Pale Eyes Research Articles

Risk factors for death among children with severe malaria, Ivukula sub-county, Namutumba district, Eastern Uganda, september 2021–february 2022

BackgroundIn February 2022, the Ministry of Health received reports of more than 100 child deaths from a ‘strange disease’ in Namutumba District over a period of 6 months from politicians through the media. Preliminary investigations by the district rapid response team confirmed the strange disease to be severe malaria. The scope of severe malaria deaths was investigated, associated factors identified, and recommendations made for control measures to inform early malaria treatment strategies in Namutumba District.MethodsA retrospective study was conducted in March 2022 in the most affected subcounty (Ivukula Subcounty) involving cases and controls. A case was defined as a death with a positive malaria test, fever and any of the following: convulsions, difficulty breathing, yellowing of eyes or palms, tea-coloured urine, anaemia (evidenced by pale eyes or palms, or clinically-identified in medical records), loss of consciousness, or reduced urine output (very little or no urine in a day) in a child ≤ 12 years from September 2021 to February 2022 in Ivukula Subcounty, Namutumba District. Controls were survivors with the same signs and symptoms, recruited in a 2:1 ratio with cases. Cases and controls were actively searched using a door-to-door approach with the help of community health workers. Caretakers were interviewed to obtain data on signs and symptoms, socio-demographic information, health-seeking behaviours and health system risk factors. Drugs and bloodstock status information was obtained from health workers using an interview guide. Factors associated with death were identified using multivariate logistic regression and thematic analysis for qualitative data.ResultsAmong 46 cases, 29 (63%) were < 5 years, and 23 (50%) were female. Death among children with severe malaria was significantly associated with treatment non-completion (aOR = 9.7, 95%CI 1.8–53) and inability to receive blood transfusion for anaemic patients (aOR = 7.1, (95%CI 1.4–36). Healthcare workers reported that inability to reach referral sites due to transport costs, stockouts of anti-malarials and blood products at health facilities, and absence of integrated community case management of childhood illnesses (iCCM) contributed to deaths among children with severe malaria.ConclusionLack of access to anti-malarial treatment and to blood transfusions among anaemic patients due to stockouts were associated with severe malaria deaths among children ≤ 12 years in Ivukula Subcounty. Recommendations made were: accurate quantification of anti-malarials for health facilities, offering transport support to severe patients referred to higher-level facilities, and increasing access to blood products. Activation of iCCM could facilitate public health efforts against severe malaria in the district.

Epidemiology of the Nutritional Status of School Aged Children (2-10 years) Affected by Malaria in Bamenda

The objective of this study was therefore to assess the nutritional status of school aged children affected by malaria in Bamenda. This was conducted using a population of 397 for children whose parents consented. The data collected was analysed using SPSS version 23 and findings revealed that majority (52.4%) were females, 26.4% aged between 8-9years, 40.8% had occupations not specified, 64% were Christians, 70.8% were of the grass field, 65.2% earned less than 50.000frs per month and 49.9% had attained secondary education. For the BMI classification, majority (19.1%) and (11.5) for girls and boys respectively, were classified as moderately malnourished. Clinical data revealed that majority (81.1%) had pallor nails, 58.9% had scaly skin, 50.6% had week extremities, 40.8% had pale eyes, 40.1% had pale and dry eyes, 51.4% had temperature &gt;37.5 while a few (24.7%) had brittle hair and mouth sore (29.7%). Majority (70.5%) consumed cereals, 12.6% ate legumes, 5.5% ate meat/fish/eggs, 4.5% ate milk/dairy, 3.8% ate vegetables and 3% ate fruits. Majority (60.7%) did not sleep under mosquito net, 58.4% accepted there is stagnant water and bushes around their house, 65.7% had monthly incomes &lt;50.000frs, 59.2% did not eat green leafy vegetables, bananas, apples, meat, beans, chicken, 75.8% did not eat okro, meat, poultry, guavas, mushroom, pumk in seeds, pork, beans, yoghurt. The study concluded that moderate malnutrition and little consumption of vegetables, legumes, fruits, meat/fish/egg, milk/dairy products were nutritional problems on the nutritional status of school aged children affected by malaria in Bamenda.

