bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Drug Use, Drug Trafficking, and Weapon Carrying Among Low-Income, African-American, Early Adolescent Boys
Authors: Black Maureen M. , Ricardo Izabel B. 
Published: December 2021

Objective. To examine relationships involving three extremely high-risk behaviors (drug use, drug trafficking, and weapon carrying) among low-income, urban, African-American early adolescent boys using both quantitative and qualitative methods.
Method. The quantitative phase included 192 African-American boys from 9 through 15 years of age recruited from recreation centers located in low-income communities. Youth completed a survey addressing personal risk practices; intentions to engage in risk practices; risk taking among family, friends and community; and values toward risk practices. They also completed standardized assessments of sensation seeking, perceived peer pressure, and parent-child communication. All questionnaires were self-administered through MacIntosh computers programmed to present questions aurally and visually. The qualitative phase included 12 African-American youth from low-income, urban families. The youth participated in 60- to 90-minute interviews regarding drug activities and violence.
Results. Most boys (73%) were not involved in either drug activities or weapon carrying. Boys who were involved in drug activities or weapon carrying were often involved in other high-risk activities (cigarette and alcohol use, school failure and expulsion) and had low rates of adaptive communication with their parents. The boys reported high rates of drug involvement by their family, friends, and community. However, psychological and interpersonal factors were better predictors of individual risk activities than community or family variables. Personal values regarding economics predicted drug trafficking. More than 56% of the boys who reported past involvement in drug activities did not anticipate future involvement.
Conclusions. Multilevel strategies are necessary to prevent involvement in drug activities and weapon carrying. Intervention programs should begin early and should promote communication between parents and children, adaptive behavior in school, and avoidance of cigarette and alcohol use. Community-level interventions are needed to alter the myth that drug involvement and weapon carrying are normative and to promote images that are less materialistic and more supportive of education and future-oriented activities.
Sexual Practices and Intentions Among Preadolescent and Early Adolescent Low-Income Urban African-Americans
Authors: Stanton Bonita , Li Xiaoming , Black Maureen , Ricardo Izabel , Galbraith Jennifer , Kaljee Linda , Feigelman Susan 
Published: December 2021

Objective. To assess the sexual practices and the social and intrapersonal influences on sexual practices and intentions which have an impact on the risk for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome among pre- and early adolescent, low-income African-American youths.
Design. Cross-sectional cohort study conducted in nine recreation centers serving three public housing developments in an eastern city.
Participants. Three hundred fifty-one African-American youths 9 to 15 years of age.
Outcome measures. Past and intended sexual intercourse, and past and intended condom use determined by a risk assessment instrument delivered aurally and visually via a "talking" MacIntosh computer.
Results. The median age was 11 years; 35% of youths had had sexual intercourse and 20% of virgins thought it likely that they would become sexually active in the next six months. Age and male gender were correlated with sexual activity. Of sexually active youths 62% had used a condom during their last episode of coitus and 60% expected to do so at the next episode. Among sexually active youths, 24% of boys and 35% of girls had had anal intercourse. Rates of foreplay (nonpenetrative sex) were low even among sexually active youths. The median number of sexual partners in the past six months was two. Social influences from parents, peers, and partners in an intimate relationship were important for all four sexual outcomes both by univariate analysis and after logistic regression.
Implications. A high percentage of the low-income, urban African-American pre- and early adolescents in this study are engaging or intending to engage in high-risk sexual behaviors. Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome reduction interventions for early adolescents should incorporate the importance of social influences from multiple sources.
Prevention of Intellectual Impairment in Children of Women Who Smoke Cigarettes During Pregnancy
Authors: Olds David L. , Henderson Charles R. , Tatelbaum Robert 
Published: December 2021

