Proper handwashing promotes wellness in child care.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose was to determine the effectiveness of an instructional program on handwashing. The hypothesis stated that an instructional program on germs and handwashing in child care could significantly reduce the spread of infectious diseases in the test center. METHOD: A longitudinal study was conducted in a field setting with a test group and a control group of 3- to 5-year-old children and their teachers in two similar child care settings. For 21 weeks illnesses and symptoms of infectious diseases were assessed with a health assessment checklist. The test group received a developmentally appropriate instructional program on germs and handwashing. The teachers in the test group attended workshops on infectious diseases and handwashing. The control group maintained their usual handwashing procedures. RESULT: At weeks 1 through 11 benchmark data were collected. At weeks 12 through 21, peak cold and flu season, the test group had significantly fewer colds than the control group (chi-squared analysis, 4.338, 1 df, p < .05); thus the hypothesis was confirmed. DISCUSSION: Handwashing has been recognized as one way to manage the spread of infectious diseases in child care centers. Handwashing helped to reduce colds at the test center where frequent and proper handwashing practices were incorporated into the curriculum through an intervention program.

Adult extrarenal rhabdoid tumor of the lacrimal gland.

A 50-year-old man presented with a rapidly growing mass in the area of the right lacrimal gland. An initial erroneous histopathologic diagnosis of a pleomorphic adenoma made on a small-incisional biopsy was later corrected to a malignant rhabdoid tumor when a wide local excision of the tumor was performed. The tumor was composed predominantly of dyscohesive, globoid, and eosinophilic cells, which frequently contained cytoplasmic inclusions. These were demonstrated to be composed of whorls of intermediate vimentin filaments. The tumor cells expressed epithelial membrane antigen as well as cytokeratin. Ultrastructurally, they displayed intercellular junctions and interrupted segments of linear basement membrane material. These findings, together with the development of the lesion within the parenchyma of the lacrimal gland, are suggestive of an epithelial origin. The patient was treated with radical surgery and adjunctive radiotherapy and chemotherapy, which are the recommended treatment modalities for this highly malignant tumor.

Electroretinographic findings in selected pedigrees with choroideremia.

We recorded full-field electroretinograms from 47 males and 26 obligate carrier females with choroideremia. All males had responses that were subnormal with delayed cone b-wave implicit times or undetectable. Only four of 26 females had abnormal electroretinographic responses but 25 of 26 were identified by ophthalmoscopy.

Subpopulations of skeletal muscle mitochondria: response to ischemia.

The respiratory activity of distinct populations of subsarcolemmal (SS) and interfibrillar (IF) skeletal muscle mitochondria was studied in rat hindlimb muscle subjected to 30 min of global ischemia at 37 C. State 3 (ADP-dependent) and state 4 (ADP-independent) rates of respiration were determined polarographically using glutamate as the substrate, in order to calculate the respiratory control index (RCI). The RCI is the ratio of state 3 to state 4 respirations and is a sensitive indicator of mitochondrial coupling. An approximately 20 per cent decline in RCI was noted in the SS mitochondria following 30 min of warm ischemia. This decrease was a direct result of a significant decline in the state 3 respiratory rates. IF RCIs following the ischemic interval were not different from control. These data support the concept of separate populations of mitochondria within the skeletal muscle cell and demonstrate a specific injury pattern in the response to ischemia.

Load-carrying effects on the adult beagle tibia.

The response of the skeleton to carrying extra weight while exercising was studied in 30 young adult male beagles. Following 34 wk of a caged control period, 18 dogs carried lead-weighted jackets for 1 h and 15 min, 5 d/wk for 2 yr, on a carousel-type treadmill at 3.3 kph. During the next 23 wk, the load carried was gradually increased to 130% of the animal's body weight, and then maintained for 48 wk. The other 12 dogs served as controls. The dogs remained healthy and responded to exercise showing decreased skinfolds and body weight. All dogs showed increases in both tibial mineral content and width with time; but, the exercise group increased significantly more in mineral content than the controls. It is concluded that the gradual increase in bone mineral and width of the tibia is normal in the epiphyseal-closed skeleton of a young adult beagle. Also important is the fact that the intervention of exercise with added weight will increase tibial mineral content above these normal levels.