Challenges of parenting for families living with HIV/AIDS.

Given the continual rise of HIV infection in our communities and the improved life span for many who are HIV-positive, social workers in all fields of practice have clients whose lives have been touched by HIV/AIDS. This article reviews relevant literature and reports on the parenting needs that emerged in a Canadian study that examined the experiences of 105 mothers and fathers living with HIV/AIDS. The majority of the children in the study were not HIV-positive. Some themes related to parenting in the literature, and evident in this study, were chronic sorrow, stress and burden, normalization, stigma, secrecy, and disclosure. In the study parenting was found to be a source of joy and an additional challenge in an already complicated life. Important new themes were family life as precious time, focused parenting, the different effects of HIV/AIDS, the parenting preparation needs of fathers, and the efforts to parent affected and infected children differently. Parenting when living with HIV/AIDS requires attention from clinicians and researchers in a range of settings.

Root resorption and tooth movement in orthodontically treated, calcium-deficient, and lactating rats.

Previous studies have shown that chronic dietary deficiency of calcium can result in more rapid orthodontic tooth movement. The purposes of this study were to confirm that finding in a calcium-deficient, lactating rat model and to quantify the degree to which the area of root surface resorption is affected by these conditions. Thirty-five adult female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into two groups: (1) nonlactating animals on a control diet and (2) lactating animals on a calcium-deficient diet. A 60-gm orthodontic force designed to tip maxillary molars mesially was applied for varying times. At sacrifice, tooth movement was quantified by measuring the space created between maxillary molars; percent bone ash was measured for each humerus, and root surface resorption was estimated by means of a morphometric technique to measure the area of cratering on the mesial roots of first molars. Both groups showed a typical two-phased tooth movement cycle lasting for 10 days, although the magnitude of movement was significantly greater (p less than 0.001) in the test animals. The "humerus" test from animals exhibited a significantly decreased (p less than 0.001) fat-free dry weight, ash, and percent ash weight. The test group also displayed a significantly reduced percent area of root surface resorption (p less than 0.05) by 7 and 10 days following appliance activation. These findings confirm earlier observations that lactation, coupled with calcium deficiency, will produce decreased bone density which is consistent with increased parathyroid hormone secretion.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)