Maternal and Infant Dietary Patterns Are Not Related to Food Allergy Risk in Singapore Children: GUSTO Cohort Study.

Background: We previously reported that delayed allergenic food introduction in infancy did not increase food allergy risk until age 4 y within our prospective cohort. However, it remains unclear whether other aspects of maternal or infant diet play roles in the development of childhood food allergy.

Objectives: We examined the relationship between maternal pregnancy and infant dietary patterns and the development of food allergies until age 8 y.

Temporal measures of oropharyngeal swallowing events identified using ultrasound imaging in healthy young adults.

Swallowing is a complex process that involves precise coordination among oral and pharyngeal structures, which is essential to smooth transition of bolus and adequate airway protection. Tongue base retraction and hyolaryngeal excursion are two significant swallowing movements, and their related events can be examined using ultrasound imaging, which is physically and radioactively non-invasive. The present study aimed to 1) establish the temporal sequences and timing of swallowing events identified using ultrasound imaging, and 2) investigate the variability of the above temporal sequences and 3) investigate the effect of bolus type on the variability of temporal sequences in non-dysphagic individuals.

Dealing With Death Taboo: Discussion of Do-Not-Resuscitate Directives With Chinese Patients With Noncancer Life-Limiting Illnesses.

Background: Noncancer patients with life-limiting diseases often receive more intensive level of care in their final days of life, with more cardiopulmonary resuscitation performed and less do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders in place. Nevertheless, death is still often a taboo across Chinese culture, and ethnic disparities could negatively affect DNR directives completion rates.

Objectives: We aim to explore whether Chinese noncancer patients are willing to sign their own DNR directives in a palliative specialist clinic, under a multidisciplinary team approach.

Child, Maternal and Demographic Factors Influencing Caregiver-Reported Autistic Trait Symptomatology in Toddlers.

Current research on children's autistic traits in the general population relies predominantly on caregiver-report, yet the extent to which individual, caregiver or demographic characteristics are associated with informants' ratings has not been sufficiently explored. In this study, caregivers of 396 Singaporean two-year-olds from a birth cohort study completed the Quantitative Checklist for Autism in Toddlers. Children's gender, cognitive functioning and birth order, maternal age, and ethnic group membership were not significant predictors of caregiver-reported autistic traits.

In Trauma, Conventional ROTEM and TEG Results Are Not Interchangeable But Are Similar in Clinical Applicability.

Background: There is growing interest in viscoelastic hemostatic assays rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM) and thromboelastography (TEG) for trauma. Despite shared features, it is unknown whether their results are interchangeable and whether one is clinically superior in predicting mortality, blood transfusion, and diagnosing early trauma coagulopathy.

Methods: We conducted a prospective observational study comparing equivalent ROTEM and TEG parameters.