The Dreaded 3-Minute Wait: Does It Really Prevent Operating Room Fires? The IGNITE Trial.

Introduction: Operating room fires can have devastating consequences and as such must be prevented. There exists a paucity of literature requiring further elucidation regarding manufacturer recommendations of a predefined waiting period prior to patient draping after using alcohol-based surgical antiseptics, in order to reduce the risk of operating room fires.

Methods: This was further investigated by exposing two common alcohol-based surgical antiseptics to electrosurgery and open flames at various power settings and time intervals in an ex vivo porcine model.

Mediational models of maternal stress in neonatal intensive care units.

Background: Maternal stress in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) is well acknowledged. However, there is currently no well-defined support at how to best assist mothers during their infants' hospitalization. Not only must they confront at the same time their infant's fragility, but also their own personal trials.

Direct Visualization of the Binding of Transforming Growth Factor Beta 1 with Cartilage Oligomeric Matrix Protein via High-Resolution Atomic Force Microscopy.

This work reports the first direct observations of binding and complex formation between transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1) and cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) using high-resolution atomic force microscopy (AFM). Each COMP molecule consists of pentamers whose five identical monomeric units bundle at N-termini. From this central point, the five monomers' flexible arms extend outward with C-terminal domains at the distal ends, forming a bouquet-like structure.

Conditioning with slowly digestible starch diets in mice reduces jejunal α-glucosidase activity and glucogenesis from a digestible starch feeding.

Objectives: Maltase-glucoamylase (Mgam) and sucrase-isomaltase (Si) are mucosal α-glucosidases required for the digestion of starch to glucose. We hypothesized that a dietary approach to reduce Mgam and Si activities can reduce glucose generation and absorption, and improve glucose control.

Methods: Rice starch was entrapped in alginate microspheres to moderate in vitro digestion properties.

Comparison of Cesium-137 and X-ray Irradiators by Using Bone Marrow Transplant Reconstitution in C57BL/6J Mice.

Mice are used extensively in transplantation studies involving bone marrow ablation. Due to the increasing security issues and expenses involved with γ irradiators, self-contained X-ray irradiators have been increasing in popularity. We hypothesized that bone marrow ablation by irradiation of mice with a (137)Cs irradiator would be comparable to that from an X-ray source irradiator.

Effect of soy isoflavone supplementation on menopausal quality of life.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of soy isoflavone supplementation on quality of life in postmenopausal women.

Methods: A multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled 24-month trial was conducted to assess the effect of 80 or 120 mg of daily aglycone hypocotyl soy isoflavone supplementation on quality of life in 403 postmenopausal women using a validated Menopause-Specific Quality of Life questionnaire.

Results: Menopause-Specific Quality of Life domain scores at 1 year and 2 years were similar to baseline.

Bubble nasal CPAP, early surfactant treatment, and rapid extubation are associated with decreased incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia in very-low-birth-weight newborns: efficacy and safety considerations.

Background: Current literature has been inconsistent in demonstrating that minimizing the duration of mechanical ventilation in very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) newborns reduces lung damage.

Objective: To determine if introduction of bubble nasal CPAP (bnCPAP), early surfactant treatment, and rapid extubation (combined bnCPAP strategy) in our community-based neonatal ICU reduced bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD).

Methods: This was a 7-year retrospective,single-institution review of respiratory outcomes in 633 VLBW babies before and after introduction of the combined bnCPAP strategy.

Multicomponent school-initiated obesity intervention in a high-risk, Hispanic elementary school.

The aim of the study was to determine the effectiveness of a school-initiated cognitive and behavioral program to reduce childhood obesity. Height, weight, body mass index (BMI), and BMI z scores were obtained at the beginning and end of the school year at an intervention school (n = 1022) and at a control school (n = 692). The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 18.

Breastmilk cultures and infection in extremely premature infants.

Objective: As expressed mother's milk (MM) is known to be colonized by microbial species, it is occasionally considered as a source of infection in premature infants, prompting some clinicians to obtain milk bacterial culture results before infant feeding. To determine whether serial microbial cultures of MM predict infection in premature infants.

