bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Patterns of Cerebral Injury and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes After Symptomatic Neonatal Hypoglycemia
Authors: Burns Charlotte M. , Rutherford Mary A. , Boardman James P. , Cowan Frances M. 
Published: July 2008

BACKGROUND. Symptomatic neonatal hypoglycemia may be associated with later neurodevelopmental impairment. Brain injury patterns identified on early MRI scans and their relationships to the nature of the hypoglycemic insult and neurodevelopmental outcomes are poorly defined.METHODS. We studied 35 term infants with early brain MRI scans after symptomatic neonatal hypoglycemia (median glucose level: 1 mmol/L) without evidence of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. Perinatal data were compared with equivalent data from 229 term, neurologically normal infants (control subjects), to identify risk factors for hypoglycemia. Neurodevelopmental outcomes were assessed at a minimum of 18 months.RESULTS. White matter abnormalities occurred in 94% of infants with hypoglycemia, being severe in 43%, with a predominantly posterior pattern in 29% of cases. Cortical abnormalities occurred in 51% of infants; 30% had white matter hemorrhage, 40% basal ganglia/thalamic lesions, and 11% an abnormal posterior limb of the internal capsule. Three infants had middle cerebral artery territory infarctions. Twenty-three infants (65%) demonstrated impairments at 18 months, which were related to the severity of white matter injury and involvement of the posterior limb of the internal capsule. Fourteen infants demonstrated growth restriction, 1 had macrosomia, and 2 had mothers with diabetes mellitus. Pregnancy-induced hypertension, a family history of seizures, emergency cesarean section, and the need for resuscitation were more common among case subjects than control subjects.CONCLUSIONS. Patterns of injury associated with symptomatic neonatal hypoglycemia were more varied than described previously. White matter injury was not confined to the posterior regions; hemorrhage, middle cerebral artery infarction, and basal ganglia/thalamic abnormalities were seen, and cortical involvement was common. Early MRI findings were more instructive than the severity or duration of hypoglycemia for predicting neurodevelopmental outcomes.
Child Care Problems and Employment Among Families With Preschool-Aged Children With Autism in the United States
Authors: Montes Guillermo , Halterman Jill S. 
Published: July 2008

BACKGROUND. The impact of childhood autism on parental employment is largely unknown.
OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this work was to describe the child care arrangements of children with autism and to determine whether families of preschool-aged children with autism are more likely to report that child care arrangements affected employment compared with typically developing children and children at high risk for developmental problems.
METHODS. Parents of 16282 preschool-aged children were surveyed by the National Survey of Children's Health. An autism spectrum disorder was defined as an affirmative response to the question, “Has a doctor or health professional ever told you that [child] has any of the following conditions? Autism?” There were 82 children with autism spectrum disorder in the sample, and 1955 children at high risk on the basis of the Parent's Evaluation of Developmental Status. We used χ2 and multivariate logistic regression analyses.
RESULTS. Ninety-seven percent of preschool-aged children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder were cared for in community settings, particularly preschool and Head Start, with only 3% in exclusive parental care. Thirty-nine percent of the parents of children with autism spectrum disorder reported that child care problems had greatly affected their employment decisions, compared with 16% of the children at high risk and 9% of those who were typically developing. In multivariate analyses, families with a child with autism spectrum disorder were 7 times more likely to state that child care problems affected employment than other families, after controlling for household and child covariates. This effect was 3 times larger than the effect of poverty.
CONCLUSIONS. Developmental problems and autism spectrum disorder are associated with higher use of child care services and higher probability that child care problems will greatly affect employment. These findings warrant evaluation of the community resources available to families with children with special needs.
Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury Is Inconsistently Regionalized in the United States
Authors: Hartman Mary , Watson Robert Scott , Linde-Zwirble Walter , Clermont Gilles , Lave Judith , Weissfeld Lisa , Kochanek Patrick , Angus Derek 
Published: July 2008