Intervention On Nutrition Education in The Management of School Aged Children (2-10 Years) Affected by Malaria in Bamenda

The objective of this study was therefore to manage the nutritional status of school aged children affected by malaria in Bamenda. This was conducted using a population of 397 for children whose parents consented. The data collected was analysed using SPSS version 23 and findings revealed that majority (52.4%) were females, 26.4% aged between 8-9years, 40.8% had occupations not specified, 64% were Christians, 70.8% were of the grass field, 65.2% earned less than 50.000frs per month and 49.9% had attained secondary education. And the BMI (Body Mass Index) classification, majority (19.1%) and (11.5%) for girls and boys respectively, were classified as moderately malnourished. Then, clinical data revealed that majority (81.1%) had pallor nails, 58.9% had scaly skin, 50.6% had week extremities, 40.8% had pale eyes, 40.1% had pale and dry eyes, 51.4% had temperature &gt;37.5 while a few (24.7%) had brittle hair and mouth sore (29.7%). Majority (70.5%) consumed cereals, 12.6% ate legumes, 5.5% ate meat/fish/eggs, 4.5% ate milk/dairy, 3.8% ate vegetables and 3% ate fruits. Majority (60.7%) did not sleep under mosquito net, 58.4% accepted there is stagnant water and bushes around their house, 65.7% had monthly incomes &lt;50.000frs, 59.2% did not eat green leafy vegetables, bananas, apples, meat, beans, chicken, 75.8% did not eat okro, meat, poultry, guavas, mushroom, pumkin seeds, pork, beans, yoghurt. For nutritional interventions, 87.9% accepted nutrition education, 92.4% accepted advice be given to pupils to consume food containing vitamin A, iron, zinc and 90.2% accepted gardening be encouraged. The study concluded shown that nutritional interventions made has improve the nutritional status of school aged children affected by malaria in Bamenda.

TREATMENT OF BABESIOSIS AND ECTOPARASITIC INFESTATION IN TERRIER CROSSBREED DOG

Babesiosis is an infectious disease caused by Babesia sp. distributed in the circulatory system. A 5-month-old male Terrier mix with a body weight of 6.20 kg had complaints of weakness and many ticks all over the dog's body. The results of the physical examination found ticks almost all over the body, pale eye mucosa, erythema on the right ear, and the inside of the ear was dirty. Laboratory examination results include routine haematological examination showing hypochromic normocytic anaemia followed by leucocytosis and lymphocytosis; blood smear examination showing Babesia sp erythoparasites; microscopic examination found Rhipicephalus sanguineus ticks and Ctenocephalides canis larvae on the skin and nails of dogs and the results of earwax swabs found Otodectes cynotis. Based on the results of history taking, physical examination, and laboratory examination, the case dog was diagnosed with babesiosis with a prognosis of fausta. The therapy given was imidocarb dipropionate 6.6mg/kg BW every 2 weeks for 3 repetitions; doxycycline 10 mg/kg BW twice a day for 21 days; and ivermectin 0.2 mg/kg BW given once a week for 3 repetitions; and herbal oabat Fufang E'jiao Jiang 1 ml/kg given once a day for 7 days. Observation on the 14th day of therapy showed clinical improvement such as lethargy that disappeared, decreased intensity of nausea, and reduced tick infestation.

LAPORAN KASUS: KESEMBUHAN ENTERITIS HEMORAGIKA PADA ANAK ANJING KACANG YANG TERINFEKSI CANINE PARVOVIRUS

Canine parvovirus (CPV) is an infectious disease with clinical signs of bloody diarrhea (hemorrhagic enteritis) which is cause of death in infected dogs. A five-month-old female local dog with a weight of 4.3 kg, black and white coat on the ventral side came to the Rumah Sakit Hewan Pendidikan, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Udayana University with complaints of weakness, loss of appetite since the day before and vomiting in the morning of the examination. The dog is rescued and never been vaccinated before. Clinical examination showed weakness such as holding pain, pink pale eye mucosae, delayed skin turgor, Capillary Refill Time (CRT) more than two seconds, and increased respiratory rate. Dogs do not respond to handfeeding. On observation the dog experienced clear and foamy vomiting and foul-smelling bloody diarrhea. The native stool faecal examination showed negative results, while the CPV antigen rapid test examination showed positive results. Complete blood count showed that on the first day of hospitalization the dog had leukopenia, granulocytopenia, hyperchromic normocytic anemia and thrombocytopenia. The dog was diagnosed with CPV with a dubious prognosis. Dogs were given fluid therapy using sodium chloride 0.9% infusion and vitamin B complex, anti-emetic ondansetron, antibiotic cefotaxime, and vitamin K. Dogs were also treated with traditional medicine Fu Fang 1 mL and trigona honey 1 mL. Dogs are given a special feed Hills Prescription Diet A/D Urgent Care. The dog's condition improved after offering therapy for seven days and the dog was declared cured and could be sent home on the ninth day.

