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Although increasing levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide have been well documented, the response of the ocean to these changes is less understood, particularly on regional space scales. Evidence is accumulating that there is substantial variability in the cycling of carbon and related biogeochemical elements over a wide range of timescales, including inter-annual and decadal timescales, which have been the focus of studies aimed at identifying a climate change signal. Most of these studies, however, have been limited in time, space, or number of parameters examined, preventing a full appreciation of the scale and magnitude of the changes. In June 2004, scientists gathered in Seattle, Washington, to synthesize individual studies of the North Pacific into a coherent picture of North Pacific carbon cycle changes, and to identify the requirements for detecting a long-term climate change signal. The workshop established many new international and interdisciplinary collaborations and helped develop plans for 14 synthesis manuscripts.

The results of a survey of users of the data base of the National Clearinghouse for Mental Health Information are described. The survey reveals that administrators, working in either Maryland or New York, in colleges, universities, or special schools, who want information on child mental health requested data most frequently. It was further found that only nonpsychiatrist physicians and psychiatrists have an above average request rate for information in basic research areas.

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In the fall of 1969 266 freshmen college students completed a questi onnaire designed to determine the students self-perceived source of information regarding sex knowledge. The number of students who attained information from friends books and parents was 89 71 and 51 respectively. Less than 20% mentioned parents while no one listed professionals as their major source of information. Commonly missed items included: 104 students did not know the umbilical cord was attached to the placenta; 120 students were not familiar with the physiological basis of the rhythm method of birth control and 99 students did not know the meaning of ovulation. The results of this investigation indicate that continuous efforts are necessary to improve the quality and quantity of sex education in schools.

SUMMARYThe epidemiology of surgical site infections (SSIs) in surgical programmes in sub-Saharan Africa is inadequately described. We reviewed deep and organ-space SSIs occurring within a trauma project that had a high-quality microbiology partnership and active follow-up. Included patients underwent orthopaedic surgery in Teme Hospital (Port Harcourt, Nigeria) for trauma and subsequently developed a SSI requiring debridement and microbiological sampling. Data were collected from structured chart reviews and programmatic databases for 103 patients with suspected SSI [79% male, median age 30 years, interquartile range (IQR) 24–37]. SSIs were commonly detected post-discharge with 58% presenting >28 days after surgery. The most common pathogens were: Staphylococcus aureus (34%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (16%) and Enterobacter cloacae (11%). Thirty-three (32%) of infections were caused by a multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogen, including 15 patients with methicillin-resistant S. aureus. Antibiotics were initiated empirically for 43% of patients and after culture and sensitivity report in 32%. The median number of additional surgeries performed in patients with SSI was 5 (IQR 2–6), one patient died (1%), and amputation was performed or recommended in three patients. Our findings suggest the need for active long-term monitoring of SSIs, particularly those associated with MDR organisms, resulting in increased costs for readmission surgery and treatment with late-generation antibiotics.

(1973). Student Attitudes about College Consumer Health Products and Problems. School Health Review: Vol. 4, No. 6, pp. 15-16.

The association between central (cerebrospinal fluid [CSF]) and peripheral (plasma) levels of beta-endorphin-like immunoactivity (beta-ELI) in nonpregnant women (n = 8) and pregnant women (a) at 16 to 20 weeks of gestation (n = 6), (b) at term (n = 21), and (c) in labor (n = 15) was investigated. Umbilical arterial (n = 11) and venous (n = 11) samples were also obtained. In agreement with previous investigations, it was found that plasma levels of beta-ELI increased during labor (mean +/- SEM: nonpregnant women, 63.5 +/- 18.2; pregnant women at term, 64.0 +/- 12.2; women in labor, 110.8 +/- 30.3 pg/ml), and that levels of umbilical arterial plasma of beta-ELI exceeded those in umbilical venous plasma (132.5 +/- 34.0 versus 68.2 +/- 22.2). However, CSF levels of beta ELI did not change over the course of pregnancy or during labor (nonpregnant women, 36.5 +/- 15.8; pregnant women at 16 to 20 weeks of gestation, 60.1 +/- 10.3; pregnant women at term, 57.5 +/- 8.4; women in labor 48.5 +/- 8.3 pg/ml). This evidence that plasma and CSF levels of beta-ELI are dissociated during labor calls into question inferences regarding behavioral changes during parturition based on plasma beta-ELI measurements.

We propose a new design of complex self-evolving structures that vary over time due to environmental interaction. In conventional 3D printing systems, materials are meant to be stable rather than active and fabricated models are designed and printed as static objects. Here, we introduce a novel approach for simulating and fabricating self-evolving structures that transform into a predetermined shape, changing property and function after fabrication. The new locally coordinated bending primitives combine into a single system, allowing for a global deformation which can stretch, fold and bend given environmental stimulus.