OBJECTIVES. Traumatic brain injury is a leading cause of death in children. On the basis of evidence of better outcomes, the American College of Surgery Committee on Trauma recommends that children with severe traumatic brain injury receive care at high-level trauma centers. We assessed rates of adherence to these recommendations and factors associated with adherence.METHODS. We studied population and hospital discharge data from 2001 from all of the health care referral regions (n = 68) in 6 US states (Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Texas, and Virginia). We identified children with severe traumatic brain injury by using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification, codes and American College of Surgery Committee on Trauma criteria. We defined “high-level centers” as either level I or pediatric trauma centers. We considered an area to be well regionalized if ≥90% of severe traumatic brain injury hospitalizations were in high-level centers. We also explored how use of level II trauma centers affected rates of care at high-level centers.RESULTS. Of 2117 admissions for severe pediatric traumatic brain injury, 67.3% were in high-level centers, and 87.3% were in either high-level or level II centers. Among states, 56.4% to 93.6% of severe traumatic brain injury admissions were in high-level centers. Only 2 states, Massachusetts and Virginia, were well regionalized. Across health care referral regions, 0% to 100% of severe traumatic brain injury admissions were in high-level centers, and only 19.1% of health care referral regions were well regionalized. Only a weak relationship existed between the distance to the nearest high-level center and regionalization. The age of statewide trauma systems had no relationship to the extent of regionalization.CONCLUSIONS. Despite evidence for improved outcomes of severely injured children admitted to high-level trauma centers, we found that almost one third of the children with severe traumatic brain injury failed to receive care in such centers. Only 2 of 6 states and less than one fifth of 68 health care referral regions were well regionalized. This study highlights problems with current pediatric trauma care that can serve as a basis for additional research and health care policy.
Clinical and Genetic Analysis of Unclassifiable Inherited Bone Marrow Failure Syndromes
Authors: Teo Juliana T. , Klaassen Robert , Fernandez Conrad V. , Yanofsky Rochelle , Wu John , Champagne Josette , Silva Mariana , Lipton Jeffrey H. , Brossard Jossee , Samson Yvan , Abish Sharon , Steele MacGregor , Ali Kaiser , Athale Uma , Jardine Lawrence , Hand John P. , Tsangaris Elena , Odame Isaac , Beyene Joseph , Dror Yigal 
Published: July 2008

OBJECTIVE. Unclassified inherited bone marrow failure syndromes are a heterogeneous group of genetic disorders that represent either new syndromes or atypical clinical courses of known inherited bone marrow failure syndromes. The relative prevalence of the unclassified inherited bone marrow failure syndromes and their characteristics and the clinical and economic challenges that they create have never been studied.
METHODS. We analyzed cases of inherited bone marrow failure syndrome in the Canadian Inherited Marrow Failure Registry that were deemed unclassifiable at study entry.
RESULTS. From October 2001 to March 2006, 39 of the 162 patients enrolled in the Canadian Inherited Marrow Failure Registry were registered as having unclassified inherited bone marrow failure syndromes. These patients presented at a significantly older age (median: 9 months) than the patients with classified inherited bone marrow failure syndrome (median: 1 month) and had substantial variation in the clinical presentations. The hematologic phenotype, however, was similar to the classified inherited bone marrow failure syndromes and included single- or multiple-lineage cytopenia, severe aplastic anemia, myelodysplasia, and malignancy. Grouping patients according to the affected blood cell lineage(s) and to the presence of associated physical malformations was not always sufficient to characterize a condition, because affected members from several families fit into different phenotypic groups. Compared with the classified inherited bone marrow failure syndromes, the patients with unclassified inherited bone marrow failure syndromes had 3.2 more specific diagnostic tests at 4.5 times higher cost per evaluated patient to attempt to categorize their syndrome. At last follow-up, only 20% of the unclassified inherited bone marrow failure syndromes were ultimately diagnosed with a specific syndrome on the basis of the development of new clinical findings or positive genetic tests.
CONCLUSIONS. Unclassified inherited bone marrow failure syndromes are relatively common among the inherited bone marrow failure syndromes and present a major diagnostic and therapeutic dilemma.
Newborn Vitamin A Supplementation Reduced Infant Mortality in Rural Bangladesh
Authors: Klemm Rolf D.W. , Labrique Alain B. , Christian Parul , Rashid Mahbubur , Shamim Abu Ahmed , Katz Joanne , Sommer Alfred , West Keith P. 
Published: July 2008

