Conference report the children (ni) order - challenges ahead

The long awaited new Children (NI) Order has yet to be implemented but there is no doubt about the significance in relation to providing an important watershed for the future development of Child Care Services in Northern Ireland. The recent conference organised by BASW (NI) in association with the Children (NI) Order Group provided a forum for the dissemination of information of the experiences of local authorities and judiciary in England since the Children Act 1989- This unique blend of the social work/legal context coupled with the keynote presentation and overview by Baroness Faithful offered the first major conference in the Province to address the main issues posed by the legislation. The conference attracted over 250 delegates from a multidisciplinary background and key Department of Health and Social Services personnel. The programme content included conference speakers from England and Northern Ireland and reflected the key roles played by the judiciary, social services management and the social services inspectorate. Baroness Faithful is well known in child care circles and recognised as a major contributor to the development of the Children Act. Her services for families and children in Northern Ireland and the potential strengths to be gained from its implementation set the tone for the conference. She also indicated the necessity of extending training to three years would be raised agin for debate. This was by An Overview of the English Experience of the Children Act 1989 with speaker Kay Birch from the Lord Chancellor's office, Mary Barnard J.P., Chairman of the Family Proceedings Committee and Judge Nigel Fricker Q.C., Designated Family Judge. They highlighted the importance of interdisciplinary training and partnership, the development of good information systems, the significant change in culture required by such aspects as the “non intervention” policy and the role of lay magistrates and the changes in court procedures.     

Repetitive, negligible force reaching in rats induces pathological overloading of upper extremity bones.

Work-related repetitive motion disorders are costly. Immunohistochemical changes in bones resulting from repetitive reaching and grasping in 17 rats were examined. After 3-6 weeks, numbers of ED1+ macrophages and osteoclasts increased at periosteal surfaces of sites of muscle and interosseous membrane attachment and metaphyses of reach and nonreach forelimbs. These findings indicate pathological overloading leading to inflammation and subsequent bone resorption. INTRODUCTION: Sixty-five percent of all occupational illnesses in U.S. private industry are attributed to musculoskeletal disorders arising from the performance of repeated motion, yet the precise mechanisms of tissue pathophysiology have yet to be determined for work-related musculoskeletal disorders. This study investigates changes in upper extremity bone tissues resulting from performance of a voluntary highly repetitive, negligible force reaching and grasping task in rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seventeen rats reached an average of 8.3 times/minute for 45-mg food pellets for 2 h/day, 3 days/week for up to 12 weeks. Seven rats served as normal or trained controls. Radius, ulna, humerus, and scapula were collected bilaterally as follows: radius and ulna at 0, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 12 weeks and humerus and scapula at 0, 4, and 6 weeks. Bones were examined for ED1-immunoreactive mononuclear cells and osteoclasts. Double-labeling immunohistochemistry was performed for ED1 (monocyte/macrophage lineage cell marker) and TRACP (osteoclast marker) to confirm that ED1+ multinucleated cells were osteoclasts. Differences in the number of ED1+ cells over time were analyzed by ANOVA. RESULTS: Between 3 and 6 weeks of task performance, the number of ED1+ mononuclear cells and osteoclasts increased significantly at the periosteal surfaces of the distal radius and ulna of the reach and nonreach limbs compared with control rats. These cells also increased at periosteal surfaces of humerus and scapula of both forelimbs by 4-6 weeks. These cellular increases were greatest at muscle attachments and metaphyseal regions, but they were also present at some interosseous membrane attachments. The number of ED1+ cells decreased to control levels in radius and ulna by 12 weeks. CONCLUSIONS: Increases in ED1+ mononuclear cells and osteoclasts indicate that highly repetitive, negligible force reaching causes pathological overloading of bone leading to inflammation and osteolysis of periosteal bone tissues.     

Establishing a cancer center data bank and biorepository for multidisciplinary research.