A new, fluorescence-based method for visualizing the pseudopupil and assessing optical acuity in the dark compound eyes of honeybees and other insects

Recent interest in applying novel imaging techniques to infer optical resolution in compound eyes underscores the difficulty of obtaining direct measures of acuity. A widely used technique exploits the principal pseudopupil, a dark spot on the eye surface representing the ommatidial gaze direction and the number of detector units (ommatidia) viewing that gaze direction. However, dark-pigmented eyes, like those of honeybees, lack a visible pseudopupil. Attempts over almost a century to estimate optical acuity in this species are still debated. Here, we developed a method to visualize a stable, reliable pseudopupil by staining the photoreceptors with fluorescent dyes. We validated this method in several species and found it to outperform the dark pseudopupil for this purpose, even in pale eyes, allowing more precise location of the gaze centre. We then applied this method to estimate the sampling resolution in the frontal part of the eye of the honeybee forager. We found a broad frontal acute zone with interommatidial angles below 2° and a minimum interommatidial angle of 1.3°, a broader, sharper frontal acute zone than previously reported. Our study provides a new method to directly measure the sampling resolution in most compound eyes of living animals.

Parmigianino’s Bitch

Parmigianino’s Bitch

MITF p.Arg217Thr Variant Identified in a Han Chinese Family with Tietz/Waardenburg Syndrome

Waardenburg syndrome (WS) is a group of rare genetic disorders characterized by hearing loss, changes in coloring of hair, skin, and eyes, and alterations in the shape of the face. Tietz syndrome is another rare disorder which presented similar phenotypes to WS. Patients with Tietz/Waardenburg syndrome often present with pale blue eyes, albino skin, and distinctive hair coloring, such as a patch of white hair or hair that prematurely turns gray. At present, more than six candidate genes are responsible for four types of Waardenburg syndrome and Tietz syndrome. This study is aimed at identifying the pathogenic gene variants in a three-generation Han Chinese family with hearing loss, blue-gray iris, albino skin, and white hair. In order to discover the molecular genetic lesion underlying the disease phenotype, whole exome sequencing in the proband, with Tietz/Waardenburg syndrome phenotypes, of a Han Chinese family from HeBei, China, was conducted. A novel heterozygous c.650G>C/p.Arg217Thr variant in melanocyte inducing transcription factor (MITF) was identified. Sanger sequencing further validated that this mutation existed in three affected individuals and absent in healthy family members. Bioinformatics analysis predicted that this mutation was deleterious. Our study further identified the genetic lesion of the family. Simultaneously, our study may also contribute to genetic counseling, embryonic screening of in vitro fertilized embryos, and prenatal genetic diagnosis of patients with Tietz/Waardenburg syndrome, especially for the proband, unmarried and unpregnant women, to reduce familial transmission in this Han Chinese family.