Study Design: Milk microbial flora was determined by plate counts from aliquots of MM obtained from 161 mothers of infants born <30 weeks gestation (n = 209).

Clinical outcomes of a 2-y soy isoflavone supplementation in menopausal women.

Background: Soy isoflavones are naturally occurring phytochemicals with weak estrogenic cellular effects. Despite numerous clinical trials of short-term isoflavone supplementation, there is a paucity of data regarding longer-term outcomes and safety.

Objective: Our aim was to evaluate the clinical outcomes of soy hypocotyl isoflavone supplementation in healthy menopausal women as a secondary outcome of a trial on bone health.

Potocki-Lupski syndrome: a microduplication syndrome associated with oropharyngeal dysphagia and failure to thrive.

Objective: Failure to thrive (FTT) is a feature of children with Potocki-Lupski syndrome (PTLS) [duplication 17p11.2]. This study was designed to describe the growth characteristics of 24 subjects with PTLS from birth through age 5 years in conjunction with relevant physical features and swallow function studies.

Effects of early maternal docosahexaenoic acid intake on neuropsychological status and visual acuity at five years of age of breast-fed term infants.

Objective: We previously reported better psychomotor development at 30 months of age in infants whose mothers received a docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) (22:6n-3) supplement for the first 4 months of lactation. We now assess neuropsychological and visual function of the same children at 5 years of age.

Study Design: Breastfeeding women were assigned to receive identical capsules containing either a high-DHA algal oil (∼200 mg/d of DHA) or a vegetable oil (containing no DHA) from delivery until 4 months postpartum.

Soy isoflavone supplementation and bone mineral density in menopausal women: a 2-y multicenter clinical trial.

Background: Isoflavones are naturally occurring plant estrogens that are abundant in soy. Although purported to protect against bone loss, the efficacy of soy isoflavone supplementation in the prevention of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women remains controversial.

Objective: Our aim was to test the effect of soy isoflavone supplementation on bone health.

Obesity and gastroesophageal reflux disease and gastroesophageal reflux symptoms in children.

Background: The association between body mass index (BMI) and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) has been extensively studied among adults but few studies have examined such association in children.

Aims: 1) to determine the relationship between BMI in children and GERD, and 2) to use the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) values for BMI as a valid source for comparison.

Methods: We identified two cohorts of children aged between two and 17 years who were seen at Texas Children's Hospital (TCH).

Age- and ethnic-specific elevation of ALT among obese children at risk for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH): implications for screening.

The objectives are to: (1) characterize ethnic-specific differences in alanine aminotransferase (ALT) elevation among obese children, (2) investigate the earliest ages at which significant ALT elevation occurs, and (3) determine associations between ALT and biochemical parameters. A cohort of 134 multiethnic obese children and adolescents was analyzed retrospectively. ALT levels > or =45 U/L or <45 U/L, denoting high or normal risk, were used to categorize obese children's risk for developing nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.

The Test of Variables of Attention (TOVA): internal consistency (Q₁ vs. Q₂ and Q₃ vs. Q₄) in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

The internal consistency of the Test of Variables of Attention (TOVA) was examined in a cohort of 6- to 12-year-old children (N = 63) strictly diagnosed with ADHD. The internal consistency of errors of omission (OMM), errors of commission (COM), response time (RT), and response time variability (RTV) of different test conditions (stimulus infrequent condition [Q₁ vs. Q₂] and stimulus frequent condition [Q₃ vs.

Comparison of the validity of direct pediatric developmental evaluation versus developmental screening by parent report.

To compare the validity of direct pediatric developmental evaluation with developmental screening by parent report, parents completed a developmental screen (the Child Development Review), a pediatrician performed a direct developmental evaluation (Capute Scales), and a psychologist administered the Bayley Scales of Infant Development to a group of 30-month-old children. The agreement between these instruments was tested. All developmental quotient scores derived from the Capute Scales were more highly correlated with concurrent Bayley Mental Development Index scores than developmental quotient scores derived from the Child Development Review.