The establishment of a biorepository with linkage to clinical and epidemiologic data will provide an invaluable resource for cancer research, including studies of cancer etiology, progression, and prognosis, as well as development of biomarkers for early detection. Developing an infrastructure for a biorepository linked to clinical, pathologic, and epidemiologic data requires significant efforts in strategic planning for efficient means to ascertain, identify, and consent participants, as well as guidelines for blood collection, processing, and storage while maintaining participant privacy rights. In this report, we present an approach to developing a Data Bank and Biorepository at our own institution, with discussion of elements to be considered when establishing such a bank.     

Anthracycline cardiotoxicity.

Anthracycline drugs have been widely used as chemotherapeuticagents against a range of cancers, including sarcomas, carcinomas,leukaemias, and lymphomas. However, cardiotoxic effects, inparticular the development of cardiomyopathy, have limited theirclinical use. The observation of dose-dependent cardiotoxicityhas resulted in a recommended empirical dose limit of 450 mg/m²of body surface area. Age, gender, pre-existing heart disease,hypertension, and mediastinal irradiation have also been implicatedas factors contributing to the development of doxorubicin-associatedcardiomyopathy. However, cardiotoxicity may still occur at relativelylow levels of drug administration, even in individuals withno additional risk factors, and the onset may be delayed bymany years.¹ More recently, the use of trastuzumab, a monoclonalantibody directed against the HER2 receptor, has been     

Gangliosides of cultured astroglia

Cultured astrocytes prepared from newborn rat brain and 13-day-old chick embryonic brain were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively for ganglioside content. All preparations contained approximately the same total level: 2.4-3.4 micrograms N-acetylneuraminic acid (NeuAc)/mg protein. In contrast, the value for primary cultures of neurons from chick embryonic brain was 5.9. The non-hexosamine-containing species, GM3 and GD3, comprised 75-85% of the total in astroglial cultures, the remainder consisting mainly of structural types other than the gangliotetraose series; choleragenoid assay revealed the latter to be virtually absent or to comprise at most a few percent. Deficiency of gangliotetraose synthesizing ability was indicated by the very low level of UDP-GalNac:GM3 N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase detected in the cells. Treatment of cultured astrocytes with astroglial growth factor 2 or dibutyryl cyclic AMP caused little if any change in quantity or pattern of gangliosides. The large majority of cells stained in a manner characteristic of astrocytes: positive for glial fibrillary acidic protein, negative for galactosyl ceramides. Staining with cholera toxin and anti-GM1 antibody was essentially negative, as was that with tetanus toxin, A2B5 monoclonal antibody, and antibody to GD3. All evidence thus points to cultured astrocytes of rat and chick brain containing appreciable gangliosides, most of which are GM3 and GD3 with the majority of the remainder comprising structures other than the gangliotetraose type.     

Nosocomial viral infections in a pediatric service: example of rotaviral gastroenteritis and respiratory syncytial viral bronchiolitis]

Nosocomial infections are a preoccupation in a pediatric hospital mainly during the winter with bronchiolitis and gastroenteritis epidemics. We have examined the risk factors of nosocomial infections. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A prospective study was conducted between November, 1999 and March, 2000 in the infants units of the Le Havre hospital. We systematically listed the admissions and contacted the family after their discharge by phone. A geographic information system was implemented to display the epidemiological data; this software is able to illustrate the sectors at risk. RESULTS: During the study, 687 infants were hospitalized of whom 458 for bronchiolitis and community-acquired gastroenteritis. Mean age was 5.4 months old. No nosocomial bronchiolitis occurred. Prevalence of nosocomial gastroenteritis was 10% (68 cases including nine after discharge). Infants with nosocomial infection were younger than those with community-acquired infection (6.6 months vs. 11.2 months, P < 0.01). The mean length of stay was longer in nosocomial infection (7.7 vs. 4.1 days, P < 0.05). Among the infants with bronchiolitis, 16% have developed nosocomial intestinal infections (RR = 2.65, IC: 1.59-4.4; P < 0.01). The geographic analysis pointed the area with nosocomial risk (bedroom without water, nearness of nurse office and games room). CONCLUSION: Geographic information system is a part of the quality control system and may have some interaction effect on final decision making. Incidence of nosocomial infections showed the need for a prevention strategy in a pediatric hospital.