School connectedness as a protective factor between childhood adversity and adolescent mental health outcomes.

School connectedness may offset mental health risks associated with childhood adversity. The present study examined the potential protective effects of school connectedness against childhood adversity when predicting adolescent mental health outcomes in 9,964 individuals (51% female, 81% white) from the Millennium Cohort Study. Structural equation models were fitted to examine the longitudinal relationships between childhood adversity, school connectedness, and adolescent mental health.

Appropriateness of antibiotic prescribing varies by clinical services at United States children's hospitals.

Objective: To describe patterns of inappropriate antibiotic prescribing at US children's hospitals and how these patterns vary by clinical service.

Design: Serial, cross-sectional study using quarterly surveys.

Setting: Surveys were completed in quarter 1 2019-quarter 3 2020 across 28 children's hospitals in the United States.

The multifaceted care-seeking practices among caregivers of children with cerebral palsy: Perspectives from mothers and providers in Ghana.

Background: Research on cerebral palsy (CP) has lacked emphasis on knowledge and treatment practices among caregivers, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where socio-cultural contexts encourage a variety of treatment alternatives. In this study, we explored the beliefs and experiences that motivate care-seeking practices among caregivers of children with CP in Ghana.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 caregivers, 10 medical providers, and 5 alternative providers in the Greater Accra Region.

Spanish-Speaking Caregivers' Experience with an Emergency Department Pediatric Asthma-Care Bundle Quality Initiative.

Most pediatric emergency departments' (ED) quality improvement (QI) initiatives for asthma aim to standardize care based on the priorities of healthcare providers. Perceptions and priorities of the caregiver rarely are addressed, especially in families with limited English-language proficiency. We explored Spanish-speaking caregivers' perceptions, understandings, and barriers with the care they received for asthma, after exposure to an ED asthma-care bundle.

Cylindrospermopsin toxicity in mice following a 90-d oral exposure.

Cylindrospermopsin (CYN) is a toxin associated with numerous species of freshwater cyanobacteria throughout the world. It is postulated to have caused an episode of serious illnesses in Australia through treated drinking water, as well as lethal effects in livestock exposed to water from farm ponds. Toxicity included effects indicative of both hepatic and renal dysfunction.

A critical review of the postulated role of the non-essential amino acid, β-N-methylamino-L-alanine, in neurodegenerative disease in humans.

The compound BMAA (β-N-methylamino-L-alanine) has been postulated to play a significant role in four serious neurological human diseases: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis/Parkinsonism Dementia Complex (ALS/PDC) found on Guam, and ALS, Parkinsonism, and dementia that occur globally. ALS/PDC with symptoms of all three diseases first came to the attention of the scientific community during and after World War II. It was initially associated with cycad flour used for food because BMAA is a product of symbiotic cycad root-dwelling cyanobacteria.

Metabolism of benzo(a)pyrene by subcellular fractions of gastrointestinal (GI) tract and liver in Apc(Min) mouse model of colon cancer.

Given the fact that increased dietary intake of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs; a family of environmental toxicants) leads to the formation and development of colon tumors, the ability of the gastrointestinal tract to process these compounds is important from the viewpoint of toxicity/carcinogenesis. Benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), a prototypical PAH compound is released into the environment from automobile exhausts, cigarette smoke, and industrial emissions. Additionally, considerable intake of BaP is expected in people who consume barbecued foods and a diet rich in saturated fat.

Influence of dietary fat type on benzo(a)pyrene [B(a)P] biotransformation in a B(a)P-induced mouse model of colon cancer.

In the US alone, around 60,000 lives/year are lost due to colon cancer. Diet and environment have been implicated in the development of sporadic colon tumors. The objective of this study was to determine how dietary fat potentiates the development of colon tumors through altered B(a)P biotransformation, using the Adenomatous polyposis coli with Multiple intestinal neoplasia mouse model.

Metabolism of the environmental toxicant benzo(a)pyrene by subcellular fractions of human ovary.

Knowledge of the ability of the female reproductive system to metabolize environmental chemicals is critical not only from the standpoint of toxicity but also from infertility risk assessment. Benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) is a toxicant that is released into the environment from automobile exhausts, cigarette smoke, burning of refuse, industrial emissions, and hazardous waste sites. In exposed animals, BaP becomes activated to reactive metabolites that interfere with target organ function and as a consequence cause toxicity.

Tumor microsomal metabolism of the food toxicant, benzo(a)pyrene, in ApcMin mouse model of colon cancer.

The present study was conducted to investigate whether colon tumors were capable of metabolizing benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), and fluoranthene (FLA), two toxicants that belong to the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon family of compounds. Microsomes were isolated from the colon tumors of Apc( Min ) mice that received subchronic doses of 50 μg/kg BaP and incubated with either BaP or FLA (3 μM each) alone or in combination and appropriate control groups that received nothing. Subsequent to incubation, samples were extracted with ethyl acetate and analyzed for BaP and FLA metabolites by reverse-phase HPLC equipped with fluorescence detection.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and digestive tract cancers: a perspective.

Cancers of the colon are most common in the Western world. In majority of these cases, there is no familial history and sporadic gene damage seems to play an important role in the development of tumors in the colon. Studies have shown that environmental factors, especially diet, play an important role in susceptibility to gastrointestinal (GI) tract cancers.

Single-arm double-mode double-order planar waveguide interferometric sensor.

A sensor is described for which interference measurements of the phase delay between two propagating modes of different orders in a slab thin-film waveguide are used as the sensing technique. The basic building block of the sensor is a polymer film doped with an indicator dye such as Bromocresol Purple. The modes of two orders such as TM(0) and TM(1) are simultaneously excited in the light-guiding film with a focusing optics and a prism coupler.

LP(01)-LP(02) interference using a spectrally extended light source: measurement of the non-step-refractive-index profile of optical fibers.

LP(01)-LP(02) interference over an extended wavelength region is used to describe a new spectroscopic technique for determining the refractive-index profile of non-step-index optical fibers. The technique is illustrated with a fiber that shows an alpha-profile variation of the refractive index.

LP(01)-LP(02) interferometric fiber-optic sensing using phase-dependent loss in a light tap.

The intensity of light radiated from a fiber-optic light tap is observed to depend sensitively on the phase difference between LP(01) and LP(02) modes in a few-mode fiber. This observation is used to design a novel dual-mode interferometer in which light loss through the light tap is monitored, eliminating the need for a bulky spatial filter at the exit end of the fiber. Application of the device as an interferometric temperature sensor is described.

Thermal stability of membrane-reconstituted yeast cytochrome c oxidase.

The thermal dependence of the structural stability of membrane-reconstituted yeast cytochrome c oxidase has been studied by using different techniques including high-sensitivity differential scanning calorimetry, differential detergent solubility thermal gel analysis, and enzyme activity measurements. For these studies, the enzyme has been reconstituted into dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) and dielaidoylphosphatidylcholine (DEPC) vesicles using detergent dialysis. The phospholipid moiety affects the stability of the enzyme as judged by the dependence of the denaturation temperature on the lipid composition of the bilayer.