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Using a dialogic lens, this study explored the competing discourses surrounding the Oklahoma Affirmative Action Ban. Focus groups interviews were conducted and findings revealed that Oklahoma residents varied in their discursive positions regarding the ban on affirmative action. Affirmative action was discursively constructed as both a protection from prejudice and as an inherently prejudiced policy in and of itself. Four dialectical tensions were found to influence individual's positions: (a) individual agency and structural constraints, (b) acknowledgment of progress and recognition of failures, (c) commitment to individuals and commitment to free enterprise, and (d) legal protection and individual morality. Importantly, the interplay of these competing discourses animated individuals' understandings of, and opinions about, affirmative action legislation.

Capsaicin causes a burning or spicy sensation when this vanilloid compound comes in contact with trigeminal neurons of the tongue. This compound has low solubility in water, which presents difficulties in examining the psychophysical properties of capsaicin by standard aqueous chemosensory tests. This report describes a new approach that utilizes edible strips for delivering precise amounts of capsaicin to the human oral cavity for examining threshold and suprathreshold amounts of this irritant. When incorporated into pullulan-based edible strips, recognition thresholds for capsaicin occurred over a narrow range, with a mean value near 1 nmol. When incorporated into edible strips at suprathreshold amounts, capsaicin yielded robust intensity values that were readily measured in our subject population. Maximal capsaicin intensity was observed 20 s after strips dissolved on the tongue surface, and then decreased in intensity. Suprathreshold studies showed that complete blockage of nasal airflow diminished capsaicin perception in the oral cavity. Oral rinses with vanillin-linoleic acid emulsions decreased mean intensity values for capsaicin by approximately 75%, but only modestly affected recognition threshold values. Also, oral rinses with isointense amounts of aqueous sucrose and sucralose solutions decreased mean intensity values for capsaicin by approximately 50%. In addition, this decrease in capsaicin intensity following an oral rinse with sucrose was partially reversed by the sweet taste inhibitor lactisole. These results suggest that blockage of nasal airflow, vanillin, sucrose, and sucralose modulate capsaicin perception in the human oral cavity. The results further suggest a chemosensory link between receptor cells that detect sweet taste stimuli and trigeminal neurons that detect capsaicin.

A new encyrtid parasitoid Psyllaephagusramamurthyi Hayat sp. nov. is described from the specimens collected from the psyllids in Assam, India. These psyllids were observed inducing galls on Litsea monopetala. The type specimens are deposited in the National Pusa Collection, Division of Entomology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, and the Insect Collections, Department of Zoology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India.

Capsaicin is a naturally occurring vanilloid that causes a hot, pungent sensation in the human oral cavity. This trigeminal stimulus activates TRPV1 receptors and stimulates an influx of cations into sensory cells. TRPV1 receptors function as homotetramers that also respond to heat, proinflammatory substances, lipoxygenase products, resiniferatoxin, endocannabinoids, protons, and peptide toxins. Kinase-mediated phosphorylation of TRPV1 leads to increased sensitivity to both chemical and thermal stimuli. In contrast, desensitization occurs via a calcium-dependent mechanism that results in receptor dephosphorylation. Human psychophysical studies have shown that capsaicin is detected at nanomole amounts and causes desensitization in the oral cavity. Psychophysical studies further indicate that desensitization can be temporarily reversed in the oral cavity if stimulation with capsaicin is resumed at short interstimulus intervals. Pretreatment of lingual epithelium with capsaicin modulates the perception of several primary taste qualities. Also, sweet taste stimuli may decrease the intensity of capsaicin perception in the oral cavity. In addition, capsaicin perception and hedonic responses may be modified by diet. Psychophysical studies with capsaicin are consistent with recent findings that have identified TRPV1 channel modulation by phosphorylation and interactions with membrane inositol phospholipids. Future studies will further clarify the importance of capsaicin and its receptor in human health and nutrition.

Premature infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) are at particular risk of invasive fungal infections, and unfortunately, the incidence of fungal septicemia appears to be increasing. Invasive infections caused by species of Candida or Malassezia have been documented in the NICU and are often associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Controversies regarding the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of such diseases exist. The purpose of this review is to describe the epidemiology, clinical manifestations, diagnostic techniques, treatment, and prevention of invasive infection due to Candida and Malassezia species in the neonatal intensive care setting.

Purpose of review Infective endocarditis continues to pose major challenges in diagnosis and management despite advances in understanding the epidemiology, microbiology, and pathology of the disease. The purpose of this article is to provide a review of diagnosis, microbiology, and treatment of infective endocarditis, particularly as they are influenced by case definitions. Recent findings Case definitions have a critical effect on the interpretation of trends in infective endocarditis, and recent studies have proposed more specific criteria. Studies have also addressed the appropriate use of echocardiography to assist in the diagnosis and management of infective endocarditis. Staphylococcus aureus has become an increasingly common cause of infective endocarditis, and the microbiology of nosocomial infective endocarditis is changing. Newer techniques are being used to aid in the identification of causal agents in blood culture-negative infective endocarditis. Antimicrobial guidelines for the treatment of infective endocarditis are readily available, including a proposal to avoid premature discharge of patients on outpatient antibiotic therapy. Additional studies have been conducted on combination antibiotic therapy, duration of treatment, dosing of aminoglycosides, alternative agents for gram-positive organisms, aspirin therapy, and surgical interventions. Summary Recent trends in diagnosis, microbiology, and treatment of infective endocarditis are described, and case definitions play a critical role in their interpretation.

Corynebacterium ulcerans is a gram-positive zoonotic rod that is most typically known as the causative agent in infections of cattle, other domestic animals, and nonhuman primates. However, infection in humans has been described, and extrapharyngeal manifestations seem to be of increasing concern. Some strains of C. ulcerans produce the diphtheria toxin, which can potentially lead to severe systemic illness and possibly, death. A dermonecrotic toxin with phospholipase D activity is also produced by most C. ulcerans strains. We describe a case of persistent cutaneous infection secondary to C. ulcerans and discuss the importance of accurate identification of Corynebacterium species involved in skin and soft tissue infections, the need for assessment of toxin production, and the appropriate treatment response.

We present 2 patients with cutaneous Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis infection who had recurrence of disease after completing standard courses of sodium stibogluconate but were cured upon subsequent treatment with liposomal amphotericin B. Amphotericin B may be an excellent agent for the treatment of clinically resistant or relapsed cutaneous leishmaniasis; the optimal dose and duration of therapy remain uncertain and will require further study.

In this study it was hypothesized that elite butterfly performance is characterized by wave motions with particular frequency, amplitude, and phase characteristics. Particular emphasis was accorded the question of whether 'waves' travel along the body during the butterfly stroke. Selected body landmarks and the center of mass (CM) of eight elite males and eight elite female swimmers were quantified. Fourier analysis was conducted to determine the frequency, amplitude, and phase characteristics of the vertical undulations of the vertex of the head, shoulders, hips, knees, and ankles. The differences in phase between these landmarks for the first (H1) and second (H2) Fourier frequencies were investigated to establish whether waves travelled along the body in a caudal direction. The absolute average velocity of H1 wave travel from vertex to ankle was found to be a mean of 0.34 ms-1 faster than the forward velocity of the CM for the male swimmers and 0.17 m s-1 faster for the female swimmers. There was a very strong relationship (p < 0.01) between velocity of H1 wave travel and CM velocity. There was no evidence to suggest that elite swimmers timed their actions to minimise vertical CM displacement to reduce mechanical work. In fact, the phase relationships among adjacent segments suggested that energy gained by raising the CM was transmitted caudally and contributed to a propulsive 'whip-like' action.