OBJECTIVES. We assessed the effect of supplementing newborns with 50000 IU of vitamin A on all-cause infant mortality through 24 weeks of age.PATIENTS AND METHODS. This was a community-based, double-masked, cluster-randomized, placebo-controlled trial conducted in 19 unions in rural northwest Bangladesh. The study was nested into and balanced across treatment arms of an ongoing placebo-controlled, weekly maternal vitamin A or β-carotene supplementation trial. Study-defined sectors (N = 596) were evenly randomized for newborns of participating mothers to receive a single, oral supplement of vitamin A (50000 IU) or placebo as droplets of oil squeezed from a gelatinous capsule. Mothers provided informed consent for newborn participation at ∼28 weeks' gestation. After birth, typically at home (where &gt;90% of births occurred), infants were supplemented and their vital status was followed through 24 weeks of age. The main outcome measure was mortality through 24 weeks of age.RESULTS. We obtained maternal consent to dose 17116 live-born infants (99.8% of all eligible) among whom 15937 (93.1%) were visited to be supplemented &lt;30 days after birth and for whom vital status at 24 weeks of age was known. Dosed infants (n = 15902 [99.8%]) received their study supplement at a median age of 7 hours. Relative to control subjects, the risk of death in vitamin A–supplemented infants was 0.85, reflecting a 15% reduction in all-cause mortality. Protective relative risks were indistinguishable by infant gender, gestational age, birth weight, age at dosing, maternal age, parity, or across the 3 treatment arms of the maternal supplementation trial.CONCLUSIONS. Newborn vitamin A dosing improved infant survival through the first 6 months of life in Bangladesh. These results corroborate previous findings from studies in Indonesia and India and provide additional evidence that vitamin A supplementation shortly after birth can reduce infant mortality in South Asia.
Asthma Prevalence Among US Children in Underrepresented Minority Populations: American Indian/Alaska Native, Chinese, Filipino, and Asian Indian
Authors: Brim Susan N. , Rudd Rose A. , Funk Renee H. , Callahan David B. 
Published: July 2008

OBJECTIVES. The purpose of this work was to estimate asthma prevalence among US children in racial minority subgroups who have been historically underrepresented in the pediatric asthma literature. These subgroups include American Indian/Alaska Native, Chinese, Filipino, and Asian Indian children. We also explored the association between these race categories and asthma after adjusting for demographic and sociodemographic characteristics and explored the effect of place of birth as it relates to current asthma.
PATIENTS AND METHODS. Data on all 51944 children aged 2 to 17 years from the 2001–2005 National Health Interview Survey were aggregated and analyzed to estimate the prevalence of current asthma, lifetime asthma, and asthma attacks according to race and place of birth. Logistic regression was used to determine adjusted odds ratios for current asthma according to race and place of birth while controlling for other demographic and sociodemographic variables.
RESULTS. National estimates of current asthma prevalence among the children in the selected minority subgroups ranged from 4.4% in Asian Indian children to 13.0% in American Indian/Alaska Native children. Overall, children born in the United States had greater adjusted odds of reporting current asthma than did children born outside of the United States.
CONCLUSIONS. Smaller racial and ethnic minority groups are often excluded from asthma studies. This study reveals that, among children from different Asian American subgroups, wide variation may occur in asthma prevalence. We also found that children born in the United States were more likely than children born outside of the United States to have current asthma.
Young Adults With Very Low Birth Weight: Leaving the Parental Home and Sexual Relationships—Helsinki Study of Very Low Birth Weight Adults
Authors: Kajantie Eero , Hovi Petteri , Räikkönen Katri , Pesonen Anu-Katriina , Heinonen Kati , Järvenpää Anna-Liisa , Eriksson Johan G , Strang-Karlsson Sonja , Andersson Sture 
Published: July 2008

