Pediatric tinea capitis caused by Trichophyton violaceum and Trichophyton soudanense in Rochester, Minnesota, United States.

Background: Tinea capitis is a common pediatric dermatophyte infection. Its main pathogen in the United States is Trichophyton tonsurans accounting for greater than 95% of the infections. Other pathogens including Trichophyton violaceum and Trichophyton soudanense are common in Africa.

Rates of provision of clinical information in the skin biopsy requisition form and corresponding encounter visit note.

Background: The skin biopsy requisition form (RF) serves as a key communication tool for transfer of relevant information related to skin biopsy between clinicians and pathologists. Clinical information in the skin biopsy RF is frequently missing or incomplete.

Objective: To determine the rates of provision of critical clinical information necessary for histopathologic interpretation in the skin biopsy RF and encounter visit note (EVN).

Evaluation of the use of a stabilization device to improve the quality of care in patients with peripherally inserted central catheters.

Objectives: This project evaluated the implementation of use of the StatLock stabilization device (Bard Access Systems, Inc, Salt Lake City, Utah) for peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) in pediatric cardiology patients. The aim was to implement the use of the StatLock device and evaluate its effects on the following 4 outcomes: incidence of dislodgement, infection, catheter dwell time, and the number of catheter replacements. The primary goal was to determine whether the StatLock device offered advantages over tape and sutures.

Mortality rates in subjects with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders and their siblings.

Background: Our objective was to estimate the mortality rate in subjects with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) and their siblings whose FASD status was unknown.

Methods: We used the state FASD Registry to link subjects with FASD to a North Dakota birth certificate. We were able to link 304 of 486 cases (63%).

Ethanol and the placenta: A review.

Objective: In this paper we review published studies of alcohol exposure on placentation, placenta growth and function.

Methods: We searched PubMed using the MeSH terms: placenta, ethanol, fetal alcohol syndrome and prenatal exposure with delayed effects. We searched the years 1996-2006 and used the references from other articles to expand our search.

Overdependence on degraded gist memory in Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) reduces associative effects on false recognition in the Deese-Roediger-McDermott task, either due to impaired memory for gist or impaired use of gist in memory decisions. Gist processes were manipulated by blocking or mixing studied words according to their associations and by varying the associative strength between studied and nonstudied words at test. Both associative blocking and associative strength had smaller effects on false recognition in AD patients than in control participants, consistent with gist memory impairments.

Short-form Ron receptor is required for normal IFN-gamma production in concanavalin A-induced acute liver injury.

Abrogation of Ron receptor tyrosine kinase function results in defects in macrophage activation and dysregulated acute inflammatory responses in vivo. Several naturally occurring constitutively active alternative forms of Ron have been identified, including from primary human tumors and tumor cell lines. One of these alternative forms, short-form (SF) Ron, is generated from an alternative start site in intron 10 of the Ron gene that eliminates most of the extracellular portion of the receptor and is overexpressed in several human cancers.