Paper Napkin Research Articles

Determination of hexavalent chromium in textiles of daily use by ion chromatography and dermal risk assessment

The determination of hexavalent chromium in textiles and clothes is challenging since during extraction, the original oxidation state should not be altered. Since, as a matter of fact, current analytical methods are focused only on total chromium determination, the purpose of this research is to develop a reliable analytical method for the determination of Cr(VI) in textiles and tissues of daily use for a reliable application of risk analysis models, which are usually based on total Cr data.After optimization, a 0.0025 M Na3PO4 extraction solution was selected for the extraction of Cr(VI) from textiles. This solution minimizes possible interconversion redox reactions and interference, and provides good extraction recoveries (88.4 ± 2.5% - 105.5 ± 0.6 %, according to Cr(VI) concentration) and quantitation limits (0.017 mg/kg), fully complying the current limits set for Cr(VI) in textiles in contact with skin, and for leachable Cr(VI).The developed method was validated investigating intra-day repeatability (n = 10) and inter-day repeatability (n = 30) which were below 12%, and matrix effect which was below 6% confirming the precision of the method and the negligibility of a matrix interference during the whole analysis. The method, which was proved to be suited also for bioaccessibility studies in saliva and sweat, was applied to the analysis of tank top, coloured paper napkin, polyamide tights, panties, highlighting Cr(VI) content in the panties only at very low concentration (0.028 mg/kg). As verified by ECHA and US EPA approaches, this amount does not pose a non-carcinogenic risk for human health. As regards carcinogenic risk, considering both adult and child exposure, the dermal contact with the panties poses an acceptable risk (R ≤ 10−6).

Electron spin resonance (ESR) study on gamma irradiated some modern paper samples

In this work, we use paramagnetic defects induced by gamma radiation in some modern paper samples to determine their main dosimetric properties in the decontamination dose range (0.5–10 kGy) of ancient papers. Electron spin resonance (ESR) spectra of photo paper, cigarette paper, white paper napkin (napkin), cash register receipt, straw paper and white photocopy paper recorded before and after irradiation with gamma rays were reported. Photo paper, cigarette paper and napkin samples displayed the radiation-induced cellulose-like ESR signals well known from the literature on cellulose-containing foods. Cash register receipt, straw paper, and white photocopy paper are another set of samples where different ESR spectra were recorded. The ESR signals of these three paper samples were shown to originate from carbonate mineral filler grains. Inorganic mineral fillers are commonly used in paper manufacturing. The dose-response curves associated with the radiation-induced sharp ESR signals originating from the CaCO3 filler of the cash register receipt (g = 2.0027), the straw paper (g = 1.9995), and the white photocopy paper (g = 1.9996) were found to follow a single exponential saturation function. Despite the observed decreases with time in the signal intensities of cash register receipt and white photocopy paper, detectable ESR signals were obtained even 100 days after irradiation for them and straw paper. The radiation-induced free radicals responsible for the ESR spectrum of straw paper were more stable than those of cash register receipt and white photocopy paper. The results indicate that free radicals induced in mineral CaCO3 filler grains incorporated within papers have the potential to be used for application to retrospective ESR dosimetry in the range of 0.5–10 kGy.

My Mother's Facelift

My Mother's Facelift

Contact dermatitis caused by a disposable paper napkin containing colophonium

Contact dermatitis caused by a disposable paper napkin containing colophonium

Evaluation of two microcosm systems for co-treatment of LDPEoxo and lignocellulosic biomass for biochar production

