AIDS information from the National Library of Medicine

As part of a U.S government effort to combat AIDS, the National Library of Medicine (NLM) is expanding its information services in this area. In response to the Health Omnibus Program Extension Act of 1988, NLM has expanded its AIDS Bibliography, enhanced its DIRLINE file with AIDS-related organizations, and developed three new online MEDLARS (Medical Literature Retrieval and Analysis System) databases: AIDSLINE, AIDSTRIALS, and AIDSDRUGS. NLM's AIDS-related programs and services are discussed.     

Trauma symptoms among infants exposed to intimate partner violence

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether infants have a traumatic response to intimate partner violence (male violence toward their female partner; IPV) experienced by their mothers, two questions were explored: (1) Is the number of infant trauma symptoms related to the infant's temperament and the mother's mental health? (2) Does severity of violence moderate those relationships? METHODOLOGY: Forty-eight mothers reported whether their 1-year-old infants experienced trauma symptoms as a result of witnessing episodes of IPV during their first year of life. Mothers also reported on their own trauma symptoms that resulted from experiences of IPV. RESULTS: For those infants experiencing severe IPV and whose mothers exhibit trauma symptoms, we were able to predict whether infants exhibited trauma symptoms (b = .53, p < .01). This was not true for children who witnessed less severe IPV (b= -.14, ns). Maternal depressive symptoms and difficult infant temperament did not predict infant trauma symptoms for either group of infants. CONCLUSION: Mothers report that infants as young as 1-year-old can experience trauma symptoms as a result of hearing or witnessing IPV. The significant relationship between infant and maternal trauma symptoms, especially among those infants experiencing severe IPV, are consistent with the theory of relational PTSD. Findings suggest that interventions for mothers and families need to consider the influence of the severity of IPV on very young children.     

Electronic detection of dielectrophoretic forces exerted on particles flowing over interdigitated electrodes

Dielectric particles flowing through a microfluidic channel over a set of coplanar electrodes can be simultaneously capacitively detected and dielectrophoretically (DEP) actuated when the high (1.45 GHz) and low (100 kHz–20 MHz) frequency electromagnetic fields are concurrently applied through the same set of electrodes. Assuming a simple model in which the only forces acting upon the particles are apparent gravity, hydrodynamic lift, DEP force, and fluid drag, actuated particle trajectories can be obtained as numerical solutions of the equations of motion. Numerically calculated changes of particle elevations resulting from the actuation simulated in this way agree with the corresponding elevation changes estimated from the electronic signatures generated by the experimentally actuated particles. This verifies the model and confirms the correlation between the DEP force and the electronic signature profile. It follows that the electronic signatures can be used to quantify the actuation that the dielectric particle experiences as it traverses the electrode region. Using this principle, particles with different dielectric properties can be effectively identified based exclusively on their signature profile. This approach was used to differentiate viable from non-viable yeast cells (Saccharomyces cerevisiae).