The acknowledgement section of the following two articles should have included the statement listed below:
Prevention of Intellectual Impairment in Children of Women Who Smoke Cigarettes During Pregnancy. Pediatrics. 1994;93:228-233.
We thank Robert Chamberlin for serving as co-investigator on the original trial; John Shannon for his administrative support of the work; and Elizabeth Chilson, Diane Farr, Georgianna McGrady, Jacqueline Roberts, and Lyn Scazafabo for their work with the families enrolled in the program.
WHEN DEATH SQUADS MEET STREET CHILDREN
Authors: L. J. F. 
Published: December 2021

Four children are murdered every day in Brazil. While the general murder rate has decreased in Rio de Janeiro since 1990, more children are being murdered: 306 died in 1991, 424 last year, and in the first six months of this year the number leapt to 298. Sao Paulo and Recife are not far behind.
The grim statistics usually get tucked away in the crime pages of the tabloids. Last week, however, when eight street children were shot dead in the centre of Rio the news shocked even Brazil.
The circumstances were especially macabre. The children, aged between 11 and 17, all poor and most of them black, were shot around midnight as they huddled by an elegant fountain in a prominent square named after Pope Pius χ. The five gunmen carried out their assault in the shadows of the Nossa Senhora da Candelaria, a floodlit 18th-century Catholic church which serves as one of Rio's prettiest postcards and a favoured spot for society weddings.
Management Errors Leading to Unnecessary Hospitalization for Kerion
Authors: Pomeranz Albert J. , Fairley Janet A. 
Published: December 2021

Objective. Tinea capitis is a common problem in the inner city, outpatient population. It is known that some children were being admitted for treat- ment of the kerion type of tinea capitis. The purpose of this study was to determine why these children were being admitted and whether hospitalization was justified.
Design. A retrospective study of all children hospitalized at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin between January 1990 and December 1992 with the diagnosis of tinea capitis was performed.
Results. Twenty-nine children who were hospitalized with tinea capitis were identified. In 10 cases, tinea capitis was the primary reason for admission, in 19 patients it was a secondary diagnosis. All of the patients with a primary diagnosis of tinea capitis were presumed to have a secondary bacterial infection of the kerion; however, this was not verified by the workup of any patient. Numerous deviations from optimal treatment were noted in both groups of patients. Although tinea capitis had been correctly diagnosed before admission in seven primary tinea capitis patients, only two of these patients received oral griseofulvin. The patients in whom tinea capitis was a secondary diagnosis also had a number of therapeutic deficiencies including failure to prescribe griseofulvin (16%), failure to administer griseofulvin with a fatty food or meal (58%), and failure to prescribe a sporicidal shampoo (63%).
Conclusions. Although all patients were assumed to have a secondary bacterial infection, this could not be documented. With the possible exception of one patient all the symptoms described by the patients could be explained by the highly inflammatory nature of a kerion. A better understanding of the degree of inflammation that may accompany a kerion, as well as its proper treatment, may prevent unnecessary hospitalization of children.
Clinical Features, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Tuberculosis in Infants
Authors: Vallejo Jesus G. , Ong Lydia T. , Starke Jeffrey R. 
Published: December 2021

