Endometritis after cesarean: the effect of age.

In this study, we compared the rate of endometritis after cesarean section in two age groups. The first group consisted of patients who were 17 years old or younger (teenage group) and the second group of patients were 35 years of age or older (advanced maternal age group). Patients in each group were matched for length of labor, length of rupture of membranes, and the use of prophylactic antibiotics. In the teenage group, 18 of 41 (43.9%) developed endometritis compared with 6 of 41 (14.6%) in the advanced maternal age group (P < 0.003). This study supports the concept that young age is a risk factor for endometritis after cesarean section.

Men, women, and religion: stress within leadership roles.

Stress in religious leaders was investigated by administering to 250 priests, ministers, seminarians, nuns, and brothers the specially devised Religion and Stress Questionnaire and the Osipow and Spokane Occupational Environment Scales, Personal Strain Questionnaire, and Personal Resources Questionnaire. In-depth interviews were also conducted with 10% of the subjects. Religious leaders experienced lower overall occupational stress and personal strain and evidenced more personal resources than did the normative population. ANOVAs showed ministers to have the highest overall occupational environment stress and vocational strain and next to the lowest scores in overall personal resources of the five groups of religious professionals. In terms of sensitivity to the stress that women in seminary and ministry experience, male and female seminarians and ministers were most aware of these issues, with priests (males only), nuns, and then brothers (in descending order) sensitive to these concerns.

Adequate bone mineralization in breast-fed infants.

To determine if human milk provides sufficient nutrients for adequate bone mineralization in healthy term infants, 76 term Caucasian infants were evaluated at 2 and 16 weeks of age. The infants and their mothers were divided according to the infant's diet into three groups: human milk alone, human milk with supplemental vitamin D, and Similac. At 2 and 16 weeks of age, bone mineral content was measured by photon absorptiometry and blood was drawn for measurement of serum calcium, phosphate, alkaline phosphatase, and 25-OH vitamin D. At both 2 and 16 weeks of age, BMC was similar among all three feeding groups. At 16 weeks of age there was no difference in serum total Ca, ionized Ca, P, or alkaline phosphatase values. At 16 weeks of age the serum 25-OH D concentration was lower in the infants fed human milk alone (P less than 0.05), but was within the normal adult range. Maternal BMC and serum 25-OH D values are similar among the three groups. No seasonal effect on BMC was observed. Our data suggest that during the first 16 weeks of life, routine vitamin D supplementation for breast-fed term Caucasian infants may not be necessary.

Inhibition by anions of human red cell carbonic anhydrase B: physiological and biochemical implications.

The hydration rate of CO2 catalyzed by human red cell carbonic anhydrase B is 92 percent reduced by the normal concentrations of chloride and bicarbonate in red cells. This reflects a general sensitivity of this reaction to halides and other anions, up to 87 times greater than the effect on red cell carbonic anhydrase C. The catalytic hydration of CO2 is generally more (up to 24 times) sensitive to inhibition by anions and sulfonamides than the dehydration of HCO3-, probably reflecting different mechanisms. The sensitivity of enzyme B to anion inhibition also depends upon the substrate, being much greater for CO2 than for certain esters. On the basis of the very low catalytic activity of B for CO2 in the presence of physiological concentration of chloride, and the fact that carbonic anhydrase C is effective for CO2 hydration (in the presence of chloride) at a rate 340 times greater than that of CO2 output from tissues, it appears that the biological role of enzyme B is not that of a carbonic anhydrase.