BackgroundThe co-transformation of solid waste of natural and anthropogenic origin can be carried out through solid-state-fermentation systems to obtain bio-products with higher added value and lower environmental impact.MethodsTo evaluate the effect of Pleurotus ostreatus on co-transformation of oxo-degradable low-density polyethylene (LDPEoxo) sheets and lignocellulosic biomass (LCB), were assembled two 0.75 L microcosm systems in vertical (VMS) and horizontal (HMS) position. The pre-treated sheets with luminescent O2 plasma discharges were mixed with pine bark, hydrolyzed brewer’s yeast and paper napkin fragments and incubated for 135 days at 20 ± 1.0 °C in the presence of the fungus. With the co-transformation residues, biochar (BC) was produced at 300 ± 1.0 °C (BC300) for 1 h, then used to carry out adsorption studies, using the malachite green dye (MG) at pH 4.0, 7.0 and 9.0 ± 0.2. Finally, the biochar was the substrate for the germination of carnation seeds (Dianthus caryophyllus) and Ray-grass (Lolium sp.) in vitro.ResultsFor HMS, the decrease in static contact angle (SCA) was 63.63% (p = 0.00824) and for VMS 74.45% (p = 0.00219), concerning the pristine. Plastic roughness in VMS was higher (26%) concerning the control. Throughout the 135 days, there were fungal growth and consequently laccase (Lac), manganese peroxidase (MnP) and lignin peroxidase (LiP) activities. During the first 75 days, CO2 production increased to 4.78 ± 0.01 and 4.98 ± 0.01 mg g-1 for HMS and VMS, respectively. In MG adsorption studies, the highest amount of the colourant adsorbed at both pH 4.0 and 7.0 ± 0.2.ConclusionsFinally, the biochar or the biochar enriched with low concentrations of plant growth-promoting microorganisms and inorganic fertilizer favours the germination of Dianthus caryophyllus and Lolium sp., seeds.

Laser phototherapy induces angiogenesis in the periodontal tissue after delayed tooth replantation in rats.

BackgroundLaser phototherapy (LPT) has been suggested as a new therapeutic tool to improve the repair of replanted teeth. However, its effects and mechanism of action are not yet completely understood.ObjectivesThis study evaluated histologically the effect of laser phototherapy (LPT) λ808 and λ660 nm on angiogenesis in the periodontal tissue of replanted teeth in rats.Material and MethodsTwenty maxillary right incisors were extracted from twenty Wistar rats and randomly assigned to four groups (n = 5): PN – teeth were stored in paper napkin for 45 min; WM – teeth were immersed in 20 ml of UHT whole cow milk for 45 min; PNL and WML – teeth received the same treatment described for PN and WM, respectively, plus LPT at λ808 and λ660 nm. All root canals were prepared and filled with calcium hydroxide paste. The animals were euthanized 15 days after tooth replantation and angiogenesis was scored by blood vessel counting in the area of periodontal ligament and alveolar bone, using the ImageJ software. Data were analyzed statistically by ANOVA and Tukey’s test (α = 5%).ResultsLPT at λ808 and λ660 nm caused significant increased angiogenesis on irradiated groups (PNL and WML) when compared to the non-irradiated groups (PN and WM) (p<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between PN and WM as well as between PNL and WML (p>0.05).ConclusionsLPT is capable of stimulating angiogenesis in vivo in the periodontal tissue of replanted teeth. Key words:Angiogenesis, lasers, tooth avulsion, tooth replantation, wound healing.

Determination of primary aromatic amines in cold water extract of coloured paper napkin samples by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

ABSTRACTThe aim of this study was the optimisation of a multi-analyte method for the analysis of primary aromatic amines (PAAs) from napkins in order to support official controls and food safety. We developed a UHPLC-MS/MS method for the simultaneous determination of 36 toxicologically relevant PAAs for paper and board. Good regression coefficients of the calibration curves in a range of 0.992–0.999 and reproducibilities in a range of 2.3–15% were obtained. Limits of detections (LODs) were in the range of 0.03–1.4 µg l–1 and recoveries were in a range of 21–110% for all the amines. A total of 93 coloured paper napkin samples from different European countries were bought and extracted with water to determine the PAAs. The results showed that 42 of 93 samples contained at least one PAA. More than half of the detected PAAs are considered as toxic, carcinogenic or probably carcinogenic to humans by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), or are classified as such in the European Union legislation on chemicals. Summed concentrations of PAAs in seven samples were higher than 10 µg l–1, the limit of summed PAA in the European Union plastic food contact material regulation. Also, eight PAAs, classified as Category 1A and 1B carcinogen in the European Union legislation of chemicals, were detected at concentrations higher than 2 µg l–1, exceeding the limit proposed by the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment in Germany. Aniline (n = 14) was most frequently present in higher concentrations followed by o-toluidine, o-anisidine, 2,4-dimethylaniline and 4-aminoazobenzene. Red, orange, yellow and multicoloured paper napkins contained the highest concentrations of total PAAs (> 10 µg l–1). Although the European Union has not harmonised the legislation of paper and board materials and, thus, there is no specific migration limit for PAAs from paper napkins, the present study showed that coloured paper napkins can contain toxic and carcinogenic PAAs at concentrations that are relevant for monitoring.