Objective. Despite the recent resurgence of tuberculosis among children in the United States, no series of infants &lt;1 year of age with tuberculosis has been reported in the last 20 years. This study was undertaken to describe the epidemiology, clinical, and radiographic manifestations, and response to therapy in infants &lt;1 year of age with tuberculous disease.
Methods. The medical records were reviewed for all infants age 12 months or less with a diagnosis of tuberculosis and cared for at the Children's Tuberculosis Clinic at Ben Taub General Hospital in Houston, Texas between January 1, 1985 and June 30, 1992.
Results. Of the 47 infants identified, 51% were female. The median age at diagnosis was 8 months (range 3.5 to 12 months). Fifty-one percent of the infants were African-American and over one-third were Hispanic. All patients were born in the United States. Diagnosis resulted from the examination of an ill infant in 79% of cases, a case contact investigation of an adult suspected of having tuberculosis in 19%, and routine tuberculin skin testing in 2%. An adult with infectious tuberculosis who had contact with the infant was identified in 68% of cases. Intrathoracic disease alone was present in 70% of cases. Fourteen (30%) infants had extrapulmonary tuberculosis (11 central nervous system disease, 2 disseminated disease, and 1 cervical adenitis). Gastric aspirate cultures yielded Mycobacterium tuberculosis from 75% of the infants with isolated intrathoracic disease. Forty-five infants successfully completed therapy and only one death was directly related to tuberculosis. Forty-eight percent of the infants with pulmonary tuberculosis were treated with a 6-month regimen consisting of isoniazid and rifampin supplemented during the first 2 months by pyrazinamide. Eighteen infants received some twice weekly directly observed therapy mainly due to documented or suspected nonadherence. Treatment was well-tolerated; one patient (2%) developed hepatotoxicity due to isoniazid. No infant had a relapse or recurrence of disease in 6 months to 7 years follow-up for a median of 3 years (range, 6 months to 7 years).
Conclusion. Most infants with tuberculosis are symptomatic at the time of diagnosis, and bacteriologic confirmation was obtained in 70% of cases. A contact investigation of the household should be initiated immediately when an infant is suspected of having tuberculosis because valuable information needed to establish the diagnosis and guide therapy in the infant may be obtained. Intensive 6-month and twice weekly directly observed therapy appear to be well-tolerated and effective for the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis in infants.
PCBs in Breast Milk
Authors:   Committee on Environmental Health
Published: December 2021

Environmental chemicals have been found in human milk since the 1950s, and periodically there are reports of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in breast milk. Polychlorinated biphenyls are stored in body fat and are not readily excreted except in the fat of breast milk. PCB manufacture ceased in the US in the 1970s.
The routes of PCB exposure for the general population are not known in detail, but low-level contamination of food is a likely source. Persons who consume fish from contaminated waters, such as the Hudson River and Lake Michigan, may have greater exposure to PCBs. Opportunity still exists for skin to come in contact with and absorb PCBs from old electrical or laboratory equipment.
BACKGROUND
Studies in the US
In the US there are no known clinical effects of exposure to PCBs through breast milk. Two cohorts of US children—one in Michigan with about 250 children and the other in North Carolina with about 750 children—whose development was followed from birth had their exposure to PCBs measured. In the North Carolina study, prenatal exposure to PCBs but not exposure through breast milk was associated with poorer performance on the Psychomotor Index from the Bayley Scales of Infant Development from 6 months through 24 months of age.1,2 In the Michigan study, poorer visual recognition memory performance in 7-month-old infants was associated with cord serum PCB level and maternal contaminated fish consumption.3 There was no relation with breast milk exposure.
Studies in Asia
"Yusho" and "yucheng" both mean oil disease in Japanese and Chinese, respectively.
HARD TO SWALLOW
Authors: L. J. F. 
Published: December 2021

British battery maker Ever Ready is patenting an idea for making small batteries child-proof. Batteries no bigger than buttons are just the right size for children to swallow but contain poisonous chemicals such as zinc and mercury.
Ever Ready plans to douse these batteries in a solution of denatonium benzoate, an intensely bitter chemical that is sold under the trade name Bitrex. The batteries are then heated in air to 120°C for four or five minutes. The chemical hardens as a surface coating, like sugar round a sweet.
A Randomized Trial of a Nursing Intervention to Promote the Adjustment of Children with Chronic Physical Disorders
Authors: Pless Ivan Barry , Dougherty Geoffery , Willard Barbara , Feeley Nancy , Gottlieb Laurie , Rowat Kathleen 
Published: December 2021