Carolina Parakeet, and: Lakeside, and: The White Moth, and: Touch Me Not

Carolina Parakeet, and: Lakeside, and: The White Moth, and: Touch Me Not Emry Trantham (bio) CAROLINA PARAKEET What I must know is this: whyhaven't you yet written the elegy of the Carolina Parakeet? Youwho call winged spirits words, whose cells ache with each notelost. You who dream of healing the broken bones of a South stillon her knees; you who hum the melody of flitting shadowsdrifting across your page. Perhaps you've scrawledthe piece and shut it in some drawer with a useless keyhole,or folded it between pages of a book you can no longer bearto open. Yesterday, I knew you wrote the bird so well her ghostlifted from your pen, flew through your bedroom window and intothe wood, where she hovered [End Page 92] until she found her mate. Lackingyour answer, or rather, lacking a means to ask you the question,I will do this: close my eyes. Watch the yellow-green flock swell upover our mountains until I can't begin to name their number. Then,right hand clutching perfect pen, I will open to a new-blank page,swallow a lungful of extinction, and write the poem myself. [End Page 93] LAKESIDE Look upon a wind-worn water,its smooth light stubbledby summer storm— you have lost the trees, the sky,the pale eye of the sunto quiver and wave, flummox and flow,and become drowsyin the new tumult of surface. To be drawn to the downydodge of peak, dip, peakis to rest until the weather rests,which it will.The wind will lay. Rings of ripple will surrenderin stretch; the sun will opento glint the liquid mica, gone still, clear, mirroredenough to give you backa truth you meant to sink forever in the depths.And what now?You may choose [End Page 94] to leap, to leave—to fall to your kneesand pray for rain. [End Page 95] THE WHITE MOTH She is in repose when I find her,white wings stretched against the wet concrete of the road. I pick her up and hope for a moment—I might detect a liftof wing or curl of antenna, but the moth is still. On one finger I lift her to my eyes, work over the fuzz of her bodywith my gaze, and within three of my own heartbeats, declare her dead. I won't know the cause of death—she looks intact, bridalwhite and lovely. I lower her near my lips and exhale, as if to remind her what wings do with wind. I can't return life to frail limbs.What does one do with a piece of perfect death? I carry her inside and close her in a jar. [End Page 96] TOUCH ME NOT I can't help but rebelagainst such spindly demand,though I suspect there's moreto my affection than contrariness.Take, for example, the orange buds,sparked fires pulling my pulse to their warmth,or the curling green limbs fillingall the space I ask of them. But the pods—oh, the pods—growing full as summer lingers,begging me to pinch thembetween forefinger and thumb, to squeezeever so lightly until they burstagainst my palm, seeds spun to the shadeof the forest floor. Perhaps it's the waythat in every language I love,the thick green beckons—touch me. [End Page 97] Emry Trantham Emry Trantham is an English teacher in Western North Carolina, where she is raising three daughters and writing poems. Her poetry has been published or is forthcoming in Tar River Poetry, The Adirondack Review, Noble Gas Qtrly, Cider Press Review, and other publications. She is also a 2019 Gilbert-Chappell Emerging Poet. Copyright © 2020 Berea College

ASSESSMENT OF A VISUAL SCORING SYSTEM FOR IDENTIFYING AND QUANTIFYING ANEMIA IN MALE EASTERN BOX TURTLES ( TERRAPENE CAROLINA CAROLINA).

The North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine Turtle Rescue Team (TRT) regularly admits wild eastern box turtles (EBT) ( Terrapene carolina carolina) for treatment and rehabilitation. Adult males of this species generally have an impressive red coloration of the iris, a feature commonly used to differentiate them from their brown-eyed female conspecifics. Male EBTs that present often display marked pallor of the eyes, which has accompanied clinical anemia. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between eye color and packed cell volume (PCV) in adult male EBTs, and to assess the accuracy of using eye color to predict PCV. Eye-color scoring cards were created using Adobe Creative Cloud Photoshop®. Each card was composed of blocks displaying progressively lighter tints of a red hue, with a number (score) assigned to each block. Five-block, six-block, and nine-block scoring cards were prepared, with lower numbers (scores) corresponding to lighter hues. To determine the variation in subjective color scores assigned by different human observers, 85 individuals were asked to score EBT eye color in three animals using each of the three scoring cards. Eye color of adult male EBTs that presented to the TRT ( n = 18) and those housed at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences ( n = 6) were scored using each of the three cards, immediately preceding venipuncture of the occipital sinus for determination of PCV. All animals were scored by at least two individuals. Turtles with low scores (pale eyes) using all three scoring cards consistently had lower PCVs. The five- and six-block scorecards had a positive predictive value (PPV) of 100% while the nine-block score card had a PPV of 71.4%. This specific and noninvasive method for estimating PCV of male EBTs is clinically desirable in both rehabilitation and hospital settings.

