Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Comparison Of Antibiotic Resistance Patterns Of Uropathogenic Escherichia Coli In Outpatient And Inpatient Populations From 1990 To 1996 In Bemidji, Mn, Gail R. Conway, Patrick Guilfoile

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

A retrospective study of antibiotic susceptibility was conducted on data from all uropathogenic Escherichia coli submitted to the MeritCare Clinic-Bemidji, MN and the North Country Regional Hospital-Bemidji, MN during 1990, 1993, and 1996. The proportion of antibiotic resistant strains was generally equal or higher in E. coli isolates from community-acquired infections than with E. coli isolates from nosocomial infections. Comparison with antibiotic prescriptions during 1990, 1993, and 1996 provided no clear relation between antibiotics prescribed for outpatient urinary tract infections and the proportion of E. coli strains resistant to those antibiotics. This suggests that factors other than selection for resistance …

Does Hyperthermia Have A Therapeutic Role In Hiv Disease?, Linda M. Schecterle, John St. Cyr

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Human Fetal Tissue: Scientific Uses And Ethical Concerns, Carol A. Tauer Ph.D.

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

Human fetal tissue has been used in research for decades, but recent attempts to implant fetal neural tissue as therapy for Parkinson's disease have stimulated discussion of ethical and policy issues. In late 1989 a moratorium on federal support of fetal tissue transplantation research was indefinitely extended, based on the connection between this research and elective abortion. Four abortion-related objections to the use of fetal tissue can be identified: 1. The procedures of abortion and tissue procurement are linked in practice; 2. One who uses fetal tissue is complicit with the abortions which provided the tissue; 3. The prospect of …

Lactate Threshold, John M. Kelly D.P.E.

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

The purpose of this paper is to review the delicate metabolic balance an endurance athlete must maintain to achieve a desirable performance. The optimum pace is ultimately determined by the athlete's ability to deliver large volumes of oxygen to the working muscles while simultaneously preventing excessive lactate accumulation in the tissues and blood.

Lactic acid has been associated with fatigue for nearly 80 years. This anaerobic metabolic by-product plays an important role in fatigue; however, many of the accusations concerning lactate's role in causing fatigue are unfounded or exaggerated. Its negative reputation is the result of an inadequate understanding of …

Radiation And Society, Rosalyn S. Yalow

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

We live in a world in which the perception of reality is too often confused with reality and there are few fields in which more confusion exists than in the popular perception of the hazards of exposure to low-level radiation and low-level radioactive wastes. Much of the fear of radiation has been generated by the association of radiation and radioactivity with nuclear explosions and nuclear war. So phobic is the fear that, in the United States at least, the old dream of "Atoms for Peace," including the use of nuclear reactors for power production and even the use of radioactive …

Osteoporosis, Catherine B. Niewoehner

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Biotechnology In The Conquest Of Infectious Diseases, Ashley T. Haase

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Right To Know Legislation In Minnesota, Leo Uzych

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

In June 1983, Minnesota approved a right to know law pertaining to the disclosure of information to workers about chemical hazards emanating from the workplace. A federal hazard communication disseminated in November 1983 may affect Minnesota's right to know law.

The Immunology Of Transplantation, J. R. Serie

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

A number of life-threatening diseases, such as kidney failure, diabetes, and certain kinds of coronary heart disease, can be cured by organ transplantation. However, despite decades of research, graft rejection remains a very real threat to the organ transplant recipient. In attempting to develop methods that interfere with the graft rejection process, scientists have uncovered a remarkably complex system of cellular interactions that allows the total destruction of a transplanted organ while leaving the recipient's own organs untouched. This ability to distinguish self from non-self is achieved through intercellular communication involving cell-to-cell contact and the release of a number of …

Unprovoked Seizures And Myoclonus In Patients With Alzheimer's Disease, Marcia L. Morris

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

Although anecdotal references commonly presume that seizures eventually occur in patients affected with dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT), no previous American study has documented the rate of new onset, unprovoked seizures in DAT patients. There are few documented cases of the occurrence of myoclonus in autopsy-proven DAT. In a series of 83 autopsy-proven DAT cases, medical records were scrutinized for the presence of any seizure or myoclonic activity. Final evaluations were made by a neurologist. Of the 83 cases, 8 had experienced one or more unprovoked seizures after the onset of DAT. Based on age-specific incidence rates from a …

Allergies Related To Mosquitoes, Repellents, And Insecticides, James T.C. Li, Charles E. Reed

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

Man's skin response to the mosquito bite exhibits great individual variability. The everyday immediate reaction consists o f a red, or erythematous wheal that lasts only one or two hours. Twenty to 24 hours after the mosquito bite, a delayed reaction of erythema, swelling, and itching may also occur. An individual may exhibit an immediate reaction, delayed reaction, both reactions, or neither reaction. Studies suggest that sensitization to mosquito saliva may be responsible for the inflammatory response. This hypothesis is supported by histologic studies which demonstrate striking infiltration of inflammatory cells at the site of mosquito bites. Severe local reactions …

Mosquitoes As Vectors Of Disease In Minnesota, John W. Washburn

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

Diseases due to mosquito-borne viruses occur every summer in Minnesota. The incidence of Western encephalitis and LaCrosse encephalitis is usually low, but outbreaks of Western encephalitis have occurred in the past. Evidence of Jamestown Canyon virus activity has been found in Minnesota. This virus may represent a newly-recognized cause of central nervous system disease and encephalitis. The epidemiology of the mosquito-borne encephalitis viruses found in Minnesota and the methods of disease surveillance and control are discussed.