Objective. This study was conducted to determine whether a specialized form of nursing could help prevent or reduce psychosocial maladjustment among children, aged 4 to 16 years, with chronic physical disorders. In contrast to other studies, nurses were chosen to provide the intervention based on their central role in health care and the appropriateness of their training for this task.
Methodology. A clinical trial was conducted in which 332 children and their families were randomly assigned either to receive this specialized nursing for a 1-year period, or to remain in the control condition. The children were all active outpatients in nine clinics at the Montreal Children's Hospital. Three measures of psychosocial functioning administered before and after the intervention were the basis for assessing its efficacy. The measures included the behavior problems profile of the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist, the Personal Adjustment and Role Skills, completed by the parents, and two versions of the Self-Perception Profile (Harter) for children aged 4 to 7 years and 8 to 16 years.
Results. Differences between groups were examined both categorically and quantitatively. In the former, the percent of children with clinical scores (those above or below a cut-off indicative of maladjustment) at baseline and postintervention were compared In the latter, the mean scores at the end of the trial were analyzed using analysis of covariance with the baseline scores as covariates. Statistically significant positive differences were found in the domain of anxiety/depression on the Personal Adjustment and Role Skills, and in the areas of scholastic competence, behavior, and global self-worth on the Harter.
Conclusion. The results indicate that this intervention helps children with chronic disorders by preventing or reducing maladjustment Most university-prepared nurses already have the basic skills required to achieve these results; only a modest investment in reorientation may be needed. Thus, other pediatric centers should be able to replicate these findings and thereby take a major step toward improving the lives of children with chronic disorders.
EFFECTIVE? MAYBE. PROFITABLE? CLEARLY
Authors: L. J. F. 
Published: December 2021

SANTA ANA, CALIF.—The Tokos Medical Corporation, which sells a service that detects early labor in pregnant women, recently started a program to reward obstetricians who ordered it for their patients.
In its ifies the company called the program "Dr. Deal." The deal: earn up to $20,000 annually on an investment of $1,000.
The program, in which 300 to 400 obstetricians nationwide are participating, works like this: The doctors put up $1,000 each to become shareholders in a company set up by Tokos that typically exists only on paper. In return, the doctors pocket 15 percent of the payment for any Tokos services prescribed by members of the physician-owned company. Tokos says participating physicians currently average about $5,000 a year from the arrangement; literature from one Tokos subsidiary boasted that annual earnings could reach $22,500
But a debate is growing about the effectiveness of the home uterine monitor that is the keystone of Tokos's service. The Food and Drug Administration is also investigating Tokos's marketing claims. Separately, there is a scientific controversy about the safety of the drugs Tokos sells to prolong pregnancy.
Some doctors are concerned about not only Tokos's marketing practices but also the willingness of some physicians to take part in its investment plans. "It is a sad day for medicine," say Dr. Benjamin Sachs, chief of obstetrics and gynecology at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston.
A look at Tokos's marketing efforts highlights one of the most troubling issues in health care: Medical companies often go to great lengths to encourage doctors to use their products, and to persuade insurers to pay for them.
CONFUSION AND ERROR ARE RIFE IN HOSPITAL BILLING PRACTICES
Authors: L. J. F. 
Published: December 2021

At a time when the General Accounting Office has estimated that 99 percent of hospital bills contain overcharges, these bills have become so complicated and so lengthy that no mere mortal patient can read them or spot mistakes. Itemized bills for even brief hospitalizations run several pages and those for major surgery, like a heart bypass, can be dozens of pages.
If mistakes go unnoticed, the patient or insurer can end up paying too much. In addition, health-care experts say the complicated bills make it virtually impossible for patients to compare costs at hospitals. In both ways, these bills can contribute to worsening inflation in health care.
"You have these incomprehensible bills with millions of little items and for each a price," said Dr. Uwe Reinhardt, a health economist at Princeton University. "The American hospital bill is a source of great humor in the world health economics community; people just laugh."
A CHANGE OF ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Authors: L. J. F. 
Published: December 2021