OBJECTIVE. Although most children and adults who are born very preterm live healthy lives, they have, on average, lower cognitive scores, more internalizing behaviors, and deficits in social skills. This could well affect their transition to adulthood. We studied the tempo of first leaving the parental home and starting cohabitation with an intimate partner and sexual experience of young adults with very low birth weight (&lt;1500 g).
METHODS. In conjunction with the Helsinki Study of Very Low Birth Weight Adults, 162 very low birth weight individuals and 188 individuals who were born at term (mean age: 22.3 years [range: 18.5–27.1]) and did not have any major disability filled out a questionnaire. For analysis of their ages at events which had not occurred in all subjects, we used survival analysis (Cox regression), adjusted for gender, current height, parents' ages at the birth, maternal smoking during pregnancy, parental educational attainment, number of siblings, and parental divorce/death.
RESULTS. During their late teens and early adulthood, these very low birth weight adults were less likely to leave the parental home and to start cohabiting with an intimate partner. In gender-stratified analyses, these hazard ratios were similar between genders, but the latter was statistically significant for women only. These very low birth weight adults were also less likely to experience sexual intercourse. This relationship was statistically significant for women but not for men; however, very low birth weight women and men both reported a smaller lifetime number of sex partners than did control subjects.
CONCLUSIONS. Healthy young adults with very low birth weight show a delay in leaving the parental home and starting sexual activity and partnerships.
Factors Affecting Seed Germination and Emergence of Venice Mallow (Hibiscus trionum)
Authors: Chachalis Demosthenis , Korres Nikolaos , Khah Embrahim M. 
Published: July 2008

Venice mallow is an emerging weed problem in many regions of the world in various crops. Studies on its hard seed coat were conducted by scanning electron, light, and fluorescence microscopy. The effects of environmental factors on germination and seedling emergence were examined in laboratory experiments. Seeds possessed physical dormancy (90%) that required immersion for 0.5 h in concentrated sulfuric acid to break without damaging the seed. After scarification, 29% of seeds exhibited primary embryo dormancy. Exposure of seeds to even short periods of 15 d of prechilling induced secondary dormancy (10% germination). The surface of hard seeds had a velvety appearance from numerous papillate structures and deposits (hydrophilic material). The location of the water barrier was very superficial in the outer seed coat. Although, in hard seeds, the hilar area appeared to have vertical ruptures and the hilum fissure appeared to be open, there was no water entry. It was observed that microruptures could be the region of structural weakness of hard seeds in relation to water permeability during prolonged burial (8 mo).The highest (60%) germination was recorded at a day/night temperature of 30/20 C with a 12-h photoperiod. No germination was measured at either 10 or 45 C constant temperature. Germination was recorded with a broad range of pH (3-11) and seeds were rather tolerant to low water potential (20% germination at –1.2 MPa). Seedling emergence was higher for seeds buried at 2 cm than for those placed on the surface (54 vs. 38%, respectively). These results showed that Venice mallow is a rather unique species that possesses a complex mechanism of dormancy (physical, primary, and secondary). Information gained in this study will be used in developing management strategies for this species.
Toxicity of perfluorooctane sulfonic acid and perfluorooctanoic acid on freshwater macroinvertebrates (Daphnia magna and Moina macrocopa) and fish (Oryzias latipes)
Authors: Ji Kyunghee , Kim Younghee , Oh Sorin , Ahn Byeongwoo , Jo Hyunye , Choi Kyungho 
Published: July 2008