HUBUNGAN PERSONAL HYGIENE DENGAN PENYAKIT KECACINGAN PADA SISWA SDN 113 KUNGKAI BARU KABUPATEN SELUMA

Worm infection disease is a disease that is often overlooked because it does notdirectly cause death. One reason could be transmitted through soil, called nematoda bowels.Prevalence of worm infection Bengkulu province according to the city health departementBengkulu 2010 was 18 % - 23 % of cases occur in children of primary school age, NewKungkai village there are 41,9 % of children were infected with intestinal worms. Based onthe initial survey dated 7 February 2015, the SDN 113 New Kungkai is one of the schools thatstill have a school yard in the form of soil moist, shaded by trees, poor environmentalsanitation situation maintained that there are many scattered garbage. By mark worms 80 % ofstudents who are anemic as lethargy, pale face, weight loss, listlessness, lack of concentrationstudied, pale eyes, it is because there are many students who have not applied with goodpersonal hygiene, such as not washing hands before eating cafeteria, student habits rarely cutnails, there is still a long nail black and the students still love playing ground with no weargood footwear when out to play and at school. The purpose of this study was to determine therelationship between personal hygiene worm disease in SDN 113 New Kungkai Seluma.Design study used cross sectional. The study sampel was grade 1 to 6, amounting to 27people. Sampling technique used is propotional random sampling. Data were analyzed withunivariate an bivariate (square test with a P value α = 0,05) of 72 respondents in gettingresults 49 (68,1%) of respondents who have poor personal hygiene and 43 (59, 7%)respondents had positive worm. Bivariate analysis results showed that P = 0,001 &lt; α = 0,05values showed no relatoinship between personal hygiene with worming with OR 95 % CI =6,330. Noteworthy health education to the students about the worms and the importance ofhealthy behavior and clean.

Impact of Domestic Waste Exposure on Health and Nutritional Status of Children Aged 5-7 Years

Environment and health are interrelated suggesting any change in one will effect and alter the other. Domestic solid waste dump exposure exerts harmful impact on health of humans especially children. Children (age group 5-7 years) were compared with a group of children having similar socio-economic background but not exposed to waste dumps. The results showed that the weight (M=15.8 kg with SD ± 5.6), height (M=41.4 inches with SD ± 3.7) and BMI (M=14.1 kg.m2 with SD ± 3.3) of observational children were below the values of those not exposed and also below recommended values. Additionally, they exhibited the clinical symptoms of iron, calcium and protein deficiencies seen in their pale eyes, nails and skin, discoloured teeth and brittle hair. Overall disease status in both groups was almost similar. Waste exposed children were suffering more from diarrhoea as compared to others. Other health related problems like eyes infection, skin infections/allergies, respiratory tract infections and nervous disorders were also prevalent among waste dump dwelling children. The results of CDC percentile growth charts depicted that waste-exposed children scored lower for weight-for-age (30%) sample exhibited 3rd-5th percentile scores) and BMI-for-age growth charts (25% sample exhibited below 5th percentile scores), whereas height-for-age growth charts showed no discrete results. Hence, it has been proved that compromised health and nutritional status was observed among waste exposed children by reporting malnutrition and wasting in them.

In the Traces

In the Traces Ross Howell (bio) Today Mr. Hylton will bring his truck Aunt Minerva’sto haul Guernsey milk cows away. She sits in an oak chair at her kitchen window, hulling peas. In her lap she’s placed a newspaper and a white enamel bowl. A breeze from the open window lifts the gauze curtains against her cheek. She snaps the pods and the peas whisper into the bowl. She drops the hulls on the newspaper. My mother stands at the kitchen sink. She has drawn water, and now she empties a pail of new potatoes into the sink. They are round and pallid with pale eyes. She’s preparing the new potatoes and peas as a treat for me, home from my first year at college. She runs more water over the potatoes. When the water stops I no longer hear the whisper of the peas. Aunt Minerva is looking out the window, her hands limp in the white bowl. A lock of silver hair has come free from the combs of her bun. On the breeze is the fragrance of mown hay. Aunt Minerva begins to keen. Her moans rise from her chest, hardly audible over the sound of the breeze. When the moaning grows louder, my mother turns and says, “Aunt Minnie, don’t you believe Minitree sleeps with the angels?” Aunt Minerva nods and wipes the back of her hand on her face. Her fingers are gnarled with arthritis. “I know he does,” Aunt Minerva says. “Hit’s a better place. I just miss him so.” She sighs and closes her eyes. Two weeks ago my cousin Minitree was killed in an accident. We were helping my uncles put up hay on shares on a creek-bottom farm a few miles away. As we returned with a truckload of hay, we stopped in Willis for soft drinks and salted peanuts. The space for parking in front of the general store on the highway is narrow. Minitree had been hunkered down atop the load, since there wasn’t room in the cab of the truck. When he clambered down the back, he swung from the truck gate onto the highway right in the path of a passing car. From the porch of the store I heard screeching tires and the sound of glass shattering. I turned to see Minitree’s straw hat sailing [End Page 196] and followed the awkward arc of his body catapulting into a heap on the asphalt. There was nothing to be done. After the sheriff came and his body was loaded in the funeral-home ambulance, my uncles and I drove together in my cousin Minitree’s pickup to Aunt Minerva’s. On the rock road we pulled up at the garage just below the house, where Minitree parked his 1951 Plymouth, a spotless cream-colored sedan he drove Aunt Minerva to church in on Sundays. He kept old quilts draped over the fenders so the chickens wouldn’t peck at their reflections. Two hens squawked and flushed from dust holes they’d scratched under the Plymouth as my uncles opened the pickup doors and got out. They took off their caps and held them in front of their chests, motioning for me to go on ahead. Aunt Minerva was shucking sweet corn on the front porch. She was wearing her big sun bonnet. Ears of corn were stacked on the porch floorboards. She had the silks and shucks tucked in her apron, saved for her cows at the evening milking. She smiled, seeing me walk towards the porch, and raised her hand. “Bedford!” she called. When I didn’t respond she looked beyond me to my bareheaded uncles standing in front of Minitree’s pickup. “Where’s?” she began, and knew. Her raised hand settled into her lap, and her chin drooped to her breast. Her face was hidden by the bonnet. She had fainted away. Family members will say that by nature I’m reflective because my youth was lonely and uprooted. My father was a drunkard filled with wanderlust. He never held a job for long nor saw fit to remain in one place. He towed my...