Minnesota's Response: The Mosquito Research Program, John Washburn, Nancy Read

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

The Minnesota Mosquito Research Program (MMRP) was established in September 1984 in response to a request by Governor Perpich. The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), as the lead agency, brought together a Working Group of distinguished North American experts to discuss the problems related to mosquito research and control. This Working Group- with advice from legislators and representatives from the community, environmental groups, and state and federal agencies- made recommendations for the development of a mosquito research and control program in Minnesota.

The Working Group divided its recommendations into two areas, research and administrative structure. An extensive research program in …

Effects Of Various Hormones On Human Carcinoma Cell Proliferation, Y. L. Gao, B. S. Leung, A. H. Potter, W.C.Y. Yu

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

Cell proliferation of a mammary adenocarcinoma cell line, CAMA-1. is affected by a number of steroid hormones and prolactin in long-term cultures. Estrogenic compounds stimulate cell growth while antiestrogenic compounds inhibit it. Prolactin can synergize the estrogenic effect. Progesterone, glucocorticoid or androgen reduce cell proliferation. Dihydrotestosterone is a very potent inhibitor,- effective at as low as 10 nM, and its effect is independent of estrogen action. Cortisol is a less effective inhibitor at concentrations below 10 nM; at these levels cortisol exhibits a slight inhibition which appears to be unrelated to estrogenic action. However, at higher concentrations, cortisol markedly reduces …

Interplanetary Magnetic Field Sector Polarity And Neuropsychiatric Adaption: A Reanalysis, Hans W. Wendt

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

Recent Russian studies reported associations between adaptation syndromes and (solar activity-related) interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) sector polarity. Certain ambiguities in the original work suggested some reanalyses, based on the graphs and data made available. Syndrome status exhibited a biphasic (semi annual) trend. It also correlated with specific geomagnetic changes during magnetic storms and possibly after sudden impulses. Moreover, lag effects and higher order interactions were noted among all parameters investigated. The restudy tends to support some of the original findings but also suggests new conclusions regarding potential relationships between geophysical/solar and psychophysiological processes.

Comparative Analysis Of Hospital Utilization In Urban And Rural Counties, James R. Dingels

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

Hospital utilization, when measured as patient days per population, exhibited generally insignificant relationships with factors concerning population characteristics, hospital resources, financial assistance, and degree of urbanization. Adjusted multivariate linear regression results indicated that number of physicians per population did possess significant effects, while other independent variables remained significant. Additional research, as well as refinement of present data, appear paramount to further validation procedures.

Chemicals And Food: An Account About Additives, Wayland E. Noland

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

Food additives are listed by functional category and discussed in terms of the scale of their use and relative risks in terms of long-term human toxicity. The greatest risks appear to lie with the antimicrobial preservative agents, and food colors (which serve only a cosmetic purpose); these and the synthetic sweeteners are discussed in relatively greater detail.

Chlorofluorocarbon Effects On Cardiac, Pulmonary, And Respiratory Patients, Mildred E. Olson

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

Research results from studies of the physiological effects of aerosal propellants on animals and people are summarized. The papers selected for this summary were published between 1968 and 1975. Effects of the 15 chlorofluorocarbons used as propellants have been recorded on the cardiac, pulmonary and respiratory functions of a number of animal species as well as man. The fifteen propellants have been classified into four groups on the basis of their degree of toxicity. Fluorocarbon 11, the most frequently used propellant, is in group 1, the most toxic. The relative toxicity of each of the 14 other propellants compared with …

Measurement Of Permeability Of The Cell Membrane To Water, Richard Moore, Frederick Thornburgh, Donggyu Jin

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

The water permeability was measured for blood cells from normal subjects and for blood cells from patients with leukemia. The method of measurement of the kinetics of water influx employed a stopped flow apparatus. The method of calculation of results was based on irreversible thermodynamics. The measurements and calculations were both performed with the assistance of a computer. The water permeability of the leukemic cells was decreased from normal, and the values were more variable than normal. Leukemia changes the structure of the cell membrane.

