Effects of a summer school-readiness programme on measures of literacy and behaviour growth: a pilot study

Young children enter kindergarten with varying levels of readiness and abilities to learn. One factor that contributes to lower levels of school readiness is poverty. One timely, cost-effective, and feasible strategy to boost school readiness, regardless of exposure to high-quality preschool is to leverage the summer months prior to kindergarten entry and provide comprehensive, evidence-based programming immediately before the school year begins. The current study implemented a community-based summer programme targeted at improving school readiness for 25 four- and five-year-old children in a low-income community. Across the 9-week study, children participated in two types of early literacy activities and the Incredible Years social/emotional learning curriculum. Results indicate that participants demonstrated significant growth across three early literacy skills and were rated as overall stable regarding their behaviour across the summer. These results are discussed along with implications and future directions in this line of research.     

Nicotine applied by transdermal patch induced HSV-1 reactivation and ocular shedding in latently infected rabbits.

The identification of factors involved in herpes virus latency and reactivation is critical to a better understanding of the mechanisms essential to viral neuroinvasiveness and neurovirulence. Recurrent episodes of ocular herpes infections cause irreversible corneal scarring and are the primary cause of loss of vision due to an infectious agent in industrialized countries. In this study, we examined the ability of nicotine, a compound known to be involved in stress-associated immunomodulation and recognized as one of the most frequently used addictive agents, to induce ocular shedding in rabbits latently infected with herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) strain McKrae. New Zealand white rabbits latently infected with HSV-1 at 3-4 weeks post-inoculation were randomly divided into two groups. The corneas of all rabbits were free of lesions as verified by slit lamp biomicroscopy. One group received nicotine by transdermal patch (21 mg/day) for 20 days and the other group served as the control. Reactivation data were obtained by detection of virus in tear film collected by ocular swabbing performed concurrently with the administration of nicotine. Compilation of data from three separate experiments demonstrated that 16.5% (258/1560) of the swabs taken from rabbits treated with nicotine were positive for virus, compared with 8.3% (53/639) of swabs taken from controls. Rabbits receiving nicotine exhibited a significantly (P < 0.0001) higher rate of ocular shedding than controls. The concentration of nicotine in the serum was determined at various times (0-24 hrs) after new patch replacement. Peak (average) serum level of nicotine was obtained 8 hours after patch replacement and exhibited a broad range of values (0.233 microg/mL-6.21 microg/mL). These results suggest that an initial systemic exposure to nicotine significantly increases HSV-1 reactivation. Further studies are needed to reveal any effects of nicotine dependency and nicotine withdrawal on herpesvirus reactivation.     

Spontaneous cyclic contractions of the capillary wall in vivo, impeding red cell flow: a quantitative analysis. Evidence for endothelial contractility

We have videorecorded spontaneous cyclic contractions of capillary walls which often stopped the flow of blood cells, in spleens of rat and mouse. An inverted microscope and oblique lighting were key elements in obtaining images in which the boundaries of cells composing vessel walls were clearly distinguishable. Using slow motion replay, we measured the widths of endothelial cells (C), pericytes (P, when present) and capillary lumens (L; at the site of constriction; U; 15-20 micron upstream), throughout 11-12 min sequences containing many contraction/relaxation cycles. In roughly 50% of contractions L decreased to 0-1 micron, such luminal "closures" occurring within 2-12 sec and lasting for less than 1 sec to greater than 1 min. Intervals between contractions ranged from 12 sec to 3 min (average 1 min). Documentation of one such cycle by sequential photographs from the video monitor is presented, showing dramatic bulging of an endothelial cell into the lumen. Comparison of records of L and C versus time showed that almost invariably when L decreased C increased, and vice versa; highly significant correlations existed between C and L in every case (P less than 0.0005). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that changes in C were responsible for 18-77% of the total variance in L, whereas P contributed only 0-4%; changes in U, covariance between C, P, and U, and unexplained variance were responsible for 0-20, 11-30, and 11-53%, respectively, of the total variance in L. We conclude that these spontaneous capillary contractions were primarily due to endothelial contractility.