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We surveyed emergency department directors at 56 Missouri hospitals about availability of ultrasound equipment, primary uses for ultrasonography, and factors that could increase ultrasonography use in the emergency departments. Results indicated large-sized hospitals, typically in urban areas, used ultrasonography more than medium-sized or small-sized hospitals. Lack of ultrasound equipment and appropriately trained physicians contributed to limited use of ultrasonography in small-sized hospitals, typically in rural areas.

Kava is a plant root extract that is widely consumed by Pacific Islanders. Kava contains a class of lactone compounds called kavalactones. The sedative and anxiolytic effects of kava are likely attributed to the efficacies of kavalactones on the nervous system. Although some studies have implicated the potencies of certain kavalactone species on γ-aminobutyric acid transmission, evidence supporting the action of kavalactones on the eukaryotic neuromuscular junction (NMJ) and acetylcholine (ACh) transmission is scant. Here, we used behavioral assays to demonstrate the effects of kavalactones at the Caenorhabditis elegans NMJ. Our results suggest that kavalactones disrupt the inhibitory-excitatory balance at the NMJ. Such perturbation of NMJ activity is likely due to excess or prolonged ACh transmission. In addition, we found that kavain, a major constituent of kava, induced worm paralysis but not convulsions. Hence, the modulatory action of kavain could be distinct from the other kavalactone species., Competing Interests: DECLARATION OF CONFLICTING INTERESTS: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Background: Relationships between self-perceived health status and mortality, morbidity, disability and health care utilisation have been well established. The self-perceived health status of blood donors has, however, never been assessed., Materials and Methods: Using the Short-Form 12 questionnaire, we assessed self-perceived health status in a sample of blood donors., Results: The mean values for the Physical Component Summary (PCS) score were similar for males and females, being 54 versus 54.12, respectively. There was, however, a gender difference for the Mental Component Summary (MCS) score, with women reporting a lower mean score. Young blood donors had the lowest mean score for the MCS, without gender differences. In all the other age categories, males had higher scores. Education did not seem to be as relevant as previously indicated in the literature. Our sample of blood donors included a certain number of overweight and obese subjects. The PCS scores were lowest in obese males and females. The highest MCS score was found in the group of overweight males., Conclusion: Further research in this selected population could be indicated as a new way to improve understanding of self-perceived health status and the determinants of the intention to become or to remain a blood donor.

Recent neurophysiological and brain imaging studies have shown that the motor system is involved in language processing. However, it is an open question whether this involvement is a necessary requisite to understand language or rather a side effect of distinct cognitive processes underlying it. In order to clarify this issue we carried out three behavioral experiments, using a go-no go paradigm. Italian verbs expressing hand actions, foot actions or an abstract content served as stimuli. Participants used their right hands to respond. In Experiment 1, in which a semantics decision task with an early delivery of the go signal (during processing language material) was used, slower responses were found for hand action-related verbs than for foot action-related verbs. In Experiment 2, using the same task with either an early or a delayed delivery of the go signal (when language material had been already processed), no difference was found between responses to the two verb categories in the delayed delivery condition. In Experiment 3, in which a lexical decision task with an early delivery of the go signal was used, again no difference between the two verb categories was found. The present findings demonstrate that during language processing the modulation of the motor system crucially occurs while performing a semantics decision task, thus supporting the notion that this involvement is a necessary step to understand language rather than a side effect of upstream cognitive processes.