Dr. Birt Harvey has been the Associate Editor of Pediatrics for the past three years. His distinguished background in pediatric practice, academic medicine, and Presidency of the American Academy of Pediatrics gave him a unique background that was invaluable to the journal at a critical time leading up to the current health care revolution. I valued his judgement, guidance, and boundless energy. He dragged us into the computer age. I will miss him. Birt will continue to be associated with the journal as an advisor and reviewer of special manuscripts. He's not the kind of doctor who can ever retire!
Dr. Ralph Feigin, Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine, will be the new Associate Editor. Ralph brings a different but equally impressive background to the journal. He's an internationally recognized infectious disease expert, a master teacher, and an experienced, creative academic administrator of the largest pediatric department in the world! He obviously also has boundless energy. I am counting on this!
Ambulatory Blood Pressure Recordings in Children and Adolescents
Authors: Harshfield Gregory A. , Alpert Bruce S. , Pulliam Derrick A. , Somes Grant W. , Wilson Dawn K. 
Published: December 2021

Objective. To provide reference data for ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) and to determine the influence of age, sex, and race on these values.
Methods. ABPM was performed on 300 healthy, normotensive boys and girls between the ages of 10 and 18 years, including 160 boys and 140 girls, of whom 149 were white and 151 were black. Mean systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and heart rate (HR) while awake and during sleep were calculated for black and white boys and girls aged 10 to 12 years, 13 to 15 years, and 16 to 18 years.
Results. Boys compared with girls 10 to 12 years of age had higher mean (±SD) SBP (115 ± 9 vs 112 ± 9 mm Hg; P &lt; .01) and DBP (67 ± 7 vs 65 ± 5 mm Hg; P &lt; .01) while awake. Boys compared to girls 13 to 15 years of age had higher SBP while awake (116 ± 11 vs 112 ± 8 mm Hg; P &lt; .01). Boys compared with girls 16 to 18 years of age had higher SBP while awake (125 ± 12 vs 111 ± 9 mm Hg; P &lt; .01) and during sleep (116 ± 11 vs 106 ± 9 mm Hg). Comparisons within sex showed similar changes with age for boys and girls. Blacks compared with whites 13 to 15 years of age had higher SBP during sleep (109 ± 11 vs 105 ± 10 mm Hg; P &lt; .01), and blacks compared with whites 16 to 18 years of age had higher DBP during sleep (66 ± 7 vs 58 ± 6 mm Hg; P &lt; .01). Comparisons across age groups within race showed that blacks 16 to 18 years of age had higher SBP during sleep than blacks 10 to 12 years of age (109 ± 11 vs 104 ± 10 mm Hg), and higher DBP during sleep (66 ± 7 mm Hg; P &lt; .01) than blacks 10 to 12 years of age (61 ± 7 mm Hg; P &lt; .01) and 13 to 15 years of age (61 ± 8; P &lt; .01 mm Hg). The changes with age were not significant for white subjects.
Conclusion. These results provide age-specific reference data for ABPM in youths. These values differ by sex (boys more than girls) and race (Blacks more than Whites).
Cognitive Effects of Lyme Disease in Children
Authors: Adams Wayne V. , Rose Carlos D. , Eppes Stephen C. , Klein Joel D. 
Published: December 2021

Objective. To measure possible cognitive sequelae of Lyme disease (LD) within a pediatric population.
Design. Prospective, blinded, controlled study of cognitive skills in children who had been treated for LD.
Setting. A children's hospital in an area endemic for LD.
Patients. Forty-one children with strictly defined LD were compared with 14 control children who had subacute rheumatological diseases, and with 23 healthy sibling controls.
Outcome measures. Neuropsychologic measures were administered to each child to assess the following cognitive areas: IQ, information processing speed, fine-motor dexterity, novel-problem solving and executive functioning, short-term and intermediate memory, and the ability to acquire new learning. Predisease and postdisease academic achievement test scores were also gathered. Impressions from parents concerning the disease's subsequent impact were also obtained.
Results. No differences between LD and control groups were found for any of the numerous neuropsychologic measures. Analyses also failed to show differences between LD patients grouped with respect to the presence or absence of known neurologic involvement, disease stage, duration of symptoms before therapy, or type of antibiotic treatment. No predisease versus postdisease difference in academic performance was found. No perceived long-term deterioration in cognitive, social, or personality areas was reported by parents.
Conclusion. Children appropriately treated for LD have an excellent prognosis for unimpaired cognitive functioning.