There and back again: the impact of adult HIV prevalence on national life expectancies.

Worldwide we have seen dramatic increases in HIV prevalence and decreases in life expectancy over the last decade. The aim of this study was to determine the association between HIV prevalence and life expectancy. A strong negative association between adult HIV prevalence and life expectancy was observed for 137 countries. Because high adult HIV prevalence poses the greatest threat to countries with limited health resources, our study supports increased efforts to provide antiretrovirals in these countries.

An investigation of recurrent pine oil poisoning in an infant by the use of gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric methods.

An 18-month-old infant required six hospital admissions in a period of six months for episodes consisting of coughing, respiratory depression, hematemesis, coma, dehydration, and lesions about the mouth. A negative history of ingestion of toxins was repeatedly obtained from the family and two home inspection by the local Health Department failed to identify potential toxins. Metabolic work-up was entirely negative. Utilizing methods of GC-MS, metabolites of a-terpineol were isolated from infant urine on two admissions to the hospital. These metabolites were confirmed by mass spectrometry to be the same metabolites excreted by Sprague-Dawley rats injected with a-terpineol or pine oil. The child had no additional episodes after physical separation from the home environment.