A microbore high performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry method for the determination of the phytoestrogens genistein and daidzein in comminuted baby foods and soya flour

Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death and disability among children in the United States despite the fact that child safety seats and seat belts can provide effective protection against serious and fatal injuries. Many child car seats and safety restraints are being used incorrectly. In addition, recent fatalities associated with children and air bags have heightened awareness of child passenger safety issues. Pediatric nurse practitioners are in an excellent position to offer motor vehicle occupant prevention strategies to families through health education and anticipatory guidance.     

Safety restraints for children travelling in motor vehicles

The parents of 202 children were questioned about their use of safety restraints for their children while they were passengers in a motor vehicle. The result of the survey shows a low incidence of use of safety restraints by both parents and their children and that the type used for children was, in the majority of cases, both inadequate and dangerous. There was a correlation between the use of safety restraints by both parent and child on the day of questioning, but no association was found between the use of these restraints and the social class, educational standard achieved, income group, home language or home province of the parents. Neither was there any association between the use of safety restraints and a history of previous traffic accidents which had involved the family or close friends. In South Africa, the number of deaths in childhood as a result of motor vehicle accidents exceed those from the same cause in the United Kingdom. We consider that the medical profession in this country should inform the public of the desirability of fitting and using safety restraints of the correct type for children while they are passengers in motor vehicles. Reasons for the high incidence of serious injuries to children who are passengers in motor vehicles are reviewed and the methods of restraining children of different ages are discussed.     

Brain metastasis model in athymic nude mice using a novel MUC1-secreting human breast-cancer cell line, MA11

OBJECTIVES: This study explored parental attitudes about their interactions with their children's providers when decision making involved critical life situations. We evaluated parents' attitudes regarding the following questions: What was the parents' understanding of their children's health care issues, and what was the parental perception of the professionals' understanding of their children and of themselves? Who should be the principal decision makers for the children? What was the parents' knowledge about advance directives? Did parents want to participate in a process of advance planning to assist with critical life decision making for their children? METHODS: We surveyed all parents attending a conference sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health for parents of children with special needs. The questionnaire was provided to all parents attending the conference. An announcement was made at the conference requesting parental participation. The 76 respondents constitute a convenience sample of parents of children with special needs sufficient for this preliminary stage of investigation. RESULTS: Of 177 parents attending the conference, 76 (43%) completed the questionnaire. Eighty-eight percent of the participants strongly agreed that they understood their children's conditions. Twenty-one percent stated that they had sufficient understanding of their children's future medical needs, and 21% thought that they had a sufficient understanding of their children's developmental potential. Ninety-nine percent of parents strongly agreed that physicians should share information with parents no matter how serious or potentially upsetting. Ninety-four percent of those parents who thought that their children's physicians understood their own needs also thought that the physicians understood their children's needs. In contrast, only half (55%) of those parents who thought the physicians did not understand their needs thought the physicians understood their children's needs. Ninety-two percent of parents who thought that the physicians understood their needs agreed that the physicians would make the best decisions in crises versus 60% of those who did not think the physicians understood their needs. Seventy-four percent stated that they would consider written guidelines for their children that dealt with critical life situations. All parents who thought their children's conditions were not understood wanted written guidelines. Of those parents who had thought their children would not survive (15 parents), 94% wanted written guidelines. All seven parents who had been told their children would not survive wanted written guidelines. CONCLUSIONS: Parents in this study were generally satisfied with care being provided to their children. Nevertheless, the results clearly suggest goals that could lead to improved capacity for parents and providers to make critical life decisions for and with children. First, physicians must understand the needs of parents to be able to make decisions that would be in the children's best interests. Second, parents should participate fully in critical life decisions for their children and should use written guidelines to assist with the process of these critical life decisions. Our findings strongly support the development of a longitudinal process, initiated early after the onset or discovery of illness and maintained longitudinally throughout the course of a child's illness, to help parents and providers work together in this vital area of health care to children.     

