"Talking Takes Off": A System-wide Approach to Prioritize Children's Speech, Language, and Communication Needs.

Background: "Talking Takes Off" is a local government program designed to improve speech, language and communication (SLC) outcomes in the early years, as supported by a system-wide approach. The overall aims of this study were to assess the progress that the program made in its first year, especially in relation to its integration with the wider practice and its impact on the various stakeholders.

Objectives: To investigate whether the training and resources offered to the workforce were effectively integrated into practice during its first year.

Evaluating the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of the 'strengthening families, strengthening communities' group-based parenting programme: study protocol and initial insights.

Background: Up to 20% of UK children experience socio-emotional difficulties which can have serious implications for themselves, their families and society. Stark socioeconomic and ethnic inequalities in children's well-being exist. Supporting parents to develop effective parenting skills is an important preventive strategy in reducing inequalities.

Using a blended format (videoconference and face to face) to deliver a group psychosocial intervention to parents of autistic children.

Background: Parents and carers of autistic children report poor mental health. Autism stigma is a strong contributing factor to poor parental mental health, yet there are currently no interventions available that are evidenced to improve parents' mental health in part through increasing resilience to stigma. Childcare and travel are well known barriers to attendance and attrition rates for this population are high.

SOLACE: A Psychosocial Stigma Protection Intervention to Improve the Mental Health of Parents of Autistic Children-A Feasibility Randomised Controlled Trial.

This study presents findings from a feasibility trial, testing an 8-week psychosocial stigma protection intervention (SOLACE) designed to improve the mental health of parents of autistic children. Seventeen parents were stratified then randomly assigned to either SOLACE (n = 9) or control group (n = 8). Retention and adherence rates were excellent with minimal missing data suggesting SOLACE had good acceptability and feasibility.

Systematic Review of the Relationship Between Autism Stigma and Informal Caregiver Mental Health.

Families play a crucial role in determining the mental health of the autistic individual(s) they are caring for. However, the stigma associated with autism can impair caregiver health. To investigate this, empirical evidence pertaining to stigma's impact on informal caregivers' mental health was systematically reviewed.

Analytical validation of the Hevylite assays for M-protein quantification.

Background: The heavy/light chain (HLC) immunoassay quantifies the different heavy chain/light chain combinations of each immunoglobulin (Ig) class. This makes the HLC assay suited to quantify monoclonal immunoglobulins (M-protein) and for monitoring of patients with monoclonal gammopathies. This method is particularly advantageous for those samples in which electrophoretic quantification of the M-protein is not possible.

Paternal depression: an examination of its links with father, child and family functioning in the postnatal period.

Background: Maternal depression is common and is known to affect both maternal and child health. One of the mechanisms by which maternal depression exerts its effects on child health is through an increased rate of parental disharmony. Fathers also experience depression, but the impact of this on family functioning has been less studied.

Evaluation of the efficacy and performance of medical implants: a review.

An implant can be defined, in a medical context, as biological or artificial materials inserted or grafted into the body. Implants may be sensory devices (cochlear, ocular), mechanical devices that are 'passive' (orthopedic joint replacements and fixation plates, dental implants, coronary artery stents and vascular grafts) or 'active' (left ventricular assist devices, heart valves) electrophysiological stimulation devices (cardiac or gastric pacemakers, implantable cardiac defibrillators, functional electrical stimulators for epilepsy or Parkinson's disease) or medication administration devices (insulin or analgesic delivery pumps) or intra-ocular sustained drug release implants. Implantation has had a long history in several subspecialties of medicine.

The impact of attitudes and beliefs on length of benzodiazepine use: a study among inexperienced and experienced benzodiazepine users.

Prolonged benzodiazepine use is a widespread phenomenon in medical practice. In the present article, we argue that psychological models may contribute to our understanding of benzodiazepine use. This study examined variables derived from the theory of planned behaviour and the health belief model in relation to the length of benzodiazepine use.

HIV prevalence and risk behaviour in young drug users in Amsterdam.

Objectives: To assess the HIV prevalence and risk behaviour among regular young drug users (YDU) in Amsterdam.

Design: Subjects were 282 YDU (using heroin, cocaine, methadone and/or amphetamines at least 3 days/week) aged 30 years or less who participated in a cross-sectional survey in Amsterdam in 1998. Participants were recruited both directly (41%) through healthcare institutions, and indirectly (59%) by referrals from YDU already enrolled.

Determinants of change in the intention to use benzodiazepines.

Objective: To examine attitudes and beliefs associated with changes in the intention to use benzodiazepines during the six-month period after first benzodiazepine use.

