What are the most effective early response strategies and interventions to assess and address the immediate needs of children outside of family care?

Objectives: Children outside of family care face increased risk of threats to their well-being, have lower educational achievement, and experience adverse developmental outcomes. While it is generally accepted that early response and intervention is critical to reducing the risk of harm for children who have been separated from their families, it is not always clear what the most effective early response strategies are for assessing and addressing their immediate needs. The purpose of this review was to identify evidence-based early response strategies and interventions for improving the outcomes of children outside of family care, including children of and on the street, institutionalized children, trafficked children, children affected by conflict and disaster, and who are exploited for their labor.

Methylation levels at imprinting control regions are not altered with ovulation induction or in vitro fertilization in a birth cohort.

Study Question: Do fertility treatments, including ovulation induction (OI), alter epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation at imprinted loci?

Summary Answer: We observed small but statistically significant differences in certain imprinting control regions (ICRs) based on the method of conception, however, these small changes in methylation did not correlate to the overall transcriptional levels of the genes adjacent to the ICRs (such as KCNQ1 and SNRPN).

What Is Known And What This Paper Adds: Assisted reproductive technology (ART) has been associated with an increase in the risk of rare childhood disorders caused by loss of imprinting (LOI). This study provides novel epigenetic analyses on infants conceived by OI and examines how methylation levels correlate with gene expression.

Analysis of furanocoumarins from Yemenite Dorstenia species by liquid chromatography/electrospray tandem mass spectrometry.

A series of prevailing prenylated furanocoumarins from leaves of Dorstenia gigas and Dorstenia foetida (Moraceae) were investigated by liquid chromatography/electrospray tandem mass spectrometry. The mass spectral behavior of the furanocoumarins under positive ion electrospray conditions is discussed using both an ion trap and a triple quadrupole system. It is demonstrated that both methods represent valuable tools not only for the rapid classification of this type of compounds, but also with respect to their substitution pattern.

DNA methylation of stress-related genes and LINE-1 repetitive elements across the healthy human placenta.

Objectives: DNA methylation is known to play a critical role in regulating development of placental morphology and physiology. The methylation of genes mediated by glucocorticoid hormones may be particularly vulnerable to intrauterine stress in the placenta. However little is known about DNA methylation of stress-related genes within a healthy placenta, and particularly whether methylation occurs uniformly across different regions of the placenta, which is a critical question for researchers seeking to analyze methylation patterns.

Prenatal smoke exposure and mammographic density in mid-life.

Tobacco smoke has both carcinogenic effects and anti-estrogenic properties and its inconsistent association with breast cancer risk in observational studies may be because of these competing effects across the lifecourse. We conducted a prospective study of prenatal smoke exposure, childhood household smoke exposure, and adult active smoke exposure and mammographic density, a strong intermediate marker of breast cancer risk, in an adult follow-up of existing US birth cohorts. Specifically, we followed up women who were born between 1959 and 1967 and whose mothers participated in either the Collaborative Perinatal Project (Boston and Providence sites) or the Childhood Health and Development Study in California.

Efficacy of pulsed electromagnetic energy in postoperative recovery from blepharoplasty.

Background: A novel medical device that has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration is available for treatment of postsurgical edema. The device emits a low-level, pulsed electromagnetic energy field, which modulates resting cell membrane potential, allowing a return to physiologic resting membrane potential.

Objective: To investigate the benefits of electromagnetic energy in eyelid wound healing.

Duration of lactation and incidence of maternal hypertension: a longitudinal cohort study.

Never or curtailed lactation has been associated with an increased risk for incident hypertension, but the effect of exclusive breastfeeding is unknown. The authors conducted an observational cohort study of 55,636 parous women in the US Nurses' Health Study II. From 1991 to 2005, participants reported 8,861 cases of incident hypertension during 660,880 person-years of follow-up.

Birthweight, maternal weight trajectories and global DNA methylation of LINE-1 repetitive elements.

Low birthweight, premature birth, intrauterine growth retardation, and maternal malnutrition have been related to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, obesity, and neuropsychiatric disorders later in life. Conversely, high birthweight has been linked to future risk of cancer. Global DNA methylation estimated by the methylation of repetitive sequences in the genome is an indicator of susceptibility to chronic diseases.

Stimulation of the intra-cardiac vagal nerves innervating the AV-node to control ventricular rate during AF: specificity, parameter optimization and chronic use up to 3 months.

Background: Stimulation of the intra-cardiac vagal nerves innervating the AV-node (AVNS) is a promising approach to slow down ventricular rate (VR) during atrial fibrillation (AF). Our purpose was to demonstrate that effects on R-R-interval during stable AF can be maintained for several months once optimized and that AVNS affects specifically the nerves innervating the AV-node.