Parents with human immunodeficiency virus infection: perceptions of their children's emotional needs

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the likelihood of patients who have human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) being parents and to identify concerns of these parents about their children. DESIGN: A survey was conducted of parental status, demographics, perceptions of social/emotional needs of self and one's children. Responses were analyzed for demographic differences. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 242 patients from the university HIV/AIDS clinics completed the survey. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Parental status, number, and ages of children, parental concerns about their children related to their own HIV/AIDS: RESULTS: Nearly one third (31.8%) of the sample of HIV/AIDS patients were parents, and three fourths (76%) of the female patients were mothers. Slightly more than one third of these were married, and these were not predominantly families who also had infected children. The percentage of women in the parent subsample (40.8%) was higher than the percentage of women in the overall patient sample (16.7%). Only half of the parents reported that their children > 4 years of age knew of their diagnosis. Two thirds of the parents reported they believed their children did not need to talk to someone about their parent's health, and nearly half of the parents reported that they did not need help dealing with their children concerning issues related to AIDS. CONCLUSION: The percentage of HIV/AIDS patients who are parents is high, and parental status and emotional needs of parents and their children will likely become an increasingly important issue. Many questions are raised by our findings. Should we be concerned that many parents have been unable to talk to their children about their own health? Should we help parents acknowledge that their children may need some outside help to cope?     

Flow-injection analysis of cobalt(II) utilizing enhanced lophine chemiluminescence with hydroxylammonium chloride

This study was designed to look at General Practitioner's knowledge of and attitudes to the use of seat belts in pregnancy. It has been shown that correct seat belt use does significantly reduce both maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality following RTAs. However, seat belts are infrequently and often incorrectly utilised by women during pregnancy. Passenger safety education is essential. General Practitioners in Ireland are in a prime position to provide this education in early pregnancy. A postal questionnaire was sent to all members of ICGP (n = 1,780). The results show that 70% of GPs are aware that women are obliged by law to use a seat belt while pregnant, and a similar number felt the subject of passenger safety education is an important medical issue. 75% feel women should wear seat belts in third trimester. However, only 30% provide regular advice and less than 50% indicated that they are aware of the correct advice to give. Also GPs are not asked by their pregnant patients for advice. There is no statistically significant difference between male and female GPs. GPs have the opportunity to and so should provide passenger safety advice. This advice must be accurate and safe.     

Parental knowledge and choice regarding live and inactivated poliovirus vaccines

BACKGROUND: Concern about the 8 to 10 cases per year of vaccine-associated paralytic poliomyelitis caused by the live oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) has led to revised guidelines for immunization of children in the United States. The use of inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) at 2 and 4 months of age could require administration of 3 injections per visit until combination products are available. OBJECTIVE: To determine parents' knowledge of poliovirus vaccines and the choices they would make between IPV and OPV. METHODS: Parents of 240 children aged 2 weeks to 18 months under the care of 10 private pediatricians in the Baltimore, Md, metropolitan area were interviewed prior to the announcement of revised advisory committee guidelines. RESULTS: The majority (62.5%) of respondents were not aware that 2 poliovirus vaccines are available. After reviewing standardized information about the vaccines and 2 alternate schedules, most (75%) parents would consult someone (primarily their physician) before making a final choice of a vaccine schedule. If parents made the choice without consulting anyone else, 61.3% would choose to have their child receive IPV and 3 injections per visit as compared with an all-OPV schedule and 2 injections per visit. Inactivated poliovirus vaccine was preferred by most parents because it would reduce the risk for vaccine-associated paralytic poliomyelitis. Oral poliovirus vaccine was preferred by 37.9% of parents primarily because it was given orally. If the number of injections at each visit was the same for both vaccines, 76.3% of parents would choose the IPV schedule, and if the number of injections was reduced to 2 by combining IPV with another vaccine, 87.9% of parents would choose IPV. CONCLUSION: The number of injections per visit is an important issue, but a majority of parents would choose to have their children receive extra injections to prevent the low risk for vaccine-associated paralytic poliomyelitis.     

Mechanical Testing and Finite Element Simulations for the Use of Cellular Metals as Car Seat Components

Due to the high energy absorption capacity at constant compressive stress level, cellular metals may be used as crash‐energy‐absorbing elements in autobody structures or car components, e.g., car seats. Modern car seats do not only have a high technical functionality, like electronic positioning, heating, and ventilation systems; in the case of a crash they must protect the passenger. The present paper deals with an analysis of potentially suitable cellular metals for integration in car seats. By means of different quasi‐static tests, i.e., compression, tensile, shear, and bending testing of several candidate metal foams and foam sandwich structures, the general material properties, the damage behavior and the reproducibility of mechanical data are tested. The results, which include optical 3D strain distribution measurements of the chosen cellular metals during quasi‐static testing, are implemented in the engineering design of structural car seat components and finite element calculations to simulate the crash behavior. Objective of the work is the derivation of robust and reliable mechanical testing procedures and standards as well as an improved understanding of the damage mechanisms of cellular metals under different loading conditions to finally derive design guidelines for cellular metals.     

