Rain, winds and haze during the Huygens probe's descent to Titan's surface.

The irreversible conversion of methane into higher hydrocarbons in Titan's stratosphere implies a surface or subsurface methane reservoir. Recent measurements from the cameras aboard the Cassini orbiter fail to see a global reservoir, but the methane and smog in Titan's atmosphere impedes the search for hydrocarbons on the surface. Here we report spectra and high-resolution images obtained by the Huygens Probe Descent Imager/Spectral Radiometer instrument in Titan's atmosphere. Although these images do not show liquid hydrocarbon pools on the surface, they do reveal the traces of once flowing liquid. Surprisingly like Earth, the brighter highland regions show complex systems draining into flat, dark lowlands. Images taken after landing are of a dry riverbed. The infrared reflectance spectrum measured for the surface is unlike any other in the Solar System; there is a red slope in the optical range that is consistent with an organic material such as tholins, and absorption from water ice is seen. However, a blue slope in the near-infrared suggests another, unknown constituent. The number density of haze particles increases by a factor of just a few from an altitude of 150 km to the surface, with no clear space below the tropopause. The methane relative humidity near the surface is 50 per cent.

Pathways to clean hands: highlights of successful hand hygiene implementation strategies in Europe.

Hand hygiene is the most effective way to stop the spread of microorganisms and to prevent healthcare-associated infections (HAI). The World Health Organization launched the First Global Patient Safety Challenge - Clean Care is Safer Care - in 2005 with the goal to prevent HAI globally. This year, on 5 May, the WHO s initiative SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands, which focuses on increasing awareness of and improving compliance with hand hygiene practices, celebrated its second global day. In this article, four Member States of the European Union describe strategies that were implemented as part of their national hand hygiene campaigns and were found to be noteworthy. The strategies were: governmental support, the use of indicators for hand hygiene benchmarking, developing national surveillance systems for auditing alcohol-based hand rub consumption, ensuring seamless coordination of processes between health regions in countries with regionalised healthcare systems, implementing the WHO's My Five Moments for Hand Hygiene, and auditing of hand hygiene compliance.

An assessment of nutritional information in oral health education leaflets.

INTRODUCTION: Dental caries prevalence in UK children remains high and obesity, closely linked to Type 2 diabetes, is rising. Literature suggests that dentists may not give dietary advice due to a lack of clear and consistent guidelines. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to determine whether oral health education leaflets with a food and nutritional focus conform to existing UK national nutritional guidelines from the Department of Health (DoH), the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food and Nutrition Policy (COMA). METHOD: A sample of 30 information leaflets, aimed at parents and children aged 3-16 years, was sourced during the winter of 2005-2006. A qualitative content analysis was carried out to identify key recommendations on type, frequency and quantity of food and drink and general diet-related health advice. RESULTS: Most leaflets (21) promoted milk and water in agreement with nutritional guidelines. Timing of sugary food and drink to mealtimes (25) and decreasing frequency of 'sugary' e.g. non-milk extrinsic (NME) sugar containing foods (22) and drinks (25) reflected guidelines. Inconsistencies were, however, recorded in the leaflets. Five leaflets advised that frequency of consumption rather than the amount of sugary food or drink was important for oral health. This conflicts with nutritional guidelines, aimed at tackling obesity, to decrease both amount and frequency. There was conflicting advice on healthy snacks. Crisps were presented as 'healthy' by two leaflets; another two advised against snacking on dried fruit, conflicting with FSA guidelines that dried fruit contributes to "5 a day". Sixteen leaflets promoted cheese as 'healthy' with no limits on portion size; this could conflict with nutritional guidelines associated with percentage energy contribution of saturated fat to the diet. CONCLUSION: While there was agreement between leaflet content and nutritional guidelines, there were inconsistencies. Dental professionals should acknowledge these when selecting leaflets for lay dissemination.

The secondary structure of myelin P2 protein derived by secondary structure prediction methods, circular dichroism, and 400-MHz 1H-NMR spectroscopy: implications for tertiary structure.

The various methods used to study the secondary and tertiary structure of myelin P2 protein, and one of its peptides (CN1), in aqueous solution, indicate that the native protein contains a significant fraction of alpha-helix, suggesting that the current prediction of an all-beta tertiary structure requires revision.

FTIR spectroscopy study of PTHrP(1-34) involved in humoral hypercalcaemia of malignancy.

