Ulysses S. Grant: Chronic Malaria and the myth of his alcoholism.

Ulysses S. Grant, Civil War general and twice-elected President of the United States, was highly respected in late-19th century America. Gradually however, it became the conventional wisdom that he was an alcoholic who had only succeeded as a general by using overwhelming force. This change began with his political enemies and those who resented his suppression of the Ku Klux Klan, his regard for the welfare of Native Americans and his support of Reconstruction. Jealous subordinates and those with an axe to grind added their voices to this and then the views of certain influential academic historians and romantic adherents of 'The Lost Cause' were unchallenged until the mid-1950s. Grant was undoubtedly an occasional binge drinker but this is not the same as being an alcoholic. Charles A. Dana is the most authoritative source for the claim that Grant was a frank alcoholic. In 1887 he wrote that Grant was drunk on a trip to Satartia, Mississippi in 1863 during the siege of Vicksburg. In this paper, the author shows that Grant was actually ill on that trip from the disease of malaria, alcohol was not involved at all, and that Grant suffered episodically from this disease both before and during the Civil War.

The Haitian Orthopaedic Residency Exchange Program.

After a devastating earthquake in Haiti in 2010, multiple South Carolinian orthopaedic teams, funded by the South Carolina Orthopedic Association (SCOA), developed an exchange program for Haitian residents. METHODS: SCOA teams have sequentially logged their patient experiences since 2015 for a total of six updates per year. These logs were reviewed in detail to evaluate clinical results in terms of case volumes, cases performed, follow-up obtained, and complications. RESULTS: Twenty-one orthopaedic attendings, 19 South Carolina orthopaedic residents, 22 Haitian orthopaedic residents, and 22 ancillary staff have rotated through Hospital Lumiere. The teams have seen over 2000 patients in the orthopaedic clinic and performed 554 surgeries, including 207 fractures (half of which being open), 24 nonunion and 7 malunion repairs, 15 lower extremity amputations, 27 hemiarthroplasties for femoral neck fractures, and 34 cases of chronic osteomyelitis. DISCUSSION: The SCOA Foundation has developed a coordinated service for the musculoskeletal needs of the Haitian people while collaboratively elevating the standard of orthopaedic training in Haiti. We report a collaborative model that other US residency programs can use to impart beneficial changes not only in their home program, but also in training programs abroad.

Evaluation of hydrophobic and hydrophilic kaolin particle films for peach crop, arthropod and disease management.

Hydrophobic and/or hydrophilic kaolin particle film treatments to peach (Prunus persica (L) Batsch) trees were evaluated for crop and pest management capabilities in six studies from 1997 to 2000. Unsprayed control and standard treatments, the latter consisting of a commercial pesticide program, were included for comparison. Treatments in initial studies were applied via handgun, which resulted in a uniform and heavy deposit of kaolin after the first application. In contrast, treatments in subsequent studies used airblast equipment, which provided a uniform but less dense coverage, even after multiple applications. Results showed that both formulations of kaolin provided control of oriental fruit moth (Grapholita molesta (Busck)), plum curculio (Conotrachelus nenuphar (Herbst)) and Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica Newman) that was comparable with or better than the standard pesticide program. Effective management of late season catfacing insects (tarnished plant bugs Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois) and stinkbugs Acrosternum hilare (Say), Euschistus servus (Say), and E tristigmus (Say)) and leafrollers (undetermined species) was also observed, although kaolin applications significantly increased phytophagous mite (Panonychus ulmi (Koch)) levels. In contrast to arthropod management, kaolin failed to control either peach scab (Cladosporium carpophilum (Von Thumen)) or rusty spot (Podosphaera leucotricha (Ell and Ev) ES Salmon) in any of the 4 years of the study. However, hydrophobic kaolin provided effective brown rot (Monilinia fructicola (G Winter) Honey) control when applied via handgun, and partial control when applied via airblast; hydrophilic kaolin failed to provide any control. These results suggest that hydrophobicity and deposit density may be important factors for effective disease management. The application of kaolin significantly delayed fruit maturation, increased fruit size and increased soluble solids relative to the standard. This effect, attributed to a reduction in plant stress, also resulted in increased fruit number and yield on young trees, indicating that an accentuated beneficial response from kaolin applications may be possible.

Basosquamous carcinoma of the supraglottic larynx with sudden death from asphyxia.

Excluding laryngeal papillomas, neoplasms of the hypopharynx rarely cause sudden asphyxial death in adults. We describe the first such death from a carcinoma and review the literature for similar cases since 1966. A high clinical index of suspicion and early laryngoscopy in individuals with symptoms suggestive of hypopharyngeal neoplasia are important.

Relationship Between Apple Fruit Epicuticular Wax and Growth of Peltaster fructicola and Leptodontidium elatius, Two Fungi that Cause Sooty Blotch Disease.

Sooty blotch severity varied among apple cultivars or selections surveyed in 1989 and 1992. No mycelial growth was observed on russetted areas of the cuticle that are considered impermeable. Ursolic acid and n-alkanes were the most prominent components of the epicuticular waxes of the cultivars or selections evaluated. Although there were differences in the relative proportions of these compounds among the cultivars, the differences were not related to the severity of sooty blotch. Peltaster fructicola and Leptodontidium elatius were grown on compounds that comprise the epicuticular wax of the fruit to determine if one or more of these were needed for growth. The fungi did not grow on any of the five major components of the epicuticular wax unless dilute apple juice was included. Scanning electron microscopy studies showed that mycelia of P. fructicola grew on the surface of the wax and did not appear to degrade it. Our studies support the hypothesis that P. fructicola and L. elatius fungi are epiphytes and obtain their nutrients not from components of the cuticle, but more likely from fruit leachates.