Filíocht Nua: New Poetry

Filíocht Nua: New Poetry Pat Boran The Island for Bob Quinn Remote, solitary, its back to its neighbours, facing the broad Atlantic and the dream of a bright New World, that unkempt heap of sand set down in our back yard by a builder in the early 1970s became, the afternoon he failed to show, our own small island: bays and mountains, the major rivers, greys instead of forty shades of green. Immune to damp and cold, down on our knees like the migrant workers of a generation before, we laboured beyond nightfall until a door in the darkness opened and saw us lifted clear of our obsession. But who could sleep that night leaving our small-but-perfect local wonder with no one to defend it, alone there under a cloud-marbled sky? Moonlight flooding the house, I crept back down to check, and found, to my astonishment, a fleet of snails, like so many Norse or Spanish or Phoenician sails, their glistening trails criss-crossing the hostile dark. [End Page 68] Stones Two mounds of stones erected by the roadside overlook the bay, so that as you pass on this light-swept peninsular road you’d be hard-pressed to say if they be years or millennia old, or entirely new made— the first like a symbol of birth, then, just up the way, a burial mound, and between them scarcely anything, a lay- by vantage point you glimpse, as you do most things, too late, travelling at light speed the distance between megalith and ghost estate. [End Page 69] Winter Burial i.m. Liam Brady Twin jet trails crossing the sky; here’s us frozen in the lake of time and up there God goes blithely skating by. Snowman No matter that we prayed to God himself (Father, Son and Holy Ghost), as well as half a dozen saints we knew by name and some odd talent or disfigurement— the ability to raise the dead, to put out fires with their breath, to balance all night up a pole— the thaw still came. The head was first to go, the belly lost a pound or two, an eye came loose, the carrot nose slipped an inch then disappeared entirely overnight: perhaps a rat or early bird had dragged it off. Before we knew it our snowman became snow-thing, stooped and hunched, a drunk in a dirty linen suit, a gate-crasher who’d lost his way, forced to spend the night outside alone. Who could love him any more? Even the crozier that had made him seem so wise last week—our own St Patrick— lay now like a question mark at his feet. [End Page 70] Nebula After winter drew up its raft of bone and wrack and shadow along the shoreline; after the moon’s pale eye peered deeper into the garden’s breeze-block soul; after the smoke-stacks filled with grief and the stray cats gathered on the one flat roof for miles to keen their loss—chairs face-down on the table, dishes stacked on newsprint shelves, brushes in hand as the dawn came up between us we raised a nebula of dust motes, stopping to admire it, as the gods are wont to do, before setting out for home. [End Page 71] Apple “If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe.” —Carl Sagan Now, at last, with the volume down and the stage-curtain of the night drawn shut, it’s time to zoom in on this one still somehow strangely bright fallen apple, since morning sat here on my table, a glistening keepsake, temptation’s fruit, for all the world a numinous thing: the stalk’s delicate, perfect serif rising from the wormhole navel; the skin’s luminous photograph in three dimensions of the whole, scarcely plausible history of time, of the universe to this moment—impossible to understand but simply expressed, the infinite eclipsed by the tangible, by the close-at-hand. [End Page 72] The Garden Back in the back garden’s light-dappled arbour where the bees were like satellites orbiting planets of fruit, the uncut grass...