AbstractBecause of their global distribution, persistence, and tendency to bioaccumulate, concerns about perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) are growing. We determined the toxicity of PFOS and PFOA in several freshwater organisms, including two cladocerans, Daphnia magna and Moina macrocopa, and the teleost Oryzias latipes. In general, PFOS is approximately 10 times more toxic than PFOA in these organisms. In M. macrocopa, the median lethal concentration (LC50) was 17.95 mg/L for PFOS and 199.51 mg/L for PFOA. Moina macrocopa exhibited greater sensitivity than D. magna to both perfluorinated compounds in both acute and chronic exposures. In the 48-h acute toxicity test, M. macrocopa was approximately two times more sensitive than D. magna. In the 7-d chronic toxicity test, M. macrocopa showed significant reproductive changes at 0.31 mg/L for PFOS, which was approximately seven times lower than the effect concentrations observed over the 21-d exposure in D. magna. Two-generation fish toxicity tests showed that parental exposure to both compounds affected the performance of offspring. Unexposed progeny-generation (F1) fish exhibited elevated mortality and histopathological changes that were correlated with exposure in the parental generation (F0). Continuous exposure from F0 through F1 generations increased the extent of adverse effects. Considering the persistent nature of PFOS and PFOA, more research is required to determine potential consequences of long-term exposure to these compounds in aquatic ecosystems.
Ecological risk assessment in the United States environmental protection agency: A historical overview
Authors: Suter Glenn W 
Published: July 2008

Abstract
Risk assessment originated with the insurance industry and spread to the estimation of risks to people and property in other contexts, including the regulation of environmental contamination. Ecological assessment became an important component of environmental management in the United States with the legal mandate for environmental impact assessment in 1970. Risk assessment and ecological assessment merged in the 1980s to form ecological risk assessment (ERA). Since then, ERA has been institutionalized with the development of the US Environmental Protection Agency's (hereafter, USEPA or Agency) framework and guidance documents. Ecological risk assessment has been adapted by the Agency's program offices to fit their legal and policy contexts. The future of ERA will inevitably include the incorporation of more complex and demanding methods. However, the biggest challenge for future risk assessors will be to make ecological risks more compelling to decision makers.
The strengths of the ecological risk assessment process: linking science to decision making
Authors: Barnthouse Lawrence 
Published: July 2008

Abstract
Twenty-five years ago, ecological assessments were being performed by different organizations, using different principles and methods, with little or no communication between different groups and no means for reconciling conflicts and inconsistencies between assessment methodologies. The recognition by practitioners of environmental assessment of the need for a unifying conceptual framework stimulated the development of today's Framework and Guidelines for Ecological Risk Assessment (ERA). This paper discusses the success of ERA as a process for linking environmental science to decision making, using 3 recently published case studies involving establishment of baseline ecological risks at a contaminated site, probabilistic assessment of regional risks of pesticide use, and regulation of pharmaceutical product manufacture. Some promising future directions in ERA are briefly discussed, and 3 critical challenges to future success are identified.
A theory of practice for environmental assessment
Authors: Suter Glenn W , Cormier Susan M 
Published: July 2008

Abstract
Environmental assessment practices have not been as successful as they should be. We believe that this is in part because environmental assessors lack a clear and useful set of principles—that is, a theory of practice. We propose a theory that derives 19 principles from 3 axioms: 1) assessments inform environmental management decisions, 2) assessments are science based, and 3) management decisions accommodate multiple goals and constraints. The 1st axiom leads to principles that change the focus from good assessments to good decisions. The 2nd focuses assessments on the scientific needs of the decision maker rather than making policy judgments or consensus building. The 3rd axiom leads to integration across disciplines, scales, and types of evidence. This theory of assessment practice implies the need for a new framework for environmental assessment that is more integrative than existing frameworks and more focused on making decisions that resolve environmental problems. We believe that this theory of environmental assessment can lead to clear assessment practices that compel beneficial and confident environmental management.