Preschoolers’ Usage of Unstructured Materials as Play Materials Divergently

The present study is designed to examine preschool children's (4-5 and 6 years old) attitudes toward unstructured materials and to take their divergent ideas about these materials. Paper napkin, a plastic bottle, bottle lid, toilet paper roll, a piece of white string, a plastic spoon and a 10x10x10 cm³ sized box were used as unstructured materials. 126 children (58 female, 68 male) were selected from four state preschools. For originality scores first an originality index was prepared. Children who gave similar answers scored as 1, children who gave answers that were rarely given by other children, scored 2 and children who gave answers that were not given by others, scored 3. Children's usage of materials and answers were analyzed as originality and fluency by two blind coders. It was found from the study that, most of the children preferred to use materials in usual and ordinary ways, only few children were found to use them creatively as play materials. The results showed that most of the children cannot be able to use the unstructured materials as play materials creatively. Gender difference was found significant in the usage of plastic spoon, box and bottle. Girls tended to use napkin and bottle lid creatively and symbolically as domestic play toy, on the other hand boys had a tendency to use the box and plastic spoon creatively and symbolically. The age factor was also found significant, older children tended to use the materials more creatively than the younger ones.

The Elegant Philosophy of the Paper Napkin: —An Interpretation of the Napkin or T.S. Eliot’s “The Waste Land Part IV: Death By Water”

The Elegant Philosophy of the Paper Napkin—An Interpretation of the Napkin or T.S. Eliot’s “The Waste Land Part IV: Death By Water” Joh Hyun (bio) Translated by Kim Dahye (bio) and Adrian Thieret (bio) Dearest Eliot, I have been pondering what we discussed concerning the paper napkin placed on our table when I met with you in the saloon last week. As you listened to me speak, you were folding the paper napkin this way and that. I thought that this showed your agitated state of mind, but then suddenly I realized that the paper napkin and your act of folding it concealed a most profound philosophy. It is essentially the same as the cultivation of ferns or the placement of aquariums in drawing rooms, and other such cultural preferences that were popular among the gentlemen of the previous century. Indeed, it signifies the birth and spread, and simultaneously the infertility, of culture. What I mean, my dearest Eliot, is that it is just as when I glimpsed barrenness there already, where the flowering plants put forth fresh green buds as we walked along the Thames last April. —Excerpt of a letter from Mary Sullivan to T.S. Eliot, 1 May, 1918. 1 There is a Western saying, “Fingers were made before forks.” Yet, according to a rare book discovered many years ago, we could also say the same about the napkin. In the book, Baron Ludwig von Closen of France, when he visited America in 1780, [End Page 209] wrote the following: “Another peculiarity of this country is that in most houses, even in rich ones, you use no napkins at all, and each person wipes himself on the table-cloth, which must be very soiled as a result.”1 Baron Ludwig von Closen’s observation did not arise from any particular prejudice, for at the time napkins were used widely throughout Europe. Even the Huns of ancient times used hygiene products similar to napkins. This was further developed in English society, which took pride in being civilized. Take for example the passage which the English writer Samuel Pepys wrote in his diary in 1669, saying that he “was mightily pleased with the fellow that come to lay the cloth, and fold the napkins, which I like so well, as that I am resolved to give him 40 shillings to teach my wife to do it.”2 Indeed, those who could fold napkins handsomely were the objects of respect and envy in England for several centuries, which reveals the pride that England took in its culture. Giles Rose, head chef to Charles II, king of England, showed that napkins could be folded into a total of twenty-five different shapes including “the form of a Pidgeon upon her Nest in a Basket.”3 It is said that these napkins were meant not for actual use, but as a kind of artwork. It is therefore no exaggeration to say that while the varied manuals on napkin folding that spread throughout England in the 19th century were a kind of cultural fashion, they were simultaneously a display of class consciousness. It is comparable to when during the reign of Queen Victoria solemn and practical menswear became fashionable, completing the somber semi-aristocratic style of the bourgeois consciousness even in dress. Simply put, napkin folding, just like the dress customs of the time, [End Page 210] shows the tendency of aristocratic manners and ceremonies to spread down through the noble class to the ordinary middle class. Bourdieu, upon careful sociological consideration of the history of this aspect of taste, pointed out that culture and taste are the forces governing society. When such a man thus raises the concept of “habitus,” we must note how it is affected by his upbringing in a rural corner of Southern France. Simply put, it reveals his underlying intention, after moving to the capital of Paris, to overcome his personal hick complex through reinterpretation of symbolic bourgeois values. Yet, despite that, the fact that behind every cultural expression lie class interests actually also proves that Bourdieu’s declaration conceals a self-reflection our generation would do well to heed. For example, the rapid popularization...