The components of secondary structure of the biologically-active N-terminal domain of human parathyroid-hormone-related protein (residues 1-34) and several truncated species were examined using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The major structural features include a segment of alpha-helix within the N-terminal segment probably extending from Glu-4 to Lys-11 with three beta-turns localized to the segments Gly-12 to Ile-15, Gln-16 to Arg-20 and His-25 to Ala-29. Some beta-sheet was detected in the full-length peptide, but not in any of the C-terminal truncated samples. These structural features were studied in the smaller peptides for the purpose of localization of the various components and with a view to describing the region likely to form the bulk of the receptor binding site.

Hawaii's healthy start program of home visiting for at-risk families: evaluation of family identification, family engagement, and service delivery.

OBJECTIVE: To describe family identification, family engagement, and service delivery in a statewide home visiting program for at-risk families of newborns. SETTING: Six target communities of Hawaii's Healthy Start Program (HSP), which incorporates 1) early identification of at-risk families of newborns via population-based screening and assessment, and 2) paraprofessional home visiting to improve family functioning, promote child health and development, and prevent child maltreatment. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study: describes early identification process and family characteristics associated with initial enrollment. Longitudinal study: describes home visiting process and characteristics associated with continued participation. SUBJECTS: Cross-sectional study: civilian births in 6 communities (n = 6553). Longitudinal study: at-risk families in the intervention group of a randomized trial of the HSP (n = 373). PROCESS: completeness and timeliness of early identification and home visiting activities; family characteristics: sociodemographics, child abuse risk factors, infant biologic risk. RESULTS: Early identification staff determined risk status for 84% of target families. Families with higher risk scores, young mothers with limited schooling, and families with infants at biologic risk were more likely to enroll in home visiting. Half of those who enrolled were active at 1 year with an average of 22 visits. Families where the father had multiple risk factors and where the mother was substance abusing were more likely to have >/=12 visits; mothers who were unilaterally violent toward the father were less likely. Most families were linked with a medical home; linkage rates for other community resources varied widely by type of service. Half of families overall, but >/=80% of those active at 1 year, received core home visiting services. Performance varied by program site. CONCLUSIONS: It is challenging to engage and retain at-risk families in home visiting. Service monitoring must be an integral part of operations.

RNA-dependent DNA-polymerase activity in human milk.

A simple method is described for testing milk specimens from nursing mothers for the presence of RNA-dependent DNA-polymerase activity. Positive results were obtained in five of 137 women (3.6%) without a family history of breast cancer, and in six of 31 women (19.3%) with a family history of breast cancer.

Apparent stability of herpes simplex virus genomes isolated from primary and recurrent infections and dorsal root ganglia in the mouse.

Following natural or experimental primary infection, herpes simplex virus (HSV) becomes latent in sensory ganglia. Reactivation of latent virus may lead to recurrent disease. If HSV DNA remains stable during primary, recurrent and latent infections, that stability would enable us to trace the transmission of HSV from one individual to another. We inoculated mice in the ear pinna with HSV and collected virus at various intervals during primary infection. In mice surviving primary infections, recurrent disease was induced from which virus was isolated. Virus was also recovered from explanted dorsal root ganglia. Virus isolates were characterised by restriction endonuclease digestion and compared with the original inoculate(s). The data indicate that in all cases except two, the isolates from primary and recurrent infections remained identical to the original inoculates.

Restriction endonuclease digestion analysis of DNA from viruses isolated from different sites of two fatal cases of herpes simplex virus type-1 infection.

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) type-1 was isolated from a fatal case of herpes simplex encephalitis (case 1) and from a fatal case of disseminated herpes simplex (case 2). The virus was isolated from the lip lesion, the frontal lobe and the temporal lobe of the brain in case 1 and from a mesenteric node, myocardium and salivary gland in case 2. Restriction endonuclease digestion analysis showed that each case was infected with different substrains of HSV. The changes in band pattern in isolates from case 1 occurred in the "variable" region of the genome, showing that viruses with such variations can be isolated simultaneously from different tissues. The changes in band patterns in isolates from case 2 indicated the presence of two virus substrains, one in the mesenteric node and salivary gland and a second in the myocardium.

Induction of experimental allergic neuritis with synthetic peptides from myelin P2 protein.

P2 protein and 4 synthetic peptides were tested for induction of experimental allergic neuritis (EAN). A peptide comprising the residues 62-78 of the bovine P2 protein sequence has been shown to contain an important neuritogenic determinant. A peptide comprising residues 66-78 produced no clinical symptoms of EAN. These results indicate that some or all of the residues 62 65 (Ile-Ser-Phe-Lys), are necessary for EAN induction.

