Effect of posttraumatic stress on study time in a task measuring four component processes underlying text-level reading.

PURPOSE: To investigate the effect of combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on 4 components underlying text-level reading comprehension. METHOD: A group of 17 veterans with PTSD and 17 matched control participants took part. An experimental task required participants to read and study 3-sentence paragraphs describing semantic features associated with real and unreal objects. Each paragraph was followed by true-false statements that assessed knowledge access, text memory, inference, and integration. RESULTS: The results revealed that the PTSD group took significantly longer than the control group to study the paragraphs. Although there was no group difference in test statement accuracy, the PTSD group also took significantly longer to respond to the test statements. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the results provide evidence for the control theory of attention but suggest that more direct measures of task-irrelevant processing during text-level reading are needed. More important, the results begin to lay a foundation for developing not only diagnostic but also intervention strategies.

Defining heroes through deductive and inductive investigations.

Individuals in different contexts are referred to as "heroes" for seemingly different reasons. To better understand how and why people use this term, three studies were conducted. Approaching the question deductively, individuals defined the term "hero" and responses were coded according to existing definitions. Then, a definition of hero was sought inductively by examining the specific reasons participants cited in choosing their heroes. A third study further examined individuals' descriptions of their heroes in light of their own self views. The findings across these studies extend our understanding of the term hero and suggest that the use of the term is based both on the specific features of any heroic figure, as well as on the self views of the person identifying the hero.

Reversed-phase LC determination of two manufacturing intermediates, the unsulfonated subsidiary color, and 4-methyl-Sudan I in D&C Red No. 6, D&C Red No. 7, and their lakes.

A reversed-phase liquid chromatographic (LC) method was developed to determine 4 impurities in the monosulfo monoazo color additives D&C Red No. 6, D&C Red No. 7, and their lakes. Manufacturing intermediates determined are 2-amino-5-methylbenzenesulfonic acid (PTMS) and 3-hydroxy-2-naphthalenecarboxylic acid (3-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid). Subsidiary colors determined are the unsulfonated and uncarboxylated, unsulfonated homologs of the dye (the unsulfonated subsidiary color and 4-methyl-Sudan I). The new method uses lithium oxalate as part of a novel system to dissolve the water-insoluble color additives. The 4 impurities were identified by LC and UV-visible spectrophotometry; the 4-methyl-Sudan I was confirmed by LC/mass spectrometry. LC peak area calibrations were generally linear (R > 0.999), and recoveries ranged from 90 to 105%. The limits of determination used were 0.02% each for PTMS and 3-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid, 0.1% for the unsulfonated subsidiary color, and 0.002% for 4-methyl-Sudan I. The relative standard deviations at the specification levels ranged from 0.7 to 22.7%. Survey analyses of 26 samples of certified D&C Red Nos. 6 and 7 straight colors and lakes from 11 domestic and foreign manufacturers yielded results that agree with those previously obtained using 3 other methods.

Prevalence and geographic distribution of Dirofilaria immitis, Borrelia burgdorferi, Ehrlichia canis, and Anaplasma phagocytophilum in dogs in the United States: results of a national clinic-based serologic survey.

We evaluated a comprehensive national database that documents canine infection with, or exposure to, four vector-borne disease agents, Dirofilaria immitis, Borrelia burgdorferi, Ehrlichia canis, and Anaplasma phagocytophilum in order to assess geographic trends in rates of positive tests. While the percent positive test results varied by agent in different regions of the United States, with D. immitis antigen and antibodies to E. canis more commonly identified in dogs from the South (3.9% and 1.3%, respectively), and antibody to B. burgdorferi and A. phagocytophilum found more frequently in dogs from the upper Midwest and Northeast (4.0-6.7% and 5.5-11.6%, respectively), evidence of at least one agent was found in dogs from every state considered. Furthermore, each organism also appeared to occur in endemic foci within larger areas of relatively low prevalence. Relocation of infected or previously exposed dogs from endemic regions likely accounts for some of the unexpected geographic distribution seen, although local transmission in previously under-recognized areas of endemicity could also be occurring. Although data were only available from the 48 contiguous states (Alaska and Hawaii were not included), taken together, our results suggest that these disease agents may be present over a wider geographic area, and thus pose greater animal and public health risks, than is currently recognized. Dogs can serve as sentinels to identify the presence of vector-borne disease agents of both veterinary and public health significance.

Neonatal hypothalamic hamartoma: a differentiating nonlethal hamartoblastoma.

The authors report on a patient with a large hypothalamic hamartoma with a cleft lip and palate and seizures. Neuroimaging revealed a large extraaxial, intradural mass in the prepontine and interpeduncular cisterns with significant distortion of the brainstem. A stereotactic transfontanel needle biopsy revealed a cellular lesion that contained immature-appearing neuroepithelial cells consistent with prior descriptions of hypothalamic hamartoblastoma. While having a low level of proliferation by Ki67 (MIB-1) labeling, the lesion also contained evidence of neuronal maturation, with many cells expressing neuronal nuclear antigen as observed during immunohistochemical analysis. Further clinical evaluation revealed no other significant congenital abnormalities, and the patient was discharged home. Outpatient follow up has continued for 2 years and the patient has been doing well, requiring no further treatment. This case illustrates that, despite its immature and proliferative histological appearance, this rare neonatal mass can be regarded as a "differentiating" hypothalamic hamartoma and can have a favorable prognosis.