Determination of primary aromatic amines in cold water extract of colour paper napkin samples by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

Determination of primary aromatic amines in cold water extract of colour paper napkin samples by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

Silk, Allergies, Sisters, and Incompleteness

Silk, Allergies, Sisters, and Incompleteness Matthew Gavin Frank (bio) in Oaxaca, Mexico, a handful of months after living for a year in my parents’ suburban Chicago house for the first time since I was seventeen, this time with my wife of five years in tow, in order to help my family through my mother’s battle with cancer According to the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (which of course means their members likely derive from, or are, former hippie U.S. West-coasters—and we all know how they are . . .), “Astronomers today believe that a large fraction of the atoms in our bodies were once inside stars that became supernovae, and that they were ‘launched’ into the universe when these stars exploded. Furthermore, we believe the explosions of supernovae have flooded the Galaxy with high-energy radiation that probably contributed to the radiation background that produces mutation and drives the evolution of life on Earth. Also, in recent years, we have found intriguing evidence that the formation of our own solar system may well have been triggered by a nearby supernova more than five billion years ago.” 1931: Kurt Gödel, a wild-haired Austrian mathematician, logician, and philosopher (see his 1951 Albert Einstein Award dinner photos for damn-near mathematical proof of the “wild-haired” designation—read: a foppish Count Dracula), publishes, at age 25, his Incompleteness Theorem, which postulates that all mathematical explanations and proofs must, according to logic (and the logic of entropy), eventually break down and be incomplete. I don’t know [End Page 25] if Gödel was depressed or exhilarated by this. Maybe both. I don’t know if he was a depressive man. I don’t know if he was subject to the same mania as his hairdo. The implications of the theorem, mathematically, are that no set or subset of numerical formulas can consistently be used in order to prove the validity of an “answer,” and its relationship to other “answers.” Linguistically, this means that no set of words, no matter how logically applied, will survive the ages with meaning intact. Dog will eventually fail to refer to that sharp-toothed beast with the sweeping tail. Bloat, the canine’s second leading killer, will no longer refer to the excruciating twist of the dog’s stomach, trapping air and food and water, the beast finally giving in to the shock. Severe nasal congestion will no longer refer to my body’s response to the dander of the dying dog. All language, if not flexible and twisting and willing to evolve, will break down. All stages and planes of said evolution will eventually be rendered meaningless. Philosophically, this means that no truth is provable, and is therefore not true. True is already a meaningless word, even within the current evolutionary plane. It has already broken down. There’s no air trapped within it. So this may or may not be true, but according to Gödel himself, it doesn’t matter. Upon learning of the publication, he began walking through Vienna, and, allergic, howled an accented ah-choo! into a paper napkin, to which three passersby responded with a properly pronounced Gesundheit. Here’s what matters: I want Gödel to be allergic. Want is provable. I am allergic. I want to use allergies to get closer to Gödel. To further complete something. I spent my childhood receiving shots in each arm once a week because I am allergic. Because I was allergic, Dr. Weiner shot me full of serum, and my arms would blow up, and I would have to sit in the waiting room afterwards for an hour, thumbing through Highlights for Children magazine, finding the hidden objects in the larger picture—the owl obscured in the tree bark, the apple in the ax-man’s bicep—just to make sure that my reaction wasn’t too severe, that my throat didn’t close up. The cartoon doctor in the waiting-room poster held up a blue-faced, cross-eyed puppet. I waited to get my arms checked. My mom read People magazine. Something about Robin Givens and Mike Tyson. I thought of asphyxiation. The poster’s caption read: Old...