Knowledge and information about ADHD: evidence of cultural differences among African-American and white parents

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is considered the most common child psychiatric disorder in the United States of America. Despite the high prevalence (estimated at 3-5%), little is known about the level and source of knowledge about ADHD among those affected by the disease, and about cultural and ethnic variations in knowledge levels and information sources. This represents a serious deficit, because health behavior, including demand for health services, is thought to be strongly influenced by knowledge or beliefs held by individuals and their networks. Furthermore, recent research suggested minority children may be less likely to receive services for ADHD. To examine possible differences in ADHD knowledge and information source, a sample of 486 African-American and white parents of children at high risk for ADHD were surveyed by telephone and subsequently participated in face-to-face interviews addressing their explanatory models of ADHD. Results revealed significant ethnic differences in knowledge and sources of information about ADHD. Fewer African-American parents than white parents indicated that they had ever heard of ADHD (69% compared to 95%, P < 0.001), or that they knew some or a lot about it (36% compared to 70%, P < 0.001) African-American parents were more likely to attribute ADHD to excessive sugar in the diet than whites (59% compared to 30.0%, P < 0.001). Finally, even though the physician was listed as the most preferred information source for both groups, only 17.5% of African-American parents reported they had received information about ADHD from the physician compared to 29% of whites (P < 0.01). African American parents reported less use of and less preference for written informational materials (newspapers, journals, library) than white parents. We conclude that substantially more research should be undertaken to examine the relationship between ethnicity and ADHD knowledge, to inform culturally appropriate education campaigns and to improve access to services for this important treatable child mental health condition.     

Attitudes, connaissances et comportements des parents québécois en regard de la pratique des jeux de hasard et d'argent chez les jeunes.

The present study assessed the attitudes, knowledge, and behaviours of parents regarding youth gambling. The randomized sample consisted of 597 parents of children aged 5 to 17 years. The telephone survey was conducted by a professional survey firm. Results indicate that most parents are cognisant about problem gambling among youths. Findings further indicate that parents have accurate and realistic attitudes toward youth gambling. Interestingly, these findings suggest that parents tend to overestimate the prevalence of problem gambling among youths, and underestimate the probability that their own child has gambled and that he/she may have a gambling problem. The majority of parents approve the implementation of prevention programs in schools and many would be interested in participating in such activities if they were offered to adults. This study underscores the pertinence of informing parents about youth gambling and highlights their openness towards and preferences regarding prevention interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Seat belts: Opinion effects of law-induced use.

A questionnaire measuring the experience factors Discomfort, Worry, Risk, Effect, and Inconvenience when wearing seat belts was administered to 526 car owners who were from the same population for which the questionnaire had been constructed (G. Fhaner and M. Hane, 1974). A comparison of the groups indicated that the law of compulsory seat belt use had generally brought about more positive opinions regarding use of seat belts. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Audit of an anticoagulant clinic: doctor and patient knowledge

Oral anti-coagulation with warfarin is increasingly required in the prophylaxis and treatment of vascular thrombosis and embolism. Unless the degree of anti-coagulation is maintained in the narrow therapeutic range either serious bleeding or failure to prevent thromboembolism may occur. Complications may occur in up to 31% of patients. We randomly sampled 50 patients attending an anticoagulant clinic and interviewed them. We found the PTR between 2.0-4.0 in 70% patients. Their records indicated that they attended 0.9 +/- 0.5 times per month, but the patients themselves said that they had 2.4 +/- 1.7 visits per month, lasting on average 1.9 +/- 0.7 hours per visit. The mean duration of therapy was 4.3 +/- 5.4 years [range 1 month to 26 years]. Many patients perceived that they had received no education about warfarin (23%) while the majority 67% of the remainder said their doctor had educated them. Concomitant aspirin was avoided by 74% patients but 14% considered it safe in combination with warfarin; 49% patients believed that alcohol was safe in combination with warfarin. When asked about the colours and strengths of warfarin tablets, 37% of our sample were completely correct, 9% were completely incorrect and 54% were partly correct. In 16% patients they could not describe their current therapy. As doctors may adjust warfarin dosage for patients in terms of tablet colour, we asked a sample of junior doctors about the colours or strengths of warfarin tablets: 10% were completely correct, one doctor knew none of the colours or strengths and the remainder had a partial knowledge. These studies suggest that the majority of patients on warfarin are cautious about therapy and are safe in their practices. However, we feel that a significant minority may be at risk from complications because of inadequate knowledge. We suggest that improving patient understanding by education may reduce complications and lead to more stable control of anticoagulant therapy.     

