Autobiographical Therapeutic Performance as a Means of Improving Executive Functioning in Traumatized Adults.

This article describes the pilot project & -a two-phase, multi-partner community-based project that explores the hypothesis that Autobiographical Therapeutic Performance can help traumatized individuals to improve executive functioning. A group of 10 individuals ranging in age from 32 to 69, with lived experiences at the intersection of trauma, mental health, and the court system, were paired with theater mentor-coaches for a 10-month creative group process, in which they shaped their stories into autobiographical performance pieces, through movement, improvisation, story-telling, and self-discovery. In the second phase of the project, their stories were merged into a theater production, weaving movement, song, and voice, and performed by an ensemble of experienced actors from the community.

Multiscale Microstructure, Composition, and Stability of Surfactant/Polymer Foams.

Inclusion of polymer additives is a known strategy to improve foam stability, but questions persist about the amount of polymer incorporated in the foam and the resulting structural changes that impact material performance. Here, we study these questions in sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)/hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) foams using a combination of flow injection QTOF mass spectrometry and small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) measurements leveraging contrast matching. Mass spectrometry results demonstrate polymer incorporation and retention in the foam during drainage by measuring the HPMC-to-SDS ratio.

Resolving Water, Proteins, and Lipids from In Vivo Confocal Raman Spectra of Stratum Corneum through a Chemometric Approach.

Development of this in vivo confocal Raman spectroscopic method enables the direct measurement of water, proteins, and lipids with depth resolution in human subjects. This information is very important for skin-related diseases and characterizing skin care product performance. This protocol illustrates a method for confocal Raman spectra collection and the subsequent analysis of the spectral dataset leveraging chemometrics.

MCR Approach Revealing Protein, Water, and Lipid Depth Profile in Atopic Dermatitis Patients' Stratum Corneum via in Vivo Confocal Raman Spectroscopy.

Confocal Raman has been widely used for measuring the water concentration profile inside skin to calculate clinical end points, such as stratum corneum thickness. In this article, multivariate curve resolution was applied to resolve the pure components contained in high frequency (2500-4000 cm) in vivo confocal Raman data. Three components were identified by comparing with reference spectra of materials in skin.

Translating chemometric analysis into physiological insights from in vivo confocal Raman spectroscopy of the human stratum corneum.

The superficial layer of the skin, the stratum corneum (SC), consists of corneocytes surrounded by lipid regions and acts as a protective barrier for the body against water loss, toxic agents and microorganisms. As most substances permeate the stratum corneum through the lipid regions, lipid organization is considered crucial for the skin barrier function. Here, we investigate the potential of in vivo confocal Raman spectroscopy to describe the composition and organization of the SC.

Impact of vaccination on the epidemiology of varicella: 1995-2009.

Background: When varicella vaccine was licensed in the United States in 1995, there were concerns that childhood vaccination might increase the number of adolescents susceptible to varicella and shift disease toward older age groups where it can be more severe.

Methods: We conducted a series of 5 cross-sectional studies in 1994 to 1995 (prevaccine), 2000, 2003, 2006, and 2009 in Kaiser Permanente of Northern California to assess changes in varicella epidemiology in children and adolescents, as well as changes in varicella hospitalization in people of all ages. For each study, information on varicella history and varicella occurrence during the past year was obtained by telephone survey from a sample of ∼8000 members 5 to 19 years old; varicella hospitalization rates were calculated for the entire membership.

Lack of association of Guillain-Barré syndrome with vaccinations.

Background: Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is an acute polyradiculoneuropathy, thought to be an autoimmune process. Although cases of GBS have been reported following a wide range of vaccines, a clear association has only been established with the 1976 H1N1 inactivated influenza vaccine.

Methods: We identified hospitalized GBS cases from Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC) from 1995 through 2006.

Long-term effectiveness of varicella vaccine: a 14-Year, prospective cohort study.

Background: Varicella vaccine was licensed in the United States in 1995 for individuals ≥12 months of age. A second dose was recommended in the United States in June 2006. Varicella incidence and vaccine effectiveness were assessed in a 14-year prospective study conducted at Kaiser Permanente Northern California.

Epidemiologic and clinical features of Bell's palsy among children in Northern California.

Background: Bell's palsy (BP) is an acute, idiopathic, and usually unilateral paralysis of the facial nerve. Large population-based studies of BP among children are lacking. We determined epidemiologic and clinical features of BP among children enrolled in a large integrated health care delivery system.

Immunization and Bell's palsy in children: a case-centered analysis.

Bell's palsy (BP) is an acute and idiopathic paralysis of the facial nerve, with an estimated incidence ranging from 11.5 per 100,000 person-years to 53.3 per 100,000 person-years in different populations.

Risk of rheumatoid arthritis following vaccination with tetanus, influenza and hepatitis B vaccines among persons 15-59 years of age.

Background: Associations between vaccinations, particularly hepatitis B, and onset of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have been reported, but examined in few large-scale studies.

Method: Onset of RA cases and dates of vaccination against hepatitis B, tetanus, and influenza were identified in a retrospective chart review of approximately 1 million Kaiser Permanente Northern California members ages 15-59 years from 1997 through 1999. In a cohort analysis, rates of new-onset RA were compared between vaccinated and unvaccinated within 90, 180, and 365 days.

Measles-mumps-rubella-varicella combination vaccine and the risk of febrile seizures.

Objective: In February 2008, we alerted the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to preliminary evidence of a twofold increased risk of febrile seizures after the combination measles-mumps-rubella-varicella (MMRV) vaccine when compared with separate measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) and varicella vaccines. Now with data on twice as many vaccine recipients, our goal was to reexamine seizure risk after MMRV vaccine.