The Hidden Jesus

The Hidden Jesus William J. Cobb (bio) The electrician did not want to speak. He stared at the ceiling and scratched his muscled forearm, on which was tattooed the name Sarah, with a circle/bar over it. He was here to avoid jail time and that was it. He preferred to keep his yap shut. That wasn't good enough. That wasn't part of the plan. He had to speak. They made him do it. They said, Tell us about your life. Tell us how it feels. Shegog, the Pain & Suffering Workshop leader, said they could wait. We can wait as long as it takes, he added. Redemption is in no hurry. In this box of silence, Sanchez stared at his shiny black wingtips, new and loose, like the borrowed shoes of a dead cop. He heard coughs. A defrocked priest with a sweet potato nose and eyes like pools of sadness slowly ripped a white paper napkin into smaller and smaller pieces. Hull, the security guard, watched him do this. He wanted to grab the priest's hands and make him stop, but he didn't. The Pain & Suffering Workshop was all about learning to do what did not come natural. Hull imagined the napkin shreds projected into smaller and smaller divisions, like a reflection of mirrors facing mirrors, seeing yourself in ever-shrinking reflections down to the size of an eyelash morphing to a tiny peacock tail. When the electrician cracked (as they all did eventually, it was only a matter of time), his chin trembled. All looked away. It was ugly business, this giving in. The electrician said his name was Sanchez and that he was an alcoholic, a drug addict, a sexaholic. Crystal meth, adultery, insurance fraud. You name it, he said. I done it. I'm a louse. I once stole from a March of Dimes box, for Chrissakes. [End Page 537] Shegog closed his eyes and nodded. Go on, he said. You are on the path to light. Sanchez sighed and rubbed his watery eyes. I did some bad things. I threatened my wife with an extension cord because she refused to do me anymore. So I shouted at her I said, You don't want me to touch you anymore, how about this? So I looked around and the first thing I could find was an extension cord and I yanked it out the wall and dragged her by her arm and tried to whip her with it. He paused and shook his head. He went on: She grabbed the refrigerator door and squirmed away, and I started to feel bad. I just couldn't do it. The look on her face, Jesus. I kept pulling on her and finally she let go and I dropped the extension cord. I twisted her wrist a little, but I really didn't hurt her bad. Still she never forgave me for that. No sirree. You bet I heard about that, and will hear it about the rest of my goddamn fucking life. Welcome to Disneyland. The others in the room stared at their feet. They sat in a conference room in a Christian rehabilitation center. Out the window, in the distance, loomed a snow-capped peak. Everyone called it Sorry Mountain. Get it out, said the defrocked priest. Jewel, the travel agent with the rough voice of a screamer, scowled. Oh, right, she said. Thanks for sharing. If you ask me, this creep ought to be shot, is what he ought to be. Shegog frowned. Nobody is shooting anyone. That isn't helpful. No, you're right, said Jewel. Not shot. I'm sorry. That's too good for him, she hissed. Maybe ground up slowly on a meat grinder. Like, one hand at a time. Now now, said Shegog. As head counselor, he'd already admitted he had once been a drunk and a heel himself. We're in the comfort zone right now, aren't we? This is where we share. This is where we listen. Fine and dandy, said Jewel. I listen. I heard. I just happen to think shit for brains here, Sanchez, doesn't deserve to live. That's...

A microbial survey of food service can openers, food and beverage can tops and cleaning methodology effectiveness

AbstractA can opener and food/beverage can top survey was undertaken to identify potential microbiological hazards. Results indicated the potential for high levels of bacterial and fungal contamination. Characterization of microorganisms from 10 can openers indicated the most common contaminants as Klebsiella pneumoniae and a variety of Staphylococcus and spore‐forming Bacillus species. In contrast to previous commercial food service surveys, no Escherichia coli or Salmonella species were found on the cans or can openers, however, low numbers of Bacillus cereus (22 of 25 cans) and Clostridium perfringens (15 of 25 cans) were identified. The effectiveness of various can‐cleaning methods was evaluated using marker bacteria (Serratia marcescens) suspended in soil consisting of tryptone soya broth, ground beef or vacuum cleaner dust. In addition to rinsing under running water, two paper towel types and a paper napkin product were used for wiping, moist wiping and wiping after rinsing. The most effective cleaning method was rinsing and wiping combined (P &lt; 0.0003), while wiping alone was not as effective as moist wiping (P = 0.038) or rinsing with water (P = 0.061). Food cans were more easily cleaned than beverage cans because of the tab area. Soil type influenced the degree of effectiveness of the cleaning methods, with mean log10 reduction values for each type at 3.4 and 3.1 for food and beverage cans (tab area excluded), respectively. No significant difference was observed in the effectiveness of paper products (P = 0.433).

