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Anecdotal reports suggest that application of a cool device to the back of the neck at the onset of a hot flush can afford symptomatic relief. The effects of a novel handheld mechanical cooling device in a population of perimenopausal women with moderate-to-severe vasomotor symptoms were evaluated.In this randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled pilot study, 40 perimenopausal women experiencing ≥ 7 moderate-to-severe hot flushes per day were recruited at a single university site. Women were randomized to the active (n = 20) or sham (n = 20) device, which was applied to the back of the neck with each hot flush over the 4-week treatment period. Hot flush scores were calculated based on frequency and severity of symptoms. The Carpenter Hot Flash Related Daily Interference Scale and Zung Anxiety Scale were used to evaluate impact on quality of life. At study end, participants completed an open-ended questionnaire to assess the degree of unblinding and overall subjective improvement in symptoms with use of the device.No statistically significant differences were observed between the effects of the active and sham device. However, thematic analysis of the open-ended questionnaire revealed that 12/17 women (70.6%) in the active group, compared to 4/18 (22.2%) women in the sham group felt the device provided some symptomatic relief.Although the majority of women using the active device acknowledged that its cooling effect afforded a degree of symptomatic relief, the symptom scores chosen for this pilot study did not reflect a beneficial effect.

Transnational expansion and the establishment of settlements in other parts of the world, invariably at the expense of the Indigenous Peoples, have been both regular and defining features of global...

For most of the nineteenth century Britain held an undisputed lead in the field of paper-machine technology. By the 1890s this lead had been lost to America. This article argues that Britain's loss...

The effects of four mulching systems (pine bark, black woven fabric, black plastic, white-over-black plastic) on plant growth yield and fruit quality of five southern highbush blueberry clones were studied. Plant growth and fruit yields of plants grown on pine bark or white-over-black plastic were not different and were significantly higher than growth and yield of plants grown on the black mulches. The mulching systems did not significantly affect berry weight, soluble solids, titratable acidity, soluble solids/acid ratio, an-thocyanins, skin firmness or subjective quality after three weeks of refrigerated storage. There were significant effects of clone on each of these parameters.

By using orthogonal-field alternating gel electrophoresis (OFAGE), field-inversion gel electrophoresis (FIGE), and contour-clamped homogeneous field gel electrophoresis (CHEF), we have clearly resolved 11 chromosomal bands from various Candida albicans strains. OFAGE resolves the smaller chromosomes better, while FIGE, which under our conditions causes the chromosomes to run in the reverse order of OFAGE, is more effective in separating the larger chromosomes. CHEF separates all chromosomes under some conditions, but these conditions do not often resolve homologs. The strains examined are highly polymorphic for chromosome size. Fourteen cloned Candida genes, isolated on the basis of conferral of new properties to or complementation of auxotrophic deficiencies in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and three sequences of unknown function have been hybridized to Southern transfers of CHEF, FIGE, and OFAGE gels. Four sets of resolvable bands have been shown to be homologous chromosomes. On the basis of these data, we suggest that C. albicans has seven chromosomes. Genes have been assigned to the seven chromosomes. Two chromosomes identified genetically have been located on the electrophoretic karyotype.

By using orthogonal-field alternating gel electrophoresis (OFAGE), field-inversion gel electrophoresis (FIGE), and contour-clamped homogeneous field gel electrophoresis (CHEF), we have clearly resolved 11 chromosomal bands from various Candida albicans strains. OFAGE resolves the smaller chromosomes better, while FIGE, which under our conditions causes the chromosomes to run in the reverse order of OFAGE, is more effective in separating the larger chromosomes. CHEF separates all chromosomes under some conditions, but these conditions do not often resolve homologs. The strains examined are highly polymorphic for chromosome size. Fourteen cloned Candida genes, isolated on the basis of conferral of new properties to or complementation of auxotrophic deficiencies in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and three sequences of unknown function have been hybridized to Southern transfers of CHEF, FIGE, and OFAGE gels. Four sets of resolvable bands have been shown to be homologous chromosomes. On the basis of these data, we suggest that C. albicans has seven chromosomes. Genes have been assigned to the seven chromosomes. Two chromosomes identified genetically have been located on the electrophoretic karyotype.