Real American children: The challenge for after-school programs

Several million American children are currently unsupervised during the hours between school and parents' leaving for and/or return from the workplace. Many families would prefer other arrangements, but cost or availability factors present insurmountable barriers. Although growing, the public response continues to fall far short of the need; in the meantime, private entrepreneurs are moving to fill the gaps in available services. But if these programs for school-aged children are to serve functions other than the aggrandizement of their sponsors, they must be focused on the real needs that exist among real American children. Among the real children in need of care are those who are impoverished, unsupervised, unfit physically, unprepared for the demands of school and workplace, hurried into premature adulthood, and/or disconnected from the social worlds around them. Professional child and youth care workers with experience in day care and residential settings have the preparation needed to take leadership roles in creating developmentally appropriate, effective programs to meet the emerging demands for school-age child care and to weave them into a fabric of youth-centered community services.     

Juvenile hypocalcemia provokes persistent electroencephalographic change in renally compromised rats

In view of the putative involvement of calcium in uremic encephalopathy and the critical importance of this element in juvenile development, we examined the effect of temporary restriction of dietary calcium intake on serum chemistry and the quantitative electroencephalogram (Q.EEG) in unilaterally 3/4 nephrectomized juvenile male Sprague-Dawley rats. Animals were renally infarcted at 22-26 days of age (50-74 g) and placed on one of two isocaloric dietary regimens: powdered normal rat diet (ND, n = 25) or low calcium diet (LCD, n = 8) for 30 days. At this time, ND animals showed normal serum chemistries, whereas LCD rats were hypocalcemic and azotemic with significantly elevated blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and serum creatinine concentrations and reduced renal creatinine clearance values. All animals thereafter received ND for 25-34 further days, during which time chronic Q.EEG electrodes were implanted. At the end of the common ND feeding period, serum chemistry values were equal and normal in both groups. The average theta/alpha ratio (TAR) of the overnight Q.EEG was assessed for 3 days. We found that the TAR of previously LCD animals was significantly elevated compared with ND rats. This indicates an encephalopathic slowing of the background rhythm of these animals. We conclude that, following restoration of a transient uremic and hypocalcemic episode induced by LCD feeding, the Q.EEG background frequency of juvenile renally impaired rats was abnormally slow after 30 days of ND feeding.     

Elimination of antibiotic-resistant plasmids by quinolone antibiotics

Of 7 plasmids we tested, the plasmid pORF2 was eliminated in vitro with the most efficiency by treatment with subinhibitory concentrations of novobiocin, coumermycin and 10 quinolones. It showed a cure rate of 43% by enoxacin; 12% by novobiocin, pefloxacin, ciprofloxacin and CI-934; 7% by coumermycin and ofloxacin; 9% by amifloxacin; and 4% by AM-833. On the other hand, pSC194, pBR322 and pMH612 were poorly cured in vitro by quinolones, except pSC194 which was cured 33% by enoxacin. R1, pP1603, and pUB110 were unaffected by the treatment. Mice were challenged intraperitoneally with a 2XLD50 of Escherichia coli carrying the ORF2 plasmid and were treated per os with 1 X or 1/2 X ED50 of either enoxacin or CI-934. The frequency of loss of ampicillin resistance determined 3 h after treatment shows curing effects of 92% for CI-934, 89% for enoxacin and 20% for untreated control.     

The combination of prazosin and verapamil in the treatment of essential hypertension

An exaggerated fall in blood pressure has been reported with the combination of an alpha 1-blocker and a calcium antagonist. This study investigated, in a placebo-controlled, randomized crossover trial, the clinical usefulness of the combination of prazosin (2 mg b.i.d.) and verapamil (160 mg b.i.d.). Therapeutic efficacy was monitored at regular outpatient visits: average supine and erect blood pressures were, respectively, 175/99 and 176/103 mm Hg with placebo, 160/91 and 164/96 mm Hg with single drug treatment, and 152/84 and 152/89 mm Hg with combination therapy. This significant and clinically useful reduction in blood pressure had an overall magnitude of approximately 28/18 mm Hg (supine) and 29/19 mm Hg (erect). Further measurements were made during a series of intensive study days, and the most important additional finding was a pharmacokinetic interaction that resulted in increased peak concentrations and bioavailability of prazosin. In conclusion, the combination of prazosin and verapamil proved effective in the treatment of 12 patients with essential hypertension who had been poorly responsive to conventional treatment with a beta-blocker and thiazide diuretic.     

Brain mechanisms in the control of food intake—30 years on

Do brain systems exist which control not only increases or decreases in food intake, but also bring about specific changes in the size and distribution of meals consumed, alter the selection of particular macronutrients and adjust feeding responses to the perceived pleasantness (hedonic value) of the food? A cautious yes can be given to each of these questions. Moreover, since most experimental work has been carried out on the brains of animals, we can also ask how well these animal data relate to the human condition; given the methodological issues involved in making such inferences, the answer is remarkably well.