Evaluation of consumer reheating methods for destruction of Listeria monocytogenes in frankfurters

The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service has issued a "zero tolerance" for Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat meat and poultry products. The Food Safety and Inspection Service recommends that consumers "Reheat [hotdogs] until steaming" to reduce the risk of listeriosis. We evaluated L. monocytogenes survival on inoculated frankfurters after reheating using common, in-home consumer practices. Frankfurters were inoculated with a six-strain mixture of L. monocytogenes to an initial level of approximately 107 colony forming units (CFU)/gram. Eight inoculated franks for each treatment were cooked using boiling water, a conventional electric oven, or a microwave oven. L. monocytogenes recovery was calculated after plating on Modified Oxford Agar and Tryptose Phosphate Agar. L. monocytogenes reductions were 3.2 log10 CFU/gram on franks microwaved with or without water for 60 seconds or cooked in a conventional electric oven at 500°F for 2 or 5 minutes. Franks cooked in boiling water for 30 and 60 seconds achieved reductions of 4.3 and 4.9 log10 CFU/gram, respectively. Franks wrapped in a paper napkin and microwaved for 60 seconds resulted in a 6.8 log10 CFU/gram reduction, the most effective consumer reheating protocol.

He and She at the End of an Afternoon

There is still a bit of uncertain yellowish light when they reach the Mirador. They come from far away without stopping to rest anywhere. Today, like everyday, they have covered half the city and now are seated beneath a grown American spurge tree that projects a gigantic umbrella over them. They prepare to deceive their hunger with leftovers collected from garbage cans. A happy bustle of children who are playing on swings and slides and the jingling of a distant music are the only disturbances that break the peaceful sound of the afternoon. They don't seem to notice it. He devours the food without raising his eyes. He sticks his hands into the grains of yellow rice in search of a little piece of chicken. The only thing he finds are gnawed bones and a piece of a blue paper napkin. He extracts them in a normal fashion and then tosses them close by. She, anxious, looks at him before eating and waits for him to give her the command to take a handful of rice. Her little whipped cat eyes move about beggarly, as if fearing a reprimand or a violent slap. He quickly swallows the scraps. He finds a stub of a ripe banana and hands it to the woman. She opens a mouth with almost bare gums where two rotten teeth dance and she smiles, takes what he offers her and eats it without chewing, or rather she kneads with her gums the soft bittersweet paste. They spend a few minutes in this way until the booty is consumed. He rolls up the piece of paper used as a receptacle and throws it to the ants. The man stretches out face down, puts his hands under his head and gives the woman a signal. A cool breeze is blowing through the leaves of the trees and it reaches the bodies of the man and woman lying on the grass. She is a timid, nervous, little black woman, dressed in rags as he is. Her hair is a forest of reddish black knots. Her body is splashed with a rash, but her hands possess a rare ability for consoling. She is seated and caresses the man's face, scratches his head with her fingers to help him to sleep. He closes his eyes and exhibits an expression of satisfaction and contentment. He is tall, very skinny, and at his waist is a bundle of useless objects gathered from several places. They are a type of treasure that he always carries, tied with a little rope: cans, empty perfume bottles, used up deodorant. Now they can forget about the tiring walk of the day, crossing streets, facing danger at every corner, in any enclosed garden. He thought about the dogs that tried to attack them when they tried to look for food in the trash cans at a mansion. Although he wishes to, he cannot forget the animals' fangs, menacing and atrocious, the transparent spittle that wet their snouts, the fire in their eyes as they barked at them, their feet up on the railing. They left running without stopping to consider if they would jump over or not the sharp ironwork that tops the fence.

Heart Transplantation

IN 1975 I sat in a hospital cafeteria in awe as Dwight McGoon, a pioneer in congenital heart surgery, deftly drew a diagram on a paper napkin of the new circulatory path he would construct later that morning for an infant with a never-before-described cardiovascular abnormality. With his complex drawing completed he quietly observed, Someday we will transplant a new heart into this type of patient. As the ads say, That day is today, yet only a minuscule number of pediatric patients benefit from the magic of cardiac transplantation. Why then should pediatricians concern themselves with the nuances of pediatric heart transplantation, since many pediatricians will never see a patient who needs a transplant? The answer lies in the diverse social and ethical implications of the procedure. The microcosm of pediatric heart transplantation encompasses many of the ethical dilemmas that physicians and society struggle with daily, as well as some