John Harvey Kellogg (1852–1943): ‘Masturbation results in general debility, unnatural pale eyes and forehead acne’

John Harvey Kellogg (1852–1943): ‘Masturbation results in general debility, unnatural pale eyes and forehead acne’

On being a doctor. Blockers.

On Being a Doctor5 March 2002BlockersJack Coulehan, MDJack Coulehan, MDDr. Coulehan: Setauket, NY 11733Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-136-5-200203050-00016 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail The guy's an iceberg. I feel the cold breeze the moment I walk into the office, where he stands beside the examining table, his arms crossed, a thin man, pale eyes, dour face, measured stare. I'd say he's about 40 and prematurely bald.Maybe iceberg isn't right. How about an oven? I get the feeling he might explode at any second. Or minefield. That's it; he's a walking minefield. I've heard there are millions of mines left over from the war in Western Europe, tens of millions in Southeast Asia. Here on Long Island, we have minefields, too, but they're ... Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Dr. Coulehan: Setauket, NY 11733Corresponding Author: Jack Coulehan, MD, 4 Townsend Court, Setauket, NY 11733 PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics 5 March 2002Volume 136, Issue 5Page: 407-409KeywordsBlood pressureCholesterolDrugsGamma aminobutyric acidNeuronsNeurotransmittersPotassiumScientistsVitaminsWalking ePublished: 5 March 2002 Issue Published: 5 March 2002 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2002 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...

Juvenile mortality of the female descendants in the ectoparasitic mite Varroa jacobsoni in worker brood of Apis mellifera

SUMMARYDuring the autumn of 1996 and 1997 in Thessaloniki (Greece) juvenile mortality (JM) of the mite Varroa jacobsoni was studied in worker brood cells of frozen combs from 21 Apis mellifera macedonica colonies. The infestation level of the colonies varied between 8% and 35%. Sealed brood cells (n = 8454) containing a healthy worker pupa older than the ‘pale eyes’ stage or a resting adult were examined. The cells examined were singly infested by a fertile V. jacobsoni with normal offspring in 92% of the cases. A total number of 3543 developing fertile V. jacobsoni female descendants (fd) was studied. During the mobile phases the losses of the parasite in the first, second and third fd were 2.8%, 13.8%, 30.4%, respectively. Under natural conditions no death factors act against the first fd until it reaches the second immobile phase, or deutochrysalis phase (DCHR) in the worker brood cell. For the subsequent fd, malnutrition possibly plays the most important role during the pre-DCHR mobile phases. During the immobile phases the main losses of the first fd occur in the DCHR phase. On average, the death rates for the first, second and third DCHR were 6.2%, 11.3% and 14.2%, respectively, in worker brood cells containing maturing pupae. Rates of losses for the DCHR of the three fd determined in cells containing the resting adult were 15.8%, 37.1% and 56.9%, respectively. The general losses concerning all developing phases of the mite, i.e. pre-DCHR and DCHR, for the first, second and third fd in worker brood cells were 18.6%, 50.9% and 87.3%, respectively. Death of the DCHR of V jacobsoni in the worker brood cell of A. mellifera is connected with aging of the host. This is based on the following: (a), practically no death of DCHR was observed as long as the host retained its white body colour; dead DCHR appeared first when the aging worker pupa acquired yellow body colour; and (b), the death rate of DCHR increases as the worker pupa becomes older. The possible influence of different natural or artificial factors causing death of female DCHR is discussed.

Effects of male genetic contribution and paternal investment to egg and hatchling size in the cricket, Gryllus firmus