Methods: Our study included both an acute and chronic phase.

Leptin and leptin receptor genes in relation to premenopausal breast cancer incidence and grade in Caucasian women.

Body mass is inversely related to breast cancer risk among premenopausal women. Leptin, an essential cytokine regulating food intake, energy expenditure, glucose, and fat metabolism may be part of the mechanistic pathway. We investigated 50 tagging and candidate SNPs in the leptin (LEP) and leptin receptor (LEPR) genes for associations with premenopausal breast cancer incidence using 405 cases and 810 controls nested within the Nurses' Health Study II.

Body size across the life course, mammographic density, and risk of breast cancer.

Adult body mass index (BMI) is inversely associated with premenopausal breast cancer risk, and childhood and adolescent body size is inversely associated with breast cancer risk in pre- and postmenopausal women. Breast density is inversely related to body size and may play a role in the association of body size with breast cancer risk. The authors conducted a nested case-control study including 1,528 cases and 2,844 controls from the Nurses' Health Study (1989-2004) and Nurses' Health Study II (1996-2003).

Gestational vitamin D and the risk of multiple sclerosis in offspring.

Objective: Vitamin D may have a protective role in the etiology of multiple sclerosis (MS), but the effect of gestational vitamin D on adult onset MS has not been studied.

Methods: In 2001, 35,794 mothers of participants of the Nurses' Health Study II completed a questionnaire inquiring about their experiences and diet during pregnancy with their nurse daughters. We studied the association of maternal milk intake, maternal dietary vitamin D intake, and predicted maternal serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) during pregnancy and their daughters' risk of developing MS.

Gestational weight gain and daughter's age at menarche.

Background: Sexual development begins in utero and enters a dormant phase during infancy. The influence of maternal gestational weight gain (GWG) on daughter's age at menarche has not been explored.

Methods: We investigated the association between maternal GWG and age at menarche (<11 years, 11-15 years, >15 years of age) in a large cohort study of U.

Plasma leptin levels and risk of breast cancer in premenopausal women.

Body mass index (BMI) is inversely related to the risk of premenopausal breast cancer, but the underlying biological mechanisms of this association are poorly understood. Leptin, a peptide hormone produced primarily by adipocytes, is a potential mediator of the BMI association because BMI and total body fat are positively associated with circulating leptin levels and leptin and its receptor are overexpressed in breast tumors. We conducted a prospective case-control study nested within the Nurses' Health Study II cohort examining the association between plasma leptin levels in premenopausal women and breast cancer risk.

Urinary bisphenol A and obesity: NHANES 2003-2006.

Background: Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical suspected of causing endocrine and metabolic disruption in animals and humans. In rodents, in utero exposure to low-dose BPA is associated with weight gain. Detectable levels of BPA are found in most Americans due to its widespread use in the manufacture of food and drink packaging.

Mothers' pre-pregnancy BMI and weight gain during pregnancy and risk of breast cancer in daughters.

Previous studies have established that higher birthweight is associated with increased risk of breast cancer. However, the mechanisms underlying this association remain unclear. We explored whether maternal pregnancy weight gain and pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI), which influence birthweight, are associated with risk of breast cancer in offspring.

Adult weight change and incidence of premenopausal breast cancer.

Overweight and obesity are inversely related to the risk of breast cancer among premenopausal women. We assessed the association between adult weight change since age 18 years with the risk of breast cancer among premenopausal women to explore whether weight gain was associated with a decrease in risk and weight loss was associated with an increase in risk. A total of 56,223 premenopausal participants in the Nurses' Health Study and 109,385 premenopausal participants in the Nurses' Health Study II were prospectively followed for up to 32 years and 18 years, respectively, and weight change since age 18 years was assessed biennially.

Cigarette smoking and the incidence of breast cancer.

Background: Tobacco smoke contains carcinogens, which may increase the risk of breast cancer (BC). Conversely, cigarette smoking also has antiestrogenic effects, which may reduce the risk of BC. The association between smoking and BC remains controversial.

The Early Determinants of Adult Health Study.

This issue of the Journal features collaborative follow-up studies of two unique pregnancy cohorts recruited during 1959-1966 in the United States. Here we introduce the Early Determinants of Adult Health (EDAH) study. EDAH was designed to compare health outcomes in midlife (age 40s) for same-sex siblings discordant on birthweight for gestational age.

Reconstructive options for the medial canthus and eyelids following tumor excision.

General principles provide the framework for eyelid and periorbital reconstruction following tumor excision. Eyelid tumors involving the medial canthus region and/or lacrimal system add to the complexity of reconstructive planning. The nature of the tumor, patient and tissue factors, and surgeon preference guide repair design choices.