The acceptability of dietary tools to improve maternal and child nutrition in Western Kenya.

Objective: Dietary practices in Kenya often fail to provide adequate nutrition during the first 1000 days of life, from conception to 2 years of age. We developed and qualitatively assessed the acceptability of easy-to-use dietary tools consisting of a marked bowl, slotted spoon and illustrated counselling card to support appropriate dietary practices during pregnancy, exclusive breast-feeding and complementary feeding of children aged 6-24 months.

Design: We conducted qualitative research to assess community acceptability and obtain feedback on the design of the dietary tools.

Acceptability and utility of an innovative feeding toolkit to improve maternal and child dietary practices in Bihar, India.

Background: Dietary practices in India often fail to provide adequate nutrition during the first 1,000 days of life.

Objective: To explore the acceptability and utility of a low-cost and simple-to-use feeding toolkit consisting of a bowl with marks to indicate meal volume and frequency, a slotted spoon, and an illustrated counseling card to cue optimal dietary practices during the first 1,000 days.

Methods: In Samastipur District, Bihar, India, we conducted 16 focus group discussions and 8 key informant interviews to determine community acceptability and obtain feedback on design and delivery of the feeding toolkit.

Role of spirituality in patients with sickle cell disease.

Background: Patients with sickle cell disease cope with their disease in various ways, such as psychological counseling, hypnosis, medication, and prayer. Spirituality is a coping mechanism in a variety of diseases. This study evaluates the role of spirituality in patients coping with the pain of sickle cell disease.

Is interruption in residency training associated with a change in in-training examination scores?

Background: Many military physicians interrupt their training to serve in the position of general medical officer (GMO) after completing their first year of postgraduate medical education. This study compares American Board of Family Practice In-training Examination (ITE) scores of military family practice residents who received continuous training (CFP residents) with those who did GMO tours (GMO residents).

Methods: Historical cohorts of CFP and GMO residents from Army and Navy family practice residencies were compared.

Orbital lymphoma associated with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).

A new case of AIDS-associated, small noncleaved cell (Burkitt's) lymphoma that presented as an orbital mass is described. Extraocular muscle involvement was documented by computed tomography and confirmed by orbital biopsy. Extensive abdominal involvement was subsequently diagnosed and this caused the patient's death only 15 days after the initial consultation and orbital biopsy.

The impact of the daily lottery on the numbers game: Does legalization make a difference?

There has been a profusion of state run legal lotteries over the last two decades. One justification for them has been their supposed diversion of funds from illegal games known as numbers, policy and bolita. Records obtained in a police raid in south Florida provided an opportunity to analyze the impact of Florida' legal lottery on its illegal counterpart.

Perceived environmental drug use risk and the correlates of early drug use or nonuse among inner-city youths: the motivated actor.

The extent to which youth perceive their neighborhood to be at risk was found to be directly related to a series of life-style and drug use context variables. Further, the extent of drug use (nonuse, only alcohol, both alcohol and marijuana) was directly related to two of these variables, but inversely related to the extent their friends used "hard" drugs. These results indicate the critical importance of incorporating a measure of perceived risk into drug studies of adolescents, and highlight the need to view youth as motivated actors, guiding their own behavior in an attempt to actualize self-defined values.

The effect of perceived neighborhood setting on self-reported tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use among inner-city minority junior high school youth.

The relationship between neighborhood setting and drug use appears to be drug specific. For alcohol and tobacco a knowledge of peer (friends') use was highly predictive of personal use, independent of how tough or drug involved the neighborhood was thought to be, but quite dependent on neighborhood perceptions for personal marijuana use, becoming more predictive as the neighborhood was perceived as tougher and more drug involved. Knowledge of spare-time activities was predictive of tobacco and marijuana use (independent of neighborhood) but not predictive for alcohol use.

The effect of pregnancy on idiopathic scoliosis.

To study the effect of pregnancy on idiopathic scoliosis, ten patients were followed through nineteen pregnancies. Three patients lost 2, 6, and 18 degrees of correction during their initial pregnancies, but the curves remained the same or improved with later pregnancies. The curves of the remaining seven patients, which had stabilized before conception, did not progress.

Acute myocardial infarction after fluorescein angiography.

A 68-year-old man with a history of previous myocardial infarction and peripheral vascular disease had an acute myocardial infarction 30 minutes after the injection of intravenous fluorescein for fundus angiography. The situational stress or phenylephrine dilating drops could have contributed to the complication.

Epiphyseal stapling for angular deformity at the knee.

Fifty six patients with angular deformities of eighty-two knees were treated with epiphyseal stapling between 1954 and 1973 and followed until maturity. There were sixty-four knock-knees and eighteen bowlegs. In twelve patients with concurrent leg-length discrepancies, long legs were stapled asymmetrically.

Milwaukee brace treatment of idiopathic scoliosis: late results.

Forty-seven patients returned for examination, X-ray and statistical analysis of the results more than 5 years after Milwaukee braces had been discontinued. The mean curves showed a characteristic pattern of rapid improvement after the brace was applied and then gradual loss of correction during the follow-up. There was no statistically significant variation when the results were analyzed according to initial age, initial curve size, or curve pattern.