Santa Cruz, the Wharf

SANTA CRUZ, THE WHARF / Gary Brozio When the sand burns white, roller coaster cars of screams blow in an undulating wave of salty heat. Coconut Grove stands a surrealistic flame of colors, a palace of bending glass, languid palms and Tropical Brunch delights; and a thousand sailboats glide like freckles on the red face of the bay. On the railing, a one-legged gull cries for a handout, wings in a sad, pathetic flutter. Beneath, fat seals bark the same, and tiny swells chatter around encrusted pylons. Two or three Oriental men fish amidst a tid of terry shorts and middle-aged women licking cones, their buckets usually empty. Today is no exception. The crowd that murmurs around the party boat's catch of ling cod, snapper, and an occasional halibut falling from burlap sacks seems impressed, and the deckhand's jar grows full green from cleaning fish. Across the way, paper napkin Gilda's is full of people over 60; the crystal water glasses of the Miramar are touched with pink Lancôme lipstick, and now and then the loose board near the fish shop thuds twice. Shrimp cocktails on ice are $2.50, one dollar too high. In the trinket store window seashell chimes jingle, like the sight of so many kite tails in an August sky. The same door is propped open by a box 38 · The Missouri Review of unguarded sand dollars, and I see a young boy steal one. By the rental boats, a piece of gum sticks to an unsuspecting shoe and follows along for a few steps, then the resilience gone. The shoreline cliffs are simply, brown. I look and ask myself if a man discontented here is deluded, or if it's wrong to want the Arcade's constant bump and jingle to turn to thunder? The boardwalk Ferris wheel is caught in a ceaseless turning, two girls embrace and kiss, unconcerned, and the happy screech is a sandy child with her yellow bucket. But the endless blues seem to want the threat of far-off Arizona rumbles, hot bolts to hiss, and people scatter. The heat seems tired of itself, the air gasping for its own breath, and I imagine the effect of thunder showers. Gary Brozio The Missouri Review · 39 ...

Scars

Margaret Edwards Margaret Edwards was born and brought up in Atlanta, Georgia. She earned her B.A. at Bryn Mawr, and her M.A. and Ph.D. at Stanford. She now teaches creative writing and American poetry at the University of Vermont, Burlington. Having studied poetry writing at Stanford under Donald Davie, she turned to fiction ten years ago and has stayed primarily with that form. Her stories have appeared in The Virginia Quarterly Review, The Greensboro Review, The Mississippi Review, Redbook, Gallimaufry, and Tri-Quarterly. She has recently completed a novella and has plans for a novel. Scars HIS DOG HAD bitten a child. It was very late in the afternoon when Ted Landy stepped into the kitchen, closed the back door, and took off his gloves. "I've seen the boy," he said. "It doesn't look good." His wife, Joann, was setting the kitchen table for a light supper. She was dressed in a long plaid skirt, a jersey turtleneck and a strand of pearls. "You're going with the girls?" He hadn't expected that. "I thought we said we'd let them go alone this year," he said. "I want to go. It will help me keep my mind off what happened. I should think you'd want some distraction too." She was setting the four places. Ted sat down in his usual chair and watched her align the knife, fork and spoon in front of him. "Well, what about the boy?" Joann did not stop moving, but her voice had the enforced quiet tone, the determined lilt, of anxiety. "It's bad. Very bad. He got bit all right. Lovejoy did a real job on him." "Oh, Ted!" Joann had pulled the paper napkins out of the dispenser. Now she stood holding them. "How bad? You actually saw him?" "Like this." With his finger on his own face Ted drew a line from the middle of his right eyebrow over the bridge of his nose, then another line from the right corner of his mouth into the center of his cheek. The red lines in the boy's face had been sewn with black thread, two angry centipedes. "Over fifty stitches." Joann shook her head. "And he's only eight - in the girls' grade at school. What possessed Lovejoy?" Lovejoy was their Doberman pinscher. He had been a gift to Ted from a friend who owed him money. "Champion stock. Doesn't look like five hundred dollars yet, but he will," said the friend, depositing the wriggling black puppy on the floor where he began to frolic, skidding on the linoleum. Joann had named him. Lovejoy outgrew his name as he began to fulfill the friend's prediction. He became a sleek five-hundreddollar 's worth and loped along the streets of the small Vermont town looking as aggressive, errant, prosperous and acquisitive as a ski tourist. He roamed. He snapped. They had to keep him penned. He loved the family exclusively and threw himself against the cyclone fence at strangers with a ferocity that had, at one time, pleased Ted. That something so elegant and dark and temperamental was protecting him made Ted feel secretly happy, though he protested to friends that he would "do something" about Lovejoy's bad manners. He hung a Beware Dog sign near the garage - "where no one could see it," Joann had pointed out - but he had hung it. It had really never occurred to him that Margaret Edwards The Missouri Review ¦ 207 Lovejoy's threats were real. He thought Lovejoy troublesome, annoying, loud, rude - yet never dangerous. "Damnedif I know what brought it on. But one thingis certain. . ."Ted lethis voice fall so thatJoann could complete the thought for herself. Then he asked, "Where's Lovejoy now?" "In the cellar." Joann placed a folded paper napkin by his fork. She turned to the stove and began to serve the plates. "The girls have been crying and sitting on the stairs hugging him ever since they got home. I think they know." Joanris eyes were red. "And you know too, don't you?" Ted drew her to him, taking the plate of chili from her hands. He...