Methods: Using 2000-2008 Vaccine Safety Datalink data, we assessed seizures and fever visits among children aged 12 to 23 months after MMRV and separate MMR + varicella vaccines.

Communication supports in pediatric rehabilitation.

This article introduces the roles of parents and rehabilitation professionals in the provision of communication supports for children who cannot meet their communication needs through natural speech alone, also referred to as individuals with complex communication needs (CCN). The authors present a personnel framework, introduce intervention models of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) services, and address issues parents face in preparing to provide communication supports to children with CCN using AAC and assistive technology (AT).

Accuracy of data on influenza vaccination status at four Vaccine Safety Datalink sites.

Background: Studies of influenza vaccination using electronic medical records rely on accurate classification of vaccination status. Vaccinations not entered into electronic records would be unavailable for study.

Purpose: This study evaluated the sensitivity and negative predictive value (NPV) of electronic records for influenza vaccination and factors associated with failure to capture vaccinations.

Rates of autoimmune diseases in Kaiser Permanente for use in vaccine adverse event safety studies.

Safety monitoring following new vaccine introduction includes assessment of potential new onset autoimmune diseases (AID). As knowledge regarding AID background rates is limited, we evaluated the incidence of 11 AID in Northern California Kaiser Permanente. AID cases were identified using electronic records of members aged 10-62 years from 1998 to 2004, excluding those with AID diagnoses from 1996 to 1997.

Varicella vaccination and ischemic stroke in children: is there an association?

Background: Ischemic stroke is a known complication of varicella disease. Although there have been case reports of ischemic stroke after varicella vaccination, the existence and magnitude of any vaccine-associated risk has not been determined. OBJECTIVE.

Lack of association between age at varicella vaccination and risk of breakthrough varicella, within the Northern California Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program.

Background: Varicella vaccine currently is recommended for children between 12 and 18 months of age. However, rates of breakthrough varicella have been reported to be higher among children vaccinated before 14 or 15 months of age and to increase with time since vaccination.

Methods: An ongoing study at the Northern California Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program is evaluating vaccine efficacy in 7585 children vaccinated with Varivax in 1995, when they were between 12 and 23 months of age.

Early thimerosal exposure and neuropsychological outcomes at 7 to 10 years.

Background: It has been hypothesized that early exposure to thimerosal, a mercury-containing preservative used in vaccines and immune globulin preparations, is associated with neuropsychological deficits in children.

Methods: We enrolled 1047 children between the ages of 7 and 10 years and administered standardized tests assessing 42 neuropsychological outcomes. (We did not assess autism-spectrum disorders.

A role for genetics in the immune response to the varicella vaccine.

Background: A wide range in antibody titers has been found after immunization with the varicella vaccine, although the basis for these differences has not been described.

Methods: To evaluate the contribution of a genetic component in the immune response to the varicella vaccine, concordance for six-week postimmunization antibody titers was evaluated among 248 biologic siblings who participated in varicella vaccine clinical trials by comparing all pairs of siblings (151 pairs) to all possible unrelated, nonsibling pairs created from within this same cohort (30,477 pairs).

Results: Postimmunization antibody titers after 1 varicella vaccine dose were within the range observed historically among healthy vaccinees, with 85.

Hepatitis B vaccine and risk of autoimmune thyroid disease: a Vaccine Safety Datalink study.

Purpose: Hepatitis B vaccine has been postulated as a possible cause of autoimmune disorders, including autoimmune thyroid diseases (ATD). Cases of Graves' disease and Hashimoto's thyroiditis, following hepatitis B vaccine have been reported to the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS). To test the hypothesis that hepatitis B vaccine increases the risk of ATD, we conducted a case-control study, within the Vaccine Safety Datalink project.

Effectiveness of heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in children younger than 5 years of age for prevention of pneumonia: updated analysis using World Health Organization standardized interpretation of chest radiographs.

Background: A World Health Organization (WHO) working group in 2001 developed a method for standardizing interpretation of chest radiographs in children for epidemiologic purposes. We reevaluated radiographs from the Kaiser Permanente Pneumococcal Efficacy trial using this method.

Methods: Seven-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine was evaluated in a randomized, controlled study including 37,868 infants.

Immunogenicity and safety of measles-mumps-rubella, varicella and Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccines administered concurrently with a fourth dose of heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine compared with the vaccines administered without heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine.

Background: Prevnar [heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7)] is licensed in the United States for routine administration in infants and may be coadministered with other infant vaccines. Safety and immunogenicity data on the coadministration of the fourth dose of PCV7 with measles-mumps-rubella (MMR), varicella and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccines are limited.

Methods: Children 12-15 months of age received either MMR with PCV7 (group 1) or MMR without PCV7 (group 2).

Active telephone surveillance to evaluate adverse events among civilian smallpox vaccine recipients.

Objective: Better characterize and monitor adverse events following Dryvax vaccinia vaccination in civilian health care workers and other first responders.

Design: Telephone interviews to ascertain adverse events experienced.

Results: Eight hundred twenty-five vaccinees, including 44 in the comparison group, were interviewed.

Safety of cold-adapted live attenuated influenza vaccine in a large cohort of children and adolescents.

Objective: To determine the safety of cold-adapted trivalent intranasal influenza virus vaccine (CAIV) in children and adolescents.

Study Design: A randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled safety trial in healthy children age 12 months to 17 years given CAIV (FluMist; MedImmune Vaccines, Inc.) or placebo (randomization, 2:1).