Jesus, Mama, and the constraints on salvific love in contemporary country music .

The discourse of contemporary country music creates a world permeated with religion and centered on the notion of salvific love. This form of salvation arises in the connection between people (or between people and God) and includes elements of sacrifice and transformation. Although highly conventional, country music must meet standards of 'authenticity' and 'relevance', which require the incorporation of contemporary American religious values (including self-love and self-actualization). An analysis of recent country music lyrics reveals the remarkable openness to new religious messages. However, the only acceptable messages are those that can be harmonized with the implicit Protestant Christian sensibility of the music. Salvific love, for this reason, is always heterosexual and at least compatible with a Christian message. While the music industry does its best to erase minority sexualities, the music itself is often surprisingly open to a queer interpretation.

A study of the relationship between mouthwash use and oral and pharyngeal cancer.

As part of a larger case control study on a male veteran population at risk (drinking and smoking) for oral and pharyngeal cancer, 95 cases and 913 controls provided complete histories in a questionnaire that included data on mouthwash use. Analysis revealed no significant differences in the frequency of mouthwash users in cancer cases versus controls. In addition, no significant differences could be found between users and nonusers of mouthwash in relation to age or smoking and drinking habits. When a logistic regression analysis was performed to simultaneously remove the effects of age, or smoking and drinking habits, while controlling for all other factors, oral and pharyngeal cancer did not appear related to mouthwash use. In this study there is no evidence that mouthwash is a risk factor in the development of oral and pharyngeal cancer in males.

Hemodynamic effects of intravenous 20% soy oil emulsion following coronary bypass surgery.

Because of its high caloric density, intravenous fat emulsions have been suggested as useful sources of calories and essential fatty acids in patients with serious heart disease in whom fluid restriction must be closely monitored. Previous studies in the experimental animal have suggested a myocardial depressant effect of intravenous fat emulsions at high infusion rates. In the present study, 19 adult patients, following uncomplicated isolated coronary artery bypass surgery, were divided into two groups. A constant infusion of 2 ml/min of soy oil emulsion (20% Intralipid) was administered to the first group. The second group received 20% Intralipid at 1 ml/min followed by a 2 ml/min infusion. In the group receiving the 2 ml/min infusion (averaging 5.25 mg/kg/min), significant decreases in cardiac output and increases in pulmonary capillary wedge pressure occurred. One patient suffered an adverse side effect which may have been related to myocardial ischemia. The second group of patients received an initial infusion of 1 ml/min (averaging 2.35 mg/kg/min) following which the rate was doubled. No significant hemodynamic changes or adverse side effects occurred in the second group. It is concluded that 20% soy oil emulsion can be administered safely to the recently postoperative cardiac surgical patient recovering from coronary bypass grafting, but the rate should not exceed the maximum clearance rate of 1 ml/min (2.67 mg/kg/min).

Should nutritional status be assessed routinely prior to cardiac operation?

One hundred consecutive adult patients undergoing cardiac operations at a single institution were evaluated preoperatively with regard to their nutritional status. Anthropometric, biochemical, and immunologic characteristics were evaluated in addition to cardiac biopsy specimens to determine right atrial glycogen concentration. Although some positive anthropometric, biochemical, and cell-mediated immunity characteristics were observed to have "statistically significant" correlations with morbidity and mortality for the group as a whole, nearly all of the values remained near or at normal limits. Lighter weight men with a smaller arm muscle circumference and lower concentration of total body fat had more complications than their heavier counterparts. Serum transferrin and cell-mediated immunity also formed weakly positive statistical correlations. Anthropometric correlations in women were of no value. Myocardial glycogen concentrations did not correlate with postoperative morbidity and mortality. Because nearly all of the patients had arteriosclerotic heart disease, the series as a whole may have been skewed toward a group with values too close to normal to differentiate them adequately. It is concluded that routine nutritional assessment is of no value in guiding nutritional management for individual patients, although when patients are analyzed as a group, interesting epidemiologic observations can be made.

Early child development in the context of mothering experiences.

This paper describes certain critical periods early in human development in the context of the child's coping responses to the environment, and in regard to the nature of the nurturing experience. The term critical period refers to the optimal time the young child is ready to learn or achieve a developmental task. But it does not imply an irreversible process, since the child usually has the capacity to compensate to some extent for mastery of a task occurring during a given critical period, even after that period has passed. Various areas of development are included to present a broad array of infantile capabilities: neuromuscular, perceptual, cognitive, and psychosocial.

Effect of adrenalectomy and glucocorticoids on the secretion and absorption of hydrogen ion.

The effect of bilateral adrenalectomy on the secretion and absorption of acid in Heidenhain pouch dogs has been investigated. It was found that bilateral adrenalectomy significantly decreased the acid output to varying doses of histamine and did not alter the relation between hydrogen ion concentration and the volume rate of secretion. The absorption of acid by the gastric mucosa was not changed by adrenalectomy. Glucocorticoids but not mineralocorticoids restored secretion to normal levels. These experiments indicate that the impaired secretion of acid in response to histamine in adrenalectomized dogs is not attributable to increased leakage of secreted acid from lumen to blood.