Alberta Aboriginal Head Start in Urban and Northern Communities: longitudinal study pilot phase.

Aboriginal Head Start in Urban and Northern Communities (AHSUNC) is a federally funded, national, early childhood intervention strategy that addresses the needs of Aboriginal preschool children and their families. A pilot study, based on principles of community-based research, evaluated an Alberta Aboriginal Head Start (AHS) program offered off-reserve in Alberta. Overall, the results pertaining to children having followed an AHS program are positive. This phase 1 of a broader longitudinal evaluation study of all AHS sites in Alberta has led to the creation of several recommendations, which reinforce this type of evaluation and look to mitigate the limitations encountered in phase 1 (around available data, tools and context).

Factors determining fertility after conservative or radical surgical treatment for ectopic pregnancy.

OBJECTIVE: To examine factors determining choice of radical or conservative surgical procedure for tubal ectopic pregnancy and subsequent pregnancy rates. DESIGN: A retrospective study collating information from the operative notes and previous gynecologic history associated with the choice of procedure and pregnancy rates and outcome over 3 years after a primary tubal ectopic pregnancy. PATIENT(S): Thirty-four women who had undergone conservative (tube sparing) and 56 who had undergone radical (salpingectomy) surgical treatment for tubal ectopic pregnancy at least 3 years before the study. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): The main outcome measure was the occurrence of a pregnancy (live birth, miscarriage, or ectopic pregnancy) over 3 years after the ectopic pregnancy. RESULT(S): The type of surgery performed was not affected by a previous history of infertility, known pelvic inflammatory disease, the presence of tubal adhesions, or abnormalities on the contralateral tube. Intrauterine pregnancy was not more likely after conservative treatment of ectopic pregnancy but, equally important, the risk of a further ectopic pregnancy was not increased. The single factor that was clearly associated with future fertility problems was a past history of infertility. CONCLUSION(S): Better results may be obtained by careful selection of operative procedure based on history and findings at the time of surgery.

Developmental and Biochemical Characteristics of Cold-treated Anthers of Saccharum spontaneum.

The role of cold in stimulating androgenic haploid development was evaluated by assessing morphological and biochemical changes occurring in Saccharum spontaneum anthers during 3 weeks of incubation of panicle sections at 10 °C. During incubation, anthers increased in size; and although many microspores lost viability, those that survived proceeded to divide symmetrically rather than asymmetrically as found in normal microsporogenesis. Anthers which contained dividing microspores differed biochemically from anthers containing non-viable microspores. Anthers initially with high reducing sugars and total free amino acids and with high amylase activity were most likely to produce dividing microspores. Amide metabolism during incubation correlated with microspore development. In all anthers amides increased during cold incubation. The anthers most likely to contain non-viable microspores had much higher asparagine content relative to glutamine content.

Immune deficiency syndrome in children.

The present epidemic of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) was originally described in homosexual men and subsequently in intravenous drug abusers, Haitians, and hemophiliacs. Profound defects in cell-mediated immunity (CMI) are associated with Kaposi's sarcoma and a variety of serious opportunistic infections. Recently, we and others have encountered a group of children with an otherwise unexplained immune deficiency syndrome and infections of the type found in adults with AIDS. In this report, we describe eight children from the Newark, NJ, metropolitan area born into families with recognized risks for AIDS. These patients have had recurrent febrile illnesses, failure to thrive, hypergammaglobulinemia, and depressed CMI. Four of these children have died. Our experience suggests that children living in high-risk households are susceptible to AIDS and that sexual contact, drug abuse, or exposure to blood products is not necessary for disease transmission.

Extracellular hydrolysis of starch in sugarcane cell suspensions.

Evidence is presented for the increased excretion of amylolytic enzymes into a sugarcane cell culture medium when starch was substituted for sucrose as an energy source. The excretion was further enhanced by the inclusion of 1 mum gibberellic acid in the nutrient medium. The growth rate of the cells increased after they became adapted to starch relative to cells grown on sucrose, but the rate of amylolytic enzyme excretion remained unaltered. Amylolytic enzymes in the medium included alpha-amylase but the identity of one or more other enzymes related to starch hydrolysis remains in doubt.