The consequences of the Odra flood (summer 1997) for the Odra lagoon and the beaches of Usedom: what can be expected under extreme conditions?

The exceptional flood of the river Odra in July/August 1997 caused severe damage, especially on the Polish side of the Odra valley. An additional 5 km3 of water were discharged during the flood. This represents about a third of the normal annual Odra discharge of 17 km3. Large agricultural and industrial areas were submerged, as well as towns and villages. However, as regards the Odra lagoon and the beaches of the Isle of Usedom, the substances transported, such as nutrients and pollutants, did not cause much damage, due to strong dilution. Hygienic investigations (human pathogenic bacteria and viruses) showed that the water had bathing quality during the whole flood.

The challenge of choosing a pediculicide.

Head lice is the most frequently occurring communicable disease, except for the common cold, among children in the United States. The impact on a family facing the challenge of head lice is tremendous, ranging from emotional to financial distress. Challenges also face the health care provider and school personnel. Many over-the-counter preparations and prescription products are available to combat head lice. With the alleged advent of pediculicide-resistant head lice, many other products and applications not necessarily intended to treat head lice are being recommended. The purpose of this article is to outline the products and procedures currently being utilized and to provide a starting point for treating head lice.

Helping mothers cope with a critically ill child: a pilot test of the COPE intervention.

The purpose of this study was to pilot test the effects of a theoretically driven intervention program (COPE = Creating Opportunities for Parent Empowerment) on the coping outcomes of critically ill children and their mothers. Thirty mothers of 1- to 6-year-old children in a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) were randomly assigned to receive COPE or a comparison program. Mothers who received the COPE program: (a) provided more support to their children during intrusive procedures; (b) provided more emotional support to their children; (c) reported less negative mood state and less parental stress related to their children's emotions and behaviors; and (d) reported fewer post-traumatic stress symptoms and less parental role change four weeks following hospitalization. Results indicate the need to educate parents regarding their children's responses as they recover from critical illness and how they can assist their children in coping with the stressful experience.

Direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs.

Starting consumers off on the "path to purchase" by encouraging them to seek more information is a major goal of direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising for prescription medications. But the authors found that a consumer's attitude toward DTC advertising can determine which of several paths he or she is likely to take. The attitudes of older adults are especially significant for pharmaceutical marketers because these consumers are heavy users of the drugs being advertised.

Changes in physicians' sources of pharmaceutical information: a review and analysis.

Since 1952, 20 datasets have been generated through 17 studies in an attempt to describe the sources and importance and/or use of information about pharmaceuticals by physicians. The authors review the findings of the studies and subject them to three sequentially relevant, but different, meta-analytic procedures. The results of these analyses indicate significant changes in the sources and importance of various commercial/noncommercial and personal/nonpersonal information as they relate to physicians' prescribing behavior. Those changes over time have specific implications for marketers of pharmaceuticals.

Energy deficits in hepatocytes isolated from phenobarbital-treated or fasted rats and briefly exposed to halothane and hypoxia in vitro.

Experimental factors implicated in the pathogenesis of halothane hepatotoxicity in the phenobarbital-hypoxia rat model were examined for direct effects on the energy status of isolated rat liver cells in vitro. Intact hepatocytes were isolated after collagenase perfusion of livers of adult male Fischer 344 rats previously treated with phenobarbital (0.1% in drinking water for 5-7 days) and/or deprived of food for 48 h. Cells were incubated in Krebs-Henseleit buffer + substrates for 10 min at steady states of energy metabolism, with extracellular PO2 constant at 32, 16, or 4 mmHg +/- 1% halothane. Fasting produced the largest energy deficits in incubated hepatocytes, regardless of phenobarbital treatment status, PO2 value, or presence/absence of halothane. The combination of hypoxic PO2 (4 mmHg) and 1% halothane shifted lactate metabolism toward lactate production, whereas hypoxia or halothane alone did not. Prior phenobarbital treatment plus hypoxia decreased adenosine triphosphate/adenosine diphosphate (ATP/ADP) and increased lactate production compared with drug treatment or hypoxia alone. We conclude that pathogenic factors that interact to produce halothane hepatotoxicity act directly and jointly on isolated liver cells to produce energy deficits within 10 min. Differences in the relative importance of pathogenic factors in vitro and in vivo suggest that short-term, direct effects on hepatocellular energy status are not solely responsible for halothane hepatotoxicity.