Design: Population-based 6-month follow-up with 3 measurement points (baseline, 2 weeks after inclusion, 6 months after inclusion).

Setting: Starting or initial benzodiazepine users were included during a period of 4 months from November 1994 in the only pharmacy of a Dutch community of 13,500 people.

Evaluation of hepatitis C antibody testing in saliva specimens collected by two different systems in comparison with HCV antibody and HCV RNA in serum.

Two different ELISA assays, the Ortho HCV 3.0 ELISA (Ortho Diagnostics Systems) and the Mono-Lisa anti-HCV Plus (Sanofi Diagnostics Pasteur) were evaluated for the detection of hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibody in saliva samples. Specimens were collected from 152 individuals who participated in a longitudinal cohort study on HIV infection, and who used illicit drugs.

How do we compare with our colleagues? Quality of general practitioner performance in consultations for non-acute abdominal complaints.

Objective: To investigate what factors influence the quality of general practitioner performance in consultations for non-acute abdominal complaints and to establish the extent to which performance quality differs between general practitioners (GPs).

Design: Explorative study in two parts: (i) detection of variables influencing quality scores of consultations; and (ii) comparison of mean quality scores of the consultations, selected by each GP.

Setting: Sixty-two family practices across The Netherlands.

Do better quality consultations result in better health? Relationship between quality of consultations and health status of patients with non-acute abdominal complaints in general practice.

Background: In theory, a positive relationship is expected between the quality of a consultation and a patient's subsequent health status. However, such a relationship has not yet been firmly established in daily practice.

Objective: We aimed to study the relationship between the quality of the first consultation in a new episode of non-acute abdominal complaints and subsequent health status of patients in general practice.

Characterization of the Wsc1 protein, a putative receptor in the stress response of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Wsc1p, Wsc2p, Wsc3p, and Wsc4p, members of a novel protein family in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, are putative sensors or receptors in the stress response. Genetic characterization suggests that the WSC family are upstream regulators of the stress-activated PKC1-MAP kinase cascade and are required for the heat shock response and for maintenance of cell wall integrity. The Wsc proteins share sequence characteristics: at their N terminus they have a cysteine motif and a serine/threonine-rich domain predicted to be extracellular, a hydrophobic domain suggested to be transmembranous, and a variable, highly charged C terminus that may be involved in intracellular signaling.

Are professional attitudes related to gender and medical specialty?

Objectives: The importance of professional attitudes in medical care has long been recognized; however, medical training has not stressed attitude development until recently. In previous studies among medical students, we found that gender and specialty preference are important factors in attitudes. In this study, patient-centredness of trainees in general practice and surgery and of final-year clerks preferring one of these specialties was assessed in one medical school in The Netherlands.

Assessment of the quality of life of patients with advanced and end-stage cancer or serious infections with a symptom-based or an impact-based instrument.

In 1992 a project was started in which home care technology was made available to patients with cancer or serious infections. Primary care providers were trained and supported to administer parenteral drugs and fluids in the home setting. Between 1992 and 1995 we applied the Rotterdam Symptom Checklist (RSCL) and the Sickness Impact Profile (SIP) as questionnaires for quality of life (QoL) assessment in a group of 112 hospitalized patients who were prepared to receive further treatment at home.

Disturbed solid-phase gastric emptying in functional dyspepsia: a meta-analysis.

Functional dyspepsia is a common disorder with a diverse pathophysiological background, but the role of motility disorders in functional dyspepsia remains unclear. We aimed to quantify the relationship between disturbed gastric emptying and functional dyspepsia, using a meta-analytic approach. Through a structured literature search of Medline and Embase from 1983 to 1996, we selected all studies in which scintigraphic solid-phase gastric emptying was measured in both functional dyspeptic patients and controls.

How well are patients treated in family practice? Quality of consultations for non-acute abdominal complaints.

Objective: To describe the application of weighted review criteria, developed by the Delphi technique, for the assessment of the quality of consultations concerning non-acute, abdominal complaints.

Design: Descriptive study in two parts: (i) comparison of actual family doctor (FD)-performance with predefined review criteria; (ii) calculation of quality scores per consultation, utilizing the weighted criteria.

Settings: Sixty-two family practices across The Netherlands.

A family of genes required for maintenance of cell wall integrity and for the stress response in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The PKC1-MPK1 pathway in yeast functions in the maintenance of cell wall integrity and in the stress response. We have identified a family of genes that are putative regulators of this pathway. WSC1, WSC2, and WSC3 encode predicted integral membrane proteins with a conserved cysteine motif and a WSC1-green fluorescence protein fusion protein localizes to the plasma membrane.