yttrium and cerium upon the oxidation behaviour of stainless steels and aluminized coatings at high temperatures

Assessments have been carried out on the extent to which the oxidation resistance of metals at high temperatures can be improved by surface implantation with yttrium or cerium. The elements were implanted to a concentration of 0.2–0.8%, to a depth of 0.2 μm. Yttrium implantation reduced the magnitude of oxidation and oxide spallation for a 20% Cr/25% Ni/Nb steel in carbon dioxide, at 800–850°C. The benefits approached those from a comparable yttrium alloy addition. The oxidation behaviour of a 15% Cr/4% Al steel, in air and carbon dioxide, at 1100–1200°C, was improved markedly by a 0.86% yttrium alloy addition but yttrium implantation into the steel was without significant influence. The oxidation behaviour of aluminized coatings on three nickel based alloys in air, at 1100°C, was also unaffected by implantations of either yttrium or cerium. The mechanisms associated with the results are discussed in detail.     

Laser frequency control using an optical resonator locked to anelectronic oscillator

A new method for controlling a laser's center frequency is reported. This method extends the Pound-Drever-Hall technique, which delivers exceptional laser linewidth. The new technique, applicable over a broad range of wavelengths, produces a laser beam with both narrow linewidth and stable center frequency. A diode-pumped ring laser is locked to an ultrahigh-finesse, tunable optical resonator which, in turn, is locked to an electronic (5 MHz) oscillator using a difference frequency developed by locking a second laser to the resonator. A 1064-nm beam is reported with linewidth less than 0.004 Hz and center-frequency stability given by the electronic reference. For the case of an oven-controlled quartz crystal, the laser center-frequency stability is less than 1 part in 10¹¹ per day with root Allan variance of 10^-12 for a 1000-s time delay. The entire system is compact, and all elements are solid-state, making it useful both in the laboratory and in a number of space-based applications     

Changes in masculinity and femininity across the family life cycle: A reexamination.

Rather than remaining fixed once adulthood is reached, such personality characteristics as masculinity and femininity have been shown to fluctuate systematically as a function of the individual's current family lifestage (i.e., cohabiting, married, expecting a first child, parenthood; Abrahams, Feldman, & Nash, 1978; Feldman, Biringen, & Nash, 1981). These workers concluded that the anticipation and presence of children have strong consequences for the masculinity and femininity of their parents. However, findings from 582 Australian survey respondents showed that the individual's involvement in the adult world of work and study has a greater impact on his or her masculinity and femininity scores than a nurturant role toward children. In a combined sample of dating, cohabiting, and married couples and divorced partners, employed women had lower femininity, and their male partners slightly lower masculinity, than nonemployed women and their partners, respectively. Women engaged in tertiary study had lower femininity scores than women who were not. It is concluded that previous studies in this area may have been too hasty in identifying the presence or absence of children as the key feature of the family life cycle affecting masculinity and femininity, instead of the employment or education of the female partner. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)