Changes in neurite outgrowth but not in cell division induced by low EMF exposure: influence of field strength and culture conditions on responses in rat PC12 pheochromocytoma cells.

The effects of low electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure (4.5-15.8 microT, 50 Hz AC) on neurite outgrowth and cell division in rat PC12 pheochromocytoma cells were examined. The study involved two separate experimental series in which culture conditions during exposure to the magnetic fields differed. In series 1 (14 experiments in which culture conditions were not strongly conducive to cell differentiation [15% serum]), exposure to 4.5-8.25 microT for 23 h significantly inhibited neurite outgrowth by 21.5 +/- 1.3% (by Manova, p = 0.003). In contrast, in series 2 (12 experiments in which culture conditions promoted cellular differentiation [4% serum]), exposure to 4.35-8.25 microT for 23 h significantly stimulated neurite outgrowth by 16.9 +/- 1.1% (by Manova, p = 0.009). Thus, in both series, exposure to a narrow range of low EMF has significant, but opposite effects on neurite outgrowth. Exposure to higher fields, 8.25-12.5 microT (series 1) and 8.25-15.8 microT (series 2) had no significant effect on neurite outgrowth. These data, when considered with other reports, suggest that neuronal differentiation can be altered by low level EMF exposure. While this may not be detrimental, it merits further research. At present, the reasons for the significant changes in neurite outgrowth being confined to the same narrow field strength are unclear. As stated above, culture conditions in series 2 were more conducive to cell differentiation than those in series 1. This is reflected in the lower number of cells in control samples in series 2, at the end of the 23-h incubation, than in series 1 (- 16.9 +/- 1.7%, p = 0.003). As the same numbers were plated in both series, the medium used in series 1 allows more of the PC12 cells to divide; this is consistent with some cells reverting to a non-neuronal adrenal chromaffin phenotype [L. Greene, A. Tischler. Establishment of a noradrenergic clonal line of rat adrenal pheochromocytoma cells which respond to nerve growth factor. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A., 73 (1976) 2424-2426]. Exposure to both ranges of magnetic fields (4.35-8.25 and 8.25-15.8 microT) has no effect on cell division. Thus, there is no evidence in this study that there is a mitogenic effect arising from low EMF exposure.

Study of the CN1 peptide of P2 protein using Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy.

The conformation of the CN1 peptide, derived from the nervous system P2 protein, has been studied in deuterium oxide solution using Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy. The peptide was found to be mainly random, with some alpha-helix and beta-structure present. The open structure of CN1 indicates that the constraints necessary for formation of the largely beta-structure in P2 are removed by cleavage of the protein to form peptides. The study produced different quantitative estimations of secondary structures to those previously reported in circular dichroism studies, but the FTIR results are shown to be more reliable.

Nursing diagnosis in the chronically ill: methodology for clinical validation.

The identification and validation of nursing diagnoses that describe the phenomena of concern to nursing is a critical task. Methodological issues revolving around the conceptualization of nursing and the research approach have hampered this effort. This study used the human needs framework as a guide for the assessment and formulation of nursing diagnoses. A two-phase study was conducted. In Phase 1 five judges derived 51 nursing diagnoses using data from direct clinical observations of 50 subjects. In Phase 2 data from a second sample of 108 subjects were compared to Phase 1 data via computer analysis. Fifty of the 51 diagnoses were confirmed.

DNA vaccination against the parasite enzyme gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase confers protection against Leishmania donovani infection.

In this study the potential of using Leishmania donovani gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase (glutamate-cysteine ligase, gamma-GCS) as a rational target for vaccine development was determined. Mice, immunised with plasmid containing the full gene sequence for gamma-GCS (pVAXgammaGCS) or plasmid alone (pVAX control), were challenged with a high dose of L. donovani amastigotes to give a stringent test of the ability of the vaccine to protect against infection. Vaccination with pVAXgammaGCS resulted in the production of specific IgG1 and IgG2a antibodies and resulted in significantly lower liver parasite burdens compared to controls. Protection was also associated with a significant increase in cell-mediated immunity, demonstrated as an increase in nitrite production by ConA stimulated splenocytes, an increase in the percentage of splenic CD3+CD4+ cells, and enhanced granuloma maturation, compared to control values.