Writing Journals in Courses

If you have ever leafed through some of the reserve in the library you know that knowledge of the penalties does not suffice to prevent students from commenting on the books they read. From this I conclude that it is hard for human beings to read without wishing to make some kind of response. Such response takes different forms. While reading perhaps you underline portions of the text with a pencil, a pen or a yellower. Perhaps you make notes on a separate sheet of paper or perhaps you write comments in the margins of the books you read. Finally, perhaps you are one of those students who seeks out other students to share your reading, who carries on the life of the mind with friends as well as in the solitary margins of your books. If you are such a person, you will also know that friends are rarer than margins and that therefore we have need of margins and other places to carry forward our inquiries. To carry forward your inquiries, I ask you in this course to write journals. These journals are but an extension and perfection of the casual, inconstant, or distracted responses which you may now give to the things you read. In preparation for each class I ask you to write your thoughts about the text and about the questions which arise from it. Each journal should be about two pages. I ask you to make them intelligible. I recognize that a few words scratched on a paper napkin have sometimes been the beginning of some great thing, but since I wish to comment on your journals, I need to understand them. I will not grade them. A journal is not a finished paper and not even a brief finished paper. In a journal you have the leisure to explore, inquire, question, and wander. By wandering I do not mean aimless wandering. Perhaps what follows will help you understand what an aim-full wandering would be. Our reading seems to be guided by two questions: what is being said here? and is it true? Your journals may wander between these two questions. Sometimes it will be all of your endeavor to make out what the text says (always, as you do so, silently ask: is it true?). At other times all your endeavor will be to examine the truth of what you read. (Always, as you do so, silently ask: Have I yet understood what is being said?) The questions, what does the text say? and is it true? are distinct but I wonder if they are separable or beneficially separable. Is it desirable to ask the first without the second in mind? Is it possible to read carefully without asking: is it true? It is of course possible to ask the question of truth without reading any book, without consulting the views of others. Indeed, thinking sometimes benefits from

PUBLIC HEALTH ADMINISTRATION

Dentists Who May Cause Disease.Hygeia of June, 1924, does a servicein calling attention to the need for strict supervision of the methods employed by dentists, to prevent the transmission of disease. While there are probably no available figures to indicate the amount of damage that has been done by dentists who are careless of fundamental laws of aseptic surgical procedure, it is safe to assume from observation that a great deal of damage is done, the cause of which is usually unrecognized both by the patient and the dentist, or which, if perchance it should be recognized, it is difficult to prove as being due to the disregard of surgical cleanliness. Even those dentists who make a practice of properly sterilizing their instruments after they have been used in a given case, are guilty of many offensive practices which are not only unesthetic but which may be distinctly harmful. Too often one notices that instruments that have been sterilized, are put back on an ornate bracket that has been soiled with salivary secretions of the preceding patients; a fresh paper or linen napkin is not placed on the bracket for each new patient. Not infrequently a soiled napkin is employed over and over again. Also, after a dentist has ostentatiously cleaned his hands, he will, in the course of conversation, rub his eyes, put his hands into his pockets, or place his fingers to his lips or teeth, especially if he wishes to illustrate the virtues of his own work. Or, he will handle an assortment of objects in and about the room that may have been soiled in a variety of ways. Our bacteriological friends may tell us that disease has rarely been traced to these practices. They are at least unesthetic, repulsive; they may be exceedingly dangerous. Education of the general public to be alert to these things would seem to be a very desirable public health function. The dentists, too, should be advised and instructed where necessary as to the value of the application of surgical principles in their work.