Congenital blindness and osteoporosis-pseudoglioma syndrome.

Isteoporosis-pseudoglioma syndrome (OPPG) is a rare heritable entity that features severe osteoporosis and many variable ophthalmic findings leading to congenital or juvenile blindness. These include microphthalmos, cataracts, bilateral pseudogliomatous retinal detachments, and phthisis bulbi. OPPG is usually not suspected until fractures occur, frequently after seemingly minor trauma. We report the ophthalmic findings of an infant girl with OPPG.     

Accentuating the positive??: An analysis of teacher verbalizations with young children

One of the primary influences on the quality of child care classrooms is teacher behavior, and a critical component of teacher behavior is verbal communication. This study examined the quality of teacher verbalizations with young children in preschool classrooms. Nineteen of the teachers were enrolled in community college courses in early childhood education and child development between pre- and posttesting and fifteen were not. Results indicated that although there was significant improvement on a measure of global classroom quality for those teachers involved in college coursework, teacher verbalizations did not become more appropriate. These findings are discussed in light of current teacher education programs and policy issues.     

Phase I trial of piroxicam in 62 dogs bearing naturally occurring tumors

Summary Piroxicam, a nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug, was given to 62 dogs bearing naturally occurring tumors in a phase I clinical trial. Dose escalation was performed, with oral doses ranging from 0.5 mg/kg every 48 h (q48h) to 1.5 mg/kg q48h being tested. Dose-limiting gastromestinal irritation/ulceration occurred in all four animals that received 1.5 mg/kg q48h. The maximum tolerated dose was 1 mg/kg q48h. Subclinical renal papillary necrosis occurred in two dogs (initial dosages, 1 and 1.5 mg/kg q48h, respectively). Following dose escalation, an additional group of dogs was treated with 0.3 mg/kg piroxicam q24h per os, the accepted canine dosage prior to this trial. Inclusion of this treatment group enabled evaluation of the toxicity of and tumor response to a daily dosage regimen. No complete remissions occurred in this trial. Partial remission was documented in three of ten dogs exhibiting transitional-cell carcinoma, in three of five animals bearing squamous-cell carcinoma, in one of three dogs displaying mammary adenocarcinoma, and in the one dog that exhibited a transmissible venereal tumor. The results of this study support the additional evaluation of piroxicam in a phase II clinical trial in dogs bearing naturally occurring tumors.This investigation was supported by Pfizer Inc.     

Neurons labeled from locomotor-related ventrolateral funiculus stimulus sites in the neonatal rat spinal cord.

Spinal cord/brainstem preparations from 5- to 8-day-old rats, maintained in vitro, were used to determine the cells of origin and regions of termination of fibers in the superficial ventrolateral funiculus (VLF) at a site from which rhythmic locomotor-like activity can be induced. Rhythmic locomotor-like activity was recorded from lumbar ventral roots after short trains of stimuli (50 Hz for 0.5-2 seconds) delivered to the VLF. Field potential mapping revealed that single VLF stimuli elicited responses in the ipsilateral ventrolateral medulla. Tract-tracing experiments by using biocytin, pressure-injected into the VLF, showed that only a small number of brainstem neurons were labeled and these were scattered bilaterally in the ventrolateral and lateral medulla. Dense concentrations of nerve terminals were found in the lateral reticular nucleus ipsilateral to the stimulation site. Labeled spinal cord neurons included a primary population of large cells distributed bilaterally in lamina VII from T13 to L4, with peak numbers in L2 ipsilaterally and in L3 contralaterally. Intracellular recordings revealed that some L2 and L3 neurons with rhythmic responses to VLF stimulation could be activated antidromically from the VLF, with latencies of less than 1.0 msec. These observations led us to speculate that the superficial VLF carries a locomotor-related tract originating bilaterally in lumbar lamina VII and terminating in the ipsilateral medulla, including the lateral reticular nucleus. This pathway may be part of the spinoreticular or spinoreticulotectal pathway that has been described in many species, the function of which has only loosely been ascribed.     

Reliability of a Store Observation Tool in Measuring Availability of Alcohol and Selected Foods

Alcohol and food items can compromise or contribute to health, depending on the quantity and frequency with which they are consumed. How much people consume may be influenced by product availability and promotion in local retail stores. We developed and tested an observational tool to objectively measure in-store availability and promotion of alcoholic beverages and selected food items that have an impact on health. Trained observers visited 51 alcohol outlets in Los Angeles and southeastern Louisiana. Using a standardized instrument, two independent observations were conducted documenting the type of outlet, the availability and shelf space for alcoholic beverages and selected food items, the purchase price of standard brands, the placement of beer and malt liquor, and the amount of in-store alcohol advertising. Reliability of the instrument was excellent for measures of item availability, shelf space, and placement of malt liquor. Reliability was lower for alcohol advertising, beer placement, and items that measured the “least price” of apples and oranges. The average kappa was 0.87 for categorical items and the average intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.83 for continuous items. Overall, systematic observation of the availability and promotion of alcoholic beverages and food items was feasible, acceptable, and reliable. Measurement tools such as the one we evaluated should be useful in studies of the impact of availability of food and beverages on consumption and on health outcomes.     

Safety assessment of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) as an ingredient added to cigarette tobacco

A tiered testing strategy has been developed to evaluate the potential for new ingredients, tobacco processes, and technological developments to alter the biological activity that results from burning tobacco. A series of studies was initially conducted with cigarettes containing 3% high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) as an alternate tobacco casing material to corn syrup/invert sugar, including determination of selected mainstream cigarette smoke (MS) constituent yields, Ames assay, sister chromatid exchange (SCE) assay in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, a 30-week dermal tumor-promotion evaluation of cigarette smoke condensate (CSC) in SENCAR mice, and a 13-week subchronic inhalation study of MS in Sprague-Dawley rats. A second series of studies was conducted with cigarettes containing 3%, 4% and 5% HFCS including MS chemistry, Ames assay, SCE assay in CHO cells, and a neutral red cytotoxicity assays. Collectively, mainstream smoke chemistry, genotoxicity, dermal tumor-promotion, and inhalation toxicity studies demonstrated no differences between cigarettes with 3% HFCS and cigarettes with 3% corn syrup/invert sugar. Also, mainstream smoke chemistry and genotoxicity of cigarettes with 4% and 5% HFCS were not different from cigarettes with 3% HFCS. In conclusion, the addition of up to 5% HFCS to cigarette does not alter the mainstream smoke chemistry or biological activity of mainstream smoke or mainstream smoke condensate as compared to cigarettes with 3% corn syrup/invert sugar with regard to the parameters investigated and presented.     

Screening for sexually transmitted diseases during preparticipation sports examination of high school adolescents.

In an urban school district, 636 students in grades 9-12 were tested for Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae by ligase chain reaction assays using specimens collected for routine urinalyses during sports physical examinations. Chlamydia and gonorrhea prevalences were 2.8% and 0.7% among males, and 6.5% and 2.0% among females, respectively. Among athletes infected with either sexually transmitted disease (STD), 93.1% reported no symptoms, and treatment was documented for 75.9%. Sports physicals offered a unique opportunity to screen and treat adolescents for STDs and to provide STD-prevention counseling.