Gene therapy in rheumatoid arthritis--an already feasible therapeutic principle?

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this research study was to describe parents' behaviors, knowledge, and beliefs related to unintentional firearm injuries among children and youth. METHOD: A convenience sample of 80 parents whose children were attending one of six Kindercare Learning Centers in a Southwestern city was surveyed during the summer of 1995 to learn about their behaviors, knowledge and beliefs about unintentional firearm injuries among children and youth. Data on demographic characteristics, behaviors, knowledge, and beliefs, were collected with a questionnaire. RESULTS: Men and parents who had grown up with a gun in the house were more likely to be gun owners. Forty-eight percent of parents kept at least one gun in the home. Twenty-six percent of gun owners reported that the gun was loaded at all times, and 18% reported that a gun was kept within reach of a child. The most common reason given by parents for having a gun was for protection (61%). Only 8% of parents reported having discussed firearm safety with a health care worker. None of the parents had discussed firearm safety with a pediatrician. A test of knowledge about firearm injuries revealed some gaps in knowledge, with no significant differences between men and women or gun owners and non-gun owners. DISCUSSION: Results suggest that firearms in the home continue to pose a significant risk to children. Anticipatory guidance from NPs and pediatricians is needed to protect children from unintentional firearm injuries.     

Involvement of adenosine in vanadate-stimulated release of lipoprotein lipase activity

BACKGROUND: Optimal bottle weaning should occur between 12 and 15 months of age. We hypothesized that high-risk populations have different parental attitudes, learned behaviors, and knowledge of weaning practices. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether high-risk populations are less likely to wean their children by 15 months of age than low-risk populations. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey using a convenience sample of parents was conducted at 3 community-based pediatric clinics. Spanish- and English-speaking parents with weaned and unweaned children 12 to 36 months of age were included in the study. A self-administered questionnaire was completed at a clinic visit. The questionnaire addressed aspects of parents' sociodemographic characteristics and included feeding history; weaning practices; sources of information about weaning; and parental behaviors, attitudes, and knowledge of age at which the child should be weaned. RESULTS: One hundred eighty questionnaires were completed. Marital status was related to weaning behavior. Seventy-six percent of single mothers had weaned their children in a timely manner, whereas 48% of married mothers had done so (chi2 = 7.70; P = .008). Parental education, race, and income were not significantly related to the timeliness of weaning. When respondents rated the helpfulness of multiple sources, only the health clinic was found to be significantly more important for the timely weaning group (t = -2.13; P = .04). Parents with timely weaned children stated that the mean +/- SD optimal age for weaning is 13.6 +/- 3.2 months. Parents with unweaned and late-weaned children stated that the mean +/- SD optimal age is 19.9 +/- 6.6 months. Bedtime bottle feedings were reported in more than 87% of the unweaned group. Sixty-nine percent reported poor dental development associated with delayed weaning. CONCLUSIONS: Married parents are at risk of late weaning. Parents continue to allow their children to sleep with milk bottles in their mouths in bed at night. Parents are not aware of the medical problems associated with late weaning. Late-weaning parents are not knowledgeable about current weaning recommendations. Current approaches are not effective in altering set patterns of inappropriate weaning habits. Additional interventions and innovative parental education methods are needed to improve age-appropriate weaning practices.     

What kind of information does the health services give to children with asthma and their parents?

Good information to families who have children with bronchial asthma is essential for treatment and in helping the family to cope. The aim of this study was to find out what kind of information the parents meant they had received, their knowledge about asthma, and what sanitary measures had been taken at home. A questionnaire was sent to all children (N = 431) who, during a five year period, were entered into the records of the Department of Paediatrics, Innherred Hospital, Norway, with the diagnosis bronchial obstruction. A selected group of 55 children and their parents were also interviewed. The results showed that the parents were not satisfied with the information they had received about the illness and about effects and side effects of the medication. Furthermore, their knowledge about these matters was not satisfactory, judged both by themselves and by the interviewer. It was more difficult to quit smoking or to stop keeping animals than to do extra cleaning at home. Few parents were informed about their possibilities of receiving financial support and about patient organisations. Only in a few cases did the health service provide the school with information on the child's disease.     