AbstractEgg provisions represent the complete energy supply of oviparous organisms from fertilization until hatching, and egg size is generally correlated with initial offspring size and a suite of other early fitness related traits. Since egg size is determined by the mother, little attention has been given to potential sources of paternal effects on either egg size or initial offspring size. This study considers two processes by which the sire can affect the egg size and/or initial body size of his offspring, in the multiply mated cricket, Gryllus firmus. The first is a paternal genetic effect, whereby differences in offspring genotype result in differences in the efficiency of metabolising available resources. The second is a paternal environmental effect, whereby the quality or size of paternal investment varies among male phenotypes and this is correlated with the size of eggs the females subsequently produce. Using a one‐locus two‐allele recessive mutation for pale eye colour as a marker, a mating experiment was designed which enabled the discrimination between eggs fertilized by two males mated simultaneously to a single female. The results of this experiment suggest that sire effects on egg and initial body size occur through both processes. Eggs fertilised by the two males were significantly different at day ten of development, suggesting that the genetic contribution of the sire is affecting embryonic body size. Further, a negative correlation was found between the head size of the pale eyed male and the size of all the eggs that the female laid, suggesting an effect of male size of the amount of nutrients the female receives from her mates. The results of this study suggest that paternal effects may be both more common and more profound than previously thought, and that studies examining early fitness traits that are correlated to egg size or initial body size, in oviparous animals, should consider the possibility and importance of the paternal contribution.

The multicentre south European study 'Helios'. I: Skin characteristics and sunburns in basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas of the skin

The aim of this study was to investigate constitutional and environmental determinants of non-melanocytic skin cancer among different populations from south Europe. Between 1989 and 1993 we interviewed incident cases and a random population sample of controls from five centres where a cancer registry was operating, whereas we selected a sample of hospital-based cases and controls from three other centres. Controls were stratified according to the age and sex distribution of cases. In all, 1549 cases of basal cell carcinoma (BCC), 228 of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and 1795 controls were interviewed. Both cancers affected primarily sun-exposed sites such as face, head and neck, but the prevalence of BCC on the trunk was higher than for SCC. Pigmentary traits such as hair and eye colour as well as tendency to sunburn were strong and independent indicators of risk for both BCC and SCC. In SCC, adjusted odds ratios (ORs) ranged from 1.6 for fair hair colour to 12.5 for red hair. Light-blonde hair entailed a risk of about 2 for BCC. Pale eye colour was associated with a risk of 1.8 for SCC and 1.4 for BCC. Subjects who always burn and never tan showed an adjusted OR of 2.7 for BCC and 2.0 for SCC. A history of sunburns and a young age at first sunburn were associated with an increased risk for BCC only (OR 1.7). Pigmentary traits and sun sensitivity of the skin confirmed their role as risk indicators. The effect of sunburns, as an indicator of both exposure and sun sensitivity of the skin, is less clear. Nevertheless, its association with BCC suggests, by analogy with melanoma, a relationship with intense sun exposure. Conversely, SCC would require prolonged exposure to sunlight.

Differential behavioral outcomes in the sciatic cryoneurolysis model of neuropathic pain in rats

We have previously introduced a novel animal model of neuropathic pain in rats following a peripheral mononeuropathy produced by freezing the common sciatic nerve, a technique termed sciatic cryoneurolysis (SCN). In this study, we have further characterized the temporal pattern of behavioral changes following SCN, including thermal hyperalgesia and mechanical allodynia. These behaviors were assessed using noxious thermal (radiant heat) and non-noxious tactile (von Frey filament) stimuli, respectively. Following unilateral SCN, animals exhibited significant ( P < 0.001) bilateral tactile hypersensitivity (allodynia) that persisted at least 10 weeks. However, this lesion did not result in thermal hypersensitivity (hyperalgesia). In fact, thermal sensitivity in the operated limb remained significantly suppressed throughout the 10 weeks ( P < 0.001). Furthermore, we observed autotomy in 76% of SCN-lesioned animals as well as transient weight loss and pale eye syndrome (PES), a phenomenon previously unreported in other neuropathic pain models. PES is a sustained, visibly distinct pallor of the normally pink eye color of the albino rat. We believe PES is a putative marker of heightened sympathetic efferent activity. The severity of autotomy following SCN correlated significantly with both weight loss ( P < 0.001) and the expression of PES ( P < 0.001). Autotomy behavior preceded the onset of allodynia; however, there was no correlation between the severity of expression of these behaviors. These behavioral sequelae are comparable to those seen in other animal models of neuropathic pain, but differ in respect to the increased frequency of autotomy and the lack of thermal hyperalgesia. Our findings support the hypothesis of a sensory basis for autotomy and provide further evidence of central sensitization or disinhibition as the basis for allodynia following peripheral nerve injury. However, the results also indicate independence between the genesis of autotomy and allodynia in animal pain models. The manifestation of sustained allodynia following SCN indicates that this model yields behavioral sequelae similar to those seen in neuropathic pain syndromes in humans.