Words used by children and their primary caregivers for private body parts and functions.

Background: Effective patient-physician communication requires the use of words that are clearly understood by both parties. We conducted this study to compile a list of words used by children and caregivers to describe "private" anatomical structures and physiological functions, to document the frequency of such usage and to examine the relation between correct word usage and caregiver's level of education.

Methods: In a large urban pediatric emergency department, a convenience sample of 156 children at least 3 years old were asked to name the body parts (penis, testes, vagina, buttocks, breasts) pointed to in 4 simple, explicit line drawings of an unclothed boy or girl, and to name the bodily functions (vomiting, defecation, urination) depicted in 3 drawings of children.

Pagers in a busy paediatric emergency waiting room: A randomized controlled trial.

Objective: To test whether the distribution of pagers to waiting families in a paediatric emergency department (ED) increases satisfaction with the visit.

Methods: Using a controlled, randomized, single blind design, English-speaking families who had waited longer than 1 h were enrolled in the study. On any one day, every enrolled family was assigned to a no treatment group, an active control group in which children received a colouring set or an experimental group in which families were given pagers.

Is ethanol an important antioxidant in alcoholic beverages associated with risk reduction of cataract and atherosclerosis?

It has been reported in the epidemiological literature that cataract, stroke, and atherosclerosis risk is reduced by 50% in people consuming one alcoholic drink per day. Peroxide has been implicated as a causative agent in cataractogenesis, and LDL oxidation appears to play a role in atherosclerosis. The antioxidant activity of alcohol was measured by: (i) use of a luminescent assay developed in our laboratory, confirmed as appropriate; (ii) electron spin resonance (ESR) spin-trapping; and (iii) copper-catalysed oxidation of LDL and VLDL from hamsters fed 6% ethanol in their drinking water.

Modelling cortical cataractogenesis 22: is in vitro reduction of damage in model diabetic rat cataract by taurine due to its antioxidant activity?

The protective effect of taurine in model in vitro diabetic cataract and the mechanism of this effect were investigated in isolated rat lenses. Isolated rat lenses were incubated in medium 199 in elevated glucose (55.6 m m) with taurine (5 m m).