Implications of remarriage and stepfamily formation for marriage education*

Couples in remarriages with stepchildren are a significant portion of the marriage population and have unique educational needs regarding aspects of couple functioning within the context of stepfamily development. From a review of the literature, we examine current curricula focused on these couples. Information is offered on implementation issues regarding recruitment, delivery context, facilitator and participant characteristics, and evaluation.     

Carotid intima-media thickness in Parkinson's disease.

There have been a few studies and inconsistent results regarding the coincidence of Parkinson's disease (PD) and atherosclerotic diseases, such as cerebrovascular disease. Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) is a known marker for subclinical atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to investigate the carotid IMT between PD patients and controls. We studied 43 patients with PD and 86 matched controls. The carotid IMT in PD patients was significantly smaller than in controls (0.796 +/- 0.179 mm vs. 0.913 +/- 0.237 mm, P < 0.05). In multivariate analysis, the carotid IMT was inversely associated with the duration of levodopa medication and the severity of PD. These results suggest that PD patients have a lower risk of atherosclerosis.     

Evaluation of specialized laparoscopic suturing and tying devices.

BACKGROUND: Laparoscopic suturing and tying constitute advanced minimally invasive surgery skills. Developing proficiency in the standard methods with needle drivers is often an arduous process. Recent advances in laparoscopic instrumentations has allowed for easier methods of suturing and tying. This study investigated the hypothesis that the use of a specialized suturing device and a specialized tying device allows inexperienced medical students to suture and tie laparoscopically. METHODS: Preclinical medical students who had not received any training in open or laparoscopic surgery were included in this investigation. Each student was given a 5-minute demonstration of a specialized suturing device and a specialized tying device. The medical students were not allowed to deploy either device before actual use. After the demonstration, each student was given the device to use in a porcine model. Times were recorded and a subjective grade was given for each student. RESULTS: Twenty medical students were involved in this study. All medical students were able to complete the task of suturing and tying. The average time to suture was 104.6 seconds and the average time to tying was 31.2 seconds. The average subjective performance grade was 90 (out of 100). CONCLUSION: Specialized devices are easy to learn and use for laparoscopic suturing and tying with minimal instruction even for inexperienced medical students. Even surgeons who are not well versed in laparoscopic surgery should be able to suture and tie with certain laparoscopic instruments.     

Radioimmunoassay of paralytic shellfish toxins in clams and mussels

Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology -     

Idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome terminating as disseminated T-cell lymphoma

The authors describe a case of idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES) terminated as a T-cell lymphoma in a 3-year-old girl. The clinical course was chronic and characterized by chronic eczema, persistent peripheral blood eosinophilia, organomegaly, interstitial lung change, and pericarditis. Postmortem examination demonstrated a disseminated T-cell lymphoma involving the inguinal lymph node, liver, lung, and kidney. The findings of the current case suggest a possibility that certain abnormalities in this case of idiopathic HES per se may have triggered the development of malignant lymphoma, and it may represent a transition of idiopathic HES into a T-cell lymphoma. Other possible sequences are discussed. The development of T-cell malignancy in idiopathic HES in a girl is quite an unusual presentation.     

Antiproliferative Activity Against MCF‐7 Breast Cancer Cells by Diamino‐Triazaspirodiene Antifolates

Two triazaspirodienes, having similar phenoxy propyloxy side chain, were identified as potent mammalian dihydrofolate reductase inhibitors; one having a 6,5‐spiro bicyclic ring system (IC₅₀ = 2.3 nm ) and the other a 6,6‐spiro bicyclic system (IC₅₀ = 6.9 nm ). They also showed more than 50% antiproliferative activity against the MCF‐7 breast cancer cells at 20 μm . This study demonstrated the potential lead of the diamino‐triazaspirodienes in anticancer chemotherapeutical agents’ discovery.