Nitric oxide in the evaluation of congenital heart disease with pulmonary hypertension: factors related to nitric oxide response.

Inhaled nitric oxide (NO) has been used in the preoperative evaluation of patients with congenital heart disease and pulmonary hypertension. The purpose of this study was to characterize responses in pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) to oxygen and increasing doses of NO during cardiac catheterization and to determine if any related factors affect the response of the pulmonary vascular bed to NO. A prospective analysis of 42 patients (median age, 3.

Characteristics and outcomes of fetuses with pericardial effusions.

Little is known about the characteristics and outcomes of fetuses with pericardial effusions (PEs); therefore, this study sought to identify factors associated with fetal PEs and the natural histories and outcomes of fetuses with PEs. Large PEs are associated with a greater likelihood of structural heart disease, impaired cardiac function, and chromosomal abnormalities, and PEs with hydrops or extracardiac malformations are associated with death. Most fetal PEs resolve, and fetuses with isolated PEs have a very good prognosis.

Growth characteristics of children with ectodermal dysplasia syndromes.

Objective: Clinical observations suggested that growth abnormalities may be present in children with ectodermal dysplasia (ED) syndromes. This study characterizes the longitudinal pattern of growth in a cohort of children with the ED syndromes. We hypothesized that (1) linear and ponderal growth abnormalities are present in children with ED from infancy through adolescence, and (2) linear and ponderal growth abnormalities differ among the clinical variants of these disorders.

Effects of maternal docosahexaenoic acid intake on visual function and neurodevelopment in breastfed term infants.

Background: Normal brain and visual development is thought to require exogenous docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6n-3) intake, but the amount needed is debatable. Because the supplementation of breastfeeding mothers with DHA increases the DHA content of their infants' plasma lipids, we hypothesized that it might also improve brain or visual function in the infants.

Objective: The objective was to determine the effect of DHA supplementation of breastfeeding mothers on neurodevelopmental status and visual function in the recipient infant.

Refinements in the implantation of pulmonary arterial stents: impact on morbidity and mortality of the procedure over the last two decades.

Introduction: There is limited data on medium to long-term outcome, and the morbidity and mortality associated with the implantation, of pulmonary arterial stents.

Purpose: To assess changes in morbidity and mortality over the last two decades.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of all patients stented between September, 1989 and July, 2001.

Mitral valve morphology and morbidity/mortality in Shone's complex.

Early echocardiographic studies of 50 patients with Shone's complex were retrospectively examined to identify left-sided cardiac features associated with progressive mitral valve (MV) disease requiring intervention, as well as mortality. Thickened MV leaflets, shortened MV chordae coupled with either thickened MV leaflets or turbulence at or below the MV noted by color Doppler, left ventricular outflow tract obstruction without coarctation of the aorta, and mild or moderate aortic insufficiency were associated with a poor prognosis.

Internal consistency, temporal stability, and reproducibility of individual index scores of the Test of Variables of Attention in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Psychometric properties of the Test of Variables of Attention (TOVA) were examined in a cohort of children (n=63) strictly diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD). Internal consistency was assessed via correlational analyses to determine the degree of agreement among various test portions. The temporal stability of errors of omission, errors of commission, response time, and response time variability was evaluated using test-retest reliability.

Concurrent and predictive validity of the cognitive adaptive test/clinical linguistic and auditory milestone scale (CAT/CLAMS) and the Mental Developmental Index of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development.

The Cognitive Adaptive Test/Clinical Linguistic and Auditory Milestone Scale (CAT/CLAMS) was designed for use by primary pediatric health care providers to identify children with developmental delays. This study assesses the concurrent and predictive validity of CAT/CLAMS developmental quotient (DQ) scores and the Mental Developmental Index (MDI) of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development in healthy children without risk factors for developmental delay. Overall CAT/CLAMS DQ scores correlated significantly with Bayley MDI scores at both 12 (r = 0.