Effectiveness of monovalent and pentavalent rotavirus vaccine.

Objective: Previous US evaluations have not assessed monovalent rotavirus vaccine (RV1, a G1P[8] human rotavirus strain) effectiveness, because of its later introduction (2008). Using case-control methodology, we measured the vaccine effectiveness (VE) of the 2-dose RV1 and 3-dose pentavalent vaccine (RV5) series against rotavirus disease resulting in hospital emergency department or inpatient care.

Methods: Children were eligible for enrollment if they presented to 1 of 5 hospitals (3 in Georgia, 2 in Connecticut) with diarrhea of ≤10 days' duration during January through June 2010 or 2011, and were born after RV1 introduction.

Parent understanding of the role of doctors and doctors in training on an inpatient pediatric ward.

Background: Many physician trainees care for patients in an academic hospital. We studied parent understanding of the roles of medical students, interns, residents, and attending physicians in the inpatient setting of a children's hospital.

Description: Surveys were given to parents during a hospital stay on a medical service asking about the responsibilities and education of physicians and trainees.

The effects of nonionic polymers on thyroid stimulation and TSH receptor binding by the human monoclonal TSH receptor autoantibody M22.

Background: Nonionic polymers such as polyethylene glycol (PEG), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), and dextran amplify the ability of thyroid stimulating antibodies (TSAbs) from patients with Graves' disease to stimulate cAMP production in thyroid cells. Therefore we sought to determine if nonionic polymers also augment the effects of the human thyroid stimulating monoclonal antibody (M22) on isolated thyroid cells.

Methods: The ability of nonionic polymers to alter the effects of M22 on certain parameters in porcine thyroid cells was examined.

Estimation of serum TSH receptor autoantibody concentration and affinity.

We have used the human monoclonal TSH receptor (TSHR) autoantibody (M22) as a labeled ligand in competition with individual patient TSHR autoantibodies (TRAb) to estimate their serum concentrations and affinities. TSHR coated tubes, (125)I-labeled M22 IgG and Fab, and patient sera IgG and Fab were used in these studies. In 15 patients with Graves' disease, TRAb concentrations ranged from 50 to 500 ng/mL of serum (5- 60 parts per million of total serum IgG) and TRAb IgG affinities from 3.