Some Effects Of The Bite Of The Short-Tailed Shrew, Blarina Brevicauda, Howard F. Krosch

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

Folklore, especially in Europe, has long maintained that shrews are extremely poisonous. Zoologists have discounted this belief as superstition until recently, when it was learned that at least two species of shrews - the European water shrew, Neomys fodiens, and the American short-tailed shrew, Blarina brevicauda - produce a toxin in their sub-maxillary glands.

Effect Of Freezing And Thawing On Uptake Of Amino Acids Into Human Erythrocytes, Richard Moore, Rita Parenti, I. Rena Bizios

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

ABSTRACT - The transport of "C-amino acids into human erythrocytes and into erythrocytes which had been frozen and thawed was studied experimentally. The relative rates of uptake were found to be (in decreasing order): phenylalanine, leucine, alanine, trythophan, and glycine. Freezing (using gycerol as the cryoprotective additive) and thawing had no significant effect on either the magnitude of the rate constants or on the order of the above relative rates of amino acid uptake into erythrocytes suspended in isotonic TRIS-HCl buffer.

Noise As A Factor In Urban Health, Eric Bauer

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

The hazards to general health from excessive noise are recognized, but along with studies of the sources and increase in community noise, measures should be taken to reduce the possible widespread damage to hearing by means which are known and available.

Hematopoietic Colony Forming Cells Of Spleen, Y. Maruyama, J. G. Eichten

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

It was found that isologous spleen cells injected into heavily irradiated recipients produced spleen nodules. The number of nodules or colony-farming-units (CFU) varied with cell dose, and were presumably clonal descendants of a single progenitor cell. The properties of the spleen and bone marrow CFU were compared and it was found that although present in greatly differing concentration, the radiation response and morphological features were similar.

Scientific Approach To 4-H Food Projects, Grace Brill

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

The scientific approach to 4-H food projects resulted from the stress on science from federal extension personnel of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and from surveys and consultations with representatives of the National Science Foundation. The result has been six bulletins prepared by the extension nutritionists of the University of Minnesota for the approximately 24,000 4-H members, aged 9 to 19, enrolled in 4-H food projects in Minnesota. The scientific approach has, consequently, added the question of "why" to the traditional 4-H approach of "how-to-do-it."

A New Experimental Approach To The Evaluation Of The Effect Of Narcotic Analgesics Upon Respiratory Function, Charles H. Pierce, Richard B. Mchugh, Raymond N. Bieter

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

Experimental models often used to study the effects of drugs upon respiratory function employ anesthetized animals. The present study eliminated the possible interference of anesthetics by using dogs altered only by a Permanent lracheostomy. Respiratory function was evaluated by determining end-expiratory (alveolar) CO, tension. The experimental design, an extension of the cross-over type, permitted the estimation of possible residual effects of the drugs applied in sequence la the same animals. Morphine Sulfate increasingly caused on elevation in alveolar pCO, while Meperidine HCl had no such effect. An antitussive meperidine derivative, WIN 13187, had respiratory effects similar to meperidine.

Accidental Poisoning In Young Children: Its Causes And Its Prevention, Charles H. Pierce, Harold N. Wright

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

Accidents, burns, drownings, and poisonings are the four most frequent causes of death among children. They far exceed the frequency of death from any of childhood's infectious diseases. With reasonable care, death from poisoning is probably the most amenable to prevention. Accidental poisoning, mainly in preschool children, is discussed from the standpoints of the major toxic hazards found around the usual home, their nature, incidence, location, and prevention.

The Abnormal Coxofemoral Articulation In The German Shepherd Dog, Griselda Hanlon

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

A common abnormality among dogs of the coxofemoral articulation, known as developmental hip dysplasia, is discussed with special reference to its occurrence in the German Shepherd breed. Some observations made from serial radiographic studies of the maturation of normal and abnormal coxofemorol articulation of 200 experimental German Shepherd dogs are presented, and a method of measuring the ilio-acetabular angle is described. Further evaluation will be made of the angle as an early predictor in the course of developmental hip dysplasia.

Economy And Protein Malnutrition Among The Digo, Luther P. Gerlach

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

In short, even where protein malnutrition is primarily a result of poor environment, economy, and technology, other, often less obvious, traditional cultural patterns must be taken into account in any development and improvement program. If kwashiorkor is to be eliminated satisfactorily, and if contingent problems are to be kept to a minimum, these other patterns must often also be modified.

The importance of traditional cultural patterns is perhaps best illustrated by an example of a people who suffer from protein malnutrition primarily because of them. The Digo tribe of coastal Kenya and Tanganyika, among whom this writer conducted anthropological field …

Regeneration Studies By Transplantation Of Adrenal Tissue, Frank M. Noice

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

The regeneration ability of the adrenal gland has been observed and recorded by several investigators; however, reports of the method of regeneration have been conflicting. This study was conducted to attempt to learn more of the method of adrenal gland regeneration through transplantation studies.

Physiologic Circadian Systems, Franz Halberg, Ruth Loewenson, Ralph Winter, Jacob Bearman, Galen H. Adkins

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

No abstract provided.