Science and advocacy issues in research on children of gay and lesbian parents.

Herek (see record 2006-11202-004) identified the question "Does having gay, lesbian, or bisexual parents disadvantage a child relative to comparable children of heterosexual parents, parents, such that denying same-sex couples the right to marry is ultimately beneficial for children?" (p. 607) as a central issue that has featured prominently in legal and policy debates about same-sex marriage. This comment is a response to Herek's minimization of the significance of the virtual lack of any research focusing on the overall adjustment of children of gay fathers and his failure to clarify that findings about children raised by lesbians are being generalized to children of gay fathers. Given that opponents make egregious statements about the unfitness of gay and lesbian parents and the pathology of their children, are we justified in lowering our standards about how scientific research is described and reported? Herek was correct when he called for more research in understudied areas (p. 614), but until such research is conducted, psychologists must consider carefully what standards to use in summarizing and communicating research findings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A method for matching anonymous questionnaire data with group discussion material.

By the use of tape recorded discussion periods and coded seats, participants in discussions can be identified with regard to their seat number, if a record is kept of the order in which each seat holder speaks. If, previous to the discussion, anonymous questionnaires are given out and are left on the seats when participants leave the room, a match can be made between discussion comments and questionnaire. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of anti-LDL receptor antibody on the transfer of cholesterol from LDL to isolated lymphocytes in normal subjects

Results 2 1/2 years after an enuresis nocturna training are presented, including rate of success, percentage and duration of relapse for 113 children (mean age 11.6 year at the start of the training). The bibliotherapeutic treatment by parents did not require any intervention by a professional. Behaviour of parents in the event of a relapse differed between training conditions. Children in the Arousal condition recovered faster from a relapse, 90% of their parents used the Arousal training again at relapse or did not intervene at all and none of them consulted a professional. Clearly they had confidence in the method of Arousal training: combining the alarm device with reinforcement for correct behaviour at the time the alarm goes off. Parents in control conditions did not use the alarm device as often as the parents in the Arousal condition, but tried other means with less success, including consulting professionals.     

Oxygen free radical and cytokine generation during endovascular and conventional aneurysm repair

The parents of 31 children with malignant disorders were clinically examined and interviewed to characterize their life situation and somatic health during treatment of their child. The follow-up was for 7 years. Comparison groups were from the mean Finnish population matched for age, sex and occupation. The parents were generally healthy. Hypertension, headache and abdominal pain were the main symptoms. Sick leave and contact with a physician were less common than in the control population. The frequency of paramedical drug use was high but tranquilizers were used rarely. At the beginning the mothers had many symptoms indicating stress. Their attitude about their own state of health improved during the follow-up in spite of ageing. The spare-time physical activities of the parents increased during follow-up. Few marital conflicts and problems with the siblings were reported. The increment in economic burden caused by the child's disease was not regarded as essentially changing the family life.     

Children reason about shared preferences.

Two-year-old children’s reasoning about the relation between their own and others’ preferences was investigated across two studies. In Experiment 1, children first observed 2 actors display their individual preferences for various toys. Children were then asked to make inferences about new, visually inaccessible toys and books that were described as being the favorite of each actor, unfamiliar to each actor, or disliked by each actor. Children tended to select the favorite toys and books from the actor who shared their own preference but chose randomly when the new items were unfamiliar to or disliked by the two actors. Experiment 2 extended these findings, showing that children do not generalize a shared preference across unrelated categories of items. Taken together, the results suggest that young children readily recognize when another person holds a preference similar to their own and use that knowledge appropriately to achieve desired outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Roles of symbolic knowledge and problem-information context in solving word problems.

In 4 experiments, the effects of symbolic knowledge (i.e., knowledge about the meaning of mathematical notation) and problem-information context (PIC) on translating relational statements (e.g., "There are 6 times as many students as professors") into math equations were examined. College students were more likely to construct correct equations when symbolic knowledge was presented than they were when they only received a single relational statement. Ss who received a PIC that more closely resembled a complete word problem did better on the equation-writing task than did those who only received a relational statement. Results indicated that the effects of the two factors are not separate. When Ss had the appropriate PIC, performance on the equation-writing task was enhanced because Ss' own memory representations for symbolic knowledge were more accessible. Contextual constraints in the access and use of knowledge in problem solving are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)